When Kamala Harris announced that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz would be her running mate in 2024, my first reaction was curious optimism for the Democratic ticket.
I don’t see the Democrats getting back in the White House anytime soon no matter what they pull out as their next stunt. They’re not reforming, they’re reloading.
Here in Oregon, Initiative Petition 28 proposes to ban cruelty to animals by effectively banning hunting, fishing, and animal ag. I could be charged with sexual assault for artificially inseminating a cow. My response has been to join Greater Idaho (greateridaho.org) to get the Idaho border moved to the Cascades. I can't live under Democrat insanity.
Democrats will lose until they stop being driven by and paralyzed by polls. Pronouns or prices. Every breath we talk about cultural issues. Too fucking cute. Just state where you stand on every issue. Cultural economic diplomatic whatever. Just lay it out there in a way that makes sense. People will respect you even if they disagree with you because you are showing leadership and not pandering to polls.
They want to dismiss the culture issues…that are driven entirely by progressive governance. They talk economics, but they govern like Chase Strangio and Ibram X. Kendi - it’s all leftist culture imposed top down 24/7 with no qualms about using the full coercive force of government to do so. And don’t even get started on the total failure of progressive governance in blue cities where the main goal is to redistribute taxes to non profits and nothing EVER gets better for the law abiding tax payer who didn’t think anything about pronouns until the totalitarian progressives started demanding it be a thing. Portland just dealt with the critically important issue of apparently rampant oppression of the blue haired orgy enthusiasts (“polyamory”) meanwhile while a beloved local business burned to the ground because of a drug addicted homeless criminal because anything goes here.
Good luck with the culture wars don’t mean diddly squat. That’s as naive as it gets.
When the tapestry is falling apart around you, and economics isn’t the cause, well, economics isn’t going to be the answer either. Something else is afoot, and your gated communities will only hold it off for so long.
Defund the police? What is a woman? Silence is violence? Shut up and listen? You step down a rung, so I can step up two rungs? Medicalising kids?
Hatred and violence toward people for being straight, or gay, or Lesbian, or wanting a space to change that is private, or wanting same sex intimate care.
Or maybe, training your whole life for a sport you love only to have some prick (literally) come and take it from you by a country mile? Or wanting not to have people come up to your table outside a cafe and demand you raise your arm in support of whatever they fucking support? While you’re having a quiet meal with your partner?
I’ve gone on - I could go on much more.
Don’t discount the culture wars.
People went batshit crazy.
Other people looked on, maybe a little isolated from it. Maybe it didn’t matter so much from there.
But matter it does.
And it’ll come for you again come next election if you don’t take it seriously.
Our fallen world is full of evil but also many beautiful things so it’s not all bad. We are fortunate to live in a time when it’s so easy to find so many beautiful things.
Dems actually fielded Waltz as a representation of “masculinity”. Nothing demonstrates their inability to see regular folks more than that. Walz was what liberals think masculinity should be, but to most folks he seemed like the hapless choir teacher who just happened to be straight against all odds.
Talarico and Platner are both people who can appeal to independents by stressing how the Democrats can provide more of a safety net and have the 1% that controls a disproportionate share of wealth and power pay the share that they did under the Clinton administration. The Big Beautiful Bill with billionaire tax cuts and sharp cuts to working class safety net will have a lot of non culture war talking points for Democrats to run on. But Talarico clearly has an uphill battle in conservative Texas unless Iran continues to morph into Iraq!! And Platner clearly has a much better shot at displacing Collins but he absolutely does need to be sensitive to how to be able to credibly "disown" any aspects of his past that might be used against him in campaign ads.
Fetterman may not be as conservative as Joe Manchin, but the fact that he openly tells Democrats they’ve failed on the border and calls defunding ICE insane—even as progressives curse him—shows he’s at least his own man. But like you said, Ds don't believe in them anymore, so he'll lose his primary in 2028.
Not very long. In a survey of registered voters, 73% of Republican respondents said they approved of the way Fetterman is handling his job, compared to 22% of Democrats.
Fetterman said "I vote a 91% Democratic line, and if Democrats have a problem with somebody that votes 91% of the same times as you are, more than nine out of 10 times, then maybe our party has a bigger problem"
I'm sure there are "religious" people who believe in abortion up to birth, mutilation of children, and that God is nonbinary. I just don't believe they live in Texas.
They can’t just “appeal to independents” they need to have some conservative positions and feel them in their bones. Nominate some genuine blue dogs. not everyone has to be like an east coast D.
It’s wishful thinking by culture warriors that their particular cultural hobby horses move the needle in voting. It doesn’t; when fall comes it will the party that best convinces voters they will do something to make their day to day life more affordable will win.
Of those that switched to voting for Trump after voting Biden— they did so because Biden didn’t deliver, and as far as they cared that was due to his age, which he lied about. Harris was just his cupbearer once he exited.
Everyone assuming that the culture war issues meant jack diddley squat really does not live day to day in a swing state.
At the very least, Dems with maximalist positions on trans and other cultural issues should be listening to voters with opposing views instead of just changing the subject. Pivoting to populist economics is a good strategy, but only after they've respectfully acknowledged opposing views.
There's majority support for a handful of strong pro-worker economic policies. Whether or not those policies are effective is another question. With the exception of living wage laws, very few have been implemented in blue cities.
A "living wage" is an artificially inflated wage floor. What happens when company A can't afford to raise wages? They fire employees. Wouldn't it be better to have a job?
So why not implement them in states where Democrats have complete control? If you can show that they actually work as intended then there will be far less opposition to implementing them nationally.
“ but only after they've respectfully acknowledged opposing views.”
Ha ha. Very funny. Fat chance of that ever happening. There are some things that will simply never happen in our fallen world and that sure is one of them. Easy to imagine the democrats becoming far more deranged, impossible to imagine them becoming less so.
I think we’re in a timeline similar to the one where Democrats lost 5 of 6 elections (except the one after Watergate, which they almost lost too) before Bill Clinton arrived with a platform of welfare reform, the crime bill, balanced budgets, and stricter immigration enforcement.
Unfortunately, the Puritans this time around are far more fanatical with their litmus tests than before. Not even the fall of Berlin got the SS to put down their arms.
Things that Bill and Hillary said about things like crime and secure borders in the nineties would get them labeled far right fascists if said today. It’s truly horrible how deranged the democrats have become on things as basic as race, gender, borders, crime and even meritocracy which they despise since it has a “disparate impact” on blacks and therefore most be replaced with equity aka race based equal outcomes. They’ve really ruined this country.
I live in Missouri, where the state just passed an amendment to protect abortion rights. We also passed legal weed. This idea that states like mine are moving firmly and unilaterally to the right is simple minded and false.
We need moderate Democrats, who believe in safe, legal boarder enforcement, believe that both the police AND citizens have to follow the law, understand that both evolution and gender are scientific facts, aren't in the grip of some crazy racial identity movement, fundamentalist religion etc..
Americans have, across the board, moved steadily to the left. The problem is, while the PEOPLE have drifted cautiously towards expanding government healthcare, raising the minimum wage, and relinquishing uptight attitudes about sex and drugs, many leaders in the party have eagerly jumped on every new idea from the cultural far left, no matter how ill-concived or contradictory.
Where are the Bill Clinton-type figures, who will stomp on the godamn brakes and say, no, in fact, we won't be "killing white people" you crazy bitch, and P.S. what the fuck is wrong with you?🤣🤣.
If you can't control a political coalition, you aren't a leader. Sometimes, you just have to recognize some groups are not worth the drag on the party in purely strategic terms, never mind the hypocrisy or moral problems.
Extreme American Muslims, who seem more concerned with the Middle East than America, and who don't seem to be down with the separation of church and state? (I mean, you're HERE now. You could just drop the whole stupid, sexist religion. Dogma is not destiny.)
✂️
The type of extreme BLMers who brought us the disasterously stupid Defund the Police movement? (DE-fund government??!! By God, man, you're a Democrat man, have some self respect 😅.) and the equally misguided idea of white privilege (Yeah, that'll attract working class white men, imply that they are all bigoted, but also part of the effeminate, idle rich . I'm sure they'll take that well. 🙄)
✂️.
Cross-dressers for whom it is IMPORTANT to pee with uncomfortable women because....uhm.. **file not found** ✂️. (Perhaps a poor choice of emoticon in this case.)
Which of these riffraff could we not just...cut loose?
I'm just a peon, but...all of them, maybe?
Hey, it's America, they're free to believe their shit, same as any redneck with a Trump flag shoved lovingly up his ass. We just don't need it at our little lemonade stand.
And if they are really the self-righteous radicals they see themselves as, what do they need with our boring mainstream political party anyway? I mean, elections and legislation, sounds pretty "basic-bitch" Capitalist to me.😂
Politics is about making decisions, decisions inevitably alienate some people. We need less micromanaging of the little groups, and more building the type of party we would actually be proud to promote.
I’m trying to understand where the moderates and conservatives who once voted in Democratic primaries have gone. They still exist, but they struggle to outnumber the party’s progressive wing.
Are they aging out, voting in Republican primaries, or skipping primaries altogether? Either way, it’s concerning that so much of the Democratic Party’s infrastructure—fundraising, canvassing, door-to-door outreach—is now dominated by Puritans. If you can’t win their approval, they can block your path to the nomination, because the moderates and conservatives who show up in general elections aren’t showing up in Democratic primaries.
I don't know how to say this without sounding dick-ish to the young kids who, in many cases I'm sure mean well, they're just kinda stuck in whatever you call their version of punk rock idealism, where everything is about rebeling and sticking it to the man etc... the moderates probably don't show for primary level activism because..we have real jobs.😬
I say that with all love, but as a younger liberal, the party would say to us, "ok, we understood you like your veganism and weed and Black Flag CDs but about the craziest we're gonna go to meet you is...Howard Dean. 'Member? He screamed funny one time! That do anything for ya?😂. Which was, more or less, the correct response, or at least more correct than socialism. But what does my old ass know lol
> " the PEOPLE have drifted cautiously towards expanding ... relinquishing uptight attitudes about sex"
I'm always fascinated by the socially liberal defense of promiscuous sexuality as liberation. The consequences:
- plunging approximately 25% of the population into poverty via single motherhood
- creating a two-tiered society of a married elite and unmarried masses
- having single motherhood - essentially a stress test on culture - hit minority communities the hardest, with 70% of black children born out of wedlock and setting racial equality back 3 generations and counting.
- creating an entirely new category of rape: acquaintance rape, that is now by far the largest category
- women becoming valued primarily on their looks, which only works out fabulously for pop stars. The vast majority of average-looking girls develop huge self-esteem issues in adolescence and self-harm is skyrocketing to literally unprecedented levels
- Rising narcissism and dark triad personality traits (see Peter Jonasan's research as well as Twenge) in both men and women due to the game playing demanded by promiscuous sexuality
- Cohabitation leading to a significant number of women spending five years living with a boyfriend who promise marriage and children "someday" but realizing that day will never come. So she goes back on the marriage market at 31 hoping to find a husband. Meanwhile the guy who didn't want commitment promptly gets engaged to a 26 year-old
- the manosphere and red pill communities teaching adolescent boys how to be pickup artists and players, but also how to hate women
Is that what you social liberals wanted? If not, then how do we get the properly Enlightened Sexual Revolution you wanted? Show your work.
You mean a society where adults can fuck other consenting adults?
Yeah, the "liberals" in that sense, make up a substantial, overwhelming majority of Republicans, Democrats, Conservatives, Trump voters, Harris voters, and the entire world.
You know, since it's not the 1500s and all.
The society you want is called "Iran." You can still make it, if you want, but if I were you I'd bring a helmet.😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲
Goodness, not to be too combative, but what an amazingly foolish comment, in my opinion. How blind must one be to gloss over the carnage to society that has resulted from the 'sexual revolution'?
Jman, articulates well the damage without even mentioning the millions of lives sacrificed because of our self-centered, selfish, grotesque worship of lust, pride and greed. You think it's cool to have sex outside of marriage, or no big deal, because American society has taught you this.
The devastation of this mindset is all around us, screaming at us, slowly breaking down our society, and you casually dismiss it as being prude, or uncool, or archaic in thought, while completely ignoring the reality of modern America.
I thought this way once, I had the same cavalier attitude. Then, by the grace of God, I humbled myself and my Holy Spirit convicted me of my ugly wretchedness. I'll pray for you Andrew, regardless of how crazy your reply might be, because the Bible describes this mindset well. I once scoffed at it, no longer. I'm not saying this is you, I'm saying this mindset leads to this, and the last 60 years is a sad testament to it.
"Professing to be wise, they became fools, . . . . And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them." Romans 1 NKJ
There is no Grindr for lesbians. Lesbians practice monogamy.
Islam oppresses women for their fertility; social liberalism oppresses women for their sexuality. Two sides of the same coin.
The West was monogamous for 2,000 years and the past 65 years since the Sexual Revolution has been a failure, so it's just a matter of time before it gets relegated to the dustbin of history.
It's also worth noting Asians in the US and in their home nations like China are extremely monogamous. If the US is ever going to go toe-to-toe with China, we'll have to ditch our decadent beliefs.
I am an independent registered voter; formerly Republican; center left on social issues and center right on fiscal issues. I think there are solutions to our problems, but they require compromise — something we seem incapable of as a country now. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing when it comes to abortion, healthcare, guns, immigration. But neither side will get everything they want — they will get some, maybe even a lot but not all. Same with fiscal or monetary issues — our current financial situation is not sustainable. Under what circumstances has “make less but spend or borrow more” EVER worked out? Never. So, I agree with you that while politicians have been debating — literally — where people should be allowed to pee or what acronyms are appropriate, the entire f-ing country is being burned to the ground.
“our current financial situation is not sustainable.”
“So, I agree with you that while politicians have been debating — literally — where people should be allowed to pee or what acronyms are appropriate, the entire f-ing country is being burned to the ground.”
Democrats opened the southern border and according to Tom Homan, let in 10 million known and 2 million got-aways. So this is 12 million mostly single young men that we know nothing at all about who are being supported by taxpayers in cities like Chicago where I live. The media used to ask the mayor how much money was being spent, who was spending it and on what. He’d just give them a word-salad answer and brush them off. The last information I could find on this was from Jan 8, 2025.
So how much has been spent since then? When I ask this question on Chicago media sites it’s ignored. This is lying by omission by the media. They want the illegals here so they’ve memory holed this. Things like this though along with their war on meritocracy for the sake of equity and their demonization of “Whiteness!” have been profoundly destructive and at least as bad as our “financial situation.”
“To date, the City of Chicago has spent more than $612 million providing emergency shelter and other services.”
“NBC 5 Investigates finds hidden details on cost of migrant crisis in Chicago.”
“Information from the city has been kept secret, hidden from public view, until NBC 5 Investigates found it in an obscure lawsuit.”
You will never get rules of engagement that would make either Goode or Pretti murder.
When I bought a gun in my blue state I had to take a mandatory gun safety course and they made it clear that even a slight mistake in a traffic stop could get you killed if you’re armed. This was 20 years ago in a deep-blue state.
Protesting against deportations is in effect protesting for open borders. The major reason why people stopped coming is because of the deportations. Stop the deportations and they will come again. Apparently this is what the democrats want. No society can survive this level of stupidity and flat out insanity. Is America still a country externally if it has already ceased to exist as a country internally?
As for Christianity, I like the Eastern religions and Western mysticism in general rather than Christianity in particular.
“Freedom and God are objects of faith, not of knowledge; in other words, freedom and God are infinite abysses whose bottoms cannot be sounded by knowledge.” Simone Weil. French Christian mystic. 1909-1943
“Infinite and finite, complex and simple, He is nature above nature, being above being. Maker of all, he is made in all, Unmoving, he enters the world, Timeless in time, unlimited in limited space, And he who is no thing becomes all things.” Eriugena, Irish Medieval Christian Theologian (800-877)
True. A significant number of those seeking asylum at the border were from China. What strikes me as ironic is that people claiming to fear for their lives had to fly all the way to Ecuador and then traverse thousands of miles of territory controlled by gangs and cartels.
It seems there was no nearby country where they could be safe from harm—except for one that happens to be wealthy and located on the opposite side of the world.
I don't have a link, but I remember reading about citizens from a low-income area going to the council in Chicago, asking for their community centers to be available for them again. A sanctuary city had allowed so many illegals in, they were sleeping in the community center, using the funds that were allocated for the low income citizens who lived there. Their children now had no where to play basketball, no where for afterschool programs, reading areas... etc, etc.
In every sanctary city, the schools are over-crowded, they can't find enough language interpreters, so again, the citizens, are missing out. I used to volunteer for math tutoring in elementary schools. Lots of the kids I worked w/ were here legally, w/ parents legally coming from another country. These kids needed lots of remedial help. This was many yrs ago. If I was to do this again, I guess I'd be called selfish if I was to say I would volunteer my services for only those who are here legally.
Now, if I bring up the fact that this administration wants to deny Federal funding to santuary cities, I'm being called selfish.
Chicago has 56,000 migrants, mostly Venezuelans, and the city has spent over $612M taking care of them over the last few years and had such a severe budget shortfall that the mayor wanted to raise taxes to help deal with it. This is insane. Chicago blacks are furious about the money spent on “migrants” and about the “migrant shelters” set up in their neighborhoods and they definitely do not see the Venezuelans as their natural allies against the white devils. This happened over a year ago. I don’t know what’s going on between blacks and migrants now since I don’t see anything in the news about it. As for the budget crisis, I think they found a way to keep kicking the can down the road for a while longer. God only knows where we’ll all end up.
“Chicago residents call mayor ‘loser, criminal’ as council votes down $300M property tax increase.” (4 min)
If Dems keep throwing blacks under the bus, I'd imagine that it shouldn't be hard to get Blacks voting 75% Democrat instead of 85-90%. Which would make WI, MI, and PA almost impossible for Dems to win.
The most Democratic county in the country in 2012, that voted 86% for Obama is 97% Latino. It voted for Trump by double digits in 2024. Texas & Florida would be swing states today if Dems didn't tank so hard with Latino voters.
"There you go again," sighed a visibly annoyed Reagan, as the previously humble peanut farmer from Georgia gleefully micturated all over his expensive leather shoes.
While I have mixed feelings overall about the Fargo series, Bruce Campbell as a comic Reagan is worth it's own series. Fight the big C Bruce, America could use this.😁
What I want from both parties is candidates who have a track record, who can explain why they did what they did or said what they said without insulting my intelligence. These candidates who come out of nowhere who sound like "they were created in a lab" but have paper thin facades are a non-starter with me. If you want my vote, you'll tell a story--that you can back up--about how you have done the job before and that your priority will be doing the job as it is, rather than as a springboard for grand visions, without promising me things that are beyond the job description or just plain impossible. If this kind of candidate can't win a primary, then I want to go back to the days before primaries.
“ then I want to go back to the days before primaries.”
For years I wanted “America First, no more war” and for years Trump promised this and I voted for him 3 times for this and yet here we are in a disastrous war with Iran. What we want, they promise and then after elected give us always seem to turn out very differently.
To be fair to Trump, I think he said no more “endless wars”, by which I think he means “nation building”. Also, I’m curious as to why you think it’s a disaster after only two weeks.
I follow Indian sites like Firstpost, The Times of India, Hindustan Times, WION and Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar here in the US. They all say the war is a disaster for America, our allies and for much of the world. Russia will greatly benefit and China will be okay. One of Iran’s nonnegotiable demands to end the war is for Israel/America to pay reparations for the damage done. Trump will never agree to that so there’s no end in sight. Glenn Diesen is a Norwegian political scientist with a popular YouTube channel.
“Asymmetric Warfare: How Iran is Stretching the War Against US, Israel.” (6 min)
With respect to you and the folks you mention, I think it’s still too soon to tell. There will be costs and benefits—we’ll just have to see how it works out. If it leaves Iran no longer a threat to its neighbors and to world commerce, Trump will be a hero for generations to come.
I fear that things like this air strike on the Iranian school are creating an intense desire for revenge among a great many people globally and by some within this country. For whatever reason, many Americans don’t seem to understand this or just dismiss such things by saying we must always remember Oct 7.
“Grieving Parents in Iran Spend Every Night at the Graves of Their Children, Killed by U.S. Strike.”
Drop Site News. Mar 18, 2026
“As Ramadan comes to a close, families in Minab, Iran struggle to come to terms with the scale of death, one of the deadliest single attacks on children in memory.”
If China were ever incentivized to make a move on Taiwan—which they’ve been spending money and preparing for—now would be the perfect time, with our Pacific assets diverted to Iran.
China wouldn’t need a full invasion. They would frame it as “coast guard operations” in territorial waters (since they already claim the waters around Taiwan & the South China Sea).
Ships entering those waters that are bound for Taiwan are now forced into “mandatory inspections" & forced to dock in China. Effectively restricting the fuel and food Taiwan depends on for roughly 90% of its imports. Cutting undersea internet cables would further put pressure on the island.
Taiwan is now put into a position of starting a war on China's terms by attacking Chinese vessels doing "coast guard activities" & knowing the US wouldn't be in the region to back them up, face crippling shortages and communication disruptions, or start negotiating with China about how much sovereignty & concessions they are willing to give up.
The entire world, especially our Pacific Allies, is now waiting to see whether Trump is limping his dick to get enough military assets near Iran back over to Asia, so they can accompany those ships, so that China may be deterred enough to stop their "coast guard activities" instead of escalating with the US.
Nobody wants to make the first move in this game of chicken, but everyone wants to push the envelope as close to the edge as possible, without going over the edge. And Trump has just emboldened China to push the envelope as close to the edge as they ever have. Since they may never get another opportunity like this again. The US is not in the Pacific for the first time in decades.
Our living standards & the US stock market will proceed to go to shit.
Then Democrats retake the White House in 2028—and open the borders to the tens of millions of refugees fleeing from this shit. Housing will get even more expensive, taxes will go up, and the deficit will explode. And that is the best case scenario, assuming we don't accidentally go into direct military conflict that has the chance to go nuclear with China, because we emboldened them by giving them the incentive to do it now.
Figured it was worth a mention that Plattner had a literal, honest-to-god SS camp guard tattoo on his chest for most of his adult life, which he only covered shortly after he became a politician.
Just that one little detail might be worth a mention, by the same leftist coalition that paints an entire state as bloodthirsty irredeemable nazis because ten neo-nazis showed up to a protest of thousands.
Democrats need to stop spending 95% of their time harping and hectoring about niche cultural issues, hammering the point home over and over, and then as soon as they get pushback adopting the doe-eyed "Who said anything about that?? What?? Why do you care so much??" look. If you want to convince people that these are irrelevant little molehills, maybe stop dying on them at every opportunity.
Not only is it stupid on its face, but even stupid people aren't as dumb as prominent leftists seem to think they are. They recognize this kind of cheap trick.
"Democrats need to stop spending 95% of their time harping and hectoring about niche cultural issues, hammering the point home over and over, and then as soon as they get pushback adopting the doe-eyed "Who said anything about that?? What?? Why do you care so much??" look. If you want to convince people that these are irrelevant little molehills, maybe stop dying on them at every opportunity."
Exactly. Don't tell us we're bigots if we think women are real discrete people and then lecture us on being distracted... by the same issues you keep relentlessly pushing.
No matter who is elected there is still the problem of passing legislation. Will either of those two dare to vote against their caucus? Good essay thought, appreciate it much more than the anti tariff last one.
Correction: Operation Epic FUBAR
I don’t see the Democrats getting back in the White House anytime soon no matter what they pull out as their next stunt. They’re not reforming, they’re reloading.
I realize that this article is basically about "how can Democrats put one over on the ordinary middle class."
But could we think just a teeny bit about the bigger issues:
1. Is it really such a good idea to spend over 40 percent of GDP on government?
2. Is it really such a good idea to have healthcare almost completely controlled by government regulation and benefits?
3. Is reducing politics to fighting for the oppressed against the white male oppressor going to help the oppressed?
Just axin'.
Here in Oregon, Initiative Petition 28 proposes to ban cruelty to animals by effectively banning hunting, fishing, and animal ag. I could be charged with sexual assault for artificially inseminating a cow. My response has been to join Greater Idaho (greateridaho.org) to get the Idaho border moved to the Cascades. I can't live under Democrat insanity.
Democrats will lose until they stop being driven by and paralyzed by polls. Pronouns or prices. Every breath we talk about cultural issues. Too fucking cute. Just state where you stand on every issue. Cultural economic diplomatic whatever. Just lay it out there in a way that makes sense. People will respect you even if they disagree with you because you are showing leadership and not pandering to polls.
They want to dismiss the culture issues…that are driven entirely by progressive governance. They talk economics, but they govern like Chase Strangio and Ibram X. Kendi - it’s all leftist culture imposed top down 24/7 with no qualms about using the full coercive force of government to do so. And don’t even get started on the total failure of progressive governance in blue cities where the main goal is to redistribute taxes to non profits and nothing EVER gets better for the law abiding tax payer who didn’t think anything about pronouns until the totalitarian progressives started demanding it be a thing. Portland just dealt with the critically important issue of apparently rampant oppression of the blue haired orgy enthusiasts (“polyamory”) meanwhile while a beloved local business burned to the ground because of a drug addicted homeless criminal because anything goes here.
Good luck with the culture wars don’t mean diddly squat. That’s as naive as it gets.
When the tapestry is falling apart around you, and economics isn’t the cause, well, economics isn’t going to be the answer either. Something else is afoot, and your gated communities will only hold it off for so long.
Defund the police? What is a woman? Silence is violence? Shut up and listen? You step down a rung, so I can step up two rungs? Medicalising kids?
Hatred and violence toward people for being straight, or gay, or Lesbian, or wanting a space to change that is private, or wanting same sex intimate care.
Or maybe, training your whole life for a sport you love only to have some prick (literally) come and take it from you by a country mile? Or wanting not to have people come up to your table outside a cafe and demand you raise your arm in support of whatever they fucking support? While you’re having a quiet meal with your partner?
I’ve gone on - I could go on much more.
Don’t discount the culture wars.
People went batshit crazy.
Other people looked on, maybe a little isolated from it. Maybe it didn’t matter so much from there.
But matter it does.
And it’ll come for you again come next election if you don’t take it seriously.
Good luck.
Our fallen world is full of evil but also many beautiful things so it’s not all bad. We are fortunate to live in a time when it’s so easy to find so many beautiful things.
GoPro Awards: “Escape” (7 min)
GoPro. Dec 28, 2024
https://youtu.be/KK85bybTEKA?si=Q88WeqqDXP6f5m1r
Black Panther. Beautiful video. Well done.
Jan 17, 2026. (1 min)
https://youtube.com/shorts/Ztfxo1bo0jo?si=9r0Lucf8BE6hWV56
“Why Beautiful Things Make Us Happy.” (8 min)
Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell. Oct 23, 2018
https://youtu.be/-O5kNPlUV7w?si=B3AM8Zbrv0pCwGd7
Dems actually fielded Waltz as a representation of “masculinity”. Nothing demonstrates their inability to see regular folks more than that. Walz was what liberals think masculinity should be, but to most folks he seemed like the hapless choir teacher who just happened to be straight against all odds.
Talarico and Platner are both people who can appeal to independents by stressing how the Democrats can provide more of a safety net and have the 1% that controls a disproportionate share of wealth and power pay the share that they did under the Clinton administration. The Big Beautiful Bill with billionaire tax cuts and sharp cuts to working class safety net will have a lot of non culture war talking points for Democrats to run on. But Talarico clearly has an uphill battle in conservative Texas unless Iran continues to morph into Iraq!! And Platner clearly has a much better shot at displacing Collins but he absolutely does need to be sensitive to how to be able to credibly "disown" any aspects of his past that might be used against him in campaign ads.
The last blue dog was probably Joe Manchin. The Ds don’t believe in them anymore.
Fetterman may not be as conservative as Joe Manchin, but the fact that he openly tells Democrats they’ve failed on the border and calls defunding ICE insane—even as progressives curse him—shows he’s at least his own man. But like you said, Ds don't believe in them anymore, so he'll lose his primary in 2028.
How long will he last as a Dem?
Not very long. In a survey of registered voters, 73% of Republican respondents said they approved of the way Fetterman is handling his job, compared to 22% of Democrats.
https://www.abc27.com/pennsylvania-politics/republicans-support-fetterman-more-than-democrats-poll-shows/
Fetterman said "I vote a 91% Democratic line, and if Democrats have a problem with somebody that votes 91% of the same times as you are, more than nine out of 10 times, then maybe our party has a bigger problem"
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-fetterman-senate-voting-record-democrats-trump/
Yeah saw that. the study says it’s 73% of the time voting D.
I'm sure there are "religious" people who believe in abortion up to birth, mutilation of children, and that God is nonbinary. I just don't believe they live in Texas.
They can’t just “appeal to independents” they need to have some conservative positions and feel them in their bones. Nominate some genuine blue dogs. not everyone has to be like an east coast D.
Who are some of the "genuine blue dogs"?
I'd argue that Jared Golden is the closest thing that Dems have left to a blue dog. Here's what he ran on in 2024 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12ZAhe67ujA
The only House Democrat who voted against Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package because it would make inflation worse.
Against Biden's electric car mandate, while voting to increase domestic oil and gas production.
The only House Democrat who supported Trump's tariffs
The only House Democrat to have voted for the Republican stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown
Voted for the Laken Riley Act
Only one of two House Democrats to side with Republicans in voting to overturn President Joe Biden's student loan debt cancellation plan in 2023
It sounds like he might be a blue dog -- but he's retiring.
It’s wishful thinking by culture warriors that their particular cultural hobby horses move the needle in voting. It doesn’t; when fall comes it will the party that best convinces voters they will do something to make their day to day life more affordable will win.
Of those that switched to voting for Trump after voting Biden— they did so because Biden didn’t deliver, and as far as they cared that was due to his age, which he lied about. Harris was just his cupbearer once he exited.
Everyone assuming that the culture war issues meant jack diddley squat really does not live day to day in a swing state.
Yes, go with that. Please.
At the very least, Dems with maximalist positions on trans and other cultural issues should be listening to voters with opposing views instead of just changing the subject. Pivoting to populist economics is a good strategy, but only after they've respectfully acknowledged opposing views.
How is pivoting to economics a good strategy when the results of Democrat economic ideas are on display in every blue city?
There's majority support for a handful of strong pro-worker economic policies. Whether or not those policies are effective is another question. With the exception of living wage laws, very few have been implemented in blue cities.
A "living wage" is an artificially inflated wage floor. What happens when company A can't afford to raise wages? They fire employees. Wouldn't it be better to have a job?
So why not implement them in states where Democrats have complete control? If you can show that they actually work as intended then there will be far less opposition to implementing them nationally.
B/c most elected Dems are fiscal moderates who serve their corporate donors.
moving the goalposts
“ but only after they've respectfully acknowledged opposing views.”
Ha ha. Very funny. Fat chance of that ever happening. There are some things that will simply never happen in our fallen world and that sure is one of them. Easy to imagine the democrats becoming far more deranged, impossible to imagine them becoming less so.
I think we’re in a timeline similar to the one where Democrats lost 5 of 6 elections (except the one after Watergate, which they almost lost too) before Bill Clinton arrived with a platform of welfare reform, the crime bill, balanced budgets, and stricter immigration enforcement.
Unfortunately, the Puritans this time around are far more fanatical with their litmus tests than before. Not even the fall of Berlin got the SS to put down their arms.
Things that Bill and Hillary said about things like crime and secure borders in the nineties would get them labeled far right fascists if said today. It’s truly horrible how deranged the democrats have become on things as basic as race, gender, borders, crime and even meritocracy which they despise since it has a “disparate impact” on blacks and therefore most be replaced with equity aka race based equal outcomes. They’ve really ruined this country.
I live in Missouri, where the state just passed an amendment to protect abortion rights. We also passed legal weed. This idea that states like mine are moving firmly and unilaterally to the right is simple minded and false.
We need moderate Democrats, who believe in safe, legal boarder enforcement, believe that both the police AND citizens have to follow the law, understand that both evolution and gender are scientific facts, aren't in the grip of some crazy racial identity movement, fundamentalist religion etc..
Americans have, across the board, moved steadily to the left. The problem is, while the PEOPLE have drifted cautiously towards expanding government healthcare, raising the minimum wage, and relinquishing uptight attitudes about sex and drugs, many leaders in the party have eagerly jumped on every new idea from the cultural far left, no matter how ill-concived or contradictory.
Where are the Bill Clinton-type figures, who will stomp on the godamn brakes and say, no, in fact, we won't be "killing white people" you crazy bitch, and P.S. what the fuck is wrong with you?🤣🤣.
If you can't control a political coalition, you aren't a leader. Sometimes, you just have to recognize some groups are not worth the drag on the party in purely strategic terms, never mind the hypocrisy or moral problems.
Extreme American Muslims, who seem more concerned with the Middle East than America, and who don't seem to be down with the separation of church and state? (I mean, you're HERE now. You could just drop the whole stupid, sexist religion. Dogma is not destiny.)
✂️
The type of extreme BLMers who brought us the disasterously stupid Defund the Police movement? (DE-fund government??!! By God, man, you're a Democrat man, have some self respect 😅.) and the equally misguided idea of white privilege (Yeah, that'll attract working class white men, imply that they are all bigoted, but also part of the effeminate, idle rich . I'm sure they'll take that well. 🙄)
✂️.
Cross-dressers for whom it is IMPORTANT to pee with uncomfortable women because....uhm.. **file not found** ✂️. (Perhaps a poor choice of emoticon in this case.)
Which of these riffraff could we not just...cut loose?
I'm just a peon, but...all of them, maybe?
Hey, it's America, they're free to believe their shit, same as any redneck with a Trump flag shoved lovingly up his ass. We just don't need it at our little lemonade stand.
And if they are really the self-righteous radicals they see themselves as, what do they need with our boring mainstream political party anyway? I mean, elections and legislation, sounds pretty "basic-bitch" Capitalist to me.😂
Politics is about making decisions, decisions inevitably alienate some people. We need less micromanaging of the little groups, and more building the type of party we would actually be proud to promote.
I’m trying to understand where the moderates and conservatives who once voted in Democratic primaries have gone. They still exist, but they struggle to outnumber the party’s progressive wing.
Are they aging out, voting in Republican primaries, or skipping primaries altogether? Either way, it’s concerning that so much of the Democratic Party’s infrastructure—fundraising, canvassing, door-to-door outreach—is now dominated by Puritans. If you can’t win their approval, they can block your path to the nomination, because the moderates and conservatives who show up in general elections aren’t showing up in Democratic primaries.
I don't know how to say this without sounding dick-ish to the young kids who, in many cases I'm sure mean well, they're just kinda stuck in whatever you call their version of punk rock idealism, where everything is about rebeling and sticking it to the man etc... the moderates probably don't show for primary level activism because..we have real jobs.😬
I say that with all love, but as a younger liberal, the party would say to us, "ok, we understood you like your veganism and weed and Black Flag CDs but about the craziest we're gonna go to meet you is...Howard Dean. 'Member? He screamed funny one time! That do anything for ya?😂. Which was, more or less, the correct response, or at least more correct than socialism. But what does my old ass know lol
> " the PEOPLE have drifted cautiously towards expanding ... relinquishing uptight attitudes about sex"
I'm always fascinated by the socially liberal defense of promiscuous sexuality as liberation. The consequences:
- plunging approximately 25% of the population into poverty via single motherhood
- creating a two-tiered society of a married elite and unmarried masses
- having single motherhood - essentially a stress test on culture - hit minority communities the hardest, with 70% of black children born out of wedlock and setting racial equality back 3 generations and counting.
- creating an entirely new category of rape: acquaintance rape, that is now by far the largest category
- women becoming valued primarily on their looks, which only works out fabulously for pop stars. The vast majority of average-looking girls develop huge self-esteem issues in adolescence and self-harm is skyrocketing to literally unprecedented levels
- Rising narcissism and dark triad personality traits (see Peter Jonasan's research as well as Twenge) in both men and women due to the game playing demanded by promiscuous sexuality
- Cohabitation leading to a significant number of women spending five years living with a boyfriend who promise marriage and children "someday" but realizing that day will never come. So she goes back on the marriage market at 31 hoping to find a husband. Meanwhile the guy who didn't want commitment promptly gets engaged to a 26 year-old
- the manosphere and red pill communities teaching adolescent boys how to be pickup artists and players, but also how to hate women
Is that what you social liberals wanted? If not, then how do we get the properly Enlightened Sexual Revolution you wanted? Show your work.
You mean a society where adults can fuck other consenting adults?
Yeah, the "liberals" in that sense, make up a substantial, overwhelming majority of Republicans, Democrats, Conservatives, Trump voters, Harris voters, and the entire world.
You know, since it's not the 1500s and all.
The society you want is called "Iran." You can still make it, if you want, but if I were you I'd bring a helmet.😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲
Goodness, not to be too combative, but what an amazingly foolish comment, in my opinion. How blind must one be to gloss over the carnage to society that has resulted from the 'sexual revolution'?
Jman, articulates well the damage without even mentioning the millions of lives sacrificed because of our self-centered, selfish, grotesque worship of lust, pride and greed. You think it's cool to have sex outside of marriage, or no big deal, because American society has taught you this.
The devastation of this mindset is all around us, screaming at us, slowly breaking down our society, and you casually dismiss it as being prude, or uncool, or archaic in thought, while completely ignoring the reality of modern America.
I thought this way once, I had the same cavalier attitude. Then, by the grace of God, I humbled myself and my Holy Spirit convicted me of my ugly wretchedness. I'll pray for you Andrew, regardless of how crazy your reply might be, because the Bible describes this mindset well. I once scoffed at it, no longer. I'm not saying this is you, I'm saying this mindset leads to this, and the last 60 years is a sad testament to it.
"Professing to be wise, they became fools, . . . . And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them." Romans 1 NKJ
I actually went back and liked my own fucking comment. 😂 A little stupid I admit, but sometimes you just fall in love with your own shit.
Like masturbation, it's not the greatest kind of love, but well worth pursuing on it's own term.😁
To crooooown your good.
With brooooootherhood.
.....from Sea toooooooo Shiiiiining Seeeeerra!!
Thank you, America! I love you! You're the Greatest!
There is no Grindr for lesbians. Lesbians practice monogamy.
Islam oppresses women for their fertility; social liberalism oppresses women for their sexuality. Two sides of the same coin.
The West was monogamous for 2,000 years and the past 65 years since the Sexual Revolution has been a failure, so it's just a matter of time before it gets relegated to the dustbin of history.
It's also worth noting Asians in the US and in their home nations like China are extremely monogamous. If the US is ever going to go toe-to-toe with China, we'll have to ditch our decadent beliefs.
I am an independent registered voter; formerly Republican; center left on social issues and center right on fiscal issues. I think there are solutions to our problems, but they require compromise — something we seem incapable of as a country now. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing when it comes to abortion, healthcare, guns, immigration. But neither side will get everything they want — they will get some, maybe even a lot but not all. Same with fiscal or monetary issues — our current financial situation is not sustainable. Under what circumstances has “make less but spend or borrow more” EVER worked out? Never. So, I agree with you that while politicians have been debating — literally — where people should be allowed to pee or what acronyms are appropriate, the entire f-ing country is being burned to the ground.
“our current financial situation is not sustainable.”
“So, I agree with you that while politicians have been debating — literally — where people should be allowed to pee or what acronyms are appropriate, the entire f-ing country is being burned to the ground.”
Democrats opened the southern border and according to Tom Homan, let in 10 million known and 2 million got-aways. So this is 12 million mostly single young men that we know nothing at all about who are being supported by taxpayers in cities like Chicago where I live. The media used to ask the mayor how much money was being spent, who was spending it and on what. He’d just give them a word-salad answer and brush them off. The last information I could find on this was from Jan 8, 2025.
So how much has been spent since then? When I ask this question on Chicago media sites it’s ignored. This is lying by omission by the media. They want the illegals here so they’ve memory holed this. Things like this though along with their war on meritocracy for the sake of equity and their demonization of “Whiteness!” have been profoundly destructive and at least as bad as our “financial situation.”
“To date, the City of Chicago has spent more than $612 million providing emergency shelter and other services.”
“NBC 5 Investigates finds hidden details on cost of migrant crisis in Chicago.”
“Information from the city has been kept secret, hidden from public view, until NBC 5 Investigates found it in an obscure lawsuit.”
NBC 5 Chicago. Jan 8, 2025
https://www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/nbc-5-investigates-finds-hidden-details-on-cost-of-migrant-crisis-in-chicago/3637021/
But ICE agents still should not kill people.... it's not Christian....thou shalt not kill right???
You will never get rules of engagement that would make either Goode or Pretti murder.
When I bought a gun in my blue state I had to take a mandatory gun safety course and they made it clear that even a slight mistake in a traffic stop could get you killed if you’re armed. This was 20 years ago in a deep-blue state.
Protesting against deportations is in effect protesting for open borders. The major reason why people stopped coming is because of the deportations. Stop the deportations and they will come again. Apparently this is what the democrats want. No society can survive this level of stupidity and flat out insanity. Is America still a country externally if it has already ceased to exist as a country internally?
As for Christianity, I like the Eastern religions and Western mysticism in general rather than Christianity in particular.
“Freedom and God are objects of faith, not of knowledge; in other words, freedom and God are infinite abysses whose bottoms cannot be sounded by knowledge.” Simone Weil. French Christian mystic. 1909-1943
“Infinite and finite, complex and simple, He is nature above nature, being above being. Maker of all, he is made in all, Unmoving, he enters the world, Timeless in time, unlimited in limited space, And he who is no thing becomes all things.” Eriugena, Irish Medieval Christian Theologian (800-877)
True. A significant number of those seeking asylum at the border were from China. What strikes me as ironic is that people claiming to fear for their lives had to fly all the way to Ecuador and then traverse thousands of miles of territory controlled by gangs and cartels.
It seems there was no nearby country where they could be safe from harm—except for one that happens to be wealthy and located on the opposite side of the world.
I don't have a link, but I remember reading about citizens from a low-income area going to the council in Chicago, asking for their community centers to be available for them again. A sanctuary city had allowed so many illegals in, they were sleeping in the community center, using the funds that were allocated for the low income citizens who lived there. Their children now had no where to play basketball, no where for afterschool programs, reading areas... etc, etc.
In every sanctary city, the schools are over-crowded, they can't find enough language interpreters, so again, the citizens, are missing out. I used to volunteer for math tutoring in elementary schools. Lots of the kids I worked w/ were here legally, w/ parents legally coming from another country. These kids needed lots of remedial help. This was many yrs ago. If I was to do this again, I guess I'd be called selfish if I was to say I would volunteer my services for only those who are here legally.
Now, if I bring up the fact that this administration wants to deny Federal funding to santuary cities, I'm being called selfish.
Chicago has 56,000 migrants, mostly Venezuelans, and the city has spent over $612M taking care of them over the last few years and had such a severe budget shortfall that the mayor wanted to raise taxes to help deal with it. This is insane. Chicago blacks are furious about the money spent on “migrants” and about the “migrant shelters” set up in their neighborhoods and they definitely do not see the Venezuelans as their natural allies against the white devils. This happened over a year ago. I don’t know what’s going on between blacks and migrants now since I don’t see anything in the news about it. As for the budget crisis, I think they found a way to keep kicking the can down the road for a while longer. God only knows where we’ll all end up.
“Chicago residents call mayor ‘loser, criminal’ as council votes down $300M property tax increase.” (4 min)
America’s Talking Network. Nov 14, 2024
https://youtu.be/Bb3QDK1SK8M?si=U8PL24caB0XSCteX
If Dems keep throwing blacks under the bus, I'd imagine that it shouldn't be hard to get Blacks voting 75% Democrat instead of 85-90%. Which would make WI, MI, and PA almost impossible for Dems to win.
The most Democratic county in the country in 2012, that voted 86% for Obama is 97% Latino. It voted for Trump by double digits in 2024. Texas & Florida would be swing states today if Dems didn't tank so hard with Latino voters.
I still remember the Carter-Reagan pee debate.
"There you go again," sighed a visibly annoyed Reagan, as the previously humble peanut farmer from Georgia gleefully micturated all over his expensive leather shoes.
Thanks lol.
While I have mixed feelings overall about the Fargo series, Bruce Campbell as a comic Reagan is worth it's own series. Fight the big C Bruce, America could use this.😁
What I want from both parties is candidates who have a track record, who can explain why they did what they did or said what they said without insulting my intelligence. These candidates who come out of nowhere who sound like "they were created in a lab" but have paper thin facades are a non-starter with me. If you want my vote, you'll tell a story--that you can back up--about how you have done the job before and that your priority will be doing the job as it is, rather than as a springboard for grand visions, without promising me things that are beyond the job description or just plain impossible. If this kind of candidate can't win a primary, then I want to go back to the days before primaries.
“ then I want to go back to the days before primaries.”
For years I wanted “America First, no more war” and for years Trump promised this and I voted for him 3 times for this and yet here we are in a disastrous war with Iran. What we want, they promise and then after elected give us always seem to turn out very differently.
To be fair to Trump, I think he said no more “endless wars”, by which I think he means “nation building”. Also, I’m curious as to why you think it’s a disaster after only two weeks.
I follow Indian sites like Firstpost, The Times of India, Hindustan Times, WION and Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar here in the US. They all say the war is a disaster for America, our allies and for much of the world. Russia will greatly benefit and China will be okay. One of Iran’s nonnegotiable demands to end the war is for Israel/America to pay reparations for the damage done. Trump will never agree to that so there’s no end in sight. Glenn Diesen is a Norwegian political scientist with a popular YouTube channel.
“Asymmetric Warfare: How Iran is Stretching the War Against US, Israel.” (6 min)
Firstpost. Mar 17, 2026
https://youtu.be/2IY71HXnAc8?si=q9Yxo7vuaLeuYmiD
“Glenn Diesen: US Hegemonic World Order Is Over.” (16 min)
Breaking Points. Mar 17, 2026
https://youtu.be/qLtq4O422fs?si=lexZNy4TgKjaB6SG
With respect to you and the folks you mention, I think it’s still too soon to tell. There will be costs and benefits—we’ll just have to see how it works out. If it leaves Iran no longer a threat to its neighbors and to world commerce, Trump will be a hero for generations to come.
“How a War With Iran Breaks the US Strategy - Prof Jiang Xueqin.” (12 min)
Santos Lopes. Mar 19, 2026
https://youtu.be/58Z1XgNiYas?si=m-q6RyOWm2j4nJf-
I fear that things like this air strike on the Iranian school are creating an intense desire for revenge among a great many people globally and by some within this country. For whatever reason, many Americans don’t seem to understand this or just dismiss such things by saying we must always remember Oct 7.
“Grieving Parents in Iran Spend Every Night at the Graves of Their Children, Killed by U.S. Strike.”
Drop Site News. Mar 18, 2026
“As Ramadan comes to a close, families in Minab, Iran struggle to come to terms with the scale of death, one of the deadliest single attacks on children in memory.”
https://dropsitenews.substack.com/p/minab-iran-elementary-school-airstrike-cemetery-families?r=cldfa&utm_medium=ios
This is how this stupid war ends.
If China were ever incentivized to make a move on Taiwan—which they’ve been spending money and preparing for—now would be the perfect time, with our Pacific assets diverted to Iran.
China wouldn’t need a full invasion. They would frame it as “coast guard operations” in territorial waters (since they already claim the waters around Taiwan & the South China Sea).
Ships entering those waters that are bound for Taiwan are now forced into “mandatory inspections" & forced to dock in China. Effectively restricting the fuel and food Taiwan depends on for roughly 90% of its imports. Cutting undersea internet cables would further put pressure on the island.
Taiwan is now put into a position of starting a war on China's terms by attacking Chinese vessels doing "coast guard activities" & knowing the US wouldn't be in the region to back them up, face crippling shortages and communication disruptions, or start negotiating with China about how much sovereignty & concessions they are willing to give up.
The entire world, especially our Pacific Allies, is now waiting to see whether Trump is limping his dick to get enough military assets near Iran back over to Asia, so they can accompany those ships, so that China may be deterred enough to stop their "coast guard activities" instead of escalating with the US.
Nobody wants to make the first move in this game of chicken, but everyone wants to push the envelope as close to the edge as possible, without going over the edge. And Trump has just emboldened China to push the envelope as close to the edge as they ever have. Since they may never get another opportunity like this again. The US is not in the Pacific for the first time in decades.
Our living standards & the US stock market will proceed to go to shit.
Then Democrats retake the White House in 2028—and open the borders to the tens of millions of refugees fleeing from this shit. Housing will get even more expensive, taxes will go up, and the deficit will explode. And that is the best case scenario, assuming we don't accidentally go into direct military conflict that has the chance to go nuclear with China, because we emboldened them by giving them the incentive to do it now.
Such a stupid utterly incompetent president.
Figured it was worth a mention that Plattner had a literal, honest-to-god SS camp guard tattoo on his chest for most of his adult life, which he only covered shortly after he became a politician.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS-Totenkopfverb%C3%A4nde
Just that one little detail might be worth a mention, by the same leftist coalition that paints an entire state as bloodthirsty irredeemable nazis because ten neo-nazis showed up to a protest of thousands.
Democrats need to stop spending 95% of their time harping and hectoring about niche cultural issues, hammering the point home over and over, and then as soon as they get pushback adopting the doe-eyed "Who said anything about that?? What?? Why do you care so much??" look. If you want to convince people that these are irrelevant little molehills, maybe stop dying on them at every opportunity.
Not only is it stupid on its face, but even stupid people aren't as dumb as prominent leftists seem to think they are. They recognize this kind of cheap trick.
"Democrats need to stop spending 95% of their time harping and hectoring about niche cultural issues, hammering the point home over and over, and then as soon as they get pushback adopting the doe-eyed "Who said anything about that?? What?? Why do you care so much??" look. If you want to convince people that these are irrelevant little molehills, maybe stop dying on them at every opportunity."
Exactly. Don't tell us we're bigots if we think women are real discrete people and then lecture us on being distracted... by the same issues you keep relentlessly pushing.
No matter who is elected there is still the problem of passing legislation. Will either of those two dare to vote against their caucus? Good essay thought, appreciate it much more than the anti tariff last one.