This might be the most specious piece of so-called journalistic analysis I have happened upon in a long while.
Let's see if I have the author's point correct. The defaming, propagandist Left doesn't like Trump, so by relentlessly smearing him, theatening more lawfare and even the physical violence usually associated with calls to "war", they are succeeding -- in their dreams at least -- in undermining his chief lieutenant and crashing his poll numbers. And if they repeat the Big Lies often enough -- especially the one about Musk, not Trump, now running the country -- perhaps they can poke Trump into saying or doing something impeachably stupid.
And how did all that work out for them 3 months ago?
As I have written a few times since the election, Democrats continue to play the cartoonish Wiley E. Coyote to Donald Trump's Road Runner. There really is no fixing stupid. The voters have their number.
TLP is not on the left. Nate doesn’t say anything about lawfare or violence. Musk is responsible for many of his problems. We do political analysis and not propaganda as four years of posts show.
I can't believe Democrats are this clueless. What do they stand for? What policies are they promoting? Using Trump as a punching bag didn't work, so now they're attacking Elon? Full court media press is dragging down Elon's so-called poll numbers (untrustworthy), Americans are sick of this. Watching Dems get the Manhattan courts involved again, watching them grandstanding showboating, lying, actually calling for impeachment, they're caricatures of leaders, just cheap political hacks defending the status quo.
Every day, the President of the United States is faced with scores of decisions, each with important consequences for America's future. To provide the President with the support that he or she needs to govern effectively, the Executive Office of the President (EOP) was created in 1939 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The EOP has responsibility for tasks ranging from communicating the President's message to the American people to promoting our trade interests abroad.
The EOP, overseen by the White House Chief of Staff, has traditionally been home to many of the President's closest advisers. While Senate confirmation is required for some advisers, such as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, most are appointed with full Presidential discretion. The individual offices that these advisors oversee have grown in size and number since the EOP was created. Some were formed by Congress, others as the President has needed them — they are constantly shifting as each President identifies his needs and priorities, with the current EOP employing over 1,800 people.
Absolutely no one outside the progressive silo believes this. The fact that your party is still trying to peddle this "threat to democracy" to NORMAL people is just a loser, it's as simple as that. Many of us would like to have some sane choice in the next election and you're not even trying.
Democrats are so annoying that I could see most of this not working! 🤣 But some of it will break through organically despite the feckless opposition. Cheers
I will predict it will devolve into a defense of the status quo bureaucracy in spite of the warnings here. The status quo bureaucracy is too important as an element of the party base to be ignored.
In all due respect, I did not suggest Nate Moore said anything about lawfare or violence. It's what the never-Trumpers, notably those in Congress, DA offices and the Garland Justice Departnent have been practicing against Trump for the past four years. Violence could become, whether by design or ignorance, the byproduct of their mindless, provocative calls for war and taking things to the street. Condemnation, more than either explanation or understanding, is clearly in order if civil discourse is to be preserved.
I also understand TLP is not on the Left and, as a subscriber, welcome its thoughtful contributions to the national conversation.
Dale, Trump Derangement Syndrome is real, but so are Donald Trump’s numerous flaws and reckless behavior, as well as Elon Musk’s. You should at least acknowledge that—many criticisms of both men, even by Democrats, are entirely well founded.
Jesus... we just came off four years of hell from people electing a regime puppet cabbage planted in the White House cellar. The only material numerous flaws are from the people that ignore that and light up on mean Trump tweets.
I think it’s safe to say Trump has plenty of material flaws and done tremendous damage. There is plenty of evidence readily available. I’m not going to go down a long, tedious rabbit hole in the comment section.
The only "damage" that Trump has done is cause the dishonest Democrat media to spew streams of garbage propaganda into the heads of unsuspecting and undisciplined people to inflame their easily disordered emotions.
The hilarious thing is that these highly emotive Democrats and Republicans never-Trumpers have conceded all the standard normie political advantages to Trump.
Trump's platform that used to be Democrat
1. Law and order
2. Middle class support
3. Anti corporate consolidation and pro-working class and small business advocacy
That is a highly partisan take. Trump has done tremendous damage, to our institutions, to our political culture, to law and order by he himself breaking it over and over. He is, objectively, the most corrupt and lawless president we have ever had. That is a substantive claim, not an “emotive” one. I am repulsed by the * real, * bad things Trump has said and done, not by the man’s style. I am drawing a hard distinction between TDS and legitimate criticism here.
Yes, Trump and the GOP do indeed have some normie political advantages, though not on every point you described.
1) Yes, for the time being.
2) No way Trump’s economic platform is objectively better for the middle class than Biden or Kamala’s would have been.
3) Dems also share this view.
4) No way. There was record job growth under Biden, and historically there is a good argument that the economy has performed better under Democrats.
5) What is this based on? Dems have gone too far with DEI, but at least they care about redressing inequality and issues from the past. Where has Donald Trump or the Republican Party advocated for any of this?
6) Yes and no. Democrats (especially the progressive wing) have plenty of pro-family policies. Republicans have social conservatives in their bloc, so if that’s what you mean by “traditional family advocacy.”
7) How so? Trump and Republicans are largely opposed to abortion access.
8) Yes, Trump and Republicans are more free speech.
9) No way, especially not regarding healthcare or tax policy. Republicans are not pro wealth distribution at all, and Trump (for now) only is for Social Security and Medicare. This was a smart move on his part, however.
2) No way Trump’s economic platform is objectively better for the middle class than Biden or Kamala’s would have been.
WTF have you been smoking? The last four years have just increased the twisting of the knife into the socioeconomic circumstances of the American working class. It sounds like you are in that camp "the economy is great!... if only those low-brow uneducated people would turn off Fox News, they would feel the joy of our high upper class Wall Street and real estate returns!"
3) Dems also share this view.
The only paid lip service to it in their standard two-faced political presentation. Corporate consolidation exploded under Biden. The Democrats are clearly supportive of the globalist WEF corporatocracy push.
4) No way. There was record job growth under Biden, and historically there is a good argument that the economy has performed better under Democrats.
Fuck no. Intellectual dishonesty. There was dismal job growth compared to the pre-pandemic job numbers... and the real numbers. The BLS U6 not the useless U3.
5) What is this based on? Dems have gone too far with DEI, but at least they care about redressing inequality and issues from the past. Where has Donald Trump or the Republican Party advocated for any of this?
Equality is merit based. DEI destroys merit based hiring and promotion standards.
6) Yes and no. Democrats (especially the progressive wing) have plenty of pro-family policies. Republicans have social conservatives in their bloc, so if that’s what you mean by “traditional family advocacy.”
Well someone in the Democrat party leadership did not get this memo. Do I need to list all of the Democrat narratives and memes to dismantle the traditional family because it is racist?
7) How so? Trump and Republicans are largely opposed to abortion access.
No. Lie. Trump supports liberal European style abortion laws and rights. He also opposes biological males competing in female athletics. He supports real women's rights, not the woke bullshit that elevates trans over the rights of women.
8) Yes, Trump and Republicans are more free speech.
Good you agree. And this is a very big deal as the Democrats used to be the party demanding free speech.
9) No way, especially not regarding healthcare or tax policy. Republicans are not pro wealth distribution at all, and Trump (for now) only is for Social Security and Medicare.
LOL. The Democrats are the party of wealth. You would have to be a science denier to reject that truth. MAGA Republicans are for ending the massive wealth transfer to the already wealthy from the working class. Democrats are opposed to those changes and demand the status quo.
I think Trumpism, insofar as it thrives on instability and deliberate fighting and division, is utterly toxic, and it's why I reject much of Trump and the movement he stands for.
Republicans put up with the Democrat negative branding character assassination strategy for years. Remember Romney and McCain. And so when a Republican takes that same page out of their working playbook, you only have revulsion for that side. Got it.
Personally, I care more about the country and the people of the country than my feelings over mean Tweets. But that is just me.
Politics is a contact sport, and it’s hard to draw the line of what is in bounds and what isn’t. However, I wasn’t following politics back then so I really can’t speak well to what Democrats attacked Romney or McCain on. I do remember how nasty Republicans were to Barack Obama. So I doubt Republicans have much leg to stand on.
And I do, too. I am critical of the Left a lot these days, as is the Liberal Patriot. I try to give Trump credit where it’s due, even though I find him morally repulsive.
Republicans were not nasty to Obama until his agenda started to unfold. Many Republicans voted for Obama in his first term.
That is the difference. There is a cult of anti-Trump that transcends practical and pragmatic considerations and enters the realm of people needing cognitive behavior therapy.
Go ahead and attack Trump's policies and ideas, but to keep attacking his personality... well how well did that crap work for the last election?
The Democrat Party is so female-coded at this point, that I don't think it is possible for them to moderate their hostility to men in a way that won't make their feminist base erupt.
To be a Democrat party man requires you to accept a place of cultural dhimmitude. I mean, maybe some guys get off on wearing the Patriarchal Hairshirt, but most do not.
I loved Taibbi's comment! Women seldom get an honest take on what men say among themselves. I have quoted this line to every man I know, and they all just nod their heads and shrug as if it is common knowledge. LOL!!
Dems can keep it up, but their political suicidal tendencies, should probably concern them more, than Musk. Besides, is anyone ensuring, those calling for Musk's head on a stick, are equally proportioned by gender, ethnicity and sexual preference?
More than 2 million plus federal workers, are unelected. The MENSA member, federal employees burning thru billions in an orgy of idiotic Progressive programs were unelected. As are the Dem cabal that, illegally, sent nearly $60 million FEMA dollars to care for NY migrants, in the last few days.
Elon and crew are simply looking thru cancelled checks, then reporting what they find. Trump sets policy. It is telling no Dem has claimed, the Math is wrong. They can't, so they have adopted the "kill the messenger" strategy. This is about as likely to be successful, as their policy of protesting the deportation of migrant rapists, murderers and child molesters. In a fit of sanity, Dems dropped the latter, mostly.
Dems expect victory, because they were successful in hiding the details of the Covid debacle, for a very long time. Times have changes, no one is cowering in their homes anymore, afraid their shadow might sneeze. Moreover, Americans experienced the alternative, for 4 years. We will not let perfect, be the enemy of much better. Finally, it seems really unlikely either Musk or Trump give a flying fig about Elon's polling numbers. My guess is they both wear Elon being loathed by Dems, as a badge of honor.
Irrelevant. Musk is not up for election. Like asking voters what they thought of Patton or Sherman. Who cares? Noah Smith, who is wrong about a lot (and the more it has to do with Trump, the wronger he gets) nevertheless sees that PART of DOGE is recreating a vastly smaller federal workforce devoid of woke. Well, duh.
The fact is---and Nate, you and Ruy and Judis STILL don't get it: You can't just "slightly" reform a tumor or a broken bone. You have to totally fix it. The Democrats still haven't even come close to acknowledging that the ideological CORE of woke still completely poisons the party; that there still is no admission that ALL illegal criminal invaders must go; that ALL elections must be fixed & ALL fraud driven out; and that insisting that men are women is not just a political loser, but it's a real life loser. So, last month AZ Rs added 18,000 net on top of the 20,000 net in December. PA Rs got the active voter D advantage in PA (which used to be nearly 500,000, down to under 100,000 and are on track to making PA red by December. NM and NH have shown slight but consistent R gains. And so on. Everywhere but CO and maybe CA, the Democrats are losing the public preference battle.
When the actual results of what Music is doing---massive, incredible savings across the board, and the outing of ridiculous (and still defended by the Democrats) wasteful and simply stupid spending---takes root among the public, Trump will be in the high 60s and Elon will be back to firing rockets.
We’ll see. Trump and Elon are their own worst enemy. I’ll be very surprised if Trump’s approval ratings, as well as Elon’s, are up rather than down in two years. The reality of governing and voters’ misperceptions about their ability to fix the economy (and a likely overstepping on immigration for their part) will sink in soon enough.
If the enormity of Trump's accumulated record of criminality, disregard for the Constitution and the law, mendacity, malice and corruption hasn't made a dent in Trump's standing among his base by now, what reason is there to think Trump's failure to deliver on his promises about the economy will? As far as overstepping on immigration, that is precisely what many of Trump's voters expect him to do.
And which persuadable voters will you be winning over by insisting that criminals with deportation orders need to be protected in sanctuary cities and states? Once federal funding is removed, we'll see how many remain.
Your initial response actually gets at the heart of the issue--Musk wasn't elected, and DOGE has not been granted its powers via the state's elected bodies. He, and DOGE more broadly, is acting as if he has been granted a level of authority that is bestowed upon the head of a Congressionally-approved cabinet-level state department, when he does not, in fact, possess such authority, because he and DOGE have not gone through the formal Congressional approval process.
If you want DOGE to have this level of power, put it to a vote, and have Congress approve it, as the formal government departments that were created before it were.
Or don't, and give the Democrats the easiest of easy targets, if you are intent on giving up the gains in the vote share you cited.
Musk derangement syndrome is fomented by the very Democrat media attack strategy that requires the government-funded Democrat political infrastructure that Musk is dismantling.
Ask yourself how Democrats are going to continue when the spigot is turned off for all the democracy-destroying media and NGOs propped financially from American taxpayers by corrupt agencies like USAID.
Did you watch the Super Bowl? Did you hear the crowd roar when the camera showed the president, and the boos when Taylor Swift was on the screen. THAT was the type of real poll we paid attention to the last four years.
Not buying your (or Rep. Golden's) line of argument and using an incomplete survey about focusing on Musk instead of the incredible waste and corruption he appears to be exposing and unearthing via his @DOGE and related X accounts. The media hasn't quite caught up yet with what he and his team are actually doing and unearthing. When stories of that emerge, and opportunistic Golden and fellow Democrats may be ducking for cover.
Well, this is bad news for America, but all it basically implies is that yet again there is a massive campaign to make a presidency fail as soon as the president is sworn in. Maybe this is how things work in football, but even there, not if all the interested parties try to sabotage the new coach as soon as he is hired. I used to believe that Plato was wrong and Jefferson was right in stating that the public can be self-governing. Looks to me now that Plato was right after all.
1. Trump, Musk, and everyone in the administration have made a joke out of what is happening. Hint: They and every one of us sees this as the py op it is. In Conservative circles, it's a running joke that Dems think this bothers Trump. When people are laughing behind your back while you claim victory, that's bad. And embarrassing.
2. Can you show us where you get the most recent numbers, hopefully since the USAID and DEI destruction began?
3. I am a constant respondent in one set of polls you just cited. That particular poll was one of the quick ones that was left up for a very short period of time, went into no detail, and has heavily leaned Democrat since December 2024.
Just saying, maybe stop citing the same data that told us all how Kamala Harris had it in the bag.
In many liberal circles, Trump himself was a running joke a short while ago. Turns out a lot of regular people weren't laughing, which is what put him in position to win two elections.
Conservatives ought to thread carefully--"richest man in the world helps run the government" is not a look that will appeal to the average voter. And it might not appeal to your average populist, either.
I’m all in favor of Musk as a “consultant” to the President making recommendations for greater efficiency and less political bias in government. However, it’s not clear to what extent these recommendations are being implemented with the personal approval of Trump, much less that of Congress where constitutionally required.
There is no “messaging strategy” that will work. It’s the product the Democrats are selling, not the packaging, that people have rejected. They’ve seen through the packaging. Most importantly, they see how much they’ve been lied to. The Democrats are now falling on deaf ears. Their attacks on Trump make him stronger, not weaker. They have been banished until they change, as they were in the 1980s. As long as they refuse to do it, they’re DOA. They can sit around and hope for Trump to fail, but at this point, it is almost impossible that he will, given who and what he replaced. The Democrats’ ideology, policy, and results have all cratered with voters. All they had left was slander and fear-mongering about Trump, and it didn’t work. So keep doing it?
The only way back for the Democrats is to convince voters that they’ve heard their rebuke, and that they’ve truly changed. They’ve got a lot of work to do to get there. And the Clintons can’t help, because they’re long past their sell by date.
For the moment, Elon is providing Dems with an attack point. This could evaporate quickly if DJT fires Elon. That would make DJT seem more rational. It could also fade if Elon starts publishing some of the "fraud/waste/abuse" we keep hearing about, and it is truly alarming. A "trans opera" in Ireland is not worth all the drama that Elon has generated. Moderate Dems should take advantage of this moment while preparing a "Plan B" for when this is no longer effective. I have 0% confidence the Dem leadership will know what to do with this.
Pipe dream. Normal, hard-working people are horrified at this. And the politics of destruction has run it's course. Do you seriously think the richest man in the word gives two sh*ts what Chuck Shumer or Maxine Waters thinks? Do you seriously think that Trump and Musk didn't predict this reaction? They probably laugh about it.
Super curious - who do you consider a "Moderate Dem"? One who is opposed to open orders, reasonable restrictions on abortion, fully support 1A and 2A?
So the prescription for Democrats to reclaim relevance and win back the American public is to demonize Elon Musk. Pathetic. Don't address American's financial issues! Don't focus on issues that led working class and minority voters to leave the Democratic Party! No. Attack Elon Musk! Support federal bureacrats! Defend financial waste and abuse! That "might do the trick." This commentary shows perfectly how unserious and out-of-touch the Democratic party is. I suspect Ruy Tiexiera would agree.
You cannot resolve the act of giving the richest oligarch in the world a central role in the bureaucracy of the state with the promise to end corruption in that same bureaucracy. There's a long list of reasons why, but perhaps the most basic of them is that there are so many conflicts of interest at work that empowering them in the first place is an act of corruption itself.
Part of ending corruption is ending the tremendous influence wielded by the world's wealthiest capitalists on politics. To make the wealthiest capitalist on the globe your chief partner in statecraft does the exact opposite.
And, let's be honest, if Harris were currently president and entrusting the task of bureaucratic reform--not to mention access to the treasury payments system--to George Soros, the GOP, MAGA and the right more broadly (not to mention many of the posters here currently throwing tomatoes at Mr. Moore's analysis) would be apopleptic.
This might be the most specious piece of so-called journalistic analysis I have happened upon in a long while.
Let's see if I have the author's point correct. The defaming, propagandist Left doesn't like Trump, so by relentlessly smearing him, theatening more lawfare and even the physical violence usually associated with calls to "war", they are succeeding -- in their dreams at least -- in undermining his chief lieutenant and crashing his poll numbers. And if they repeat the Big Lies often enough -- especially the one about Musk, not Trump, now running the country -- perhaps they can poke Trump into saying or doing something impeachably stupid.
And how did all that work out for them 3 months ago?
As I have written a few times since the election, Democrats continue to play the cartoonish Wiley E. Coyote to Donald Trump's Road Runner. There really is no fixing stupid. The voters have their number.
TLP is not on the left. Nate doesn’t say anything about lawfare or violence. Musk is responsible for many of his problems. We do political analysis and not propaganda as four years of posts show.
I can't believe Democrats are this clueless. What do they stand for? What policies are they promoting? Using Trump as a punching bag didn't work, so now they're attacking Elon? Full court media press is dragging down Elon's so-called poll numbers (untrustworthy), Americans are sick of this. Watching Dems get the Manhattan courts involved again, watching them grandstanding showboating, lying, actually calling for impeachment, they're caricatures of leaders, just cheap political hacks defending the status quo.
Musk is a lawless threat to our federal government and our democracy.
Fuck that. Trump is President. He has hired Musk as a federal advisor. That is right smack in the pocket of normal. Remember all of Obama's czars?
I think Democrats are really in need of cognitive behavior therapy. They lost the election with this irrational screeching and they just cannot stop.
"He has hired . . ."
Executive Office of the President
Every day, the President of the United States is faced with scores of decisions, each with important consequences for America's future. To provide the President with the support that he or she needs to govern effectively, the Executive Office of the President (EOP) was created in 1939 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The EOP has responsibility for tasks ranging from communicating the President's message to the American people to promoting our trade interests abroad.
The EOP, overseen by the White House Chief of Staff, has traditionally been home to many of the President's closest advisers. While Senate confirmation is required for some advisers, such as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, most are appointed with full Presidential discretion. The individual offices that these advisors oversee have grown in size and number since the EOP was created. Some were formed by Congress, others as the President has needed them — they are constantly shifting as each President identifies his needs and priorities, with the current EOP employing over 1,800 people.
Yes, he has hired. You know the President can hire advisors without congressional approval?
Absolutely no one outside the progressive silo believes this. The fact that your party is still trying to peddle this "threat to democracy" to NORMAL people is just a loser, it's as simple as that. Many of us would like to have some sane choice in the next election and you're not even trying.
Agree but sometimes the analysis veers off into tactics to thwart Trump rather than proposals to make life better. This is one of those times.
Democrats are so annoying that I could see most of this not working! 🤣 But some of it will break through organically despite the feckless opposition. Cheers
I will predict it will devolve into a defense of the status quo bureaucracy in spite of the warnings here. The status quo bureaucracy is too important as an element of the party base to be ignored.
In all due respect, I did not suggest Nate Moore said anything about lawfare or violence. It's what the never-Trumpers, notably those in Congress, DA offices and the Garland Justice Departnent have been practicing against Trump for the past four years. Violence could become, whether by design or ignorance, the byproduct of their mindless, provocative calls for war and taking things to the street. Condemnation, more than either explanation or understanding, is clearly in order if civil discourse is to be preserved.
I also understand TLP is not on the Left and, as a subscriber, welcome its thoughtful contributions to the national conversation.
Dale, Trump Derangement Syndrome is real, but so are Donald Trump’s numerous flaws and reckless behavior, as well as Elon Musk’s. You should at least acknowledge that—many criticisms of both men, even by Democrats, are entirely well founded.
Jesus... we just came off four years of hell from people electing a regime puppet cabbage planted in the White House cellar. The only material numerous flaws are from the people that ignore that and light up on mean Trump tweets.
I think it’s safe to say Trump has plenty of material flaws and done tremendous damage. There is plenty of evidence readily available. I’m not going to go down a long, tedious rabbit hole in the comment section.
The only "damage" that Trump has done is cause the dishonest Democrat media to spew streams of garbage propaganda into the heads of unsuspecting and undisciplined people to inflame their easily disordered emotions.
The hilarious thing is that these highly emotive Democrats and Republicans never-Trumpers have conceded all the standard normie political advantages to Trump.
Trump's platform that used to be Democrat
1. Law and order
2. Middle class support
3. Anti corporate consolidation and pro-working class and small business advocacy
4. Jobs and economic opportunity
5. Equality
6. Traditional family advocacy
7. Women's rights
8. Protecting free speech
9. Wealth distribution
That is a highly partisan take. Trump has done tremendous damage, to our institutions, to our political culture, to law and order by he himself breaking it over and over. He is, objectively, the most corrupt and lawless president we have ever had. That is a substantive claim, not an “emotive” one. I am repulsed by the * real, * bad things Trump has said and done, not by the man’s style. I am drawing a hard distinction between TDS and legitimate criticism here.
Yes, Trump and the GOP do indeed have some normie political advantages, though not on every point you described.
1) Yes, for the time being.
2) No way Trump’s economic platform is objectively better for the middle class than Biden or Kamala’s would have been.
3) Dems also share this view.
4) No way. There was record job growth under Biden, and historically there is a good argument that the economy has performed better under Democrats.
5) What is this based on? Dems have gone too far with DEI, but at least they care about redressing inequality and issues from the past. Where has Donald Trump or the Republican Party advocated for any of this?
6) Yes and no. Democrats (especially the progressive wing) have plenty of pro-family policies. Republicans have social conservatives in their bloc, so if that’s what you mean by “traditional family advocacy.”
7) How so? Trump and Republicans are largely opposed to abortion access.
8) Yes, Trump and Republicans are more free speech.
9) No way, especially not regarding healthcare or tax policy. Republicans are not pro wealth distribution at all, and Trump (for now) only is for Social Security and Medicare. This was a smart move on his part, however.
1) Yes, for the time being. LOL
2) No way Trump’s economic platform is objectively better for the middle class than Biden or Kamala’s would have been.
WTF have you been smoking? The last four years have just increased the twisting of the knife into the socioeconomic circumstances of the American working class. It sounds like you are in that camp "the economy is great!... if only those low-brow uneducated people would turn off Fox News, they would feel the joy of our high upper class Wall Street and real estate returns!"
3) Dems also share this view.
The only paid lip service to it in their standard two-faced political presentation. Corporate consolidation exploded under Biden. The Democrats are clearly supportive of the globalist WEF corporatocracy push.
4) No way. There was record job growth under Biden, and historically there is a good argument that the economy has performed better under Democrats.
Fuck no. Intellectual dishonesty. There was dismal job growth compared to the pre-pandemic job numbers... and the real numbers. The BLS U6 not the useless U3.
5) What is this based on? Dems have gone too far with DEI, but at least they care about redressing inequality and issues from the past. Where has Donald Trump or the Republican Party advocated for any of this?
Equality is merit based. DEI destroys merit based hiring and promotion standards.
6) Yes and no. Democrats (especially the progressive wing) have plenty of pro-family policies. Republicans have social conservatives in their bloc, so if that’s what you mean by “traditional family advocacy.”
Well someone in the Democrat party leadership did not get this memo. Do I need to list all of the Democrat narratives and memes to dismantle the traditional family because it is racist?
7) How so? Trump and Republicans are largely opposed to abortion access.
No. Lie. Trump supports liberal European style abortion laws and rights. He also opposes biological males competing in female athletics. He supports real women's rights, not the woke bullshit that elevates trans over the rights of women.
8) Yes, Trump and Republicans are more free speech.
Good you agree. And this is a very big deal as the Democrats used to be the party demanding free speech.
9) No way, especially not regarding healthcare or tax policy. Republicans are not pro wealth distribution at all, and Trump (for now) only is for Social Security and Medicare.
LOL. The Democrats are the party of wealth. You would have to be a science denier to reject that truth. MAGA Republicans are for ending the massive wealth transfer to the already wealthy from the working class. Democrats are opposed to those changes and demand the status quo.
I think Trumpism, insofar as it thrives on instability and deliberate fighting and division, is utterly toxic, and it's why I reject much of Trump and the movement he stands for.
Republicans put up with the Democrat negative branding character assassination strategy for years. Remember Romney and McCain. And so when a Republican takes that same page out of their working playbook, you only have revulsion for that side. Got it.
Personally, I care more about the country and the people of the country than my feelings over mean Tweets. But that is just me.
Politics is a contact sport, and it’s hard to draw the line of what is in bounds and what isn’t. However, I wasn’t following politics back then so I really can’t speak well to what Democrats attacked Romney or McCain on. I do remember how nasty Republicans were to Barack Obama. So I doubt Republicans have much leg to stand on.
And I do, too. I am critical of the Left a lot these days, as is the Liberal Patriot. I try to give Trump credit where it’s due, even though I find him morally repulsive.
Republicans were not nasty to Obama until his agenda started to unfold. Many Republicans voted for Obama in his first term.
That is the difference. There is a cult of anti-Trump that transcends practical and pragmatic considerations and enters the realm of people needing cognitive behavior therapy.
Go ahead and attack Trump's policies and ideas, but to keep attacking his personality... well how well did that crap work for the last election?
Thank you!
The Democrat Party is so female-coded at this point, that I don't think it is possible for them to moderate their hostility to men in a way that won't make their feminist base erupt.
I agree 100% with this comment. The males joining them are on their knees looking for crumbs of adulation.
To be a Democrat party man requires you to accept a place of cultural dhimmitude. I mean, maybe some guys get off on wearing the Patriarchal Hairshirt, but most do not.
Matt Taibbi had a funny line. Trudeau "I am a feminist" translated means "I want to get XXXX."
I loved Taibbi's comment! Women seldom get an honest take on what men say among themselves. I have quoted this line to every man I know, and they all just nod their heads and shrug as if it is common knowledge. LOL!!
Sadly, I think a lot of younger men and boys have internalized the messaging over the past 30 years.
They are hoping for approval and redemption.
Dems can keep it up, but their political suicidal tendencies, should probably concern them more, than Musk. Besides, is anyone ensuring, those calling for Musk's head on a stick, are equally proportioned by gender, ethnicity and sexual preference?
More than 2 million plus federal workers, are unelected. The MENSA member, federal employees burning thru billions in an orgy of idiotic Progressive programs were unelected. As are the Dem cabal that, illegally, sent nearly $60 million FEMA dollars to care for NY migrants, in the last few days.
Elon and crew are simply looking thru cancelled checks, then reporting what they find. Trump sets policy. It is telling no Dem has claimed, the Math is wrong. They can't, so they have adopted the "kill the messenger" strategy. This is about as likely to be successful, as their policy of protesting the deportation of migrant rapists, murderers and child molesters. In a fit of sanity, Dems dropped the latter, mostly.
Dems expect victory, because they were successful in hiding the details of the Covid debacle, for a very long time. Times have changes, no one is cowering in their homes anymore, afraid their shadow might sneeze. Moreover, Americans experienced the alternative, for 4 years. We will not let perfect, be the enemy of much better. Finally, it seems really unlikely either Musk or Trump give a flying fig about Elon's polling numbers. My guess is they both wear Elon being loathed by Dems, as a badge of honor.
Irrelevant. Musk is not up for election. Like asking voters what they thought of Patton or Sherman. Who cares? Noah Smith, who is wrong about a lot (and the more it has to do with Trump, the wronger he gets) nevertheless sees that PART of DOGE is recreating a vastly smaller federal workforce devoid of woke. Well, duh.
The fact is---and Nate, you and Ruy and Judis STILL don't get it: You can't just "slightly" reform a tumor or a broken bone. You have to totally fix it. The Democrats still haven't even come close to acknowledging that the ideological CORE of woke still completely poisons the party; that there still is no admission that ALL illegal criminal invaders must go; that ALL elections must be fixed & ALL fraud driven out; and that insisting that men are women is not just a political loser, but it's a real life loser. So, last month AZ Rs added 18,000 net on top of the 20,000 net in December. PA Rs got the active voter D advantage in PA (which used to be nearly 500,000, down to under 100,000 and are on track to making PA red by December. NM and NH have shown slight but consistent R gains. And so on. Everywhere but CO and maybe CA, the Democrats are losing the public preference battle.
When the actual results of what Music is doing---massive, incredible savings across the board, and the outing of ridiculous (and still defended by the Democrats) wasteful and simply stupid spending---takes root among the public, Trump will be in the high 60s and Elon will be back to firing rockets.
We’ll see. Trump and Elon are their own worst enemy. I’ll be very surprised if Trump’s approval ratings, as well as Elon’s, are up rather than down in two years. The reality of governing and voters’ misperceptions about their ability to fix the economy (and a likely overstepping on immigration for their part) will sink in soon enough.
If the enormity of Trump's accumulated record of criminality, disregard for the Constitution and the law, mendacity, malice and corruption hasn't made a dent in Trump's standing among his base by now, what reason is there to think Trump's failure to deliver on his promises about the economy will? As far as overstepping on immigration, that is precisely what many of Trump's voters expect him to do.
I agree. I don’t think his base will be affected much, if at all. I’m thinking of the persuadable voters who put him over the top.
And which persuadable voters will you be winning over by insisting that criminals with deportation orders need to be protected in sanctuary cities and states? Once federal funding is removed, we'll see how many remain.
Good point. However, did the Laken Riley Act not just pass with Democratic support?
46 Dems voted for, 156 voted against.
Your initial response actually gets at the heart of the issue--Musk wasn't elected, and DOGE has not been granted its powers via the state's elected bodies. He, and DOGE more broadly, is acting as if he has been granted a level of authority that is bestowed upon the head of a Congressionally-approved cabinet-level state department, when he does not, in fact, possess such authority, because he and DOGE have not gone through the formal Congressional approval process.
If you want DOGE to have this level of power, put it to a vote, and have Congress approve it, as the formal government departments that were created before it were.
Or don't, and give the Democrats the easiest of easy targets, if you are intent on giving up the gains in the vote share you cited.
Musk derangement syndrome is fomented by the very Democrat media attack strategy that requires the government-funded Democrat political infrastructure that Musk is dismantling.
Ask yourself how Democrats are going to continue when the spigot is turned off for all the democracy-destroying media and NGOs propped financially from American taxpayers by corrupt agencies like USAID.
Did you watch the Super Bowl? Did you hear the crowd roar when the camera showed the president, and the boos when Taylor Swift was on the screen. THAT was the type of real poll we paid attention to the last four years.
Not buying your (or Rep. Golden's) line of argument and using an incomplete survey about focusing on Musk instead of the incredible waste and corruption he appears to be exposing and unearthing via his @DOGE and related X accounts. The media hasn't quite caught up yet with what he and his team are actually doing and unearthing. When stories of that emerge, and opportunistic Golden and fellow Democrats may be ducking for cover.
Perhaps DOGE should hire Jon Stewart. I am not used to seeing him in serious mode but here he is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50MusF365U0
Well, this is bad news for America, but all it basically implies is that yet again there is a massive campaign to make a presidency fail as soon as the president is sworn in. Maybe this is how things work in football, but even there, not if all the interested parties try to sabotage the new coach as soon as he is hired. I used to believe that Plato was wrong and Jefferson was right in stating that the public can be self-governing. Looks to me now that Plato was right after all.
1. Trump, Musk, and everyone in the administration have made a joke out of what is happening. Hint: They and every one of us sees this as the py op it is. In Conservative circles, it's a running joke that Dems think this bothers Trump. When people are laughing behind your back while you claim victory, that's bad. And embarrassing.
2. Can you show us where you get the most recent numbers, hopefully since the USAID and DEI destruction began?
3. I am a constant respondent in one set of polls you just cited. That particular poll was one of the quick ones that was left up for a very short period of time, went into no detail, and has heavily leaned Democrat since December 2024.
Just saying, maybe stop citing the same data that told us all how Kamala Harris had it in the bag.
In many liberal circles, Trump himself was a running joke a short while ago. Turns out a lot of regular people weren't laughing, which is what put him in position to win two elections.
Conservatives ought to thread carefully--"richest man in the world helps run the government" is not a look that will appeal to the average voter. And it might not appeal to your average populist, either.
Very true about the jokes. However, it's will all depend on what the richest man can get done and if we see any life improvement from it.
100%
I’m all in favor of Musk as a “consultant” to the President making recommendations for greater efficiency and less political bias in government. However, it’s not clear to what extent these recommendations are being implemented with the personal approval of Trump, much less that of Congress where constitutionally required.
What proof is there that Musk is even making recommendations to Trump for greater efficiency and less political bias in government?
What do you think he's doing (seriously)?
There is no “messaging strategy” that will work. It’s the product the Democrats are selling, not the packaging, that people have rejected. They’ve seen through the packaging. Most importantly, they see how much they’ve been lied to. The Democrats are now falling on deaf ears. Their attacks on Trump make him stronger, not weaker. They have been banished until they change, as they were in the 1980s. As long as they refuse to do it, they’re DOA. They can sit around and hope for Trump to fail, but at this point, it is almost impossible that he will, given who and what he replaced. The Democrats’ ideology, policy, and results have all cratered with voters. All they had left was slander and fear-mongering about Trump, and it didn’t work. So keep doing it?
The only way back for the Democrats is to convince voters that they’ve heard their rebuke, and that they’ve truly changed. They’ve got a lot of work to do to get there. And the Clintons can’t help, because they’re long past their sell by date.
Ya know, if Musk was running for office, this might worry me. Given that he’s not, this analysis is “Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”.
For the moment, Elon is providing Dems with an attack point. This could evaporate quickly if DJT fires Elon. That would make DJT seem more rational. It could also fade if Elon starts publishing some of the "fraud/waste/abuse" we keep hearing about, and it is truly alarming. A "trans opera" in Ireland is not worth all the drama that Elon has generated. Moderate Dems should take advantage of this moment while preparing a "Plan B" for when this is no longer effective. I have 0% confidence the Dem leadership will know what to do with this.
Pipe dream. Normal, hard-working people are horrified at this. And the politics of destruction has run it's course. Do you seriously think the richest man in the word gives two sh*ts what Chuck Shumer or Maxine Waters thinks? Do you seriously think that Trump and Musk didn't predict this reaction? They probably laugh about it.
Super curious - who do you consider a "Moderate Dem"? One who is opposed to open orders, reasonable restrictions on abortion, fully support 1A and 2A?
So the prescription for Democrats to reclaim relevance and win back the American public is to demonize Elon Musk. Pathetic. Don't address American's financial issues! Don't focus on issues that led working class and minority voters to leave the Democratic Party! No. Attack Elon Musk! Support federal bureacrats! Defend financial waste and abuse! That "might do the trick." This commentary shows perfectly how unserious and out-of-touch the Democratic party is. I suspect Ruy Tiexiera would agree.
Where is the DNC?
We need a weekly DNC PRESS CONFERENCE to discuss the status of Trumps court cases, blast Musk, and review the monthly inflation rate.
Where is CONGRESS?
We need them to prepare for impeachment proceedings even if the votes are not there.
If Trump defies the Supreme Court rulings, Congress has to get Federal troops or DC police to enforce them.
You cannot resolve the act of giving the richest oligarch in the world a central role in the bureaucracy of the state with the promise to end corruption in that same bureaucracy. There's a long list of reasons why, but perhaps the most basic of them is that there are so many conflicts of interest at work that empowering them in the first place is an act of corruption itself.
Part of ending corruption is ending the tremendous influence wielded by the world's wealthiest capitalists on politics. To make the wealthiest capitalist on the globe your chief partner in statecraft does the exact opposite.
And, let's be honest, if Harris were currently president and entrusting the task of bureaucratic reform--not to mention access to the treasury payments system--to George Soros, the GOP, MAGA and the right more broadly (not to mention many of the posters here currently throwing tomatoes at Mr. Moore's analysis) would be apopleptic.