Joyce - I posted this in Adam Kinzinger's Substack comments a few times now and feel it really is the only way this will end:
Adam – Have you and Liz Cheney considered starting a new conservative party? The G.O.P. is dead; it is now the MAGA party. But there must be former Republicans in the House, Senate and elsewhere who have had enough, who know the threat Putin poses and support NATO, who believe in their Oath of Office, who are faithful to our Constitution and not afraid of being primaried or attacked.
Consider starting the Lincoln Party with the bald eagle as your symbol. 🦅
Recruit conservatives, especially people like Dick Cheney, George W Bush, Mitt Romney, etc. Make it your mission to get a minimum of five Republican members of the House and five Republican members of the Senate to join the Lincoln Party by 14 March. Have them caucus with the Democrats and flip the House and Senate as MAGA shuts down the government.
It was the vaunted "conservatives" who got us into this mess. They planted the seed, Nixon and Goldwater; they watered it, Ronnie Reagan, They pruned it carefully, Bush family with the help of good ole let's start a war in the middle east Cheney, and then they allowed it go wild and noxious, the odious fool squatting in the White House. So, here we are today with the party, as it has grown in full poisonous bloom. No thank you. Don't you think they have done enough damage?
The Lincoln Project has captured the name, they do a fabulous job, let's leave it at that. The conservative party has a lot to atone for. Let them start by impeaching the felon in the White House. Is that too much to ask for? Or are they as lily livered as they appear to be?
Loved the nickname I recently saw “PINO” (President in name only) and MAGAts are the real RINO’s. This proud Independent American doesn’t need a “political party” to tell her how to vote. Do away with the Electorate & gerrymandering and have rank choice voting in all federal elections. But first impeach the Pino. His actions in the last month certainly meet if not exceed the bar for impeachment, they’ve been unlawful and unconstitutional. What are we waiting for?
Bravo. Growing up, I admired Abraham Lincoln and thought I would become a Republican when I was old enough to vote. That was until I learned about the Republican PARTY. So, I became a Democrat, and that lasted a couple years while I learned about the Democratic PARTY.
Today, I utterly despise PARTY POLITICS. It seems that all PARTYs let POWER go to the heads; they become self-serving and corrupt.
I can only pray that Independents don't become a PARTY in disguise.
I'm trying to figure out if you are saying that things Democrats have accomplished for the American people, and things Republicans have done to cast aside the Constitution and our laws, are in any way comparable.
Maybe you are saying you don't like POLITICS in general, which is understandable. But to falsely equate the two major parties at the moment is not helpful. Democrats actually stand for the things they say they do. Republicans are all about Newspeak and control of others.
This is no time to be damning all parts of the political spectrum, nor will nihilism or anarchy be good for anyone.
Carol-Anne, I like your ideas here. I do agree that conservatives have been anything but conserving, or rather they have decided to conserve the old Southern white-Slave-owning formula for life; keep Black people and other people of color down as far as possible, ignore women and keep them barefoot and in the kitchen, and grab as much money as you can from as many people as possible, keeping everyone else down because they are, of course, inferior. Unless some of that is changed, a political party of former conservatives will grow into the same old crap as before. I do appreciate Cheyney's and Kinsinger's participation in the January 6th Committee work,b ut alas, the committee didn't go far enough, letting up so toddler-Trump and his gang could get even stronger and an insurrectionist with dementia could get back into the White House, a position he so badly tarnished the first time. Maybe we need to sabotage Fox Not Nearly News, "Truth-Social" (which is guaranteed to never tell the truth except by accident), and the rest of right-wing media. We have at least as many talented people as they do so could do something to get more Americans to pay attention to what is really going on with their beloved Republican (now MAGA) Party. They like saying MAGA, but if they are honest, they are not seeing much that is "great" again.
Please don't blame the return of Trump on the 1/6 committee, and though the demise of the Fairness Doctrine played a role, along with the proliferation of "news" outlets, the Citizens United decision of 2010 played a bigger one. It, and the right-wing Roberts court more generally, cleared the way for mega-millionaires and billionaires to co-opt all three branches of government -- and, btw, the "free press."
Note Jeff Bezos's new op-ed policy. He wrote : "We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets." "Personal liberties and free markets" have been the rallying cry of the right wing since forever. Check out Barry Goldwater's acceptance of the 1964 GOP presidential nomination. "Free markets" coupled with generous tax breaks undermine democracy. That's what the New Deal and the decades that followed were about, until the Reagan reaction set in and started gutting unions, civil rights protections, and all the rest of it.
I assume you know the J6 committee did their job as allowed. Just like the election deniers in the Senate lead by Mitch McConnell finished the work of Nixon, Bushes And Reagan
While I can agree with virtually all you say, it ignores the mistakes and failures of liberal democracies. The concentration of wealth, particularly at the top.; the arrogance of telling us what is good for us while ignoring the shouts; etc. Blaming the other party for all ills is lazy, ineffective and not even wholly true. Better to offer a solution than find fault
We’ll, as long has women have power over their reproduction, realizing the threat of Climate, and our environment is honored, this former Republican will be all in!
See here?We have common ground already!We need all these things,all of us do.
It takes all of us working together to make things right again.Don't allow the bad actors to succeed in their divide and conquer campaign.Us standing together as Americans,the only label that counts,will conquer THEM.Stand up for the judges doing their jobs and standing up for the truth and the law.
The only people who need impeachment are the bad apples ruining OUR country,tfg,Muskrat,and the useless band of assorted Qnuts.We want real leaders,not rulers who don't care about us or our families, coworkers, neighbors or community.
The tax money Muskrat wants to steal is OUR MONEY!WE pay our taxes,he does NOT!That money isn't his!!He should be hauled hogtied in front of a judge,stripped of citizenship,his assets totally frozen,and shipped off to Guantanamo.
The Felon Guy deserves nothing less than Leavenworth.Lock him up with ex Marine Corps drill sergeants as his jailers.Let them kick his ass every day!
We are the ones who need to be taking this country back and making us great,not these fake ass wannabes!
Ms. Vance, I post here hoping a knowledgeable tax accountant can weigh in. It was recommended to me that I change my federal tax withholding on my paycheck to $5 a week. This temporarily prevents my federal tax dollars from going into the Treasury - to be used by the false president to support tax breaks for the rich. Here's the hard part - to avoid penalties and interest when sending in my tax return by April 15, 2026, I have to make sure I pay in 100% in Federal withholding an amount equal to what my final 2024 federal tax liability is (as determined when I file my 2024 taxes) during the course of 2025. I should take those dollars I don't send into the Treasury weekly and put them in a savings account. Then, over the last 12 paychecks of 2025, I need to adjust my withholding to 100% and live off the dollars I put in my savings account. I will have paid what I otherwise should have, but for 7 months I don't let the con man steal my money.
Can some professional tax account weigh in to make sure that doing this is not illegal?
I love the sound of this!A party that will cross that aisle and work together for the common good of all of us citizens.This has sadly been lacking for some time now,but especially more recently.
We need all hands on deck!And remember:"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."We need to make these friends welcome!
We don't have to agree on everything,just the things that matter.We should find common ground and work to expand it.It has been done before and most assuredly can and will be done again.
I don't think so, if even 20% of what they have their non-existent hearts sent on takes place? Ever single one of them will be primaried and if not primaried? Losing out right to a Democrat. Most of the SNAP money and Medicaid is spent in those blood red states that don't know where the hell their benefits come from.
But I hold the view that being a dissenting patriot from within the GOP is a losing position. Trump is a thug - he will primary you in a minute and get his mouth-breathing goons to vote you down.
But the reality is that almost every politician with a pulse wants to be re-elected - everything else is secondary. Trivial things like ethics, the rule of law, humanitarianism, the Constitution - all expendable.
Ian, however, if Republicans actually did a good job for their constituents, they could withstand a primary. They would have to really get into the field and talk with people and show where their fellow Republicans have failed because they stopped caring for the people, only for themselves and their accumulation of money and power. Ask the people if that is what they want no matter what they call themselves? Then work with local officials to make sure that the elections are fairly conducted and the machines are safe and the mail actually delivers the ballots correctly. That is a lot, but someone in Congress should be willing to do the work instead of just booing when tax increases for the rich are being pushed by the ultra-rich.
A new party might draw more people than once thought who lost their jobs. I would be very specific. Instead of the Noble Lincoln Party title, I would call it the Jobs, Housing, Health Care and Food party. The name alone will draw those who are upset about those things. Perhaps a narrow focus would not make the US a global power, but could have the government focusing on taking care of the people.
I know it has two many words and doesn't work as an acronym, but it is direct. I made an acronym the other day for a place to collect stories of people harmed by Trump from around the world, starting with those who have lost USAID and those who have lost jobs, or funding in the US. It was I GASP, standing for International Group Archive of Stories Project. I gasp! or something like that. I remember the acronym better than what the G stands for. We are all gasping right now as we hear these stories. What could a party be that explains what it stands for? I like People Party- PP, but I know it sounds leftist, or Plain People Party, No Billionaires Welcome Party, Plain Folks Party. Everyday People Party, EPP. Everyday Needs Dominate Party, or END! Or as in the END.
And as much as I admire Liz Cheney for all she has done/is doing, she still needs to show me what else she stands for that’s changed. This forever Dem is not, at almost 78, will to be a Conservative anything! If they can find a way to help reform and move Citizens United out, work for the good of ALL people, maybe a vote.
I’m all for getting MAGA out of control and I am grateful for people like Cheney backing Kamala but then I recall her voting record which I believe was about 99% with Trump in his first term— way too extreme for me and out of touch for centrists.
I think a better and easier strategy is for the broad swatch of DEMS to beat the drum consistently and loudly on a manageable set of common American Dream core values that appeal to the middle and working class that convert non-voters into voters and don’t turn off diehard Dems. Things like healthcare, affordable housing, investing in retirement protections, affordable higher education, etc. Dems have always been for these things but our messaging has been thrown off track by defending against shots from republicans— eg all we care about are trans people, we don’t care about defending borders, etc. And the core message gets lost.
Same. She deserves respect for opposing Trump and trying to get other Republicans to abandon him, however her views and ideal policies are ugly. Not only that but her views paved the way for what it happening NOW. So no, I can’t admire for anything more.
I suggest something like Jobs, Food and Health party. Why not be specific. It tells priorities right there. Farmers who just lost all their money from US AID and federal cutbacks, and lost all their workers from immigrant raids (I realize that Trump is not raiding the immigrants in agriculture, and the raids are just anti-Blue state performance) but they should recognize their needs being met in the values of this party.
Also, I think that a lot of eligible people just plain didn't vote. Prejudice is still alive and well in this country. Some would not ever vote for a black person and there are still people (women and men) who will not vote for a woman. And Oh, my goodness a black woman was nominated! I thought that by now at least some people's minds would have changed & they would vote for a woman. Many cities have female mayors and states have female governors. And also black mayors. (Only 3 states have elected black governors. Two black men assumed the office of governor when their governors died or were impeached. That was in the late 1800s.)
May I suggest that it not be just disenchanted Republicans, but Democrats who no longer want the traditional party system. There is a range of opinions in each party as it is, so why not blend the different groups and have them work toward cooperation?
We are a two party system. That's the way the system was devised. Anything else is a splinter group and a spoiler. Take a good look at the 2016 election, It was that woman whose campaign was financed by a Russian dictator and ran on the Green ticket, you know who I mean...... Jill Stein, the third party candidate who captured just enough votes to give the election to the adjudicated rapist. I don't think so.
“A 2001 Palm Beach Post investigation asserted that at least 1,100 eligible voters were wrongly purged. Other reports put the figure much higher.”
…a divided commission concluded that many Florida leaders were responsible, including Bush, for the "unjust removal of disproportionate numbers of African American voters."
Thank you, Marlo, for the reminder. It was a travesty.
And future elections with voter purges and the obscenely difficult ways one must qualify to register will discourage people from even trying. I imagine transgender people may be refused because if their birth certificates don't match other ID or one's perception of who a person is, they are likely to not allow voting.
What we have been, may need to change. How about 4 viable parties instead of two. Might not make presidency clear, but would make Congress more reflective of diversity of thinking in our country, and local politicians.
There are plenty in both who would join a party that had a focus in its name. I suggest the People's Rights Party. Maybe some of the 93 mil eligible people who did not vote, could get behind a grass roots movement of that, but not necessarily one led by the party regulars. By name, it would certainly signal something different from Trump. Maybe more people have to be hurting from his actions before this will be viable.
If that is going to happen, it will evolve on its own. We can't "arrange" it. This kind of discussion is a waste of time. We have problems we need to address RIGHT NOW, by which I mean today, this week. What we do now is likely to lead to a restructuring of parties, but that should not be our goal. Our goal has to be to make noise, march in the streets, write letters to our congress people and to the editors of all kinds of media. We need to call out the things that are happening right now, threatening not only our personal rights, but our economy, our ability to vote, the ability of our local and state governments to function. Everything that matters. This is not an abstraction. It is literally what we are up against. We need to speak out against it, in numbers that can be heard and seen, in whatever ways we have available to us.
I attended the virtual town hall my rep and 2 senators held last evening (our entire state Congressional contingent). To my delight, they are in unity about the need to resist. They spoke of what they can do most effectively in Congress (such as quietly courting vulnerable Republicans) and being visible and vocal in their opposition to the Trump administration. But they also strongly support citizens in being visible and vocal and public RIGHT NOW in our protests on the streets, in our letters, in our actions, in showing people what they are losing.
There lies our best chance to save our country. We need to let go of the abstractions. I am astonished again and again reading responses that get further and further from the information that Joyce and other insightful people are giving us, and watch threads devolve into competitive abstraction and rehashing old stuff over and over again. It is time to act simply to first do whatever we can to stop Trump and his supporters. We don't have to all do the same thing, but by god, we all had better do something and pretty damn quick, or all you'll have left is an abstraction of the Constitution.
My fear is this coup will come full circle before everyone realizes the damage done to the Constitution,and life,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness. We have much to learn about democracy.
It is criminal to allow any of these elected and or non elected members of this Congress and the felon regime to continue to rob and plunder our country under the false flag of “Saving our Democracy”! Especially since all we’ve seen in just a few short weeks is the indiscriminate destruction of our country from within.
I really like your idea, Jason. I was thinking somewhat similarly the other day: put together a slate of candidates for a BI-PARTISAN government top to bottom, i.e., co-presidents (one from a new GOP and one from the Dems), co-vice presidents (same as co-presidents), then, reasonable, non-extreme persons to fill all other seats of the cabinet, etc. Yes, it would be a very heavy lift, but no heavier than trying to save the country and all of our lives. It could be done. There is no reason it could not be done. We have to try SOMETHING.
Give it up. Come to the light side. We're feckless, but we're not evil. And the guys you mentioned STARTED this "unitary executive" nonsense--look where it got us.
Betsy - I am a retired UNION pilot, a Blue-Dog D. As a retired O-5 I have been and am willing to die to defend the Constitution. I am waiting until 1 May, day 101 of this reign of terror since I do not think we will have a clear view of where this is all heading until then.
Right now, I fear we are headed to The Troubles, violence fueled by 120 guns per 100 Americans.
I fear that waiting for the 2025 VA Governor election and the 2026 midterms will be too late. I feel our only hope is to flip the House and Senate this March when the budget battle and debt default is upon us. One way to do that is for conservatives to abandon MAGA, form a new party that caucuses with Ds to put an end to MAGA. I wish we had a parliamentary form of government, but we do not; we have a first-past-the-post system that only allows for two parties.
MAGA GOP must be replaced by a new party before it is too late. I cannot form a new party; Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney can!
This morning Olga Lautman and Lev Shalev discussed that deal that Zelenskiy and Trump have. They also discussed that Trump could send out troops to be aligned with Russia against Ukraine, and thus Europe.
Trump is letting Musk run the country, and Musk is apparently a drug addict. They are both Russian assets, if not agents. So much for running the most complex country in the world. Also, there is nothing preventing Trump from selling our military as mercenaries to the highest bidder. Trump just wants a payday. That is what it is about. I am mostly living in Germany, although I go back and forth. Here is how I see this situation. https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/germany-prepares-for-war-updated?r=f0qfn
If anyone in the Republican party can message this it is Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney, as well as Sarah Longwell of the Bulwark.
Call them RATHERS - Return American To Her Roots. I actually think we need a third party, and why I am Unaffiliated. I find myself with most issues to have a foot in both parties, ending up on middle ground. It can't be a binary system anymore; I'm tired of holding my nose when I vote. It feels like the party of give-aways vs. the party of take-aways. We need some of both. Also need a party that loudly stands against $1=1 vote, with the richest donors winning the most prizes.
Unfortunately, for me, I will never trust a U.S. conservative ever again. The philosophy of conserving the status quo has lost any credibility and respect for me.
The whole idea of American conservatism (which is completely different from the rest of the Western world’s) is based in a negative - opposition to ideas of progress. American conservatism is only definable by its opposition to and rejection of universal principles. It is not based upon a positive.
All through the long years from the founding of our country to present, this fact is born out by their actions - tearing down, consolidating power to themselves. I will never support it or a political party that espouses this philosophy.
This is the approach I've wanted for years, Jason. Lately, however, watching both Red and Blue legislators either be lead blindly or sit on the sidelines, I've come to realize both are the same. What we need, I believe, is a true Populist uprising that brings people of every color together to do battle with the oligarchs and corporations that seek to gather influence with their massive wealth to control both parties. Until this is done I fear whatever "natural" political actions we take will be only symbolic.
A friend sent this; it was titled, “Ukraine and the end of Pax Americana”:
Dear Senator Tillis,
I appreciate your speech on the floor of the Senate about the evil of Vladimir Putin, mass murderer and war criminal. Thank you for your words. However, it is going to take more than your words to fix this. America has soiled itself and ended 80 years of Pax Americana by siding with a dictator. You cannot support President Trump and believe what you said on the floor. Trump LOVES Putin because he wants to be like him…a dictator, a king, someone who can murder his opponents at will. You made a mistake voting for Hegseth, Rubio, and Gabbard, now you are going to have to undo that mistake by impeaching them and impeaching Trump.
Trump will never back down because he is insane. You must remove first those who are doing his bidding…Rubio and Hegseth, then Trump. He is crazy, insane, seriously mentally ill. The longer you wait to do this, the more Ukrainians will die, and the more the world and America will suffer. If you sincerely believe all that you said about Ukraine, you will have no other option for stopping the madness.
I think Putin has some sort of “dirt” on Trump. And Trump is deathly afraid he will expose it.
Also Trump was first “groomed” by the Soviets in the ‘70’s. after marrying Ivana whose father was a Russian informant. Trump became a “Russian asset” because he is a useful idiot. His narcissistic personality, his avarice, and his ability to be easily manipulated made him a perfect specimen.
It may be exposed. Depends on how effective the ongoing destruction of evidence and their victim’s families is. But only after a lot more of the ruling class in the UK and the US across the political spectrum are long dead. Exposing the dirty tricks that helped create and maintain the postwar globalising capitalist’s hegemony would destroy both nation state’s credibility and their political stability. Hence the lack of any real political or judicial response in high places to confront MAGA in the US or the moving of the Overton window until it has seemingly left the building in the UK. I have long since given up hope of seeing truth and justice in this area in my lifetime but these past crimes for power and control are now acting as a hidden corrupting corrosive in US/UK ruling circles.
Treason? Murder? KGB is great at frame ups. The lure of a gold cache the size of Fort Knox? Which of course he will never receive. This all begs the question, why couldn’t our intelligence agencies work to end this years ago? So much graft and corruption. Sad.
Basically an overly wordy repetitive compilation of stuff that's already been said, repeatedly and better, by many others. Boring. Some truth, but way too much exposition. We know what the problem is, and we know what we need to do. Let's get to work.
That was a snarky statement. He DID get to work and wrote to Tillis. He should be commended! What have YOU done? We need to support each other. Not tear each other down.
Mike Lee went from ‘constitutional scholar’ to ‘burn it all down’ real fast. The Founders gave judges lifetime appointments for this exact reason—so power-hungry politicians couldnt bulldoze the law. But sure, let’s take legal advice from Elon Musk, a guy who thinks ‘free speech’ means banning people who make fun of him.
How to stop an unfiltered, wealthy, unelected person who has access to everything, who is controlling an addled egomaniac. Why isn’t he arrested? Why is this happening? I feel like I need to be in a padded room.
I really think there is a form of American Genocide taking place. Remove all guardrails from authoritarian power, take away social safety nets from the elderly, mentally challenged , mentally ill, working poor…take away health care, information about medical and mental health care, remove clean water, care for LGBTQ+ , compromise air safety to “save money”. So much more. They want to kill us.
I agree, Suzanne. Authoritarians especially want to rid society of the “takers” who don’t pull their weight: the homeless, the working poor and chronically unemployed, low-income seniors, people with mental and physical disabilities (including veterans), children and adults with chronic debilitating and life-threatening illnesses, and so on. Limiting affordable health care and allowing highly contagious diseases like seasonal influenza, bird flu and respiratory ailments (covid, RSV and measles) to run rampant will decimate these communities.
Thank you so much for articulating your thoughts because they mirror mine as well. There are so many things to think about so many things to say so many things that are on our minds. We are a community, a village. We need each other and we need to fight back in every way we can.
Thank you, Suzanne! We definitely do need each other and I am so grateful for this Substack forum, which facilitates a connection with allies like you. 💙
On that note - I just read the below post which was shared by commenter teresafbrooks, and it blew me away. Please read it if you have time. I have never read Sarah’s work before and will take a much deeper dive, including her books. I also subscribed to her Substack. Hugs! P.
Read Sarah Kendzior's Substack of Today: "Your Questions Answered."
Thanks for your blunt appraisal, Joyce. Republicans in Congress seem disproportionately deathly afraid of being primaried. Are they also afraid of the Trump-Musk private militia of the newly pardoned J6 criminals? Do they fear release of kompromat? Perhaps those poor pitiful spineless traitors and their families are being directly and physically threatened more than we thought.
Well too bad, they should’ve grown a spine much earlier than this and we wouldn’t be in such a predicament. But then spineless is the name of the game with them now and before
I think the answer is, yes they are afraid of the private militias. Both Adam Schiff and Tim Kane spoke about being disappointed with some of Joni Ernst' votes on Cabinet nominees, but they also said straight out that the threats she was getting were horrific and specific. A couple of years ago a long time member of Congress resigned because of threats to his family.
Ironically, I agree that "corrupt" judges should be impeached, but by corruption I mean taking bribes, undermining democracy, and ruling against the Constitution. We the People must hold the line.
The full force of Trump, MAGA and Project 2025 seems to have been unleashed once they had taken control of the Supreme Court. They now know there will be no "legal" impediments to their dictatorial vision.
A dear friend who lives in Minnesota was recently on a Catholic Relief Services Zoom call and reports:
The situation is dire on many levels. 10% of all foods USAID purchases are from Minnesota farmers.
1,600 at USAID this week were let go. 120,000 at CRS worldwide were let go over two weeks. Literally tens of billions in food, medicine and equipment sits in warehouses, ships and docks waiting for distribution to the neediest of needy (est. 8,000-14,000 starved to death today, Monday). It has been two weeks since HIV meds have been distributed-which means those hundreds of thousands taking those meds just in Africa can now transmit. Worst: seeds that can sustain millions (that are in a freaking shipyard) need to be planted very soon to prevent widespread starvation throughout Africa Middle East and South America.
We have already spent the money on these goods, and they are rotting while millions are and will needlessly die.
In the next week, we meet reps in each state to beg for release of funds so that the distribution button for this vast infrastructure can get into action.
We are looking in the wrong place. David Hogg, or the guy that runs Indivisible, or almost any 20+ year-old doing dog-poop jobs for candidates. We need a whole phalanx of White Knights (regardless of color) to step up and out. The time for old age experience in politics is past. Alexei Navalny was just 47 when he died in prison. He was 24 when he entered Russian politics. He understood the current media environment and was known for his blog posts. And he believed in a better way for the Russian people.
I read a bunch of Substacks and many of the comments. Who among all those people, writers and/or readers, would fit Navalny's profile? Posting on Substack is a (relatively) safe space. We need people who are willing to step into an unsafe place, knowing it is unsafe and doing it anyway. Most of all, we need someone who is conversant in social media and can speak the lanuage of memes that can change hearts and minds. Find one (or more) of those and then orgainize that other party. Indivisble has a nice ring to it. Maybe they will let us borrow that name.
I hate this, Jason. Pretty soon we will be in dire straits should we not revolt in various different ways. I see the two corrupt presidents calling for martial law. My heart breaks.
They. Do. Not. Care. In fact, they love the turmoil, disruption and terror. Writing letters, protests, calling representatives-none of that will help. GOP senators and congressmen are not answering their phones. They have a plan for how this all plays out. Saying that we need to take action is meaningless. We need leaders with a plan for how to fight this NOW. We are WAY behind them. Snarky comments and observations about how truly awful they are don't make a whit of difference. We all know how awful this is! But there's no leader or plan to counteract it at this time, and it will be too late once we figure it out.
I agree with you. I posted in a resply above a link to Sarah Kendzior's Substack of today, and recommend it to you, if you haven't yet read it. Actually, here it is again.
I read enough of it to be cross eyed. There’s a lot to it but she makes some good points; a lot of which I find worthwhile. She’s sharp and knows he way politics and those who play the game.
Who, Jeannie, do you see stepping forward to lead who can speak with all clearly and bring reality to life? I thought the greatest error of the Dems this time was not to use all the figures of what immigrants - TPS, DACA, those waiting for asylum hearings, those here with or without papers - contribute in work & taxes. In reviving towns and cities. In building this country and continuing to do so. Who is the leader? Not necessarily a candidate but the “teacher/motivator/truth-teller” in Chief to rally all?
Musk has to go… 1930s-… we all said never again. 9/11… never again, school and mass shootings,(Highland Park, IL is my hometown, many of my family live there)… I thought shootings were among the biggest hurdles.
I was wrong. History repeats itself, indeed, it’s repeating itself now with this coup. Henry VIII was a tyrant, we now have multiple tyrants at the helm.
I think this government will implode but not before mega damage is done by these maga stooges.
Yes, Vought is a genuine menace, along with nearly all of the cabinet nominees who were mindlessly confirmed by the Republicans. I have to observe that I don't know why so many Republican politicians are sacrificing their integrity AND their constituents to make these votes. Don't they realize that they are simply setting themselves up for more of the same? (Approve Trump's policies without question or - apparently their greatest fear: losing their jobs - be primaried with Elon Musk's funds.) Perhaps they expect that we won't have any more "free and fair" elections?
Mike Lee is right: Corrupt judges should be impeached. Let's start at the top with Alito and Thomas move down the corrupt justice chain to Aileen Cannon and James Ho (who sanctioned torture during the Bush/Cheney Admin).
One other comment: We need to include *APPLE* in Friday's boycott. Their newest phone is scheduled to be released on the same day. This past Monday, Tim Cook announced Apple would “invest” $500B over the next 4 years - just days after meeting with Trump.
Cook just kissed Trump's ass.
Bottom line: DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM APPLE ON FRIDAY 2/28!
Pass it along to your friends and family and on your social media!
Apple has not given in to Trump’s anti “DEI” demand. Along with Cosco it is one of the few holdouts that will not bend the knee and kiss the ring. Apple has been moving its factories out of China and a move to manufacture in Texas is not extraordinary. Buy nothing online and only locally on the 28th. That includes Apple.
Joyce - I posted this in Adam Kinzinger's Substack comments a few times now and feel it really is the only way this will end:
Adam – Have you and Liz Cheney considered starting a new conservative party? The G.O.P. is dead; it is now the MAGA party. But there must be former Republicans in the House, Senate and elsewhere who have had enough, who know the threat Putin poses and support NATO, who believe in their Oath of Office, who are faithful to our Constitution and not afraid of being primaried or attacked.
Consider starting the Lincoln Party with the bald eagle as your symbol. 🦅
Recruit conservatives, especially people like Dick Cheney, George W Bush, Mitt Romney, etc. Make it your mission to get a minimum of five Republican members of the House and five Republican members of the Senate to join the Lincoln Party by 14 March. Have them caucus with the Democrats and flip the House and Senate as MAGA shuts down the government.
Put an end to the Musk/Trump reign of terror.
Sincerely,
A retired O-5
It was the vaunted "conservatives" who got us into this mess. They planted the seed, Nixon and Goldwater; they watered it, Ronnie Reagan, They pruned it carefully, Bush family with the help of good ole let's start a war in the middle east Cheney, and then they allowed it go wild and noxious, the odious fool squatting in the White House. So, here we are today with the party, as it has grown in full poisonous bloom. No thank you. Don't you think they have done enough damage?
The Lincoln Project has captured the name, they do a fabulous job, let's leave it at that. The conservative party has a lot to atone for. Let them start by impeaching the felon in the White House. Is that too much to ask for? Or are they as lily livered as they appear to be?
Absolutely! So well said! They need to step up and hold this felon criminal accountable!
Loved the nickname I recently saw “PINO” (President in name only) and MAGAts are the real RINO’s. This proud Independent American doesn’t need a “political party” to tell her how to vote. Do away with the Electorate & gerrymandering and have rank choice voting in all federal elections. But first impeach the Pino. His actions in the last month certainly meet if not exceed the bar for impeachment, they’ve been unlawful and unconstitutional. What are we waiting for?
Bravo. Growing up, I admired Abraham Lincoln and thought I would become a Republican when I was old enough to vote. That was until I learned about the Republican PARTY. So, I became a Democrat, and that lasted a couple years while I learned about the Democratic PARTY.
Today, I utterly despise PARTY POLITICS. It seems that all PARTYs let POWER go to the heads; they become self-serving and corrupt.
I can only pray that Independents don't become a PARTY in disguise.
I'm trying to figure out if you are saying that things Democrats have accomplished for the American people, and things Republicans have done to cast aside the Constitution and our laws, are in any way comparable.
Maybe you are saying you don't like POLITICS in general, which is understandable. But to falsely equate the two major parties at the moment is not helpful. Democrats actually stand for the things they say they do. Republicans are all about Newspeak and control of others.
This is no time to be damning all parts of the political spectrum, nor will nihilism or anarchy be good for anyone.
Carol-Anne, I like your ideas here. I do agree that conservatives have been anything but conserving, or rather they have decided to conserve the old Southern white-Slave-owning formula for life; keep Black people and other people of color down as far as possible, ignore women and keep them barefoot and in the kitchen, and grab as much money as you can from as many people as possible, keeping everyone else down because they are, of course, inferior. Unless some of that is changed, a political party of former conservatives will grow into the same old crap as before. I do appreciate Cheyney's and Kinsinger's participation in the January 6th Committee work,b ut alas, the committee didn't go far enough, letting up so toddler-Trump and his gang could get even stronger and an insurrectionist with dementia could get back into the White House, a position he so badly tarnished the first time. Maybe we need to sabotage Fox Not Nearly News, "Truth-Social" (which is guaranteed to never tell the truth except by accident), and the rest of right-wing media. We have at least as many talented people as they do so could do something to get more Americans to pay attention to what is really going on with their beloved Republican (now MAGA) Party. They like saying MAGA, but if they are honest, they are not seeing much that is "great" again.
The Republican Party is better off dead. Intellectually corrupt. Started as a liberal concept. https://riponsociety.org/
Fox is foreign psy ops.
Fox is a Russian asset. Interestingly enough, in England the Murdoch owned Times Radio sets a different tone. Interesting.
https://youtu.be/QWpX92_FSo0?si=v4U3DRazsPn7X5Xw
Started as a Saudi asset -- supported the oil industry post the Yom Kippur War.
In 2016 Ivanka and Wendi were close. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/03/vladimir-putin-wendi-deng-couple?srsltid=AfmBOordZIsffp3-9Om8zQdhQ1rqIlODSbj8fehsWg470vWLiIvo1WoX
Here is Olga Lautman talking with Zev Shalev about how Zelenskiy's counter offer is a win-win for Ukraine and US, not the horrid deal it was.
At some point they discuss that Trump and Melania were under Russian for observation for a long time, him already back in the 1970s.
https://olgalautman.substack.com/p/breaking-trump-caves-in-ukraine-deal?utm_source=podcast-email&publication_id=382626&post_id=158009552&utm_campaign=email-play-on-substack&utm_content=watch_now_button&r=f0qfn&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Cheney and Kinsinger need to just give up their allegiance to a dead party and give their energy to getting Democrats elected EVERYWHERE.
Unfortunately Cheney and Kinzinger believe the same way Trump does, they just want it done legally.
Please don't blame the return of Trump on the 1/6 committee, and though the demise of the Fairness Doctrine played a role, along with the proliferation of "news" outlets, the Citizens United decision of 2010 played a bigger one. It, and the right-wing Roberts court more generally, cleared the way for mega-millionaires and billionaires to co-opt all three branches of government -- and, btw, the "free press."
Note Jeff Bezos's new op-ed policy. He wrote : "We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets." "Personal liberties and free markets" have been the rallying cry of the right wing since forever. Check out Barry Goldwater's acceptance of the 1964 GOP presidential nomination. "Free markets" coupled with generous tax breaks undermine democracy. That's what the New Deal and the decades that followed were about, until the Reagan reaction set in and started gutting unions, civil rights protections, and all the rest of it.
I assume you know the J6 committee did their job as allowed. Just like the election deniers in the Senate lead by Mitch McConnell finished the work of Nixon, Bushes And Reagan
While I can agree with virtually all you say, it ignores the mistakes and failures of liberal democracies. The concentration of wealth, particularly at the top.; the arrogance of telling us what is good for us while ignoring the shouts; etc. Blaming the other party for all ills is lazy, ineffective and not even wholly true. Better to offer a solution than find fault
We’ll, as long has women have power over their reproduction, realizing the threat of Climate, and our environment is honored, this former Republican will be all in!
See here?We have common ground already!We need all these things,all of us do.
It takes all of us working together to make things right again.Don't allow the bad actors to succeed in their divide and conquer campaign.Us standing together as Americans,the only label that counts,will conquer THEM.Stand up for the judges doing their jobs and standing up for the truth and the law.
The only people who need impeachment are the bad apples ruining OUR country,tfg,Muskrat,and the useless band of assorted Qnuts.We want real leaders,not rulers who don't care about us or our families, coworkers, neighbors or community.
The tax money Muskrat wants to steal is OUR MONEY!WE pay our taxes,he does NOT!That money isn't his!!He should be hauled hogtied in front of a judge,stripped of citizenship,his assets totally frozen,and shipped off to Guantanamo.
The Felon Guy deserves nothing less than Leavenworth.Lock him up with ex Marine Corps drill sergeants as his jailers.Let them kick his ass every day!
We are the ones who need to be taking this country back and making us great,not these fake ass wannabes!
Ms. Vance, I post here hoping a knowledgeable tax accountant can weigh in. It was recommended to me that I change my federal tax withholding on my paycheck to $5 a week. This temporarily prevents my federal tax dollars from going into the Treasury - to be used by the false president to support tax breaks for the rich. Here's the hard part - to avoid penalties and interest when sending in my tax return by April 15, 2026, I have to make sure I pay in 100% in Federal withholding an amount equal to what my final 2024 federal tax liability is (as determined when I file my 2024 taxes) during the course of 2025. I should take those dollars I don't send into the Treasury weekly and put them in a savings account. Then, over the last 12 paychecks of 2025, I need to adjust my withholding to 100% and live off the dollars I put in my savings account. I will have paid what I otherwise should have, but for 7 months I don't let the con man steal my money.
Can some professional tax account weigh in to make sure that doing this is not illegal?
💯🎯
If you still have GOP friends and family, you are in the strongest position possible to drag some of them to the Light side--or at least out of MAGA.
I love the sound of this!A party that will cross that aisle and work together for the common good of all of us citizens.This has sadly been lacking for some time now,but especially more recently.
We need all hands on deck!And remember:"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."We need to make these friends welcome!
We don't have to agree on everything,just the things that matter.We should find common ground and work to expand it.It has been done before and most assuredly can and will be done again.
A caucus makes more sense but good luck.
Caucusing as a GOP member against Trump / MAGA might amount to political defeat at the next election.
Which means some one needs to be a patriotic American and not look out for for them selves only. That is what got us here in the first place.
I don't think so, if even 20% of what they have their non-existent hearts sent on takes place? Ever single one of them will be primaried and if not primaried? Losing out right to a Democrat. Most of the SNAP money and Medicaid is spent in those blood red states that don't know where the hell their benefits come from.
I don't know if you are agreeing with me or not.
But I hold the view that being a dissenting patriot from within the GOP is a losing position. Trump is a thug - he will primary you in a minute and get his mouth-breathing goons to vote you down.
But the reality is that almost every politician with a pulse wants to be re-elected - everything else is secondary. Trivial things like ethics, the rule of law, humanitarianism, the Constitution - all expendable.
Ian, however, if Republicans actually did a good job for their constituents, they could withstand a primary. They would have to really get into the field and talk with people and show where their fellow Republicans have failed because they stopped caring for the people, only for themselves and their accumulation of money and power. Ask the people if that is what they want no matter what they call themselves? Then work with local officials to make sure that the elections are fairly conducted and the machines are safe and the mail actually delivers the ballots correctly. That is a lot, but someone in Congress should be willing to do the work instead of just booing when tax increases for the rich are being pushed by the ultra-rich.
A new party might draw more people than once thought who lost their jobs. I would be very specific. Instead of the Noble Lincoln Party title, I would call it the Jobs, Housing, Health Care and Food party. The name alone will draw those who are upset about those things. Perhaps a narrow focus would not make the US a global power, but could have the government focusing on taking care of the people.
Too many words for a party name. Plus, you'd need a name that could be made into an acronym so it could be pronounced as a word.
I know it has two many words and doesn't work as an acronym, but it is direct. I made an acronym the other day for a place to collect stories of people harmed by Trump from around the world, starting with those who have lost USAID and those who have lost jobs, or funding in the US. It was I GASP, standing for International Group Archive of Stories Project. I gasp! or something like that. I remember the acronym better than what the G stands for. We are all gasping right now as we hear these stories. What could a party be that explains what it stands for? I like People Party- PP, but I know it sounds leftist, or Plain People Party, No Billionaires Welcome Party, Plain Folks Party. Everyday People Party, EPP. Everyday Needs Dominate Party, or END! Or as in the END.
I highly doubt Lincoln would be in the conservative party you are pitching. Please come up with another name.
And as much as I admire Liz Cheney for all she has done/is doing, she still needs to show me what else she stands for that’s changed. This forever Dem is not, at almost 78, will to be a Conservative anything! If they can find a way to help reform and move Citizens United out, work for the good of ALL people, maybe a vote.
I’m all for getting MAGA out of control and I am grateful for people like Cheney backing Kamala but then I recall her voting record which I believe was about 99% with Trump in his first term— way too extreme for me and out of touch for centrists.
I think a better and easier strategy is for the broad swatch of DEMS to beat the drum consistently and loudly on a manageable set of common American Dream core values that appeal to the middle and working class that convert non-voters into voters and don’t turn off diehard Dems. Things like healthcare, affordable housing, investing in retirement protections, affordable higher education, etc. Dems have always been for these things but our messaging has been thrown off track by defending against shots from republicans— eg all we care about are trans people, we don’t care about defending borders, etc. And the core message gets lost.
Same. She deserves respect for opposing Trump and trying to get other Republicans to abandon him, however her views and ideal policies are ugly. Not only that but her views paved the way for what it happening NOW. So no, I can’t admire for anything more.
That is bs wasting time. Action must take place soon not later.
I suggest something like Jobs, Food and Health party. Why not be specific. It tells priorities right there. Farmers who just lost all their money from US AID and federal cutbacks, and lost all their workers from immigrant raids (I realize that Trump is not raiding the immigrants in agriculture, and the raids are just anti-Blue state performance) but they should recognize their needs being met in the values of this party.
They will have to first STOP the purging of the votes. Harris would have won but nearly 5 million people were illegally purged.
https://youtu.be/t3PM15wCVn0?si=7GLOHZEdbBxNvRBo
Also, I think that a lot of eligible people just plain didn't vote. Prejudice is still alive and well in this country. Some would not ever vote for a black person and there are still people (women and men) who will not vote for a woman. And Oh, my goodness a black woman was nominated! I thought that by now at least some people's minds would have changed & they would vote for a woman. Many cities have female mayors and states have female governors. And also black mayors. (Only 3 states have elected black governors. Two black men assumed the office of governor when their governors died or were impeached. That was in the late 1800s.)
I don’t think that played into it in any significant sense
May I suggest that it not be just disenchanted Republicans, but Democrats who no longer want the traditional party system. There is a range of opinions in each party as it is, so why not blend the different groups and have them work toward cooperation?
We are a two party system. That's the way the system was devised. Anything else is a splinter group and a spoiler. Take a good look at the 2016 election, It was that woman whose campaign was financed by a Russian dictator and ran on the Green ticket, you know who I mean...... Jill Stein, the third party candidate who captured just enough votes to give the election to the adjudicated rapist. I don't think so.
And Ralph Nader didn’t help Gore.
Exactly.
Gore lost by only 537 votes.
“A 2001 Palm Beach Post investigation asserted that at least 1,100 eligible voters were wrongly purged. Other reports put the figure much higher.”
…a divided commission concluded that many Florida leaders were responsible, including Bush, for the "unjust removal of disproportionate numbers of African American voters."
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2015/jun/09/hillary-clinton/hillary-clinton-revisits-floridas-2000-and-2004-vo/
Thank you, Marlo, for the reminder. It was a travesty.
And future elections with voter purges and the obscenely difficult ways one must qualify to register will discourage people from even trying. I imagine transgender people may be refused because if their birth certificates don't match other ID or one's perception of who a person is, they are likely to not allow voting.
Still, the country is too large and diverse to have parties that represent the people well. Thus more and more get disengaged.
What we have been, may need to change. How about 4 viable parties instead of two. Might not make presidency clear, but would make Congress more reflective of diversity of thinking in our country, and local politicians.
Who thinks anyone will get to vote again.
One hopes there will be at least local elections. At this point after less than 3 months, things we heard said and thought would happen did and worse.
There are plenty in both who would join a party that had a focus in its name. I suggest the People's Rights Party. Maybe some of the 93 mil eligible people who did not vote, could get behind a grass roots movement of that, but not necessarily one led by the party regulars. By name, it would certainly signal something different from Trump. Maybe more people have to be hurting from his actions before this will be viable.
If that is going to happen, it will evolve on its own. We can't "arrange" it. This kind of discussion is a waste of time. We have problems we need to address RIGHT NOW, by which I mean today, this week. What we do now is likely to lead to a restructuring of parties, but that should not be our goal. Our goal has to be to make noise, march in the streets, write letters to our congress people and to the editors of all kinds of media. We need to call out the things that are happening right now, threatening not only our personal rights, but our economy, our ability to vote, the ability of our local and state governments to function. Everything that matters. This is not an abstraction. It is literally what we are up against. We need to speak out against it, in numbers that can be heard and seen, in whatever ways we have available to us.
I attended the virtual town hall my rep and 2 senators held last evening (our entire state Congressional contingent). To my delight, they are in unity about the need to resist. They spoke of what they can do most effectively in Congress (such as quietly courting vulnerable Republicans) and being visible and vocal in their opposition to the Trump administration. But they also strongly support citizens in being visible and vocal and public RIGHT NOW in our protests on the streets, in our letters, in our actions, in showing people what they are losing.
There lies our best chance to save our country. We need to let go of the abstractions. I am astonished again and again reading responses that get further and further from the information that Joyce and other insightful people are giving us, and watch threads devolve into competitive abstraction and rehashing old stuff over and over again. It is time to act simply to first do whatever we can to stop Trump and his supporters. We don't have to all do the same thing, but by god, we all had better do something and pretty damn quick, or all you'll have left is an abstraction of the Constitution.
You can’t work with MAGATS
My fear is this coup will come full circle before everyone realizes the damage done to the Constitution,and life,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness. We have much to learn about democracy.
And not much time to learn it.
It is criminal to allow any of these elected and or non elected members of this Congress and the felon regime to continue to rob and plunder our country under the false flag of “Saving our Democracy”! Especially since all we’ve seen in just a few short weeks is the indiscriminate destruction of our country from within.
I really like your idea, Jason. I was thinking somewhat similarly the other day: put together a slate of candidates for a BI-PARTISAN government top to bottom, i.e., co-presidents (one from a new GOP and one from the Dems), co-vice presidents (same as co-presidents), then, reasonable, non-extreme persons to fill all other seats of the cabinet, etc. Yes, it would be a very heavy lift, but no heavier than trying to save the country and all of our lives. It could be done. There is no reason it could not be done. We have to try SOMETHING.
The Constitutuion calls for only ONE president. A copresidency would be a disaster.
Dear retired 0-5,
Give it up. Come to the light side. We're feckless, but we're not evil. And the guys you mentioned STARTED this "unitary executive" nonsense--look where it got us.
Another retired O-5
Betsy - I am a retired UNION pilot, a Blue-Dog D. As a retired O-5 I have been and am willing to die to defend the Constitution. I am waiting until 1 May, day 101 of this reign of terror since I do not think we will have a clear view of where this is all heading until then.
Right now, I fear we are headed to The Troubles, violence fueled by 120 guns per 100 Americans.
I fear that waiting for the 2025 VA Governor election and the 2026 midterms will be too late. I feel our only hope is to flip the House and Senate this March when the budget battle and debt default is upon us. One way to do that is for conservatives to abandon MAGA, form a new party that caucuses with Ds to put an end to MAGA. I wish we had a parliamentary form of government, but we do not; we have a first-past-the-post system that only allows for two parties.
MAGA GOP must be replaced by a new party before it is too late. I cannot form a new party; Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney can!
This morning Olga Lautman and Lev Shalev discussed that deal that Zelenskiy and Trump have. They also discussed that Trump could send out troops to be aligned with Russia against Ukraine, and thus Europe.
https://olgalautman.substack.com/p/breaking-trump-caves-in-ukraine-deal?utm_source=podcast-email&publication_id=382626&post_id=158009552&utm_campaign=email-play-on-substack&utm_content=watch_now_button&r=f0qfn&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Trump is letting Musk run the country, and Musk is apparently a drug addict. They are both Russian assets, if not agents. So much for running the most complex country in the world. Also, there is nothing preventing Trump from selling our military as mercenaries to the highest bidder. Trump just wants a payday. That is what it is about. I am mostly living in Germany, although I go back and forth. Here is how I see this situation. https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/germany-prepares-for-war-updated?r=f0qfn
If anyone in the Republican party can message this it is Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney, as well as Sarah Longwell of the Bulwark.
Call them RATHERS - Return American To Her Roots. I actually think we need a third party, and why I am Unaffiliated. I find myself with most issues to have a foot in both parties, ending up on middle ground. It can't be a binary system anymore; I'm tired of holding my nose when I vote. It feels like the party of give-aways vs. the party of take-aways. We need some of both. Also need a party that loudly stands against $1=1 vote, with the richest donors winning the most prizes.
I didn't hold my nose when I voted for Obama or Biden. In fact I cried both times.
SO DO IT. SOMETHING BMUDT BE DO AND SOON!!! Surely there are some patriotic people in the republicans.
Funny, I don't seem to see a one.
It’s a thoughtful idea.
Unfortunately, for me, I will never trust a U.S. conservative ever again. The philosophy of conserving the status quo has lost any credibility and respect for me.
The whole idea of American conservatism (which is completely different from the rest of the Western world’s) is based in a negative - opposition to ideas of progress. American conservatism is only definable by its opposition to and rejection of universal principles. It is not based upon a positive.
All through the long years from the founding of our country to present, this fact is born out by their actions - tearing down, consolidating power to themselves. I will never support it or a political party that espouses this philosophy.
This is the approach I've wanted for years, Jason. Lately, however, watching both Red and Blue legislators either be lead blindly or sit on the sidelines, I've come to realize both are the same. What we need, I believe, is a true Populist uprising that brings people of every color together to do battle with the oligarchs and corporations that seek to gather influence with their massive wealth to control both parties. Until this is done I fear whatever "natural" political actions we take will be only symbolic.
Sounds like a recipe to get the country back into the mess it's in now. And please LEAVE LINCOLN'S NAME OUT OF IT.
A friend sent this; it was titled, “Ukraine and the end of Pax Americana”:
Dear Senator Tillis,
I appreciate your speech on the floor of the Senate about the evil of Vladimir Putin, mass murderer and war criminal. Thank you for your words. However, it is going to take more than your words to fix this. America has soiled itself and ended 80 years of Pax Americana by siding with a dictator. You cannot support President Trump and believe what you said on the floor. Trump LOVES Putin because he wants to be like him…a dictator, a king, someone who can murder his opponents at will. You made a mistake voting for Hegseth, Rubio, and Gabbard, now you are going to have to undo that mistake by impeaching them and impeaching Trump.
Trump will never back down because he is insane. You must remove first those who are doing his bidding…Rubio and Hegseth, then Trump. He is crazy, insane, seriously mentally ill. The longer you wait to do this, the more Ukrainians will die, and the more the world and America will suffer. If you sincerely believe all that you said about Ukraine, you will have no other option for stopping the madness.
Read this and tell me I am wrong: https://open.substack.com/pub/claireberlinski/p/impeach-him
Sincerely,
Your constituent
I think Putin has some sort of “dirt” on Trump. And Trump is deathly afraid he will expose it.
Also Trump was first “groomed” by the Soviets in the ‘70’s. after marrying Ivana whose father was a Russian informant. Trump became a “Russian asset” because he is a useful idiot. His narcissistic personality, his avarice, and his ability to be easily manipulated made him a perfect specimen.
The Soviets became interested in trump when he married Ivanna in 1977 and they've spent a lot of time grooming him.
Through his first wife’s father, a Russian informant-
https://www.grunge.com/930114/ivana-trumps-family-connection-with-czechoslovakias-espionage-service/
House of Trump/House of Putin
By Craig Unger
“…the case he makes for how much potential leverage the Russians had over Trump is pretty damning.”
https://www.vox.com/world/2018/9/12/17764132/trump-fbi-russia-new-york-times-craig-unger
The orange one is a psychopath.
It's the pee pee tape.
Nah, that’s not bad enough, and he’s a germophobe, so I don’t believe that. It’s much, much worse.
It will come out some day; maybe after he’s dead.
Tomorrow?
It may be exposed. Depends on how effective the ongoing destruction of evidence and their victim’s families is. But only after a lot more of the ruling class in the UK and the US across the political spectrum are long dead. Exposing the dirty tricks that helped create and maintain the postwar globalising capitalist’s hegemony would destroy both nation state’s credibility and their political stability. Hence the lack of any real political or judicial response in high places to confront MAGA in the US or the moving of the Overton window until it has seemingly left the building in the UK. I have long since given up hope of seeing truth and justice in this area in my lifetime but these past crimes for power and control are now acting as a hidden corrupting corrosive in US/UK ruling circles.
I believe the Steele Dossier was the truth.
Treason? Murder? KGB is great at frame ups. The lure of a gold cache the size of Fort Knox? Which of course he will never receive. This all begs the question, why couldn’t our intelligence agencies work to end this years ago? So much graft and corruption. Sad.
To support Putin is TREASON.
Thank you for writing to him.
Jason-Great letter! You called him out on specific behavior. Good reason to keep up with what these traitors are saying and getting away with it.
Basically an overly wordy repetitive compilation of stuff that's already been said, repeatedly and better, by many others. Boring. Some truth, but way too much exposition. We know what the problem is, and we know what we need to do. Let's get to work.
That was a snarky statement. He DID get to work and wrote to Tillis. He should be commended! What have YOU done? We need to support each other. Not tear each other down.
This is truly one of the most important pieces Ms. Vance had written. It weighs heavy but speaks truth.
Yes it does!
Mike Lee went from ‘constitutional scholar’ to ‘burn it all down’ real fast. The Founders gave judges lifetime appointments for this exact reason—so power-hungry politicians couldnt bulldoze the law. But sure, let’s take legal advice from Elon Musk, a guy who thinks ‘free speech’ means banning people who make fun of him.
How to stop an unfiltered, wealthy, unelected person who has access to everything, who is controlling an addled egomaniac. Why isn’t he arrested? Why is this happening? I feel like I need to be in a padded room.
I really think there is a form of American Genocide taking place. Remove all guardrails from authoritarian power, take away social safety nets from the elderly, mentally challenged , mentally ill, working poor…take away health care, information about medical and mental health care, remove clean water, care for LGBTQ+ , compromise air safety to “save money”. So much more. They want to kill us.
I agree, Suzanne. Authoritarians especially want to rid society of the “takers” who don’t pull their weight: the homeless, the working poor and chronically unemployed, low-income seniors, people with mental and physical disabilities (including veterans), children and adults with chronic debilitating and life-threatening illnesses, and so on. Limiting affordable health care and allowing highly contagious diseases like seasonal influenza, bird flu and respiratory ailments (covid, RSV and measles) to run rampant will decimate these communities.
Yes!
Thank you so much for articulating your thoughts because they mirror mine as well. There are so many things to think about so many things to say so many things that are on our minds. We are a community, a village. We need each other and we need to fight back in every way we can.
Thank you, Suzanne! We definitely do need each other and I am so grateful for this Substack forum, which facilitates a connection with allies like you. 💙
On that note - I just read the below post which was shared by commenter teresafbrooks, and it blew me away. Please read it if you have time. I have never read Sarah’s work before and will take a much deeper dive, including her books. I also subscribed to her Substack. Hugs! P.
Read Sarah Kendzior's Substack of Today: "Your Questions Answered."
https://sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/your-questions-answered-were-already
Read Sarah Kendzior's Substack of Today: "Your Questions Answered."
https://sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/your-questions-answered-were-already
teresa, thank you so much for this recommendation. It blew me away and I look forward to taking a deeper dive into Sarah’s work. Hugs!
One word: Immuniy.
Thanks for your blunt appraisal, Joyce. Republicans in Congress seem disproportionately deathly afraid of being primaried. Are they also afraid of the Trump-Musk private militia of the newly pardoned J6 criminals? Do they fear release of kompromat? Perhaps those poor pitiful spineless traitors and their families are being directly and physically threatened more than we thought.
Well too bad, they should’ve grown a spine much earlier than this and we wouldn’t be in such a predicament. But then spineless is the name of the game with them now and before
Absolutely true!
I think the answer is, yes they are afraid of the private militias. Both Adam Schiff and Tim Kane spoke about being disappointed with some of Joni Ernst' votes on Cabinet nominees, but they also said straight out that the threats she was getting were horrific and specific. A couple of years ago a long time member of Congress resigned because of threats to his family.
I don’t understand. Who would want to keep their job in a fascist dictatorship?
Unfortunately for the rest of us, some people like fascist dictatorships. Well, they do until the dictator comes after them.
You mean the Trump Gestapo?
Ironically, I agree that "corrupt" judges should be impeached, but by corruption I mean taking bribes, undermining democracy, and ruling against the Constitution. We the People must hold the line.
Oh, and corrupt also includes the ones who lie during their confirmation hearings, evidenced by doing the opposite of what they promised.
Have I got a Court for you! A HIGH Court!
The corrupt judges probably should be impeached. We need to start with most egregiously corrupt: Sam Alito, Clarence Thomas, Aileen Cannon.
Thise aren’t the ones he’s targeting.
The full force of Trump, MAGA and Project 2025 seems to have been unleashed once they had taken control of the Supreme Court. They now know there will be no "legal" impediments to their dictatorial vision.
We must!
A dear friend who lives in Minnesota was recently on a Catholic Relief Services Zoom call and reports:
The situation is dire on many levels. 10% of all foods USAID purchases are from Minnesota farmers.
1,600 at USAID this week were let go. 120,000 at CRS worldwide were let go over two weeks. Literally tens of billions in food, medicine and equipment sits in warehouses, ships and docks waiting for distribution to the neediest of needy (est. 8,000-14,000 starved to death today, Monday). It has been two weeks since HIV meds have been distributed-which means those hundreds of thousands taking those meds just in Africa can now transmit. Worst: seeds that can sustain millions (that are in a freaking shipyard) need to be planted very soon to prevent widespread starvation throughout Africa Middle East and South America.
We have already spent the money on these goods, and they are rotting while millions are and will needlessly die.
In the next week, we meet reps in each state to beg for release of funds so that the distribution button for this vast infrastructure can get into action.
MAGA is NOT pro life; they are only pro birth!
Who in the Senate or House will lead on this? Where is the pragmatic moral leadership?
We are looking in the wrong place. David Hogg, or the guy that runs Indivisible, or almost any 20+ year-old doing dog-poop jobs for candidates. We need a whole phalanx of White Knights (regardless of color) to step up and out. The time for old age experience in politics is past. Alexei Navalny was just 47 when he died in prison. He was 24 when he entered Russian politics. He understood the current media environment and was known for his blog posts. And he believed in a better way for the Russian people.
I read a bunch of Substacks and many of the comments. Who among all those people, writers and/or readers, would fit Navalny's profile? Posting on Substack is a (relatively) safe space. We need people who are willing to step into an unsafe place, knowing it is unsafe and doing it anyway. Most of all, we need someone who is conversant in social media and can speak the lanuage of memes that can change hearts and minds. Find one (or more) of those and then orgainize that other party. Indivisble has a nice ring to it. Maybe they will let us borrow that name.
This is horrific. It sounds rhetorical as I’m writing this, but why isn’t this being reported?
I hate this, Jason. Pretty soon we will be in dire straits should we not revolt in various different ways. I see the two corrupt presidents calling for martial law. My heart breaks.
They also came for the Republican senators. And turns out they were the easiest.
They. Do. Not. Care. In fact, they love the turmoil, disruption and terror. Writing letters, protests, calling representatives-none of that will help. GOP senators and congressmen are not answering their phones. They have a plan for how this all plays out. Saying that we need to take action is meaningless. We need leaders with a plan for how to fight this NOW. We are WAY behind them. Snarky comments and observations about how truly awful they are don't make a whit of difference. We all know how awful this is! But there's no leader or plan to counteract it at this time, and it will be too late once we figure it out.
It’s even more horrifying to find out that so many are ignorant to the fact it is horrifying. They must have their head in the sand.
But after all, Trump is a “Russian asset.” We should call it like it is.
I agree with you. I posted in a resply above a link to Sarah Kendzior's Substack of today, and recommend it to you, if you haven't yet read it. Actually, here it is again.
https://sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/your-questions-answered-were-already
I read enough of it to be cross eyed. There’s a lot to it but she makes some good points; a lot of which I find worthwhile. She’s sharp and knows he way politics and those who play the game.
Who, Jeannie, do you see stepping forward to lead who can speak with all clearly and bring reality to life? I thought the greatest error of the Dems this time was not to use all the figures of what immigrants - TPS, DACA, those waiting for asylum hearings, those here with or without papers - contribute in work & taxes. In reviving towns and cities. In building this country and continuing to do so. Who is the leader? Not necessarily a candidate but the “teacher/motivator/truth-teller” in Chief to rally all?
Musk has to go… 1930s-… we all said never again. 9/11… never again, school and mass shootings,(Highland Park, IL is my hometown, many of my family live there)… I thought shootings were among the biggest hurdles.
I was wrong. History repeats itself, indeed, it’s repeating itself now with this coup. Henry VIII was a tyrant, we now have multiple tyrants at the helm.
I think this government will implode but not before mega damage is done by these maga stooges.
Damage has already been done. Musk has all of our data to train his AI with. But let’s make sure we say that the buck stops with Trump.
The one that needs to disappear is Russell Vought. Read ProPublica on this S.O.B.:
https://www.propublica.org/article/video-donald-trump-russ-vought-center-renewing-america-maga
Yes, Vought is a genuine menace, along with nearly all of the cabinet nominees who were mindlessly confirmed by the Republicans. I have to observe that I don't know why so many Republican politicians are sacrificing their integrity AND their constituents to make these votes. Don't they realize that they are simply setting themselves up for more of the same? (Approve Trump's policies without question or - apparently their greatest fear: losing their jobs - be primaried with Elon Musk's funds.) Perhaps they expect that we won't have any more "free and fair" elections?
Mike Lee is right: Corrupt judges should be impeached. Let's start at the top with Alito and Thomas move down the corrupt justice chain to Aileen Cannon and James Ho (who sanctioned torture during the Bush/Cheney Admin).
One other comment: We need to include *APPLE* in Friday's boycott. Their newest phone is scheduled to be released on the same day. This past Monday, Tim Cook announced Apple would “invest” $500B over the next 4 years - just days after meeting with Trump.
Cook just kissed Trump's ass.
Bottom line: DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM APPLE ON FRIDAY 2/28!
Pass it along to your friends and family and on your social media!
https://x.com/tim_cook/status/1894019006161473996
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/business/apple-tariffs-jobs-investment.html?smid=url-share
Apple has not given in to Trump’s anti “DEI” demand. Along with Cosco it is one of the few holdouts that will not bend the knee and kiss the ring. Apple has been moving its factories out of China and a move to manufacture in Texas is not extraordinary. Buy nothing online and only locally on the 28th. That includes Apple.
Can you gift this article? I no longer subscribe to NYT. THANKS
His mentor Seditious Sam, along with Corrupt Clarence are demonstrably corrupt.
Start there or STFU.
This scares me more than anything else. I am counting on the judges.
so does this mean they’ll be getting rid of Thomas and Alito?
This shit is getting 'real' really fast. I just read the Handbasket https://www.thehandbasket.co/subscribe?ref=jZ1PMUKvEd
There is information th÷y are about to cut soc sec staffing 50%. Within the next 2 weeks.
It all feels apocalyptic
Well. I'm on Soc. Sec. and MEDICARE. I'll be contacting my creditors and doctors I won't be able to pay my bills, etc.
Me too. With major health issues will we seniors and those on Medicaid consider end of life the only option?