President Trump

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Tue Apr 07, 2020 12:48 am

Supreme Court has shown their hand in the WI decision.
I may stop filing tax returns.

JCNorthway · Post by **JCNorthway** » Tue Apr 07, 2020 2:34 am

It was the state Supreme Court, but the SCOTUS might not be much different.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Tue Apr 07, 2020 4:07 am

The US Supreme Court refused to extend the deadline for absentee voting in WI.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/us/p ... virus.html

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Tue Apr 07, 2020 4:17 pm

We're going to have trouble in November.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Tue Apr 07, 2020 10:27 pm

Watching Orange... He just flat out hates the female gender, doesn't he.

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Tue Apr 07, 2020 10:45 pm

My wife says he's afraid of women.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Tue Apr 07, 2020 11:16 pm

Lol... Yeah.... He really has some major Freudian issues, he's like a case study.

Besides Cuomo, another guy who is really rising to the occasion, of course he's always been good but he's bringing it to a new level, is Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Very comforting presence.

sdr · Post by **sdr** » Wed Apr 08, 2020 12:52 am

JimHow wrote:
Besides Cuomo, another guy who is really rising to the occasion, of course he's always been good but he's bringing it to a new level, is Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Very comforting presence.

Yes, Dr. Gupta gets it mostly right and explains things well to the layperson. But clearly he is not an expert in Infectious Diseases or Epidemiology. Not surprising for a lapsed Neurosurgeon. But any number of non-ID doctors could do the same or better, I think, but perhaps not with the same folksy demeanor.

Stu

JCNorthway · Post by **JCNorthway** » Wed Apr 08, 2020 1:05 am

I got a kick out of Peter Navarro challenging something Dr. Fauci had said about the current data on Covid-19. "I'm a social scientist, I can interpret statistics."

JCNorthway · Post by **JCNorthway** » Wed Apr 08, 2020 1:13 am

I know the leanings of CNN, but I thought this was "a point" regarding the daily briefing.

"If you tuned into it hoping you were going to hear from the country's top scientists, you were likely disappointed," Cooper said late Monday on "AC360."

"What you mostly heard was the president. And what you saw was a hijacking. A hijacking of the task force press conference by a president determined to rewrite the history of his early and reprehensibly irresponsible response to this virus," Cooper continued. "What the president showed us today is what the nation's top scientists have to deal with every day — a president who now uses these briefings as a reelection platform, an opportunity to lie, to deflect, to attack, to bully, and cover up his own deadly dismissals of the virus for crucial weeks."

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Wed Apr 08, 2020 9:53 pm

Wow CNN seems to be not covering tonight's briefing...

Go Joe, go...!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... li=BBnb7Kz

AKR · Post by **AKR** » Thu Apr 09, 2020 12:54 am

It's kind of funny that Biden's best strategy might be to simply to keep quiet, let Trump do all his craziness, and keep making phone calls to every Democratic influencer he can. That tactic means he can avoid the Foot in Mouth virus that has struck him in the past. And just getting really connected with those mayors, block captains, Congressmen etc. who can help rally their bases, who might otherwise not have stepped up.

Or maybe he figures out some way to make an enduring peace with Bernie and Elizabeth so that they actively do something for him.

==========

Only an anecdote but the most rabid Bernie Bros at my employer says that Trump has been coopting the Sanders message to youth and he would vote for Trump over Biden. The guy is wearing a ton of student loans and feels Biden is a tool of the Delaware card industry, and that Trump loves defaulting/reneging on loans, so it would be natural for him to wave a wand and 'jubilee away' the student loans.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Thu Apr 09, 2020 10:47 pm

Only an anecdote but the most rabid Bernie Bros at my employer says that Trump has been coopting the Sanders message to youth and he would vote for Trump over Biden.

When Orange Head says, like I just heard hm say, "NAFTA was the worst deal ever made by any country," he actually appeals to the Bernie Bros., he appeals to the people here in Maine from Lewiston to points north.

A lot of parts of this country benefitted from our trade policies, but a lot of parts of the country were left behind.

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Fri Apr 10, 2020 8:00 pm

Some recent general election polls of registered voters...

Apr 6-7, YouGov — Biden 49%, Trump 40%

Apr 4-7, Fox News — Biden 42%, Trump 42%

Apr 3-7, Monmouth — Biden 48%, Trump 44%

Apr 3-6, CNN —Biden 53%, Trump 42%

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Fri Apr 10, 2020 8:09 pm

JimHow wrote:
Only an anecdote but the most rabid Bernie Bros at my employer says that Trump has been coopting the Sanders message to youth and he would vote for Trump over Biden.
When Orange Head says, like I just heard hm say, "NAFTA was the worst deal ever made by any country," he actually appeals to the Bernie Bros., he appeals to the people here in Maine from Lewiston to points north.

A lot of parts of this country benefitted from our trade policies, but a lot of parts of the country were left behind.

Such talk may appeal to various constituencies, but who besides rank and file Fox News watchers really believes Trump cares about any of these populist memes? He’s done absolutely nothing for the little guy.

All he seems to care about are tax cuts for the rich, playing mafia don and doling out spoils to his peeps in the fossil fuel industries while spitefully degrading the environment, demonizing immigrants and minorities/building the wall, nationalist cum mercantilist policies against trade, and perhaps reducing military entanglements. The last two are the only parts that go against Republican orthodoxy.

Chateau Vin · Post by **Chateau Vin** » Fri Apr 10, 2020 8:22 pm

Blanquito wrote:
Such talk may appeal to various constituencies, but who besides rank and file Fox News watchers really believes Trump cares about any of these populist memes? He’s done absolutely nothing for the little guy.

All he seems to care about are tax cuts for the rich, playing mafia don and doling out spoils to his peeps in the fossil fuel industries while spitefully degrading the environment, demonizing immigrants and minorities/building the wall, nationalist cum mercantilist policies against trade, and perhaps reducing military entanglements. The last two are the only parts that go against Republican orthodoxy.

We are living in a world where perception is valued more than reality and facts. He and his coterie are good at creating perceptions based on falsehoods, and they have a Network that reaches fifty percent of the population and routinely drums up those perceptions.

The network is in for the market share, and he and his coterie are in for self-preservation. All of them are in for economic self-interest. Oh, in the process if they have to trample on everything and every little guy in the path, so be it...

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Apr 11, 2020 12:26 am

As someone who lives in a region of high poverty, that has lost basically its entire industrial base, I fail to see where the Clinton Democrats helped this region one iota. What did Bill and Hillary Clinton ever do for Lewiston, Maine?

This is why Bernie did well up in this area. And it's why Trump won this congressional district in 2016.

I see Uncle Joe is doing better in PA, WI, MI that did Hillary, but we'll see if his 2-5% margins prevail come November, especially as the vote gets suppressed by corona and Republican voter suppression forces.

What would happen if the vote were the first Tuesday in May?

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Apr 11, 2020 1:46 am

I've always liked Joe, and I've always felt that if i couldn't get Bernie I'd be more than happy to support Joe.
But here's a classic example of why the average person in places like Lewiston hate phony politicians.
So all of the male Democratic candidates, including Joe of course, took the litmus test and said they would pick a female VP.
Could you imagine a Republican in general, or Orange Head in particular, saying such a thing?
The answer, of course, is no.
Hell, not even Obama did that.
And yet, women vote in large numbers for that orange haired misogynistic fool.
Why? Not because they particularly like the fool, but because most people in the rest of America just can't stand these phony politicians who day in and day out just say what they think we want to hear.
I'm as much a feminist as anybody. I think women are really, really getting the short end.
But a litmus test that he has to choose a female Veep? Nope. I would never have answered that as an unequivocal yes.
Barack didn't answer it that way, and he made a great choice for his Veep.
And now, with the rise of Andrew Cuomo, I'll bet Uncle Joe and his know it all Democratic Washington insider staff are beginning to kick themselves, at least just a little.
Bulldog Cuomo would have been a great Veep candidate, but the effete powers that be, with all their well-learned politesse, are telling we plebaeans in places like Lewiston, Maine, what we need to do. It is classic NYT, east/west coast liberal, mainstream media arrogance.
And now they're saying that Prosecutor Kamala Harris -- perhaps one of the top three most phony politicians I have ever seen -- and that's saying a lot -- has the inside track to be a heartbeat away from the Oval Office?
Good grief, that's the type of shit that makes me consider staying home on November 3.... and, I'm guessing a lot of Bernie bros as well....

dstgolf · Post by **dstgolf** » Sat Apr 11, 2020 1:39 pm

Looking for a comment on this article by Conrad Black staunch and loyal supporter of Donald Trump who gave him a get out of prison free card hence his loyalty I suppose but the guy is a pretty well respected writer. I don't claim to understand politics and especially not the nuances of American politics being highly influenced by what we hear/read/see in the press. I found the article by the end making me rethink Donald Trump and his impact on America and the world as we see it but this is only one opinion and it seems to lie a long ways from popular press. Maybe I just see the Democratic view from our side of the border more so than the Republican but then again this may all be jaded by political/press influence. I find reading this Trump thread I often gain a better/or different insight than I read in the paper. Interested in your comments on how great DT has been for the American people up until covid. Who knows after.

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/conrad ... _top_pages

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Sat Apr 11, 2020 7:16 pm

Jim, agree with your "phony" take on Harris, even though I don’t hate her for being a prosecutor. Cuomo's been an absolute rock star but I’m not sure he’d be the best choice for VP, if only because he’s from NY.

Danny, I’d call Black a loonie but don’t want to insult your currency.

OrlandoRobert · Post by **OrlandoRobert** » Sat Apr 11, 2020 7:22 pm

Biden’s recent TV appearances have not been good for him. He’s not stringing five sentences together with much clarity. So bummed, I’ve always liked this guy. And Jim, post-#metoo, we are in a new era. I agree with you, but I also understand why he did it.

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 3:07 pm

The election is only 29 weeks away.

Just like in the 2018 midterm elections this far out from election day, it is becoming increasingly clear that the question is not if the Democrats will win in 2020, but how big their victory will be. Indeed, the results in the all-important state of Wisconsin’s election last week are extremely encouraging for the Democrats. But the same caveat in 2018 still applies today, even more so: that our democracy is not broken (via voter suppression, a nakedly partisan Supreme Court, gerrymandering and the rural bias in the Electoral College, Russian-backed and Republican-endorsed disinformation campaigns, and outright fraud and cheating). In 2018, it was sufficiently robust to pass the test, let’s hope that’s still true now today.

The 2018 midterms are still our best actual proof of voter intentions, and it was a historic repudiation of the Trump GOP. 2018 was the largest turnout in a midterm in 50 years. It was the third largest popular vote margin of victory in a midterm election in US history and the largest for a party in the minority at the time of the election. And historically, the midterms have strongly favored the Republicans, so we might expect an even better showing for the Dems in the general.

And conditions are looking far worse for Trump and the GOP in 2020 than in 2018, given Trump’s ongoing disastrous handling of the Coronavirus pandemic and the Great Depression-esque crash in the economy.

Yes, Biden is a flawed candidate, but he wrapped up the nomination early and has an unusually unified party behind him. Biden has higher favorables than Hillary did, and Trump is losing months of time to attack and degrade Biden as the Coronavirus sucks up all the oxygen in the room. Biden has lots of work to do, and a strong choice for the Vice President on his ticket would go along way to energizing young and minority voters (Stacey Abrams anyone?). In the end though, I think Biden is good enough so as to be irrelevant, letting this election settle in as a referendum on Trump’s first term: if that is the standard, Trump is toast.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 2:30 am

Blanquito wrote:The election is only 29 weeks away.

Just like in the 2018 midterm elections this far out from election day, it is becoming increasingly clear that the question is not if the Democrats will win in 2020, but how big their victory will be. Indeed, the results in the all-important state of Wisconsin’s election last week are extremely encouraging for the Democrats. But the same caveat in 2018 still applies today, even more so: that our democracy is not broken (via voter suppression, a nakedly partisan Supreme Court, gerrymandering and the rural bias in the Electoral College, Russian-backed and Republican-endorsed disinformation campaigns, and outright fraud and cheating). In 2018, it was sufficiently robust to pass the test, let’s hope that’s still true now today.

The 2018 midterms are still our best actual proof of voter intentions, and it was a historic repudiation of the Trump GOP. 2018 was the largest turnout in a midterm in 50 years. It was the third largest popular vote margin of victory in a midterm election in US history and the largest for a party in the minority at the time of the election. And historically, the midterms have strongly favored the Republicans, so we might expect an even better showing for the Dems in the general.

And conditions are looking far worse for Trump and the GOP in 2020 than in 2018, given Trump’s ongoing disastrous handling of the Coronavirus pandemic and the Great Depression-esque crash in the economy.

Yes, Biden is a flawed candidate, but he wrapped up the nomination early and has an unusually unified party behind him. Biden has higher favorables than Hillary did, and Trump is losing months of time to attack and degrade Biden as the Coronavirus sucks up all the oxygen in the room. Biden has lots of work to do, and a strong choice for the Vice President on his ticket would go along way to energizing young and minority voters (Stacey Abrams anyone?). In the end though, I think Biden is good enough so as to be irrelevant, letting this election settle in as a referendum on Trump’s first term: if that is the standard, Trump is toast.

That sounds hauntingly similar to what I was hearing in 2016: Trump is so bad, it’s inconceivable that he would win.

Biden will appear anything but an irrelevant non-entity after the GOP machine is done with him.

I have hope, but I’m keeping it locked in the basement.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 2:37 am

Yeah that's about my feeling David.
We laughed at the thought of Donald Trump as president four years ago.
I have no faith in dingbat states like Wisconsin and Florida.
Maybe we can get back MI with "that woman" leading the state.
And I would think Joe can pull out PA.
But I'm not counting on him turning over OH, FL, NC, or any other state that went to Orange in 2016.
And don't forget, Joe has to win ALL three -- WI, MI, and PA -- not just two out of three -- to prevail.
I fully expect Orange, Fox, and the Republican Party to play some sort of Corona shenanigans to cause chaos in the election, challenge the legitimacy of election totals, use it to suppress votes, etc.

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 3:44 am

I am increasingly confident I will be enjoying a first growth at my brother's expense!

But I’m most worried about the debates.

And Republicans cheating (again).

Chateau Vin · Post by **Chateau Vin** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 4:14 am

All this is good, but All that matters come November is the Dem turnout... Nothing can be relied upon...

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 1:22 am

Jesus Christ, Patrick, I’m watching Joe being interviewed by the friendly press of Anderson Cooper and Sanjay Gupta, he can’t put a single sentence together, let alone two. THIS is the guy you think is going to beat Godzilla?
The Dems have done it again, they picked the wrong guy, it should have been Bernie.
Good grief.
Honest to goodness, folks, can we accept the obvious, that 78 year old Joe Biden is suffering from dementia?
I had to turn the sound off, it was too painful to watch.
This is a disaster in the works, folks.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 1:32 am

I stand by my prediction: Donald Orange Head Trump will be re-elected in November 2020.

JCNorthway · Post by **JCNorthway** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 1:57 am

Full disclosure, I also have concerns about Biden's mental state. For much of the debates, he seemed out of his element and unable to compose a cogent response. But from time to time he seemed "a point." That inconsistency is a bit troubling. I just hope that between now and November he has more "a point" days than not. Worst case, if he has a good VP candidate, we could be OK.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 2:00 am

He has fallen off the cliff mentally in the past four years.
I’m telling you guys, this is going to be an issue.
He has dementia. Not a good thing for a presidential candidate.

hautbrionlover · Post by **hautbrionlover** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 2:56 am

While I agree it is important for Biden to win Wisconsin, I was not under the impression that it is do or die.
I expect him to win Pennsylvania and Michigan. He also has a good chance of winning Arizona, and if he does that, I think he can lose Wisconsin and still win. That assumes he holds Virginia, but loses both Florida and North Carolina.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 3:07 am

Ha yes if everything goes exactly perfectly, HBL, Joe will win.
You are banking pretty heavily on Arizona.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 5:28 am

I thought Biden came across very well last night on CNN.
Cooper let him run with the ball and he did.
I had no problem understanding him.
Maybe that’s a sign of my own mental decline.

Still plenty worried about November, though.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 1:56 pm

I'll admit i only watched the beginning, I turned off the sound because it was too painful to listen to.
Joe should win all the states won by Hillary last time, plus Michigan.
You would think he would win Pennsylvania as well, although Orange kicked her pretty good in that state.
But i'm still betting on Joe winning PA.
That leaves the looneys in Wisconsin. You'd think we'd win Florida too but they are even loonier.
As usual, it is going to be a nailbiter.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 2:16 pm

I'll agree that he started off sounding a bit whiney about our COVID response. But he got rolling with clear descriptions of his vision, including some things about healthcare and the economy that looked to be reaching out to the more progressive elements. At least to those elements not demanding 100% Sanders positions.

I agree with you on the state by state lineup but remain skeptical and worried about his ability to actually pull it off. After 2016, well, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice... you don't get fooled again.

Wrote that last bit thinking about dubya, then my mind segued to this:

We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgement of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again

The change, it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fold, that's all
And the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they are flown in the next war...

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Wed Apr 22, 2020 12:35 am

Very impressed with "that woman," Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan governor.
I would pick her over Klobuchar or Harris.

JCNorthway · Post by **JCNorthway** » Wed Apr 22, 2020 1:25 am

Living in Michigan, I've been watching regularly. I think she has done a nice job, but putting her up there with previous presidential candidates is a nice compliment for her.

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Wed Apr 22, 2020 2:39 am

Per Wikipedia:
“Trump won Pennsylvania by 44,292 votes out of more than 6,000,000 cast, a difference of 0.72% and the narrowest margin in a presidential election for the state in 176 years.

Trump unexpectedly won Wisconsin by a narrow margin of 0.77%, a difference of 22,748 votes out of 2,976,150 cast. A total of 188,330 were cast for third party candidates in WI in 2016.

Trump unexpectedly won Michigan by a narrow margin of 0.23%, with 47.50% of the total votes over the 47.27% of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. This is the narrowest margin of victory in Michigan's presidential election history.“

An amazing royal straight flush Trump pulled off there. Russian hacking anyone?

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Wed Apr 22, 2020 2:53 am

Omg, Patrick, close election victories for Trump, ergo, Russian cheating?
Do you have any ACTUAL evidence — not Rachel Maddow theory— of Russian hacking of the 2016 WI, MI, PA elections?

What specific voting machines in Lansing, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh were malfunctioning?

The Dems have GOT to stop being so pathetic, STOP looking to blame everyone else but their own incompetence.
It was so classic to watch them embracing Bernie this week, after years of trashing him.
And then they wonder why Bernie supporters don’t just immediately jump on board....

The Democratic Party leadership is truly pathetic. I would say it’s 50-50 whether they can beat Orange Head in November.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Wed Apr 22, 2020 3:16 am

I've come to the conclusion that it is just time for us to break up.
Time to break this country up.
We've just come to HATE each other so much.
Was watching those protesters with their automatic weapons protesting in the state capitals.
Watched the first episode of the tiger dude on Netflix tonight.
I have absolutely no connection to those folks.
I really just don't want to be associated with them.
And they don't want to be associated with folks like me.
I truly think it's just time to break things up.
Let's break off the northeast... Maybe even join Canada.
It's just too much drama. I have nothing in common with the good people of Missouri, Georgia, Louisiana.
I mean, we can still be friends.
You can have yer guns, and religiosity, and anti-abortionism, and yer Lindsay Grahams and Mitch McConnells....
No mas... It's like the end of a bad marriage... We loved each other once, but it's over now, and it's just time to call it quits....