Thought for the Day

If politics were always about being objective I would agree with Pelosi. Trump is dangerously incompetent and unstable. However, we are a month away from an election and Trump is doing very poorly in the polls and there are people who will see her actions as politically motivated and an attack. And she is very unlikely to succeed.

I never imagined we'd get to a point where Republicans are being cagey about whether they have covid and refusing to get tested because they're afraid they'd have to be responsible and isolate. It appears that's where we're at but I want to leave this as a hint because I believe that story is going to develop. Hint: Lindsey Graham has refused a test, but I believe we'll find out more about other top Republicans.

There was a recent plot to kidnap Governor Whitman in Michigan. Early in the course of the pandemic Trump took to twitter to encourage people to violate public health orders in Michigan. He also spent time vilifying Whitman while she was trying to deal with outbreaks, so this is very much something he helped incite.

Now he is more than incompetent. Using filthy words on public platforms signals the decline of values at the top of American Government, for whatever language they use in private, Americans have the right to expect decency and respect from their President, not the 'F' word. But as this man has described Americans as 'total scum, they're human scum', and is believed to owe money to foreign dictators, and has refused to condemn armed militias of the kind that plotted to kidnap and 'execute' the Governor of Michigan, your President now appears to be the Godfather of American Terrorism, and a Traitor.

And as the wheels come off this runaway truck, I suspect his language will get worse, his public rants more hysterical, his abuse spead far and wide to anyone who does not adore him. As for Lindsay Graham, it is the contempt for his voters that I find so astonishing. But this is not unique to the US, as just this week Boris Johnson approved of decisions affecting the North of England without bothering to talk to any of the North's Mayors to let them know what he was doing.

People don't like being treated like they don't exist. One just yearns for this manufactured lunacy to end, so that politics can revert to the boring task of doing things that work, if that is possible.

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Originally Posted by broncofan

If politics were always about being objective I would agree with Pelosi. Trump is dangerously incompetent and unstable. However, we are a month away from an election and Trump is doing very poorly in the polls and there are people who will see her actions as politically motivated and an attack. And she is very unlikely to succeed.

I never imagined we'd get to a point where Republicans are being cagey about whether they have covid and refusing to get tested because they're afraid they'd have to be responsible and isolate. It appears that's where we're at but I want to leave this as a hint because I believe that story is going to develop. Hint: Lindsey Graham has refused a test, but I believe we'll find out more about other top Republicans.

There was a recent plot to kidnap Governor Whitman in Michigan. Early in the course of the pandemic Trump took to twitter to encourage people to violate public health orders in Michigan. He also spent time vilifying Whitman while she was trying to deal with outbreaks, so this is very much something he helped incite.

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Also never imagined that we would to point where Republicans are being cagey about whether or not they have covid and refusing to get tested,however not surprised at at all that Republicans are refusing to get tested for covid because it will reveal how irresponsible they are and not taking the pandemic serious,and will have to self quarantine. and also believe that we will find more about top Republicans who attended the so-called ceremony at the rose garden. and agree that Trump's Toxic Rhetoric has helped incite the recent kidnap plot againist Michigan Governor Whitmer.

If Trump loses the election and Republicans lose the House and Senate I think Democrats should be ruthless. Although bipartisanship is important when there is another party to work with, Republicans have consistently acted in bad faith. I support expansion of the Supreme Court through legislation, and no pardons for any Republicans who are prosecuted for crimes they committed during the Trump administration.

I'd actually be interested to hear the alternative view. How could Democrats afford to act like this last four years was not an abomination that completely undermined the rule of law? Can rule of law be re-established without consequences for Republicans? Can Republicans ever understand that they cannot invent rules like the one they did for Merrick Garland and then apply them inconsistently unless that kind of partisan behavior is deterred?

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Originally Posted by broncofan

I'd actually be interested to hear the alternative view. How could Democrats afford to act like this last four years was not an abomination that completely undermined the rule of law? Can rule of law be re-established without consequences for Republicans? Can Republicans ever understand that they cannot invent rules like the one they did for Merrick Garland and then apply them inconsistently unless that kind of partisan behavior is deterred?

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I agree that they shouldn't turn the other cheek and 'play nice' because the other side will never stop behaving badly if they don't suffer consequences for it. However, you also don't want the system to devolve further into a 'tit for tat' game where both sides seek maximum advantage whenever they have the opportunity. So I think they need to focus on lasting reforms to address the shortcomings in the system that Republicans have taken advantage of. Maybe the Dems need a carrot and stick approach where they go harder if Republicans refuse to cooperate, but are prepared to moderate if the other side cooperates in supporting system reforms.

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Originally Posted by filghy2

I agree that they shouldn't turn the other cheek and 'play nice' because the other side will never stop behaving badly if they don't suffer consequences for it. However, you also don't want the system to devolve further into a 'tit for tat' game where both sides seek maximum advantage whenever they have the opportunity. So I think they need to focus on lasting reforms to address the shortcomings in the system that Republicans have taken advantage of. Maybe the Dems need a carrot and stick approach where they go harder if Republicans refuse to cooperate, but are prepared to moderate if the other side cooperates in supporting system reforms.

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This is definitely the right answer. I was recommending tit for tat and do see its limitations. The list of systemic reforms is going to be long of course. Although I am pessimistic about what I see, I should also consider that it took Trump four years to fully corrupt the Justice Department. Even now, there are career lawyers and law enforcement professionals who are committed to their work. The courts have blocked various attempts by Trump to interfere with the election by challenging the constitutionality of drop boxes for mail in ballots. The senate and house were there to enable him and had an opportunity to remove him from office for clear-cut impeachable offenses and didn't. They will likely face electoral consequences. I won't say the system is working how it should but reforms can impede future instances of the corruption we've seen. The system is not beyond reform.

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Originally Posted by filghy2

Maybe the Dems need a carrot and stick approach where they go harder if Republicans refuse to cooperate, but are prepared to moderate if the other side cooperates in supporting system reforms.

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The best reforms would be those that make our system more responsive to the will of the people. Gerrymandering takes place at the state level and the electoral college will take an amendment to eliminate. I think they are here to stay. A different court could have tackled partisan gerrymandering, but the current Supreme Court will not find a constitutional violation for gerrymandered congressional districts.

I'm sure there are things we can do though to ensure the integrity of elections and help prevent voter suppression. Republicans will likely face a big hit at the polls if things continue the way they're going.

Pardon my carry on comedy, but I did have a laugh at the attempt made by Lara Trump to prove Joe Biden is suffering from cognitive decline, referring to his apparent difficulty in public speaking which she put like this:

“Every time he comes on stage or they turn to him, I’m like, ‘Joe, can you get it out?”...

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/jake-tappe...021808253.html

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Originally Posted by Stavros

Pardon my carry on comedy, but I did have a laugh at the attempt made by Lara Trump to prove Joe Biden is suffering from cognitive decline, referring to his apparent difficulty in public speaking which she put like this:
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“Every time he comes on stage or they turn to him, I’m like, ‘Joe, can you get it out?”...

[/FONT]https://uk.news.yahoo.com/jake-tappe...021808253.html[FONT="]
[/FONT]

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Lara Trump is just as delusional and uneducated as her Demagouge And Malignant Narcissist of a father in law is,and if anyone has an apparent difficulty in public speaking,it's the clown she works for.

And a President who uses dirty words on public platforms, and who insults and abuses the very same people who have helped shape his policy, is unfit for public office. I looked at this morning’s press and media in the hope of seeing universal condemnation of his filthy language but find, as usual, a degree of indifference bordering on permission that underlines how far American political discourse has fallen.