The democrats getting back to their state's rights secessionist ways. Please do tell what they’re going to do with the ports?
Whatever they feel like. Prioritize PPE for themselves, limit traffic they deem non-essential, seize goods they decide they need. Not saying this will happen or that it'll happen right away, but they're definitely acting as though we don't have a federal government right now.
Looks like we might get the best of both worlds ladies and gents. Biden and Bernie, and their campaign staff, are going to be working together to form policy/administration agenda.
Yeah him saying he has absolute authority over the states was really fucking awful. That kind of attitude is literally why colonists crossed the Atlantic in wooden ships -- they wanted away from it. 4.13.20 RIP Trump 2020, version Make America a Civilian Dictatorship
It won't make a huge splash, but I the part that got me was when, after the video played, a reporter not so subtly asked "So uh... you want to admit to some campaign finance violations by telling us that that video was produced by the White House and not by your campaign?" and he just admitted it without even realizing what he was admitting.
Surprised media members weren't standing up for their colleagues. When someone gets cut off and he calls on another person, that other person saying they'd like an answer to the previous question first, that kinda thing. His behavior toward the media is absolutely horrendous and embarrassing. I'm glad my boys aren't old enough to see the president as an idol otherwise I wouldn't let them in the room when I'm watching his briefings. They're that bad now. **edit: for anyone who missed the insanity:
A shit load vote for Bernie because Lenin and Marx are dead and are open about this. They also use words like "Comrade", "The Cause", "The Establishment", without a hint of irony. As you might imagine, they're greatly disappointed but not surprised by Bernie for working towards "The Cause" within the confines of the rules set by "The Establishment" and hope the next leader has more fight in him.
He can, and is going to do whatever the fuck he wants. Barr is the only person who can in fact stop him, something that Barr is not even going to think about doing. So I guess he’s right. He gets to do and say whatever he wants, he can piss on the Constitution and make them love him for it, because NOBODY is going to stop him or get in his way. People will complain, sure, but that all that ever happens.
We all kind of wondered how bad this election cycle was going to get. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would sink to this level. I talked to a political consultant the other day, and she said: the longer this goes on and the more people it directly fucks over: ie, friends, relatives, coworkers getting sick, and they hear the nightmares coming out of these hospital rooms, the worse it is for his reelection. The more vivid and real this virus gets, the more the stories start to circulate around the economic impacts and the increasing unlikelihood of us returning to normal, the worse this gets for him. A crisis never benefits the incumbent. The problem is the worse it gets for him, the worse he will get. He has already clearly demonstrated he doesn't get better under pressure, he gets worse. How much worse we will see, but this is the most unhinged American President any of us will see, not that we want to. I dunno about you guys, but I didn't elect a Goddamned soul with "total authority". I didn't vote for an emperor. Same consultant said that one of the reasons the exit polls were so wrong in 2016 is that people were embarrassed to support Trump. They wouldn't admit to voting for him, so the exit polls were way off. I can't imagine as time marches on that being a Trump supporter will get any easier to defend. These people were manipulated, lied to and they bought it. At some level, we have to stop blanket-labelling them as stupid....but at some level, they have to let go of the lies.
I checked in on the MAGA members of my family after that and the feeling was outrage. Every one of them had some version of “I voted for trump not the fucking total authority.” And also “only person who has total authority over my is the lord.” So yeah. I think that moment just cost him whatever remaining hope he had at the election.
You’d be surprised how much they have forgiven him for so far. What, are they gonna vote for a democrat or something? This particular insane rambling is what did it in for them? I think that statement by him was actually the most honest thing he’s ever said. A true insight into how he feels the office of the presidency ought to be. But as usual, the rules only apply as they are helpful to those in power. If Obama has said he has total authority, he’d be swinging from a tree.
Maybe if there were a Republican challenger for the primary? But, all he has to do is beat Joe Biden. Trump is such an egomaniac, he thinks he does have total authority. Not because of any constitutional right. But, I'm sure because of the national emergency declaration, he thinks he does. Plus, his been talking to a lot of the Governors on a regular basis. In order for a State to make an economic recovery out of this, they are going to rely on the Federal government's pocketbook - stimulus, educational funding, infrastructure, state healthcare systems. So, if a Governor is doing something different than whatever it is Trump wants, he'll just threaten them with holding back those Federal dollars. People should be afraid of any of these "total authority" claims. Not just because Trump is a wacko, but because the States do indeed desperately rely on Federal dollars to keep up their programs. If Trump does try to use some of his "authority" powers, maybe this will shed some light on that.
"I'd rather trump have total authority than a fucking socialist." Yeah I could see that. But I can also see a population already on edge, and pissed off about trump taking away their civil liberties and churches, getting mad as hell about this. Woulda been nice to see someone primary him.
Just a hunch, but the states that haven't already can always legalize gambling and marijuana for those sweet, sweet tax dollars. Especially for the ones like Texas and Florida where it's already close to going blue, just legalize everything with no qualifications, up the vice tax and roll in money.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/us/coronavirus-updates-usa.html "Mr. Trump’s approach, after weeks of presenting himself as merely a supporting player while he sought to shift blame to the governors for any failures in handling the virus, was just the latest of many conflicting messages sent by the president during the course of the pandemic. At various points, he has played down the seriousness of the virus, then called it the most serious situation the nation has ever confronted. He has defended China for its handling of the original outbreak, and assailed China for its handling of the original outbreak. He has called for strict social distancing, then called for reopening the country by Easter, then called off the plan to reopen." Can we stop for a moment and acknowledge that the President of the United States being so unreliable that individual governors are having to form alliances like a shitty season of Survivor is insane? I kind of doubt that's the conversation. I have to imagine Trump supporters that are watching this play out will simply stay home on Election Day. https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/12/politics/virginia-election-day-holiday-early-voting/index.html He's lost any shot of Virginia now and a lot of those red counties won't stay that way. He continues to antagonize governors, I have to imagine that sort of thing will continue, putting not just his re-election in jeopardy, but the larger Republican party's chances. Sure, places like South Carolina won't turn purple, but exactly what has he done that merits a second term to these people?
Not to mention what happened in Wisconsin has to have not just Trump, but the rest of the vulnerable Republicans in various states worried as their test balloon for massive targeted suppression still wasn't enough to stop massive voter turnout in a special election; not even a general election.
People have been calling his political demise since the moment he announced his campaign. So far he’s used the 24 hour news cycle to shrug off just about anything you can imagine. Remember how he was impeached not more than a couple of months ago? Looong time until the election. Not trying to defend the man’s actions in the slightest and the externalities going on in the world are unprecedented but writing him off now as unelectable seems like a fools errand at this point.