A friend told me that regardless of the seditious actions and Big Lie of the former president, that even his better educated relatives and friends who voted for Donald J. Trump will do so again. As unbelievable as this sounds, too many think this way. Here was a note I forwarded to him that he could feel free to share.
As an independent and former Republican and Democrat, I understood why some voted for Trump in 2016, as his opponent, although very experienced and skilled, rubbed too many the wrong way. She was one of the most capable candidates that has ever run, yet Trump’s success was getting people not to vote at all or for one of the other three candidates due to her past.
After watching him for four years, I cannot believe people voted for him again as what I saw was overt deceitful and bullying actions and as a conservative pundit David Brooks said a White House that was “equal parts chaos and incompetence.” His bungling of the pandemic response lingered after he left office and endangered too many. Yet, his fans just ignored all the bad press as biased and voted for him again. Yet, seeing the Big Lie and instigation of the insurrection on a branch of government is seditious action and he and his allies should be held to account. It is traitorous behavior. Full stop.
The question is not could Donald Trump win again – he could as we are not a very informed nation on the whole. The question is he should not be allowed to run again because he betrayed his country, as president. We are more divided as a nation because a person with a shallow ego is not man (or adult) enough to admit he lost the election. He can spin this all he wants, but he has lost all but one out of 65 or so court cases and every recount, audit and review. He cannot lose any more than he has. His niece said he will burn it all down to avoid losing the election – it is our democracy he is burning down.
Presidential historians have ranked him the 5th worst president in the US primarily due to his botching the pandemic and the insurrection and Big Lie. Yet, what little success he had is overstated as he inherited an economy that was in its 91st consecutive month of economic growth, with a more than doubled stock market and six straight years of 2+ million per annum job growth. Saying Trump did great with the economy is also saying Barack Obama did as well, which Republicans are loathe to do. Yet, Trump left us with a recession and Obama inherited a recession from his predecessor.
Sorry for the soapbox. Please feel free to route this as you see fit.
musingsofanoldfart 
Reblogged this on Becky's Books –.
Perfect, Keith, so I had to reblog it.
Becky, thanks for the reblog. I hope a few more eyes that need to see it who might still be influenced will. Keith
The only thing in this to surprise me is that historians have found four Presidents they think were worse than Numpty Trumpty. Those guys must have been really bad!
Clive, you would think a president betraying his country and dividing us further would be pretty hard to beat in terms of bad presidencies. You would think adding more people dying needlessly due his pandemic naysaying and lack of leadership would make it even harder to beat. Yet, his fans will be shocked and will not believe this ranking which you and I think is too high at 5th worst. Keith
I completely agree. Our voters can be pretty stupid in falling for lies but they look like geniuses in comparison with many over there!
Clive, we have long been the United States of Entertainment. Most Americans pay attention to celebrity or sports news rather than news of import. Even those who watch or read news, the sources of many are pseudo-news at best or misinformation at worst. Too many get their news from social media sources which is, for the large part, opinion. Finally, we don’t cover some news as it is too boring, but that is where the meat and potatoes issues are. Keith
Note to Readers: Per Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger in The Guardian:
“The hearings have painted a portrait of a man (Donald Trump) detached from reality, peddling paranoid conspiracy theories and putting himself before his country. Kinzinger noted: ‘He was willing to sacrifice our republic to prolong his presidency. I can imagine no more dishonourable act by a president.’ They have also highlighted a callous, cruel streak that saw him make baseless allegations with no regard for how they would ruin individual lives.”
Everything is upside down and unpredictable these days, Keith, and I think you hit the nail on the head when you said how uninformed people are.
Thanks VJ. Upside down, indeed.
It’s more disheartening to know that the uninformed have no intention of getting informed.
Lisa, I agree. There is a non-inconsequential percentage that know Trump has been lying, but they do not care. As long as he helps them win, civil rights and the truth be dammed. Keith
After watching him for four years, I cannot believe people voted for him again
I continue to be startled at most Democrats’ total lack of curiosity about why this is the case. It is just reflexively brushed off as people being racist, uninformed, etc. In fact, Trump got more votes in 2020 than in 2016. Millions of people who didn’t vote for him the first time turned out for him the second time — and the shift toward Republicans is particularly strong among women and Hispanics, which seems very significant, given the huge population size of those groups. Yet even among those who most vehemently insist that it is absolutely vital that the Democrats win future elections, nobody seems interested in taking a serious look at why this is happening. They have nothing for those voters but insults and scolding, which have never been known to work as a method for winning people over.
In the case of many of those voters, it’s not a matter of being bigoted or uninformed. It’s more a matter of “Yes, we know full well how crazy and dangerous the Republicans are, but you guys are even worse.” They see it as choosing the lesser of two evils.
Infidel, thanks for your comments. I have said many times the Democrats are lousy marketers. They don’t play up their advantage and fall into the trap of letting Republicans dictate what is talked about. For example, under 13 GOP White Houses since 1921 versus 12 + Democrat White Houses, even Democrats fail to understand that the number of jobs created under Democrats dwarfs that under GOP ones to a ratio of around 2 to 1. The economy and stock market have performed better under Democrats as well based on known measuring cycles. My point is people think the opposite.
The GOP also wants to define all Democrats as ultra-progressive, which they can market against better than moderate Democrats. Socialists, Venezuela, etc. are played up regardless of the veracity of the ploy. When George McGovern and Walter Mondale led the fight for presidency as ultra-progressives, they got waxed.
Dems have a better message than this vintage of Republicans, but they need to focus on that and not falling into issues the GOP wants to discuss.
That is what this independent thinks. Keith
I think it is more a matter of not avoiding issues that the voters want to discuss.
A big part of the problem is that the left’s bad ideas tend to impact everyday life in ways that the right’s bad ideas don’t. To most people, politicians being crooked and accusing each other of things is part of the distant background noise that’s always going on in Washington. Things like what their kids are being taught in school, or whether it feels safe to use a public restroom, or crime in the neighborhood, are very up close and personal.
When ordinary voters find that their kids are being indoctrinated in school with negativity about their own race, who are they going to vote for, the party that promises to put a stop to that, or the party that insists it isn’t happening? When they find their kids are being taught weird gender-identity nonsense in elementary school, who are they going to vote for, the party that promises to put a stop to that, or the party that tries to justify it? They care more about this kind of thing than the issues that political junkies demand they “should” care about.
Voters are overwhelmingly concerned about crime. They don’t want to hear “defund the police”, nor do they care about convoluted explanations of “it doesn’t really mean defund the police, it means blah blah”. To his great credit, Biden gets this and repudiated defunding the police in the SOTU.
Then there’s stuff the general public is just now becoming aware of, like putting male sex criminals in women’s prisons (with predictable results) and letting men compete in women’s sports, plus the bizarre Orwellian twisting and re-defining of language to justify such things. People know it’s profoundly wrong, and that it’s the left that’s doing it.
There are a lot more issues like that that are driving voters to consider the Republicans the lesser of two evils, but you get the idea.
Unfortunately the left these days is stuck in “all lecturing, no listening” mode, sitting around agreeing with each other that the voters are inexplicably stupid for not focusing on the issues we want them to focus on, and scolding people who bring up inconvenient concerns. The question is, what’s the goal here? If the goal is to stand there basking in one’s own rightness and virtue while the exasperated voters hand over the government to the Republicans, then the left’s current course will work fine — no change needed. If the goal is to win elections, it’s going to be necessary to start listening to people who think differently — really listening, not just waiting for them to pause so you can tell them why they’re wrong.
Thanks for your comment. You are defining the left as a monolith of one set of thoughts. This is akin to saying every Republican is a white supremacist. The GOP wants to run against what the far left is espousing. “Defund the police” was perhaps the dumbest slogan I have ever heard. The Democrats are in favor of making healthcare available to everyone, while the GOP advocates it should all be market driven and a choice. Yes, that impacts people. Having been a Republican for over twenty years, I know the drill. The reason I left the party was a tendency to make things up as issues and beat on their chest. Republicans are better than Dems for echoing a cause. It is akin to the Republicans being told in a memo to say “the failed stimulus” about Obama’s stimulus. Even Dems believed it failed, yet six econometric firms said it did not fail and was accretive to the economy. And, they failed to mention the first wave of stimulus was by George Bush. This is why I say Dems are lousy marketers.
It’s not that I consider the left a monolith — obviously it isn’t, any more than the right is. But the kinds of policies and attitudes I’m talking about here are a huge problem and mostly have mainstream support on the left. And as I said, many of them impact everyday life in ways that more abstract issues don’t. If the mainstream left can’t repudiate them, it’s going to be a huge problem in winning elections, perhaps a fatal one.
Thanks for your comment.
Well said as always, my friend. Like Clive, I am surprised he’s only ranked as the 5th worst, but it’s early days yet in the journey of history and I suspect that at the end of the day, he will go down as the single worst ‘president’ in the nation. I just hope his time in office wasn’t the beginning of the end of this nation as we’ve long known it, but some days it looks that way. I must say that infidel753 makes one point worthy of consideration … WHY do people still vote for him? Ignorance, of course, his loud voice and extremist views appeal to some, but there must be other reasons. I’m always amazed, given the fact that he is a proven abuser of women (even by his own admission) he is still largely popular among women! There’s something that just doesn’t add up, and I think finding it could be the key to putting him back in the box or under the rock from which he came. Anyway … good post, Keith!
Jill, Trump is not popular with most women, but it is a surprise that as many vote for him as they do. What is ironic is Trump is most scared of knowledgeable women, especially the ones asking questions. Keith
Indeed, he has put down women in plain view of the television audience so many times that I don’t see how any woman can even consider voting for him. Yet, at clips of rallies I’ve seen there are women fawning all over him, clapping, cheering, handing him their babies. It’s disgusting. I have some (former) female friends who still think he’s just Mr. Wonderful.
Jill, with as many women complaining about husbands who lie to them, you would think someone who lies as much as the former president per his modus operandi would be a turn off. The former president wants equal time to tell his story – take a peek at my current post “Under oath.” And, just yesterday, he once again criticized election staff for not breaking the law on his behalf. Keith
I remember a number of my conservative women friends being hugely impressed by the deep-state pedophilia stuff perpetrated by Q-anon and focused on Hillary, for one. Active pedophilia is a whole bunch worse than Trump’s misogyny (which is very bad) and they were infuriated to the max. Historically I’m a moderate Democrat so I’ve been a “damned liberal” in the 2 places I’ve lived in the last 50 years – Kevin McCarthy country in California and rural North Dakota.
It seems to me that Republicans who watch a lot of Fox opinions and interviews get very mixed up about what Democrats are really about. But Democrats fall into the same trap watching the opinion and interview pieces on MSNBC. And then these folks get together with their like-minded friends and it gets hyped into a lot of nonsense – ie Q-anon with plenty of people gullible to charismatic political entertainment as well as the internet rumor mongering platforms.
There are huge differences between the folks in Berkeley and the folks in PoDunk, Iowa. There really are. So the congressmen from those districts are going to represent those differences in general or get replaced. (But they really do represent them, too, they’re not lying unless they’ve been in office a long time.).
The Republicans in Congress tend to represent rural areas and those issues while the Democrats represent urban area and their issues (This is very visible at these state level where, for instance, Kevin McCarthy and Barbara Lee come from the same state!!! (California). It’s the people who are divided, not just the congressmen. and I have no idea how to change that – the media has exacerbated what has been there since prior to the Civil War.
Buchanan was the worst president since he did nothing to stop the Civil War – he actually made things much worse. He promoted the Dred Scott decision and sided with the slave states on a couple other issues – like Kansas. There was a huge economic crisis during his tenure. Lincoln was elected after Buchanan (because the Whigs and Democrats and others were so split.) And then the Southern States started seceding .
https://www.history.com/news/james-buchanan-slavery-civil-war-worst-president
This is not too different from the aborition issue today because there were/are states lined up to enact laws which are anathema to the Democrats and Trump was meddling in his own way, along with Mitch McConnell. Meanwhile the gun lobby is busily manufacturing the arms for both sides. 😦
Becky, good comment. Couple of points – I recommend that folks watch neither Fox News or MSNBC, which is the mirror image of Fox. MSNBC has a few more credible journalists, especially after the better Fox people were forced out, but the mission is similar. Tell people what they want to hear. We must focus on more reputable news sources that actual fess up when they get it wrong.
Being a former Republican, I have long held the belief more than half of Republicans are voting against their economic interests and have no idea they are. Rural hospitals could have been saved by the ACA, but Republicans were against the expansion of Medicaid, eg. These are the biggest employers in an area and offer healthcare service. To be frank, my former party has one primary mission that they try to mask – give more money to rich people and help them keep it. This is the key reason for conservative judges to side with companies in liability lawsuits. Everything else is ancillary to that purpose. A key ruling by SCOTUS last week made it easier for companies to escape liability.
Dems are far from perfect and need to focus on bread and butter issues. What Progressives espouse is interesting online, but people tend to forget we need to pay for things and collaborate with others to get laws passed. Ideology on both side is just rhetoric.
Thanks for your comment. It is well rounded. Keith
No No No AND No…
“The question is he should not be allowed to run again because he betrayed his country, as president. We are more divided as a nation because a person with a shallow ego is not man (or adult) enough to admit he lost the election. He can spin this all he wants, but he has lost all but one out of 65 or so court cases and every recount, audit and review. He cannot lose any more than he has. His niece said he will burn it all down to avoid losing the election – it is our democracy he is burning down.”
did I say No?!!! 😂
Keith.. i’m having WP issues again.
Can you do me a favor and see if you saw me in reader?
🙏
Cindy, women need to rally against not only Trump but the Republicans who feel their rights are less important. This issue being raised by Justice Clarence Thomas is inane – taking away access to birth control. By the way, someone needs to tell Thomas he is a judge not a politician. Keith
I totally agree Keith!! 🙏🙏🙏
Cindy, let’s help rally women and supportive men to stand-up. We must remember that we are in this predicament because Republican Mitch McConnell refused to even consider an Obama nominee who had received significant bipartisan approval for an earlier position. We are in this predicament because later nominees lied to Senators, even Republican ones on this issue. I believe women need to lead this cause as they did the midterms in 2018. Keith
I feel so betrayed by this country. Like a huge, ugly circle, we are back where we began, but with better toys and cell phones. There are so many people who have absolutely no knowledge of history — not even long ago history but history of a few years ago. It’s just plain depressing. I’m embarrassed to be American these days.
Marilyn, it is very easy to get disillusioned. Please find ways to ask civilly questions, share pushback and dialogue with people about your concerns. Trust me, I know this is hard, but if we give like we want to get, we may get some where with a few. Keith
I keep trying and it keeps failing. Yes, there are some reasonable people on the right, but shockingly few. They mostly don’t want facts. They don’t read. They don’t want to understand or learn. The want to be right and white. They think we are all Christians — and we are NOT. I’m tired. I spent a lifetime trying to do the right thing and it has come down to nothing. Maybe eventually our nation will set itself right again, but I doubt I will be alive to see it. And honestly, when nations do the kinds of things that are happening here, they rarely come back to the place they began without a major war intervening.
Marilyn, I understand your frustration. Let’s hope you last point is not the path we are on. What I would say is talk and listen to those who are willing to listen. If they are not, then vote with your feet and leave the room or change the conversation. I would add that the bad news is well over-reported and the good news is sometimes not reported at all. So, our news feed often overstates how bad things are. Those good news stories need to celebrated and highlighted. Keep the faith, my friend and keep having conversations. Keith
Note to Readers: Per a Politico article called “Trump fatigue sets in: ‘Some donors are getting sick of the sh–show’”
“Trump is facing an important onslaught of negative facts with these hearings and there is no real defense.”
Dan Eberhart, a Republican donor
PS – Apparently, the former president has a new favorite name call in “wimp.” This particular term is saved for people who don’t break the law for him or criticize him for so doing. Name calling has tended to be his preferred choice of argument.
That is the Republican way. Name calling and racism. If I were younger, I could do something more, but I’m old. My husband is even older. My friends are old too. We’ve done what we could and we thought that we had a nation where people observed the law, even if they didn’t like it. We were so very wrong. This is going to get worse — a LOT worse — and maybe, eventually, it will get better, assuming the climate doesn’t kill us or we don’t wind up in some reconfiguration of the uncivil war. They are going to kill the EPA. They will make gay people go back into hiding. They won’t stop with abortion and guns. They will do their best to kill of national medical care and Medicare and Medicaid too. Given their majority, they CAN do it. The question is, are we (the people) willing to live under their autocracy? Is THIS what we want for our country? For our children and grandchildren?
Marilyn, I do think an argument that might get heard is to tell someone that “name calling is not an argument.” Or, what I like to use is “Name calling usually means the person does not have an argument.” It is hard to push back, but we must and do so in a way to be heard. There is plenty of fodder from Republicans and even some Democrats that we can push back on. Keith
Note to Readers: I have a strong suggestion for Democrats who are not happy with the Roe v Wade verdict, watered down gun governance or restrictions on civil rights and are fearful of climate change inaction, environmental degradation and health care attacks, they need to vote. There is a canary in the coal mine that is saying more voters are switching to the GOP (I read 1+ million), including the suburban educated women voters. To me, this tells me that people are listening to messaging coming out of more conservative channels that rakes Dems over the coals. I am not saying that messaging is correct, but people are listening to it. Dems better crystalize key talking points that will appeal to all Americans and hammer them home. If they appeal to only progressive Dems, they will need to look up what happened to George McGovern in 1972. Watergate was in part related to Nixon wanting to run against McGovern and not Edmund Muskie. He knew he could beat McGovern but knew Muskie would be a tougher challenge.
Note to Readers: It was a privilege to see a public servant like Cassidy Hutchinson show political courage and honor her oath to the constitution. Her difficult testimony to the House select committee needs to be both commended and heeded. As former Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said he knows Hutchinson and believes her. In contrast, people who know Mark Meadows and Donald Trump don’t believe them. Their history does not warrant such trust.
Her testimony and that of others through emails and texts on January 6, 2021, paints a “disgusting” picture of the former president’s seditious and deceitful actions leading up to the insurrection on a branch of government. Also, he showed little regard for the folks he endangered. Trump claims Mike Pence is a “wimp” and deserved be hanged shows a disturbing lack of character of the former president.
It will not surprise me if the former president and his allies are charged with seditious actions. He cannot blame anyone but himself for his actions.