We progressives can thank Trump heartily for one thing...

[PCIntern]

We are now fully aware of the nature of the nation in which we live. When you are walking down the street in a BLUE state, four out of ten adults whom you walk past AT LEAST voted for a known liar, rapist, traitor, and perpetrator of generally insane behavior of every conceivable stripe and type, too long to list here.

Add to this proportion those in the government service and the media who assist, cover, and facilitate his very being and existence. This is a very large number.

So this is in fact “who we are”. Half the country or more are invested emotionally in this nightmare of mental illness and has overwhelmed what used to be called reason, prudence, morality, and good judgement. We are either on or even over the precipice. We are one bad Election Day away from catastrophe, one manufactured scandal, one myocardial infarction away from the loss of America as it was defined: not ruminating about from whence we came or to where we are going. This is a quantum leap into an abyss and make no mistake, it is incumbent upon each of us and everyone we know to prevent this one more time. The difficulty is that it won’t be the last time. It never will be.

[bucolic_frolic]

1. The 40% hate EVERYTHING the government does that is beyond their control, but

have enthusiastically given control of their minds, money, and soul to an insane, hate-raging lunatic because ....... I don't know, it feels good, right, just, fun to them?

What is the reason? To me they are rabble, but many are or were accomplished in life, they own businesses. Is it taxes, FICA, benefits given to poor people? Is it racial?

[Joinfortmill]

11. My guess Hate of the other.

[Polybius]

2. Very good point

Even if he were to lose 60-40, 40% is still a huge share.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. You are spot on, as usual, my dear PCIntern . . .

And it's unfortunate as well.

I am reminded of a quote:

"The price of liberty is eternal vigilance."

[Hekate]

4. Depressing as hell

[Hermit-The-Prog]

5. It's the result of 50 years of propaganda and stealth takeover of government.

( See 1st link in my 'sig' line, below ). The Powell memo inspired Buchannon's plan and the Koch brothers were the first to start implementing it.

We have home-grown oligarchs to battle. Only voters can break the symbiotic tie between those oligarchs and GOP.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

14. These people existed long before hate radio and Faux

They're the same people who made cities across the US sundown towns.

They're the same people who practiced redlining and enacted zoning ordinances banning brown people from owning homes in white neighbourhoods.

They're the same people who screamed bloody murder about school desegregation--North and South.

Hate has been a feature, not a bug, of US culture since 1619.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

17. I'm not referencing culture; that's just one crack for placing a wedge

Racists, homophobes, xenophobes, Nazis, Christofascists, nutcases, and all other blocs that are left out of, or actively shunned by, the Democratic party have been targets of over a half century of goading and steering by those who do not want to cede power to a government of, by, and for the people. The only consistent message to otherwise antagonistic blocs has been that liberalism is their enemy. Democracy, Democrats, diversity, tolerance, environmental concern, "woke" -- these are all lumped together under that tag "liberal" in the battle to have money rule.

The GOP fed rich donors via tax cuts and deregulation. Those donors in turn fed the GOP with messaging as well as campaign funds. Under GOP administrations, the EPA, FCC, FTC, OSHA, and all cabinet-level offices were flipped from protecting people to aiding corporations. The GOP appointments to the Judiciary have been increasingly extreme to support oligarch agendas and enhance their current messaging tools to further anger -- and thus render malleable -- those people who are sensitive right-wing messaging.

The current basket of deplorables is a vile mix of everyone susceptible to an increasingly uncompetitive, homogenized media with both blatant and subtle messages advocating might or money make right. From the kooks of Qanon and Info Wars to Fox and Friends to the NYT and its bothsides headlines, the full spectrum is covered to create a coaltion of extremists and "independents" to elect people who will aid in the takeover of government.

[speak easy]

6. I thank Trump for Nothing. Nothing at all.

The best thing he could ever do is die,

[mountain grammy]

7. Yes completely agree

Damn him and his psycho supporters.

[louis-t]

8. Questions to ask yourself when viewing the 40,000 hrs

of video from Jan. 6, 2021; Listen to the screaming of these wild animals that are trying to get in. Listen to their hysteria. Listen to their ranting about conspiracies. Listen to their threats. Who got them this excited? Who got them all wound up? Who sent them to the Capitol bldg on a mission? Antifa? BLM? The FBI? One man directed them to go there and "fight like Hell". He is responsible for the deaths and $3 million in damages. Not to mention the cost to the country of prosecuting every criminal who was involved.

[oldsoftie]

9. Too pessimistic. Only about 60% of eligible voters voted.

With those numbers, nowhere NEAR 40% of the adults you pass in a BLUE state voted for trump.

The number is STILL too high but the real "trump base' is much lower. The rest of the trump VOTERS aren't MAGA voters. They are the ones who HAVE to be shown just what we're facing. But most of those people also wont pay much attention to it until around f'ing October.

[PCIntern]

10. And all those people who don't care and don't vote

think like us. Yeah.

[oldsoftie]

15. Thats just it; most people dont stay tuned in like DUers.

So its imperative that these people be SHOWN all the facts about this threat to the free world

[progressoid]

16. It's pretty disheartening if you live in a red area.

I know someone who rarely leaves the house anymore because of Trump.* She can't stand to even look at her neighbors and fellow citizens of her town. While some republicans may not be Trump's base, most of them didn't have a problem supporting him. And if he's the nominee, they'll probably support him again.

He (and right wing media) brought out the worst in people. And brought out the worst people.



*She's is a retired librarian so she has a house full of books and a couple dogs to keep her company.

[oldsoftie]

18. Oh, I know. I live dead center of a solid red area.

BUT, I do know people who voted for him in the past who are NOT going to vote for him again. I believe them because I never asked them. And I've known these people for many years & they didnt care that I knew they WERE going to vote for him in the past. So I know he's lost previous voters, but how many new ones has he gained?
The biggest issue in this election is Biden getting the turnout of '20. Obama got far fewer votes in '12 than '08; although in '08 it was a HISTORIC vote. But can the independents & fence sitters SEE the bigger danger of trump as opposed to the negatives they feel about Biden?

[flashman13]

12. Well said.

[Mr.Bill]

13. A candidate who doesn't say

what he will do if he wins as much as he says what he will do if he loses.

[we can do it]

19. I've pretty much always thought about a third of the population are hatefully, stupid idiots.