Roy Zimmerman

Haven't heard from Roy Zimmerman in a long while!

Vote for destruction

Eugene Robinson has been a favorite writer of mine for several years. Here, Eugene is trying to convince conservative voters to vote for Biden, to crush their broken and diseased party, so it can be purged of its worst elements and reborn. Provided, of course, that whoever gets elected after its annihilation isn't worse than what we have now. You takes your chances.

Opinion 

 Vote for destruction in November

By Eugene Robinson

January 25, 2024

Anyone who genuinely cares about the future of the Republican Party — and you should if you care about strengthening democracy — has only one option in November: Vote to destroy the party to save it.

I care about the GOP. No one has ever mistaken me for a conservative, but I believe our democracy functions best when there is healthy, fact-based competition between liberal and conservative viewpoints. Progressive ideas and policy positions are improved by being challenged, and the best decisions are forged from vigorous debate.

Now, however, we have the Democratic Party on one side and the Republican dumpster fire on the other. The GOP is a cult, held in thrall by an unstable bully and would-be authoritarian. Held captive by a man who sent armed insurrectionists to the Capitol in a violent attempt to overturn his defeat in a free and fair election. Held hostage by a man who punishes any perceived disloyalty with political execution.

At the 2020 Republican National Convention, the GOP didn’t even offer a party platform. Instead, it simply affirmed its “strong support for President Donald Trump” and his “America-first agenda,” whatever that might be at any given moment.

The nation would be foolish, at this point, to expect Republicans to rise up and free themselves. Look at how the congressional negotiations over border security and Ukraine aid have changed since Trump’s New Hampshire victory on Tuesday. Just last week, GOP senators, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), were optimistic that the package would swiftly be approved by the Senate. But on Wednesday, McConnell told a closed-door meeting of his caucus that there might no longer be a path forward for the bill — because Trump opposes any remedy for the border crisis that might make President Biden look good.

This is insanity. Democrats are offering something Republicans have wanted for years, and might never be offered again: tougher border security without a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already in the country, including “dreamers.” But Dear Leader Trump says no and, suddenly, GOP senators are afraid to say yes.

Republicans in Congress, clearly, will not free their party. And it looks doubtful that the GOP base has any intention of breaking the chains that bind it.

Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley finished a strong second in New Hampshire, becoming the anti-Trump by default. But the next contested primary is a month away, and it is in her home state, which might not feel very welcoming. For four long weeks, she will have to survive withering personal attacks from Trump and calls from powerful Republicans to drop out of the race in the name of party unity. And then, if she makes it to Feb. 24, she will need a miracle.

The RealClearPolitics average of polls in South Carolina shows Trump with a 30-point lead. Those surveys were taken before the other GOP candidates dropped out, so Haley can be expected to close the gap. But virtually all of the state’s Republican elected officials have fallen in line behind Trump — including Sen. Tim Scott, whom Haley first appointed to the Senate in 2013 when she was governor, and who obsequiously told Trump “I just love you” during Trump’s New Hampshire victory speech.

It is also wrong to expect the justice system to come to the party’s rescue. It is possible that one or two of the criminal cases against Trump could end — in conviction or acquittal — before November. But that seems to me increasingly unlikely. And even if the former president is a felon, I find it hard to imagine his party throwing him overboard.

What can save the GOP from itself? Defeat. Crushing, unambiguous defeat.

Our political parties reform and reconstitute themselves after being soundly rebuked by the voters. After the disaster of President Richard M. Nixon’s resignation and the aimlessness of the Gerald Ford administration, Republicans regrouped and became the party of Ronald Reagan; his policies were not those I agreed with, but they were coherent and could be negotiated with. After Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis lost successive presidential elections, their party turned to Bill Clinton and the “new Democrats,” whose ideas were a break with the past — and, again, held together as an ideology.

If you want the GOP to be a serious conservative political party and not a MAGA cult, send Republicans into the wilderness. Vote for Biden. Take away Republicans’ control of the House. Give Democrats a bigger majority in the Senate. Vote Republican officials out of statehouses, city halls and school boards.

Make the metaphorical ashes from which a new GOP can rise.

Original. (This is a Gifted article)

A serious country?

Normally, I don't publish any writings by conservatives, because they tend to lie about just about everything. But there are a few GOPers that also cannot stand Donald Trump and are unhappy about the direction of their party (headed to hell). Matt Lewis, who I have cursed at before when he parroted the party line of lies, seems to have seen the light. This column is worth the read.

New Hampshire Primary Takeaway: We Are Not a Serious Country

by Matt Lewis

Daily Beast

Jan 23, 2024

In the words of the unfortunately named Dick Tuck, “The people have spoken—the bastards.”

This is the first time that a Republican non-incumbent has ever won both Iowaand New Hampshire. Barring some unforeseen miracle or major exogenous event, Donald Trump, for the third consecutive time, will be the Republican nominee for President of the United States of America.

Let’s stop for a second and appreciate the gravity of this moment. The Jan. 6 Capitol riot occurred three years ago, and the first chance the Republican Party had to rebuke this atrocity in a presidential election resulted in their endorsing it, via nominating the man responsible for inciting said riot.

Now, I don’t want to conflate the GOP with the rest of America. But we are talking about one of our two major political parties here. It stands to reason that the kind of people we choose to lead us says something about who we are, too. And what does Trump’s success suggest? We are not a serious country. We love entertainment. We are tribalistic, and we crave an exciting strongman.

But I’ll reserve most of my criticism for the party that just (effectively) renominated Trump as its standard bearer.

It’s time to drop the crap about reluctantly making a “binary choice” or Trump being the “lesser of two evils” when compared to Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden. Having rejected the options of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, you decided to give us Barabbas. Again.

Republican voters aren’t merely settling for Trump. For many, his chaotic behavior is a feature, not a bug. Perhaps it’s no surprise that, according to CNN exit polls, “about eight in ten of Trump’s voters denied the legitimacy of Biden’s election win in 2020…”

It is telling that the biggest moment of the 2024 GOP primary campaign came, not after Trump did something heroic or said something inspiring, but rather, the moment he was indicted.

What does it say about a political party when being indicted boosts you in the polls?

The Party of Lincoln has metastasized into a decadent and perverse cult of personality that calls evil good and good evil. This metamorphosis is sometimes rationalized by a victimhood complex that sees America as fundamentally evil and her institutions (the justice system, the media, the FBI, the establishment, etc.) as out to get them. In many ways, it’s everything I hated about the Democratic Party of my youth.

Keep in mind that Trump’s primary opponents did not run the aggressive racesthat they were capable of running. Neither had the guts or the talent to run an assertive and effective campaign that might have wrested control of the GOP from Trump. I would love to see what might have happened if Ron had a heart and Nikki had courage, but it’s also possible that a “Jesus-Reagan, ‘24,” ticket still would have fallen short of beating Trump within the current GOP electorate.

Perhaps, if Joe Biden wasn’t so unpopular and old, Republicans may have been more inclined to elect someone like Haley. These counterfactuals are impossible to prove, and, in any event, they shouldn’t be used to absolve Republican voters of their sins.

Regardless of how Republicans perceive Biden, he may prove to be more formidable than they suspect, in part because—outside the safe confines of the Republican primary electorate—Trump may prove to be weaker than they think.

I’m not saying that Trump cannot win in November; he definitely can. But his (re)election is anything but a foregone conclusion.

For one thing, it’s possible a conviction will come down before election day. Although it might perversely motivate his adoring fans, it will cost him support among some Republicans, not to mention independents and swing voters.

Likewise, because Trump’s entire instinct is honed toward fan service, not persuasion or coalition building, he is likely to leave some votes on the table from people who were once-reliable Republican enthusiasts.

Case in point: While Granite Staters were headed to the polls, I saw two tweets that illustrated this point. The first was a video montage of Haley voters saying they probably wouldn’t vote for Trump again in 2024. The second was an interview with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, in which she said that any“Republican that isn’t willing to adapt [Trump’s] policies, we are completely eradicating from the party.”

I am reminded of the time Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake told supporters of former Sen. John McCain to “get the hell out.” As you might recall, Lake lost. Well, with this presumptive nomination, the Republican Party is effectively saying the same thing to a ton of sane conservative voters.

The party’s over folks. Lock up when you leave. And will the last normie in the Republican Party please turn out the lights?

Original.

God Made a Dictator

This ad is a bit of a parody of that idiotic "God Made Trump" ad that recently polluted the airwaves. This one is much better.

silence is complicity

Silence is complicity is a phrase we've heard now and then, and it rings true. By not protesting or opposing something, you are, in essence, complicit in it. Same goes for Trump. Trump's silence about all the death threats his supporters make against his opponents says Trump is complicit in it, and it even approving of it. Stochastic violence is his method. The guy is unfit for any elected office in this country. People will clear minds agree.

Trump's Silence on Death Threats Is Evidence Against Him

Rude Pundit
Jan 14, 2024

I remember, as I'm sure you do, in the years after the 9/11 attacks, that every time some violence was committed by someone who was Muslim, the entire Muslim community in the United States was expected, if not forced, by the right and by the media to make a statement condemning the violence. It's always been an absolutely ludicrous thing since it presumes that a Muslim who committed a shooting represented all Muslims if the denouncement didn't happen. It also takes away focus from the very real Islamophobia and violence against Muslims in this country. But even though the local imam had nothing to do with a shooter, that imam always had to say on camera that Islam is a religion of peace and the shooter was really degrading his faith.

I also remember, as I'm sure you do, the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin. Sometimes, some people connected to the protests (very few people in the context of how huge the marches and rallies were) rioted and committed violence, looting and starting fires (allowing that some this might also have been caused by infiltrators). Any leaders who supported Black Lives Matter, any politician, especially Black politicians, had to get in front of reporters to condemn the violence and call on supporters to stop. This actually made sense. When some in your nonviolent movement get violent, you say something to try to end it or distance yourself from it, even if it's being blown out of proportion. A burning police station is never a good look. 

So it's fascinating and horrific and entirely expected that former president/charity thief and current indicted felon/rapist/GOP frontrunner Donald Trump has not said a word to denounce the death threats, swatting incidents, and actual violence, including murder, done in his name. And that goes across the board. The regularity with which anyone who opposes Trump gets death threats against them and their families means that it's a feature, not a bug, in the polluted MAGA ecosystem. We know that Republicans stay in line at least partly because they don't want to deal with the flood of violent crazies calling, messaging, and posting about the harm that will come to those heretical to the MAGA mob. And it's not just members of Congress or other elected officials who are the targets. We know that regular election workers and regular federal government workers get called out by name by President Trump or one of his cabal of lickspittles, goons, and lackeys, and then their lives are made intolerable by the threats against them. Trump knows exactly what's going to happen, and he gleefully participates in it. It's why Judge Engoron in his fraud trial placed a gag order on Trump because he was making a clerk's life a nightmare.

In recent weeks, hoax calls to law enforcement have led to swatting against judges in Trump's cases (yet oddly not against Trump appointee Judge Aileen Cannon), as well as against Special Counsel Jack Smith. Swatting is especially insidious because of the potential for such incidents to lead to unintended death and destruction. And, sorry, but I can't help but think of some MAGA cop using the opportunity to "accidentally" gun down someone who might put Trump behind bars. 

This doesn't even get into the actual violence committed by Trump supporters and MAGA redhats, from mass shootings to racist and homophobic attacks. 

And before you even say it, yes, there are incidents where someone on the left is to blame, like the recent swatting of Marjorie Taylor Greene. But, if asked, any leader on the left will call it out and condemn anyone who does it. 

Trump revels in the bullying of anyone who breathes a negative thing about him. Over on his worthless Truth Toilet, he regularly, savagely degrades the judges and prosecutors and opposing attorneys and rape victim E. Jean Carroll. He recently posted a clip of an interview with convicted Mafia member and murderer Sammy "the Bull" Gravano where the mobster said he couldn't "get" Trump, implying Trump was too honest. Trump implored, "Thank you to Sammy the Bull. I hope Judges Engoron & Kaplan see this. We need fairness, strength and honesty in our New York Courts. We don’t have it now!" That's right. A guy who had a hit list is a character witness. How is that not an implied threat? Trump advocates for violent people and threatens that violence will occur if he's not acquitted and re-elected. And he is perfectly content to let others suffer from the violence and the threats from his cult members. He can't be bothered to tell them to knock it off because it's part of a strategy of sowing chaos into the legal system.

Frankly, this silence on those committing or promising violence in his name, as well as his own threats, implied or otherwise, are of a piece with his inaction for most of January 6, 2021. Trump watched the insurrectionists riot and attack the Capitol. He could have immediately called for it to end and denounced everyone involved. But, as we know, he didn't. He stayed quiet for hours and watched to see if it would pay off in his favor, only grudgingly telling them to go home but assuring them that "we love you," thus giving them license to continue violently agitating. That's what he wants: others to do his bidding while he does nothing to stop them. His continuing silence should be used as evidence in his January 6 trial. It's a pattern of behavior to allow people to be hurt in his name.

It works both ways: if you have to condemn violence in your movement to prove you're nonviolent, then if you're not condemning violence in your movement, it means your movement is violent. And your followers. And you. And the justice system should deal with you as such.

Original.

Jamie Raskin Is DONE

Jamie Raskin unleashes a righteous rant against the GOP. Maybe some of it will get thru to these Trump cult members and prick their conscience. Maybe.

Hunter Biden

Here's Jeff Tiedrich on the recent appearance of Hunter Biden at the House committee hearing on the verge of holding him in contempt for not showing up...at the House committee hearing.

Hunter Biden is just fucking with House Republicans now, and it’s a glorious sight to behold

panicked Republicans had no clue how to react

JEFF TIEDRICH

JAN 11, 2024

Hunter Biden is fresh out of fucks, and he just grabbed the GOP by the scruff of their necks and rubbed their faces in their own clownish stupidity.

Wednesday started out perfectly normal enough. House Republicans, instead of actually working to solve any of America’s looming problems — for instance, there’s that held-together-with-spit-and-baling-wire budget agreement that expires in eight days — chose instead to focus on the all-important task of holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for failing to show up for their bullshit closed-door kabuki hearings.

and so everyone assembled, all the usual suspects took their places, cameras started rolling, and everyone got ready for James Comer to start yap-yap-yapping about canceled checks and secret phone calls like some fucked-up Elmer Fudd on meth —

when all of a sudden, who saunters right onto the floor of the committee room but Hunter Fucking Biden himself.  he elbowed his way through the crowd and sat right down in the front row and was all hey assholes, get a load of me. anybody want to see my freakishly ginormous dick?

ok, I may have made that last part up.

did chaos ensue? oh my dear friends, fuck yes, it absolutely did — and it was a glorious thing to behold.

nobody saw it coming — Hunter’s appearance was unanounced — and panicked Republicans had no clue how to react. 

dude, we’re trying hold you in contempt for not showing up, and you just showed up. bro, what the fuck?

Nancy Mace, the scarlet moron from South Carolina, called Biden “the epitome of white privilege,” because apparently words no longer have meanings.

she also accused Hunter of having no balls — something she knows is false, because Marjorie Taylor Green showed everyone a photo of Hunter’s balls a few months ago.

speaking of Old Three Toes, Hunter chose the moment she opened her braying mouth to get up and walk out of the room, taking all the cameras and attention with him, leaving Sporky to sputter incoherently about how unfair it all was.

at that point, the hearing descended into total pandemonium, with Marge caterwauling at the top of her lungs while committee members argued with each other.

and god love Jared Moskowitz, because that was the moment he chose to hold up a poster-size photo of Jeffrey Epstein cavorting with a well-known sex offender.

Moskowitz also took a well-aimed shot at the GOP’s clownfoolery.

“so I’m listening to the gentle lady from South Carolina about the witness being afraid to come in front of the committee. that’s interesting. he’s here. he doesn’t seem to be too afraid.”

in all seriousness, can no one get Paul Gosar the help he obviously needs? he’s a fucking mess.

let’s get back back to Marjorie Taylor Greene, because she had one more unforced self-own up her sleeve. she demanded to be allowed to introduce “evidence,” at which point Jamie Raskin objected, for obvious reasons.

Raskin: “in the past, she’s displayed pornography. are pornographic photos allowed to be displayed in this comittee room?” 
Greene: “it’s not pornography.”
Raskin: “ok well you’re the expert.”

social media took this ball and ran with it. #MarjorieTaylorPeen trended on not-twitter for most of the day.

this is how you do it, folks. these are not serious people, and there is no reason to take their bullshit seriously. 

the only way to deal with these full-of-themselves Republicans is to mock them right to their faces, and point out their hypocrisy.

these incompetent clownsticks can’t even manage to name a post office, must less get any actual legislating done.

they have earned our utter contempt, so let’s keep showing it to them.

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note: this post only scratches the surface of the wall-to-wall insanity of yesterday’s hearing. it was a complete shit-show from beginning to end. Aaron Rupar’s video clips of the whole enchilada can be found here.

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Original. (There are some videos and pictures at the Original link)