Opinion seems to be divided whether we should applaud or be alarmed by the Supreme Court’s narrow 5-4 ruling on today’s Trump’s sentencing. It’s fair to worry that there are four justices who will basically give Trump an absolute Get Out of Any Jail Card.
I'm sorry I don't get to see you on The Bulwark on a daily basis anymore (The Miller kid is doing a good job filling in for you.) so I enjoy your thoughtfulness where and when I can. My wife and I have a little game: we like to think about finding ourselves sitting next to one of our favorite public intellectuals on a cross-country train trip. Your name always comes up for me, along with that pesky Neil DeGrasse Tyson who keeps trying to grab your seat!!
Your attitude (and all that dog love) has made you a go-to guy for truth and justice.
I'm for taking the win on this one. I'm one of the worst people for recognizing that symbolic gestures need to be made, so that god for staff who always said "we need to do an awards ceremony to recognize so and so for thus and such" because this need always slipped my attention. But as so many have made clear to me over the years, symbolism IS important. Branding Trump a felon is important as a symbol even without punishment, and I salute Judge Merchan for finding a way to make that happen. And for once saluting ACB.
Hang all the sins of Trump and maga around the neck of Joe biden and send him off in the wilderness of the desert to live with all the other scapegoats.
Joe biden had one job? To save us all from maga forever? Not fix the supply chains, or battle the pandemic, or strengthen nato, or aid Ukraine, or deliver on infrastructure week, etc.?
It was solely up to him and no one else? It was not also up to democrats in congress and state governments, and the legal system, and the media, and Republicans in office, and the rnc that brought us the most vile candidate ever, and the voters themselves who saw how awful he is or believed the irrational and voted for him anyway?
If you think it was up to one person to save us from maga, we were already doomed.
Tom Nichols wrote a column some time ago saying that if 45 % of us want fascism we will get fascism at some point. Here it is. And this atlantic column is not helpful as it fits in nicely with the democrats who won't stop clutching their pearls while looking for somewhere to pin the blame.
The blame belongs to the voters first and foremost. It should be a no brainer to not pull the lever for a felon, rapist, seditionist. Next the blame falls on the republican party for not vetting candidates and allowing itself to be taken over by a fascist movement. And add the church to the rnc who traded salvation for power and influence in an unholy alliance with a political party. The media for not exposing fully his unfitness. And then somewhere down the list, Joe biden.
The voters did their job and bought into the argument that our Felon In Chief was the better choice for their pocketbooks.
So to blame them is like cutting off your nose to spite your face.
I suspect that Trump will fall out of grace as soon as the wheels start coming off the bus and he is unable to blame enough people to get out from under the weight of his poor decisions. His Cabinet will likely become a rapidly revolving door as people come and go because they will be the ones to take the bulk of the blame for the coming f**k ups.
I agree with your assessment of Biden’s failures. Looking back now, the disconnect is so clear. You can’t run for President, on a saving democracy platform, and then govern as if you’ve accomplished that, just by being elected. When the time arrived, to step aside, Biden didn’t. I think the headwinds of a Trump win in 2024 were too strong, but only giving Kamala 100 days to run a campaign was a travesty. And now, he just quietly goes into the night.
Bonus good news. He may not be able to travel to Canada legally unless they become the 51st state.
"Any U.S Citizen or permanent resident that has a felony conviction on their criminal record may be deemed inadmissible to Canada for the purposes of immigrating, or even if they’re merely coming to Canada to visit.
In some cases, individuals with felony convictions may never be granted access to immigrate or visit Canada, and risk being denied entry to the country even decades post-conviction. Canadian immigration officers have full access to all the criminal record databases in the United States, so anyone who has been convicted of a felony would likely be stopped on their way into Canada. Those with more recent offenses on record, or who are in the process of serving a sentence, would likely encounter greater issues when attempting to enter"
Sorry you feel as you do about Biden. I think perhaps you need to review his accomplishments for one term a little closer. Perhaps he didn't meet whatever your expectations were, I don't know, but I along with many others believe Biden did one hell of a job...a job few would have tackled and even fewer who could equal his accomplishments. The other more important thing is, that for 4 years Americans could relax a bit knowing our country and the US was going to be safe for at least the next day....starting Jan 22nd, I won't be able to sleep wondering if we will have a democratic country the next day...if everything I worked so hard for and sacrificed for in our country will be there.
Dunno, but I thought that Biden's prime directives were: 1) Beat Trump; 2) Return normalcy to the White House; and 3) Do positive things for the American people. He accomplished #1 decisively, had 4 full years of #2, and successfully achieved #3.
Failure to permanently destroy Trump and MAGA is unfortunate, but to lay it totally on Biden's shoulders is unfair. Many are to blame, most of all Mitch McConnell and Republicans when they had the foolproof opportunity in early 2021 and many chances since. Also sharing responsibility for Trump's rebirth are mainstream media outlets, "Genocide Joe" progressives, Biden's inner circle, billionaires, Netanyahu, Putin, liberal elites, big corp, uninformed voters and many more. Even Never-Trumpers share some blame for never touting the many accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration (notable exception: Jonathan Last).
I believe that history will judge Biden's legacy quite positively and for good reason. For allowing Trump 2.0, we all are to blame and share in that failure.
Thank you Bonnie. As much as I like, admire and respect Charlie and his former colleagues at The Bulwark, and admire and respect Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger and others for their principled stands while putting their very careers and lives on the line, all except JVL have avoided recognizing the good the current administration has done and how good we have it now. And to varying degrees, they sometimes even crucify Biden and the current administration. This feeds MAGA and harms the resistance. I don't expect traditional conservatives and moderates to adopt progressive causes, but we all should be shouting the facts of where we stand now from the rooftops rather than grumbling about the current administration's failures.
I was so angry when I first read Charlie’s post that I almost cancelled my subscription. Fortunately I went on to read all the comments - and stayed up much later than I should have - and discovered that many agree with you and me. Yours was one of the first comments I read. It made me feel much better and I thank you for that. P. S. JVL is the son-in-law of one of my best friends and is truly a wonderful person.
Yeah I totally get all that. The same dynamic is going on at The Bulwark too, but I just renewed my subscription there, in large part due to JVL. We all are on the same team, after all. P.S. very cool about your connection and no surprise that he truly is a wonderful person.
I agree with what you are saying in that there are many reasons why Democrats performed poorly during the 2024 elections. But the buck ultimately stops with Joe Biden, being that he is the Commander and Chief, President, and titular head of the Democratic Party.
While President Biden unquestionably has many small policy accomplishments that amount to something big when all added together, his overall vision was far too small for the times.
President Biden and Democrats frequently talk about how great the American economy is doing, seemingly oblivious to the fact that millions of Americans don’t see it that way. When people can’t pay their bills because of inflation, they generally don’t care how fast the economy is growing or even how low the unemployment rate is.
When inflation skyrocketed in 2022, Democrats should have proposed and fought for something radical like a single-payer health care system for any American who wants government coverage.
This would have told the American people that Democrats are serious about saving them money because heath care, along with housing, is what Americans usually spend the most money on every month. And they are expenditures the federal government can legitimately help bring down the cost of, unlike grocery prices and other goods and services that Americans spend money on.
Too many Democrats also did not take the threat that Trump poses to our freedoms and democracy seriously enough and still don’t, for that matter. President Biden and many Democrats have a very mixed record on this issue. Even progressive like Ro Khanna and Bernie Sanders fit into this category.
Khanna said a few weeks ago that he wants to work with Trump to implement a single-payer heath care system. Yea, I’m sure that Trump will jump at that opportunity.
Sanders said a few days ago that he agrees with Trump’s basket case Director of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard on a number of issue and may vote to confirm her. I would love to know what issues he agree with her on. That deposed murderous Syrian dictator Assad is a swell guy? That Ukraine is responsible for Putin’s genocidal rampage?
The point is that President Biden and many Democrats sent mixed messages on this issue throughout Joe Biden’s Presidency and still continue to do so. More later.
David, I completely agree with you about the culpability of many Democrats. In fact, I would suggest that few if any are blameless for the reason you state: not taking the threat Trump poses seriously enough. Maybe the party is not as culpable as Republicans who actually rebuilt the monster, but certainly culpable at least by omission.
That reinforces my main point: while Biden was the leader of the free world and titular head of the party, his legacy should not be defined by Trump regaining power. The main fault still lies with Republicans and is shared by all of us.
Biden's role in Trump regaining power is a failure, but does not define his presidency. Not to minimize the real difficulties some families face (especially with housing costs as you point out), the fact remains that almost all people in all classes are better off than four years ago. Mall lots were filled every day last month. The last four years brought record numbers of luxury purchases such as boats, personal electronics and travel. More people have health care coverage. Job growth continues to be amazing. Real wages are increasing especially for the working class. Other than costs being higher (again not minimizing this hardship for many), almost everyone is way better off than four years ago and even five years ago pre-pandemic. On the international front, our alliances are stronger than ever as is our influence in the world.
Could things be better? Of course. But a major reason I have been touting the many positive aspects of Biden's presidency in recent weeks is to remind us of the baseline the incoming administration inherits. We need to acknowledge and remember those facts in order to fairly judge MAGA's actions and results in the next four years. Trump already is claiming some of Biden's accomplishments just as claimed Obama's economy in 2017. Trump, of course, always blames others for his failures and claims the successes of others as his own. That is one reason why I bristle when Biden's legacy is described as a failure because it not only wrongly describes his presidency, it sets a falsely low bar to judge what happens next.
NBC is 100% wrong about SCOTUS. The 5-4 decision reveals nothing new, except maybe that two of the six extremist right-wing members weren't ready (yet) to get rid of trial by jury.
It looks like Pete was always an old soul. Beautiful, sweet pictures.
The Coming of a Coup D’état - America First and then the World will Follow !
In the depths of the night, where the whispers grow loud,
A storm brews beneath the political cloud.
Project 2025, a vision so grand,
Crafted by elites with a treacherous hand.
Trump’s second term, a herald of might,
A billionaire’s dream, an unholy sight.
He aligns with the powerful, the corporate elite,
Foes of the people, whom they secretly greet.
But the people’s resolve is a force to behold,
Their passion and fury, a fire uncontrolled.
They rise with a purpose, their voices will roar,
They’ll take back the system, and settle the score.
In the streets of the cities, the call will ring clear,
The people united, casting off fear.
With the military loyal, the fight is begun,
A global revolt, like a rising sun.
The CEOs tremble, their power will wane,
Their empires crumbling, washed down the drain.
No longer the masters, no longer the kings,
Their wealth and their assets will be taken by wings.
For crimes of oppression, for tyranny’s lies,
They’ll answer in court, where no truth denies.
Politicians who aided, who fed at the trough,
Will find themselves shackled, their wealth washed off.
The revolution’s tide, it will not be contained,
From America’s heart, to the world unchained.
A coup d’état born of justice and fate,
The end of the era, of the corporate state.
Their downfall will echo in history’s pages,
As humanity rises from the cages.
The people will stand, the soldiers at their side,
For liberty’s banner, they’ll fight and they’ll guide.
Trump’s plan will falter, his power will break,
And justice for all, we shall soon undertake.
So watch as the world shifts, and the powerful fall,
For the people will rise and answer the call.
GQ
"Donald Trump is a convicted felon" But on the bright side of life there is now a much greater career upside to being a felon. So there is that.
Also maybe some not so friends. . .
Where can I find that mug?! I want to get one for all my good friends!
I'm sorry I don't get to see you on The Bulwark on a daily basis anymore (The Miller kid is doing a good job filling in for you.) so I enjoy your thoughtfulness where and when I can. My wife and I have a little game: we like to think about finding ourselves sitting next to one of our favorite public intellectuals on a cross-country train trip. Your name always comes up for me, along with that pesky Neil DeGrasse Tyson who keeps trying to grab your seat!!
Your attitude (and all that dog love) has made you a go-to guy for truth and justice.
Thanks for critically thinking in public.
Richard.
What do you think about President Biden releasing the full Special Prosecutor's reports directly. The Supreme Court said he can do anything.
I go into why I think this can and should be done at https://liberalandlovingit.substack.com/p/mr-president-you-can-release-jack
Amazing actions and comments in our country at this time!
Level of importance is nil when we take in the CA/LA problems.
Trump is an embarrassment and not on my priority list at the moment!
Neither is Musk!
I'm for taking the win on this one. I'm one of the worst people for recognizing that symbolic gestures need to be made, so that god for staff who always said "we need to do an awards ceremony to recognize so and so for thus and such" because this need always slipped my attention. But as so many have made clear to me over the years, symbolism IS important. Branding Trump a felon is important as a symbol even without punishment, and I salute Judge Merchan for finding a way to make that happen. And for once saluting ACB.
Hang all the sins of Trump and maga around the neck of Joe biden and send him off in the wilderness of the desert to live with all the other scapegoats.
Joe biden had one job? To save us all from maga forever? Not fix the supply chains, or battle the pandemic, or strengthen nato, or aid Ukraine, or deliver on infrastructure week, etc.?
It was solely up to him and no one else? It was not also up to democrats in congress and state governments, and the legal system, and the media, and Republicans in office, and the rnc that brought us the most vile candidate ever, and the voters themselves who saw how awful he is or believed the irrational and voted for him anyway?
If you think it was up to one person to save us from maga, we were already doomed.
Tom Nichols wrote a column some time ago saying that if 45 % of us want fascism we will get fascism at some point. Here it is. And this atlantic column is not helpful as it fits in nicely with the democrats who won't stop clutching their pearls while looking for somewhere to pin the blame.
The blame belongs to the voters first and foremost. It should be a no brainer to not pull the lever for a felon, rapist, seditionist. Next the blame falls on the republican party for not vetting candidates and allowing itself to be taken over by a fascist movement. And add the church to the rnc who traded salvation for power and influence in an unholy alliance with a political party. The media for not exposing fully his unfitness. And then somewhere down the list, Joe biden.
The voters did their job and bought into the argument that our Felon In Chief was the better choice for their pocketbooks.
So to blame them is like cutting off your nose to spite your face.
I suspect that Trump will fall out of grace as soon as the wheels start coming off the bus and he is unable to blame enough people to get out from under the weight of his poor decisions. His Cabinet will likely become a rapidly revolving door as people come and go because they will be the ones to take the bulk of the blame for the coming f**k ups.
I agree with your assessment of Biden’s failures. Looking back now, the disconnect is so clear. You can’t run for President, on a saving democracy platform, and then govern as if you’ve accomplished that, just by being elected. When the time arrived, to step aside, Biden didn’t. I think the headwinds of a Trump win in 2024 were too strong, but only giving Kamala 100 days to run a campaign was a travesty. And now, he just quietly goes into the night.
Bonus good news. He may not be able to travel to Canada legally unless they become the 51st state.
"Any U.S Citizen or permanent resident that has a felony conviction on their criminal record may be deemed inadmissible to Canada for the purposes of immigrating, or even if they’re merely coming to Canada to visit.
In some cases, individuals with felony convictions may never be granted access to immigrate or visit Canada, and risk being denied entry to the country even decades post-conviction. Canadian immigration officers have full access to all the criminal record databases in the United States, so anyone who has been convicted of a felony would likely be stopped on their way into Canada. Those with more recent offenses on record, or who are in the process of serving a sentence, would likely encounter greater issues when attempting to enter"
Will Canada REFUSE to let Felon Trump in?
Have my fingers crossed . . .
I guarantee some MPs bring it up.
Sorry you feel as you do about Biden. I think perhaps you need to review his accomplishments for one term a little closer. Perhaps he didn't meet whatever your expectations were, I don't know, but I along with many others believe Biden did one hell of a job...a job few would have tackled and even fewer who could equal his accomplishments. The other more important thing is, that for 4 years Americans could relax a bit knowing our country and the US was going to be safe for at least the next day....starting Jan 22nd, I won't be able to sleep wondering if we will have a democratic country the next day...if everything I worked so hard for and sacrificed for in our country will be there.
Thanks
SD, thank you.
I so love all your doggos 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
Dunno, but I thought that Biden's prime directives were: 1) Beat Trump; 2) Return normalcy to the White House; and 3) Do positive things for the American people. He accomplished #1 decisively, had 4 full years of #2, and successfully achieved #3.
Failure to permanently destroy Trump and MAGA is unfortunate, but to lay it totally on Biden's shoulders is unfair. Many are to blame, most of all Mitch McConnell and Republicans when they had the foolproof opportunity in early 2021 and many chances since. Also sharing responsibility for Trump's rebirth are mainstream media outlets, "Genocide Joe" progressives, Biden's inner circle, billionaires, Netanyahu, Putin, liberal elites, big corp, uninformed voters and many more. Even Never-Trumpers share some blame for never touting the many accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration (notable exception: Jonathan Last).
I believe that history will judge Biden's legacy quite positively and for good reason. For allowing Trump 2.0, we all are to blame and share in that failure.
Jim, thank you. I totally agree. Especially about Jonathan Last.
Thank you Bonnie. As much as I like, admire and respect Charlie and his former colleagues at The Bulwark, and admire and respect Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger and others for their principled stands while putting their very careers and lives on the line, all except JVL have avoided recognizing the good the current administration has done and how good we have it now. And to varying degrees, they sometimes even crucify Biden and the current administration. This feeds MAGA and harms the resistance. I don't expect traditional conservatives and moderates to adopt progressive causes, but we all should be shouting the facts of where we stand now from the rooftops rather than grumbling about the current administration's failures.
I was so angry when I first read Charlie’s post that I almost cancelled my subscription. Fortunately I went on to read all the comments - and stayed up much later than I should have - and discovered that many agree with you and me. Yours was one of the first comments I read. It made me feel much better and I thank you for that. P. S. JVL is the son-in-law of one of my best friends and is truly a wonderful person.
Yeah I totally get all that. The same dynamic is going on at The Bulwark too, but I just renewed my subscription there, in large part due to JVL. We all are on the same team, after all. P.S. very cool about your connection and no surprise that he truly is a wonderful person.
Jim,
I agree with what you are saying in that there are many reasons why Democrats performed poorly during the 2024 elections. But the buck ultimately stops with Joe Biden, being that he is the Commander and Chief, President, and titular head of the Democratic Party.
While President Biden unquestionably has many small policy accomplishments that amount to something big when all added together, his overall vision was far too small for the times.
President Biden and Democrats frequently talk about how great the American economy is doing, seemingly oblivious to the fact that millions of Americans don’t see it that way. When people can’t pay their bills because of inflation, they generally don’t care how fast the economy is growing or even how low the unemployment rate is.
When inflation skyrocketed in 2022, Democrats should have proposed and fought for something radical like a single-payer health care system for any American who wants government coverage.
This would have told the American people that Democrats are serious about saving them money because heath care, along with housing, is what Americans usually spend the most money on every month. And they are expenditures the federal government can legitimately help bring down the cost of, unlike grocery prices and other goods and services that Americans spend money on.
Too many Democrats also did not take the threat that Trump poses to our freedoms and democracy seriously enough and still don’t, for that matter. President Biden and many Democrats have a very mixed record on this issue. Even progressive like Ro Khanna and Bernie Sanders fit into this category.
Khanna said a few weeks ago that he wants to work with Trump to implement a single-payer heath care system. Yea, I’m sure that Trump will jump at that opportunity.
Sanders said a few days ago that he agrees with Trump’s basket case Director of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard on a number of issue and may vote to confirm her. I would love to know what issues he agree with her on. That deposed murderous Syrian dictator Assad is a swell guy? That Ukraine is responsible for Putin’s genocidal rampage?
The point is that President Biden and many Democrats sent mixed messages on this issue throughout Joe Biden’s Presidency and still continue to do so. More later.
David, I completely agree with you about the culpability of many Democrats. In fact, I would suggest that few if any are blameless for the reason you state: not taking the threat Trump poses seriously enough. Maybe the party is not as culpable as Republicans who actually rebuilt the monster, but certainly culpable at least by omission.
That reinforces my main point: while Biden was the leader of the free world and titular head of the party, his legacy should not be defined by Trump regaining power. The main fault still lies with Republicans and is shared by all of us.
Biden's role in Trump regaining power is a failure, but does not define his presidency. Not to minimize the real difficulties some families face (especially with housing costs as you point out), the fact remains that almost all people in all classes are better off than four years ago. Mall lots were filled every day last month. The last four years brought record numbers of luxury purchases such as boats, personal electronics and travel. More people have health care coverage. Job growth continues to be amazing. Real wages are increasing especially for the working class. Other than costs being higher (again not minimizing this hardship for many), almost everyone is way better off than four years ago and even five years ago pre-pandemic. On the international front, our alliances are stronger than ever as is our influence in the world.
Could things be better? Of course. But a major reason I have been touting the many positive aspects of Biden's presidency in recent weeks is to remind us of the baseline the incoming administration inherits. We need to acknowledge and remember those facts in order to fairly judge MAGA's actions and results in the next four years. Trump already is claiming some of Biden's accomplishments just as claimed Obama's economy in 2017. Trump, of course, always blames others for his failures and claims the successes of others as his own. That is one reason why I bristle when Biden's legacy is described as a failure because it not only wrongly describes his presidency, it sets a falsely low bar to judge what happens next.
Charlie is 100% correct about Biden.
NBC is 100% wrong about SCOTUS. The 5-4 decision reveals nothing new, except maybe that two of the six extremist right-wing members weren't ready (yet) to get rid of trial by jury.
It looks like Pete was always an old soul. Beautiful, sweet pictures.
“Your eloquence disarms me” is Chef’s kiss. I might have to borrow that!