I am realluy not concerned about her drag on the ticket. I'm concerned about her drag on the party. She is the presumptive nominee in 2028, and could be the President before that time.

Exactly my concern as well. I think y'all make great points that VP has never really mattered, but Harris doesn't appeal to me or anybody I know (for what little is that worth) yet it still feels inevitable that she is going to get forced into that nomination based on some kind of seniority.

I'm not concerned about her drag on the party in 2024. Or as a presumptive nominee in 2028. I do believe Joe will give her more & better opportunities in 2nd term (he has to right?).

I am concerned about her replacing Joe if needed during the 2nd term. I don't know what the odds are but it's fair to say the odds are greater with Joe-Kamala than pretty much any other combo.

Still better than a Trump presidency. Absolutely no hyperbole when I say a second Trump term will destroy America as we know it.

I agree with you. And agree its not an exaggeration.

I've said it before, Joe has exceeded my expectations overall and am pretty happy with him.

I think it would drive up your popularity actually. We could charge admission!

When a conservative podcaster came to campus, students did not want to listen | CNN

Back to the campus free speech discussion, because I don't know which thread that was again.

Actually, this seems like a pretty relevant snippet too:

The school campus stuff is so lame to me. Trying to rile up 19 year olds on a college campus. Same with them targeting kids on health issues.


Just the biggest load of pussies you can imagine.

Pussies are tough. You can pound them and pound them, and they keep coming back for more.


It reminds me of the church that protests soldier's funerals with there "God hates fags" signs. There are a bunch of people on Tik Tok and Youtube that do stuff like that. They are not trying to make some grand point (though they'll claim they proving the rights), but are just trying to annoy people to get their reaction on camera. They are just hoping someone will actually take a swing so they can sue them.

Shocking I know.
Jane Roberts, Who Is Married to the Supreme Court Chief Justice, Made $10.3 Million in Commissions: Documents

I will say that I do love to see that every political journo/paper/podcast/website in DC is apparently currently doing a deep dive into every justice's finances. Let those rats feel & fear the spotlight.

It's ok. They don't believe they need any oversight. We just need to trust they're doing the right thing.

The Senate has oversight and is the checks and balance on the Supreme Court. But Durbin is just shrugging his shoulders pretending you can't do anything.


It's astounding too since new polls have shown the public is very much against Thomas and SCOTUS at the moment. Democrats love ineffective politicians.

Nothing to see here and nothing will happen


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That's Kansas's good ol' Westboro Baptist. The Phelps family is mostly lawyers so they basically live to sue.



SI

This one feels like a 1A violation but who knows anymore.

Texas guts ‘woke civics’. Now kids can’t engage in a key democratic process | Texas | The Guardian

Jesus Christ.

The GOP is horrified of the next generation of voters. It really is staggering.

They also REALLY don't understand a very basic concept of dealing with kids is if you tell them they can't do something, or try to keep them from doing something, they will only want to do it more.

Just look at Wisconsin.

A large portion of the gop believes they lost Gen z because of brainwashing in our education system rather than their horribly unpopular policies. So their plan is to limit youth voting and impact until they can try to brainwash their own generation.

This is just sad stuff. It used to be that elections would keep the parties accountable and, if they got too far to the left or right and the policies didn't work, they would have to move back towards the center in order to win elections. Now, rather than the right acknowledging that their policies don't always work, they just try to make it harder to vote.

Yet these people consider themselves to be "patriots."

And the meatgrinder just keeps rolling on. Our political system has definitely proven the "too big to fail" nature of the 2-party system. It no longer matters who is the nominee - there is no bottom. Everything falls in line as if it's all just perfectly normal politics as usual.

New: Trump will take part in a CNN town hall next week Wednesday at 9pm ET in New Hampshire — as part of a wider arrangement for more Trump surrogates to be booked on the network in the coming weeks and months, per people familiar

— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) May 1, 2023

CNN's bet is that anyone who still watches cable news is MAGA.

And most of them are going to react to Trump trying to get them to watch CNN like they did when he suggested they get vaccinated.

but they've been the ones brainwashing them with their boarding private school crap

And I think even that isn't working so they're just going to increase the power of the courts and decrease the power of the executive and legislative branches for now.

Seems like the reason he was fired is going to end up showing in the text messages Fox illegally withheld from discovery.

The NYT has obtained one of Tucker Carlson's messages that was redacted from the Dominion court filings. "I found myself rooting for the mob against the man, hoping they’d hit him harder, kill him." https://t.co/IFyZIEzL7f pic.twitter.com/5vut1FICNX

— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) May 3, 2023

It looks like No Fault Divorce is in the GOP crosshairs now. Because, ya know, abusive guys should be able to keep their women in place whether she likes it or not.

You should read up on some of the stories before no-fault divorce came into play. It was quite crazy. Also the female suicide rate dropped 20% after it was implemented.

Subjugate the women and children, make them dumb so they can work the fields and factories, deny all rights to the poor and those of color and give all the money to their rich overlords. Ensure guns in the hands of the zealots to kill all debate or dialogue for rationale or common sense (literally). Make no vote count but their own, and there is no environment just land that hasn't been exploited yet.

Ladies and Gentlemen, your Republican party (soon to be only party).

Erasing Memory -- Censoring and rewriting history: We've seen this movie before.

Good rundown. (dammit, substack)

2) Party is the greatest differentiator in whether Americans are willing to consider electric vehicles: https://t.co/AtWN401moY pic.twitter.com/We4LrVZzjI

— Shannon Osaka (@shannonosaka) May 3, 2023

It seems less helpful to think of being a Republican meaning having a set of political beliefs and more helpful to think of it as an identity.

Appearantly in the Carroll vs Trump Rape case, the defense is not going to call any witnesses and Trump himself is out of the country in Ireland and Scotland visiting his golf courses.

Right, has more to do with the fact that they see EVs as a progressive issue and will just bite their finger off out of spite.

They expect the case to go to the jury by lunch-time tomorrow. Either Trump's team feels they did enough in cross examination that they do not need a defense, or they feel they have enough to get any judgement overturned on appeal. My guess is the former. Or maybe a third thing that they expect a summary judgement before it even goes to the jury.

Except in Georgia. Kemp and his gang are completely betting on EV, with three major plants, two battery factories, and a large EV recycling center all being built and getting heavy state subsidies.

They want the jobs, but all will turn their noses at EVs because progressives. They do not equate the success of EVs with an increase in jobs and industry. I also saw a ton of "No Rivian" signs when I was driving through central/south GA.

The "no Rivian" thing is not about EV's. It is about "not in my back yard." There are some very wealthy land owners in Rutledge that own huge pieces of land out there that have long fought any kind of large developments there. They belong to the Uber-wealthy hunting club close to that area, and they like having their own little hunting resorts. There have been numerous projects that they have sunk from factories to amusement parks exactly where Rivian is going. It was Kemp that got that plant put there.

Kemp and his cronies are very pro clean energy jobs. That is one of their major breaks with more Trumpian contingent.

I'm going crazy with all of the MAGA GOP primary ads here in KY. We do elections on the odd off-years, and primaries are in about 2 weeks, so we're getting 3-4 every commercial break. The worst/funniest are the ones for specific state positions other than governor. You've got the MAGA agriculture secretary candidate who is running against taxing cow farts (including an actual fart noise) and banning meat, and the treasurer whose main selling point is "tough on illegals" - because illegals are stealing so much of our tax money that the GOP is *checks notes* cutting the state income tax every year, with a plan to eventually zero it out. Because, you know, we have all of that coast line and tens of millions of tourists to pay for our infrastructure here...

they paid off enough people

Does make me wonder, CF. You have to think they are pretty confident.

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You know I had been wondering why we hadn't heard about Herschel Walker since the election..well now we have and he's not running again:


Emails Reveal ‘Jaw-Dropping’ Herschel Walker Money Scandal

Definitely Trump-like. Where did all the money go that was supposed to be for investigating election fraud?

Does the GOP really not grasp their biggest issue is candidate quality? When they trot out someone halfway normal (younkin, Vance) they win.

Went to Equality House on the way to Denver and got a birds eye view of that shithole across the street.

And saying "JD Vance is normal" is probably a bit of a fudge


SI

It's all relative...

I still think Tim Ryan ran a pretty horrible campaign. He tried to distance himself from Democrats (and Vance didn't let voters forget that Ryan was a Democrat). He also threw footballs at TVs for some reason.

I said halfway and when you compare him to Walker, Oz, mastriano, lake, masters, etc. he certainly qualifies as halfway normal.

Proud Boys trial verdicts-mostly Guilty on all counts, may still be deliberating some.

Up to 20 years.

Too bad it wasn't treason. Wouldn't mind a public hanging (might need to get some experts flown in from Singapore).

I think they know that. A lot of people in the GOP did not want Walker, Masters, or Oz. They were Trump picks.

Walker did have things going for him in the primary. He's a big football star and Trump had supported him for a long time. And the wife beating charges are bad to many, but probably seen as a positive among that voting demographic.

Ginni was taking bribes too.

Exclusive: Conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo arranged for the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to be paid tens of thousands of dollars for consulting work nearly a decade ago, specifying that her name be left off billing paperwork. https://t.co/CKc8KwbEoh pic.twitter.com/mrKkHpGpDk

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 4, 2023

The worst part of this is that Leonard Leo instructed his people to make sure the payments weren't in her name.

Nothing will happen


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Freedumb!

Even if something crazy happened an Thomas resigned over this (as he should*), the Democrats wouldn't be able to confirm a replacement since Feinstein is still indefinitely out ill.

*let's be clear, any of us engaging in this type of activity at work would be fired. It is straight up bribery.

Yeah, it's important to remember that we now live in a world where Liz Cheney is considered a moderate because she spoke out against all the criming, and former nutballs like Cruz, Rubio, & McCarthy are now elder statesmen of the GOP.

If Paul Ryan or Scott Walker decided to re-enter politics, they'd have to do what Charlie Crist and others have done, which is to run as Democrats.

I mean, we live in a world where MTG is basically dictating what business the HoR can and can not consider.

We were already in free fall but once they started calling McConnell a RINO it was game over.

It's amazing someone that isn't even very popular with her own party has accumulated so much power in a short amount of time.

I don't what the deal is between her and McCarthy but she's essentially speaker without having to deal with the bullshit.

I guess we can blame the founders. Legitimately, there is only one course in removing a Supreme Court Justice, and that is Impeachment. It has only been used once in history versus a Justice, and he was acquitted by the Senate. I wonder if it were a smart thing to make it so hard to remove a Justice or a President since it would have probably been used way more than it has for purely ideological reasons.
It does seem like the court itself should have some power to deal with justices, but then that too would open up a can of worms. Can you imagine the Right wing majority not kicking off every liberal judge once Republicans had the WH and Senate?

Its Trump. I have no idea why Trump has coronated her Queen of the House, but that is the source.

"It's a Dangerous Time in America!!!" sounds like a title to a hard rock anthem.

oops wrong source...this is actually a Dewey Bunnell quote

So the judge in the Carroll Rape Trial heard about Trump flying back from Ireland so he could "confront his accuser" and gave him one last chance to testify. Respond in writing to the court by 5 pm today that you wish to testify and I will consider it. And shockingly there was no reply. So closing arguments begin tomorrow.

So I haven't really been following the Trump Trial. Has there been any more evidence than "He said/she said?"

yes. He's fucked.

Well it sounds like he did the fucking if he's fucked.

What evidence is there?

Her statements to her friends immediately after along with other woman relating the exact same thing happening to them. As well as him basically bragging about doing that to women on the Access Hollywood tape. Then there is the fact he was hanging his defense on the "she is not my type" defense, but confused her with his ex-wife Marla Maples in a picture.

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Is it actually proven that the statements to her friends were made at the time of the rape?

ETA: I'm just pretending to be an impartial juror here. I think the standard for convicting someone even in a civil trial should be more than "she allegedly told her friends at the time".

I actually agree and I hate trump

I think the Georgia case is my slam dunk

This one not so much from what I can tell


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Her friends testified under oath, so take that FWIW. The thing that will hurt him is his deposition where he basically said powerful men have been sexually assaulting women since the dawn of time.

You have to remember, a civil trial doesn't carry the same burden of proof as a criminal trial. I really think he;s fucked with this yet it will not matter one bit to his minions.

There was a large part of the testimony devoted to how these things are validated. Between corroborating witnesses and a pattern with others with a similar experience without any way of collaboration. That, along with how bad his disposition was, left the defense fairly confident. And again, he literally admitted that he assaulted women in the Access Hollywood tape, which he further defended in his deposition.

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In a normal world the Georgia case and documents case should both be slam dunks, but we live in an altrnate reality

Well if I were a juror I wouldn't favor the plaintiff based on hearsay. If there was something written down or recorded afterwards then that might move the needle. And his Access Hollywood tapes just proves he's a jack ass.

I've said a lot of crap in my life (a lot of it recorded on this board) but I don't think it should be held against me. I used to have a very dark sense of humor. I extend that standard to other people.

Again, you are thinking like this a criminal trial. Yeah, this would not be enough in a criminal trial.
That said, when you hear the defenses' closing, it does seem like there might be enough there to cause doubt. The defense obviously feels they shot enough holes in the prosecution, which is why they offered no defense testimony at all. It is hard to tell how true that is considering the slant of the people covering the trial.

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I think what will hurt him is him saying she isn’t his type then looking at a picture of her and thinking it’s his wife.

I'm with you. I don't think there is enough here.

That was among the biggest "gotcha"s for sure. I think his deposition in general was negative for him. I think the thing that might save him is the "conspire" text she sent to her friend. Without concrete context, it does sound like she was plotting to do anything she could to bring Trump down. Then the text from her friend basically suggesting Carroll made it up. Again, context is everything and maybe there is a way to explain those away, but I am not sure where the jury is with that.

Unless there is a different one the word she used was scheme, but the point stays the same.

The burden of proof isn't nearly as high in a civil case so I think they may get him.

I waa going off my poor memory.
The other factor that is hard to get just from text relays of the court room is how well the lawyers did in presentation. There has been a lot of praise for how well Trump's lawyer comes off in arguments.

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FOX stock price is actually higher today than on Jan 1 but has lost about 15% from its mid-Feb high.

I didn't see a definite date on Smartmatic trial but a Fox spokesperson said sometime in 2025, so after the election.

Fox swings to a loss after its Dominion settlement | CNN Business

I believe this guy's name is actually "asshat." The fact that someone gets paid to produce this kind of drivel is ridiculous.

Trump in office will be a second-term lame duck who never wanted to run a WH; whatever de facto powers Pence enjoyed, even a semi-competent second term VP will be able to accrue many more.

— Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) May 9, 2023

I do think the VP pick is interesting, but not for this reason. Whoever is chosen will immediately be running for election in 2028. How will Trump allow that to happen? Will he cut them off at the knees just so they don't steal the spotlight?

And who is willing to gamble on either being the 2028 nominee or being forever humiliated and lucky to get a late-morning CPAC slot?

It is interesting. Can they convince him to not double down on the crazy and pick someone like Kari Lake, and to your point, is there someone more mainstream who is willing to live the grifter life post-Trump when the inevitable happens?

if Trump is elected POTUS in between his revenge tour and loyalty tests I think he will be searching nonstop (not him of course, but his people) for a way to remove term limits from the president.

Even if he doesn't I put it at a 50/50 chance following 4 more years of a Trump presidency a successor wont matter because we would be too far gone at that point.

She was just a few thousand votes from winning. Herschel Walker nearly got 50% of the vote. There is nobody he could choose that would turn off people who are already going to vote for him.

Could you imagine being one hamberder stuck in the windpipe away from a Kari Lake presidency?

I'm not talking about his voters, but the general public.

Although, as comforting as the public polls are about how much the average American is tired/afraid of Trump, it still comes down to about 6-8 states and a few counties as to whether he's going to be President again - no matter what.

Jury just went to deliberations in the rape/defamation case.

In a just world, word of him being found liable would hit about an hour before his CNN town hall. But I'd take this afternoon as a consolation prize (although I feel like he's going to escape).

Iowa passed their child labor bill. 14 year olds can now work in meat coolers and they upped the hours kids 14-16 can work during the school year to 6. They also removed the limit on hours 16 and 17 year olds can work during the school year.

Saw an article about how Bret Baier's reputation has taken a hit since the text message release and it reminded me that I was pretty sure I saw him at the Derby. Did a bit of Googling and sure enough, he was there. Of all the celebs that were there, he's the best I could do?

Verdict is in.

No one rape. Yes on sexual abuse. Yes on he injured her. Yes on reckless disregard. Yes on defamatory. Yes on actual malice.

Basically guilty on everything except rape. You can already see the headlines depending on the news outlet.

I'm sure he thinks he got away with it because of the no on the rape verdict. But CNN should now press his feet to the fire about this tomorrow.



When the no came back on the rape charge, I really thought they were going to go all the way no, but I can understand why they did so. Every time he's announced it should not be as former President, but sexual assaulter Donald Trump.

Reputation in the Fox realm or reputation as a newsperson? I mean, he's been with Fox since 1998; I'd assume you'd need some other experience to build any credible reputation. (Brit Hume at least was with ABC for 23 years, which at least lasted for a little while before it rubbed off.)

And he replies:


https://twitter.com/AntiToxicPeople/...19051074949127

I couldn't come with a "why?" here. They think she lied on rape and not everything else? But then i read an article about New York law on rape. She would have to prove he it was intercourse for rape, and even in her testimony she wasn't sure if he penetrated her with his penis.