Heather Cox Richardson last night. “More explosive [Congressive Republican] early resignations are coming. It’s a tinder box. Morale has never been lower. Mike Johnson will be stripped of his gavel and they will lose the majority before this term is out.”
I published this earlier: MAGA Mike is scared shitless. ‘In Triage Every Day’: A Beleaguered Speaker Says He’s Overwhelmed. In a podcast interview, Speaker Mike Johnson opened up about the crushing demands of a job that he joked was his in name only. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/us/politics/speaker-mike-johnson-beleagured.html
Will Congressional Republicans begin resigning en mass?
"... Representative Troy Nehls (R-TX), a staunch Trump ally, announced he would not seek reelection in 2026, saying he intends to “focus on my family.” Nehls co-sponsored legislation to put Trump on the $100 bill—although federal law prohibits using a living person’s likeness on U.S. currency—and to rename Washington Dulles International Airport, which serves the nation’s capital, after Trump." HCR.
Twice impeached, 34 times convicted hasn't paid one penny of judgments against him. ignores at will rulings against him, his favored ally/sponsor is the Supreme Court.
I am very concerned. Steve Bannon spilled the beans, they are working on a way to keep him in power, given that his is not an administration, but a regime, and that the Constitution and it's amendments are simply a bother to be swept away.
The 22nd Amendment is no obstacle if there is no election.
Even in the midst of a civil war, there was an election in 1864, but Trump is Lincoln and Lincoln was not sociopathic, psychopathic, malignant narcissistic,criminal, supported by
104 million people just like him.
And Lincoln did not command a psychopathic personal Army (ICE/CBP) and the unquestioning loyalty of millions of armed and ready volunteers. Not to mention a military that has proven that it is ready to follow his orders, regardless of their legality.
From AI
Determining the exact number of amendments Donald Trump has been accused of ignoring or violating is complex, as legal scholars and political analysts hold different interpretations. Numerous sources, including the ACLU and the Cato Institute, have identified various instances where his actions have been challenged as potential violations of several amendments during both his first term and his second presidency which began in 2025.
The amendments most frequently cited in these discussions and legal challenges include:
First Amendment: Concerns have been raised regarding freedom of speech and the press, including alleged retaliation against protesters and the press, and threats against lawmakers for speaking their minds.
Fourth Amendment: Issues related to search and seizure have been mentioned in the context of administration actions.
Fifth Amendment: Challenges frequently cite violations of due process and equal protection rights, as well as labor law violations.
Sixth Amendment: Violations of the right to counsel for accused individuals, particularly in the context of immigration enforcement, have been alleged.
Eighth Amendment: Actions related to the treatment of prisoners and detainees have led to judicial findings of "cruel and unusual punishment".
Fourteenth Amendment: Several of his executive orders, notably the attempt to end birthright citizenship, have been widely declared unconstitutional by federal judges as a direct violation of the 14th Amendment's broad guarantee of citizenship to all persons born in the U.S..
Structural Constitution: Beyond specific amendments, many scholars have pointed to actions that challenge the fundamental principles of the Constitution, such as the separation of powers, federalism, the rule of law, and the independence of the judiciary. These include impounding congressionally appropriated funds, ignoring court orders, and firing inspectors general.
So subpoena are issued, witnesses called and what then. Fruitless endeavors,like the two impeachments of Trump and his 34 felony convictions and his unpaid judgments for E Jean Carroll.
And what of it in a media environment, which is controlled by or fearful of Trump.
Look at the situation, with all of the scandal, all of the violations of the law, all of the potentially embarrassing conduct by Trump.. yet there he sits unfazed and doubling down, attacking the press and reporters. with full impunity, and the only real opposition are a handful of late night comedians, Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers.
Even the paper of record is cautious and measured in their "reporting", but their editorial board is full on board with Trump
It's complex, messy, and maddening. Yet, despite its many flaws and failures, collective self-rule is the loftiest aspiration of a human mind hungry for morality and justice. In that light, how do you govern the needs and desires of so many disparate individuals with such differing viewpoints?
First and foremost, a viable multicultural, mixed-race democratic system requires compassion, empathy, and truthfulness from the elected representatives. The highest form of intelligent governance is when so-called "leaders" understand the feelings and thoughts of their constituents and are responsive, respectful, and honest. Everything good in the world, and in politics, falls into place under that rubric.
Whereas authoritarianism is simplistic, unintelligent, dishonest, and cruel — government of, by, and for the greedy, the selfish, and the stupid who seek to divide people through fear and hate. Everything bad.
One only needs to look at clown Trump and his laughable (though not funny) collection of misfits and goofballs busily tearing down our democracy, burning our allies, and emboldening our enemies, all the while openly enriching themselves at the expense and suffering of others.
Or look at the MAGA faithful, that vast, red-hat sea of human gullibility, chanting hollow slogans and enthusiastically hero-worshipping a malignant narcissist, convicted felon, business fraud, sexual predator, and likely pedophile.
The entire right-wing movement today is completely nuts! Most normal human beings with functioning brains agree with that blunt observation.
However, instead of merely labeling politics as Democrat/Republican, blue/red, left/right, liberal/conservative, how about framing the discussion as simply truth versus lie? It's no coincidence that the truth sounds progressive, liberal, and small-d democratic, and the lie sounds, well, like most Trump Republican politicians and influencers who spew buckets of empty words but fail at any meaningful insight or basic decency.
These shameless, disgusting liars, these mealymouthed, arrogant pissants with undue clout, who feel entitled to their lofty positions in privileged society, who wield ungodly power over the minds and bodies of the electorate, deserve no respect or pity — only ridicule, shame, and a resounding defeat at the polls!
Gaining disproportionate wealth, power, and fame is their greatest ambition; losing money, influence, and relevancy is their greatest fear. These poor, lost, egotistical souls need to work out their mental and emotional problems in private, presumably with years of intense therapy and deprogramming, and leave the rest of us alone.
Like most conflicts in human society, the outward battle between democracy and autocracy begins in the individual mind — mine, yours, everyone's. We share the same fate: our only home, a "blue dot," lost in the void. Let's not destroy it. Or each other.
A "woke" mind is democratic; an "anti-woke" mind is authoritarian. Don't let fools and liars redefine the simple truth.
This is the mentality we are fighting. The rich and the power brokers trying to get rich have learned every weakness in our system. So it has taken some time to get to this point.
Thom's through-lines of our history are so valuable.
The biggest mistake the "pack" made was picking a psychopath who is disorganized and decrepit to use as a useful idiot. He went on to pick others similar in nature. This time the "prey" has a chance because we can communicate.
We truly are one from many. We will drag the Cult members along with us into the 21st Century. Teach and preach on how to fight the predators. See you in the streets.
Today, NYT Andrew Ross Sorkin, i.e. "Dealbook" asked subscribers to suggest questions to ask attendees at the Dealbook Summit next week.
Mainstage speakers scheduled to be interviewed by Sorkin include business leaders such as Dario Amodei, Brian Armstrong, Mary Barra, Larry Fink, Jeff Housenbold, and Alex Karp, along with political figures Scott Bessent and Gavin Newsom, and cultural figures Halle Berry, Jimmy Donaldson, and Erika Kirk.
The "Groundbreakers" lunch session will host guests including political figures Stacey Abrams, Karine Jean-Pierre, and Kevin McCarthy, alongside business leaders Bill Anderson, Mark Barrocas, Steve Case, and Gary Vaynerchuk, as well as author Amanda Gorman and activist Monica Lewinsky.
Off-stage task force conversations will feature experts and leaders discussing various topics. Participants in the "Global Re-Order" task force include former prime minister of Israel Ehud Barak, Senator Chris Coons, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and former CIA director David Petraeus. The "Education of Higher Education" task force will include presidents of Dartmouth and Johns Hopkins, Sian Leah Beilock and Ron Daniels, and SUNY chancellor John King. CEOs Alex Chriss (PayPal), Beth Ford (Land O'Lakes), and Bob Jordan (Southwest Airlines) will participate in "The New Rules for Leadership" task.
I suggested that Sorkin ask every participant whether the killing of civilians in the Carribbean without giving tham a chance to surrender is a crime?
OK. Once all of them have answered affirmatively, what do they do with the rest of the summit time?
I want them to be asked whether they are prepared to put their influence behind an urgent effort to cease the release of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. All other policy issues will soon become irrelevant if that one is ignored.
Some of them are in the renewable energy business. This country via Trump's ignorance, is blowing maybe trillion$ due to his ignorance, and they know it.
I hope Mr. Sorkin knows and says the question came from a retired judge---not that it is a complicated question or answer. I just think he will be more inclined to ask it.
People probably thought Trumpepstein was crash and burn territory for this Administration and then along come the boat murders.
I am an investor. Investor rights are in jeopardy.
In every public comapny there are tensions -- management vs labor -- management vs ownership.
In many cases management is willing to kill the the hen that laid the golden egg. In cases where management take advantage of the shareholders our only defense is the threat of shareholder derivitive litigation. These days, that may be the number one issue for the attendees.
WSJ: "The White House is exploring new measures to curb the influence of proxy advisers and index-fund managers, wading into a hot-button debate raised by high-profile CEOs including Elon Musk and Jamie Dimon in recent months.
"Trump administration officials are discussing at least one executive order that would restrict proxy-advisory firms such as Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, people familiar with the matter said. That could include a broad ban on shareholder recommendations or an order blocking recommendations on companies that have engaged proxy advisers for consulting work, the people said.
"Officials also are exploring limits on how index-fund managers are allowed to vote, seeking to curtail the power of such behemoths as BlackRock BLK 1.00%increase; green up pointing triangle, Vanguard Group and State Street STT 1.35%increase; green up pointing triangle, the people said. These three together own on behalf of clients roughly 30% or more of many of the biggest U.S. publicly traded companies. One measure being discussed would require these index-fund managers to mirror their votes in line with clients who choose to vote.
"The discussions, which have been going on for weeks, are still fluid, and various drafts of the proposed executive order have been circulating. Any moves by the White House would add to pressure surrounding ISS and Glass Lewis, the two biggest proxy advisers. The firms are under attack from JPMorgan Chase’s JPM 1.53%increase; green up pointing triangle Dimon, who has said they have conflicts of interest, and Tesla’s Musk, who has called them “corporate terrorists.” Meanwhile, a newer entrant, Broadridge Financial Solutions, is seeking to siphon off some of their clients.
A White House official said, “Until officially announced by the White House, discussion about potential executive orders is speculation.”
Thom Hartmann is doing such important work. Fortunately he is not alone, we are not completely alone. I want herein to share another important voice: Rutger Bregman
May I suggest:
1. A Time of Monsters
The Reith LecturesRutger Bregman - Moral Revolution Episode 1 of 4
In the first of four 2025 BBC Reith Lectures, recorded in London, the Dutch historian Rutger Bregman asks what can be done to counter the moral decay of today's un-serious elites.
I give you this podcast and its transcript in PDF format. I believe that Rutger Bregman is also doing "the work". And hope that Thom can use it, connect to it, make this work ever more potent. THANK YOU THOM HARTMANN!
I have often said to friends that if it were not for the years Donald Trump appeared on "The Apprentice", voters in the Midwest and elsewhere would not have known him from just another person running for office and he never would have been elected. That fictional exposure was all he needed to run. He could not have paid for better advertising.
And yes, The Citizens United vs F.E.C. has truly "thrown a spanner" into the wheels of our democracy,
I hope we are soon able to rid ourselves of the latter.
Tim,interesting you brought this up.I was just commenting to a friend today,had it not been for NBC, Mark Burnett and " The Apprentice" Trump would never been the Rep nominee.
We should all call NBC and ask what they will do to redeem themselves or we should all boycott everything NBC produces.
A BRILLIANT idea! But how to go about it and bet any meaningful result? The changes now undergoing in the national media outlets makes me think that the chances may be quite slim. Any idea is appreciated as I am all for it.
Where is Mark Burnett today? Living in Great Britain? What are/was Burnett's connection to the Republicon party, the oligarchs (Kochs, Mercers, Zuckerbergs, Musks, Bezos, Thiels etc.) the Heritage Foundation etc? Is there not an Extradition Treaty with that country? Would seem Mr. Burnett is deserving of answering important questions!
I wonder if we can ever recover from this dictator, or will the next President help pull it back from all the destruction? We need term limits on all politicians. That way no one can hopefully be bought. Because they wont be in office for them to be. 4 yrs for all politicians, is my recommendation. What say you?
Although I largely agree with the sentiment, especially for a president who wields so much power and influence, there is a serious downside to term limits in down-ballot elections: If the majority of constituents in a district really like their politicians, term limits will prohibit their desired choice, which is a restriction on the will of the voters.
For instance, my former senator, Jon Tester, a third-generation farmer and native Montanan, served admirably for 18 years. His Democratic base was faithful and repeatedly reelected him. As a powerful advocate for veterans, he could also garner votes from independents, moderate Republicans, and libertarians, which is no small feat in such a crimson-red state.
Alas, with the MAGA madness reaching a crescendo, Tim Sheehy, a shameless right-winger who lied repeatedly during his campaign about nearly everything and was lavishly funded by out-of-state billionaires, outspent Tester with endless, over-the-top mailers clogging up everyone's mailboxes and with a media blitz of false propaganda on TV, radio, and the local newspapers. (I'm all in for term-limiting that worthless bastard. 😄)
But if we could take private money out of politics altogether through progressive legislation and adopt public financing for campaigns (when or if Democrats ever return to power), there would be no need for term limits. Regularly facing angry voters, who'd have ultimate power once big money is unavailable, should be the crucible that keeps most politicians honest. Anyway, that's how democracy is supposed to work.
Too much private money flowing down from the top of the pyramid and sloshing around behind the scenes is, by far, the worst problem in American politics. Corporate Democrats and Republicans alike need to learn this lesson and pass laws that will solve the crisis. Because the Big Money glide path we're on now leads directly to a plutocratic, autocratic kakistocracy.
Your words aren’t just words, they’re a revelation that needs to soak in to the public mind and spirit.
“Trump is the inevitable product of political structures meticulously constructed by morbidly rich ideologues and the fossil fuel industry over decades -- systems designed to concentrate power in the executive branch, to weaponize grievances haunting American politics for three centuries, and systematically dismantle the democratic guardrails that have kept us a free nation.”
The destruction of the American dream is deliberate. The perpetrators are emotionally immature misfits trying to fill their emptiness with power and the money that buys power. They rise to direct corporate life, which preys upon the public well-being. It began with the slave plantations feeding the colonies’ biggest wealth creation, supported by northern banking, and returned with the railroad barons, later with the Wall Streeters.
Making wealth subservient to misfit control is our big mistake. It should be returned to public control, as it actually was in ancient Mesopotamia – as public utilities, serving the general public, and the whole point of the democratic revolution.
We need to do more than turn Trump out and dismantle the system that brought us Trump. We need to rescue, rethink, rebuild, and as appropriate re-invent a democratic system more suited to the turbulent age in which we live. We also need a massive social and political movement to create a new, more inclusive, and more effective civic culture as the foundation for democracy.
Hello Tom, I appreciate your steadfast efforts. I'm a bit of predictor of futures so here is something we need to not ignore. We need to talk about this and need a strong position moving forward.
We need to be ready to not permit the oligarks and wealthy to force our economic system back to where it was before the fascist regime. We should look at Allende and what he tried to pull of in Chile. The only problem is that the USA wealthy and ..CIA said that we need to stop Allende by saying he was a communist.
Now lets look at this in perspective. There is no communism!! THERE NEVER HAS BEEN! Look at Putin and you're looking at fascism. We have to be ready to demonstrate and create a socialistic democratic republic and not let the wealthy use the CIA to scare people!!
The choice now is clear, we reorganize.., reorganize wealth in this country thru realistic and fair taxation and thru democratic socialistic creative policies. To do this we need to apply the strongest portion of our economy to support the middle class and poor while working toward a classless culture. The other option is a complete fascist take over and back to extremes with very poor and very wealthy with a dwindling middle class.
We cannot let fascism take over again! I would hope that you begin to talk about this issue NOW! Tom lets talk about a path forward our population can stand behind and keep talking about it... Best. Cliff
Cliff,go after all the TechnoFascists,Thiek,Andressen,Zuckerberg,Cook,Musk,and many others who are major supporters of Trump .Also let's organize and go after Stephen Miller and Russell Vought who cheerily admits to be a " White Christain Nationalist" .
Yes david I know..Theil is the big fish, I do not think it is spelled Thiek
We need to get the majority of Americans old and young onboard and start now to build this movement. We'll have power in #s . The wealthy in the past have hidden behind the CIA and its fake communism doctrine and Trump is still espousing this bullshit. Ultimately the people with money and hired guns win this battle or the unthinkable happens. The numbers are so overwhelming that they lay down their weapons and give up. Many will need to be tried, many will not spend time in prison but will need to forfeit the remainder of time working in public service and nothing political. The extreme end of these fascists will serve time in prison then remain working in public service for the remainder. I wouldn't let any of these folks go to other countries to continue pillaging.
Cliff,I'm open to any plan that can be more aggressive than what we are currently doing. It is just shocking that Trump and so many others are called " Nazis" and they accept that description. Where is the outrage? The technofascists and :Nazis" never thought it would be this easy,Shame on a large segment of the population that is sleeping,not really paying attention.
The system the gave us Trump goes back about 7,500-years.The greed and hubris started when the early farmers found they could sell their excess produce. (early capitalism). The ages-old custom of allowing hungry people to enter their fields, orchards and vineyards was dropped as greed and hubris called for more and more "excess produce" to be sold. The bigger farmers paid local officials with money and produce to protect their lands and produce (city-states and empires), and to get them more land by force (wars) and labor (slaves) to increase their yearly produce. This paradigm between the wealthy and the people they used and abused to "grow their wealth has remained the same throughout the last 7,500-years. Ancient empires, kingdoms, modern empires and nations rose and fell. the British colonists in thirteen British colonies had a chance to break the cycle after almost two centuries of that wealth/people paradigm keeping the people enslaved and the wealthy stealing their labor.
The wealthy, the landed gentry did not come to America dirt-poor as most European immigrants were. These were the lesser nobles out of the European feudal systems. They were the younger sibling of the eldest, legitimate son who was bequeathed the family's nobility title and the bulk of the estate. The younger siblings who were of nobility blood but without titles were know as the lesser nobles/landed gentry. The younger sibling all got their share of the estate and these were the fortunes the lesser nobles brought with them to North America, to claim the 2,000-acre tracts of land the colonies were offering new immigrants who could prove they could manage such tracts. Upon claiming those tracts of land, their official titles changed from lesser nobles to the colonies' landed gentry With their experience in their family's European fiefs, they had the proof needed to claim the tracts. They set up those tracts of lands as their family's fiefs had been set up with the lesser nobles lord and master over all within. The landed gentry controlled every facet of life and every function within the fiefs. Their 2.000-acre tracts of land were usually situated close to the fortifications of the settlements forcing later immigrants to move out closer to the frontiers.
The lesser nobles were imbued with greed and hubris from their family's being of noble blood over a thousands years in the European feudal systems. They carried that greed and hubris with them into the colonies. Until the industrial Revolution came to an area, the main way of making money was working the lands and the resources on them. It was not long that their greed and hubris had them coveting any Indian ancestral lands nearby that they could add to their original tracts of land. The landed gentry controlled all functions within their new world fiefs and could offer immunity from prosecution to other immigrants for what they were going to have them do.
The ad the other immigrants harass, assault rape and even kill any Indians living on nearby ancestral lands. When the Indians started protecting themselves the landed gentry would say they were "on the rampage" call out their militias with orders to attack and kill or capture as many Indians as they could and chase survivors as far back into their ancestral lands as possible. The ancestral lands, now cleared of Indians were assimilated into the landed gentry's tract of land and any Indians captured were taken as slaves. This was not the exception to the rule but was the rule along the frontiers wherever the wealthy came to claim lands.
The landed gentry had their politicians and lawyers in the colonial governments to get slave laws enacted and make sure no laws were passed that would give the "workers"/slaves more freedoms or higher wages. About 1718 Yale University had received a shipment of books by authors in the European age of Reason, the European Enlightenment. Yale set up a curriculum based on those books and the teachings spread rapidly through the New England. The American Enlightenment was preached through the churches and was discussed in the church circles. The Enlightenment ideals spread within the colonial communities, where the British colonials were fed up being treated as lower British citizens by a distant monarchy. the people wanted more freedoms and self-rule. The landed gentry could not allow their workers to gain rights and freedoms so they funded Evangelical revivals to bring the people back into the churches and to kill the revolutionary ideals of the Enlightenment. But the Revolutionary ideals were too powerful to overcome. About 1750, the laded gentry stopped the Evangelical revivals after learning about a new form of economics, that would enrich the wealthy faster than the mercantile economics but would not work within the mercantile system.
The wealthy now wanted the King's mercantile economic system gone so they could install Adam Smith's "free market" economics. The wealthy did not want to sever all ties to the Kingdom. When the Townsend Act were passed by Parliament, it gave them a cause, albeit a lie, to rally the colonials to fights to remove the monarchy and its system of taxes embedded in its mercantile economic system. The rallying cry that went out was "No taxation without representation." The taxes from the crown did not affect 99.9% of the citizens, the landed gentry did not pay them enough to be taxed or to buy the expensive imports from Britain. The promise of "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" was the promise of the Revolution. That promise was revoked by the Federalists in President Washington's first administration.
The Constitution was written, ratified and instituted the American government as a republic with a constitutional democracy on March 4, 1791. The only Founding Fathers who wanted the Constitution to stand as written, without individual rights amended to it were the Federalists the politicians and lawyers for the wealthy. The other Founding Fathers, who called themselves the Anti-Federalists, represented people and the ideals of the revolution. They were enlightened and could vision an America that evolved with time so that everyone could enjoy "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness". The Anti-Federalists must have been the majority because they were able to add instructions on how to evolve (amend) the Constitution. The Anti-Federalists were also able to write a list of rights and freedoms for all Americans, got the states to ratify it and the Bill of Rights was to be amended to the Constitution in December 1791. The Federalists could not allow their benefactors' workers to enjoy any rights and freedoms or the wealthy would lose their iron fist control over their workers but they had to do it without alerting the Anti-Federalists.
Alexander Hamilton, President Washington's Secretary on the Treasury, was supposed to setup America's economic policy.The Federalists corrupted a version of Adam Smith's "free market" economics by omitting all governmental regulation of the markets. Economics without governmental regulation of the markets is called "liberal economics" and allows the oligarchs running the markets to operate above the law. From 1791 to 1932, they continued their colonial status quo from the anonymity of their new world fiefs. In 1932, their greed and hubris finally crashed America's and most of the world's economies in the first three years of the Great Depression. Steve
In his book "The presidents and the People," Corey Brettschneider chronicales the strain of authoritarianism that has dogged our democracy from John Adams to our present scourge. Again and again, it has raised its ugly head, and agais and again, the poeple have beaten it back. It seems that Trump has learned from Joe McCarthy never to leave the military uncontrolled, and from Nixon always to maintain deniability, and from Hitler many, many things. We will defeat him, and the oligarchy will renig some, but this time, please let us not settle for a compromise, but rather hold fast until we have safeguarded our democracy from the perversion of wealth and secured the full blessings of liberty for all our people--including access to work and a decent standard of living
Everyone needs to remember that Donny was a Democrat and probably became a Republican when he realized it would be much harder to bamboozle Republican voters who had been conned for decades by a Republican Party claiming to be on their side while working almost exclusively for corporate and wealthy interests. The Democratic Party was more disorganized and much harder to galvanize into the MAGA cult members Donny envisioned. Always remember, Donny is playing a grand con on the public, requiring him to perpetrate many smaller cons because he is one of the most untrustworthy individuals ever elected president. The grand con is that he couldn't care less how the country does as a society or country, as long as he can use his position to become as wealthy as possible. This has been, and always will be, about making Donny as rich as possible, by legal and illegal means.
There is nothing "conservative" about the Republican Party. The use of that word to describe their political philosophy is deliberately misleading. It provides cover for the deeply unAmerican ambitions of the wealthy and corporate interests who use it. It's well past time to pull back the curtain.
Gold IS the root of all evil, as currently expressed by Oval Bordello decor.
Heather Cox Richardson last night. “More explosive [Congressive Republican] early resignations are coming. It’s a tinder box. Morale has never been lower. Mike Johnson will be stripped of his gavel and they will lose the majority before this term is out.”
I published this earlier: MAGA Mike is scared shitless. ‘In Triage Every Day’: A Beleaguered Speaker Says He’s Overwhelmed. In a podcast interview, Speaker Mike Johnson opened up about the crushing demands of a job that he joked was his in name only. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/us/politics/speaker-mike-johnson-beleagured.html
Will Congressional Republicans begin resigning en mass?
"... Representative Troy Nehls (R-TX), a staunch Trump ally, announced he would not seek reelection in 2026, saying he intends to “focus on my family.” Nehls co-sponsored legislation to put Trump on the $100 bill—although federal law prohibits using a living person’s likeness on U.S. currency—and to rename Washington Dulles International Airport, which serves the nation’s capital, after Trump." HCR.
Is Troy Nehls' (R-TX) resignation a trend?
Therein lies our salvation, if only but it amounts to nothing unless we also take the Senate.
Trump is a scofflaw, national and international https://lucid.substack.com/p/trumps-dangerous-disregard-for-international
Twice impeached, 34 times convicted hasn't paid one penny of judgments against him. ignores at will rulings against him, his favored ally/sponsor is the Supreme Court.
I am very concerned. Steve Bannon spilled the beans, they are working on a way to keep him in power, given that his is not an administration, but a regime, and that the Constitution and it's amendments are simply a bother to be swept away.
The 22nd Amendment is no obstacle if there is no election.
Even in the midst of a civil war, there was an election in 1864, but Trump is Lincoln and Lincoln was not sociopathic, psychopathic, malignant narcissistic,criminal, supported by
104 million people just like him.
And Lincoln did not command a psychopathic personal Army (ICE/CBP) and the unquestioning loyalty of millions of armed and ready volunteers. Not to mention a military that has proven that it is ready to follow his orders, regardless of their legality.
From AI
Determining the exact number of amendments Donald Trump has been accused of ignoring or violating is complex, as legal scholars and political analysts hold different interpretations. Numerous sources, including the ACLU and the Cato Institute, have identified various instances where his actions have been challenged as potential violations of several amendments during both his first term and his second presidency which began in 2025.
The amendments most frequently cited in these discussions and legal challenges include:
First Amendment: Concerns have been raised regarding freedom of speech and the press, including alleged retaliation against protesters and the press, and threats against lawmakers for speaking their minds.
Fourth Amendment: Issues related to search and seizure have been mentioned in the context of administration actions.
Fifth Amendment: Challenges frequently cite violations of due process and equal protection rights, as well as labor law violations.
Sixth Amendment: Violations of the right to counsel for accused individuals, particularly in the context of immigration enforcement, have been alleged.
Eighth Amendment: Actions related to the treatment of prisoners and detainees have led to judicial findings of "cruel and unusual punishment".
Fourteenth Amendment: Several of his executive orders, notably the attempt to end birthright citizenship, have been widely declared unconstitutional by federal judges as a direct violation of the 14th Amendment's broad guarantee of citizenship to all persons born in the U.S..
Structural Constitution: Beyond specific amendments, many scholars have pointed to actions that challenge the fundamental principles of the Constitution, such as the separation of powers, federalism, the rule of law, and the independence of the judiciary. These include impounding congressionally appropriated funds, ignoring court orders, and firing inspectors general.
Mr. Negative.
If we have the House, everything stops. We get to issue subpoenas, call witnesses.
Mr Negative aka Mr Realistic.
So subpoena are issued, witnesses called and what then. Fruitless endeavors,like the two impeachments of Trump and his 34 felony convictions and his unpaid judgments for E Jean Carroll.
And what of it in a media environment, which is controlled by or fearful of Trump.
Look at the situation, with all of the scandal, all of the violations of the law, all of the potentially embarrassing conduct by Trump.. yet there he sits unfazed and doubling down, attacking the press and reporters. with full impunity, and the only real opposition are a handful of late night comedians, Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers.
Even the paper of record is cautious and measured in their "reporting", but their editorial board is full on board with Trump
Democracy is hard.
It's complex, messy, and maddening. Yet, despite its many flaws and failures, collective self-rule is the loftiest aspiration of a human mind hungry for morality and justice. In that light, how do you govern the needs and desires of so many disparate individuals with such differing viewpoints?
First and foremost, a viable multicultural, mixed-race democratic system requires compassion, empathy, and truthfulness from the elected representatives. The highest form of intelligent governance is when so-called "leaders" understand the feelings and thoughts of their constituents and are responsive, respectful, and honest. Everything good in the world, and in politics, falls into place under that rubric.
Whereas authoritarianism is simplistic, unintelligent, dishonest, and cruel — government of, by, and for the greedy, the selfish, and the stupid who seek to divide people through fear and hate. Everything bad.
One only needs to look at clown Trump and his laughable (though not funny) collection of misfits and goofballs busily tearing down our democracy, burning our allies, and emboldening our enemies, all the while openly enriching themselves at the expense and suffering of others.
Or look at the MAGA faithful, that vast, red-hat sea of human gullibility, chanting hollow slogans and enthusiastically hero-worshipping a malignant narcissist, convicted felon, business fraud, sexual predator, and likely pedophile.
The entire right-wing movement today is completely nuts! Most normal human beings with functioning brains agree with that blunt observation.
However, instead of merely labeling politics as Democrat/Republican, blue/red, left/right, liberal/conservative, how about framing the discussion as simply truth versus lie? It's no coincidence that the truth sounds progressive, liberal, and small-d democratic, and the lie sounds, well, like most Trump Republican politicians and influencers who spew buckets of empty words but fail at any meaningful insight or basic decency.
These shameless, disgusting liars, these mealymouthed, arrogant pissants with undue clout, who feel entitled to their lofty positions in privileged society, who wield ungodly power over the minds and bodies of the electorate, deserve no respect or pity — only ridicule, shame, and a resounding defeat at the polls!
Gaining disproportionate wealth, power, and fame is their greatest ambition; losing money, influence, and relevancy is their greatest fear. These poor, lost, egotistical souls need to work out their mental and emotional problems in private, presumably with years of intense therapy and deprogramming, and leave the rest of us alone.
Like most conflicts in human society, the outward battle between democracy and autocracy begins in the individual mind — mine, yours, everyone's. We share the same fate: our only home, a "blue dot," lost in the void. Let's not destroy it. Or each other.
A "woke" mind is democratic; an "anti-woke" mind is authoritarian. Don't let fools and liars redefine the simple truth.
Deep:
Suppose I agree with all you say.
Then what?
How does a responsible citizen respond in a meaningful way?
Elaborate, please . . . with fewer adjectives.
\Vince S
Mmm, that's easy: Don't vote for lying, miserable, braindead, zombie, fucked-up MAGA Republicans. And I'll use as many adjectives as I like, teach.
What happens when predators hunt together.....
This is the mentality we are fighting. The rich and the power brokers trying to get rich have learned every weakness in our system. So it has taken some time to get to this point.
Thom's through-lines of our history are so valuable.
The biggest mistake the "pack" made was picking a psychopath who is disorganized and decrepit to use as a useful idiot. He went on to pick others similar in nature. This time the "prey" has a chance because we can communicate.
We truly are one from many. We will drag the Cult members along with us into the 21st Century. Teach and preach on how to fight the predators. See you in the streets.
Today, NYT Andrew Ross Sorkin, i.e. "Dealbook" asked subscribers to suggest questions to ask attendees at the Dealbook Summit next week.
Mainstage speakers scheduled to be interviewed by Sorkin include business leaders such as Dario Amodei, Brian Armstrong, Mary Barra, Larry Fink, Jeff Housenbold, and Alex Karp, along with political figures Scott Bessent and Gavin Newsom, and cultural figures Halle Berry, Jimmy Donaldson, and Erika Kirk.
The "Groundbreakers" lunch session will host guests including political figures Stacey Abrams, Karine Jean-Pierre, and Kevin McCarthy, alongside business leaders Bill Anderson, Mark Barrocas, Steve Case, and Gary Vaynerchuk, as well as author Amanda Gorman and activist Monica Lewinsky.
Off-stage task force conversations will feature experts and leaders discussing various topics. Participants in the "Global Re-Order" task force include former prime minister of Israel Ehud Barak, Senator Chris Coons, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and former CIA director David Petraeus. The "Education of Higher Education" task force will include presidents of Dartmouth and Johns Hopkins, Sian Leah Beilock and Ron Daniels, and SUNY chancellor John King. CEOs Alex Chriss (PayPal), Beth Ford (Land O'Lakes), and Bob Jordan (Southwest Airlines) will participate in "The New Rules for Leadership" task.
I suggested that Sorkin ask every participant whether the killing of civilians in the Carribbean without giving tham a chance to surrender is a crime?
Daniel:
OK. Once all of them have answered affirmatively, what do they do with the rest of the summit time?
I want them to be asked whether they are prepared to put their influence behind an urgent effort to cease the release of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. All other policy issues will soon become irrelevant if that one is ignored.
\Vince S
They are accountable to investors -- like me.
Some of them are in the renewable energy business. This country via Trump's ignorance, is blowing maybe trillion$ due to his ignorance, and they know it.
Let the Senate hearings begin!
From the Independent--GOP senators to join Democrats in investigating Pete Hegseth ‘kill everybody’ allegations:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/pete-hegseth-drug-boat-investigation-b2875013.html
I hope Mr. Sorkin knows and says the question came from a retired judge---not that it is a complicated question or answer. I just think he will be more inclined to ask it.
People probably thought Trumpepstein was crash and burn territory for this Administration and then along come the boat murders.
I am an investor. Investor rights are in jeopardy.
In every public comapny there are tensions -- management vs labor -- management vs ownership.
In many cases management is willing to kill the the hen that laid the golden egg. In cases where management take advantage of the shareholders our only defense is the threat of shareholder derivitive litigation. These days, that may be the number one issue for the attendees.
WSJ: "The White House is exploring new measures to curb the influence of proxy advisers and index-fund managers, wading into a hot-button debate raised by high-profile CEOs including Elon Musk and Jamie Dimon in recent months.
"Trump administration officials are discussing at least one executive order that would restrict proxy-advisory firms such as Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, people familiar with the matter said. That could include a broad ban on shareholder recommendations or an order blocking recommendations on companies that have engaged proxy advisers for consulting work, the people said.
"Officials also are exploring limits on how index-fund managers are allowed to vote, seeking to curtail the power of such behemoths as BlackRock BLK 1.00%increase; green up pointing triangle, Vanguard Group and State Street STT 1.35%increase; green up pointing triangle, the people said. These three together own on behalf of clients roughly 30% or more of many of the biggest U.S. publicly traded companies. One measure being discussed would require these index-fund managers to mirror their votes in line with clients who choose to vote.
"The discussions, which have been going on for weeks, are still fluid, and various drafts of the proposed executive order have been circulating. Any moves by the White House would add to pressure surrounding ISS and Glass Lewis, the two biggest proxy advisers. The firms are under attack from JPMorgan Chase’s JPM 1.53%increase; green up pointing triangle Dimon, who has said they have conflicts of interest, and Tesla’s Musk, who has called them “corporate terrorists.” Meanwhile, a newer entrant, Broadridge Financial Solutions, is seeking to siphon off some of their clients.
A White House official said, “Until officially announced by the White House, discussion about potential executive orders is speculation.”
Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Thom Hartmann is doing such important work. Fortunately he is not alone, we are not completely alone. I want herein to share another important voice: Rutger Bregman
May I suggest:
1. A Time of Monsters
The Reith LecturesRutger Bregman - Moral Revolution Episode 1 of 4
In the first of four 2025 BBC Reith Lectures, recorded in London, the Dutch historian Rutger Bregman asks what can be done to counter the moral decay of today's un-serious elites.
I give you this podcast and its transcript in PDF format. I believe that Rutger Bregman is also doing "the work". And hope that Thom can use it, connect to it, make this work ever more potent. THANK YOU THOM HARTMANN!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002mmrv
https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/radio4/reith2025/Reith_1_R4_Trint_Transcript.pdf
I have often said to friends that if it were not for the years Donald Trump appeared on "The Apprentice", voters in the Midwest and elsewhere would not have known him from just another person running for office and he never would have been elected. That fictional exposure was all he needed to run. He could not have paid for better advertising.
And yes, The Citizens United vs F.E.C. has truly "thrown a spanner" into the wheels of our democracy,
I hope we are soon able to rid ourselves of the latter.
Tim,interesting you brought this up.I was just commenting to a friend today,had it not been for NBC, Mark Burnett and " The Apprentice" Trump would never been the Rep nominee.
We should all call NBC and ask what they will do to redeem themselves or we should all boycott everything NBC produces.
A BRILLIANT idea! But how to go about it and bet any meaningful result? The changes now undergoing in the national media outlets makes me think that the chances may be quite slim. Any idea is appreciated as I am all for it.
"get" any...
Tim,maybe call the advertisers on NBC and let them know we are boycotting their products.
Hit 'em in the pocketbook. That is always an answer.
Where is Mark Burnett today? Living in Great Britain? What are/was Burnett's connection to the Republicon party, the oligarchs (Kochs, Mercers, Zuckerbergs, Musks, Bezos, Thiels etc.) the Heritage Foundation etc? Is there not an Extradition Treaty with that country? Would seem Mr. Burnett is deserving of answering important questions!
I wonder if we can ever recover from this dictator, or will the next President help pull it back from all the destruction? We need term limits on all politicians. That way no one can hopefully be bought. Because they wont be in office for them to be. 4 yrs for all politicians, is my recommendation. What say you?
Hi Jeannine.
Although I largely agree with the sentiment, especially for a president who wields so much power and influence, there is a serious downside to term limits in down-ballot elections: If the majority of constituents in a district really like their politicians, term limits will prohibit their desired choice, which is a restriction on the will of the voters.
For instance, my former senator, Jon Tester, a third-generation farmer and native Montanan, served admirably for 18 years. His Democratic base was faithful and repeatedly reelected him. As a powerful advocate for veterans, he could also garner votes from independents, moderate Republicans, and libertarians, which is no small feat in such a crimson-red state.
Alas, with the MAGA madness reaching a crescendo, Tim Sheehy, a shameless right-winger who lied repeatedly during his campaign about nearly everything and was lavishly funded by out-of-state billionaires, outspent Tester with endless, over-the-top mailers clogging up everyone's mailboxes and with a media blitz of false propaganda on TV, radio, and the local newspapers. (I'm all in for term-limiting that worthless bastard. 😄)
But if we could take private money out of politics altogether through progressive legislation and adopt public financing for campaigns (when or if Democrats ever return to power), there would be no need for term limits. Regularly facing angry voters, who'd have ultimate power once big money is unavailable, should be the crucible that keeps most politicians honest. Anyway, that's how democracy is supposed to work.
Too much private money flowing down from the top of the pyramid and sloshing around behind the scenes is, by far, the worst problem in American politics. Corporate Democrats and Republicans alike need to learn this lesson and pass laws that will solve the crisis. Because the Big Money glide path we're on now leads directly to a plutocratic, autocratic kakistocracy.
Sadly, we're pretty much there already.
Your words aren’t just words, they’re a revelation that needs to soak in to the public mind and spirit.
“Trump is the inevitable product of political structures meticulously constructed by morbidly rich ideologues and the fossil fuel industry over decades -- systems designed to concentrate power in the executive branch, to weaponize grievances haunting American politics for three centuries, and systematically dismantle the democratic guardrails that have kept us a free nation.”
The destruction of the American dream is deliberate. The perpetrators are emotionally immature misfits trying to fill their emptiness with power and the money that buys power. They rise to direct corporate life, which preys upon the public well-being. It began with the slave plantations feeding the colonies’ biggest wealth creation, supported by northern banking, and returned with the railroad barons, later with the Wall Streeters.
Making wealth subservient to misfit control is our big mistake. It should be returned to public control, as it actually was in ancient Mesopotamia – as public utilities, serving the general public, and the whole point of the democratic revolution.
We need to do more than turn Trump out and dismantle the system that brought us Trump. We need to rescue, rethink, rebuild, and as appropriate re-invent a democratic system more suited to the turbulent age in which we live. We also need a massive social and political movement to create a new, more inclusive, and more effective civic culture as the foundation for democracy.
Hello Tom, I appreciate your steadfast efforts. I'm a bit of predictor of futures so here is something we need to not ignore. We need to talk about this and need a strong position moving forward.
We need to be ready to not permit the oligarks and wealthy to force our economic system back to where it was before the fascist regime. We should look at Allende and what he tried to pull of in Chile. The only problem is that the USA wealthy and ..CIA said that we need to stop Allende by saying he was a communist.
Now lets look at this in perspective. There is no communism!! THERE NEVER HAS BEEN! Look at Putin and you're looking at fascism. We have to be ready to demonstrate and create a socialistic democratic republic and not let the wealthy use the CIA to scare people!!
The choice now is clear, we reorganize.., reorganize wealth in this country thru realistic and fair taxation and thru democratic socialistic creative policies. To do this we need to apply the strongest portion of our economy to support the middle class and poor while working toward a classless culture. The other option is a complete fascist take over and back to extremes with very poor and very wealthy with a dwindling middle class.
We cannot let fascism take over again! I would hope that you begin to talk about this issue NOW! Tom lets talk about a path forward our population can stand behind and keep talking about it... Best. Cliff
Cliff,go after all the TechnoFascists,Thiek,Andressen,Zuckerberg,Cook,Musk,and many others who are major supporters of Trump .Also let's organize and go after Stephen Miller and Russell Vought who cheerily admits to be a " White Christain Nationalist" .
Yes david I know..Theil is the big fish, I do not think it is spelled Thiek
We need to get the majority of Americans old and young onboard and start now to build this movement. We'll have power in #s . The wealthy in the past have hidden behind the CIA and its fake communism doctrine and Trump is still espousing this bullshit. Ultimately the people with money and hired guns win this battle or the unthinkable happens. The numbers are so overwhelming that they lay down their weapons and give up. Many will need to be tried, many will not spend time in prison but will need to forfeit the remainder of time working in public service and nothing political. The extreme end of these fascists will serve time in prison then remain working in public service for the remainder. I wouldn't let any of these folks go to other countries to continue pillaging.
Cliff,I'm open to any plan that can be more aggressive than what we are currently doing. It is just shocking that Trump and so many others are called " Nazis" and they accept that description. Where is the outrage? The technofascists and :Nazis" never thought it would be this easy,Shame on a large segment of the population that is sleeping,not really paying attention.
You're right it Thiel,not Thiek.
Spot on!
The system the gave us Trump goes back about 7,500-years.The greed and hubris started when the early farmers found they could sell their excess produce. (early capitalism). The ages-old custom of allowing hungry people to enter their fields, orchards and vineyards was dropped as greed and hubris called for more and more "excess produce" to be sold. The bigger farmers paid local officials with money and produce to protect their lands and produce (city-states and empires), and to get them more land by force (wars) and labor (slaves) to increase their yearly produce. This paradigm between the wealthy and the people they used and abused to "grow their wealth has remained the same throughout the last 7,500-years. Ancient empires, kingdoms, modern empires and nations rose and fell. the British colonists in thirteen British colonies had a chance to break the cycle after almost two centuries of that wealth/people paradigm keeping the people enslaved and the wealthy stealing their labor.
The wealthy, the landed gentry did not come to America dirt-poor as most European immigrants were. These were the lesser nobles out of the European feudal systems. They were the younger sibling of the eldest, legitimate son who was bequeathed the family's nobility title and the bulk of the estate. The younger siblings who were of nobility blood but without titles were know as the lesser nobles/landed gentry. The younger sibling all got their share of the estate and these were the fortunes the lesser nobles brought with them to North America, to claim the 2,000-acre tracts of land the colonies were offering new immigrants who could prove they could manage such tracts. Upon claiming those tracts of land, their official titles changed from lesser nobles to the colonies' landed gentry With their experience in their family's European fiefs, they had the proof needed to claim the tracts. They set up those tracts of lands as their family's fiefs had been set up with the lesser nobles lord and master over all within. The landed gentry controlled every facet of life and every function within the fiefs. Their 2.000-acre tracts of land were usually situated close to the fortifications of the settlements forcing later immigrants to move out closer to the frontiers.
The lesser nobles were imbued with greed and hubris from their family's being of noble blood over a thousands years in the European feudal systems. They carried that greed and hubris with them into the colonies. Until the industrial Revolution came to an area, the main way of making money was working the lands and the resources on them. It was not long that their greed and hubris had them coveting any Indian ancestral lands nearby that they could add to their original tracts of land. The landed gentry controlled all functions within their new world fiefs and could offer immunity from prosecution to other immigrants for what they were going to have them do.
The ad the other immigrants harass, assault rape and even kill any Indians living on nearby ancestral lands. When the Indians started protecting themselves the landed gentry would say they were "on the rampage" call out their militias with orders to attack and kill or capture as many Indians as they could and chase survivors as far back into their ancestral lands as possible. The ancestral lands, now cleared of Indians were assimilated into the landed gentry's tract of land and any Indians captured were taken as slaves. This was not the exception to the rule but was the rule along the frontiers wherever the wealthy came to claim lands.
The landed gentry had their politicians and lawyers in the colonial governments to get slave laws enacted and make sure no laws were passed that would give the "workers"/slaves more freedoms or higher wages. About 1718 Yale University had received a shipment of books by authors in the European age of Reason, the European Enlightenment. Yale set up a curriculum based on those books and the teachings spread rapidly through the New England. The American Enlightenment was preached through the churches and was discussed in the church circles. The Enlightenment ideals spread within the colonial communities, where the British colonials were fed up being treated as lower British citizens by a distant monarchy. the people wanted more freedoms and self-rule. The landed gentry could not allow their workers to gain rights and freedoms so they funded Evangelical revivals to bring the people back into the churches and to kill the revolutionary ideals of the Enlightenment. But the Revolutionary ideals were too powerful to overcome. About 1750, the laded gentry stopped the Evangelical revivals after learning about a new form of economics, that would enrich the wealthy faster than the mercantile economics but would not work within the mercantile system.
The wealthy now wanted the King's mercantile economic system gone so they could install Adam Smith's "free market" economics. The wealthy did not want to sever all ties to the Kingdom. When the Townsend Act were passed by Parliament, it gave them a cause, albeit a lie, to rally the colonials to fights to remove the monarchy and its system of taxes embedded in its mercantile economic system. The rallying cry that went out was "No taxation without representation." The taxes from the crown did not affect 99.9% of the citizens, the landed gentry did not pay them enough to be taxed or to buy the expensive imports from Britain. The promise of "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" was the promise of the Revolution. That promise was revoked by the Federalists in President Washington's first administration.
The Constitution was written, ratified and instituted the American government as a republic with a constitutional democracy on March 4, 1791. The only Founding Fathers who wanted the Constitution to stand as written, without individual rights amended to it were the Federalists the politicians and lawyers for the wealthy. The other Founding Fathers, who called themselves the Anti-Federalists, represented people and the ideals of the revolution. They were enlightened and could vision an America that evolved with time so that everyone could enjoy "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness". The Anti-Federalists must have been the majority because they were able to add instructions on how to evolve (amend) the Constitution. The Anti-Federalists were also able to write a list of rights and freedoms for all Americans, got the states to ratify it and the Bill of Rights was to be amended to the Constitution in December 1791. The Federalists could not allow their benefactors' workers to enjoy any rights and freedoms or the wealthy would lose their iron fist control over their workers but they had to do it without alerting the Anti-Federalists.
Alexander Hamilton, President Washington's Secretary on the Treasury, was supposed to setup America's economic policy.The Federalists corrupted a version of Adam Smith's "free market" economics by omitting all governmental regulation of the markets. Economics without governmental regulation of the markets is called "liberal economics" and allows the oligarchs running the markets to operate above the law. From 1791 to 1932, they continued their colonial status quo from the anonymity of their new world fiefs. In 1932, their greed and hubris finally crashed America's and most of the world's economies in the first three years of the Great Depression. Steve
The evils of concentrated wealth -- the more things change, the more they stay the same. Thanks for that valuable history lesson, Steve
In his book "The presidents and the People," Corey Brettschneider chronicales the strain of authoritarianism that has dogged our democracy from John Adams to our present scourge. Again and again, it has raised its ugly head, and agais and again, the poeple have beaten it back. It seems that Trump has learned from Joe McCarthy never to leave the military uncontrolled, and from Nixon always to maintain deniability, and from Hitler many, many things. We will defeat him, and the oligarchy will renig some, but this time, please let us not settle for a compromise, but rather hold fast until we have safeguarded our democracy from the perversion of wealth and secured the full blessings of liberty for all our people--including access to work and a decent standard of living
Everyone needs to remember that Donny was a Democrat and probably became a Republican when he realized it would be much harder to bamboozle Republican voters who had been conned for decades by a Republican Party claiming to be on their side while working almost exclusively for corporate and wealthy interests. The Democratic Party was more disorganized and much harder to galvanize into the MAGA cult members Donny envisioned. Always remember, Donny is playing a grand con on the public, requiring him to perpetrate many smaller cons because he is one of the most untrustworthy individuals ever elected president. The grand con is that he couldn't care less how the country does as a society or country, as long as he can use his position to become as wealthy as possible. This has been, and always will be, about making Donny as rich as possible, by legal and illegal means.
Perry,good post but I think we have to consider that Trump is not " human" .No human could possibly be as as bad as Trump.
There is nothing "conservative" about the Republican Party. The use of that word to describe their political philosophy is deliberately misleading. It provides cover for the deeply unAmerican ambitions of the wealthy and corporate interests who use it. It's well past time to pull back the curtain.
Captain my Captain, you are exactly right! Thank you.