63 Comments

Trump is anti-democratic like the CCP is democratic. Stop with the political propaganda masquerading as journalism. Look up the definition of democratic and then pack the courts, eliminate the filibuster, eliminate the electoral college, destroy individual freedom of speech, eliminate individual, family, local and state power to chose over centralized federal power. Those are all Democrat attacks on Democracy.

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Seems to me the Democrats are doing everything in their power to get a Republican elected in 2024.

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“1) Trump is Anti-Democratic”

The more I read articles like this, my likelihood of preferring to vote for Trump over a Democratic candidate increases. I voted for Jorgensen in 2020, but only because I could convince my mom who was going to vote for Biden to also vote for her. If I could not convince a likely Biden voter to vote for Jorgensen, I’d have voted for Trump. At this moment in time, I’d do the same thing in 2024. And this article only increases that likelihood. Why?

Because loyal Democrats such as this author clearly are delusional or simply intellectually dishonest. Either they are delusional or lying to me. And I don’t like the fact that prominent Democratic writers are delusional or lying to me. Of course I don’t like the Democratic Party lying to me, but that is expected. What is troubling though is that it seems influential Democratic voters are absolutely convinced that the Democratic Party is the party of democracy. Even though the party argued in court that democracy doesn’t matter in their own primaries. See here:

https://observer.com/2017/05/dnc-lawsuit-presidential-primaries-bernie-sanders-supporters/amp/

The Democratic Party doesn’t care about democracy. They stated that in court. Let me repeat, the Democratic Party doesn’t care about democracy. It should change its name to the Demagogic Party. Because it’s concern for democracy is a lie just to please the ears of people like the author.

This is obvious. Please stop writing that democracy must be saved by the Democratic Party. It’s either ignorant or a lie.

The thing is, I think Trump is a bucket of piss. Right now though, I think that Biden is a bucket of shit, and the only Democratic candidate I think is less repulsive than a bucket of piss is Tulsi Gabbard. But since it is likely that any candidate who isn’t a bucket of shit is going to have their primaries rigged against them(declared so in court by the dnc) I suspect that I will be coerced into voting between a bucket of piss and a bucket of shit, again. And which case I will choose a bucket of piss and try to convince someone who prefers the bucket of shit to vote for someone else together.

Why anyone has a favorable attitude toward either party, such as this author, is bewildering. Both are garbage, and if a person has any loyalty to either their souls are poisoned. I wish I knew the antidote.

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I have traditionally voted Democratic and have loathed Trump since he was a reality TV presence. He is toxic as a leader and human. Character counts but so does electability. Here is my left coast Seattle bubble, few will acknowledge the reality of many American voters, who are aligned with Trump. Hopefully the current hearings will impact many of his supporters. I am flummoxed by the absence of rejection of Trump among the majority of GOP electeds and hope this will change.

As an American, I want to see a Republican slate of candidates that one could consider voting for rather than against, Liz Cheney impresses but the Trumpists hate her. One can hope. Pence seems obvious and the buzz about Desantis is real and for me a bit scary.

On the Democratic side, Harris if running today would be unelectable if there was a reasonable Republican candidate. I am in a watch and wait mode. Both sides take positions that offend. The GOP on abortion and guns. The Dems on immigration and general wokeness. Hoping to be enthused about a set of candidates and wonder if this could be the first time I vote Republican. If the choice was Trump or a clone of him, not a chance.

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I know Persuasion does not get the readership that other, more sensational Substack newsletters get, but this essay should be a must read for anyone paying attention to politics. The People of the Lie have taken over the Republican party and the Stupids have come to dominate the Democratic party. The Stupids must get smarter about enrolling more people with a moderate position in order to win more elections. The People of the Lie will ultimately cause a serious backlash that could look like the 1960s again.

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Biden was sold as a moderate but what's coming out of is administration might as well be from the Oberlin College student council.

In terms of immigration, the United States now has open borders with Mexico. And a huge number of people within the US, especially in government, cheering it on.

Now tell us, How is it that no one was held responsible for the catastrophe of Iraq. Tell us about how Eric Holder, Obama's attorney general, declared the banks at the heart of the Financial Crisis to be "systemically important" and no one, yet again, was responsible for a crisis that has and continues to financially immiserate tens of millions of American. (BTW, aren't many of those banks and financial institutions which he spared criminal punishment now among Holder's firm's clients?)

How is it that the very destructive riots of 2020 have gone largely unexamined and largely euphemized?

But yes, the new meme, "OUR DEMOCRACY", swamps all. Yet in the meantime, rich foundations, NGOs, non-profits, university endowments, etc, act to dilute the power of people's votes.

The danger of Trump is not what he did. But that during his terms there were no new wars, no financial crisis, and people prospered more. And yes, he is a deranged autocrat.

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While I agree with almost everything said in the column, I also have hopes that the Jan 6 committee is influencing enough of the public (and, hence, politicians) to turn the Trumpian/authoritarian tide. Maybe I'm being foolish, but there still could be enough time to influence the outcome of this year's elections and produce better presidential candidates for 2024.

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Eh. I suspect Biden will step aside and instead of Harris a new candidate will emerge. Until Biden none of the previous three Democratic presidents -- Obama, Clinton, Carter -- were especially well known or seen as front runners more than two years before the election.

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Meanwhile Biden on his European flop trip says high gas prices are necessary to protect the "future of the liberal world order."

Did you hear it? If you did, were you surprised? Where you outraged? Or did it confirm what you already knew and strengthen your resolve to get the real disaster of Biden Democrat control out of power? Or did you just dig your head more into the Jan-6 narrative in hope that Biden does not spill any more beans about that Liberal New Order future you desire in the expectation it will better fill your bank account?

In any case these articles demonstrating Trump "disaster" fear are a hoot given the real destruction being forced on the country by the Biden Democrats.

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Jul 2, 2022·edited Jul 2, 2022

A centrist third party with a federalist bent, begun by a popular celebrity - that's the route I like. We're like kids stuck with two bad parents. Let's just leave the house. If the candidate could win the presidency the party could establish itself as legitimate going forward. If that party could win as little as 15% at other levels in years to come, it could moderate the extremes of left and right.

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Yascha, please describe the compromises you believe Manchin and Sinema would finally agree to. They've move the goalposts enough to make it hard to believe that any exist.

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The TDS is strong with this one.

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Yascha I agree with you almost 100% And I really appreciate your understanding of the lost opportunities from " the White House seemed to rely on public pressure to bring reluctant Senators in line, failing either to negotiate with them on a good faith basis or to pursue compromise bills they proposed." However, the Bipartisan Infrastructure bill did pass, which is a MAJOR achievement and Biden received much praise, internationally and nationally, for his management and leadership re: Nato & Ukraine. I do trust Biden's 79 year old brain more that Trump's severe ADHD brain

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Rnc needs to step up and not allow him on even the primary ballots. The dem led hearings are doing the yowmen’s work republicans should have done on jan7th. The turtle hinted at this in his speech after certification but backed off

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Your diagnosis is compelling. Unfortunately, your suggested treatment falls far short of what is needed to succeed. i do not have the answers, either. But the fault is not in the stars, it is in the soul of the democratic party, I am sorry to say.

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founding

I forgot to mention the new worry about state legislatures influencing their electoral college votes.

Yes the House is representative but it does not confirm judges.

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