Some days I just want to crawl into a hole and take a nap until Trump is gone. This is one of those days. There’s a cool rain here, which I assume was pushed here by far-away Hurricane Erin. Great napping weather. But the world is still too much Trump.
I don’t have to tell you that the Trump Administration is a rolling atrocity. So let’s look at this atrocity from a different angle. See Rex Huppke, Trump is wildly unpopular and losing ground fast. Why is anyone afraid of him?
In my memory, whenever a president is seriously hemorrhaging public support a “blood in the water” phenomenon takes hold. News media become more critical; press conferences, when they happen, become more acrimonious. The president’s party may not disown him, but it may stop going out of its way to defend him and create a bit of distance. That was true of Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter and even George W. Bush after Katrina.
And maybe eventually that will happen with Trump, but it’s not happening yet. And I think it’s not happening because of the radicalization of the Republican Party. These people are not Dick Nixon’s “respectable cloth coat” Republicans, from his Checkers speech. These are hard-core ideologue true believer wackadoos who are ready to sell out everything the U.S. achieved in the past century to go back to when the Klan was considered a respectable Christian organization. And Trump is their North Star. They aren’t going to bail on him as long as he’s breathing.
But Rex Huppke points out that Trump is now so unpopular there is no risk in standing up to him. Most people who voted for Trump thought he would be good for the economy. Most people are going to notice as the economy erodes. Knowledgeable economists are talking about stagflation. See also Paul Krugman, ICEing the U.S. Economy. Prices will go up. A lot of small businesses will fail. Jobs will be lost. People notice this stuff.
But then there are the Democrats. The New York Times released a report today saying the Democratic Party is “bleeding support.” Fewer new voters are choosing to register as Democrats. “Of the 30 states that track voter registration by political party, Democrats lost ground to Republicans in every single one between the 2020 and 2024 elections — and often by a lot,” it says. Me, being grumpy — yes, if the new folks have no idea what you stand for, why would they want to join? This is from Rolling Stone:
There’s plenty of data to explain why people aren’t exactly thrilled about giving their hard-earned money to the Democratic Party. Barely a week after Quinnipiac found that only 19 percent of registered voters approve of the job Democrats are doing in Congress, The Wall Street Journal released a survey finding that 63 percent of voters have an unfavorable view of the party, the lowest number since 1990. A few days later, Rolling Stone published a poll from liberal watchdog End Citizens United which found that voters in key congressional districts believe Democrats are more corrupt than Republicans.
See also How the Democrats Became the Party That Brings Pencils to a Knife Fight by Jia Lynn Yang and The Democratic Establishment’s Shunning of Mamdani Is Disqualifying by Perry Bacon. Too many Dems are stuck in their own long-held orthodoxies about how politics are supposed to work and haven’t adjusted to the shifting political landscape. And their worship of some concept of “centrism” that never made any sense to me has been slowly strangling the party for a long, long time. When a nominee is not as progressive as some voters like, the admonition is “vote blue no matter who.” But as Perry Bacon points out, this slogan seems to be only respected by one side.
And here we are.
I'm hardly a Bible scholar but the Book of Revelation is low in my esteem. Even then, there are a few quotes worth the bother of looking up.
"I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth." Revelation 3:15-16
Contrast your token moderate Democrat with Zohran Mamdani. The future mayor is willing to offend powerful people to make NY more affordable for non-gazillionares. So he's talking rent control, free bus travel, and city-owned grocery stores. And he's unapologetic about who will pay – the ultra-rich.
Want to figure out how sincere a politician is? Follow the money. IMO, it's damn near flawless. Do they take corporate money? Don't expect corporate tax reform, much less a corporate tax increase. Do they have a super-pac to allow their favorite billionaire to fund 90% of their campaign? As a general rule with some delightful exceptions, Democrats in Congress expect to leave office filthy rich. They have conned themselves that they can represent the "little people" and still take it to the bank.
"Republicans do it too, only WORSE!" I agree, but they are unrepentant in their graft. Democrats are slimy, sloppy liars about what they are doing. After a while, the “moderate” Democrate and his lies'are more offensive than the out-in-the-open cheat.
Historically, I'm reminded of the alliance between Stalin, FDR, and Churchill to defeat Hitler. For the moment, I am allied with some sleazy Democrats to defeat fascism. But it won't be long after a semblance of democracy is restored that we will have to confront the "Stalin" who survived – that is the "moderate" sold-out Democrats determined to return to a "managed" Democracy, run by and for the fat cats who will reward loyal politicians of ANY party as long as they let the fat cats call the shots.
A guy that comes around my second job today bragged that he was ordering his "Trump 2028" caps off of Temu today. He will purchase a dozen or two and stop back by to hand them out. I will turn it down as respectfully as I can and he will smirk and say "we can agree to disagree" as a giant FU. The choice to be apolitical at a workplace has been rescinded and that is the biggest FU and they can not even fathom how messed up that is. Yep, irony is dead.
Drumpf 2028 caps, made in China.
TRUMP/SATAN 2026 !
Will they run Don Jr?
Doubt it. All the stupid (and then some), zero charisma. The one I'm really afraid of is Barron, but not for another ten or more years. Can you imagine how screwed up that kid must be?
I don't see more than the genuinely lost-to-reality fringe supporting Junior, and I don't see J.D. Vance as being electable, either. For either of these guys to be electable the GOP would need to immediately start a massive PR campaign building one of them up as a Great Man, the way they did for George W. Bush back in the late 1990s. But Senior wants all the spotlights on him. So that's not going to happen.
No diaper don is planning on running again. He's already said he "may" run again!
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-third-term-white-house-methods-rcna198752
Here you see in the comments the major flaw of fascism. Built around the worship of a central figure. whether Hitler or Musalini, the structure is not a "movement" built around a unifying theme of ideas. Numerous former Republicans have railed against the abandonmnet of basic decades-old prinicples of conservatism. (Free markets are not compatible with capricious tariffs. That's just one)
They are NOT preparing a successor to Trump. Anyone who says he (or she) is the designated heir will draw Trump's direct fire. So all the wannn-bes are hanging out trying to look obsessibly loyal while pretending Trump will be viable when he's 100.
Trump is breaking the law (again.) Understatement. He can't let the DOJ fall into the hands of the Democrats. So he will try to cling to power and nobody knows of he will even pretend to adhere to the cutom of elections.
…whenever a president is seriously hemorrhaging public support a “blood in the water” phenomenon takes hold. News media become more critical; press conferences, when they happen, become more acrimonious. The president’s party may not disown him, but it may stop going out of its way to defend him and create a bit of distance.
The difference is retribution. Republican politicians not only fear being primaried, but fear for their families and children. Mitt Romney said he had to pay $5000 / day? for security for his family.
Giant news orgs fear scuttled business deals, such as we saw with CBS and Stephen Colbert. "Obeying in Advance" is a real thing – as we saw with the WaPo, which rolled out the red carpet for Trump when he won – and subsequently shed all the good journalists and the paper's reputation, as it heads toward minor league journalism. I think Bezos only wanted the WaPo as a tool to influence government to favor his business deals, kind of in the mold of Rupert Murdoch.
And so there's a lot of inertia, because the wounded beast can still lash out, calling upon Pam Bondi, Ed Martin or Kash Patel to start an investigation on you. Things are different in a fascist regime, to say the least.
All that said, I try to stay above the noise and only focus on the major turning points and strategic goals – which facilitate the major turning points.
This August saw a major turning point with the Epstein scandal, that's only starting to find its legs. A major part of Trump's base – the evangelicals – are waking up. I live down the street from a sleazy motel, the kind that rents rooms by the week. It's decorated with many "Trust in Jesus" signs, American flags, and until this month, a lot of Trump signs. The latter have disappeared, which shocked me. I've read others on this blog report the same thing in their area. This is a seismic shift.
More turning points are on the way, but the glide path toward ejecting the fascists is starting to become more clear and definitive. It would not surprise me if there's a stock market crash this fall, owing to Trump's mismanagement. Autumn is the season for these things. I don't expect 1929, just a significant drop. This will wake up investors, who are already reading about businesses damaged by tariffs and deported workers.
2026 will see everyone laser focused 1000% percent on winning the mid-terms, the strategic hill that must be taken, no matter what. Once that goal is gained, and the Democrats are back in power, it is over for Project 2025. And they know it.
Most are starting to understand. Fearless Leader writes checks his ass can't cash as one wise black man said the other day. Bankruptcy is his specialty. The Greatest Satan is showing through as his checks bounce across the country. Winning? Most would settle for just a lot less losing. When do we see peak horror?
Great again – never. Different for certain. On the wrong path we are. We may spend much time wandering in the wilderness before nature gets us back in harmony. In the meantime, expect a lot of tough love. Mother nature style tough love. Tantrums and denial just don't work with this mother, and you best tell the truth.
The fourth branch of the Federal Government's chairman, Jerome Powell will speak today in Wyoming. His branch remains free or at least semi free of the invasion and meddling of fearless leader. So far, this branch of the government has been damaged the least by his crime spree, but oh my does he want to take a wrecking ball to it also.
Fearless leader is to the American Government as BiBi is to Gasa. He wants it all turned into rubble. That the Fed is intact and functional is intolerable to the greatest Satan. Let's see if Mr. Powell can remain strong and vital.
Breaking news is the raid on John Bolton's home which could be a diversion from the financial news one need to prepare a survival tactic for a probable wave of stagflation. The last bout was in the 70s and most people don't remember or were not even alive then. Stagflation is like the doldrums is to sailboats. No matter what you try to do, you are going nowhere. You need to be mentally and financially ready to avoid some of the misery, but most everyone will suffer.
If your boat is small your paddle may save you. Don’t forget it.
Here, you see in the comments the major flaw of fascism. Built around the worship of a central figure. Whether Hitler or Musalini, the structure is not a "movement" built around a unifying theme of ideas. Numerous former Republicans have railed against the abandonment of basic decades-old principles of conservatism. (Free markets are not compatible with capricious tariffs. That's just one)
They are NOT preparing a successor to Trump. Anyone who says he (or she) is the designated heir will draw Trump's direct fire. So all the wannabes are hanging out trying to look obsessively loyal while pretending Trump will be viable when he's 100. IMO, Trump promotes this competition for the throne as a way of manipulating his minions.
Trump is breaking the law (again.) Understatement. He can't let the DOJ fall into the hands of the Democrats. So he will try to cling to power, and nobody knows whether he will even pretend to adhere to the custom of elections.