Bill Maher Explains: Slow Moving Coup. Pay attention. It's frightening.

The Democrats cannot play nice. It won't work. Defeat these motherfucking Repigs. And hope Trump dies.

Call and/or write to @SenatorSinema & @JoeManchinWV to end the filibuster and support the John Lewis voting rights act to protect against what Maher predicted. Otherwise that scenario very well could come true, and it will make 2020 and Jan 6 look like a picnic.

2022 and 2024 is coming too soon.

If what Bill said scares you...it should. Trump must be stopped; otherwise, we will lose our democracy.

When is the Southern District of New York going to wrap up its investigation of Trump and his company and start handing down the indictments or cripple him financially. If Trump is in terrible legal and financial shape, he may not be able to run in 2024.

We never had a Democracy to lose. Your former Republic has been a corporate oligarchy since Reagan.

Every word of it is true..I have saying this for months. But the DL won't believe it until the Trump Gastapo drive tanks thru their neighborhood on January 21,2021. I wouldn't be surprised if Trump orders the military to remove Biden from the White House the day after the Election. No Joke. The GOP have stolen 2024. We already know the date it's going to happen. And Trump is going to be even more Batshitz Crazy....

Trump can be defeated, but we must VOTE in even greater numbers than 2020. It's not going to be easy, but we must defeat him if he runs...and that's yet to be decided. But we must prepare for the worst.

Indict the motherfucker now!

The best way to avoid any of what Bill said is to make sure Trump is in jail or politically wounded beyond repair. Come on, Justice Department, make it happen!

r4, you're NO HELP

Gay are allowing the mentally ill so called transgenders to ruin it for them. No parent in the world wants their child to have the opposite sex in the restroom with their child. They don't want their child to call a male by she, her, that he is a female. This is just one huge problem for this country. The dump Trump folks are waking up to what they voted in. A president with serious dementia. Just who is running the country?

When Trump won, it wasn't because voters wanted him, they wanted Hillary less. When he wins again, it won't be because the voters want him, it will be because they want the the democrats less. Just think we're talking about this and Biden hasn't been in one year year yet.

Enough with the Biden has dementia bullshit.

[quote]The best way to avoid any of what Bill said is to make sure Trump is in jail or politically wounded beyond repair.

The best way to avoid any of what Bill said is to change the channel or not watch Bill Maher altogether.

R9 Has a point. We are very much in a generational culture war and people are being put-off by the constant pandering to and enabling of the unreasonable aspects of Identity Politics. This is one of the things that make me fear 2024.

People bitching about Biden and his health are being petulant. He was our savior from Trump so the country could regroup. Would you prefer Trump instead? During Covid? Can you imagine if he had won? Give it a rest with the Biden stuff.

I haven't paid attention to Bill Maher for 25 years.

He is 💯 right

Trump failed at building his fence-wall. That's the only reason he was elected. Ann Coulter needs to remind Maher of that point.

LOL. Don't make me laugh. If you think the party represented by ice cream Nancy and father of druggie Joe is the hero, you are braindead.

Excuse me, I think you mean "druggie Hunter."

R11 & R13, the issue here is not Bill Maher. The issue is that Trump and the threat of a coup are hanging over us as we enter the next election.

Maher is not alone on this. Many other people, including foreign policy expert Fiona Hill, say that Trump is a huge threat to democracy in 2024:

R11 - it didn't work for you in 2016 when Trump won the election.

I still see so many Trump Flags and "Fuck Biden" yes they actually say that, when I drive around in my "liberal" county. So many!

R20- Same here. I live in southern NH in a relatively liberal/wealthy seacoast area and I am getting very alarmed by the Fuck Biden signs popping up everywhere.

Someone even put a Fuck Biden sign in the WATER- They boated to the center of the pond adjacent to the coastal route and someone how put a stationery sign in the water.

This all started after the pulling of the troops..

Fuck Trump signs: Yay! Good!

Fuck Biden signs: Booo! Bad!

Americans are an angry, violent and incredibly childish, gullible people.

The best way to stop Trump and all you're talking about would have been to elect someone who wanted to do something tangible for people, not corrupt Joe Biden, who nobody was ever excited about being POTUS. Then you could point to the accomplishments and say, "Your lives are better. You have free public college, you have Medicare expanded to cover everyone. Your lives are better than you had it under Trump." You keep offering people zero, and expect to be elected on platitudes and being the less-worse party.

There are a lot of very rich people who were extremely upset that Biden ended a perpetual war that they had been making billions off of. They have a lot of resources behind them to push a "Fuck Biden" narrative, and they're doing it on multiple fronts. They know a lot of Americans don't mind that we left Afghanistan so they're funding "Fuck Biden because of the border" and "Fuck Biden because of trans" and "Fuck Biden because of vaccines" and "Fuck Biden because he has dementia" propaganda, too.

After everything that happened in 2016, everyone in the country should be fully aware of the fact that we are being pummeled with propaganda all the time, via social media and traditional media. It's effective enough that the people who already hated Biden are happy to go out and plant signs and troll forums and scream nasty messages at their representatives, without realizing that they are doing the dirty work of the rich shits behind it all.

R23- I actually agree with this. Our candidates have been so weak. Its alarming and up to us to fix this.

And R24 nailed this as well-

R23 is just ranting. Biden is pushing exactly the kinda of agenda that does tangible things for people? Do you follow current events, or are you just lost in Bernieland?

Democrats as a whole need to stop preaching to everyone about making change and actually start doing it.

And stop being so damned smug. Nancy Pelosi, I’m looking at you.

Also, the VA gov election is a real turd sandwich.

I don't know who will run on the republican ticket in 2024, but I do not believe it will be Trump. I believe by then Trump will be either so mentally demented he'll be under the care of 24/7 nurses, or he'll be dead.

Why does this forum let the anti-trans extremists hijack every thread?

Why are progressives still think they know how to win elections??? Most people know the Bernie crowds are Trojan Horses planted inside the democratic party by the far right and by dirty Russian oligarch money.

There's nothing we can do, r30. They use too many sockpuppets for us to do anything about it. You can't FF enough people to make a difference and even if you tried to ignore them all you'd run out of space in a week at the most.

Biden isn't corrupt and he's been pushing an agenda that does lots of good for so many people, a fact that the Repugs use against him constantly. The complaints about him are that he's "woke" and "too far left" and wants to spend too much on "entitlements" but at the same time these people ALSO say that "he doesn't want to help the people." It's inconsistent and ridiculous. I don't know how someone can say something like that and then get a "you nailed it" in response.

[quote][R11] - it didn't work for you in 2016 when Trump won the election.

True because it is undeniable that Maher the Great and Powerful was the ONLY American of any influence who thought Trump was a piece of shit who should not be elected.

[quote]The best way to stop Trump and all you're talking about would have been to elect someone who wanted to do something tangible for people, not corrupt Joe Biden

So you really think if we had a different president tangible things would be on the president's desk ready for him to sign?

R31

Progressives aren’t the problem. They are supporting Biden’s agenda. It’s centrists (Manchin & Sinema) destroying Democrats. Biden’s approval rating has fallen because these 2 are holding back legislation the majority of the American people need.

It's unlikely Trump will be the nominee, because he's old news. The Trumpsters live on social media and unless someone fucks up and lets him have his Twitter back, they'll slowly stop paying attention to him completely. They've moved on without him, that's why you see them posting far more "Fuck Biden" stuff than "MAGA 2024" stuff.

Shorter R23: "We need to elect a president who has a magic wand that makes senators and representatives do what he wants."

That is not a serious argument.

R34 - the basic argument @ R11 is to look away from anything and anyone warning about Trump attaining power: don't listen and he will go away. That's what I was poking fun at.

As for the bizarre "Maher the Great and Powerful" image: thanks for the laugh!

What Maher said...and the comments here 1000X+. Jan. 6 was a dress rehearsal.

A country with only two viable political parties and whose population is split into thirds -- one-third refuse to vote, one-third rightwing, one-third liberal -- is always going to have an incredibly tough time getting legislation passed. This is especially true as we have a history of always having a handful of the nuttiest, worst, most incompetent politicians you can imagine, and they muck it up for everyone else.

The situation we're in today is not new, but it does come at a particularly bad time where a lack of action will lead to massive consequences. Biden is limited in what he can do, but presidents always are.

Everyone brings up LBJ pushing people into doing the right thing but even HE was thwarted by far-right treasonous scumbags Nixon and Kissinger, and in response he just threw in the towel.

The problem in all these cases are the far-right treasonous scumbags, not the politicians trying to keep them from ruining our country.

The repubs will do, this time around, what Democrats didn't have the stomach to do and should have done....against the Democrats.

r39 I think he was just expressing distaste for Maher, not saying that we should ignore the threat the GOP and/or Trump pose.

We already had a coup. George W. Bush had fewer votes than Gore. The Republican Supreme Court stopped Florida from counting the votes that would have given Gore the presidency. America yawned and allowed the Bush administration and his enablers to perform one of the most radical political transformations in American history.

R21 People have declined to such lowbrow, crass, classless chimps. What happened? There is no decorum. Was it the gutting of the middle class? Is it the result of years with the internet at our fingertips? Why is it so so bad?

[quote]the gutting of the middle class

Pics please.

The best way to avoid Trump is to ensure he doesn’t SEE 2024. Physically.

I love how not one person even concedes the fact that it’s possible he could run and legitimately win. Yes he lost soundly in 2020 but still got 77M votes - and it ain’t going so well for Biden Harris so far. Just saying guys.

[quote]America yawned and allowed the Bush administration and his enablers to perform one of the most radical political transformations in American history.

America didn't yawn, there were protests and Bush had to be driven to the White House instead of doing the traditional walk after being sworn in, because they were afraid protesters would come after him, and I think they would have. People were outraged. Then Bush and his fascist pals stomped all over our rights and used their thugs to stop protests, cordon people off into "free speech zones," and the media happily helped them.

The anger didn't really die down until 9/11 though. To my mind, that's partly why people say they think it was an inside job, because overnight Bush went from being hated and made fun of and reviled to being a hero. 9/11 was the best thing to ever happen to him.

The Democrats need to become ruthless. Act like the Repigs to destroy Trumpism.

Heed these words from Steve Schmidt:

I like Bill when he speaks sense, but when he's wrong like when he was criticizing politicians for actually listening to their constituents, he's off the mark completely. And so he is here.

r53

R53. Bill Maher is right. You are wrong.

R54 - why don't you just unblock R53 rather than doing what you did here and what you do on other threads?

if the dems end the Filibuster (and manchin and sinema go along with dem party):

We need to pass Campaign Finance Reform, along with the Voting Rights Act.

Also, we need to jack up the taxes on the 1%. .

Our Democracy is in danger. The American People are in danger.

R56, he'd rather be annoying.

He has accused me of being "anti-Biden" multiple times. I've asked for evidence more than once, and he has failed every time.

(He has me on Ignore as well, lmao)

When the majority of Republicans believe the 2020 election was stolen, don't believe for a minute that because Trump isn't on the internet those fans of him won't support him. I still see homes with Trump signs on them still and even have seen a Trump 2024 sign.

The republicans are going to end the filibuster when they get into power again, and then we are FUCKED.

We have to do it and pass: Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Right Act, and jack up taxes. We should also strength SSA and pass universal health care.

One thing we should always remember. Bill Maher is not always right.

I basically believe this but Trump isn’t going to win the nomination , he’s gonna come back in the form of DeSantis, whose just like Trump but smart.

R61. Bill Maher is often right--and he's right this time.

R62. Don't be so naïve.

R63 what’s naive about that? I’m afraid it will rear it’s ugly head but in a different more palatable form. He’s more dangerous because he’s smart.

^^If Trump decides to run, he's not going to let anyone get ahead of him.

Still hoping for a. dead or b. in prison, but at this rate I'm not optimistic.

I think the problem isn’t Biden - it’s out expectations of politics in general. ALL of my liberal friends are mad the Biden didn’t start doing radical changes on day one (like packing the Supreme Court). THAT WAS NEVER JOE BIDEN! The man has been in DC for 50 years- he is very much the coalition building, bring people together president. He will never be the “I’m going to do what I want and to hell with all that”.

We now want our president to do what we want him to do and basically fuck over the other party- I don’t think people realize how dangerous that is as a country. That basically means that every 4 years you get someone who will go out of their way to screw over the other side, then in 4 years we elect someone who at most will spend 4 years undoing what their predecessor did and also passing legislation to make the other party miserable. We don’t move forward- we just watch a pendulum swing back and forth. It also means that true centerists are out, because in this model you need to speak to the fringes of each party and not the middle.

We now live in a world where facts aren’t that important, and the loudest voice with the best tag line wins.

Just pointing out once again, Hilary Clinton and Joe Biden received millions of votes greater than Trump. Millions.

Gave me chills and I couldn’t sleep last night but glad I watched.

R11 - “ The best way to avoid any of what Bill said is to change the channel or not watch Bill Maher altogether.”

R11 is the scum sucker himself; Donald J Trump.

Wow killer mike just got real on immigration. Interesting what happens when you frame as a black vs. Latin issue. All of a sudden progressive start to sound like Republicans. He also said what I’ve been thinking for awhile. Why aren’t skilled laborers being paid more?

Joe shouldn't have to go out of his way to fuck over the Repug and Trump and he won't. He plays fair. But he should fairly and squarely fuck the Repugs on every single bit of illegal treasonous shit they pulled. Every lie must be exposed and punished harshly.. Republicans are ruthless cheaters.

[quote]Just pointing out once again, Hilary Clinton and Joe Biden received millions of votes greater than Trump. Millions.

R68. Your statement has a giant hole in it. We live in a country where twice in 16 years, the candidate with the most votes lost the presidency: Al Gore and Hilary Clinton. The popular vote doesn't matter when it comes to Electoral College. Trump and the Repig are right now focusing on those states where they can manipulate and change the law granted to the secretary of state and the appointment of the Electoral College staff designated to cast the vote for presidential certification. Don't be so ignorant and careless by your statement and the limited power of the popular vote.

Dems need to get ruthless. It's the only way to obliterate Trump and Trumpism, which must be killed. The Dems need to act like the Repigs in order to win.

Fuck Biden is a gorilla campaign that is very much like “Hillary Clinton is a bi$&@“ campaign that preceded the larger operation against her. The curse word here is crucial because it only recruits and identifies those who will go that far. It separates the hardcore from the chaff.

LOL, Trump calling for McConnell's resignation.

"Evil spirits I have called. I can't drive away." or "you sleep with dogs ..."

The insanity of hope. Maher is right. it's gonna get real ugly. Come on Coronary thrombosis.

A lot of angst here over something Bill Maher said, when Bill Maher says what he needs to say to keep his job in the entertainment industry. He's never been a particularly savvy political consultant type. If he were, he'd have pointed this out decades ago, because the Republican "slow-moving coup" has been going on since Nixon ratfucked the 1968 elections.

One of the reasons we can't get any real meaningful change of this situation is because the media brings up each and every individual instance of corruption, treason and ratfucking as something new and separate from everything else. That's what's Bill is doing here.

He also buys into some of the ratfucking and has the ratfuckers on his show. He seemed to really enjoy the Roger Stone-led propaganda against Hillary Clinton, for example. He complains about Democrats in a way that always boils down to "why won't they act like Republicans?" which is ridiculous on its face.

It is essentially saying you want two Republican parties, one a little lighter than the other. And someone on DL REALLY wants us to listen to this shit.

r44, Florida's legislature was absolutely 100% OK with allowing the 2000 election to be "done over" (at least, for President), throwing out the original ballots (at least, for counting purposes... they obviously would have ended up in an archive or something forever as a historical record) and holding a new one. They made only one demand: that ANY Floridian who was registered to vote be allowed to participate, regardless of whether or not they'd voted on the first election day.

This put the Democrats, and specifically the Gore campaign, in a no-win situation. In 2000, Florida was OVERWHELMINGLY Republican, and literally everyone (including Gore) expected Bush to win Florida by a landslide. The ONLY reason the election ended up being as close as it was in Florida was because so many Republicans took a Bush landslide for granted & didn't bother to vote.

Had the election been "done over" in Florida, with participation limited to ONLY those who were confirmed to have actually voted the first time around, Gore might... or might not... have narrowly won Florida the second time around. However, if the election were "done over" and ALL registered Florida voters were allowed to vote (even if they hadn't the first time around), pretty close to 100% of Florida's Republicans would have turned out to vote, and Gore would have lost by a landslide (as predicted).

Gore was in a terrible position. If the Democrats got the Florida Supreme Court to order a repeat election open only to those who'd voted the first time around, Republicans would have NEVER accepted it as legitimate, would have screamed "stolen election" forever, and quite a few people would have agreed with them, because democracy isn't supposed to depend upon winning on narrow technicalities. If the Republicans had held a repeat election open to everyone, the Democrats would have never let anyone forget that Gore might have won the original election, and THEY would have howled about it being a stolen election.

The worst of all possible outcomes would have been a repeat election open to all Floridians where Gore lost by a landslide, followed by endless re-analysis of the original ballots from the first time around that suggested he might have actually WON after all the first time around. That would be the LITERAL definition of "clusterfuck", because then BOTH Republicans AND Democrats would have had completely legitimate cause to believe the election had been "stolen" by the other party.

That's also why Florida's Republicans DIDN'T re-do the election. They knew it was absolutely ESSENTIAL that any rules for a repeated election in Florida be unambiguously bipartisan and approved by the Bush and Gore campaigns, the Republican and Democratic Parties' leadership, AND a near-unanimous bipartisan vote in the Florida legislature. They also knew it would never, ever happen.

Eventually, Gore did the honorable thing and conceded. He himself thought the idea of limiting participation in a "do-over" election to only those who'd voted the first time around was wrong & unsportsmanlike. He knew that approximately half the country would NEVER accept the results of a "handicapped" do-over election as legitimate, and he didn't want to participate in setting a precedent for it.

The fact is, there WAS no strategy for a "do-over" election in Florida that would have passed everybody's "smell test" and sensibilities. If nothing else, 2000 made it abundantly clear to everyone how vitally important it is for states to "get it right" the first time, because there's NEVER going to be a second chance to do it over that everyone will regard as fair and legitimate.

(continued...)

(r79, continued...)

That said... Florida also learned its lesson after 2000. Historically, Florida election departments were EGREGIOUSLY under-funded. Frankly, they'd historically gotten away with it because prior to 2000, elections in Florida were almost NEVER close. Probably the closest ANY county got to being "purple" was Palm Beach County... and even then, it was pretty close to 60-40 Dem-Rep. Half the time, Florida counties didn't even have to BOTHER opening absentee ballots, because they didn't have a single race that was close enough for the absentee ballots to change the election-day result, even if it were assumed that 100% of them went to the next-highest loser.

That all changed in 2000. For the first time, every county in Florida HAD to count its absentee ballots... and most of them were absolutely unprepared for the manpower requirements of opening, validating, and counting them. Broward County was hit particularly hard... even back THEN, Broward was so OVERWHELMINGLY dominated by Democrats, Republicans either didn't bother to even run for most local offices, or ran without declaring their party affiliation in the hope they might be able to squeak by (AFAIK, the strategy never actually worked).

That's the major reason why counting the absentee ballots ended up being such a total clusterfuck in Broward County. The Elections Department literally didn't have the manpower to validate tens of thousands of absentee ballots, didn't have the financial resources (at first) to even try to quickly HIRE more to help, and quickly realized that even with cash dropped in its lap, it would be impossible to hire enough new employees quickly enough to finish the job in time (especially while trying to operate under a national microscope in a politically-charged atmosphere, with both parties objecting to literally EVERYTHING Broward tried to do to dig itself out).

It took the better part of 8-12 years for Florida counties to finally take elections seriously (especially the manpower requirements to process absentee ballots), but nowadays, Florida is probably in a better position than 60-80% of states to properly fund county election departments and pre-hire enough temporary manpower before election day to be ready to pick up the baton and run with it if/when necessary. But back in 2000, it was literally hopeless. It had nothing to do with mal intent, or even the competence of county election commissioners. They literally had no funding or manpower to handle a scenario that historically, had almost never actually mattered. Worst, WORST case, they might have had to sort out the ballots from voters in a city/county commission district or two, and count a few dozen or so until the amount remaining uncounted was less than the number it would take to change the result (at which point they could certify the result and stop counting).

The one thing Florida still does that's completely insane is put WAY too much faith in the initial on-site scan results. In other countries, everyone KNOWS the on-site initial scan is just a rough preliminary estimate with KNOWN 3-5% uncertainty (due mostly to user error) to feed catnip to the media and give an initial estimate of results, pending the final "real" count by election department employees, conducted under the supervision of both parties and observers, using scanners that are more precise than the ones at voting sites. Florida calls this a "machine recount", but most places just regard it AS the "real" count.

Incidentally, the reasons mentioned in r80 are why most Florida counties now have several weeks of "early voting" and encourage people to use it instead of voting by absentee ballot.

If you show up at an early-voting site 3 weeks before election day and "something is wrong", there's plenty of time to rectify it. They can validate your ID in person, and if something is wrong with your registration, they have time to fix it before Election Day.

In contrast, if you show up on Election Day to vote and there's a problem with your ID or registration, all they can do is have you cast a provisional ballot, and hope you follow up on it after the election to rectify any deficiencies so your ballot can be counted (and hope that they aren't swamped, and actually have TIME to properly follow up on it).

Likewise, absentee ballots are a ROYAL PAIN for election departments, starting with signature validation. Almost NOBODY'S signature actually looks enough like the card on file to pass muster from BOTH party representatives judging it, so that's problem #1. This, and their processing in general, is slow, labor-intensive, contentious, and HARD. Thus, the goal of Florida counties NOW is to reduce the NEED for absentee ballots by creating "early voting" as a halfway compromise... almost as easy to administer as precinct voting on election day, and ENORMOUSLY easier to administer than absentee ballots. By reducing the number of absentee ballots cast, the election department is less likely to find itself in over its head AFTER election day, with a mountain of absentee ballots and a zoo-like atmosphere to try and process them in.

Maher is accurate and the analogy to the two attacks on the World Trade Center is correct. The Repukes were thwarted in their attempts to steal the 2020 election for a variety of reasons. They weren’t about to repeat that mistake. That is why, in January, they immediately set about to change voting laws (1) to make it harder for Democratic voters to cast ballots, and, most importantly (2) to make it easier for Rethug legislators to change results to suit their needs.

The Rethugs are doing what they do best: thwart anything and everything that Biden and the Dems want, no matter how much their intransigence damages the country. They scream daily about how Biden is ruining the country, completely ignoring how absurd and illogical their assertions are. They have no real policies to remedy the many problems that we are facing. They only want to recapture both houses of Congress and the WH to set up a system to keep themselves in power without having to convince voters and win elections.

This has the real potential for being a five-alarm fire. We should treat it as such. But I’m afraid that we're going to ignore this — at our peril — until it is too late.

Read the Politico article to see how the disdain for tRump in the days after the January insurrection has morphed into acceptance of the Orange Monster. Read it an weep.

[quote]The Democrats cannot play nice.

With each other.

It will be so satisfying to watch the bloated, addled 78-yr. old- fatter, balder, poorer, oranger, crazier- belly up to the podium in 2024. Thinking he's going to win in a landslide.

All the octogenarian politicians are deluded, too (time to retire, great-grampaws). A slew of young Republicans would shred Trump's lies onstage.

By Nov. 2022 he'll be in so much legal trouble (possibly in prison) that no candidate will want him 'endorsing' them. That's if he hasn't fled the country.

One big difference between 2024 and January 6 is Trump WILL pardon the Trump Cult Members and tell them that in advance.. Think about that = HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of Magas---with guns--- storming DC with free Immunity...We are doomed...

Wasn't it recently reported that Dump and Bill O'Reilly were trying to do a tour in support of a book the former wrote, and it was a miserable failure? Nobody was turning up. I believe a large part of the tour was cancelled. But people still love Trump? Hmmm, I'll wait and see how a few of his rallies go. I don't think that many Repukes are behind him anymore. He destroyed so many people. lots of them being Republican legislators who had big aspirations. Does Paul Ryan ring a bell? I think Maher is being histrionic, but he's trying to keep us alert to what is going on.

It will be insane if we have to choose between Biden and Trump again in '24. Like yes, I will be voting for Biden, but I'm surprised the Democratic Party doesn't have anything better to offer. It's almost as if a clique of dinosaurs stifled the political careers of many bright and capable people in order to keep and consolidate power. And now we are missing a generation of leaders. Seriously half of the people in the dem primaries were either pushing eighty or pushing forty. It's wild.

Trump didn't destroy Paul Ryan. Ryan is young enough to sit out the "Trump Plague" and wait until the time is ripe to either reclaim the Republican Party from the Deplorables, or re-brand himself as a "conservative Democrat" with solidly anti-Trump credentials who's ready to help pull the Democrats rightward.

Today, Republicans can still (mostly) get away with tarring ALL Democrats as left-wing extremists, and call anyone saner than, and to the left of, MTG a RINO. Once the avalanche of "RINOs" to "DINOs" begins, it'll be harder and harder to maintain the lie. The moment a WHOLE BUNCH of Republicans switch sides in unison, the "big lie" will become enormously harder.

I almost think the BEST thing that could happen in 2022 would be for a bunch of foaming at the mouth Trumpian fascists to WIN the Republican Primary... if their Democratic opponent is someone like Mark Kelly -- someone who's not even slightly Woke or Progressive, but solidly down to earth & sane. Not necessarily as far right as Sinema... but someone who isn't the least bit ashamed to express "social" views solidly consistent with middle-class suburban big-city American norms.

The chief risk is, Progressive Democrats might just sit out and stay home for an election between an anti-Progressive centrist Democrat and a far-right Trumpian extremist. It's ok for Trumpians to win "Republican" seats, if and ONLY if Democrats end up with a majority.

Therein lies the rub. The only game-scenario likely to result in a Democratic majority is one that would be utterly CATASTROPHIC if the Democrats lose a seat or two, and the Republicans win a majority with lots of MTG-like crazies.

Well, R87, you have to be at least 35 to run for President, so pushing forty sounds about right.

R78. Bill Maher is right. You are misguided and wrong about 98 percent of what you said.

We are so beyond Term Limits. These old fools in the Senate reminisce about working with Reagan. Meanwhile they have no idea how the internet works and have no idea how to legislate it. Term Limits are why I do NOT want someone like Pete Buttigieg in the Senate. He will go there and stay for 35 years like they all do. Years ago Strom Thurmond was soiling his diaper on the Senate floor (while his staff would whisper in his ear how to vote). 87 years young Feinstein has Alzheimers (and everyone knows it). And STILL they dont get kicked out.

Yes, term limits for the House and Senate. Maybe 10 years in the House and two terms (a total of 12 years) in the Senate.

And the Supreme Court justices must retire at 70 years old...and that goes for all federal judges too.

There are several things I trust to be true:

- Maher is a Chicken Little blabber mouth who is obsessed with Liberal Woke Cancel Culture.

- All the Conservative Right Wing attracts is egomaniacs who self sabotage their own schemes.

- There are more Liberals all over the world than there are right wing conservative supporters acting against their own interests.

- The Trump administration couldn't save Trump and give him another term, because there are still people in power with some principles which do not align with Trump or the GQP.

- Liberals have to stay alert, but not despair. Look closely at Liberal candidates in the mid-term. Are they wolves in sheep clothing (another Sinema, Manchin)? Are there legit reports and records available about their donors or previous well established legislation votes ?

- Liberal Progressives and the Trans Community are not the enemy. That's just what idiots like Maher and the Russian troll farm bots want people to believe to get right wing conservatives off the hook.

- The more Right Wing Conservatives push for voter restrictions, the more minorities want their vote to count.

- Trolls and Right Wing Conservatives want us Liberals to lose hope and give up (just look at the trolls insist that Datalounge is lost and taken over by a big number of DLers who are racist, GQP, hate Trans, etc.).

Have you seen Trump lately? He's old, he is pro-vax which makes him suddenly unfashionable with his former base, and his five minites are over. Newspapers and talk show hosts fan the dead ashes in an attempt to still make money from the controversies around him. They didn't want Trump in office but they profited from him. My guess is that Maher is wrong this time. However, what is it with the Americans that they believe only members of one party can be in some company's or interest group's pocket? It's all a maze of lobbyism and PACs - there isn't such a thing as a politician who holds any office to just have his or her own opinion. Biden got elected because he's Biden, not so much because he is a Democrat. He looks trustworthy. From Kennedy to Reagan to Clinton to Trump,.. The USA seem to elect a president as if they were casting a TV show. The same can be said for governors. I remember people I know be enthusiastic about Cuomo, even gushing about how attractive he was. Americans seem to talk about their politicians as if they were movie casts. tl;dr: Maher is wrong. Mentioning "Trump" will get him views. It worked for DL.

There is no doubt someone else will try to succeed where Trump has failed (and he failed miserably in the end, did he not?). Liberals have to stay on top of things and yeah, maybe have to play dirty, or at least more aggressive, to do so. You don't betray your Liberal principles by punching and deleting some mouthy Deplorable or GQP politician. Cancel their asses and cancel Right Wing Media, and encourage others to do so as well. No more benefit of the doubt and reaching out and listen. Cancel them out of our lives.

I always find it interesting that Maher was pushing for "we pay the price for not listening to the Deplorables! That's why Trump was elected in 2016!" and yet goes "we must stop listening to Liberal Woke Progressives and their evil Cancel Culture!". Yeah, listen to what the other side has to say, but tell your own side to shut up.

[quote] After everything that happened in 2016, everyone in the country should be fully aware of the fact that we are being pummeled with propaganda all the time, via social media and traditional media.

I've lived a long time and it wasn't this polarized like it is today. The only time there was such division was the Vietnam War but there was no real threat of a coup. It didn't feel this dangerous. It's the misinformation from the mainstream media and social media. Fox News and the other Right Wing channels are allowed to plow misinformation and Right Wing propaganda.

That's why some of you Dems should cut your cable and your AT&T subscriptions. Fox News doesn't have enough advertisers but they're being paid by you if you have a Cable TV and they carry Fox News. AT&T supports OAN news channels. Fuck them. I've dropped AT&T. It's dark money and the billionaires that are stoking the unrest. It's very critical that we vote Blue down the line in 2022.

The State legislatures that are GQP controlled are the most dangerous and people need to vote the out. The crazies start at the bottom.

We need to unite the people against the oligarchy.

R56.

[quote]And now we are missing a generation of leaders.

I'm GenX and I say this in all seriousness: the few GenXers who went into politics were nearly all complete fucking lunatics. They can't lead. Beto and Booker seem to be the only ones who are traditional politicians, but they are SO traditional that they don't inspire any real excitement in voters.

I'm not sure the young Boomers are much better; Obama was a fine leader but others like Edwards and Cuomo weren't feasible. Kamala is just barely a Boomer (I think) and would be fine as president but she doesn't really appeal to a lot of people, unfortunately.

[quote]just look at the trolls insist that Datalounge is lost and taken over by a big number of DLers who are racist, GQP, hate Trans, etc.

I'm not a troll r93, I'm someone who saw how quiet it was when the karma system got reset and trolls and sockpuppet accounts couldn't post.

The difference is I don't think there's a big number of DLers who are rightwing trolls, I think it's one small group of KiwiFarms assholes, plus about three long-term trolls (D*vida, whoever it is that always trolls from a list of specific topics, and the rightwinger who has huge problems with punctuation and capitalization). They're augmented by a few lesser trolls here and there, but I firmly believe that the KiwiFarms folks and three posters have tons of sockpuppets.

This is picking nits I'm sure, but I don't think we're lost because of the trolls we have now. After the downtime that revealed how few real people were here, I realized DL was lost a very long time ago and we just didn't know it. It's being artificially held up by the sockpuppets and if they were ever truly taken care of, no one would be left.

The trolling doesn't bother me as much anymore, because the majority of the engagement the trolls get is from other trolls.

You all, including Bill Maher, are asleep at the wheel. 2024 will NOT be Trump. They're banging the drum hard for Trump now because they want you (and every Repub Trump hater and undecided) to be relieved when they roll out Ron DeSantis.

No one is going to be relieved that it's DeSantis, wtf? I mean, the media might try it, but no actual non-Repug person will be breathing a sigh of relief that it's DeSantis instead of Trump.

R102 = If not TRUMP it will be a TRUMPER CULT MEMBER. And you can believe Trump will not endorse unless Donny Jr or Ivanka are on the VEEP slot. There WILL be a Trump on the 2024 ticket without a doubt.

^Disagree. He's too polarizing. They need someone fresh. So do the dems (dear God, not Kamala).

Death DeSantis? Nobody wants whatever he does to Florida be done to the entire US. Us Liberals are fired up against any guy the GQP appoints as their candidate for 2024. 4 years of Trump made sure of that.

I've never bought the argument that so-called "identity politics" cost the Democrats moderate votes. I think the people who get their panties in a wad about that petty stuff would never in a million years vote Democrat. Maher is playing that game where he claims an issue he personally disagrees with will hurt the Democrats. If the Democrats win then he says something like "well they could have won by a bigger margin if they didn't support identity politics". Either case he looks like a wise old sage when he's really just full of shit.

"Fuck Biden is a gorilla campaign."

R75? The word you're looking for is "guerrilla."

I take it you're a Millennial?

Maher plays a similar game as Trump insisting that he was right all along. Just look at his comments about the Milo Y. situation. Bringing him on his show, trolling the Liberals, trolling Milo himself and then taking credit for giving Milo more exposure and then taking credit for Milo's downfall. Maher's ego is not that different from Trump's ego where he can't allow himself to be wrong, it's always someone else's fault while taking credit for the sun to go up in the morning.

You girls have been ignoring Tom Cotton. Trumper, but not too hardcore. Raising tons of cash. He is also quite "fabulous" and used to be a "bachelor", but like Matt G he found a wife. ........Also yesterday a Trump Cult Member told MSNBC at the Trump Rally that she sees a Civil War coming...

R108 I'm a Millennial and I would never make that spelling mistake. Idiotic boomers are a dime a dozen on DL. Please eat shit and die.

Girls, girls, R75 is obviously our beloved long-time poster Marshall Law!

[quote]I've never bought the argument that so-called "identity politics" cost the Democrats moderate votes.

It was pretty much confirmed that 'defund the police' cost democrats seats in 2020.

Voting-wise, Liberal voters outnumber "moderate conservative" (aka Deplorable) votes which is clearly shown by who wins the popular vote. For ages, that has been the Democratic candidate. That's why Republicans hold on to the electoral college vote and gerrymander the shit out of state districts. But the media doesn't dare to point that out for some reason, and always goes with how much public support the GOP has.

Liberals have to keep pushing against the GOP and take the Democratic Party to task to do their part to render the Republican Party powerless until it folds.

[quote] It was pretty much confirmed that 'defund the police' cost democrats seats in 2020.

That's a media narrative where the Right Wing was declared the winner. If you fell for that, you are no better than a regular FOX News viewer.

Moron @R115 👇👇👇

r116, my bad. You're just a common FOX News viewer desperately trying to validate your right wing views of how Liberals should be (more right wing).

Are you still trying to make sense R117, or should I just blocked you?

[quote]I don't know who will run on the republican ticket in 2024, but I do not believe it will be Trump. I believe by then Trump will be either so mentally demented he'll be under the care of 24/7 nurses, or he'll be dead.

R29, unfortunately Trump has good genetics. His parents both lived long lives.

As has been pointed out, state within state, majority Repugs have set-up legal cheating - allowing elections commissioners to suspend voting results, re-distracting voting districts, ie. "Fair Maps", and, of course, the tried and true tactics of voter suppression.

What r48 said, except their use of the word "legitimately". I also agree with r48 that Trump could win in 2024.

Life & Death ain't fair. I was related to, or have known so many good, decent people who died either of sudden health issues or in accidental deaths and yet that lower than the Mariana Trench Piece of Shit Trump endures.

I'm convinced that those who most would like to see Trump dead are his wife and family AND the would-be Repugs who want to be the nominee for POTUS in 2024.

But Trump and his pitch and tiki fork & torch carrying villagers, with their hot tar and chicken feathers, are still storming the Repug castle.

And yes, us Dems have our own internal problems.

I think, by now, it's obvious that the cornily phrased "American Experiment" has a result, and finding : it's too fragile to bear the weight of the ingrained bigotry, ignorance, fear of its people, but, it works jus' fine for Capitalism and the few wealthy, but not for those who are poor and obcure.

We're a Plutocracy, plain and simple. I'm enjoying life right now despite my fears for this country, but I'm glad, that barring sudden fatal illness or accident, I've only got a few more decades.

Turn the oven to OFF. America is done.

I think Trump will in 24.

*win

If Trump wins in 2024, then he is THE Anti-Christ. For real.

Bill Maher knowing how insane the left should be should be very wary of Democratic one party rule. For fucks sake, let states govern themselves. The left has spent several years now agitating for a race war and ended up pitting one marginalized group against another, they are just as guilty for perpetuating a culture war that the vast majority of working and middle class Americans couldn't give even less of a shit about given that maybe 10% of Americans fall into either extremist camp. You can't shove single party rule onto a population of 350 million people. Get over yourselves and stop being played for a fool by people like Maher who offers another astonishingly dumb take.

I don't know who or what R56 is but I've got it on ignore too, Cinesnatch, and it's tried the same accusations on me.

[quote] The left has spent several years now agitating for a race war and ended up pitting one marginalized group against another, they are just as guilty for perpetuating a culture war that the vast majority of working and middle class Americans couldn't give even less of a shit about given that maybe 10% of Americans fall into either extremist camp.

When you benefit from the status quo, you don't have to give a "shit about" anything, except to react when you perceive your position is threatened; a position that has benefitted from the ingrained racism and bigotry of this country.

Fuck-off Troll. "agitating for a race war", my ass, as though asking that an interaction with a police officer not end in your death is "agitating".

R126 Given that the only people who benefit from that type of division are the wealthy and elite, your point is pretty much moot. Even that sad sack author got eaten alive by Killer Mike on Bill's show. These people become rich and famous by giving these extremists a platform and never have to deal with the consequences.

Killer Mike said it best. It won't just be the MAGA types saying "Fuck You Biden". And unless you're rich or well connected you'll be eaten alive too.

"Defund the Police" was a badly named theme that went down like a lead balloon among Independents & centrist Republicans. A better & more effective theme would have been, "End Police BRUTALJTY", with less emphasis on black victims, and more emphasis on white victims (esp. kids, women, and the elderly). Not because police brutality against black victims is acceptable, but because "you or your loved ones could be the police's NEXT victims" will scare white centrist voters far more effectively.

Trans individuals shouldn't be shat upon or persecuted, but frankly, making trans rights a centerpiece issue just alienates most voters... in BOTH parties. It took more than a thousand years for the post Roman Empire public to decide private gay sex shouldn't be a criminal act, and 30-50 to go from gay depictions in media to go from 'taboo' to 'neutered' to 'titillating' to mundane. Today's trans activists ARE going too far, and hurting the Democratic Party's ability to win majorities.

Let Democrats tone down the TransTransTrans rhetoric, and for now quietly push for third+ bathrooms available for use by ANYONE who's uncomfortable using shared public restrooms... even if it's for reasons that have nothing to do with gender, and everything to do with wanting a private room with a real door to shit in.

The best way to help the trans NOW is to quietly cloak laws that help them within laws that benefit non-trans voters, too.

For a good historical analogy, consider captioning of TV shows. Back when "only" deaf people used captions & seeing them required a $250 box, the only shows that GOT captioned were on PBS. Once captions became (by law) a latent capability of all new TVs, places like bars, gyms, and airports started using them too, and now almost ALL shows are captioned. Make single-person gender-free restrooms available, and eventually so many NON-trans people will use them, they'll become the norm.

The point is, social change happens slowly, and attempting to push "too hard, too soon" often just creates an even bigger backlash. The Democrats shouldn't SHIT on Trans people, but making it a "top-5" rallying point won't sell Democrats to the mainstream voters the Party needs in order to win seats & majorities.

Didn't Dump just have a rally for his suckered? No thread on it?

[quote] Today's trans activists ARE going too far, and hurting the Democratic Party's ability to win majorities.

It’s funny but Dave Chapelle brought up that subject in his new special and the trans activists want Netflix to take his special off the air. There’s opinion pieces in Buzzfeed and other MSM calling threatening Netflix but it’s still there in the Top 10. Chapelle is right to call them out because their tactics have gone too far. He also admitted that he also brings it up because he’s “jealous.” Black people are still struggling while they’ve made advances.

Congress has to pass those voting right laws before 2022 because the court system is failing us. The GQP was playing the long game by installing those Ultra-conservative judges.

I am more afraid of the Chinese than a coup.

Why?

r133=troll, r134.

I am more afraid of a weaponized DOJ, Google handing over our personal information for alleged thought crimes, and US/Chinese corruption than I am of hundreds of unarmed hilbillies that are supposedly worse than 9/11. 🙄. That the majority of rational Americans can allow themselves to be manipulated by this garbage is beyond me.

No, not a troll just because I don't share your fears. I was listening to something on NPR the other day about Chinese theft of all - ALL - major intellectual property rights actually in use in China. Bill Maher's conspiracy theories are more tin-foil hattish.

R137 Don't forget the potential for cyberwarfare or their willingness to engage in biological warfare.

I watched Maher's show. The elite reacted like rabid dogs when called out on their retarded immigration policies, stoking race wars in an effort to manipulate the population. Well, as it turns out, progressives used to be pro labor and pro working class. Some still are. Killer Mike explained how illegal immigration hurts working class blacks just as much as whites. Costa shriveled up like the useless tool of the establishment he really is. That should be the main takeaway from Maher's show, not this coup nonsense. We are losing our rights and privacy every day and no one says a fucking thing.

Shit… I’m already scared enough.

Oh dear R135! Does that mean R139 is a troll too? Because everyone who doesn't quake on command at your fears must be a troll, right?

r125

Just keep quaking in fear over the Chinese, r141.

bUT wHAT aBOUT tHE cHICOMS??S?S?S?S

I mean, fucking hell. The trolls are beyond obvious at this point.

"Let Democrats tone down the TransTransTrans rhetoric"

Has nothing to do with Democrats. It's FOX News and Russia.

R144 You're the one being trolled. You're talking about an eventual coup while paying no mind to the slow moving coup happening in real time under the Biden administration. We're seeing an unprecedented assault on civil rights and free speech.

I hate my party trying to silence and de platform people. Really off-putting and kinda oh I don’t know shades of fascism? Talk about over reach.

^directed to R131

[quote]As has been pointed out, state within state, majority Repugs have set-up legal cheating - allowing elections commissioners to suspend voting results, re-distracting voting districts, ie. "Fair Maps", and, of course, the tried and true tactics of voter suppression.

Trump and Repigs are laying the foundation to steal the election by installing cronies in state election offices and changing the rules for secretaries of state. Pay attention people despite Biden getting more votes in 2020. This is all about the Repigs stealing the election at the Electoral College level. Our democracy is in grave peril. Believe it. This is not hyperbole. We are in danger. Bill Maher is right. This is not about theatrics. This is real danger.

R139, R147 must be an anti-Vaxxer, anti-Masker.

r91 & r92, before you get TOO eager to embrace term limits, consider for a moment that the Republicans who are the most likely to break ranks with their party and stand up for what's right are PRECISELY the ones who've been in office "forever". The Republican Party's angriest firebrands are the ones who've surfed a wave of make-believe outrage and anger into office within the past 4 years. They're also the ones who feel the most vulnerable to pressure from "more powerful" officials (like Trump was), and who have the least to lose if it all goes to hell.

The ones who've been in office "forever" are mostly at a point in their lives where they DON'T feel particularly pressured or vulnerable to ANYONE, Democrat OR Republican. Most of them are life-long Republicans, and more than a few have socially interacted with at least one member of the Bush family... probably, on multiple occasions. They grew up in a more genteel Party that liked to win, but knew an occasional loss to the Democrats was bound to happen occasionally, and a healthy part of American democracy that kept both parties honest. More importantly, they knew, and still know, a lot of Democrats. They might vehemently disagree with Bernie Sanders and think he's nuts, but they don't think he's EVIL. They might seriously dislike AOC... but if you got them drunk, they'd probably admit they dislike Donald Trump and his minions (like MTG) even MORE.

If you REALLY want to Make a Difference™ and prevent a slow-motion coup, it honestly might make more strategic sense in many Republican-dominated states to quietly support the incumbent Republican officials (ensuring they win their primary election) than to shake the metaphorical hornet's nest in a hopeless attempt to elect a Democrat that ultimately just results in the incumbent Republican's Primary loss to a loyal Trump ally ready to "do his/her part" to get the Don elected in 2024.

[quote] They might vehemently disagree with Bernie Sanders and think he's nuts, but they don't think he's EVIL. They might seriously dislike AOC... but if you got them drunk, they'd probably admit they dislike Donald Trump and his minions (like MTG) even MORE.

You don't have to think someone is evil if you disagree with them. You could think they're just dumb or ignorant. It's apparent AOC is stupid whenever she opens her mouth, but I won't wish death on her. MTG is pretty stupid also but she'll get something right once in a while.

The old school Republicans you speak of are what got us in this mess in the first place. There is no going back to that. They form alliances with Democrats for purely personal or financial reasons. They certainly don't care about their constituents.

Some old school Republicans are principled in a way that they recognize that corporate Democrats are allied with the political and military establishment in a way that they were not during the Bush era.

R151, the old school Rethugs were worthless during the tRump years and they still are. Yeah, Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney made no secret of their disdain for Cheatolini. Nice. Thanks. But none of them — not a single one of them — stood up or stopped him from doing one damn thing. Sure, some of them, like Langford from Oklahoma, belatedly discovered what passed for a conscience and a bit of a backbone for a few hours on the night of January 6. That resolve has dissipated like salt in water. They are right back to their toady ways of kowtowing to tRump.

[quote]It will be insane if we have to choose between Biden and Trump again in '24. Like yes, I will be voting for Biden, but I'm surprised the Democratic Party doesn't have anything better to offer. It's almost as if a clique of dinosaurs stifled the political careers of many bright and capable people in order to keep and consolidate power. And now we are missing a generation of leaders. Seriously half of the people in the dem primaries were either pushing eighty or pushing forty. It's wild.

2020 should have been about the future of the democratic party. About boosting up a coalition of younger, viable candidates and a rock solid one, two punch of a President/Vice President that could usher in a new generation of democrats.

Instead, everybody was simply concerned about getting Trump out of office. And Biden was the only candidate deemed fit for it. Many weren't looking at the bigger picture. As usual.

Politics is all about strategy.

We're in for a rough ride come 2024. At this point, you pretty much have to hope against hope that Biden can not only run again but fulfill another term. Kamala is performing badly. And if the democratic party even thinks of trying to have other nominees run alongside her, the media (and Harris supporters particularly) will destroy the democratic party for it.

Some have suggested that Biden might put Harris on the Supreme Court, which I do think would be a much better position for her, thus clearing the way for someone else entirely to run for President.

R93, I'm very familiar with the Electoral College, I'm not an idiot. All I said was the truth, many millions more voted for Clinton and Biden than Trump. The Electoral college needs to be abolished, along with the filibuster. And the Supreme Court needs term limits.

If I got the chance, I would put Obama on the Supreme Court. It's a perfect job for him, and I think he would grab it.

[quote]before you get TOO eager to embrace term limits, consider for a moment that the Republicans who are the most likely to break ranks with their party and stand up for what's right are PRECISELY the ones who've been in office "forever".

R151. None of the old fucks did anything about Trump. None of them. Even Adam Kinzinger gave an interview in Oct 2020 saying he was supporting Trump for president in Nov. It took the insurrection on Jan 6 for exactly two--Kinzinger and Liz Cheney--to finally turn against Trump. Cheney also voted for Trump.

Just last night at latest motherfucking Trump rally in Iowa, 87-year old Repig Sen. Chuck Grassley was on stage kissing Trumps ass and shaking his hand proclaiming that Trump was the greatest thing ever.

I understand your logic is saying what you did, but it's just not true.

R157 = There will never be another DEMOCRATIC APPOINTEE on the Supreme Court. It is not allowed anymore. Mitch already said so...

I don't know. Get rid of the filibuster, legislate term limits retroactively on the Supreme Court, and replace Clarence Thomas with Obama, pronto.

There's no need to abolish the filibuster... but exercising and using it needs to require actual, physical sacrifice and HURT. We need to go back to the days when filibustering meant putting on a diaper (no bathroom breaks allowed), physically standing at the podium, and reading aloud from a book to a quorum of your peers until you dropped from sheer exhaustion... and then, the next member of your party took over... with everyone knowing that at most, your little stunt would just delay action by at most ~49 days.

None of the pussy-ass "virtual filibustering" they're allowed to get away with now. Filibustering has to *hurt*.

Nominating Kamela to the Supreme Court to clear the way for a new VP isn't a bad idea, but whom could Biden actually pick to replace her with?

Total lack of political experience aside, Scott Kelly (former astronaut, and identical twin brother of Sen. Mark Kelly) would be almost ideal. Like his twin bro, there's nothing woke or radical about him... just solid, non-controversial and non-Republican sanity. Ufortunately... he IS literally a political virgin, and Trump would probably eat him alive during the campaign.

Miracle of miracles, if Trump managed to go completely nuts, and pissed off Dan Crenshaw badly enough to make him loudly storm away from the GOP & become an official Democrat within the next ~9 months, he'd be ideal.

Ok, sure, the Progressives would hate him, but Joe appointing him as VP within days of him joining the Democratic Party would be like Joe hammering an ice pick into the GOP. Dan would tear Trump apart, and would probably spur at least a half-dozen high-profile defections to the Democratic Party within days of becoming the new VP. It would signal to centrist Republicans, "the Democratic Party is now open for business".

A defection by Romney/Cheney/Murkowski/Collins would be unsurprising. A defection by Crenshaw would be SEISMIC, shocking, and tear the GOP apart.

Yeah, it won't happen... but Jesus, what a meltdown it would cause....

Actually, Joe making Crenshaw VP after his defection to the Democratic Party would be like staking a vampire in "True Blood". The GOP would literally burst into a pool of blood and goo.

Trump would double down, "declare war" against any "traitor" (to him), and attempt a purge that would completely eviscerate the GOP as every remaining sane centrist ran for the door as Trump demanded proof of their unwavering loyalty.

Mitch would be mortally wounded... he'll never bend his knee to Trump, but going forward, he'd be fighting Trump as often as he fought the Democrats, and his tenure as minority leader would be in serious jeopardy. God forbid, even HE might end up as a powerless, unloved "independent" -- unwilling to caucus with the Democrats, yet shunned & unwelcome in the Grand Trump Party despite voting 100% with it anyway.

R162 = LINK = 20 most MAGA Politicians. Crenshaw is on it. You must be really bored writing Political Porn ---and you are not even good at it. CRENSHAW flipping to DEM? Why would we even want him? Beyond stupid.

I'm not sure why someone keeps pointing out that Clinton and Biden got millions more votes. It's technically true in the same way Democrats got 10 million more votes for U.S. senate and that gives them a 50-50 majority.

Clinton lost by 80,000 votes. Biden won by under 100,000 votes.

Trump won't destroy the Democratic party. The Democrats are doing a perfectly good job of it themselves. Trump was a different type of Republican. Biden was more of the same. It's clear that many Americans don't like either one of them. However, one thing is for sure. After Biden's term is done, the Democrats will be done and will only exist in name only.

When Republicans are in power again, they are going to end the filibuster, and then we are FUCKED.

Can't we just kill Mitch McConnell? wouldn't that solve a lot of problems?

Honestly even if trump doesn't win 2024 this shit country has shown they want fascist leaders. I fear an even bigger piece if shit politician will become pres.

Probably about 12 years ago I saw a political pundit say the gridlock (THEN) would be fixed over time because so many old timers were holding office and time was not on their side, but the voters side. And at the time I believed it. Now I realize he was incredibly stupid. Because there is always a fresh crop of OLD IDIOTS to take the retirees place. Also nobody could have predicted the rise of the TRUMP CULT. I really think social media has destroyed the fabric of society. Not yesterday. Not today. But when people look back decades from now they will see social media destroyed us as a society. Not just politics but climate change = It used to snow in October. Tomorrow it will be 85 degrees in Ohio.

Alot of rumps base will be killed off by covid in 3 years anyway.

^^Not enough...but let's hope so.

[quote]Also yesterday a Trump Cult Member told MSNBC at the Trump Rally that she sees a Civil War coming...

R150 Nope! I am not. I am triple-vaxxed and wear a mask everywhere. Do you understand nuance? Do you understand what you mentioned is not exclusive to what I said in my comment? Are YOU dumb? You sound like you might be. Blanket thinking is indicative of low intelligence.

R144 You're too dumb to make an intellectual argument, so you throw ad hominems instead. Bitch, if you want to accessorize with a tin foil hat, go right ahead (you're an ugly slag anyway so nobody is going to stop you). It doesn't mean that we're going to follow your latest fashion or that anyone who isn't as stupid as you is a troll. Reasonable people have global concerns greater than the bleating of Bill Maher.

Bill Maher confuses me. He also spoke out against the cost of the infrastructure bill, citing labor and supply shortages. He said that if you ask for too much, you'll end up getting nothing at all. But in the end, he's too constrained by ideological thinking and is subject to that tribal bias Pinker was talking about. Or else he just knows where his bread is buttered.

[quote]There will never be another DEMOCRATIC APPOINTEE on the Supreme Court. It is not allowed anymore. Mitch already said so...

That's true and the dems allowed it. The weak ass dems have ever had any fucking kind of supreme court strategy, while the republicans have had a SC strategy for the past 40 years

I didn't help that Obama couldn't be bothered to sue Mcconnell. Or should I say, "Have his white house lawyers sue Mcconnell" when he refused to allow him a SC pick

Obama was like, "Roe v Wade? who cares?"

And lets not forget that pussy Obama reaching across the aisle and appointing repugs into cabinet positions. Like James Comey

Old dementia joe repeated the same exact thing and kept trump's head of the FBI

God Damn, if the dems were any stupider, they'd be legally retarded

[quote]Trump can be defeated, but we must VOTE in even greater numbers than 2020. It's not going to be easy

That's the stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard

Used car salesmen must love you

What is so stupid about that, R178? We are fortunate that Biden won by a large margin. Can you imagine if the race was very close? Trump and the Rethugs would be 10 times worse in promoting the False Lie.

What's the motive of those posters that keep bashing democrats? I seriously wonder.

Republicans won't help improve America's physical infrastructure, but their own coup infrastructure is progressing nicely. From Michigan:

The most terrifying part of all of this is what the Republicans are doing in PA, AZ, GA, and MI to push out anyone who doesn't support Trump. This leaves Dems in a shitty position to hang on to the white house because these states are now like Wisconsin--totally activated politically, evenly split, and likely to be providing razor thin margins for the foreseeable future. Dems don't really have an answer.

The Democratic party saw this coming. They put hundreds of millions into flipping some legislatures and it failed due to the surprise Trump vote in addition to the Republican Biden voters who then voted R down the the rest of the ticket.

[quote] This leaves Dems in a shitty position to hang on to the white house because these states are now like Wisconsin--totally activated politically, evenly split, and likely to be providing razor thin margins for the foreseeable future. Dems don't really have an answer.

They could, I don't know, maybe govern in a way that's popular with moderates, form coalitions with those outside of their party, and actually compromise. Perhaps if they did that, we wouldn't have to worry about either side trying to seize power by any means necessary. This whole scorched earth campaign by the Democrats will backfire on them. It doesn't make sense given the fact that we've progressed so much socially just within the last two decades.

[quote] I didn't help that Obama couldn't be bothered to sue Mcconnell. Or should I say, "Have his white house lawyers sue Mcconnell" when he refused to allow him a SC pick

🙄 Exactly how was that going to work? Please enlighten us as to precisely what cognizable claim that Obama had that he could have pursued in a US court against McConnell? There is no requirement or obligation on the part of the Senate to ever move any legislation or nomination through. None. So, the suggested specious lawsuit would have been tossed out of court immediately.

Such utter nonsense once again. I suspect that you are the same person who made the wholly erroneous and completely false claim a few weeks ago that Obama “couldn’t be bothered to get judges confirmed.” Which was a lie.

"maybe govern in a way that's popular with moderates, form coalitions with those outside of their party, and actually compromise. Perhaps if they did that, we wouldn't have to worry about either side trying to seize power by any means necessary."

I have no choice but to believe you're a very well intentioned, reasonable person who has not paid much attention to the political shift of the last 10-20 years, now thrown into Trump inspired hyperdrive. He is literally purging the party of anyone who doesn't support him and his bullshit claims. And we will all be subject to the outcome of that, regardless of if Trump runs or not. Thinking mainly of what is likely to happen in GOP primary in GA in 2022.

R185 The problem is that Democrats opposed everything Trump did even when he started promoting vaccines, stood up to the military establishment, spoke to how our immigration system is broken (which progressives used to agree on), and more. Meanwhile, the left has imposed state travel bans, federal states, and are pushing to abolish the electoral college and other constitutional protections against states rights. I'm not talking about all the woke nonsense, although that stuff ends up rearing its ugly head in public school curriculums. Progress doesn't happen overnight. We've made remarkable gains in the last 20 years. Conservatives are much more tolerant than they were back then. However, if you listen to the news, you would think we were living in the worst period of American history when that isn't the case at all. Worse, this type of hyperbole tends to distract people from actual corruption occurring behind the scenes by political leaders of both parties.

^federal mandates

[quote] Bill Maher is right. You are wrong.

Oh shut the fuck up. Maher is an ass and so are you.

R188. Ignore Bill's warning at the country's peril. He's right. You're an idiot.

It's very difficult to combat, disable and remove the mafia. GQP doesn't play by the rules, they use any dirty trick possible to cling to the power an increasingly democratic demographic is taking away from them. The GQP operates like cornered rats,

[quote] Ignore Bill's warning at the country's peril. He's right. You're an idiot.

Maher is an asshole who has been wrong many, many times. If you believe everything he says then that makes you a moron.

R191 = Being an asshole doesn't make you wrong. Wait until the Republican Brigade returns in 2024..You think they are going to "allow" trans and gays in the Military?...You think RICH people are having shortages in THEIR supermarkets? You better wake up before the GOP decides they like the idea of "relocation" camps. You think Canada is going to let every American seeking asylum in? Jews actually escaped from Auschwitz and would run to warn other Jews who thought they were crazy. Wake Up my friend. We do not know how bad things could turn out in 2025. They have stolen votes even before Election Day. You do not know how far they will go to stay in power forever....WAKE UP....Bill Maher didn't just say it--he explained exactly how it is happening. Was 8 minutes too long for you bother watching?

R192, you need to take your medication. NOW.

If America ever gets SO bad people LITERALLY feel compelled to flee to Canada, Canada won't be a safe haven anyway. America's new fascist government will invade Canada at the slightest provocation or hint of resistance... and its first priority will be rounding up all the "traitors" who fled there in the first place.

It's a grave mistake to think a fascist, intolerable America would somehow be weak or less-capable of projecting force abroad. If anything, it would go into overdrive, and start beating up its neighbors just to scare the rest into submission. Canada isn't defenseless, but it's not suicidal, either.

Canada's size would make it a really hard country to INVADE and control by direct brute force... but the fact that 97% of Canadians live in 5 or 6 cities also means it would be fairly easy to bomb into de-facto submission... creating a situation where the US wouldn't necessarily exercise effective control over every inch of Canadian territory, but it wouldn't really MATTER, because the only Canadians left would be reduced to a medieval lifestyle.

R194 = Are you STUPID enough to think my post--- R192---was about Canada and not the GOP? You really are an idiot. You are probably one of those "Gays for Trumpers"...

Wow this thread turned crazy real fast. It's not just people like AOC and Omar who are calling for a defenseless Israel, it's people like John Oliver and others in the mainstream. Speaking of which, Oliver just did a segment on the state of disinformation (I watched it with a bucket nearby) which just blows my mind. We are at a point in history where we have immediate access to all knowledge from the beginning of time at our fingertips. We're at a point in time when the country is becoming more secular. America has successfully assimilated cultures from all around the world. The media doesn't want to admit being culpable for the fact that less than 40% trust the media. THAT's the real reason why we have disinformation campaigns. It's because the people we normally trust as being the experts lie to us daily and when they get caught, admit to doing it for our own good.

Go look at ANY Maga Trumper running for office. Go look at their commercials. LINK.....The LEFT "are crushing the American Dream".....and "replacing it with a nightmare"....And this is one of his more normal commercials....This clown has a Zuckerberg Leftist Commercial that isn't on YT so it must have been banned..

According to Brian Williams tonight, Bill Maher really set the Internet abuzz with that closer on Friday night's show.

Of course he'd mention it. Fear porn is good for ratings.

After having watched [italic]Years and Years,[/italic] I could totally see something like the Erstwhile camps happening here.

I have never given Maher the privilege of my time, but his prediction is a realistic scope into the coming years ahead. As a progressive thinker all around - I think it’s time this country falls the hell apart. Our money is printed out of thin air, our political system fully corrupted beyond repair. Let this dumpster catch on fire.

We will all survive through it, even if it will take a decade for us to get out of it. We need a new government starting from page one. Nothing wrong with our armed forces or a good deal of the executive branches though. We need a new judicial system, a news secure election platform without political bias. The only way to make this country worth a shiz again, is to make its government completely boring and functional. This soap opera ‘Washington, DC’ will end someday, I promise you all.

R201 = But your scenario does not take into account the SUFFERING the middle class and poor will deal with. The persecution of LGBTQ. The arrests of Left Wing Officials who were elected. Does PUTIN look like his reign is going to end?...Trump 2024 will mold himself into Putin or Kim Jung.....Neither of those things are good.

r191 Opinions about Maher are irrelevant. I don't even think you need to be a Democrat or Republican to agree with most of what's included in there, as long as you're paying attention to politics.

Maher's team put together the best assembly of political movements (specifically inside the Republican party) that have happened in 2021 and then makes an argument what it is leading to. There aren't too many opinions included. That's what makes it so terrifying.

I think many of us agreed with Maher that Trump was going to pull every trick in the book not to leave office. Since leaving, I think many of us were comforted by the idea that there was a good chance Trump would be too sick, too tired, too bankrupt/indicted/etc. That's not the case now. Trump is back working his magic in very specific ways and Maher suggests what its leading to in 2022 and 2024.

There's almost nothing in there to disagree with because most of the things he discusses are happening. It's just a question of how all of these issues (Which democrats have been watching and are aware of but powerless to stop) will play out when its time to cast votes in 2024.

The thing that Maher doesn't say is that even if Trump isn't the candidate, the groundwork is still there. A situation similar to 2020 will throw the election to the House of Representatives which will 100% have a Republican majority in individual states.

And unlike in 2000, where the vote was so insanely close that the system has trouble dealing with it due to accuracy issues, the "close elections" of 2020 were not all that close. they were close in terms of public relations. Most people don't know the difference in accuracy between a 100 vote margin and a 10,000 vote margin. They both sound close.

Anyway Maher may or may not be correct about 2022 and 2024 but everything else is accurate in terms of what Republicans are up to right now to be certain if 2020 occurs again, they can pull out a win.

I cannot imagine Trump will be sworn in on January 20, 2025 and not have Democrats in the Senate and House arrested for "election crimes" on January 26..That is the next level. January 6 will be a picnic compared to Trumps Next Act. The problem with Man Baby Trump is he thinks stealing the Election is a justification of his behavior. Remember--this is the idiot who said he wanted THREE terms.. You think he doesn't mean it? Do not forget the Evangelicals are all for Trump---just like the Vatican supported Hitler...

r186 raised a good point. Back in 2016, the Democrats had a brief window of opportunity to hijack most of Trump's campaign agenda with some well-placed good cop/bad cop psychological warfare against Trump's own narcissistic ego, and instead chose to go nuts and burn it all over... what? Sexual harassment witch hunts?

The Democratic Party's leaders seriously need to be reminded that politics is the art of getting people to do the right thing for the wrong reasons. And that includes playing a malignant narcissist like Trump like a piano, just like Putin did.

[quote]Trump is back working his magic in very specific ways

He's not. At least, he's not doing that yet. He doesn't have social media anymore. The regular media's fawning over him has diminished and people on all sides of the political equation are done with the media's pandering to whatever position they think will earn them the most money. (That includes being done with Maher, too, by the way.) Many in Trump's orbit are convicted, indicted, on trial, or under investigation. Most of the people who supported him in the administration have disappeared, sold out and written "tell alls," are apologizing to try to gain some reputation back, or laying low in hopes of avoiding a subpoena.

Trump now has several political albatrosses around his neck: acting weak and like a lunatic when he had COVID, the failed coup attempt, the Trump Org on the verge of heading to court for tax charges, promoting vaccines when his Q loon supporters think it's a conspiracy, two impeachments, and almost no elected officials left on his side except Matt "10 attendees at my fundraiser" Gaitz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who even Lin Wood can't stand anymore.

He's hitting small-town state fairgrounds and suing his niece, and that's about all he's making the news for these days.

He could build back momentum, absolutely, and it would be a mistake to count him out, but this slow-moving coup is not about Trump anymore. It's a REPUBLICAN coup attempt, not a Trump coup attempt.

Re: what I said about how most of Trump's admin are indicted, trying to save face or laying low, I do want to mention that not hearing much about Pompeo right now is a BIG red flag, as far as I'm concerned.

He's a Koch Bros. plant, groomed from the beginning to infiltrate the government for their personal goals, who got into a much higher position far more quickly than they expected. He's paid off in a big way for them, and he's laying low right now to try to outlast the stench of Trump. He's not going anywhere and people need to keep an eye on him. He's corrupt, stupid, greedy and dangerous.

Emperor Trump will reinstate his social media in January 2025. No matter what any judge says between now and then. Quite frankly I wouldn't be surprised if Trump declares Zuck an "enemy" and has him arrested with Liz Cheney and Stormy Daniels and Hillary and every other enemy Trump claims to have. Arrests are going to be big in Trumps next term. And you can believe Trump will not appoint anyone who isn't a Trump Cult Member to run the Justice Department. Wait and See---Lock her Up won't be a slogan--it is going to be Trumps PROMISE to his cult and they are going to eat it up like catnip.

r207, speaking of would-be Repug nominees to be POTUS, I'm convinced Tom Cotton of wants to be the nominee.

Cotton versus Pompeo. That'll be a hair-pulling, drag-down, roll on the floor, rumble.

R208 - can you post the article? I can’t read it.

R185, R183 represents the POV of at least 1 more person other than himself.

R192, I don't know where you live, but in the spring of 2020 even Whole Foods and the Social Safeway (in Georgetown - I live in Washington DC) ran out of toilet paper. The "rich people's supermarkets" are still just supermarkets, there's no secret handshake to open the doors.

And Jesus R194 - bombing 5 or 6 cities in Canada?! Your dosage is no longer sufficient.

Jesus, r212, did you bother to actually READ r192, or did you just skim it in a moment of breathless hysteria and conclude it was ADVOCATING for Canada's bombing (spoiler: it's not).

Build a wall.

The one bit of optimism I hang onto is that if Trump somehow goes away, the GOP has absolutely nobody that can generate the same unhinged cult energy.

R213, Didn't think you were advocating for it, it's paranoid enough just to imagine it.

R215 You're forgetting that it was the Democrat and media establishment that created Trump. Trump wasn't anything other than an opportunist. As long as the left tries to shove an increasingly unpopular agenda on the entire country, people will continue to turn away.

It's a shame he was treated for COVID.

I hope that you all have passports and enough money to be refugees…

Why can't the dems try to make every US candidate at federal & local levels release their tax returns to run for public office?

It seems like a never ending nightmare for Trump & other fat cat GOPers. Obama should've pushed this idea in his WH years as Trump (& others) have hinted as potential political candidates.

Have the WV & AZ troublemaker Senators come out against this idea in the past?

[quote]WAKE UP....Bill Maher didn't just say it--he explained exactly how it is happening. Was 8 minutes too long for you bother watching?

R192 R203. Thank you for your responses. I appreciate you agreeing with me--and Bill Maher. Trump and the Repigs are a clear and present danger, and anyone who values democracy should wake up and work to defeat them. If the Repigs take the House in 2022, the country will be thrown into chaos. If Trump wins in 2024, our democracy could be so damaged that we won't recognize the country, and our future will be in peril. Trump will turn his tenure in the White House into a vile, revengeful, untethered and authoritarian situation that will grind the rule of law to a halt. Bill Maher is right, and we should all pay attention and beware and work against this peril coming if Trump and the Repigs take over. If this sounds scary, it's because it is.

Some speculate that when his crimes are more fully known and he's cornered, in exchange for jail time he'll promise not to run for public office. I'd take that compromise - he's too dangerous!

You're an idiot R201!

R222. The Dems MUST have their investigation and indictments of Trump before the 2022 midterm elections. If the Repigs take over and indictments or serious legal trouble by Trump have not been decided or at least well underway by then, the Repigs will shut everything down.

This will likely include whatever indictments might be coming by the Southern District of New York.

Come on!! Get this legal show on the road. We cannot live through another era of Trump.

r224 There's going to be a lot of pushback on charging Trump. D's will say it will just inflame his base.

R222 = We have been hearing about criminal charges against Trump for 5 years and it never happens..Trump will see his only way out of trouble is to be President. Even if Trump faces charges he will get bail...And he will STILL run and his criminal charges will just convince the Trump Cult Members of how "persecuted" he is. I said it yesterday--wait and see---Trump is going to promise his base he will arrest Hillary, Nancy, Joe, Kamala, Hunter, probably the whole Biden Cabinet ---the minute he is sworn back in...Think about it---according to Trump they stole the White House so his base will expect him to do something about it. Trump arresting Democrats is the ultimate vote guarantee for the Trump Hillbillies.

[quote]It's unlikely Trump will be the nominee, because he's old news.

Someone should tell GOP voters that.

[quote]D's will say it will just inflame his base.

Hell, gay Superman inflames his base.

The new silliness from the right wing is to deny that Trump is relevant anymore and to say it's the libs who are obsessed with keeping Trump in the forefront.

So what can be done when we are left with a Democratic party that sits on the sidelines and allows this slow-moving coup to continue? Who has the answer, seriously ... I'm listening.

Vote them out in 22 and 24. ^

Donnie Jr. polling 3x higher than Liz Cheney. Refugs are RETARDS

[quote]Refugs are RETARDS

The hard left loves to call people “retards”. Personally, I think it’s hilarious.

The republican party is doing this, the modern day fascist party. They are thrilled that they can blame everything on Trump. Trump had nothing to do with the Expensive recall effort on Gavin Newsom in California, for no good reason. This was the California Republican Party, backed by the National Republican party.

With all the changes in states' voter laws, I think the GOP will take the House and Senate fairly easily. Welcome back Mitch, you POS. Joe is really getting old and Kamala is not up for the challenge. Dems are fucked.

Lord, now he's got Sean Spicer on.

Why do they even book people like Spicer? Although Bill did make him look bad with trying to get him to say "Trump lost"....ALMOST feel sorry for anyone whose only viable source of income is to go on various shows and defend the indefensible.

It's one thing to watch the slow moving coup in progress but paired with Democratic Party incompetence there is really serious likelihood that it will succeed in taking place before the criminals from the last admin are brought before the law.

[[quote] It's one thing to watch the slow moving coup in progress but paired with Democratic Party incompetence there is really serious likelihood that it will succeed in taking place before the criminals from the last admin are brought before the law.

Link?

I think at this point we need to prepare for this eventuality, and how to go forward when the entire government from the Supreme Court on down wants us to sit down and shut up. They’ve shown how crazy they are since January 6 and they will be emboldened tenfold after January 2023 and 2025. Are there any guidebooks on how to live under tyranny (we need to take that word back from moronic ant-vaxxers)?

[Quote] I think at this point we need to prepare for this eventuality,

What eventuality. It's upon us now!

Bump

I just saw Bill Maher in an episode of Murder, She Wrote and he really comes off as gay. (I know....Murder, She Wrote isn't like watching football but I'm a senior!)

Leticia James is a sell out cunt! There will never be an indictment of Dumpster in New York. The Wall Street Jews and Goldman Saks have intervened! $$$$Money$$$$ has exchanged and paid off. Does anyone even wonder or blink an eye that the $$Stock Market$$$ is doing gangbusters!?

This tyranny goes hand in hand with White Male Privilege. If these white trash younkers want their dicks serviced, they’ll get it one way or another. And BTW, Fuck the Constitution! Suck my big, fat white cock!

Bill Maher is ugly.

R246 which less face it is why DL hates him. Well short of the one stan who posts about him every week everyone else hates him because he dares to challenge certain things on the far left. Its almost as if people have forgotten the name of his first show.

Whatever he says or does it can't be disputed that he IS an unattractive, unpleasant person. Just looking at him and listening to him in interviews proves that.