JCauto

You're Right-Wing and a Trump supporter so of course you'd find her unlikeable. Fortunately it's not your votes that are "up for grabs", so it's not really relevant. And I don't find Harris unlikeable at all, much prefer someone with a brighter personality who smiles rather than scowls and who can form sentences that actually have meaning and relevance.

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Of course. It's a campaign tactic that signals to the Democrat base that these are things they would do if given the mandate by the electorate. You know, similar to the same things the GOP does when they're in power knowing that the legislation won't change anything. Or, for example, when the GOP adamantly want something (border security) then after negotiating a deal for what they want they then back out of it because they want to use that as an election issue.

I apologized because I shouldn't have said that, not because you asked. When I make a mistake, I own up to it and try to atone for whatever damage it may have caused. Please re-read my posts while ignoring the part about you joining MAGA. They are all about appreciation of differing viewpoints well expressed and lamenting about the lack thereof. You provided some good ones, but once the debate got a bit warmed up this morning you stopped doing so. My point about the swing voters for example was logical and hardly controversial, but you chose for whatever reason to throw doubt on it even though you understood it and agreed with it pretty much, rather than discuss the wider and more interesting points. I'd enjoy hearing your views since we so seldom get someone on the conservative side who is willing and able to engage in principled debate.

Why was Trump willing to debate Biden who also was not the official Nominee? You are aware that the Democratic Convention hasn't happened yet, correct? Yet Trump was willing to debate the presumptive nominee before even HE was the official nominee. What's changed? Biden was presumptive because pretty much all the delegates had already committed to him while he was in the race. Same situation is now in place with Harris.

You were reasonable until you started spitting trite one-liners in response to serious posts like the rest of them. I spent the majority of that post pointing that out and encouraging you to return to principled and serious debate. That you seemed to be eschewing it in favour of the usual one-line nonsense was discouraging, I'll admit. I resorted to calling you names as a result which was wrong and I apologize. That you are offended by being called part of the MAGA crowd does indicate there remains hope for you.

Did you? If you haven't, what does that mean about you? Nothing whatsoever of course. I'm enjoying this now, I think the magnitude of how things have changed has finally hit, and you're flailing. Great to see. Let us know if you have anything of substance to debate, good luck on the poop flinging in your quest to find some magic bullet to make people hate Harris. Don't think the laughing thing is going to work, it will counter DJT's anger and negativity perfectly. The Jewish thing she's got covered so that's a non-starter. And even your own people are recognizing that attacking her as being there just because she's a woman and a person of color is counterproductive. Hard one, but I'm sure you'll coalesce around something unethical and horrible. But this is turning into a campaign of those who see America as a great place and moving forward versus those who think it is a terrible place and want to move it backwards to a point in time somewhere around 75 years ago. I'll take that, Reagan succeeded in fomenting this disastrous swing to the Right because of his sunny disposition and positivity for America. I think Kamala has the same vibe and is moving in that direction. It's great to see.

I had hope that you might be an interesting interlocutor, unlike the MAGA crowd. We do miss principled conservatives in the debate, they've been shivved by their own party and are now called names along with the rest of the non-MAGA such as "RINO". Must be annoying as hell, I know I find similar issues with the idiots on the Left who've bought into the propaganda campaign of HAMAS and friends. But instead you give us this take? You don't think the majority of the swing voters are in the Center? Okay, where do you think they are? Of course I was not making a statement that EVERY swing voter is in the center, why would you conclude that? Did you agree with my assessment of how the race has changed once Biden dropped out? This forum and fora in general are sadly lacking much substantive and good-natured debate between people of intelligence on different sides. Much of the MAGA crowd are just here to troll. Pity you have decided to join them.

I think you underestimate the depths to which politics has sunk in the present day and age, and with AI tools available to continuously make stuff up, I expect there will be a flood of misinformation about him just like every other politician. And this is the area where the Republicans have been incredibly effective, remember how they managed to "Swiftboat" John Kerry and make his service in the war a negative even when they were running a guy who basically dodged the draft by signing up for the National Guard (Bush II)? I would not be surprised if they went right at him since it worked before. On the other hand, they may well decide that they're much better off not mentioning him and focusing on Harris.

She's married to a Jewish guy, that line of attack has already been debunked. Try the next one, whatever it may be.

You are not aware that these two terms are in opposition? A "swing voter" is one whose views are in or around the Center, hence can see the case for voting either Democrat or Republican or Independent candidate depending on the candidate and the policies they are advocating for. A "progressive" is one who is Left of Center and will vote for Democrats or if they're further left perhaps Jill Stein. This is why moving to Harris was brilliant - many of the swing voters would have been appalled by Biden's "dead man talking" performance at the debate and would therefore reconsider voting for him as he was clearly too old for the job. Harris on the other hand is all that Biden is not, so would be an attractive choice in comparison. This is one reason why the polls have tightened significantly since the switch. The other reason is that Harris has energized the Democrat base. It is likely the turnout amongst the Democrat voters would have been low with Biden at the top of the ticket, with the enthusiasm for Harris it is now moving in the other direction. If we get big turnout, the Democrats win. This is why the Republicans have consistently been trying to reduce ways for people to vote and claiming fraud as the reason for it despite there being pretty much zero evidence of voter fraud, never mind voter fraud on the scale that might actually affect an election result. The GOP doesn't even have policy to speak of other than the wide-ranging set of crazy ideas that comprise Project 2025. It's a cult of personality built around one of the worst people to have ever run for the office.

Harris has been around for long enough, doubt something new will suddenly be found. Good luck on digging up dirt on Mark Kelly, the more you find out about him the better he looks. We don't need new dirt on Donald or Vance. All we need is for them to keep talking about their policies and ideas. Both are a liability every time they open their mouths.

LOL. Did he get the two weeks he needed for his amazing Health Care plan? How about the two weeks for his infrastructure plan? Who "fell" for it?

Disingenuous. Of course you haven't! You're able to participate in practically any discussion about politics in the USA, but nope, never seen one o' them Trump as the Messiah images or any of those guys who cover their monster trucks in Trump flags etc.

Oh but you do! That's why they trot out those paragons of mediocrity at any opportunity they can, and they keep having to find new introductory tunes to play since as soon as they play a banger, the artist who created it says "cease and desist" because they don't want to be associated with the GOP and their awful policies. Do you understand that the only reason people even know that Kid Rock and Scott Baio even exist is because the Right is desperately trying to find some celebrity - ANYONE - to speak on their behalf.

Refer to the graph in the link. It's the original data from the source of the information.

Last chance as I won't respond to you any longer since you continue to avoid answering the question. You said, first and foremost to start this discussion, that debt, specifically the debt bomb was the big problem with the US economy. I responded by showing the US government debt over the course of the 20th Century and it proves that debt rises significantly during certain administrations, however this only occurs during Republican administrations. I asked you in response "Why does the US debt always increase more during Republican administrations?" as is shown by the data. You have failed to answer this question. So, answer the question and wipe the smug smile off of my face.

Speaking of evasion, you have once again failed to address any of my claims (all of which you know to be true) and have yet to provide any rebuttal to my point - Republicans are primarily responsible for the debt and it has grown fastest under their administrations as is plainly seen in the data I presented. As to this minor quibble, every administration has to deal with whatever occurs worldwide under their watch. Obama had to deal with the 2008 financial crisis. Biden had to deal with Russian and Iranian geopolitical aggression. It's part of the job. It's not just under DJT that the debt increases substantially more, it's under every Republican administration as I pointed out. What's the common feature of those administrations? Disproportionate and regressive tax cuts that benefit the wealthy primarily and significantly reduce revenues over the long term. Started with Ronald Reagan in 1980 as I noted. What's your response?

I agree with you that they have a spending problem, but you conveniently have avoided the data I presented about the debt and its growth. Trump added $8 Trillion dollars to the debt with his policies including his ridiculously regressive tax cuts that of course expired for the middle class but remain permanent for the wealthy. The Republicans have consistently opposed funding for the IRS so that they can pursue the rich tax cheats who owe billions of dollars to the government. Increased enforcement finally pushed through by the Biden administration against GOP opposition has already added over a billion to the coffers with much more to come. Hopefully they'll pursue those who cheated massively on the COVID-19 relief funds which were disproportionately stolen by business people scamming the system. I presented a compelling case that the national debt increases more under Republican rather than Democratic presidencies. Why have you offered no rebuttal other than, bizarrely, to blame the Democrats?

You claimed that inflation under the Biden Presidency was 20.7%. What is your source?

You really are dense. Look at the name of the co-authors. One of them is "Mike Pompeo". Do you recall that name? He was the former Director of the CIA and Secretary of State for none other than...DJT! He will soon enough be writing his Op-Eds from his prison cell.

There's not much value to deep analysis of Trump's individual words in my opinion. He deliberately floats all sorts of things since this is the objective, to question the truth about anything and everything, to muddy the waters and make it so that people give up trying to separate it from fiction. Then, ultimately, get them to uncritically accept whatever he says as being the truth. By speaking of two opposites at two different times and insisting on acceptance of contradiction, he removes the individuals' agency to decide what's right or wrong, or true or false, and replaces it with there only being one arbiter of truth - whatever he says at that time. He deliberately humiliates anyone close to him so that they learn that they better keep in line and "pour encourager les autres". This is why large numbers of AN posters and MAGA followers are so willing to embrace things that are so obviously and patently untrue. They simply have to, because once one starts questioning the whole house of cards collapses. No dissension is therefore allowed and anyone who realizes it's a sham and leaves is ruthlessly hounded and hunted by the remaining insiders. See "Cheney, Liz". As observed, very few on the Right have any principles that enable them to maintain a spine and stand up for themselves. Witness Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz among others who Trump has viciously insulted but who continue to kowtow because they realize they can't oppose him and maintain their political jobs. They are correct of course, at the moment pretty much any principled Conservative has to survive numerous primary challenges, can't access funding and is ruthlessly targeted by the MAGA mob. Luckily this "purity" test has only one measure, that being loyalty to DJT, hence so many unelected charlatans being fielded to run in the general election. When it was DJT against old man Biden, it was solely a contest of those who wanted Trump against those who hated him. Now it's the same but with a lot of new voters who were going to sit this one out and numerous independents and never-Trumpers on the GOP side who will now be inspired to vote for a better and younger candidate. That's the recipe for a landslide.

Absolutely! As I predicted, Trump is running away from the debate as if it were a healthy entree or the unvarnished truth. We need more appearances by JD Vance to outline his vision for America and women's place in it. Who knew he was so flexible that he had the ability to insert both of his feet into his mouth simultaneously? The man is a treasure, and the only good thing I think that Don Jr. has ever done is recommend him to the Old Man to be VP. Thanks Don Jr! And we surely need more video of the two candidates and their competing visions, appearances and elocution. This is going to be a landslide, and the opposite direction of what it would have been had Biden not stepped down. Was it planned or did it somehow just all come together? I suspect the latter rather than the former, since I haven't really seen the Democrats demonstrate much of an ability to take initiative and make bold moves in politics in the last decade. That's why there are so many fragile old folks in charge from Biden to Schumer to Pelosi, and how they managed to keep losing elections they should have won by continuously ignoring the post-Boomer generations who are their main voting base. Now that it's been forced upon them, those generations are going to remake America (finally!) into the social democracy that it's destined to become. I salute the good work they did to keep the flame alive and fend off the Fascists, but their job is done and it's time for them to fade into the background and play peekaboo with their grandkids.

Of course the vast majority of people have other priorities in life; it's the rare ones I'm taking precautionary measures against. These are troubled times with the rise of fascism, you never know if the right side (ironically in this case, the Centre and the Left) will prevail ultimately. Fortunately the more recent events have made this significantly less likely to happen.

This is why I had to jump on that - they avoid facts like they're a virus! This is why practically every response to my posts have no specificity and no direct answers to either the factual content or the rebuttals I write to their original posts. Once the facts are pointed out that completely debunk their points, they simply add a new point that has no relationship to the previous one and the cycle continues. But I'm here for it and will always be. The wheels of justice grind exceedingly slowly but very fine. Watching the fascist train derail in slow motion is a sight to behold!