not only would I 100% vote for that ticket, but I think I could get my magamom to vote for that ticket! She's at least agreed to turn off Faux Noos & read articles I send from former-GOP never-drümpfers like Adam, and she laughed when I told her I plan to convince her to vote blue by November. which is huge progress, as a year ago she would've just gotten angry & hung up. so I think my chance of success is decently high, especially if we can get great aisle-crossing candidates sharing tickets 🤞🌊🇺🇸💙‼️
You previously said Trump shouldn’t be removed from office. What would be the implications of doing such and what are your reasons to keep him as president?
All I have to go on is Vance's muted response to Trump’s war on Iran... his stance is more of an isolationist. Doesn’t mean he wouldn’t continue destroying the U.S. domestically! The idea of Vance running our country is abhorrent, but Trump is nonetheless as bad as it gets.
But GD is in thick with the oligarchy currently waiting for their puppet in the White House to disappear. GD could easily be worse than the puppet because he still has all his faculties.
I imagine military brass are reluctant to speak publicly about this. I wonder how our ridiculous president’s antics are damaging the morale of those who bravely fight on our behalf.
Why do you think the vast majority of GOP lawmakers are still so afraid of Trump? If every single Senator stood up to him, what could he really do? Or are they all so corrupt that they don't want to get kicked olff their "gravy train?"
ANSWER: YOU MUST UNDERSSTAND THAT TRUMP, TRAINED BY ROY COHN, RETALIATES VICIOUSLY AGAINST ANYONE WHO CROSSES HIM. AND IF HE SAVAGES SOME CONGRESS PERSON THAT PERSON MAY WELL GET VOTED OUT WITH THE WEIGHT OF MAGA AGAINST THEM. SO, THEY ARE ALL SCARED SH##LESS OF HIM. AND WILL SO REMAIN AS LONG AS HE HOLDS POWER.
some are simply corrupt & soulless, cashing in on the 🍊🤡💩 grift while believing that fabulous wealth will outweigh the consequences of being on the wrong side of history. some are afraid of losing their jobs if they're primaried & denounced by drümpf. but my theory is that most don't fear drümpf's vengeance as much as they fear his cult; he weaponizes his rabid base even more effectively than he weaponizes his DOJ. the majority of his targets probably have a high chance of surviving a legal attack, not so much an attack by a wingnut magat with an automatic rifle 🧐🤬🤯
This is very minor in the scheme of things, but yesterday he who shall not be named, signed a document in the oval office and made a point of saying he was not using an auto penC
.
I’ve been wondering, since no one seems to have asked him, if he signed all 1,500 Jan.6 pardons individually.
Please respond to this question. We trust your knowledge and expertise to provide more perspective to what we are reading and hearing on this topic. It's sad that we can't trust our president more than the Iranian regime. UGH!!
He even lies in his sleep, too, if he even gets sleep. He may be a vampire in disguise and pretends to be awake during the day when he is actually sleeping.
He would love being thought of as a vampire (or any kind of monster). He isn’t. He’s a pathetic little creature who has always wanted to be important and powerful but couldn’t be. He’s an inadequate personality who has (temporarily) the power of our military but lacks the intellectual capacity to lead wisely. He lacks the emotional intelligence to lead with compassion. He can’t even lead with strength because he’s a weak, small, (barely qualifies as human) person. Don’t give him the power of being a “monster”. He’s only frightening because of the evil cabal who are actually making decisions. It’s terrifying but he isn’t. He’s pitiable and vile. Like garbage left to sit in the sun.
Little Donnie will never be respected and is only “scary” as long as he remains a deteriorating sock puppet for the cabal of evil behind him. He won’t even be remembered as a “villain” except in cases where he has exploited those less powerful. And the only people he can actually dominate are little girls. 🤬
Why aren’t the truly good, patriotic, military leaders doing something about this?? I mean removing this blatantly corrupt regime. I am dead serious. What happened to defending America against all enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC?!
They prefer to resign and/or keep quiet. It’s shameful.
I am talking about honoring the Constitution. Rump is a Domestíc Terrorist. As are his cronies. And how much longer do we wait until “the worst case scenario”? Until he bankrupts the country? B/c so help me he IS going to.
I dont think that a coup is the worst possible scenario. We have been in uncharted territory at least since Drumpf was elected the first time. And he ignores the law, ignores the judges, so normal channels are ineffective to him and his criminal gang. Abnormal situations need abnormal/exceptional responses
We are just kidding ourselves if we think otherwise. I expect the Military to disobey the outrageous illegal orders, but they do not . We are halfway down the cliff.
This is actually unrelated to the news, but I'm wondering why more podcasters don't emphasize a call to action, so we can all focus on what we CAN do, versus just being informed and connecting with other like minded people, which I of course value. For instance, I attended the Bulwark event in Austin and loved it, and seeing all of you, but was struck by the fact that there was no mention at all of the upcoming NO KINGS protest on the 28th. I think everyone should be talking endlessly about this so we can double the crowds we saw last October. I would love to see an emphasis on encouraging viewers, who are so dedicated to politics, to take action...make calls, send emails, etc. I hope you will also share this with your friends at the Bulwark, and other with whom you collaborate. Thank you!
On a related matter, it seems like the Dems in Congress have zero imagination on how to combat the constant lies from Trump. How about full page ads in major newspapers and TV ads, all succinctly stating the facts regarding his illegal and immoral actions? Do they not have highly paid PR people?
Yes, KRT, I think the very same thing all the time!
Also, remember the United Way campaigns with the thermometer showing their fundraising efforts? I've often thought someone should keep an ongoing tally of all the money spent on all the superfluous and ridiculous spending with a side column of what that same money could be spent on for ordinary Americans, and provide that to all news/media organizations/politicians to constantly show with evidence how anti-American this administration is. If all of those people constantly posted this it would make a difference!
Nicholas Kristof did this in the NTY a few days ago about the war and I was thrilled to see it. This is the concrete stuff that I believe would truly wake people up and change their minds. I actually emailed this idea to David French at the NYT, but didn't hear back. :O(
@Stacey: are you a member of https://defiance.org? we livestream on substack & yt almost daily, with emphasis on actionable missions to make a difference. free to watch, but for $1/month you help support pro-democracy orgs directly. Miles & Xander also promote group actions that compliment the orgs' work. Hope to see you in the chat: the community for idea sharing/mutual encouragement is a powerful source of optimism. Defy drümpf, together! 🤘🐸❤️🔥‼️
No, I'm not, but I will check them out and appreciate the suggestion. I love that this is happening, and would like to see all the media, news and politicians doing the same. Thank you!
It's not up to individual soldiers to decide whether it's an illegal war; that's up to Congress. Now, if they were ordered to shoot at obviously unarmed civilians or soldiers, that would be an illegal order.
Expecting that Trump will pardon all of his staff prior to leaving office, will any of them be held accountable for any of their crimes(lying under oath, war crimes, etc)?
Do you think the Democrats should and will hold strong in negotiating over the ICE issues, which are causing the partial gov't shutdown? Won't the public begin to blame the Democrats or both sides if this shutdown continues? What do you recommend that Democrats do?
Adam, your disappointment in the Republicans you served alongside is palpable and understandable. I recall we’ve heard you say Kristi Noem and Tulsi Gabbard aren’t today the same as those you knew. I deeply respect your optimism- it’s calm humility and relatability (versus a toxic cheerleader). However, the fatigue we’re all feeling is so high. Despite your optimism that we will at some point find our better angels again, do you genuinely have any hope that the Republicans you served alongside will ever find their “red line” of character and integrity? Are we really going to keep witnessing a steady decline of once burnished morals?
Is there ANY way of undoing over 40 years of right-wing media demonizing the left before real mass violence breaks out? This in reference to tRump's post about the Dems now being the enemy.
Well, in fairness, the left has been doing the same thing. The root problem is that both sides have forgotten one of the basic principles of our founding government. And that is COMPROMISE? Without that, our democracy is doomed.
I beg to differ on your first point. Think back to all the 24/7 televangelists (infusing religion with conservatism), talk radio hosts, etc. And I don’t see anyone of Murdoch’s level of influence on the left. Please tell me if I’m wrong. On your second point, I agree. I would say that to compromise, you have to first communicate, and communicate in good faith, which I think requires not totally demonizing the other side. I think our electeds need to care about the people they represent more than they care about their own interests and stop blocking what may be good for the people just to thwart the other side. At least since McConnell proudly stated out loud his party was going to obstruct anything Obama wanted to do, it’s often seemed more of a battle between two enemies, rather than a Congress of people who care about improving the lives and ensuring the safety of the American people.
Can someone pleas explain Robert mueller findings? He DID find Russia collusion. But because he wouldn’t say definitively or that he didn’t feel he could accuse a sitting president then Trump decided it was a hoax?
DOJ policy is that you can’t prosecute a sitting president. I think they should have made an exception with dumpy as this may have been treason? Not sure about the treason part, but positive about the DOJ policy. It sucks.
Mueller found irrefutable evidence of Trump's crimes but since he was hobbled by the DOJ memo that bans indicting a sitting president, Mueller left it up to congress to file charges. Which they did. It was only because the GOP covers up Republican crimes, that Trump didn't get convicted on impeachment and booted out of office.
Trump needs to answer this question: Why did everybody in the 2016 Trump campaign have Russian contacts?
Why did everyone in the Trump campaign LIE about their contact with the Russians?
* Flynn - lied about his contacts.
* Manafort - lied about his contacts
* Sessions - lied about his contacts.
* JD Gordon, worked for Russia to change the GOP 2016 convention platform against Ukraine
TIM: ty for this! The links & details both very useful. I suggest you consider posting this to Michael Cohen's page/chat here on ss, as he might be both willing & able to answer your question. Pretty sure that his subscriber chat is not behind a paywall. It would be interesting to see what he says! If you post it lmk, and I'll try to call attention to it; I used to follow him regularly and know lots of substackers who still do.
One did. There are four separate FBI contacts with a victim. The final outcome of the investigation is still being hidden in the 3 million documents Bondi is keeping out of the hands of congress.
Have you been in contact with Mark Kelly of AZ to be on a ticket with him for the executive office of the United States?
not only would I 100% vote for that ticket, but I think I could get my magamom to vote for that ticket! She's at least agreed to turn off Faux Noos & read articles I send from former-GOP never-drümpfers like Adam, and she laughed when I told her I plan to convince her to vote blue by November. which is huge progress, as a year ago she would've just gotten angry & hung up. so I think my chance of success is decently high, especially if we can get great aisle-crossing candidates sharing tickets 🤞🌊🇺🇸💙‼️
That is huge!
You previously said Trump shouldn’t be removed from office. What would be the implications of doing such and what are your reasons to keep him as president?
LOVE this, Chad! I agree. This whole corrupt regime must be removed for the sake of our democracy.
Is it true that the Cabinet needs to initiate removing the President under the 25th amendment? If so, we’re screwed.
What, if anything can Congress do to initiate the 25th (I’m being optimistic about midterms).
G.D Vance as a replacement!!
And that prospect is gawd-awful, but at least Vance is less likely to have a hissy fit and incinerate the planet!
Are you sure about that?
All I have to go on is Vance's muted response to Trump’s war on Iran... his stance is more of an isolationist. Doesn’t mean he wouldn’t continue destroying the U.S. domestically! The idea of Vance running our country is abhorrent, but Trump is nonetheless as bad as it gets.
But GD is in thick with the oligarchy currently waiting for their puppet in the White House to disappear. GD could easily be worse than the puppet because he still has all his faculties.
Why do you call him GD?
Could be. And he’s got his head up the Christian Nationalist’s a$$.
8 months to go till midterms!!!!
Adam: what percentage of the military brass is supportive of Trumps policies, specifically in regards to Iran?
Oooh! Good question, Charles!
I imagine military brass are reluctant to speak publicly about this. I wonder how our ridiculous president’s antics are damaging the morale of those who bravely fight on our behalf.
Certainly the family members of the fallen are outraged by the capriciousness of the war.
Why do you think the vast majority of GOP lawmakers are still so afraid of Trump? If every single Senator stood up to him, what could he really do? Or are they all so corrupt that they don't want to get kicked olff their "gravy train?"
ANSWER: YOU MUST UNDERSSTAND THAT TRUMP, TRAINED BY ROY COHN, RETALIATES VICIOUSLY AGAINST ANYONE WHO CROSSES HIM. AND IF HE SAVAGES SOME CONGRESS PERSON THAT PERSON MAY WELL GET VOTED OUT WITH THE WEIGHT OF MAGA AGAINST THEM. SO, THEY ARE ALL SCARED SH##LESS OF HIM. AND WILL SO REMAIN AS LONG AS HE HOLDS POWER.
You know, surprisingly, most of us can read without the use of capitals to guide us....Just saying.
Word
Could ya drop the caps please?
But they've already made enough money to live very comfortably AND they have health coverage for life. What's to fear?
some are simply corrupt & soulless, cashing in on the 🍊🤡💩 grift while believing that fabulous wealth will outweigh the consequences of being on the wrong side of history. some are afraid of losing their jobs if they're primaried & denounced by drümpf. but my theory is that most don't fear drümpf's vengeance as much as they fear his cult; he weaponizes his rabid base even more effectively than he weaponizes his DOJ. the majority of his targets probably have a high chance of surviving a legal attack, not so much an attack by a wingnut magat with an automatic rifle 🧐🤬🤯
This is very minor in the scheme of things, but yesterday he who shall not be named, signed a document in the oval office and made a point of saying he was not using an auto penC
.
I’ve been wondering, since no one seems to have asked him, if he signed all 1,500 Jan.6 pardons individually.
Has Trump really been negotiating with Iran or has he TACO’d again?
Please respond to this question. We trust your knowledge and expertise to provide more perspective to what we are reading and hearing on this topic. It's sad that we can't trust our president more than the Iranian regime. UGH!!
TRUE, BUT WE CAN'T.
TRUMP LIES IN THE MORNING, LIES AT NOON, LIES IN THE EVENING AND LIES AT NIGHT.
He even lies in his sleep, too, if he even gets sleep. He may be a vampire in disguise and pretends to be awake during the day when he is actually sleeping.
He would love being thought of as a vampire (or any kind of monster). He isn’t. He’s a pathetic little creature who has always wanted to be important and powerful but couldn’t be. He’s an inadequate personality who has (temporarily) the power of our military but lacks the intellectual capacity to lead wisely. He lacks the emotional intelligence to lead with compassion. He can’t even lead with strength because he’s a weak, small, (barely qualifies as human) person. Don’t give him the power of being a “monster”. He’s only frightening because of the evil cabal who are actually making decisions. It’s terrifying but he isn’t. He’s pitiable and vile. Like garbage left to sit in the sun.
Little Donnie will never be respected and is only “scary” as long as he remains a deteriorating sock puppet for the cabal of evil behind him. He won’t even be remembered as a “villain” except in cases where he has exploited those less powerful. And the only people he can actually dominate are little girls. 🤬
I was just being snarky, but you are right!
To coin a phrase from Adam himself : “he’s been doing that since he was a zygote”. I love that line.
That could be his campaign jingle
Newsflash: he’s lying
Why aren’t the truly good, patriotic, military leaders doing something about this?? I mean removing this blatantly corrupt regime. I am dead serious. What happened to defending America against all enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC?!
They prefer to resign and/or keep quiet. It’s shameful.
How do you feel about trump announcing that talk's with Iran have started today. True or another lie?
Surely you jest. Everything that comes out of his hateful pie hole is a lie.
It sounds like you are talking about a coup. That is truly a worst case scenario.
I am talking about honoring the Constitution. Rump is a Domestíc Terrorist. As are his cronies. And how much longer do we wait until “the worst case scenario”? Until he bankrupts the country? B/c so help me he IS going to.
I think we ARE in the worst scenario right now!
Trump is a self declared dictator smashing our constitution into bits with a terrifying lack of control.
No one seems able or willing to rein him in.
I dont think that a coup is the worst possible scenario. We have been in uncharted territory at least since Drumpf was elected the first time. And he ignores the law, ignores the judges, so normal channels are ineffective to him and his criminal gang. Abnormal situations need abnormal/exceptional responses
We are just kidding ourselves if we think otherwise. I expect the Military to disobey the outrageous illegal orders, but they do not . We are halfway down the cliff.
Hmm. A coup maybe isn’t the worst scenario.
Trump continuing his ridiculous use of war as a distraction from his incompetence seems like a worse scenario to me!
Maybe Adam will want to weigh in on this. I will simply say, Let's not get prematurely coup coup.
I see what you did there. Yuk yuk.
This is actually unrelated to the news, but I'm wondering why more podcasters don't emphasize a call to action, so we can all focus on what we CAN do, versus just being informed and connecting with other like minded people, which I of course value. For instance, I attended the Bulwark event in Austin and loved it, and seeing all of you, but was struck by the fact that there was no mention at all of the upcoming NO KINGS protest on the 28th. I think everyone should be talking endlessly about this so we can double the crowds we saw last October. I would love to see an emphasis on encouraging viewers, who are so dedicated to politics, to take action...make calls, send emails, etc. I hope you will also share this with your friends at the Bulwark, and other with whom you collaborate. Thank you!
On a related matter, it seems like the Dems in Congress have zero imagination on how to combat the constant lies from Trump. How about full page ads in major newspapers and TV ads, all succinctly stating the facts regarding his illegal and immoral actions? Do they not have highly paid PR people?
Yes, KRT, I think the very same thing all the time!
Also, remember the United Way campaigns with the thermometer showing their fundraising efforts? I've often thought someone should keep an ongoing tally of all the money spent on all the superfluous and ridiculous spending with a side column of what that same money could be spent on for ordinary Americans, and provide that to all news/media organizations/politicians to constantly show with evidence how anti-American this administration is. If all of those people constantly posted this it would make a difference!
Nicholas Kristof did this in the NTY a few days ago about the war and I was thrilled to see it. This is the concrete stuff that I believe would truly wake people up and change their minds. I actually emailed this idea to David French at the NYT, but didn't hear back. :O(
@Stacey: are you a member of https://defiance.org? we livestream on substack & yt almost daily, with emphasis on actionable missions to make a difference. free to watch, but for $1/month you help support pro-democracy orgs directly. Miles & Xander also promote group actions that compliment the orgs' work. Hope to see you in the chat: the community for idea sharing/mutual encouragement is a powerful source of optimism. Defy drümpf, together! 🤘🐸❤️🔥‼️
No, I'm not, but I will check them out and appreciate the suggestion. I love that this is happening, and would like to see all the media, news and politicians doing the same. Thank you!
Adam and Country First have both been plugging it, although mainly to buy your t-shirts now before it’s too late.
This is on my mind a lot. Have no military personnel refused to follow illegal orders (of which there must be many, due to this illegal war)?
Good question! I wonder that myself.
It's not up to individual soldiers to decide whether it's an illegal war; that's up to Congress. Now, if they were ordered to shoot at obviously unarmed civilians or soldiers, that would be an illegal order.
Expecting that Trump will pardon all of his staff prior to leaving office, will any of them be held accountable for any of their crimes(lying under oath, war crimes, etc)?
Do you think the Democrats should and will hold strong in negotiating over the ICE issues, which are causing the partial gov't shutdown? Won't the public begin to blame the Democrats or both sides if this shutdown continues? What do you recommend that Democrats do?
Hold The Course!
Adam, your disappointment in the Republicans you served alongside is palpable and understandable. I recall we’ve heard you say Kristi Noem and Tulsi Gabbard aren’t today the same as those you knew. I deeply respect your optimism- it’s calm humility and relatability (versus a toxic cheerleader). However, the fatigue we’re all feeling is so high. Despite your optimism that we will at some point find our better angels again, do you genuinely have any hope that the Republicans you served alongside will ever find their “red line” of character and integrity? Are we really going to keep witnessing a steady decline of once burnished morals?
Is there ANY way of undoing over 40 years of right-wing media demonizing the left before real mass violence breaks out? This in reference to tRump's post about the Dems now being the enemy.
Well, in fairness, the left has been doing the same thing. The root problem is that both sides have forgotten one of the basic principles of our founding government. And that is COMPROMISE? Without that, our democracy is doomed.
I beg to differ on your first point. Think back to all the 24/7 televangelists (infusing religion with conservatism), talk radio hosts, etc. And I don’t see anyone of Murdoch’s level of influence on the left. Please tell me if I’m wrong. On your second point, I agree. I would say that to compromise, you have to first communicate, and communicate in good faith, which I think requires not totally demonizing the other side. I think our electeds need to care about the people they represent more than they care about their own interests and stop blocking what may be good for the people just to thwart the other side. At least since McConnell proudly stated out loud his party was going to obstruct anything Obama wanted to do, it’s often seemed more of a battle between two enemies, rather than a Congress of people who care about improving the lives and ensuring the safety of the American people.
Wouldn't the SAVE ACT be challenged in court since the elections are left up to the states?
Can someone pleas explain Robert mueller findings? He DID find Russia collusion. But because he wouldn’t say definitively or that he didn’t feel he could accuse a sitting president then Trump decided it was a hoax?
DOJ policy is that you can’t prosecute a sitting president. I think they should have made an exception with dumpy as this may have been treason? Not sure about the treason part, but positive about the DOJ policy. It sucks.
Mueller did prove the Trump Collusion.
Mueller found irrefutable evidence of Trump's crimes but since he was hobbled by the DOJ memo that bans indicting a sitting president, Mueller left it up to congress to file charges. Which they did. It was only because the GOP covers up Republican crimes, that Trump didn't get convicted on impeachment and booted out of office.
Trump needs to answer this question: Why did everybody in the 2016 Trump campaign have Russian contacts?
Why did everyone in the Trump campaign LIE about their contact with the Russians?
* Flynn - lied about his contacts.
* Manafort - lied about his contacts
* Sessions - lied about his contacts.
* JD Gordon, worked for Russia to change the GOP 2016 convention platform against Ukraine
* Rick Gates - lied about his contacts.
* Jared - lied about his contacts.
* Don Jr - lied about his contacts.
* Bannon - lied about his contacts.
* Rudy - lied about his contacts.
* Michael Cohen - lied about his contacts.
* Eric Prince - lied about his contacts.
* Roger Stone - lied about his contacts.
* George Papadopoulos - lied about his contacts.
* Carter Page - lied about his contacts.
* Hope Hicks - lied about her contacts.
* Dan Scavino - lied about his contacts.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/01/26/us/politics/trump-contacts-russians-wikileaks.html
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-08-14/senate-committee-sought-investigation-of-bannon-raised-concerns-about-trump-family-testimony
TIM: ty for this! The links & details both very useful. I suggest you consider posting this to Michael Cohen's page/chat here on ss, as he might be both willing & able to answer your question. Pretty sure that his subscriber chat is not behind a paywall. It would be interesting to see what he says! If you post it lmk, and I'll try to call attention to it; I used to follow him regularly and know lots of substackers who still do.
Rump decides everything that is true about him is a lie. C’mon now. He still said it was all a hoax.
My question is why haven't any of the Epstein Files' victims, assuming many are alive, accusing Trump of being their abuser?
FEAR!
One did. There are four separate FBI contacts with a victim. The final outcome of the investigation is still being hidden in the 3 million documents Bondi is keeping out of the hands of congress.