I wish the backlash had happened sooner. It wasn't just Republicans that lost out because of a Trump presidency. Nominating the wrong candidate in the primaries can hurt everyone.
I hope it prompts a genuine reconsideration of what conservatism in America is supposed to be about. Trump just flat-out isn't any of the things that American conservatives as a group have aspired to be; his only notable Republican credential is being opposed to the Democratic party. I'm not really convinced the backlash will produce a reconsideration, though, because the backlash against Bush junior didn't. There was no point at which the GOP decided that Bush didn't represent them, and I don't think there will be a point at which the GOP decides that Trump doesn't represent them.
It's not like Bush is still particularly loved by Republicans, as far as I can tell. I haven't heard a conservative speak positively of George W. Bush since he left office, 12 years ago. I think that Trump, like Bush, will just be ignored and forgotten by the GOP.
I think in 2024 the GOP position on Trumpism will just be a "never mind all that."
I really don't know what the 2024 Republican candidate might look like. I don't know what the party leadership intends to stand for when Trump is finally gone.
There is no such thing as Trumpism. It's simply the logical conclusion of the conservative project that started with Goldwater in 1964. Rick Pearlstein has an excellent series of books on how we got here. The line from Nixon to Reagan to the Bush Dynasty to Trump is unbroken.
And of course W. has been forgotten. That was half of Trump's appeal in the primary. Offering absolution for their support of the last unmitigated disaster. The Tea Party might as well have been called "Bush be Gone". But make no mistake, for those of age in 2000 and 2004, there is virtually NO difference between Bush 43 and Trump voters. The ONLY difference is the reactionary online element. These are the same voters, by and large. Only with COVID-19 did Trump become a BIGGER historical disaster than Bush, and anyone on the left rehabilitating him is out of their minds, or has a very short memory.
The facts are the facts. You hold the office, you own the consequences even if you insist you don't. And the last two Republican Presidents are responsible for DEEP recessions and hundreds of thousands of needless deaths. They have been given 12 years out of the 20 this century to prove they can even govern on the most basic level of competency and failed in spectacular fashion (and ushered in both times with minority rule no less).
Having Republican speakers at a convention to court votes is one thing, but don't go mistaking this for something that can be salvaged. There are plenty of problems with the Democrats that are too numerous to name, but the major problem this country has and why we are where we are is the 60 year Republican war on government itself. And we now have what they said they wanted. A government that has abdicated all responsibility, yet insists on holding onto power by any means necessary anyway.
To do what exactly?? Make sure another 150,000 people die?? Completely bungle the next inevitable crisis?? Keeping these people in power at this moment is like telling your kid it's fine to drink a liter of vodka before driving to school. If this level.of malfeasance doesn't get punished, what will??
Even the reasonably successful Presidencies of Clinton and Obama were operating fully under the paradigm shift that occurred under Reagan, and all the "left" can really hope for at this point is the equivalent of a Rockefeller Republican who isn't a complete disaster.
I think what people fail to see is that Trump, or someone like him, was going to happen. People were coming to the realization that “government” had failed them, like atomic bomb on suburban America failed. They wanted change, everyone did, both sides, and they were going to have it. Not that Obama was not a popular president, was not my pick but hey, he didn’t decimate the country. Everyone saw the economy getting better, numbers looking good but... it wasn’t reflected in their paycheck. The housing bubble collapse was over right, so why did everything get sucky during the bubble pop but now that things were peachy, why was the quality of life not getting better? Most families now have two working adults so why aren’t things improving if the economy is so good and the companies we work for are doing so well? We watched as another candidate came up through the system and no longer trusted them. Huh, wonder why. I don’t understand what is wrong with our makeup that makes humanity, all of us, want to gamble when our backs are against the wall. Like the desperate person that has no money but will buy a lottery ticket, what is that about? Know what I heard over and over leading up to the last election? He can’t be worse. I wanted to scream then, “Are you seriously that stupid?!?” Of course he can. Everyone wanted someone outside the system, well they got him.
Now the country is going, “Oh shit! What did we do?” Well some, some knew he was a P T Barnum exhibit, but now one and all they are looking to fill the position with THE guy or girl who will fix it all. Does anyone seriously believe that one person can fix everything? One person can break it but is there any faith that one elected official can fix it? Of course not, no one is even hoping for that anymore we just want to stop the bleeding.
The system is broken and so are we. Why is it no politician dares to ask us to sacrifice for the greater good anymore? Seriously, raising taxes would bury most politicians. Why? Why is it that under even a popular president that seemed to actually care, the gap between the wealthy and the rest of us grew so much? Why are healthcare costs so high? Why? Why? Why? The questions are mind boggling. The sad fact is no politician has addressed the system and they won’t. You don’t rock the boat when you are sitting in it. That takes us, individuals, saying, “Okay wait. This doesn’t work for me. Get it done or get out.” That is how Trump happened but it was a gamble on a long shot. One and done, little sacrifice required. Least sacrifice for the most potential gain. Don’t fix the system, let him do it. To be honest no one expected they were inviting Jeffrey Dahmer to dinner when the voted, but...
They rolled the dice, bought the lottery ticket.
Wanna fix the shit show? Make an effort. Wanna make things better? Do something about it. You would not trust the cashier at your local convenience store to pay your bills, make your dinner, fix the sink would you? Well okay if you are married to that cashier sure, I get that. Somehow we let other people have way more control over us than that, city state and federal and don’t even bother to vet them anymore than what we see on a commercial or hear from an idiot over lunch.
The system is broken and we are crying over the person we put in to fix the system. We knew things were messed up, that is why so many took the gamble! It obviously did not work. Feel like that last might be a tad of an understatement. Once again however we are looking at the person/position and not the system.
One thing I am sure of is that our greatest power for now is the vote. Vote or we are part of the problem. Vote or keep quiet and let the people who care enough do the talking, in my opinion you have forfeited your right to comment.
Harsh views I know. I hold myself accountable as well, I am as guilty as anyone. Maybe it is all a part of growing up, I think it took me a long time to realize that I was up. Really strange too because I have so few rules.
Take responsibility for yourself.
Don’t do anything to hurt anyone else.
Give back.
That is it just those three. I thought I had them down for so long, now I know that I was just having a child’s tea party. Then you wake up one day and see that you’ve applied brutal honesty to yourself so much that it feels like you will break at times and you feel comfortable with yourself finally, but you’ve ignored the world. That is when the truth of those three rules hit me. It isn’t their fault, it is ours. Mine.
There is no such thing as Trumpism. It's simply the logical conclusion of the conservative project that started with Goldwater in 1964. Rick Pearlstein has an excellent series of books on how we got here. The line from Nixon to Reagan to the Bush Dynasty to Trump is unbroken.
The fact that it's possible to trace what led to Trump doesn't necessarily mean that was the desired outcome for voters - nor that most people want more of the same. Traditional conservatives are not against government in principle, but are concerned about government over-reach undermining the things they value - like the virtues of self-reliance and strong social institutions. I agree with you that this perspective has been lost for a while, but the experience of Covid-19 may help rediscover that and lead to some rebalancing of how you weigh up the costs and benefits of government.
It's obviously been less in the news this year, but the problems of climate change are only going to get worse over the next few years. Some of the symptoms that causes (like the electricity blackouts resulting from recent extreme heat events) can be addressed by the market system, but the cause of the crisis cannot. As long as costs of a transaction are not borne by either the producer or consumer, the market will be incapable of taking account of those costs. Only government is in a position to address that issue and I suspect there are more people that understand that now than there were this time last year, as a result of seeing a practical example of the limitations in what the market can do to respond to events in the real world.
I agree that this is likely to be a principled stand from someone who has always wanted to seek consensus across party lines - but that doesn't mean that he's not hoping to get something out of it. At 68, he's potentially got at least 1 more shot at running for President. At this point in time he wouldn't have a hope of doing that running against a Trump agenda, but that won't necessarily always be the case...
Obviously Kasich is getting something out of doing this, but I just don't think it's anything that helps him run for president. Can you see him running credibly for Republicans' votes in 2024? I can't, not after speaking at this convention.
I agree that if Trump loses, especially in a landslide, he will be memory-holed by Republicans. Heck, the same thing has more or less happened to W. Bush. And that was even before Trump came on the scene. And I don't even think it will take prosecutions against Trump to do this.
That being said, the extremism in the Republican base that Trump relied on to win the primary is unlikely to go away. The emphasis on divisive issues such as total immigration opposition, total opposition to the agenda of BLM, and a total demonization of Democrats just isn't likely to abate in the short term. So, I just don't see a path forward for Kasich to winning any kind of political office in the short term.
I agree that this is likely to be a principled stand from someone who has always wanted to seek consensus across party lines - but that doesn't mean that he's not hoping to get something out of it. At 68, he's potentially got at least 1 more shot at running for President. At this point in time he wouldn't have a hope of doing that running against a Trump agenda, but that won't necessarily always be the case...
Obviously Kasich is getting something out of doing this, but I just don't think it's anything that helps him run for president. Can you see him running credibly for Republicans' votes in 2024? I can't, not after speaking at this convention.
I agree that if Trump loses, especially in a landslide, he will be memory-holed by Republicans. Heck, the same thing has more or less happened to W. Bush. And that was even before Trump came on the scene. And I don't even think it will take prosecutions against Trump to do this.
That being said, the extremism in the Republican base that Trump relied on to win the primary is unlikely to go away. The emphasis on divisive issues such as total immigration opposition, total opposition to the agenda of BLM, and a total demonization of Democrats just isn't likely to abate in the short term. So, I just don't see a path forward for Kasich to winning any kind of political office in the short term.
I agree that Kasich doesnt look like someone who has a strong shot at the presidency anymore, but that doesnt mean his national profile isnt boosted by this event. If Trump gets crushed in 2020, I can see a credible path for Kasich to look at a Senate seat or something like it - especially if the GOP pulls a "Vichy Syndrome" and pretends they were all a "Never Trumper" movement from the get-go.
I dont think that Trump was completely inevitable, and I dont think the GOP will be able to ignore his legacy in the party entirely. At a minimum, the GOP has lost any meaningful chance to reach out to communities of color for another generation or two. In a worst case scenario, the Suburbs will stay Democratic for a generation, and Millennials (who have by and large recoiled from Trumpism) wont move back to the GOP for a number of election cycles.
I wouldnt be terribly surprised to see a political realignment in the not too distant future.
I agree that this is likely to be a principled stand from someone who has always wanted to seek consensus across party lines - but that doesn't mean that he's not hoping to get something out of it. At 68, he's potentially got at least 1 more shot at running for President. At this point in time he wouldn't have a hope of doing that running against a Trump agenda, but that won't necessarily always be the case...
Obviously Kasich is getting something out of doing this, but I just don't think it's anything that helps him run for president. Can you see him running credibly for Republicans' votes in 2024? I can't, not after speaking at this convention.
I agree that if Trump loses, especially in a landslide, he will be memory-holed by Republicans. Heck, the same thing has more or less happened to W. Bush. And that was even before Trump came on the scene. And I don't even think it will take prosecutions against Trump to do this.
That being said, the extremism in the Republican base that Trump relied on to win the primary is unlikely to go away. The emphasis on divisive issues such as total immigration opposition, total opposition to the agenda of BLM, and a total demonization of Democrats just isn't likely to abate in the short term. So, I just don't see a path forward for Kasich to winning any kind of political office in the short term.
I agree that Kasich doesnt look like someone who has a strong shot at the presidency anymore, but that doesnt mean his national profile isnt boosted by this event. If Trump gets crushed in 2020, I can see a credible path for Kasich to look at a Senate seat or something like it - especially if the GOP pulls a "Vichy Syndrome" and pretends they were all a "Never Trumper" movement from the get-go.
I dont think that Trump was completely inevitable, and I dont think the GOP will be able to ignore his legacy in the party entirely. At a minimum, the GOP has lost any meaningful chance to reach out to communities of color for another generation or two. In a worst case scenario, the Suburbs will stay Democratic for a generation, and Millennials (who have by and large recoiled from Trumpism) wont move back to the GOP for a number of election cycles.
I wouldnt be terribly surprised to see a political realignment in the not too distant future.
None of us can predict the future, but I still suspect Trump-esque rhetoric will succeed in Republican primaries in 2022 and 2024. The biggest sticking point being a near total opposition on immigration and anything to do with issues of ethnic minorities in the US. That, imo, really does seem like the vein where Trump realized he struck gold, and I think other ambitious members of the party took note as well.
Will the party change beyond those years? Yes, I absolutely believe so, especially if they get trounced in multiple elections. But alot of the environment that catapulted Trump to his primary victory in 2016 still remains. Foxnews, conservative social media spaces and talk radio are all essentially the same as they were, and that's where the activist base and a disproportionate number of primary voters get their information.
It is likely that a lot of Trump’s ideas will remain but a lot of people will have now been personally affected by his ineptness, negligence and lack of empathy, and maybe this will mean that some won’t vote similarly again.
In the U.K. this week there has been uproar about the use of an algorithm that was used to calculate school leavers grades in the absence of an exam. Its idea was to apply a formula based upon the students’ predicted grades and historic school grades but its implementation resulted in private school grades being inflated whilst bright children in historically poorly performing state schools were being significantly marked down. Kids at Eton were being further upgraded while kids from the local cash starved comprehensives had their dreams of being the first person in their family to ever attend uni crushed. All without taking an actual exam. Talk about levelling up the country, as Johnson promised to get elected.
In the press there have been stories of parents saying I voted for Brexit, Johnson is great blah blah but this is the first time the government have been wrong (erm hello, Covid?) and it’s hurt my child and I’m livid. Bit of a stretch for those people to start waving EU flags and protesting against the Tories but maybe it will bring some change in peoples’ minds. At least maybe they’ll see what the current government actually cares for them.
I agree that this is likely to be a principled stand from someone who has always wanted to seek consensus across party lines - but that doesn't mean that he's not hoping to get something out of it. At 68, he's potentially got at least 1 more shot at running for President. At this point in time he wouldn't have a hope of doing that running against a Trump agenda, but that won't necessarily always be the case...
Obviously Kasich is getting something out of doing this, but I just don't think it's anything that helps him run for president. Can you see him running credibly for Republicans' votes in 2024? I can't, not after speaking at this convention.
I agree that if Trump loses, especially in a landslide, he will be memory-holed by Republicans. Heck, the same thing has more or less happened to W. Bush. And that was even before Trump came on the scene. And I don't even think it will take prosecutions against Trump to do this.
That being said, the extremism in the Republican base that Trump relied on to win the primary is unlikely to go away. The emphasis on divisive issues such as total immigration opposition, total opposition to the agenda of BLM, and a total demonization of Democrats just isn't likely to abate in the short term. So, I just don't see a path forward for Kasich to winning any kind of political office in the short term.
A single year can be a long time in politics, never mind 4. It's only a matter of months since Biden looked to be out of touch and out of favor - and close to dropping out of the race. It only took some quite minor shifts and suddenly he became the moderate candidate that others could coalesce around. He was a particularly attractive option for that because of his name recognition and the availability of anti-Trump votes. However, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of a similar thing happening to the Republicans in 2024 - particularly if they lose the Senate in the meantime. I agree that Kasich wouldn't be likely to be the beneficiary of that sort of movement even if it were to happen. However, I think his appearance at the Democratic convention would have increased rather then reduced his limited chances.
The Republican Party does a very good job at shunning those who step out of line. Names like Amash and Romney are examples of this.
IMO, there needs to a large upheaval in the Republican Party to get people like these two and Kasich back to any sense of influence within the right’s spherical of thinking.
The only avenue I can see is Kasich playing the very long game and is looking to splinter the Republican Party in two and make it a three party race with this new party being more central claiming the Democratic Party is becoming too socialist centred ( debatable, even if it’s not) and the Republican Party becoming more totalitarian under Trump and his influencer’s guidance (debatable). That will be his legacy and what he actually gains from all this.
But I honestly think this is just a man sticking to his morals instead of his political affiliation and if he never holds any office ever again he will live with it. He will still be the poster boy of GOP never trumpers the media can call on when they are looking for one.
((I am also saying the Democratic Party isn’t any better. Joe Lieberman suffered pretty much the same fate after speaking at the Republican convention for McCain. The difference is Lieberman gambled and was biased as he was very good friends with McCain and was hinted at being the VP nomination at the time.))
The Republican Party does a very good job at shunning those who step out of line. Names like Amash and Romney are examples of this.
IMO, there needs to a large upheaval in the Republican Party to get people like these two and Kasich back to any sense of influence within the right’s spherical of thinking.
The only avenue I can see is Kasich playing the very long game and is looking to splinter the Republican Party in two and make it a three party race with this new party being more central claiming the Democratic Party is becoming too socialist centred ( debatable, even if it’s not) and the Republican Party becoming more totalitarian under Trump and his influencer’s guidance (debatable). That will be his legacy and what he actually gains from all this.
But I honestly think this is just a man sticking to his morals instead of his political affiliation and if he never holds any office ever again he will live with it. He will still be the poster boy of GOP never trumpers the media can call on when they are looking for one.
((I am also saying the Democratic Party isn’t any better. Joe Lieberman suffered pretty much the same fate after speaking at the Republican convention for McCain. The difference is Lieberman gambled and was biased as he was very good friends with McCain and was hinted at being the VP nomination at the time.))
Liberman was chased out of the party because he was a prolific, constant cheerleader for the Iraq War LONG after it was obvious the whole thing was going to hell in a handbasket. He spent the rest of his career as a health insurance industry stooge and attempted to torpedo the Affordable Care Act. Voting for the authorization based on the lies of the Bush Administration is one thing (fucking everyone but a few did that). Continuing to support it after the truth and consequences were revealed is quite another. Don't get me started on Joe Lieberman. There wasn't a problem from '03-'08 Liberman didn't think could be solved by surging troop levels.
Liberman was not ran out on rail because of his personal feelings about Barack Obama or John McCain. It was because he was one of the top 3 media cheerleaders for half a decade of a foreign policy catastrophe. And then, like I mentioned, he basically helped kill the public option out of spite. At least McCain's revenge against Trump SAVED people's healthcare. Lieberman's made the initial bill infinitely worse.
Well, now we know why Barr and Trump were attempting to place loyalists in the SDNY. Bannon arrested in $25 million dollar border wall funding scheme. Now BOTH of Trump's 2016 campaign managers are currently behind bars. And like the NRA case from a few weeks ago, this is about defrauding their own supporters:
I believe we discussed this project years ago when it came out. I think more than one person mentioned someone would go to jail over this. I don't think people realize just how deep the right-wing grift industry in this country is and how much money there is in scaring people into parting with their minimal income and running off with it. Indications are these folks left behind nothing but receipts.
Tip for these would-be criminals: if you are laundering money through a federally regulated bank, and you are BARELY (if at all) taking any steps to mask it, the bank is going to find out. And they are obligated to do something about it. If there are frequent transactions taking place for 10s if not 100s of thousands of dollars, those are not going unnoticed, especially if they fall outside a normal pattern of behavior. And if you're wondering why AMERICAN banks haven't been willing touch Trump with a ten-foot pole for more than a decade, well, this is part of the reason why.
There are daily limits on everything from point of sale purchases to ATM cash withdrawals for this very reason. It isn't to punish people and not give them full access to their funds. It's to prevent the bank from being used in criminal activity.
Edit: my absolute favorite tidbit about this case is that Steve Bannon, architect of the anti-China populist strategy, was arrested while on the yacht of a Chinese billionaire.
No one said someone was going to jail over this. Everyone did say it was a con job though and that the money was most likely not going to build the wall. It should also be noted, that at the time, Bannon and Co were no where near this campaign and only got their grubby little hands on it because of its success and their alleged access to Trump.
I'm glad prosecutors never forgot about this even if the rest of the world, including those who donated to it, did.
No one said someone was going to jail over this. Everyone did say it was a con job though and that the money was most likely not going to build the wall. It should also be noted, that at the time, Bannon and Co were no where near this campaign and only got their grubby little hands on it because of its success and their alleged access to Trump.
I'm glad prosecutors never forgot about this even if the rest of the world, including those who donated to it, did.
The reaction will be the same as when the NRA filing came down. It's excused as a political witchhunt despite what are likely incontrovertible financial paper trails. And despite their OWN MONEY being, essentially, stolen. The other big line you'll get is "what about the Clinton Foundation??". Yeah.....what about it?? The Clinton Foundation is an open book. You can go look at all their tax documents online this instant. They are available for public consumption.
This is what happens when there is no where to turn to defend something. You get this amorphous "both sides" nonsense, where an actual indictment is equated with an hypothetical liberal equivalent they are convinced exists, but have no actual evidence of other than saying "Clinton Foundation" as a buzzword.
I don't know exactly how one gets a good enough lawyer to walk on wire fraud and money laundering. No one is gonna bring this case unless it's open and shut. You show the jury where the money went in, where it cycled through, and where it eventually ended up. It's not a complicated picture to paint for a jury. You don't need a single witness, you just need transaction records.
No one said someone was going to jail over this. Everyone did say it was a con job though and that the money was most likely not going to build the wall. It should also be noted, that at the time, Bannon and Co were no where near this campaign and only got their grubby little hands on it because of its success and their alleged access to Trump.
I'm glad prosecutors never forgot about this even if the rest of the world, including those who donated to it, did.
The reaction will be the same as when the NRA filing came down. It's excused as a political witchhunt despite what are likely incontrovertible financial paper trails. And despite their OWN MONEY being, essentially, stolen. The other big line you'll get is "what about the Clinton Foundation??". Yeah.....what about it?? The Clinton Foundation is an open book. You can go look at all their tax documents online this instant. They are available for public consumption.
This is what happens when there is no where to turn to defend something. You get this amorphous "both sides" nonsense, where an actual indictment is equated with an hypothetical liberal equivalent they are convinced exists, but have no actual evidence of other than saying "Clinton Foundation" as a buzzword.
I don't know exactly how one gets a good enough lawyer to walk on wire fraud and money laundering. No one is gonna bring this case unless it's open and shut. You show the jury where the money went in, where it cycled through, and where it eventually ended up. It's not a complicated picture to paint for a jury. You don't need a single witness, you just need transaction records.
Only takes one Trump Kool-Aid drinker or Qanon true-believer to hang a jury. Just sayin'...
I have many thoughts about the convention, but the four most important ones are as follows:
1.) Obama's frankly chilling speech and the line "don't let them take your democracy away from you". Made even more prescient tonight as Trump's counter-programming was going on Hannity and threatening to send police to polling locations.
2.) Joe Biden is just so NOT what the Trump campaign is painting him as. He's as middle-America as it gets.
3.) The overarching theme of Biden's speech is simply that Trump has failed to protect the citizens of this country from a once in a century event. That's all that really needs to be hammered home.
4.) I'm struck after watching Biden speak fairly powerfully for 20 minutes that a major part of the Trump campaign strategy is based on the idea that he can't even string a sentence together. Never lower the expectations bar for your opponent to that level. That was one of Biden's best public performances by a mile.
As a side note, good for the kid who spoke with the stutter. People with what we would consider disabilities shouldn't have to hide themselves to make others more comfortable.
I saw this as well, a Never-Trump Republican, but this is 100% true:
All in all, this is where having the entertainment industry and artists on your side comes in QUITE handy. It wasn't perfect, but under the circumstances, these 4 nights were seamless and crafted as a narrative. It also spoke to the vast majority of people who have had THEIR lives altered in every way by COVID-19. It's very nature acknowledged the severity of the situation. I expect nothing but 8 hours of unbridled, feral rage next week, and no plan on the virus other than saying it came from China about 15 dozen times. We've seen whatever Trump's speech is gonna be innumerable times by now. What else does he have to say he hasn't said a 100 times in tweets??
God, Louis DeJoy is a pathetic witness. He's an obvious liar, and completely unprepared to boot. Once again, this Administration's best defense against their purposeful malfeasance is that they are actually just staggeringly incompetent, but, also as usual, it's a combination of both.
(Mike) Pence told CNN: “We think there is a miracle (for COVID) around the corner.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, the person in charge of the COVID response in the US is relying on faith to save us all.
Faith, I think, is also the wrong word, because faith is believing and committing to that belief. This is more like the story of the guy sitting on his roof during the flood to be saved by god instead of taking action himself.
I hope this ends soon. Not the coronavirus, but the Trump Presidency. It’s been a long 4 years watching this train wreck in slow motion.
(Mike) Pence told CNN: “We think there is a miracle (for COVID) around the corner.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, the person in charge of the COVID response in the US is relying on faith to save us all.
Faith, I think, is also the wrong word, because faith is believing and committing to that belief. This is more like the story of the guy sitting on his roof during the flood to be saved by god instead of taking action himself.
I hope this ends soon. Not the coronavirus, but the Trump Presidency. It’s been a long 4 years watching this train wreck in slow motion.
That is their response to Biden's line last night "no miracle is coming". To insist that there is. 35% will eat this up. We can only hope everyone else is awake. As for that story, here is the best dramatized version of it:
B - The author (Kevin R Kosar) is the VP of R Street Institute, a conservative and libertarian think tank.
The combination of A and B means we have a reasonable suspicion that his bias has crept into the piece, and maybe it shouldnt be accepted at face value.
Every postal worker reporters are talking to is saying overtime has been completely slashed (which would mean DeJoy perjured himself, but what else is new with these guys) and that the dismantling of the machines has materially effected their ability to deliver the mail. When Dejoy was asked to provide documents backing up his statements, he said he could not provide them, and would not commit to providing them:
Read the anecdotal accounts in this thread of people talking about their own carriers. DeJoy is full of shit about overtime. He lied. If he is lying about that, he can't be trusted on anything else. Who am I going to believe, a corporate stooge from XPO, or regular, on the ground workers who are disputing everything he says??
As for his expertise, his statement and edict that the trucks "leave on time" is the stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard. The most important thing is that the relevant mail is on the truck and that the mail gets delivered, not a schedule. When I worked in a warehouse trucks were NEVER (90% of the time) "on time". They were either hours early waiting for us to open, or sometimes as much as two or three days late (including ones from the company this guy used to run). I assure you, the most important thing was not the time they got there. The most important thing (the ONLY thing) was loading them and unloading them as quick as possible when they DID get there.
Of course, if you eliminate OT (which all workers are confirming), then yeah, you HAVE to go by the "schedule" to get people out before their 8 hours are up. Regardless of how many delays it causes. His own statements on the two issues are entirely at odds are prove that OT has been cut, because if it wasn't, the time the trucks leave the facility despite not being properly loaded wouldn't be an issue.
Lastly, and I'm by far the first one to say this, the Postal Service isn't meant to turn a profit. It is meant to facilitate commerce and communication in a massive country of over 300 million people. And despite problems that arise, it does a miraculous job at it. The bullshit I've seen from conservatives thrown at the Post Office the last few days reminds me of nothing so much as what gets thrown at teachers, and comes from places of pure ignorance. I'm convinced these people aren't interested in living in an actual society (and spare me the "Joker" memes) Listen to Rand Paul yesterday, arguing rural citizens should only get mail two days a week to save money. The only reason the Postal Service is in the situation it's in financially is because in 2006 they were forced by the Bush Administration to fund their pension plan 75 years in advance, which is absolutely absurd. Example infinity of conservative governance actively sabotaging a public good to prove it "doesn't work", and then attempting to privatize it to hand over to their donors.
They can try this with many things, but when they try it with the MOST popular things (Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, and now the Postal Service) it always backfires on them. Why?? Because most normal people do not view those things as partisan. They view them as bedrocks of their life. And once again, the backtracking we have seen is likely because Republican Senators are throwing a fit behind the scenes because alot of these actions would effect rural voters (aka mostly Republicans) the most. What reason do I have, a staunch Democratic partisan and Trump-hater, to go to bat for these people getting what they need in the mail?? And yet, here I am, doing it anyway. Just like with voting.
The evidence that the author cites is pretty pathetic.
The author claims that it's normal to have mailboxes removed because a lot of boxes were removed--over the course of a 5-year period and a 26-year period. Removing massive numbers of mailboxes is not something that happens over the course of weeks. He doesn't even address the mass removal of sorting machines.
The author says that DeJoy isn't a Trump stooge, but does nothing but deflect several reasons why he is: it doesn't matter that he has no direct experience because he has indirect experience (he was still installed because of his background as a GOP fundraiser); the last two postmasters general weren't very good (which the author doesn't substantiate); DeJoy was appointed by Trump appointees rather than Trump himself (having direct control over the folks who have direct control still means control); and the "Friday Night Massacre" didn't happen because some people were reassigned instead of outright fired and their replacements had non-zero experience in the field (reassigning people is a great way of removing dissidents because you can separate them from their positions of influence); and Trump blocking a move to temporarily increase the USPS's cash reserves "only" robbed it of 10-25 billion dollars (more than twice its current cash reserves). The rest of the rebuttals in the article are just "nah, that's not true."
What are we left with? An administration that's trying to remove sorting machines and mailboxes with no explanation, preventing the USPS from getting the money it needs to handle an influx of mail-in ballots, and a postmaster general that was appointed by Trump for his political loyalties who suddenly and inexplicably decided to rearrange power in the organization--all happening right before the next election, when Trump is predicted to lose badly and a lot of ballots are going to come in the mail--most of which are likely to come from Democratic and centrist voters and folks in urban areas because those are the folks which are most concerned about Covid and most likely to vote by mail.
The sabotage is not subtle. The author is just trying to minimize it by misinterpreting people's motives ("I'm sure the round of firings and mass removal of machines is just coincidence") and pointing out meaningless details ("Trump doesn't control DeJoy because Trump only controls the people who control DeJoy").
Maybe, if the apologist didn't want people to get up in arms about it, it would help if the President wasn't on a daily warpath against mail-in voting and going on state news (FOX) and declaring how he was going to do everything possible to prevent it (despite, you know, voting by mail himself).
If the President does such a thing (which we can all agree he has and is), and then you get images and worker testimonials from around the country coinciding with the narrative he is pushing, what the fuck are people SUPPOSED to think?? Even if there are innocent explanations for some of the moves, why would anyone believe that given the rhetoric coming from the White House??
To be honest, what Trump is doing may not be effective enough to ACTUALLY prevent enough ballots from getting in to defeat him. But what he IS doing (as simply one part of a larger narrative) is sowing the seeds for challenging an election where he isn't the winner. He is creating doubt. By design. The upcoming time period from November 3 to January 20 scares the shit out of me. Assuming Biden wins (again, no guarantee), Donald Trump is NOT going to call him with congratulations and concede. No way. Then what?? We have no idea. No one has even had to contemplate it before.
I figured I'd start a new dialogue considering the source of that article. I'm pretty sure the truth lies in between the two extremes but Trump himself has made this the issue that it's become with his idiotic tweets and statements. If I was a conspiracy theorist on either side, Trump would be fanning the flames. It's either psychotic or brilliant depending on the outcome...
Edit: I rather like Politico, seeing as it's an outlet where both sides can have their say...
I’m pretty sure the truth isn’t in the middle and this isn’t about two extremes - that guy seems pretty partisan and that line is classic Trump, “everyone’s bad” or at least everyone has their own “truth”. When actually, no Don, it’s actually pretty much mainly you and your associates that are bad. How many of Hillary’s campaign team are in prison or convicted? Or from Obama’s? But apparently they are as or more crooked than the guy who seems to attract and raise up jailbirds. Brexiters love to play this card too, to throw in that little seed of doubt that black isn’t black or white isn’t white, to stop people listening to actual experts that are 100% correct and people who have their interests at heart. Or in this case to the hundreds of people on the ground seeing what’s happening
I’m pretty sure the truth isn’t in the middle and this isn’t about two extremes - that guy seems pretty partisan and that line is classic Trump, “everyone’s bad” or at least everyone has their own “truth”. When actually, no Don, it’s actually pretty much mainly you and your associates that are bad. How many of Hillary’s campaign team are in prison or convicted? Or from Obama’s? But apparently they are as or more crooked than the guy who seems to attract and raise up jailbirds. Brexiters love to play this card too, to throw in that little seed of doubt that black isn’t black or white isn’t white, to stop people listening to actual experts that are 100% correct and people who have their interests at heart. Or in this case to the hundreds of people on the ground seeing what’s happening
Except in this case it is not at all clear that impeding the Postal Service helps Republicans at all and there is ample evidence that it might even hinder them due to their more rural base. This seems to me like Trump is just priming the conspiracy pump to see what happens. When you're behind, anything that causes chaos will be seen as beneficial...
I’m pretty sure the truth isn’t in the middle and this isn’t about two extremes - that guy seems pretty partisan and that line is classic Trump, “everyone’s bad” or at least everyone has their own “truth”. When actually, no Don, it’s actually pretty much mainly you and your associates that are bad. How many of Hillary’s campaign team are in prison or convicted? Or from Obama’s? But apparently they are as or more crooked than the guy who seems to attract and raise up jailbirds. Brexiters love to play this card too, to throw in that little seed of doubt that black isn’t black or white isn’t white, to stop people listening to actual experts that are 100% correct and people who have their interests at heart. Or in this case to the hundreds of people on the ground seeing what’s happening
Except in this case it is not at all clear that impeding the Postal Service helps Republicans at all and there is ample evidence that it might even hinder them due to their more rural base. This seems to me like Trump is just priming the conspiracy pump to see what happens. When you're behind, anything that causes chaos will be seen as beneficial...
I'm not expressing an opinion on the changes at USPS. However, if Trump is actively trying to impede postal voting, I don't think that would be aimed at improving his share of the votes cast. Rather, it would be used to support an attempt to delay the vote or to cast doubt on the results of the election if he believes he's not going to win ...
Comments
There is no such thing as Trumpism. It's simply the logical conclusion of the conservative project that started with Goldwater in 1964. Rick Pearlstein has an excellent series of books on how we got here. The line from Nixon to Reagan to the Bush Dynasty to Trump is unbroken.
And of course W. has been forgotten. That was half of Trump's appeal in the primary. Offering absolution for their support of the last unmitigated disaster. The Tea Party might as well have been called "Bush be Gone". But make no mistake, for those of age in 2000 and 2004, there is virtually NO difference between Bush 43 and Trump voters. The ONLY difference is the reactionary online element. These are the same voters, by and large. Only with COVID-19 did Trump become a BIGGER historical disaster than Bush, and anyone on the left rehabilitating him is out of their minds, or has a very short memory.
The facts are the facts. You hold the office, you own the consequences even if you insist you don't. And the last two Republican Presidents are responsible for DEEP recessions and hundreds of thousands of needless deaths. They have been given 12 years out of the 20 this century to prove they can even govern on the most basic level of competency and failed in spectacular fashion (and ushered in both times with minority rule no less).
Having Republican speakers at a convention to court votes is one thing, but don't go mistaking this for something that can be salvaged. There are plenty of problems with the Democrats that are too numerous to name, but the major problem this country has and why we are where we are is the 60 year Republican war on government itself. And we now have what they said they wanted. A government that has abdicated all responsibility, yet insists on holding onto power by any means necessary anyway.
To do what exactly?? Make sure another 150,000 people die?? Completely bungle the next inevitable crisis?? Keeping these people in power at this moment is like telling your kid it's fine to drink a liter of vodka before driving to school. If this level.of malfeasance doesn't get punished, what will??
Even the reasonably successful Presidencies of Clinton and Obama were operating fully under the paradigm shift that occurred under Reagan, and all the "left" can really hope for at this point is the equivalent of a Rockefeller Republican who isn't a complete disaster.
Now the country is going, “Oh shit! What did we do?” Well some, some knew he was a P T Barnum exhibit, but now one and all they are looking to fill the position with THE guy or girl who will fix it all. Does anyone seriously believe that one person can fix everything? One person can break it but is there any faith that one elected official can fix it? Of course not, no one is even hoping for that anymore we just want to stop the bleeding.
The system is broken and so are we. Why is it no politician dares to ask us to sacrifice for the greater good anymore? Seriously, raising taxes would bury most politicians. Why? Why is it that under even a popular president that seemed to actually care, the gap between the wealthy and the rest of us grew so much? Why are healthcare costs so high? Why? Why? Why? The questions are mind boggling. The sad fact is no politician has addressed the system and they won’t. You don’t rock the boat when you are sitting in it. That takes us, individuals, saying, “Okay wait. This doesn’t work for me. Get it done or get out.” That is how Trump happened but it was a gamble on a long shot. One and done, little sacrifice required. Least sacrifice for the most potential gain. Don’t fix the system, let him do it. To be honest no one expected they were inviting Jeffrey Dahmer to dinner when the voted, but...
They rolled the dice, bought the lottery ticket.
Wanna fix the shit show? Make an effort. Wanna make things better? Do something about it. You would not trust the cashier at your local convenience store to pay your bills, make your dinner, fix the sink would you? Well okay if you are married to that cashier sure, I get that. Somehow we let other people have way more control over us than that, city state and federal and don’t even bother to vet them anymore than what we see on a commercial or hear from an idiot over lunch.
The system is broken and we are crying over the person we put in to fix the system. We knew things were messed up, that is why so many took the gamble! It obviously did not work. Feel like that last might be a tad of an understatement. Once again however we are looking at the person/position and not the system.
One thing I am sure of is that our greatest power for now is the vote. Vote or we are part of the problem. Vote or keep quiet and let the people who care enough do the talking, in my opinion you have forfeited your right to comment.
Harsh views I know. I hold myself accountable as well, I am as guilty as anyone. Maybe it is all a part of growing up, I think it took me a long time to realize that I was up. Really strange too because I have so few rules.
Take responsibility for yourself.
Don’t do anything to hurt anyone else.
Give back.
That is it just those three. I thought I had them down for so long, now I know that I was just having a child’s tea party. Then you wake up one day and see that you’ve applied brutal honesty to yourself so much that it feels like you will break at times and you feel comfortable with yourself finally, but you’ve ignored the world. That is when the truth of those three rules hit me. It isn’t their fault, it is ours. Mine.
The fact that it's possible to trace what led to Trump doesn't necessarily mean that was the desired outcome for voters - nor that most people want more of the same. Traditional conservatives are not against government in principle, but are concerned about government over-reach undermining the things they value - like the virtues of self-reliance and strong social institutions. I agree with you that this perspective has been lost for a while, but the experience of Covid-19 may help rediscover that and lead to some rebalancing of how you weigh up the costs and benefits of government.
It's obviously been less in the news this year, but the problems of climate change are only going to get worse over the next few years. Some of the symptoms that causes (like the electricity blackouts resulting from recent extreme heat events) can be addressed by the market system, but the cause of the crisis cannot. As long as costs of a transaction are not borne by either the producer or consumer, the market will be incapable of taking account of those costs. Only government is in a position to address that issue and I suspect there are more people that understand that now than there were this time last year, as a result of seeing a practical example of the limitations in what the market can do to respond to events in the real world.
Obviously Kasich is getting something out of doing this, but I just don't think it's anything that helps him run for president. Can you see him running credibly for Republicans' votes in 2024? I can't, not after speaking at this convention.
I agree that if Trump loses, especially in a landslide, he will be memory-holed by Republicans. Heck, the same thing has more or less happened to W. Bush. And that was even before Trump came on the scene. And I don't even think it will take prosecutions against Trump to do this.
That being said, the extremism in the Republican base that Trump relied on to win the primary is unlikely to go away. The emphasis on divisive issues such as total immigration opposition, total opposition to the agenda of BLM, and a total demonization of Democrats just isn't likely to abate in the short term. So, I just don't see a path forward for Kasich to winning any kind of political office in the short term.
I agree that Kasich doesnt look like someone who has a strong shot at the presidency anymore, but that doesnt mean his national profile isnt boosted by this event. If Trump gets crushed in 2020, I can see a credible path for Kasich to look at a Senate seat or something like it - especially if the GOP pulls a "Vichy Syndrome" and pretends they were all a "Never Trumper" movement from the get-go.
I dont think that Trump was completely inevitable, and I dont think the GOP will be able to ignore his legacy in the party entirely. At a minimum, the GOP has lost any meaningful chance to reach out to communities of color for another generation or two. In a worst case scenario, the Suburbs will stay Democratic for a generation, and Millennials (who have by and large recoiled from Trumpism) wont move back to the GOP for a number of election cycles.
I wouldnt be terribly surprised to see a political realignment in the not too distant future.
None of us can predict the future, but I still suspect Trump-esque rhetoric will succeed in Republican primaries in 2022 and 2024. The biggest sticking point being a near total opposition on immigration and anything to do with issues of ethnic minorities in the US. That, imo, really does seem like the vein where Trump realized he struck gold, and I think other ambitious members of the party took note as well.
Will the party change beyond those years? Yes, I absolutely believe so, especially if they get trounced in multiple elections. But alot of the environment that catapulted Trump to his primary victory in 2016 still remains. Foxnews, conservative social media spaces and talk radio are all essentially the same as they were, and that's where the activist base and a disproportionate number of primary voters get their information.
In the U.K. this week there has been uproar about the use of an algorithm that was used to calculate school leavers grades in the absence of an exam. Its idea was to apply a formula based upon the students’ predicted grades and historic school grades but its implementation resulted in private school grades being inflated whilst bright children in historically poorly performing state schools were being significantly marked down. Kids at Eton were being further upgraded while kids from the local cash starved comprehensives had their dreams of being the first person in their family to ever attend uni crushed. All without taking an actual exam. Talk about levelling up the country, as Johnson promised to get elected.
In the press there have been stories of parents saying I voted for Brexit, Johnson is great blah blah but this is the first time the government have been wrong (erm hello, Covid?) and it’s hurt my child and I’m livid. Bit of a stretch for those people to start waving EU flags and protesting against the Tories but maybe it will bring some change in peoples’ minds. At least maybe they’ll see what the current government actually cares for them.
A single year can be a long time in politics, never mind 4. It's only a matter of months since Biden looked to be out of touch and out of favor - and close to dropping out of the race. It only took some quite minor shifts and suddenly he became the moderate candidate that others could coalesce around. He was a particularly attractive option for that because of his name recognition and the availability of anti-Trump votes. However, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of a similar thing happening to the Republicans in 2024 - particularly if they lose the Senate in the meantime. I agree that Kasich wouldn't be likely to be the beneficiary of that sort of movement even if it were to happen. However, I think his appearance at the Democratic convention would have increased rather then reduced his limited chances.
IMO, there needs to a large upheaval in the Republican Party to get people like these two and Kasich back to any sense of influence within the right’s spherical of thinking.
The only avenue I can see is Kasich playing the very long game and is looking to splinter the Republican Party in two and make it a three party race with this new party being more central claiming the Democratic Party is becoming too socialist centred ( debatable, even if it’s not) and the Republican Party becoming more totalitarian under Trump and his influencer’s guidance (debatable). That will be his legacy and what he actually gains from all this.
But I honestly think this is just a man sticking to his morals instead of his political affiliation and if he never holds any office ever again he will live with it. He will still be the poster boy of GOP never trumpers the media can call on when they are looking for one.
((I am also saying the Democratic Party isn’t any better. Joe Lieberman suffered pretty much the same fate after speaking at the Republican convention for McCain. The difference is Lieberman gambled and was biased as he was very good friends with McCain and was hinted at being the VP nomination at the time.))
Liberman was chased out of the party because he was a prolific, constant cheerleader for the Iraq War LONG after it was obvious the whole thing was going to hell in a handbasket. He spent the rest of his career as a health insurance industry stooge and attempted to torpedo the Affordable Care Act. Voting for the authorization based on the lies of the Bush Administration is one thing (fucking everyone but a few did that). Continuing to support it after the truth and consequences were revealed is quite another. Don't get me started on Joe Lieberman. There wasn't a problem from '03-'08 Liberman didn't think could be solved by surging troop levels.
Liberman was not ran out on rail because of his personal feelings about Barack Obama or John McCain. It was because he was one of the top 3 media cheerleaders for half a decade of a foreign policy catastrophe. And then, like I mentioned, he basically helped kill the public option out of spite. At least McCain's revenge against Trump SAVED people's healthcare. Lieberman's made the initial bill infinitely worse.
I believe we discussed this project years ago when it came out. I think more than one person mentioned someone would go to jail over this. I don't think people realize just how deep the right-wing grift industry in this country is and how much money there is in scaring people into parting with their minimal income and running off with it. Indications are these folks left behind nothing but receipts.
Tip for these would-be criminals: if you are laundering money through a federally regulated bank, and you are BARELY (if at all) taking any steps to mask it, the bank is going to find out. And they are obligated to do something about it. If there are frequent transactions taking place for 10s if not 100s of thousands of dollars, those are not going unnoticed, especially if they fall outside a normal pattern of behavior. And if you're wondering why AMERICAN banks haven't been willing touch Trump with a ten-foot pole for more than a decade, well, this is part of the reason why.
There are daily limits on everything from point of sale purchases to ATM cash withdrawals for this very reason. It isn't to punish people and not give them full access to their funds. It's to prevent the bank from being used in criminal activity.
Edit: my absolute favorite tidbit about this case is that Steve Bannon, architect of the anti-China populist strategy, was arrested while on the yacht of a Chinese billionaire.
No one said someone was going to jail over this. Everyone did say it was a con job though and that the money was most likely not going to build the wall. It should also be noted, that at the time, Bannon and Co were no where near this campaign and only got their grubby little hands on it because of its success and their alleged access to Trump.
I'm glad prosecutors never forgot about this even if the rest of the world, including those who donated to it, did.
The reaction will be the same as when the NRA filing came down. It's excused as a political witchhunt despite what are likely incontrovertible financial paper trails. And despite their OWN MONEY being, essentially, stolen. The other big line you'll get is "what about the Clinton Foundation??". Yeah.....what about it?? The Clinton Foundation is an open book. You can go look at all their tax documents online this instant. They are available for public consumption.
This is what happens when there is no where to turn to defend something. You get this amorphous "both sides" nonsense, where an actual indictment is equated with an hypothetical liberal equivalent they are convinced exists, but have no actual evidence of other than saying "Clinton Foundation" as a buzzword.
I don't know exactly how one gets a good enough lawyer to walk on wire fraud and money laundering. No one is gonna bring this case unless it's open and shut. You show the jury where the money went in, where it cycled through, and where it eventually ended up. It's not a complicated picture to paint for a jury. You don't need a single witness, you just need transaction records.
Only takes one Trump Kool-Aid drinker or Qanon true-believer to hang a jury. Just sayin'...
1.) Obama's frankly chilling speech and the line "don't let them take your democracy away from you". Made even more prescient tonight as Trump's counter-programming was going on Hannity and threatening to send police to polling locations.
2.) Joe Biden is just so NOT what the Trump campaign is painting him as. He's as middle-America as it gets.
3.) The overarching theme of Biden's speech is simply that Trump has failed to protect the citizens of this country from a once in a century event. That's all that really needs to be hammered home.
4.) I'm struck after watching Biden speak fairly powerfully for 20 minutes that a major part of the Trump campaign strategy is based on the idea that he can't even string a sentence together. Never lower the expectations bar for your opponent to that level. That was one of Biden's best public performances by a mile.
As a side note, good for the kid who spoke with the stutter. People with what we would consider disabilities shouldn't have to hide themselves to make others more comfortable.
I saw this as well, a Never-Trump Republican, but this is 100% true:
All in all, this is where having the entertainment industry and artists on your side comes in QUITE handy. It wasn't perfect, but under the circumstances, these 4 nights were seamless and crafted as a narrative. It also spoke to the vast majority of people who have had THEIR lives altered in every way by COVID-19. It's very nature acknowledged the severity of the situation. I expect nothing but 8 hours of unbridled, feral rage next week, and no plan on the virus other than saying it came from China about 15 dozen times. We've seen whatever Trump's speech is gonna be innumerable times by now. What else does he have to say he hasn't said a 100 times in tweets??
The game is real it's not just up for sale in the steamstore. We play it everyday whether we want to or not for free.
I agree with you, even Kanye agrees though he was late in Wisconsin.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the person in charge of the COVID response in the US is relying on faith to save us all.
Faith, I think, is also the wrong word, because faith is believing and committing to that belief. This is more like the story of the guy sitting on his roof during the flood to be saved by god instead of taking action himself.
I hope this ends soon. Not the coronavirus, but the Trump Presidency. It’s been a long 4 years watching this train wreck in slow motion.
That is their response to Biden's line last night "no miracle is coming". To insist that there is. 35% will eat this up. We can only hope everyone else is awake. As for that story, here is the best dramatized version of it:
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/20/5-myths-about-the-postal-crisis-399584
Two things
A - It's an opinion piece.
B - The author (Kevin R Kosar) is the VP of R Street Institute, a conservative and libertarian think tank.
The combination of A and B means we have a reasonable suspicion that his bias has crept into the piece, and maybe it shouldnt be accepted at face value.
Read the anecdotal accounts in this thread of people talking about their own carriers. DeJoy is full of shit about overtime. He lied. If he is lying about that, he can't be trusted on anything else. Who am I going to believe, a corporate stooge from XPO, or regular, on the ground workers who are disputing everything he says??
As for his expertise, his statement and edict that the trucks "leave on time" is the stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard. The most important thing is that the relevant mail is on the truck and that the mail gets delivered, not a schedule. When I worked in a warehouse trucks were NEVER (90% of the time) "on time". They were either hours early waiting for us to open, or sometimes as much as two or three days late (including ones from the company this guy used to run). I assure you, the most important thing was not the time they got there. The most important thing (the ONLY thing) was loading them and unloading them as quick as possible when they DID get there.
Of course, if you eliminate OT (which all workers are confirming), then yeah, you HAVE to go by the "schedule" to get people out before their 8 hours are up. Regardless of how many delays it causes. His own statements on the two issues are entirely at odds are prove that OT has been cut, because if it wasn't, the time the trucks leave the facility despite not being properly loaded wouldn't be an issue.
Lastly, and I'm by far the first one to say this, the Postal Service isn't meant to turn a profit. It is meant to facilitate commerce and communication in a massive country of over 300 million people. And despite problems that arise, it does a miraculous job at it. The bullshit I've seen from conservatives thrown at the Post Office the last few days reminds me of nothing so much as what gets thrown at teachers, and comes from places of pure ignorance. I'm convinced these people aren't interested in living in an actual society (and spare me the "Joker" memes) Listen to Rand Paul yesterday, arguing rural citizens should only get mail two days a week to save money. The only reason the Postal Service is in the situation it's in financially is because in 2006 they were forced by the Bush Administration to fund their pension plan 75 years in advance, which is absolutely absurd. Example infinity of conservative governance actively sabotaging a public good to prove it "doesn't work", and then attempting to privatize it to hand over to their donors.
They can try this with many things, but when they try it with the MOST popular things (Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, and now the Postal Service) it always backfires on them. Why?? Because most normal people do not view those things as partisan. They view them as bedrocks of their life. And once again, the backtracking we have seen is likely because Republican Senators are throwing a fit behind the scenes because alot of these actions would effect rural voters (aka mostly Republicans) the most. What reason do I have, a staunch Democratic partisan and Trump-hater, to go to bat for these people getting what they need in the mail?? And yet, here I am, doing it anyway. Just like with voting.
The author claims that it's normal to have mailboxes removed because a lot of boxes were removed--over the course of a 5-year period and a 26-year period. Removing massive numbers of mailboxes is not something that happens over the course of weeks. He doesn't even address the mass removal of sorting machines.
The author says that DeJoy isn't a Trump stooge, but does nothing but deflect several reasons why he is: it doesn't matter that he has no direct experience because he has indirect experience (he was still installed because of his background as a GOP fundraiser); the last two postmasters general weren't very good (which the author doesn't substantiate); DeJoy was appointed by Trump appointees rather than Trump himself (having direct control over the folks who have direct control still means control); and the "Friday Night Massacre" didn't happen because some people were reassigned instead of outright fired and their replacements had non-zero experience in the field (reassigning people is a great way of removing dissidents because you can separate them from their positions of influence); and Trump blocking a move to temporarily increase the USPS's cash reserves "only" robbed it of 10-25 billion dollars (more than twice its current cash reserves). The rest of the rebuttals in the article are just "nah, that's not true."
What are we left with? An administration that's trying to remove sorting machines and mailboxes with no explanation, preventing the USPS from getting the money it needs to handle an influx of mail-in ballots, and a postmaster general that was appointed by Trump for his political loyalties who suddenly and inexplicably decided to rearrange power in the organization--all happening right before the next election, when Trump is predicted to lose badly and a lot of ballots are going to come in the mail--most of which are likely to come from Democratic and centrist voters and folks in urban areas because those are the folks which are most concerned about Covid and most likely to vote by mail.
The sabotage is not subtle. The author is just trying to minimize it by misinterpreting people's motives ("I'm sure the round of firings and mass removal of machines is just coincidence") and pointing out meaningless details ("Trump doesn't control DeJoy because Trump only controls the people who control DeJoy").
If the President does such a thing (which we can all agree he has and is), and then you get images and worker testimonials from around the country coinciding with the narrative he is pushing, what the fuck are people SUPPOSED to think?? Even if there are innocent explanations for some of the moves, why would anyone believe that given the rhetoric coming from the White House??
To be honest, what Trump is doing may not be effective enough to ACTUALLY prevent enough ballots from getting in to defeat him. But what he IS doing (as simply one part of a larger narrative) is sowing the seeds for challenging an election where he isn't the winner. He is creating doubt. By design. The upcoming time period from November 3 to January 20 scares the shit out of me. Assuming Biden wins (again, no guarantee), Donald Trump is NOT going to call him with congratulations and concede. No way. Then what?? We have no idea. No one has even had to contemplate it before.
Edit: I rather like Politico, seeing as it's an outlet where both sides can have their say...
Except in this case it is not at all clear that impeding the Postal Service helps Republicans at all and there is ample evidence that it might even hinder them due to their more rural base. This seems to me like Trump is just priming the conspiracy pump to see what happens. When you're behind, anything that causes chaos will be seen as beneficial...
I'm not expressing an opinion on the changes at USPS. However, if Trump is actively trying to impede postal voting, I don't think that would be aimed at improving his share of the votes cast. Rather, it would be used to support an attempt to delay the vote or to cast doubt on the results of the election if he believes he's not going to win ...