Reading the experts….tRump WANTS to tank the economy so he and his pals can buy up everything at firesale prices….he doesn’t have the remotest desire to make amerika great.
yup…lord knows, I’m doing what I can! I’ve worked elections since 2016. Been marching, protesting, contacting reps, off fb and google, boycotting and spending only on essentials…but my voice only goes so far. People with power need to stand up, dammit. Most Dems are so docile they look complicit.
I’m very proud that my congresswoman, Mary Gay Scanlon, stood up and pointed at Elon Musk during that fiasco SOTU Tuesday night when Trump said it was the end of an era for unelected bureaucrats. I think Dems are starting* to understand that politeness and silence (screw you Carville) will no longer suffice.
The Republicans are like accomplices to murder: so depraved, or, in some cases, so terrified, that they go along with the killing of their country, whipping out alibis on Twitter and Fox to try to cover their tracks.
The Democrats are like witnesses who hide and watch the murder being carried out, too frightened of consequences ("I might get hurt!" "I might be criticized!" "I might not get that cushy lobbying job after I retire from Congress!") to intervene and try to prevent a lethal crime.
Complicit?? You're damn right that Democrats are complicit and have been for at least the last 30 years! A huge problem is the squeamish democratic voters who get up in arms every time anyone attacks their party. They cry about false equivalencies and circular firing squads, and of course, the ubiquitous, 'the Dems are doing all they can, but they don't have control of either branch of Congress.' Of course, when they do have control, then they claim that they can't get important legislation done because the minority party won't let them. Come on, you can't have it both ways!
The Democrats are complicit for Trump's ascendancy because they refuse to ditch the status quo. They insist on doing the same things and then expect us to believe there will be a different result, which as we all know is the definition of insanity. But here we are today. People keep supporting Democrats in Congress who, by most accounts, are not stepping up to do whatever is necessary to stop Trump and his corrupt and illegal and unconstitutional actions. We want fighters! We cannot for one second acquiesce. Unbelievably, Democrats believe there will be another election and that they will win back Congress, even as the Congress under Republicans is cooped by a defiant authoritarian who believes in unitary control of government. Democrats think giving passive resistance and sending out fundraising letters bemoaning Trump and Musk is enough, or the best they can do. Docile or complicit - the end result is the same.
As you later say, Deb, in another comment, "I am getting rather tired of doom scrolling thru all this repetitive outrage every day that we see happening and know the plan. I don’t need to have this pounded into my head day after day. Just make it STOP." I think most of us agree and we are equal parts frustrated, defeated, and tired. Watching our country being taken over by an evil psychopath, and witnessing the demolition (and soon privatization) of government is devastating. The US has been the world leader for freedom and democracy since the end of WWII. Russia is our sworn enemy. Decades of forging relationships and gaining allies have evaporated in a few weeks. At this moment all the instruments of destruction and control are being put into place. Resistance will be squashed. People are going to be marginalized, some permanently. This is war! This is treason!! And this is a world-changing event. Elected Democrats are not meeting the moment and they are complicit in this transmogrification. I believe and everyone who I know believes, this is an attack on our country and consequently Trump and Musk and his Christo-fascist cabal have committed an act of war. There is only one acceptable response - it must be immediate and decisive.
Agree. Here's what might have been more effective Tuesday night: Democrats who felt they needed to attend wear black or navy blue. A large button on each jacket/top says No Kings/Rule of Law/Government For the People. Cold listening, no clapping except brief polite claps for Trump's fake empathy charades. Walk out when over.
Even centrist Democrats are not going to donate to the feckless Democratic Party now on display. The 10 who voted with Trump's allies to censure Rep. Green just lost thousands of grassroots donors from outside their districts.
I hope that you're talking about Congress, because American citizens aren't comatose! Last Saturday was a cold, windy day in Maine, but residents in ALL16 counties in our state came out & protested against Trump & Elon Musk's harmful policies.
In Hancock County, my friends & I stood in front of the Ellsworth City Hall, our County Seat, with homemade signs, and cheered loudly as speakers listed many of the outrageous policies that Trump & his unelected minion Elon Musk are planning. According to the news reports, there were at least 300 of us in attendance. There were also protests in Hancock County on Saturday in Bar Harbor and Bucksport. And there will be more.
We are among the thousands of Americans who are not surrendering in advance!
I am getting rather tired of doom scrolling thru all this repetitive outrage every day that we see happening and know the plan. I don’t need to have this pounded into my head day after day. Just make it STOP.
I've gotten into the habit of contacting ALL of my elected reps from the DC crew to the state Reps, including the governor, at least 4 times a week EACH. I recommend it. I get replies, all canned, but just this week got more thoughtful replies from the two DC senators, again - crafted for the masses - but clearly indicating that they are feeling the heat. My message to them all is simple: whatever the particular topic is: we expect you to clearly, visibly, uphold your oath of office. Demonstrate your opposition or be assumed to be in favor. To my R senator this week it was "why did you not make some statement today about Trump's obvious lying in his address to Congress? Sure it's hard. But you took an oath to defend the Constitution. Allowing him to lie, in advance of making disastrous poorly conceived wholesale cuts to government staff, or to justify cuts to Medicare or SSI, is NOT defending the Constitution. DO BETTER. We're watching and we vote." This sort of thing can be written, copied (and modified a bit per recipient), and sent via the "contact me" links on all their sites. Or, if you prefer, call. Show up for their meetings, if possible. Make noise. If we all do this, or something like it, it will not only help keep us motivated but will light a fire under our elected reps' seats.
I do the same. The rethugs in Congress have built a firewall for contacts: you don't get to talk to a person, you don't get even to write a comment by email to such utter creeps as James Comer. They won't be holding town halls anymore. They're insulating themselves from their constituents. We need to corner them, in their offices, in places they frequent, and demand that they answer us. We do pay for their very lavish health insurance and salaries, after all.
Absolutely agree! But I've written 8 emails, requested a response, and NOTHING from my representative OR senators. SHAMEFUL. But I will continue to complain!
What are you doing to stop it? It's not up to Jennifer Rubin to stop it. It's up to us the people. On Monday my husband, 76 like me, my friend, 86, all went to a rally in the small (but largest on Cape Cod) town of Hyannis and stood in winds up to 30mph, holding signs at the most-traveled rotary, protesting this regime.
Call and write your elected representatives. Write them letters. Join a group to write letters and postcards to voters. And, yes, boots on the ground, people in the street!
My thoughts, exactly. Especially if you saw the list of federal government real estate that the administration says should be sold off - including prime locations in the heart of DC.
You are quite right. Trump and his buddies are invoking the "Rothschild Method" of buying tasty pieces of real estate when there is "blood in the streets". The question remains, though, about who exactly the wealthy donors were that swept Trump back into the White House? Trump is just the front man for a very decadent group.
The names are out there and have been for a long time. I've been reporting and warning about the creation of an oligarchic state since the 1990s. Both Republicans and Democrats have been playing this game. In backrooms and in private meetings members of Congress have engaged in quid pro quo with the wealthy oligarchs. The rogue justices on the Supreme Court have sold out! Every president and their administration understand the importance of keeping the wealthy happy. Much of the legislation passed has favored the wealthy. The end result is an ever-increasing level of income and wealth inequality on top of enormous tax breaks. Republicans did not do this on their own, nor did they operate in some sort of congressional vacuum. Congress perfected the art of legislative gridlock that miraculously got broken only when the wealthy could benefit. Legislation that benefited We The People was either defeated or passed with concessions that rendered the legislation largely ineffective.
Whether Trump is smart or stupid matters less than the fact that he doesn't care at all about governing for the people. He cares only about gaining wealth and power. He couldn't get there without help from other billionaires (foreign and domestic) and like-minded psychopaths (again, foreign and domestic.)
TY for a written column rather than a podcast! I signed up, after u left WP where I read all your columns, so I could continue to read: not to listen to podcasts!!!
Me too! Reading a column is much quicker than listening to a speech or interview. It's also easier to re-read the last sentence if you didn't quite get it.
Certainly did, following my reading of the written article! Since I signed up JR has mostly provided podcasts, rather than the articles she wrote for the WP: it was a change in her delivery I had not expected! I have been considering dropping my sponsorship bc of the change, but will continue for a while, continuing to evaluate.
Neither Ann Telnaes nor Paul Krugman made such a radical change upon joining Substack.
Well, you go ahead and drop it then; I've just upgraded to paid to fill your spot. Jen Rubin still writes plenty of pieces, but I've found her upbeat and energetic videos to be a wonderful boost. Her voice projects heaps of hope and oodles of optimism, two things we can never have enough of, and certainly not in these times. And by the way, Paul Krugman does videos too. And Ann Telnaes? How exactly would she go about podcasting her work?
My annoyance has nothing to do with anyone's preferences. I myself like both. Just hard to imagine there are folks out there whose continued support will be contingent on format over content.
I simply don’t have time to listen to all the podcasts out there. I do appreciate when a written transcript is provided and I can gain information in 2 minutes vs. 15.
If people don't listen to podcasts (either because they don't like them or because they don't have time) and a news site consists largely of podcasts, why would they continue to subscribe? Why wouldn't they move to, for example, the Bulwark or Wired to better suit their needs?
I'm by no means throwing in the towel yet but for how long should one pay for something one doesn't use in your imagination's estimation?
I don't listen to podcasts, I don't watch videos. I expected more written content. The content creators can absolutely communicate in any fashion they please but if they're not communicating to me why should I support them?
I find podcasts intrusive for others around me - I dislike having to cater to the format by putting hardware in my ears (although I’m certainly capable of it!).
I also find much fine journalism in other areas, particularly the Financial Times; and The Times of London.
Yes, Jane, I'll watch the snark. It was not the opinion but the delivery that got under my skin. We're in the midst of an authroitarian takeover. Jen Rubin and the team here are among the very finest and most important defenders of democracy and the rule of law that we have. They put themselves on the front line for us every day. They need our support, not our nitpicking over format and implied threats to revoke support if things don't improve to our liking.
The purpose of the podcasts is to bring in other voices and perspectives from people who may not have the time to write an article for the Contrarian but can spare 12 to 15 minutes for a discussion.
I like both formats. I appreciate the written piece from JR each day - as someone else pointed out, one can reread or linger over certain sentences - but I also listen, with benefit, to at least half the podcasts. Do so while cooking or completing other chores, making these activities times of increasing my knowledge and understanding.
I like to listen to podcasts and write get out the vote postcards!
I am currently writing postcards for Susan Crawford for the WI Supreme Court, Josh Weil for the special election for one of the two US House seats in FL, and Dan Goughnour for a special election in the PA House. All three campaigns are available on Postcards to Voters (www.postcardstovoters.org) - aka Tony the Democrat.
I hear what you're saying, Richard. I prefer to read rather than listen, as well. But I find The Contrarian has a good balance of video/audio/written articles.
As a hearing impaired person, and an impatient one, I wait until all video format presentations are available in transcripts/articles and then read them at my quicker pace. So there are several formats available for each "presentation".
I agree. I don't mind podcasts per se, but the couple of Rubin's I've listened to have just been bad. It wasn't really a discussion, but just a few people giving a 3-5 minute speech about a subject, with no back and forth. If she's going to keep doing podcasts, hopefully she gets better.
I have been trying to understand the logic of why he would do things like the tariffs since it would also harm him economically. Here's the answer, I think, and Russian post-Soviet history bears it out.
Jess Piper of The View From Rural Missouri notes that what seems to be a deliberate attempt to crash what was, when Trump took office, a booming U.S. economy, is a feature of the administration’s plan, not a bug. It creates “curated failure” that enables oligarchs to buy up the assets of the state and of desperate individuals for “rock-bottom prices.”
As Heather Cox Richardson pointed out, this is part of the overall Russian plan -- flood the zone with "political ideology" so intense people literally tune it out and stop paying attention to very real political sabotage of free societies, which in turn enables fraudsters like Trump to emerge.
Whether it's pee-pee tapes, blackmail, real estate, money, any or all of the above or something else, there's no longer any doubt in my mind that this is exactly what Russia wants and Trump and the Republican Party have become their agents to do it.
Yes. Any of his stalwart bros who thought Trump would be their champion were smoking the drapes. He's only in it to keep himself solvent and his Mar a Lago friends growing richer.
The logic is clear as a ringing church bell if you've read Project 2025 and it's supporting 'how to' video training sessions.
It's clear as a crystal ball if you've read "Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right" by Jane Mayer.
Trump and the christofascists, tech bros, crypto guys and the uber wealthy have all climbed into bed together to create a plutocracy/oligarchy based on extreme Evangelical and to a lesser extend extreme Catholic Christian beliefs.
The news doesn't even come close to describing the depth and breadth of what Project 2025 is. The news only focuses on pet, click-y sound bites like 'they want to eliminate the Dept of Education!"
You really have to read it to grasp the vastness of it's scope into every single aspect of our lives, the focus on christonationalism and the blithe disregard for the harm they wish to unleash on average citizens.
It seems to me Americans spend a great deal of time each day scrolling through and reading social media. But I think I get what you're saying - Americans want their info in soundbites, fast and quick and on that we agree.
But I'm curious...have you seen on the news any in depth reporting or any reporting tying Trump and his admin to Project 2025? Any specific (underlined) reporting that they're doing "x" exactly as laid out in the P2025 document? I haven't, so I was wondering. The most I hear is vague comments like "Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget
Russell Vought, architect of Project 2025 said...". That's essentially meaningless to those who don't know what it actually is.
Wrecking the federal government fits right in. Many federal government buildings are for sale now. Oligarchs will buying them too, to "develop". And such sales also make it much more difficult to rebuild the federal government if we somehow manage to elect a sane and moral person to the presidency.
Anne Applebauum posted on her feed today a chat with TIM MAK and mentioned/spoke of the known alliance /plans for Russia/ takes all Europe , US /all North America and XI China/ all South America. That chatter is real. Now Russia has some work to do to get that..and King donald will likely break everything in his LUST to have his kingdom - or he might start WWIII to get Greenland and Panama - and then intentionally hurt then take over Canada and Mexico- right....and the would be princes are all around him drooling at the INSANE possibility...he is 78...DO DO keep a keen eye and watch OUT for the Vance/sycophants enabling and wide eyed and successors in the wings EWE! ......at 78 trump cannot finish this plan and if putin has his way..he takes the US too and trump unfortunately walks past the wrong open window....but maybe they are just talking out loud .....as friends ?? !!
Interesting. Let's keep eyes on Germany, which has a vocal far right AND which is taking steps to re-arm, in the face of Trumps policy of abandoning allies.
"Either way, politicians who cannot muster the courage to represent their constituents’ needs and uphold their own oaths should find another line of work."
It would help if voters would stop voting for these people.
Oh, but they fear being primaried out of their jobs by Trump. Better they should fear the wrath of the votes of their constituents when they find that their "representatives" aren't working for them. Either way, these legislators will be looking for other jobs.
There hasn't been much (or any) demonstration of patriotism so far, and the ones who did (Cheney and Kinzinger, for example) either were ousted or left. Perhaps our resistance will motivate them, though confidence is not high.
💙✨🕯️🗽⏰🇺🇸 Barbara and everyone, PLEASE help us Harris/Walz voters fight back: It appears Kamala did win! Please see & help Election Truth Alliance & see their URGENT update: https://youtu.be/yhz5kePQhEs?si=1_MbSWeKWBiUYPyU . Trump, Musk & Putin, of course, very likely WIDELY CHEATED in our election. Please pitch in any amount for their crucial 2-week sprint of lawsuits & more targeted audits like I did & tell them their new follower Janette is referring people as a volunteer to help. We the People elected President Harris & my MN Governor Tim Walz for VP. We must give them the proof so they will believe it & act with others! ETA (Election Truth Alliance) has an FAQ & is also now on Facebook & Bluesky if you search their full name. Thanks!
I am sooo sick of his bullshit! I agree-he tanks the market so he can scoop up stocks at a low rate. He says whatever stupid thing will resonate with his stupid base, and the rest of us suffer! Is the GOP EVER going to grow a spine and say 'enough!!'
It is not a question of "may" have irreparably harmed relations with Canada, it is a HAVE FOREVER harmed relations situation. One thing that Americans don't realize about their "polite" neighbours to the North is that once bitten, Canadians are forever shy. We are a nation of passive/aggressiveness; the trust bond with the U.S. is now forever broken. Canadians will question travel, purchases, business dealings, etc. going forward, in perpetuity, no matter the situation. We have been falsely accused of an erroneous extent in which our participation in wrongs is, and we are righting the lesser wrongs as quickly as possible. To bear the brunt of that felon in offices' lies is inexcusable. Rein in your leader. It is up to the people. It is time to get out on the streets in bigly bigger en masse and get them all out of office.
Ms. Rubin, you're so right about the sheer cravenness of Republican politicians who claim they cannot defend the economy (or the nation, or the constitution) from threat because they themselves would then be targeted by Maga revenge squads, the death threats would pile up, and they would feel the wrath of the extremists. Therefore OF COURSE they can do nothing.
Mind you, these politicians have the power of life or death over the rest of us.
They're allowing wrongheaded, dangerous, and (in the case of the unelected bureaucrat, Elon Musk, and his team of giggling DOGIES) unconstitutional assaults on the people of this country--including veterans who have risked their lives for all of us; fighting, they thought, for freedom but, as it turns out, purely to make sure that Republican politicians can bask in the perks and privileges of office.
They're also allowing a policy reversal that has exposed, not only the people of Ukraine, but the people of the world to a heightened and growing threat of conflict, including a growing possibility of nuclear proliferation and conflict.
But they feel it would be wrong to expect THEM to experience and absorb a little risk--especially the risk of being primaried and losing the cushiest taxpayer-subsidized gigs in the nation, or the risk of being exposed for past peccadillos (Pro Publica has done some troubling reporting on a possible explanation for one Senator's reversal of her "principled stance" on the confirmation of Pete Hegseth), or, of course, the risk of being exposed to violence or assassination, like any honorable soldier fighting for their country.
I was glad to hear Jen's reference to the threats of violence to persons and their families--just for being principled and law-abiding persons doing their jobs. I think in many cases, being "primaried" is just a cover for the more violent threats that are occurring.
Can you imagine having one of your family members web-focused by so-called MAGA because of something you said or did? Someone with some sustaining nickels and cred needs to track down those who interface those threats to those who receive them and who play messenger to the tyrant.
I can't argue with this. It's horrifying. We know to a fair degree of certitude that the Republicans are threatening not only members of Congress, but their partners and families and loved ones---"hostages to fortune."
I'm only saying that given the stakes, given the fact that we're in a war for the soul of our nation, the good guys are losing the war, and there's no D-Day invasion coming to rescue us from the madness, it's time for the politicians who could do something about it to face up and take the risk. If not now, when?
And yes, these organized groups (and the mob leaders who are spurring them on, including people like Elon, now promoting threats and demands for impeachment against judges) ought to be held to account.
They can all afford to hire private security. They can sell their houses and move. Change their names. Whatever. They may be spineless but they all have resources.
In fairness, by the end of his term in the US Senate Mitt Romney was spending more than $5000 a day (just north of $2 million a year) for private security for himself and his family.
He was one of the wealthiest men in the Senate, a billionaire rather than a mere multi-millionaire, so sure, he could afford it. But the cost of effective security is high.
Men like Elon Musk and Rupert Murdoch surround themselves with virtual private armies made up of seasoned fighters, ex-Mossad and former Navy SEALS, armed with the most sophisticated weaponry on earth: spending millions to protect themselves from the human beings to whom they've done so much, and such irreparable, damage.
Even most Republican politicians don't have that kind of wealth. They would need backbones as well as a few trained bodyguards.
This Canadian thinks Canada should ignore Trump's offer of a 30-day reprieve on auto tariffs. We need to go ahead, inflict the pain, and show the world what standing up to a fascist bully looks like. Yes, it is going to hurt, but there's a truth Americans are not seeing - Canadians are up for this. We are tough. And we are willing to pay higher taxes.
Tens of millions of us never had the slightest illusion about who this phony really was. In addition to being an incompetent (who gets born a millionaire, then declares bankruptcy six times, losing money on casinos during an economic boom time?), Trump was always a clueless imbecile. His first Secretary of State called him a "fucking moron." On top of being a debauched, pussygrabbing freak proud of his rotten moral character and boasting about his immunity ("when you're famous, they let you do it").
His body language has always screamed lies, gaslighting, idiocy, cruelty, arrogance. This reporters must know, though almost none of them speak to it. The cocked-head (the lies are starting), the weird shifted-shoulder hunchback pose, the bizarre mouth movements, the ever-present invisible accordion-pumping (the bullshit is really spewing), the slathered on tangerine-formaldehyde face paste (no it doesn't make him look tanned and healthy), the ridiculous, too-long tie (no it doesn't make him look skinny). Everything broadcasts dishonesty. Why doesn't' everybody see that?
What was there that people claimed they didn't know or get, especially the first time around? How is it someone so fraudulent could hoodwink millions, turn the Republican Party into mental cornmush, be a Russian sleeper agent AND get sent back to the White House?
If one did not grow up in NY or NJ, one would have rarely heard anything about this felon. I was raised in PA but moved to NJ after marriage and knew of him from the 1970's, when he first stepped into the casino ring in Atlantic City. He made an instant mess out of that move, including never paying most of the contractors who worked on his casino. He bankrupted it within a few years, then sat back, looking at what he could do, that didn't require any actual work but will bring him big money. Hence, the TV reality shit show. After that tanked, he started colluding with his billionaire buddies as to how they could end up ruling our country, without any serious work, just by dismantling the jobs markets, thousands of workers fired at a time, to create a recession that will require all of us to grovel to our leader just for bits of bread and water. I'm glad you recognized who and what he is the same way I did. He is not worthy to even knock on my door.
When Trump and a consortium of his sleazy cronies put in a bid to build the first casino in Sydney, Australia nearly 40 years ago, the regulatory board charged with investigating bids concluded that Trump's ties to the mafia (and, there was some suggestion even at the time, to Russian interests) made him an unreliable investment, so they turned down his bid.
The first signs of the Republican Party crack up were already emerging: a few years later Newt Gingrich would become House Speaker and launch his Frank Luntz-scripted strategy of slash-and-burn politics, a game Mitch McConnell (known as "Moscow Mitch") would expand upon in the following decade in the US Senate, where Republicans would play a key role in opening the door to Russian interference.
The Australians saw Trump as a security risk in 1987: but the Republicans (and the entertainment division at NBC) did not: or at any rate they didn't see him as a risk to THEIR interests. So here we all are today.
There's little doubt that outfits like FOX Noise, OAN, Newsmax, IHeart Radio, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Breitbart, and a number of others reinforced the gullible.
I've never cheered for a severe recession before but I feel like that will be the only way we avoid full Orbanism in this country. Repairing the relations with our allies (if that's even possible) will take the work of a generation. I hope we're up to the challenge.
My opinion is that trump likes tariffs because he is the only one who can impose them and he can do it without the approval of Congress. It's a power play, just like his ridiculous executive orders. trump is acting like a king because he is too weak to govern like a president.
The whole circus of the Felon's administration still confounds anyone with half a brain. That the whole world 'gets it' is such a damning indictment against the lickspittle Republicans that the shame and embarrassment alone should be enough to make them want to extract themselves from the Felon's dominion, even if it means losing their seats--which will happen in any case when their constituents can no longer afford to feed or house their families. If they are afraid for their personal safety, then report this to the police. If an intruder into their homes threatened their families, they would call 911. So, what exactly is the rationale for the deal they've made? They are in a lose-lose situation. If any thinking person stood in the same position, they would at least want to come out of it by standing up for the country, do the job for which they were elected and regain some degree of lost honor. And they'd have a helluva lot of subject matter to write a 'tell-all' book...
TrumpMusk may be surprised if Canada and Mexico simply say “bring it” when he threatens tariffs again. This stupid “strategy “ of announcing steep tariffs then backing down and declaring victory could backfire seriously. Maybe if they forced him to back down by refusing to capitulate it could present a short-term economic meltdown but a long term muzzle on TrumpMusk’s bullying?
Reading the experts….tRump WANTS to tank the economy so he and his pals can buy up everything at firesale prices….he doesn’t have the remotest desire to make amerika great.
yup…lord knows, I’m doing what I can! I’ve worked elections since 2016. Been marching, protesting, contacting reps, off fb and google, boycotting and spending only on essentials…but my voice only goes so far. People with power need to stand up, dammit. Most Dems are so docile they look complicit.
I’m very proud that my congresswoman, Mary Gay Scanlon, stood up and pointed at Elon Musk during that fiasco SOTU Tuesday night when Trump said it was the end of an era for unelected bureaucrats. I think Dems are starting* to understand that politeness and silence (screw you Carville) will no longer suffice.
The Republicans are like accomplices to murder: so depraved, or, in some cases, so terrified, that they go along with the killing of their country, whipping out alibis on Twitter and Fox to try to cover their tracks.
The Democrats are like witnesses who hide and watch the murder being carried out, too frightened of consequences ("I might get hurt!" "I might be criticized!" "I might not get that cushy lobbying job after I retire from Congress!") to intervene and try to prevent a lethal crime.
Complicit?? You're damn right that Democrats are complicit and have been for at least the last 30 years! A huge problem is the squeamish democratic voters who get up in arms every time anyone attacks their party. They cry about false equivalencies and circular firing squads, and of course, the ubiquitous, 'the Dems are doing all they can, but they don't have control of either branch of Congress.' Of course, when they do have control, then they claim that they can't get important legislation done because the minority party won't let them. Come on, you can't have it both ways!
The Democrats are complicit for Trump's ascendancy because they refuse to ditch the status quo. They insist on doing the same things and then expect us to believe there will be a different result, which as we all know is the definition of insanity. But here we are today. People keep supporting Democrats in Congress who, by most accounts, are not stepping up to do whatever is necessary to stop Trump and his corrupt and illegal and unconstitutional actions. We want fighters! We cannot for one second acquiesce. Unbelievably, Democrats believe there will be another election and that they will win back Congress, even as the Congress under Republicans is cooped by a defiant authoritarian who believes in unitary control of government. Democrats think giving passive resistance and sending out fundraising letters bemoaning Trump and Musk is enough, or the best they can do. Docile or complicit - the end result is the same.
As you later say, Deb, in another comment, "I am getting rather tired of doom scrolling thru all this repetitive outrage every day that we see happening and know the plan. I don’t need to have this pounded into my head day after day. Just make it STOP." I think most of us agree and we are equal parts frustrated, defeated, and tired. Watching our country being taken over by an evil psychopath, and witnessing the demolition (and soon privatization) of government is devastating. The US has been the world leader for freedom and democracy since the end of WWII. Russia is our sworn enemy. Decades of forging relationships and gaining allies have evaporated in a few weeks. At this moment all the instruments of destruction and control are being put into place. Resistance will be squashed. People are going to be marginalized, some permanently. This is war! This is treason!! And this is a world-changing event. Elected Democrats are not meeting the moment and they are complicit in this transmogrification. I believe and everyone who I know believes, this is an attack on our country and consequently Trump and Musk and his Christo-fascist cabal have committed an act of war. There is only one acceptable response - it must be immediate and decisive.
Julie Bannerman now
•• •
Agree. Here's what might have been more effective Tuesday night: Democrats who felt they needed to attend wear black or navy blue. A large button on each jacket/top says No Kings/Rule of Law/Government For the People. Cold listening, no clapping except brief polite claps for Trump's fake empathy charades. Walk out when over.
Even centrist Democrats are not going to donate to the feckless Democratic Party now on display. The 10 who voted with Trump's allies to censure Rep. Green just lost thousands of grassroots donors from outside their districts.
The Democrats are comatose! Yes, the Congress!
I hope that you're talking about Congress, because American citizens aren't comatose! Last Saturday was a cold, windy day in Maine, but residents in ALL16 counties in our state came out & protested against Trump & Elon Musk's harmful policies.
In Hancock County, my friends & I stood in front of the Ellsworth City Hall, our County Seat, with homemade signs, and cheered loudly as speakers listed many of the outrageous policies that Trump & his unelected minion Elon Musk are planning. According to the news reports, there were at least 300 of us in attendance. There were also protests in Hancock County on Saturday in Bar Harbor and Bucksport. And there will be more.
We are among the thousands of Americans who are not surrendering in advance!
Agree with what you think
I am getting rather tired of doom scrolling thru all this repetitive outrage every day that we see happening and know the plan. I don’t need to have this pounded into my head day after day. Just make it STOP.
I've gotten into the habit of contacting ALL of my elected reps from the DC crew to the state Reps, including the governor, at least 4 times a week EACH. I recommend it. I get replies, all canned, but just this week got more thoughtful replies from the two DC senators, again - crafted for the masses - but clearly indicating that they are feeling the heat. My message to them all is simple: whatever the particular topic is: we expect you to clearly, visibly, uphold your oath of office. Demonstrate your opposition or be assumed to be in favor. To my R senator this week it was "why did you not make some statement today about Trump's obvious lying in his address to Congress? Sure it's hard. But you took an oath to defend the Constitution. Allowing him to lie, in advance of making disastrous poorly conceived wholesale cuts to government staff, or to justify cuts to Medicare or SSI, is NOT defending the Constitution. DO BETTER. We're watching and we vote." This sort of thing can be written, copied (and modified a bit per recipient), and sent via the "contact me" links on all their sites. Or, if you prefer, call. Show up for their meetings, if possible. Make noise. If we all do this, or something like it, it will not only help keep us motivated but will light a fire under our elected reps' seats.
I do the same. The rethugs in Congress have built a firewall for contacts: you don't get to talk to a person, you don't get even to write a comment by email to such utter creeps as James Comer. They won't be holding town halls anymore. They're insulating themselves from their constituents. We need to corner them, in their offices, in places they frequent, and demand that they answer us. We do pay for their very lavish health insurance and salaries, after all.
So hit up their state offices. If they won't come to us with their town meetings, we still have a level of access.
They have faimily, donors who agree with us.
You're probably not going to get far with Comer, but there are about 20 Republicans representing majority Dem districts. https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/james-comer/summary?cid=N00038260
https://jerryweiss.substack.com/p/remove-impeach-impeach
https://act.commoncause.org/call_campaigns/tell-congress-stop-the-musk-budget/?source=03062025_Congress-Budget-Musk-Calls_FS&link_id=1&can_id=c21edc35afceb939e29222ede000e0fb&email_referrer=email_2645008___body_3155659&email_subject=update-end-musks-hostile-takeover
If they are not the Opposition, they are a Collaborator.
Indeed.
Absolutely agree! But I've written 8 emails, requested a response, and NOTHING from my representative OR senators. SHAMEFUL. But I will continue to complain!
Keep it up
Thank you for all your work. Persistence is a tremendous virtue.
What are you doing to stop it? It's not up to Jennifer Rubin to stop it. It's up to us the people. On Monday my husband, 76 like me, my friend, 86, all went to a rally in the small (but largest on Cape Cod) town of Hyannis and stood in winds up to 30mph, holding signs at the most-traveled rotary, protesting this regime.
Thank you. Yes, it is up to us!
True that, though the words of Ms. Rubin and others can serve as a rallying point for the resistance.
Call and write your elected representatives. Write them letters. Join a group to write letters and postcards to voters. And, yes, boots on the ground, people in the street!
She can pressure the Republicans who can save us.
sorry deb..that is up to you and me now ... and a big ol group
Well, don't read it!
I got tired of the WaPo and NY Times caving to right-wing pressure; I cancelled the latter almost six years ago and the former in November.
I agree. Trump is not clueless. He is attempting to tank the economy as you said. Calculated, vile, and looking out only for himself. Pathetic!
Worse than looking out for solely himself is that he is clearly working for Putin (most likely for some self-centered motive.)
My thoughts, exactly. Especially if you saw the list of federal government real estate that the administration says should be sold off - including prime locations in the heart of DC.
You are quite right. Trump and his buddies are invoking the "Rothschild Method" of buying tasty pieces of real estate when there is "blood in the streets". The question remains, though, about who exactly the wealthy donors were that swept Trump back into the White House? Trump is just the front man for a very decadent group.
The names are out there and have been for a long time. I've been reporting and warning about the creation of an oligarchic state since the 1990s. Both Republicans and Democrats have been playing this game. In backrooms and in private meetings members of Congress have engaged in quid pro quo with the wealthy oligarchs. The rogue justices on the Supreme Court have sold out! Every president and their administration understand the importance of keeping the wealthy happy. Much of the legislation passed has favored the wealthy. The end result is an ever-increasing level of income and wealth inequality on top of enormous tax breaks. Republicans did not do this on their own, nor did they operate in some sort of congressional vacuum. Congress perfected the art of legislative gridlock that miraculously got broken only when the wealthy could benefit. Legislation that benefited We The People was either defeated or passed with concessions that rendered the legislation largely ineffective.
Whether Trump is smart or stupid matters less than the fact that he doesn't care at all about governing for the people. He cares only about gaining wealth and power. He couldn't get there without help from other billionaires (foreign and domestic) and like-minded psychopaths (again, foreign and domestic.)
Heather Cox Richardson laid this out very well in her newsletter yesterday (which actually posted early this morning).
I believe this assessment is correct. Trump and his oligarchs WANT to tank the federal government and the economy so they can privatize and profit.
Exactly what I was going to say. Frightening and disgusting.
Is there possibly another hidden objective of trying the destabilize the US as country? What would this be worth to Putin?
Definitely need to read Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from March 5, 2025. History rhymes.
Deb, he wants to destroy us
Plus he's got to keep his handlers, including Putin and Musk, happy.
TY for a written column rather than a podcast! I signed up, after u left WP where I read all your columns, so I could continue to read: not to listen to podcasts!!!
I agree 100%
Me too! Reading a column is much quicker than listening to a speech or interview. It's also easier to re-read the last sentence if you didn't quite get it.
Another vote for written columns over podcasts. I'm sure it's great to watch a 15 minute video--if one has time for it.
It's also, frankly, a pleasure to read well-crafted prose and you (Jen) are a wonderful writer. Your columns are valuable.
Agreed. No video. Well, for me anyway. I’m sure many like it.
This WAS a written piece, are you sure you're responding to the right article?
Certainly did, following my reading of the written article! Since I signed up JR has mostly provided podcasts, rather than the articles she wrote for the WP: it was a change in her delivery I had not expected! I have been considering dropping my sponsorship bc of the change, but will continue for a while, continuing to evaluate.
Neither Ann Telnaes nor Paul Krugman made such a radical change upon joining Substack.
Well, you go ahead and drop it then; I've just upgraded to paid to fill your spot. Jen Rubin still writes plenty of pieces, but I've found her upbeat and energetic videos to be a wonderful boost. Her voice projects heaps of hope and oodles of optimism, two things we can never have enough of, and certainly not in these times. And by the way, Paul Krugman does videos too. And Ann Telnaes? How exactly would she go about podcasting her work?
It's not just about Rubin who yes, is a prolific writer. It's in general - the balance between written articles and podcasts seems out of whack.
It's okay for some (myself included) to prefer written pieces vs podcasts.
jeez
My annoyance has nothing to do with anyone's preferences. I myself like both. Just hard to imagine there are folks out there whose continued support will be contingent on format over content.
I simply don’t have time to listen to all the podcasts out there. I do appreciate when a written transcript is provided and I can gain information in 2 minutes vs. 15.
But John...
If people don't listen to podcasts (either because they don't like them or because they don't have time) and a news site consists largely of podcasts, why would they continue to subscribe? Why wouldn't they move to, for example, the Bulwark or Wired to better suit their needs?
Your imagination needs work.
I'm by no means throwing in the towel yet but for how long should one pay for something one doesn't use in your imagination's estimation?
I don't listen to podcasts, I don't watch videos. I expected more written content. The content creators can absolutely communicate in any fashion they please but if they're not communicating to me why should I support them?
I find podcasts intrusive for others around me - I dislike having to cater to the format by putting hardware in my ears (although I’m certainly capable of it!).
I also find much fine journalism in other areas, particularly the Financial Times; and The Times of London.
Geez, dial it back a bit, John. You act like somebody attacked you personally. Richard is entitled to his opinion, as are you. Keep it civil, please.
Yes, Jane, I'll watch the snark. It was not the opinion but the delivery that got under my skin. We're in the midst of an authroitarian takeover. Jen Rubin and the team here are among the very finest and most important defenders of democracy and the rule of law that we have. They put themselves on the front line for us every day. They need our support, not our nitpicking over format and implied threats to revoke support if things don't improve to our liking.
Agreed. It's often hard to gauge snark in posts on the internet. Trust me, I know!
The purpose of the podcasts is to bring in other voices and perspectives from people who may not have the time to write an article for the Contrarian but can spare 12 to 15 minutes for a discussion.
I like both formats. I appreciate the written piece from JR each day - as someone else pointed out, one can reread or linger over certain sentences - but I also listen, with benefit, to at least half the podcasts. Do so while cooking or completing other chores, making these activities times of increasing my knowledge and understanding.
I like to listen to podcasts and write get out the vote postcards!
I am currently writing postcards for Susan Crawford for the WI Supreme Court, Josh Weil for the special election for one of the two US House seats in FL, and Dan Goughnour for a special election in the PA House. All three campaigns are available on Postcards to Voters (www.postcardstovoters.org) - aka Tony the Democrat.
I hear what you're saying, Richard. I prefer to read rather than listen, as well. But I find The Contrarian has a good balance of video/audio/written articles.
As a hearing impaired person, and an impatient one, I wait until all video format presentations are available in transcripts/articles and then read them at my quicker pace. So there are several formats available for each "presentation".
Corbin, Richard's statement was a thank you for a written column and not a podcast.
Maybe you missed it. His first sentence is:
"TY for a written column rather than a podcast!"
I agree. I don't mind podcasts per se, but the couple of Rubin's I've listened to have just been bad. It wasn't really a discussion, but just a few people giving a 3-5 minute speech about a subject, with no back and forth. If she's going to keep doing podcasts, hopefully she gets better.
I have been trying to understand the logic of why he would do things like the tariffs since it would also harm him economically. Here's the answer, I think, and Russian post-Soviet history bears it out.
Jess Piper of The View From Rural Missouri notes that what seems to be a deliberate attempt to crash what was, when Trump took office, a booming U.S. economy, is a feature of the administration’s plan, not a bug. It creates “curated failure” that enables oligarchs to buy up the assets of the state and of desperate individuals for “rock-bottom prices.”
As Heather Cox Richardson pointed out, this is part of the overall Russian plan -- flood the zone with "political ideology" so intense people literally tune it out and stop paying attention to very real political sabotage of free societies, which in turn enables fraudsters like Trump to emerge.
Whether it's pee-pee tapes, blackmail, real estate, money, any or all of the above or something else, there's no longer any doubt in my mind that this is exactly what Russia wants and Trump and the Republican Party have become their agents to do it.
Yes. Any of his stalwart bros who thought Trump would be their champion were smoking the drapes. He's only in it to keep himself solvent and his Mar a Lago friends growing richer.
And keep himself out of the 'Big House'
The logic is clear as a ringing church bell if you've read Project 2025 and it's supporting 'how to' video training sessions.
It's clear as a crystal ball if you've read "Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right" by Jane Mayer.
Trump and the christofascists, tech bros, crypto guys and the uber wealthy have all climbed into bed together to create a plutocracy/oligarchy based on extreme Evangelical and to a lesser extend extreme Catholic Christian beliefs.
Where would one find a copy of Project 2025 to read?
You can read it direct from the source here:
https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf
Or if you prefer not to give them clicks, here (though the format here is a bit clunky):
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24088042-project-2025s-mandate-for-leadership-the-conservative-promise/
But it's 920 pages so be prepared to read it over time. It's a lot and you may have trouble sleeping at night after wading in. Good luck!
Thank you so much!
If you want more of a summary, you may find these resources useful:
https://www.digitaldrumbeat.com/p/how-project-2025-uses-seven-tactic
https://www.digitaldrumbeat.com/p/the-big-list-of-resources-about-project
https://www.digitaldrumbeat.com/p/new-projected-state-by-state-impacts
just watch the news
The news doesn't even come close to describing the depth and breadth of what Project 2025 is. The news only focuses on pet, click-y sound bites like 'they want to eliminate the Dept of Education!"
You really have to read it to grasp the vastness of it's scope into every single aspect of our lives, the focus on christonationalism and the blithe disregard for the harm they wish to unleash on average citizens.
true, but americans don't read...they watch and listen
It seems to me Americans spend a great deal of time each day scrolling through and reading social media. But I think I get what you're saying - Americans want their info in soundbites, fast and quick and on that we agree.
But I'm curious...have you seen on the news any in depth reporting or any reporting tying Trump and his admin to Project 2025? Any specific (underlined) reporting that they're doing "x" exactly as laid out in the P2025 document? I haven't, so I was wondering. The most I hear is vague comments like "Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget
Russell Vought, architect of Project 2025 said...". That's essentially meaningless to those who don't know what it actually is.
Read Red Notice by Bill Browder, for an inside look at how the USSR was sold in pieces, creating today's Russian kleptocratic oligarchy. It's an easy read, and very interesting. Browder was a young investment banker in Moscow as the USSR fell apart. https://www.alibris.com/Red-Notice-A-True-Story-of-High-Finance-Murder-and-One-Mans-Fight-for-Justice-Bill-Browder/book/31550551/
One of the best books ever, IMO.
Wrecking the federal government fits right in. Many federal government buildings are for sale now. Oligarchs will buying them too, to "develop". And such sales also make it much more difficult to rebuild the federal government if we somehow manage to elect a sane and moral person to the presidency.
The buildings are o longer for sale. They were withdrawn last evening.
Was that all or just some? I did read that some had been withdrawn
Anne Applebauum posted on her feed today a chat with TIM MAK and mentioned/spoke of the known alliance /plans for Russia/ takes all Europe , US /all North America and XI China/ all South America. That chatter is real. Now Russia has some work to do to get that..and King donald will likely break everything in his LUST to have his kingdom - or he might start WWIII to get Greenland and Panama - and then intentionally hurt then take over Canada and Mexico- right....and the would be princes are all around him drooling at the INSANE possibility...he is 78...DO DO keep a keen eye and watch OUT for the Vance/sycophants enabling and wide eyed and successors in the wings EWE! ......at 78 trump cannot finish this plan and if putin has his way..he takes the US too and trump unfortunately walks past the wrong open window....but maybe they are just talking out loud .....as friends ?? !!
Interesting. Let's keep eyes on Germany, which has a vocal far right AND which is taking steps to re-arm, in the face of Trumps policy of abandoning allies.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-06/germany-s-push-to-loosen-eu-fiscal-rules-is-gathering-momentum?srnd=homepage-americas&sref=3SL8WN7z
I suspect he got the idea, as well as the idea of conquering Greenland, during a secret private conversation with Putin.
And so two ports in the Panama Canal belong to an American investor................
"Either way, politicians who cannot muster the courage to represent their constituents’ needs and uphold their own oaths should find another line of work."
It would help if voters would stop voting for these people.
Get them to abide by their oaths. https://jerryweiss.substack.com/p/remove-impeach-impeach
Oh, but they fear being primaried out of their jobs by Trump. Better they should fear the wrath of the votes of their constituents when they find that their "representatives" aren't working for them. Either way, these legislators will be looking for other jobs.
Hoepfully some are patriots.
There hasn't been much (or any) demonstration of patriotism so far, and the ones who did (Cheney and Kinzinger, for example) either were ousted or left. Perhaps our resistance will motivate them, though confidence is not high.
If they lose, there will be a lot of pissed constituents looking for them. I certainly will be.
I forget who said it, but I still like the quote - "Don't vote for politicians - it only encourages them."
Sound like something Will Rogers or Mark Twain would say.
The more I think about it, I think it may have been Phyllis Diller.
I miss her.
💙✨🕯️🗽⏰🇺🇸 Barbara and everyone, PLEASE help us Harris/Walz voters fight back: It appears Kamala did win! Please see & help Election Truth Alliance & see their URGENT update: https://youtu.be/yhz5kePQhEs?si=1_MbSWeKWBiUYPyU . Trump, Musk & Putin, of course, very likely WIDELY CHEATED in our election. Please pitch in any amount for their crucial 2-week sprint of lawsuits & more targeted audits like I did & tell them their new follower Janette is referring people as a volunteer to help. We the People elected President Harris & my MN Governor Tim Walz for VP. We must give them the proof so they will believe it & act with others! ETA (Election Truth Alliance) has an FAQ & is also now on Facebook & Bluesky if you search their full name. Thanks!
Donated. Thanks. I watched the video. I hadn’t heard of this before. It’s worth the effort.
Thank you, Patric! We all deserve the truth!. 💙🕯️🇺🇸
I am sooo sick of his bullshit! I agree-he tanks the market so he can scoop up stocks at a low rate. He says whatever stupid thing will resonate with his stupid base, and the rest of us suffer! Is the GOP EVER going to grow a spine and say 'enough!!'
The operant word here is 'stupid'. GQP voters don't have a thought in their heads which wasn't put there by Faux Snooze.
In a word. NO!!!!
It is not a question of "may" have irreparably harmed relations with Canada, it is a HAVE FOREVER harmed relations situation. One thing that Americans don't realize about their "polite" neighbours to the North is that once bitten, Canadians are forever shy. We are a nation of passive/aggressiveness; the trust bond with the U.S. is now forever broken. Canadians will question travel, purchases, business dealings, etc. going forward, in perpetuity, no matter the situation. We have been falsely accused of an erroneous extent in which our participation in wrongs is, and we are righting the lesser wrongs as quickly as possible. To bear the brunt of that felon in offices' lies is inexcusable. Rein in your leader. It is up to the people. It is time to get out on the streets in bigly bigger en masse and get them all out of office.
Ms. Rubin, you're so right about the sheer cravenness of Republican politicians who claim they cannot defend the economy (or the nation, or the constitution) from threat because they themselves would then be targeted by Maga revenge squads, the death threats would pile up, and they would feel the wrath of the extremists. Therefore OF COURSE they can do nothing.
Mind you, these politicians have the power of life or death over the rest of us.
They're allowing wrongheaded, dangerous, and (in the case of the unelected bureaucrat, Elon Musk, and his team of giggling DOGIES) unconstitutional assaults on the people of this country--including veterans who have risked their lives for all of us; fighting, they thought, for freedom but, as it turns out, purely to make sure that Republican politicians can bask in the perks and privileges of office.
They're also allowing a policy reversal that has exposed, not only the people of Ukraine, but the people of the world to a heightened and growing threat of conflict, including a growing possibility of nuclear proliferation and conflict.
But they feel it would be wrong to expect THEM to experience and absorb a little risk--especially the risk of being primaried and losing the cushiest taxpayer-subsidized gigs in the nation, or the risk of being exposed for past peccadillos (Pro Publica has done some troubling reporting on a possible explanation for one Senator's reversal of her "principled stance" on the confirmation of Pete Hegseth), or, of course, the risk of being exposed to violence or assassination, like any honorable soldier fighting for their country.
I was glad to hear Jen's reference to the threats of violence to persons and their families--just for being principled and law-abiding persons doing their jobs. I think in many cases, being "primaried" is just a cover for the more violent threats that are occurring.
Can you imagine having one of your family members web-focused by so-called MAGA because of something you said or did? Someone with some sustaining nickels and cred needs to track down those who interface those threats to those who receive them and who play messenger to the tyrant.
I can't argue with this. It's horrifying. We know to a fair degree of certitude that the Republicans are threatening not only members of Congress, but their partners and families and loved ones---"hostages to fortune."
I'm only saying that given the stakes, given the fact that we're in a war for the soul of our nation, the good guys are losing the war, and there's no D-Day invasion coming to rescue us from the madness, it's time for the politicians who could do something about it to face up and take the risk. If not now, when?
And yes, these organized groups (and the mob leaders who are spurring them on, including people like Elon, now promoting threats and demands for impeachment against judges) ought to be held to account.
Plenty of poll workers were/are threatened and yet went on to do their job, often not a paying job. Republican Congresspersons are sniveling cowards.
Remember, Trump let loose the dogs with his pardons.
They can all afford to hire private security. They can sell their houses and move. Change their names. Whatever. They may be spineless but they all have resources.
In fairness, by the end of his term in the US Senate Mitt Romney was spending more than $5000 a day (just north of $2 million a year) for private security for himself and his family.
He was one of the wealthiest men in the Senate, a billionaire rather than a mere multi-millionaire, so sure, he could afford it. But the cost of effective security is high.
Men like Elon Musk and Rupert Murdoch surround themselves with virtual private armies made up of seasoned fighters, ex-Mossad and former Navy SEALS, armed with the most sophisticated weaponry on earth: spending millions to protect themselves from the human beings to whom they've done so much, and such irreparable, damage.
Even most Republican politicians don't have that kind of wealth. They would need backbones as well as a few trained bodyguards.
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" "Who watches the watchers?" I wouldn't feel completely safe, even with hired security.
Thanks for the update.
Zero logic, just the joy of being a bully.
Agree. It looks like sadistic narcissism.
While stealing the national treasury.
I am a lot more worried about the human suffering we are facing and the loss of a Democratic State than how rich he or they get.
It's all part of the same plan.
This Canadian thinks Canada should ignore Trump's offer of a 30-day reprieve on auto tariffs. We need to go ahead, inflict the pain, and show the world what standing up to a fascist bully looks like. Yes, it is going to hurt, but there's a truth Americans are not seeing - Canadians are up for this. We are tough. And we are willing to pay higher taxes.
Tens of millions of us never had the slightest illusion about who this phony really was. In addition to being an incompetent (who gets born a millionaire, then declares bankruptcy six times, losing money on casinos during an economic boom time?), Trump was always a clueless imbecile. His first Secretary of State called him a "fucking moron." On top of being a debauched, pussygrabbing freak proud of his rotten moral character and boasting about his immunity ("when you're famous, they let you do it").
His body language has always screamed lies, gaslighting, idiocy, cruelty, arrogance. This reporters must know, though almost none of them speak to it. The cocked-head (the lies are starting), the weird shifted-shoulder hunchback pose, the bizarre mouth movements, the ever-present invisible accordion-pumping (the bullshit is really spewing), the slathered on tangerine-formaldehyde face paste (no it doesn't make him look tanned and healthy), the ridiculous, too-long tie (no it doesn't make him look skinny). Everything broadcasts dishonesty. Why doesn't' everybody see that?
What was there that people claimed they didn't know or get, especially the first time around? How is it someone so fraudulent could hoodwink millions, turn the Republican Party into mental cornmush, be a Russian sleeper agent AND get sent back to the White House?
If one did not grow up in NY or NJ, one would have rarely heard anything about this felon. I was raised in PA but moved to NJ after marriage and knew of him from the 1970's, when he first stepped into the casino ring in Atlantic City. He made an instant mess out of that move, including never paying most of the contractors who worked on his casino. He bankrupted it within a few years, then sat back, looking at what he could do, that didn't require any actual work but will bring him big money. Hence, the TV reality shit show. After that tanked, he started colluding with his billionaire buddies as to how they could end up ruling our country, without any serious work, just by dismantling the jobs markets, thousands of workers fired at a time, to create a recession that will require all of us to grovel to our leader just for bits of bread and water. I'm glad you recognized who and what he is the same way I did. He is not worthy to even knock on my door.
When Trump and a consortium of his sleazy cronies put in a bid to build the first casino in Sydney, Australia nearly 40 years ago, the regulatory board charged with investigating bids concluded that Trump's ties to the mafia (and, there was some suggestion even at the time, to Russian interests) made him an unreliable investment, so they turned down his bid.
The first signs of the Republican Party crack up were already emerging: a few years later Newt Gingrich would become House Speaker and launch his Frank Luntz-scripted strategy of slash-and-burn politics, a game Mitch McConnell (known as "Moscow Mitch") would expand upon in the following decade in the US Senate, where Republicans would play a key role in opening the door to Russian interference.
The Australians saw Trump as a security risk in 1987: but the Republicans (and the entertainment division at NBC) did not: or at any rate they didn't see him as a risk to THEIR interests. So here we all are today.
What a time to be alive.
There's little doubt that outfits like FOX Noise, OAN, Newsmax, IHeart Radio, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Breitbart, and a number of others reinforced the gullible.
Most magats know none of this. They get info from a different universe. Anyone notice jdvanity’s long red tie during the oval office debacle?
I've never cheered for a severe recession before but I feel like that will be the only way we avoid full Orbanism in this country. Repairing the relations with our allies (if that's even possible) will take the work of a generation. I hope we're up to the challenge.
My opinion is that trump likes tariffs because he is the only one who can impose them and he can do it without the approval of Congress. It's a power play, just like his ridiculous executive orders. trump is acting like a king because he is too weak to govern like a president.
The whole circus of the Felon's administration still confounds anyone with half a brain. That the whole world 'gets it' is such a damning indictment against the lickspittle Republicans that the shame and embarrassment alone should be enough to make them want to extract themselves from the Felon's dominion, even if it means losing their seats--which will happen in any case when their constituents can no longer afford to feed or house their families. If they are afraid for their personal safety, then report this to the police. If an intruder into their homes threatened their families, they would call 911. So, what exactly is the rationale for the deal they've made? They are in a lose-lose situation. If any thinking person stood in the same position, they would at least want to come out of it by standing up for the country, do the job for which they were elected and regain some degree of lost honor. And they'd have a helluva lot of subject matter to write a 'tell-all' book...
TrumpMusk may be surprised if Canada and Mexico simply say “bring it” when he threatens tariffs again. This stupid “strategy “ of announcing steep tariffs then backing down and declaring victory could backfire seriously. Maybe if they forced him to back down by refusing to capitulate it could present a short-term economic meltdown but a long term muzzle on TrumpMusk’s bullying?
Every day, things get worse.
And we haven't even entered the bad part yet.
Lunatics do lunatic things. Pretty clear.