Pragmatic Politics
@treenuts.bsky.social
Center Left Capitalist dealing in straight FACTS. Ideals don't matter if you can't win. Politics, News, Economics, Polling data.
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If you strongly consider yourself a Kamala supporter or a Trump supporter and you can't name multiple accomplishments of Trump's first term and Biden's term you're engaged in culture war, not politics.
To be clear, it's fine to engage that way, but decide whether that is how you WANT to engage.
To be clear, it's fine to engage that way, but decide whether that is how you WANT to engage.
Everyone seems to be sharing all the memes about how the market is crashing. That's obviously bad.
I'm curious about the "bring manufacturing jobs back" crowd. Can someone explain the logic there? Unemployment is at 4.1%, and Trump is deporting all the immigrants. Bring back jobs...for who?
I'm curious about the "bring manufacturing jobs back" crowd. Can someone explain the logic there? Unemployment is at 4.1%, and Trump is deporting all the immigrants. Bring back jobs...for who?
April 3, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Everyone seems to be sharing all the memes about how the market is crashing. That's obviously bad.
I'm curious about the "bring manufacturing jobs back" crowd. Can someone explain the logic there? Unemployment is at 4.1%, and Trump is deporting all the immigrants. Bring back jobs...for who?
I'm curious about the "bring manufacturing jobs back" crowd. Can someone explain the logic there? Unemployment is at 4.1%, and Trump is deporting all the immigrants. Bring back jobs...for who?
If every house or senate vote was anonymous right now, this presidency would look very different. And in particular, this cabinet.
If that doesn’t tell you that Republicans care about their career more than our country and wellbeing, do some soul searching.
Spineless selfish rats.
If that doesn’t tell you that Republicans care about their career more than our country and wellbeing, do some soul searching.
Spineless selfish rats.
February 6, 2025 at 3:45 AM
If every house or senate vote was anonymous right now, this presidency would look very different. And in particular, this cabinet.
If that doesn’t tell you that Republicans care about their career more than our country and wellbeing, do some soul searching.
Spineless selfish rats.
If that doesn’t tell you that Republicans care about their career more than our country and wellbeing, do some soul searching.
Spineless selfish rats.
To be clear on what's probably happening here. Either:
(a) Trump is creating stock volatility; billionaires will buy every time he crashes, then profit when he rescinds and stocks bounce back
(b) Trump is using Tariffs to redistribute taxes toward lower income Americans.
Come back to this later.
(a) Trump is creating stock volatility; billionaires will buy every time he crashes, then profit when he rescinds and stocks bounce back
(b) Trump is using Tariffs to redistribute taxes toward lower income Americans.
Come back to this later.
February 3, 2025 at 3:48 PM
To be clear on what's probably happening here. Either:
(a) Trump is creating stock volatility; billionaires will buy every time he crashes, then profit when he rescinds and stocks bounce back
(b) Trump is using Tariffs to redistribute taxes toward lower income Americans.
Come back to this later.
(a) Trump is creating stock volatility; billionaires will buy every time he crashes, then profit when he rescinds and stocks bounce back
(b) Trump is using Tariffs to redistribute taxes toward lower income Americans.
Come back to this later.
In case you need this, here are the vote totals on the original bill that resulted in the TikTok ban. Trump signed an EO in 2020 to initiate a ban. Biden signed one to reverse that EO in 2021.
Nobody is “saving TikTok.” Just scoring political points.
Nobody is “saving TikTok.” Just scoring political points.
January 20, 2025 at 2:32 PM
In case you need this, here are the vote totals on the original bill that resulted in the TikTok ban. Trump signed an EO in 2020 to initiate a ban. Biden signed one to reverse that EO in 2021.
Nobody is “saving TikTok.” Just scoring political points.
Nobody is “saving TikTok.” Just scoring political points.
Messaging on the economy is SO hard. The economy is strong, but if you have a high school diploma working for $45K a year, you are right to not feel this.
The message needs to be “yes and.” “The economy is good, but we know folks out there are still struggling, and here is what we are doing.”
The message needs to be “yes and.” “The economy is good, but we know folks out there are still struggling, and here is what we are doing.”
This is irrefutably true. Let’s see how long it lasts.
January 11, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Messaging on the economy is SO hard. The economy is strong, but if you have a high school diploma working for $45K a year, you are right to not feel this.
The message needs to be “yes and.” “The economy is good, but we know folks out there are still struggling, and here is what we are doing.”
The message needs to be “yes and.” “The economy is good, but we know folks out there are still struggling, and here is what we are doing.”
It's a bit sad that it's gotten to the point where the best argument for “come join us” is “the other side is terrible.” Reactionism got us here. The right doesn't really have affirmative arguments to point to - the message is reactionary inherently. The left DOES. We should probably lean into that
January 11, 2025 at 5:33 PM
It's a bit sad that it's gotten to the point where the best argument for “come join us” is “the other side is terrible.” Reactionism got us here. The right doesn't really have affirmative arguments to point to - the message is reactionary inherently. The left DOES. We should probably lean into that
The endorsements coming out for David Hogg for Vice Chair are highly questionable. I don’t know that in this day and age a guy known for largely being a Harvard educated single issue gun control activist is the type of young blood the party needs. A miss IMO.
January 11, 2025 at 12:44 AM
The endorsements coming out for David Hogg for Vice Chair are highly questionable. I don’t know that in this day and age a guy known for largely being a Harvard educated single issue gun control activist is the type of young blood the party needs. A miss IMO.
Reposted by Pragmatic Politics
@thehometownholler.bsky.social
If you’re a registered voter in NC, you can check this list (sorted by county) and make sure that your vote isn’t one of the 60K being challenged.
ncnewsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/JeffersonGriffinList-AllegedIncompleteRegs-Names.pdf
If you’re a registered voter in NC, you can check this list (sorted by county) and make sure that your vote isn’t one of the 60K being challenged.
ncnewsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/JeffersonGriffinList-AllegedIncompleteRegs-Names.pdf
ncnewsline.com
January 10, 2025 at 1:31 AM
@thehometownholler.bsky.social
If you’re a registered voter in NC, you can check this list (sorted by county) and make sure that your vote isn’t one of the 60K being challenged.
ncnewsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/JeffersonGriffinList-AllegedIncompleteRegs-Names.pdf
If you’re a registered voter in NC, you can check this list (sorted by county) and make sure that your vote isn’t one of the 60K being challenged.
ncnewsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/JeffersonGriffinList-AllegedIncompleteRegs-Names.pdf
Reposted by Pragmatic Politics
Thanks to MSNBC for giving me space to write about NC Supreme Court race.
Everyone in America should be watching North Carolina right now.
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Everyone in America should be watching North Carolina right now.
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Opinion | Trump is the rot at the center of North Carolina’s Supreme Court fight
A Republican candidate for the state’s Supreme Court is asking that same court to make him the winner on the flimsiest of grounds.
www.msnbc.com
January 10, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Thanks to MSNBC for giving me space to write about NC Supreme Court race.
Everyone in America should be watching North Carolina right now.
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Everyone in America should be watching North Carolina right now.
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
If you've heard about Trump's Greenland BS and have not heard about this, WAKE UP. Republicans are attempting to overturn the state Supreme Court election, and there's a non-zero chance that they succeed. www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele...
GOP-controlled N.C. Supreme Court blocks certification of Democrat as winner of close high court race
The order allows the state Supreme Court to hear a challenge by the Republican candidate in the race — who trails by just 734 votes — to have 60,000 ballots thrown out.
www.nbcnews.com
January 10, 2025 at 2:47 AM
If you've heard about Trump's Greenland BS and have not heard about this, WAKE UP. Republicans are attempting to overturn the state Supreme Court election, and there's a non-zero chance that they succeed. www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele...
Just in case you need this info today. The “insurers dropping coverage” related to Prop 103, which was passed by voters in 1988.
www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers...
Legislation was already in the works to work around this, announced before these fires.
www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/01...
www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers...
Legislation was already in the works to work around this, announced before these fires.
www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/01...
Prop 103 Consumer Intervenor Process
www.insurance.ca.gov
January 9, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Just in case you need this info today. The “insurers dropping coverage” related to Prop 103, which was passed by voters in 1988.
www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers...
Legislation was already in the works to work around this, announced before these fires.
www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/01...
www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers...
Legislation was already in the works to work around this, announced before these fires.
www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/01...
Reposted by Pragmatic Politics
Here are all of the shelters, food kitchens, evacuation sites, and resources for anyone impacted by the LA fires and for anyone who wants to reach out and help. #PalisadesFire
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
MALAN Fire & Wind Storm Resources
docs.google.com
January 9, 2025 at 5:29 AM
Here are all of the shelters, food kitchens, evacuation sites, and resources for anyone impacted by the LA fires and for anyone who wants to reach out and help. #PalisadesFire
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Reposted by Pragmatic Politics
Tonight I will be deploying to LA to assist with Fires. Due to my job I will not be able to share anything and will be away for a few days.
Please make sure to donate to Red Cross or help the victims of these fires in other way.
Please make sure to donate to Red Cross or help the victims of these fires in other way.
January 8, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Tonight I will be deploying to LA to assist with Fires. Due to my job I will not be able to share anything and will be away for a few days.
Please make sure to donate to Red Cross or help the victims of these fires in other way.
Please make sure to donate to Red Cross or help the victims of these fires in other way.
If you strongly consider yourself a Kamala supporter or a Trump supporter and you can't name multiple accomplishments of Trump's first term and Biden's term you're engaged in culture war, not politics.
To be clear, it's fine to engage that way, but decide whether that is how you WANT to engage.
To be clear, it's fine to engage that way, but decide whether that is how you WANT to engage.
January 9, 2025 at 2:27 AM
If you strongly consider yourself a Kamala supporter or a Trump supporter and you can't name multiple accomplishments of Trump's first term and Biden's term you're engaged in culture war, not politics.
To be clear, it's fine to engage that way, but decide whether that is how you WANT to engage.
To be clear, it's fine to engage that way, but decide whether that is how you WANT to engage.
Part of the weird appeal of Donald Trump is that he makes politics accessible.
Make immigration great, make economy great, America first.
This isn't policy. It's slogans that require no pre-requisite knowledge to support. And opposition requires engaging with data that voters have no appetite for.
Make immigration great, make economy great, America first.
This isn't policy. It's slogans that require no pre-requisite knowledge to support. And opposition requires engaging with data that voters have no appetite for.
January 8, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Part of the weird appeal of Donald Trump is that he makes politics accessible.
Make immigration great, make economy great, America first.
This isn't policy. It's slogans that require no pre-requisite knowledge to support. And opposition requires engaging with data that voters have no appetite for.
Make immigration great, make economy great, America first.
This isn't policy. It's slogans that require no pre-requisite knowledge to support. And opposition requires engaging with data that voters have no appetite for.
How do we address the thought processes that got us Trump? Trump will die, but if we can't get to a point where we can align on what is fact vs. fiction, we are SCREWED. Forever.
It's impossible to change someone's mind if the only facts they accept are those that align with their world view.
It's impossible to change someone's mind if the only facts they accept are those that align with their world view.
January 8, 2025 at 7:13 PM
How do we address the thought processes that got us Trump? Trump will die, but if we can't get to a point where we can align on what is fact vs. fiction, we are SCREWED. Forever.
It's impossible to change someone's mind if the only facts they accept are those that align with their world view.
It's impossible to change someone's mind if the only facts they accept are those that align with their world view.
Has anyone checked in on Marco Rubio?
Cause if I was sitting on a Secretary of State nomination, and I learned from social media that my agenda was to annex Greenland, Panama, and Canada, I might be rethinking my life choices.
Cause if I was sitting on a Secretary of State nomination, and I learned from social media that my agenda was to annex Greenland, Panama, and Canada, I might be rethinking my life choices.
January 8, 2025 at 3:42 AM
Has anyone checked in on Marco Rubio?
Cause if I was sitting on a Secretary of State nomination, and I learned from social media that my agenda was to annex Greenland, Panama, and Canada, I might be rethinking my life choices.
Cause if I was sitting on a Secretary of State nomination, and I learned from social media that my agenda was to annex Greenland, Panama, and Canada, I might be rethinking my life choices.
Reminder: Donald Trump still thinks a Tariff is a tax paid by foreign countries to the United States. And people still think George W. Bush is the dumb one.
January 7, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Reminder: Donald Trump still thinks a Tariff is a tax paid by foreign countries to the United States. And people still think George W. Bush is the dumb one.
The distinction between "lying" and "authenticity" is super important in understanding Trump's appeal.
Trump lies like a sociopath BUT...
The man talks off the cuff. He doesn't run his speeches through 15 consultants and message testing. It's "authentic" even if untrue. Dems should take notes.
Trump lies like a sociopath BUT...
The man talks off the cuff. He doesn't run his speeches through 15 consultants and message testing. It's "authentic" even if untrue. Dems should take notes.
January 7, 2025 at 8:30 PM
The distinction between "lying" and "authenticity" is super important in understanding Trump's appeal.
Trump lies like a sociopath BUT...
The man talks off the cuff. He doesn't run his speeches through 15 consultants and message testing. It's "authentic" even if untrue. Dems should take notes.
Trump lies like a sociopath BUT...
The man talks off the cuff. He doesn't run his speeches through 15 consultants and message testing. It's "authentic" even if untrue. Dems should take notes.
The fact that Americans expect Biden's presidency will go down in history as worse than Trump's first term or George W Bush's term is a sad indication of the growing misalignment between perception and reality. Biden had flaws. Many Americans did struggle. But this is not a fact-based assessment.
January 7, 2025 at 6:58 PM
The fact that Americans expect Biden's presidency will go down in history as worse than Trump's first term or George W Bush's term is a sad indication of the growing misalignment between perception and reality. Biden had flaws. Many Americans did struggle. But this is not a fact-based assessment.
An interesting dynamic on identity and representation. The makeup of the US congress is lagging significantly behind the rest of America in Religious affiliation. In an increasingly NON-religious society, members of Congress continue to reflect the religious breakdown of last century.
Sources in 🧵
Sources in 🧵
January 7, 2025 at 6:49 PM
An interesting dynamic on identity and representation. The makeup of the US congress is lagging significantly behind the rest of America in Religious affiliation. In an increasingly NON-religious society, members of Congress continue to reflect the religious breakdown of last century.
Sources in 🧵
Sources in 🧵
If you supported Edward Snowden, Supported Comey's decision to publicly announce Clinton's investigation, got mad about suppression of the Hunter laptop, and are not vocally opposed to this, you're a partisan hack.
And you know it.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...
And you know it.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...
Judge blocks release of special counsel report on Trump's criminal cases
The injunction lasts until three days after the 11th Circuit rules on a pending request to block the release of the report over a separate matter involving Trump's co-defendants.
www.nbcnews.com
January 7, 2025 at 5:18 PM
If you supported Edward Snowden, Supported Comey's decision to publicly announce Clinton's investigation, got mad about suppression of the Hunter laptop, and are not vocally opposed to this, you're a partisan hack.
And you know it.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...
And you know it.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...
The sad truth of the next couple of years is that the best outcome is for things to go to shit and for voters to feel the consequences of a Trump presidency.
If he dances along and reaps the benefits of the economy Biden built, it’s asking for another 2 decades of poor Republican leadership.
If he dances along and reaps the benefits of the economy Biden built, it’s asking for another 2 decades of poor Republican leadership.
January 7, 2025 at 4:50 PM
The sad truth of the next couple of years is that the best outcome is for things to go to shit and for voters to feel the consequences of a Trump presidency.
If he dances along and reaps the benefits of the economy Biden built, it’s asking for another 2 decades of poor Republican leadership.
If he dances along and reaps the benefits of the economy Biden built, it’s asking for another 2 decades of poor Republican leadership.