January 21, 2021

"If you read his speech and listen to it carefully, much of it is thinly-veiled innuendo calling us white supremacists, calling us racists, calling us every name in the book, calling us people who don't tell the truth."

Said Rand Paul on Fox News last night, quoted in "Power Up: Unity in Washington will be harder than Biden makes it sound" (WaPo)("Some Republicans such as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) even trashed Biden's speech itself, which was widely-lauded for its appeals for Americans to set aside their political differences and work together for a better country"). 

If I had a little more time at the moment, I'd go through the speech line by line and look for every phrase that can be interpreted as saying that Rand Paul and whoever he thinks of as "us" are white supremacists, racists, liars, or whatever other names might be in that book. 


ADDED: Here's Rand Paul's Fox News segment with the "thinly-veiled innuendo" charge:

 

Paul cites a particular line in the speech: "And we must reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured." According to Paul, the "gist" of what Biden was saying there is that his political opponents manufacture and manipulate the truth.

AND: Without yet going through the comments to see your suggestions, I have read the speech to look for what can be characterized as the "thinly-veiled innuendo" Paul was talking about. Here's what I found:
And now arise a political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and we will defeat.

Literally, Biden is not calling anyone a white supremacist, a racist,  a domestic terrorist, or a political extremist. He identifies the quality — extremism, supremacy, terrorism — and vows to fight the abstractions, not the actual people. These things don't exist without people, and yet, it's clever, because who wants to say That's me? Rand Paul's "us" can't say That's about us unless they cop to being racists, white supremacists, or domestic terrorists. 

Uniting to fight the foes we face: anger, resentment and hatred, extremism, lawlessness, violence, disease, joblessness, and hopelessness.

I note the use of the word "fight," the word that Trump was denounced for using in his January 6th speech. Trump stands accused of — impeached for — inciting an insurrection for saying, "We fight like Hell and if you don’t fight like Hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore." 

But Biden says "fight" — "fight the foes." And yet his "foes" are not human beings. His foes are abstractions: "anger, resentment and hatred, extremism, lawlessness, violence, disease, joblessness, and hopelessness." 

Is he really referring to people? You can't have any of those things without people, and some of those things come from within people and characterize those people as The Other, most notably the first 4 things on that list: anger, resentment, hatred, extremism. And yet Biden did not say the angry, resentful people are foes. He takes a hate-the-sin-love-the-sinner position. 

But there's no expression of love for these angry, resentful people. And I don't get the sense that he means to say all anger is wrong and needs to be stamped out. He expressed support for the racial justice movement, and it certainly involves a great deal of expression of anger —  anger, resentment, hatred, extremism. Those angry people are respected in their anger. Their anger is justified. So anger per se is not the foe.

We can deliver racial justice and we can make America once again, the leading force for good in the world.

He almost said "Make America great again." 

I know speaking of unity can sound to some like a foolish fantasy these days. I know the forces that divide us are deep and they are real. But I also know they are not new. Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal, that we all are created equal, and the harsh ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, demonization have long torn us apart.

Again, the literal attack is on the abstraction: "racism, nativism, fear, demonization." But these are things that only exist within human beings. So it is a thinly-veiled attack on racists, nativists, fear-mongers, and demonizers. And, again, who wants to say That sounds like you're talking about me

Well, Rand Paul does. It's hard to admit, but Biden will get away with demonizing his opponents if no one admits it. Obviously, a small set of Americans will openly take on the label of "racist" or "nativist," but Paul isn't talking about them. He's saying, I believe, that Biden is stoking hostility that is aimed at the millions of Americans who agreed with the Trump policies that Trump's opponents have denounced as racist. 

Let’s begin to listen to one another again, hear one another, see one another, show respect to one another. Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path. Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war. And we must reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured.

I included that because Paul himself cited that line. I observe that Trump himself continually denounced "the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured." But Trump didn't pontificate about unity at the same time. Trump forthrightly attacked his foes. 

It's important to acknowledge that Biden doesn't demand that his opponents shut up entirely:

To all those who did not support us, let me say this. Hear me out as we move forward. Take a measure of me and my heart. If you still disagree, so be it....

You can keep fighting, but fight within a system of good order:

That’s America, the right to dissent peaceably within the guard rails of our Republic is perhaps this nation’s greatest strength. Yet hear me clearly, disagreement must not lead to disunion.... 

 No insurrection, please. 

 [T]he answer is not to turn inward, to retreat into competing factions, distrusting those who don’t look like you or worship the way you do, or don’t get their news from the same sources you do. We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal… 

I need to give this my tag "civility bullshit," because I think that means now that my side has the power, let's be nice. Your side did not play nice when it was out of power. Did you ever tell your people to stand down when it was not in your political interest?

***

And let me quote one more thing, because I want to quote an annotation that appears in The Washington Post's copy of the speech transcript. From the speech:

There is truth, and there are lies — lies told for power and for profit, and each of us has a duty and a responsibility as citizens, as Americans, and especially as leaders, leaders who have pledged to honor our Constitution and protect our nation to defend the truth and defeat the lies.

The WaPo annotation:

This is one of the prominent features of Biden's speech: While calling for unity, an acknowledgment that some of his opponents aren't on the level and that their influence must be dealt with. Biden didn't use his speech to call out individuals who purveyed the theory that his win wasn't legitimate, but he seems to recognize that, without addressing the proliferation of falsehoods, his agenda will be difficult to enact. For a man who emphasizes conciliation, it was certainly a notable choice. 

353 comments:

«Oldest   ‹Older   201 – 353 of 353
320Busdriver said...

Joementia and Kammy are illegitimate products of an illegitimate election in Nov 2020.

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

"I'm not playing games with you or anybody else”

So that’s a hard no. You can’t show that PA election judges are not just as corrupt as the DoJ and FBI have shown they are. This is on topic because speaking the truth can never be called incitement in a free society and therefore truth is a defense against the charge.

Truth may be inflammatory, and it is a lot of the time, but speaking the truth can never be defined as incitement, and therefore these issues have to be expored honestly and fairly in a court of law. Which they never will be, BTW.

Matt Sablan said...

"Rand Paul can dissent all he wants, we 81 million can call him a crack pot."

-- Well, and one of you will attempt to murder him. Actually, wait, he was at the baseball field too, right? So. Two of you have tried to murder him, and that's not including the large groups in DC that surrounded and harassed him.

Let's not pretend that this heightened language against Rand Paul is just "calling him a crack pot." He's actually had his life physically threatened multiple times because people on the left think he's a danger to the country and needs to be killed.

So, hey, maybe try some of that Unity stuff Biden was talking about and maybe don't risk encouraging a third or fourth attempt on his life.

zipity said...



I promise to afford Biden/Harris the exact same amount of respect and support that Liberals/Democrats and the Lamestream Media© gave to Trump.

And not one bit more.

rehajm said...

we 81 million can call him a crack pot.

Many of you that are capable of calling him anything are being counted more than once. Many of you can't call him anything since you're dead or you exist only as a machine filled dot on a reproduced form or as a few bits created by an algorithm.

Howard said...

Backseat Driver Drago says: "See the pattern again?"

Q is all about getting it's marks to see patterns again and again in random noise. Unexpectedly.

henge2243 said...

"Temujin said...

"widely-lauded"

Yes, his speech was widely lauded by the same people who will be lauding everything he does right down to taking a crap."

I would go furthur and write, "he would be lauded for taking a crap in his own pants, whether he is wearing them or whether they are folded and draped over a chair in the Oval Office."

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

"Q is all about getting it's marks to see patterns again and again in random noise. Unexpectedly.”

And you honestly can’t see that you are pattern matching yourself rather than taking each piece of information on its merits? It’s a handy defense mechanism you have going there, keeps you from thinking. Whose he mark?

Oooh! Is “thinking” another one of Q’s techniques?

iowan2 said...

Rand Paul can dissent all he wants, we 81 million can call him a crack pot.

Name one thing the Senator has said or done to get tagged as a crackpot. (warning, I will not accept quoting the Constitution as evidence)

Joe Smith said...

"He is going to get hammered.

Nothing liberals like more than smashing businesses and stifling free enterprise.

Do you know anything about Mike Lindell?

If not, you should.

"During the 1980s and 1990s, Lindell was addicted to cocaine, crack cocaine, and alcohol, leading to the foreclosure of his house, and his wife filing for divorce. Lindell stated that he achieved sobriety through prayer in 2009 and has been clean since then."

He turned his life around and built an amazing business from nothing that employs 2,000-plus Americans making a product that millions of people have purchased.

It seems to me that he's done more for this country than either of us, yet somehow deserves liberals' scorn.

You're a tiny man with a tiny intellect.

Iman said...

Blogger Howard said...
I feel your pain... and it's delicious


Shorter Howard: “it rubs teh lotion on its skin”...

Joe Smith said...

"Rand Paul can dissent all he wants, we 81 million can call him a crack pot."

That's DOCTOR (actual doctor) Rand Paul to you.

Drago said...

Howard is now claiming that all mentions of Inga's hundreds of conspiracy claims is itself a conspiracy claim.

Its Turtles all the way down.

The pattern on top of the pattern.

This is the kafkaesque world of the leftists.

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

"-- Well, and one of you will attempt to murder him. Actually, wait, he was at the baseball field too, right? So. Two of you have tried to murder him, and that's not including the large groups in DC that surrounded and harassed him.”

That’s right, a Rachael Maddow fan tried to murder Paul and a bunch of other Republicans. Has Inga ever watched Maddow? You know she made like 1.6 million a year peddling lies that she defended in court by saying that nobody could be expected to believe anything she says since it was all hyperbole.

But political assassination adjacent Inga believed every word she said. Whose the mark again?

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

The left want to silence all speech that hurts their ears.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Inag watches Maddow. You can take that to the bank.

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

I don’t really mind Howard indulging in a little schadenfreude, I would be doing the same thing, I assure you.

narciso said...

still doing his best syme impression,


http://patterico.com/2021/01/20/a-first-look-ok-guess-at-the-letter-donald-trump-left-for-joe-biden/#comment-2493341

Inga said...

“Howard is now claiming that all mentions of Inga's hundreds of conspiracy claims is itself a conspiracy claim.”

What would Drago do if he weren’t given to lies and exaggerations? He sounds hysterical too, but that’s not a new look for him.

Iman said...

Blogger tim in vermont said...
I don’t really mind Howard indulging in a little schadenfreude, I would be doing the same thing, I assure you.


Absent the incessant masturbation, I trust...

Michael K said...

Blogger Howard said...
I feel your pain... and it's delicious.


Reinhard Heydrich could not have said it better. Have you applied for your Stasi ID yet ?

Gahrie said...

I feel your pain... and it's delicious.

Written like a true psychopath. I expect the videos of Republican perp walks will work like porn on you.

Maybe if you're really lucky, they'll livestream the executions.

Inga said...

“That's DOCTOR (actual doctor) Rand Paul to you.”

OK. Dr.Crackpot.

Iman said...

I hope Patterico is enjoying his Happy Gascon, narciso!

roesch/voltaire said...

we all know the FBI lies in our alternative reality :"A huge chunk of those domestic terrorism investigations involve racially-motivated, violent extremist-motivated terrorist attacks," Wray said. "And the majority of those, of the racially-motivated, violent extremist attacks, are fueled by some kind of white supremacy. And I would say that the most lethal activity over the last few years has been committed by those type of attackers."

Nonapod said...

These days it seems like there's fewer "team sport" political animals. These are people who think of politics the same way as they would their favorite sports team. To them, when their team wins it's time to gloat and rub it in the faces of the fans of the other team. Maybe next time the other team will win, but for right now things are good.

The main issue with this sort of person is that at times they don't seem capable of connecting politics with reality. They don't seem to be able to fully understand or care about what the consequences of what their team winning really means. To them, it's just blue versus red, good guys verus bad guys, my team versus your team. It's just a game. It's not really real. Any negative consequences won't touch me.

There was a time in this country when there were loads of team sports policitcal animals. But these days politics seem so much more serious and dire you don't see as many of them any more.

Joe Smith said...

"OK. Dr.Crackpot."

Just playing by your rules. Get used to it.

And no, I'm not a doctor, medical or otherwise.

But at least I don't pretend to be.

Matt Sablan said...

On the brightside, now that the Antifa protests are chanting "f--- Biden too," maybe they'll be considered the violent riots they are are stopped with efficiency.

Drago said...

tim in vermont: "You know she made like 1.6 million a year peddling lies that she defended in court by saying that nobody could be expected to believe anything she says since it was all hyperbole."

Maddow makes about $10M per year.

Thats why she had to turn every single show into an Inga Special of insane conspiracy loop de loops.

Interestingly, LLR-lefty Chuck adores Maddow and lauded her quite often as "brilliant!!"

In fact, for a time LLR-lefty Chuck's praise of Maddow went so far over the top for this woman that it would be easy to forget that LLR-lefty Chuck is a massive supporter and backer of male child sexual groomers.

For the absolute best left wing take down of Maddow go to youtube and pull up any of Jimmy Dores Show videos on Maddow.

You will find yourself laughing continuously.

Joe Smith said...

Btw, how many people died of covid yesterday?

Someone should start the Joe death clock as I'm sure it will disappear from the news networks now that Messiah, Jr. is in charge.

Matt Sablan said...

Oh, hey. Biden actually purged a Republican from government on Day 1, firing the National Labor Relations Board General Counsel -- a position that is meant to be free of political interference.

But, hey. Unity.

iowan2 said...

OK. Dr.Crackpot.

Still waiting for you to prove the smear.

Uniting my ass.

I'm surprised our host is allowing your presence here. What with all of your calls to violence and terror on those you dont like. I get the hate, but violence is no the answer, knock it off.

Joe Smith said...

'On the brightside, now that the Antifa protests are chanting "f--- Biden too,"...'

So you're saying that Antifa does have at least one redeeming quality?

: )

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

Rachael Maddow said the word “literally” and then claimed she was indulging in “rhetorical hyperbole.” in court. She also claimed that Trump was “literally” a Putin puppet and a traitor. No wonder her fan took a gun down to a softball field and tried to kill as many Republicans as he could. Was there any crackdown on speech then? No.

Assassinationists like Inag should be banned from the public sphere.

She how easy guilt by association is? the collective punishment part too, that part is the really sweet stuff isn’t in Inga?

Drago said...

Matt Sablan: "On the brightside, now that the Antifa protests are chanting "f--- Biden too," maybe they'll be considered the violent riots they are are stopped with efficiency."

This is the problem Howard and Inga and LLR-lefty Chuck are having this morning on the far left.

Howard and Chuck are currently sticking with the "antifa is a myth and doesnt exist" lie while Inga is trying to softpedal an "antifa tactics" line of BS which blows up Howards and Chucks lies.

So, you know, behind the left wing scene, there is turmoil.

WK said...

So listen very carefully
Closer now and you will see what I mean
It isn't a dream
The only sound that you will hear
Is when I whisper in your ear
- Herman’s Hermits

Tim said...

Althouse, you are completely missing the point, and it almost has to be deliberate. You do not have to identify yourself by those labels to understand very well that the Usurper is applying those labels to Trump voters in particular and conservatives in general. Biden is trying to gear up for a war on the heartland, and if he succeeds, he is going to get one hell of a surprise.

Inga said...

“And no, I'm not a doctor, medical or otherwise.”

Who said you were? I’m referring to Rand Paul aka Dr. Crackpot.

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

"Who said you were? I’m referring to Rand Paul aka Dr. Crackpot. “

And once again Inga takes the same side as two people who have assaulted and one even tried to murder Rand Paul, who doesn’t insist on being called Dr, BTW.

AZ Bob said...

"Somewhere, can’t remember where, is an account of the reign of Julian the Apostate: although paganism seemed to be back in control, it was now an artificial creation, brittle, anxious, ideological and repressive — one that couldn’t last. The old world could no longer be restored."

tweet by Harvard law prof. Adrian Vermeule, who was called out by students for his “highly offensive, discriminatory, and violent statements in online posts.”

mezzrow said...

I'm not being ironic when I say this.

What we have here is a failure to communicate.

Anonymous said...

"He takes a hate-the-sin-love-the-sinner pose."
Love the blog, Ann, but this made me almost throw up in my mouth.
In his 50-plus years as a civil "servant", where has JB ever shown that's what he lives by? Where has he tried to bring unity by living that out. Or he's just going to suddenly act like that now that he's prez, like a tiger changing its stripes?

Bilwick said...

On today's Instapundit: "Tyrants always want unity."

lb said...

It’s crazy how far liberals will go to defend violence against others. Are there any psychiatrists here? Besides massive projection happening..what is it when your mind won’t let you see that you are wrong? Proof doesn’t change it..actual words from their leaders don’t change their minds..stop trying to reason with these people.

Drago said...

R/V: "we all know the FBI lies in our alternative reality :"A huge chunk of those domestic terrorism investigations involve racially-motivated, violent extremist-motivated terrorist attacks," Wray said. "And the majority of those, of the racially-motivated, violent extremist attacks, are fueled by some kind of white supremacy. And I would say that the most lethal activity over the last few years has been committed by those type of attackers."

R/V, whom you may recall passionately agreed with the claim that whites invented rape, murder, racism and lying (yes! "Lying!) and practiced those things for over 400 years before all other peoples "learned" them, believes everything the stasi-politicized FBI tells him/her/xer.

Because R/V, as a leftist, has no memory of anything that happened more than 15 minutes ago.

Here you go R/V, a few very simple basics for you on the long, long history of what the FBI has done (and now with the CIA joining in):

Just google "COINTELPRO", then "Huttaree militia case"

But you wont, because you cant, because you know those thoughts are no longer allowed.

Dr Weevil said...

On Twitter, David Burge (@iowahawk) linked to a NYT tweet about Antifa burning down Democratic Party HQ in Portland and added: "I guess somebody forgot to tell the Moral Equivalent of D-Day Veterans that Hitler is gone". I followed the link and was revolted, but not surprised, by the number of people claiming that the rioters were all Trumpers. One suggested that they were taking out their rage at being unable to attack the inauguration because of all the troops in D.C. Others piously pointed out that the rioters are anarchists, not Democrats, so no one can blame the latter - conveniently 'forgetting' that Kamala Harris and other prominent Dems have paid to bail these anarchists out of jail while praising them profusely.

PM said...

"Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war."

Thank God, Joe's gonna take on the cancel culture. Al Franken welcomed back to chambers, but no 'honk-honk' jokes.

Inga said...

"Who said you were? I’m referring to Rand Paul aka Dr. Crackpot. “

“And once again Inga takes the same side as two people who have assaulted and one even tried to murder Rand Paul, who doesn’t insist on being called Dr, BTW.”

Tim, you don’t think that you aren’t being a bit hysterical with this comment? If I consider Rand Paul to be a crackpot, it follows that I take the side of those who assaulted him? Huh? Is that a rational thought?

And you are right about Rand Paul not insisting he be called Doctor. That was actually some idiot upthread that insisted I call Rand Paul DOCTOR.

mandrewa said...

Katie Hopkins: I watched Biden's inauguration first hand

That was a well written article, narciso, thanks for linking to it. Once again I'm amazed how it is that an individual, unpaid I think, can produce something that is significantly higher in quality, including the honesty, than what the mainstream media, like MSNBC and CNN, is providing.

Drago said...

Here's an article on just one of Rand Paul's charitable eye medicine missions to Guatemala:
https://www.eyeworld.org/article-sen--rand-paul-joins-cataract-surgeons-for-outreach-mission-to-guatemala

Rand Paul, an actual Doctor, is smeared as "Dr Crackpot" by collusion truther Inga while Inga demands respect for Not-A-Real-Doctor Jill whose education "thesis" reads like a 6th grade term paper.

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

"Tim, you don’t think that you aren’t being a bit hysterical with this comment? If I consider Rand Paul to be a crackpot, it follows that I take the side of those who assaulted him?”

I consider the election to have likely been stolen, I think that there is a lot of evidence that should be examined in a court of law. supporting my position, does that mean that I take the side of the people, whosoever they were, who broke into the Capitol buidling? That seems a bit hysterical.

Known Unknown said...

"the FBI report stating the greatest threat to America come from domestic terrorist such as neo Nazi groups, Proud Boys etc;"


Why do I trust the FBI again? Your side used to explicitly hate the FBI. Now it's just another tool in the bureaucratic shed. Remember Hoover? He practically assassinated MLK. But then again, MLK was one of those terrible Republicans, so maybe he deserved it.

William said...

In the middle ages the agrarian peasants had a vocabulary of about six hundred words. They tilled the fields, made their religious observances and didn't cause any trouble for the people who rode horses or wrote in Latin. During famines, there was the occasional peasant revolt, but peasants mostly rotated within their assigned spheres and respected their betters. Due to widespread literacy and increased reliance on technology, it's impossible to go back to those happy days. we should, nonetheless, make the effort. If we reduce economics or politics to just a few permissible terms, this will help to clarify thinking. " Fair share", "white supremacy", "global warming". If all the complexity of life is subsumed under a few headings like this, many of the conflicts that so divide our country can be eliminated. We have a lot of words, but there's no need to have so many thoughts. Perhaps more use of emojis would help.

Joe Smith said...

I thought DBI had a job?

Or maybe she's on the welfare train.

How the hell can she spend so much time posting?

Drago said...

Russia Collusion Dead Ender Truther Inga: "Tim, you don’t think that you aren’t being a bit hysterical with this comment?"

Inga refused to explicitly declare attempted assassinations by democraticals against republicans to be wrong.

To this day she refuses to even write the name Hodgekinson.

This is similar to Inga refusing to explicitly call any islamic mass murder terrorist attcks "wrong". She usually finds a way to blame western Christian conservatives for islamic supremacist attacks.

Inga said...

“Here's an article on just one of Rand Paul's charitable eye medicine missions to Guatemala:
https://www.eyeworld.org/article-sen--rand-paul-joins-cataract-surgeons-for-outreach-mission-to-guatemala

Rand Paul, an actual Doctor, is smeared as "Dr Crackpot”.”

Drago doesn’t understand that there are people (unlike him) who don’t see everyone they disagree with as being irredeemable. Well maybe Clinton did, but I don’t. I’m quite sure even Drago has some redeeming qualities.

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

"Tim, you don’t think that you aren’t being a bit hysterical with this comment? If I consider Rand Paul to be a crackpot, it follows that I take the side of those who assaulted him?”

I think that it is overwhelmingly likely that Hunter Biden’s laptop is exactly what it was. purported to be and note here that the editorial in the New York Times that said it “bore the earmarks” of Russian propaganda presented no evidence to support it and that no evidence has ever come foreward to support the contention that it is Russian propaganda or even anything other than authentic. One could even note that it has never been denied as authentic.

Am I a traitor? That seems a bit hysterical, doesn’t it?

walter said...

Rand will never be able to live down the potent rebuttal of "Crackpot! Bwak. Crackpot!"

Jupiter said...

"We fight like Hell and if you don’t fight like Hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore."

Looks like he got that right, doesn't it.

Todd said...

i>"Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we all are created equal and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, demonization have long torn us apart.”<\i>

No one knows more about racism and being racist than a Democrat, so Biden is right. That is also part of the reason no Democrat actually wants to "solve" racism. They still are.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

What is the difference between Q-anon and Rachel Maddow?

Rachel Maddow has an offical network platform and is paid 10 million dollars a year to spread conspiracies. *Official conspiracies.

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

I am just so shocked that Inga didn’t respond to my reasonable echo of her question to me. I will check later.

Nonapod said...

Due to widespread literacy and increased reliance on technology, it's impossible to go back to those happy days.

You seem to be arguing that ignorance is bliss? I would hesitate to claim that life for a typical peasant during the middle ages was exactly happy. Extremely high child mortality rates, the misery the plague, not to mention other common ailments, and the generally rapacious nature of the nobility toward the peasentry might suggest otherwise. But in fairness I've never actually talked to a 14th century peasent, so maybe they were still happy despite all that?

walter said...

You'd think he would be particularly susceptible to the glorified protection racket the Dems are running, given his shooting, surgeries and his next door neighbor.
Fool even suggested ditching the mask after having the Rona.
Mask harder.
Mask forever!

Greg The Class Traitor said...

Inga said...
“She's pretending the slavery comment was made about Nazis rather than Republicans.”

I’m speaking of Biden’s inauguration speech.


So, you're trying to pretend that 2012 doesn't exist?

Or you're just a lying scum who ignores all evil done by your side?

I’m not concerned about what Matt Sablan is trying to prove with his reference to Mitt Romney. Romney supported voting for Biden. If Romney had taken Biden the same way Matt Sablan did, he wouldn’t have encouraged Americans to vote for Biden.

Romney is a bitter pile of garbage who hates Trump for winning where Mitt lost.

The fact taht he's willing to support that creature who told voters taht Mitt would "put you'll back in chains" just tells you what a morally wretched human being Mitt is

Drago said...

Inga: "Drago doesn’t understand that there are people (unlike him) who don’t see everyone they disagree with as being irredeemable. Well maybe Clinton did, but I don’t. I’m quite sure even Drago has some redeeming qualities."

In 2016 Inga declared every single Trump voter to be a treasonous traitor and a white supremacist.

Inga would like for that history to be erased so she can continue posturing as a morally superior and "objective observer" of the political scene.

Well, for Inga to truly attempt that, she would need her own "Truth and Reconciliation" moment where she revisits every single conspiracy claim she made (and still believes by the way) and retract them.

Which shouldnt be hard since it is now a matter of public record that they were all lies...lies that she pushed.

Lets watch and see if she does that.....(don't hold your breath)...

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Of course Inag supports the beat-down of anyone not with the corrupt Democrat side.

RoseAnne said...

https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/05/28/terrifying-story-of-the-congressional-baseball-shooting-steve-scalise/

The mention of Dr. Rand Paul reminded me that he had a tough 4 years. He was also at the baseball practice and he and his wife needed multiple DC cops to just get safely to their hotel after a Trump speech.

He may have reason to be skeptical.

hombre said...

Ah yes. QuidProJoe is well known for nuanced speech of the type pointed out by the Prof here. /s That is, on those occasions when he manages to string two or more sentences together.

And who cares about Democrat unity speeches? They are a threat to taxpayers, gun owners, unborn babies, small business owners, the military, police, energy independence, free speech, free enterprise and more. QuidProJoe is a dunce who will do what the arugula chewing elite decree.

Paul and the few other Republicans of conscience should be relentless in their disparagement of him and his bosses.

deepelemblues said...

Shorter perfesser: Rand Paul was correct in his remarks, but I dont like it so I'll hem and haw.

The Crack Emcee said...

""If you read his speech and listen to it carefully, much of it is thinly-veiled innuendo calling us white supremacists, calling us racists, calling us every name in the book, calling us people who don't tell the truth.""

That beats Obama's never saying anything.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Thousands? OK - I stand corrected.

They must all be lying!

Readering said...

At least no one in the audience was promoted to pronounce, That was some weird shit.

tim maguire said...

Inga said...don’t think that you aren’t being a bit hysterical with this comment? If I consider Rand Paul to be a crackpot, it follows that I take the side of those who assaulted him? Huh? Is that a rational thought?

This is what people mean by gaslighting. Because that's not what you said, is it? No, what you said is that all people do in response to Paul's claims is call him a crackpot. Which means you have redefined words to include potentially lethal violence in order to dismiss it as not a big deal. So yes, you do take the side those who assaulted him.

I do try to think of you as a decent person with misguided ideas, but you make it hard when you also reveal yourself to be a dishonest manipulative person.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Let the healing begin

mockturtle said...

Has anyone else seen the Simpsons meme about Kamala Harris? The first woman President being inaugurated and wearing a purple suit and a string of pearls. Amazing.

walter said...

BidenFamilyTaxPayerFundedCrackPipe said...They must all be lying!
--
They got their stories from Q forums, obviously.

Skeptical Voter said...

The Democrats are fond of saying that various things Trump said were "dog whistles" for racism, homophobia yada yada yad. You pick the progressive pejorative phrase and complete the sentence.

It's also said that if you hear the dog whistle, you're the dog. Rand Paul heard the whistle. Biden is going to attack various "foes". And if you've listened to the Democrats (and don't agree with them) you have already been labelled a racist, a white supremacist, and an insurrectionist engaged in sedition. Biden has heard those terms used to characterize the Deplorables and he's going to wipe out the Deplorables. Or at the very least "reprogram them" or send them to "reeducation camps" as his fellow Dims have suggested.

It's going to be a long four years.

Greg The Class Traitor said...

Inga babbles:

So why are you assuming Biden meant you, the average Trump supporter? Maybe he really meant what he said, that Nazis are opponents.

Because there are "opponents", and there are "enemies".

One key thing I noticed about President Obama, was that he reversed the practice of every decent American:

He had not foreign "enemies", they were all just "opponents."

Americans? WE were his "enemies".

If your "opponents" are "Nazis", it's because you don't accept that anyone is ever allowed to oppose you.

And if you talk about "Nazis" or "white supremacists" in America being a real factor, it's because you are either an ignoramus, or a lying sack of garbage. Your opponents are ordinary decent Americans who want a decent life, and understand that the Democrat Party proposals will make them worse off. Not because we've done anything wrong, but because the Democrats require a hate target, and we are it.

You want to "reach across the aisle" to us?

Drop the hate

Drop the racism

Stop demanding that we agree with you

Stop demanding that we stop stating our beliefs in public

But you can't, because if you did the above, you'd lose 90% of your policy proposals

farmgirl said...

I’m thankful that time was taken- your time, Ann- to read, parse and interpret.
After these past 4yrs of 100%negativity toward Trump, his family, his administration, his voters/ and not just negativity, but- real physical violence- I myself, the perma-grin farm girl- am so standout-tears-in-my-eyes angry(a genetic trait) over this bullshit civility- and over the things implied. Implication of- or outright statements, depending on the hour: no “Republican” can have an opinion until they profess the truth that the election wasn’t stolen .

I grew up in a time where black was beautiful, prying questions were impolite and it was proper to proceed w/out acknowledging differences b/c God designs us uniquely. I blame the diary of social media for knocking the pyramid of blocks off that era.

The election was fraudulent- it was designed as such w/all the ballots in the mail- w/NO accountability- we're never going back. 2020, as bad as it was- was a manipulation and we will never go back.

wildswan said...

Did Biden say:
Racists disagree with Biden

Or did he say:
Those who disagree with Biden are racists.

Gusty Winds said...

We all know what this shit coming out of his mouth means. It's not a mystery.

Buyers remorse will settle in quickly, and everyone will be asking, who voted for this guy? Answer is a lot of dead people. We all know that.

The problem with the "realpolitik" capitulation to the voter fraud, is now you have a party with UNLIMITED power. They no longer fear, nor answer to the vote.

iowan2 said...

RV pops up, confirming the bosses have sent out the new talking points. The FBI declares White supremacy as the nations largest threat.

This is my take from earlier this morning, before the 200 comment break.

"Biden has read the FBI report stating the greatest threat to America come from domestic terrorist such as neo Nazi groups, Proud Boys etc;"

The exact same FBI, so politicized it fabricated from nothingness a counter intelligence investigation against President Trump, his campaign and the Trump transition team for conspiring with Russia.
We know FBI Special Agent Joe Pientka was ordered to stand down in his defined job description of vetting the accuracy of the Steele dossier. He was reassigned to get him out of the way. We have known this since 2018 from Senate hearings, that were immediately, classified and sealed, with the approval of Republicans.
Just a coincidence that all investigations into Senator Burr's insider stock trading has
been recently cancelled by the DoJ, Tues, Jan 19,2020. Just a coincidence.

Appeals to authority, require, you know, an actual authority.

In short, the FBI is a corrupt leftist political driven organization.


What we have here is talking points handed out a posted as required in a lame attempt to provide a claim that lacks any evidence.
What I keep hearing is the deafening silence about the Jan 6th protests. No Name yet on the officer that shot and killed a protester that was not a threat. No breakdown as to the planners and perpetrators of violence. We have the event to prove the accusations of the FBI, but all we get is silence. If leaks start to trickle out laying blame on the whole white supremacist conspiracy, we will know it is all manufactured.

Ralph L said...

let’s say a silent prayer for those who’ve lost their lives

Blankety-blank Popery!! We Protestants don't pray for the dead.

Rick said...

Inga said...
Drago doesn’t understand that there are people (unlike him) who don’t see everyone they disagree with as being irredeemable


It's fairly easy to determine when someone comments in bad faith. Assume they are speaking the truth and compare the underlying principles asserted to their stated positions in other circumstances.

For example if Inga believed this wouldn't she criticize Joe Biden for claiming Republicans want to return black Americans to slavery? But instead she defends Biden because her sole revealed interest is advancing Team Blue. No principles, fact, or even reality is relevant to this goal.

The end result is the powerful get a pass while randos are held to whatever standard is necessary to judge them using whatever fantasies are necessary to ensure they fail. This is the core nature of the left.

Matt Sablan said...

Hey, I'd like to take a moment to state again: That was an absolutely terrible transcription job and editing job at the link.

farmgirl said...

Antifa are anarchistic.
Eventually, they’ll turn on themselves-

farmgirl said...

Ralph L: you don’t? I never knew that
I’ll pray for them- Catholics even(try to)pray for their enemies.
So, yeah- tears in eyes withstanding- I try.
I also know- forgiving can take years& I stand by my gut- we can never go back.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Civility Bullshit is the kindest label one can give this dishonest drivel.

I Callahan said...

Written like a true psychopath. I expect the videos of Republican perp walks will work like porn on you. Maybe if you're really lucky, they'll livestream the executions.

It is my belief that the election of Trump has caused mass psychosis on the left, and that, for all intents and purposes, they ARE psychopaths, even if temporarily.

walter said...

1hr into Joementia's installation and re-funding, WHO casts shade on PCR testing.
Another Covidcidence like juuuuuust post 11/3 vax announcements.
SCIENCE!

Joe Smith said...

Greg at 11:10am

Amen.

Rick said...

Inga said...
“She's pretending the slavery comment was made about Nazis rather than Republicans.”

I’m speaking of Biden’s inauguration speech.


Note this gem:

Biden's claim Republicans want to return black Americans to slavery obviously wasn't in his inauguration speech. So how could her attempt to deflect criticism from this be related to his inauguration speech? Ridiculous!

In reality she was caught in an indefensible position so she lied. It's not like she has any principles to stop her from doing so.

Inga said...

“For example if Inga believed this wouldn't she criticize Joe Biden for claiming Republicans want to return black Americans to slavery?”

One would have to believe that is what Biden meant in the speech Matt Sablan was referring to in order to criticize it.

Yancey Ward said...

So, in essence, Paul was completely correct- thinly veiled. I am finished with electoral politics until D.C. is cleansed out of all the present residents power. This means I only vote for primary opponents to elected representatives and senators- both local and federal. This means I don't vote for any former representative of any other level either. If you want my vote, you had better never have served in government in the past in any capacity. Outsiders only need apply for my vote.

I will in no way cooperate with this government ever again. I will act to frustrate it at every turn. They no longer represent me and I feel absolutely no fealty to the US Government- I won't support any of its actions with my words or deeds. I will act to drain it of every resource that I can do so legally- I will act to deny it any resources from me in any legal manner that I can do- and I will drain it of every resource it uses to compel my compliance with its various diktats; and this applies to the state government, too, insofar as they act as agents for the federal government.

These are the things the people about whom Biden was speaking can do to resist.

Yancey Ward said...

And, yes, he was talking about people like me- he was talking implicitly and, in places, explicitly, about the 75 million people who voted for Donald Trump. This is not up for debate or textual analysis- it was clear as the nose on your face.

Inga said...

Yancey, I sure hope you show contempt by refusing your $1400 Covid relief money when it comes. That will show them!

Daddy Binx said...

For your viewing pleasure:

Salute the Marines!

Watch to the end: someone at the other end of Joe's earpiece tells him to salute the Marines as he enters the Capitol and Joe doesn't salute but dutifully parrots the phrase "Salute the Marines."

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Gahrie said...

One would have to believe that is what Biden meant in the speech Matt Sablan was referring to in order to criticize it.

And apparently Biden is to be given every benefit of a doubt, while Trump is to be convicted at the slightest provocation.

Actually to be fair, seems like the status quo for the last sixty years.

Drago said...

Inga: "One would have to believe that is what Biden meant in the speech Matt Sablan was referring to in order to criticize it."

Biden speaking of republicans to a black church audience: "They gonna put ya'll back in chains."

Inga analysis: its impossible to discern what Biden was saying.

Prior Inga analysis of Trump always involved literal mind-reading by Inga.

Another hilarious doublestandard.

effinayright said...

roesch/voltaire said...
Rand Paul makes Biden depictions broader then they were. Biden has read the FBI report stating the greatest threat to America come from domestic terrorist such as neo Nazi groups,
**************************

Any sentient American would ask, "Oh really? What terrorism have they engaged in thus far, and how does it compare with the billions in property damage, the rioting and the looting, the attacks on police, by Antifa and BLM?. And how about their riots just last night?"

But Biden's no longer sentient, so he won't ask that.

Yancey Ward said...

I gave away all the stimulus money I received last year, Inga- all of it, and I gave away the 600 dollars I received this month, and I will give away the 1400 when and if it arrives. I won't give it back to the US government, that much is certain- drain it of resources, but no cooperation- at all.

Go fuck yourself, Inga- we are not friends and we are not fellow Americans any longer- you argue in bad faith always, and I am done with you.

Francisco D said...

I’m referring to Rand Paul aka Dr. Crackpot

Let us remember that our sanctimonious and oblivious Resident Idiot has a nursing degree and struggled to specialize in Bedpans.

Dr. Rand Paul earned an MD and specialized in Ophthalmology, which is an area that requires brains and hard work.

I wonder what her issues are with MDs. Back in the day, nurses used to see MDs as husbands-to-be. They performed all kinds of "services" to get their attention.

Rejection issues?

Inga said...

“Go fuck yourself, Inga- we are not friends and we are not fellow Americans any longer- you argue in bad faith always, and I am done with you.”

We were never friends. I sure hope you weren’t under that misapprehension. If you don’t want to be an American, that’s your issue, I don’t really care.

walter said...

Inga said...Yancey, I sure hope you show contempt by refusing your $1400 Covid relief money when it comes. That will show them!
--
Sure.
If you open up your home to some incoming illegal imMigrants.
Take one (or two) for the team. If your lucky, they won't steal the vehicle you loan to them, like my previous roommate did...after he allowed them to stay in the home I rented at.
Otherwise, you are racist.

mockturtle said...

Far too much troll feeding here.

Inga said...

“Far too much troll feeding here.”

Sorry, I’ll stop talking to the trolls, thanks for the reminder.

Drago said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Drago said...

walter: "If you open up your home to some incoming illegal imMigrants."

Inga should open up her home to the illegal alien MS13 machete murderers that she claimed had a "spark of divinity". Something she has never said about Trump voters.

Of course, the democratical narrative today is that Trump voters are literally "ISIS" and "Al Qaeda" which is laugh out loud funny since the democraticals have been excusing islamic supremacist mass murder for decades.

NYC JournoList said...

If parsing words helps, then look at this passage: “ where just a few days ago violence sought to shake the Capitol’s very foundation”.

See what Joe does. Violence, not a person, is the subject of the above. But of course violence does not “seek”, people do. So, Paul is inferring the subject in this excerpt and logically assuming that subject applies to the rest of the speech. Sorta like a pronoun. Slippery Joe wants to call out Trump supporters out without leaving behind fingerprints. So sad. He would fail writing workshop for committing obscurantism. .

Greg The Class Traitor said...

I Callahan said...
It is my belief that the election of Trump has caused mass psychosis on the left, and that, for all intents and purposes, they ARE psychopaths, even if temporarily.

It is my belief that the election of Trump revealed problems that already existed, nothing more.

The psychopathic Democrats, the corrupt institutions, the incompetent "experts", all that was there before Trump.

Trump just made it visible. Which is a major benefit for society.

Because it's hard to fix problems when you don't know they're there

Real American said...

Rand Paul isn't saying "that's me. I'm those terrible things." He's saying that Joe Biden is attacking people like Paul (Republicans in general) by calling them those things, but it isn't true. We aren't those things. That's why it's bad.

Democrats always call Republicans racists, haters, and extremists, etc. That's their game plan and they really don't have another one because their logical political arguments so often fail when put under even basic scrutiny.

Rick said...

Inga said...
[“For example if Inga believed this wouldn't she criticize Joe Biden for claiming Republicans want to return black Americans to slavery?”]

One would have to believe that is what Biden meant in the speech Matt Sablan was referring to in order to criticize it.


First note this defense exactly contradicts her previous defense that she was referring to the inauguration speech. Now she has a different justification, and when this one fails there will be another. Such is the nature of unprincipled people. The conclusion never changes, only the justification.

Second note the issue is not whether Biden believes Republicans want to return black Americans to slavery (although by Inga's asserted standards this would make him hysterical and extreme). It's that he is now posing as someone against hateful rhetoric and political war. But this quote (and others) show he embraces the tactic. Inga's defense of him shows she does as well. This has always been obvious since there's never been leftist generated hate-the-right movement she didn't enthusiastically participate in from They're All Racist to They're Creating The HandMaid's Tale to Trump is a Putin Spy. She's all-in on every one which makes her efforts to claim others are extreme a farce.

But most importantly importantly here is Biden's exact quote speaking of Republicans to an NAACP audience:

"They want to put ya'll back in chains".

I'll just copy the conclusion from above.

"The end result is the powerful get a pass while randos are held to whatever standard is necessary to judge them using whatever fantasies are necessary to ensure they fail. This is the core nature of the left."

To expand the first element leftists are always granted whatever presumption is necessary to exonerate them from their words. In the cultist mind no ally is ever guilty. They always meant something else no matter how implausible.

Again there's an easy method to test whether the generosity she grants leftists is genuine or simply a partisan driven defense. She claims not to believe what people say, but rather insists there can be other meanings than their clear words. Does she apply this standard to people other than Team Blue?

Of course not! Rather than granting them this leeway away from their clear meaning she routinely insists their words include implausible additional meanings to make them seem more extreme.

Scott Alexander's internet-famous essay on the In-Group vs the Out-Group explains how people fall into this trap, although it includes a presumption it is working subconsciously which cannot possibly apply when the standards and resulting contrasts are as ridiculously extreme as Ingas. But it's something well intentioned people generally should be aware of.

J. Farmer said...

@I Callahan:

It is my belief that the election of Trump has caused mass psychosis on the left, and that, for all intents and purposes, they ARE psychopaths, even if temporarily.

You're confusing psychosis with psychopathy.

J. Farmer said...

@Greg The Class Traitor:

Trump just made it visible. Which is a major benefit for society.

Because it's hard to fix problems when you don't know they're there


With all due respect Greg, not only have the problems long predated Trump, they've always been visible. The problem is that the Republicans were embracing the very neoliberal policies that helped get us here.

walter said...

"During Biden’s first day serving as President, he replaced the bust, which was originally a gift to the White House in 2001 from then-Prime Minister Tony Blair, with a bust of labor activist Cesar Chavez."
The guy who called illegals "wetbacks"
That's raaaacist..or something.
Poor Churchill gettin' the runaround.
https://thenationalpulse.com/breaking/biden-removes-churchill-bust/

Gahrie said...

Second note the issue is not whether Biden believes Republicans want to return black Americans to slavery

To be fair, if one ignores where the remarks were made and the composition of the audience, and only relies on the words themselves... you can make an argument that Biden was not referring to Black people specifically in that remark, but all Americans.

But I believe that is called "taken out of context".

boatbuilder said...

I've always admired Paul's straightforwardness and have respected his willingness to go against the tide. I've also been a little bit leery of him because of his dad, who is way out there, and because I accepted the basic premise that the Republican leadership--in particular GWB--and our national security establishment has the best interests of the country in mind.

Heh. I now know just how wrong I was about the latter.

Many have said that if Trump wasn't such a "bully" he would have won a second term and been hugely popular. I don't know about that; I think Trump was the battering ram needed to break down the walls--and I am enormously grateful to him for having the courage and stamina to do so.

Maybe Paul is the guy to pick up the Trump mantle and lead.

gbarto said...

For those who think Ann is whitewashing the speech (can we say that?): It feels to me more like she's showcasing the rhetorical strategy used so that Biden can sideline his opponents as evil while his supporters tell themselves he said nothing objectionable. In particular, she makes it clear that he's framed things in a way his supporters are not precluded from still assuming that all Trump voters are racist by virtue of voting for Trump.

n.n said...

Diversity dogma (e.g. Pro-Choice religion of the Progressive Church) denies individual dignity, individual conscience, intrinsic value, and normalizes color blocs, color quotas, and affirmative discrimination. Progress is one step forward, two steps backward.

Rick said...

Gahrie said...
To be fair, if one ignores where the remarks were made and the composition of the audience, and only relies on the words themselves... you can make an argument that Biden was not referring to Black people specifically in that remark, but all Americans.


And how would that show Joe believes:

Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path. Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war.?

Insufficiently Sensitive said...

Heather Mac Donald yesterday nailed it in her 'Words of Division'.

hombre said...

Inga: “One would have to believe that is what Biden meant in the speech Matt Sablan was referring to in order to criticize it.” Really, Inga? How stupid and/or mendacious are you.

Charles Rangel: “Was he talking about slavery? You bet your a** he was. Was he using the vernacular? Yes, he was,” said Rangel, a longtime New York Democrat who is a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus. “Did he think it was cute … Yes, he did. Was it something stupid to say? You bet your life it was stupid.”

Biden’s comments to a mixed, largely black audience, were obviously not intended to be taken literally, only disparagingly and directed at Republicans and their intent. It was race-baiting and divisive. The same kind of stuff to which Paul refers. Just a precursor the the “systemic racism” and “white supremacy” bullshit leveled at non-Democrats.

Big Mike said...

With all due respect Greg, not only have the problems long predated Trump, they've always been visible.

If one looks, yes. But with the news media relentlessly pushing the “all Republicans are racists all the time” meme, there’s a question of whether, or even why, ordinary people would be bothered to to look.

Gahrie said...

And how would that show Joe believes:

Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path. Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war.?


Never said it did. I even pointed out that in order to make the argument that it wasn't racist, you have to take the quote out of context. But that has never stopped the Left before. I believe today there are saying that there is no such thing as context, and in fact context was a tool used by the White Patriarchy to oppress the good people of the world.

mockturtle said...

I think Trump was the battering ram needed to break down the walls--and I am enormously grateful to him for having the courage and stamina to do so.

I think so too, boatbuilder.

daskol said...

He’s a demented old coot who couldn’t tell you a word of what he read yesterday. He can plausibly deny calling me a racist while supremacist domestic terrorism supporter. I remember though, that he’s hiring a staff who hates Americans even more than they did when they worked for Obama the first time, because now we’ve got to account for Trump.

n.n said...

In the Soviet Union, and Nazi Germany, there was Jew privilege to stoke diversity and adversity. In America, there is White privilege. Here's to progress. #BabyLivesMatter(BLM)

Rick said...

Gahrie said...

Never said it did.


Right. But my point is that even if you give it the most generous reading possible it still conflicts with Biden the Performer.

Inga knows this which is why she refuses to say what she thinks Joe did mean. Since nothing she can claim can change this and also advances her reputation as a partisan shill she sticks to blanket denials. Kids caught in lies act like this, but they usually stop by late elementary school.

Immanuel Rant said...

"There is truth, and there are lies — lies told for power and for profit, and each of us has a duty and a responsibility as citizens, as Americans, and especially as leaders, leaders who have pledged to honor our Constitution and protect our nation to defend the truth and defeat the lies."

You mean like the "Good people on both sides" lie that was used repeatedly during the campaign and never walked back?

J. Farmer said...

@Big Mike:

If one looks, yes. But with the news media relentlessly pushing the “all Republicans are racists all the time” meme, there’s a question of whether, or even why, ordinary people would be bothered to to look.

Well, it wasn't exactly a secret. Presidential candidates were running on the issues and saying what they wanted to do. Rush Limbaugh supported NAFTA and ridiculed callers who expressed concerns about American jobs. Pat Buchanan challenged H.W. Bush for the '92 Republican primary in part because of trade liberalization. Ross Perot ran has a third-party candidate opposing NAFTA. Bush support permanent normal trade relations with China. When he came into office, the US had free trade agreements with three countries. It was 16 countries when he left.

Tom said...

I’m a libertarian. But I know Trump and Biden supporters. The Trump supports I know aren’t racists. They do, however , feel pitted against POC for political purposes and resent it.

The Biden supporters I know are some of the most hateful people I’ve ever met. Most of them college educated women who are once removed from their NASCAR loving families. They hate everything Redneck and in turn, hate Trump supporters.

It’s gotten to the pony where I’m not sure half the voters want to be in the same country as the other half.

walter said...

By the way, Rand and his wife (and others) were also surrounded and harrassed by "domestic terrorists" after walking from that WH event.
Lefties aghast at attacks on Democracy yawned.

walter said...

Tom,
A one horse pony.

I'm Not Sure said...

"It’s gotten to the pony where I’m not sure half the voters want to be in the same country as the other half.

No, they don't. But the Biden half sure as shit wants to rule over the others, just the same.

Chick said...

Well I don't know. Senator Paul is not a lawyer. I'm not sure I can trust him with the truth.

mockturtle said...

I'm Not Sure observes: No, they don't. But the Biden half sure as shit wants to rule over the others, just the same.

That's the big difference, isn't it? It's no fun for the Libs to preach only to their own choir. But, left entirely to their own devices, they would, like the French Revolutionaries, turn on each other for being insufficiently 'woke' until there was no one left to guillotine.

I'm Not Sure said...

"But, left entirely to their own devices, they would, like the French Revolutionaries, turn on each other for being insufficiently 'woke' until there was no one left to guillotine."

That's fine with me- as long as they keep it to themselves and leave me and mine alone. I don't have a problem with progs thinking it's hip and sophisticated to have riots in their towns every night and people camped out and shitting on their sidewalks. Their towns- their sidewalks. We don't want that crap here.

Iman said...

You're confusing psychosis with psychopathy.

Hey, he made his point, it was understood. Something we all should strive for, miss fussbudget.

Big Mike said...

Rand Paul is a health care provider who has given his time and medical skills to help the poor people of places like Guatemala and, I understand, Haiti. Inga claims to be a health care provider. Has she ever donated her time and skills to help poor people in poor countries? One wonders.

Big Mike said...

@Farmer, your response to me is orthogonal to the point I was making.

Jim at said...

we 81 million can call him a crack pot.

Anyone who truly believes 2020 Biden got 12 million more votes than 2008 Obama - while carrying only 2/3 of the number of counties - has no fucking business calling somebody else a crackpot.

J. Farmer said...

@Iman:

Hey, he made his point, it was understood. Something we all should strive for, miss fussbudget.

It's Mrs. Fussbudget to you, pal.

Michael K said...

These 400 comment Inga threads are exhausting.

Earlier, readering seemed unhappy that I called him/her on the AWS action by Amazon to deplatform Parler. readering thought that was just fine.

Tulsi Gabbard has a concise explanation why these things happen.

Gabbard then discussed her recent legislation that would reform section 230, which would remove the broad protections provided by the law and make things a bit more precise in what Silicon Valley giants can get away with.
It seems like a pretty obvious move so why hasn�t it been done yet? Gabbard lets us in on a little Capitol Hill secret.

...

Gabbard notes that despite all the committee hearings and big talk, nothing has been done. So why?

"It goes to money," said Gabbard.

"I've seen it happen," she continued. "Google will have a bit reception and members of congress will go and pick up their checks. Facebook will have a big reception and they'll go and 'hey, where�s my check?'"


See how easy that was ?

walter said...

Michael K,
Interesting.
Have a link to that? I searched on Go Go Duck and got nothing.

Big Mike said...

@Althouse, you surprised me. I owe you an apology.

pious agnostic said...

The best thing about this is that when things go to hell, like the economy, war in the Middle East, wherever Biden ends up starting a new war, etc., they will always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always blame Trump.

You know how I know this?

Because 12 years after Bush left office, Democrats still are blaming him for Obama's inability to turn the economy around.

Funny how Trump was able to do what Obama couldn't.

COVID smashed everything up, and I don't expect that Biden will be able to fix anything. "His" policies are designed to keep the economy sputtering. But they'll blame Trump. Just watch it.

DeepRunner said...

Ann Althouse said this about an excerpt from Joe Biden's speech:
"Literally, Biden is not calling anyone a white supremacist, a racist, a domestic terrorist, or a political extremist."
Well, then using that logic, "literally" impeachment should be dismissed immediately. At least she gave it the civility BS tag. I would have left off the civility part though.

"They" are racist. Rand Paul was right. Biden was pointing toward people who don't agree with him and "us", whoever "us" is. It was the first resort of O. It is the first cudgel of Muttering Joe.

Josephbleau said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Josephbleau said...
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Rusty said...

"Literally, Biden is not calling anyone a white supremacist, a racist, a domestic terrorist, or a political extremist. He identifies the quality — extremism, supremacy, terrorism — and vows to fight the abstractions, not the actual people."
These are the words the left uses to describe conservatism and conservatives.These are the words they use to describe MAGA.
We are watching the left build a justification for controlling speech, the written word. What you are allowed to watch. Who you are allowed to associate with. Whether or not you will be allowed to protect yourself. Which rights are allowed.
We are being governed by the high school not popular girls club and we offended them. We must be punished.

John Clifford said...

How on Earth can anyone honestly say that the biggest threat to America today comes from right-wing domestic terrorism? First, the biggest threat we face today is China. The biggest internal threat we face are radical anarchists in the Antifa movement (and the ones who are co-opting the BLM movement). Who was burning cities, assaulting police and civilians, rioting, etc.?

Biden's speech, as others have pointed out, shows that he and the Democrats blame their politcal opponents for all that is wrong with the country and the world. The unity he calls for is the unity of submission. As dumb as Joe is, even he is not that dumb... this is all pretext for the hammer that is coming.

The right-wing crazies all follow Qanon conspiracies and are mostly middle-class people employed by small businesses. The left-wing crazies all believe in the Russia collusion hoax, think that what happened on Jan 6 was an act of insurrection, have secure jobs in Congress, the Senate, the White House, or the FBI or other government agencies. The Qanon people only threaten themselves, the Democrats threaten the integrity and stability of the nation. I know who I'm more afraid of.

Ann, that you don't recognize the naked threat of Biden's speech and what it portends is concerning. We wonder how the German people could have sat by and seen the Weimar Republic turn into a National Socialist dictatorship... and we are seeing the same thing happen today, using the crisis of COVID and 'insurrection' as the justification for what is coming. I see it as a dark time for America, and I hope I'm wrong but I'm afraid I'm not.

lb said...

John Clifford..very well said

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