@mikeilikemike.bsky.social
A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the highest virtues of a good citizen.
Sorry, but we can argue, including in very heated terms, while still recognizing that someone’s points come from a sense of reality and a sense of concern for the country, party, etc and a sense of humility that you don’t know it all, that sense which is really the basis of all learning.
November 20, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Sorry, but we can argue, including in very heated terms, while still recognizing that someone’s points come from a sense of reality and a sense of concern for the country, party, etc and a sense of humility that you don’t know it all, that sense which is really the basis of all learning.
I’m always open for respectful discussion and dialogue. If we’re all in this together, we should be able to engage in a respectful discussion about ideas. Many don’t seem willing. I use the term “them” to reflect that unfortunate reality.
November 20, 2025 at 11:13 PM
I’m always open for respectful discussion and dialogue. If we’re all in this together, we should be able to engage in a respectful discussion about ideas. Many don’t seem willing. I use the term “them” to reflect that unfortunate reality.
And that’s the voters fault. Voters should have held Bush accountable for the way he acted in 2000, particularly purging northeastern moderates, like Jim Jeffords. Equally, voters need to hold R’s to account for their lack of interest in any manner of compromise.
November 20, 2025 at 11:08 PM
And that’s the voters fault. Voters should have held Bush accountable for the way he acted in 2000, particularly purging northeastern moderates, like Jim Jeffords. Equally, voters need to hold R’s to account for their lack of interest in any manner of compromise.
For historical context, both JFK and Nixon, after their narrow victories, felt compelled to govern via bipartisan mandate and compromise in order to get anything done. The horror!
November 20, 2025 at 10:51 PM
For historical context, both JFK and Nixon, after their narrow victories, felt compelled to govern via bipartisan mandate and compromise in order to get anything done. The horror!
I disagree. *Part* of why there’s so much outrage in our politics has had to do with how politicians, but especially R’s, have acted though winning by the narrowest margins is endorsement to cram thru massive changes. Newsflash: most of us didn’t vote for that shit.
November 20, 2025 at 10:49 PM
I disagree. *Part* of why there’s so much outrage in our politics has had to do with how politicians, but especially R’s, have acted though winning by the narrowest margins is endorsement to cram thru massive changes. Newsflash: most of us didn’t vote for that shit.
Part of the problem with our politics is lack of mandate. Sure, presidents have governed as though they have, especially Bush and Trump, but the fact is, we’ve had one mandate election in the last 25 years: 2008.
November 20, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Part of the problem with our politics is lack of mandate. Sure, presidents have governed as though they have, especially Bush and Trump, but the fact is, we’ve had one mandate election in the last 25 years: 2008.
Yes and the real key here is winning in places like Texas, Ohio, Florida. I understand struggling in extremely rural states without a lot of population centers, like Iowa or Nebraska, but there’s zero reason Dems shouldn’t be competitive in these places with the right message.
November 20, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Yes and the real key here is winning in places like Texas, Ohio, Florida. I understand struggling in extremely rural states without a lot of population centers, like Iowa or Nebraska, but there’s zero reason Dems shouldn’t be competitive in these places with the right message.
McDonald’s are really good, but yeah they don’t compare to Five Guys.
November 20, 2025 at 10:06 PM
McDonald’s are really good, but yeah they don’t compare to Five Guys.
Your entire framing is irrelevant because the choice of authoritarian slide is solely ours.
November 20, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Your entire framing is irrelevant because the choice of authoritarian slide is solely ours.
A lot of them don’t want to do democracy. Democracy means civil engagement with other people, selling your ideas, etc. That means taking into account the views of others, and their preferences when crafting messages. They’d rather scream fascism and lecture all of us. As though that will work.
November 20, 2025 at 9:31 PM
A lot of them don’t want to do democracy. Democracy means civil engagement with other people, selling your ideas, etc. That means taking into account the views of others, and their preferences when crafting messages. They’d rather scream fascism and lecture all of us. As though that will work.
A lot of them don’t want to do democracy. Democracy means civil engagement with other people, selling your ideas, etc. That means taking into account the views of others, and their preferences when crafting messages. They’d rather scream fascism and lecture all of us. As though that will work.
November 20, 2025 at 9:31 PM
A lot of them don’t want to do democracy. Democracy means civil engagement with other people, selling your ideas, etc. That means taking into account the views of others, and their preferences when crafting messages. They’d rather scream fascism and lecture all of us. As though that will work.
They need work with a crafty marketing firm and figure out how to put out content around that issue that resonates. Definitely fertile territory given how unpopular guys like Musk and Peter Thiel are.
November 20, 2025 at 3:04 PM
They need work with a crafty marketing firm and figure out how to put out content around that issue that resonates. Definitely fertile territory given how unpopular guys like Musk and Peter Thiel are.
Uh yeah, he did that in the first term and everyone ignored it, or even played along.
And I’ll always insist that’s in large part why we got a second term.
And I’ll always insist that’s in large part why we got a second term.
November 20, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Uh yeah, he did that in the first term and everyone ignored it, or even played along.
And I’ll always insist that’s in large part why we got a second term.
And I’ll always insist that’s in large part why we got a second term.
I think if anything, this undersells how bad things are because he wasn’t facing severe economic headwinds in 2017. MAGA isn’t about economics, but they are angry about paying $10 a lb for ground beef. And the MAGA gentry types are upset that finer cuts of beef are $30+ lb.
November 20, 2025 at 2:29 PM
I think if anything, this undersells how bad things are because he wasn’t facing severe economic headwinds in 2017. MAGA isn’t about economics, but they are angry about paying $10 a lb for ground beef. And the MAGA gentry types are upset that finer cuts of beef are $30+ lb.
Beef especially is crushing him. I’m old enough to remember when beef was a more luxurious item that you didn’t eat everyday. Many people under 40 seem to consider semi-daily beef consumption as an American rite of passage.
November 20, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Beef especially is crushing him. I’m old enough to remember when beef was a more luxurious item that you didn’t eat everyday. Many people under 40 seem to consider semi-daily beef consumption as an American rite of passage.
Yes. Hilarious how they think anyone gives a damn about Stacey Plaskett. If she’s tied to Epstein she can resign, same as Trump should.
November 20, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Yes. Hilarious how they think anyone gives a damn about Stacey Plaskett. If she’s tied to Epstein she can resign, same as Trump should.
Yay! Best episode of the year.
November 20, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Yay! Best episode of the year.
There were issues in the Republican Party pre-Trump. Opposition to compromise. Creeping anti-intellectualism. Etc.
November 20, 2025 at 12:54 PM
There were issues in the Republican Party pre-Trump. Opposition to compromise. Creeping anti-intellectualism. Etc.
Anyone else can hold that unwieldy coalition together. That means changes of some sort to win elections. Whether that yields a healthier party or not? I have no clue. 2/
November 20, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Anyone else can hold that unwieldy coalition together. That means changes of some sort to win elections. Whether that yields a healthier party or not? I have no clue. 2/
MAGA is a unique combo of: pre-2016 holdovers who can’t see themselves voting democrat, working class whites, and increasingly working class voters of other races, and, weirdos who voted for Lyndon LaRouche. I don’t profess to know what the GOP looks like post Trump, but I wouldn’t presume… 1/
November 20, 2025 at 2:13 AM
MAGA is a unique combo of: pre-2016 holdovers who can’t see themselves voting democrat, working class whites, and increasingly working class voters of other races, and, weirdos who voted for Lyndon LaRouche. I don’t profess to know what the GOP looks like post Trump, but I wouldn’t presume… 1/
True, but I also don’t think R politicians learned the lesson of 2012. Voters wanted someone with a backbone post-2012, and I also thinking voters wanted something other than reheated Reaganism. When none of the other candidates offered that, voters defaulted to the lunatic option.
November 20, 2025 at 1:43 AM
True, but I also don’t think R politicians learned the lesson of 2012. Voters wanted someone with a backbone post-2012, and I also thinking voters wanted something other than reheated Reaganism. When none of the other candidates offered that, voters defaulted to the lunatic option.
Trump is a bit of a perfect storm figure. A 1000 yr flood. The party was smarting over the ‘12 loss, populism rising with anger over R failures of the 2000’s, R voters wanting an asshole, and of course, Trump’s ability to exploit voters as suckers. None of which is to say things were good pre-Trump.
November 20, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Trump is a bit of a perfect storm figure. A 1000 yr flood. The party was smarting over the ‘12 loss, populism rising with anger over R failures of the 2000’s, R voters wanting an asshole, and of course, Trump’s ability to exploit voters as suckers. None of which is to say things were good pre-Trump.
And there’s a fairly healthy amount of data and examples out there to confirm that thesis.
November 20, 2025 at 1:02 AM
And there’s a fairly healthy amount of data and examples out there to confirm that thesis.
Cocaine is a hell of a drug.
November 20, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Cocaine is a hell of a drug.