144 Comments

The truly pathetic aspect of Trump's quasi-Nazi rally at MSG is that half of American voters like it. America is in a very sick place right now.

Expand full comment
Oct 29·edited Oct 29

"Samoan-Malaysian"?

Well, Tucker, Polynesian and Pacific Islanders around the country are likely to take offense at your feeble-minded attempt to use them to slur Vice-President Harris's ethnicity. Here are a few of the different US citizens from that region: Tongans, Cook Islanders, Tahitians, Filipinos, and of course, Samoans.

Does Tucker even know that American Samoa is a US territory?

In addition, the ethnic diversity of the population of Malaysia is roughly 60% Malay, 20% Chinese, 10% Indian, and 10% "mostly European." So, which "Malaysian" is the geographically-challenged Tucker even referring to? Does he even realize that he's offending three possible ethnic groups who are citizens of the US, too?

Expand full comment

Wishing you a wonderful respite with family in France, Charlie, and hoping that you come back with your literary neurons well-rested and ready to fire.

Expand full comment

Evil always overplays its hand.

Expand full comment

Godspeed Charlie and wife! Godspeed to pups while ma and pa are away! Godspeed to our country! I kinda feel like you're abandoning us, but I think we all wish we could take off as the country burns before our eyes. It's been hell the last 9 years for the sane and caring. Please be safe everyone and cling to the brotherhood that America the beautiful was meant to be!!

Expand full comment

Clive James describing a 1930s fascist rally:

"[He] was a superman with an irresistible appeal, because he persuaded his followers that they were supermen, too. For the price of a ticket, they weren't just entertained.

They were transformed."

Expand full comment

Safe trip Charlie to you and your wife. I voted today and now am trying to calm myself down from all the craziness. My favorite ad running is two women voting, one with a jeweled American flag, winking at the other woman, secretly knowing they are voting for Kamala. I think the polls are wrong. We live in a Republican community where many of our neighbors have advised they won’t vote for Trump but can’t bring themselves to vote for a Democrat. I hope there are lots of folks who will do the right thing, but aren’t telling anyone about it. I have been accused of always being too optimistic, and I hope that turns out to be true next week. Charlie, what will we do with no dog picks for 5 weeks. Please continue to send your past pics them from France. They bring so much lightness and hope. Take care.

Expand full comment

I always appreciate your wisdom and your perspective. I’m a lifelong Democrat, and do NOT view Trump as a logical outgrowth of the Republican Party. He is an aberration; an intellectually limited, mentally ill man with the pathology necessary to understand how to manipulate people. Thankfully, there are many who share my ability to differentiate. We respect “true” Republicans and feel sad that they have lost their party to a nightmare they/we may not be able to recover from. We may skew toward the liberal side of issues, but we respect conservatives and have always found a way to dialogue with them and coexist peacefully. I bristle when I hear people refer to Trump as “conservative.” That is absurd. He is crazy, chaotic, and without any comprehensible platform besides becoming a dictator who can unleash his insecurity and vitriol on others. I hope your getaway to France offers you some tranquility in the midst of this insanity. I appreciate all you have done to help keep us sane.

Expand full comment
Oct 30·edited Oct 30

I disagree with you Martha. I believe that Trump IS the logical end game of the Republican party. Eisenhower cow-towed to McCarthy. Nixon got elected using bigotry and racism. Regan began his 1980 campaign at a former slave-trading site. HW Bush used bigotry with his Willie Horton ad after tried to coverup for Nixon in Watergate. With the efforts of Buckley et al, Republican leaders have TRIED to squelch the inherent bigotry and hate within their party. For a while it worked. Today's Republicans realize its a, for-now at least, a perpetual minoritarian party. And so they have to hate and steal to win the presidency. This is Republicans reverting to mean.

This is why the Republican Party should die and be replaced. The trouble is, the bizarre party duopoly the Ds and Rs have carved out, this is nearly impossible.

So far as the word "conservative" is concerned, does it have any meaning today? Or is it an obsolete term still used out of an old habit, like when we "dial a number" on a smartphone. Or has it been redefined? I think so.

Today's conservatives ARE, in fact, Trump and his gang of stupid, ignorant, and evil people. Like it or not, that's the gang of fools that progressive-hating voters mindlessly gravitate towards and vote for. Like it or not, THEY are today's conservatives. And they ARE NOT going back to the before-times definition. Regan's vision is dead to them.

Today's conservatives, whether they realize it or not, and whether ex-conservatives like it or not, are fascists. Oh, and they are cowards too.

Expand full comment

A sincere thank you for your post, Martha. You've expressed beautifully the thoughts that have been haunting me for at least nine years now.

Every time I hear that "Trump is just a symptom, not the disease," I cringe a bit, thinking that he *is* the disease, the maximum dis-ease the founders of our nation never fully envisioned. Even if they did have their similar concerns, how could they have seen the virulence of cult behavior when cults were relatively small in population and rather short-lived up until the present day?

Expand full comment

I hope you and your lovely wife have a great time. I admire you for doing your best to sound the warning. What you are and who you are today matters most. I pray that enough undecided voters go for Kamala. Otherwise, I am actually frightened by what will happen to America. I never expected to see this abomination in my life time. Maybe I'm sad, most of all. I love this Democracy, I hope we can keep it.

Expand full comment

Drudge certainly went all in! Wow. Joining the "enemy within"...

Expand full comment

What are these white men so angry about in the first place? That their white privilege is being asked to be shared with other non whites? Or that women have gotten too uppity in modern times? Or their big jacked up tracks flying the American flag along with the trump flag cost more than they did 8 years ago? Perhaps it’s the price of homes or food and medical care and they blame the democrats and Biden/Harris for, rather than the big corporations and their high profit obsession. This incessant whining makes me ill. Maybe they should live in Gaza or Ukraine or some poor third world country with extreme political corruption and no jobs, barely enough food and very violent or in Russia or China where their freedoms would be very limited, to get a taste of people who are fighting for their lives, who are really disenfranchised and have terrible and fearful lives and not a pot to piss in. Then maybe they’d quit their angry pity party. This is the best country they could live in (for now) and they feel it’s a trash can because trump says so. Give me a break!

Expand full comment

Well said!

Expand full comment

Charlie, I hope you and your wife have a wonderful trip. The dogs will miss you but will be very well cared for.

Action step for folks here - We must help get more Democratic voters to the polls in swing states! Let’s support those tireless folks who are door-knocking, phone banking, & text banking till - and including - Election day! But how are those likely Blue voters located?

Field Team 6 is the only organization that identifies likely Democrats, gets them to register, then nudges them to vote. Their approach gains new Democratic votes for only $2.24 for 1 new vote - a fraction of other organizations’ cost-per-vote. But they need names, addresses, and phone numbers of who to approach.

Democrat Janet Protasiewicz was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in August 2023 - as a direct result of Field Team 6’s outreach.

Even now, there are a dozen states where you can still register to vote - some even on election day. And in any swing state, volunteers can still go door knocking, phone banking, & text banking. As little as 10 or 20 votes per precinct can enable Democrats to win.

Join me in donating at https://www.fieldteam6.org/ Their research identifies the people who doorknockers and phone bankers need to approach.

To check out Field Team 6’s impact, see https://www.fieldteam6.org/_files/ugd/c03fe4_ca47cde71737499492a602eb46bf0aba.pdf - They have a very impressive track record of getting more people to vote Democratic.

Who will help? Can I see a show of hands? (I’m too tired to go door-knocking - I’ve sent out 500 postcards in the past several weeks.)

Expand full comment

Thank you! I’ve written hundreds of postcards and done some volunteer work at our local office. I’m one of the grateful people who were so thrilled when Judge Janet won. This is a good organization, and I’m happy to donate!

Expand full comment

Thank you so much!

Expand full comment

Wasn’t there evidence pointed out back in 2016 that The Donald’s Daddy was AT that 1939 Madison Square Garden rally?

PS - Love the dogs’ Halloween costumes.

Expand full comment

I hope you have fun in France. We will either be getting ready for the chambers or If kamala wins, I will be yelling and crying with joy while running down the street waving like Santa. Good luck up there in Wisconsin. Wish us luck in Florida. Hopefully and possibly, rick Scott will be a bad memory. He was back pedaling like he was in the Olympics today. Couldn't have happened to a better jackass.

Expand full comment