[Jim Moonan]

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Walter, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but this is not the end of Trump. Remember McCain the war hero? Remember the pussy tape? Remember the purple heart he took from a family? Remember? Don't jinx things. He's been speaking in garbled tongue all his adult life. It's the language of shysters and snake oil salesmen. It is the nature of narcissism. He is golden. His convoluted language is more a strategy, a survival instinct, than it is a sign of mental deterioration. Also Adderall.

Ok, where was I? It's not the end of Trump, it's not the end of Trump, it's not the end of Trump, it's not the end of Trump (surely this chant will break the spell).

John, the notion that squirrels don't have the brains to survive a road crossing is a myth. I stand up for the squirrels. They must cross thousands of roads in their lifetime successfully. Just think of the scale of what they are doing when they cross a road. Think of the stakes. Sooner or later, we all fall down. They are hard working, can climb trees better than any other animal in the world. walk high wires full of tension, go out on limbs like it was a cakewalk, routinely leap from one branch to another bravely and, generally speaking, want nothing to do with humans. They have more intelligence than Trump, for sure. And better fur hair.
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[Andrew Szilvasy]

We're in the end game right now, either of Trump or of the country functioning as a republic.

If he can solicit foreign aid to elections and have foreign countries investigate his political rivals with impunity, Election Day is the last possible time to stop him, and it won't be a fair fight.

This really shouldn't be hard. He's not even good at his job. His approval numbers are in the tank. The have the Supreme Court for a generation, so who cares how liberal the next president is. They've cheated to win already--what more does Trump offer them?

[John Isbell]

Jim, good to see you standing up for squirrels! Yes, they can do many things that the modern GOP seems unable to do. My theory zeroes in on the fact that mammals, unlike birds, are bad at gauging the speed of oncoming cars. Different mammals go on to approach roads differently, and squirrels, to my mind, go at it wrong.
Andrew: yup, that seems accurate. And again, the entire elected GOP, who know this, don't seem to give a crap. They are too busy wetting themselves at the thought of losing their next paycheck.

Cheers,
John

[Jim Moonan]

Andrew. Endgame? Hmmmm... I'm not superstitious but... how many times have reasonable, thoughtful, intelligent people said "This is it. This is the end" only to have him slip the straight jacket of his own making? I'll tell you: more than I can count. That's why I'm holding off with declaring him dead and going with something more mystical like chanting the opposite of what I've said countless times over the past 3 years: "This is the end of Trump". Yes, I'm now going with "This is not the end of Trump". Trying to stump the devil sometimes requires unconventional thinking. I think it's called The Constanza Method : )

Roger, you're right that Romney is no better than the rest of the GOP as far as rejecting Trump, but at least he gives some indication that he is not a full-blown Trump lackey... I don't know that he went to the White House to praise Trump. As I recall he was short-listed for a cabinet position and, being a politician, he went to hear what the offer was. Give him a little credit for turning it down (yes Trump said he chose someone else -- but we know how Trump and the truth are like oil and water. My hunch is Romney did not pledge loyalty to Trump over everything else -- even our constitution -- like he demands everyone do, so no go). And you are right that he delivered a scathing condemnation of Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. At the time I thought that was the end of Trump.
He was a decent governor of Massachusetts, worked well with the democratic state legislature, passed a health insurance mandate program that has worked well in most respects... If we could swap Trump for Romney I would jump at it. In a heartbeat.
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[Julie Steiner]

America's democratic institutions are in trouble because so many Americans--of various parties, ethnicities, classes, etc.--loathe each other more than they love their country.

If we stay focused on how stupid and self-serving this or that group is--even if it's demonstrably true--we'll never be able to unite to save our republic.

[Orwn Acra]

Jim, burst my bubble! He looks worse than he ever has, dramatically so. I do not believe his health will keep up.

[Roger Slater]

Jim, of course I would rather have Romney than Trump. No argument there. And it does appear quite possible that Romney is now salivating over the prospect and maybe, just maybe, will launch a primary challenge. After all, what does he have to lose? He has five years left in his senate term, the voters in his home state love him no matter what, and there's a good chance that Trump will lose in 2020 (especially if he is battered in a primary battle). The main reason for entering the primaries, though, is to be the heir apparent if Trump is actually forced out, and perhaps to aid in that forcing out by making it clear that there's a top-tier Republican in the on-deck circle.

[James Brancheau]

I think, Julie, when we can, on the whole, get back to agreeing about what's true and untrue, we'll take a big step towards uniting and protecting our democratic institutions. But that simply isn't happening. To my mind, it started, or at least heightened, with wild lies about Obama and Hillary and is continuing with wild lies to protect Trump. Personally, I don't have any problems with substantive disagreements with those of another political stripe. I lived with that much of my life. But we're at an intolerable point right now. And though liberals aren't blameless, this isn't a both sides kind of thing.

[Max Goodman]

Originally Posted by Julie Steiner

If we stay focused on how stupid and self-serving this or that group is--even if it's demonstrably true--we'll never be able to unite to save our republic.

We can't unite with those who refuse to unite with us. They don't see us as part of their republic. They happily unite with Putin to defeat Clinton. They gerrymander to insure power regardless of majority will. They deny court nominations to democratically elected leaders and allow members of their own party to break the law with impunity.

We the majority have been losing this knife fight because we don't like knives. But as long as we allow ourselves to keep getting cut up, our higher minded goals won't be achieved.

[John Isbell]

It seems apropos that Trump is leaning on the Ukraine to make peace with Putin. Minus the Crimea and with Russian forces entrenched in the East. Peacemaking is easy if you just surrender.

Cheers,
John