Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

“But what about the lurkers?”

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Second rate reporter says what?

Peak wingnut was a lie.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

The willow is too close to the house.

You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Dolt 45 / In These Dark Times

In These Dark Times

by | 165 Comments

This post is in: 

What a shit day. Fortunately, we still have the Onion:

Avoid unkind generalizations like equating the jailing of ethnic minorities with some malevolent form of fascism.

Consider that we all have different perspectives stemming from things like age, ethnicity, or level of racism.

Recall that violently rejecting a tyrannical government goes against everything our forefathers believed in.

Find common ground by recognizing that some kids are huge assholes.

I used to hate protests because I hate crowds and I am always worried about crowds turning into mobs. That’s changed. It’s what we need.

Fuck civility.

Reader Interactions

165Comments

  1. 1.

    EBT

    The right removed themselves from polite society long ago. Enforcing their own choice isn’t uncivil.

  3. 3.

    JPL

    As a member of a red state, I can tell you that What about the girls, What about the toddlers is a winning message, the rest not so much. Cole lives in WV and that will never flip, but GA has a good chance of electing a black woman and proud democrat as Governor. If you want protests, just remember that when we have a wacko governor. The message you and Anne get rid of Ice riles up the republican base.

    The democratic base is riled up, but it’s not that big.

  4. 4.

    debbie

    Find common ground by recognizing that some kids most politicians are huge assholes.

    Fixed.

  6. 6.

    Mike in DC

    I understand that if we march in white shirts and khakis, with tiki torches, we will be described as very fine people.

  7. 7.

    The Ancient Randonneur

    Fuck Trump.
    Fuck Civility.

    Where are the girls?

    Where are the toddlers?

    Where are the infants?

    Abolish ICE.

    Fuck Trump.

  8. 8.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @JPL:

    The message you and Anne get rid of Ice riles up the republican base.

    The democratic base is riled up, but it’s not that

    What if we also want to replace ICE with an agency that does what it’s supposed to do instead of rounding up children and putting them in camps?

  11. 11.

    Roger Moore

    @EBT:

    The right removed themselves from polite society long ago.

    Wasn’t it right wing icon Margaret Thatcher who said “There is no such thing as society”? How can anyone have removed themselves from something that doesn’t exist?

  14. 14.

    dmsilev

    I don’t think it’s unreasonable to not care about being polite to people who proudly wore “Fuck your feelings!” shirts during the last campaign. Depending on one’s personal preferences, “As you sow, so shall you reap”, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you, “what goes around comes around”, “don’t dish it out if you can’t take it”, “stop whining, you pathetic mewler.”.

  15. 15.

    EBT

    @JPL: The red state asshole base is already really goddamned riled up. Fuck ICE, send every last one to The Hague with complementary rope.

  16. 16.

    The Ancient Randonneur

    @JPL:

    The existence of black and brown people who don’t show the requisite amount of subservience riles them up. Fuck them and there feelings.

  17. 17.

    Major Major Major Major

    I don’t have an opinion on whether a push to “abolish ICE” would rile up whose base or whatever, since that’s just something we can augur from polling data if we have to. But I do think it’s important to have a response to “and replace it with what?” As @EBT and @Mike in DC did. There are other possible responses too! But the challenge to the slogan is obvious and we should be prepared.

  18. 18.

    cmorenc

    The best argument against public shaming confrontations of Trump Admin officials isn’t about civility at all – but rather about inadvertently distracting from media and public focus on what has proved a lethally fatal, unanswerable issue of the Trump Admin’s unacceptable cruelty, especially to children. Yes, they amply *deserve* colossal, irredeemable shaming over this of the sort usually reserved for child sexual molesters – but they have no shame and have repeatedly proved adept at turning attempts to shame them over behavior into a weapon of mass distraction from the core substantive damage they are doing with their actions.

    Notice that the intense 24/7 media glare on the families and kids last week has become a bit more diluted this week, in part because of the shaming issue.

  19. 19.

    TenguPhule

    “Somebody touches our land, we now take them to a court, to a judge,” he complained Tuesday, a moment after hailing his Supreme Court win. “Other countries, it’s called ‘I’m sorry, you can’t come in, you have to leave.’ This one, we have judges. They step on our land, we have judges, it’s insane. So we’re going to have to change our whole immigration policy.”

    Asked specifically whether the Supreme Court ruling emboldened him to deport people without due process, Trump replied: “We have to find a system where you don’t need thousands of judges sitting at a border. Other countries look at us and they think we’re crazy.”

    The showers and ovens are visible on the horizon.

    This is not hyperbole.

    Via Wapo

  20. 20.

    JPL

    @The Ancient Randonneur: They showed up for Ossoff, asshole. They’ll show up again along with the whites that care about issues that matter. The Atlanta mayor is great, but GA has a lot of republicans that only show up for issues like what you are pushing.
    Maybe run on Medicare being stripped from them. Maybe run on where are the girls, where are the toddlers. Getting rid of ICE doesn’t resonate with them.

  22. 22.

    Nicole

    I still can’t believe some dumb sh*t on CNN claimed protesters in the 1960s were more civil. Every time I think we’ve reached peak stupidity…

  23. 23.

    JPL

    The democrats need to run on issues.
    Health Care
    Medicare
    Social Security
    Tax cuts for the wealthy
    How did Lamb win?

  24. 24.

    MisterForkbeard

    @TenguPhule:

    Other countries look at us and they think we’re crazy.”

    This is true, but not for the reason Trump thinks it is. Is someone next to him saying “No, sir! They’re saying…. Boo-urns! Burns!”

  27. 27.

    Matt McIrvin

    I think we’re gonna lose no matter what, the deck is just too stacked and anything we do will be declared exactly the wrong thing that was our downfall, so we might as well just say what’s right and fuck the optics. When they shoot us all we die satisfied.

  29. 29.

    M4

    @EBT: I mean, it used to be part of another department, executing the same general responsibilities. I was just saying that it’s important to have an answer.

  30. 30.

    JPL

    John, The site is really f.ked for me, since I can only get new posts from your twitter feed.

  31. 31.

    EBT

    @M4: Then review each power and delegate them back to the original regulatory agencies? In practice most of what ICE actually does is racism though.

  34. 34.

    Jeffro

    @JPL:

    The democrats need to run on issues.
    Health Care
    Medicare
    Social Security
    Tax cuts for the wealthy

    I’m sure you meant, “the wealthy go back to paying their fair share” there.

    Nevertheless…we’re Democrats, not Republicans: we can walk AND chew gum. Say it with me:

    – Protect Social Security
    – End job-killing tariffs
    – Medicare for all
    – No caging toddlers
    – College and career training for all
    – Respected in the world again
    – Women’s rights are human rights
    – Reign in ICE
    – End corporate welfare
    – Restore the rule of law

    See? It only takes a couple extra seconds ;)

  37. 37.

    Nicole

    @JPL: But let’s be honest, Nixon was about whites freaking out about the Civil Rights Act, which only got passed after an awful lot of incivility. We’re already living through Nixon Part 2, Moronic Bugaboo.

  38. 38.

    Quaker in a Basement

    Recall that violently rejecting a tyrannical government goes against everything our forefathers believed in.

    Perfect.

  41. 41.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @JPL:
    I agree. Matt is being a real debbie downer tonight. I just think we can point to ICE’s abuses and run on issues that you pointed out at the same time.

  44. 44.

    Mary G

    Reposting from the last thread, because it’s still my mood:

    We gave them civility and they stole a Supreme Court seat.
    We gave them civility and they passed a racist travel ban.
    We gave them civility and they appointed a corrupt administration.
    We gave them civility and they politicized the DOJ.

    MAYBE CIVILITY DOESN’T FUCKING WORK?!
    — Treason Memes (@treasonstickers) June 26, 2018

  46. 46.

    EBT

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: We still have Border Patrol running around being inhuman fiends. Like I said last night:

    Anyone who says “this is not who we are” is lying to themselves. This is precisely what america is. A grinding behemoth that chews up minorities and poor people and demolishes their lives. This happened under Obama, under every President, in just this way or (often) worse. The American ruling class has always remained the same, dedicated to a political project that necessitates imprisonment, wage slavery, etc. If you’re sicked by ICE wait until you find out what the rest of the government does.

  47. 47.

    EBT

    @JPL: Born and lived in NC to adulthood then bounced around between TX, VA, AR and NC before landing here in CA (where I am about to move in a couple weeks out of)

  49. 49.

    Mary G

    No surprise here. I am marching on Saturday in Irving.

    Important: This morning the Health and Human Services Secretary stated that children would NOT be reunited with parents who are in detention. The administration is holding children hostage to push parents to drop their asylum claims.— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) June 26, 2018

  50. 50.

    The Ancient Randonneur

    @JPL:
    Yes, I am a very proud asshole. I’ll wear that name with great pride. I’m done worrying about the feelings of people who support a fucking white supremacist. I’m a white male with some financial resources. I could just sit down and stfu and I’ll be fine. But fuck that. Being polite doesn’t win election. Getting like minded people registered and to the polls wins election. But, please, continue to be polite to the vile racists and find the right message so they don’t get riled up. Fuck them and there feelings.

  51. 51.

    JPL

    @EBT: Raised in MA and lived in TX, LA, CT, IL, TX and now GA. I am proud that I never voted for Nixon. Cole is not gonna flip his state, but we are close to electing a democratic Governor, which is why I am so passionate that we run on issues.

    Went to high school with Lieberman’s wife.

  54. 54.

    EBT

    @JPL: I am from the mountains of NC. Real hillbilly stock. Turned out the partner I was dating in Arkansas had a common relative with me like 7 generations back.

  56. 56.

    kindness

    Imho the Republican base runs around crapping it’s pants as policy. While I don’t whack hornet’s nests with a stick, I won’t go out of my way to piss off those who’ve already crapped their pants. But I do find it civilized to tell them crapping one’s pants is really toddlerish and they ain’t helping themselves. Screw them. Every single one of them will vote. We need to think more about motivating OUR side and not giving a whole bunch of concern about theirs. In my opinion.

  58. 58.

    JPL

    Cole’s twitter feed has this

    Harley Davidson CEO Matthew S Levatich says:
    “Our decision to move some of our operations is 100% based on President Trumps tariffs. Mr. Trump knows nothing about economics and even less about trade. The man is a moron.”

    Wow.. Trump is not gonna be happy

  59. 59.

    Thoughtful David

    I think one of the things to do as well is to surround all of the ICE offices, detention camps, and Tender Age Concentration Camps, and video, close up, everyone going in or out, and their vehicles. Get ICE officers faces and name badges. Get civilian employees’ faces and name badges. Also get the faces of the detainees they’re bringing in or out. Use one of the video apps that uploads the video directly to the cloud, so they can’t take your phone/camera away and destroy the video. Then save that information on a server in Canada or New Zealand or somewhere.
    I’m not saying display it in the web or doxxing anyone, but just make sure we have it recorded and stored safely. And make sure they know we’ve got it. It may make some of the not-quite-so-evil ones think about what their future will be, if they ever leave the US borders and suddenly get a free trip to The Hague. And if the detainees faces are all recorded, it may make reuniting them easier as well.

  61. 61.

    Another Scott

    If I were asked, I’d probably say something like:

    – We (as a Party) need a simple national message. Something that can go on a bumper sticker. “America is Beautiful, not Fearful.” Something like that.

    – Candidates need to run on local issues, while standing up for national principles. “We can fix our schools and our hospitals and help people in pain. And we have no business having a national policy of stripping children from their parents.”

    – Civility is over-rated, but we have to remember that when our lizard brains are riled up then our pre-frontal cortex shuts down. We can be angry – and we should be angry – but anger isn’t sensible policy to address problems and find solutions.

    – The main thing is, we can’t continue to let the GOP set the agenda and decide what they (and the press) are going to talk about. We need to talk about our issues and our policies and how we’re reaching out to voters.

    Quinnipaic Poll:

    June 18, 2018 – Stop Taking The Kids, 66 Percent Of U.S. Voters Say, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Support For Dreamers Is 79 Percent

    American voters oppose 66 – 27 percent the policy of separating children and parents when families illegally cross the border into America, according to a Quinnipiac University National Poll released today.

    Republican voters support the separation policy 55 – 35 percent, the only listed party, gender, education, age or racial group to support it, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe- ack) University National Poll finds.

    American voters also support 79 – 15 percent allowing immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, so-called “Dreamers,” to remain and ultimately to apply for citizenship.

    All listed groups support Dreamers, ranging from 61 – 28 percent among Republicans to 94 – 5 percent among Democrats.

    Support for Dreamers has ranged from 77 percent to 81 percent in every Quinnipiac University National Poll conducted this year.

    American voters oppose 58 – 39 percent building a wall along the border with Mexico. The only listed groups to support the wall are Republicans 77 – 17 percent and white voters with no college degree 52 – 44 percent.

    The Trump Administration has been too aggressive in deporting illegal immigrants, 50 percent of voters say, as 13 percent say the administration has not been aggressive enough and 33 percent say the administration has been acting appropriately.

    “When does public opinion become a demand that politicians just can’t ignore? Two- thirds of American voters oppose the family separation policy at our borders,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

    “Neither quotes from the Bible nor get-tough talk can soften the images of crying children nor reverse the pain so many Americans feel.”

    “And if you are a Dreamer, voters say, ‘We have your back,'” Malloy added.

    […]

    We have the issues, we have the enthusiasm, we have the support. We need to not be distracted.

    133 days to go. Eyes on the prize…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  62. 62.

    JPL

    @EBT: Approval does not necessarily equate to voting though. At least I hope so. What I’m seeing is the democrats in GA are going to vote and the repubs are kinda blah about it. That could change. Local politics is my thing, but I get a lot of feedback there. I’m north of Atlanta.

  63. 63.

    TenguPhule

    @EBT:

    His base can’t really get riled up much more.

    Trump: Hold my fucking extra large milkshake.

    /People should know better then to tempt fate like this by now.

  64. 64.

    lollipopguild

    @JPL: Levatich is being shrill and uncivil, all of the bothsides people will be all over him.

  65. 65.

    JPL

    @M4: True, but getting rid of ICE is not. I know that sounds contradictory, but it’s how you frame it. Where are the girls, and where are the toddlers.

  66. 66.

    lamh36

    @atrupar
    Nearly 100 hours after Sarah Sanders enjoyed a free cheese plate before she was asked to leave this rural Virginia restaurant because she works for an administration that puts babies in jail. Fox News’ @dougmckelway is still reporting live from outside the Red Hen
    https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1011749858011688960

    TW…is da SHS REALLY getting SS protection?

    Muthaphucka FOR WHAT?

  67. 67.

    James E Powell

    I used to hate protests because I hate crowds and I am always worried about crowds turning into mobs. That’s changed. It’s what we need.

    I never hated protests but I still wonder whether they do any good.

    I prefer civil disobedience. Things that cause the system to come to a stop.

  68. 68.

    EBT

    @JPL: The real question isn’t how much of the GOP likes him, it’s how big is the GOP now, compared to two years ago.

  71. 71.

    James E Powell

    @Matt McIrvin:

    so we might as well just say what’s right and fuck the optics

    Yore more Eeyore than me! And that’s no mean feat. But I agree that we should not let cable news dickweeds tell us how to register our objections to what Trump & the GOP are doing.

    We must always keep in mind that the Villagers don’t really have any objections to what Trump & the GOP are doing. If they did, they’d do something to stop it. But they really don’t, do they?

  72. 72.

    M4

    @JPL: just sounded like you might have been veering into “run on policy, not ‘identity politics’!” territory.

  73. 73.

    EBT

    @JPL: That has been my take as well, but I was hoping someone had some hard and fast numbers to salivate over.

  75. 75.

    DCrefugee

    @lamh36:

    is da SHS REALLY getting SS protection?

    Muthaphucka FOR WHAT?

    The optics. The base. Tomorrow’s outrage.

  76. 76.

    M4

    @JPL: I personally think “abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement” sounds a lot like “abolish immigration and customs enforcement” and might not be an awesome slogan! But I could be wrong, I often am.

  79. 79.

    West of the Rockies

    @EBT:

    My understanding is that the party has shrunk… Fewer people self-identity as Republican. Just today, Steve Schmidt renounced party affiliation with the GOP. (I for one welcome this news: he is flawed, but eloquent; he can talk to and about Republicans with some authority.)

    Anyway, 88% of 28% of the country strongly supports Trump. That’s not really all that special.

  80. 80.

    CarolDuhart2

    ‘JPL: Governors races aren’t really about immigration issues, are they? Perhaps she should just say that she’s concerned about the kids and leave it like that.

    For years, liberals have been intimidated by talk about “soft on crime, drugs”, to the point where even speaking up was considered dangerous to electoral process-and in the wake of the 1960’d upheaval, it was probably prudent. Clinton in 1992 and 1994 had to carefully thread the needle on this stuff. But cringing in fear gets nothing in return anymore, not when the other side cages babies and refugees. All it gets us now is David Axelrod and (RIP) Alan Colmes Democrats who still live in fear and are also ineffective as well.

  81. 81.

    DCrefugee

    @JPL: Looks like it’s a Twitter-only thing. Googling fails to reveal any news or other site with this quote except on the Twitter machine, and one of the posters retracted it…

  82. 82.

    Another Scott

    TheHill:

    Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) is trailing behind her Democratic opponent by 10 points in one of the top House races this cycle, according to a poll released Tuesday.

    A poll conducted by Monmouth University found that Comstock’s Democratic rival, state Sen. Jennifer Wexton, is ahead of the congresswoman, 49 percent to 39 percent. Half of voters polled identify as independents and Wexton leads that voter bloc by 9 points, 45 percent to 36 percent.

    Comstock’s district in the Washington, D.C., exurbs has been trending blue in recent elections, despite Republicans’ grip on it for years. Hillary Clinton won the affluent and well-educated district in 2016. And one year later in Virginia’s gubernatorial election, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) carried it by more than 12 points.

    Following Wexton’s primary win earlier this month, nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report shifted the race rating from toss-up to lean Democratic.

    Comstock is leading among white voters who don’t have a college degree, 50 percent to 38 percent. But Wexton holds a 9-point lead among white college graduates and an even wider lead among black, Hispanic and Asian voters, 62 percent to 21 percent.

    “This part of the commonwealth was a critical factor in the blue wave that elected Democrats in last year’s election for governor and state legislature,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.

    Good, good.

    Eyes on the prize…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  83. 83.

    Ladyraxterinok

    @JPL: Read yrs ago that Liebermann took part in a freedom ride during Civil Rights Movement. Do you know if this is correct?

  84. 84.

    JPL

    @M4: My son often wears his Science is not a liberal conspiracy tee. Last weekend four people in his local Publix stopped him, two in a Fresh Market. In my local Publix, the check out gal said it was time for her to pay attention. She had no idea about the tariffs.

  85. 85.

    M4

    @schrodingers_cat: I think that’s a great idea. I am not so sure we want to use the “abolish ICE!” framing if what we actually want is to reform ICE. Also, simplistic unachievable sloganeering is not my most favorite thing. We saw what happened to the people who spent eight years screaming “repeal Obamacare” once they caught that car.

    I’ve already seen lefties making a stink about how democrats in congress won’t repeat this new shibboleth.

  88. 88.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @M4:

    I’ve already seen lefties making a stink about how democrats in congress won’t repeat this new shibboleth.

    EmoProgs gotta EmoProg.

  89. 89.

    EBT

    @M4: Honestly? If it turns out ICE sold more than a few of those girls in to sexual slavery, ICE won’t have anywhere the broad popularity that the PPACA has with the voting public. Doesn’t hurt that removing ICE won’t cause a huge dinger to folks healthcare either.

  90. 90.

    JR

    I think Democrats (and candidates generally) would be wise to completely ignore major media outlets as an information source. You can still broadcast via the media, just don’t consume it. *Especially* the editorial component. Even when favorable.

  94. 94.

    JPL

    @Ladyraxterinok: That’s actually true. I never met him in person, but I did know his wife.
    She was a few years ahead of me, but came to my house because of my older sister. The church that I went to took in her family when they came to the states and her father started the local synagogue. That was fifty plus years ago.

  95. 95.

    Another Scott

    @JPL: All the GOP can do anymore is run on scaring people. There are ways to win in spite of that, but yelling louder at them in return usually isn’t a big part of the tactic.

    HistoryOnTheNet:

    […]

    Wallace instinctively understood that he could tap into the growing fear among white voters. He had money and an organization to help him run. Some of the money came from questionable contracts that the state of Alabama gave out for its work programs while he was governor. But money also started to roll in from individuals far from Alabama who sent five and ten dollar bills that began to add up to a large sum. Wallace even had a political party—the American Independent Party—and he declared the George Wallace 1968 presidential campaign.

    George Wallace sidestepped a head-on campaign about race and used the slogan “Law and Order,” even though everyone knew what he meant. After the assassination of Robert Kennedy in June and the riots surrounding the Democratic convention in Chicago in August, Wallace found himself not far behind the Democratic nominee and sitting Vice President, Hubert Humphrey. Polls began to show a possibility that none of the candidates might receive an electoral majority, which would then throw the decision to the House of Representatives.

    As the election came down to the final stretch in the first days of autumn, crowds at events for the George Wallace 1968 presidential campaign were growing and his poll numbers were rising. Money poured into his headquarters. Douglas Kiker, a correspondent for NBC News who traveled with the campaign and was from Georgia himself, observed:

    It is as if somewhere, sometime a while back, George Wallace had been awakened by a white, blinding vision: they all hate black people, all of them. They’re all afraid, all of them. Great God! That’s it! They’re all Southern! The whole United States is Southern! Anybody who travels with Wallace these days on his presidential campaign finds it hard to resist arriving at the same conclusion.

    […]

    Wallace lost. We can defeat Trump and his minions and get back on a sensible path. But we have to work for the future we want – not just yell about it.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  96. 96.

    JPL

    @EBT: Brian Kemp is in a runoff against Cagle. Kemp has the pickup truck. Cagle is the one they have on tape saying he only voted to take money from public schools to fund private schools, because of the election.
    Cagle also was caught having an aide under his desk, and his excuse was she was tying his shoes. Kemp is the gun guy and the pickup truck that can take the illegals to the border.
    Hope this was not tmi.

  97. 97.

    lamh36

    @natemcdermott
    Harley-Davidson employees still back Trump, even though his tariffs may cost them their jobs.
    “He wouldn’t do it unless it needed to be done, he’s a very smart businessman”
    https://twitter.com/natemcdermott/status/1011735714608893952

    Trying my best not to call them all DUMB FUQs on here. But here’s Joy Ann with a better analysis…

    @JoyAnnReid
    13m13 minutes ago
    More Joy Reid Retweeted Nathan McDermott
    Again, Trump’s calculation that his supporters care more about him simply BEING president, and lashing out at the kinds of people they too despise (in this case “the Europeans”) than they do even about their own personal economic situations or jobs, so far appears to be accurate.

    2m2 minutes ago
    More
    I think it’s also anecdotally true that voters don’t really vote based on the economy, *unless the economy is tanking,* in which case they flock to the party not in power. If the economy is good, people vote based on what they value. And tribe is something people really do value.

    @JoyAnnReid
    Following Following @JoyAnnReid
    More
    There have been politicians who have been successful at selling the notion of America itself — the whole country — as a tribe. But that’s not what Donald Trump is doing. He is zeroing in on race and religion, i.e, white Christians, as his tribe. And clearly that appeal works…

    Thread here: https://twitter.com/JoyAnnReid/status/1011777200784396288

  100. 100.

    Marcopolo

    @Another Scott: Pretty much agree with this. While the situation at the border & Trump’s foundational lies about immigrants are abhorrent, it is the singular issue that still gets the R base rabidly lathered up. So sure let’s address & condemn that but ALSO talk about R attacks on affordable healthcare, how they want to dismantle SS, Medicare & Medicaid to pay for their tax cuts for the wealthy & corporations, and hammer them for the damage Trump’s trade/tariff policies is/will cause to farmers, folks working in manufacturing, and anyone who will be paying more for stuff like cars & washing machines…

    Just my 2 cents.

    I’ll be damned if I only focus on the shiny object the Trumpublicans want me to focus on.

  101. 101.

    Platonailedit

    @Another Scott:

    But we have to work for the future we want – not just yell about it.

    The dem base has to put as much energy into voting as it does on outrage. Value your vote. Every two years, not just every four years.

  102. 102.

    Peale

    @M4: the problem is that the groups the slogan is most popular with are activists who represent very few actual voters. Maybe potential voters someday, but not people who can actually vote.

    I do want to smash ICE. Drawn down its numbers. It has to be done before almost any other reform. Part of the problem we have now is that every positive immigration reform since 1965 has needed to include stepped up enforcement levels in order to get enough conservative votes to pass. And sometimes, enforcement is all that passes. That’s on steroids with Trump. Wanna save 500,000 DACA folks? Build a wall and fund his 100k immigration cop force. That connection needs to be broken. Take ICE down to 1999 levels first. Then we’re we can try to pass immigration reforms. We’ll end up needing to agree to increase those forces again to get it anyway, so for once let’s not start from the hypermilitarized levels we have currently.

  103. 103.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @lamh36:
    We probably won’t know whether the GOP has truly shrunk until a few election cycles have passed. My gut says that it has but I wouldn’t bet the farm on it. We need to keep focusing on voter turnout and doing whatever we can to voice our opposition to this regime’s horrible actions.

  104. 104.

    CarolDuhart2

    Most candidates are focusing on healthcare and daily life. Your state senator isn’t going overboard on this. Let rank and file Democrats who aren’t running for anything take care of this. Caging kids isn’t something that should be just let go because it just might get that angry white lady madder than usual.

  106. 106.

    EBT

    @lamh36: Independants are liking donnie less and less. I wonder if that change coincides with more people moving from GOP but doesn’t like donnie, over to Independant (as opposed to independant which was GOP but chickenshit about it).

  107. 107.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @CarolDuhart2: My Rep., Mark Pocan (whose reelection isn’t remotely in doubt), is working hard on it. Congress is actually responding intelligently. Maxine and Ted are being loud; it won’t hurt them. Manchin is being careful; we want him rather than a GOPer.

  108. 108.

    lamh36

    @woodruffbets
    6h6 hours ago
    More
    Immigration lawyer Andrea Martinez told me an ICE officer locked her in a room with a fractured foot for upwards of an hour.

    “I told him, ‘I’m bleeding, I’m bleeding, can you at least get me a first aid kit?’ And he said, ‘No, it’s not severe enough.”
    https://twitter.com/woodruffbets/status/1011686798777552896

  109. 109.

    EBT

    @M4: Looking at the border can go back to border patrol, and nothing can have the de facto federal SWAT force powers ICE currently has.

  111. 111.

    JPL

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: In the olden days, that would be news, but now we have Maxine.

    For those keeping up with MA politics, Baker’s son is trying to claim he was asleep when he groped the woman on the plane. I doubt his father stands behind him on this one, but who knows.

  113. 113.

    Mary G

    We have a Cantor-Brat upset going in NY-14

    My latest Political Crystal Ball… I predict that my home district of NY14 will support 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) & will hand incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley the most stunning primary defeat since Dave Brat knocked off Eric Cantor in 2014. #CheddarLIVE pic.twitter.com/570PIgHirW— J.D. Durkin (@jiveDurkey) June 18, 2018

    With 68.4% of the votes in, Ocasio is beating the pants off Crowley:
    Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 9,308 56.9%
    Joe Crowley* 7,038 43.1%

  118. 118.

    James E Powell

    @lamh36:

    President Obama emphatically insisted that Americans are one people. From the ’04 DNC keynote to his last SOTU he was emphatic on this point. White Americans just as emphatically rejected him & the vision of America as diverse & inclusive. This is the political issue of our time and it is not being addressed as directly as it needs to be.

    The press/media have been dancing around racism for years with euphemisms, bothsiderism, and a rock hard rule – as Charles Pierce always says – that it is never about race.

  123. 123.

    Mary G

    @Mary G: Thread from her, how we should do it – focus on people who’ve never voted:

    Today I saw people voting that are almost never seen in an off-year midterm primary.Just now, as I’m typing this with 8 minutes left, two young men of color, 20 years old, just walked up to me and said they just voted.2 yrs ago, the “experts” told me not to bother with them.— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) June 27, 2018

    The kids are all right.

  125. 125.

    TenguPhule

    @James E Powell:

    President Obama emphatically insisted that Americans are one people. From the ’04 DNC keynote to his last SOTU he was emphatic on this point. White Americans just as emphatically rejected him & the vision of America as diverse & inclusive. This is the political issue of our time and it is not being addressed as directly as it needs to be.

    They rejected the bread and salt. They shall receive the flame and the scourge.

  126. 126.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:
    That witch of a woman is the one that should be deported. If I had been there and she put her middle finger in my face I would have been tempted to grab it and brake it. What a rotten piece of shit.

  128. 128.

    Dorothy Winsor

    Are there interesting primary results yet? I don’t know enough about most of the races going on today to interpret the bits I’m hearing.

    ETA: I scanned some comments above mine and see what I asked for. BJ is ahead of me.

  130. 130.

    TenguPhule

    @lamh36:

    Jack Daniel’s forced to raise price of whiskey by double digits in response to tariffs

    Damn. I only managed to stockpile 4 bottles.

    Back to the Japanese stuff then.

  131. 131.

    Starfish

    @Peale: Get everyone elected, and just defund ICE. Give them enough money to have one SUV per state. Fix the rule about the 100 mile thing that the ACLU suggested or do something like ban gun stores in the same border and see how quickly Republicans reduce it. ;)

  132. 132.

    patroclus

    Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent in the Muslim ban case is epic and monumental – I strongly urge all to read it!

  133. 133.

    Aleta

    Betty Cracker
‏

 
@bettycrackerfl
 Jun 25 

    NARRATOR: Bring it, ignorant buffoon. Your kind will lose again.


     

    Betty Cracker Retweeted Steve King

    
@SteveKingIA
    
America is heading in the direction of another Harpers Ferry. After that comes Ft. Sumter.

  134. 134.

    lamh36

    @TrumpsTaxes
    Follow Follow @TrumpsTaxes
    More
    Um…with 41% of votes counted, Oklahoma Democrats are currently outvoting Oklahoma Republicans 140K to 137K. Democrats are also outvoting, or are tied with, Republicans in each measurable Cong District thus far.

    It’s still early, but I think something is happening in Oklahoma.

    https://twitter.com/TrumpsTaxes/status/1011783826597666819

  135. 135.

    Mary G

    Wow – Oklahoma:

    Um…with 41% of votes counted, Oklahoma Democrats are currently outvoting Oklahoma Republicans 140K to 137K. Democrats are also outvoting, or are tied with, Republicans in each measurable Cong District thus far. It's still early, but I think something is happening in Oklahoma. pic.twitter.com/5unX90adde— TrumpsTaxes (@TrumpsTaxes) June 27, 2018

  136. 136.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @Mary G:
    She was endorsed by groups such as the Justice Democrats, who are affiliated with the Young Turks. I’m mildly suspicious, but if she’s a good candidate that a lot of people want and will beat the Republican then I can’t complain

  138. 138.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Platonailedit: Every year! In most places, there’s usually something going on in the odd years, even if it’s just voting for the School Board or Register of Probate or something. Keeping your hand in makes it that much less likely that they’ll yank your registration in some bullshit inactive-voter sweep, and it also means you keep track of where your polling station is and how to vote. And sometimes these local races affect your life more than national elections do.

  139. 139.

    gbbalto

    Well, what is our alternative immigration policy? I get the impression that most of us don’t want open borders, so what do we propose to replace what we’ve got?
    I’m trying to think of an alternative, but have no great wisdom to offer. However, if we want to change the policy, we need to have an alternative to propose, otherwise Trump/Repubs will just keep claiming that we want open borders, full stop.
    Sorry, no great thoughts here, but we need something.

  141. 141.

    gbbalto

    @Omnes Omnibus: Did it? We had lots of migrants come in to do work that Americans wouldn’t do (mostly because they couldn’t run a household on the shit wages) but they were always one wrong move away from suddenly being shipped out. That only worked for their red-blooded American employers who could underpay them or shaft them with no consequences. It didn’t work so well for the migrants.

    ETA: Or rat them out if they got uppity

  142. 142.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @gbbalto: It sure as fuck worked better than Trump’s policies are. The big concern, I thought, was the asylum applicants. Are we fighting about US immigration in general,? I wasn’t aware.

  144. 144.

    gbbalto

    @Omnes Omnibus: We need a general amnesty for undocumented immigrants (a hard sell for other than the Dreamers, I suspect) but then what?

    ETA: I absolutely agree about asylum seekers fleeing horrible situations. But what should the policy be for immigrants otherwise? Certainly a reform of the green card quota system.

  146. 146.

    seaboogie

    @EBT: ICE reminds me of security guards – if you can’t get into the police force because you fail to meet their standards, then security guard. If you want to be a police, but are at heart too much of a racist asshole for even the cops, then ICE is your answer.

  147. 147.

    gbbalto

    @Omnes Omnibus: I want a proposal that actually has a chance of working. This country has been dodging the issue for decades. Now we have the full on reactionary policy. What do Democrats propose instead?

  150. 150.

    jl

    @gbbalto:
    ” This country has been dodging the issue for decades. ”
    I think more accurately, the Congressional GOP has blocked a solution to the issue for at least a decade. Even W had reasonable good-faith proposals, but rest of the GOP didn’t want to give up the racist wedge issue.

    Why don’t you offer your ideas on an immigration proposal?

  152. 152.

    gbbalto

    @jl: @Omnes Omnibus:
    The previous system did not function well for undocumented workers!
    General amnesty for everyone who is already here. As I said, may be a hard sell for other than Dreamers.
    Proper consideration for asylum seekers per international treaties and U.S. law.
    Green cards with a guarantee of being able to become a citizen within a reasonable amount of time.
    We have nothing clear out there. I welcome any input that you can provide.

  153. 153.

    Matt McIrvin

    @gbbalto: Do you want “if I were king”, or some policy that we think would actually have some chance of being politically viable?

    If I were king, I’d opt for something very close to open borders. Basically, let people come in and get on a path to citizenship if there’s no particular evidence that they’re major-league criminals. The character of the US would permanently change… so be it. Citizenship would still depend on at least a declaration that they’re committed to the pluralism enshrined in the Constitution, which would put them ahead of many native-borns today. The US might be motivated not to create situations that propel a lot of refugees.

    I know that’s not going to happen and even proposing it makes people freak out and countermobilize, like gay marriage in 2000.

  154. 154.

    gbbalto

    @Matt McIrvin: I would settle for politically viable. No point in “if I were king.” You are right about the political difficulties. Not sure how to get around them.

  155. 155.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Major Major Major Major: M4, uh, since youi’re an SF local, could I ask you a Q? I’ve gone to a number of marches, but I’m shit-ass-no-good at making posters. Do you know a shop I could go to, that’d print a poster? AdvThanksance

  156. 156.

    jl

    @gbbalto:
    Thanks. I think you are making a mistake in terms of what the Democrats have to do. The GOP has a simple strong message because they are willing to lie ruthlessly. Immigration will always be a contentious issue, with complicated interests that cross-cut usual partisan interests. So, if you are saying that the Democrats need a fully articulated and detailed plan that they need to sell like the GOP does, that is impossible, since the GOP just lies nonstop.

    I think the Democrats need to do a better job countering GOP lies. And they need a simple message that outlines the direction and guiding philosophy of their proposals, and simple messages for their most important major proposals. But they shouldn’t try to get into all the weeds.

    I don’t know about the technicalities of immigration so I have to talk in general terms.
    I think the HB visa programs need to be reformed. I think the programs that ship in, for example, Bulgarian workers for Trump properties for three or six months should be ended. I don’;t understand the need for that. I think high skilled HB visas should be reformed to make them less like indentured servitude, those people should be given green card and be free to change jobs if they want as quickly as possible.

    Agriculture needs a carve out of some kind for guest workers. I don’t like guest worker programs, but I think for some types of labor it might be a necessary evil that we make as less evil as possible. I think they will be needed unless the US passes laws that protect that work enough to make it socially respectable and reliable way to make a working class living, I don’t think the US is willing to do that, thought I think it should.

  157. 157.

    jl

    @Matt McIrvin: Economically I don’t see a problem with open borders, or something close to it. Socially, i don’t see a problem either, if the US were willing to provide adequately funded social services, and English as a second language education.

    I think modern problems with international criminal activity like human trafficking, dangerous drugs, and terrorism as main impediments to having something close to an open borders policy.

    The US had essentially an open borders policy for most of Latin America, including the dire Mexican threat (/snark) until well into the 20th century. Despite the hate and lies about Hispanic immigration, we had open borders for a century after we took the land and the US did just fine.

  158. 158.

    Duane

    Civility left the fucking room when republicans barfed up Trump. Until the stinking pile is cleaned up civilty said fuckem.

  160. 160.

    Gravie

    We have a weekly protest here in our small (less than 100,000) Central Oregon city. The last couple of weeks have focused on the family separation policies and that stolen children. One of the greatest things is the number of passing cars who honk, wave, and otherwise show their support. The drivers and passengers always look ecstatic that someone is saying it.

  162. 162.

    Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]

    @jl: Thank you for that thought jl. I never considered it that way, but YES! if you are willing to ignore all of the contradictions it’s really easy to put forward a coherent message. 9,999 times out of 10,000 it will get murdered by a nasty fact, but if you ignore the facts it’s easy!

    I’m not being snarky. Almost always an easy answer has an argument in bad faith or thought at the root (Or Both!). I’ve never considered it from that angle.

  164. 164.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @EBT: That’s certainly not what I got out of what you were saying, you said that we should go back to the Border Patrol, there is no difference between ICE and the Border Patrol.

  165. 165.

    sukabi

    @lamh36: Ice is abusing lawyers now. If she can’t get assault charges against him, a civil suit might be in order.

Comments are closed.