mtutiger

It was being discussed in the World Politics thread because it applies more over there, but I do think we need to think a little bit about the rhetoric leading up to this campaign and all of the fears that people had (not unfounded fwiw) about what Orban would do if he lost, or how he would steal the election, or how they would throw out votes, you name it. The election came, Fidesz got their asses kicked, and Orban and went out there and whined and cried but, in the end, conceded. The fears, legitimate as they may have been, did not come to pass. To be clear, I know there are differences. The biggest one being that Orban is a rational actor and Trump is not..., but there's a lesson here in that we all have anxiety about what the President or Republicans in Congress will do in the event that they lose in the Midterms. We create wild scenarios in our heads. Some realistic, and some less so.... but that fear and anxiety does not help, it only paralyzes. That's what Peter Magyar and the Hungarian opposition taught us today. People need to stiffen their spines and be vigilant, but not constantly in fear and not treating Trump like he's a force of nature that can't be reckoned with. And that politics are over and do not matter (they clearly did in Hungary under a much more consolidated authoritarian system). And, as I've paraphrased Ulysses Grant many times saying, we all gotta stop worrying about what *they* are gonna do and start thinking more about what *we* are going to do.

If Jon Ossoff loses GA 14 by 10 in November, he's winning the state overall by more than 10 points. That's why it matters. These by-elections aren't about moral victories, certainly not in districts that Trump won by 30+ in 2024... they are a signal to where the electorate sits right now, just as polls are also a signal as to the electorate The dynamics are different in a special election, but this was a massive overperformance. And I doubt the folks who actually do politics for a living for the GOP in Georgia are sitting around in private saying "a win is a win" to soothe themselves. I would add to that the shift is really similar to the one we saw in Wisconsin last night, whether there was a win or not. It was a bad result for the Georgia GOP full stop

MAGA will try to spin this as a win, but it isn't. It's a big fat L... All this effort, American lives and countless civilian deaths later, and we get an outcome that involves Iran collecting duties on the Strait of Hormuz (when it was free to pass previously). What a waste of time and energy and money. And what an embarrassment for us as a nation to be led by this lunatic... no one will ever trust us the same again, and frankly, I wouldn't blame them

The market has been a willing participant in being talked off the ledge generally... they've treated this like a normal Presidency and think that when he comes to bad decisions that he'll back off once the blowback occurs. At some point, one would think the fact that he's an irrational actor (to put it kindly) would break through and we'd get an "Emporer has no clothes" moment, but I'll believe it when I see it

This was all very predictable in that Presidents are often faced with events they cannot control. We all saw how he reacted (or decomposed rather) in the face of COVID. There are differences this time though, starting with the fact that this wasn't an act of God, it was a war of choice. His fingerprints are all over the metaphorical smoking gun and all of it, the conflict, the economic effects, the additional money per gallon on fuel, it's all on this decision

Isn't this level of management pretty much what was being implied of the latter part of the Biden Presidency by the media? The President's brains are pretty much a skillet of scrambled eggs at this point and, for some reason, barely anyone seems to notice

ABC isn't really a victory either, especially given how the Kimmel ordeal played out and how they have responded since

But maybe "MAGA" Americans should care about paying more at the pump... It's very weird, gladiator games ****

He's delusional if he thinks he unpopularity of this war is because of the media coverage

And, most importantly, it doesn't help the average American one iota.

Please explain in detail why this is worth the extra 60-80 cents on the gallon we are all paying at the pump. Won't hold my breath for a response

Maybe the President and Secretary Kegseth should demonstrate the safety of the Strait by boarding a vessel and riding across....

Just to step back for a second, the "pro-peace", "low gas price" President has now delivered us a war on the Middle East and a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and as a result of this, we have now seen wholesale spikes in the price of gasoline and diesel fuel. And we still have yet to hear why exactly why any of this is happening. And on the "touching grass" front, given how the public increasingly sees this Presidency, would suggest that those who continue to cheerlead this thing on may be the ones who need to touch more grass

Almost like the internet troll is projecting just a bit...

Can anyone make heads or tails of this? He's not making any sense

I've heard a lot of lines railing against elitism but man, that's the weakest. It's bad logic for a lot of reasons, but one of the reasons it's bad is the implication that working class people are inherently poor. That's just not the case...

I don't recall seeing him say this, but this is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. Between working adjacent to the construction industry and with my son's extracurriculars (living in a community with a relatively high median income *and* low college attainment rate), there's no shortage of folks who have spent money on finished basements or spend time in their already finished basements. Just weird stuff

Seems a little late guys

No ****... when the sycophant class is left to shovel manure for decisions that defy any sort of logic, of course its gonna be "confused"

I'm sure they'll have it ready in two weeks or so....