Is punishing the poor Trump’s last hand to play?
By: Eduardo Porter (The Guardian via MSN)
It's kinda refreshing to see some traditional gaslighting from the left.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
There is a manic quality to Donald Trump ’s desperate dash to do something, anything, ahead of November’s midterm elections to convince beleaguered Americans that he can make the pressures his policies have imposed on their livelihoods go away.
The US president offered to lower barriers against beef imports to limit surging meat prices, only to consider backtracking under pressure from the cow lobby. He offered to stop diesel exports, only to find oil companies were not interested . He weakened fuel efficiency standards, claiming this would trim the price of a new car (and forgetting to point out it will also raise spending on gas.) In early October he started mailing $500 checks to nearly a million people touting his healthcare “wins”. Oh, and he promised adult Americans a $5,000 check if Republicans maintain control of Congress. That, too, will go nowhere .
There is a manic quality to Donald Trump ’s desperate dash to do something, anything, ahead of November’s midterm elections to convince beleaguered Americans that he can make the pressures his policies have imposed on their livelihoods go away.
The US president offered to lower barriers against beef imports to limit surging meat prices, only to consider backtracking under pressure from the cow lobby. He offered to stop diesel exports, only to find oil companies were not interested . He weakened fuel efficiency standards, claiming this would trim the price of a new car (and forgetting to point out it will also raise spending on gas.) In early October he started mailing $500 checks to nearly a million people touting his healthcare “wins”. Oh, and he promised adult Americans a $5,000 check if Republicans maintain control of Congress. That, too, will go nowhere .
The savings from the ACA maneuver, estimated by the administration at $2.2bn per year, are chump change compared to the centerpiece of Trump’s fiscal policy – the One Big Beautiful Bill Act from 2025 that is expected to add $4.1tn to budget deficits over the next decade, largely due to tax cuts benefiting the most affluent Americans.
Pace Bessent, the budget deficit is growing rapidly, expected to rise to some $2tn in the fiscal year of 2026, roughly 6% of GDP and some 18% more than in fiscal 2024, the last year of the Biden administration.
Rather than stem budgetary red ink, it’s as if Trump’s objective is to spread misery beyond the 3 million Americans who had to drop their health insurance after the administration last year cancelled subsidies offered by the Biden administration.
The effort is something out of the playbook of Elon Musk’s Doge . His promise to rid the government of “waste” and “fraud” probably caused the deaths of millions of children in the developing world after the dismantling of USAID, but proved largely irrelevant to the task of saving money for the government. It may serve as a masterclass in trolling. But it is not a vote-winner.
Part of Trump’s brain seems to understand this. Trump paid in part for the “beautiful” bill’s colossal tax cut by cutting funding to Medicaid and the Snap food stamp program for low-income Americans. But he engineered most of the cuts to kick in after the midterms to minimize the political cost. The thinking was that lower-income Americans would happily vote for the Republicans out of gratitude for their somewhat bigger tax refund checks this year and tax breaks for overtime and tips (cleverly designed to expire at the end of Trump’s term) and not notice the cuts rushing down the pike on federal programs they relied on.
But the new evictions from the ACA suggest that his brain’s darker side is winning. Indeed, it underscores Trump’s belief that hitting poor people might work for him. Rather than a commitment to sound fiscal policy, a helping hand for American families treading water or an economic platform of any kind, Trump’s latest exercise in “fraud prevention” points to a strategy revolving around punishing people he can define as “bad”. Deep underwater in the polls for his nutty stewardship of the economy, among other things, Trump seems to believe that his one remaining winning card is to do violence against constituencies that his base may not like. Top of the list are immigrants and low-income people. And so it is that ICE is also doubling down, announcing it will hire another 5,000 agents by the end of the year.
The president is on to something. About two-thirds of Republicans believe giving more aid to the poor does more harm than good, according to surveys from the Pew Research Center . Despite the repeated instances of abuse by federal agents, only 19% of Republicans think the Trump administration is doing too much to deport immigrants illegally in the country. The most radical rightwing voters are all in for federal deportations and don’t think the federal government should be responsible for ensuring Americans’ healthcare.
Perhaps Trump’s heart truly lies on the dark side. But doubling down on policies to please the most ardent fanatics in his base ultimately reveals the weakness of Trump’s position. Perhaps even he understands that he has lost the rest of the country . Punishing the poor and the foreign – alongside an unlikely $5,000 Hail Mary pass – is all he has left.
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Does blaming Trump allow the 'alternatives' to ignore the problems? We're being told all about what Trump has done. What are the 'alternatives' going to do about it? Beat dead horses? Scream at the sky? Punish scapegoats?
The trouble with 'winning' is the public expects promised results. That's why the 'alternatives' rely on gaslighting rather than substance.
So very true. One hears a lot about affordability from the Democrats in this election cycle, even more than the old tried and true 'defending democracy'. But absent from those statements is any idea how they intend to fix the issue. So what we see is one side pulling the same actions as the prior administration while trying to buy votes and the other side picking data to show how the current administration has caused the affordability crisis.
And most people are too dumb to realize what is actually happening is that both sides are pulling from the same playbook. Too many people cannot realize that the playbook is based on keeping us at each others throat fighting each other in order to prevent us from seeing the true enemy is the two political parties.
que the "how can you say the problem is anything but Trump" responses.
We are so TIRED of the 'looping' that goes on in Congress. How the hell are they the people's HOUSE (Representatives) when they are butted up with campaigning all the time (to please 'internal' metrics) and expected to have internecine fights ALL THE TIME?
The American voters (as a whole) are responsible for the division they allow in their ranks, which expresses itself throughout our congresses-now.
What "the people" need: A congress that goes to work together, respecting our diversity, not dedicated to 'taking over' the country for tribe or party. We have a two party system and as such no one side should declare 'victory' over the other, because that can only result in more in-fighting—paid infighting. Sure, all that money flying back in forth in the form of campaign funds seems exciting, maybe invigorating, maybe even like acceptance to the receiver/s. . . still its end is destruction/ruin as any grifter can tell you money is its own reward-so the getting is the goal in itself. People, humanity, be damned when they get in the way of that!
The people of this country deserve better and its high time we tell our "leaders" to put up or shut up. Enough of the looping for looping sake. Or, we will have to purge and refresh congress back to sanity, because insanity (doing things the same way looking for different results) is not productive.
The majority is there for the taking for the dems, possibly even if all they use is orange man bad. But there seems to be no plan to keep it after that. Just saying they will make things more affordable does not make things more affordable and they have not said anything about what they will do.
Yep. Democrats problem is that their policies are designed to make things more expensive. They promote plans to restrict energy exploration , and tax consumption. They want to increase government spending and flood the country with illegal and legal immigrants. All of those things inexorably lead to higher costs of living and price inflation.
They seem to forget all of that when they talk about being the party for affordability.
Here is the problem for our country: Our congresses are spinning their wheels from election to election. They do not act in concert. Not much is acceptable from one party by the other party. That is not a way to win at work. Just imagine a company, a corporation, a small business even, that spent its significant time and investment in stifling itself over and over (looping). . . we can safely assume that company, corporation, small business would not be above water for long and highly probably doomed because breaking even is not profitable.
Our congress is composed of two powerhouse parties that run congress- 'us' (with a small percentage of Independent members), and they NEED our help to break free from the grip of a time-warp they are stuck! The question is this when will voters collectively look up from their 'grind' to focus on lifting congress out of its looping?
What has Trump done for undocumented immigrants. Deportation has failed miserably.
What about all the problems that Trump has created?
There's a lot more that could be added.
And what is the dem plan?
Don't want to look for yourself?
Remove the illegal tariffs, get us out of the illegal war. That will have an immediate effects on prices. Basically undo all the crap Trump has done to the detriment of the country.
So their plan is to undo. Great plan S/
There is/was a high number of immigrants working the fields of this country to bring foodstuffs to market. . . with their removal and 'chilling effect' on their presence, we are left with aging field workers and little to no new influx of workers incoming.
I have a question for you: How is inflation being impacted (increase/decrease) by a lack of immigrants (documented/undocumented) working our fields to bring food to our table?
Are you talking just illegals?
That is not an excuse for ignoring immigration laws. But it is hopefully motivation to fix those laws.
The Administration is removing 'mass' immigrants—legal and illegals. The Trump administration is de facto ignoring (and by doing so challenging) immigration laws of this country and seeking to put in place its own 'fix.'
How many legals has the administration deported?
DuckDuckGo. Search Assist:
The Trump administration has stripped legal status from approximately 1.6 million immigrants, primarily by revoking Temporary Protected Status and other legal protections. This has resulted in a significant increase in the undocumented population in the U.S.
aila.org NBC 7 San Diego
Overview of Legal Status Revocation
The Trump administration has revoked legal status from approximately 1.6 million immigrants. This action primarily involved the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and other legal protections.
Key Actions Taken
Revocation of Temporary Protected Status: Over 1 million immigrants lost their TPS, which provided them with protection from deportation.
Termination of Humanitarian Parole: About 500,000 individuals lost their protections due to the end of this program.
Impact on Immigration Status
The revocation of legal status has led to a significant increase in the undocumented population in the United States. The administration's policies have created a situation where many individuals who were legally residing in the country are now considered undocumented.
Action Number Affected
Revoked Temporary Protected Status 1,000,000
Ended Humanitarian Parole 500,000
Total Legal Status Stripped 1,600,000
This shift has profound implications for the affected individuals and the broader U.S. immigration system, contributing to labor shortages and economic challenges. (Emphasis CB.)
Note, the temporary protected status means temporary protected status. Once it was taken away, there no longer legal.
The U.S. still says the countries involved in the TPS issuance program are in uprise and similar crises. Are you aware of this? Do you offer support and cover for an administration that sends people (back) into harm's way?
Well, yeah. He has actually done all the things listed in the article and they have had genuinely negative impacts, as described. Is there some reason we shouldn’t be talking about that?
Is Trump the only thing to talk about? What Trump has done is done. It's going to take more than obstructing, investigating, and gaslighting to stop Trump. Removing Trump won't undo what Trump has done.
What's the alternative to Trump?
anything
I don’t need an alternative to smelly garbage to know that I need to toss out the smelly garbage.
“Pick a Democratic candidate or policy” can be an alternative to Trump, but it doesn’t need to be the only alternative. There aren’t any Republicans who are interested in the job. Even the Republicans currently in positions of power aren’t interested in opposing Trump on anything, unless they are retiring. And even those people still end up voting with Trump.
Even so, absent Trump, any person from any party would be an improvement. No Republican would say or do even 1/100th of the shit Trump does because none of them would ever have his cult-like control over the party.
Not one of them, for example, would be trying to slap their name on the Kennedy Center, or sign stupid executive orders renaming bodies of water or artificial intelligence.
If literally anyone else were president, we would actually have robust debates about policy that matters.
Yes it would. Most of what he has done has been via executive order. That would take a day to undo. Much of what the administration has done has been straight up illegal, but Congress refuses to hold anyone accountable. Some of that is because they suck anyway, but much of it is because they don’t want to make Trump mad.
This right here is what I see, and still have a diffiCult time seeing what eyes never thought iiii'z would see in my lifetime. To excuse without consequence so much, so many boundaries pushed, Constitutional crisis a la constant and consistent are persistently potential per scholars who be holler in, as laws, limits, legality, and illegality, legitimately & illegitimately, have been broken, exceeded, violated, legitimized,
ill-legitimized, disrespectfully stated, bye , me a drink, but i think, i will pass, on the Kool Aid
Those are superficial and easy to fix. What about trade policy? What about the quagmires in eastern Europe and the Middle East and in South America? What about immigration policy? What about realignment with Europe?
I agree Trump's name should be removed from all public venues. I agree the ballroom and helipad should be demolished and removed. But those are superficial distractions from the policy changes.
Trump has highlighted that taxes on business are passed through to consumers. So Democrats' doctrinaire stance on taxes has been revealed as an attack on the poor. Trump has highlighted how globalism and laissez faire trade policy has weakened the US. Trump has highlighted the the US does need to be the guarantor of European security at US expense.
What's the alternatives to the policies Trump has put in place? Do we go back to being a globalized financialized economy dependent upon the development world to keep the lights on?
That's a hard, measurable promise with implied outcomes. What if removing Trump and overturning the EOs make things worse instead of better? Who would be accountable for that?
If the Republicans retain control of Congress he will be nothing but emboldened, and so will the other fools, clowns, and psychos in the Republican, er, MAGA establishment. The farcical last two years will be worse the next two years. The image of America is already shot to hell due to these jackasses and two more years will bury it.
Trump is not remotely fit to lead this nation, the least we can do is make sure he no longer has Congress to support him.
Considering that is all they have, YES
Maybe important stuff like allowing men in women's sports. S/
Trump of course. I take over for an over / under bet of 6 years they will be blaming Trump for everything they mess up.
That may be true to an extent. And if the dems win and show they actually have nothing, get ready for Rubio or Vance in 2028. Might as well get the "End of Democracy" signs ready now.
And if Democrats take control of Congress, Trump will push the limits of his authority even farther. The last two years of the Trump Presidency could be much worse with Democrats controlling Congress.
One certainty is that Trump will not be intimidated by or surrender to Democrats.
But Trump will still be leading the nation following the midterm elections. And there's been no explanation how the election will change anything.
Yet again you illustrate that you prefer even Trump over a D. This does appear to be the biggest reason there are still people irrationally supporting Trump. 'Anything but a Democrat'. Blind partisanship.
Once again you ignore the accuracy of the comment and try to make it about me, even though that is not what my comment stated.
is when you vote for a party with no plan
What is it that you think you have ?
Weird deflection
What is it you think I have to have since I am not running for office?
What does that have to do with my comment about Dems having no actual plan?
What a bunch of nonsense. For months if not years you have been propping up Trump with the lame argument that he is better than the alternative. Bullshit !
We have a psycho leading the nation, with all the power that could entail if the courts falter in containing him. That is a five alarm fire in itself.
“…Trump will still be leading the nation…”
There is no ‘leading’…only vendettas carried out by a fractured authoritarian, enabled by a fawning cabal of the spineless, and somehow still seen as the better alternative by the witless.
You said complaining about Trump "is all they have". So I am asking you what you have.
In my opinion, Trump was better than the alternatives. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris vindicated my opinion.
Did you not pay attention to the Biden administration?
Right. You can't dispute my comment (you already said "anything "so you divert to me.
So what is the plan? What are the dems actually going to do?
Then where is the threat? If Trump is not leading the government then all the self-righteous outrage amounts to empty whining just to score political points.
Victim politics by the 'alternatives' is not a policy agenda.
Of course I can dispute your comment. I am more interested in getting the psychopath in the White House out of office. Whether the Democrats have better plans for this or that is irrelevant to the damage caused to this country and this society by him being the "leader" with all the power that entails.
Well at least we now have you confirming your support for the madman , so no one here has to guess about that anymore.
It seems many folks are willing to vote for the devil they don't know rather than the devil they do know,
While that is fine for them the expectation that everyone will follow along is unrealistic. And it could all change if they let people know their actual policies and loudly denounced the DSA
Thank you for proving my point. The dems have nothing of substance about what they would do.
“Then where is the threat? “
Good god, man. It is just that kind of reasoning that is the real threat.
But do carrion…
They will substantially bring Trumps madness to account. That is all they have to do to be a better choice.
Policy differences are worked out through compromise in Congress. The past 10 years have pissed all that away for the time being.
Wow, my wife has a friend who refuses to leave her abusive husband. (mostly mental abuse but there some physical involved). Her friend's response to her is that she's afraid of what might happen if she leaves him.
Yet we keep urging her to leave.
Thanks for sharing that totally irrelevant story.
Why do you think the dems refuse to tell the American people exactly what their policies would be if elected?
Not even close
So nothing other than blame it on the repubs
I really try not to play all these trolling games.
YOU said complaining about Trump "is all they have" , which implies you have something more. If none of us has anything, I think its better to oppose the madman than not.
When you say the Dems and the left doesnt have anything you are implying that the right does. So tell us what it is they have.
This is old news. I have stated my position may times. I did not vote for Clinton or Trump in 2016 because neither of them should be President. Wasting my vote didn't matter because either outcome was equally bad. Democrats doubled down by nominating Biden in 2020 which prompted me to vote for Trump. (And Biden vindicated my fear that he would be worse.) Democrats tripled down by overturning the primaries to nominate Harris in 2024. Trump was the better alternative in 2020 and 2024 because the Democrats ran terrible candidates and ignored the democratic process.
You know, Biden continued a lot of Trump's policies. Biden kept the tariffs. Biden even had to fall back to Trump's immigration policies. Biden's policies didn't lower inflation following the distortions caused by the pandemic; inflation dropped because Biden lifted onerous mandates and shutdowns. Biden and Democrats screwed up ACA using the pandemic as an excuse. Biden is responsible for the quagmire in Ukraine. Biden shutting down access to Russian oil was no different than Iran shutting down access to Persian Gulf oil.
The two parties have so corrupted the political process that elections have become a choice between the least worst.
Hmmmm, projection maybe?
No, it doesn't. Fact is at least I know what the republicans want to do. Some I agree with and some I don't. I can't say the same thing about democrats. Unlike you I am more leery voting for the devil I don't know that the devil I do.
Again, not necessarily. At least I know what they stand for.
But again, instead of actually responding to my post you were for a little whataboutism.
Weird how they see no threat, all as we are so aware of the GREED in the Trump family (Billions richer since Trump again elected) along with his medicinal Cabinet and his appointee's who are all either unqualified, corrupt, display complete fealty to Trump, and many are profiting directly off of the manure the man whore's market manipulations, the Iran WAR, ole man whore swore we wouldn't get into so many times B 4, he did, and we have slid, so low from the Orange slime who seems only interested in increasing his while pardoning others white collar crimes, as the clock chimes, way past the hour to remove this mentally unstable from the under the table where he is paid to have US laid, cause we are fckd, even more if the gutless GOP is not shown the door, they refuse to shut, asz they are just as much the slut, a tempting to get their cut, asz the country bleeds, and disregarded are this country needs!
The first thing need done if Dems can get the numbers is undue over the "big beautiful bill shit"
cause the way they swallow whatever he does spit, is why we are so deep in shit.
there is not a comparison to be made, between anything the Dems have done with the never ending defense of the guy flying with nun, in Sally Jesse Raphael Fields of dreams where the streams are filled with those wet, and not from sweat, ewe can shore bet
You expect voters to put the 'alternatives' in power on blind partisan faith? And you castigate that same blind partisan faith by those who support Trump?
There's no difference between those partisan stances requiring blind faith. That's a cartoonish democracy that does not live in the real world.
No, because the dems don't give us any policy changes to compare to the repubs
You are entitled to your opinion about the Democrats.
Saying that Trump is a better alternative is infinitely more problematic.
Trump has been severely damaging our society for 15 years now. It is long past time to put him out of the picture for good.
Their policies are easily available to anyone who cares to look. What are republican policies, more of the same?
If that were true, all of the politicians would be saying them to promote themselves. Other than bumper stickers like we will make things more affordable they have not been very specific
Chances are with republicans.You will get some more of the same although some seem to be moving away from trump. So that is the devil you know. Not everyone is willing to vote for the devil you don't know and don't trust
Democrats have the power to change that by simply saying what they stand for and not just reiterating what they're against. Then, people could make an informed decision, something the democrats seem to be against
Blind is an apropos adjective for sure, but there is quite the difference between those who worship the man whore protecting infecting pedos for sure, and i'm absolutely convinced, guilty of the same, why else is tens of thousands of times mentioned and found in these files, is his name...? His corruption knows no bottom, asz he complements those of men, while attacking and accusing Dems, of being gay, butt, listen to the words he and eye liner VP, do accuse and say....of others, while doin the YMCA and checkin out abz asses and tree trunk legs, wonder where this pegs
Well would you not agree the Dems will go the opposite way than what Trump and GOP did LIE about ? JUst changing the direction, like get rid of the ridiculous tarriffs screwing US, not others! ENDING the WAR Trump swore that would be no more! And instead of giving the richest more breaks, how about giving the regular little guy for heaven sakes, cause with all the orgasms the Repubs do fakes, are gonna leaves US All floundering in the passing us by wakes, as sleepin on the job is one phat asz apparently gay unhappy slob
Have you completely ignored the political records of both Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden?
Trump won't be 'out of the picture' for another 2 years. Then Vance, Rubio, and unknown candidates will compete with each other to continue the Trump legacy.
And if Trump's policy agenda continues to attract support after he is gone from office then we can expect Democrats to appropriate MAGA just as Joe Biden did.
Would like specifics not bumper sticker slogans
It was refreshing having an 'alternative' President who showered with his daughter. Such 'alternative' moral virtues are something to blindly emulate.
Vesting so much power and authority in the Presidency seems to attract morally ambiguous personalities. Will a Democratic Congress resume their Constitutional responsibilities and duties - or - kick the can and shirk the Constitution? If Democrats refuse to impose stricter limits on the Presidency then nothing will change after Trump is gone.
Both Clinton and Biden were too corporate for me, but they were both more in line with traditional American politics than Trump is.
Are you going to whine when a new Democratic congress immediately investigates Trumps incredible corruption, on the basis that he is better than the alternative? It is beyond absurd.
And that goes a long way toward explaining the mess the country is in. It is true that Trump is more aligned with Kennedy Democrats than Clinton Democrats. Trump has more in common with Lyndon Johnson's governing style than Democrats will ever acknowledge. Trump is certainly not a Reagan Republican.
I'm not going to give Democrats a pass for not addressing the problems of too much power given to the Presidency. If Democrats are only going to give the country a dinner & show then we can expect to be screwed before they're tossed out again.
I can't speak for you but I have no faith the dems will do anything about the power of the presidency if the president is a democrat in 2028 and they won't do it in 2026 because they expect to win in 2028
Trump is not mentally, ethically or morally fit to lead this country . He is a malicious buffoon on a daily basis. He is a thief of incredible proportions. He is a bigot , a misogynist and a xenophobe. He is a phenomenal ignoramus. He is a pathological liar. He is a clown. When people ignore these immensely disqualifying flaws, and more, on the basis that he is "better than the alternative" it just sets the country up for endless severe turmoil that will and is picking up speed.
That's my suspicion, too. The hair-on-fire whining is about returning to power rather than addressing the underlying problem.
All that lambaste invites comparisons to Obama's, Clinton's, and Biden's divisive style of politics. Which would be politics as usual.
Even though I dislike Trump as a reprehensible penthouse billionaire who has never had to live in the real world and behaves like a petulant 2 year old, his policy prescriptions are still more acceptable than what the 'alternatives' pursued or offered. Trump is still a better choice than globalist Republicans and Democrats who cater to financial exploitation of the American people. I agree Trump is too damned stupid to use the tools of government properly but, at least, he's moved the political environment in the right direction. That's something the 'alternatives' haven't done in 40 years.
We really dont have anything else to talk about. Trump is not fit to lead this country and fitness for office is the main and baseline criteria.
Obviously not for everyone, especially since he is not even on the ballot
Electing a Republican congress will do nothing but further embolden Trump. That is the totally wrong thing to do. Get rid of Trump and his lemmings and we can start to talk about other things.
This ship has sailed. If Trump tries to steal this election this country will be in complete chaos.
Give us a better choice. Anyone is not an acceptable answer to most thinking people
Picking a random name out of a phone book would be a better choice.
That's basically what Biden did. A few good things but no real bad things. The result? Inflation dropped faster than other countries, unemployment sank to record lows, and our economy was in better shape when he left than it had been in a decade.
Biden was a very milk toast POTUS, get one in there that actually has a fire to get things done and America will take off again.
As a nation, we are going to rue the day that we let any president act like a king over us. This president is our lesson and in my opinion we had better be a 'fast study' because he is not done with us (as you can see he is hustling across the states for his own 'ends'). . . given the midterm victory in house and senate. . . this man intends to show us UNVARNISHED results in the next two years as he continues pushing the executive position into 'total' oligarchy.
The question for 'us' is do we have the time and inclination to bear up under the loss of so much freedom and personal prosperity? (Many will become farther ruined financially and newly ruined in the coming years.)
Which is once again similar to what the GOP-Trump party is doing when it rallies about "The End of Days" - "We won't have a country. . . ." It's fearmongering.
As the two party system is not going anywhere anytime soon, even if all the characters are poured out and replaced by newbies.
"Deer in the headlights" is not a political position.
That says alot.
Sounds almost like "end of democracy" rallies that many on the left seem to ignore
So give advice on how to 'end of looping.'
It would help if politicians were not fear mongers and voters voted out the folks that are.
Ah! So you know the problem then. So this midterm is a grand opportunity to do just that! Identify and vote out ALL the louses in the house and senate no matter their placement! And scrutinize their replacements closely too before allowing them entry.
Of course I won't hold my breath
Withholding your vote won't help the situation either. We need people (that care) to do something for the good of the country everywhere! Get 'dirty' - dumpster (a) useless politicians!
Biden backed off on his executive actions that caused the inflation. And Biden's mandates and closures didn't save any lives while wrecking the economy. Trump handed Biden tested vaccines and an infrastructure to deliver the vaccines. And Biden still screwed it up because he wanted to score political points but failed to prove he was better than Trump. Why should Biden receive an attaboy for what he caused by mishandling the pandemic?
Milquetoast Biden screwed up the withdrawal from Afghanistan because he had to put his pecker tracks on it. Milquetoast Biden botched the threats by Putin and Russia which left little room for anything other than an invasion of Ukraine. Biden kept moving his redline on support of Ukraine. Biden didn't do one damn thing to restart the JCPOA agreement with Iran. In fact, Biden's Middle East policies threatened the Abraham Accords Trump obtained. Biden was on his hands and knees begging the Saudi Prince for cheaper oil.
Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan was a $1.9 trillion expenditure for vaccine distribution, stimulus checks, and expanded Child Tax Credit. Biden's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was a $1.2 trillion appropriation for infrastructure and broadband internet. Biden's CHIPS & Science Act was a $280 billion appropriation to boost domestic chip manufacture. Biden's Inflation Reduction Act got his investments in clean energy to the tune of $370 billion and allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices. Biden proposed and got a 15% minimum corporate tax imposed on all businesses.
So why didn't America take off? Biden pumped enormous amounts of public money into the economy (which wasn't milquetoast by any measure).
Just as effective as 'screaming at the sky'.
One has to cast a vote to that end. Those like you who did not vote against Trump —even after he tried to steal the 2020 election— are why we are stuck with this lunatic.
Well at least we did get, dinner and a show....
Straddling the fence is not a stance! Touch down on one side or the other!
Who is straddling the fence? I've made my position quite clear. I did not vote for trump because of Trump. I was voting against the candidates the Democratic Party put forward.
No longer will I vote for a Democrat just because they're a Democrat. The Democratic Party needs to do better to get my vote now. The Democratic Party became too abusive to retain my loyalty so I walked away.
The Democratic Party tries to straddle the fence and fool voters into believing the party can support two opposing positions depending on polling.
Once again you miss my point. I am talking about all politicians, you are stuck on Trump. (and me of course)
His executive action caused world-wide inflation, coincidentally right after COVID? Not to mention inflation started prior to Biden, under the 1st Trump administration. Wow, he was a much more powerful POTUS than I give him credit for.
Correct. He should NOT have followed the Trump plan for withdrawal and done it properly.
Don't know this for sure since the public is not privy to all negotiations, but I agree. If the JCPOA had been re-established, Trump would have had more of a problem trying to justify the current war. It wouldn't have stopped him, just made it more difficult to lie about the cause.
See, I told you that he did do a few good things.
Under Biden? It did, all economic pointers were going up.
Every single penny that the government spends is "public money", and most of what he "pumped" into the economy reflected in our dealing with inflation, and most of it helped.
Can you name 1 policy that Trump has to help our current faltering economy? How about 1 policy that helps the average American?
You are as usual deflecting with your platitudes.
My point is that those who do not use their votes to help prevent bad politicians are part of the problem. You did not use your vote to help stop Trump and, in result, this lunatic became PotUS.
So yes, voters should vote out bad politicians. Too bad you, et. al., did not act accordingly so that we would not be stuck with Trump (and others) today!
So you vote for more of the same that we are facing (the headwinds of) today! Thanks for clarifying. Loud and clear!
That's funny. I am deflecting from a deflection.
Or maybe just ignoring the deflection attempt.
So yes, voters should vote out bad politicians. Too bad you, et. al., did not act accordingly so that we would not be stuck with Trump (and others) today!
Yes, it would be helpful if there were good, honest candidates that didn't demonize the other side to choose from and not just the lesser of two evils.
Trump was obviously unfit for office. He had just tried to steal the 2020 election. His character was well known.
Those who did not vote against Trump failed this nation.
Yeah, I know, there is no excuse for failing to try to stop Trump.
One can however, engage in well-deserved solid-fact-based criticism of Trump and help others understand why this tyrant needs to be removed from office and, at the least, muzzled by a D Congress (since the Rs have proven they will not lift a finger to stop him).
There are over five hundred thousand politicians in the united states. That is who I am talking about. Yet you seem hung up on only one. I have a much broader look and won't let you hijack my comment to get me to follow you down your predictable rabbit hole. .
The single biggest problem politician the US faces right now is Trump. He is not just another politician; he is the one who is damaging our nation on a weekly basis.
You continue to try to deflect from Trump instead of focusing, honestly, directly on reality.
There we go. From Trump to me.
Your comments downplay / ignore / deflect-from the damage of Trump.
What about a lot of things? Like I said, we can have a robust debate on every policy if we don’t have a narcissistic, psychotic cult leader running the government. Calling what Trump does “policy” is actually pretty crazy. You give him way too much credit.
Why? The majority of candidates I intend vote for on Nov. 3 are going to be Democrats or independent candidates. Brad Finstad sat on his rubber stamp while the state of Minnesota was under attack by a rogue Federal government. Finstad chose to stand with the Big Government deep state. I'm not going to reward him for that.
It's impossible to be MAGA and support the ICE paramilitary.