Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

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

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

Let me file that under fuck it.

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

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

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Everything Old is New Again

Everything Old is New Again

by | 154 Comments

This post is in: 

I really don’t see the upside for Trumpublicans on this one, but I guess I’m not as smart as them:

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump is pressuring Republicans to shut down the government at the end of this month if Congress doesn’t pass a GOP-backed proposal to establish new election rules nationwide.

Trump has called on Republicans in Congress to link funding the government with the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote — in a bid to target non-citizen voting, which is already illegal. And House Republican leaders are considering adopting the strategy and picking a fight with Democrats.

The deadline to fund the government is Sept. 30. The GOP-led House and Democratic-led Senate have to agree on how to move forward in order to prevent a shutdown, and Democrats have decried the SAVE Act as a poison pill.

“I would shut down the government in a heartbeat if they don’t get it,” Trump said on the “Monica Crowley Show” last week.

My guess is that a few Biden-district “traitors” on the Republican side will vote for a clean continuing resolution rather than be branded as do-nothing shitbirds, but it’s hard to predict where each clown will end up once they exit the car.

Reader Interactions

154Comments

  1. 1.

    MattF

    So… we’re all going to be reminded about Republican dysfunction in the House, just before Election Day. Excellent!

  3. 3.

    Amy!

    Is the point of this just that, when they lose (at least the Presidential race), they can point at the refusal of Democrats to accept this bit of pointless theater as proof, Proof, PROOF! that the election was RIGGLED and STOLLENATED!? FROD! FROD AND MALFY’S ANTS!

    Srsly, is it intended to provide one of their justifications for (another) insurrection?

  5. 5.

    Karen S.

    I think I’ve run out of words to describe how angry I am that that horrible creature is allowed to roam around freely and run for the highest public office in the land. I’m not surprised or shocked that he’s still able to do that. After all, this is a country that has failed many of its citizens in a variety of ways since its founding. Still, the fact that that senile old coot hasn’t been clapped in irons yet is infuriating.

  8. 8.

    Omnes Omnibus

    Even if the law were passed today, it could not be implemented prior to Election Day.  Idiots.

  9. 9.

    Raven

    There are multiple reports that Barrow County Schools received warnings that 5 schools would be attacked and Appalachee was first on the list.

  10. 10.

    bbleh

    I feel VERY STRONGLY that it is our PATRIOTIC DUTY as Loyal Americans to INSIST LOUDLY that our Representatives and Senators — especially if they are Republican but even if not — SUPPORT THE LEADER in this bold — nay, heroic! — effort to Preserve Our Way Of Life!!

    Teach the controversy!

  13. 13.

    mrmoshpotato

    Doesn’t Putin’s fascist bitch know that Biden is still President, and would never sign this shit into law?

    ETA – and I don’t even know how the states would react, ie. telling the GOP and Dump to get fucked.

  17. 17.

    TBone

    I’m not gonna be held hostage by the shutdown narrative of the RWNJs in Congress or the stupid framing/spin the MSM will apply either.

    I dissent!

  18. 18.

    mrmoshpotato

    @MattF:

    So… we’re all going to be reminded about Republican dysfunction in the House, just before Election Day. Excellent! 

    Apparently!  Great timing on these Dump-humping idiots’ part.

  19. 19.

    Baud

    My guess is that they are trying to find some hook to get the media on their side, which in this case means getting the media to write about “Washington dysfunction.”

  20. 20.

    Anoniminous

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Not to mention the little matter of Article II Section 1:

    Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress

  23. 23.

    Motivated Seller

    Donald Trump is pressuring Republicans his Subs to shut down the government…

    fixed that for you

  24. 24.

    Baud

    The SAVE Act would actually impose a burden on all voters.

    This bill requires individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote in federal elections.

     

    Specifically, the bill prohibits states from accepting and processing an application to register to vote in a federal election unless the applicant presents documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.

     

    Further, the bill (1) prohibits states from registering an individual to vote in a federal election unless, at the time the individual applies to register to vote, the individual provides documentary proof of U.S. citizenship; and (2) requires states to establish an alternative process under which an applicant may submit other evidence to demonstrate U.S. citizenship.

     

    Each state must take affirmative steps on an ongoing basis to ensure that only U.S. citizens are registered to vote, which shall include establishing a program to identify individuals who are not U.S. citizens using information supplied by specified sources.

     

    Additionally, the bill requires states to remove noncitizens from their official lists of eligible voters.

     

    The bill allows for a private right of action against an election official who registers an applicant to vote in a federal election who fails to present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.

     

    The bill establishes criminal penalties for certain offenses, including registering an applicant to vote in a federal election who fails to present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.

     

    The Election Assistance Commission must, within 10 days, adopt and transmit guidance for implementing the bill’s requirements to chief state election officials.

  25. 25.

    The Audacity of Krope

    I am so excited at the prospect of showing up to vote with my birth certificate, social security card, and my last five years of taxes, let me tell you…

    Has Donold proven he’s a citizen? I want the long-form social security card. nothing less.

  26. 26.

    MattF

    @Baud: The catch is that they’re insisting on passing a law against something that’s already illegal. I suppose the media will find a way to ignore this itty-bitty problem.

  27. 27.

    Miki

    Welcome to Season 8, Episode 248 of The Chaos & Shit Show.

    How’s that working out for you, MAGATs?

  28. 28.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @SatanicPanic: No, even assuming the law is completely Constitutional and no one challenges it at all, you could not get the regulations and procedures in in place, let alone train 97 year old election volunteers on the new rules in time.

  29. 29.

    JPL

    When I renewed my license, the state would only accept a notorized copy of my birth certificate.  It cost me over 100 dollars to have it sent to me.

  30. 30.

    The Audacity of Krope

    @MattF: The catch is that they’re insisting on passing a law against something that’s already illegal.

    It seems the relevant change here is the requirement to produce proof of citizenship at the time of voting.  I suppose it isn’t sufficient that the state checks on you when you register.

  31. 31.

    mrmoshpotato

    @MattF:

    The catch is that they’re insisting on passing a law against something that’s already illegal. I suppose the media will find a way to ignore this itty-bitty problem. 

    Yes – by shoving their heads up Dump’s ass.

  32. 32.

    Sister Golden Bear

    Courtesy of relentless Trump fact checker Daniel Dale Moms For Liberty Founder Is “Very Happy” That Trump Lied About Public Schools Performing Gender Surgery

    ”Are kids getting surgery in school? No they’re not.” But she continued that she was still “thankful to President Trump” for making the claim – since, she said, his remark has drawn attention to the important issue of schools facilitating children’s social transitions without parental consent. Justice said of Trump’s claim: “It grabbed your attention, and we’re talking about it now, and that makes me very happy.”

    What’s a little blood libel between haters, amirite.

    Just a reminder that if a child doesn’t want a parent to know that their name, pronouns, and/or gender presentation is different at school, there’s a good (often safety-related reason) for that.

  34. 34.

    sab

    @Baud: I was born in North Carolina. I left the state when I was two. When I had to get a passport to go to my nephew’s wedding in Canada it took me almost a year to get my birth certificate from North Carolina. ( I missed the wedding.)

    Proving citizenship isn’t always easy if you live in a big country where people routinely travel. And I don’t want my politics dominated by people who have never gone anywhere.

  36. 36.

    MattF

    @JPL: I got a new (embossed!) copy of my birth certificate from New York City a few years ago, and it was quite easy. The relevant agency sub-contracted the verification to a company that specializes in that process.

  38. 38.

    pat

    Just got home and saw this and OMG can they get any dumber?  How many REGISTERED voters can PROVE their citizenship?  Talk about throwing a monkeywrench into the procedure.  Wow.

  40. 40.

    The Audacity of Krope

    @pat:How many REGISTERED voters can PROVE their citizenship?

    And how many people want to wait while we do that for hundreds or thousands of people at each polling location?

  41. 41.

    Trollhattan

    You hate to see it.

    September 4, 2024 at 4:38 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard

    “Donald Trump dug into his war chest in a bid to stem the momentum of Democratic rival Kamala Harris, drawing from his cash reserves as the presidential race shifts into its most frenzied — and expensive — stage yet,” Bloomberg reports.

    “The Republican presidential nominee ended August with $295 million in the bank, about $32 million less than he had at the start of that month. Trump raised $130 million last month — a total that falls short of the $138.7 million he raised in July for his campaign, the Republican National Committee and state parties.”

    “While he has been running a lean operation, the drop in cash on hand portends a troubling development for a campaign that has been forced to pivot to a new general election rival after Harris replaced President Joe Biden atop the Democratic ticket.”

    Guess he can just print some more.

  42. 42.

    Tokyokie

    Because I don’t trust the GOP, I have for several years taken my current voter registration card, driver’s license, and U.S. passport with me when I vote.

  43. 43.

    JoyceH

    @Baud: I don’t think Republicans realize that this sort of law would weed out a lot of their own folks. There are plenty of natural born citizens whose family has been here for four or six or eight generations, who if they still own their birth certificate they can’t find it and they’ve never gone anywhere so they don’t have a passport.

  44. 44.

    KatKapCC

    @pat:

    Just got home and saw this and OMG can they get any dumber?

    Always. No matter how dumb, they can always get dumber.

  45. 45.

    JPL

    It’s even more complicated for females who took there husband’s name.   You have to show marriage or divore papers too.    Imagine the female who married 2/3/4 times.   I actually hoped that my DIL wouldn’t take my son’s last name, but she had her reasoning to shed her last name.

  47. 47.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    The SAVE Act is a poll tax.  One or one’s parents are not issued a birth certificate, one has to apply to the state AND PAY FOR IT.

  48. 48.

    sab

    @JPL: It took me two months to inherit my dad’s IRA because Vanguard couldn’t fathom the idea that a 70 year old woman had had two names and lived in two states while only having one social security number. Fortunately I am a packrat and had kept documentation for every event in my life.

  50. 50.

    skerry

    @Cheryl from Maryland: If the name on your birth certificate doesn’t match the name you use now, you also have to provide proof of name change. In my case, a marriage certificate. Had to pay to get a copy of that too.

  52. 52.

    RaflW

    I don’t see how sowing chaos 36 days before the election (and well into early voting in many states) by Republicans could possibly backfire on Republicans.

  53. 53.

    TBone

    Looks like I gathered all those documents and paid extra for that ‘RealID’ driver’s license that I was told would be required to fly or enter any federal building for nothing…

    I complained bitterly at the time, and now the requirement has been “delayed.” I doubt this will ever go forward even though they insist it will:

    Beginning May 7, 2025, Pennsylvanians will need a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license/photo ID card, or another form of federally-acceptable identification (such as a valid passport or military ID) to board a domestic commercial flight or enter a federal building or military installation that requires ID.

  54. 54.

    Scout211

    And in more Republican silliness:  The right wing news is all aflutter because relatives of Tim Walz are planning to vote for Trump! There is also a “bombshell” photo!

    A new leaked image shows members of vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz’s family are supporting his Republican rival.

    The photo shared by former Nebraska GOP gubernatorial candidate Charles W. Herbster shows eight people wearing ‘Nebraska Walz’s for Trump’ t-shirts.

    A representative for Herbster told DailyMail.com those posing are related to Walz through his grandfather’s brother.

    ‘Tim Walz’s family back in Nebraska wants you to know something…’ Herbster captioned the image.

    Trump replied to the image on Wednesday by previewing he plans to ‘meet’ with another member of Walz’s family who is not in the image – the governor’s older brother Jeff, who the former president says endorses his White House bid.

    The photo quickly went viral among MAGA users who say his own family’s opposition to his candidacy is proof that people should be wary of voting for a Harris-Walz ticket.

    This is big! Family members who still reside in Nebraska and Florida are voting for Trump!  Big bombshell, people! LOL

    Some members of his family don’t have his same political beliefs so it’s MAGA proof of something, something, something . . . MAGA!

    And the added grammatically incorrect apostrophe on their t-shirts will not please our pedants here on balloon-juice.  But it truly is an added touch.  Of something.

  55. 55.

    Jackie

    @Raven:

    There are multiple reports that Barrow County Schools received warnings that 5 schools would be attacked and Appalachee was first on the list.

    YIKES! Are they suggesting possible multiple shooters? One or more per school???

  56. 56.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Baud: This will affect people who don’t have a birth certificate. I remember some horror stories of a Texan who had developmental issues being deported despite being a citizen because he couldn’t produce a birth certificate.

  58. 58.

    Trollhattan

    @Jay:

    Confess I’ve spiked any former belief I had that associations with Russia/USSR/the mob will either harm or give pause to any Republican.

    “Russia, if you’re listening” should have been campaign-ending.

  59. 59.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Baud: The ironic thing is that naturalized citizens are more likely to have proof of citizenship readily available than those born here. People lose their birth certificates and only half the population has a passport.

  60. 60.

    Jay

    @Jackie:

    Threats are usually made against multiple targets, when threats are made, to spread the panic and stretch response resources.

    It is actually quite rare for a mass shooter to made an explicit threat just before the event. It is more common to start with threats in their social group, then quite later, threats to the site, part of a process of “normalizing” the violence they are planning to commit.

  62. 62.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Scout211: This is big! Family members who still reside in Nebraska and Florida are voting for Trump! Big bombshell, people! LOL

    Every family has its less mentally stable types.  My sister, for example.

  64. 64.

    West of the Rockies

    @Amy!:

    I like your funny comment!  If you’re new here, stick around!

    This “strategy” never works and always makes Republicans look bad.  Mike Johnson, Engage!

  67. 67.

    Geminid

    @RaflW: Yeah, Mike Johnson will put a couple dozen or more Republican Representatives at greater risk if he follows Trump’s lead on this. One problem here is that Johnson also has a couple of dozen or more nihilists in his caucus who do not give a shit about their purple district colleagues.

    Johnson really doesn’t want this trouble but he’s getting it good and hard anyway. It’s a good thing he’s a man of faith!

  70. 70.

    Matt McIrvin

    There’s a constitutional amendment specifically banning poll taxes, which is what this is.

  71. 71.

    rikyrah

    @schrodingers_cat:

    @Baud: This will affect people who don’t have a birth certificate. I remember some horror stories of a Texan who had developmental issues being deported despite being a citizen because he couldn’t produce a birth certificate.

    A sizeable group of people born Black in the Jim Crow South, where they weren’t allowed to be born in a hospital, and was born at home with a midwife.

    My mother was the youngest of 15 children. None of which were born in a hospital.

    My oldest sister was born before Brown v Board. She was born in my grandparent’s house in Mississippi.

  72. 72.

    Jay

    @Trollhattan:

    This will have no impact on the current or future crop of ReThugs,

    There will be consequences for the “Merkins” involved. While State and the DOJ can quickly take action against Foreign actors, taking action against “Merkins” takes longer as a greater standard of evidence is required.

    From start to arrests and charges, took 2 years of investigation, collecting evidence against the 2 “Merkin” Chinese agents in the NY State Gov’s office.

  73. 73.

    rikyrah

    @Matt McIrvin:

    There’s a constitutional amendment specifically banning poll taxes, which is what this is.

    Talk to the former felons who served their time and were supposed to get their voting rights restored in Florida.

    What DeathSantis did to them. …

  74. 74.

    catclub

    @MattF: I got a new (embossed!) copy of my birth certificate from New York City

     

    But did it have gold tassels?  checkmate lib

  75. 75.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Geminid:

    Johnson really doesn’t want this trouble

    I am not at all sure of that.  Previous legislative struggles suggest Johnson very much does want this kind of confrontation, but is A) a coward, and B) so stupid it’s hard to predict what he thinks is a good strategy.

  76. 76.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Scout211: ​
     

    And the added grammatically incorrect apostrophe on their t-shirts will not please our pedants here on balloon-juice.

    WHERE WAS THE TRIGGER WARNING??? NOT COOL!!!111

  77. 77.

    piratedan

    reading that the DOJ is in the process of levelling charges of election interference against Tenet Communications which is the home of just who you might expect to be distributing and parroting Russian disinformation.

  79. 79.

    topclimber

    I suggest the Senate pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and let them settle their differences with the House in Conference: As in, House drops its BS and Senate waits for a House majority that passes their version.

  80. 80.

    catclub

    @Matt McIrvin: ​
     IN previous cases, all the states that require official ID as proof of something in order to vote, did not bother to provide state ID for EVERYONE eligible.

    Likewise, if the Democrats offer to generate a valid national ID card, for EVERYONE eligible, for free, that will give them the heebie jeebies.

  81. 81.

    RaflW

    @JPL: Was this to compl with the Real ID fiasco? I tried 5 years ago and it was a shitshow at my DMV. Thankfully congress kept pushing back the deadline for flying w/o Real ID, and then in the interim I needed to renew my passport anyway (which was far easier than getting a freaking DL renewed!) so I paid a bit extra for a Passport ID card. I live in MN so I can actually see using it for automotive crossings into Canada.

    Anyhoo, fast forward 4 years and I’d had time to sort out the documentary chain of bullshit, and ‘upgrading’ (barf) to Really Intrusive ID wasn’t so bad. In the end, I have yet to use the Passport Card because of the number of TSA extensions.

  83. 83.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Kyle Griffin on Shitter:

    New: The Justice Department just confirmed a Russian election interference campaign “operating under the direction and control of the Russian Presidential Administration.” DOJ announced the ongoing seizure of 32 internet domains used in Russian government-directed foreign malign influence campaigns — in violation of U.S. money laundering and criminal trademark laws. As alleged in an unsealed affidavit, the Russian companies Social Design Agency (SDA), Structura National Technology (Structura), and ANO Dialog, operating under the direction and control of the Russian Presidential Administration, used these domains, among others, to covertly spread Russian government propaganda with the aim of reducing international support for Ukraine, bolstering pro-Russian policies and interests, and influencing voters in U.S. and foreign elections.

  84. 84.

    Jay

    In Canada, each Province issues a free long form Birth Certificate and a laminated, (now plastic) wallet card, when the birth is registered, ( again, free).

    Most Parents pass them on to the kids at various ages.

    I still have mine.

    There is also an online ( now) Registry, both Provincial and Federal.

    We also get a free Social Insurance Number and laminated (now plastic) card, usually just before we get our first job. I am on my second, (replacement was free). I broke my first one in half eventually, from shimming door locks in High School.

  96. 96.

    Bill Arnold

    @catclub:

    Likewise, if the Democrats offer to generate a valid national ID card, for EVERYONE eligible, for free, that will give them the heebie jeebies.

    Indeed. Such a card might as well have a hologram of a 666 in a Satanic Font!

  98. 98.

    Citizen Alan

    @Tokyokie: Is a US passport proof of citizenship? Seriously, what is proof of citizenship. Because a birth certificate just shows where you were born and who your parents were, and these lackwits don’t think that a person born on US soil should count as  citizen if their parents aren’t citizens. It would be hilarious if it turned out to be easier for naturalized citizens to prove their citizenship than people born here.

  99. 99.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @pat: Easily addressed. I’m sure their dream version of this law leaves it up to the discretion of the poll workers whether or not to demand proof of citizenship. And you’re the racist if you think they apply that discretion unequally.

  101. 101.

    Anyway

    @RaflW: Make it plain that Democrats are pro-voting, and Repubs are pro-disenfranchisement. A dumbass shutdown looks all the worse.

    My fear is that only Ds (most?) care about voting rights for all those eligible. RThugs don’t care about roadblocks and disenfranchisement.

  103. 103.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    A free national picture ID, updated every 10 years for free at the Post Office, solves this problem. Democrats should propose amendments immediately to do just that. This will help reduce identity fraud too, by making it easier to detect. It will reduce undocumented immigration, because it will be easier to verify whether someone is eligible to work. When a citizen updates their ID, they are registered automatically in the state they reside in to vote. Republicans want to make voting harder, let’s pivot and make proving citizenship easier so it isn’t a burden.

    Honestly, the people most likely to object would be RFK or Trump voting crackpots anyway.

  106. 106.

    Jeffro

    This is just trump trying to sow maximum chaos pre-election AND lay the groundwork for post-election excuses/challenges/lies/intimidation/violence

    utterly and completely disgusting

  107. 107.

    Kirk

    Anyone else remember the controversy of the universal ID card? “OMG, they’re invading our privacy!” was the theme, as I recall – led mainly by birchers and militias

  109. 109.

    JPL

    so ETTU Liz.   I hope she campaigns with other republicans who can speak about the crazy orange man.

  114. 114.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Kirk:

    led mainly by birchers and militias

    Oh, the evangelicals are very serious in their screaming paranoia over the Number Of  The Beast.  It plays into their general “You’re not the boss of me!” obsession.  The freakout over any kind of universal ID in this country is depressingly large.

  115. 115.

    Anyway

    @Citizen Alan:Because a birth certificate just shows where you were born and who your parents were, and these lackwits don’t think that a person born on US soil should count as  citizen if their parents aren’t citizens.

    No, birth certificate counts for voting — if your parents weren’t citizens when you were born you can’t run for POTUS.  That’s the convoluted logic  pushed by Eastman and co.

  119. 119.

    Steve LaBonne

    @Baud: Somebody pointed out somewhere that having MAGA relatives just makes him exactly like almost any other white Midwestern Democrat.

  121. 121.

    Another Scott

    I heard a bit of an interview with a reporter from TheHill about this on C-Span radio this afternoon.  He said they knew it wasn’t going to pass [and force Biden to sign it] because Schumer wasn’t going to bring it up for a vote in the Senate.

    The plan, apparently, is to hurry up and have a vote on it early next week, and then when that is out of the way, they’ll start to do the actual [work to] vote to pass a clean CR, do something about the Farm Bill that expires (again) at the end of September, and a few other things.

    TCFFG loves the drama, and a few in the House do as well, but the rest of the GQPers aren’t going to set their careers on fire just before an election to make Donold happy.

    We’ll see!

    Forward!!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  125. 125.

    Jay

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Isn’t that a bonus?

    A free National Universal ID and requirements where it’s use is required, will require either “The Mark of The Beast/Communism” to get it for Government services of some kinds, or hold to their conspiracy theories and opt out,……………

    Say, like Voting.

  127. 127.

    frosty

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: ​Losing a birth certificate is no bid deal. Any activity that requires one will want it from your birth state with an official seal – you’ll have to get a new one. And yes, it costs money. Same for marriage licenses. We had to do this multiple times for adoptions.

  128. 128.

    JPL

    @Baud: Bless his heart.   He’s popular because the state is doing good.    Both Biden and Ossoff pumped money into GA .   Kemp took credit but also is on record saying he would not have voted for the bills that helped the state.

  129. 129.

    Scout211

    From Donald Trump’s perspective, his upcoming sentencing in the New York hush money case should include jail time.

    A spokesperson for his 2024 campaign commented this week on reports of a Trump clemency recipient being convicted of a domestic violence-related charge by saying, “President Trump believes anyone convicted of a crime should spend time behind bars.”

    The statement from Trump’s national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, to The New York Times was in response to a new conviction of Jaime A. Davidson, whose sentence Trump commuted in 2021.

    Trump was convicted in May by a Manhattan jury on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 18.

    Leavitt and another campaign spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday about Trump’s view on jail time for convicts as it relates to his own conviction.

    Is the media starting to mock The Donald?

  132. 132.

    Another Scott

    @Baud: They cribbed the text from the Stop LIzard People Posing as Entertaining Republican Youth Act, with appropriate Search & Replace.

    My barber’s half-brother’s cousin’s friend said that that’s a real problem and he hopes that Congress does something about it.  Lizard people have their scales in everything, you know.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  133. 133.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Scout211:

    A representative for Herbster told DailyMail.com those posing are related to Walz through his grandfather’s brother.

    So he’s got second cousins (possibly a generation or two removed) who don’t share his politics.  Big whoop.

  134. 134.

    Bupalos

    This is cornered-rat type action.

    Which surprises me a little, I think as of today Trump is even-odds or better of winning the election he’s trying to undermine.

    Which probably means he and his people  know he can’t actually win at campaigning. They’re acting like this is a high-water point.

  137. 137.

    cain

    @Baud: The retired folks will be just fine – but it’s going to bite them in the ass.

    Ultimately, the goal is to make voting harder like they do in Texas.

  138. 138.

    3Sice

    As of today, they are all in on PA NC GA – 269 and throwing shit at the wall post election.

    It’s a slim reed, but a candidate no longer fit to campaign is a bit of a loadstone.

  139. 139.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Geminid:

    Yeah, Mike Johnson will put a couple dozen or more Republican Representatives at greater risk if he follows Trump’s lead on this. One problem here is that Johnson also has a couple of dozen or more nihilists in his caucus who do not give a shit about their purple district colleagues.

    Nihilists! Say what you want about the tenets of National Socialism…hey wait, he’s got some of those too.

  141. 141.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Anyway: Oh, they don’t even think being born on US soil should count for citizenship. That’s mainstream Republican dogma at this point. (I even know some Democrats who agree, based on what I think is a shortsighted reaction to stories about “birth tourism”.)

    I think most of them will admit that it DOES currently count for citizenship, but I’ve seen arguments trying to extract something else from the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof”.

  142. 142.

    BellaPea

    I. Am. SO. Sick. of. The Orange Menace. It’s like one of those movie monsters that never dies. Fed up.

  145. 145.

    Marc

    ​Losing a birth certificate is no bid deal. Any activity that requires one will want it from your birth state with an official seal – you’ll have to get a new one.

    Forgive me, but I can only imagine this being said with a straight face by a (middle class or above) white person.

  147. 147.

    Steve LaBonne

    @Marc: It’s a pain in the ass, requires considerable Internet savvy, requires an online payment method, and ain’t cheap. (I had to get mine from New York a few years ago so I could put in for my pension when I was about to retire.) It’s exactly the kind of thing that imposes a heavy burden on poor people and the Republican motherfuckers who pass voter ID laws know that very damn well.

  148. 148.

    wjca

    @Omnes Omnibus: Even if the law were passed today, it could not be implemented prior to Election Day.  Idiots.

    Tsk.  Assumes facts not in evidence, counselor.

    Specifically, that they have the least desire to see it passed.  Especially that minority with two brain cells to rub together — they realize that the folks most likely to be able to readily lay their hands on proof of citizenship are . . . naturalized citizens.  Oops.

  151. 151.

    Marc

    @Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony:  A free national picture ID, updated every 10 years for free at the Post Office, solves this problem. Democrats should propose amendments immediately to do just that. This will help reduce identity fraud too, by making it easier to detect. It will reduce undocumented immigration, because it will be easier to verify whether someone is eligible to work. When a citizen updates their ID, they are registered automatically in the state they reside in to vote. Republicans want to make voting harder, let’s pivot and make proving citizenship easier so it isn’t a burden.

    You make it sound so easy.  So, you’ll just need to show some documentation at a Post Office and you’ll get a pretty (no doubt with pictures of eagles) US National Biometric Identification Card in return?  If for whatever reason you can’t produce the required minimum set of documents: no work, no voting, no air travel, no social security, no medical care?  Sounds like a fun time for some poor folks, likely ending with a free ride to a random border or internment camp.  I don’t think I could vote in good conscience for any Democrat who would support something like this, but maybe you can.

  152. 152.

    wjca

    @Baud: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signing bill allowing anyone to carry a concealed gun in public w/o license

    So, in Georgia, carrying a gun at the polls counts as proof of citizenship?  Good to know.  Well, unless you’re a pollworker.

  153. 153.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Steve LaBonne: There are people out there who don’t register to vote because they think (probably incorrectly) that registering to vote is what gets you jury duty, and jury duty would devastate them because they’re living paycheck to paycheck and get no compensation for the hourly losses. No way is anyone even close to that situation going to jump through the surprisingly expensive hoops to get a birth certificate so they can vote.

  154. 154.

    Chris T.

    @Steve LaBonne:

    Somebody pointed out somewhere that having MAGA relatives just makes him exactly like almost any other white Midwestern Democrat.

    Yeah, only weird people think it’s unusual to have a crazy uncle.

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