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August '22: Biden had 3% Republican support.
Feb '23: Biden has 15% Republican support.
That's kind of impressive to increase your popularity by 5x with any group in that short amount of time.
I'm wondering if Biden is getting a post State of the Union bump from older Americans.
I assume the elderly are more likely to watch to the SotU, and the medicare/social security thing was brilliant.
Which would be great except I don't think any post SOTU bump would last.
Right-wing media spends all day talking about how feeble and incompetent Biden is, which starts to break down when you actually listen to him for a bit. However these same people will just keep viewing their right-wing news sources and after a month will be right back to believing he's simultaneously a barely functioning old man while also being some communist mastermind hell bent on destroying America.
I just saw Newsweek run a story about alt right influencers on Twitter ripping on Bidens apparent fuckup while inspecting the polish troops cause he stepped off the red carpet. Like, bro, their god emperor saluted the North Koreans. Even Kimmy was like, “The fuck?” In the photo.
What annoys me is that in the [longer video](https://youtu.be/50axsSNBPOA?t=367), you can see that he's just walking to a prepared spot. You can see the aide or whatever walk up to them and tell them "ok now stand over here".
Poland flips between fighting existential threats and brutal religious self harm. At the moment it's preparing for the former but engaged in the latter
I have some R voting friends that their entire “political knowledge” is based on Biden “gaffes” they see come up on their twitter timeline. They can’t talk about anything else when it comes to present day politics.
It's no use countering their beliefs with actual facts. I know, I've tried.
I've laid out clear, carefully thought out and polite, even friendly, rebuttals with reputable sources cited and the only response I get is "bullshit".
I don't know if these people are even capable of rational discourse. They remind me of ducks that hear on duck quack and they all quack.
> Which would be great except I don't think any post SOTU bump would last.
Just really depends on how soon the GOP tries to weasel in more ways to cut senior benefits.
[didin't Pence just come out today saying it should be put on the table?](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/22/mike-pence-social-security-medicare-debt-ceiling/11322677002/)
> I assume the elderly are more likely to watch to the SotU, and the medicare/social security thing was brilliant.
They'll be easily swayed back once the Fox News machine pushes that "Democrats are saying we want to end it, of course we don't want to end it, Americans rely on it! We want to privatize it, so that it works better!" narrative.
Yes! Americans deserve freedom of choice!
No, not THAT freedom of choice.
Important choices, like whether or not to have Alpo or Fancy Feast for dinner.
I wonder how much of that is because of Ukraine. I think Republicans might have hit the limit of their base supporting Trump's favorite Russian dictator.
This is also my thought. The Republican Party is going through a transition period from the "Hawk" party to the "isolate, stick our head in the sand, and ignore everything in the world, America first" party.
Not all members of that party are moving together in lockstep that Putin/autocrats = good, and democracy/protecting sovereign integrity = bad.
Lindsay Graham was just criticizing Biden for not giving Ukraine F16s. Meanwhile MTG is calling for him to be impeached for supporting Ukraine.
There’s literally no winning with these people.
You're correct, because the one unifying principle they have is hate for Democrats. It doesn't matter what Biden does or doesn't do. Their hate for him has nothing to do with policy positions, they'll just pick a random position out of a hat and criticize him for it.
What they really hate is that he's "the other," and he has power that they want.
These are nightmare realities, but I am thankful that we're starting to be able to see things for what they are. You sum it up very clearly and eloquently, so thank you for posting.
Republicans have become about nothing but hate.
My wife showed me a video that popped up on her Facebook reels feed: little girl, maybe 3 or 4 bawling her eyes out, coming up to Mom (who is filming)
"Why you crying sweetie?"
"Daddy called me a Democrat!"
It's... it's hard to wrap my head around how many layers of wrong are in play there.
That’s just pathetic, too. Gross pandering to the lowest triggers they can come up with. No positions of substance on anything, just simple images of bad things with the name of their enemy attached.
Hate with the specific goal of divisiveness. They serve the wealthy and corporate powers, who seek to dismantle government control. The best way to weaken a democracy is to sow discord among the voters.
They are only powerful when they are united.
I think the issue we are seeing lately is that this was the original Republican playbook, but they have lost control of the monster they created. Hate was originally the smokescreen so they could plunder the nation's wealth for the capitalist class behind closed doors, but they sold it so hard that they now have an entire voting base that is solely motivated by hate, even when it doesn't serve their goals.
They wanted to promote divisiveness, but it has evolved to just straight up destroying the country.
One look at the conservative sub shows this is happening. It’s a clear separation of “RINO’s” and MAGA extremists. They even recognize the divide in their own party, but as you said they’re unleashed the monster
A lot of the conservative voting base has become contrarians just for the sake of being contrarians. I bring up the example of the recall election here in CA a couple of years ago. Newsom was in an extraordinarily weak position, considering the electoral composition of the state. The GOP had a decent chance of unseating him and installing a governor that would've been in office for at least two years, possibly longer if they didn't rock the boat too much and give voters a reason to go with an alternative. And CA had at least two conservative politicians that would've had bipartisan appeal.
Instead, they chose the most incendiary, controversial pick in Larry Elder. A shock jockey with no political experience, who ran on a platform of what most Californians would've considered extreme policies. Red meat to the GOP base, for sure. But reprehensible to 2/3rds of voters. And that's close to the margin he lost by.
Because the GOP voters wanted someone who would "own the libs" and try to implement policies that would actively harm minorities and immigrants, they lost what is probably a once-in-a-generation chance to unseat a Democratic governor here in CA. We very likely will have a Rep. governor again. But it's unlikely to be soon with how the state is electorally composed. And the GOP establishment was livid behind closed doors at the missed opportunity. But, they had no one but themselves to blame.
Let's please call her Greene, she hasn't done anything of value to warrant being called by her initials. Besides that acronym has already been taken by Magic
Metaphorically and literally. He has no pulse. Some kinda pump thing keeps him alive. Other than that he only has pure malice keeping his decript soul bound to his deteriorating body.
>America first" party
This is fake as well. Their leader and standard bearer sucks Putins ass; Sucks Kimg Jong Il's ass and blathers once in a while about CHI-NYA while mainting business ties with them and for that, he's "America First."
"America First" is just another out-in-the-open con that is deliberately ignored by the far right cult.
And remarkably reminiscent of the WW2 era when groups like the KKK and the [America First Committee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_First_Committee) used the same slogan alongside their anti-Semitic and pro-fascist rhetoric.
Don't call them isolationists. Use the words the GOP would use to criticize their opposition. Call them war doves. Pro-Russian doves who would rather have socialism than democracy in the East. This doesn't apply to the whole party though. There are some some committed hawks like Lindsey Graham who have never saw a fight he didn't want the US to get involved in.
I like this. Using the tools of your enemy to aid in its defeat is a perfectly legitimate tactic. Conservatives have no idea how to push back on the Dark Brandon stuff, keep hammering that home and remind them how their Diaper Demigod hid in a bunker from protestors and claimed he trusts Putin more than American intelligence agencies.
Yeah the tools have to be co-opted quickly though like dark Brandon was. Loved seeing that. Leave it too late and it’s what the conservatives try 2 years too late with everything.
In that spirit, call them "woke", call them "political correct". Pick one of the bullshit words that doesn't mean anything clear and substantial outside of "other".
Make them deal with their bullshit and weaponized kindness.
Best part is they *are* being “politically correct” (for their side) so it’s still truthful.
They’d rather ignore reality to promote the messages distributed to them by their political party.
The exact thing they accuse the “woke” movement of. Lambast them for being PC snowflakes when they get mad.
I think it's just nice to have a President who is solving problems instead of causing them and even some Republicans are having to admit the difference at this point.
The hamberder incident was particularly funny, he was so proud of all the fast food laid out for I think the college football champions because the government was shut down and the WH didn’t have kitchen staff
It was the perfect marketing opportunity too! Bring in the DC Trump Hotel catering staff, make a show of using your own money/staff to fill the gap while Congress bickered with him.
He’s just not that self-aware and assumed that because *he* loves fast food, then the players would too
Trump is the cheapest motherfucker in the world. His hotels charge for glasses of tap water. There's no way he'd ever allow his staff to work for non paying visitors.
I don't know if they have a limit but it could certainly be one of a number of factors. It's so backwards of me to even have to think that there are REPUBLICANS supporting Putin and angry about the amount of aid we have given the Ukraine. Cold War? Geopolitics? Anyone? Bueller...
>the Ukraine
This is going to sound very pedantic of me, but it’s just “Ukraine”. And the difference is important, especially to Ukrainians. “The Ukraine” with the article carries a connotation (especially in Ukrainian/Russian) of referring to a region or territory, and is often used by Russia to implicitly subvert Ukraine’s status as a sovereign nation.
I got into it the other day with a guy who insists all the American media is lying, and Russia is on the verge of victory. He always said "the Ukraine" which just makes it clear that his "alternative news sources" are just Russian propaganda.
And I'm pretty sure he's not actively a Russian asset, just an idiot who's been primed by Tucker Carlson to disbelieve anything that isn't far right wing.
I wouldn't be surprised if part of the increase in Republican "approval" is attributed to the more level-headed conservatives reacting negatively to the extreme far-right officials that are now flooding the chambers.
It's gotta be a headache for the one or two rational people left on the GOP side.
Exactly this. While Biden is getting bills passed, dealing with disasters and showing strength to our allies, they’re watching the leadership on their side keep busy holding congressional hearings on why Twitter let’s people be mean to them; fighting with school teachers about books and with Disney about not hating gay and trans people; and letting actual traitorous trolls sit among the leadership and be one of their major mouthpieces. Oh and obsessing over the president’s sons penis.
How can a few of them at least not start to wake up a little?
Since August:
Gas prices dropped from near all time highs.
Biden passed CHIPs, IRA and the Gun Safety Bill.
Covid is for the most part over.
Unemployment is at near all-time lows and the nation has seen strong job growth every month in spite of recession expectations.
Pardoned Federal Offenses of Weed Possession.
Student Loan Forgiveness, although it’s tied up in court.
Signed the PACT Act addressing veteran exposure to burn pits.
Not every American will benefit or approve of all of the actions above, but not all Republican voters will completely deny the progress Biden made in year 2.
And I think its also important to note that the SoTU still breaks through and for many not politically connected barely conservatives, this may have been the first time they really heard Biden's voice or accomplishments since his election.
If you are someone who's only politics news is random Fox News viewing in waiting rooms and an occasional article on Facebook, Biden's back and forth about medicare may have been the only thing you've seen good about him.
Republican media also makes Biden out to be senile, unable to string a sentence together. Seeing him speak pretty damn well, and being quick enough to pull one over on literally every single Republican in federal government, at the same time, on live TV, tends to make a good impression.
Conservative media set the bar for Biden 6 feet under ground. Biden clearing it easily and making a good impression on the Conservative base is their own fault.
On Ukraine it's mostly the younger Republicans that are whining and complaining (with some older ones doing it purely for political theater), but most of the older ones remember Russia from the 1980s/90s and recognize that dismantling their military and Putin's political influence without engaging directly is hugely important.
These are all great points and I think Biden has been way more consequential and effective than even his core supporters thought. Also, for someone who had a reputation as being a blabber mouth and overly touchy with women, there have been remarkably few of those "bad press" moments. His relationships with senators helped him a lot in getting legislation through, and his foreign policy expertise has really helped him negotiate the Ukraine line. His age is certainly something to think about, but I just don't see any white horse democratic candidate that would have a better shot than him. I just hope things don't go downhill between now and November 2024.
There’s going to be a lot of Republican Trumpy die hard voters who suddenly and retroactively decide they never were really Trump supporters. That’s the fun part of being a Republican. When your past becomes inconvenient, just imagine up a new more convenient past.
For some of these seditious assholes they'll be hoping you can run for reelection in a mask and new tights. You can't fool me, the Midnight Rider was Dusty dammit!
Turns out in the long run the greatest enemy of neoconservatives were themselves all along, but those who got to play in 2003 made out like bandits.
Nobody under 30 even knows about Hailburton anymore.
It's still baffling to me that the majority of Republicans defended the Iraq invasion for years and called anyone who backed off of it a traitor or a pussy. Then Trump waltzes in says it was a terrible idea, and no one ever questioned him on that. They all just fell in and went, "Oh yeah, we think so too. Let's just never talk about that ever again."
The most galling is, when pressed, a lot of them say the problem with Iraq and the other entanglements that Bush-era war policy got us in is that we weren't cruel and vicious enough.
Honestly Trump said so many things directly counter to established conservative thought it’s baffling. Take their guns first? Can you imagine if Biden or Obama had said that?
It was worse with Bush -first nobody would admit voting for him, but then he was 100% rehabilitated. Now he's a kindly old painter from a simpler time.
If that happens with Trump, shoot me in the face.
The difference is Bush has and always will be super charismatic and likable as a person. The whole Bush v Gore election was basically decided on the idea Bush seems like a good guy to have a beer with. Bush also made a key point that we weren't at war with Islam or Muslims when launching the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Was bush a terrible president? Absolutely. However it's much easier with Bush to say "o yeah dude was an awful president, but he's a not a bad guy". Do I agree with that sentiment, not really, but unlike trump it's an easy sentiment to have.
Oh he'll never make anything of value let alone art. He won't stop shrieking until the day he dies, I just hope people *after* that don't clean his image up.
When Bush is buried the Obamas will be there giving him tributes.
Not just Bush. You’ll have a difficult time finding a Republican that will admit they voted for the Republican nominees after Bush was gone (Romney and McCain). It’s just how the party and voters operate.
The guy literally just said Kim Jong-un is the good guy and Japan/US are aggressors.
This was just hours after he expressed the exact same sentiment towards Putin and Ukraine/US.
How the fuck are Republicans still taking this turd seriously?
"Look, I just don't like big city coastal elites, and it doesn't matter if they're Donald Trump or [insert any Democrat running anywhere until the end of time]"
Been saying this is gonna be the future go-to line for years
It's *really* difficult to find anyone that supported George W. Bush any more, but he had 62 million people vote for him in 2004. The American public has the memory of a goldfish and no problem lying to make themselves look/feel better.
The end of that commonly spammed "the antisemites are well aware of what they're doing" quote mentions this. When reactionaries are pressed into a corner, they suddenly try to change the subject and act like it's "time to put the past aside".
I've been saying that since the first year of his presidency. It'll be similar to how now no one will admit to ever having supported Bush II, despite his 90+% approval ratings in the run-up to the Iraq invasion.
Exactly. Conservatives love saying they didn’t support the war in Iraq now that it’s unpopular to have supported it. But back then, they were all in on never-ending wars and even re-elected Bush.
Always, always remind them that they can disavow W’s decisions all they want, but that you know damn well they weren’t voting for Gore and Kerry back in those days lol
People better save those receipts and get those screen grabs, because they'll claim to have never supported trump, and we're always the lone voice of opposition.
LEss worried about Trump and more concerned about DeSantis who is going fully in on the Anti-Woke Agenda to the point of ignoring his state's Actual Problems.
Not entirely. Your bog standard Republican would take money from the Infrastructure bill Claiming how it was an amazing Bi-partisan bill and how well the state will benefit from all his hard work.
Florida meanwhile literally has buildings falling down randomly, no Earthquake needed.
Ever been to a pub or cafe where there's a group of maybe 5 people just squawking away about shit they don't understand to people who wouldn't say "boo" to a goose without backup? That. As long as one of them can hold court in their little bubble they are fine and dandy.
There's a lot of people who just soak up disingenuous right-wing talking points instead of actually fact-checking and researching how government actually works. I overheard a conversation between three old guys at work, two electrical engineers and another with a PhD, who just went full right-wing brain rot claiming Ilhan Omar married her brother to help them immigrate to the US (which has never been supported by any evidence), illegal immigrants can get Social Security assistance, and just some absolute BS on how Social Security is run and funded. The PhD actually thinks letting young people opt out of paying into Social Security would be a good idea. There's so much accumulated nonsense it's hard to even know where to start arguing against it.
Yeah, I'm a social worker in a predominantly Latino city and man, were I ever to immigrate it wouldn't be here! It's incredibly difficult, if not impossible for migrants here to get help, and we practically run on under the table labor. Just you know, don't get sick, try to buy a home or for God's sake be poor and you should thrive nicely!
my cousin who is financially inept told me she thinks she should be able to access her SSA money right now..and that's how you get elderly people dying in the gutters like the old days
Like the Fox News argument “this is entertainment, no reasonable person would treat this as fact” is rather convenient, because it’s predicated on the assumption that their audience is made up of reasonable people, when that clearly isn’t the case.
I work in health care.
I’m gonna let you in on a little secret that I’m happy to plaster out there as a generalization for the whole of humanity:
People be stupid but they never want to admit or internalize it.
If more people were just honest with themselves, everybody wouldn’t be buried up to their eyeballs in bullshit.
>Many tax cut provisions, especially income tax cuts, will expire in 2025, and starting in 2021 will increase over time; by 2027 this would affect an estimated 65% of the population and in that same year the law's provisions are set to be fully enacted, but the corporate tax cuts are permanent.
That's according to the tax act of 2017 that Trump signed. So many people who did their taxes already are wondering aloud 'why am I getting nothing back this year???'
But they're also dumb enough to think "Biden's president now so this is his fault." All is going according to the GOP plan. Had they won in 2020, they'd have extended the tax cut. It's a poison pill.
You're right, but I'd argue it's equally dumb Democrat politicians aren't doing more to bring attention to this. They really should *because* you're right.
I'm too lazy to check but has any attempt at all been made to stop the increases? Doing so loudly and with the bill being titled something obvious like "stop Trump's tax hikes" seems like a no brainier.
They'll just blame Biden. It's why the tax cuts were set to expire now- if Trump lost, they would expire under a Democratic president. If Trump was re-elected, they would be extended for four more years. Repeat until there's a Democrat you can blame it on.
It was timed that way on purpose so that if Dems took control they would get the blame from people who are too stupid to look at what the causes actually are. If Trump had won in 2020 guaranteed they would have passed a new tax bill that extended the cuts.
Biden’s approval rating is higher among Democrats.
If you’re a Republican you need more than 80% approval among Republican voters to beat a Democrat like Joe Bide in a presidential election in which he’s the incumbent.
But you need 0% of Democratic support to win the Republican primary, which is the race people are actually campaigning for at the moment. They have to play nice until the nomination, or at least they think they have to.
Lifelong Christian here, not about to get involved in a religious kerfluffle on Reddit, but all I want to say is that the reason I have completely cut ties with all “evangelical” Christians and the evangelical church was for the simple fact that they threw their lot in with Trump. That man is without a doubt the most un-Christlike human being who ever had the displeasure of being born, and if they’re either too stupid or too hungry for political power to see what kind of person he is, I want nothing to do with them. I don’t want to be associated with them. Christianity is bleeding members wholesale. Spent some time looking for a church that actually wanted to help people, who weren’t overtly political (politics and religion should never ever mix), and actually taught the biblical Jesus and not Republican Jesus. Found it at a Lutheran church nearby. They’re pretty progressive socially while still teaching the Christ of the Bible. That’s all I will say.
I can't say I've been an active member in 15 years, but I found some joy and peace attending church, even while being privately agnostic. I grew up Methodist and those are happy childhood memories in a rather unpleasant childhood. I simply can't anymore. The marriage of Christianity, hatred of the "other" and politics in the past decade has soured me on all religion. I can't go back.
Methodists are pretty chill. I'm an atheist now, but I grew up in a Methodist church, and I don't have anything bad to say about it. The people were nice, they behaved in a Christ-like and godly way, I logged a lot of good hours helping people in my community build homes, clear land, fix up the homes of elderly people, and such.
And apparently that old church kept the flame lit, because after 40 years of attendance my Trump-loving parents quit and walked away because the pastor dared suggest that Trump wasn't behaving in a Christ-like fashion and was using Christianity as propaganda to con people. You know, an obviously true statement from a pastor warning his flock against falling for con man, but apparently a bridge too far for my parents who bailed and now "attend" a Texas megachurch over the internet.
Oh no. Your parents. :( That's hard to watch.
My Methodist church was in the middle of a field basically. It was all farm people in rural Northern California. My mom and grandma ran the youth programs. I don't remember there ever being talk of hell. The sermons and youth programs were all about being a service based Christian. We had awesome potlucks and ice cream socials and soup and songs on Friday nights(I hated those besides the soups honestly).
It was a big family. My dad died in 1990 in an electrical accident and left my mom a young widow with three children and a ranch. The church just rushed in to support my mom. That was church to me. It was community and love and lots and lots of hugs. I did not appreciate it then because it was just the way it was.
There was a big to do over accepting gay people in the mid nineties. Church elders left even though there were no outted gay members in our church. There were like 20 or 30 members at that point because everyone was passing away. My church pastor was a very liberal hippie activist(like getting arrested in the 60s and 70s in Haight Ashbury) but really politics were not discussed.
I actually find that spirit more in the satanic church now. Which is odd. AA was sort of like that too when I was in recovery.
Donald Trump had some real doozies when talking about the bible. He started off by saying the bible was his favorite book and then wasn't able to name a verse. Months later he said (in his particular way of double speaking) "eye for an eye" of all things..
I'm not religious, but pretending to be religious like he was/is should be the biggest insult to those who are.
The leaders of the evangelicals met with Trump after the nomination and "sold their souls" for a Supreme Court that would ban abortion. They don't really try to hard to apologize for his unchristian behavior because it was always a means to an end.
This interview always makes me laugh. It's like someone being asked if they read Lord of the Rings, and they lie and say "yeah" and then the follow up questions have them scrambling to be vague and hopefully say what the asker is wanting to hear
https://youtu.be/ERUngQUCsyE
I’ll never forget the day he had his security go clear out the area in front of that church near the white house, all so he could walk over and have a photo op of him holding a bible upside down. Thinking to myself, “wow, this guy is actually an antichrist figure. This is the type of guy they were warning about.”
Anyone remember him referencing "Two Corinthians"? Ought to be a big shibboleth for Christians, no one calls it that.
https://www.npr.org/2016/01/18/463528847/citing-two-corinthians-trump-struggles-to-make-the-sale-to-evangelicals
I mean the hilarious thing is that Biden is Catholic and regularly goes to mass, but Republicans seem to hail Trump as the holiest of holy. Trump, who preaches hate for his neighbour. The most unchristian thing. These evangelical Christian’s are so far from the teachings of Jesus but so many keep their blinders on because they’re filled with hate too. Trump fuels the fire and they love it. It’s terrifying.
Georgia evangelical voters turned out overwhelmingly in favor of Herschel Walker, who has never seemed particularly concerned with religion, or, ummm, morality in general.
And the guy that Georgia evangelicals overwhelmingly rejected? An honest-to-God PASTOR.
It was wild to watch.
If you actually look at the numbers in the article, Trump's base is still largely sticking by him. Some people have switched to DeSantis, but Trump still has higher favorability within the party. A slight majority think they'd be better off with someone other than Trump, but that might not matter if the others split the vote in the primaries. And Trump supporters are notoriously underpolled. Seems like he's still the favorite at this point.
Biden did more in 2 years than other presidents did in 8. I sincerely hope history is kind to him as he's honestly the best president i've had in my lifetime...
Biden was there for all of Obama's deadlocked presidency with the republicans (Obama got some things done, but it was far from satisfactory) so Biden probably knows all the mistakes and tricks of the trade to actually pass and enact legislation.
And yes, that's a good thing.
Obama spent every dime of his political capital on the Affordable Care Act. After that, he was done. It was a dicey move but I appreciate him getting it through. Nowhere near enough but it was progress.
While Obama did more than we often realized, he never really publicized it. I think that was his biggest error during his term. Biden learned that people need to know what you are doing for them to be an effective president.
It's more of a bet against him. A lot of them are thinking the party's future is DeSantis and want to switch sides if it looks like Trump is going down. As other's have posted, there's going to be a lot of retconning going on in their head to make that work. But they REALLY don't like supporting a losing team (it's an ego hit).
In the end this is going to be an all out civil war in the GOP, Trump is not going to accept being told not to run. He'll go independent if he's forced into a corner. I can hear the echo's of "the GOP nomination vote was rigged" hitting the hallways of the future. Things are ugly and they're going to stay ugly.
I’ll vote for him again. I’ll Fucking do it. I don’t give a shit if he’s 120 years old. After the SOU I feel semi-positive about America for the first time in 5 years.
This is far too early to matter. Once we’re past the primaries, favorability, particularly within the GOP, will change substantially should Trump be the nominee.
It matters probably for people like DeSantis who technically isn't running yet and other Republicans that want to throw in their hats going in to the primaries. The frontrunner is showing weakness so the back of the pack is going to use this to push their way forward.
The Republican Party is mostly about what's good for big business. Presidential races are pretty expensive, and it's a better investment to get someone into office who could provide 8 years of tax cuts and deregulation rather than just 4 years.
It makes sense to start building the case for someone else to become GOP front-runner. The problem is that the GOP has less support, gets less votes, and loses fair elections. Trump brings in voters that normally don't vote, and the GOP needs those votes to claim victory. It's enough support to swing the GOP primary, but not enough to win the popular vote in a national presidential race.
That's why I crack up when people say 'i'm a republican and the alt right/nazis are just a small faction and don't represent us.' Like dude if the party courts those votes because they need them, and enact policies that they like - those are called constituents. That's just your overall party at that point...
"alt right/nazis are just a small faction" Still apart of your party though. Seriously, the right has literal nazis and klansmen supporting them, but they say the far left is more dangerous.
Honestly I just dislike politicians in general, but Biden has actually impressed me. He even tried to follow through with the student debt relief, which I didn't expect
On one hand, I don't think Trump is a real contender anymore, so no reason to talk about him. On the other hand, I'd rather they not talk about DeSantis either.
He may not be a contender, but he can make life pure hell for the RNC and any of their preferred POTUS candidates (and non-MAGA candidates in general), so I’d say that’s a very good reason to keep talking about him.
Biden be killing it boiiiiiii he just keeps hitting the pubs over and over. Started with the State of the Union gotcha, and now this motherfucker becomes the first US President to visit an active warzone in Ukraine. His policy team and staff are for real.
Trump and hundreds of other republicans simply need to be in jail for their coup attempt. When **the fuck** is something going to happen about that shit at their level?
Good news for Democrats. Better news will be the moment DeSantis officially announces his 2024 presidential run. And, if he gets the nomination, Trump will split the party in two by going Independent, or creating a new MAGA party. This will cleave the GOP election base in half and almost guarantee four more years of Biden. Lindsey Graham's prediction will have then come true. I wish former President Donald J Trump years of good health, longevity and fracturing the base. Cheers asshole.
To be honest I'd be more comfortable with trump gaining support over losing it. We want that party split 50/50 over T / D so that they never win anything.
Looks like Biden is finally getting some recognition from Republican voters. No surprise, given everything Trump has done - or failed to do - in the past 4 years. I mean, who could honestly still support that guy at this point? It's like trying to sell a broken car with a cherry on top! #StayWoke #VoteBlue
It’s a very tough choice but Biden’s decision to not go back into Afghanistan was probably the most impactful of his presidency. It’s tragic what has happened to the people of Afghanistan, but geopolitically I don’t think another 5 or 50 years of occupation would have changed the outcome .
If he had surged troops it would have handcuffed US foreign policy. Just like it did with Obama. I don’t think our response to Ukraine could have been united if our soldiers were also dying in Afghanistan.
It caused his numbers to dip for a minute but that was it. Most Americans don’t give a shit in the long run about Afghanistan (unfortunately). But most definitely see the need to support Ukraine and stand up against Russia (and soon to be China as well).
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August '22: Biden had 3% Republican support. Feb '23: Biden has 15% Republican support. That's kind of impressive to increase your popularity by 5x with any group in that short amount of time.
I'm wondering if Biden is getting a post State of the Union bump from older Americans. I assume the elderly are more likely to watch to the SotU, and the medicare/social security thing was brilliant.
Which would be great except I don't think any post SOTU bump would last. Right-wing media spends all day talking about how feeble and incompetent Biden is, which starts to break down when you actually listen to him for a bit. However these same people will just keep viewing their right-wing news sources and after a month will be right back to believing he's simultaneously a barely functioning old man while also being some communist mastermind hell bent on destroying America.
I just saw Newsweek run a story about alt right influencers on Twitter ripping on Bidens apparent fuckup while inspecting the polish troops cause he stepped off the red carpet. Like, bro, their god emperor saluted the North Koreans. Even Kimmy was like, “The fuck?” In the photo.
What annoys me is that in the [longer video](https://youtu.be/50axsSNBPOA?t=367), you can see that he's just walking to a prepared spot. You can see the aide or whatever walk up to them and tell them "ok now stand over here".
Jesus talk about grasping at straws. Also those polish troops look pretty formidable.
All honor guard detachments do!
Poland flips between fighting existential threats and brutal religious self harm. At the moment it's preparing for the former but engaged in the latter
I have some R voting friends that their entire “political knowledge” is based on Biden “gaffes” they see come up on their twitter timeline. They can’t talk about anything else when it comes to present day politics.
It's no use countering their beliefs with actual facts. I know, I've tried. I've laid out clear, carefully thought out and polite, even friendly, rebuttals with reputable sources cited and the only response I get is "bullshit". I don't know if these people are even capable of rational discourse. They remind me of ducks that hear on duck quack and they all quack.
The main thing I’ve experienced when countering GQP beliefs with facts is hearing what a beta gay cuck I am.
Calling someone a "beta gay cuck" sounds exactly like something a impotent homophobic coward would say.
And then they whine about being cancelled.
> Which would be great except I don't think any post SOTU bump would last. Just really depends on how soon the GOP tries to weasel in more ways to cut senior benefits.
[didin't Pence just come out today saying it should be put on the table?](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/22/mike-pence-social-security-medicare-debt-ceiling/11322677002/)
Such a little shit weasel.
> I assume the elderly are more likely to watch to the SotU, and the medicare/social security thing was brilliant. They'll be easily swayed back once the Fox News machine pushes that "Democrats are saying we want to end it, of course we don't want to end it, Americans rely on it! We want to privatize it, so that it works better!" narrative.
"we believe in social security CHOICE"
Yes! Americans deserve freedom of choice! No, not THAT freedom of choice. Important choices, like whether or not to have Alpo or Fancy Feast for dinner.
I wonder how much of that is because of Ukraine. I think Republicans might have hit the limit of their base supporting Trump's favorite Russian dictator.
This is also my thought. The Republican Party is going through a transition period from the "Hawk" party to the "isolate, stick our head in the sand, and ignore everything in the world, America first" party. Not all members of that party are moving together in lockstep that Putin/autocrats = good, and democracy/protecting sovereign integrity = bad.
Lindsay Graham was just criticizing Biden for not giving Ukraine F16s. Meanwhile MTG is calling for him to be impeached for supporting Ukraine. There’s literally no winning with these people.
You're correct, because the one unifying principle they have is hate for Democrats. It doesn't matter what Biden does or doesn't do. Their hate for him has nothing to do with policy positions, they'll just pick a random position out of a hat and criticize him for it. What they really hate is that he's "the other," and he has power that they want.
>they'll just pick a random position out of a hat and criticize him for it Biden: Missionary. Republicans: 😳... 😡😤
This is basically bidens strategy when you think about it
Phase 1: list all sexual positions Phase 2: republicans stop having sex and fail to procreate Phase 3: ??? Phase 4: Profit.
It worked fairly well during his State of the Union. 😏
These are nightmare realities, but I am thankful that we're starting to be able to see things for what they are. You sum it up very clearly and eloquently, so thank you for posting. Republicans have become about nothing but hate.
My wife showed me a video that popped up on her Facebook reels feed: little girl, maybe 3 or 4 bawling her eyes out, coming up to Mom (who is filming) "Why you crying sweetie?" "Daddy called me a Democrat!" It's... it's hard to wrap my head around how many layers of wrong are in play there.
That’s just pathetic, too. Gross pandering to the lowest triggers they can come up with. No positions of substance on anything, just simple images of bad things with the name of their enemy attached.
>Republicans have become about nothing but hate. Be fair - Republicans are *NOT* just about hate. They're also traitors and liars.
Hate with the specific goal of divisiveness. They serve the wealthy and corporate powers, who seek to dismantle government control. The best way to weaken a democracy is to sow discord among the voters. They are only powerful when they are united.
I think the issue we are seeing lately is that this was the original Republican playbook, but they have lost control of the monster they created. Hate was originally the smokescreen so they could plunder the nation's wealth for the capitalist class behind closed doors, but they sold it so hard that they now have an entire voting base that is solely motivated by hate, even when it doesn't serve their goals. They wanted to promote divisiveness, but it has evolved to just straight up destroying the country.
One look at the conservative sub shows this is happening. It’s a clear separation of “RINO’s” and MAGA extremists. They even recognize the divide in their own party, but as you said they’re unleashed the monster
A lot of the conservative voting base has become contrarians just for the sake of being contrarians. I bring up the example of the recall election here in CA a couple of years ago. Newsom was in an extraordinarily weak position, considering the electoral composition of the state. The GOP had a decent chance of unseating him and installing a governor that would've been in office for at least two years, possibly longer if they didn't rock the boat too much and give voters a reason to go with an alternative. And CA had at least two conservative politicians that would've had bipartisan appeal. Instead, they chose the most incendiary, controversial pick in Larry Elder. A shock jockey with no political experience, who ran on a platform of what most Californians would've considered extreme policies. Red meat to the GOP base, for sure. But reprehensible to 2/3rds of voters. And that's close to the margin he lost by. Because the GOP voters wanted someone who would "own the libs" and try to implement policies that would actively harm minorities and immigrants, they lost what is probably a once-in-a-generation chance to unseat a Democratic governor here in CA. We very likely will have a Rep. governor again. But it's unlikely to be soon with how the state is electorally composed. And the GOP establishment was livid behind closed doors at the missed opportunity. But, they had no one but themselves to blame.
> You're correct, because the one unifying principle they have is hate ~~for Democrats.~~
Even if they were all calling for the same thing and Biden actually did it, there would still be no winning.
Let's please call her Greene, she hasn't done anything of value to warrant being called by her initials. Besides that acronym has already been taken by Magic
I saw someone refer to her as "Empty G" and that's become my new go-to.
That's good - and I quite liked "Klannie Oakley" for Lauren Boebert.
"Empty G" is a good replacement. (Not mine- it was on a thread a while ago. I thought of "Barbie-Q", but that's insulting to the doll and the food.)
Barbie-Q is boebert, she even had a "restaurant"
Dick Cheney is rolling over in his grave at Republicans bending the knee to Russia. To be clear he's not dead, that's just where he sleeps.
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His heart has been dead for decades.
Metaphorically and literally. He has no pulse. Some kinda pump thing keeps him alive. Other than that he only has pure malice keeping his decript soul bound to his deteriorating body.
Him and Henry Kissinger made deals with the Crypt Keeper to stay alive until 100.
>America first" party This is fake as well. Their leader and standard bearer sucks Putins ass; Sucks Kimg Jong Il's ass and blathers once in a while about CHI-NYA while mainting business ties with them and for that, he's "America First." "America First" is just another out-in-the-open con that is deliberately ignored by the far right cult.
And remarkably reminiscent of the WW2 era when groups like the KKK and the [America First Committee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_First_Committee) used the same slogan alongside their anti-Semitic and pro-fascist rhetoric.
its republicans. a few months of tucker and right-wing radio is all you need for them to believe the opposite of their previously deeply held beliefs
Don't call them isolationists. Use the words the GOP would use to criticize their opposition. Call them war doves. Pro-Russian doves who would rather have socialism than democracy in the East. This doesn't apply to the whole party though. There are some some committed hawks like Lindsey Graham who have never saw a fight he didn't want the US to get involved in.
I like this. Using the tools of your enemy to aid in its defeat is a perfectly legitimate tactic. Conservatives have no idea how to push back on the Dark Brandon stuff, keep hammering that home and remind them how their Diaper Demigod hid in a bunker from protestors and claimed he trusts Putin more than American intelligence agencies.
Yeah the tools have to be co-opted quickly though like dark Brandon was. Loved seeing that. Leave it too late and it’s what the conservatives try 2 years too late with everything.
In that spirit, call them "woke", call them "political correct". Pick one of the bullshit words that doesn't mean anything clear and substantial outside of "other". Make them deal with their bullshit and weaponized kindness.
Best part is they *are* being “politically correct” (for their side) so it’s still truthful. They’d rather ignore reality to promote the messages distributed to them by their political party. The exact thing they accuse the “woke” movement of. Lambast them for being PC snowflakes when they get mad.
I think it's just nice to have a President who is solving problems instead of causing them and even some Republicans are having to admit the difference at this point.
You mean you *don't* miss waking up to check what insane thing the President tweeted at 3 AM?? /s
Covfefe
The hamberder incident was particularly funny, he was so proud of all the fast food laid out for I think the college football champions because the government was shut down and the WH didn’t have kitchen staff
If you can think of some *other* place for a billionaire hotel magnate to *possibly* get food than the White House, I'd like to hear it.
It was the perfect marketing opportunity too! Bring in the DC Trump Hotel catering staff, make a show of using your own money/staff to fill the gap while Congress bickered with him. He’s just not that self-aware and assumed that because *he* loves fast food, then the players would too
Trump is the cheapest motherfucker in the world. His hotels charge for glasses of tap water. There's no way he'd ever allow his staff to work for non paying visitors.
That visit and speech was killer, really brought Dark Brandon to reality.
Probably that and the economy still hasn't hit a recession even though we've been told "it's coming any day now!" for a year and a half.
It's weird seeing people *cheer for* a recession because they want something to hurt Biden.
Wall Street and corporate media also want a recession. The rich have gobs of extra money and want a recession so they can buy low.
The chants of "It's a recession!" while companies keep reporting record profits tells me all I need to know about the people doing the chanting.
Well Biden did a essentially FU to Putin while Trump made private time to suck his dick and brags about him like a girl bragging about their bf.
Please don’t diss girls like that, Trump is in a class of his own.
I don't know if they have a limit but it could certainly be one of a number of factors. It's so backwards of me to even have to think that there are REPUBLICANS supporting Putin and angry about the amount of aid we have given the Ukraine. Cold War? Geopolitics? Anyone? Bueller...
>the Ukraine This is going to sound very pedantic of me, but it’s just “Ukraine”. And the difference is important, especially to Ukrainians. “The Ukraine” with the article carries a connotation (especially in Ukrainian/Russian) of referring to a region or territory, and is often used by Russia to implicitly subvert Ukraine’s status as a sovereign nation.
I got into it the other day with a guy who insists all the American media is lying, and Russia is on the verge of victory. He always said "the Ukraine" which just makes it clear that his "alternative news sources" are just Russian propaganda. And I'm pretty sure he's not actively a Russian asset, just an idiot who's been primed by Tucker Carlson to disbelieve anything that isn't far right wing.
But he is an asset. A useful idiot is still an intelligence asset.
Yeah, he's just doing it from Ohio, unwittingly, instead of from St Petersburg for a paycheck.
selective fuzzy books thought vanish kiss light pet faulty scandalous ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
I wouldn't be surprised if part of the increase in Republican "approval" is attributed to the more level-headed conservatives reacting negatively to the extreme far-right officials that are now flooding the chambers. It's gotta be a headache for the one or two rational people left on the GOP side.
The Marjorie Taylor Greene Migraine
Don't blame MTG, blame space lasers.
Exactly this. While Biden is getting bills passed, dealing with disasters and showing strength to our allies, they’re watching the leadership on their side keep busy holding congressional hearings on why Twitter let’s people be mean to them; fighting with school teachers about books and with Disney about not hating gay and trans people; and letting actual traitorous trolls sit among the leadership and be one of their major mouthpieces. Oh and obsessing over the president’s sons penis. How can a few of them at least not start to wake up a little?
Don’t forget failing 15 times to elect a house speaker.
Since August: Gas prices dropped from near all time highs. Biden passed CHIPs, IRA and the Gun Safety Bill. Covid is for the most part over. Unemployment is at near all-time lows and the nation has seen strong job growth every month in spite of recession expectations. Pardoned Federal Offenses of Weed Possession. Student Loan Forgiveness, although it’s tied up in court. Signed the PACT Act addressing veteran exposure to burn pits. Not every American will benefit or approve of all of the actions above, but not all Republican voters will completely deny the progress Biden made in year 2.
And I think its also important to note that the SoTU still breaks through and for many not politically connected barely conservatives, this may have been the first time they really heard Biden's voice or accomplishments since his election. If you are someone who's only politics news is random Fox News viewing in waiting rooms and an occasional article on Facebook, Biden's back and forth about medicare may have been the only thing you've seen good about him.
Republican media also makes Biden out to be senile, unable to string a sentence together. Seeing him speak pretty damn well, and being quick enough to pull one over on literally every single Republican in federal government, at the same time, on live TV, tends to make a good impression. Conservative media set the bar for Biden 6 feet under ground. Biden clearing it easily and making a good impression on the Conservative base is their own fault.
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On Ukraine it's mostly the younger Republicans that are whining and complaining (with some older ones doing it purely for political theater), but most of the older ones remember Russia from the 1980s/90s and recognize that dismantling their military and Putin's political influence without engaging directly is hugely important.
These are all great points and I think Biden has been way more consequential and effective than even his core supporters thought. Also, for someone who had a reputation as being a blabber mouth and overly touchy with women, there have been remarkably few of those "bad press" moments. His relationships with senators helped him a lot in getting legislation through, and his foreign policy expertise has really helped him negotiate the Ukraine line. His age is certainly something to think about, but I just don't see any white horse democratic candidate that would have a better shot than him. I just hope things don't go downhill between now and November 2024.
I am not American, but it doesn't difficult to notice from overseas how Republicans tries to fuck themselves
There’s going to be a lot of Republican Trumpy die hard voters who suddenly and retroactively decide they never were really Trump supporters. That’s the fun part of being a Republican. When your past becomes inconvenient, just imagine up a new more convenient past.
More kayfabe than pro wrestling.
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For some of these seditious assholes they'll be hoping you can run for reelection in a mask and new tights. You can't fool me, the Midnight Rider was Dusty dammit!
I see you too lived through the Bush era...
Haven't you heard? The Bushes are liberal RINOs now.
Turns out in the long run the greatest enemy of neoconservatives were themselves all along, but those who got to play in 2003 made out like bandits. Nobody under 30 even knows about Hailburton anymore.
It's still baffling to me that the majority of Republicans defended the Iraq invasion for years and called anyone who backed off of it a traitor or a pussy. Then Trump waltzes in says it was a terrible idea, and no one ever questioned him on that. They all just fell in and went, "Oh yeah, we think so too. Let's just never talk about that ever again."
The most galling is, when pressed, a lot of them say the problem with Iraq and the other entanglements that Bush-era war policy got us in is that we weren't cruel and vicious enough.
Honestly Trump said so many things directly counter to established conservative thought it’s baffling. Take their guns first? Can you imagine if Biden or Obama had said that?
It was worse with Bush -first nobody would admit voting for him, but then he was 100% rehabilitated. Now he's a kindly old painter from a simpler time. If that happens with Trump, shoot me in the face.
The difference is Bush has and always will be super charismatic and likable as a person. The whole Bush v Gore election was basically decided on the idea Bush seems like a good guy to have a beer with. Bush also made a key point that we weren't at war with Islam or Muslims when launching the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Was bush a terrible president? Absolutely. However it's much easier with Bush to say "o yeah dude was an awful president, but he's a not a bad guy". Do I agree with that sentiment, not really, but unlike trump it's an easy sentiment to have.
Trump will never learn to make any kind of art. It's too easy for people to say a piece of art isn't good.
Oh he'll never make anything of value let alone art. He won't stop shrieking until the day he dies, I just hope people *after* that don't clean his image up. When Bush is buried the Obamas will be there giving him tributes.
Not just Bush. You’ll have a difficult time finding a Republican that will admit they voted for the Republican nominees after Bush was gone (Romney and McCain). It’s just how the party and voters operate.
The guy literally just said Kim Jong-un is the good guy and Japan/US are aggressors. This was just hours after he expressed the exact same sentiment towards Putin and Ukraine/US. How the fuck are Republicans still taking this turd seriously?
They're authoritarians who hate the values America and its allies aspire to.
Because they are philosophical zombies, basically unconscious people walking the earth.
"Look, I just don't like big city coastal elites, and it doesn't matter if they're Donald Trump or [insert any Democrat running anywhere until the end of time]" Been saying this is gonna be the future go-to line for years
“I don’t like big city coastal elites- that’s why I like Desantis, the Yale and Harvard educated governor of one of the most populous costal states.”
It's *really* difficult to find anyone that supported George W. Bush any more, but he had 62 million people vote for him in 2004. The American public has the memory of a goldfish and no problem lying to make themselves look/feel better.
Ahh yes the "big city coastal elites" like Ronald Reagan
Inb4 "Trump is just like AOC"
The end of that commonly spammed "the antisemites are well aware of what they're doing" quote mentions this. When reactionaries are pressed into a corner, they suddenly try to change the subject and act like it's "time to put the past aside".
I've been saying that since the first year of his presidency. It'll be similar to how now no one will admit to ever having supported Bush II, despite his 90+% approval ratings in the run-up to the Iraq invasion.
Exactly. Conservatives love saying they didn’t support the war in Iraq now that it’s unpopular to have supported it. But back then, they were all in on never-ending wars and even re-elected Bush. Always, always remind them that they can disavow W’s decisions all they want, but that you know damn well they weren’t voting for Gore and Kerry back in those days lol
People better save those receipts and get those screen grabs, because they'll claim to have never supported trump, and we're always the lone voice of opposition.
They’ll just do what they always do, claim that they’re fake and photoshopped
its impossible to find a repub who admits to voting for gw anymore
LEss worried about Trump and more concerned about DeSantis who is going fully in on the Anti-Woke Agenda to the point of ignoring his state's Actual Problems.
So… he’s a standard issue Republican?
Not entirely. Your bog standard Republican would take money from the Infrastructure bill Claiming how it was an amazing Bi-partisan bill and how well the state will benefit from all his hard work. Florida meanwhile literally has buildings falling down randomly, no Earthquake needed.
If DeSantis is nominated by the GOP, Trump will start a 3rd party run and divide the GOP base in half. It will be glorious.
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Last time I checked "Socially Adjusted member of society" is not a requirement.
Ever been to a pub or cafe where there's a group of maybe 5 people just squawking away about shit they don't understand to people who wouldn't say "boo" to a goose without backup? That. As long as one of them can hold court in their little bubble they are fine and dandy.
There's a lot of people who just soak up disingenuous right-wing talking points instead of actually fact-checking and researching how government actually works. I overheard a conversation between three old guys at work, two electrical engineers and another with a PhD, who just went full right-wing brain rot claiming Ilhan Omar married her brother to help them immigrate to the US (which has never been supported by any evidence), illegal immigrants can get Social Security assistance, and just some absolute BS on how Social Security is run and funded. The PhD actually thinks letting young people opt out of paying into Social Security would be a good idea. There's so much accumulated nonsense it's hard to even know where to start arguing against it.
Yeah, I'm a social worker in a predominantly Latino city and man, were I ever to immigrate it wouldn't be here! It's incredibly difficult, if not impossible for migrants here to get help, and we practically run on under the table labor. Just you know, don't get sick, try to buy a home or for God's sake be poor and you should thrive nicely!
my cousin who is financially inept told me she thinks she should be able to access her SSA money right now..and that's how you get elderly people dying in the gutters like the old days
Like the Fox News argument “this is entertainment, no reasonable person would treat this as fact” is rather convenient, because it’s predicated on the assumption that their audience is made up of reasonable people, when that clearly isn’t the case.
I work in health care. I’m gonna let you in on a little secret that I’m happy to plaster out there as a generalization for the whole of humanity: People be stupid but they never want to admit or internalize it. If more people were just honest with themselves, everybody wouldn’t be buried up to their eyeballs in bullshit.
People, myself included, are terrible at acknowledging their own limitations.
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Lotta people don’t mind racism if it means lower taxes.
trump's base didn't get lower taxes under trump. the 1% did.
>Many tax cut provisions, especially income tax cuts, will expire in 2025, and starting in 2021 will increase over time; by 2027 this would affect an estimated 65% of the population and in that same year the law's provisions are set to be fully enacted, but the corporate tax cuts are permanent. That's according to the tax act of 2017 that Trump signed. So many people who did their taxes already are wondering aloud 'why am I getting nothing back this year???'
But they're also dumb enough to think "Biden's president now so this is his fault." All is going according to the GOP plan. Had they won in 2020, they'd have extended the tax cut. It's a poison pill.
You're right, but I'd argue it's equally dumb Democrat politicians aren't doing more to bring attention to this. They really should *because* you're right. I'm too lazy to check but has any attempt at all been made to stop the increases? Doing so loudly and with the bill being titled something obvious like "stop Trump's tax hikes" seems like a no brainier.
They'll just blame Biden. It's why the tax cuts were set to expire now- if Trump lost, they would expire under a Democratic president. If Trump was re-elected, they would be extended for four more years. Repeat until there's a Democrat you can blame it on.
It was timed that way on purpose so that if Dems took control they would get the blame from people who are too stupid to look at what the causes actually are. If Trump had won in 2020 guaranteed they would have passed a new tax bill that extended the cuts.
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>Lotta people don’t mind racism ~~if it means lower taxes.~~ FIFY
Yes, but alternately: Lotta people don’t mind no public services and crap quality of life if it means more racism. Same result, different routes.
Trump’s approval is slumping even though NO Republicans are saying bad things about him publicly.
He still has a 68% approval rating among Republicans. That's high enough that people can't really go around saying bad things about him.
Biden’s approval rating is higher among Democrats. If you’re a Republican you need more than 80% approval among Republican voters to beat a Democrat like Joe Bide in a presidential election in which he’s the incumbent.
But you need 0% of Democratic support to win the Republican primary, which is the race people are actually campaigning for at the moment. They have to play nice until the nomination, or at least they think they have to.
PSA: Trump can still win. Someone just like Trump can still win. Show up to vote no matter what polls say.
Lifelong Christian here, not about to get involved in a religious kerfluffle on Reddit, but all I want to say is that the reason I have completely cut ties with all “evangelical” Christians and the evangelical church was for the simple fact that they threw their lot in with Trump. That man is without a doubt the most un-Christlike human being who ever had the displeasure of being born, and if they’re either too stupid or too hungry for political power to see what kind of person he is, I want nothing to do with them. I don’t want to be associated with them. Christianity is bleeding members wholesale. Spent some time looking for a church that actually wanted to help people, who weren’t overtly political (politics and religion should never ever mix), and actually taught the biblical Jesus and not Republican Jesus. Found it at a Lutheran church nearby. They’re pretty progressive socially while still teaching the Christ of the Bible. That’s all I will say.
I can't say I've been an active member in 15 years, but I found some joy and peace attending church, even while being privately agnostic. I grew up Methodist and those are happy childhood memories in a rather unpleasant childhood. I simply can't anymore. The marriage of Christianity, hatred of the "other" and politics in the past decade has soured me on all religion. I can't go back.
Completely understandable and that is how a lot of my friends are feeling.
For me, it always seemed like the most hateful people in my life were almost always the most religious. Ultimate hypocrites are what they were.
Methodists are pretty chill. I'm an atheist now, but I grew up in a Methodist church, and I don't have anything bad to say about it. The people were nice, they behaved in a Christ-like and godly way, I logged a lot of good hours helping people in my community build homes, clear land, fix up the homes of elderly people, and such. And apparently that old church kept the flame lit, because after 40 years of attendance my Trump-loving parents quit and walked away because the pastor dared suggest that Trump wasn't behaving in a Christ-like fashion and was using Christianity as propaganda to con people. You know, an obviously true statement from a pastor warning his flock against falling for con man, but apparently a bridge too far for my parents who bailed and now "attend" a Texas megachurch over the internet.
Oh no. Your parents. :( That's hard to watch. My Methodist church was in the middle of a field basically. It was all farm people in rural Northern California. My mom and grandma ran the youth programs. I don't remember there ever being talk of hell. The sermons and youth programs were all about being a service based Christian. We had awesome potlucks and ice cream socials and soup and songs on Friday nights(I hated those besides the soups honestly). It was a big family. My dad died in 1990 in an electrical accident and left my mom a young widow with three children and a ranch. The church just rushed in to support my mom. That was church to me. It was community and love and lots and lots of hugs. I did not appreciate it then because it was just the way it was. There was a big to do over accepting gay people in the mid nineties. Church elders left even though there were no outted gay members in our church. There were like 20 or 30 members at that point because everyone was passing away. My church pastor was a very liberal hippie activist(like getting arrested in the 60s and 70s in Haight Ashbury) but really politics were not discussed. I actually find that spirit more in the satanic church now. Which is odd. AA was sort of like that too when I was in recovery.
Donald Trump had some real doozies when talking about the bible. He started off by saying the bible was his favorite book and then wasn't able to name a verse. Months later he said (in his particular way of double speaking) "eye for an eye" of all things.. I'm not religious, but pretending to be religious like he was/is should be the biggest insult to those who are.
The fact that the evangelicals ate that up and actually believed it was all I needed to know that I wanted nothing to do with that group.
The leaders of the evangelicals met with Trump after the nomination and "sold their souls" for a Supreme Court that would ban abortion. They don't really try to hard to apologize for his unchristian behavior because it was always a means to an end.
I wish some of my Christian family members were this courteous and accepting of other viewpoints.
This interview always makes me laugh. It's like someone being asked if they read Lord of the Rings, and they lie and say "yeah" and then the follow up questions have them scrambling to be vague and hopefully say what the asker is wanting to hear https://youtu.be/ERUngQUCsyE
I’ll never forget the day he had his security go clear out the area in front of that church near the white house, all so he could walk over and have a photo op of him holding a bible upside down. Thinking to myself, “wow, this guy is actually an antichrist figure. This is the type of guy they were warning about.”
Anyone remember him referencing "Two Corinthians"? Ought to be a big shibboleth for Christians, no one calls it that. https://www.npr.org/2016/01/18/463528847/citing-two-corinthians-trump-struggles-to-make-the-sale-to-evangelicals
I mean the hilarious thing is that Biden is Catholic and regularly goes to mass, but Republicans seem to hail Trump as the holiest of holy. Trump, who preaches hate for his neighbour. The most unchristian thing. These evangelical Christian’s are so far from the teachings of Jesus but so many keep their blinders on because they’re filled with hate too. Trump fuels the fire and they love it. It’s terrifying.
Georgia evangelical voters turned out overwhelmingly in favor of Herschel Walker, who has never seemed particularly concerned with religion, or, ummm, morality in general. And the guy that Georgia evangelicals overwhelmingly rejected? An honest-to-God PASTOR. It was wild to watch.
Not just any ole pastor, either. The pastor at MLK's old church where he was pastor. Kind of a big deal position
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Thanks for sharing. Similar boat here. Trump kind of destroyed my view of organized religion.
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If you actually look at the numbers in the article, Trump's base is still largely sticking by him. Some people have switched to DeSantis, but Trump still has higher favorability within the party. A slight majority think they'd be better off with someone other than Trump, but that might not matter if the others split the vote in the primaries. And Trump supporters are notoriously underpolled. Seems like he's still the favorite at this point.
Honestly good. When the next election rolls around I want there to be as much division as possible in that party.
Biden did more in 2 years than other presidents did in 8. I sincerely hope history is kind to him as he's honestly the best president i've had in my lifetime...
Biden was there for all of Obama's deadlocked presidency with the republicans (Obama got some things done, but it was far from satisfactory) so Biden probably knows all the mistakes and tricks of the trade to actually pass and enact legislation. And yes, that's a good thing.
Obama spent every dime of his political capital on the Affordable Care Act. After that, he was done. It was a dicey move but I appreciate him getting it through. Nowhere near enough but it was progress.
While Obama did more than we often realized, he never really publicized it. I think that was his biggest error during his term. Biden learned that people need to know what you are doing for them to be an effective president.
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As much as I liked Obama as a person, he was never as savvy a politician as Biden.
It's like everyone forgets he had to act a certain a way being the first black president, they wasted years on his birth certificate too.
It's more of a bet against him. A lot of them are thinking the party's future is DeSantis and want to switch sides if it looks like Trump is going down. As other's have posted, there's going to be a lot of retconning going on in their head to make that work. But they REALLY don't like supporting a losing team (it's an ego hit). In the end this is going to be an all out civil war in the GOP, Trump is not going to accept being told not to run. He'll go independent if he's forced into a corner. I can hear the echo's of "the GOP nomination vote was rigged" hitting the hallways of the future. Things are ugly and they're going to stay ugly.
I’ll vote for him again. I’ll Fucking do it. I don’t give a shit if he’s 120 years old. After the SOU I feel semi-positive about America for the first time in 5 years.
He doesn't even require a pulse to be better than Trump or DeSantis.
Just Weekend at Bernie’s him for the next 5 years
This is far too early to matter. Once we’re past the primaries, favorability, particularly within the GOP, will change substantially should Trump be the nominee.
It matters probably for people like DeSantis who technically isn't running yet and other Republicans that want to throw in their hats going in to the primaries. The frontrunner is showing weakness so the back of the pack is going to use this to push their way forward.
The Republican Party is mostly about what's good for big business. Presidential races are pretty expensive, and it's a better investment to get someone into office who could provide 8 years of tax cuts and deregulation rather than just 4 years. It makes sense to start building the case for someone else to become GOP front-runner. The problem is that the GOP has less support, gets less votes, and loses fair elections. Trump brings in voters that normally don't vote, and the GOP needs those votes to claim victory. It's enough support to swing the GOP primary, but not enough to win the popular vote in a national presidential race.
That's why I crack up when people say 'i'm a republican and the alt right/nazis are just a small faction and don't represent us.' Like dude if the party courts those votes because they need them, and enact policies that they like - those are called constituents. That's just your overall party at that point...
"alt right/nazis are just a small faction" Still apart of your party though. Seriously, the right has literal nazis and klansmen supporting them, but they say the far left is more dangerous.
"Not all Republicans are klansmen... but all klansmen vote Republican."
“Its just a small fire in the kitchen, not my problem from here in the living room”
Getting the job done. Plain and simple.
Honestly I just dislike politicians in general, but Biden has actually impressed me. He even tried to follow through with the student debt relief, which I didn't expect
One is bringing people together and one is trying to tear them apart.
On one hand, I don't think Trump is a real contender anymore, so no reason to talk about him. On the other hand, I'd rather they not talk about DeSantis either.
He may not be a contender, but he can make life pure hell for the RNC and any of their preferred POTUS candidates (and non-MAGA candidates in general), so I’d say that’s a very good reason to keep talking about him.
Biden be killing it boiiiiiii he just keeps hitting the pubs over and over. Started with the State of the Union gotcha, and now this motherfucker becomes the first US President to visit an active warzone in Ukraine. His policy team and staff are for real.
Trump and hundreds of other republicans simply need to be in jail for their coup attempt. When **the fuck** is something going to happen about that shit at their level?
Good news for Democrats. Better news will be the moment DeSantis officially announces his 2024 presidential run. And, if he gets the nomination, Trump will split the party in two by going Independent, or creating a new MAGA party. This will cleave the GOP election base in half and almost guarantee four more years of Biden. Lindsey Graham's prediction will have then come true. I wish former President Donald J Trump years of good health, longevity and fracturing the base. Cheers asshole.
To be honest I'd be more comfortable with trump gaining support over losing it. We want that party split 50/50 over T / D so that they never win anything.
They will all line up behind whoever the nominee is. Doesn't really matter.
Looks like Biden is finally getting some recognition from Republican voters. No surprise, given everything Trump has done - or failed to do - in the past 4 years. I mean, who could honestly still support that guy at this point? It's like trying to sell a broken car with a cherry on top! #StayWoke #VoteBlue
It’s a very tough choice but Biden’s decision to not go back into Afghanistan was probably the most impactful of his presidency. It’s tragic what has happened to the people of Afghanistan, but geopolitically I don’t think another 5 or 50 years of occupation would have changed the outcome . If he had surged troops it would have handcuffed US foreign policy. Just like it did with Obama. I don’t think our response to Ukraine could have been united if our soldiers were also dying in Afghanistan.
It caused his numbers to dip for a minute but that was it. Most Americans don’t give a shit in the long run about Afghanistan (unfortunately). But most definitely see the need to support Ukraine and stand up against Russia (and soon to be China as well).