Punchbowl seems to think that Hakeem Jeffries has a new media strategy.
Something has changed with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. He seems to be everywhere these days and coming out from under the shadow of the louder progressive voices who are taking on President Donald Trump.
This week, Jeffries participated in an over 12-hour sit-in on the Capitol steps on Sunday along with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and other House Democrats. In addition, Jeffries made an off-campus speech to a crowded theater near Capitol Hill to mark Trump’s first 100 days in office.
The Democratic leader has also beefed up his direct-to-camera videos, while increasing his rhetoric against Trump. And he now has two news conferences a week instead of one.
Jeffries’ new media strategy is a stark contrast to the typically measured leader we’ve long covered.
In a video he posted earlier this month, Jeffries referred to Trump’s Cabinet officials as “dumb effing individuals.” He also hit back at Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on X after Cruz criticized Democrats for going to El Salvador to advocate for the release of wrongfully detained Salvadoran immigrant, Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
[snip]During his speech to supporters this week, Jeffries also acknowledged the shift in his attitude towards Republicans. If you recall, Jeffries was “Mr. Bipartisan” at the start of the Congress, hoping to work with his GOP counterparts after a crushing election last November.
But the Democratic leader said Republicans rejected that plea and that Democrats can not stand for what they’re doing now.
“Donald Trump is doubling down, and instead of being a check and balance on this president’s abuse of power, Republicans in Congress are nothing more than a rubber stamp for his extreme agenda,” Jeffries said.
First of all, I wonder why Punchbowl thinks this is a “media strategy” rather than a strategy to oppose the orange monster. Arrogance? Does the media think everything is about them? Do they see everything as kabuki, rather than actual tactics or strategy? These days, is there an actual difference? I think YES.
Anyway, let’s not take their word for it.
We will not let this guy abolish Veterans Day.
— Hakeem Jeffries (@hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social) May 3, 2025 at 6:17 PM
.
This is not Joe Biden’s economy.
It’s your failed economy, Donald.
— Hakeem Jeffries (@hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social) April 30, 2025 at 4:28 PM
.
This from someone who abandoned his state during a historic winter storm to vacation in Cancun.
Nobody takes you seriously at this point.
And that’s Leader Jeffries to you, Edward. https://t.co/qSONuIkDLc
— Hakeem Jeffries (@hakeemjeffries) May 1, 2025
What do you guys think?
WaterGirl
Loved this from Jeffries: “no one takes you seriously at this point.”
And I read this: “And that’s Leader Jeffries to you, Edward” as…
With ASSHOLE in all caps.
I take it that “Ted” doesn’t like to be referred to his given name of Edward?
Another Scott
Finding ways to stay in the news and push back is good. The actual language doesn’t matter much to me at this point. But normies need to see and hear something on the news other than “47 did this thing today, and said this, er, unusual thing today, and ignored this law and court ruling today, and …”
Early voting in the June 17, 2025 Virginia primaries has already started.
We need to smartly respond to what 47 and his minions are doing, but, and more importantly I think, we also need to be working to build the foundation for the best possible results in November and next year to begin the process of stopping and reversing the horrors.
Best wishes,
Scott.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
“Ted” Rafael Calgary! Cruz.
Now I’m just waiting for Our Media Betters to talk about how that Jeffries tweet was most insulting to The Most Punchable Face In The Senate.
Anyway
Love it! Thanks for compiling these — strong pushback from Jeffries. Keep it going, Ds.
PS enjoyed the Oz election posts, thanks WG and Aussie jackals…
Omnes Omnibus
As I have said several times, I think that leaders and strategies are going to emerge and evolve over time. Faced with an unprecedented problem, we cannot expect the best way of fighting back is going to be immediately obvious, nor can we expect that everyone in the current leadership (who were chosen as legislative leaders) will be suited to the task or, if they are, that they will be able to seamlessly pivot to the new role. A lot of horrible shit has happened since January, but we have to remember that it hasn’t been a lot of time.
Nukular Biskits
DAY-UM at that last tweet.
I hope someone called 911 ’cause that was a murder.
WaterGirl
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: Oh, they are already doing that.
Google it and you will see that the media is posting stories about the back-and-forth on this between Jeffries and Cruz.
Because, you know, there aren’t more important things to talk about. Though I am talking about it here, but that’s different, right? Because I’m talking about Jeffries taking the fight to Republicans.
Professor Bigfoot
In before “He’s doing it wrong.” “He’s not accomplishing anything!” “We need these feckless Democrats to FIGHT!”
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: It hasn’t been a lot of time, but at the same time it feels like forever.
I agree on strategy. Let a hundred strategies bloom and let’s see which ones work. And which ones work for which people.
Sometimes vinegar works better for some, and honey works better for others.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: I really appreciate your take on this.
Spanky
Raphael Edward Cruz. Dunno why he referred to him by his middle name, unless that’s a name Cruz particularly doesn’t like.
cmorenc
True that how well Jeffries and the Ds can get the media / press cover their efforts IS important. That observation does not contradict the problem that the media focus on his “strategy” is a media-narcissistic distraction from covering the substantive disasters Trump and his Administration are inflicting on the US public, which is the whole point of Jeffries’ efforts, and not playing a media chess game with Trump and the GOP.
Baud
Maybe they know libs are obsessed with messaging.
WaterGirl
@Spanky: I wondered that, too. Maybe he’s hoping Cruz will come back and say “my name is Ted, asshole” and then Hakeem can say, no, your name is Raphael!
Game, set, match.
WaterGirl
@Baud: Not all libs! :-)
zhena gogolia
Go, Leader Jeffries!
Anyway
@Omnes Omnibus: Cheeto is barely into his first 100 days — over 1200 days left in his term. That’s the scary part.
Glidwrith
I think most normies simply go about their lives without thinking about what the Feds are doing. I do want our leaders to be out there constantly repeating and reminding them about the destruction taking place or all the normies see is “this happened, move along”.
different-church-lady
Dumb HATEFUL individuals. That middle part is important.
different-church-lady
@Professor Bigfoot: Now what do you have against lazy thinkers with rote takes?
Citizen Dave
I’m happy to see the change in Jeffries’ tactics. I like his statement on the trump cabinet. The sheer level of incompetence and stupidity of MAGA cannot be emphasized enough. Another front to open up, as we all talk about here, is all the things that our nation is losing every day with these idiots doing their damage to break us.
different-church-lady
That’s one of them rhetorical questions, ain’t it?
Baud
@WaterGirl:
Heretic.
different-church-lady
@Glidwrith: Two months from now when there aren’t any air conditioners to buy the normies will start to get it.
Ben Cisco
@Professor Bigfoot: Ramen.
He’s actually one of the best, mentored by perhaps THE BEST. Let him cook.
different-church-lady
@Nukular Biskits:
Naw, let him bleed out.
Nukular Biskits
@different-church-lady:
It’ll somehow be Biden’s fault …
NotMax
@WaterGirl
“Cancún, El Salvador. Close enough, libtard.”
//
WaterGirl
@Ben Cisco: Can you say more? Best at what? Not challenging you, just trying to understand.
Professor Bigfoot
@Omnes Omnibus:
@WaterGirl:
You guys are absolutely correct.
This is something that I have always admired about the Americans— they go in not knowing jack, but they learn.
They got their asses handed to them at Kasserine Pass, but they learned and evolved; and the only way to learn what works is to throw shit against the wall ‘til something sticks.
Things are starting to stick, methinks.
Professor Bigfoot
@different-church-lady: Do you think I wanna get banned? ;^D
Glidwrith
@different-church-lady: True, and then all the background chatter that our leaders have been saying will be there, framing who is to blame.
LeftCoastYankee
It’s almost like Walz’s ‘weird people’ take was a better strategy than the consultants ‘keep on message about which of the Titanic’s deck chairs we want to move’ approach.
I hope they make everything and everyone around Bozo a piñata. Hit it constantly and relentlessly until even the least engaged are aware of the orange loser stink.
also too: “Skipping like a dipshit” should be Musk’s epitaph.
Professor Bigfoot
@WaterGirl: I think he’s saying (and I completely concur) that Hakeem Jeffries is really good at this; and that he was mentored by Nancy SMASH— while currently out of favor, that woman was an effective legislator and especially Speaker of the House.
Steve LaBonne
Leader Jeffries is a machine politician with sharp elbows, and I mean that as a compliment. We have the right guy in that job and should count ourselves lucky about that.
la caterina
@Ben Cisco: GO, Leader Jeffries, indeed! He’s my Rep. And he’s going to get better and better at this. I’ve been watching him for fifteen years, since he was in the state lege.
Professor Bigfoot
@Steve LaBonne: I’d say he’s a canny politician who can both “read the room” and “count the votes.”
Things Pastor Johnson seems incapable of.
Baud
@Spanky:
Didn’t want people to confuse him with one of the Ninja Turtles?
Baud
@WaterGirl:
Also too, nominated.
la caterina
@la caterina: Oh darn, couldn’t add more “reply to” folks in that comment
WaterGirl
PSA: We have $105 left on the final Angel match for the PA Supreme Court effort.
Matt McIrvin
@Professor Bigfoot:
But then they forget, and have to learn it all over again. At least when it comes to politics. The American public seems to have a collective memory that lasts about 2 years.
WaterGirl
@la caterina: I assume you know how to reply to more than one person, just didn’t do it?
la caterina
@WaterGirl: Can’t figure out how to do that.
different-church-lady
@Omnes Omnibus: But everyone is supposed to do what I think they should do the moment I think of it!
WaterGirl
@la caterina: Oh, I can probably help with that. Unless you are on a phone. Are you on a phone or a tablet or a computer?
If you are on a phone, I can explain in general principles, but not step by step.
Eolirin
@Professor Bigfoot: Johnson is nonetheless doing a better job of holding his caucus together than I would have hoped. Though I suspect a lot of that is being driven by pressure from Trump and his people directly.
The only remaining fight is Medicaid cuts, and maybe the debt ceiling if there’s a rebellion by the freedom caucus and Democratic votes are needed to pass the thing in the House. But I’m kind of expecting the debt ceiling will get raised with a nasty bill that we have little choice but to accept, with the House going into immediate recess right before the deadline after throwing it to the Senate.
We really needed to have the House going into this. It’s frustrating that we lost it by so little.
WaterGirl
@Eolirin:
THREATS
la caterina
@WaterGirl: non-Apple laptop
schrodingers_cat
Is anyone paying attention to what’s going on in India after the terrorist attack in Kashmir?
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
I’ve seen bits and pieces of news. Dicey
Eolirin
@WaterGirl: Fair enough.
Harrison Wesley
@Spanky: He doesn’t want to be mistaken for a Ninja Turtle.
Avalie
@WaterGirl: I added $105 and noted it in the comments below.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: One of the widows is being trolled mercilessly on social media by the IT cell and bhakts doing it for free because she said a few kind words about the local Kashmiris and appealed not to make it a Hindu-vs-Muslim thing.
WaterGirl
@la caterina:
Let’s say I want to reply to Omnes and Baud and Another Scott.
I click REPLY on the Omnes comment.
It puts @Omnes in the box. I hit the X to close the box.
Then I move to the Baud comment and click REPLY.
It puts @Baud in the box, and @Omnes is still there. I hit the X to close the box.
Then I move to the Another Scott comment and click REPLY.
It puts @Another Scott in the box, along with Omnes and baud.
Then I can say whatever I want to all three.
*or I can type something individually after each nym, and have 3 different replies in the same comment.
Does that make sense?
Professor Bigfoot
@schrodingers_cat: I had not even heard about it at all!
WaterGirl
@Avalie: Thank you so much!
HinTN
@WaterGirl: @la caterina:
On my android, I reply to one, scroll up and X out of the comment window. Then scroll to the next comment to which I wish to reply and reply. Pesto, both names in one comment.
I do love the photo from BC today.
Never mind my pedantry above.
Badpenny
Welcome to the party, pal.
– John McClane
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
Social media is garbage.
arrieve
@different-church-lady:
We’re already there. I meant to replace my air conditioners (small NY apartment, two through-the-wall units) last summer but never got around to it. Oh, I’ll do it next year, I said. The air conditioners have been ordered but it turns out they’re manufactured in Canada (through the wall means I had a choice of exactly two models that were the correct size) so I don’t even have an estimate of when they will ship and who knows what they will eventually cost.
MagdaInBlack
@WaterGirl: makes more sense than my cut n paste method. Boy, do I feel “duh” now for not knowing that =-)
RandomMonster
I think Democrats should call him ‘Anchor Baby’ Cruz.
Ruckus
Does the media think everything is about them?
I’d bet that much of the media actually does.
They get to speak out (or not!) and get paid for it. And sometimes, to some of them, that getting paid for it is reflected in what they write. Some of them know this, some of them are responding in what they think is correct and protects their job. And some of them shout the truth. They are part of humanity, in all it’s types, angles, monetary rewards…..
They have the power of the press. OK they do as long as the person responsible for their check wants them to stay. The difference today is that a lot of the heads of the companies that pays them have a lot of money – the holders of power in many human’s minds. At one point in humanity, money was something that while nice was not extremely important. One could have a plot of land for almost nothing and could raise and cultivate their own food. For the vast majority any more that isn’t the way it works. You have a job. You get paid. You often do things for your boss that you otherwise wouldn’t. Not illegal stuff, just things that you wouldn’t do in your daily life if you didn’t get paid for it and that pay put food on the table and a roof over your head. At least for most people. This world has changed a lot in the lifetime of many alive today. How we exist, how we eat, where we live. The world, at least our part of it seems to be regressing a tad. Back to the time of existence and wealth, which of course never went away. And do not forget that existence and wealth are two different things. That does not mean that existence is just survival, but that a cog is just a cog. The modern economy hasn’t really changed anything, there are just more of the monied and more of the workers. And mostly the work has changed to better than slavery. In theory all working is better than it used to be. But theory and reality are often not the same thing. Are we better off than we were? Well look at our current president and tell me…. He has suggested some things that can make life better for many. But is that because he thinks (such as it is…) that this is necessary or is it in self protection? I tend to go with #2.
Suzanne
Very happy to see this from Leader Jeffries. More, please.
different-church-lady
A note: yesterday I was very cranky towards certain commenters.
I wish to apologize to those I was not cranky towards.
WaterGirl
@MagdaInBlack: I am willing to bet that you are not the only one who didn’t know that.
I figure if one person doesn’t know (la caterina) there are a hundred more who don’t know but didn’t say anything.
So it’s always worth it to explain! :-)
Ben Cisco
@WaterGirl: Simple. Speaker Emeritus Pelosi took him under his wing. She saw something in him that could be nutured and she has done so. She knew he’d be underestimated, by both the Repubs AND certain Dems. She persevered, so did he. He will rise in spite of the naysayers, and he WILL ‘Let A Naysayer Know’.
arrieve
@arrieve: Also OT but can I just share:
Yesterday one of my adult ESL students texted that he would be late because while he was driving in to the city he was stopped by the police and taken out of his car. Then he never showed up.
I’ve been worrying about him all night, and finally heard that he’s okay. He was delayed for a long time (why, who knows?) and when they let him go he just went back home. I had visions of ICE detention in Louisiana. These are fucking scary times we live in.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
This sounds unpleasant.
hrprogressive
Too little, too late, he and most other elected Dems are not able to meet this moment, and “the media” will write whatever they think will get them clicks due to rage or hopium.
WaterGirl
@Ben Cisco: Thank you.
WaterGirl
@Baud: So crowded in there!
It must be like a clown car in there if you are replying to 5 people. :-)
Baud
@arrieve:
Glad he’s ok. Scary.
am
This is what I’ve been waiting for. No friendly fire, and very well targeted and consistent messaging.
It is like the Democrats have learned the best from effective tactics from Republicans in a multipronged political front without the racist xenophobic bigotry trash. They have Bernie and AOC out there for the base, and Hakeem Jeffries is *kicking Trump when he’s down* in from of mass media, which is great.
The Democrats in the past have expended great deals of political capital fixing problems before they became problems. You could be forgiven, putting your corporate / political hat on, that there was no downside to supporting Repulbicans. Democrats would fix their mess regardless, and only the Republicans would hold a grudge and punish you. In game theory, supporting Republicans is Pareto Efficient.
Waiting until he did dumb shit made his power base weaker (we’re seeing the dumber Rs in the house and senate lose messaging discipline), and started really moving the needle in the donor class and independents has been sad but necessary. I have personally seen Trump supporters drop because of Ukraine. Not soft-drop, but they literally hate him now.
“Abolish Veteran’s Day” – fantastic. The NYT will spend a million pages looking into whether this is accurate and nobody will give a shit. It’s a great soundbyte and is accurate enough.
“It’s your failed economy, Donald’ – fantastic. Short enough that dumb ass American attention spans can last the entire sentence, and the benefit of using his first name which is disrespectful and sounds less cool. Every Democrat should call him Donald all the time. The closest association is Donald Duck for most people. And to be fair, it is unfair to the duck, who has far more integrity and dignity. Same applies with “Edward” addressing Cruz, if you wanted to think this is not deliberate.
“Dumb effing individuals” – more of the same. Short, memorble, accurate, and diminutive.
Anyway, it is a welcome surprise after a few decades with on brief exceptions to have my party not doing dumb shit constantly.
WaterGirl
@hrprogressive: So if it’s too late, is it hopeless?
I am more of the “when the going gets tough, the tough get going” type. I think I would rather be me.
Baud
@different-church-lady:
Apology accepted.
StringOnAStick
I have a friend who can’t find anything good to ever say about D’s and says plenty of demoralizing stuff, kinda like a few here. She has also been so deep into the internet propaganda from Putin that she thinks the coming economic crash is necessary and will be good thing; sure it will be hard but it will be better for all working people once its over. Yeah, right. I listen to her just about as much as I listen to the doomers here.
Ben Cisco
@WaterGirl: Happy to help! :)
WaterGirl
@arrieve: Shit. No one is safe.
The only plus is that more people will wake up after either being impacted directly or knowing people who are,
Baud
@StringOnAStick:
I didn’t know you were friends with Jill Stein.
different-church-lady
@WaterGirl: @Another Scott: @comrade scotts agenda of rage: @Anyway: @Omnes Omnibus: @Nukular Biskits: @Professor Bigfoot: @Miss Bianca: @Spanky: @cmorenc: @Baud: @zhena gogolia: @Glidwrith: @Citizen Dave: @NotMax: @LeftCoastYankee: @Steve LaBonne: @la caterina: @Matt McIrvin: @Eolirin: @schrodingers_cat: @Harrison Wesley: @Avalie: @HinTN: @Badpenny: @arrieve: @MagdaInBlack: @RandomMonster: @Ruckus: @Suzanne: @Ben Cisco: @hrprogressive:
I don’t understand what you mean.
Baud
la caterina
@WaterGirl: Yes, Thanks! Got it.
different-church-lady
@Baud: Shit, I knew I forgot someone…
Ishiyama
“That’s Leader Jeffries, if you’re nasty”
Booger
@WaterGirl: Didnt they pass rules against using a person’s preferred identifiers?
different-church-lady
@am: Wait, you’re saying kicking your own candidate in the nuts is bad?
Harrison Wesley
@Baud: So when it all goes bad, he’s turning the government over to Joe?
WaterGirl
@different-church-lady: Your comment is the perfect reminder that you can have 7 links in a comment.
But if you have 8 or more, your comment goes into moderations and it can be hours before a front pager spots it.
Booger
@WaterGirl: Don’t forget to add shit and dead flesh to that list, just to be all-embracing.
Baud
@Ishiyama:
Nice.
(Unfortunately, I think she’s gone Trump).
karen gail
Playing catch-up on stories in news; I guess I missed that Trump is planning on building ballroom in White House. Got hung up on paving over the Rose Garden.
So the White House is basically a Southern slave built mansion, but it is or was totally dignified. Until Trump turned Oval Office into a “gold room” and all can imagine is that he will build a ballroom with will make any tinpot dictator proud; gold paint, gold fabric, gold carpets.
Ruckus
@Citizen Dave:
Another front to open up, as we all talk about here, is all the things that our nation is losing every day with these idiots doing their damage to break us.
They aren’t all idiots. Assholes sure, pompous arrogant assholes. And they believe that money is the one and only power. Now money is nice, more money is nicer but it’s the people and what they do for or with that money that is important. I worked in professional sports and knew a few people involved with Money. Not MONEY, but more than money. Most of them were nice, rational human beings. They didn’t lord their money over others. They were rational. Understanding. They earned their money, many not the easy way, they earned it, and they didn’t hold it over others. Money was the means to an end, not the end game. For people like shitforbrains, money is the end goal/the entire game. Which is one reason why he is shitforbrains.
WaterGirl
@Booger: I laughed out loud.
Yes! I hope that our side makes that point repeatedly.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: BJP Grandees are some of the worst social media trolls.
Betty Cracker
I’m glad Jeffries mentioned the Veterans Day thing. It seemed to fly under the radar in the media coverage I saw, and it shouldn’t.
Been busy with family stuff, and I was just catching up on Bluesky. Saw some clips from an interview Trump did with Welker today, and hoo boy. Here’s one exchange after Trump complained about the “Biden economy” 100 days into his own shambolic shit-show:
Sure, man.
prostratedragon
@schrodingers_cat:
I just saw this:
India Halts Water Flow to Pakistan — First Time in 65 Years
Makes a person wish we had a real foreign affairs apparatus.
Soprano2
I have a MAGA friend on FB who posted a meme that said Democrats didn’t go to Gaza to ask for the release of the hostages but went to El Salvador. I didn’t bother to point out that no one can go to Gaza these days!! Dumb ass…..
WaterGirl
@Booger: Well, I was going with the common “you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”, but I feel quite certain that shit and dead flesh both catch flies, so I’ll give you that one on a technicality.
Ruckus
@Omnes Omnibus:
THIS.
Perspective is important. It’s not the only or necessarily most important concept but it is important.
Booger
@Spanky: Because ‘Ted’ is derived from ‘Edward?’
Baud
@Soprano2:
We also didn’t send hostages to Gaza.
am
@Soprano2: Dumbasses are going to be dumbasses. This person is not “wrong” they are a dumbass and there is no cure. I am too old to lose sleep over others’ faults. Just call them a dumbass and focus precious and short remaining time on Earth for productive purposes.
That is not directed at you, per se, but a general observation. I’m just in a good mood and fired up at the good political messaging.
schrodingers_cat
@different-church-lady: Yeah I have zero patience for the burn-it-down folks when I am the kindling.
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker:
I snorted (literally) when I read that in your comment – I thought surely that was made up.
RIDICULOUS ON ITS FACE. What a toddler.
Ruckus
@different-church-lady:
OK, I laughed out loud.
prostratedragon
@am:
Always thought those duckbilled caps he wears were audacious.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
His base are the people who thank Jesus when their team wins but don’t blame Jesus when they lose.
WaterGirl
@Baud: isn’t that the truth.
am
@different-church-lady: Right? As thought I need to hear weak-minded parsing of a statement from a bipartisan perspective of the statements of someone fighting a would be white nationalist lord-emperor of the US?
Donald has spent 100 days digging himself into a hole, time to grab shovels and fill it in. We can thank him for single handed unity Europe and destroying the conservative movements of Canada and Australia later.
different-church-lady
@Baud: One of these days, one of them is going to be so high on his own ego he’s gonna say, “God didn’t make all those three pointers, I DID!”
Ruckus
@Professor Bigfoot:
Things are starting to stick, methinks.
They are.
Some are smart enough to see and get the whole picture, some are not following close enough to see the whole picture – but I believe that more than enough are.
catclub
@Professor Bigfoot:
I think Pastor Johnson has – unfortunately for our side – gotten a whole lot better at counting votes. and herding his crazies.
different-church-lady
@am: I think he needs more rope.
Baud
@different-church-lady:
“I’m a better basketball player than Jesus Christ!”
different-church-lady
@Baud: C’mon, man, JC’s been on the IR for a while now…
John Sterling
It’s pretty rich that the media seem to think everything’s just PR, when they’ve spent years bad-mouthing Democrats and patting Republicans. They trashed Biden so bad he couldn’t run for re-election while making excuses for Trump. If Jeffries wants to use the media to make a point, that’s fine with me.
gene108
@Spanky:
His father’s name is Rafael Cruz. I’m guessing his middle name offers some disambiguation between father and son.
lowtechcyclist
I’ve been saying for years that the purpose of Axios’ existence is to make Politico look halfway decent by comparison. Not sure where Punchbowl fits in on the food chain, but my brief impressions suggest that they might do the same for Axios.
Baud
@different-church-lady:
Too bad he doesn’t know anyone who’s good at healing.
Ruckus
@Matt McIrvin:
In many ways we haven’t had to be as involved for the last few decades as we need to be now.
We’ve had leaders from both sides of the aisle and while we may not have appreciated what some of the other side was doing, we haven’t seen complete and utter failures trying to act as if they were actual living human beings – and failing at it significantly. Till recently, which in overall time is not just minutes/hours/days/weeks ago. And never forget that as shitty as shitforbrains is, PEOPLE VOTED FOR HIM. AGAIN.
frosty
@karen gail: After watching “The Residence” I’m hopeful that the Swedish Ivy that’s been on the mantel in the Oval Office for over 50 years may be safe somewhere. The staff wouldn’t trash it on FFOTUS’s orders: “This is our house. These people only live in it for 4 or 8 years.”
Matt McIrvin
@Ruckus: The divided and federated nature of US government also serves to dilute perceived cause and effect: you can always find somebody of the party you don’t like to blame for anything that happens.
WaterGirl
@am:
I’m with you on the first part, but I think we can multitask and thank Canada and Australia now. :-)
It was only going to get worse for everyone if Canada and Australia followed the US into the abyss.
WaterGirl
@catclub: I will repeat what I said earlier in this thread.
I don’t think Johnson has gotten better at counting and herding. I think it’s the not-even-veiled THREATS to Republicans and their families that most likely account for the change.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Soprano2: Also, the US didn’t deport people to Gaza
WaterGirl
@John Sterling: Absolutely!
different-church-lady
@Dorothy A. Winsor: …yet.
gene108
@Eolirin:
I think Republicans see this session as the ability to put a capstone on their 50 year mission to destroy all the progress this country made in labor rights, civil rights, and women’s rights over the last century.
Feels to me more like sharks smelling blood in the water and going in for the kill.
Ruckus
@arrieve:
Aw, the fun of having to live in a world where ASSINE STUPIDITY is in charge and we all get to live with it.
How much will be left and how much of it will actually work when shitforbrains gets done with it? Some of the citizens of this country use the VA for their healthcare – will it exist in 6-12 months? Or any of the numerous other government systems that we often use not even knowing that the government is involved. How about food safety? How about law enforcement? How about medical care/control? Modern life often asks for trust that so many things/parts of our lives are secure. But how much of that can truly work without rational, reasonable, visible control – of the government?
japa21
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
This is not a direct statement to you, but I really wish people in general would stop using the term “deport” to describe what was done to the people sent to El Salvador. They were imprisoned for “crimes” without due process. The prison just happens to be in El Salvador.
The term “deport” actually resonates in a positive way with a lot of people.
catclub
@WaterGirl: I blame the person who asked him. of course he will say that.
Ruckus
@different-church-lady:
OK, that just got a laugh out loud response from me.
That’s easily worth 10 points for you.
Matt McIrvin
@japa21: Yeah, but are we sure “imprison them in torture concentration camps” doesn’t also resonate in a positive way with the same people?
karen gail
Anyone else seen the post;
“We’re about 3 lines into the “first they came for” poem. It’s not a very long poem, folks.”
Ruckus
@WaterGirl:
“when the going gets tough, the tough get going”
This always works better in the long run. Because tough is not always necessary. And when it isn’t it almost always makes things worse. But when it is necessary – it is vital. Some never understand the difference.
Sure Lurkalot
I’m linking to Aaron Rupar’s BlueSky as he does yeoman’s work compiling the horrors that are the “Sunday shows”.
https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com
Apparently, in Trump’s economy, we will have all the cheap gasoline we want but few toys, crayons or strollers. We may have to invade Greenland militarily for our international and national security. We were being ripped off by China to the tune of billions of dollars and now we’re saving billions of dollars.
But no dolls, no strollers, kids. Hey, have you seen my new coin?
Booger
@japa21: ‘Exile’ works better.
Ruckus
@different-church-lady:
Money is the thing that makes humanity go around. Like the world.
We earn it, save it, spend it, rinse repeat. If we are lucky or have a needed skill we may actually earn more than we spend. Some are very lucky. Some not so much. Long ago survival didn’t really depend on money. It could help, but it wasn’t totally necessary. Today it is almost impossible to survive like that. Almost. But most of us live around other humans. Often these days a lot of humans. Now we mostly sell our skills and live off the earnings. Some earn a lot and some earn little, and often the skill level is not even counted. Sometimes it hardly even exists out in the open.
different-church-lady
@karen gail: “And then they came for me, and I said ‘FUCK YEAH!’ because I’m a goddamned idiot in a cult.”
BellaPea
So the local USA Today (Knoxville News-Sentinel) had an “added bonus” section that was basically a 7-page homage to the Orange Idiot. I read through the whole damned thing and really, what a humiliating suck-up. It referred to his “incredible comeback” and “political power.” Horseshit.
Also read an interesting article on my newsfeed by a young American writer who is currently working in Paris. She did a short “people on the street” poll and also talked to friends and co-workers. The French despise and loathe Trump, can’t understand why he was elected twice and basically no longer consider the US an ally. Nice going on destroying 250 years of jointly supporting democracy and freedom, you ugly Orange Piece of Garbage.
Harrison Wesley
@japa21: “Rendition?”
different-church-lady
@Ruckus: I liked it better when you hit the other tribe over the head with rocks and took their food.
Professor Bigfoot
@Booger: “Exile” is definitely accurate.
Czar Chasm
It’s a start.
If he can combine this messaging with party votes that unanimously oppose all the sh—ty bills and resolutions the Orange Party sets forth, I would be more persuaded. Let’s see if actions back up the words.
JoyceH
@karen gail: A ball room? I may barf. Trump can’t decide if he’s a Russian mobster or an ancien regime aristo. (Either of those tend to come to gruesome ends.). The East Room is plenty big enough for most purposes and if he needs something bigger he can have them put up a pavilion tent. I don’t want that tacky crook inflicting his taste on our White House.
Harrison Wesley
@karen gail: *And then they came for me, and there was nobody for me to give a condescending lecture to.”
schrodingers_cat
@Ruckus: But don’t call them stupid or evil.
They Call Me Noni
@WaterGirl: I found it helpful. Thank you WG.
cmorenc
@different-church-lady:
(addressed to posts by several of us):
One way to put it is that the media is covering this from the angle of a chess match between Jeffries/Ds vs Trump for control of the narrative, as opposed to focusing on the actual substance and impact of Trump’s actions and policies etc.
Joy in FL
@WaterGirl: @la caterina: @MagdaInBlack: I’m one of those who did not know how to include multiple people in a reply. Thank you for that explanation. I made a sceenshot of it.
schrodingers_cat
@prostratedragon: Nothing has hurt the Muslims of the subcontinent more than the formation of Pakistan. Modi’s 2nd and 3rd terms is probably the next worst thing.
Heidi Mom
@frosty: IIRC it was moved to a greenhouse for safekeeping.
Another Scott
@different-church-lady: Hey!!
Best wishes,
Scott.
Jeffro
Leader Jeffries seems to have figured out (finally) (thank god) that we HAVE to break this maladministration’s momentum, that we absolutely have to fight them at every turn.
Again, FINALLY, but I’ll take it.
He also (finally) (obviously) figured out that Dems are not going to rally behind milquetoast politicians – we want FIGHTERS. Newsom, Whitmer: OUT. Pritzker, AOC: IN
Joy in FL
Since it’s an open thread– I’m thinking about buying an iPad this week. I never remember about the Jackal who has that Apple discount code, but I was reading this thread, and I remembered about it. But I don’t remember it. I know I saw it in a post in the last few weeks, but I can’t find it. Does someone know it?
Matt McIrvin
I just keep thinking of Trump’s campaign signs–they were all over around here:
TRUMP = LOW PRICES
KAMALA = HIGH PRICES
This business about how high consumer prices are good actually and it’ll be better for us to stop buying things was nowhere to be seen, but now all of his stalwarts seem to be embracing it.
They all believe gasoline is going to get cheaper because of DRILL BABY DRILL, and I guess gasoline is the only thing that matters.
MagdaInBlack
@Joy in FL: Now I can’t seem to duplicate wtf it was I was doing before, which is fine, but more duh on my part.
It’s a DUH kinda Sunday for me =-)
frosty
@Heidi Mom: Good to hear! I would have moved it to the head groundskeeper’s house. Get it far away from the dickhead who replaced it with the tacky gold
stuffshit.ETA via Wikipedia: The White House did not initially respond to questions on the plant’s whereabouts, but on March 18, 2025, they confirmed it had been withdrawn to the White House greenhouse where pots of the ivy had previously been kept when not in use.
me
@Matt McIrvin: The irony is that opec is increasing production which will probably cause gas prices to drop but make the US shale production unprofitable again. Drill baby drill doesn’t work when they can’t make money.
WaterGirl
@They Call Me Noni: You’re welcome!
Ruckus
@different-church-lady:
OK, I laughed out loud at that!
Thank You!
WaterGirl
@Joy in FL: Send me email and I will put you in touch with PatrickG!
Another Scott
@Baud: @Harrison Wesley: @Betty Cracker:
Of course.
Nothing is ever, ever, 47’s fault.
TheDailyBeast.com:
If something bad happens it’s always someone else’s fault.
Always.
Grr…
Best wishes,
Scott.
Geminid
@Ben Cisco: I first started paying attention to Hakeem Jeffries in November of 2018, when he won the election for Democrati Caucus Chairman. I think it took until Trump’s first impeachment trial, when Jeffries was one of the ten House Managers, for him to show to show up on a lot of Democrats’ radars.
And Jeffries still wasn’t that well-known when he was elected Minority Leader in November of 2022, after Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn stepped back from leadership and the team of Jeffries, Clark and Aguilar took their places.
But I saw an interesting item in Hakeem Jeffries’ Wikipedia biography, about his first House race in 2012. Jeffries was a New York Assemblyman at the time, and he was running for the seat held by Rep. Ed Towns who was retiring. For the Democratic primary, the Jeffries campaign circulated a flyer with a picture that showed Jeffries with Bill Clinton and Barack Obama standing on either side, all wearing big smiles.
Obama was President at the time and would not formally endorse Jeffries in a Democratic primary; but posing with Jeffries was an implicit endorsement, and Obama and Clinton wouldn’t have done that for just any state legislator. All that is to say, Hakeem Jeffries was a known talent when he was first sworn in to Congress in early 2013, and began working with Nancy Pelosi.
LAC
@Harrison Wesley: 😂
Ruckus
@schrodingers_cat:
Don’t think we need to.
Either they are going to learn it on their own or won’t learn it in 3 lifetimes. Given humanity I’m going with #2.
cmorenc
@Jeffro:
As much as I like and would support AOC e.g. for President, the reality is that Pritzger is by far the better-matched and more sellable counterpoint to Donald Trump, given our country’s current electorate. Pritzger is a paradigm example of how someone can be an extremely successful businessman and at the same time hold and articulately sell a relatively progressive viewpoint to the electorate. By far the most important objective in 2028 is to take back the Presidency (and hopefully, control of Congress along with it). My vote is to whomever most likely has the pragmatic ability to sell it and do it, over who in an ideal world I would prefer.
Joy in FL
@MagdaInBlack: Can you make a screenshot of WaterGirl’s directions? It was comment #56.
frosty
@Joy in FL: https://balloon-juice.com/2023/12/18/patrickg-has-an-offer-you-cant-refuse-some-of-you-anyway/
@WaterGirl: I should have known you’d be on top of it!
Joy in FL
@WaterGirl: Thanks. Email to you is on the way.
MagdaInBlack
@Joy in FL: Oh that part I can do, it’s easy.
I was doing something elaborate and silly before and now I cant remember what it was nor do I want to.
frosty
@cmorenc: I didn’t think the comment was an endorsement of AOC as a presidential candidate; it was an endorsement of her as a *fighter*.
XeckyGilchrist
“So, for instance, when in a recent national speech the Financial Minister of the Royal World Estate of Quarlvista actually dared to say that due to one thing and another and the fact that no one had made any food for a while and the king seemed to have died and most of the population had been on holiday now for over three years, the economy was now in what he called “one whole joojooflop situation,” everyone was so pleased that he felt able to come out and say it that they quite failed to note that their entire five-thousand-year-old civilization had just collapsed overnight.”
― Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything
Joy in FL
@frosty: Thank you. I screenshot PatrickG’s directions and have emailed WaterGirl.
Joy in FL
@MagdaInBlack: oh, ok.
Citizen Alan
No offense but…
HopefullyNotcassandra
@cmorenc: the ridiculous horse race coverage which excuses our DC press from research work and fails to tell us anything we actually need to know.
Matt McIrvin
@me: The right collectively believes that the price of gasoline is entirely controlled by US environmental regulations restricting oil drilling on public lands. I don’t think the reality of the situation matters much.
Melancholy Jaques
@Eolirin:
No doubt. The few times there have been rumblings of dissent, a word or two from Trump & it goes away. They all saw what happened to Liz Cheney, they all know Trump is why they are in power.
jimmiraybob
I think that the White House Ministry of Justice is putting out some pretty insane AI. And it’s all about loving the Supreme Leader. North America? Or North Korea? Russia?
At this point, along with Trump’s new professions of absolute ignorance of and disdain for the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution, it should be clear that he is far beyond being unfit for office. He is a self-declared traitor to the nation. The ghost of Benedict Arnold is blushing.
I hope that the generals and admirals that are still loyal to the oaths are readying battle plans to recover the Republic. That would be one military operation that I would unhesitatingly sign up for.
Ruckus
@Joy in FL:
It’s not me.
And I’ve made tools for Apple to use in making their products. The first one was in 1975/76. And have had Apple products for some time.
Have also had other brands of computers and phones. First cell phone was in the mid/late 90s. Not Apple. First iPhone was not long after they first came out, which was in 2007.
Baud
@Jeffro:
This you?
Baud
@Matt McIrvin:
People believe what they want to believe.
jimmiraybob
@Another Scott:
“If something bad happens it’s always someone else’s fault.”
The buck don’t stop at the White House any more. In fact, the DC Metro Buck line has been disappeared altogether.
zhena gogolia
@karen gail: I’d lol but it’s so sad
Captain C
@hrprogressive: That’s helpful.
karen gail
@Matt McIrvin: Guess most of the “right” isn’t old enough to remember the oil embargo and change in gasoline prices. I do; was one of the “lucky” ones that had a regular gas station used not only for filling up but also for service. We would get a phone call when they were going to get a gasoline delivery so could get an early place in line.
Ruckus
@Matt McIrvin:
Reality?
What does reality have to do with the conservative side of the aisle? They want what they want, logic and reality be damned. They want a world that looks like what they think a world should look like. The concept of reality seems out of their grasp. Because they want to be in charge, to have power – not to lead. Leading is guiding millions of animals in a reasonable direction. Power to them is getting your way or holding your breath till it shows up. Power in a democracy is far, far different than what conservatives want. Because what they want is a world that treats them as the top of the heap. Unfortunately for them the heap they want is a heap of _ _ _ _. Democracy isn’t easy, everyone has to participate – at least minimally. What they want is their way without any work or effort. And that is in no way a democracy.
Interesting Name Goes Here
@Captain C: That’s the Progressive way in the year 2025, it would seem.
Geminid
@Jeffro: Another way of looking at the matter is that Jeffries, Clark, Aguilar and other House Democrats understood all along Democrats had to break Trump’s momentum, but were counting on Trump and the Republicans to dissipate enough of their own momentum before trying to break it themselves. In the event, this is what is happeneng and I think it was forseeable.
I’ve seen people criticize Jeffries for saying that Democrats have to choose their battles, as if that showed weakness. But the corollary is that Democrats cannot let others choose their battles: not Trump, not the Republicans and especially not the media. To me, that would really show weakness.
WaterGirl
@Interesting Name Goes Here: Only one comment like that out of 192; I’d say maybe not!
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: Yeah. Why do I have to be in a box with you? WTH?
Glidwrith
@Booger: Kidnapped and human trafficking
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: You know what you did!
WaterGirl
@Glidwrith: Much closer. Though lots of people think human trafficking is only young girls.
Kidnapped, thrown in jail for the rest of his life, no trial.
They might be able to comprehend that.
MN Grubert
@Omnes Omnibus:
Spot on!
Good to see you back, if ever you left.
Interesting Name Goes Here
@WaterGirl: Here, anyway.
I’m sorry, but much like the word populist, Progressive – definitively as a label and possibly as a word entirely – is becoming one of those things that has been hijacked and co-opted by people who have no interest in actually living up to the standard, at least in my personal experience. Not only have I consistently watched so-called Progressives of varying degrees of prominence showing their whole asses (Tulsi Gabbard and John Fetterman are just the two latest) since Trump came down that damn escalator, but I have also been personally accused of being a MAGA/Nazi sympathizer for as little as having a difference of opinion on the intensity of a strategy’s execution. Has that happened here? No, but unfortunately I have to qualify that with a yet. Again, past experience.
I can no longer trust anyone who wears that label, particularly after last November, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trust them again barring some seismic shift that breaks the stupid cycle of doing stupid things and getting highly upset when the predicted consequences arrive. I’m sorry, but that’s the deal.
Ruckus
@Matt McIrvin:
karen gail has it right.
Conservatives want what they want. Effectively it’s like almost no longer teenage kids demanding what they want for breakfast, lunch and dinner and expending zero labor whatsoever other than eating, breathing and the other bits and pieces of being a living animal, including getting 100% respect. They deserve everything and should have to pay zero anything for it. Just ask them.
That of course is not how this works, it is reality for some in this world, like shitforbrains, but it is not in any way life for most humans, and not in any way close for many of them. To them it doesn’t matter if that’s how the world doesn’t work, that’s what they want so it must be true.
Jeffro
@cmorenc: sounds good to me!
P/OC ’28 works on multiple levels
Jeffro
@Baud: no, but I’m glad to see I’m in touch with the zeitgeist ;)
Geminid
@Interesting Name Goes Here: There is a certain type of White, male “Progressive” that has had it for Hakeem Jeffries ever since he won the election for Caucus Chair in November, 2018. I won’t name names but I bet you could. Jeffries became a bigger target for them four years later, when he was elected Minority Leader.
Now, after last November’s discouraging and demoralizing defeat, the Jeffries haters are making their play. Jeffries is in their way and they need to discredit him. The fact that Hakeem Jeffries is a strong Black man adds an ugly edge to their animus that’s not hard to miss.
Ruckus
@Betty Cracker:
I’m a vet, in case I’ve never stated that here before……
I use the VA for my healthcare, because it’s good and it’s free. OK not always completely free and not if you have an income stream. Before I retired I had to pay. Still not horribly expensive but not bad. As above, my experience is that it’s by far not the worst healthcare in the world. Or even close. So you all are paying for my healthcare. That I earned.
And that shitforbrains and the world’s richest man wants to take away. OK he wants to destroy much of the government so his taxes will not be so much. Now on the positive side he’s lost what $100 BILLION in the last few months, what with his pompous, arrogant demeanor, demands and bullshit.
Thank You All!
For my healthcare and for shitforbrains II losing just a tad of money.
Matt McIrvin
@karen gail: I think the idea back then was that we were dependent on OPEC because hippie treehuggers and bureaucrats were keeping our own oil companies from exploiting our own resources. That was one of the ideas behind the Sagebrush Rebellion, etc.
Ruckus
@WaterGirl:
A lot of people would think that something like that will never happen to them. They don’t get why this is being done. Of course most of us don’t either. It is being done because shitforbrains has shit for brains and is looking for anything to avoid being shitforbrains.
Of course he’s been shitforbrains for all his adult life so really, sending a human being not convicted of any crime to be held in a foreign country’s jail system for no legal reason should never be considered wrong, stupid, asinine, illegal, pompous, arrogant, or a felony level crime.
Jeffro
@Geminid: I think all of this is a pretty good take. They’re smart folks and good at strategy.
karen gail
@Matt McIrvin: Huh, as one of the tree hugging hippies; I was right! Oil companies were out to destroy our land with greed.
Also, one of the ideas floating around the “tree hugging” community was the US needed a railroad system like Europe rather than build more roads along with larger cars which guzzled even more gasoline.
Ruckus
@Another Scott:
Push back is absolutely necessary.
Because this world is different than it was over 50/60 years ago.
A lot different. As well as this country is a lot different. And a lot of that change is from things like what we are doing here, now. Actual two way communications across the entire country and even from other nations. We can discuss and debate in almost real time. We can see what the world really looks like and really is – in almost that same real time. As an old fart I can easily state that this is far different and far better. I was born in the first half of the last century and this is far better, even if there are far, far, far more humans living on this planet and in this country. That’s the animal kingdom, we reproduce and in theory we learn how to fit in, how to accomplish something and how to live gracefully. At least that’s how it’s supposed to be. But some demand that they are worth far more, and most of them are not.
Because value as a human being is not measured in money.
Glory b
@schrodingers_cat: Yes!
A guy I follow on Bluesky, Angry Staffer (who was a former white house staffer), has an hour every Friday after close of business where he gives people a chance to ask him anything.
Someone asked where he thought the next big international crisis would occur.
He named this one, said it doesn’t seem to be on many people’s radar yet, but definitely bears watching.
Geminid
@Interesting Name Goes Here: The “Progressive” label sure has been picking up baggage lately. That’s ironic because 20 years ago people hoped the label would help shed the baggage the “Liberal” label had acquired.
Now it’s like we’ve come full circle, where more and more Democrats might identify like Tom Watson,* who describes himself as an “unreformed liberal.” I don’t think this is a matter of Democrats rejecting progressive policies so much as them turning away from what “Progressive” politics have become. But there’ll be some actual data on this question next year as the House primary season unfolds..
* That’s Tom Watson, the Westchester County Democrat who posts as guitarwatson.bsky.social; not Tom Watson the golfer or Tom Watson the Labour politician.
Professor Bigfoot
@Jeffro: This requires giving a Democrat “the benefit of the doubt,” and not simply assuming that the Democrat in question is “a feckless fool who doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
Ramona
@schrodingers_cat: Have you spoken to Pakistani Muslims about the proposition that nothing has hurt the subcontinent’s Muslims more than the formation of Pakistan?
Gloria DryGarden
@NotMax: travel to avoid and ignore troubles and constituents,
vs
travel w a purpose, and to solve a problem.
big difference
Ruckus
@Omnes Omnibus:
This. All of it.
This is going to be a fight for a couple of reasons. First, shitforbrains is how I describe him. Second, he’s now trying to buy support – with our money of course. Third, he’s not an idiot, although he sure seems to try to prove that he is on a continuous basis. Fourth, we have a not insignificant problem in this country in that seemingly many citizens seem to want this to be either a monarchy or a dictatorship because a democracy gives power to everyone and that pisses them off because it means that everyone is on the same level – and they will have to grow the hell up to be on everyone else’s. This modern world stuff is good, because we get to see the shit and fix it. And some in this world really, really, really do not like that. (and yes it really needed to be said 3 times.
Ruckus
@Matt McIrvin:
I thought you meant to say that much of the American public is mentally 2 yrs old…..
Which as a past mental health counselor I find not entirely unrealistic…..
Ruckus
@gene108:
I’m named after my father and am the second, not jr. But our first names are often shortened and there are 2 ways to do that so he used one and I used the other.
Now I liked my father and the name isn’t bad it’s just I think most humans, at least within one family, should have different names.
Origuy
@WaterGirl: Just kicked in $50 for the PA Supremes.
That was supposed to be Origuy in the name.
Gvg
@Geminid: I never bought into the progressive label.I am a liberal and always was. Did not agree with the running away from it.
Never really understood what progressive was supposed to mean or stand for. It never got explained where I heard it until recently and I still just feel liberal describes my views better anyway.
I noticed decades ago that people didn’t know what communism was, nor why it was bad. The word conservative is being used very differently these days. So is Christian IMO. There is no meekness, mercy or charity emphasized and it’s dreadful.
WaterGirl
@Origuy: Got it, thank you!