Liberals and conservatives have very similar views on rural people.

Politicians have very similar views on poor people in general. Resources to be exploited.

Huh?

Given our geographic proximity that's one of the more shocking takes I've ever seen you post. My experience with them -- which shouldn't be THAT different from the ones you see simply due to geography -- is almost completely opposite.

edit to add: Unless of course I pretty completely misunderstood what you were saying.

I'm talking about the politicians. Not the rank and file.

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Yeah, I was talking about the politicians, pundits, and donors. Leaders of the Democratic Party would much prefer someone like Trump as opposed to Warren or Bernie for instance.

Heck, even Trump got pushback early on for not being from elite political circles. He is an elite (Ivy education, old money), but was viewed as "beneath them" from the establishment because he wasn't bought by the Heritage Foundation or whatever other pipeline the right has. I think part of his allure to the public is that he basically destroyed that old system. I don't like the guy but I think it was good that he exposed so many politicians.

Just a moment...

Trump claiming this experience changed him (it would most people to be fair)) and he has rewritten his speech from attacking the Biden admin to a more unifying message.

Have to admit it's brilliant. He knows people will watch just out of curiosity because of Saturday and if he appears calm, unifying, and for all of America it will appeal to people on the fence. After that I'm sure he will be rage tweeting on the toilet at 3AM but the job would have been done.

Aight, that explains most of the disconnect I was experiencing. Thanks for clarifying.


Though I still know more rank & file true believers in office that really don't fit that mold (just not the high profile ones).

His inauguration speech was actually decent. For a brief moment, I thought maybe he would rise to the moment and treat the presidency with the respect it deserved. And then by the next morning, he was rage-tweeting about the media faking the size of his audience and I was like, nope, not gonna happen.

Now, a near-death experience, I guess anything can happen. But even if he feels something right now, the further away from the event he gets, and he wins the election, etc., he'll go back to his comfort zone.

I'm curious what unifying looks like to Trump.

Everyone bending the knee to him

Nah, we've already done near death experience with him.

You get shot, then you get better

The projection on 538 is interesting to me. They still have it basically even (Biden 51-49), and the short version of why is basically 'people will remember the good things about the economy, the 'fundamentals' will tip it Biden's way over the next couple of months'.

I don't see it that way, but I usually agree with them, and I want them to be right ofc.

Elon Musk has pledged $45 million dollars a month to a Trump super pac.

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Trump is introduced at the convention to God Bless the USA with a bandage over his ear. I’ve never watched the opening day of a convention before but after another failed attempt to take him down, I was happy to see this. Dude is a tough SOB and I’m really looking forward to him being the President again.

https://youtu.be/dvnRJo5iytw?si=ALTlmSABxKb2NufZ

If that is the standard why not elect Jon Jones? It honestly amazes me what some people look for in 2024 in a president.

This the party that loved the fact that Reagan didn't wear a coat in Russia and mocked Biden for eating ice cream and riding a bicycle.

Can you imagine how the GOP would mock Biden if the events were switched?

Ugh, forgot to mention, if you are a Biden type of guy, just pretend it’s Biden instead walking out there after almost being assassinated and waving to the crowd while Lee Greenwood is singing God Bless the USA so you can see it too. :)

You are a complete fucking moron.

I'm more a Colts, Pacers, Cubs, and Indiana University kind of guy. I don't need sports team mentality to creep into my politics. Neither guy should be running. But that honestly is one of the most asinine things I've read online in quite some time.

Kennedy/Nixon, Obama/McCain. Projecting a strong or more vibrant image matters in politics. People want their leaders to have charisma and be tough. I'm not saying Trump is by any means, but next to Biden there is a huge gap. A lot of voters are not deeply invested in politics and vote based on vibes.

Cult the personality is alive and well with exactly 1 candidate. His followers have been crystallized with the threat to his life. They will never forsake him. Many would lay down their lives for him, even if he took everything from them and ostracized them from their families. That feeling of commitment to him fills voids in their own lives. They love how he makes them feel important. How he gives their own existence meaning and purpose. He can quite literally do no wrong.

Two things really struck me about Trump today.

1. Most of my Facebook friends posted a similar meme about how if you are celebrating the failed assassination attempt you should just unfriend them as you are their enemy now.

Which got me thinking about who exactly would be celebrating a failed assassination attempt and if maybe they should just all unfriend each other.

To think that anyone that doesn't support Trump would be celebrating the failed attempt on life is just asinine to me. Furthermore, to assume that people want political enemies to eat a bullet is also a little unsettling to me as well.

2. I was in southern Alabama this morning listening to FM radio cruising stations and someone was on there talking about how Trump has been sent by god and if you can't see it after god saved him from the assassination attempt then there is no hope for you.

I thought both of them kind of lead toward what Pilotman is talking about.

Additionally, they feel he's punishing their enemies. And those that believe in a certain book tend to see the world as black and white, good and evil. Since they're, of course, on the side of good that means anyone that doesn't hold the same beliefs is evil and therefore the enemy.

I went back and forth on whether this is a good pick or not. I think the important thing to him is that Vance is a MAGA guy. The establishment wanted him to take a boring candidate like Burgum or Scott that donors like. But his supporters don't like those establishment guys (McConnell getting booed tonight as an example).

So he said "fuck it, give the base what they want". Seems like a rational thought process, but pretty rare in big time politics these days where donors call the shots. There are negatives with Vance like his extreme position on abortion and some skeletons in his closet. So there is definitely some risk there and he's the guy I'd want Trump to pick if I was Team Biden.


On the bright side, it is funny that Tim Scott had to pretend he had a girlfriend, Rubio had to turn into Reek, and Stefanik changed everything about her personality and they all got left in the dust. Just too much simp energy.

I’m not looking forward to it but I’ll admit I have a morbid curiosity on how it’ll play out.

Good idea, Joe.

I'd actually vote against Biden in that case just for having Lee Greenwood on the stage.

I'm not on facbook, but my "aunt" friended my wife on there. Apparently she posted that Biden is responsible and must be charged. I wanted to reply that she's responsible for my dad running out when i was 5 and never seeing me again, and also must be charged. (She's not, but if we can just make stuff up, it's more plausible than the Biden thing)

I'd say it's generally the educated vs the uneducated, and many tend to lump all rural together as "uneducated." Of course, the same is done for city-dwellers*, immigrants, etc.

As for Lee Greenwood...I've never listened to all of that song of his (or anything else, I can't stand most country music), but what I have heard is the most cloying load of tripe I'd never want to listen to.

* There's a good portion of my family that should be considered "city" folk who are/were, frankly, a mess. What do/did they all have in common? Lack of education.

Nothing better summarizes the man than the fact that while he's gleefully bragging about taking a bullet for you he hasn't contacted anyone of the family of the guy who actually died.

It was years - probably over 2 decades ago - that I can remember posting on this board about how much I hated that song. It's just such an over the top, jingoistic, "lowest common denominator" garbage song that it's always left a bad taste in mouth. And this was years and years before Trump and his association with Greenwood, so it's not some new guilt by association thing.

I think what it signalled for me even back then was that there is a certain type of person who is so over the top in the ways they like to openly show their patriotism that it feels like a cover for lots of other beliefs that are the exact opposite of patriotism. And over the years, it certainly feels like that has borne itself out. Culminating in Trump/Greenwood jointly hawking Patriotic Bibles. The same can be said for many, many people of cloth as well.

On the subject of Vance, the reason I felt pretty confident he would be the choice came down to one issue - most of the other names being floated are career politicians who, even though they've adopted MAGA positions, are still more closely aligned to someone like Mike Pence than Trump. With Vance, if you put him in Pence's place 4 years ago, I think he does what Pence wouldn't do. And I think Rubio, Burgham, etc., all likely end up on the Pence side. But Trump feels pretty confident Vance will do what's necessary.

The Teamsters are going to fuck around and find out that the GOP will dismantle the laws that allow them to be a union. Crazy how they aren't willing to back Dems after the most pro-union admin since FDR.

I prefer Lee Hazelwood

Overly patriotic people are weird. Our founders literally wanted us to question our government yet when the slightest criticism arises those among us who claim to be the most patriotic go nuts.

There is a duality. You are not allowed to question "America," but you absolutely allowed to villify the government. Or at, least the parts they don't like. Police? "Back the Blue". IRS? Evil blood suckers. The Military? Without question. The FBI? Used to be venerated, but now are evil deep state.

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The VP pick makes sense to me. Trump found the person under 40 who most resembles himself. I don't think any additional analysis needs to be made. The fact that he is in a battleground state is just icing on the cake.

I wonder if this would have been the decision without the assassination attempt. I think there's a chance he either goes with a woman or a more strategic VP before that, but he feels invincible now and said "F*ck it - I'm going with this guy".

Vances views on abortion are downright draconian, going so far as to claim rape was an inconvenience.

The dems need to hammer that home.

Word comes out that the shooter's home had Trump yard signs for months. Could be his grandma since he lived in the basement, but this whole thing is starting to give off Stan vibes.

Yeah, my wife had a good point. She was like "this kid appears to have been bullied a lot and maybe he tried to get back by going after the biggest bully out there". You never know what sets off somebody. But I think it's clear this wasn't some kind of staged attempt to help Trump in the polls. The whole thing was complete amateur hour (which also reflects poorly on the secret service C team they sent out to protect Trump).

I guess Virginia might be in play too which is unexpected. Kind of a shame for Democrats who have spent the last couple decades turning the state blue.




The splits in these states are just astronomical. I can't fathom we're going to have that many people split tickets even though maybe people think a Dem Senate would be a check on Trump. My guess is it narrows by either Biden doing better or him dragging down the Senate candidate.




You do have to remember that some of those Republican candidates are pretty bad. I will give some credit to the handful of Republicans and independents that might be ok with Trump, but refuse to vote for some of the Trump wannabee nutjobs.

Numbers strike me as funny too. Of course, things like that are fodder for "STOLLEN!" if Trump loses.

(If anything, I would think that there would be more people like my wife -- I doubt she is going to vote for Trump, but I am also going to guess that she is going to stick with party and vote for Larry Hogan.)

Hard to believe there will end up being a 15 point spread in the AZ results, but which way it falls is up in the air.

I can invent all sorts of possible personal motives. Maybe he was trying to impress a girl or friend who was liberal. Maybe he was angry at his dad, who sounds like a conservative.

It seems like we'll never know at this point.

We may never know, but I feel fairly confident we can rule out "Biden/DNC ordered the hit," which appears to be the prevailing theory on the right.

That +8 looks like it was in May. More recent polls have it closer. My guess is that both races are closer than what that was showing, but probably is leaning blue in the Senate and red in the Presidential.

My favorite part of that dipshit narrative is when they cite him bieng in a Blckrock ad. Like this kid was a years long sleeper agent for the CIA, but also they purposely put him in an ad for Blackrock because....

Reminds me of the whole 'Paul is dead" theory, when a bunch of powerful industry heads got together to hide from the world that Paul McCartney was dead....and then they put clue after clue on album covers and in the lyrics because......

I don't really understand the need to know the motive. People are people, they do all kinds of things for various reasons, many of them illogical, many of them they don't even know the reason themselves and couldn't articulate it if they could.

Guy unfortunately made a bad and fatal life choice. Simple as, barring situations where there is a concrete reason to believe in a larger conspiracy.

I agree. I think showing evidence it wasnt politically motivated or part of a conspiracy is important but other than that the motive could be many different things.

He's already deleted stuff from his site that called for an abortion ban. This is also pretty damn extreme.

J.D. Vance Wants Police To Track People Who Have Abortions

Dems should he crushing him over this right now but they don't seem to really care. I know Joe can't do it but feel like Kamala going all over the media talking about this stuff would help. Although maybe the Biden campaign is scared she will get popular.

They don't? What planet exactly do you live on? My timeline is full of Democrats including the President's twitter handle slamming this stuff over and over.

Like so:

JD Vance’s website calls for “eliminating” all abortion, even for teenage survivors of rape and women who will otherwise die pic.twitter.com/4fO1KbFWTq

— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) July 16, 2024

And so:

Vance has supported abortion bans without exceptions for rape or incest because “two wrongs don’t make a right.” He said he “certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally.” And he voted against protections for IVF.

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) July 16, 2024

I can give you 15 more, but I am not going to spam the message board.

Beyond the tribal political crap that uses it like a scoreboard, its because people like to have a "why?", and when there isn't one they tend to create one. I hope they do find something solid. Most likely those prone to conspiracy are never going to believe any evidence, but I think it helps settle some people down.

I think the Vance pick is as much about Trump selecting a potential MAGA heir as anything. He gets a 4 year tryout and the spotlight that comes with being VP. A more moderate pick simply wasn't going to be able to step up from VP and lead that wing of the party. It's doubtful anyone can but Vance has a leg up on everyone else now.

Has the President spoken about this anywhere? What about the Vice President? It's nice that a few politicians not running for President said something and that the intern running social media for Team Biden is on top of it, but I'm talking about the rest of the public who is not on Twitter.

Why not hold a press conference and talk about it? Or call in to any of the news outlets to discuss it? Change the narrative of the race.

This has irked me from the start. Like when Alabama banned IVF, I think Biden should have had a press conference to talk about it. Made a big deal about how they will work to protect IVF and pass a national bill that does so. And with Vance, I think you should have a press conference to discuss how Vance wants medical providers to share women's personal medical records. That as President, he will work to pass a bill that prevents that from happening and doesn't allow people like Vance to stalk women and what they do at the doctor.

That's an incredibly powerful message and the entire campaign should be centered around it. These people not only want to control your body, but they want full access to your medical records. Heck, it's a great retort when being asked for his own medical records. The GOP is terrified of these issues and it would be nice if the people trying to win an election played a little offense.

"Has the President spoken about this anywhere?"

Yes, in a nationally televised interview with Lester Holt. You don't pay attention to what he says, then critize him while he saying exactly what you want. He has spoken several times about IVF as well.

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See, there are plenty of things to actually criticize Biden about. Like this. This would have been a great idea 4 years ago when everyone was clamoring for it and he was not interested. You can say better late than never, but too late is too late.

https://x.com/michaelscherer/status/...BZRf-HLZA&s=19

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Both require Constitutional Amendments and red states will not support as long as they control SCOTUS.

He mentioned the word abortion one time in a list of policies that he said Vance shared the same views with Trump on. It was literally 2 seconds of a 20 minute interview. The absolute bare minimum. Didn't mention Vance calling for a national abortion ban, didn't mention his creepy medical records ploy, didn't mention he voted against IVF access. Then let the conversation shift to debates.

Like if you think that's "talking about abortion" and making it a big deal, I don't know what to tell you.

I think making it a part of a nationally televised interview, then having a full court press in every media platform is a big deal. That is as heavy as it gets. You down play it because "Biden bad" is your one note. If he had "Vance is Anti Abortion" tattooed to his head, you would complain about the font.

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US President Joe Biden's campaign On Monday slammed Donald Trump's vice-presidential pick, JD Vance, calling him a "far-right MAGA extremist" and a "2020 election denier."
"Vance is a 2020 election denier, supports a national abortion ban, and voted against IVF access," said the Biden campaign."
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-...tions-for-ivf/

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They are literally doing everything you are claiming they are not.

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https://x.com/BidenHQ/status/1813309...yrSnT5Vrg&s=19

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Did you watch the interview? He mentioned it 1 time in passing while listing other things Vance supported.

Abortion is currently the only issue the Democrats have going for them. He should have it tattooed on his forehead. He should turn every question into it. All the Senate candidates currently winning are doing this.

"Mr. President, Donald Trump has said you should take a cognitive test and share with the public."

"I'm sure he has. Him and his VP are obsessed with our bodies. Did you know his running mate has demanded that medical providers turn over private health records to police? They not only want to control what you do with your body, but are demanding to know what happens in the privacy of an exam room. So I'm not surprised that the man who demands to know what your wife and daughter is discussing with their doctor would like access to everyone's medical files. And as President, I will pass a law that makes it illegal for medical providers to share your private health records with law enforcement or politicians like Donald Trump."

No one gives a shit about some typed up press release from the White House website. He needs to be on TV giving interviews about this very topic. He needs to be holding rallies where this is all he talks about. He needs to be running ads where this is all they talk about.

Go back to 2012 and see how Obama handled Romney. Every single time Romney would fuck up or say something bad, Obama was on TV that night giving an interview to some media outlet going for the throat. He was calling into small radio stations in every swing state. He went on Ryan Seacrest and had Chris Berman interview him on ESPN. He was doing local television spots on goofy morning shows.

Maybe it's been too long for Democrats to remember but Obama was fucking ruthless on the trail.

https://x.com/KamalaHarris/status/18...Vc9_49I3g&s=19

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You mean like this..
https://x.com/acnewsitics/status/181...OnoedHLIQ&s=19

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Biden literally does that all the time as well.

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Yeah he really nailed that speech today. Can't figure out why he's losing by so much.

Biden, unable to read the teleprompter, stops, squints, leans in, and mangles his own major policy he's rolling out - telling the crowd he's capping rents at no more than $55. It's actually 5%.pic.twitter.com/CdFzGN1oWb

— Branko Marcetic (@BMarchetich) July 16, 2024

I'm not saying he isn't too old. I'm saying he is doing exactly what you say he should. The problem is the press doesn't cover anything he does unless it is a gaffe.

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I feel like that scene from "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" where the son of the governor, who is trailing big time in the polls to the progressive, says that "we need to get our own midget!"

You just know that somewhere someone suggested that we get our own assassination attempt to sway the masses.

Always some 'Johnny come late-lies" out there.

I agree. I think the messaging is about the best they can do with an 81 year old generally unpopular candidate.

Polls be wildin' pic.twitter.com/VBSn78Qdjt

— Polling USA (@USA_Polling) July 16, 2024

Libs of Tik Tok is doxxing people who mocked Trumps assassination and getting them fired from their jobs.

Tell me more about cancel culture and freedom of speech....

Just got an alert that an AP-NORC poll shows 2/3s of Dems want Biden to drop out. And that, of course, doesn't even count the Independents or "Haley GOPers" (probably a misnomer but I think people know who I'm talking about) who would consider or want to vote Dem but would prefer a different candidate.

Wait, so Republicans who hate Trump would be more likely to vote for a competent, likely more liberal Democrat who could actually get legislation passed that they disagree with than vote for the current candidate who is less likely to get progressive legislation passed? That seems counterintuitive.

If the reason they're not voting for Trump is because he's too dangerous, the who on the other side shouldn't matter unless they're more dangerous.

I think JD Vance wears a beard because otherwise his chin looks like it's made of sugar glass.

I don't think that's the way many of them look at it. They are tired of Trump or somewhat concerned about what a second term will look like, but they need a better excuse (candidate) to betray their party for. And that's really what it is - it's the pressure of feeling a betrayal of, in a lot of cases, a lifelong allegiance. And I'm not saying Kamala Harris is that person because she's definitely going to be considered more progressive than Biden (I think), but Biden's clear mental decline is the excuse to hold their noses and vote for the candidate they don't like but aligns with their political views. By and large, the anti-Trump GOPers I've talked to aren't NeverTrumpers - they care about the economic boon they will likely get from the GOP being in power, no matter who the president is - and they downplay the extent to which Trump could "dismantle democracy" and/or "both sides" the issue.

My brother, a doctor who is one of the smartest people I know, is either not voting or voting for RFK in a purple state (NC) not because he thinks RFK is sane or likes any of his policies, but because he thinks causing gridlock in DC is a better outcome than allowing either party to get what they want.

How does voting for RFK ensure gridlock?

He and his brainworm often have opposing opinions.

That red wave we all feared in 2022 is coming this year.

Democratic Senate candidates are doing incredibly well in the polls as well as House reps. Biden can drag a lot of candidates down with him but there are still some big leads in those states. Trump and Republicans are still unpopular.

I think as Biden continues to fuck up he is going to wreck turnout. There is literally nothing he can do to make people excited to vote for him.

Dola

With the RNC going on I am hearing a lot of interviews with reps talking about how rough things are under Biden for the average family and how Trump will make it better but they never say how he will make it better.

He just gave an interview outlining his economic plan. Tax cuts, protectionism, cutting interest rates is the plan in a nutshell.


Trump Interview: His Plan for Taxes, Tariffs, Jerome Powell, More

Space Karen himself tagged the government acount of the german chancellor over a German (mostly) online comedian, who among other things has a 2 hours a month slot at a regional public funded broadcaster, who compared Trump getting shot with the feeling of narrowly missing a bus.

Oh Giuliani, how far you have fallen

This is the most embarrassing thing at a RNC since Clint Eastwood talked to a chair.

Oh my god this Republican National Convention Rap video that was just played to the entire Republican National Convention was embarrassing... and the audience was silent afterwards. pic.twitter.com/fWn3o3tgcr

— Erin Reed (@ErinInTheMorn) July 17, 2024

You have to admit, the GOP loves their D-list celebrities and rappers.

Adam Schiff calls for Biden to step down. Unless I’m missing someone he’s the most prominent lawmaker to call for this.

Shouldn't they be calling for him to step down as President, not just the ticket? Seems they're more worried about their jobs than the country as a whole.

This morning a coworker was going on and on about how Republican God saved Trump and I wanted to ask why Republican God sacrificed that fireman but I probably would have ended up canceled myself.

I don't think so. Running for President is all about the next 4 years. Calling for him to step down from running doesn't mean he's currently incompetent, it's a recognition that aging isn't going to stop at Inauguration.

I have had the same compulsion. Why didn't God stop the guy from ever firing the gun in the first place? God hates firefighters, but loves serial adulterers?

We all saw 9/11

I guess he took the day off at Uvalde too.