Friday Talking Points -- Closing The Gaetz
Well, that was quick. As many have amusingly pointed out, the nomination of Matt Gaetz to be Donald Trump's attorney general didn't even last a full Scaramucci. Eight days, from beginning to end, was all it took. It's more than he deserved, really.
There was a whole bunch of tea-leaf-reading after Gaetz announced he was giving up his bid. Was Gaetz really just preparing to run for Florida governor and concocted the whole thing as a convenient way to bury that damning House Ethics Committee report? We have to admit, we do find this one convincing (especially since today Gaetz announced he will not attempt returning to the House). Or was Gaetz a "stalking horse" put out there to be so odiously bad that he distracted from all the other odiously bad cabinet appointees Trump has been announcing? Would senators (of both parties) spend all their energies on Gaetz and then be so exhausted that they let through all the others without much protest? If that were accurate, Gaetz would have stayed in the fracas until the bitter end, though, which he didn't.
More positively, some are lauding the Republican senators for standing up to Trump, saying the Senate "passed its first test" in taking Trump down a notch (by handing him an early loss in the struggle for power between the executive and legislative branches). Well... possibly. We'll have to see how things develop. Again, there are still a whole bunch of other patently unqualified nominees for the Senate to consider.
One thing is for certain, at least. Donald Trump won't do what he threatened to do by making a "recess appointment" of Gaetz, bypassing the Senate's "advice and consent" role entirely. Doing so would have required the collusion of at least the GOP House, and the rumors are that Speaker Mike Johnson had pushed back on the idea, along with a handful of Senate Republicans who still value their own power. This averts an immediate constitutional crisis when Trump takes office, and it might be further sign of congressional Republicans telling Trump not to push them too far.
The media certainly had a whole lot of fun over the eight days of focus on Gaetz, which continued after his withdrawal. Here's the most amusing reaction we saw:
Talk about a quick and humiliating smackdown. Florida Man Matt Gaetz was announced as Donald Trump's pick for attorney general on a Wednesday. Eight days later, his complete unfitness for the job had become so undeniable and insurmountable that he withdrew from consideration. The nomination didn't last even a full Scaramucci.
This could not have happened to a more deserving guy.
For those who care about checks and balances, Gaetzgate was about so much more than the political fate of a proud poster boy for arrested development who has the morals of a coked-up bonobo. Trump's decision to put him forward was an early, gross test for the president-elect's entire Senate team.
Republican lawmakers were being asked to lash themselves to the personification of Trump's morally bankrupt impulses, to choke down their bile and prove just how low they were willing to go. How they handled this challenge was going to be an early signpost of, as well as a building block in, their relationship with the second Trump administration.
Again: we'll see. The list of nominees which are (to put it mildly) problematic actually grew this week, even with Gaetz withdrawing. Trump nominated Mehmet Oz to run Medicare and Medicaid (and Obamacare), on the strength of him winning some daytime Emmys (you can't make this stuff up, folks). He nominated Linda McMahon to run the Department of Education, even though she has zero experience in the field (although what she does have is a past sexual abuse scandal to deal with, but as we all know that is in no way disqualifying for Trump). Add these to the others who should rightfully face strong pushback in the Senate: Pete Hegseth (Defense), R.F.K. Jr. (Health and Human Services), Tulsi Gabbard (Director of National Intelligence), and Pam Bondi, the woman Trump immediately named as a replacement for Gaetz. All of these should face the same sort of scrutiny that Gaetz faced, but it is not certain that they will.
Of that list, it now seems like R.F.K. Jr. and Gabbard might face the most skepticism from Senate Republicans. Hegseth is reportedly winning over senators to his nomination (even though the police report from his own sexual assault accusation was made public this week), but we'll have to see what questions get asked when he sits for a confirmation hearing. Oz, McMahon, and now Bondi haven't faced the same intensity of media scrutiny yet, so it remains to be seen how Republican senators feel about their nominations quite yet. But Democrats will get to ask questions during confirmation too, so about the only thing we can say with any certainty is it will make for some lively Senate hearings early next year.
If the Senate does balk at any of these picks, there still is a chance Trump will try to "recess appoint" them anyway. It remains to be seen whether Republicans in either house of Congress will actually defy Trump with a floor vote on any of this, and it certainly doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility that he will indeed force the issue at some point.
Meanwhile, over in the House, we've already had our first episode of fearmongering, even before the new Congress is seated. Representative Nancy Mace led the charge in scapegoating a historic incoming member of Congress. Next year, Sarah McBride will be Delaware's only member of the House of Representatives, which will be a first since McBride is a transgender woman. Republicans, of course, spent a whole lot of energy demonizing trans people during the campaign, and Mace shoved her way to be the first in line to do so over McBride.
Mace didn't used to be so extreme. Back in 2021, she said in an interview: "I strongly support L.G.B.T.Q. rights and equality. No one should be discriminated against." She went further, stating that she had friends and family who were L.G.B.T.: "Having been around gay, lesbian, and transgender people has informed my opinion over my lifetime." She even proudly posted a link to the article on social media, with her own added comment:
I strongly support LGBTQ rights. No one should be discriminated against. Religious liberty, gay rights, and transgender equality can all coexist. I'm also a constitutionalist. We have to ensure anti-discrimination laws don't violate religious freedom.
Sounds like a pretty reasonable and moderate Republican, right? Respectful, even....
Well, now that's all gone by the wayside as Mace has now officially boarded the MAGA train. Far from "supporting" the "T" in L.G.B.T.Q. rights, she publicly began the push to ban McBride from women's bathrooms at the U.S. Capitol. Here's some more of how her vaunted "support" has morphed into demonization:
"It's offensive that a man in a skirt thinks that he's my equal," [Representative Nancy] Mace said on Newsmax on Wednesday night, intentionally misgendering [Representative-Elect Sarah] McBride. "That his challenges are the same as mine. They're not. And he's forcing his genitals into women's restrooms, into dressing rooms, into locker rooms."
Speaker Mike Johnson appeared to be caught flat-footed by this move. He was asked at a press conference whether he thought McBride was a woman or a man. He dodged the question. So later, he held another press availability just to clarify things:
I want to make a statement and be very clear. I was asked a question and I rejected the premise because the answer is so obvious. For anybody who doesn't know my well-established record on this issue let me be unequivocally clear: A man is a man and a woman is a woman, and a man cannot become a woman.
He then moved to make the rule change without even making the House vote on it. All Capitol complex bathrooms will now be "birth-gender-only." But Mace wasn't satisfied with the victory, and now says she will be introducing a bill to institute the same rule for all bathrooms "on federal property." Because the whole point of it wasn't really to get the rules changed, but to get Mace's face on television. Here is what Mace's own former communications director had to say about the whole thing: "If you think this bill is about protecting women and not simply a ploy to get on Fox News, you've been fooled."
McBride dealt with the matter by refusing to take the bait, stating that she'll follow whatever rules are in place. She stressed that she was entirely focused on serving her constituents rather than getting involved in culture war issues, which was a good political move for her (McBride had not made becoming the first trans woman in Congress a part of her campaign, instead focusing on local issues that voters care a whole lot more about). This caused some disappointment among trans rights activists, who would much rather have had a big public fight about the issue. But as we said, she's a brand-new representative so it is entirely understandable why she did so.
Other news from Washington during the lame-duck period... Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer cut a deal with Senate Republicans to pull four nominees to appellate-level courts in exchange for them allowing 12 other judicial nominees to make it through the Senate before the end of the year. This will mean President Joe Biden will have named almost exactly the same number of judges to the federal bench as Trump did during his first term in office. Some expressed disappointment in Schumer for making the deal, but none of the four appellate candidates had the necessary votes to be confirmed, so it was really just a matter of accepting the reality of the situation more than anything else.
Other than cabinet-appointees, the incoming Trump team is reportedly considering slashing Medicaid and food stamps benefits, in order to provide bigger tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy. Oh, and they're essentially ignoring all the rules governing presidential transitions, including the necessity of getting background checks for security clearances. Trump already bent the rules on security clearances in his first term when he demanded members of his family get them without proper vetting, so this is nothing new for him. If he's nominating seriously tainted people to cabinet appointments, one has to wonder what all those appointments who don't get a lot of media scrutiny are like. At least he hasn't named any family members to his cabinet... yet.
This is going to be a collective award, this time around. Because, as we wrote about earlier this week, one particular result of the 2024 election cycle hasn't really gotten much attention.
Which is why we're giving the Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week this week to the entire incoming class of House Democrats, and to everyone who helped get them elected.
As we said, the media is mostly ignoring this, but even while Republicans took back the White House and control of the Senate, they are on track to have made no gains at all in the House. There are still three outstanding races to be called, but the Democrat is leading in one of them. Currently (without these three) the political makeup of the incoming House will be 219 Republicans and 213 Democrats.
This will leave Mike Johnson with just as small a majority as he's been dealing with all along. And it'll be even more acute at the start, since there will be at least one vacancy from the get-go (since Matt Gaetz resigned) and possibly others (Trump has nominated at least two other House GOP members to his administration). They're all in safe Republican districts, but it'll take time to hold special elections to replace them, and until that happens Johnson's majority will be even thinner.
Of course, it sure would have been more impressive if Democrats had gained seats and taken back control of the chamber themselves -- that would have given Democrats some governing relevance to put a brake on Trump's worst impulses. But in a year when the electorate shifted right everywhere else, it was impressive enough just to hold the line to the status quo.
So for outperforming the Democratic Party elsewhere in a very Republican election, we have to hand this week's Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week this week to the incoming House Democrats. Their accomplishment will continue the headaches Johnson has had in herding his own Republican cats for the next two years.
[Congratulate your local Democratic representative via their official contact page, to let them know you appreciate their efforts.]
Mostly Democrats have been being very quiet this week, content to stand back and watch as the Republicans squabble among themselves over Trump's incoming administration. So we didn't notice any particular Democrat who deserved the Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week this week, and we'll have to put the award back on the shelf until next week.
Volume 776 (11/22/24)
Our Talking Points this week attempt to move Democrats on from the horribleness of Matt Gaetz to the horribleness of all the other whackadoodles Trump has been nominating. After one unrelated quote from A.O.C., the rest of our offering this week is how Democrats should be absolutely ridiculing these selections. Who knows -- Senate Republicans have already balked at one incredibly unqualified nominee, maybe they can be convinced there are others worth the same pushback? It's certainly worth a try.
How will they police it?
Because all the fray surrounding trans women in bathrooms didn't actually name the target of the Republicans' scapegoating, all trans people will be barred from the bathrooms of their choice on Capitol Hill. Some trans-rights activists have already suggested publicly challenging it by visiting the Capitol and using the bathrooms there. Which, of course, leads to a question -- who is going to police this rule? Which Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pointed out, in a memorable way:
If a woman doesn't look woman enough to a Republican, they want to be able to inspect their genitals to use a bathroom? It's disgusting. [They're doing it so] Nancy Mace can make a buck and send a text and fundraise off an email.
But he plays one on teevee...
This is a general comment, to start off the talking points dealing with all the other nutjobs being appointed to cabinet-level positions.
"The one criteria Donald Trump seems to be using to select his cabinet -- other than their absolute loyalty to Trump above everything and everyone else in life -- seems to be pretty simple. Trump wants folks who look good on TV. That's it. That's what he wants in a cabinet. Anyone with insufficient cheekbones or who is not sufficiently blow-dried and coiffed need not apply."
He's on Fox News, that's good enough for Trump...
We begin our rundown (appropriately enough) with a man Trump chose because he is a host on Fox News.
"Pete Hegseth had a woman accuse him of sexual assault in a police report, paid the woman hush money to get her to sign a non-disclosure agreement, was considered suspect by the National Guard because he has tattoos which are symbols of White power, doesn't think women belong in combat roles in the military, and pushed Trump during his first time in office to pardon convicted war criminals. Trump has chosen Hegseth to run the Pentagon, despite having zero experience running any large organization whatsoever. So sure... why not?"
Russia's girlfriend?
And then there's Tulsi...
"Tulsi Gabbard has been called -- by Russia's state television no less -- 'our girlfriend.' They did this because Gabbard has been the biggest disseminator of Russian propaganda ever since the very start of their invasion of Ukraine. She believed every lie the Russians told, and repeated them to anyone who would listen. When Syria was committing war crimes against its own people, Gabbard took a secret trip to meet with President Bashar Al-Assad, and refuses to admit that Assad has indeed committed such atrocities. She believed Assad's claim that he hadn't used chemical weapons over the American intelligence community's assessment that they were. She even claimed the United States was funding the Islamic State. So of course she's a dandy pick to take control of America's national intelligence services, right? I mean, what could possibly go wrong with 'Russia's girlfriend'?"
If it ducks like a quack...
And then there's the guy Trump nominated because of his Daytime Emmy awards.
"Mehmet Oz, or 'Dr. Oz' as he is known on television, is a total quack. He used to air segments on his television program that promoted weight-loss nostrums, a pyramid scheme, and various forms of snake-oil products. The British Medical Journal ran the numbers and found that over half the products recommended on The Dr. Oz Show were not backed up by or actually contradicted by scientific research. Oh, he also was a big fan of using hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, despite it being completely ineffective. So sure, let's let him run Medicare and Medicaid and the Obamacare website. Why not?"
The brain-worm hotel
After Gaetz pulled his name from consideration, R.F.K. Jr. went to the front of the "laughably unqualified" line in this clown parade.
"R.F.K. Jr.? Really? Seriously? The brain-worm hotel? The anti-vaxxer? The guy who chainsaws whale skulls off and dumps dead bears in parks just for fun? The guy whose babysitter said he groped her? The guy who spreads conspiracy theories about chemtrails? That guy? You want him running all the health organizations in the country? Are we going to have to pay his brain-worm a separate salary, or what?"
Dream team? Really?
We considered giving Representative Jim McGovern the Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week for this, but had the group award to hand out. So we'll close on it instead this week. Here are some excerpts from a floor speech McGovern gave this week, on the subject of Donald Trump's picks for his cabinet:
Someone who is credibly accused of having sex with an underage girl. Someone who sucks up to foreign dictators and has attracted major concern that they can't be trusted to protect America's secrets from our adversaries. Someone who paid hush money to cover up a sexual assault accusation, you know, to lead our military. He's picked because Donald Trump likes him on Fox News? Someone who says that tap water turns kids gay? I mean, this is the dream team? This is the dream team? Really?
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
Cross-posted at: Democratic Underground
I think the MDDOTW award could be given to president Biden for his Johnny-come-lately and insincere performance in the Amazon rainforest.
it could also go to vp Harris for quietly fading into the woodwork instead of vocally challenging the wisdom of Donald's decisions. a big part of leadership is continuing to lead even after a big loss.
Are we going to have to pay his brain-worm a separate salary, or what?
Oooff!
In the Weird category, Lori Chavez-DeRemer has been tapped to Secretary of Labor. We just defeated this one termer of no known accomplishment. I wonder how Trump knew about her? Or is the pool to choose from that shallow? It was one of the more competitive and expensive house races nationally. Maybe the dollar signs?
On further reading it looks like Mike Johnson liked her as well as Teamsters President Sean O'Brien pushing for her to be nominated...
Is it past time to rename this column "Did you see the crazy things Trump did this week?"
Meanwhile, some of the successful Democratic candidates try, once more, to explain how to actually talk to voters.
'From Elissa Slotkin in Michigan to Ruben Gallego in Arizona and Adam Schiff in California, these soon-to-be senators took to the Sunday television shows to answer what they did right that other Democrats failed to do.
Schiff said in an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We need to make that case all over rural America that we understand what people are facing, that we respect them, that we’re going to deliver for them. I think that’s been missing.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear "... we have a chance every day, every moment, to show the American people that we are laser-focused on jobs, on their health care, on their infrastructure, on their kids’ education — just those everyday worries.”'
At least an honorable mention to California. It's not sexy but it is meaningful - and of course another way to contrast respect for our fellow Americans with whatever Trump is spewing any day of the week.
'California officials announced on Friday they will rename all geographic features and places in the state that previously contained the derogatory term “squaw.”
The California Natural Resources Agency said it would remove the word from dozens of streets, bridges, buildings and cemeteries around the state and replace it with names that prioritize Indigenous cultures and languages.'
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/15/california-rename-43-places-00189912
MIDDOW to two Democrats who successfully defended their seats. The MSM has already been distracted from the election of Nov 5 ("have you seen the crazy things Trump did this week?") but these two deserve a moment in the spotlight.
'Maine Democratic Rep. Jared Golden won reelection against GOP state Rep. Austin Theriault in a battleground Maine House district, The Associated Press projected.
Golden prevailed after a ranked-choice tabulation completed Friday, 50.35 percent to 49.65 percent, with all other voters redistributed.'
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/15/democrat-jared-golden-maine-election-00188138
Second MIDDOW:
'Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur won reelection against Republican Derek Merrin in one of the most closely contested House races this year, The Associated Press projected.
Kaptur, the longest-serving woman in the House, represented a safe district for many years that became redder in recent redistricting, making it one of Republicans’ top targets this cycle.'
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/20/marcy-kaptur-wins-ohio-house-race-00188162
While she was referenced in the introductory essay, newly-elected Rep. McBride also deserves at least an honorable mention for 'refusing to take the bait' - and thus deflating the GOP's phony outrage machine.
This is how EVERY Democrat in the Senate and Congress should respond when these kerfuffles are clearly orchestrated for the Faux News viewing audience.
'She stressed that she was entirely focused on serving her constituents rather than getting involved in culture war issues, ...'
That vp Harris has disappeared into the woodwork is both unsurprising and welcome.
I wonder if the incoming Trump administration will make any difference in the US-partnered Israeli siege in Gaza or the new war in Lebanon, both of which rage on despite constant talk of impending ceasefires by the complicit Biden administration.
Re [12] Elizabeth,
My understanding is that Trump will stand back and let Israel do whatever it wants in those two wars.
None of this silly Biden nonsense about urging restraint, threatening to withhold arms and supplies, or "talking of impending ceasefires".
I hope I'm wrong or have misunderstood the new president's messaging. What I heard during the campaign was that a Trump administration would support Israel in physically evicting Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank to allow redevelopment along the lines of new Western-oriented tourist and business centers as well as enlarged Israeli residential areas.
If true, that would seem to constitute "making a difference" relative to the Biden administration, or any other previous U.S. administration save the first Trump term.
Evicting to where?
Meanwhile, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/23/books/review/supervillains-joker-elon-musk-wicked.html?unlocked_article_code=1.cE4.unhV.zExyuB1OU1UW&smid=url-share
dsws on [14],
"Evicting [several million Palestinians] to where?"
I believe the Trump administration's answer to that question, much like Netanyahu's, will be, "Who cares?"
Same answer applies, as I understand it, to the question of where the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. will be deported to by the U.S. Army in the next four years.
Would senators (of both parties) spend all their energies on Gaetz and then be so exhausted that they let through all the others without much protest? If that were accurate, Gaetz would have stayed in the fracas until the bitter end, though, which he didn't.
Ding, ding, ding. Exactly this! Trump and company did not ask for recess appointments and lobby hard publicly and privately for Rick Scott -- who immediately agreed to abandon his constitutionally mandated duties to become the future Senate Majority Leader -- for no reason at all.
If Gaetz was meant to be some kind of major player in a multidimensional long game, why on Earth would the so-called Trumpian "grandmaster" sacrifice him so quickly?
*Trump wants recess appointments. Outmaneuvered (so far).
*Trump wanted Rick Scott who agreed to recess appointments. Outvoted (secret ballot)
*Trump wanted Gaetz. Outnumbered.
From all indications so far, Trump appears (to me) to be making moves furiously (still) trying to prove he won the 2020 election. He appears not to be overly concerned with anything beyond his bank account (the grift) and his ego. Nothing new. #SSDD
Hey CW,
Am I being blocked for some reason? Twice now I have hit the “submit comment” button only to have the comment disappear from view and not be posted??? We will see if this gets posted or not.
@Russ,
that usually means something you typed tripped the filters.
quotation of the month, from h.l. Mencken:
"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard."
Hey CW,
Although I select “Remember Me” religiously I am constantly forced to sign in to comment. This is on both my iPhone & iPad. And it’s annoying.
yeah the site really does have an insane time-out where you can't post unless you logged in less than a minute ago. i have to copy my post, go back to log in again and then paste.
The blog is wordpress, so unless Chris uses plugins to control logins, I'd search for wordpress login problems. It might also be the browser. With Firefox I'm logged in as long as the browser is not closed or computer goes to sleep. I think even if I have to re-login into the computer after sleep or change users, as long as I have an active logged in version in a tab I won't have to re-login but if I re-login to the computer and no tab with the site I will have to log back in. This is true on both MacOS and windows. On ios with safari, if I remember correctly as I rarely surf anymore on iphone or ipad, it will keep the login as long as an active tab has the site but will forget when the tab is closed.
I don't have any time-out or similar issues with this site and posting comments. Funny, eh?
Of course, a time-sensitive edit function is still on my wish list. :-)
And, I'm not tapping out any of this on a smart phone screen. Now THAT would be insane... or drive me there. :)
dsws
15
Nice article, and we have a theme song for that one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgnClrx8N2k
The song even mentions killing the Kennedys, which if the GOP has (a) enough backbone, (b) enough brains, and (c) enough down votes, they'll (figuratively) do away with another one, as it seems highly likely all the Democrats will just say "no" or "hell no."
Barack Obama's first-term administration was considering Bobby Jr (BJ) to be the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency but decided against it due to BJ's years and years of dealing drugs and his personal abuse of heroin and other illegal substances along with his arrest for heroin possession in the 1980s, and combined with his myriad of conspiracy theory issues at that time, it was presumed BJ couldn't be confirmed by the Senate.
Apparently, the Trump team nominating BJ either doesn't know all about -- or maybe doesn't care about -- BJ's sordid history dealing and abusing drugs and the myriad history of conspiracy theory nutjobbery, but BJ obviously has zero business whatsoever being anywhere near the Department of HHS or in any position whatsoever that deals with the service of the health and welfare of any animals (either living or deceased) up to and including humans.
BashiBazouk
24
I'ma try Firefox. Thanks for the tips, Bashi. :)
I'm typing this on Firefox browser for Chromebook. For some reason the app is reading my chromebook as if it were a smartphone, but otherwise all good. It took a little doing to get a full-screen view, and I'm going to type a little longer to make sure i've passed the usual time-out. If it does end up working, I wonder why chrome doesen't.
Hmm, does this work with my spanish keyboard layout? vamos a ver si las letras hacen daño al sistema o si se puede soportar más.
I'm sorry y'all are having so many issues with this site. Truly I am. :)
thanks to bashi for the tip, and thanks to kick for reminding me that one can actually download a new browser without much fuss.
Heh.
It's working!
Bashi solved Christmas. :)
If you are running Firefox, don't forget the add-on uBlock Origin. News sites especially have really gotten obnoxious with adds...
But, Bashi, a lot of new sites won't let you read articles unless you disable your ad blockers or pay up.
News sites, that is.
Liz,
Most have a link that is faded out and/or tiny that bypasses. The few who don't there is the add-on: Disable javascript. The final tool is the way back machine...
I'll have to look for that!
BashiBazouk
34
If you are running Firefox, don't forget the add-on uBlock Origin. News sites especially have really gotten obnoxious with adds...
Added UBlock add-on ad gone.
Thank you. :)
Just checking to see if a change of browser lets me post without having to log out and in again.
And so it does. Bing, by the way.
What IS it about Democrats that they are such mental case pussies???
The U.S. State Department has held therapy sessions for employees after Donald Trump won the 2024 election.
Representative Darrell Issa R-CA, is criticizing Secretary of State Antony Blinken over the sessions. It has not been confirmed whether the sessions took place.
Earlier this month, President ELECT Trump secured a HUGE electoral victory over his Democratic opponent, Headboard Has Been Hooker Camel-a Harris. President ELECT Trump not only demolished Headboard Camela Harris, but also won a considerably great margin in winning the Popular Vote. This is the first time a GOP candidate has won the Popular Vote in 2 decades..
In a letter to Blinken obtained Issa criticized the alleged therapy sessions, "I am concerned that the Department is catering to federal employees who are personally devastated by the normal functioning of American democracy through the provision of government-funded mental health counseling because Kamala Harris was not elected President of the United States."
WAAAAAA!!! WAAAAAAAA!!! President Trump totally decimated Camel Harris and now I am in a mental nutcase!! WAAAAAA!!! WAAAAAA!!!:
-Democrats
I mean, seriously!! How disturbing and disgusting is it that supposed-to-be nonpartisan government officials would suffer a personal meltdown over the results of a free and fair election, something that defines the United States champions around the world.
Internal State Department emails sent across the agency had encouraged employees to attend the session, where they could talk about their feelings following the election.
According to the outlet, one source described the meeting as a "cry session" over Trump's victory. The email advertised a webinar that would explore stress management techniques.
What is it with you Democrats that ya'all are such pussies??
NOT a rhetorical question..
Oh what have we here??? :D
Jack Smith files to drop all federal charges against Donald Trump
President ELECT Trump faced charges over his handling of classified documents and his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, which culminated in US Capital riot on 6 Jan 2021..
Numbnuts Jack Smith filed motions to drop all federal charges against President-elect Donald Trump regarding his mishandling of classified documents and his efforts to secure a victory in the 2020 presidential election.
The dismissal of these phony lawfare politically-motivated charges marks a historic moment. Fifty years after lawmakers from both parties forced Richard Nixon to resign the presidency amid allegations of criminal conduct in office, more then half of American voters chose to return Trump to the presidency.
Get that!? In the court of American public opinion President ELECT Trump has been found completely and utterly **INNOCENT** of all charges and accusations.. :D
Wait a minute!! Didn't ya'all say that President ELECT Trump was going to jail!!???
Well, guess what, Demon'rats??
YA'ALL WERE WRONG!!!! **AGAIN**!!!
I guess ya'all must be getting pretty used to being WRONG about **EVERYTHING**, eh?? :D
And where do we find ourselves now???
Not only in the eyes of the American people, but also in the eyes of the law, PRESIDENT ELECT Trump is 100% COMPLETELY AND UNEQUIVOCALLY **INNOCENT** of all criminal charges and accusations..
OOOooooooooo That's just GOTTA hurt, eh Weigantians..
Be honest here.. How many of ya'all are seeking therapy for this absolutely CRUSHING defeat, eh?? :D I mean, ya'all must be psycho because your entire ideological point of view has been so thoroughly and so completely **REJECTED** by the American voters.. :D
Toss ya'all's Democrat platform and beliefs on the trash heap of history.. Stick a fork in yer ideology..
It's done!! :D
And to add insult to injury, President ELECT Trump won over ***52%*** of the hispanic American vote!!
And to add an even BIGGER insult to ya'all's torture, President ELECT won over ****21%**** of the black male Americans vote!!!!
**O . M . G .** ya'all just HAVE to be hating life!!!
It's no wonder ya'all are gonna need therapy.. You're entire political way of thinking has been utterly and unequivocally **REJECTED** by the vast majority of the American voters..
Really, ya'all's only option is to crawl into the deepest darkest hole you can find and pull it in after ya'all, eh?? :D
We interrupt this gloating session to bring you this CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE public service announcement.
Good job, Bashi, on the terrible posting problems plaguing Weigantia..
Using FireFox works like a charm..
Good move, Bashi.. I mean that sincerely... :D
Back to our regularly scheduled GLOAT FEST... :D
I know I shared this before, but it's just too damn hilarious to not share again.. :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isXCmG5pLQY
This woman NAILS Camel Harris... :D
President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration starts off with mostly good will from the public: a majority of Americans overall are either happy or at least satisfied that he won and are either excited or optimistic about what he'll do as president.
Trump's handling of his presidential transition gets approval from most Americans overall and brings near-universal approval from his voters, along with a net-positive response about his selections for Cabinet posts, in particular, Sen. Marco Rubio, who is Trump's pick to be secretary of state.
After inflation and the economy so dominated the election, Americans are more inclined to think his administration will bring down prices for food and groceries rather than raise them, and his voters overwhelmingly say that. Going into the election, his backers expected that, too.
In a similar vein, Trump's election already has some Republicans' views of the economy improving.
If Weigantia is actually a "reality based" land then it stands to reason that Weigantian commentary should reflect what's REALLY going on here in America...
The American people are behind President ELECT Trump and want him to succeed in making America great again...
Why can't you Weigantians get with the program??
President ELECT Trump won the popular vote by a CONSIDERABLY GREAT margin..
Accept your losses and get with America, eh?? :D
Michale,
Really, ya'all's only option is to crawl into the deepest darkest hole you can find and pull it in after ya'all, eh?? :D
Hardly. But, I'm not surprised you think this is the only option for those who opposed the re-election of Donald Trump.
Actually, Dems have an easier row to hoe than the Republicans who now must find a way to govern in a way that will find favour with the electorate. Never an easy task for any incoming administration.
As for what your options are, Michale... you can continue to gloat and be obsessed over what Dems will or will not do...OR you can direct your attention to what the incoming administration does and how they proceed through the transition.
I hope you choose the latter option because it will be a much better use of your time AND I will enjoy reading your comments.
Liz
Actually, Dems have an easier row to hoe than the Republicans who now must find a way to govern in a way that will find favour with the electorate. Never an easy task for any incoming administration.
Especially when Democrats are going to do everything in their power to make sure President Trump fails and America suffers..
Which is why the term "Trump/America haters is so apropos..
As for what your options are, Michale... you can continue to gloat and be obsessed over what Dems will or will not do...OR you can direct your attention to what the incoming administration does and how they proceed through the transition.
Why can't I do both?? :D
President ELECT Trump is off to a rip-roaring start.. The majority of Americans are behind him..
Perhaps if I saw a little more AMERICA 1st sentiment here in Weigantia, gloating would not be so prevalent..
But all we have seen is dumping on President ELECT Trump is very vile and disgusting ways..
So, maybe the rest of Weigantians should consider your options.. Especially the latter one, eh? :D
I'm just sayin'... :D
JL,
I'm sure i wrote this here once before, and did a much better job of it, but I'm tired. genotype, phenotype, and sociosexual identity are all different things,
All Democrat made up words that have no basis in fact or REAL science..
It's simply Democrats making up words that push their un-American agenda..
It's like when Democrats tried to put forth that phony definition of "racism" so that it aligned with their ideology..
That's all it is..
A "trans" person is mentally ill.
"END TRANS"
Anyone who believes there are more than 2 genders (male and female) is either delusional or is putting their ideological beliefs before facts and reality..
and every one of the three has many more than 2 categories.
And is not relevant to the discussion of of the science of biology and the fact that SCIENCE (REAL science) says there are only 2 genders..
All the terms you mention are psychiatric/mental health terms that labels various mental illnesses.
A man who thinks he is a woman is as mentally ill as a man who thinks he is a tree...
A woman who thinks she is a man is as mentally ill as a woman who thinks she is a wolf.
It's ALL mental illness that no amount of Democrat "science" will change..
If you like we can discuss how men cosplaying as women so that they can play in women's sports (because they were crappy competitors against other men) and, in being allowed to play in women's sports have severely injured actual real women..
I am open to that discussion as well.. :D
Aww right.. It's been a long weekend so I am going to catch up on my sleep.. :D
Ni Ni all..
Elizabeth Miller
48
I hope you choose the latter option because it will be a much better use of your time AND I will enjoy reading your comments.
His comments!? Heh. Quite a hefty amount of his comments are nothing more than the plagiarized work of other authors. His plagiarism is easily recognizable because it is arranged in neat paragraphs with correctly-spelled words and not littered with the duplicative and sloppy punctuation that litters his own thoughts. He's posting perfectly plagiarized work followed by his sloppy rote and repetitive trolling insults... lather, rinse, repeat.
I can post from where he's plagiarizing if you'd like.
His [47] primarily contains the plagiarized work of Anthony Salvanto, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-poll-trump-transition-cabinet-picks-2024-11-24/
Enjoy reading "his comments."
Kick,
Didn't you read my whole comment?
Yes.
@m,
you're not qualified to tell what science is real or not. there are six genetic sexes with tens of millions of people:xx,xy,x0,xxy,xyy,xxxy. that's as hard a fact as it gets. each individual of whatever genetic sex can have physiology that's male, female, or one of tens of other possible combinations of primary and secondary sex characteristics. people's brains can also be one of seventy-plus genders. you're not entirely wrong about some people being mentally not all there, but that's not everybody. in human beings, there's just a lot of variation.
JL