Capitol Hill Blue Forums Thread Like Summary - Trump 2.0

Welp, Trump was sworn in as the 47th POTUS. This time, Trump comes with the dubious honor of being America’s first convicted felon AND adjudicated sexual assaulter POTUS.

In a flurry of Executive Orders signed among them, 50 Intelligence Officers lost their security clearances because the signed a Memorandum stating the “Hunter Biden laptop” was Russian propaganda. Trump also released 1500 J6 rioters out of jail or prison.

These EOs show who Donald Trump is: an incredibly insane sociopath. A vindictive old man with small d-energy, with the emotional maturity of a middle school kid.

We are so screwed as a country.

My message to Sen. Fetterman (my senator). I could only enter 1200 characters in one message so I had to try to summarize what I think about each subject. It too 3 messages just to add the below content.

Last fall 2024, I married a Brazilian national in Rio de Janeiro, on 26 OCT 2024. At the time, I said: No way is Trump going to win. Welp here we are. Just know that Americans are not the only ones feeling Trump's retribution - the whole (decent) world hates the guy. Now Trump wants to tariff metals coming into the U.S. This would include Brazil's iron ore - the 3rd largest exporter of iron to the U.S. (Media only reports Canada and Mexico and number five Germany).

Trump's sidekick, Elmo, is lusting after Brazil's lithium deposits.

I am back in Rio currently (Rio de Janeiro is pronunced He-yo day Zu-nayo. My name is pronounced Hick in Portuguese) currently working on the spousal immigration stuff and also working on getting a visitor visa while we wait for spousal immigration to be approved. Wish me luck.

I’m not certain I didn’t cover this on another subject. You’re correct about those not voting this time. 2020 63% voter turnout, 159 million. 2024 59% voter turnout using VAP, 156 million. 3 million less folks voted in 2024 than 2020 although those eligible to vote rose by 7 million. Along with less voters turnout out, in 2020 37% of those who voted were democrats, 35% republicans. In 2024 31% were democrats, republicans maintain their 35% of those who actually voted.

https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/exit-polls/president/national-results

https://www.cnn.com/election/2024/exit-polls/national-results/general/president/0

Why the 6-point drop in democratic voter turnout is something I’ve been researching, but I can’t find any definitive cause. As for the religious, Trump won the protestant vote 63-36 over Harris, Trump also won the Catholic vote 59-39, lost the Jewish vote to Harris 78-22 and lost the no religion folks to Harris 71-27.

There were several role reversals, for the first time since 1984 Trump became the first republican to win the working class, blue collar workers 51-47 over Harris while Harris won the college grads 56-42. College grads had gone republican from 1972 through 2008 when Obama won them. Romney took them back in 2012, Clinton won them in 2016, Biden in 2020 and Harris in 2024. Blue collar workers used to be a democratic party staple while college grads were steadily republican in the past. Trump came within 5 points of winning union households. Other groups, Trump won 46% of the Hispanic vote, the most ever by a republican. He won 13% of the black vote, the most for a republican since Gerald Ford won 15% back in 1976. Trump won first time voters 55-44 over Harris, the first time a republican had done that since 1988. There’s more on role reversals or long-time groups of voters who had a habit in the past of voting republican and or democrat, switched this year to voting for the opposite party they had in the past.

In an addendum .... Rep Jim Jordan just proclaimed the Pres can ignore the courts and do whatever he wants.

Now if anyone needs a class in understanding what a dictatorship is .... well .....

I don't think you git it. We live in Trump's world where everything you thought you knew about our Democracy has been thrown out. Everything Trump does is a presidential order and therefore Constitutional according to the SC. And should anyone actually be charged .... well they were acting under the orders of Trump and would receive a pardon. So why would any of these folks care about your threats?


They don't care about history or their legacy. They have power and they will use it. ahhhh .... pardon. solved.


Didn't you see what Trump did for insurrectionists? We do not live in the world you think we do. This is Trump's world. It is an authoritarian regime purging the last visages of anyone in government who would have the temerity to following the rule of law and not Trump. In Trump world insurrectionists i.e. traitors for Trump, are considered heroes, receiving accolades from Trump himself. Better open your eyes to the reality Democracy is dead in America.



You have grossly overestimated the number of people who actually believe in the rule of law or would have the fortitude to do anything about their loss. You must have been absent the day they put out the memo .... Democracy is Dead!!!!! Very few people give a flying frak about the Constitution as can be seen from the results from the last, and maybe the actual last, election.

The world is no longer what you once believed it to be.

You guys are so optimistic .... or delusional (still hanging on to the notion we still live in a non-Trump universe)

why would you think or believe there will another free and fair election? These gangster have a death grip on power ... what makes you think or believe they would willingly give it up? They are already calling on Trump to defy the courts ... so why would they want to have a open election?

Rick, I went back and looked at Michigan since they have the largest Arab-American population at 208,000. That counts both adults and children which would make up the voting age population of Arab-Americans at around 100-150,000 taking a SWAG. That roughly 100-150,000 out of 5.6 million votes cast in Michigan. The breakdown via race didn’t include Arab-Americans, just white, black, Hispanic, Asian and other. Other which would include Arab-Americans made up 3% of the Michigan vote which went to Trump 59-37. Gen Z, 18-29 year olds, made up 12% of those who voted, they also went to Trump 50-47.

Michigan views of the presidential candidates, 48% of Michigan voters viewed Trump favorably, 50% unfavorably. Harris was viewed 45% favorably, 52% unfavorably by Michigan voters. In Michigan, the Israel/Palestine or Gaza showed up as 27% support for Israel, 29% support for Gaza which is a bit different from the national support of 35% support for Israel/30% for Gaza. In both cases you have a lot of not sure, no opinion or both or equally.. But it’s not surprising that democrats support Gaza, republicans Israel, independents slightly support Israel more than Gazan’s by 5 points. Trump also won first time voters 50-44 over Harris in Michigan.

This is only Michigan, but Michigan is the state with the highest Arab-American population.

https://www.cnn.com/election/2024/exit-polls/michigan/general/president/0

Out of the 15 top issues in last year’s election, the Israel/Palestine or Gaza or Hama War didn’t register which means less than 1% of the population listed it as an important issue in deciding who to vote for. The top 4, Inflation/rising prices 24%, Immigration 13%, Jobs and the Economy 11%, Abortion 9%. Why inflation and rising prices along with the economy and jobs aren't lumped together is beyond me. Inflation falls under the general heading of the economy, at least that’s how I view it which would mean the economy in general, including inflation topped the list at 35%.

Still holding on to the old beliefs.

Do you think it really matters what these folks will think if the economy affects them? .... here's the other shoe ... if their vote does not count. The only states which matter in an election are the swing states. When Republicans ( read that as Trump loyalists) write laws which disenfranchise voting blocks which vote Democrat, and have election boards packed which Trump loyalists, willing to cheat in an election are in play, what chance does any candidate have but Trump? O yes I said it. Trump will run for a 3rd term because Congress will write the law.

Think Alternative Reality ... Trump delusional reality .... loyalists doing whatever he says ... etc. Do you really believe Trumpists will allow a Democrat to ever win another election? They have the power and you better believe they intend on keeping it.

I don't think you nor political pundits, who have said the same thing, are looking at this correctly. This government has all the appearances of a monarchy/dictatorship in which the government is Trump. There is no policy dispute because everything is by fiat (EO). The only recourse is to hope the courts will address the issues. So it is not up to the Democrats to oppose fiats. Once House Trumpists propose legislation, the Democrats can rebut the most odious ideological proposals with rational/reasonable solutions. But even then, it does not of necessity mean they oppose Trump, because the House and Trump may be at odds, complicating the issues on who or what Democrats are opposing and providing solutions. Trump world is chaos without inherent order.











I think you as well as a large number of pundits are confusing denial of a loss with disbelief so many people would vote against Democracy. I am in disbelief and confounded that my assertions that the electorate is stupid/ignorant may have been understated. I have to conclude Americans as a whole no longer believe Democracy as an idea is valuable.


I agree. I used to listen to several right wing radio talk shows and all of them stated at various times conservatism could not be sold to the masses. They needed someone who could formulate a message and sell it. Instead for the last 40 years they found Gingrich and who sold his message of hate.

I knowingly believe liberalism will win in the end. The inertia of social evolution will eventually crush those who can not or simply refuse to adapt. It is a fact of nature. It may not be in my lifetime, but it will happen. Unfortunately at this time finding a voice to speak plain sense may not bend the trajectory of Trumpism. Foremost would be the simple fact the gangsters running our country will not go willingly. They will implement every roadblock to free and fair future elections, if they even allow them. Think of Ukraine. They should have had elections last year but in a time of war, with constant bombing, an election would be difficult at best. Should Trump declare martial law under whatever specious pretense crosses his feeble narcissistic brain, we may not see an election for many years. Congressional Trumpists and quisling Republicans would be complicit. And if anyone doesn't think that can happen .... well they haven't been paying attention to what's going on.


First rising prices and inflation are the same thing and second all MAGA conflates illegal and legal immigration as illegal/evil. But you are correct these two issues were the main issues.

They should have been addressed but weren't and I think there were a number of folks who commented on it. However, when I've explained the concept of capitalism and it's relationship to inflation to non-MAGA Trump supporters, they understood it, but when explaining to MAGA, they didn't get it. Hard to convince the masses. The immigration issue has been so conflated for a long time by propaganda media sites, I find it useless to try and explain. Too frakking stupid AND we may be facing a global trend toward extremist right wing hatred, which is and will be difficult to combat. How does one erase bigotry in one generation? In my youth I thought it would be gone in 3 generations ... ahhh to be so idealistically young again.


On these issues ... yes an abject failure, but on others better than average considering the results.


America can survive bad policies. It cannot survive destruction of the foundations of Democracy.

I don't think most Americans know what the word "Democracy" means. I've found that most Americans don't know what a lot of words mean, but they'll argue until they're red in the face about them.

For those people, I've coined a new portmanteau - ignorrogant. They are ignorant, and absolutely arrogant about it!

There is a very long list of words Americans in general do not know the meaning of and/or have come up with their own, nonsensical definitions. Here are just a few:

• Democracy (as already noted)
• Republic
• Communism
• Socialism
• Capitalism
• Freedom of the Press
• Freedom of Religion
• Tariffs
• Welfare
• Common Good
• Service
• Charity
• Family Values
• Right to Life
• Science
• Theory
• Hypothesis
• Fact
• Knowledge
• Research

In their defense, for generations they've been inundated with false definitions through a concerted effort on the part of the right wing while also being subjected to a dumbing-down of public education - also at the hands of the right wing.

It has gone so far and is so pervasive in the US (and increasingly so everywhere) that it might take centuries, not generations to rectify. It certainly won't happen in my lifetime. It may well have reached a point of no return and civilization will collapse into ignorrogance™ and hatred making the Dark Ages look like Pax Romano.

Mainstream political pundits I believe are in complete denial. They keep talking about how the courts will stop the assault on Democracy. Delusional .... they are all delusional.

What does a future dictator do when legally elected? He gets frustrated with the courts and legislature, and simply short circuits the process by granting himself all the power he needs to function as a dictator. The examples of what he is doing are many. Already the courts are becoming clogged with suits halting his EO's. He has now limited the WH press pool to selected outlets - I suspect all will be propaganda networks ... does it sound familiar ... Germany ... Russia .... N Korea etc. He has now sided with the axis of evil and in doing so has made America a pariah internationally. He and Putin are trying to partition Ukraine ... does it sound familiar? Trump led Congress has become a rubberstamp ... does that sounds familiar? When court cases finally get to the SC, they will either side with him or deny him. If they deny him and it is important he will snap and simply ignore them ... after all they have no enforcement mechanism AND they have already given their imprimatur to "official acts" as legal and non criminal.

For MAGA all of this is added value, but for rational Democracy loving folks (the few who remain) we will in our lifetime have seen the demise of Democracy. I'm apoplectic and can not continue typing.

The reality is, I believe after watching probably 100 interviews with MAGA and from my own personal experience being surrounded by MAGA, that it doesn't matter what Trump does or says or what happens as a result of what he does or says, they will continue to unconditionally support the son of God. So your comment noting those two candidates would probably win is a bit misleading ... of course they will win! ... it's a foregone conclusion!.

I see a number of pundits are proclaiming Trump is losing support for what is happening ... Yikes .... I believe anyone making those claims now are completely delusional and have no business speaking or writing for an audience greater than one. We are not even 100 days into the Reign of King Donald I, so anything said now would be irrelevant two years from now and maybe now even 50 days from now.

So let me confute my own comment, I say King Donald as it is clear he has subsumed all Congressional prerogatives at this point, and it is now clear that a Republican led Congress can even pass legislation, thus making the only "laws" are the fiats coming from the WH. Since that is the signature of a king, govern by fiat, I can safely conclude my comment is accurate.

Somehow, when I type the words the Reign of King Donald, it doesn't seem like Democracy is anywhere to be found. The SC just sided against Trump on a very narrow suit regarding USAID, which can in my opinion be interpreted as they supported the contractual agreements, it's black letter law and even then 4 MAGA justices thought Trump is indeed the king, so when he stops the flow of money from other streams, they will definitely side with him. Despite lower courts stopping the legal carnage, I suspect when these suits make it to the SC, they will side with Trump. After all he is the son of God, savior of America and in all respects is King of America.