The photos of the "crowds" at the tank parade remind me of when Bill Hicks would come on stage in an almost-empty club, scan the room slowly, and announce "I've had more people in bed than this" ...
When the president sends a cabinet member on TV to announce "We are using the military to liberate an American city from its elected leaders," where do you go from there. What is left to say. The idea of that being anything short of a near-universal "Wait, what the fuck is going on" moment proves how far we've backslid.
This is from 2022 but it was absolutely right. The practiced buffoonery of Trump 1, all the "just kiddings" and "seriously but not literallys" absolutely succeeded in desensitizing people who are hardly paying any attention to the harder stuff they always intended to do next. ...
The basic fallacy in chasing votes by being "tough on immigration" is that the modal American's position on the issue is "Deport the Bad ones and keep the Good ones," and they alone know who is which, and that simply does not translate into workable policy. So this kind of gestapo stuff horrifies some of the same people who cheered when Trump promised to do it. There are true sociopaths who love this, but "No, I meant only the BAD immigrants! Not my coworker/friend/neighbor!" is as likely a reaction as enthusiasm. You cannot do immigration policy that satisfies these people because what they want is nonsensical.
So by the time center-left parties fully commit to chasing the far right by "getting tough" on immigration, the backlash has already begun to build and they walk right into it. "I thought you people wanted this!" No, they want something impossible and convinced themselves they'd could have it - the "eat whatever you want AND lose weight!" of immigration policies.
It is hard to grasp but large masses of Americans are both racist/xenophobic AND not racist/xenophobic enough to applaud what Trump is doing. It's goldilocks shit, they want a level of racism/xenophobia calibrated exactly to their personal preferences, and you just can't make that policy. Don't try. ...
AP: Trump extends olive branch, invites Musk to White House cellar to taste some brand new amontillado ...
Scott says:
Maybe good ol' Saxby is getting his comeuppance for the absolutely vile campaign he ran against Max Cleland.
ladiesbane says:
And did you see the recent Nation article on the world coming to an end? Christophers Buckley and Hitchens are both supporting Obama, and their reasons for abandoning McCain are, uh, what YOU said.
A good point was made about finding suspect those Repubs who endorse anything Palin related. Phyllis Schlafly is vile, but I always considered her to be the brainy kind of vile. Her Palin support is baffling. What Republicans are still gung-ho for McCain, despite all evidence?
Mike says:
Palin is seen as unqualified to be President among blue-collar white women 48-43 according to the latest WSJ poll. Think about that. Blue-collar. white. women. think of Palin as an liability. So much for that gamble.
Nan says:
Well, Jim Martin wasn't exactly unknown here in Georgia, but going into the primaries he wasn't seen as being as the front runner. It took a run-off for him to cinch the nomination.
It does help that Shameless is running a remarkably inept campaign — started off running ads that basically consisted of his mother and his wife saying "vote for Saxby; he's a nice man;" then had ads up where he promised to do something about the gas shortage right as the shortage ended naturally and prices plummeted; and currently has an ad running emphasizing his years of experience in the U.S. Senate (one term) and multiple terms in the Georgia legislature. The last ad seems like a particularly dumb move in a year when there's even more than the usual amount of anger at incumbents.
Ed says:
Chambliss is an idiot. I needed no proof of this. He swept into Congress on a wave of pro-GOP sentiment that required him to do nothing but breathe in order to win in 2002. I'm surprised that he is vulnerable, but I shouldn't be. I've taken craps smarter than him.
I agree with Scott. There can never be enough poetic justice/payback for the ads he ran against Cleland. I don't hope Chambliss loses – I hope he loses and gets pancreatic cancer.
kulkuri says:
Shameless has gone negative with his ads. He has one running now that says Martin was fired from a government job and therefore can't be trusted. Looks like Shameless has a history of trashing vets. Martin was a Lt. in 'Nam, but Shameless problably can't find anything to hit him with on that score so is trying another attack.