I’ve always appreciated Rick Wilson’s insightful commentary about the U.S. political scene, but since putting himself out there as a conservative never-Trumper, he’s become an absolute legend in my mind. Nobody else is quite as good at eviscerating the bloated orange poltroon and his odious sycophants the way he does with razor-sharp wit and a flair for comedy that’s unrivaled among TV pundits.
+Clea Linden - I think you'll find he said Trump's crises are all own-goals; I think the phrase he used was "lighting his own ass on fire". The failure post-Maria was self inflicted. The family separation policy was self-inflicted. And, if by "shooting slaughters" you mean the uptick in police violence against people of color, I think you'll find that this too is a Trump-inflected crisis; Trump's DOJ have been ordered not to investigate these precincts, giving a tacit wink-and-nod to continue.
Most mainlanders are vague on the status of Puerto Rico (not a state ... so how... ?); shooting slaughters are part of the social scenery; and the families involved are - by their very circumstances - not American. so none of the above, on the present political scene, remotely qualify as 'domestic crises.' Horrible, yes; Cruel? Beyond question. Politically relevant in US presidential terms? Not. Says a lot about us as a country - but not to us.
+ Clea Linden + I'm just tying to see how the other side, views the issues, that are most important to you. My goal is to see how wide the gulf between us, really is, and if personalities can be put behind us, to find common ground, and address your issues productively. Since you brought up the relief effort, after hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico,, let's start there. I have done a great deal of research into this subject, this past year, and have closely examined the various death toll estimates, that have been released, over that period, from Harvard, the Puerto Rican government, and this latest rendition, from George Mason Univ., and the interim FEMA reports, chronicling the relief effort, with uncontroversial facts, and figures. etc.etc.. I would hope we could stay away from personalities, to make this examination productive. If we focused instead, on the mistakes you believe were made, and what policies, procedures, and practices, can be identified, as fawlty, and what processes, & structures, could be changed, to improve disaster relief in the future. I neither voted for our current president, supported his candidacy, for president, nor did I see much chance he would ever win the election, did you?. Few conversations that revolve around the personality, of the president, get off the ground, in here, much less, bear fruit, you would enjoy eating. Focussing on your personality, the president's, or mine, even, can help me see the issues in the disaster relief, Puerto Rico, or the problems surrounding the deaths of those people, who tragically lost their lives, as a result of hurricane Maria. Of course, you should feel free to criticize specific actions taken, or not taken by the president, before & after, Maria, struck Puerto Rico. If you could briefly, or in detail, relate the largest problems, mistakes, or poor decisions, that you think were made, or other practical complaints, about the disaster relief effort, perhaps we can get into how these reflect on Mr. Trump, as a president, and the responsibility he had for the issues that trouble you most, and what blame is his to bear, in the next round of replies. Thanks for reading this far, if you have. Additional thanks are your due, if you reply, in any form, and my most effusive thanks are yours, if you answer is responsive, in the slightest. I hope I can ask a few clarifying questions, if I have any, about the issues you raise. Rest assured, that I am not a partisan "flame thrower," but merely trying to understand why disaster relief, once an aspect that served to unify the country, and usually brought nation-wide assistance, to heal any grave injury, to any damaged area,or region of our nation. I regret this recent politicization, of usually uncontroversial.Federal disaster relief efforts. Of course problems in the process, need to be identified. So too, do important errors in judgement, examples of corruption, inadequacies of resources, failures to prevent anticipated shortages, and logistics, and managerial shortfalls. One shortage that effects all these easily remedied, and reversible issues, is a lack of understanding, both emotional, and the more practical knowledge of the facts on the ground. Without knowing the details of what happened, the levels of damage involved, and accurate information about relief efforts, we will learn few lessons from this storm, it's aftermath, and efforts to relieve the effects, of the storm, on the Puerto Rican people. Thanks again for any reply, and if you choose not to respond, I will understand that at least. KOut
Why should you have to spend billions to get them back. Why not some decent policies instead of the conservatives search for a moral justification for selfishness. I donot understand how they get any votes other than the rich.
Why do they get votes? Hate and prejudice against gays, uppity women, racial minorities, religious minorities....did I mention hate? Fear mongering, abortion, gay marriage, immigrants, THE WALL, etc.
Republicans used "gerrymandering" to crave out voters at a microscopic level (i.e. house by house.) Big money Donors, Comey, Fox News (propaganda, not news) old Constituency and old Economic Policies.
They don't. They cheat. How else would that party ever win? They have nothing to offer anyone except the 1 percent. Between Kris Kobach's kicking voters off the roles, Gerrymandering, closing voter polls in democratic areas and voting machine hacking, we'll be lucky to ever win another election. Democratic heads don't want to talk about it because they think it will discourage people from voting. Can you imagine? When I hear stuff like that it pisses me off to the point that wild horses couldn't hold me back.
You really are one of the good Republicans, Rick! Well done as always! Let that be a lesson that Rump and the rest of the Rump Republicans will never forget!
I just can’t believe this is the same Lindsey Graham... the one that seemed to be a moderate and kind of being above the fray... I just can’t believe it... it is so sad to watch
I hope I got a couple of "Nerd Points." It was a roaring laugh on my end. I hope we can meet--but I am a tax & spend Liberal/ I just like to see politics make sense. Guess that means a therapist?
+neohumaity - agreed. He crafts ads to play into irrational fears held by gun owners that Democrats in blue UN helmets are going to kick down doors and take away everybody's guns. Every time there is a school shooting we should congratulate him on making sure nothing gets done on gun control.
Why is far right of Eisenhower equal to centrist democrat? it seems to be called socialism when our policies favor the working people then called capitalism when it subsidizes corporate and the rich.
I wish I could have attended this event. The book was...is...a sad delight, if I can put these two concepts together. Well, I just did. It's part of being human.
8 minutes of emotional anecdotes that could be said about anybody who runs for president. 45+ minutes Q&A with more emotional anecdotes. If you already know that you hate Trump and want affirmation, your time is well-invested. For everybody else it's a waste of time.
We'll see what 'emotional anecdotes' conservative Republican special counsel Robert Mueller discloses when he releases his report. Evidence of crime is not hatred.
