I do NOT understand the Epstein kerfuffle

I would not be surprised to find that the deal was laid in during the election, leading to Vance's nomination. What consideration did Trump receive? Their support in getting him reelected and away from prison, which a Vance pardon will handle quite nicely.

But that's speculation. We'll have to see how it plays out.

 

Anyone who still supports Trump or MAGA at this point is not playing with a full deck. This is NOT the GOP anymore.

 

GOP = Grand Old Pedophiles

 

I disagree.

He won on a fluke in 2016. Biden stopped him in 2020. The circumstances around his 2024 victory could not have been more favorable. COVID fatigue, people mad about inflation, Biden's slipping, running against a last-minute replacement (who was a woman of color).

While it is true that his supporters are an unshakeable bunch, they're not the majority. He's got about 40% of the electorate locked up. But the other 10% who voted for him have turned against him in a very hard way. Assuming he is ineligible to run again--and I do believe that will hold--his only power is to use that 40% to strangle Republican representatives and Senators with threats from the Far Right--the very people he's antagonizing with this issue. That makes it very, very hard for him to get anything done. (See the last bill, for example.)

 

A pardon.

Also, a deal he made to accept Vance--a guy he did not want--onto the ticket.

 

More interesting to me is polling that shows an apparent enthusiasm gap between Democrats and Republicans wrt the 2026 elections. Now, it’s WAAAAY too early to predict anything! The polls are utterly meaningless regardless of what they say.

I myself am a disgusted lifelong Democrat and even former elected official but my personal enthuse-o-meter reads just above "apathetic" and just below "lethargic".

But there that gap is. Republicans are much less inclined to vote in 2026 than Democrats. For now.

 

Self diagnosis here...I need someone to tell me in words of one syllable just what the Democrats stand for besides not being Trump.

 

The elites

 

Why?

The Democrats just barely lost the Senate, House, and White House. But lose them they did. They're in the process of swapping out the old guard (mostly, and it's about time). I wouldn't expect a serious and unified message to emerge so soon after the previous election. But it will.

 

Regardless of how I personally feel, that answer had better not mention "pronouns".

 

Well luckily their message has never been about “pronouns”, so I dont see them pushing it now.

 

• Help for folks who have less
  
  
• Fair pay for hard work
  
  
• Clean air and clean streams
  
  
• Rights for all, not just some
  
  
• Help with health costs
  
  
• Rules for big biz
  
  
• Safe guns, not no guns
  
  
• Vote laws that are fair
  
  
• School help for each kid
  
  
• Plan for warm Earth stuff
  

 

Great! Let's see...where is inflation on that list? Or protection from foreign (sometimes nearly slave) labor? Where are the solid policies that will protect pensions or bring down the cost of housing?

Bill Clinton got it right then the Democrats forgot the lesson. "It's the economy, Stupid".

 

And as to "pronouns", I'm not sure you're following the scene.

 

And while we're at it, what specific actions does the Party intend to take to reduce our huge and growing national debt? How about homelessness and urban property crime? The new meth and fentynal epidemic?

I'm not interested in handwaveium. I want answers.

Here's the thing. TRUMP gives hard answers. They may be wrong answers or even illegal answers, but they're actual answers. Democrats offer fluff.

That's why I'm disgusted and becoming disengaged.

 

Channeling Will Rogers. I know.

 

Quite a choice to praise Bill Clinton in a discussion about the Epstein files.