Tag: Kamala Harris

By on

Republicans are complaining about Virginians electing Jay Jones as Attorney General. Jones’ emails were released that showed him wishing violence on both his opponent and his opponent’s kids. Wow. What would be thought of as a disqualifying action with the voters wasn’t enough to defeat Jones.

I feel their pain. This is how I felt when Trump defeated Harris in 2024. How the voters could elect such a nakedly corrupt individual over a rather mundane political hack was beyond me. But the voters had a choice. A lot of voters felt they had a bad choice but a choice nonetheless. They choose the nakedly corrupt Trump which means that they feared Harris more than they did from Trump.

Now I disagree with the voters who opted for Trump over Harris as the lesser of two evils. But when Democrats got upset about it, I felt they were missing the point. When Trump is seen as the lesser of two evils, the problem isn’t with the voters. The problem is your candidate. Something was turning marginal voters against the Democrat’s candidate. Instead of complaining about the voters, it might be wiser to look at why people made this decision and alter your course.

The Republican brand might just be having a similar problem right now. Given a bad choice between a man who would like to see his opponent shot and a Republican incumbent then it might be time for a little self reflection on how voters see the Republican Party. I am fairly certain that they will resist this temptation. But, honestly, if you can’t beat a candidate with such negative press and a weak defense of his actions, you are in bigger trouble than you can comprehend.

By on

In the past, I said that I would support a serial killer Democrat over a Mother Teresa Republican. The point, for me, is that the party matters more for me than the person nominated by the party. I am assuming that the serial killer would support the same issues that I, a fellow Democrat, support. I may not like the serial killer. I may much prefer sitting down with the Mother Teresa Republican than a blood thirsty killer but, in the end, I will vote for someone agrees with me on issues I care about. Particularly if he is going to be president. This means, I will have to, on occasion, align myself with people I don’t particularly like. I stand by that statement.

Which brings me to the election of Donald Trump. I think Donald Trump is a terrible person and I can’t imagine myself ever voting for him. Well, wait a minute, that is unless he changes his position on an array of issues and is somehow nominated by the Democratic Party and he was running against Ted Cruz and then, yes, I would happily vote for Donald Trump. Not because he was a good person, a truthful person but because, given the choices I have, he is the best possible option for implementing the policies I want. I vote for the person I agree with on policy and not the person I like best.

So I find it a little irritating when people say they could never vote for a man like Donald Trump and, because of your principles, you then are cutting out any Trump voters from your life. I have seen people asking any Trump voters in their friends list to unfriend them, people are cancelling their holidays with Trump voting relatives and some women are trying to organize a sex strike against Trump voting men. These people think they are punishing their Trump voting acquaintances. Why this is necessary is beyond me because they seemed perfectly willing to maintain their relationships as long as Harris won. Losing is what broke the camel’s back here. There is no principle involved. If Trump voters are so despicable, they were despicable before the election results came rolling in. Instead of looking like a moral stance based on good principles, they look more like a child throwing a tantrum.

Then there is calling the Trump voters racists, misogynists and stupid. This is half the country. Now if you are doing this in the privacy of your own home to let of some steam, go for it. But it isn’t particularly helpful public position when you are trying to persuade people to change their votes in the next election. Indeed it confirms all of their worst impressions of the snowflake liberal. Liberals just aren’t tough enough to handle disagreement and losing. Well, then toughen up buttercup because, if the battle is with facism as so many people believe, liberals need to be able to deal with people who disagree with them, address their concerns and hopefully persuade them to change. Taking to your bed is of no help at all.

That doesn’t mean beat yourself up listening to racists and misogynists spew their poison but it also means that there is a range of people who voted for Trump. Some were enthusiastic and thus unreachable, some were voting for the lesser of two evils and are potentially persuadable. They need thoughtful argument. Joe Rogan, for instance, who was a Bernie Sanders supporter in 2020 seems like a good example. Harris refusing to go on his show certainly didn’t help her cause with him or his millions of followers. Worse still, she opted out of appearing on Rogan’s show because she was afraid how it would affect her left wing supporters. Well, who else were left wingers going to vote for? Jill Stein? Better to show up for Rogan and disappoint the left wing purists. Even if Rogan was unpersuadable, it would have shown Harris was willing to reach out to the broader electorate instead she looked like a whiny snowflake.

The question shouldn’t be why are the American people so horrible. The better question is why did so many Americans, given the choice they had, choose a two bit carnival barker over a rather conventional Democratic politician. There is a problem here that needs to be addressed. Seeing how Democrats are stuck with the voters they have and not the voters they want, it might be a good idea to figure it out before 2026.

By on 2 Comments

The problem with comparing Donald Trump to Hitler is that Hitler is as bad as they come. Very few people quite match up to Hitler, Stalin and Mao spring to mind but then, after them, there is a pretty huge gap between potential Hitlers and actual Hitlers. It is very inaccurate measurement and should be used sparingly if ever. because if Trump is like Hitler, then isn’t killing Trump the right thing to do. There is no moral equivocation here. Better to kill the tyrant before the tyrant has power.

My narrow viewpoint of the efficacy of comparing Trump to Hitler, however, is not universally agreed upon. People are comparing Trump to Hitler, or at least to a potential Fascist dictator, and claiming he is an existential threat to democracy. If he is indeed that dangerous that leaves us with the question does Trump deserve killing?

I, personally, think it is a bad idea. A really bad idea. This means we who oppose the man need to be careful when people try to make an attempt on his life. Make it clear that Trump does not deserve this treatment and that this behavior is unacceptable. Indeed assassinating political opponents is far more dangerous than Trump himself. So far, Democrats, at least publicly, are saying this. There is, however, this unspoken sentiment that the world would be better off without him.

I think it needs to be said: he is a human being. An awful human being but a human being nonetheless. If he doesn’t rise to Hitleresque, and he doesn’t, then he deserves, as much as I do, his life. Nobody has the right to execute someone because you don’t like him or his politics. If he gets elected, we will need to see what happens.

It is a risk. But one that is preferable to people taking the law into their own hands. A Trump assassination is potentially disastrous in so many ways because, if the right wing is as dangerous as the Left believes, there could be bloody revenge and then what happens? This means President Trump is a better bet than a dead Trump.

Now, a better solution is for Harris to beat him, and beat him soundly, in the upcoming election.

By on

I watched the debate on Tuesday and I didn’t catch the same vibe really. I mean Trump sounded crazy as shit, he fell into Harris’ traps and his lies were so outrageous that the moderators had to correct him twice. I realize this has irked some people but honestly Harris’ lies were pretty well hidden and arguable enough that no moderator could justify the interruption. Trump’s, on the other hand, were whoppers and easily refuted.

That said, he didn’t seem any more crazy than usual. This was your standard Trump performance. I can’t see that it will make much of a difference with ardent Trump supporters. There may be that very thin slice of voters who hate Trump but are going to vote for him any way who might be influenced but I think these people have already made their peace about their vote. If they were on the Titanic, they would drown because they went back to their rooms to retrieve their jewels.

There are people who claim to be neutral but how many people are really in that camp. Trump has been around too long and is too divisive for people not to have an opinion on him. People either like him or they don’t. That means something like a debate, while entertaining for those of us who support Harris, is going to change very few minds. Trump’s performance was pretty much the same level of craziness that he has displayed for years without serious effect.

The fact that 68 million people watched it might have a little significance. Maybe the few undecided voters who watched will make their minds up based on her superb performance. But, then, there will be people who won’t like the sound of her voice, her vivid facial reactions to Trumps bull shit, or some bit of minutia that would be of no significance to the normal person but is of overwhelming importance to this voter. I know a woman who couldn’t vote for Hillary Clinton based on Chelsea Clinton’s wedding. Yes that was the determining factor in her vote — some nonsense about Chelsea’s wedding dress.

So, for now, the debate has given me hope but I am still worried about how this is all going to pan out. Keep in mind that Hillary Clinton won her two debates as well so what this means is difficult to know.

By on

Donald Trump apparently calls Kamala Harris a bitch. In private. So what? Why is this a headline? Why is this shocking?

  1. It is private behavior. He can say what ever wants to say in private including calling Kamala Harris a bitch.
  2. Donald Trump has a history of bad mouthing almost everybody including members of his own party. Is it really that shocking to discover that he calls a political opponent who is presently besting him a bitch? And, least we forget, he did it in private.
  3. What are people supposed to do with this information? So Trump calls Harris a bitch? Yes it is sexist but so what? Bitch sometimes is the right word. I mean would bastard be better? If I am mad at someone, I might call them a bitch. I find it hard to condemn a man for doing something that I might do particularly if it is done in private.

The only interesting thing about this little tidbit is that someone close to Trump wants to screw him over and they are talking to the press. Now that is interesting to me.

By on

David Faris, in Slate, and Josh Marshall, in Talking Points Memo, are telling Democrats who might want another choice other than Biden/Harris to stop making trouble and deal with it. There is no alternate to the two. Why would the Democrats risk losing the White House by changing the line up?The wise men back east have spoken. Now is not the time to buck the conventional thinking. Biden is the only one who can win, so shut up and do what you are told. I neither like the tone nor the content of these instructions.

Biden is a deeply unpopular president. 538, the polling amalgamation site, has his approval rate at 40%. He has been at about 40% for months which suggests that a lot of people have made up their minds about him. Some of these disapprovers will vote for Biden in a Biden Trump match up but why not try to do better than another close election. Now, if Biden was wildly popular or, say, even at 50%, it might be sage advice to let him be. But he isn’t.

I voted for Biden once and will vote for him again if he is the Democrats candidate, however he isn’t my first choice or, for that matter, on my Top 10 ten list. I voted for him because I was scared of Trump not because I liked Biden. This should be concerning. I am liberal Democrat and I voted for Biden grudgingly. I don’t have another option really if Trump is the Republican nominee or, for that matter, any other Republican who might win the nomination.

Other people, however, do. A majority of Americans don’t want either Biden or Trump. Think about that a large portion of the US electorate doesn’t want either candidate. I would suspect that those voters are all highly moveable — an intemperate comment from Trump or a disastrous senior moment from Biden could easily change their vote. I would be concerned to have this many regular people unhappy with their choice. But apparently I just need to get over it and get in line.

Why though? One of the way to test how good a candidate is through the primary system. Isn’t it better to find how strong Biden is during the primaries? This requires challengers to Biden. If he turns out to be a weak candidate, the party had the opportunity to find someone stronger. And, if Biden perform well in the primaries, he will allay people’s fears about him being weak. But to tell Democrats to get in line a good year before the election is irritating. It sounds like they are afraid of what will happen in contested election. They want to keep Biden hidden from public view until the election next November. This isn’t a particularly encouraging strategy.

What do these men really know? The wise men in Washington convinced me Sanders couldn’t win in 2016. They were probably right about that but they also believed that Clinton was the best chance of beating Trump. So I sucked up all my ambivalent feelings about her and voted for Clinton in the primary. Well, we all know how that turned out.