Here goes David as a “broken record” once again. Today is the day Joe Manchin announced he’s not running for re-election to the Senate in West Virginian – for a seat he was likely to lose regardless – and the talk coming from democratic pundits is focusing in on the reality of how Trump and his sycophants are planning to CHEAT in order to “win” the 2024 election. I “get” the real issue SHOULD be the foreign “interference” coming from the Russians, Saudi’s, Emerati’s, Egyptians, and (maybe this time although not looking as probable as prior to October 7th) the Israeli’s replicating what took place back in 2016. However, there are emerging a group of “third party” candidates who will be bankrolled by republicans – just like in 2016 in the case of Jill Stein – with the plan to siphon off enough votes from President Biden’s “supporters” to carry targeted states like Wisconsin’s, Michigan’s, and Pennsylvania’s Electoral College votes to Trump.
In 2016 Ms. Stein was part of some kind of celebration in Moscow where she was seen in a photo which also included Michael Flynn and and Vladimir Putin and her third party candidacy via the “Green Party” swung enough votes in the aforementioned Mid Western states to swing the 2016 election for Trump. So, here we go again. There’s an old saying: “All’s fair in love and war – and American politics.” OK, I made up the “American politics” part of that, but, in essence, that appears to be historically true. Maybe the saying should be “fool me once, shame on you – fool me twice, shame on me?” And, the sad reality, from my perspective, is that republicans in this regard are like “men against boys” with a plan to “fool us twice.” I’ve been saying since my observation of the Obama v Romney election the republicans mantra – “The end justifies the means.” Of course, historically, this goes back, well, farther than my eyes can see. Now, we’re witnessing some of the experts of this “philosophy” who have turned against their original “home.”
The Lincoln Project is led by Rick Wilson, Reed Galen, Stuart Stevens, and Tara Setmayer among others (including George Conway and formerly Steve Schmidt) and they are teaching democrats (OK, we can hope) how to respond to the PROJECTION of Trump and the republicans. Their ads get under Trump’s (thin) skin which is why I’ve sent them my (meager) financial support. The democrats, sadly, just don’t know how to “fight fire with fire.” The republicans involved in the “Lincoln Project” were critical parts of the GOP as it evolved to the MAGA movement. I firmly believe that in this upcoming election they will be putting out some “biting” ads opposing Trump and some of his sycophants. This next election very well will be decided in the “confines” of Social Media – a place which is “foreign” to me. That said, should Trump once again prevail, these former republicans STILL represent culpability.
I read a report the other day suggesting America’s “young people” get more news on “Tik Tok” than they do from traditional media outlets or cable’s 24/7 “news” cycle. Additionally, both Twitter (X) and Facebook have announced they are open for a flood of mis/disinformation to washing over their platforms – why the change? – well, of course it’s because of the MONEY. And, I have to add that the place I watch/listen to (when I do either) for “news” is MSNBC and watching that channel you’ll get far more Trump “stuff” than Biden “stuff.” The reason I keep going back for more Trump “stuff” on MSNBC is because the one thing left on my “bucket list” that seems achievable is to live long enough to see Trump going to jail. (I’m 76 with some interesting ailments so this could be a close call – especially if republicans find a way to CHEAT their way to “victory” in 2024)
I’ve been referring to Trump as a “mob boss” on some occasions and a “fascist” on many others over the past 8 years. Before he decided on his attempt to destroy our republic in 2015 I referred to him, if I ever did publicly, as a nincompoop! Here’s the definition:
nincompoop /nĭn′kəm-poo͞p″, nĭng′-/
noun
- A silly, foolish, or stupid person.
- A fool; a blockhead; a simpleton.
- A fool; a silly or stupid person
That’s straight from the American Heritage dictionary. Sadly, that’s now how I veiw many of his supporters. Trump has graduated to a cunning authoritarian, pathological lying, mysogyinistic, xenophobic, islamophobic, narcissistic A-hole “state,” from my perspective. I know as a Christian I’m supposed to “judge not lest I be judged” – but, I just can’t help myself. (Yes, I’ve got my own issues)
I’ve been reading (for a long time – it’s maybe more “detailed” than the Mueller Report – if you’re one of the 1% who took the time to read that) “Proof of Conspiracy” by Seth Abramson which lays out in (painstaking) detail the CONSPIRACY among the Russians, the Saudi’s, the Emerati’s, the Egyptian’s, and the Israeli’s – along with Trump’s campaign, to get Trump “elected” in 2016. These are all authoritarian regimes (yes, including Israel) who recognize “conservatives” are a distinct minority in America, but, due to the importance of who is in POWER in America – “The end justifies the means.” Representatives from these “authoritarian” countries CONSPIRED to manipulate the (thinking of) VOTERS in various targeted “swing” states in America’s election – via Social Media – and, of course, they’re still at it today.
I wrote several times (in the archives) about the work of Cambridge Analytica (a company put together by Steve Bannon and Robert Mercer) where they STOLE the personal information of over 57 MILLION Americans from Facebook, created a database putting people into “neighborhoods,” and funneling information to them with the objective to MANIPULATE their thinking – ie who they were going to vote for in the 2016 election. This information was shared with the Russians who worked to subvert the 2016 election along with a group of Israeli intelligence officers who worked with (for MONEY) the Saudi’s, the Emerati’s, the Egyptians, AND, of course, the Russians. Their expertise is MANIPULATING groups of people via Social Media. Jared Kushner was involved with all of this – PLUS he became BFF with Mohammed bin Salmon (The “Crown Prince” of Saudi Arabia known as MBS) a “friendship” which endured beyond Trump’s time in the “White House.” (To the “tune” of $2 BILLION)
Speaking of Jared Kushner, it boggles my mind that republicans are so obsessed with Hunter Biden getting a couple MILLION from his association with Burisma in Ukraine (Yes, it seems apparent he got the “gig” because he is the former VP’s – now President’s son) Kushner not only pocketed $2 BILLION within a few months from leaving the “White House” for an investment startup he was unqualified to lead – directly as the result of his association with MBS – a deal reportedly providing Kushner a salary of $25 MILLION annually. And, that’s not all which SHOULD be investigated, in my view. Kushner, who should NEVER have had a security clearance was (reportedly) a voracious reader of the Presidential Daily Brief and (allegedly) passed on information to MBS which led to the incarceration (and TORTURE) of several Saudi’s who were identified by American intelligence of not supporting MBS’s takeover of the Saudi government. Kushner was (allegedly) involved in encouraging the blockade of Qatar during the first year of Trump’s administration as (allegedly) “pay back” for the Qatari’s refusal to bail Kushner out on his TERRIBLE “666 Fifth Avenue” investment which had a “mortgage coming due.”
Well, guess what, eventually the Qatari’s “caved in” and came to Kushner and his Father’s rescue – by, in essence, taking over the failing building Jared had purchased over ten years earlier – right before the Kushner Mortgage was coming due. And, surprise, surprise, suddenly Trump was no longer in support of the blockade on Qatar. (A stalwart American ally) Now this (nefarious) situation is as clear as “black and white” but, of course, there’s been no investigation of Kushner’s underhanded dealings while an “advisor” to the president. (There’s so many things to investigate regarding Trump, himself, I kind of understand how this OBVIOUS “double dealing” managed to escape scrutiny. I’m just saying, Compare the dealings of Kushner to those of Hunter Biden and, well, there’s no comparison. Heck, it’s even been reported Kushner played a (side) role in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi – again, (allegedly) giving intelligence to MBS.
What Trump (and the republicans) has truly mastered, is the skill of PROJECTION. He’s now routinely referring to the “Corrupt Biden Family” and to progressives as “Communist, Marxist, Fascist thugs” and using words like “vermin” to identify his enemies who he will “crush” once he’s back in the “White House.” Those around him say he doesn’t read, so I suppose I’m safe, for now :o). Trump’s recent rhetoric, his use of PROJECTION, and his long time use of the BIG LIE THEORY makes me wonder about whether he really does read or not – because all of this is right out of “Mein Kampf” and workings of Hitler, Goebbels, and the rest of the Third Reich.
Now, it’s not just people like me noticing this – major media outlets are picking up Trump’s neo-Nazi leanings. Here’s how he and his supporters will deal with this issue. Of course, it goes without saying he’ll be back at the press as the “enemy of the people” (presumably because it’s attempting to educate the “people”) and, just yesterday I listened to a clip coming from Steve Bannon in his “war room” telling his followers that by the media connecting Trump and his rhetoric to Hitler back in the 1930’s “they are calling you (Bannon’s listeners) fascists.” Apparently, that line of thought assumes it will cause his listeners to “put their heads back in the sand” in reference to the reality of what they are supporting. I’m always reminded of Trump claiming, after the Iowa caucuses back in 2016 “I love my uneducated voters.” (One of the rare occasions when Trump blurts out the TRUTH – he depends on his “uneducated voters” to remain “uneducated”)
Will America’s progressive, independent, and disaffected republican voters band together in a massive effort to put this MAGA movement in the “rear view mirror?” Only time will tell. I’m having a hard time believing America’s voters will choose to go back to what Trump provided (only, this time far worse), but, at this point, who knows? I sure don’t. What I do know is that, surreptitiously, the Trump “operatives” are, behind the scenes figuring out new ways to CHEAT and actually get away with it. I read the Mueller report twice, but didn’t understand the role of the Saudi’s, Emerati’s, Egyptians, and the Israeli’s until I got deep into Abramson’s book. When I think back, the “signs” were all there, but Trump’s misdeeds were coming so fast it was almost impossible to keep up. What I firmly believe is there are “shenanigans” going on where “we the people” can’t see them AND one of them is Trump willingly taking support from foreign entities. The latter of which is easily hidden from public view by the (HORRIBLE) “Citizen’s United” Supreme Court decision which was “legislating from the bench” in its worse form. No matter what happens in the 2024 election Trump’s “cronies” have a grip on the Courts and “we the people” will be dealing with the fallout of that reality for, well, MANY years. Beyond my lifetime. Stay tuned…….
Final Thought: If you’re a progressive who, somehow, is turned off for any reason by Joe Biden I hope you’ll think very hard about the alternative. First of all, in my view, I’ve BECOME a strong supporter of President Biden. I look at what he’s managed to accomplish and I struggle to understand why so many Americans seem disillusioned about him. From the Covid rescue bill to the “Chips Act” President Biden accomplished more than any president in my lifetime – benefitting “we the people” as opposed to the top 1% – he’s had well over 30 STRAIGHT months of job gains with a record number gained up to this moment in time plus he’s tried to get critical legislation through which was blocked by his lacking a supportive Congress. It’s amazing what he did get through. I’ll emphasize it once more – a vote for ANYONE other than Biden is a vote for Trump. And, trust me, republican operatives will be funneling money to the “third party” candidates in order to siphon off votes which otherwise would have gone to Biden. They (republicans) did it in 2000 – resulting in the Bush/Cheney administration AND the invasion of Iraq – and they did it in 2016 with Jill Stein funneling off enough Clinton voters to help Trump over the (Electoral College) finish line. Will we be fooled twice? Yikes……….
And: I wrote all this a few weeks back, so I’m going to publish and hope my brother-in-law edits it before too many people discover this former sixth grade teacher misspells words! One last thing – I’m getting a bit tired of republicans calling the TRAITORS who are working to undo our constitution as “patriots.” I hope the media will start referring to them (including Trump) as the TRAITORS they are.