October 29, 2019

"What I can't figure out and what really interests me is why today feels different."

Wrote Annie C in the comments to my post, earlier this morning, "Today, I will reveal something that I have kept secret for 3 years — who got my vote for President, here in swing-state Wisconsin, in 2016." I'd said, "I've had my reasons for keeping my vote secret, but this morning, I woke up with the thought that I now have a very good reason to reveal it, because I have something specific to say, and I want to recommend something, and knowing how I voted will reinforce my recommendation."

What's different today is that yesterday Nancy Pelosi announced that there will be a vote in the House on Thursday on whether to "affirm" the impeachment inquiry. As you may be able to tell from my post on the subject — "Maybe they hope it will be voted down! Suddenly, House Democrats want a formal vote on impeachment" — I would very much like to see a "no" vote. As I've said many times on this blog, I think election results deserve respect, Democrats have failed to accept that they lost an election and that those who won deserve their victory and that those who were disappointed should be focusing on winning the next election, not undoing the results of the election they lost.

Democrats need to turn back from the precipice. They need to give up the drama and hysteria about Trump and show that they are more stable and responsible than Trump. A "no" vote on the impeachment proceedings will only happen if Democrats — some of them — have the sense to say "no."

I don't normally try to persuade anyone of anything here on this blog. I'm a distanced observer, a natural-born inhabitant of political territory I call Cruel Neutrality. I'm averse to politics, but I like to write about the political scene in my homeland, America — Wisconsin, America. The big swing state that might determine the outcome of the next election. And I might be the biggest blogger here. I once was. Who even keeps track now? Blogging is past its prime, or so they say. But there could be a renaissance of blogging. Blogging is independent and personal — blogging that is real blogging. Which is what I do.

So if anyone wants to listen to me, I have one thing I want to add, as I choose to attempt to persuade Democrats to vote "no" on the affirmation of impeachment inquiry. I want to tell what I have held secret for 3 years: I voted for Hillary Clinton.

I could not stand Hillary Clinton. I didn't want to disclose my vote because I hated having to vote for her. I didn't want to say it even though I endure heavy social consequences here in Madison, Wisconsin for not dispelling the possibility that I voted for Donald Trump. Hillary did not deserve my vote, and I did not want to show any public support for her. She did not earn my vote. She got it by default, because I could not vote for Donald Trump.

I could not vote for Donald Trump because the whole idea was completely weird and chaotic. That can't happen. You've seen that video montage of all the celebrities and politicians saying, "Donald Trump is not going to be President"...



That's how my brain felt on election day: No freaking way!!!

I like when things feel normal and practical and realistic. Remember "no drama Obama"? That's what I'd like to see from the government. Stability. Good sense. Regularity.

Could you just do that, Democrats? Is that too easy for you?! Do you admire Donald Trump? Are you trying to beat him at his game? Chaos. Weirdness. You pathetic imitators! His chaotic weirdness should have kept him from getting elected in the first place, but what happened happened. And now he is President, so he's inherently less weird and chaotic. There's the continuing strangeness of his being President. I still fall into a reverie now and then: How the hell did that happen? On perhaps 6 occasions, I have watched video of the election night coverage — the real-time recording that goes on for hours — as if to drive it home into my resistant brain that it really did happen. It wasn't just a crazy dream.

The people who voted for Trump are real. They are not despicable or "deplorable." They are voters in a democracy, and democracy — crazy though it is — is our beloved system here in the United States of America. We're wedded to it, for better or worse, and I'm trying to make the best of it. There's some wild excitement and there's some serious work to be done. I don't want any more chaos than is needed to claw through the days to the next election. Let's have an election, not a kooky congressional extravaganza. I need Pelosi and Schiff and these various Congress critters to shrink back into their place and let the presidential candidates have the stage. Let's be normal.

I am not a Trump fan. I voted against the guy. I have voted in 12 presidential elections, and in 9 of them, I voted for the Democrat. In the 21st century, there have been 5 presidential elections, and I've voted for the Democrat in 3 of them. There have been 2 Presidents in the 21st century who have won twice and neither of them did I vote for twice. I am a true swing voter (in a swing state). All I want is a very competent, reliable, sensible, good person who can handle the presidency. I don't want your ugliness and hysteria. I don't want to see my fellow citizens cranked up into a frenzy. The very reasons I voted against Trump are getting cooked up into reasons to vote for him — by you, you idiots.

But this week, you have a chance to turn back from your crazy ways. It won't take all of you. Just some of you. Please, House Democrats, please vote "no." Stand down and let us get back to the 2020 presidential campaign. Surely, some of you still believe that elections matter and elections must be the norm in America. The rest of you seem as though you've already given up and ceded the 2020 election to Donald Trump. That's how I will interpret a "yes" vote on the impeachment, a disclosure of your consciousness of 2020 loserdom.

336 comments:

1 – 200 of 336   Newer›   Newest»
Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

That's what I'd like to see from the government. Stability. Good sense. Regularity.

The problem is, all the regularity is quiet rice bowl filling.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

But Ann, it's illegal for Trump to mention the holy and precious BIDEN, in a phone call.

Mike said...

I couldn't stand Hillary, didn't like Trump, so I voted third party.

I will happily vote Trump in 2020.

DavidUW said...

Every politician fights the last war just like generals. Yes, indeed, they're trying to outcrazy Trump because they think it was his craziness that won.

They don't understand it was their incompetence, their stupidity, their utter inability to understand that they can't win on communism in the midwest that lost.

Michael K said...

The DOJ has now filed a stay on that Obama judge's ruling that Judiciary can pierce executive privilege. It will be appealed, probably successfully.

rhhardin said...

How about the incentives of the welfare state. A guys' issue. Chaos is fine so long as the structure isn't unstable.

hawkeyedjb said...

Like our hostess, I did not vote for Donald Trump. I abstained, because I did not want either of those people to become president. And my votes for presidents past almost mirror those of Ms. Althouse.

I was someone very unlikely ever to vote for Trump. Now I am virtually a certain vote for him in 2020. How many are there like me?

ga6 said...

buyers remorse writ large

DavidUW said...

It was the only good thing Peggy Noonan has written since the 80's, and that was Americans were tired of being patronized by our inferiors. That's what revved up the Tea Party, and when the GOP-e abandoned that (looking at you Paul Ryan), Tea Party types said, we're done being sane, clearly the china shop needs some bull.

Beasts of England said...

According to Hillary, you voted for the winner. And if she runs for re-election you can do so again.

CharlieL said...

Wow!

Francisco D said...

I appreciate your sincere passion, Althouse.

iowan2 said...

I appreciate your thoughts. Not a student of the phsyci of voters, I'm guessing your feelings represent a good political cross section of the those likely to vote.
Again, thanks for sharing your perspective.

Dave Begley said...

Ann's position and vote is fair and reasonable. Reasonable people can, however, disagree. I voted for Trump as I couldn't abide the corruption that is the Clintons. A corruption that we now know is very deep and sinister.

Ann's desire for lack of chaos is one of the main themes the Fake News puts out every day about Trump. Trump is chaos! Or so they say.

The interesting thing to me - and it is near suicidal - is that many of the Senate jurors are running for president. Will Bernie, Liz, Amy and Kamala stop campaigning during the trial? Will Mitch stretch it out? Will Joe, Pete and possibly Hillary then go full bore on the trail?

The thing about Trump is that he is an outsider and disrupter. That's what I voted for. He's the strong horse. The Dems are about to get their heads handed to them as they pursue a suicidal impeachment all because they can't accept a loss. The Sore Loser Impeachment.

traditionalguy said...

Peace. Just remember Trump has a female side. And a Dragon Energy/Never Surrender man with a female side that loves the USA beats a practicing Witch with murderous side supported by a Global corruption network that lusts to see the USA destroyed.

Ann Althouse said...

"According to Hillary, you voted for the winner."

According to her lying. She knows it's a false statement. We live in America, and I'm sure she's noticed. The game is the Electoral College and she knew the game she was playing. To act otherwise is to stamp yourself as ignorant of the American system. But she's chosen to go ahead and do that anyway. I could make a list of top 100 stupid things Democrats have done in Trumpworld, and that would be on it.

Ken B said...

Well said.
I predict they will proceed, and ratchet up the crazy.
Just look at Drudge today. He is talking about the Republicans getting wiped out. Hysteria mongering. Hysteria is the new normal, because the Democrats and the media want it that way.

rhhardin said...

Bulls are very respectful of the china shop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzw2iBmRsjs

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I didn't like Trump at all, and I wanted him to lose the primary and go away. I thought for certain Hillary would beat him and that was part of the plan. That was WHY the media were so open to giving Trump a platform. Make no mistake, prior to the 2016 election - Trump was given all sorts of air-time and attention. The media sucked all the air out of the room for every R candidate and gave it all to the man they thought would lose to Hillary. Trump.

Doesn't everyone recall that?

Look at Joe Scarborough for instance. re-watch his coverage prior to the 2016 election. He was very hard on Hillary and he gave Trump all sorts of positive coverage. Now watch Scarborough. He and his wife are seething rage-a-holics anything Trump. Along with the rest of the WaPO-NYT-JoyBehar-CNN-SNL-NBC-Hollywood insane liar media.

It's all a grand manipulation.

That grand manipulation has forced me to support Trump. Do I like him? eh - I do not need to like him. I like what he has accomplished. I know the left are corrupt. So I have no choice.

The Dems know they are entitled to power, so abusing it, is normal to them.

The impeachment is a show. A distraction. The left and the super-PAC(D) media are going full on for the D-party. The left can murder someone on 5th avenue, and it won't matter.

PoNyman said...

Awesome.

David Blaska said...

They say confession is good for the soul.

Rick said...

Remember "no drama Obama"? That's what I'd like to see from the government. Stability. Good sense. Regularity.

Maybe for those ensconsed in academia there was no drama. Those running a business were alarmed their government believed its primary function is developing new rules requiring them to spend money on target voters when their profit margins are already low.

If you want to know why the Great Recession recovery was worse than any other recovery since the Depression this is why. This is the same reason the recovery from the 29 crash became the depression. FDR's New Deal was Obamacare on steroids. If you want to see it come again watch what happens if this era's economic demagogue Elizabeth Warren is elected.

Bay Area Guy said...

Great post. I did think Althouse voted for Hillary, but that it didn't matter.

It is awesome that Althouse is affirmatively against this bogus impeachment. She supports our Republic more than one party or innate sense of responsible liberalism.

Question: If the Dems pursue their bogus impeachment folly DURING A PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN (how stupid is that?), and vote "Yes", will Althouse commit her vote in 2020 to Trump?

Assistant Village Idiot said...

I think I had guessed your vote. I have some sympathy with your approach. I was on NPR during the 2000 primary here in NH and said I just wanted a boring president, someone who would go to work for us. No more talking about charisma, please. I still feel that way and Trump's positive embrace of drama is still the thing I like least about him. However, he also has drama thrust upon him by Democratic show-ponies.

I disagree about Obama and drama, however. He avoided drama by strangling scandals in their cradle with vicious Chicago politics. He made the trains run on time. That doesn't count, because then the drama comes later, and often worse.

Martin said...

To paraphrase a quote often attributed to Trotsky: "You may not be interested in chaos, but chaos is interested in you."

tcrosse said...

This might not be the most effective platform from which to address Democrats.

Birkel said...

I guessed quite close to the mark, as I suspect most long-time readers did.

The Democratics want power and nothing more. They prefer less freedom for we, the people. They wish to diminish us a people in favor of their own unjust ends. That they pretend at other goals is an affront to good sense. All of the chatter of equality and rights are so much leverage to diminish America.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I could never vote for Hillary. Never. Under any circumstance. She is the most vindictive corrupt liar/power-monger to ever seek high office. She is, as Robert Cook said, the Monsanto of candidates. Hillary is Round-up week killer.
I'm sort of embarrassed for you Ann. But good for you that you've admitted your choice. Brave.

Ann Althouse said...

"They say confession is good for the soul."

Says the erstwhile Never Trumper!

Wince said...

God blessed America.

Freeman Hunt said...

Well put.

rcocean said...

Althouse voted for Hillary. OMG! OMG! - First Obama in '08 and now this. Let the hysteria begin. Seriously, I'm a little surprised, I'd assumed you voted 3rd Party, being unable to vote for Hillary or Trump.

But you're right Hillary would've given us stability. The stability of the tomb. Knowing what we now know of Comey, Brennen, Clapper, the MSM, and the Leftists in Congress, Democracy under "Hill and Bill" really would have "Died in Darkness". And will the D's step back from the edge and not impeach? Of course not, they've been crazy for 3 years, and its NOT going to stop now.

Dave Begley said...

The Dems think the televised impeachment hearings will help them. That will backfire. What they are NOT counting on is really good cross examination of the witnesses by either House members or the President's lawyers.

A GOP star(s) will emerge. Cross examination exposes the truth. We know the truth about this stunt. The Dems will be destroyed and America will hate them for this show trial and coup attempt.

narciso said...

I skip most of the morning programs, nbc covering for miss hill, yech, and the other two nets are just as insufferable, cnn lets not even look into that,

Amadeus 48 said...

I knew it. Here is part of my post from 7:28 on the other thread:

Eh...I'm a Republican. You are not. Isn't America great?

I have always suspected that you defaulted to the safe choice and voted for Hillary, although with zero enthusiasm. Who knew that Trump was going to win and that the Democrats would go stark, staring crazy? Everything looks clearer in the rear view mirror on this one.

Trump has been a necessary corrective, and his work is not done. I think you might vote Trump in 2020. BUT--

You also have a tendency to go all Peggy Noonan. You might feel the urge to talk the Democrats off the ledge--but then you will look at what is on offer and say "That won't work."

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

I voted for Kerry (because he was a war hero), McCain (same), and then Obama (because he killed bin Laden! Haha!), before I wised up and voted for Trump. Now that I can see through the fake news, and now that I know that liberals hate me, I will never vote for another Dem EVER again.

Darrell said...

Every position that the Democrats take is disastrous to America. That was the case in 2016 as well. The choice then and in 2020 is obvious. Unless you hate America and your fellow Americans.

Martin said...

Regarding Althouse's 2016 vote, I decided in early August of 2016 that the only way to navigate the next few months was to take the position that they were both awful and that I would respect someone who chose either as long as their choice was primarily motivated by antipathy toward the other.

But don't try to tell me either is a good choice, because that just destroys your credibility.

I stuck to that. Sometimes I had to push back against people who tried to get me to defend some awful thing one or the other had said or done, but on the whole it worked, and had the virtue of being my true opinion.

readering said...

Well we're all allowed to say we think government should be run this way and not that way. But sometimes rather naive.

I'm glad Nixon left office. I thought Clinton should have resigned. I look forward to the coup that puts Pence in office.

Hillary majority talk was a response to Trump's lying boasting. Leading to his crazy talk of millions of illegals voting. Beclowns himself every day including this morning.

But Meade seems to worship him so there's that.

urpower said...

Althouse becomes straight man to Trump the ditzy comedian.

mockturtle said...

Hawkeyedjib confesses: I was someone very unlikely ever to vote for Trump. Now I am virtually a certain vote for him in 2020. How many are there like me?

Quite a few, I think. While I happily cast my vote for Trump in 2016, I know many who did not but who will happily vote for him in 2020. And my biracial daughter, who frequents black conservative websites, speculates that Trump will have over 30% of the black vote next year.

bleh said...

"I have voted in 12 presidential elections, and in 9 of them, I voted for the Democrat."

You voted for Ford in '76, Bush in '04 and Romney in '12, right? Your recent voting record doesn't surprise me one bit, but your early record does. Voting for Ford in '76 (in the aftermath of Watergate and pardoning Nixon) after having voted against Nixon in '72 (when he won 49 states!) and then voting for Carter in '80 (after his disastrous term) and for Mondale in '84 (when Reagan won 49 states!), just seems bizarre to me. You're a bit of a contrarian, aren't you?

I'm a little embarrassed to admit I sat out in 2016. I couldn't bring myself to actually walk somewhere and wait in line to pull a lever for either candidate. And Gary Johnson was just too goofy and unserious. In my view, not voting counts as a vote because it depresses turnout, and politicians should care about that number too.

cubanbob said...

My guess about Althouse's vote in 2016 was wrong. I figured a law professor wouldn't vote for someone who willfully violated public records acts laws, freedom of information laws and most of all national security for no plausible legitimate reason. I didn't expect her to vote for Trump but rather against Hillary by going third party. We have seen the Mueller investigation come to nothing in spite of the best efforts of openly partisan prosecutors. Now this nonsense about Biden. As if the current president is supposed to ignore what appears to be criminal conduct by a former Vice President while serving as VP simply because he is running for president this election cycle. Because in the end, this is all what the current confabulated by the Democrats scandal is. I doubt all of the Democrats in the House will vote for this insanity simply because a number of them are in swing districts. Still one should never discount the pot committed mentality of the willfully deluded.

tcrosse said...

Given the choice we faced between two of the most awful people in America, nobody should be reproached for how they voted, unless they did so with enthusiasm.

effinayright said...

Doncha just LUV the Democrat claim that a sitting President can't nominate a person for confirmation to sit on the Supreme Court ....during a campaign year, but it's OK for a Congress to impeach and attempt to remove the POTUS during...a campaign year?

mockturtle said...

Readering blathers: Leading to his crazy talk of millions of illegals voting.

'Crazy talk'? I presume you don't live in CA.

mezzrow said...

I couldn't stand Hillary, didn't like Trump, so I voted third party.

I will happily vote Trump in 2020.


This. Me too.

Birkel said...

Dave Begley:
Do you think Sidney Powell will have free time during that period?

traditionalguy said...

I re-watched the video thanks to The Professor, and was impressed how all the polls were rigged to show the defeat of Trump, as were the media talking heads and the DC politicians of both parties. I recall the first honest politician was the Romney protege, Scott Walker who gave up early on.

Especially telling were the replay of the rigged Electoral College maps showing Hillary wins Georgia. But I knew first hand that everyone in Georgia was chomping at the bit to vote for Trump.

NB: Ann Althouse is still loved and respected for her brilliant mind and good heart, no matter her politics. She will always welcome in Trumpville. And one day Turble Trump's warrior mode will no longer be needed, and peace will return. Pence Peace.

Neveliashka said...

Ann, I have been a lurker on the blog for 3 years, and never commented. Your confession prompted me to respond. I appreciate that you shared this information as a swing voter. I am a woman, immigrant from eastern Europe, and from the very first time I heard Trump I wanted him to be president so he could stop the left's mad dash to that from which I had escaped - totalitarian language, socialist "equality of outcome". I wanted a disruptor. I was not eligible to vote last time - now I am. Will vote for him this time around.

Greg the class traitor said...

The very reasons I voted against Trump are getting cooked up into reasons to vote for him — by you, you idiots.

Well said. All of it, but especially that

Birkel said...

readering looks forward to the coup that subverts the republican form of government.
See my above about power as the only motivating force for Democratics.

And now it is naked, ambitious lust for power.
It is disgusting.

Beasts of England said...

’I look forward to the coup that puts Pence in office.’

You say you want a revolution, well, ya know...

Unknown said...

I hear you. I couldn't vote for either of them -- I wrote in a candidate.

I don't know what I'll do if it's Warren v. Trump next year. I absolutely cannot vote for her. But I dread the prospect of 4 more years of him.

Kevin Williamson described this dilemma a few weeks ago in National Review:

"And so that leaves at least one conservative simultaneously believing four things that are difficult to keep under the same hat:

1) I am glad that Hillary Rodham Clinton is not the president;

2) Based on what we know right now, I do not want to see Donald Trump impeached and removed from office;

3) I do not want to see Elizabeth Warren being sworn in as president in January 2021;

4) Donald Trump cannot be gone soon enough."

Gunner said...

I didnt expect the mildly liberal Democrat talk show hosts to go full libtarded after Trump won. I thought they might man up and accept that they dont speak for many people outside New York and California.

wendybar said...

By voting for Clinton, you were okay with the (no drama????) OBAMA"S corruption.
He should have been impeached for: Benghazi, the VA Scandal, IRS Scandal, Fast and Furious, Iran Ransom, Wiretapping Journalists, NSA spying, and FISA abuse amongst other reasons. Bad reason to vote for a corrupt Hillary Clinton....I wonder why donations to the Clinton Foundation dried up. Sorry you got suckered Ann....Vote for America this time around!!!

Gunner said...

I didnt expect the mildly liberal Democrat talk show hosts to go full libtarded after Trump won. I thought they might man up and accept that they dont speak for many people outside New York and California.

Howard said...

Careful tcrosse. That is just crazy talk

Unknown said...

I hear you. I couldn't vote for either of them -- I wrote in a candidate.

I don't know what I'll do if it's Warren v. Trump next year. I absolutely cannot vote for her. But I dread the prospect of 4 more years of him.

Kevin Williamson described this dilemma a few weeks ago in National Review:

"And so that leaves at least one conservative simultaneously believing four things that are difficult to keep under the same hat:

1) I am glad that Hillary Rodham Clinton is not the president;

2) Based on what we know right now, I do not want to see Donald Trump impeached and removed from office;

3) I do not want to see Elizabeth Warren being sworn in as president in January 2021;

4) Donald Trump cannot be gone soon enough."

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

I don't know. It seems to me the chaos that you are trying to avoid, Althouse, always seems to come from the Democrats and their Media. Everything is a disaster caused by Trump.

I'm just plain tired. I still have hope that sanity will prevail and the Democrats vote against impeachment and stop taking all the light off the candidates. We need to hear from them if we are to vote responsibly.

But, it is a very faint hope. The left cannot abide. Destruction is their only recourse.

Amadeus 48 said...

I think Althouse just came out for Biden 2020. Those rose-colored glasses make everything pretty, don't they?

There's a good chance that Biden won't be able to remember how to tie his shoes by election day. Watch out for a move from oxfords to loafers!

Maillard Reactionary said...

As far as I'm concerned, Our Hostess' reasoning is sound and perfectly respectable, although quite different from the way I view (and viewed) it myself. So be it, that's why we have elections.

She certainly has plenty of company I imagine among those who choked it down and voted for the Hildebeest.

I'm just wondering if she'd do the same thing again, knowing what she knows now about Hillary's apparent deep craziness and corruption, and after seeing Trump's surprisingly sound performance regarding the important things (as opposed to his style).

Nonapod said...

I could not stand Hillary Clinton. I didn't want to disclose my vote because I hated having to vote for her. I didn't want to say it even though I endure heavy social consequences here in Madison, Wisconsin for not dispelling the possibility that I voted for Donald Trump. Hillary did not deserve my vote, and I did not want to show any public support for her. She did not earn my vote. She got it by default, because I could not vote for Donald Trump.

I had somewhat similar feelings in the opposite way. Like always, I voted for who I felt would be the least destructive (the least-worst).

At the time Trump was certainly a wild card, I had no notion of how he would actually be as president. But I honestly felt that Hillary would ultimately be far, far more destructive due to what I felt was her obvious and blantant corruption and incompetentance. To men the whole Benghazi things demonstrated both her incompetentance, then her corruption. She clearly made a horrible and stupid decision in running that email server and then trying to cover it up. I couldn't see how someone who was so blantantly and flagrantly both corrupt and incompetent would be anything but bad for the country.

In a choice between a destroyer and a wildcard, I'll take the wildcard.

Ken B said...

Readering makes a kinsley gaffe. He doesn’t look forward to impeachment, he looks forward to a *coup*.

narayanan said...

I had heart attack on the day of first debate between Hillary and Trump - at the venue where it was being screened - before it had even begun - and was unconscious through it.

EMT etc. for next few days.

not citizen - could not vote but wanted him to win debate and election.

I stayed up late election night hoping to see if he could win before countdown got to CA results.

Howard said...

Perhaps this was Nancy's only path to shutting it down. The TDS left wants impeachment as much as Trumpers love brown kids in cages.

chuck said...

Remember "no drama Obama"?

I do indeed. When I rank the most corrupt presidencies of my lifetime it is a tossup between Clinton and Obama. Clinton's corruption eventuated in the 2007 economic meltdown, but Obama's affected all the institutions of the executive branch. Obama probably takes the laurel in that contest.

Milo Minderbinder said...

Repent, the end is near....

Birkel said...

Neveliashka,
You sound exactly like the immigrants I know.
Thank you, too, for sharing your thoughts.

rehajm said...

Well done, Ann. You should feel great about your decision to disclose the way you have...

I never felt a Trump presidency would be weird. I met him briefly before he ran and work and know people who have worked closely with him, so I kind of knew what to expect- the persona is a bit tongue in cheek but he never publicly breaks character. What is extraordinary is his polices are normal and practical and realistic. Democrats used to have some of that. JFK understood the value of a modest tax base. Clintons once believed countries protected their borders. Freedom of choice...

There's little of that left with today's Democrats. In case you haven't heard there are legitimate Democratic Presidential candidates promoting socialism as virtuous. They have a plan to have the judiciary backstop an end around of the legislature and the electorate. They missed on SCOTUS so they didn't quite make it a complete success but are abusing the legal system and stretching the limits of legislative power.

Miles away from boring

LYNNDH said...

We all knew you voted for Hillary.

hombre said...

Hillary Clinton is a criminal who demonstrated her incompetence as Secretary of State. I’m not surprised that our hostess voted for her, but I am amazed.

I was a Democrat for most of my adult life. I am independent now. I donated to two of Trump’s primary opponents, but in the end I voted for him because he was an unknown quantity as a politician. The odious Hillary the Grifter simply could not be allowed to get her grasping talons on the Presidency.

Althouse’s desperation plea to the Democrats is a moving one, but in the end it is to no avail. It is no longer about winning or losing. It is about decency. It is about respect for our country and its heritage as displayed by Hong Kong protestors waving American flags or Germans cheering Reagan as he demanded the removal of the Berlin Wall, or our fathers and grandfathers dying in Europe and the Pacific to keep the world free and the Republic strong.

Donald Trump doesn’t appear to be a decent man, but he is conducting a decent presidency against fearful odds and he respects our country. Voting against, or otherwise condemning, the phony impeachment would be a decent thing to do reflecting respect for the country. Don’t expect any Democrat Congressman or candidate to do the decent or respectful thing. It is not part of their political ethos.

mccullough said...

I still think it’s weird Trump is president. It wouldn’t have happened 20 years ago. But after 9/11, Iraq and Afghanistan, and the financial meltdown, along with just the constant pushing of fringe issues like transgenderism and everything is sexual assault and white privilege and the rest of the Progressive Flummery, it really wasn’t that unusual.

Trump is a better president than W and Obama. We really lowered our standards with those two mopes.

Hillary, like Al Gore and Mitt Romney, proved in their conduct after losing that it was good for the country that they lost. They are very broken people who should not be near any power.

The same is true of Paul Ryan and Nancy Pelosi and many others. They are broken people. It’s good that Ryan left to make money from all the shitheels whose water he carried for 20 years. Personally, I’m disappointed in McDonald’s that they hired this douchebag when he was 16. He brought up his dad dying when he was a teenager all the time. A guy who uses his dads death like that is trash. Same with Biden and his Dead Son.

I’m glad Trump is there to grind these people down.



Ficta said...

"The media sucked all the air out of the room for every R candidate and gave it all to the man they thought would lose to Hillary. Trump.

Doesn't everyone recall that?"

I still maintain that Trump was Bill's cunning plan gone wrong. Clinton won both of his terms because Perot peeled off working/lower middle class voters (I know some analysts dispute this but I find their arguments unconvincing). Trump was supposed to lose the primary but have enough momentum that he would run third party and split off those Perot voters. But the constant media coverage, and the huge field of Republican candidates, and the rage of the working and lower middle classes that had been building since Reagan (the last president who gave a damn about them), allowed Trump to actually win the nomination and here we are.

Flat Tire said...

Thanks Ann. I wish so many of my TDS infected friends could read that. I hope to use your thoughtful ideas to explain to them how I see it also.

narayanan said...

4) Donald Trump cannot be gone soon enough.
_____________________
that is going to leave a lot of unfinished projects with no one knowing or able or willing to learn to finish them up.

we were just talking about restless soul of crafts ladies - think about restless souls of patriots who died for freedom.

zipity said...


I hadn't voted for a Republican for President since my first vote in 1976 for Gerald Ford. And Jimmy Carter makes me look smarter every time he opens his mouth.

Then, I voted for McCain. But that was more of an anti-Obama vote than a pro McCain vote. I could see where Obama was going to lead us, and I did not like it one bit.

I voted for Trump, and do not regret it. All the Dems had to do to defeat him in 2020 was not be insane, but that appears to be a bridge too far for them.

The Deep State, and the Dems are terrified. They never in a million years thought Trump would win. And now, all the illegal, corrupt, treasonous acts they committed to prevent Trump from winning, and nullify the 2016 election are about to come to light.

Forget the impeachment. When the Barr,Huber,Horowitz, and Durham reports come out, the feces is going to hit the air movement device.

Maillard Reactionary said...

BB&H: "Trump was given all sorts of air-time and attention. The media sucked all the air out of the room for every R candidate and gave it all to the man they thought would lose to Hillary. Trump.

Doesn't everyone recall that?"

I sure do! I was really pissed at the MSM playing all Trump, all the time and ignoring Ted Cruz, who was the first candidate I've ever supported financially. (They've still got Trump on the brain, but like the Sorcerer's Apprentice, now they're trying to undo to juju they did in 2016.)

I expected Trump to go native and fold like Jesse Ventura and Arnold Schwartzenegger. I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong about that.

narayanan said...

Correct me if I am wrong:

Emerita wants a NO on resolution - so she can vote against Trump again

YES would make her sit it out - too exhausted for more excitement.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

"I was someone very unlikely ever to vote for Trump. Now I am virtually a certain vote for him in 2020. How many are there like me?"

This illustrates one of Hillary's many mistakes, and probably the most important one. She saw tens of millions of Americans not as people she could persuade to vote for her, but as irredeemable basket-case Deplorables who probably shouldn't be allowed to vote.

Actually, I take what I said about liberals hating me. It's not hatred, but CONTEMPT, and that is far worse.

narciso said...

so col. vindman, let the cat out of the bag, as the ewok put it, he had national security concerns but mostly he thought investigating the democrats would lead to Ukraine losing bipartisan support, never mind the 5-7 billion in lost foreign aid, this is a bug not a feature as William taylor had been in Afghanistan and Iraq, previously to ambassador to Iraq,

Aggie said...

You could have said all of that without admitting that you voted for Hillary, but that's your choice to make. Here's what I think you should have clarified: Would you do it again, given Hillary's behavior since, and in light of Trump's track record of accomplishments?

The Democratic Party's problems are self-induced. It is true that Trump has beat them out of the starting gate. One just has to listen to a sampling of the daily bleatings: Yes, Trump speaks in a syntax that is geared to be understood by less articulate people - but he Communicates in ways that work! The responses from the Democratic machine all look like unprovoked attacks and they far exceed Trump on the scale of rhetorical hyperbole. And worse: The Democrats sound unhinged and bat-shit crazy - they sound incapable of relating to normal people. Trump just sounds like more Trump, a flamboyant figure with a history of being a showman - and he has definite accomplishments to back up his words - as opposed to the Democrat's Fantasy Football league. For their incompetence and unseriousness, they not only deserve to be beaten - they deserve to perish as a political force.

lonejustice said...

I bet Meade voted for Trump.

zipity said...



I regularly get phone calls from political pollsters. I hang up on every one.

Ann Althouse said...

@Neveliashka

Thanks for commenting!

Your point of view is most welcome!

Amadeus 48 said...

Howard--You know that Obama's minions put brown kids in cages first, right?

I heard Lightfoot say the same thing about children in cages yesterday. Wouldn't you think that Dems would shut up about something that they did that they now claim to abhor?

The outrage is just not believable.

Howard, Obama did it first. Go picket his house.

Rit said...

The behavior of the Democrats regarding Trump's victory isn't new or unique. We saw the same type of nonsense in 2000. From endless court challenges and cherry-picked counties for a recount, the Democrats simply refused to believe they'd lost an election to a hayseed chump like Bush. 911 put a brief pause to the selected-not-elected bullsh*t the Democrats were serving up, but most still believe it to this day. The politics of personal destruction isn't new to Trump either. Was no one paying attention to the horrendous lies and nonstop media assault on Palin? My local newspaper was relentless in their assault, both on the Oped pages and the front page. I terminated a 30 year subscription to the paper because I could no longer countenance such egregious reporting, and I've never renewed. A once respected newspaper is now nearly defunct.

The only difference now is that Trump knows their game and he plays it better than they do. I reluctantly voted for Trump in 2016 and he'll have my wholehearted support come 2020. If he could run for a third term he'd get my vote again. I've come to believe that it takes someone like Trump to expose the utter corruption and rot the pervades our government and the media. A small price to pay.

Dave Begley said...

Birkel:

Sidney Powell, Trey Gowdy, Jim Jordan or someone unknown to us now will shine.

In the space of 10 minutes I saw a patent lawyer in Tyler, Texas (federal court) destroy Apple's expert. Result? $400m plus verdict.

Nothing else in the world like our adversary system.

DavidUW said...

I've never voted Democrat.
I might have been a swing voter if I stayed in Wisconsin, but I moved to California and saw the "progress" of the Progressives.
The rot was apparent over 20 years ago, but thanks to Prop 13 I'm locked in with lower property taxes than if I remained back there. and still no winter.

Shouting Thomas said...

Can't really argue with what you said, prof.

But, I think in the past 3 years, Trump has proved he isn't weird.

He's competent, extremely so, and the results prove it.

bleh said...

Kevin Williamson described this dilemma a few weeks ago in National Review:

"And so that leaves at least one conservative simultaneously believing four things that are difficult to keep under the same hat:

1) I am glad that Hillary Rodham Clinton is not the president;

2) Based on what we know right now, I do not want to see Donald Trump impeached and removed from office;

3) I do not want to see Elizabeth Warren being sworn in as president in January 2021;

4) Donald Trump cannot be gone soon enough."


This is my sentiment, basically, but seeing it written out actually makes me rethink my position. The only outcome (barring death) that would please Williamson is Trump being primaried by an electable GOP candidate, but that obviously is an impossible scenario because the Trump diehards will feel slighted and many will stay home on election day (or even protest-vote for the Democrat). So the Republican would lose to Warren or whoever. Trump bowing out or resigning before the election would be seen as much the same as the primary challenge. Another coup.

Only if Trump dies can the GOP field a different candidate and hope to win in 2020. And I would NEVER wish for a president to die because of the potential fallout and damage to the country.

Basically, as much as I agree with the sentiment, I have to just hope Trump wins reelection because he's preferable to Warren. The risk of a chaotic second term is worth it.

Ray - SoCal said...

Anne,

I respect your reasoning for voting for Hillary, and they are similar to why my parents voted for her.

The Flight 93 Essay swayed me a lot. Plus what I saw in Libya, Iraq, and Syria with a failed foreign policy. Not to mention the entire Clinton Cash meme. Based on this I became a reluctant Trump vote, as I figured he was the least worst of the two. My expectations have been exceeded tremendously. I am surprised on how much Trump has gotten done, and as well as the burned earth opposition tactics by the Resistance to him.

I agree with you on the shock of Trump winning, I did not expect it. Politics is a hobby of mine, and it's amazing with everything against him, the Democrats, eGop, the elites, Deepstate, and MSM, he won. Not to mention the massive money advantage Hillary had, plus the Democratic voting infrastructure advantage.

Trump is actually rolling back many of the areas that were supposedly won in the culture wars. He is breaking so many overton windows. The US is like a supertanker, that takes a long time to make a turn, to change direction. And Trump is succeeding, which I still find astonishing with all the opposition he has endured. The positive is the opposition is unveiling themselves, and damage themselves in their fight with Trump. The US has been on a course of ever growing state unelected Bureaucracy since Wilson, and Trump is actually reducing the power of the Bureaucracy / deepstate. This is amazing.

Ray

PM said...

AOC will be 35 in 2024.

DavidUW said...

Thought experiment about Trump's "chaos"

Take an Obama position, and put Trump in as doing it, and then imagine the media reaction.
1) Trumpcare. Need I say more.
2) Cars for clunkers.
3) ISIS, Syria, Libya.
4) Benghazi (yeah that's libya twice)
5) Remember when Obama was the Deporter in chief? I do. he actually got protested in California.
6) Firing every single US Attorney
7) Holder ignoring subpoenas
8) Fast n Furious
What other scandals am I forgetting in his no drama administration? Now do Trump in there. Now imagine the media again.

There is no Trumpian chaos, there's just all the Pravdas in the USA screaming about it.

narciso said...

now is a filipino born aussie citizen?

https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/twenty-years-too-early-ten-years-too-late-and-the-relic-from-rome/

traditionalguy said...

Neveliashka sees the need for Trump's strong approach to stop Socialism. I suspect that is one reasons Melania sticks with him and despite his faults works so hard at being his perfect 10 First Lady.

Rumpletweezer said...

The Democrats are doing everything they can to drive independent voters into Trump's arms. A co-worker said to me that Trump won by winding up the Republican base. I told him that it wasn't Trump who wound up the base, it was people like him.

Gospace said...

Hillary would not have brought stability. All the Russian collusion crap was generated prior to the election. There is no doubt the intention was to prosecute the losing candidate for the first time in American history, no matter what evidence needed to be made up of whole cloth to do it.

Democrats seem intent on turning us into a third world nation in every way possible. California is leading the way. Rolling blackouts to prevent wildfires due to pisspoor management and conservation practices is not the future promised growing up in the 1960s.

tim in vermont said...

This is how Newt Gingrich lost his job. Pushign impeachment as a political winner.

Nichevo said...

But don't try to tell me either is a good choice, because that just destroys your credibility.

I grieve over your disapproval, Martin, but I was pleased as punch with Candidate Trump and am delighted with President Trump.

wendybar said...

PM said...
AOC will be 35 in 2024.
10/29/19, 11:10 AM


GOD HELP US!!!

Rumpletweezer said...

The Democrats are doing everything they can to drive independent voters into Trump's arms. A co-worker said to me that Trump won by winding up the Republican base. I told him that it wasn't Trump who wound up the base, it was people like him.

Seeing Red said...

Remember "no drama Obama"? That's what I'd like to see from the government. Stability. Good sense. Regularity.

Transformational politics is not stable. Maybe this is the effect of “no drama Obama.” The Chicago Way is deep in the federal government. It takes instability to loosen that grip.


The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

Thomas Jefferson

Why doesn’t the Constitutional Law professor understand she chose to teach for decades one of the most destabilizing documents in mankind’s history?

You are finally living in the real world. 50 states, each with their own definition of “stability.” Your classroom was calm. Life is not calm. If you want calm, stop paying attention to politics.

We are still on out First Republic. Our instability is what makes us...regular.

AFAIC, Cali was always very unstable and that instability is rippling across the country.

Ironically, this instability could be traced to your votes.

50-60 years of boomers tearing what was stable down.

You wanted what was important to you, your values imposed with no drama so it didn’t taint your bubble.

You are challenging, thoughtful and deep, but sometimes....

I have my blind spots, too, but there are certain truths we hold self-evident.

Kept pushing and pushing and pushing and now is the pushback. Deal with it. You’re not entitled to a calm life.




Dave Begley said...

One of the next elections main themes: Capitalism over socialism. Trump will pound that home in the way that only he can.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Impeachment at this point isn't about impeachment (where a high crime is necessary - and they know they do not have one) This is all a strategy. This is all political campaign. The media are even admitting it.

Gusty Winds said...

Did anybody who follows the Althouse blog, think she voted for Trump? I didn't.

wendybar said...

DavidUW97 said...What other scandals am I forgetting in his no drama administration? Now do Trump in there. Now imagine the media again.

IRS scandal and spying on Journalists are pretty big ones.

Amadeus 48 said...

Although Trump is not without problems, Kevin Williamson is daft. I can't remember--was he one of those NR folks telling us that Evan McMuffin was the savior of the Republic?

Those with long enough memories will recall that Rep. John Anderson, a sheep in sheep's clothing from Rockford IL, a spiritual suburb of Madison WI, was going to save us from the awful scourge of Ronald Reagan in 1980, and he actually got 6.6% of the vote. There is a strain of the GOP that loves being in the minority and scolding their inferiors for their inferiority. The inhabitants of NeverTrump Central have a long pedigree and they have always been losers.

donald said...

I voted for my dad. I just couldn’t vote for him. Everything he has done since being elected has blown my mind and proven him to be the best, and it ain’t even close, the best president of my lifetime. I even think he’s funny now. I know of no one who did vote for him who won’t next year. Mainly, aware people that I know hate them some democrat party.

Big Mike said...

You've seen that video montage of all the celebrities and politicians saying, "Donald Trump is not going to be President"...

So you went with the elitist opinion. Good to know. Your tolerance for corruption must be higher than mine.

mockturtle said...

The real question is this: Do we want the swamp drained, or do we not? If not Trump, then who?

RMc said...

I voted for Hillary Clinton.

Well, duh. Do you actually think you're shocking people with this revelation?

Quaestor said...

Remember "no drama Obama"?

What if the "no drama" is an illusion? A drama unseen is not a non-existent performance. What if the Barr-Durham probe reaches into Obama's Oval Office? If any of the suspects are indicted, it would be extraordinary that Obama would end up untainted with the odor of sedition. It would mean the lack of "drama" emanated from a lack of basic competence. By his own rhetoric, Obama admitted to —nasy, boasted of — being a "hands-on" Chief Executive, a "policy wonk".

How does a Democratic voter longing for order over chaos process Obama and the 21st-century Democratic Party revealed as the ultimate sowers of chaos and sedition? Would it mean the final death of Andrew Jackson's Democracy? The Whigs are long gone, as are dozen more named parties that barely merit a footnote. Who inherits the wreckage of the Democratic Party? The Marxists?

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I voted for Trump because there was no way I would ever ever ever vote for Hillary. Trump wasn't my first choice of the Republican pack but he was the choice I had. I liked Cruz's philosophy but he just gave off creepy vibes. Strong Constitutionalist sentiments but just creepy.

Since the surreal event of Trump becoming President, I have been thrilled. He fights back against the radical Dems. He has fulfilled most of his campaign promises despite the extreme headwind and resistance to every thing he does by the Democrats and by the RINOs. Trump is getting the best of the media morons too, which warms my heart.

The outright socialism/totalitarian/non-lliberal actions by the rising new radicals in the Democrat party makes me very fearful. The idea of them getting power is horrific. Say goodbye to the Country. To freedoms. Welcome Big Brother or as George Orwell said If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever"

Neveliashka's point of view as someone trying to escape what the Dems are proposing to foist upon us is VERY important. It needs to be highlighted and repeated for those who have never learned any history.

Given what Trump has accomplished and his can do attitude, I am gladly gladly going to vote for him again.

tastid212 said...

BB&H at 10:32am sums up my thinking.

I voted for DJT because Hillary was, to me, blatantly corrupt and disastrously incompetent. The election was an awful choice. I chose not-corruption; the professor chose not-chaos. I will vote for him again in 2020.

So I went to bed early on election night believing that I would wake up to our first female President-elect. Haha, surprise!

IMO, Barack Obama was the worst president of my lifetime. But he seems like a nice guy to have a beer with.

whitney said...

Any white person voting Democrat is voting for their own destruction. The Democrats have been quite clear about that and they were clear before Hillary so that's what I think about that

dreams said...

"I like when things feel normal and practical and realistic. Remember "no drama Obama"? That's what I'd like to see from the government. Stability. Good sense. Regularity."

No drama Obama choose to create drama for Trump rather than our enemies and we're still experiencing the drama caused by Obama.

Here...

"“I still say Kayla should be here, and if Obama had been as decisive as President Trump, maybe she would have been,” Marsha Mueller, Kayla’s mother, told the Arizona Republic on Sunday. The former president, who famously referred to the al-Qaeda offshoot as a “JV team” in 2014 shortly before ISIS declared a caliphate, fumbled his response to its growing threat in the final years of his presidency. Obama admitted during the G7 meeting in June 2015 that his administration did not have a “complete strategy” to fight ISIS and that the details, including cooperation with our allies, were “not worked out.”

But in 2016, rather than successfully hunting down terrorists including Mueller’s captors, Obama and his top national security officials hunted down Trump campaign aides. Baghdadi’s death should be a reminder—an infuriating one at that—of how the Obama administration, particularly the CIA and FBI, squandered vital resources in service to a politically motivated investigation into Trump and his presidential campaign rather than focusing their efforts on the legitimate threats facing the country."

https://amgreatness.com/2019/10/28/obama-successfully-hunted-trump-campaign-aides-instead-of-terrorists/

narciso said...

well except the weapons delivered to the Mexican cartels, the abuse of the community resource department, to 'community agitate' the support given rebels in Libya and Syria, is it no drama because the press says so,

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Unlike Althouse, I did not vote for Hillary Clinton. I will vote against Trump in 2020. There is no good reason to have such a dumb pig in the White House. The Republican Party should clean house before they point fingers at anyone else.

Although I oppose impeachment, Trump does deserve everything he gets, including the 'Lock him up' chants. He's a pathetic pussy who likes to dish it out but constantly whines when he's on the receiving end. For him to hide behind voters and say the attacks are against Republican voters is transparent bullshit. Quite clearly people can justifiably dislike him for who he is.

Bay Area Guy said...

At dinner, my teenage daughter, to her credit, asked me why (how on earth!) I could support Trump.

Here's what I said:

1. Ya gotta ignore his style, how he speaks, how he gestures, and his tweets, and all hysterical responses to his tweets.
2. Focus on his policies that affect 330 Million Americans. Here's two policies: tax cuts & secure borders.
3. Right now, economic growth is up, the stock market is up and unemployment is low. This means millions of men/women are working. This gives them dignity. This gives them money. This gives them the means to provide for their families. This is a good thing. I give Trump partial credit for this due to his tax cuts and regulation cuts.
4. Every country has a concept of citizenship. It means something. Our US citizenship is important.
5. Traditionally, if you want to become a US citizen, ya gotta play by the rules and follow the law. That's what you Grandpa did in 1955, when he came here from South America.
6. Open borders and allowing illegal immigrants to enter our country is bad policy. They need to wait in line and follow the law. It's that simple.

We shall see if it is working.

Yancey Ward said...

I guess I was right! Honestly, I had not seen this post when I posted my comment on the previous one- I open a bunch of windows when I first sit down at the computer in the morning so that I have something to read if the internet connection resets, as it does several times a day.

I was a more reluctant Trump voter than I will be next year for exactly the same reasons. There have to be consequences for behaving the way the Democrats have been behaving.

LA_Bob said...

Althouse,

Nice, passionate, executive summary of what you've been alluding to for months now.

I don't blame anyone for not liking Donald Trump. He is like a loose cannon firing at will, and it's a crap shoot what might get hit because there doesn't seem to be a coherent target. He can say something sensible today and something cringe-worthy tomorrow.

I live in California, so it didn't matter who I voted for. I considered third party, but Trump was the only real opposition to Hillary Clinton, and she was going to win anyway. I voted Trump for three reasons:

1) Judicial selections
2) Sanity on climate change policy
3) NOT Hillary Clinton

I was tickled Hillary lost but concerned about Trump then pleasantly surprised. Got all my wishes and then some. I pull bigly for Trump to succeed as president. Yes, he is a disrupter and a badly needed one.

Trump2020 without hesitation.

Birkel said...

Dave Begley:
Capitalism is the name given a system of free exchange given it by an enemy of that very system. Quit calling things by the names given by your enemies. By the enemies of freedom. By the enemies of free people.

Free markets.
Free people.

Conservatives must talk about freedom. Free exchange of ideas. Free markets. Free minds. Free wills. Free exchange of goods and services.

Accept no substitutes!

Big Mike said...

@Neveliashka

Thanks for commenting!

Your point of view is most welcome!


@Althouse, Neveliashka is a looooong way from being unique. Go read Sarah Hoyt's blog sometime. She came from socialist Portugal and her opinion about what she lived through and how life in a free US is better than anything she experienced back then. Or go find other refugees from socialist paradises.

readering said...

I suspect Melanie sticks with him because every time their paths happen to cross she tells herself again, No way this guy beats the actuarial table.

howdydoody said...

Ann, this is very powerful stuff -- I live and work in a liberal bubble, so people can't see the essential wisdom of your position (including my wife). I couldn't vote for either of them in 2016, so I wrote in Romney, as a protest vote. But now, I will vote for Trump -- not that it makes a difference in my very blue state. I envy you voters in swing states who will decide this election. If it is between Warren and Trump, I think Trump will win going away.

readering said...

If Republicans were really afraid of socialism they would dump Trump. They give the distinct impression of being more afraid of immigrants.

pacwest said...

Althouse is 5 and 7. Hardly a stellar set of picks. I am 9/2 and 1. Nixon, Ford, Reagan/Reagan, Bush, Clinton/Clinton, Bush/Bush, abstain, Romney, Trump. I win.

Roughcoat said...

I wanted a president who would break the bad things. I wanted a president who would fight, and fight back. I wanted a president who would call bullshit on the bullshit. I voted for Trump and got what I wanted. He's the straw that stirs the drink, and I like that about him, I like it a lot; I like his style. Also I think he's been a very good president. If he were a military man he'd be a maneuver warfare proponent: a skilled practitioner of Boyd's OODA Loop methodologies. He's the right man at the right time. The necessary man.

Qwinn said...

Yes readering, of course. if a Democrat candidate didn't drink, never smoked, never did drugs, and had the means to procure the best healthcare available his entire life, and a Republican made a joke based on the notion that such a Dem candidate was bound to die early, you wouldn't think that was only not funny but downright delusional, not to mention disgustingly mean spirited. Sure.

Michael K said...

Seriously, I'm a little surprised, I'd assumed you voted 3rd Party, being unable to vote for Hillary or Trump.

Even my FBI agent daughter, a natural Hillary voter, single, leans left, told me in September that she would NOT vote for Hillary. She said she wouldn't vote for Trump but definitely not Hillary.

I took her statement to mean that there was an FBI grapevine that Hillary was dirty. Comey had that ridiculous press conference in summer of 2016 to avert an agent revolt. Not the palace guard like McCabe and Strzok, but the real agents doing the work.

Crazy World said...

Good stuff, hopefully many others will see this craziness is absurd also, and what Dave B said 11:19.

Michael K said...

readering is getting hysterical. I like that.

Lewis Wetzel said...

It will be interesting to see how the vote goes. Pelosi was not smart to start this thing based on hearsay from a whistle blower. I tell ya, that woman is in mental decline.

Bob Boyd said...

I hate to be the one to tell you this, but things are never going to go "back to normal".
Abnormal is the new normal.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

It's now effectively illegal to campaign for Trump. Put a Trump sign on your lawn, or wear a Trump hat, button, or t-shirt, and risk being doxxed, deplatformed, fired, and physically attacked. MAGA means whatever the left has declared it to mean, you racists.

This is why Trump will win again. The American people won't stand for it.

roesch/voltaire said...

Having canvassed hundreds of folks in Wisconsin, I knew how unpopular Hillary was and thought she would lose in this state, but like other progressives I held my nose and voted for her. Now. I think we have to listen to career officers and State Dept officials, , who have real concerns about Trump's ability to compromise and risk national security and vote yes on impeachment even thought it will be voted down in the Senate. And In 2020 will will see Amy, a moderate progressive, on the ballot and I predict even Ann will vote for her.

Birkel said...

Anybody who is not afraid of Leftist Collectivists is a fool or believes they will be on top.

Lewis Wetzel said...


"Blogger readering said...

If Republicans were really afraid of socialism they would dump Trump."
I can't even imagine a world where this statement makes sense. Seriously, it's like something a person would say when they were recovering in post-op from having a brain tumor removed.

Craig said...

As a longtime Althouse reader, I had inferred this along the way.

I also reluctantly voted for Hillary in 2016. However, because of the hatred, identity politics and corruption that has oozed from the Democrats since then, I can't imagine voting for another Dem for president again.

I now see Dems and the media as pushing us toward a China-like future.

DKWalser said...

Let's assume that some core element of Democrats believe Trump should be impeached. Better, let's assume some hypothetical president from an unidentified party. Shouldn't the case for impeachment be so overwhelming that a broad bi-partisan coalition is willing to vote for impeachment?

I know that the Constitution doesn't require a super majority for the House to impeach. That's not the point I'm making. My point is impeachment is very destructive to the fabric of our nation. It's like setting a backfire in front of an advancing wildfire. You don't set a backfire unless the damage from the wildfire would be very great (and the back-fire has a reasonable prospect of success). That is, the president's actions need to be clearly wrong and clearly and significantly harmful to the nation (which is where the Republicans missed the boat with the Clinton impeachment). If the president's actions fall short of that mark, impeachment will do much more harm than good. Our Representatives in the House need to understand this dynamic. It appears that the current leadership in the House does not (or is willing to put their party's interests over those of the country).

chuck said...

My own early take on the 2016 election, after Hillary and Trump were the candidates, was that it was best considered entertainment. I didn't think either of the two was qualified. But when it came time to vote it was Trump. I swore off voting for Democrats after 9/11 and their greedy, power seeking behavior that followed, and none of the third party candidates were worth spit.

Mr Wibble said...

Obama was "no drama' because he didn't care. He was happy to hang out with celebrities, watch SportsCenter, and had no interest in anything which challenged his belief regarding the superiority of his intellect over everyone else. Policies? American lives? America's position in the world? Meh. Leave that to ValJar and the others.

Achilles said...


That's what I'd like to see from the government. Stability. Good sense. Regularity.

Obama spied on political opponents.

He sent the willing federal bureaucracy after political opponents.

He got service members killed.

Of course you voted for Hillary. Only someone who could accept Obama could vote for the end of the rule of law.

Ann Althouse is the problem with our electorate and an example of why democracy is doomed to fail. She cannot see around the media filter and will accept tranquility in the news while others are being persecuted.

There are no first principles. People like this vote for convenience and personal comfort. They are easily bought.

There was no justification for voting for Hillary Clinton. Just read the lame attempt in this post.

But it was easier than making the corrupt people in power upset.

GingerBeer said...

For a "Swing Voter" you sure voted for the loser often enough. If Reagan was too extreme, your 2020 "swing" to a D is going to be lit. You'll really want to keep that under your hat. No serious re-evaluation of RR since? Because that's when Ds went off the rails: using the special counsel laws to prosecute policy differences, Ted Kennedy's collusion w/ the Soviets, Robert Bork, Clarence Thomas, Reagan canceling military operations because Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) repeatedly leaked details to the press made available to him from WH briefings in his capacity as vice-chair of the Intelligence Committee. Surely by 1984 that was clear to the rest of the country, including WI. Just not to our "Swing Voter."

Annie said...

I so appreciate your blog, Anne. I'm a conservative through and through, so sometimes I disagree with you, but your fairness and intellectual honesty bring me back regularly.

I voted for Trump in 2016 and was not happy about it. But I was disgusted to think that Hillary Clinton, who so clearly had contempt for American citizens and American law,could hold the highest office in the country.Since our justice system didn't give her justice, it seemed like the only way she could even begin to get a little of what she deserved was to lose what she was willing to break laws to get.I wasn't aware that Trump was a habitual lawbreaker (admittedly a low bar), so I voted for him and told myself that I was somehow contributing to Hillary's getting a little justice.

I will vote Trump 2020 unhesitatingly,gladly.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Wow. I appreciate your disclosure. Normal used to be cool. Then we went through “if it feels good do it” and started, as a culture, celebrating abnormality. But the pendulum went too far, as movements do, until we had a worldwide crisis of poor leadership. Trump is actually a symptom of that worldwide yearning for a return to normalcy. He seems like an unlikely protagonist in this fight, being so unusual. But he also represents America as idealized by our culture in a prior era. I posit that, in spite of her individual vote, Althouse is getting that return to normalcy by virtue of Trump being in charge. We might be in for a bit more chaos on the way, but Trump, Brexit, Zelensky, Boris are all signals from commoners that we want a return of normal America, normal Britain, a non-corrupt Ukraine. Hong Kong is more of the same. Longing for real Western style democracy. Not a ruling elite as personified by the Swamp.

Bill Harshaw said...

Not a "democracy" when Republican candidate for president has won the popular vote 1 of the last 7 elections.

It's the American constitutional system, not a democracy. You need to ask Democrats to respect the constitution, the rules of the game, not the will of the people.

stonethrower said...

Without tangible proof, I will never believe that Ann Althouse voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. Never!

Caligula said...

"In a choice between a destroyer and a wildcard, I'll take the wildcard."

Trump was indeed a wild card. And an unpleasant personality, and not someone I'd want as a friend or neighbor, nor anyone I'd want to do business with.

But, when Trump delivered on the Supreme Court, I considered my vote for him fully justified, just for that.

In any case, as unpleasant as the President's personality may be, it's not something I have to take personally, as I don't (and don't expect to) have a personal relationship with this (or any other) POTUS.

But, results count. And when you read something like the quote below, you really can't help but feel the deep content Hillary Clinton has for so many of her fellow citizens. And, no matter what corners Trump has cut in business, it's impossible to imagine his being as deeply and thoroughly corrupt as either Clinton.

So, Trump has, I think, delivered. And who knows what Hillary would have delivered (but more Title IX "the accused don't deserve due process rights" rape-hysteria witchhunt seemed a near certainty. And even aside from SCOTUS, isn't that in itself reason enough to vote for her opponent?

Oh, the quote:

"Women have always been the primary victims of war. Women lose their husbands,
their fathers, their sons in combat. Women often have to flee from the only
homes they have ever known. Women are often the refugees from conflict and
sometimes, more frequently in today's warfare, victims. Women are often left
with the responsibility, alone, of raising the children."

Amadeus 48 said...

Thanks readering. It is really helpful get straight from you what Dem Central is pushing out to third tier talent. Keep up the good work. Mr Schiff is counting on people like you.

The Minnow Wrangler said...

As I have said, I voted reluctantly for Donald Trump. Not because I thought he would be a good president but because I thought Hillary Clinton would be worse. I was completely shocked when I woke up the morning after election day and found out that he had won.

Kudos to you, Althouse, for revealing your honest feelings, that you could not stand Hillary Clinton but voted for her anyway. I understand that motivation. She seemed more "normal" than Trump.

On the other hand you recognize that Trump has been abused by the media and the political establishment. You are more fair minded than just about any other writer I know of. Thank you for what you do. I really appreciate it.

Birkel said...

roesch/voltaire wishes he could vote for the Deep State.
He wants the Chief Executive to lose to a permanent unelected cadre of Democratics.

This is a recipe to decrease freedom.
I reject it.

Lance said...

Doncha just LUV the Democrat claim that a sitting President can't nominate a person for confirmation to sit on the Supreme Court ....during a campaign year

That was the Republicans arguing for that principle, or at least it was when Obama was president and McConnell the Senate Majority Leader. We'll probably see arguments for a different "principle" if there's a SC opening next year.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

readering: If Republicans were really afraid of socialism they would dump Trump. They give the distinct impression of being more afraid of immigrants

You are probably one of the dimmest bulbs around. No one is afraid of immigrants. Every last one of us is descended from immigrant, with the exception of Native Amerindians. (and even they came from somewhere else millenia ago).

Immigration is what has made us Americans.

What we (speaking for myself but also many others I presume) are upset about is the current tidal wave of ILLEGAL immigration or to put it more bluntly the invasion of our country by people who are breaking the laws to get here. We are also upset about once those ILLEGAL law breakers get into the country the Democrats want to just open up OUR purse strings and give them free things that needy American Citizens are having a hard time getting.

ILLEGALS are breaking into our home, our Country, taking the things that we have been taxed for, paid for all of our lives, and which we lectured by the Democrats for wanting to use.
ILLEGALS are getting a free ride, ....and we are not supposed to say anything about it.

ILLEGALS are breaking the law by sneaking into the Country. Illegals are breaking the laws in large numbers once they are here. Killing and causing harm and we are supposed to turn a blind eye to it and to add insult to injury we are supposed to finance it too.


Trump is one of the last bastions between us and Socialism.

Ceciliahere said...

The only real reason you could possibly vote for crooked Hillary is to have a female president. Nothing else makes sense. It is so obvious that she is the most corrupt person in politics. I would never vote for this hypocrite who ruined the lives of other women that her horny husband assaulted. Plus, all the other scandals, you know what they are. She has no morals and is so power hungry that she would sell her grandchildren if she could be president.

Birkel said...

stonethrower is an idiot.
Althouse deserves a better class of trolls.

Browndog said...

This sounds a lot like "I've moved on from the last election. My fellow democrats haven't."

Many life-long democrats become republican after a light bulb moment, when they realized they never were a democrat, only thought they were.

Trump has turned on a lot of light bulbs.

Quaestor said...

Although I oppose impeachment, Trump does deserve everything he gets...

ARM thinks like a German industrialist in 1937... Shocked, very shocked by the Brownshirts and their doings, but eager to be in on the kill, as we fox hunters like to say. I can picture that self-proclaimed Reasonable Man tut-tutting, "Too bad about the Jews, but we've got tanks to build!"

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

I voted for Cruz in the '16 primary and was happy when he won Wisconsin. When Trump won the nomination, I was sure the GOP would go up in flames in November. Nevertheless, I cast a very reluctant vote for Trump because I knew Hillary would be far, far worse. I'll never forget walking around at work on Election Day in a deep depression because I was sure that horrible, corrupt woman would be delivering a victory speech at Javits Center in just a few hours.

This time? I can't wait to vote again for Trump, even though he often still makes me cringe. The Dems show everyday that they are unfit to hold power and the NeverTrumper GOPers have revealed how phony and hollow they are.

And I grew up in a solidly Democrat family.

Skippy Tisdale said...

"The TDS left wants impeachment as much as Trumpers love brown kids in cages."

I called you a little cunt some weeks ago. My position has not changed.

etbass said...

Bob expresses my thoughts pretty much.

One thing I have wondered is how much Althouse's vote was influenced by feminism, toward Clinton. Self perception called for here.

Roughcoat said...

I'm indifferent to chaos, ambivalent about drama. I like to watch it and be in the middle of it. I like the excitement. It seems I have some sort of innate ability to detach myself from the crazy. The crazier things get the calmer I become. I don't know why. It has nothing to do with courage. I'm not humble-bragging. It just is. In dangerous violent situations my heart rate remains steady and even drops. I've been studied for this. I'm told it's what's called a "paradoxical reaction." Some people who know me well say that I'm a rock and fearless. Not true. Rather, I think I may have mildly sociopathic tendencies. And I am afraid of failure. Very much so. But failure and/or the prospect thereof doesn't raise my heart rate. So I don't mind Trump the distrupter. The more he disrupts the more I like him.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

"She got it by default, because I could not vote for Donald Trump."

There were no other choices on the ballot? You really are a child of the '50's, Althouse. For all your insights and epiphanies, you're still, at heart, locked in the Great Postwar Dream.

Shouting Thomas said...

The cartoon character of Trump devised by the media, and repeated by morons like ARM, has been proven wrong.

DOW +27,000, GDP growth +3%, virtually full employment economy that especially benefits blacks, and relative peace. Trump is following thru on his campaign promise to avoid foreign adventures. He’s beginning to make inroads in halting illegal immigration.

I knew this would likely be the outcome when I voted for Trump. He’s a competent manager and pragmatist.

Althouse’s identity politics, i.e. promoting women and gays, have nothing to do with the actual job of being president. Her criteria for the job have been exposed.

I’ll vote for Trump with great enthusiasm in 2020. You should too. He’ll be remembered in 30 years, I’ll bet, as Reagan is now remembered, as a great, pragmatic statesman and anti-socialist/communist. And the media and intellectuals, you might recall, as well as morons like ARM, derided Reagan as a clown.

readering said...

I recommend to all you socialism-fearing conservatives a Netflix doc, knock down the house. Follows 4 female insurgent candidates in the 2018 primaries, including, by stroke of good luck, AOC. (too bad it didn't follow Hill). I am grateful of her upset of the hapless Irishman who otherwise might have been Speaker now.

Jerry said...

"They need to give up the drama and hysteria about Trump and show that they are more stable and responsible than Trump."

Well, they aren't.

You cannot get people to do something they literally don't know how to do. The Democratic party's all in on getting power any way they can. They've spent the last two decades turning into a party where hysteria and drama are the BEST possible character traits in a politician.

Competence is tertiary to 'electibility' and 'diversity'. The status quo is to do as absolutely little as possible because you might screw something up if you DO something, but you'll never be blamed for NOT doing something.

So we end up in a decline, because it's SCARY to change things.
It's SCARY to fight Islamic radicalism, better to ignore it.
It's SCARY to actually do things that'll have a positive impact on the economy.
It's SCARY to go against the 'elite' who've decided globalism's the future.
It's SCARY to cut superfluous regulation.

Naturally they pushed the 'Trump's so terrible! Trump's ignorant about everything! He's stupid! Trump'll get us into wars!" And he certainly wasn't as 'smooth' as Obama. He's not a typical pol, who's carefully adjusted themselves to be inoffensive and bland as possible, and crafted their rhetoric to make promises they've no intention of keeping.

But you wanted the usual - smooth, quiet, inoffensive. The same old promises. Nothing 'different'... it's 'scary'.

And you voted for someone you LOATHED, because Trump was just 'too different'.

Think about that. You bought their drivel hook, line and sinker.

You voted for the usual, as bad as it'd been for the country the last EIGHT DAMN YEARS!

I can see you voting because of political ideology. I'd actually have respected you a LOT more if that was the case, instead of 'Trump was just so -ICKY- I HAD to vote for someone I LOATHED!"

What are you, in high school? But no, you're a "distanced observer, a natural-born inhabitant of political territory I call Cruel Neutrality." You couldn't pat yourself on the back hard enough, could you? I see no indication you EVER questioned whether you were right or wrong about Trump.

'Cruel Neutrality' would have been evaluating what the candidates were promising, and looking at their track records in an attempt to see if they could do it - then voting for whoever was more competent regardless of what you felt about the candidate. Hillary's track record YOU DID NOT LIKE! You didn't apparently look at Trump's record beyond what the media showed you. Trump's a moron. Trump's an idiot. Trump's incompetent. Trump doesn't know what he's doing...

And you didn't look past it at all.

Since he's 'stupid' and 'chaotic' and 'random' and just plain ICKY, it's just sheer luck the economy started doing better, and China's talking, and unemployment's so low, and people think things are going well, and the SMARTEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD™ lost to him.

Question for you, "Cruelly Neutral Observer" - how DO you get to be a billionaire in the NYC real estate market if you aren't massively corrupt?

Could it be because you're a fanatically detail obsessed manager who IS actually much smarter than the folks in DC? Someone who actually knows how to do things and be damn near scrupulously honest? Oh, no - Trump's an idiot. A CHAOTIC idiot.

You believed their lies, and you voted for Hillary.

Good lord. Talk about preferring style over flippin' substance.

Anonymous said...

You may want stability, but the Dems are fully in the hands of The Revolution now. Things are going to get broken. The only thing that matters now is who decides to fight it.

Birkel said...

readering stands against freedom.
She wishes control thru threat of violence on the rest of us.
I prefer free exchange of ideas.
Free people.
Free markets.
Freedom, generally.

There is no compromise between the two positions.

Marshall Rose said...

I have voted in every election since I turned 18.

Only twice have I voted FOR a candidate. Of those two times, only one has won.

I normally vote against who I see as the worst choice.
My choices to date: Perot, Dole, Bush, Bush, McCain, Romney and Finally Trump.

I voted for Perot as a protest against the establishment, which I felt then, and still feel needs to have the power at the federal level decentralized.

I voted against Clinton as it was obvious 25+ years ago that he was corrupt as they come and that the propaganda machine known as the media did not care.

I voted against Gore as he was a continuation of the Clinton criminal cabal.

I voted For W in the second election as he had earned my support with steady leadership, propaganda media demonization notwithstanding.

I voted against Obama as it was obvious that he was a leftist and was desperate to keep the democrats from ruining health care in this country.

I voted against Obama the second time as all of his policies pushed by himself and the rest of his party are incremental steps to ruinous socialism.

I voted against Hillary because she is the epitome of corruption backed by a propaganda machine called the media. I did not at all like Trump as a person and feared he would just be a democrat on the miracle that he won.

I will be voting FOR Trump in 2020, I will be volunteering my time and money to his reelection. I will work as hard as I can to make sure that any democrat I can defeat is defeated. This insanity has to end.

Jim Gust said...

"All I want is a very competent, reliable, sensible, good person who can handle the presidency."

Sorry, that ship has sailed.

You can't get back to what you once had. The MSM won't let you.

Do you realize now what a catastrophe Hillary would have been, had she one? Much worse than when you reluctantly voted for her.

William said...

I particularly enjoyed when Matt Lauer asked Obama about Trump's chances. Such nice guys. Sincere, earnest, well meaning. Their decency was self evident.


tim in vermont said...

This is the Democrats’ platform for 2020, “We are going to solve all of America’s problems by replacing them with bigger ones!”

mockturtle said...

I recommend to all you socialism-fearing conservatives

If you do not fear socialism, readering, I strongly suggest you live for a while in a Socialist country. Or at least read some accounts of immigrants from those countries. Socialism is the antithesis of freedom. It is all about control by an all-powerful State and once you get it, it's nearly impossible to get rid of it.

tim in vermont said...

"I recommend to all you socialism-fearing conservatives a Netflix doc,”

I am recommending that you head down to Venezuela for a nice long vacation in paradise. Maybe stop in Cuba and live with the locals and then you can update us from both places by commenting here on Althouse from those places... Using the computers and internet connections of local denizens of Utopia. I am sure they will let you having full confidence that exercising their free expression rights will not result in a knock at the door.

Then head over the China maybe and type your unfiltered thoughts into the intertubes there.

Birkel said...

Democratics reading this thread must despair or deny.

CJinPA said...

As a Trump supporter, I take seriously what Ann says about his presidency. I find it reassuring that a Hillary voter interprets events as she does. Don't know if that makes me sound desperate to hear what I want to hear, but there it is.

readering said...

I stand for free pronouns. Call me she if you wish, M. Birkel.

Sebastian said...

"Remember "no drama Obama"? That's what I'd like to see from the government. Stability. Good sense. Regularity."

So, do you think you got "good sense" and "regularity" with, say, Obamacare? If so, why? If not, how did it cause you to revise your prior rationalization?

So, do you think our stable and regular relationship with China was good or not? If so, why? If not, at what point do we need to disrupt it, and what costs should we be willing to incur to change it?

So, do you think open borders promote "stability" and 10M+ illegals make "good sense"? If so, why? If not, what should we do?

Of course, I greatly appreciate your revulsion at current Dem shenanigans. I have asked you repeatedly where you draw the line against prog depredations, and I am pleased you draw it here, at last.

But By Any Means Necessary has been their MO for decades now. They despise our system. They revile their opponents. They first tried to derail Trump's election and then staged a coup attempt. Impeachment is just the next step. It means they gamble that they do not need the nice Althouses of America anymore: that they can go hard left for real, and rule.

Rory said...

You need a threat: if you vote "Yes," then I will vote for Trump. The rest is just empty wind.

readering said...

I grew up in the UK under Labour Government.

tim in vermont said...

"The TDS left wants impeachment as much as Trumpers love brown kids in cages.”

You know that was Obama, right? This is the plastic turkey all over again.

Kathryn51 said...

Once Althouse confirmed that she voted for one of the two main party candidates, I figured it was Clinton.

Althouse, you may claim to be a "swing" voter, and perhaps you have evolved to become an older/wiser "independent" voter, but traditional swing voters did NOT vote for Mondale in 1984 after the incredible successes of President Reagan. The fact that you voted for Ford in 1976 (when you were what? 25 years old?) is irrelevant when compared to voting straight Democrat for the next 28 years.

For those keeping track, over 5% of the voting electorate (7.77MM) voted "other" (write-in, Johnson, Stein, etc) in 2016. Compare to 2012, when 1.5% (2.3MM) voted "other". As a life-long Libertarianish Republican, I couldn't stomach either Clinton or Trump, so in my royal blue state, I wrote in a name.

The Dems (and Hillary) may claim they "won" the popular vote, but they ignore that 5% to their peril. If for no other reason than to see that Trump wins the popular (and meaningless) vote, I will reluctantly cast my vote for him in 2020. And I think that a large percentage of those "other" voters from 2016 will do the same.

Michael K said...

Socialism is the antithesis of freedom. It is all about control by an all-powerful State and once you get it, it's nearly impossible to get rid of it.

You can vote your way into Socialism but you have to shoot your way out. It looks like Chile is giving up all that Pinochet gave them. Cycles.

Birkel said...

I don't think I had much to do with it.
But the conservatives here sound like I have these last three decades.
The shift away from Democratics and toward freedom is markéd.
The Democratics finally pushed too far too quickly.

readering said...

Reminds me, when do we get to discuss the December election in UK being debated and voted on by Parliament as we type?

tim in vermont said...

"I am a woman, immigrant from eastern Europe, and from the very first time I heard Trump I wanted him to be president so he could stop the left's mad dash to that from which I had escaped “

But readering assures us that it will be all rainbows and roses!

This is why Obama, on almost his last day in office, started sending back immediately refugees from Cuba. Seems kind of weird given his stand on other “refugees,” until you realize that they vote the wrong way, knowing that the promises of the left for the bullshit that they are.

People. say “socialism doesn’t work” but it does, it’s purpose is to gain power. Look at Castro, he died one of the richest men in the himisphere. Remember Chavez’s childrend waving around $100 bills on social media? Socialism works!

Nichevo said...


tcrosse said...
Given the choice we faced between two of the most awful people in America, nobody should be reproached for how they voted, unless they did so with enthusiasm.

10/29/19, 10:45 AM


Go ahead and reproach me. I was delighted at Donald Trump's victories and rejoice in his successes as President of the United States. And I piss on your high moral tone that you're one iota better than he is. The question of whether you're a villain or were just a fool is to be decided by your vote in 2020.

Bob Boyd said...

The organized grifter class is angry and frightened. They are angry their grift has been disrupted and they are frightened of being exposed and punished. They'll stop at nothing. This impeachment charade is nothing compared to what lies ahead.

Original Mike said...

"But this week, you have a chance to turn back from your crazy ways."

I'm sure Mark Pocan will heed your call. (yes, that was a joke)

Nichevo said...

If I wasn't sufficiently clear, President Donald John Trump is literally the Savior of our Country, if only he can succeed. Absent him, and proper successors, the death of the Republic beckons anxiously. This is literally our last chance before the long night. I would sacrifice my life for this President, and I'd definitely slaughter all of you wrong motherfuckers if it would help. Believe it.

mockturtle said...

There are so many in this country who are willing to ride the Prog-train right off the rails and over a cliff and who are content with the creeping loss of freedoms and overreaching of the government. The are as sheep to the slaughter. But the rest of us vote for Trump and are willing--I hope!--to fight for the America we love.

Todd said...

I like when things feel normal and practical and realistic. Remember "no drama Obama"? That's what I'd like to see from the government. Stability. Good sense. Regularity.

You may have "felt" that is what was going on and that is what the administration and press wanted you to "feel" but that is NOT what was going on.

"Most scandal free EVAR!"

"You like your doctor, you can keep your doctor."

"If I had a son, he would look like..."

"It was a video..."

Fast-n-Furious

"Never let a crisis go to waste."

Car union bailouts

Deficits

Tax dollars to green boondoggles

Using the IRS against political opponents

etc, etc, etc.

Yep, real tranquil times!

Some of us never bought into that BS and saw right though his nice creases.

Robert Cook said...

"If I wasn't sufficiently clear, President Donald John Trump is literally the Savior of our Country, if only he can succeed."

You're following an anti-Christ.

Nichevo said...


Quaestor said...
Remember "no drama Obama"?

What if the "no drama" is an illusion?


Anybody can be no drama if they've got their goddamn hands on the microphone!

Sam L. said...

I expect her to vote DEM again.

Openidname said...

Trump won Wisconsin, so your vote didn't matter, and this doesn't change my respect for you.

If Clinton had won Wisconsin, though, I'd feel very differently.

tcrosse said...

Go ahead and reproach me.

All right. I reproach you for inferring that I voted for Hillary, or that I won't vote for Trump.

Nichevo said...


readering said...
I suspect Melanie sticks with him because every time their paths happen to cross she tells herself again, No way this guy beats the actuarial table.

Just because you are human scum does not mean that Melania Trump is.

Iman said...

So you are hitting 3 for 12, a .250 batting average... 2020 will be your opportunity to stay in the majors and not be sent down to the farm team.

«Oldest ‹Older   1 – 200 of 336   Newer› Newest»