For my money, “The Simpsons” provided the definitive recap of the nonstop fail parade that is Twitler’s first 100 days:
As the announcer says, we’re 6.8% of the way home!
January 20, 2017 marked a modern low for the United States of America with the swearing in of a racist, sexist, xenophobic demagogue who scraped to electoral college victory with an assist from a hostile foreign power, GOP voter suppression, the ineptitude and/or malice of James Comey and the worst instincts of our fellow citizens.
Trump has since compounded the eternal shame of his election by behaving exactly as the decent people who opposed him said he would: he’s a bumbling, corrupt, narcissistic, clueless, feckless asshole who is more concerned with filling his pockets and feeding his massive ego than running the government.
But if January 20, 2017 showed how low the U.S. could sink, the next day provided clues to how it might rise again. I was in D.C. to witness it, and many of you were there too or at sister events held all over the world:
It may have been the largest single-day demonstration in the history of the United States. It almost certainly set a record for the most women rejecting a specific man in the history of humankind. That’s kinda cool.
Even more cool, resistance to Trump hasn’t been a one-off. I’ve never seen such sustained outrage about anything, ever. And it’s not just inchoate rage; the bone-deep anger people feel has translated into action, including boycotts of Trump products and follow-up marches to support science and protest Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns.
Never thought I’d see my wingnut congressman in a +20 GOP district jeered and shouted down in a packed town hall, but it happened. Never thought our sleepy local Democratic committee meetings would be flooded with new members who not only showed up at the first post-election meeting but continue to show up and mobilize for local protests and receive training to run as candidates and turn out voters.
Trump’s presidency and the GOP agenda have been stymied, not only due to their own epic ineptitude, not only because this administration is mired in scandal and infighting but also because Republicans are fearful. I look forward to making them fear us for the next 100 days, and the next 100 after that.
What have you seen that gives you hope?
Eural Joiner
Great summary and expression of my exact feelings. Thank you! :)
comrade scotts agenda of rage
My favorite bit on the Simpsons is early when they show what I presume to be official portraits in the stairwell. Melania’s is a take off from her nude shoot.
The fact we had 20K marchers in STL for the Women’s March still astounds me. The fact that our Dem Senator, good ole Feckless Claire, has held town halls in 8 stalwart Popular Vote Loser counties and been warmly greeted at each of them has been impressive.
ArchTeryx
They won’t quit until I and everyone like me are dead. This evergreen talk about repealing Medicaid – never mind just the ACA, Granny Starver wants Medicaid as a trophy on his wall too – has my mate and I in serious talks about marrying early, just so I have her health insurance as a backup to keep myself alive if, one of these times, they actually succeed in getting ACA repeal through Congress.
Because if it passes the House, it’s going to land on Trump’s desk – guaranteed. McConnell is far better then Ryan about shepherding vile stuff through the Senate. He knows all the parliamentary tricks, and so-called “moderate” Republican Senators vote with the party Every. Single. Time.
That’s why I want this stopped in the House so badly. AFAIAC, if it passes the House it’s a done deal.
ArchTeryx
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: And yet Trump won a large majority of white women. This despite being an admitted sexual assaulter. I had no idea just how powerful a drug whiteness could be until that result came in. To me, it will always overshadow ANY size of protest march afterward; where were these women when it came time to vote against the p***y-grabber?
Tokyokie
Something that I heard Frank Mankiwiecz (the press secretary for George McGovern during the 1972 campaign) say when he spoke at my college in fall of 1973 has stuck with me for nearly 45 years. When asked whether Nixon would be forced from office, Mankiwiecz said yes, because things are getting worse for him day-by-day, and they’re not going to improve.
I think the same applies to Humpty Trumpty.
randy khan
The most encouraging sign for me is the number of people who haven’t been politically engaged before who are engaged now. I have a ton of Facebook friends who very clearly are doing things now who weren’t before – the number of posts from the Women’s March and other events (up to and including the Science March) on my feed is astounding. People are calling their representatives and Senators and sharing my posts on specific actions to take, and making contributions to candidates. And one friend is working on laying the groundwork to run for office at the local level, which is exactly what we need people to do.
Major Major Major Major
My enduring hope is that Trump, who has turned out to be a master of stepping on not just his own but every erstwhile ally’s dick as well, continues to do just that, but in a way that doesn’t lead to a nuclear exchange.
Major Major Major Major
@ArchTeryx:
I don’t understand–I’m sure 99% of the women marching didn’t vote for Trump.
Betty Cracker
@ArchTeryx: I’m disgusted and ashamed that Trump won white women by 10 points, but if you think that overshadows the marches, all I can say is, you don’t get the marches.
randy khan
@ArchTeryx:
He had 53% of white women – 10% less than his vote among white men. It’s not a great number, but it’s not a huge majority. Still, I’m with you in wonderment that any substantial number of women would even consider voting for him.
schrodingers_cat
Not celebrating yet but I am determined to keep fighting.
What gives me hope is the almost united opposition by Democratic elected officials in DC.
hovercraft
@ArchTeryx:
Pshaw, that was just “locker room” talk, everyone knows that. Why must yo dwell on that, far more important was his promise to protect them from scary, rapey, murderey, black and brown people, and of course to MAGA.
O. Felix Culpa
@randy khan:
Yes indeed. A whole bunch of people, including myself, are now calling and visiting our legislators regularly, stepping up to local party leadership, and running for office. It’s a new world ushered in by 45’s narcissistic, depraved ineptitude. I’d still rather have HRC as president, but this is a better than expected outcome.
ETA: Assuming we avoid nuclear – or even New! Improved! Expanded! conventional – war, as others have pointed out.
amk
@ArchTeryx: Rethugs always overreach and fail. Hope that trend continues. Dems (both the party and the voters) need to make it a priority to make the house races as close as possible in 2018 and even try to win it back. The senate will follow.
Lit3Bolt
@ArchTeryx:
This shocked me more than anything else. HRC’s campaign gambled on white women being decent and/or having standards. Whoopsie!
But my Conservative in-laws believe Trump is a deity. They think he’s personally intervened in all these photo-op situations and turned things around. They’re immune to self-reflection or criticism. It’s scary/astonishing/FUBAR.
schrodingers_cat
T’s election proved beyond any doubt that $ are revered over everything else. He was perceived to be wealthy and that’s why he got away with a lot more than an ordinary politician, would have been able to get away with.
schrodingers_cat
@Lit3Bolt: They worshiped his perceived wealth, the Apprentice persona.
SiubhanDuinne
I would also mention the special election voter turnout and near-wins for Dems in previously deep-red districts in Kansas and Georgia, and the record number of phone calls/emails/faxes to House and Senate offices on a range of legislative issues and appointments.
O. Felix Culpa
@schrodingers_cat:
That, and his “telling it like it is.” IOW, his spewing fountain of hate.
ArchTeryx
@Betty Cracker: I do get the marches and think they were very important. I also think that none of the marchers were Trump supporters. But I’ll wager too many of them were nonvoters, who thought Hillary had it in the bag.
I just have seen it way, way too often: Don’t show up to the polls. Let the enemy win. THEN show up to protest and march, after the horses all ran out of the barn.
A Ghost To Most
I am most encouraged by the judges who have blocked Trump’s dictatorial ways, and by the blinding incompetence of his kkkrew. I am less worried now that I see how bad they are at installing their American brand of fascism.
Lit3Bolt
@Major Major Major Major:
I also hope Trump’s ascendance wakes up the rest of the First World.
You always depended on the US to be the Daddy. Well, now Daddy’s a malignant, demented narcissist. I hope our Anglo, European, ME, and Asian allies step up their game in our absence.
I always knew the US would decline, but not so soon in my lifetime.
Villago Delenda Est
Donald Trump…exploring new abyssal depths of incompetence.
hovercraft
What is with you smug liberals? The first 100 Days have been stellar!!
Trump’s Finest Moment (So Far) Kimberly Strassel, Wall Street Journal
Media & Elites Still Don’t Get Trump – But the People Do David Bossie, USA Today
Here’s an entry from Pulitzer winning columnist Dame Peggy herself.
Trump Has Been Lucky in His Enemies Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal
I did not read any of these fluff pieces, I’m just going by the headlines, click at your own risk.
I enjoyed this one instead:
Trump Tax Plan: Plant Beans, Wait for Beanstalk Eugene Robinson, Washington Post
Nicole
@ArchTeryx: He didn’t win a “large majority” of white women; he won 53%. In addition, a majority of white women vote Republican in every recent election. This is not a new development.
Clinton won a majority of college educated white women, which Obama was not able to do in ’12.
I think the mantra of “white women did this,” which I have encountered on many sites, is our cultural misogyny at work, much as the “here’s what Hillary Clinton did wrong” think pieces are also cultural misogyny at work. And I’m not saying you are a misogynist; I don’t think that you are. But we are products of our culture and we internalize a lot of things from an early age, and it is ridiculously easy for any of us to look to how to make something bad a woman’s fault, because that’s what our culture has presented us for our entire lives.
Because, if only women had voted, Clinton would have won. Clearly, the issue is that men are allowed to vote. White men voted 63% for Trump and 31% for Clinton, while white women voted 53% for Trump and 37% for Clinton. But we shrug off white men’s vote with, “Well, what did you expect?” Which is along the same line of thought as “Boys will be boys.”
Clinton lost because we live in a deeply racist and misogynist society, and to call out white WOMEN for being responsible is continuing to play the game that allowed Trump to win. We cannot continue to pretend that patriarchy is beneficial to men and so we should expect it (13% of black men voters preferred a white supremacist to a woman). We have to stop letting white men off the hook because they’re doing what we expect them to do. We have to demand better from them.
I’m a feminist and yet I still deal with my internalized misogynistic biases every day of my life. But I don’t let myself off the hook for it, and I don’t think we can permit men, or the media off the hook for it either. And that means taking a look at things like “A majority of white women voted for Trump” (which is true) but going past it to what the media is really trying to do, which is shift blame off of white men (and off themselves, too). They’re really good at it; they’ve had lots of practice.
Villago Delenda Est
@hovercraft: My nym. Again and again.
Wipe them out. All of them.
schrodingers_cat
BTW Warren has a concerned about Obama’s speaking fees.
Lit3Bolt
@O. Felix Culpa:
“He said ni-CLANG! That’s enough to get MY vote.”
My in-laws. A slight parody, but also so, so scary.
What was George Wallace’s quote again?
O. Felix Culpa
@Nicole: I doff my pussyhat to you!
hovercraft
@randy khan:
Exactly, this level of incompetence and constant lying has even casual observers tuning in to see what nonsense he’s spouted each day. Glimmers of hope, between more people paying attention and the fact that even though they keep coming back to trying to take away people health care they keep getting inundated with calls and at the town halls people aren’t buying their bullshit.
bemused
@randy khan:
I’d like to ask those women if they’d allow their daughters/granddaughters even as young as 10 to be alone with Grabber. Of course they’d say it’s all lies, the grabber isn’t a predator. They wouldn’t believe the audio of Grabber telling a camera crew he could be dating that 10 year old in a few years he saw going up an escalator. It’s all fake news because liberals haters gonna hate.
Lit3Bolt
@Nicole:
This is a great response, and very thought provoking. Thank you!
This election has done weird things to me. I feel more liberal and Democratic than ever, yet I empathize and listen to intelligent conservatives who oppose Trump.
I’m also anti-Russia for the rest of my life now. Fuck those guys a thousand ways into the Sun. We were hacked and attacked, yet nobody seems to care. It’s maddening.
TS
@Betty Cracker: The blame for Trump should go where it belongs – white men. Every bad thing that ever happens seems to get blamed on women and minorities – funny how that works – again and again.
Because they were so scared a competent woman might show them up by knowing how to run the country – they voted for the worst candidate ever – they get 100% of the blame from me.
Mnemosyne
@Nicole:
Yep. I mean, I understand why other women are pissed off at my fellow white women for being racist and misogynist. I’m pretty pissed about that, too.
But there’s a lot of thrashing around to identify which minority group is “really” to blame for Trump’s election while everyone ignores the group that voted for him in the largest numbers.
TS
@Nicole: Thanks Nicole – you said what I was thinking – so much better than I said it.
khead
@hovercraft:
I clicked through to read Bossie at USA Today and get a laugh. He did not disappoint.
Starfish
Don’t forget. The Peoples Climate March is this weekend.
feebog
I attended my Congressman’s Town Hall last Saturday. The last one I attended drew about 300. This on drew 1300. The last one had a majority of Teabagger types screaming about death panels and socialized medicine. This one was overwhelmingly supportive of my Democratic Congressman. So yeah, I have hope that the tide is turning and that Cheeto Benito will be driven from office once his complicity with Russia is fully revealed. Of course then we may be dealing with Pence or Ryan, but one step at a time.
hovercraft
@schrodingers_cat:
They just won’t stop with this shit. I just saw this over at Realclearpolitics:
Et tu, Barack? Obama Just Another Money-Grubbing Politician Anne Summers, Sydney Morning Herald
FFS, he is a man and a politician, his enemies were the ones who said we thought he was the messiah come to save us all. Most of us who voted for him saw him for what he was, a young, charismatic, gifted politician with whom we agreed on policy more than not. We weren’t disappointed in him because he couldn’t single handedly solve all our problems, we were grateful to him for the progress that he made. If this woman is looking for Obama to save us from Twitler, she’s even more deluded than his fans.
ArchTeryx
@Nicole: That’s an awesome response and lots of food for thought for me. I just feel incredibly frustrated that nobody seems as motivated to vote to stop the onrushing disaster as they do to protest, but perhaps that’s just human nature.
The marchers probably are far more engaged then most folks with voting, too.
randy khan
@Mnemosyne:
It’s obvious that Trump’s basic demographic is white men, and that it’s been the basic Republican demographic for a while. As a white man, it ticks me off, but I also recognize that white men, as a group, aren’t low-hanging fruit for the Dems. My goal would be to pick off a couple percent of the white men (and some white women, too), but my real focus is on protecting turnout for the party’s best constituencies, both by making sure we pay attention to them and working to limit – or, even better, reduce – barriers to voting for them.
libarbarian
@hovercraft:
I know.
Is anyone else getting tired of winning yet? I am. It’s too much. Any more winning will be like Death by Snu Snu
Starfish
@hovercraft: And you just want to tell them, “Tell me more about the person in the White House right now putting his business interests before the interest of the country that he is presiding over.”
SatanicPanic
All of this Betty. We can do this! These f*ckers shouldn’t have messed with us, they’re going to be sorry!
hovercraft
Relax, Donald: After 100 Days, You’ve Already Done So Much
President Trump shouldn’t be so defensive about Saturday’s milestone. The list of his accomplishments is long.
By Peter Dreier
The president shouldn’t be so defensive. He has indeed accomplished a lot in the 100 days since his inauguration. Here is just a partial list of all that Trump has already achieved:
1. Revitalized Alec Baldwin’s otherwise fading career and expanded Melissa McCarthy’s visibility due to their respective impersonations of Trump and press secretary Sean Spicer on Saturday Night Live.
2. Galvanized a massive resistance movement that included what was likely the largest protest (as many as 5 million people) in American history—the January 21 women’s marches and rallies in over 600 cities.
3. Flunked basic geography—and frightened people around the world—when he mistakenly told Fox Business Network anchor Maria Bartiromo that the United States had launched Tomahawk missiles against Iraq, before she jumped in to correct Trump that we had actually attacked Syria.
4. Inspired the lowest favorability ratings of any of the last 11 presidents (going back to Dwight Eisenhower) at this point in their first terms.
That’s just 1 thru 4 of 25
ArchTeryx
@libarbarian: Heh. Always loved that bit from Futurama.
Hal
@schrodingers_cat:
I’m more than willing to take a hypocrisy bullet on this one and say I just don’t give a fuck about Obama taking a speaking fee from the evil wallstreet. If anything, I’m surprised it’s only 400 grand.
bemused
@hovercraft:
Magic bean stalk analogy is great. I think that should be the common meme from now on to describe GOP tax cuts pay for themselves bs.
hovercraft
@Starfish:
lol ;)
D58826
I would beg to differ on this. Progressive rules/regulations on labor, the environment, financial industry, immigration, etc. are all being rolled by at the agency level by Der Fuhrer’s appointees. Even if Congress fails to repeal Obamacare, Price at HHS can bleed it to death with a thousand cuts. Every one is so focused on the clown show in the WH that they miss the termites eating away at the foundation of a compassionate/civil society. And all of that before the illegal 5th vote on SCOTUS starts to vote on major cases.
Hunter Gathers
@hovercraft: Finally, something that the right and the left can agree on: niggers don’t get to make money.
amk
tex drillerson today.
North Korea should talk only to us, the other countries need to just stfu.
lollipopguild
@hovercraft: The reality of trump terrifies them so they have to pretend that his stupidity/incompetence is actually smart and “winning” moves. We had some of this with W but now they have to work overtime.
Yarrow
@Lit3Bolt:
I disagree with your assertion that nobody seems to care. 73% of Americans now support an independent investigation into Russia’s involvement in our election. That means people are paying attention and they don’t trust that Congress will be impartial enough to do the job right. It also indicates that people care about this issue.
Once the indictments have dropped and more information is public, I expect public opinion to move again. People will be shocked and horrified and Republicans who didn’t come out against Trump early on will be sorry.
O. Felix Culpa
@O. Felix Culpa: Halp! my edited witticism (in my own mind, that is) used a forbidden word. Please release.
jonas
That was epic.
SatanicPanic
@Mnemosyne: Other than the fine white people who opposed and continue to oppose him, this is squarely on white people. It’s not everyone else’s job to constantly be making suburban white dummies don’t do something stupid.
hovercraft
Look everyone he’s a real renaissance man .
Trump: ‘I’m A Nationalist And A Globalist. I’m Both.’
……………There is a reported split in Trump’s administration between nationalists (Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller) and globalists (Jared Kushner, Reince Priebus).
Asked about that split in an interview with the Wall Street Journal Thursday, Trump dismissed the idea.
“Hey, I’m a nationalist and a globalist,” he said. “I’m both. And I’m the only one who makes the decision, believe me.”
zhena gogolia
@Nicole:
Excellent comment.
gwangung
@Hal: Interesting to see the meme is that Obama is taking money from Wall Street. That’s a distortion of what’s going on (i.e., he’s getting paid by the conference, the conference solicited the Wall Street firm, who’s getting basically a photo op). There might be a systemic argument here, but the criticisms, like the Republican attacks on immigrants, attack the supply when the real problem is on the demand side.
schrodingers_cat
@hovercraft: Nationalist==Nazi?
Globalist=Greedy Republican?
Hunter Gathers
@hovercraft: He’s a floor wax and a dessert topping.
hovercraft
@Hunter Gathers:
Truth, tell it.
D58826
@Hal: Let’s rewind the tape a bi here. Nixon spent his post-presidency giving speeches and writing books. Jerry Ford played golf and sat on the Boards of a number of major corporations. St Ronulus the Unready flew to Japan to give a speech for 1 million dollars but then Alzheimer’s caught up with him. I don’t remember if Bush 41 hit the lecture circuit but he did have the family financial empire to take care of. And Bush 43 gives speeches at 100k a pop (for those who want to listen).
But crickets since these are all Goopers. It’s only a crime when it’s a D. Or as in the case of Chelsea-will she or won’t she – a Clinton. No one is running around asking Bush off-spring what their future election plans are.
Bodacious
What gives me hope??
I’m sorry – NOTHING! (I’m in a definite funk) The only thing that has changed since election day is the profanity count out of my mouth. A realization that I’m going to be one of those sweet looking grannies that curses like a sailor when I’m 90+…….and it’s all Orange Satan and his minions FAULT!!!!
Nicole
@ArchTeryx: Oh, I’m with you on the frustration; I am angry every single day of my life right now. The 3rd episode of The Handmaid’s Tale made reference to complacency- how you could die in a boiling bath if you went in when it was normal and someone slowly heated it up. I think that’s what we’ve been dealing with- no one thought this could happen, so no one got angry ahead of time, except those who desperately want white male supremacy to continue to be the status quo, and they’re always angry. The 60s are half a century old now and people forget that so much of what was achieved happened alongside, and even because of, violence.
And yeah, marches are great, but what happens if/when they turn violent? Will people continue to march? Are any of us as brave as the people who curled into balls at lunch counters while (mostly) white men beat the living daylights out of them? I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m that brave.
feebog
@D58826:
I fully expect Republicans to be critical of anything Obama does post presidency. However, Wilmer and Liz can just stuff it. Obama is a private citizen now and can give speeches to whomever he wishes for whatever amount he can get.
Ruviana
@feebog: Since it fits here but also elsewhere, Nancy LeTourneau’s interesting take on the whole Obama’s getting a wall-street fee kerfuffle.
Nicole
Also, the people opposing Obama getting paid for appearances can stuff it. I notice the only national figures they throw shit fits about are a woman and a black man. It’s totally fine for white men to make speeches for money, because boys will be boys.
Hey, Beeerrrrrrnnnnneeeeeee- where are YOUR tax returns? We’re still waiting.
schrodingers_cat
@feebog: I have always found Warren a tad annoying, she does not disappoint.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@hovercraft: We need him to stand above the chaotic fray of Trumpian politics and help us see clearly what is in jeopardy, what must be preserved, how we can save our ideals and our polity.
Good christ. I don’t think he should have agreed to the speech, but that’s some stupid bullshit daddyism. She can’t tell right from wrong without Obama holding her and talking her through it?
SatanicPanic
@ArchTeryx: What does this mean? Are you suggesting there are more protesters than people who voted for HRC? Or that people who are out protesting don’t know the importance of voting?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
wasn’t it Bossie who bought the melons for Dan Burton’s backyard CSI lab when they were trying to solve the Vince Foster case?
almost 30 years ago… that does put things in perspective
Major Major Major Major
@Nicole:
It also reminds me of the whole blaming-black-people-for-prop-8 thing. These groups are expected to pick up the slack for white men by being better than them because, as somebody else noted, boys will be boys!
dogwood
@Hal:
I’m with you Hal. And I’ve always been consistent on this. I don’t care about the book deals and speaking fees of any ex president. Warren can be concerned for me if it makes her feel better. What actually does piss me off about this is how inaccurate the reporting and discussions are. Obama will be speaking at a healthcare conference that is sponsored by Cantor Fitzgerald. Cuz, heaven forbid a bank might fork out money for a forum on healthcare. The nerve of these bloodsucking vampires.
H.E.Wolf
Like other commenters above, I see good reason for hope — due to the numbers of my own neighbors, friends, business colleagues, and relatives who are taking positive actions of various kinds. It’s amazing how much is happening at the grassroots level; and it’s having a measurable effect.
It reminds me of Rebecca Solnit’s book, A Paradise Built in Hell, documenting the tendency of most people to act as their best selves during a sudden dire emergency.
Human nature being what it is, there will always be “bad actors” within our own ranks. One effective solution is to show up and outnumber them peacefully: in the streets, on the phones and fax machines, and at the ballot box. And I think we’re working on that right now.
Major Major Major Major
@Ruviana: what she describes is certainly happening but people like Yglesias/Vox don’t usually get roped into this sort of thing.
Nicole
@Major Major Major Major: Excellent point. I remember that, after Prop 8. White men are about 31% of the population (and heterosexual cisgender white men an even smaller percentage), so it’s very important to keep the minority groups mad at each other.
schrodingers_cat
@Major Major Major Major: When the healthcare marketplace went online Vox and Ezra Klein were the biggest critics of the glitches. They have to do it to preserve their Villager both-sides-do-it cred.
Major Major Major Major
@schrodingers_cat: I don’t know, that’s at least kind of in their wheelhouse, and wasn’t that before Vox when Matt was still a typo-riddled blogger at Slate? (Ezra of course has been polishing his Villager bona fides since college.)
Goku
@hovercraft:
Oh for fucks sake. Would Anne, if given the opportunity, pass on that kind of dough, just to speak? It’s from the Sydney Morning Herald, so why does her opinion matter anyway? She should stick to complaining about her own politicians; this is an internal matter that is quite frankly a nothingburger
Sab
@Ruviana: Thanks for the link to the LeTourneau article.
J R in WV
@randy khan:
Me too. As an aging white male, I voted for Obama and Clinton (all three times, twice for Bill) worked for and donated to Hillary Clinton, and donated to Obama. You can only do what you can do. In a once blue state that has turned a shockingly bright red, my votes don’t matter much.
One of my senators and my congressman are both right wing nut jobs, and the senator is bought and paid for corrupt, just like her father, a convicted felon as governor. People say to call you congresscritters, and I understand that, but calling mine is just shouting down the well to hear the echo.
I donated a bunch to Jon in Atlanta, and will kick in some for his run-off attempt. A shame those other Democratic candidates wouldn’t drop out and work for the front runner, they should be ashamed of themselves.
So tense and frustrated!! But what can you do?
Aimai
@ArchTeryx: i hate to say this but you do get that the women who voted for trump and the women who protested trump are ACTUALLY DIFFERENT PEOPLE–? Right? HRC was (gasp) a white woman as well, or so its said.
mr_gravity
@hovercraft: It’s not Obama’s fault that Wall St. can’t manage money.
Major Major Major Major
@mr_gravity: Shush, everything is Obama’s fault.
dogwood
@schrodingers_cat:
There was plenty of outrage from democrats over Reagan’s speaking fees and it made the national news for a short time. Stories like this have a short shelf life. The fact that it’s democrats who are willing to jump on this crap is par for the course. And let’s face it, there’s a dearth of negative stories to be had re democrats right now, so this petty low hanging fruit gets picked up for a short time.
randy khan
@J R in WV:
Well, anything – donating, marching, calling Congresscritters even (actually especially) if they don’t agree with me. I find it makes me less tense to know I’m doing something.
TooTall
The only thing that gives me hope is that the complete incompetence of the current administration to draft, support, lobby, and pass legislation means that this administration will get nothing done for the remainder of his term. In fact, that is exactly what I prefer the current administration to do: nothing at all.
Big Ole Hound
@Betty Cracker: Younger (under 40) white women were no where to be seen in any of the photos I saw in any of the news shoots from election day. I think most of these stats reflect the over 50 crowd of gals as the younger ones didn’t show either because they were Bernie supporters or couldn’t be bothered. So NOW they are marching.
Jess
It seems to me that for quite some time the moderate Dems secular humanist types tried to effect change through rational debate, persuasion, compromise, and setting a good example. Which is the principled thing to do in a democratic society. Whereas the Right embraced and celebrated “might makes right.” They thought they had us liberals intimidated and running scared. But what the Right doesn’t understand is that we liberals WILL fight when other options have failed, and now so many of us have realized that it’s time to fight. And unlike the bullies on the right, we will not back down once we’ve committed to taking a stand. I don’t want us to turn into the next face of “hate thy neighbor,” but it does feel good to put aside the self-doubt and fight to win.
debbie
@schrodingers_cat:
Remind her that Reagan got $3,000,000 (in 1990s dollars) for a speech in Japan. What PBO got is pocket change for an (actual) ex-President.
debbie
For the record, MomSense’s pu$$yhats are far superior to those in the above photo.
Marcopolo
@J R in WV: As someone who hails from MO, I hear what you’re saying & understand your attitude but I do think that Caputo is swayable on ACA repeal, if nothing else. There are a hella lotta poor unhealthy W VA’s who are getting health insurance through the Medicaid expansion in your state. She has acknowledged that. So keep the pressure on her at least there.
Betty Cracker
@Big Ole Hound: Well, who could argue with a well-reasoned, science-based analysis like that? ?
SatanicPanic
@Aimai: And I’m pretty sure most of the women who protested voted for HRC. Like i really don’t think they were like “Nah, voting is dumb” in November and “HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?” in January.
oldster
Thank you, Betty!
A great chance to pause and recommit ourselves to the cause. We can’t get too gleeful yet, because the shitgibbon is still in power, the Russians have still not received any pushback from their successful experiment in meddling in US politics, and the powers that be have still not admitted that the result is totally illegitimate.
Not only that, we have to save Obamacare, Social Security, abortion rights, civil rights, and everything else. While the entire Republican apparatus gets ready to loot the Treasury for a cool 5.5 trillion dollars.
So not it is not the day for us to rest on our laurels. “…It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us….”
I don’t quote from a speech given in 1863 just for the hell of it. We are in the midst of the greatest domestic crisis our nation has known since the last time that the racist traitors tried to destroy America for their own ill-gotten gains. We defeated them that time, and we’ll defeat them again.
dogwood
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
“Good ole Feckless Claire”
A female Democrat who can win a statewide election in Mo. twice is “feckless”?
rikyrah
What gives me hope?
1. folks with receipts
2. folks willing to pull the receipts
3. folks being ‘ phuck that shyt’ with understanding Dolt45 voters
4. holding Dolt45 voters accountable for their choice in November
artem1s
No, not the United States of America. The GOP. I am overjoyed at the resistance because it means people do recognize that this is not normal and it will be horrible for our country. We decided to wait out W, Rumsfeld and Cheney, but not this time. And remember, the majority of the US went thru a primary and DIDN’T pick an inept shit weasel to represent them. And the majority DIDN’T vote for him in November.
This failing belongs to the GOP and until the MSM and pundits start talking about the hacking, kompromat, and shenanigans that went on during the GOP primaries, we won’t know how low the GOP has decided to go. Over and over again, GOP leaders went on record and said they couldn’t support this horror show. They stated flat out that they knew he was incompetent, unprepared and dangerous. And over and over again, they flipped 180 degrees. Some took months, some took hours. In light of what we know now about Nunes and Chaffetz and Pence running interference on the investigations, why isn’t anyone talking about how they ever ended up in Twittler’s camp to begin with? This wasn’t the usual deal making and promises of positions if he won. This was people who have no problem with confrontation, suddenly knuckling under, abandoning their campaigns, and hiding. People who were visibly afraid to speak negatively about Twittler.
This mess is the fault of the GOP and it goes back long before the convention in Cleveland.
mudslide567
Met with the staff of our congressman, the despicable Doug Lamborn, who recently made himself famous when he made CNN news video ducking out of the back door of his office while we were lined up at the front door to “discuss” his position on the AHCA. This is an R+20 district.
We had a person with us who brought along her teenage son with a severe lifelong medical condition to make it very personal what allowing people with pre-existing conditions to be discriminated against would mean.
The encouraging thing was that despite all previous meetings (we go weekly) getting a hostile reception, the tone of this week’s meeting could not have been more different… and the final conclusion is that Lamborn is now strongly leaning NO on AHCA 2.0 .. and the staff volunteered likely leaning NO on any 3.0.
Vive la Resistance!
Trentrunner
Are we pretending it doesn’t matter WHO IS PAYING for Obama’s speech?
Would it matter if Obama was paid to speak by the NRA?
Would it matter if Obama was paid to speak by Focus on the Family?
OF COURSE Obama should make tens of millions of dollars from writing and speaking and, hell, male modeling or whatever he wants. He’s a great speechmaker, a reflective thinker, has led an extraordinary life, and presumably has much to say that many would pay to hear.
By why the fuck should he take money–and a relative pittance of $400K–from Wall Street to give a speech?
And if you’re OK with that, then slot those orgs above in your hypotheticals and see how you feel about it then.
hedgehog mobile
@mudslide567: Well done!
amk
@mudslide567: Excellent work. Getting involved usually ends in a win.
amk
@Trentrunner: Nice strawmen you got going there.
Betty Cracker
@Trentrunner: I’m going to be in the minority here by saying I can understand why some folks are troubled by the speech payday. No, Obama doesn’t owe us anything. Yes, he’s a private citizen who is entitled to earn money in the private sector. Yes, it’s maddening that no one turns a hair when white dudes cash in but go ballistic when a woman or black man does. That said, it does feed into a (true!) perception that politicians are too close to the plutocracy that is strangling our democracy.
However, the speech everyone is so worked up about is at a healthcare conference organized by Cantor Fitzgerald, which seems a relevant detail. There’s every reason to believe PBO is going there to share some wisdom about the importance of ensuring healthcare for all, not just to blow smoke up Wall Street’s ass. For that reason, I think the freak-out is premature.
dogwood
@Trentrunner:
It’s a fucking speech at a healthcare conference. If some Wall Steet firm wants to sponsor an event that has a worthy purpose, then I’m fine with that. Why aren’t you?
Mnemosyne
@J R in WV:
Call anyway. It will annoy them to hear from you, and that makes it worth it. ?
Brachiator
I’m cautious, but not necessarily optimistic. It is, unfortunately, still early. We will see what happens if this administration finds its evil groove.
However, I have greatly enjoyed reading the comments here, especially some of those by commenter Nicole.
Mnemosyne
@Trentrunner:
Since you’re pretending that he’s giving a Wall Street speech when he’s actually giving a healthcare speech at a healthcare conference, I feel safe in saying, yes, it doesn’t matter. You’ve latched onto the scary WALL STREET SPEECH meme without getting all of the details.
The conference sponsors solicited donations to pay Obama’s fee. Was he supposed to cancel because an investment firm picked up the tab?
dogwood
@Betty Cracker:
I see that you were much kinder than I. But I’m bone tired of this nonsense. “Wall Street” has become a shibboleth. They see “Cantor Fitzgerald” and immediately go into gear.
dogwood
@Mnemosyne:
Democrats spreading the word that Obama is speaking to Wall Street, and that includes Elizabeth Warren, are engaging in a mini misinformation campaign that suits them personally. But that’s their story so they’ll stick with it.
schrodingers_cat
@dogwood: Hedgefunders and White Nationalists and religious fundamentalists are running the Federal government and these true leftists are worried about Obama’s speaking fees?
geg6
@randy khan:
This. I am seeing the same thing among many of my previously apathetic FB friends.
Mnemosyne
@dogwood:
Was it you I ended up yelling at the other day over the Chelsea Clinton thing? If so, I apologize. I’m just really tired of Democrats being unwilling to defend our side and that’s what I thought you were doing.
And if it wasn’t you, then I apologize to whoever it was I was yelling at.
Brachiator
@Trentrunner:
Nope.
Nope.
How is it any of your fucking business?
Non issue, but nice try. Then again, I did not care that Hillary Clinton gave speeches to Wall Street.
Shouldn’t you be more concerned with the con man and his grifting family currently residing in the White House? Shouldn’t you be more concerned with the right wing plutocrats who are actively subverting democracy?
hovercraft
@Mnemosyne: @dogwood:
Fox News Weaponized the Story About Obama’s Paid Speech
by Nancy LeTourneau
When it comes to the story about Obama accepting speaking fees, it is important to note that the story was launched by Fox Business News. All of the sudden what previous presidents – both Democrat and Republican – had been doing for years was scandalized because we’re now talking about Obama. Our current so-called “populist” president once even bragged at a rally that he used to be paid a lot of money for speeches (as much as $1.5 million for a single speech).
Of course the folks at Fox knew this would trigger a dust-up on the left because of the fact that Hillary Clinton’s speaking fees had become such an issue in the 2016 primary. And of course, an awful lot of liberals took the bait.
dogwood
@Mnemosyne:
It wasn’t a problem. I yelled at you as well. You kinda misread my comment, but I was typing fast and didn’t express myself all that clearly in the first place. No apology required.
Brachiator
@dogwood:
Didn’t Cantor Fitzgerald lose a number of employees during the 9/11 tragedy? Here it is.
Mnemosyne
@hovercraft:
Yup. The left got played by right-wing propaganda like they always do and then they get pissed at us for pointing out they fell for right-wing propaganda like they always do.
Which is why I ended up yelling at dogwood yesterday. I’m so so so tired of our side falling for the right wing’s bullshit.
Nicole
@Brachiator: Awww…. that makes my day. Thanks.
marv
I live in deep rural red (midwestern) country and the one thing I think people don’t get about the white evangelical women’s vote is it is about one issue only: abortion. It is murder, in their eyes, pure and simple, and therefore the single overriding issue. They feel as strongly about it as any abolitionist ever felt about slavery. So whatever else happens with Trump, the Supreme Court pick overrides it. (With white men, IMHO, it’s not the economy but race, pure and simple, reaction against the fact of Obama, that got Trump elected.)
celticdragonchick
@Mnemosyne:
+1000000000
dogwood
@Brachiator:
Exactly. I’m sure when Obama speaks at this conference he will thank CF for sponsoring the event and make a very eloquent and heartfelt statement about the people they lost on that day.
Chyron HR
@Brachiator:
Well, that just proves that he’s even more evil than the average Wall Street
Jewmoney-having bad person.debbie
@Brachiator:
That Cantor Fitzgerald number is 658.
Hal
@Trentrunner:
Those are terrible, massively hyperbolic examples. Not to mention groups that would never in a million years ask Obama to speak.
dogwood
@Chyron HR:
Yep. Since we all know 9-11 was an inside job orchestrated by the Bush administration, it certainly makes sense that W gave the banksters a heads up in case they wanted to do some quick downsizing.
chopper
@hovercraft:
it makes you want to shake the author by the lapels yelling HE’S NOT A FUCKING POLITICIAN HE’S FUCKING RETIRED
evodevo
@marv: Same here in rural Ky … even the Dems are anti-abortion fundies, so not much you can say to them to persuade them to vote for a pro-choicer.
Noosk
Social Security has gotten its first Trump appointee. Not a commissioner, who would require congressional approval, but a ‘head of communications’. Robert Patterson. He’s hard to google because of more famous people with similar names, but he does have a Breitbart publication history. Not putting my real email on because I’m Hatch Act paranoid.
marv
@evodevo: yeah, why can’t this simple fact just be discussed a little more openly?
Tehanu
@marv:
In a way I almost wish this was true, but the fact is, it’s only murder until they or their daughters need one. Then they sneak into the clinic and have it, and then they go back outside and pick up the picket signs again. If they get their wish and the Supremes make it illegal again, there’ll be a resurgence of sudden “vacations” so they can fly to a civilized country and get one safely without their nosy neighbors finding out.