The genius of Trump, Nigerian scammers, & bitcoin peddlers comes from realizing that there is a large untapped niche of dumb people, so dumb that the dumber your argument, the more they will fall for you.

Normal & rational people have too many inhibitions to play that game. pic.twitter.com/Me4dkCsmvV

— Nassim Nicholas Taleb (@nntaleb) December 16, 2022

Not sure if this will really happen or if its just hype.

It might bring things to a head though, which could go either way. Show he was out to undermine Ametican democracy, or show he’s the victim of a system that already has.

BBC News – Capitol riot: Committee to seek charges for Trump – reports
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64009203

It might bring things to a head though, which could go either way. Show he was out to undermine Ametican democracy, or show he’s the victim of a system that already has.

The Trumpists have already decided that he’s a victim and no amount of evidence will change their minds. What this does is keeps Trump and the insurrection in the news so that normal people are constantly reminded of it. As the recent midterm elections showed, Trump and the MAGA nuttery is a big turnoff to centrist voters, so keeping him in the news hurts his cause rather than helping him.

oops looks like they nicked all the pictures

It appears that Donald Trump's NFT image of himself as a cowboy comes from an Amazon image that was slightly altered. https://t.co/B0b2SUSbX9 pic.twitter.com/OA8L2rHw4J

— Matthew Sheffield (@mattsheffield) December 16, 2022

If your NFT is generated primarily using copyrighted assets, do you even own it?

I’m liking the idea that the whole NFT thing is just a way to launder some foreign cash.  It’s the only thing that has made any sense with this so far but it’s not a huge amount of money so I still don’t really get it

He’s shitting himself, he knows that sooner or later he’s going to be charged and arrested.

There hasn’t been justice yet, but he still has no peace. He knows. pic.twitter.com/98WggYpnTu

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) December 18, 2022

January 6th House Committee recommends criminal charges

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/19/trump-criminal-charges-jan-6-panel-capitol-attack

It’s great news but sadly the Committee’s recommendation is just that – a recommendation. It’s like the difference between must and should in the Highway Code.

Also the last paragraph of the linked article:

The committee’s mandate runs out at the end of the year, and in 2023, the Republican House majority is almost certain not to continue its work.

It should be welcomed however as it exposes in detail the criminality of Trump and his supporters, and the frankly staggering hypocrisy of organisations such as the misnamed “Oath Keepers”.

It certainly won’t enhanced Trump’s standing among the more normal thinking population.

Hahahahaha

….Tax returns….

Hahaha hahaha hahaha

If this guy wasn’t a hard-core Trumpist, I would have thought it was a pretty good parody.

pic.twitter.com/42Tc14TN7O

— JALS2010 (@jals2010) December 19, 2022

If this guy wasn’t a hard-core Trumpist, I would have thought it was a pretty good parody.

What is that guy on?

If ever there was a need for some sort of mental capacity test to serve in office….

That tweet my Lord how thick can you really be.

Any other sources for these numbers?

Can’t wait to see the GOP spin on this shit. pic.twitter.com/8zkwDk6XYg

— Jo (@JoJoFromJerz) December 21, 2022

Video here https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/trump-paid-zero-dollars-in-federal-income-taxes-in-2020-158332997703

If my thermostat makes me vote Tory I’ll be fuming!

Any lawyers on here? Is it a good sign when the judge warns you that your lawsuit is vexatious and frivolous?

A federal judge in Florida (who recently sanctioned Trump's lawyers for filing a *different* frivolous lawsuit) is strongly urging Donald Trump to reconsider his lawsuit against AG Letitia James, because it is headed the same way. pic.twitter.com/SHvVyXrdSE

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) December 21, 2022

‘vexatious and frivolous’ pretty much sums up his business empire, political career, his love life and relationship with his hairdresser.

Its also his pet names for his testicles

Rep Scott Perry – W.T.A.F! 😳

There is no way on God’s green earth that a ****wit like that should be allowed to run a coconut shy, let alone be allowed anywhere near a government office.

^^^
I can’t help but feel that, even in current day USA, there’s no way anyone that idiotic could actually get elected so maybe his Twitter account was hacked.
Or am I being to generous?

I can’t help but feel that, even in current day USA, there’s no way anyone that idiotic could actually get elected so maybe his Twitter account was hacked.
Or am I being to generous?

GOP Congresswoman Blamed Wildfires on Secret Jewish Space Laser

Its also his pet names for his testicles

Chuckle

I can’t help but feel that, even in current day USA, there’s no way anyone that idiotic could actually get elected so maybe his Twitter account was hacked.
Or am I being to generous?

It depends if he says it because he believes it, or if he is just manipulating the qnanon\election steal\maga nutters to ger and remain elected.

It depends if he says it because he believes it, or if he is just manipulating the qnanon\election steal\maga nutters to ger and remain elected.

That’s the thing. Most or all of the MAGA/Tea Party people in Congress know the conspiracy theory stuff is utter bollox, they just keep repeating it because it gets the attention of Republican voters. It’s all just a big joke to them.

Maybe his Chinese made phone is changing his sane messages.

There is no way on God’s green earth that a ****wit like that should be allowed to run a coconut shy, let alone be allowed anywhere near a government office.

Tory MP criticised for complaining about Priests literally “doing their job”

That MP got owned by tbe Archbishop of Canterbury, think its on the Braverman thread.

Hopefully he’ll just fade into irrelevance.

Inside Donald Trump’s sad, lonely, thirsty, broken, basically pretend run for reelection. (Which isn’t to say he can’t win.) @Olivianuzzi reports https://t.co/M4NNJFPQ9f

— New York Magazine (@NYMag) December 24, 2022

Wow! Finally some lying that even Fox news finds too much to bear.

George Santos's Fox News interview was a complete disaster. Check out how it ended. pic.twitter.com/XOyPvwbijX

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 28, 2022

That new York magazine/intelligencer article was good reading – thank you

The genius of Trump, Nigerian scammers, & bitcoin peddlers comes from realizing that there is a large untapped niche of dumb people, so dumb that the dumber your argument, the more they will fall for you.

Normal & rational people have too many inhibitions to play that game.

This misses the point entirely imv. It’s all about ‘teaching the garden to weed itself’. the shysters are deliberate in their language, their misuse of grammar and their failure to spell and punctuate even close to correctly. In the same way trump deliberately contradicts himself in his speeches. The target of these communications is those who are easily taken in. If you’re given to look at things critically you’re of no use and in fact a drag on resource. Respond and engage only if you’re uncritical – then you’re worth investing in for what can be taken from you. Your money, your vote, or in trump’s case both

Wow! Finally some lying that even Fox news finds too much to bear.

That was great to watch! She was a ran for the Democratic nomination for President in 2019, it would have been interesting to see what she could have been like if she was successful

sinking ship ? we live in hope

Something funky going on in congress right now with the speaker vote not going to script with Jordan and some of the Trumpite republicans holding out for more compromises. The canker of nastiness that clung around Trump is still festering away. A quick biog of Jordan makes rather unpleasant reading.

BBC has a live blog of the vote for the new speaker.

First time in 100 years that the Speaker has needed more than one vote. Wonder if they’re going for the record?

Wonder if they’re going for the record?

The current record to beat is 133!

Yeah, can’t figure out where this is going. AIUI, there must be at least 218 (?) votes for one candidate and the Democrats can’t muster that number of votes, so yet again, the US is being held hostage by extreme right nutters.

Unless sense prevails, and sufficient moderate Republicans (does such a thing exist anymore?) decide to vote for a Democrat speaker…

Unless sense prevails, and sufficient moderate Republicans (does such a thing exist anymore?) decide to vote for a Democrat speaker…

More likely that Democrats will vote for a moderate Republican on the understanding that the MAGA agenda get ignored.

I pick the lettuce too.

I pick the lettuce. pic.twitter.com/wnqvx8o9V8

— Donnie Diapers (@Tom23960586) January 4, 2023

Trump seems pretty toxic, especially as his peers are now very aware of how fragile his business model is.

I can’t see the repubicans giving him any favours.

He’s basicaly a non-entity at best, but more likley a total liability, but the larger issue at hand, is that a more astute right wing republican will take his place.

He’s basicaly a non-entity at best, but more likley a total liability, but the larger issue at hand, is that a more astute right wing republican will take his place.

The problem is that he still has very strong support among Republican base voters.

About 30% of voters are registered Republicans (maybe a bit higher, but below 40%, I believe).

To run for Congress, a Republican first has to win nomination by their party. They need 50% + 1 votes in a Republican primary. Even though only 20% of voters are hard-core MAGA voters, that’s a majority of Republicans in red states. Those red state seats are safe Republican seats, therefore, MAGA candidates dominate the Republican caucus.

Mainstream Republicans like Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney (who are staunchly conservative, but fundamentally honest) know that the MAGA nuttery drives moderate voters away, but the MAGA core of the Republican voters don’t care – they aren’t interested in assembling a governing coalition and crafting a pragmatic policy portfolio that will generate enough mainstream support to be enacted, they are only interested in performative stunts to demonstrate their distain for anyone who disagrees with them.

So, basically, the Republican party is dominated by nutters who aren’t interested in actually governing. They know that Trump is toxic and drives away moderates, but they think that owning the libs is the purpose of getting elected so they back Trump because he drives away moderates, not in spite of it.

vlad_the_invader
Free Member

Yeah, can’t figure out where this is going. AIUI, there must be at least 218 (?) votes for one candidate and the Democrats can’t muster that number of votes, so yet again, the US is being held hostage by extreme right nutters

It seems like a system that works perfectly as long as people are more or less reasonable and public-minded. Lol. Now we have one or two headbangers- and the people who matter will know exactly who they are- who can hold out for their three wishes. The only balance to that is that if they want anything too extreme, he might lose some votes from the More Reasonable Caucus, but the way US politics is now it’d be a huge step for a republican to step away from Mcarthy and towards a Democrat. And there’s not really a more reasonable Republican candidate, and if there were they’d face the exact same problem. And on the other hand Mccarthy is so fundamentally untrustworthy and spineless and the overall process so broken that there’s no point in him even making a pitch to democrats because they know any deal is worthless. With the exception of the dino Manchin, who himself basically occupies the headbanger territory in his own party, but he’d have been the first door they knocked on.

The only winners are the biggest headbangers. They’re also the only republicans that can make capital out of refusing to support Mccarthy. It’s in their interests just to drag it through a couple more rounds of voting so their headbanger voters can approve of their headbangerness.

It’s a bit like when Theresa May couldn’t form a government so the DUP were able to extort literal bribes of a billion quid of public money for their support

Where’s that picture of the tardigrade violinist when you need it?

"Whoever the next GOP speaker is, the job will be a living hell." Very well argued from @ktumultyhttps://t.co/kauUlUBUiU

— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum) January 4, 2023