Democracy appears to be losing its appeal on the left. After campaigning on panic politics and predicting the imminent death of democracy, some on the left are now calling to burn the system down in light of Republicans not only taking both houses and the White House but Trump likely winning the popular vote.
Some seem to believe that what happened on November 5th is a license to become a modern version of Guy Fawkes (“Remember, remember, the 5th of November; Gunpowder, treason and plot; I see no reason; Why gunpowder treason; Should ever be forgot”).
Protesters after the election called for tearing down the system as a whole, insisting that “Trump is not an individual. He’s a figurehead of a system that’s rotten.” Even before the election, law professors and law deans called for a break from the Constitution. Those voices will likely be amplified after the massive electoral loss by Democrats.
Others are seeking to evade the results of the election to still bring Harris to power. CNN’s Bakari Sellers wants to pressure Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to resign and replace her with Harris. Former Harris aide Jamal Simmons wants Biden to resign to allow Harris to become president despite the vote of the majority.
It is an ironic twist after Democratic politicians and pundits repeated the mantra that, if we did not elect Harris, this might be our last election. After losing that election, democracy appears to be the problem. The majority of Americans voting for Trump have been called “anti-American” by Gov. Hochul. Other politicians and pundits have called them racists, misogynists, or weaklings seeking domination by strongmen and bullies.
The problem is now with young and minority voters. Trump won white women voters by eight points at 53 percent. Harris actually fell slightly in the support of women overall. Conversely, roughly 43 percent of men voted for Harris. Forty percent of women under 30 voted for Trump. Even CNN reports that Trump’s performance was the best among young people (18-29 years old) in 20 years, Black voters in 48 years, and Hispanic voters in more than 50 years.
So, it appears that it is time to move on. The call for Biden to simply do what the public did not want to do (in making Harris president) is particularly ironic. Many voters were repulsed by the Democrats simply making Harris the nominee after all the primaries were over. This was the candidate who could not garner any appreciable votes in the prior presidential primaries before being made Vice President by Biden. Now, the idea is that she would be elevated by the unilateral act of Biden.
Without a hint of self-awareness or recognition of the hypocrisy, Simmons insisted that this would “Fulfill [Biden’s] last promise — to be transitional.” Most people understood that to mean democratically transitional in opening the way for the election of new leadership. He did so after he was forced to step aside after winning every Democratic primary and tens of millions of votes.
Nevertheless, Simmons argued that “Democrats have to learn drama and transparency and doing things that the public wanna see is the time.” That would certainly be dramatic as well as anti-Democratic. Yet, Simmons explained that “this is the moment for us to change the entire perspective of how Democrats operate.”
Indeed, it would. It would confirm that the Democratic Party is an effective oligarchy, the very thing that they just campaigned against.
Sellers is more modest. He just wants Harris on the Supreme Court. At no point in history has anyone suggested that Harris was a leading legal mind. Nothing in her history suggests that she is a competent, let alone promising, candidate for the highest court.
Harris has previously suggested her support for possible radical changes on the Court, including court packing. She is also a decidedly anti-free speech figure in American politics.
None of that matters any more than the results of the election. Harris would be put on the Court not due to any specific talents or skills but because it would be “consequential.” He wrapped up by saying “let Republicans go crazy, ape, I’m even mentioning that option.”
Others are not pushing Harris but are pushing Sotomayor to resign to allow for one of the fastest confirmations in history. Under this theory, a lame duck president would muscle through a confirmation before Trump could come into power.
Of course, that ignores the possibility that you could vacate the seat and then fall short in the sharply divided Senate. That includes the possible loss of senators who might balk at such a maneuver, including outgoing Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.
The one option that does not appear to be popular is to listen to the voters and actually return the Democratic Party back toward the center of our politics. The problem is now the voters themselves.
French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau once famously insisted that “War is too important to be left to the generals.” The Democrats appear to be working on a new view that democracy is too important to be left to the voters.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
Our leftist friends do not seem to understand, the American voters voted for a Second Resistance: The first was in 2016 when they resisted against Clinton and voted for Trump. Now here in 2024 they voted for a second resistance against Harris.
Now the leftists Democrats are saying Trump is the figure head of a rotten system, the same system they were calling to “defend democracy” just over a week ago.
Then they go on to insult, riddicule any and all those who did not vote for Harris, calling them racist and misogynistic. Please! Keep it up! Great way to alienate those voters in the mid-terms and the 2028 election!
The upside is it appears the adults in the room have grown tired of the leftists cries of Hitler, Nazis, etc. and are becoming a smaller and smaller minority. If the Democrat party had a clue, they would jettison all the radical leftists from their party and tell them to go away.
Upstatefarmer, give it some time. Republicans have a long history of failing to govern when they have control of all three branches of government. They are especially bad when it comes to handling the economy. Soon the excuses will start flying.
Reagan won by a massive landslide and he still only lasted one term. Because he kept raising taxes. His successor Georg H. W. Bush promised no new taxes and he also lasted only one term because the trickle down economics they promoted were not working.
Trump’s victory is not a guarantee that his policies will be successful or effective. His penchant for chaotic management will certainly cause problems for his agenda down the road. Remember, Trump does not stick to the plan, ever.
“Reagan won by a massive landslide and he still only lasted one term.”
He won twice in a landslide. Pretty sure that equals *two* terms.
“Reagan won by a massive landslide and he still only lasted one term.”
From where do you learn your political history? Find better sources.
Ronald Reagan was elected in 1979 to take office in 1980 in a landslide victory. Four years later, in the 1984 presidential election, he defeated former Democratic vice president Walter Mondale, to win re-election in a larger landslide. I remember both elections well.
Ronald Reagan Presidency, January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989. Care to do the math for us to come up with “one term.”
Trump’s win was a mandate against Democrats failed policies. The American Recovery Act is what gave us Bidenflation. The economy was already recovering as lead by Red States re-opening their economies from the COVID lockdowns with Blue States like CA and NY coming in dead last as they tried to keep their power with the lockdowns till they could not deny it any longer. By injecting more stimulus into a recovering economy would give us inflation of a generation. So said former Secretary of Treasury under Bill Clinton Larry Summers along with many other economists. They were right. As we all know, inflation is cumulative. We are still paying for Bidenflation and we may be for quite some time. The damage is so great, it may take two, three or more Republican WH admins to recover.
The Inflation Reduction Act aka the New Green Deal as that is what it was, just renamed, is projected by the CBO to actually increase inflation for 2024 to 2025 and maybe even 2026. Biden has even stated he wished he never called it that.
Trumps tax cuts put money into my pocket. Obama’s ACA took money out of my pocket to the extent I had to get a off season, off farm job to make ends meet. A friend of ours in a higher tax bracket with no dependents, had to pay out more. Trump’s tax cuts worked as planned.
Trump is a business man. He learns. If you have not been paying attention, he has hit the ground running. He has surrounded himself with competent people, assigning posts to people with experience and leadership. This is not the sign of chaotic management. Seems the successful first admin up till the COVID lockdowns he stuck to a plan. The economy was doing well, unemployment down, wages up especially for minorities, secure border, no new wars.
Before you bring up tariffs, Trump enacted tariffs in his first admin, yet we did not experience any increases at the pump or at the grocery check out line, nor in retail. If Trump’s tariffs were so bad, why did Biden keep them? Why did Biden just add more a few months ago?
“ They were right. As we all know, inflation is cumulative. We are still paying for Bidenflation and we may be for quite some time. The damage is so great, it may take two, three or more Republican WH admins to recover.”
And there it is. I was wrong, the excuses will be coming in earlier. Trump already promised inflation and prices will be lower in his term. Inflation is already low. Unemployment is already low. Gas prices are low. So what is it that is not so great? Tariffs will increase prices and inflation. Tax cuts will increase the deficit, and mass deportations will increase government spending and increase the debt. I though those things were why voters did not choose Harris.
Thanks, George. When Trump and Republicans lie and try to take credit for Bidenomics, inflation continuing to come down and all of the new jobs in factories that are being built–I’ll push back every single time.
And, you are right–tax cuts will increase the deficit. Rep. Katie Porter made a point recently–that migrants are the main people working in meat-packing plants–which is dangerous, dirty work that most Americans don’t want to do. Trump’s “border czar” said they’re going to conduct raids on businesses and round up everyone working there that is undocumented and deport them. So, you might want to stock up your freezer with meat, because if they do this, prices for meat will also rise because there won’t be people to do the work of processing and packing. If they do hire new people, they’ll have to pay more, and prices for meat will go up. And, just HOW are they going to come up with the money for the mass arrests, concentration camps and deportations–estimated to be $350 billion? Maybe Trump will do what he did last go-round–steal it from the military budget.
Studies show that Trump had a lower approval rating than Harris and that most voters vote based on their personal financial interests. MAGA media managed to convince a large number of Americans that the country is headed in the wrong direction and that the economy was unstable–all lies–and this, along with racism and misogyny, explains the outcome.
Studies show that Trump had a lower approval rating than Harris and that most voters vote based on their personal financial interests. MAGA media managed to convince a large number of Americans that the country is headed in the wrong direction and that the economy was unstable–all lies–and this, along with racism and misogyny, explains the outcome.
A “study” came out last Tuesday proving that among nearly all measured demographics, voters overwhelmingly approved of Trump over Harris. By the way, in what alternate reality did Trump and Republicans try to take credit for Bidenomics?
Olly: I was speaking of “favorability ratings” pre-election. Trump was lower than Harris. And the Bidenomics I was speaking of is the current state of our economy and the trajectory it will continue on–with unemployment remaining at a 54 – year low, with personal wealth and wages increasing, stock market hitting record highs, union jobs growing, more jobs as factories under construction open because of the Green Energy bill, and inflation coming down. Despite these facts, MAGA media convinced millions of Americans that the economy was headed for failure and that the country was headed in the wrong direction. When these positive indicators continue, Trump will try to take credit–just like he did for the success created by Obama. According to “Fact Check.Org”, as of when he left office, Trump lost 2.7 million jobs, the trade deficit increased 36.3%, home prices increased 27.5% and the murder rate was the highest since 1997.
From “Business Insider”:
“President-elect Donald Trump proposed broad tariffs on imports, including up to 60% on goods from China.
Economists say his tariff proposals could spike inflation as companies tend to pass costs on to consumers.
Some companies have already said Trump’s proposals would force them to increase prices.
Some executives have warned that price hikes are on the way if President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff plans go into effect.
On the campaign trail, Trump proposed a 60% tariff on goods imported from China coupled with a 10% to 20% tariff on goods imported from other countries. While the president-elect could choose not to enact tariffs at that scale once he assumes office, economists and the market have predicted that his proposals would spike inflation and force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.
Several companies have already begun responding to Trump’s election victory and the implications his tariff proposals would have on the costs of their goods. Executives have told analysts on earnings calls that it would be difficult to maintain current prices under Trump’s broad tariffs.”
The piece listed the following companies that have said that if the tariffs are enacted, they will have no choice other than to raise prices: Auto Zone, Columbia Sportswear, and Stanley Black & Decker. Other companies say they are waiting to see how much the tariffs will be before responding.
Yes, more voters voted for Trump–but does that prove they approve of him? I don’t think so–I think they believed the MAGA media lie about our economy being bad and headed for disaster–even though economists say these things aren’t true.
Olly: I was speaking of “favorability ratings” pre-election. Trump was lower than Harris.
Ratings, studies, polls, whatever. They were as wrong as you have been. Shocker!
Bidenomics, real wages have not kept up with inflation. 67% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Of that, 47% earn six figures. Stock market and Main St. are not the same thing. I participate in both and know this. Unions are at a multi-decade low. I have a good friend who job is union. He says the union represent the company and their interests than the workers. A common theme I have read about in the past few years. Green energy is a mirage of false promises and grifts. It has been noted due to Bidenflation, many of Green energy projects are no longer viable or will have to increase the costs to the end consumer to just break even, or more taxpayer government subsidies. Inflation is cumulative. No one needed to convince Americans the country was heading in the wrong direction. Even Democrats could see it. They see it in how much not further their paycheck buys them. At the gas pump. At the grocery store. When buying school supplies or their children cloths. They see it at the check out line. If Obama was such a success, why did in his second term the medium income reduce for the first time in history? The story was so big, even NPR had to cover it. Trump did not lose millions jobs. Those jobs were forced closed to the COVID lockdowns. Biden tried to take credit for creating any and all jobs afterwards. But those were not new jobs. They were jobs that reopened, lead by Red States as they re-opened their economies.
Excellent post Upstate!
And, corporate bankruptcies are at 2008 FC levels under Biden. The latest, TGIF.
No one needed to convince Americans the country is going in the wrong direction. They see it at the gas pump. They see it at the grocery store. $120 used to buy a full cart of groceries. Now, it barely buys a third of that. Americans see it in their pocket books, the bank accounts. They see the shrinkflation as their dollar buys them less and less. They see it if and when they can dine out that order of spinach, artichoke dip that could be shared by a table of four, is now a single serving. A order of mozzarella sticks was six. Now it is three. And the price went up.
No one needed to convince Americans anything. They were and still are experiencing it first hand.
When Trump and Republicans lie and try to take credit for Bidenomics, inflation continuing to come down
What is the greater insult? Gigi repeatedly lying to us and insulting her host Professor Turley?
Or Gigi acting as though she believes we’re so mentally incompetent that we don’t recognize that she’s lying her ass off to us?
NOBODY wants to take credit for the disaster of Bidenomics – including The Great Liar, Bribery Joe Biden and his Vice President DEI Hire, the qualified brown vagina. They suddenly stopped talking about and taking credit for Bidenomics as the election campaign started getting underway.
Second, the inflation rate is NOT coming down. The RATE at which inflation is INCREASING is coming down, but inflation isn’t coming down. It is pretty pathetic to try and claim you have beat inflation because it only went up 3% last period instead of going up 6% in the past two periods.
Maybe we could help Gigi grasp the concept by thinking of Bidenomics inflation as though it were a good thing: the reverse of compound interest on savings, where the next period’s interest is paid on the original capital you invested plus all the previous interest payments added to that.
Trump presidency: The dollar had an average inflation rate of 1.90% per year between 2016 and 2020, producing a cumulative price increase of 7.84%.
Bicen presidency: The dollar had an average inflation rate of 5.06% per year between 2020 and today in 2024, producing a cumulative price increase of 21.83%.
This means that today’s prices are 1.22 times as high as average prices since 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index. A dollar today only buys 81.967% of what it could buy back then.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI)
https://www.bls.gov/cpi/
Eight Year Inflation Statistics: 2016 – 2024
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Such a lying skank! I hope that Gigi doesn’t only perform as The Fire Ho Of Democrat Lies here.
I hope she does it EVERYWHERE, all the way through the midterms and then the next presidential campaign.
Because it worked SO WELL on election night a week ago.
Once again, you ignore the fact that inflation is cumulative. It may be lower than it was, but it is still cumulative. The average American is spending an extra $11,400 a year to maintain their standard of living due to Bidenflation. Under Trump inflation averaged 1.9% y-o-y. Biden, 5.2% y-o-y. Can Trump accomplish this with the damage cause by Biden and the Inflation Recovery Act? To be determined. Gas prices are not low, not when compared to what they were when Trump was in the WH during his first admin. What happened to the price increases when Trump first introduced tariffs during his first admin? If they were so bad, why did Biden keep them and even add more just recently?
Inflation isn’t just a snapshot in time. Trump left Biden to clean up the worst recession since the Great Depression–which he did. Due to unemployment, causing low consumer demand and supply chain problems–remember the cargo ships sitting outside ports for weeks and weeks, and the shortage of computer chips–when Biden got COVID under control and people back to work and school, restaurants and businesses open again, and people started wanting to buy things. Demand outstripped supply, which causes prices to go up. There was also a bird flu epidemic that required the slaughter of millions of chickens, causing shortages of eggs and chicken. That’s the inflation we are experiencing, and Trump bears responsibility for it. As supply is catching up, and we are manufacturing chips domestically and new factories are coming online, prices will continue to go down. Trump will try to take credit for it, but I’m not going to shut up and let him get away with misleading voters by claiming that the economy he inherited was bad–because it wasn’t.
No. Inflation is not a snapshot in time. It is the cumulative of y-o-y. Trump – 1.9% over four years. Biden – 5.2% over four years. Can you not see the difference?
Biden did not clean anything up. For that matter his economic policies made things worse. Once again, as I stated previously, ” By injecting more stimulus into a recovering economy would give us inflation of a generation. So said former Secretary of Treasury under Bill Clinton Larry Summers along with many other economists. They were right.” I seem to recall certain states making dumb COVID mandates that were the real causes of cargo ships off shore.
Biden never got COVID under control. No one gets a respiratory virus under control. Nor did he get people back to work and in schools. Who did? It was lead by Red States re-opening their economies. Others saw how well they were doing, despite Biden calling them neanderthals, began to re-open their economies. Biden just tried to take credit for it. Just like he tried to take credit for “creating” all those jobs when they were simply shutdown to the COVID lockdowns. Trump is responsible for the bird flu that happened after he left office? The economy he is going to inherit is bad. We all know it and see it. You do to, but in your delusion refuse to see it. Tell us you are paying the same or less for a cart full of groceries of a full tank of gas now or during the first three years, pre-COVID, of the Trump admin.
“And there it is. I was wrong, the excuses will be coming in earlier.”
Don’t you love how Leftists drop context.
They’re like a man who over years made himself morbidly obese. Then demands that his new nutritionist makes him skinny overnight.
George – you are an incredible Moron.
Ronald Reagan Won by a landslide in 1980 AND 1984.
He is he most economically successful president in history BAR NONE
Not only did he inherit a $HIT economy and recover dramatically, but he is responsible for “The great moderation”.
A period of economic strength that lasted all the way through to the financial crisis in 2008.
Reagan CUT taxes. ONCE as part of a bipartisan deal with DEMOCRAT Tip oneil who controlled the house he raised taxes SLIGHTLY in return for other elements of his agenda – not because he wanted to raise taxes. or because it was a good idea.
George Bush lasted one term because Ross Perot split the vote, and because Bush lied about raising Taxes.
What you call trickle down economics – what Bush called Voodoo economics what is ACTAULLY called supply side economics has ACTUALLY WORKED.
Not only does it work but is MUST work.
It is the fundimental separation between keynes and classical economics.
Keyness presume that a fundimental economic implication was an equation and therefore the associative, distributive and communiative laws work on it.
This allowed Keynes to reach the absurdly stupid claim that you could stilimulate the economy by making work.
The classic keynesian pay people to dig holes and then pay people to fill them.
A fundimental law of economics is that “the purpose of production is consumption”
This is actually the foundation of supply side economics.
You can not consume what you do not produce.
Digging holes and filling them up again – produces nothing. Therefore there is nothing to be consumed.
Paying people to do so results in inflation – it increases money supply but does NOT produce anything – so more money chases more goods.
This applies to ALL government stimulus that focusess on consumption. You can not stimulate the economy by giving people money.
All you do is cause inflation. While dumping money in the economy does increase demand and the laws of supply and demand state that supply will eventually rise to meet demand.
That eventually is incredibly important. If you add money to an economy and you do not INSTANTLY raise supply – all you get is inflation.
Again the keynesian error – the pretense that the laws of supply and demand are equations not implications, that the laws of math for equations apply to them.
Conversly if you increase supply – so long as you increase the supply of things that people want and need, absent any other factors you case DEFLATION – price DROPS.
Because if demand is high and money supply is fixed and supply is sufficient, prices MUST decline to match supply and demand – deflation, and REAL stimulus.
THAT is the core to supply side economics. That has not only ALWAYS worked, but it is litterally the definition of rising standard of living.
Standard of living rised when we produce more of what humans want and need for less human effort.
Note that MONEY is not in that rule.
Economically money is just the grease that keeps the economy moving smoothly.
Reagan failed. He raised taxes 11 times. Inflation was at its height 13%. Supply side economics only “succeeded” because he kept raising taxes. It’s well known that he used that to support his economy.
Kansas proved supply side economics does not work. They were forced to do the same thing Reagan did, raise taxes. The expected revenue increases never materialized. It has never worked. That’s why Reagan had to raise taxes 11 times.
The recovery from COVID involved Keynesian stimulus and it worked. It kept a recession at bay and prevented a depression. That’s why even republicans agreed to it when they had no choice
George Svelaz, Reagan did not raise income taxes 11 times. As John says,”you are an incredible Moron.” You are. You don’t even know Reagan served two terms. Can anyone be more ignorant.
At the end of Reagan’s terms income tax rates were significantly lower than when he started. The 11 income tax raises never happened. If they did you could prove it.
More history – Reagan won in 1980 by a landslide,.
He won again in 1984 by a large landslide
His Vice president George Bush won again in 1988 by a landslide.
These were 3 of the largest landslides in US history.
And they were consecutive. and they were all republican.
in 1992 Clinton beat Bush in a 2 way election with only 43% of the vote to Bush’s 37% with Ross Perot wining 19%
But for Perot there would have been 4 consecutive GOP terms.
But that is not the end of it. Clinton was fundimentally a conservative Democrat.
While he passes a SMALL increase in taxes his economic policies were indistinguishable from those of Bush and Reagan.
But even that is not the end of it.
While Carter is often reviled, and presided over a weak economy – in truth the economy was the result of 30+ years of Keynesian failure.
From the late 40’s through the 70’s our govenrment responded to unemployment folling the Keynesian derived Phillips curve which stated that inflation and unemployment had an inverse relationship.
Government could increase employment by deliberately causing small amounts of inflation.
This actually worked. But again implication is NOT equation. The FED would raie inflation, unemployment would go down – BUT inflation would stay up.
Then unemployemnt would rise again so over the course of 30 years we created “stagflation” – this was a major problem in the 70’s.
Carter appointed Volker to head the FED and Volker went about purging stagflation from the economy.
By DELIBERATELY raising interest rates, and causing a protracted recession.
The 30+ year long great moderation is the result of Carters trust in Volker to solve the stagflation problem – even though that cost him re-election as well as Reagan’s willingness to allow Volker to continue that effort through Reagans first couple of years – resulting in a loss in the midterms.
But between carter and Reagan and Volker embracing classical and supply side economics the result was the longest period of sustained growth in US history.
So what is the record of others ?
Wilson (progressive Democrat) caused a depression that followed WWI – recessions and depressions typically follow wars.
Harding ended the depression rapidly by cutting taxes rapidly. This was followed by a decade long economic boom under Harding and Coolidge (republicans).
But the newly created FED was sabataging the economy with interest rates too low for too long – just as Greenspan did 80 years later ending the great moderation.
The result was that under Hoover (progressive republican) the great depression started. Hoover did just about everything he possibly could do wrong – he used keynesian stimulus,
raised rather than lowered taxes, increased government spending rather than cut it and triggered a depression rather than a recession and lost in 1932.
He was followed by FDR (progressive democrat) who actually campaigned as a conservative and called what Hoover had done socialist. In office he doubled down on Hoovers policies at much larger scale. and causes a recession inside a depression something that had never happened before. But seeing the drums of war on the horizon FDR realizing that the US could not fight the coming WW with a failed economy reversed course.lowered taxes and borught the captians of industry to the WH and asked them what could be done to restore the economy as quickly as possible to a war footing. And after 8 years of demonizing them returned control of the economy – mostly to the free market and the result was the US outproducing the rest of the world many times over. After FDR’s death there was a minor post war recession, but Truman followed Hardings model and the rescession was mild.
From Truman until LBJ the US followed a conservative economic model and had a long sustained period of properity. LBJ then took office determined to out Kennedy Kennedy created the great society, spend like a drunked sailor and F$%Ked up the US economy for more than a decade.
Nixon follwed – Republican, but also progressive, and at best F#$Ked up less badly than LBJ Ford was not that bad a president but was economically clueless.
Carter followed making the right CONSERVATIVE economic decisions for the country Which lead to recovery, but not before losing to Reagan.
As a rule – Repubicans actually do better economically than Democrats,
But if you look at presidencies as progressive/vs conservative – the results are more pronounced.
Wilson, Hoover, FDR, LBJ, Nixon, Obama, Biden were all progressives and all disasters.
Harding, Coollidge, Trumand, Eisenhower, Kenedy, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Trump were all economic conservatives and presided over strong economies.
Bush II is squishy. Neither fish nor fowl.
We have pulled off a victory. This has given the Republicans the levers of power and hopefully they will use it wisely for lasting effect and maybe 12 years of Republican Rule.
1- bright spot is that Paul Ryan is not speaker of the house and Mitch McConnell will not be majority leader in the Senate. McConnell delivered 3 Supreme Court Justices and many district and appeals court justices but fought almost everything else Trump wanted.
Paul Ryan got the tax cut but so late that it had no effect by the time of midterms. Both Ryan and McConnell fought the wall and it was not complete and allowed Biden to undue everything. They are gone! Maybe it can get done now
2-Turn Musk loose and start removing employees. Remember that a lot of this could be done through Reconciliation and simply not funding departments (ie:salaries) and federal employees will self deport or start a bloodbath of jobless employees trying to use senior GS grades to displace lower grades as the funds dry up. Should be interesting.
3-Fire the Joint Chiefs and dig down for younger leadership. Every time a General or Admiral is created or promoted it is a political act. Merit totally. Fire the people at the service academies that teach DEI and and Critical Race theory and anywhere else they lurk.. Not just the offices. You want these people out of the military. Same for line officers who enforced this crap.
4-depts Education , HUD, Energy should all disappear. HUD should be state level, Energy should be in the WH (with significant restraints on what the president can do or not do without congressional approval)
5-force reduction all through the federal government. Remove commissions and have congress do their jobs. Thats what all those committee hearings are for.
6-Veterans affairs should be in the Defence Dept. All major hospitals in the veterans administration should be strongly tied to active medical schools or closed. Major reform on placement of outpatient clinics depending on need in the area. Alternatively contract all outpatient care to private physicians but with referral to specific VA Medical Centers for inpatient care like a PPO or HMO.
There is an immense amount of savings that could be attained with better outcomes if the right people are doing the reform
7-The Republican Party should be run like a professional organization state by state with the same rules and decisions trees and process of electing officers and selecting candidates for office. Fiefdoms like in Michigan and Arizona need to be discouraged and opened to all.
* good ideas.
Trump is faced with not enough good help. He’s taking from the Senate and that’s concerning. The identity politics with chief of staff is also a concern.
At least he’ll be able to pardon those locked up J6 people and offer assistance to Israel.
Focusing on 27 republican governors and States, meeting with them and aligning and streamlining those state constitutions, practices and procedures will be a benefit. Triage.
“McConnell delivered 3 Supreme Court Justices and many district and appeals court justices but fought almost everything else Trump wanted”
Exactly. I’m repeating myself, but do not really care. Anyone who has a GOP Senator should in no uncertain terms demand that that Senator vote for Rick Scott for Senate Majority leader. Neither Cornyn or Thune is likely to be anything other than Mitch McConnell, Act II.
Message to All:
Apologies in advance for taking up this much space.
George pleasantly starts this morning with: “Despite the obvious yarn Turley is trying to spin out…”
Yesterday, Gigi said: “Turley is NOT respected among all legal professionals–just read the blog “Above the Law” and its frequent criticism of Turley (without acknowledging that Above the Law. He is on MAGA media now because he must need the money and mainstream media doesn’t want him. ”
She also said, “Turley: (copycatted colon) I’m beginning to feel sorry for you–everything you write is steered in such a way to promote your book, which is obviously not selling very well… Because of the election results, I predict your days as a MAGA pundit are numbered.”
These are but the latest insults aimed at their host on this blog (which they breathlessly frequent numerous times a day).
Being a litigator by profession, I enjoy the exchange of competing ideas and factual arguments. I do not enjoy competing with trash talk, personal attacks, and childish insults hurled at the HOST of this site. I do not enjoy people who take up space to trash the very PROFESSIONAL academic who allows them to trash him and his site.
While I appreciate that the good professor and his site manager (would that be “Darren?”) allow space to be used up by this nonsense, I truly wish that these freeloaders would start their own blog/site. Of course, neither seems to possess the credentials or following to do so.
Likewise, and bringing about this ship to return to topic, I wish that Democrats would stop trashing our country and start their own country; –maybe pool their resources from Big Hollywood, Soros, Gate, Bloomberg, etc., –and buy some offshore realty/island and live in Joy, Peace, and Homogeneity. They (as we) can flirt, convince, or play “Red Rover, Red Rover,” but I do not appreciate their unrelenting efforts to destroy those who oppose their values/ideology. Maybe name their new country, “Port Side,” “New Left,” “Left Lean,” “Leftopia,” ????
Meanwhile, I want to thank the commenters on this blog site who contribute real substantive thoughts/opinions/arguments that help me expand my own perspective and knowledge, and that of others. I am certain that this is what the good professor wants.
Thank you so much for reading and considering this.
Lin,
Great comment!
I would point out, Professor Turley’s book is on it’s 4th printing!
I like your idea of a Leftopia, island or country, but as we have seen, they rant and rave about leaving, they may even search about moving to Canada but never do. Such a shame. To be rid of so many ugly, America hating people would be such a relief.
Lin, excellent summary, thanks!
-Uncle Henry
LIn, I assume you accept the fact that even all the “trash talk” is also free speech. You are certainly entitled to your annoyances and frustrations, but that is part and parcel the right to exercise free speech.
I’m sure you are also aware of those “trash talkers” from the right that populate this blog every day. I have not seen you gripe and moan about it unless it’s just Gigi or I or Fishwings because we pose an alternative point of view.
Professor Turley is absolutely fair game when it comes to criticism and ridicule. I’m sure the professor at a minimum understands that is a consequence of exercising free speech.
George,
It has been a while since we met. Please make an appointment asap to see me.
Best
Your therapist in West Hollywood
“WeHo Therapist Michael Pezzullo on How LGBTQ+ Folks Can Survive Trump… Again”
https://wehotimes.com/weho-therapist-michael-pezzullo-on-how-lgbtq-folks-can-survive-trump-again/
where is your reading comprehension today, George? The “trash talking” from the right, as you call it, is NOT attacking Turley, it (if any) is responding to other commenters? Do you get it, clown?
Yes, George – you have the right to say whatever you wish – even though you constantly wish to take that right from those you hate.
No george I am not aware of anyone on the right that talks the kind of completely ignorant trash you do.
Honestly – above you post that Reagan as a 1 term president – not only missing that republicans won 3 stright landslides from Reagan forward,
And if you do not figure out where those 20M magic biden voters from 2020 who have never been heard from since – Democrats are likely doomed to repeat that.
You do post an alternative point of view.
And if EITHER of you had half a brain or could avoid making numerous stupid errors of fact, Debate with you might be productive.
But it is not.
Gigi constantly repeats the same nonsense that the Biden administration was all rainbows and unicorns. and that the real people who can not pay their bills are delusional and duped by Trump and Fox – despite the fact that the massive MSM hs been repeating left wing garbage forever.
Guess what – people are tired of being called nazi’s racist, homophobes, By people who actually are.
Turley noted the stupid efforts to anoint Harris – have Biden resign or appoint her to the supreme court.
I say “go for it”, prove to the american people in every possible way that you do not care about their vote.
That you beleive they are stupid – “garbage”
I found Turley too strident about these stupid moves.
Republicans are NOT afraid of these moves – They WELCOME democrats acting like stupid fools.
I may write long critiques of your or GiGi or FW’s posts, but mostly I feel sorry for you – you are a moron. and that is just sad.
Often I laugh at your posts – they are so stupid they are funny.
I mean Reagan was a 1 term president ?
The real problem is that you Gigi, FW have the maturity of a 4 year old – you are toddlers.
And as any parent knows – you can not reason with toddlers.
But you are also adults – so there is no one to slap your bottom or put you to bed with out supper.
\And it is self evident you are locked in that toddler stage and never going to learn.
“I wish that Democrats would stop trashing our country and start their own country; –maybe pool their resources from Big Hollywood, Soros, Gate, Bloomberg, etc., –and buy some offshore realty/island and live in”
There already exists an island nation ~90 miles south of Florida that would appear to 100% fulfill all of their expressed desires. I suggest that it might by worth our while to pay the government of that country to allow all of them to emigrate there.
lin: how typical of a MAGA–no substantive response — just attacks.
It is not an “attack” to be told you are not only wrong, but so wrong as to be stupid – when it is the truth.
Regardless, no one owes you politeness or respect.
You have the intellect and temprament of a toddler and that is the treatment you are entitled to.
You have REPEATEDLY had the stupid assertions you make debunked by indisputable FACTS – you are repeating idiocy that even the left wing nut MSM is too embarrased to repeat much less admit they said in the past.
This is what toddlers do. Actual adults make decisions based on FACTS.
When they find the y were wrong about the facts they do not double down on stupid as you and toddlers do.
Yes I am attacking you. I have tried to reason with you – but it is not possible to reason with a toddler.
Adults spank toddlers – not because they are mean, but in the hopes of saving them from the worse consequence that the world doles out to those who do not learn as toddlers.
lin: Turley made the hyperbolic claims that the election was “a blowout”; that Democrats hit “rock bottom”; that it was “a crushing defeat”–all untrue. Trump has gotten, so far 50.2% of the popular vote, before all of California has been reported, so that number is very likely to go down. Here are some stats on true “blowouts” in recent history : in Clinton v. Dole, Clinton won 49.2% to Dole’s 40.7%; Reagan and Nixon both won 49 of 50 states, and Reagan won by 18 percentage points. Nixon beat McGovern by 23 percentage points. In 1964, LBJ added 97 seats in the House and 12 seats in the Senate, over and above the seats Democrats already held. These are “blowouts”.
That’s why I criticize Turley as being an pundit who engages in hyperbole because he’s paid to do so. It is intellectually dishonest for him to do so. And, almost everything he writes is geared to sell his book. Pointing out facts is not engaging in “trash talk” or childish insults–but calling people who write things with which you disagree “freeloaders” IS.
gigs constantly goes to legal sites to gain some knowledge of the law she even refers to Above the Law. If Turley is so bad in comparison, why do you think she comes back every day?
I beleive the presidential race has been fully counted – Trump STILL has 50.2
Blowout is a mild exageration.
But the claim democrats have hit rock bottom – I HOPE that is true – but as we hear today – you are intent on going even lower.
Of course it was a crushing defeat. If Trump is as successful as his first term – it could be decades before Democrats regain power.
Regardless Turley is an amateur at the use of hyperbolee compared to you or everyone on the left.
“Pointing out facts is not engaging in “trash talk” or childish insult”
Except that is not what you do.
Fascinating story about get out the vote. It starts from one person.
How Trump won Pennsylvania’s Amish vote — with the help of missionaries and Elon Musk
https://nypost.com/2024/11/12/us-news/how-donald-trump-won-pennsylvanias-amish-vote-with-the-help-of-missionaries-and-elon-musk/?
Beautiful positive irony in the involvement of Musk’s PAC, considering that I cannot think of another group less likely to post on X, use StarLink, or buy a Tesla… I also wonder how long it will take some demented Dem tol accuse the woman who drove them to the polls of bribery and election interference.
Are they cutting off their nose to spite their face? Talk about a bunch of overgrown toddlers denied their cookie. I can see why the adults no longer want these infantile sorts running the local 7-11 much less the government of any sort.
I believe Trump won in large part because he is the moderate.
When Harris ran in Democrat primaries she failed to get a single vote. Probably because of her radicalism:
– eliminate Senate filibuster;
– ban fracking;
– ban offshore drilling;
– mandatory “buyback” of what she calls “assault weapons”;
– end private health insurance;
– decriminalize illegal border crossings;
– abolish ICE;
– defund the police;
– reduce meat consumption;
– voting rights for convicted terrorists, murderers, rapists;
– use taxpayer funds to provide healthcare to illegal aliens;
– use taxpayer funds to remove healthy genitalis of convicted prisoners
Trump’s Supreme Court nominees did not ban abortion and Trump himself explicitly rejected the idea of a national abortion ban. SCOTUS, and Trump, left it to the states and the voters in the states to decide how to deal with abortion – rather than allow the decision of nine unelected men in black robes from 1972 to decide the issue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvyJf4K1kFE
All Harris and Democrats could do to counter her extremism was call Trump “literally Hitler”. Perhaps she lost because they didn’t call him Hitler, Nazi, fascist, wannabe dictator often enough. Maybe if they’d called him a fascist one more time then voters would have rejected him and embraced Harris and Democrats radical extremism.
* Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemy.
Surely, there’s a poem written that laments the loss of what was loved. A poem of sea to shining sea the likes of which I, poor wretch, shall not behold again for all eternity.
No, just the cry of hate from the river to the sea echoes and the cacophony of banging tin pots like ancient cymbals that shall fail…
Let us cut to the chase: elections have consequences. One consequence of the recent election is exposure of the Democrat Party’s stupefying hypocrisy.
“Republicans are now in a position where they are without excuses if things do go wrong.”
Suddenly, the Left believes in personal responsibility.
Who believes that’s a serious conviction?
Republicans claim they are the party of personal responsibility, but when they are actually faced with the possibility of accepting responsibility they choose to blame others.
The question is will Trump’s supporters be critical of his policy failures if they occur or will they do what they have always done, make excuses and blame someone else? Having control of all three branches of government does not give them much room to make excuses. Will they accept personal responsibility for failures when they occur? Will YOU hold them accountable for not taking responsibility or will you brush. It off as just “business as usual”?
Why give oxygen to the election losers?
This is the time to focus our minds on the tough, smart policy decisions the governing majority is faced with. You can pretend these decisions will just decide themselves at the whim of the new President, but that’s not how America makes good public policy. It’s the serious discussion in the air that shapes those decisions. The biggest mistake Trump could make coming into office is “oppo-policy”, which is where Biden’s term went off track at the beginning. Here are some topics that deserve intense meritocratic examination:
• Long-term reform of US immigration (purposes, priorities, enforcement, finance, apolitical management)
• Environmental protection (micro-plastic pollution of food supply, chem pollution, greenhouse gasses)
• Family kinship system (2-parent childraising, dwindling marriage rate, related economic security)
• Education (revival of excellence, resilient self-management, developing unique talent, civics and leadership)
It’s time to lead. That requires focus, candor, gravitas, responsibility-taking. If we don’t make this mental transition — meaning we leave behind “us vs. them” polemics — in just 2 years we could lose our governing majority. This opportunity to “get it right” policy-wise might not come along again for several decades. Let’s not blow it by thinking the answer to policy is whatever the opposition party doesn’t want. Hatching policy that will endure long-term and achieve its goals obliges everyone to face these challenges with an open-mind and a lot of conversation.
This begins by realizing complex, gnarly problems don’t get solved in the midst of rage and suspicion.
The party that is ‘protecting democracy’:
A. Sixteen states tried, or at least floated, removing Trump.
B. Multiple states kept/tried to keep Democratic challengers off the ballot.
C. Violated our First Amendment rights by strong-arming social media.
D. Spied on Trump’s 2016 campaign.
E. Weaponized the DOJ & FBI against Trump and other conservatives.
F. Weaponized the Courts against Trump and other conservatives.
G. Engaged in Lawfare at every level.
H. Constantly lied about Trump and other conservatives.
I. Tried to end the Filibuster and wanted to pack the Supreme Court.
J. FINALLY STABBED BIDEN IN THE BACK and ANNOTATED Kamala who couldn’t get a single electoral vote in 2020.
There’s a lot more, but to go on would be ranting.
Moses parts the Re(D) Sea.
The rhetoric of the last 12-18 months was following the Karl Marx book. Blame the enemy of Marxism for what you are actually doing!
I have often heard that Obama.is the Manchurian Candidate. Rediculous.
Watch the movie. Obama is their American Operative, like the evil
Mother who controls everything.
The Candidate is the dumb stepfather, the puppet who only does what he is told, like our Joe.
“Obama is their American Operative, like the evil Mother who controls everything.”
Obama is no dummy, but neither is he a principal mover and shaker. Some specific entity controls Obama. Discovering the exact identity of that entity and its envoys is the first step toward neutralizing it. I’m talking about the names of those at the top, not vague allusions such as “marxists”.
Easy to miss among all the evidence of Democrats shooting themselves in both feet, post-election, is that the remaining neocons are doing the virtually equivalent of Buddhist monks sitting in the middle of the street, dousing themselves with gasoline, and lighting a match. Good riddance!
Hard Times Ahead For The Dispatch, The Bulwark And The Rest Of The Liz Cheney Grifters
https://thefederalist.com/2024/11/12/hard-times-ahead-for-the-dispatch-the-bulwark-and-the-rest-of-the-liz-cheney-grifters/
“virtual equivalent”
I live in a very activist neighborhood in Boston. I expected my neighbors (who still believe the Trump/Russia collusion like msnbc faithfully tells them to believe) to go batsh*t crazy like 2016/2017. They are surprisingly subdued. I am not sure if this the calm before the storm or they feel backed into a corner with all their rhetoric about Jan 6 for past 4 years. I hope it is the later, I am tired of stupid.
Anon, I’m also not certain about how far this goes. Many in my extended family are Ivy-League Democrats (the hardest nuts fully rejected by squirrels). They’re unhappy, but not warlike.
Trump winning the popular vote just canceled the coup d’etat. The Lefties would be the insurrectionists in that scenario, and the smarter ones know it.
Anonymous, I would love to know which neighborhood as I am an ex Bostonian. Actually just outside of the city. I think that the “resistance” will pick up in January and by the time of the inauguration there will be rioting and destruction by the goons.
It is funny watching the little children of the left go from “cause” to “cause”. Not too long ago the climate was the EXISTENTIAL threat, then Israel became their bete noir and the climate went away. Of course the left didn’t want to do too much with the climate while PA was still in play. After Israel failed due to Bibi being tough enough to withstand Biden/Blinken begging and threatening him to surrender, the left turned to democracy Trump and Hitler BS and that also failed.
Watch as the climate and “democracy” make a come-back.
HullBobby,
As others noted, where were all the cries about the climate when it comes to the fact China is building coal power electrical plants at a rapid pace?
I fully expect them to try to ratchet up the hysteria over whatever be it the climate, democracy, but sane and normal people, like those who voted for Trump, are getting tired of them and their hysterics. Take your green hair, your useless DEI degrees and go back to making me my coffee.
LOL!! As long as they don’t spit in the coffee. Starbuck’s and Ben & Jerry’s should install video camera’s to keep the protest sanitary 🙂
“Hans, could we be the bad guys?”
these “protests” aren’t spontaneous…follow the Money
Convene a Nuremberg like trial to show the American people what Fascist Democrats have done.
The German people were shown…and they LEARNED!
Jail Criminal Democrats/RINOs by 1000’s across gov., Judges, congress, etc), media, healthcare, tech, etc for their crimes
1) persecution of Trump and his people
2) helping Illegals
3) protecting Bidens and their people
4) Sex change of minors
5) Cheating on voting
6) Taking Bribes
The idea that we continue to address them as democrats, left, radical left is ridiculous, they are Marxist communists. They hate the constitution and the nation. Every day they wake they grind an axe for the nation and its people. They feel they’ve been wrongfully treated for their race, gender, whatever they can contrive in their mind to justify their feelings. The concept of merit is not part of their vocabulary. Their handlers play them like a well tuned instrument because they seek endless power and money. There’s no doubt they’ll amp up on or before inauguration to cause an issue.
“The idea that we continue to address them as democrats, left, radical left is ridiculous, they are Marxist communists”. Evil comes to mind too.
Honestly, I never knew how evil Americans could be to conservatives until I witnessed what they did to Trump and others over the past 8 years.
Their evil actions have to exposed and sanctioned. Jail would be the answer, especially the judges (lawfare) who ignored our rights.
“I never knew how evil Americans could be to conservatives until I witnessed what they did to Trump and others over the past 8 years.”
I watched them do the same to Barry Goldwater sixty years ago. The unfortunate difference is that they were successful in that effort.
The Left Wing DEMS simply want total control of everything and people. They are the modern day Stalin/Lenin revolutionaries/communist. We tell and control the masses. No cars, No meat, live in cramp “smart City”?? No cows etc. Two Class system, The DEM Globalist Elites and the rest of the people who follow their orders. Dreams of Power-Hungry Left-Wing Globalist/DEMS/Davos Crowd, Soros, Obama, Schaub, Clintons, Raskin, Harris etc. Yet the DEMs were going to save Democracy but what they meant was kill Democracy. No they are in a panic, there games, intents, corruption will be exposed by Trump. The majority of the US Voters said NO to DEMS/Harris and Globalist, and they can’t stand it. Nov 5th shattered the Left Wing DEMS and are in disbelief, their world is shattered.
Despite the obvious yarn Turley is trying to spin out from isolated events and quotes it’s not really what he purports it to be. Voters did not choose Trump because they believed exactly what he said. Exit polls revealed a largely contradicted set of voters who were unfortunately misled about what Trump really means. Turley forgets that voter sentiment can change drastically when details of how some of Trump’s policies will be implemented become apparent.
Republicans do have a well established history of bungling things up once they get into power and start overreaching and bumbling their way through their agenda.
Hubris and overconfidence tends to rear its head when ideology meets reality. Republicans are now in a position where they are without excuses if things do go wrong. While Republicans have won a majority of the House they did not win a big enough majority to allow them to push through their legislative wish lists with impunity. They don’t have a filibuster proof majority and Republicans will need some Democrats to pass their legislation.
Democracy did not fail, but it has been weakened. Right now only time will tell if Democrats were right. It’s too early to claim they were wrong. When Trump’s new administration is sworn into office is when we will find out just how much Democrats were right. Trump will be judge on how he handles the economy and whatever national crisis pops up in then next four years. We already know how he handled the last one. This one could be worse. I give it a year before those same voters start souring on Trump and his administration.
There are any number of things that cannot be filibustered: (a) budget reconciliation; (b) trade agreements; (c) military base closures; and (d) arms sales are the first to come to mind.
“They don’t have a filibuster proof majority and Republicans will need some Democrats to pass their legislation. ”
To that end, everyone on this site who has a Republican senator, supports Trumps agenda, and wants it enacted effectively and quickly, needs to email that Senator’s office and direct him to vote for Rick Scott as Senate Majority leader. Cornyn and Thune both represent the interests of the Deep State before those of their constituents. Either one of them would only mirror Mitch McConnell’s behind the scenes obstruction of large portions of Trump’s agenda in that position.
“Conversely, roughly 43 percent of men voted for Harris.” I would not classify “men” who voted Harris, as men.
And..
“At no point in history has anyone suggested that Harris was a leading legal mind.” Good gosh! Harris has a mind?