My 2021 "McLaughlin Awards" [Part 2]
Welcome back to the second part of our year-end awards column! If you missed it, please feel free to check out [Part 1], too.
Be warned, as always, both of these columns are extraordinarily long. It's a marathon, not a sprint, in other words. And we got lots of excellent suggestions from readers for this week, so we tried a lot harder to give credit where it was due, this time around.
Before we dive right in, two program notes:
We would once again like to encourage everyone to donate to our annual fundraising drive (by clicking the link in the thermometer graphic above), since we seem to be running rather woefully behind this year (or perhaps it's just that we decided to do the year-end columns earlier, who knows?). And secondly, there will be no column at all tomorrow, so have a wonderful Christmas weekend, everyone!
Destined For Political Stardom
We're going to name two of these, one from each party.
From the Republicans: Glenn Youngkin seems Destined For Political Stardom. He pulled off a minor miracle, winning the Virginia governor's race against a man who had already served as governor. As many pundits pointed out, he successfully "threaded the needle" of not directly going against Donald Trump while still holding him at arm's length. This allowed him to escape being painted as a Trump clone (which had worked wonders for Gavin Newsom, during his recall election) and win back some of those crucial suburban swing voters. He did so in Virginia, a state which has become bluer and bluer over time, which is why his win was so impressive.
Barring any major scandal or spectacular failure, Youngkin certainly seems poised on the brink of Republican stardom.
On the Democratic side, we have to inch out on a limb. We're picking (from several great contenders) Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia. We say "out on a limb" because while his upset victory in the first week of 2021 was incredibly impressive, he only won a special Senate election, and is thus up for election again in the 2022 midterms. And who knows what will happen in the next Georgia election? So he could be on his way off the political stage at this time next year.
Even so, he is just so incredibly impressive we think he is Destined For Political Stardom. His oratory is amazing and gripping, which isn't any real surprise considering his previous job was the same one Dr. Martin Luther King Junior used to hold -- pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. He is also the first Black Democrat elected to the United States Senate since Reconstruction. One might almost say he has already achieved political stardom, in fact. But we expect better and better things from him in the future as well, so he's our obvious (if slightly risky) choice.
Destined For Political Oblivion
There are many politicians (virtually all Republicans) whom we would dearly like to believe are Destined For Political Oblivion, however the facts don't seem to indicate that in any way at this point. All the ugliest of the hate-mongers who hold seats in Congress (such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Paul Gosar, and too many more to even list) seem to be ensconced in very safe districts with no fear of being primaried on the horizon. Which is a shame, since they are all quite deserving of political oblivion.
The only one who may enter into his final tailspin politically is Devin Nunes, who just quit his House seat to run Donald Trump's fledgling new social media platform company. This could easily crash and burn like so many other Trump entities in the past, which would leave Nunes as the scapegoat for what went wrong (since we all know full well Trump himself will never accept any blame for such a failure). So we'll be keeping an eye on that situation, in anticipation.
On the Democratic side, there were two contenders: Terry McAuliffe and Andrew Cuomo. Both are probably going to fade into obscurity, although McAuliffe might reinvent himself as some sort of political consultant -- which is really where he came from before he decided to try his hand at actually running for office.
Sadly, Liz Cheney might also be headed for political oblivion. We'll have to see how she does in her primary, and even if she wins it, whether she'll have to face some sort of independent candidate in the general election as well. As reader nypoet22 pointed out (he actually had a whole lot of good suggestions, you'll be seeing his name throughout this...), Mike Pence also certainly deserves consideration here.
But there is one character we can say without a shadow of a doubt has entered obscurity already: Rudy Giuliani.
Rudy used to be well-respected, even by many Democrats. Back when he billed himself as "America's Mayor" who saw 9/11 happen on his watch as the mayor of New York City, he projected a very positive political image. This was mostly undeserved, but whatever.
But once he threw his lot in with Trump he has become nothing more than court jester to a total clown. He has become an absolute laughingstock. His ranting and raving about the election being somehow stolen was not just laughed out of court, it actually resulted in his law license being yanked.
Even Trump wants nothing to do with Rudy anymore, since he has covered himself in the stench of craziness and ineptitude. And in today's Republican Party, Trump's displeasure is nothing short of the kiss of death.
So we can confidently make this award knowing it has already largely come true -- Rudy Giuliani is certainly Destined For Political Oblivion, if he isn't actually already there.
Best Political Theater
Well, there was Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filing a bill to legalize marijuana at the federal level on 4/20. That was pretty good, we've got to admit.
For nostalgia's sake, there was Joe Biden helping Amtrak celebrate their 50th birthday. How apt!
Kidding aside, we had three strong candidates for Best Political Theater. The first was the first-ever public hearing of the January 6th Select Committee, which featured four police officers who had been violently attacked while defending the United States Capitol. This was important to get on the record -- it went far beyond "political theater" -- but it was staged so well and so dignified in nature (since Nancy Pelosi had barred all the Republican lunatics and conspiracy-mongers from sitting on the committee) that it deserves at least a runner-up for the Best Political Theater award. The American people deserve a lot more of these public hearings, in fact. They have been promised for early next year, but they can't come soon enough, in our opinion.
Next up was the spectacular walkout of Democrats from the Texas legislature. They disappeared, leaving Republicans without enough members to qualify as a quorum -- which pulled the plug on the voter suppression bills they were trying to enact. This was seen as a desperation move, due to the Democrats in Washington not acting in a timely manner on passing new voting rights legislation. The Texans even then came to Washington to lobby recalcitrant Democrats and light a fire under all of them.
Sadly, however, this effort failed, on both ends. The Senate still hasn't passed a voting rights law, and it will not for as long as Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema continue their obsessive fealty to the filibuster. Back in Texas, the governor forced the state legislature back into special session until the bills eventually did pass.
So it was a grand and noble gesture, but it didn't work. Alas, this is how most political theater ends up -- the whole point of political theater is to draw attention to your cause, no matter how helpless or powerless you may be, after all.
Which is why we had to hand the actual Best Political Theater award to Representative Cori Bush, who had spent part of her own life being homeless (before arriving in Congress), staging what started as a one-woman protest on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. It lasted only four nights before it actually worked.
President Joe Biden, back in August, insisted that he didn't have the power to extend a moratorium on evictions that was about to expire. He urged Congress to act, but when they didn't, he just allowed the moratorium to expire on schedule. This is what spurred Bush to act.
Rep. Cori Bush (Mo.), who was homeless once, drew immense support from other Democrats by sleeping outside the U.S. Capitol for four consecutive nights in protest of the lapsed moratorium, sending a signal to the White House that the backlash was only growing. The White House had spent weeks trying to corral Democrats behind a big infrastructure package and there were clear signs in recent days that the party was fracturing. So after days of insisting there was nothing the White House could do, the Biden administration announced its new actions on Tuesday.
That's right -- Biden wound up doing exactly what he said he couldn't do (although he did say when he did it that he thought it might be unconstitutional). Bush's protest worked. It shamed the Biden administration into acting. A 60-day extension was announced.
As previously mentioned, it is unbelievably rare for any political protest to have any kind of actual effect. This one did. So Cori Bush wins Best Political Theater for her sleep-in protest on the Capitol steps. Well done!
Worst Political Theater
As usual, we've got plenty to choose from here. We almost need a sub-category for "Most Offensive Political Theater," in fact. We would include in this things like the gigantic (and tacky beyond belief) "golden calf" statue of Donald Trump which appeared at the Florida gathering of CPAC. Or how about Trump himself co-hosting a pay-per-view (only $49.99!) boxing match -- on September 11th. Can you even imagine what Republicans would have said if, say, Barack Obama had done something like this on that day? But since it was Trump, they were silent.
Kevin McCarthy attempting to stack the deck of the January 6th Select Committee was pretty bad political theater as well, and we are grateful to Nancy Pelosi for shooting it down immediately.
There was the Arizona "fraudit," which was nothing but bad political theater, from start to finish (which took an insane amount of time to complete).
Over on the Democratic side, there was Joe Manchin's endless (and pointless) "will he or won't he" tease over Joe Biden's Build Back Better agenda, which ended in massive disappointment, right before Christmas.
And let's not forget Kyrsten Sinema's truly offensive little curtsey while she flounced onto the Senate floor to insultingly give a thumbs-down vote to the concept of raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. She was obviously going for a "John McCain saving Obamacare" moment, which she fell woefully short of pulling off. Denying workers a living wage in no way compares to saving healthcare for millions... sorry, Kyrsten.
But the winner was clear. We got multiple nominations for it, in fact. The Worst Political Theater was in fact the attempted insurrectionist coup that took place on January 6th. It was far more sinister than most political theater, of course, and far more serious. Some argued it shouldn't even be included here. But we disagree, since it did start as nothing more than political theater before morphing into open sedition. We're giving it the Worst Political Theater award precisely to highlight exactly how wrong these things can go, given the right impetus.
Call it the Worst Political Theater of our entire lifetime, in fact, and you wouldn't be wrong.
Worst Political Scandal
It really wasn't, but the media certainly treated First Dog Major Biden being implicated in what was called "a biting incident" as an enormous scandal -- we suppose because they couldn't resist a "Dog Bites Man" headline or two.
To us, of course, the real scandal was that we kept hearing promises (including one just this week) that the Biden family (Jill, primarily) was going to welcome a First Cat to the White House. So far, this promise remains scandalously unfulfilled.
Kidding (and First Pets) aside, the biggest scandal of the year came out of Albany, New York. Andrew Cuomo's fall from grace was ugly, petty, and vindictive. Accused of both inappropriate behavior and outright sexual assault, New York's governor kept digging the hole deeper and deeper until he was finally forced to resign -- just ahead of being impeached and removed from office.
Cuomo left amid continued denials and outright threats of reprisals, in what might be termed the ugliest way imaginable to end a political career. He even dragged down his own brother Chris, who eventually was also forced to resign his cushy cable news job.
The less said about the brothers Cuomo the better, at this point, but we did have to acknowledge the entire sordid affair as the Worst Political Scandal of the year.
Most Underreported Story
Sadly, there were quite a number of important stories either outright ignored or completely downplayed by the mainstream media this year.
One that had to share the blame between the media (for not reporting it) and Democrats (for not making it a centerpiece discussion point) was how little the public was told about the benefits of the American Rescue Plan, or the "COVID relief bill." This put $1,400 in "Biden Bucks" into millions upon millions of pockets, paid for the vaccination rollout, and started the monthly Child Tax Credit checks this summer. The White House tried to sell the benefits as "shots in arms, money in pockets," but we'd be willing to bet most people either never heard this phrase or have long since forgotten it.
Perhaps not an "underreported story" but just a gigantic journalistic lapse was the ongoing failure all year to ask each and every Republican who appeared on any televised interview: "Do you believe Joe Biden was fairly and freely elected president?" If the answer to that had been anything short of an unqualified: "Yes, of course," then the interview should have been immediately terminated... but, sadly, this just wasn't the case.
At the start of the vaccine program there quickly emerged disparities in which groups of Americans were getting their shots and which weren't. These disparities showed up as a racial and economic and rural/urban divides for a while, but eventually these problems were (mostly) successfully addressed by the Biden administration until the vaccination rates drew back into alignment. For every divide but one. Right now, the biggest indicator of whether any one person or town or county has been vaccinated enough is how they voted for president. Democrats have been vaccinated at far higher rates than Republicans. This was due to a relentless campaign on right-wing propagandistic media, who filled the airwaves with lies, distortions, and conspiracy theories all year long. This has led many to conclude that the Republican Party now resembles nothing short of a death cult. But you didn't hear much about it on the mainstream news, that's for sure.
Joe Biden has gotten a whole lot of bad press, which is notable mostly for the lack of good press around some very solid and historic accomplishments -- most notably the fact that we are now in the fastest economic recovery the nation has ever seen following a recession. People have gotten back to work, wages have gone up, the stock market shot back up, and economic demand rebounded so strongly that supply-chain problems emerged (because so many people were buying so much stuff all at once). This was all good news indeed, but the media was always focused on any one particular negative aspect of what should have been an incredibly good storyline.
From nypoet22, we got a good nomination for this category -- Joe Biden actually delivered the bipartisanship he promised. "Infrastructure Week" was finally over, with the passage of a huge bipartisan infrastructure investment bill, but the bipartisanship was continually downplayed (or just ignored) throughout.
But in our judgment the Most Underreported Story of the year was the massive and ongoing attack on voting rights and the professional nature of America's voting system. The power to count the votes had been largely given to very serious-minded officials (many of them nonpartisan or apolitical in nature), but this has all shifted this year. Law after law was changed, to make the power of counting and certifying ballots a much more partisan affair. Legislatures are openly flirting with the possibility of just overturning the will of the people and declaring their own presidential electors. This is a relentless assault which has gone hand-in-hand with the growth of the Big Lie and rightwing extremism in general. It is an attack on democracy itself, it is coordinated, and it has one purpose in mind -- insulating Republicans from ever losing elections ever again. This goes far beyond the usual shenanigans surrounding redistricting, and could easily put Republicans in power in both houses of Congress and the White House within a few years. It is an enormous story, but it is one that will sadly have to be told in the past tense, after the fact. Because while it has been happening in state after state after state, the media has largely shrugged or just stayed mute. Which makes it the Most Underreported Story of the year.
Most Overreported Story
Proving once again that the more things change the more the media stays the same, one of the biggest overreported stories of the year was the death of a young and good-looking blonde woman who was on a cross-country trip with her boyfriend. Her body and then (later) his was eventually found, but not until the media had had their usual over-the-top field day with the story. While (unsurprisingly) they completely ignored dozens upon dozens of similar stories involving Black women, Latina women, Native American women, and other White women who weren't quite so photogenic. Again: Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
In the political world, we had several overreported stories to choose from. Close to home (for us) was the breathless excitement one bad poll caused in the California governor's recall race. We rolled our eyes and voted, and the result was exactly what we expected -- a landslide of support for Gavin Newsom.
Republicans successfully hijacked many political stories this year, beginning with the frenzied debate over whether to issue a federal "vaccine passport" that had already been issued with each shot given. Once again: it already existed, which didn't stop a raging debate from taking place over whether to issue such a "passport" or not. This probably took the cake for "imaginary issues we decided to get enraged about," but the media certainly didn't mind and gleefully went along for the ride. Perhaps it deserves "Most Stupidly Reported," since the media almost never admitted that the official C.D.C.-issued vaccination cards even existed at all.
We did get one interesting suggestion in this category -- that "COVID" should be a contender for Most Overreported Story, but while it was indeed the biggest story of the year on virtually all media (virtually all the time), we would argue that even that wasn't "overreporting" it (even though we do confess to getting annoyed at the breathlessness of the coverage quite often).
But we're going to give the Most Overreported Story of the year to the price tag haggling over the Build Back Better bill -- in fact, this was really all the media did report about the effort, for months on end. All the while there was an absolute media blackout of reporting on what was actually in the bill itself. This shows a shameful lack of priorities in the news business, but that's really nothing new, we suppose.
Even so, the endless stories about the debate over the total price tag so obscured the real story that should have been told that we just had to give it Most Overreported Story of the year.
Biggest Government Waste
This one's pretty easy. But first, our runner-up:
From nypoet22, a Biggest Government Waste we can certainly relate to, since some of our very own tax dollars were spent on it. The California recall election was a gigantic waste of money all around. The California recall process itself needs some serious reforms, since it is nothing short of a lottery prize handed to one out of dozens of candidates on the ballot. As we wrote when it happened, the easiest way out of this mess (for the future) would be to change the law so that it still allowed the recall of a bad governor, but in that event the lieutenant governor would be sworn in as chief executive and serve out the remainder of the term. But while it was an enormous waste of taxpayer money (hundreds of millions were spent to conduct the election), it was still a citizens' demand -- the government itself didn't decide to just waste all that cash, in other words. Which is why this was only the runner-up.
The real Biggest Government Waste of the year was every single taxpayers' dollar that went towards any of the non-legitimate partisan "audits" (more accurately described by the portmanteau "fraudit") run in any number of states to do nothing more than assuage one gigantic loser's ego and hurt feelings.
There was no widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election. None. Zero. Zilch. Every single authentic, well-run, qualified audit or recount of votes -- in every single state where the vote was examined -- showed this was the most accurate and most secure election in American history.
Every single court case challenging the votes got laughed out of court for good reason: because none of them showed the slightest hint or shred of evidence that there was any fraud whatsoever -- unless you count individual fraud. There were a handful of cases here and there, although all of them we seemed to hear about were Republicans trying to illegally vote for Donald Trump twice.
But Trump still insisted the fraud was there, because his little bruised baby ego just could not stand facing the fact that he lost by eight million votes. So lots and lots of Republicans who really should have known better decided in their state legislatures to hold a circus act they billed as a "forensic audit," to rectify the situation.
The biggest clown show of them all -- center ring in this clown circus -- was in Arizona. They paid some public money (with a whole bunch of private donations heaped on top of it) to a patently unqualified organization that had never performed any sort of ballot audit previously. They examined ballots for bamboo fibers, because they held to a conspiracy theory that somehow China had snuck in tens of thousands of ballots marked for Joe Biden. They examined the ballots under blacklights for non-existent watermarks. They had revolving tables. They put on a show -- for months and months on end. And you know what they sheepishly admitted when the whole clown show was over? That Joe Biden had won a few hundred more votes.
This was the master grifters grifting the small-time grifters. It was an uber-con. It was an absolute joke -- not just in Arizona, but in every other state that attempted it as well.
And it was also the Biggest Government Waste of 2021.
Best Government Dollar Spent
You could easily make a case for "the entire American Rescue Plan," for this one. But instead, we are going with the 800-pound gorilla in the room.
The Best Government Dollar Spent has to go to all the money which bought free vaccine shots for every American. When the new year dawned, a tiny fraction of the country had been vaccinated. The vaccines had just been approved and production was ramping up, meaning virtually no one had gotten even their first shot. As the year ends, most people have either had three shots or are eligible for boosters after getting the first two.
We're not out of the woods, but we now have 62 percent of all Americans (including ones who are not yet even approved, such as toddlers) fully vaccinated. And the numbers just keep getting better, from there. A full 73 percent of everyone has gotten at least one shot. Of those age 12 and up, 71 percent are fully vaccinated while 83 percent have gotten one shot. Of the most vulnerable -- those 65 and older -- an astounding 88 percent are fully vaccinated, with 95 percent having had at least their first shot.
That is an amazing success story, in one year's time. The credit for this achievement can be handed out in equal amounts to both Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Trump started the whole "Operation Warp Speed" and Biden delivered on its success.
But putting people aside, easily the Best Government Dollar Spent this year was all the ones which bought free vaccine shots for all who wanted them. Nothing else was even close, really.
Boldest Political Tactic
It is horrifying to even contemplate, but we did have to consider the attempted insurrection on January 6th as a possibility for Boldest Political Tactic. It was bold, you've got to admit. Stupid and seditionist and treasonous, too, but definitely bold.
But we decided to go in a different direction.
Instead, we are going to give the Boldest Political Tactic to the Build Back Better plan. At the start of the year, Joe Biden laid out what he would call a "three-legged stool." In other words, all three were necessary to make the whole thing work.
He very quickly got the first -- the American Rescue Plan. The second took months longer than it should have, because it was bipartisan. But because it was bipartisan, much had to be stripped out of it due to Republican insistence that "this is an infrastructure bill, so nothing extraneous must be allowed," despite Biden never once insisting on any such thing. But eventually, a very abbreviated version of this passed, too, after much congressional drama.
These two, taken together, represent a monumental collection of achievements for any first-year president. But the third proved to be elusive all year long.
Everything which hadn't made it in to the other two bills was, by necessity, swept into Biden's "human infrastructure" bill. This was necessary because the Senate parliamentarian ruled that Democrats only had one bite at the budget reconciliation process (which only requires 51 votes to pass). They couldn't break the whole thing up into individual bills. So progressives and moderates and Biden's White House just threw everything into the bill which eventually became known as the Build Back Better plan.
So far, they still have yet to pass it out of the Senate, due to the stubborn refusal of Senator Joe Manchin to make good on the promises he has made all year.
But success or failure really doesn't matter, in this category. The scope of the Build Back Better bill was simply breathtaking. It was far more ambitious than anything Democrats have attempted since either Obamacare or (if you rate Build Back Better as more sweeping than Obamacare) since the 1970s, or even since Lyndon Baines Johnson's term in office.
And win or lose, it was bold to shoot for the moon in such fashion. The Boldest Political Tactic of the year, in fact.
Best Idea
There were a lot of contenders for this one. The idea of a "millionaires' tax," which finally made it into the national conversation on fairness of the tax code. The idea of a minimum corporate tax rate, to stop companies like Amazon from paying zero in taxes in any year. The fact that a D.C. statehood bill passed the House of Representatives for the first time ever. Making Juneteenth a national holiday in record time. From nypoet22: ranked-choice voting (which continues to gain acceptance). The concept of not just raising but abolishing the completely artificial "debt ceiling." Codifying Roe v. Wade into federal law. And finally mandating vaccines in as many places as possible, to protect all of us. All of these are incredibly good ideas.
A case could even be made for a bigger award than the one we settled on. You could give the whole American Rescue Plan, which pulled us out of the worst of the COVID recession, put $1,400 in everyone's mailbox, and helped out the economy in numerous and still-unheralded ways. Our winner was actually just one of all the good ideas in the American Rescue Plan -- which passed Congress without a single Republican vote, by the way.
The Best Idea by far was the expanded and refundable Child Tax Credit, which (starting in July) directly mailed checks to millions of American parents to help rear their children.
This one simple idea -- give parents money they need -- was astoundingly successful, even though it has only been around for six months. The final figures aren't in yet, but so far it looks like it is living up to its promises. So far, a phenomenal 40 percent of vulnerable children have been raised out of child poverty by this one government program alone. The estimates were that it would slash child poverty rates in half and when all the numbers are crunched it may well have already done so.
Importantly, no state governments were involved in this effort. No red-state governors were able to tinker with it and undermine it or just flat-out not adopt it. They didn't even have the option. That's one of the reasons it has been so successful -- because it has been so universal. And a whole lot of parents in these red states needed this money the most -- a fact the Republican Party will never ever admit.
So for slashing child poverty like no other program in history, the expanded Child Tax Credit was indeed the Best Idea of the year.
Worst Idea
Sad to say, as usual, there were plenty of truly awful ideas to choose from. We have two winners, unfortunately, since we found it impossible to choose.
Runners-up included Ted Cruz deciding to take a spontaneous ad hoc vacation trip down to the sunny shores of Cancun, Mexico while Texans were freezing to death in a statewide crisis after their "leave us alone, we know how to do it better" self-contained electrical grid miserably failed during a winter storm. Cruz not only was caught in this self-serving bit of inhumanity, he was excoriated for it. So he did what any red-blooded he-man Texan would do: he blamed the whole idea on his young daughters.
Also considered was Joe Manchin's idea of an endless "pause" in delivering Joe Biden's (and the Democratic Party's) agenda.
Then there was Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who came up with a brilliant (not!) idea to fix the Post Office: offer slower delivery, higher prices, and shorter hours. Because who cares about the customers, right?
Speaking of the Postal Service, one jaw-dropping story broke this year but few noticed. Apparently there was an investigative office within the Postal Service called "iCOP" who, essentially, went rogue. Here's the story, from April:
The Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP), part of the U.S.P.S. law enforcement arm, is one of seven groups that deal with cybercrime, according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which says it targets the use of the mail to facilitate black market trade and other illegal activities related to drugs, fraud and violent crime. But that description neglects to mention that the group also tracks social media sites for "inflammatory" posts, including messages about planned protests.
"Analysts with the United States Postal Inspection Service (U.S.P.I.S.) Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP) monitored significant activity regarding planned protests occurring internationally and domestically on March 20, 2021," said a March 16 government bulletin marked as "law enforcement sensitive" and distributed by the Department of Homeland Security. "Locations and times have been identified for these protests, which are being distributed online across multiple social media platforms, to include right-wing leaning Parler and Telegram accounts."
Pretty bad idea, say what?
And just measured on the scale of how horrific it was, there was the caucus floated by House Republicans Marjorie "Three Names" Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar, and Louie Gohmert. They proposed forming an "America First Caucus," and wrote about what it would stand for, which included this bit on immigration:
The America First Caucus recognizes that our country is more than a mass of consumers or a series of abstract ideas. America is a nation with a border, and a culture, strengthened by a common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions. History has shown that societal trust and political unity are threatened when foreign citizens are imported en-masse [sic] into a country, particularly without institutional support for assimilation and an expansive welfare state to bail them out should they fail to contribute positively to the country. While certain economic and financial interest groups benefit immensely from mass immigration, legal as well as illegal, and the aggregate output of the country increases, the reality of large segments of our society as well as the long-term existential future of America as a unique country with a unique culture and a unique identity being put at unnecessary risk is something our leaders can afford to ignore no longer.
Did you catch that "Anglo-Saxon" callout, there? They're not even bothering to hide their White supremacy any more, folks. Other parts of their manifesto praised "European architecture" above all other forms, just in case anyone had any doubts.
This was quickly branded the "Anglo-Saxon Caucus" or even the "K.K.K. Caucus" (although a funnier label might have been the "Caucasian Caucus"... sorry, couldn't resist that one...). It was instantly denounced by all sane individuals, and they were forced to withdraw their idea. But as we said, just on the measure of badness alone, that one took the cake.
But we decided to measure the award this year on actual impact. And there were two Worst Ideas that stood out, by far.
The first was the Afghanistan withdrawal plan. After maintaining a presence in the country for two solid decades, American intelligence failed miserably when it was needed the most. The plan for withdrawing all the troops, American citizens, and others associated with our cause assumed the non-military personnel would all have a ridiculous amount of time (a minimum of six months was confidently predicted) for everyone to leave -- after all our troops had gone.
When that proved to be wildly optimistic -- as the countryside fell to the Taliban with lightning speed -- the intelligence changed to "well, they'll certainly have at least 90 days to get out." This, astonishingly, was still the official U.S. government line, one week before Kabul fell.
It was a failure of intelligence (in the military sense) and imagination (for the diplomats involved) on a massive scale. One not seen since Saigon fell, in fact. So the withdrawal plan for Afghanistan was obviously one of two Worst Ideas of the year.
The other Worst Idea was the new abortion law in Texas. Not only did it challenge Roe v. Wade by making any abortion (with no exceptions for rape or incest, even) illegal beyond six weeks of pregnancy, but it instituted a Stasi-like "rat your neighbor out" enforcement mechanism that was specifically designed to avoid the federal courts from having any jurisdiction whatsoever over the law.
So far, the Supreme Court has allowed this law to continue to be in effect, which has all but wiped out a constitutional right for Texan women that women in the other 49 states still can count on.
But maybe not for much longer. Even if Roe isn't overturned (in a separate case), other red states have already moved to enact similar schemes to cut the federal judiciary completely out of the process. Which is one of the two Worst Ideas of 2021, easily.
Sorry To See You Go
OK, we got a bit carried away here, we admit.
First, the three people who died this year that generated zero sorrow (with us) to see go: G. Gordon Liddy, Sheldon Adelson, and Rush Limbaugh.
'Nuff said.
But here is our real list, all the people we were sorry to see go for one reason or another. They are in no particular order and are not grouped in any way, so it's a mix of figures from politics, pop culture, music, film, television, sports, and children's books, among many others. The list was even added to today, with the news that Joan Didion had passed away.
In 2021 we sadly also lost:
- Champ Biden (First Dog)
- Larry Flynt
- Beverly Cleary
- Norton Juster
- Mike Gravel
- Edwin Edwards
- Johnny Isakson
- bell hooks
- Anne Rice
- Al Unser
- Bobby Unser
- Michael Nesmith
- Alcee Hastings
- Hank Aaron
- Colin Powell
- Stephen Sondheim
- Bob Dole
- Larry King
- Beverley Clearly
- Dave Frishberg
- Max Cleland
- Mort Sahl
- Norm Macdonald
- Ed Asner
- Charlie Watts
- Don Everly
- Richard Trumka
- Carl Levin
- Dusty Hill
- Michael Enzi
- Donald Rumsfeld
- Gavin MacLeod
- Eric Carle
- Lee Evans
- Walter Mondale
- Vernon Jordan
- Lawrence Ferlinghetti
- S. Clay Wilson
- Christopher Plummer
- Hal Holbrook
- and finally, one person we always felt sorry for, who went the distance but never got to take that one small step: Michael Collins, who had to stay in orbit while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin got all the glory.
We were indeed sorry to see you all go.
15 Minutes Of Fame
We're only going to name three people to this category this year, in a remarkable display of restraint.
We begin with an opposing pair. On January 6th, we all sat horrified at the desecration of the "people's house" -- the United States Capitol -- by a mob of angry insurrectionists. The most colorful of them all was one man who wore what can only be termed a rather exotic outfit, who soon became known as the "QAnon Shaman." He made the entire mob look exactly like what they were -- a raving bunch of dangerous lunatics.
On the other side, we had D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who in the months afterwards became one of the strongest spokesmen for the people who fought hard and sustained hundreds of injuries trying to defend both the building and all the legislators within. He and his fellow officers certainly paid a steep price for the privilege of their 15 minutes of fame. Fanone in particular was a standout in standing up to the Republican lies and gaslighting surrounding the events of the day, including his testimony at the first public hearing of the January 6th Select Committee. We salute him for his service.
And the last one is just for amusement's sake -- all our amusement's sake. Right in the depths of the lockdown and cabin fever during COVID, America got the belly laugh it deserved.
Texas lawyer Ron Ponton inadvertently provided us all with one shining moment of togetherness and mirth in the midst of the darkest days of the lockdown. As many of us had learned to do, he was using an online videoconferencing program to appear in a virtual courtroom hearing -- while being totally unaware of the worldwide hilarity which would soon ensue. Unbeknownst to him, the computer he was using was set to use a filter, which had morphed his image into that of an adorable little kitten. The eyes were the funniest part, but what really went viral was the one apologetic line he uttered: "I'm not a cat."
He was a good sport about it all, as he shows in this version of the viral video, which has an interview with him at the end where he explains what happened. He ends with: "I hope everybody can get a little chuckle at my expense today." Oh, we did, Sir, we did; but don't worry, we were laughing with you, not at you -- and we sincerely thank you for giving us the moment of levity we had all been craving!
It's been said many times before, and it's still just as true: where would the internet be today without cat videos?
Best Spin
Well, there was one excellent bit of spin we heard this year, but unfortunately (as is too-often the case, when it comes to Democrats) it just went nowhere.
The idea came from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's office. She urged all Democrats to adopt the phrasing and push it to the hilt. Obviously, they failed to do so. But that doesn't make the spin any less stellar. When the Child Tax Credit checks were just about to begin being mailed monthly to parents across the country, Pelosi suggested Democrats begin calling it "Social Security for kids."
Now that is some great political framing!
Shame it didn't get utilized and live up to its potential.
Sigh.
Instead, we're going to dig deep for this one and hand the Best Spin award to what might have been instead called the Most Authentic Outrage award. There are dozens of speeches given each year in Congress that go mostly-unnoticed, which really deserve recognition. This is one of them. There were others, to be sure -- from better-known members, often (Bernie Sanders usually doesn't disappoint, for instance). But we were just struck by the authenticity of this one. It is heartfelt, it is scathing, and it only lasts a single minute.
This is Representative Tim Ryan, who is now running (in the Democratic primary race) for a Senate seat from Ohio. And if he can deliver Labor-based outrage in such excellent fashion, we have to say we think he's got a clear shot at winning.
If you have a minute (literally, that's all it takes), check out the video. If not, here is the transcript in full, from back in March:
Mr. Speaker, one of the earlier speakers said: "This is the most dramatic change in Labor law in 80 years," and I say: "Thank God." In the late '70s, a CEO made 35 times [what] the worker [made]. Today it's three-to-four hundred times the worker. And our friends on the other side [are] running around with their hair on fire. Heaven forbid we pass something that's going to help the damn workers in the United States of America! Heaven forbid we tilt the balance that has been going in the wrong direction for 50 years! We talk about pensions; you complain. We talk about the minimum wage increase; you complain. We talk about giving them the right to organize; you complain. But if we were passing a tax cut here, you'd be getting in line to vote yes for it. Now stop talking about Dr. Seuss and start working with us on behalf of the American workers!
For his heartfelt tirade, Tim Ryan wins Best Spin of the year. We particularly liked that bit about Dr. Seuss at the end, there.
Worst Spin
The first of these really should have won, but in actual fact it was really the absence of any attempt at good spin rather than spin that was attempted but just didn't work.
Democrats just suck at messaging. Sad but true. They singlehandedly -- without one Republican vote -- passed the American Rescue Plan which boosted the economy out of its tailspin this past spring. This did all sorts of good things in all sorts of areas, but Democrats completely fell down on the job of informing the voters about any of it.
Most of the parents who started getting $300 checks in the mail each month, for every child simply had no idea where they were coming from. Manna from Heaven? Well, no -- the result of a purely partisan Democratic effort to save the economy by lifting all boats directly for once, instead of some "trickle-down" con job. Democrats did this. Republicans fought it.
So why couldn't they make some political hay out of it? This is why Democrats get beaten in the spin wars so regularly, because they have this inherent allergy to effective political messaging.
But as we said, absence of spin isn't really the same as bad spin. Or even weak efforts. The other big contender for Worst Spin was the failure of Democrats to counter the lie about private employers getting a "vaccine mandate" from Joe Biden.
Republicans, as they are wont to do, just flagrantly lied about this. And the media aided and abetted them by using their term. Democrats tried oh-so-weakly to push back, but they should have been outraged and demanded the media stop calling it a "vaccine mandate" and instead tell their viewers the truth -- nobody would be fired from any private company (not working directly for the federal government) for refusing to get vaccinated. It was only a testing mandate -- that's it. To avoid weekly testing, the workers have the option to opt-out of the testing requirement by getting vaccinated, but that is still their choice. Nobody gets fired for refusing, period.
And yet, the Republican spin clearly won the day on this one. It is unquestioningly called a "vaccine mandate" even by the most respected journalists around, and Democrats don't even bother to correct them. This was a real failure to launch from the Democrats.
But the winner of Best Spin comes from reader andygaus: the gaslighting idea that Republican state legislatures simply have to pass a bunch of laws specifically designed to suppress the votes of Democrats, in order to preserve "voter integrity." This entire gaslighting operation was the fallout from the Big Lie.
Republicans hammered home the idea: "Voters don't trust our elections anymore!" as if it were some alien or random thought that the voters had spontaneously come up with, instead of being hammered into their brains from Trump down to his lowliest toady. To "fix" this mistrust, they insisted, they had to pass a bunch of laws making it harder for Democrats to vote. Problem solved! Easy-peasy!
This spin became pervasive. It infected the media to a large degree. Democrats fumed against it. But it was pretty effective, you've got to admit. So with a heavy heart indeed, we have to agree with andygaus. The Worst Spin of the year was the gaslighting effort to "fix" elections (that weren't broken at all) by passing a bunch of laws intended to do the opposite.
Most Honest Person
There were a few candidates here who are pretty admirably honest, such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has been an absolute beacon of information throughout the entire pandemic, and certainly deserves all the praise he gets.
President Joe Biden is living up to his pledge of giving straight talk, which is an enormous sea change from the previous occupant of the Oval Office (more on him in a moment). Oh, sure, like any human being, Joe occasionally misstates things or mangles facts or words, but these lapses are immediately admitted and corrected, as they should be. Again, completely unlike what happened in the previous administration.
There was one minor candidate for this award worth mentioning as well. "Horrifying" is the best way to describe him, in our opinion. "Inhumane" might be another good one. When Texas went into a deep freeze due to their woefully inadequate power grid failing in a winter storm (the very same storm aftermath Senator Ted Cruz fled from, with his family in tow, to the sands of Mexico), one mayor just let it all hang out and wrote exactly what he was feeling. Which is pretty much the core of a whole lot of Republican thinking -- and not just "these days" but "for a very long time now." Yep, Mayor Tim Boyd of Colorado City, Texas let us all know exactly what he thought of his constituents during a deadly crisis, in a since-deleted social media post:
No one owes you or your family anything; nor is it the local governments [sic] responsibility to support you during trying times like this [sic]! Sink or swim, it's your choice! The City and County, along with power providers or any other service owes you NOTHING! I'm sick and tired of people looking for a damn hand out [sic]! If you don't have electricity you step up and come up with a game plan to keep your family warm and safe. If you have no water you deal with out [sic] and think outside of the box to survive and supply water to your family. If you were sitting at home in the cold because you have no power and are sitting there waiting for someone to come rescue you because your [sic] lazy is direct [sic] result of your raising! Only the strong will survive and the week [sic] will perish. Folks, God Has [sic] given us the tools to support ourselves in times like this [sic]. This is sadly a product of a socialist government where they feed people to believe that the FEW work and others will become dependent for handouts. Am I sorry that you have been dealing without electricity and water; yes! But I'll be damned if I'm going to provide for anyone that is capable of doing it themselves! We have lost sight of those in need and those that take advantage of the system and mesh them into one group!! Bottom line, quit crying and looking for a handout! Get off your ass and take care of your own family!
Bottom line -- DON'T BE A PART OF A PROBLEM, BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION!
He was quickly hounded out of office. And good riddance. But we have to at least acknowledge -- he was honest. He said out loud the parts Republicans are supposed to keep silent about and never admit, to put this another way.
But instead of him, we're going to give the Most Honest Person to Liz Cheney, for her steadfast insistence on the truth of what happened on January 6th at the United States Capitol.
Cheney refuses to go along with Trump's Big Lie. For this apostasy, she has already been hounded out of her leadership position and hounded out of the Republican Party of Wyoming. She may soon be hounded out of her House of Representatives seat -- the same seat her father Dick Cheney used to hold -- by being primaried by an adherent of Trump's Big Lie.
Cheney, in other words, had a lot to lose with the course she chose. But she didn't care, and she still doesn't. She is standing up for the truth of what happened, no matter how many of her fellow Republicans are implicated in an effort to overturn an American presidential election by violent means.
That is admirable. So for doing so and for risking her entire political future by sticking to her principles, we have to give her the Most Honest Person award of the year.
Biggest Liar
At some point, hopefully, we can retire this entire category. We didn't even create it until 2017 -- it wasn't in The McLaughlin Group's original awards category list. But for now, it remains the private domain of one man alone.
Donald Trump is perhaps the Biggest Liar in American political history. We leave the final word in that debate up to historians, but he is certainly the Biggest Liar around now, and was indeed the Biggest Liar of 2021.
We say this for two reasons. The first was the final tally for how many times President Trump lied while in office. The Washington Post exhaustively collected his falsehoods, one by one, and created a gigantic database of Trump's lies. When he finally slunk off to Florida on January 20th, the jaw-dropping tally could finally be computed. It came in at an unbelievable (literally) 30,573 lies over his four years in office. This works out to an average of almost 21 lies per day -- each and every day he was in office.
Add to that the destruction caused by his Big Lie -- that the freest and safest election in American history had somehow been "rigged" and "stolen" from him just because he believed this to be true with zero evidence -- and there's nobody else really even in the same ballpark. Or neighborhood. Or ZIP code. Or state. Or planet. Or Universe.
Donald Trump is not just the Biggest Liar of 2021, he's quite likely the Biggest Liar in American politics of all time. And we all know how he loves superlatives about him, right?
Most Overrated
We had three good candidates for this award, as well as one event. Let's start with the event.
Perhaps the Most Overrated political story of the year was all the handwringing which sprang forth after one outlier poll was released. Remember the days of "The California Recall Election Will Be A Nail-Biter!"? Remember hearing what dire political trouble Gavin Newsom was in? Remember all the pearl-clutching over what would happen in the Golden State if a rabid Republican took over?
When the dust settled and the votes were counted, Newsom had beaten the recall by a whopping 24-point margin, 62 percent to 38 percent. This was actually a few points better than the election where he first won the governor's office, in fact.
Also most overrated in a gubernatorial race (sadly) was Terry McAuliffe in Virginia. His defeat was a crushing blow to Democrats everywhere.
And although we certainly believe she has gotten an enormous amount of completely-undeserved bad press (and outright attacks in the press), we have to also sadly admit that Kamala Harris is just a wee bit overrated herself. What, after all, has she accomplished this year? She was given several very serious and pressing issues for her portfolio, and as far as we can tell she hasn't had a single breakthrough moment on any of it yet. Now, this could always change, and we certainly wish her well, but we did have to honestly consider her for this year's Most Overrated award.
But in our humble opinion it was another member of Biden's cabinet who deserved Most Overrated: Attorney General Merrick Garland. OK, maybe to his credit he has brought some honor and dignity back to a Department of Justice that was sorely tarnished by the political hacks that Trump had appointed. Garland certainly leant his gravitas to the job. But that was about it, really.
How many of the plotters of the insurrection have been arrested or charged with any crime whatsoever? Zero, by our count. How many missed opportunities were there for some sort of action to prove to the American people that the words "no one is above the law in this country" are actually true and not just some empty slogan from days of yore?
In fact, we can't really think of a single thing Garland has done to stand up for justice in America in any major way whatsoever. In the face of the worst crisis in the American government since the 1800s. All we've gotten, all year long, has been silence.
There's impartial... and then there's inactive. Or maybe "comatose" is a better word. Whatever you want to call it, though, we have to see Merrick Garland as the Most Overrated in all of Biden's cabinet. Sure, we think he should have been confirmed onto the Supreme Court years ago, but that's an entirely separate matter. What has he done for American justice lately? Precious little.
Most Underrated
We had a bunch of rather weak ideas for this category, and then we read the nominees from our website, and were just bowled over by this one. It came from MtnCaddy.
The Most Underrated of the entire year -- and we're even going to reach two months into 2020 as well -- were all of the elections officials (most of them Republicans) who actually did the right thing and faithfully followed their oath of office and just refused to steal an election for Donald Trump.
From Georgia to Michigan to Arizona, there were a lot of previously-nameless (at least on the national stage) officials who stood firm. Because they did so, they saved American democracy from the worst crisis we have faced since the Civil War.
This battle is not over -- for Trump and his minions, it has just begun. There will indeed be another attempt to steal an election in 2024. And they are directly targeting each and every GOP officeholder who did the right thing (instead of the Trump-worshipping thing) and trying to install willing stooges instead. So even though through the efforts of these brave individuals -- from a vice president to governors to secretaries of state to elections board officials to county elections supervisors -- democracy emerged victorious, there is sadly no guarantee that will be the outcome next time.
Which is why we have to heartily agree with MtnCaddy. The "country-over-party patriots" were indeed the Most Underrated of all. And each and every one of them deserves our thanks.
Predictions
As usual, we're going to start off our crystal-ball-gazing by taking a look at how we did with last year's predictions. Some years, we only get a few right. Some years we do better than others. Last year, we had what could be our best year ever. Some of these just knocked it clean out of the park, in fact. Here's the list, from last year's column:
Vice President Mike Pence will follow the law and (eventually, after plenty of shenanigans and Kabuki) declare Joe Biden to have won the election, in the first week of January. This will cause Trump to absolutely throw Pence under the bus, forever.
The Georgia special elections both go to the Democrats, giving Democrats razor-thin control over both houses of Congress (I am being more optimistic here than I actually feel, I should mention).
Trump will refuse to do all the niceties of the handover on Inauguration Day, and will not even attend Biden's swearing-in, for the very real and justifiable fear that an enormous crowd of people will boo and jeer and taunt him in a very public fashion. Instead, Trump will hold a late-morning rally which will compete for television ratings with Biden's Inauguration. Trump will lose this ratings battle, though, badly. Either that, or he just plays golf.
Trump will not actually announce his 2024 re-election bid in 2020 (due to campaign finance regulations that allow him to fleece his followers a lot more freely before such an announcement is made).
Fairly early in the year, Twitter permanently kicks Trump off for repeatedly violating their rules.
Melania Trump will file for divorce at some point during the year.
"Fiscal responsibility" makes a big comeback in the Republican Party, as they try to block everything Joe Biden wants to do. Biden's attempts at reaching across the aisle will bear little fruit, beyond perhaps some infrastructure bills.
Joe Biden will make great strides at building America's reputation on the world stage back up again -- rejoining things like the Paris climate agreement and the W.H.O., and resetting all our diplomacy to get tough on Russia and North Korea and (to a lesser extent) China.
The Republican Party will continue eating its own, as it devolves into "pro-Trump" and "pro-being-sane" factions. Trump will try to be "shadow president" from the sidelines, but without as much success as he now thinks.
On the Democratic side, the progressives will become increasingly frustrated because most of the items on their agenda will go nowhere. The Democratic majorities in Congress will just be too thin to pass big, bold bills.
Vaccinating everybody will take one heck of a lot longer than we are now being told, and this will give rise to a lot of resentment and bad feelings from groups of people who all think they should be at the front of the line.
Japan will throw in the towel and not actually hold the Olympics. The next games will take place in 2024.
Let's take those one at a time, shall we?
Mike Pence did indeed follow the law and declare Joe Biden to have won the election, on January 6th. There were a lot worse than "shenanigans and Kabuki," although they certainly existed in large doses, as well as the insurrectionists invading and taking control of the United States Capitol in an effort to stop Pence from doing his constitutional duty (while they chanted "Hang Mike Pence!"). And, yes, this did indeed cause Donald Trump to "absolutely throw Pence under the bus, forever." Pence is still deluding himself that he has some sort of future in the Republican Party, which should be amusing to watch crumble as the 2024 campaign season heats up, but for now we have to award ourselves a full point for this prediction.
I went out on a limb on the second one, and it paid off. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock both astoundingly won their runoff election and did indeed flip control of the Senate to the Democrats. Georgia is now represented in the Senate by a Black man and a Jewish man, which is kind of astounding on its own, when you think about it. So 2-for-2 so far.
Trump was indeed too petulant and petty to show up for Joe Biden's Inauguration Day festivities, and he completely refused to extend any of the other courtesies Biden was due, right up until Biden was sworn in and Trump was out. He didn't hold an enormous public rally on January 20th, but he did indeed hold a small one at Joint Base Andrews, where the planes that serve as Air Force One are based. It did not compete for television ratings at all with Biden being sworn in. But we left ourselves an out, and Trump did slink off to one of his own golf courses. So we're awarding ourselves a full point for this one, too, for a perfect 3-for-3.
The year is not completely over, but we're chalking up a win for "Trump will not actually announce his 2024 re-election bid" for precisely the reason we gave. And he's still dreaming up new creative ways to fleece his followers. 4-for-4.
The proudest prediction we made last year, though -- perhaps the best prognostication we've ever made, in fact -- was the next one: "Fairly early in the year, Twitter permanently kicks Trump off for repeatedly violating their rules." Well, some might quibble about that "permanently," but we're pretty proud of that one nevertheless. Trump's disappearance from social media has been an absolute balm for a troubled nation, and we are very happy to have predicted it happening with such accuracy. 5-for-5.
OK, the next one is just a clean miss, there's no other way to say it. Melania has not filed for divorce, nor does she show any indication of doing so at any time in the future. Oh well, can't win them all. 5-for-6.
We're going to chalk up at least a half-point for the next one. As it stood, the Republicans really didn't need to argue too much against the Democratic agenda, since they were free to instead just sit back and watch Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema do all their dirty work for them. The "fiscal responsibility" thing never really appeared on the horizon much, although they did have lots of fun bashing Biden for high inflation, towards the end of the year. However, the last sentence came pretty perfectly true. Biden's attempts at reaching across the aisle resulted in absolutely nothing but one infrastructure bill. Which, to his credit, is one more than Donald Trump ever managed. But still, only half-credit, here. So that's 5.5 out of 7.
Biden did indeed make enormous strides rebuilding American prestige on the world stage, and we did indeed rejoin the Paris climate agreement and the W.H.O. The jury's still out on getting tough on Russia and North Korea and China, but he hasn't fallen down on the job either, so we're going to call this one at least half-correct, making the tally 6-for-8.
The Republican Party has indeed continued eating its own. The "pro-Trump" faction is ascendant and in firm control, while the "pro-being-sane" faction continues to dwindle. Trump didn't have the stamina to pay any attention to what was going on, so he never really did try to be "shadow president," as he was much more concerned with his growing obsession with his Big Lie. But "without as much success as he now thinks" covers that, we think, so we're going to take full credit for this one, giving us 7-for-9.
Sadly, on the next item we could have been proven wrong (which would actually have made us quite happy), but in the end Manchin made it come true (much to the envy of even The Grinch). So with a heavy heart, we're only 7-for-10.
We have to only give ourselves a half-point for the next one, as we did get the "one heck of a lot longer" part right, but totally misread the reason why. It wasn't through any failure of the vaccination program itself, and it only very briefly engendered "vaccine envy" among those not cleared for their shots yet, but instead devolved into the idiocy of the anti-vaxxer movement. So, at best, only 7.5-for-11.
And our final prediction was also completely wrong, as the Olympics were indeed held in Japan one year late. So our final score winds up at 7.5-for-12, or 62.5 percent. That may not sound very high to some, but compared to some years (where we don't even get close to getting even half of these right, we're feeling pretty proud of that mark.
So let's just see what we can come up with for next year, which could be a rocky one indeed.
The supply chain issues will disappear for good, but the media will yawn and not report on it.
Inflation and prices for things like gasoline will come back down, but again, the media will be too busy chasing shiny objects to care.
The economy will continue to improve, until indicators such as the unemployment rate are actually better than they were under Trump. Few Republicans will ever admit this fact.
One Greek-lettered variant of COVID or another (our money is on upsilon, for no particular reason) will become dominant and drive all the others away, and it will become no more dangerous than the seasonal flu. The pandemic will be declared over, and life will (finally!) return to normal -- or as close as we can get, these days. Masks will be stored away and eventually forgotten. The ones who will remember it best are the "COVID Generation" of kids who have been so severely impacted by having their schooling and large chunks of their childhood and/or young adulthood interrupted.
Donald Trump will maintain his iron grip on the Republican Party, and will not fade from view no matter what else happens in his life -- it simply won't matter whether his anointed candidates win or not; the GOP will still be the Party of Trump all year long.
Trump will introduce his social media site, and it will immediately be swamped with trolls and attacked by hackers. It will do nowhere near as well as the mainstream social media sites, so Trump will shut it down by year's end, blaming the hapless Devin Nunes (who has been named C.E.O. despite having zero experience).
Trump will be indicted for at least one serious crime (again, our money is on tax fraud, personally). But no trial will even begin in 2021, since Trump is such a master of causing delays in the judicial system. He'll probably not be forced to see the inside of a courtroom for many years, in fact, as he files motions and objections and appeals until the end of time.
A very stripped-down version of Build Back Better will pass both the Senate and the House, but it will be so disappointing to the Democratic base it will not help the party build enthusiasm at all in the midterm campaign. Thank you, Joe Manchin.
Kamala Harris will be ensnared in a completely phony and made-up "scandal," in a Republican effort to tarnish her so she can never be president (see: Hillary Clinton, for reference).
China will make a major military encroachment on Taiwan, but will stop short of a full invasion. The United States will support Taiwan, but not send any ground troops.
With all the gerrymandering and voter suppression, Democrats will lose control of the House of Representatives. Nancy Pelosi will immediately announce her retirement.
However, in a surprise upset, Democrats will pick up two Senate seats and thus be able to completely ignore Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema forever. Manchin will immediately announce he has switched parties and become a Republican.
Sadly, while Roe v. Wade won't be completely overturned by the Supreme Court, it will be so gutted by their June decision that it will be virtually meaningless in red states.
That's it! Have a happy holiday seasons and a fantastic new year, everyone! And to end in true McLaughlin fashion, we say to all of you:
"Bye-bye!"
-- Chris Weigant
If you're interested in traveling down Memory Lane, here are all the previous years of this awards column:
2020 -- [Part 1]
2019 -- [Part 1] [Part 2]
2018 -- [Part 1] [Part 2]
2017 -- [Part 1] [Part 2]
2016 -- [Part 1] [Part 2]
2015 -- [Part 1] [Part 2]
2014 -- [Part 1] [Part 2]
2013 -- [Part 1] [Part 2]
2012 -- [Part 1] [Part 2]
2011 -- [Part 1] [Part 2]
2010 -- [Part 1] [Part 2]
2009 -- [Part 1] [Part 2]
2008 -- [Part 1] [Part 2]
2007 -- [Part 1] [Part 2]
2006 -- [Part 1] [Part 2]
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
@cw,
still not quite done reading, but thank you much for including me in the process. a minor proofreading note: you have beverly cleary listed twice, the second time misspelled "beverley clearly."
JL
Wait! It's THURSDAY!
Note: Stream of Consciousness Reaction as I read along:
Barring any major scandal or spectacular failure, Youngkin certainly seems poised on the brink of Republican stardom.
Nonsense. Monessen Monessen nonsense!
BETWEEN Saint Ronnie (in 1981) and Joey Bye Done (in 2021, and sorry, Bye Done doesn't much work for me every sitting President's party lost BOTH the VA and NJ off-year Governorships, hellos? So
Goddamned smartphone!
Youngkin is nothing remotely remarkable because the non-President's party ALWAYS loses Virginia. Only Saint Ronnie and Joey Bye Done didn't lose New Jersey, too.
In no time Youngkin will disappear forever off the radar screen, mark my words.
The only thing even REMOTELY noteworthy about what's-his-name Youngkin is that he was smart enough to not campaign az a Trumpanzie.
What a high bar, eh?
@cw,
really excellent column. still, i would have liked ah-nold to get at least a mention in some category for his post january 6th speech.
still sore over that OTHER california recall election? i think his speech was chillingly honest, from the physical abuse he suffered as a child to his family's experience of the rise of nazi germany. just a few paragraphs of the transcript (apologies if this runs afoul of copyright laws):
...Now, I grew up in the ruins of a country that suffered the loss of its democracy. I was born in 1947, two years after the Second World War. Growing up, I was surrounded by broken men drinking away their guilt over their participation in the most evil regime in history. Not all of them were rabid antisemites or Nazis. Many just went along step-by-step down the road. They were the people next door.
Now, I’ve never shared this so publicly because it is a painful memory. But my father would come home drunk once or twice a week and he would scream and hit us and scare my mother. I did not hold him totally responsible because our neighbor was doing the same thing to his family, and so was the next neighbor over. I heard it my own ears and saw it with my own eyes. They were in physical pain from the shrapnel in their bodies and in emotional pain from what they saw or did.
It all started with lies and lies and lies, and intolerance. So being from Europe, I’ve seen firsthand how things can spin out of control. I know there is a fear in this country and all over the world that something like this could happen right here. Now, I do not believe it is, but I do believe that we must be aware of the dire consequences of selfishness and cynicism. President Trump sought to overturn the results of an election and of a fair election. He sought a coup by misleading people with lies. My father and our neighbors were misled also with lies, and I know where such lies lead.
JL
Sadly, Liz Cheney might also be headed for political oblivion. We'll have to see how she does in her primary...
K, betcha Liz Cheney not only lasts longer but ends up magnitudes more important than what's-his-name Youngkin.
Trump will introduce his social media site, and it will immediately be swamped with trolls and attacked by hackers.
So, trolls and hackers are a GOOD thing, eh??
But ONLY if it serves a bigoted and hate-filled agenda. :eyeroll:
Hypocrisy... It's not a bug in Democrat programming. It's a feature..
President Trump sought to overturn the results of an election and of a fair election. He sought a coup by misleading people with lies. My father and our neighbors were misled also with lies, and I know where such lies lead
There are absolutely ZERO facts to prove this is the case.. And MANY facts that prove this is NOT the case..
Further, if a coup or insurrection was the goal, why has no one been charged with anything more serious than DISRUPTING AN OFFICIAL FUNCTION???
The FBI report states unequivocally that there was no plan of coup or insurrection in the works..
Finally, we had a SINGLE Right Wing violent riot in a SINGLE government building at a SINGLE location for a few hours..
And Left Wingers and Trump/America haters get their panties all in a twist...
Yet, we ALSO have had *TWENTY TWO YEARS* (collectively) of Democrat BLM and ANTIFA violent riots and attacks on HUNDREDS of government buildings all over the country.. Many killed, including 8 cops... Tens of thousands injured... Billions of dollars in damages.. Democrat terrorists attacking and burning government buildings WHILE PEOPLE ARE INSIDE!!! Democrat scumbags establishing "autonomous zones" that completely negate thru force of arms, ANY kind of government.. The *VERY* definition of "insurrection" or "coup"...
And yet, the Left Wingery is completely (comparably speaking) silent on all of that...
Let's face the facts and reality, people...
The **ONLY** reason ya'all are in a tizzy over this is because it came from the Right...
If this scene had replicated in it's entirety in the aftermath of Hillary's stunning body-slammed defeat, ya'all's reaction would have been polar opposite.. Ya'all know and I know that to be factually accurate..
Thereby proving my new tagline..
Hypocrisy... It's not a bug in Democrat programming. It's a feature..
Since I am catching up on old business...
MC, you missed this response to your comment a few commentaries ago.
http://www.chrisweigant.com/2021/12/10/friday-talking-points-the-hidden-biden-boom/#comment-181918
Knowing how much you don't want to miss a thing from me, I will repost... Naw, don't thank me.. Yer quite welcome.. :D Oh, stop it... Don't gush.. It's embarrassing... Yer welcome.. Really.. :D
@MC
Yeah, I was wondering the same thing about our election results wagers. Not to worry, I'm sure that I have the particulars somewhere.
I am sure you do... :D
I'm sorry to hear about your health travails and by no means surprised that you're one of those hard to kill category guys.
Awwww... You say the nicest things.. :D
Best possible results to ya.
Thank you. Sincerely..
What does surprise me is you showing up in Weigantia so soon. After embarrassing yourself with your premature post electoral crowing you went to radio silence.
You mean, like ya'all with ya'all's premature post electoral crowing in 2016? :D
You mean, like that??
Tell us, did Trump prevail in the end?
No, but the GOP sure did..
Tell me, how are things going for Democrats with their one-hand lead in the house and their ZERO lead in the Senate (sans Horizontal Harris)??
Democrats getting things done?? :D I mean, hell.. Democrats NEEDED the frakin' GOP to get the BIF over the finish line??
Build Back Better?? The Slogan that Basement Biden plagiarized from the UN?? DOA in the Senate.. Democrats can't even sell their OWN on the plan.. Let alone the American people..
I may have lost a battle, but Democrats are losing the war..
Speaking of which, how about that awesome Afghanistan withdrawal? Basement Biden took a good plan and then trashed it, thinking he knew better..
And, as the facts clearly show, the only things that Basement Biden knew how to do better is to throw our allies under the bus and get 13 brave and dedicated American troops killed..
So, yea.. I made a bum call.. Unfortunately for Democrats.. Because, w/o President Trump to make the bogey-man, Democrats have PROVEN they simply are too utterly incompetent to govern..
Democrats have so royally scroo'ed the pooch that even Democrats OWN analysis show that President Trump will be back in the Oval Office come Jan 2025 and after the 2022 mid-terms, Democrats will be the minority Party for at least a decade..
For the record, those aren't *MY* predictions.. Those are the predictions from Democrats..
I could go on and on about Democrat failures, but I need not.. One only has to read the commentaries here in Weigantia(™michale) (nice ta see that lil gem o' mine is still in common usage ;D) for the past 11 months to see how badly Dems have done..
ADDITIONAL NOTE
At the time of the above, we did not know that the Democrat Wet Dream bill was totally DOA... :D
Well, *I* knew it.. There was no way it was going to pass the SENATE.. I even STATED so in the above missive you missed.. :D
But I would add that to the list above on how bad Basement Biden and Horizontal Harris has governed. How crappy this last year has been for Democrats..
And how bad things are going to get...
By the MILLIONS Democrats are experiencing buyers remorse...
Vindication.. Thy name is Michale :D
Biden's popularity sinking in the White House as unhappy staffers plan post-holiday exit: report
Biden and Harris are both polling underwater as the year comes to an end
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/morale-low-biden-white-house-unhappy-staffers-plan-post-holiday-exit-report
I think it's accurate to say that Democrats are heading for a Nov 2022 mid-term disaster of EPIC proportions.. :D A election disaster that's going to make the Uber Shellackings of the past look like fun family picnics by comparison.. :D
Again, just for the record... Those aren't *MY* predictions.. I had a whopper of a bad prediction a bit over a year ago, so I am going to try and swear off large sweeping predictions...
But to be fair, SINCE then, I have had an amazing track record of accurate predictions.. Democrats over-extending themselves. Democrats over-estimating their popularity.. Democrats simply scroo'ing the pooch over and over.. BIF passing with GOP support... Democrat Wet Dream Bill DOA in the Senate.. Yes, I have redeemed myself quite nicely.... :D
But the afore mentioned Democrat uber-massacre in the upcoming mid-terms aren't MY predictions.. They are the Democrat Party's own predictions.. :D
So, if I have the entirety of the Democrat Party agreeing with my own thoughts..
Well, how much better can it get for me, patriotic Americans and this country, eh? :D
2022 is gonna be a great year.. :D
Ooops... Forgot the obligatory....
LET'S GO BRANDON!!!!!
:D
^^^^^ THAT would have to be the most bone-headed move by a Left Wing Media Rag correspondent... :D
Trying to cover Basement Biden's ass and she turns out to create a F*CK JOE BIDEN meme that goes viral and is appropriate in ALL conversations and spreads much MUCH further than 'FJB' ever could...
I axe ya...
What *IS* it about Democrats that they are their own worst enemies???
There are absolutely ZERO facts to prove this is the case.. And MANY facts that prove this is NOT the case..
you're kidding, right? did president trump NOT try to overturn the election? were the reasons he gave true?
noun: coup d'état
1. a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government.
sudden? check.
violent? check.
illegal? check.
from a government? check.
siezure of power? perhaps it wasn't accomplished, but the rioters certainly tried.
so... what's your argument then, that what occurred is not what president trump "sought," is that it? he certainly didn't do anything to prevent it. or that because the rioters weren't convicted of sedition or treason it therefore follows that what they did wasn't really an attempted coup d'etat? that's actually a valid criticism of the prosecution thus far, but doesn't change the fact of what the riot was attempting to do. what was going on inside his head is anybody's guess, but the outgoing president was absolutely responsible for what happened.
JL
noun: coup d'état
1. a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government.
No power was siezed.. Ergo no coup..
you're kidding, right? did president trump NOT try to overturn the election?
Did Stacey Abrams NOT try to overturn the GA governor election with her words??
Did Hillary NOT try to overturn the 2016 election with her Russia Collusion delusion and her words??
If you define President Trump's actions as a coup, then you must also define Stacey Abrams' and Hillary Clinton's words..
siezure of power? perhaps it wasn't accomplished, but the rioters certainly tried.
And yet, NO ONE has been charged with trying to sieze power...
The FBI specifically stated that there was no attempt or no conspiracy to attempt to seize power..
The Autonomous Zones and the 22 years (collectively) of Democrat BLM and AntiFa riots and attacks on hundreds of government buildings all over the country are better examples of "coup" and "insurrection" than ONE single Right Wing riot in ONE single building at ONE single location over the span of a few hours..
There are NO FACTS to prove your claim of "coup" or "insurrection"...
That's not ME saying that..
That is Biden's FBI saying that...
These are the facts...
, but the outgoing president was absolutely responsible for what happened.
The facts say otherwise..
If 6 Jan was a coup and President Trump is guilty of it by not doing anything to stop it....
Then 22 years (collectively) of Democrat BLM and AntiFa riots and attacks on hundreds of government buildings are MULTIPLE instances of coups and insurrections and the Democrat Party is guilty of them all because they did not do anything to stop them..
It works both ways, my friend.. :D
The fact is, none of it can rationally be defined as "coup" or "insurrection"...
These are simply examples of political ideolouge extremists getting out of control and doing stoopid shit...
But the more severe issue with with Democrats and their BLM and AntiFa factions..
TWENTY TWO YEARS!!!! Collectively, there has been 22 years of violent riots and attacks on government buildings with Democrats not lifting a finger, beyond platitudes and half-hearted calls of "Stop.. Stop... Don't do that.... Stop..."...
I would be more sympathetic to Weigantians(™michale) and their condemnation of 6 Jan if they should even a MODICUM of similar condemnation of 22 years of Democrat riots and attacks on hundreds of government buildings...
As for Ahh-nold....
He's an actor and a politician.. He knows which side butters his bread the most..
So take what he says with a huge grain of salt..
But the more severe issue with with Democrats and their BLM and AntiFa factions..
But the more severe issue IS with Democrats and their BLM and AntiFa factions..
I see Weigantia(™michale) still doesn't have a time-limited EDIT function.. :(
JL,
Of course, if you want to MORALLY characterize that 6 Jan was a coup or insurrection and that President Trump is responsible, you are free to do so...
Just as I am free to MORALLY characterize my previous abortion analogy as equivelant to Democrats' support of abortion...
However, if you want to morally characterize 6 Jan as you wish to, then you must acknowledge that 22 years of Democrat BLM and AntiFa riots and attacks on hundreds of government buildings is morally equivelant...
Gods, I have missed this.. :D
So Michale...
I am still waiting for you to honor our bet from last year...
Or are you still going to welsh out on our bet by still going to claim forgetfulness?? Getting TWO reminders now, and considering all the time you apparently now have to post all sorts of nonsense here, gives you no excuse now not to honor it... In fact, you should not be able to post any more comments on here until you do honor the bet you made....
Here is my SECOND reminder to you...
The bet was if only TWO out of my 3 predictions concerning the 2020 election came true, you would post a link of you holding a sign saying "John is always right, and Michale is always wrong."
The three predictions were:
1) A Democrat, Joe Biden, would win the presidency
2) The Democrats would keep control of the House, Nancy Pelosi would remain Speaker
3) Democrats would take control of the Senate, with Chuck Schumer as leader
ALL THREE came true, not just 2 out of 3 - which was your own criteria for defeat, when both Warnock and Ossoff were elected from Georgia
So Michale, are you a man of honor and of your word, or just the full of the inaccurate hot air you spew on here all the time???
JM...
Don't beg.. It's embarrassing..
Oh.. Awww right. I'll address your comment from last week...
@JM
By the way Michale, you were WRONG before and you will be WRONG again, about Democrats and their election prospects.
Just as your were wrong... er... WRONG before in 2016 about President Trump's election prospects and you'll be wrong.... uh.. WRONG again.
"...Nature of the beast"
-Colonel Hadley, THE FINAL OPTION
For the record, those predictions I listed in the previous commentary weren't *MY* predictions. They were Democrats' predictions and polls.. So, if you have a beef with those predictions, take it up with the Democrats who made them.. I agree with those predictions because they fit all the other facts available, but they are not *MY* predictions
Biden's economic record is already far better than Trump's, with greater and faster economic growth, and lower unemployment numbers.
Yes... And that is reflected by Basement Biden's and Horizontal Harris' high poll numbers, eh? :eyeroll:
Oh wait.. Basement Biden has President Trump poll numbers and Horizontal Harris?? Well, let's just say that Horizontal Harris is looking wistfully and enviously at Dick Cheney's poll numbers.. I mean, seriously.. How BAD a VP does one have to be to be looking UP to Dick Cheney!!!???
But hay... Whatever you have to tell yourself to sleep at night.. :D
The FACTS paint a different story...
https://img.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2021/12/13/FGRWhgxX0AEPpee.jpg
Further, I am constrained to point out that it is accepted as fact here in Weigantia (™Michale) :D that when congress-critters of a Party start a massive retirement migration, that is a good indication that said Party is heading for an uber-shellacking in the coming election..
At least, it was accepted as fact when it was the GOP that had the massive migration of retirements.. Since we know that hypocrisy is not a bug in Democrat programming but rather a feature, it stands to reason that mass retirement migration=uber election shellacking might not be accepted as fact if said fact is applied to Democrats instead of the GOP..
Again...
"...Nature of the beast.
Whaddya gonna do, eh? :D
When people talk about a new American Civil War, this is the way it will look if it happens. NOT with actual guns and street fighting, but with a DELUGE of lawsuits.
Your side better hope so.. Because if it's NOT... If it DOES turn into a shooting Civil War, your side is 99% un-trained un-armed and afraid of guns and my side is 98% well armed and well trained...
The outcome of a shooting Civil War is pre-ordained and obvious.. The Hysterical Left better beware of their mouths writing checks they are not willing to cash in blood and treasure..
I'm just sayin'...
The bet was if only TWO out of my 3 predictions concerning the 2020 election came true, you would post a link of you holding a sign saying "John is always right, and Michale is always wrong."
Was it??
Link to it please...
For the recor, I *DID* respond to your previous "reminder".. A response you ignored..
http://www.chrisweigant.com/2021/12/10/friday-talking-points-the-hidden-biden-boom/#comment-181915
So, take your "2nd reminder" and.. Well, yunno... :D
I liked the one about the Congresswoman camping out on the steps; I agree the Biggest Liar category needs to be retired as it's not really open to debate or competition; some of the other notes were good too, like the Most Honest mayor in Texas and the stillborn "Social Security for Kids" naming initiative. The column really was very long, for all that you warned us ahead of time! But thanks for all the work you do. Merry Christmas, Chris!
AND lest you think I forgot, Michale you agreed to the following 2020 wager,
Black vote (BV) for Trump over 50% MC pays CW $200
BV over 40% MC pays $150
BV over 33% MC pays $100
BV over 25% MC pays $50
BV UNDER 25% Michale pays $50
BV under 20% Michale pays $100
BV under 15% Michale pays $150
BV under 8% Michale pays $200
Wager shall be determined as follows (as posted by John M)
As pointed out by C.W. ONLY EXIT POLLING gives that kind of racial breakdown. So if you accept it based on an average of exit polling data by all networks: NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, MSNBC then you have a DEAL.
***
I also think that you shouldn't show your face down here if you have no honor.
Character used to be a Republican selling point haha...so I'm curious: were you consciously trying to make yourself look worse than the average Trumpanzie?
january 6th wasn't a "moral" coup attempt, it was by definition an actual failed coup. that it was attempted so incompetently that there was zero chance of it ever succeeding, does not change what it was, but does change the legal consequences of it.
These are simply examples of political ideolouge extremists getting out of control and doing stoopid shit...
when that "stoopid shit" is trying to violently change the results of a presidential election, which it was, it's by definition an attempted coup. but yes, the "stupidity defense" is a real mitigating factor, which is why they haven't been charged with treason.
if the MTD is denied, I'll file a motion in limine seeking to obtain an evidentary ruling in advance, and after that I'm going to file against pretrial confinement, and you're going to spend the next three months going blind on paperwork because a Signalman Second Class bought and smoked a dime bag of oregano.
class dismissed ;)
JL
"Let's go Brandon!!"
-Jared from Oregon
"I agree!! Let's go Brandon!!"
-Joe Biden
:D
I swear, Biden doesn't even know where he his!! :D
@MC
Got a link??
Regardless, I will not be sending any $$$ so we will have to come up with a different way to settle our wager...
If there was indeed a wager...
Michale,
Do you have confidence in elections in your country or do you believe they are rife with fraud and that results should not only be suspect but that people are justified in fighting like heck to overturn them?
In other words, do you believe Biden won the last presidential election, fair and square?
Note that if you have already answered know that since the election, I haven't been following things very closely. As you know, I have been advocating for a Biden presidency for a very long time - since about 1987, truth be known - and so, when it actually happened, I felf my work here was esssentially done and I was definitely ready for a break from it all. :)
Also, the preview button is your friend ...
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone!
Here's a heartfelt wish for good health, soaring spirits and to looking on the bright side in 2022!
Enjoy this musical treat ...
While there was an absolute failure of intelligence and planning wrt Afghanistan, we had screwed up too much for any withdrawal to go smoothly. From Bush to Obama to the LOLPE, there was no way to leave well and leaving was the right move.
Like a band-aid, I think the best move was to tear it off quick. It wouldn't have been any better had we done it more slowly or with different planning.
Oh, on a related note, I can't say I'm upset that Rumsfeld will never again have the opportunity to screw something up.
Manchin will not become an R. He does know there's too much treason there. He might go Independent/Unaffiliated, but supporting traitors is too large a chasm. He'll still vote for Schumer to be majority leader.
Sinema? Who knows. She might. Your warily stated insinuations about her last week are accurate.
I am of the opinion that every candidate at that level cheats to whatever extent they believe they'll get away with it. Why else would Donald be so convinced the election was rigged? He tried to rig it himself, and was pissed that someone else did it better!
Good morning, everyone..
Hope everyone had a great Christmas, blaa blaa blaa blaa
Let's get down to it..
First, some old business..
http://www.chrisweigant.com/2021/12/22/will-omicron-wind-up-being-good-news/#comment-182108
is listed as the underlying cause on the death certificate in 92% of deaths (see Table 1).
So, it's listed on a death certificate.. Big woop.. That doesn't change that fact that the CAUSE OF DEATH was something else and an "underlying" COVID may or may not have contributed...
Tell, me Bashi.. The guy who died in a motorcycle accident.. Was COVID the underlying cause?? :eyeroll:
Of course not...
The simple fact is, only 6% of your COVID death toll actually died of COVID.. The other 92% died of something else of which COVID may or may not have contributed.. This is according to Basement Biden's CD&GC....
This is established fact that no amount of your political agenda-based spin will change..
As to these alleged wagers..
I'll address JM's so-called wager, even though he shows no character by doing nothing but issueing "reminders" and then running and hiding when I respond...
As to the Presidential Election.. I am calling that as a push because of the rife corruption and cheating that took place... 90% of it BEFORE the election where Democrat groups spent upwards to a BILLION dollars buying entire election boards and staffing them with Democrat operatives... As Stalin said, "It's not who votes... It's who COUNTS the votes.." Or words to that effect..
Ya'all have to ask yourselves.. Why was the Presidential Election so far out of whack with the Congressional races?? Why did Basement Biden barely squeek by in the Presidential race, but Democrats were royally creamed in the Congressional races??
Because the Presidential Race was rife with cheating.. It's that simple. So, while Basement Biden may be wearing the crown, he got it by fraudulent means..
So, no one won that third of the bet..
As to the Senate race, as the November election (which is what our alleged bet was on) the GOP won the Senate 50 to 48...
So, you were wrong on that third of the bet..
The House races?? Yea, you called that.. But, again I ask.. (and AGAIN, I am sure you will ignore) Howz that werkin' out for you Democrats?? :D
While Democrats may have technically retained the House, Democrats got so trounced and shellacked and decimated that they can't do anything with it..
Democrats are like the football team that gets an interception but can't score...
Sure, Democrats got the ball... But then they just go 3 and out so it matters little to the game at all and it's only relevant to the Quarterback's stats... :D
So, you went 1 for 3, so you lost the bet...
As to MC and his wager... Again, like JM, he is great at issueing reminders.. But not so much with his follow-up..
So, tell ya what I am going to do, MC... You address all the points I brought up in response to your hysterical bile and political bigoted and factless points... Let us really see who has the character to do the right thing... :D Let me know if you need any reminders of what your hysteria was all about. Of course, *I'LL* follow up.. Unlike others, I don't ignore points just because they are uncomfortable. I've got the facts on my side and I know it.. That's what people of good character are like..
Once you address your refuted points, THEN we can discuss the alleged wager and come to a mutually agreeable settlement..
Onward and upward!! :D
OK, let's see what has happened in this commentary over the holidays..
Whose first....
JL... Looks like yer up.. I truly hope you and your family had a great Christmas... :D
january 6th wasn't a "moral" coup attempt, it was by definition an actual failed coup.
Not factually accurate..
Biden's FBI stated so unequivocally and without ambiguity..
WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - The FBI has found scant evidence that the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was the result of an organized plot to overturn the presidential election result, according to four current and former law enforcement officials.
Though federal officials have arrested more than 570 alleged participants, the FBI at this point believes the violence was not centrally coordinated by far-right groups or prominent supporters of then-President Donald Trump, according to the sources, who have been either directly involved in or briefed regularly on the wide-ranging investigations.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-fbi-finds-scant-evidence-us-capitol-attack-was-coordinated-sources-2021-08-20/
There you have the FACTS from an completely un-biased source..
6 Jan was no coup.. No insurrection.. It was a protest that got out of hand..
I am SURE you can understand that, JL.. Like 22 YEARS (collectively) of Democrat protests that got out of hand..
The facts are not on your side, JL.
when that "stoopid shit" is trying to violently change the results of a presidential election, which it was, it's by definition an attempted coup.
There are no facts to support the claim that it was trying to change the results of a presidential election.
The FBI specifically stated:
The FBI has found scant evidence that the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was the result of an organized plot to overturn the presidential election result,
And, once again, trying to overturn the laws and courts of various states, as Democrats have done for the past 22 YEARS (collectively) and setting up autonomous zones... Those are the very DEFINITIONS of a "coup" and an "insurrection"..
I understand why you want to BELIEVE this about 6 Jan...
But you are simply not factually accurate..
if the MTD is denied, I'll file a motion in limine seeking to obtain an evidentary ruling in advance, and after that I'm going to file against pretrial confinement, and you're going to spend the next three months going blind on paperwork because a Signalman Second Class bought and smoked a dime bag of oregano.
Kudos on the movie quote... Anyone that can tie in a pop culture reference to a debate is aww right in my book...
"OK, that's it kid. No more pop culture references for the rest of the trip!!"
-Tony Stark, ENDGAME
But you realize don't you that you simply proved my point for me??
In the movie, that's a reference to "Laywer Tricks" that lawyers use to evade and usurp justice..
When Danny is in the bar and he hears his own words from some scum-sucking ambulance chaser trying to play games with the law and justice, Caffey is ashamed at the cynicism of himself and his profession..
Caffey then decides to be a LAWYER and fight for JUSTICE..
So, it is in this issue.. You want to use lawyer tricks and mis-direction to distract from the FACTS...
And the FACTS are...
"Ninety to ninety-five percent of these are one-off cases," said a former senior law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation. "Then you have five percent, maybe, of these militia groups that were more closely organized. But there was no grand scheme with Roger Stone and Alex Jones and all of these people to storm the Capitol and take hostages."
There is no "there" there, JL..
It was simply a protest that got violent as emotions ran high..
NO DIFFERENT than the 22 YEARS(collectively) of Democrat protests that got violent as emotions ran high..
Considering the co-ordination and longevity of the Democrat BLM and AntiFa riots and attacks on hundreds of government buildings all over the country, a much MUCH better case for "coup" or "insurrection" or "terrorism" can be made in the Democrat BLM and AntiFa violent riots than can be made for a SINGLE Right Wing violent riot in a SINGLE building at a SINGLE location over the span of a few hours...
You make a decent argument.. But the facts win out and prove that your argument is not factually accurate...
Peace out, dood.. :D
OK, taking a break from politics to seek some assistance from my fellow Weigantia(™michale) founders..
I recently purchased a new VIDEO CARD.. A schweet RTX 3060ti...
Due to circumstances, I had to do a lot of hardware upgrades and such which forced a re-install of Windows.. I decided to upgrade to Windows 11...
Before the latest upgrade, whenever I posted to ANY forum, there would be a faint red squiggly line under any words that were misspelled..
While I consider myself of above average intelligence, sometimes there are words I mispell... Usually by typos or what have you...
But I am no longer getting the red squiggly under the misspelled words?? I thought it might be because I need the MS OFFICE SUITE installed, but I did that and still don't have the red squiggly...
I am using the latest CHROME...
Either of ya'all have an idea on what's missing???
Thanx..
Now back to our regularly scheduled political mayhem.. :D
Liz,
I hope you and yours had a really awesome Christmas.. :D
Do you have confidence in elections in your country or do you believe they are rife with fraud and that results should not only be suspect but that people are justified in fighting like heck to overturn them?
Up until recently, I have always had confidence in US elections..
But when I saw what Democrats had done prior to the 2020 election.. Spending close to a BILLION dollars to buy entire Election Boards and staff those boards with Democrat operatives...
When I saw the disparity of results between the Presidential Election and the Congressional Elections??
Yea, I have to wonder..
In other words, do you believe Biden won the last presidential election, fair and square?
I do not..
And I have almost a BILLION reasons why I do not believe that Biden won fair and square..
Look at the facts.. Biden did almost ZERO campaigning in the conventional sense.. He was insulated and protected from real scrutiny by the press and media..
In any REAL election, Biden would have lost and lost big time..
And also, keep in mind how things were here in Weigantia(™michale)... Everyone had all but conceded the election to President Trump.. You, JL and Bashi (the only people of any real import) had accepted as fact that President Trump had won re-election..
Then, all of the sudden, after hours, a ton of ballots mysteriously appeared and turned the tide...
Couple that with the FACT of the almost BILLION dollars spent buying whole election boards and staffing them with Democrat operatives???
Well, something is rotten in Denmark.. There are a plethora of facts that indicate foul play...
So, yea... I don't believe Biden won... Democrats cheated... Pure and simple..
Note that if you have already answered know that since the election, I haven't been following things very closely. As you know, I have been advocating for a Biden presidency for a very long time - since about 1987, truth be known - and so, when it actually happened, I felf my work here was esssentially done and I was definitely ready for a break from it all. :)
OH how well I know that feeling.. :D
Also, the preview button is your friend ...
Not sure I understand where this is coming from??
Yea, I have used the PREVIEW function a lot of late.. The biggest thing I watch for is an unclosed ITALICS or BOLD... That really screws up my flow...
It would be nice if it was lined up properly instead of on big run-on paragraph... But then again a Limited-Time EDIT function would also be nice..
Oh well, we go with the forum we have not the forum we wish we had... :D
Always great to hear from you, Liz... :D
@Speak2
While there was an absolute failure of intelligence and planning wrt Afghanistan, we had screwed up too much for any withdrawal to go smoothly. From Bush to Obama to the LOLPE, there was no way to leave well and leaving was the right move.
While it's true that previous POTUSes (POTUSii?? POTUSium???) didn't have a stellar record in Afghanistan, Basement Biden's failure was all his own..
President Trump had a great plan... The Taliban was following President Trump's plan.. When the Taliban stepped out of line, President Trump pounded on them... There is a very good reason why there were no US casualties in the last 18 months of President Trump's 1st term..
there was no way to leave well and leaving was the right move.
Factually not accurate.. Had Basement Biden followed President Trump's plan, the withdrawal would have gone well..
Like a band-aid, I think the best move was to tear it off quick. It wouldn't have been any better had we done it more slowly or with different planning.
With respect, I call BS on this my friend...
Basement Biden's biggest mistake, the ONE MISTAKE the set up the rest of this massive failure was to relinquish the ONLY strategic asset that the US had in the TOP.. From that one huge collossal frak-up, all the other frak ups flowed.. That one catastrophic and bone-headed move *DIRECTLY* led to 13 brave American troops being needlessly killed..
Further, Basement Biden showed a complete lack of understanding and a total unawareness of the facts and reality when he claimed that the Afghanistan withdrawal was an "extraordinary success"...
These are the facts.. And they are indisputable..
Oh, on a related note, I can't say I'm upset that Rumsfeld will never again have the opportunity to screw something up.
I am sure many will say the same thing about Basement Biden when he passes... :^/
Manchin will not become an R. He does know there's too much treason there. He might go Independent/Unaffiliated, but supporting traitors is too large a chasm.
Calling Americans who have done so much good for this country "traitors"... THAT is too large a chasm...
Having said that, I agree with you.. Manchin right now is the biggest fish in the Democrat Party pond. If he were to become a GOP'er he would be, AT BEST, a medium sized fish in a much larger and much more patriotic pond....
Plus many on his staff are die-hard Democrats and they would find it impossible to make the leap to the logical and rational and patriotic Pro-LEO Pro-America Party...
Now to new business..
I vote for a new category..
DUMBEST CONGRESS CRITTER OF THE YEAR
BIG GROCERY? SERIOUSLY?
I’m not saying that Elizabeth Warren is the dumbest person in public life–there is a lot of competition for that title–but let’s just say she is having the worst week. First she accused Elon Musk of being a tax freeloader, just before he disclosed that he will pay $11 billion in taxes this year, more than any American in history, to Warren’s slush fund the federal government. Next she blamed skyrocketing food prices on “Big Grocery.” Seriously:
Giant grocery store chains force high food prices onto American families while rewarding executives & investors with lavish bonuses and stock buybacks. I'm demanding they answer for putting corporate profits over consumers and workers during the pandemic.
This is almost beyond belief. The grocery store business is notoriously competitive and relatively unprofitable. David Harsanyi writes that “average margins [come] in at a little over 2 percent,” one of the lowest margins of any industry:
[T]o put the numbers in context, health-care-products companies saw 10.91 percent net profits last year; home furnishers saw 4.63; household-product makers saw 11.71; restaurants saw 5.69; home builders saw 9.04; and online retailers saw 4.95.
The idea that there is such a thing as “Big Grocery” is so laughably stupid that only a far-gone ideologue like Elizabeth Warren could take it seriously.
The broader point is that, according to the Democrats, we have suddenly been beset by a plethora of capitalist conspiracies, worthy of Chavez/Maduro Venezuela: Big Oil is responsible for exploding gasoline prices, auto companies–according to Warren–are to blame for rapidly rising vehicle prices, semiconductor companies (again, per the eternally clueless Ms. Warren) are behind the chip shortage, and so on.
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/12/big-grocery-seriously.php
Democrats will blame EVERYONE and ANYONE..
When all they need to do is look in the mirror to see who is responsible for the US' state of the economy...
Michale-
Are you just arguing for the sake of arguing or do you really not understand this stuff? From your CDC link, the column with footnote [3]: Deaths from pneumonia: 730,446. Pneumonia is a condition that is caused by bacteria, a virus and in rare cases fungi or a few other weird situations. The virus, in this case COVID attacks the lung cells and starts replicating. The body mounts a defense and attacks the virus infected cells. This battle causes fluid in the lungs, so much so that without help not enough oxygen gets in to the system and the person dies. Fluid in the lungs killed the person. COVID caused the immune response that caused the fluid in the lungs that killed the person. In medicine that is called, wait for it, the underlying cause.
Tell, me Bashi.. The guy who died in a motorcycle accident.. Was COVID the underlying cause?? :eyeroll:
Yay, one anecdotal example. Answer me this: why is the excess deaths over the COVID period a little bit higher than the listed COVID death rate?
This is established fact that no amount of your political agenda-based spin will change...
Michale-
Right before you took your ball elsewhere you were pushing bets really hard. Goading anyone who disagreed with the point in hand. You tried to get me to bet with you multiple times. I just ignored you as I don't play that game. It's hilarious you have become a welcher. But don't worry, you will be reminded often should you go on another tear goading everyone to bet...
Bashi,
Are you just arguing for the sake of arguing or do you really not understand this stuff? From your CDC link, the column with footnote [3]: Deaths from pneumonia: 730,446. Pneumonia is a condition that is caused by bacteria, a virus and in rare cases fungi or a few other weird situations. The virus, in this case COVID attacks the lung cells and starts replicating. The body mounts a defense and attacks the virus infected cells. This battle causes fluid in the lungs, so much so that without help not enough oxygen gets in to the system and the person dies. Fluid in the lungs killed the person. COVID caused the immune response that caused the fluid in the lungs that killed the person. In medicine that is called, wait for it, the underlying cause.
Blaaa blaaa blaaa blaaa blaaaa..
The CD&GC has stated as fact that only 6% of the death toll died of COVID..
This is well-documented and factual....
What you are doing is trying to mitigate, equivocate and lessen the negative impact of this fact has on the Democrats' political agenda..
It's like when JM and I were debating the DEFUND, DEMORALIZE, DEMONIZE THE POLICE policies of the Democrat Party..
Like you, JM tried to mitigate and equivocate and lessen the negative impact that the policy had on Democrats. He tried to explain away using misdirection, perceptions and outright BS to claim that DEFUND, DEMORALIZE, DEMONIZE THE POLICE doesn't *REALLY* mean to actually defund, demoralize and demonize the police..
And my response to JM was the same response I give to you...
You may spin things any way you want.. But the FACT remains.. The CD&GC stated that only 6% actually died of COVID..
As it turns out with JM, I was (of course) proven dead on ballz accurate.. The DEFUND, DEMORALIZE, DEMONIZE THE POLICE policies of Democrats *ACTUALLY MEANT* to defund, demoralize and demonize the police...
As evidenced by the FACT that NOW... NOW the mayors of liberal cities all over the country are *RE-FUNDING* the police at a furious pace, to the consternation and condemnation of Progressives who deny that there is a crime wave... :eyeroll: (mutters) morons...
I was proved totally factually accurate with THAT issue..
And the facts prove me factually accurate on the COVID issue..
Yay, one anecdotal example. Answer me this: why is the excess deaths over the COVID period a little bit higher than the listed COVID death rate?
Oh, there are MANY MANY more examples of mis-diagnosis of COVID deaths...
"Wait, what!?? He kissed you?? There's no button for that..."
"Oh, he found the button.."
-FREE GUY
:D
.... But you will ignore all of those as well, because it doesn't fit the Democrats' and their partisan Anti-America agenda..
What's funny is that *ALL* of these "honest mistakes" *ALL* go in the same direction...
The direction that paints COVID much more serious than it really is...
Proof positive that the Democrat COVID hysteria and fear mongering is nothing but a political agenda..
This is established fact that no amount of the Democrats' political-based agenda will change.. :D
Hope you and your family had a great Christmas, Bashi... :D
It's hilarious you have become a welcher..
Factually not accurate..
I won the JM bet...
And I am willing to come to an agreement with MC once he practices what he preaches and doesn't require giving money to an undeserving organization...
It would be as if a wager was made to give money to a muslim charity and then discovering that the charity is a front for Hamas..
NO WAY IN HELL would I follow thru and do that... Castigate me all you want, but it's a stand on principle and integrity..
But don't worry, you will be reminded often should you go on another tear goading everyone to bet..
Feel free.. :D I would welcome *every* opportunity to show the blatant and hysterical hypocrisy of these lesser Wegantians(™michale)... :D
Hypocrisy.. It's not a bug in Democrat programming. It's a feature.
The CD&GC has stated as fact that only 6% of the death toll died of COVID..
And yet your CDC link backing this up does not have a "6%" anywhere on the page. Interesting that...
Proof positive that the Democrat COVID hysteria and fear mongering is nothing but a political agenda..
Well, the Democrats and just about everyone else in the entire world except Trump Republicans and a few goopers. Occam's Razor should tell you something about that, but it probably won't...
I did have a good Christmas, even woke up today to a nice dusting of snow. Hope you had a good Christmas as well...
Feel free.. :D I would welcome *every* opportunity to show the blatant and hysterical hypocrisy of these lesser Wegantians(™michale)... :D
Some might even say, I would *RELISH* every opportunity...... :D
I did have a good Christmas, even woke up today to a nice dusting of snow. Hope you had a good Christmas as well...
Oh man, now I am jealous!!!
We REALLY miss the snow...
We're taking the grandkids to a Snow Park outside of Tampa next month.. One last hurrah before my surgery..
We have always wanted the grandkids to see snow... But this facsimile is probably the best we can hope for...
:D
Democrats are soo full of crap, their eyes are brown...
Democrats have been going on and on about how their Wet Dream Bill (AKA Build Back Broke) will help West Virginians and be so good for them etc etc..
When the fact is, the BS Climate Change provision will totally decimate West Virginia's economy and totally ruin West Virginians' livelyhoods..
West Virginians know who their champions are..
West Virginia business leaders rally behind Manchin for opposing Biden's Build Back Better
They say the media have failed to report the negative effect the bill would have on the state
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/west-virginian-business-leaders-rally-behind-manchin-for-opposing-bidens-build-back-better
And it's Joe Manchin who is looking out for West Virginians...
Not the haters like the bartender, Occasional Cortex and the islamic pro-terroist congresscritters and the ignorant like Bernie Sanders and the bigots like Bette Middle Tire Midler... :eyeroll:
Joe Manchin has West Virginia's back....
[30]
The relevant question isn't whether I waste my time digging up the link. Weigantia knows you made the wagers and now everyone knows that your word ain't worth rat piss.
"All I Have In This World Is My Balls And My Word, And I Don't Break 'Em For No One!"
Tony Montaña
SCARFACE
There is NO negotiating any different outcome besides MAN UP AND PAY UP. Or, keep being a douchebag.
Ah, yes, so we're back to the juvenile name-calling. How sweet. Sigh, roll eyes and all that jazz.
Michale,
Republicans did very, very well in the 2020 elections. Of course, Trump ain't no Republican. Heh.
And, to boot, Trump almost won the damn presidential election save for far less than 100,000 votes over three key states.
Not to mention that there was never any evidence produced by Team Republican to show the fraud that would have been necessary to steal this election from Trump. I mean, you would have to think that state level Republican leaders and election officials not to mention the courts (all levels of them) were in cahoots with the election-stealing Dems. And, that's a ridiculous notion.
Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, fair and square.
MC,
The relevant question isn't whether I waste my time digging up the link. Weigantia knows you made the wagers and now everyone knows that your word ain't worth rat piss.
Yea, yea, yea... You hated me before.. You hate me now.. In other words, your nothing has changed..
I understand it's just your hate and bigotry talking..
Oh, I am sure now you will say, "I may have hated you but I thought you were a man of your word" blaa blaa blaa or words to that effect..
Yea, sure... :eyeroll:
I concede that you won the bet.. And I am willing to make whatever equitable arrangement we can agree on.. But the original term is just not something I can morally or ethically do..
It's that simple...
Whine and cry and stamp your feet all you want.. Like I said.. It simply means nothing has changed..
Apologies you cannot see the principle of the situation here...
But, you ARE a Democrat so it's not surprising.. :D
Liz,
Ah, yes, so we're back to the juvenile name-calling. How sweet. Sigh, roll eyes and all that jazz.
I wouldn't worry too much about it..
We should allow MC his temper tantrum and I am sure he will get over it..
Republicans did very, very well in the 2020 elections.
Yes they did.. They did fantastic.. And the presidential race was completely out of whack with the congressional races...
It's as if something was going on behind the scenes in the presidential race... Hmmmmmmm
I mean, recall election night...
Biden gave a pretty good speech for the troops, I have to admit...
I couldn't stomach more the first few seconds of it and turned him off when he said that he feels like he's in a good place.
D-E-L-U-S-I-O-N-A-L
-Liz
Seriously?
No, I've watched enough of these presidential elections and Biden primarys to know when it's over.
-Liz
Think back.. Ya'all *KNEW* it was over.. Oh sure, there were some PollyAnnas who still held on, but ya'all KNEW that the game was up.. That President Trump won..
And I said it at the time..
PRESIDENT Trump's leads in WI, NC, GA and PA are just too large for Basement Biden to have a chance...
-Michale
And, at the time, that was factually accurate..
So, you REALLY have to wonder at how this "miracle" came about...
It's been my experience that "miracles" are not real.. They don't happen.. They are created by humans...
And this "miracle" was no exception..
Democrats cheated.. It's the ONLY explanation that fits all the facts...
Of course, Trump ain't no Republican. Heh.
Factually, he is. But in the spirit of what you are saying, I agree.. He is better than a Republican. He's much better than a Democrat..
He is the embodiment of America.. He is what Americans can accomplish if they ignore political bullshit and simply do the right thing for America...
President Trump is the quintessential American..
The IN YOUR FACE, FRAK YOU, I AM DOING THE RIGHT THING SO GET THE FRAK OUT OF MY WAY American...
We were very lucky to have him as POTUS.. And, if things continue on the present course, then we will once again have him where he needs to be and where America needs him to be..
Back in the Oval Office..
Like I said.. That's not MY prediction. That's the Democrat Party's prediction..
Not to mention that there was never any evidence produced by Team Republican to show the fraud that would have been necessary to steal this election from Trump.
There was PLENTY of evidence.. It was simply ignored by the Trump/America haters.. I would list it all for you, but I know it won't matter whatsoever..
I mean, you would have to think that state level Republican leaders and election officials not to mention the courts (all levels of them) were in cahoots with the election-stealing Dems. And, that's a ridiculous notion.
Not so ridiculous when you consider the level of hate that President Trump generates amongst Democrats and some Republicans..
It's not ridiculous whatsoever.. It's very plausible..
Regardless, that is not the fraud I am mainly referring to.. I am referring to the upwards of a BILLION dollars that Trump/America hating groups spent to buy ENTIRE election boards and staff those ONLY with Democrat operatives.. Boards that were able to manipulate ballots and counts with impunity...
"It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything."
-Author Unknown
So, the REAL fraud that coronated Biden took place BEFORE the election..
This is well-documented..
Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, fair and square.
I understand and respect your opinion..
I simply disagree... AND I have the facts to back up my opinion..
But it's not something worth debating back and forth as neither of us will change the other's mind..
It just is and we can leave it at that if you so choose..
The blatant hypocrisy from the Left never ceases to amaze me..
Mainstream media fume over dad saying 'Let's Go Brandon' to Biden: 'Vulgar,' 'right-wing slur'
Media refers to phrase as 'vulgar insult' and 'right-wing slur'
https://www.foxnews.com/media/media-meltdown-dad-said-lets-go-brandon-biden
Democrats all have their panties in a twist over LET'S GO BRANDON!!...
Yet, during the awesome-for-America President Trump years, Democrats were ALL about "F*CK TRUMP!!... Democrats couldn't get enough of it.. And that hysterical hate and bile continue to this day...
And yet, Democrats whine and cry and stamp their feet over a anti BASEMENT Biden meme that the Left THEMSELVES created!!
It's hilarious... :D
Hypocrisy.. It's not a bug in Democrat programming. It's a feature.
Of course, Trump ain't no Republican. Heh.
Factually, he is. But in the spirit of what you are saying, I agree.. He is better than a Republican. He's much better than a Democrat..
He is the embodiment of America.. He is what Americans can accomplish if they ignore political bullshit and simply do the right thing for America...
And let's keep in mind one fact..
When President Trump *WAS* a Democrat, he was loved by the Democrat Party.. The Democrat Party heaped honors upon honors on President Trump.. President Trump was honored by Jesse Jackson and was honored alongside Rosa Parks by the Democrat Party.. All of this is well-documented FACT....
Which simply proves my tag line beyond ANY doubt..
Hypocrisy.. It's not a bug in Democrat programming. It's a feature.
As Weigantians(™michale) have established as fact, a mass of retirements from a single Party indicates that a massive wave from the OTHER Party is imminent...
*TWENTY THREE* Democrats have signaled their intention to retire or not otherwise seek re-election.. And that number CONTINUES to grow..
Even Democrats acknowledge the coming Uber-Nuclear-Apocalyptic Shellacking that is coming for the Democrat Party... :D
As I said, I am (probably) not going to make any big predictions for Nov 2022... I don't have to..
I'll just agree with the Democrats with THEIR predictions.. :D
Oh, I am sure ya'all could find a one-off PollyAnna prediction from a Democrat or two... :D
But the consensus is clear... Democrats are heading for a HUGE fall... Likely to be the minority Party for a decade or more.. :D
Couldn't happen to a more deserving Party... :D
And the beat (down)_goes on.. :D
“The environment is particularly dour, both because of rising prices, economic anxiety, frustration about feeling stagnant when it comes to covid, that it is not behind us despite the fact that we've been living with it for two years. If this environment holds, it's going to be pretty damning.
I think understanding that people are pissed off and that that's okay and that there's an understanding of what those lives are like and a desire, and the goal is fixing those things and looking in touch with people, those are the things that Democrats can do tonally. I think pointing to, 'Hey, things are actually great' just sounds totally tone deaf.”
-Molly Murphy, Democrat Party pollster
Again.. This is not *ME* saying anything..
This is the kind of message that DEMOCRATS are putting out..
This is the kind of message that Weigantians(™michale) have been reading here in Weigantia(™michale) the last 9 months or so..
Don't hate on the messenger just because you don't like the message.. :D
Not a very rewarding comments column; I'll check back in a few weeks from now to see if there's any improvement.
Not a very rewarding comments column; I'll check back in a few weeks from now to see if there's any improvement.
Before you go.....
Would you like some cheeze to go with your whine...??? :D
Biden Concedes Defeat!
Biden says he agrees with GOP governors: There's 'no federal solution' to pandemic
President pushing numerous federal solutions to pandemic, including onerous vaccine mandate rule
Listen to this article
0:00 / 2:25
1X
BeyondWords
President Biden on a call with governors Monday said he agrees with two GOP state executives that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to mitigate COVID-19, even as his administration is pushing major federal solutions to the pandemic that's nearly two years old.
Biden made the comment after Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who is the chair of the National Governors Association, cautioned the president against taking actions that may step on states' toes as they aim to fight the virus.
"There is no federal solution. This gets solved at the state level," Biden responded, before mentioning another Republican governor.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-states-fix-omicron-covid-governors-call
Biden claimed he was going to kick COVID's arse...
Looks like it's the other way around.. :D
that's a polite way of saying, "i can't give you help if you're too damn stupid to accept it."
NPR looked at deaths per 100,000 people in roughly 3,000 counties across the U.S. from May 2021, the point at which vaccinations widely became available. People living in counties that went 60% or higher for Trump in November 2020 had 2.73 times the death rates of those that went for Biden. Counties with an even higher share of the vote for Trump saw higher COVID-19 mortality rates.
winner and still champion, nature.
and lest we forget the coup attempt:
The FBI has found scant evidence that the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was the result of an organized plot to overturn the presidential election result
correct, it was completely disorganized, and conducted by probably 30% white supremacist nutjobs, 70% basically normal people who got caught up in crowd-think and didn't realize that what they were participating in was a coup attempt.
as i've demonstrated however, it was in fact a coup attempt, by definition. if that 70% had been aware in the moment that that's what it was, they probably wouldn't have done it. in fact, many of them have used social psychology of crowd behavior as a legal defense, to reduce their sentences. i'm not sure whether or not it worked.
JL
NPR looked
'nuff said... :D
correct, it was completely disorganized, and conducted by probably 30% white supremacist nutjobs, 70% basically normal people who got caught up in crowd-think and didn't realize that what they were participating in was a coup attempt.
And yet, NO ONE was charged with a coup attemp.. The *WORST* charge that came down is INTERFERING WITH AN OFFICIAL FUNCTION...
In other words, the same thing as disrupting a PTA meeting.. :eyeroll: ...
as i've demonstrated however, it was in fact a coup attempt, by definition.
You have not..
The FBI statements PROVE you are factually not accurate..
"Ninety to ninety-five percent of these are one-off cases," said a former senior law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation. "Then you have five percent, maybe, of these militia groups that were more closely organized. But there was no grand scheme with Roger Stone and Alex Jones and all of these people to storm the Capitol and take hostages."
What part of "NO GRAND SCHEME" is not clear to you??
WHY hasn't anyone been charged with 'coup' or 'insurrection' or 'treason' or 'sedition'????
Because it never happened..
All it was, was a violent Right Wing protest that turned into a riot..
Like TWENTY YEARS (collectively) of Democrat BLM and AntiFa violent riots and attacks on HUNDREDS of government buildings all over the country..
That fact that you ignore these facts is very telling...
:D
Like TWENTY YEARS (collectively) of Democrat BLM and AntiFa violent riots and attacks on HUNDREDS of government buildings all over the country..
That would be TWENTY *TWO* YEARS of Democrat BLM and AntiFa violent riots and attacks on HUNDREDS of government buildings all over the country..
My bust...
[48]
And I am willing to come to an agreement with MC once he practices what he preaches and doesn't require giving money to an undeserving organization...
You made these bets and now you're welching.
"All I Have In This World Is My Balls And My Word, And I Don't Break 'Em For No One!"
Tony Montaña
SCARFACE
There is NO negotiating any different outcome besides MAN UP AND PAY UP. Or not. It's only your name and your personal integrity that's on the line.
For the record, the only way I'd be having a "temper tantrum" would be if,
1- You lived in my head like I live in your's,
and
2- I actually expected you to keep your word.
I gave you my terms..
If you won't meet them, then it's on you..
There is NO negotiating any different outcome
As usual, you are wrong.. :D
@m/mc,
what would you both agree to be a deserving organization? PBA? Fisher House?
What part of "NO GRAND SCHEME" is not clear to you??
"no grand scheme" has already been stipulated. however, you seem to think a grand scheme is necessary in order for an attempted coup d'etat to occur, and by most definitions it simply isn't. if a group of people rejects the outcome of an election and uses violence in an attempt to install their preferred candidate instead of the one who's been elected, it's irrelevant whether or not there was a big honcho at the top pulling the strings. but don't take my word for it:
https://clinecenter.illinois.edu/coup-detat-project-cdp/statement_jan.27.2021
JL
p.s. also stipulated that there are a few definitions by which january 6th doesn't quite meet all the criteria for an attempted coup. however, these are a distinct minority.
also, after some more thorough reading, it seems like the true percentage of extremist cells was around 15%, so my estimates were off on that as well.
[56]
I concede that you won the bet.. And I am willing to make whatever equitable arrangement we can agree on.. But the original term is just not something I can morally or ethically do..
It's that simple...
Whine and cry and stamp your feet all you want.. Like I said.. It simply means nothing has changed..
Apologies you cannot see the principle of the situation here...
This is the principle:
"All I Have In This World Is My Balls And My Word, And I Don't Break 'Em For No One!"
Tony Montaña
SCARFACE
There is NO negotiating any different outcome besides MAN UP AND PAY UP.
For the record, you don't merit hate but rather, pity.
What's it like? I mean, What's it like being a troll? Do you get a little LEO 3" boner** when you think you are being annoying? Why do you pollute Weigantia if it's the equivalent of an ISIS charity?
**It's common knowledge that a lot of guys become cops to make up for their, ahem, inadequacies in that department. Pretty clear you fall into that category.
PAY UP OR SHUT UP.
JL,
When someone is actually CHARGED with a coup or treason or sedition or insurrection then.. And ONLY then.. Will you have the facts on your side...
Com'on dood.. Yer pulling a Jussie Smollet here...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZXoErL2124
Don't be a Jussie Smollet...
MC,
So, on top of all your hate and racism, you are also a cop-hating bigot...
I wish I could say I was surprised... :eyeroll:
Wallow in your hate and bigotry, son... My conscience is clear...
You have my terms.. You want me to follow thru with my obligations.. You follow thru with yours..
When you man up, I'll be around..
JL,
if a group of people rejects the outcome of an election and uses violence in an attempt to install their preferred candidate instead of the one who's been elected, it's irrelevant whether or not there was a big honcho at the top pulling the strings. but don't take my word for it:
And if a group of people reject the laws of a state and use violence to try and usurp those laws or change those laws, then what is that??
You have no logical or rational argument to complain about 6 Jan and ignore 22 years (collectively) of much much WORSE coming from the Democrat side of the equation..
You simply have NOTHING in your cupboard..
This was a Right Wing violent riot.. No different than the 22 years (collectively) of Democrat BLM and AntiFa riots and attacks on hundreds of government buildings all over the country..
It's really that simple..
This is the Russia Collusion Delusion all over again. Hysterical screams of TREASON!!! SEDITION!!!! COLLUSION!!!!! And what's the worst that came out of it??? Process crimes..
When someone is actually charged with something a LOT more serious than OBSTRUCTING AN OFFICIAL FUNCTION, then come talk to me..
Until then.. Ya got nothing, dood.. . :D
You have my terms.. You want me to follow thru with my obligations.. You follow thru with yours..
When you man up, I'll be around..
Maybe...
"What do ya say... What do ya say.... You have NEVER thanked me.... See ya tomorrow.... Maybe..."
-Bill Murray, GROUNDHOG DAY
:D
When someone is actually charged with something a LOT more serious than OBSTRUCTING AN OFFICIAL FUNCTION, then come talk to me..
Let me put it this way JL...
Biden's FBI would *LOVE* to be able to pin insurrection on these Right Wing scumbags...
Just like Democrats would have LOVED to pin the Russia Collusion Delusion on President Trump....
But, in *BOTH* cases, there simply were no facts that support the charge...
Ergo... There WAS no insurrection... Just like there WAS no Russia Collusion...
Again, it's really THAT simple..
No facts to support the charge.. So the charge isn't made..
Morally, you are entitled to your opinion.. Just as, morally I am entitled to my anti-baby killing analogy..
But factually?? Legally??
There is no 'there' there..
JL,
what would you both agree to be a deserving organization? PBA? Fisher House?
I would be happy to work out an alternate payment..
But MC is in his mood and he has to throw his tantrum..
I'll allow him that and we can move on... :D
Just like old times, eh? :D
MC,
Let me see if I can explain it to you slowly using small words so you can understand..
Let's say that in between the time that the wager was made and now, the guy who runs Weigantia(™michale) had died and Weigantia was no more..
Would I be faulted for not following thru with the wager??
Of course not.... Because the circumstances had changed between the time the wager was made and today..
So it is with our situation... The circumstances have changed between the time that the wager was made and now...
Now, you truly have my pity and sympathy if you can't understand the facts.. But they are facts regardless..
Ironically enough, I *WAS* right about an explosion of President Trump support by minorities....
I simply had the wrong minority... :D
Trump’s Latino Support Was More Widespread Than Thought, Report Finds
While Latinos played a major role in Democratic victories last year, Donald Trump’s outreach to them proved successful in states around the country, not just in certain geographic areas.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/02/us/politics/trump-latino-voters-2020.html
Now, you can continue to whine and cry and stamp your feet and throw a temper tantrum if you wish.. By all means... Go ahead..
But yer only hurting yourself..
FPC [81]
michale wrote,
i>Let's say that in between the time that the wager was made and now, the guy who runs Weigantia(™michale) had died and Weigantia was no more..
Would I be faulted for not following thru with the wager??
Of course not.... Because the circumstances had changed between the time the wager was made and today..
Got great news for you -- Chris Weigant was alive as late as yesterday, so what circumstances changed? Seems like you're in the same shameful circumstance...Weigantia knows you made the wagers and now everyone knows that your word ain't worth rat piss.
"All I Have In This World Is My Balls And My Word, And I Don't Break 'Em For No One!"
Tony Montaña
SCARFACE
There is NO negotiating any different outcome besides MAN UP and PAY UP.
There's impartial... and then there's inactive. Or maybe "comatose" is a better word. Whatever you want to call it, though, we have to see Merrick Garland as the Most Overrated in all of Biden's cabinet. Sure, we think he should have been confirmed onto the Supreme Court years ago, but that's an entirely separate matter. What has he done for American justice lately? Precious little.
Investigations into the January 6th failed insurrection attempt have been the largest, most far reaching investigations that the DOJ has ever been tasked with conducting. Every branch of the US Attorney’s Office has been required to provide members of their staff to work on it. And while US Intelligence agencies have a long history of not liking to work well with each other, they have supposedly been made to clearly understand by Garland that they will share with investigators ANY and ALL data they have regarding those involved with the January 6 failed insurrection.
Yes, we all would have loved for the arrests to have begun on January 20 and just kept happening little by little until everyone involved was made to answer for their actions; but that is not how you go after organized crime or terrorist organizations if you are wanting to take them down. To prevent those involved from being able to discuss their charges, all of those involved will be arrested simultaneously in massive sweeps by law enforcement. It will be the largest coordinated multi-agency law enforcement sweep in our country’s history.
I know that we live in a world with a collective attention span of about 3 seconds, but good law enforcement investigations move at their own speed…and then strike extremely quickly to prevent those involved from being able to react. Those charged will have the largest bank rolled legal defense we’ve ever seen — so it is imperative that the prosecution’s cases be flawless. The Justice System will face it’s biggest test to date to determine whether wealth is greater than the Rule of Law in our country. Garland making sure that every “I” is dotted and every “T” is crossed before acting is a good thing.
As for the Best/Worst Political Theater awards; I am not sure where this one belongs, but it certainly was the most honest political theater we’ve seen in years and that was the performance brought to us on January 6 by Senator Lindsey Graham!
Graham was on the Senate floor speaking after the attempted insurrection had failed. While discussing the tragic events that had occurred, he said the following:
I just think it’s a uniquely bad idea to delay this election. Trump and I, we’ve had a hell of a journey. I hate it to end this way. Oh my God, I hate it. From my point of view, he’s been a consequential president, but today, first thing you’ll see. All I can say is a count me out. Enough is enough. I’ve tried to be helpful, but when this Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled four to three, that they didn’t violate the constitution of Wisconsin, I agree with the three, but I accept the four. If Al Gore could accept five-four he’s not president, I can accept Wisconsin four to three.
You would think that these somber words would be delivered with the gravity that these events deserved… but if you watch old Lindsey as he says these words, I challenge you to find a video where he speaks with the giddiness that he demonstrated this day!!! The muscles in his cheeks had to have started cramping from his apparent inability to wipe the giant smile off of his face. Lindsey believed Trump was done for, and that he would finally be rid of the man he has privately made no effort in hiding his contempt for even as he has kissed Trump’s ring at every turn.
Sadly, Graham was forced to travel to Mar Lardo to ask forgiveness just days later, but the world got to see just how happy Graham was when he believed Trump was done for.
here's a list of the individuals charged. not sure if it's everybody, but it's pretty exhaustive...
https://www.insider.com/all-the-us-capitol-pro-trump-riot-arrests-charges-names-2021-1
CW
How many of the plotters of the insurrection have been arrested or charged with any crime whatsoever? Zero, by our count.
Incorrect. Not only is this not "zero," the number of those plotters now charged with conspiracy or multiple conspiracies is quite a lot more than most people realize.
The actual answer is closer to:
* Four score
* Multiple dozens
More coming too.
Russ
83
Tell it like it is, Russ. The DOJ and its various assorted entities are busy doing what they always do, which is working to prosecute organizer-inciters and flipping lower-level conspirators to build the case against the more senior conspirators.
For instance, they've already indicted Owen Shroyer who helped lure mobsters to the Capitol and who is undeniably connected to Alex Jones and the Infowars conspiracy blathering ignorant bullshit, and several of those who've already plead guilty to conspiracy to commit obstruction are undeniably connected to Roger Stone and were demonstrably with him the day before the planned coup/insurrection. In the instant case, there was a plan in place by multiple insurrectionists, and these lower-level conspirators are obviously flipping because the video evidence doesn't lie.
For those misinformed/gullible and in denial that it was a planned insurrection, there is a shit-ton of video evidence gathered against their conspiracy, which is why they're flipping. "Conspiracy" by definition is a plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful, and some of them are pleading guilty of conspiracy and/or multiple counts of conspiracy as charged in court documents because... well... they're guilty.
As for Alex Jones and his cohort(s), they're guilty of planned conspiracy. The video doesn't lie:
Shroyer was indicted in August and isn't even the first person who works for Infowars to face federal charges for the conspiracy on January 6.
So, to recap:
* Russ is correct. Anyone who believes the DOJ and related entities are derelict in their duties should pay better attention to the flipping of low-level conspirators to build the case against more senior conspirators. Reading of the court documents already filed ties them to Roger Stone and Alex Jones. That's how it works.
* Video evidence doesn't lie; there is literally mountains of it, and that's why many of the conspirators have already pled guilty to their planned conspiracy.