John Tsitrian does a fine job of skewering Donald Trump’s claim to be somehow making America “the envy of the world” with some simple and clear economic data showing Trumpistan isn’t keeping up with global economic performance:
According to the International Monetary Fund, global economic growth in 2018 was 3.7%. The United States couldn’t even make 3%. So how are we the envy of the world? Trump should envy the world and wonder why his economic policies can’t even get the U.S. up to speed with the rest of the planet. As to the “American Dream” being “back,” I’d say the “American Nightmare” is more like it when it comes to economic conditions on the farm. Dependent as South Dakota is on its agricultural base, our state’s economy in 2018 not only couldn’t keep up with the world, but it grew at less than half the rate of the already tepid U.S. rate (1.3% vs. 2.9%) [John Tsitrian, “It’s Official. He’s Up for Re-Election. Can South Dakota Stand Another Four Years of Trump?” The Constant Commoner, 2019.06.19].
Tsitrian understands that South Dakota’s vote for Trump is about scratching our own id, not achieving real results:
Emotional gratification can be quite the driver in political behavior, but once the thrill of it all has subsided, I hope rational considerations and expectations drive voting decisions next year. One four-year term with this charismatic demagogue is long enough to feel good about ourselves even as we’re losing the farm [Tsitrian, 2019.06.19].
Speaking of results, I heard a Trump coin advertised on the radio Sunday. The announcer said the reverse of the coin lists “all” of Trump’s accomplishments:
Four “achievements”, only one of which is actual legislation signed by Trump… and even the claim that his 2017 tax measures was the “first major tax reform in 30 years” is dubious, since President Barack Obama’s tax reforms of 2010 and 2013 constituted a larger share of GDP than Trump’s 2017 package.
But again, Trumpists aren’t looking for truth or results. They are looking for affirmation of their abject moral failings. They’re looking to be told that it’s o.k. to be a jerk, no matter the economic consequences.
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/06/wall-street-journal-issues-blistering-op-ed-asking-trump-what-the-point-is-of-a-second-term/
WSJ doesn’t seem to support Drumpf anymore. New article today says Drumpf could lose next election by 5 million votes and win the electoral college landslide by 1 vote.
And today Iran shoots down another US drone with 100’ wingspan/40’fusalage flying “over” Iranian airspace. Trump wags the dog. 11/02/16-6/20/19, in office only about 880 days. Congratulations deplorable Republicans, war in less than 3 years.
NPR interviewee Adam Kissinger (R., Illinois) says that Iran is “desperate” and that a US “military response would be just”.
Oh, and world glaciers are melting and the Arctic ice cap is 436,000 square miles below the 1981 to 2010 average and 93,000 square miles above the previous record low for the month set in May 2016. NSIDC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGUNPMPrxvA
Idiocracy, the movie, if you have not seen it, watch it…We are now living it. watch the above to see the President address the nation.
Drumpf still lies about the United States having the highest tax rates and corporate tax rates, even though that lie has been dbunked a gazillion times
A 2016 Congressional Representative for the Chicago area, Kinzinger (correct spelling) announced publicly that he would not support GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. “I’m an American before I’m a Republican,” he told CNN adding that “I’m a Republican because I believe that Republicanism is the best way to defend the United States of America… [Trump] throws all of these Republican principles on their head.” A former USAF surveillance pilot himself, he is now a member of the terrorism subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Wiki
The U-2 spy plane USSR shot down in 1960 over the Ural Mountains was about the same size as the drone shot down surveilling Iran’s coast. “This incident set in motion a pattern of mistrust that culminated in the Cuban Missile Crisis, a time when U.S.-U.S.S.R. relations reached an all time low. No one can predict if the Cold War might have ended sooner had the U-2 incident not occurred.”
How Trump Wins – Trump has called a Situation Room briefing today and invited Congressional leaders to discuss Iran.
NEVER has a President in wartime been defeated, including two times when war clouds hovered, but we were not technically at war!
Witness the following:
James Madison, the War of 1812, reelected in 1812
Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War, reelected in 1864
Woodrow Wilson, World War I, not at war but nearing it, reelected in 1916
Franklin D. Roosevelt, World War II, not at war but nearing it, reelected in 1940, and then at war, reelected in 1944.
Lyndon B. Johnson, using the Vietnam War issue through the Gulf of Tonkin, elected in 1964
Richard Nixon, Vietnam War, reelected in 1972
George W. Bush, Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, reelected in 2004
Barack Obama, Afghanistan War, reelected in 2012
~This list does not include James K. Polk, who chose not to run for reelection AFTER the end of the Mexican War in 1848; William McKinley, reelected AFTER the Spanish American War’s end, in 1900; Harry Truman, who chose not to run in 1952 during the Korean War; Lyndon B. Johnson, who chose not to run during the Vietnam War in 1968; and George H. W. Bush, who was triumphant during the Persian Gulf War, but then lost 18 months later for reelection in 1992, due to the bad economy and the candidacy of Ross Perot helping Bill Clinton to win in a three way race.
http://www.theprogressiveprofessor.com/?p=19187
Porter, we’ve been at war since World War II and haven’t won one since 1945. Iran will be different of arse kicking. These fellows know how to fight and are not Iraq. If we think Afghanistan was bad, get ready for a new kind of hell for our troops.
Oh, you mean like the three way race HRC lost to Bernie and Trump?
Can anyone except the billionaires imagine how well the country would be with HRC at the helm and Merrick Garland and another SCOTUS appointment made by HRC in place of ideologues Gorsuch and Kavanaugh? Climate action would be well underway, and Iran would be much less of a threat. Diplomacy would be hammering away at the North Korean threat. And the touch of a woman would emanate from the White House.
Agreed, Jerry. I’ll say less than five percent of Americans know anything about how modern Iran is. It’s not a third world country like Iraq and Afghanistan or even Saudi Arabia. Inner city Tehran is no different than inner city New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. It’s four times more populated than Denver and like you say, the people won’t be pushed around by Don the Con trying to lie his way into a war with phony documentation.
The world would be easier if we could believe our President.
As Jerry noted, USA hasn’t won a war since 1945 and we haven’t been in a war against an opponent that even had an Air Force in 50 years. Believe me, Iran has an Air Force. They have American F-14A’s and they have MiG-29A/UB’s. They have French Mirage F1’s and F7M’s. And, they have enough money and credit to buy bombers from Russia and China. Starting a war with Iran is as foolish as imposing tariffs on China. What’s the end game, Donald? Your re-election? That sucks …
In addition to beating Wilted Weenie in 2020, we need to get Democrats into the Senate majority so the legislative branch can actually carry out its coequal functions with whoever the president might be. The best option, imo, is impeach Lying Lunatic now and win the Senate, while strengthening the Democratic control of the House.
Give Drumpf credit for being the largest sheeple herder the world has ever seen. He not only shears his flocks at tax time, he fleeces them year ’round. But sheeple aren’t noted for being any brighter than their four legged relatives… sheep.
Cory this seems new. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bnBC2oY_0NY
As we know July 15, 2015 was the FIRST time Russion de-sanctions were raised, and our* girl Friday, the very red Maria Butina asked Trump herself, personally. A week later on twitter our
*Dusty Johnson gushed about her stories of freedom she inspired in Black Hills school kids.
Now we know joyboy Paul Erickson officiated at Trump’s undersecretary Andrea Thompson, summer 2017. Maria was there! Rachel Maddow reports WAPO’s breaking story.
Maybe Trump really is a genius distracting us from his criminal behavior from waaaay back.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bnBC2oY_0NY
Recently I was physically threatened by a young Trump supporter after suggesting he was not a good businessman after we learned he lost 250M in one year. My advice to engage your neighbors has been tempered though his father assured me it was his age and taking after his mother’s disposition. He had absolutely no objectivity. All emotion. That said I know more reasoned people who are happy with some of his policies (not his demeanor) so as always blanket statements are usually wrong. In the same light, is he all bad or can you name some Trump policies you like? If you say he’s simply all bad then I’m ready to say you lack objectivity as well like the young man who was ready to take a swing at me. When asked if it would change my mind about Trump he admitted it wouldn’t. Thankfully his dad was there he was one big ugly brute.
Thanks, Cory. I note in the piece that Governor Noem said a few months ago that Trump’s trade policies have “devastated” South Dakota. As to objectivity, our state’s anemic economic performance of the past couple of years speaks for itself.
Drumpf is living proof wingnuts could find a worse bogus potus than dumbass dubya. HC, name me one good policy Drumpf has had that will be good for all Americans. Objectively speaking, you can’t
Prison reform and ban bump stocks.
“Five things even Trump critics can give him credit for this Christmas” CNN article he’s probably done a few good things since then but the media is firmly against him. Imo it’s worth asking people why they like him. People you know not somebody who might throw a punch. The Trumpster kid is a blowhard, so he loves another blowhard, but other than him nobody I know likes his manner.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/25/opinions/critics-can-give-trump-credit-this-christmas-avlon/index.html
Exactly hc. As an example, trump has done so much for the farmers, I just don’t know where to start. trump did begin the concentration camps and as a matter of historical pride for all Americans, he has reopened Fort Sill Oklahoma for an even bigger concentration camp. Ah yes, nostalgia, concentration camps, just like the old days when America was great again. What’s not to like about the big blowhard?
Wilted Weenie has been bragging that the drone the Iranians shot down was unmanned. No soldiers, men or women, were aboard! No Americans were hurt! Ha!
Incredible. 🙄😖🙄😖🙄😖🙄😖
Trumpists talk tough. We need a larger NAVY. Remember that one? Infrastructure? Obama was kidnapping and caging childred. Trump was their savior. Trump saved 150 Iranians from certain death from US ship based missles and bombing by EAFB B1s. But in “December, Trump announced—a year ahead of time—the replacement for the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford. The chiefs, including Dunford, have opposed several of Trump’s actions—his withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, his withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia, and his recent saber-rattling moves with Iran.
*** With tensions building in the Persian Gulf, more troops mobilized to the southern border, and Congress marking up the largest military budget in U.S. history, Trump now finds himself without a secretary of defense—someone who can run the show in all these theaters—for at least another several more months. ***
This is hardly the time for someone of little experience or clout to take charge as the military’s civilian leader (second only to the president). Civilian authority in the Pentagon has significantly eroded during Trump’s presidency, sparking an exodus of midlevel officials and Senior military officers.”
He wants Iran to talk to him now but his destruction of the nuclear weapon agreement has destroyed that option. Is Trump steering us into another accidental war (remember Trump nearly got us in a shooting war with Syria, Turkey and Russia) or another war of distraction protecting Saudi $$/Bolton/nuclear weapon development? Remember Bush’s Iraq WMD/CHENEY war of distraction? The conflict was with OBL in Afghanistan. This one seems to be about pleasing Saudi Arabia. Syria? Pleasing Putin for Putin $$. Putin unravelling democracy, in the US and Europe. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/world/europe/putin-trump-syria.html
Continuing on Trump’s ineptitude, he said there would have been a “big fat war in Asia” if he hadn’t met with Kim in Singapore last year, and that “they really want to do something” to reduce tensions between the countries…..Kim hasn’t gotten rid of the country’s weapons or allowed international inspectors to examine its arsenal.”
On Monday Trump distracted from reporters questions about obstruction regarding Lewsndowski’s testimony under oath that Trump directed AG Sessions to limit Mueller’s report to FUTURE obstruction. Unexpectedly Trump then threatened one of the reporters with prison for earlier photographing his latest letter from Kim he had showed them. The president is a cretin, of abject moral failings. A crook that changes the subject when cornered.
Appologist Ken Blanchard, a political science prof at Northern State in Aberdeen last Fall was paraphrased in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader as saying “Trump has remained popular in South Dakota because he has been willing to spar with the political elite, including the media” and that “Trump is a voice for rural Americans who feel they’ve been insulted by politicians and media elites.” GOP messaging propaganda sells out South Dakotans.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-threatened-time-photographer-with-prison-over-kim-jong-un-letter/ar-AADdJom
trump has remained popular in South Dakota because South Dakotan’s watch FOX non stop and listen to Rush while they’re on the crapper. trump’s idea is to tweak the treaty that Iran and the US signed, not really change much of anything, just add some tidbits. He did that with NAFTA, but now has trouble getting it through because of wage concessions. Damn, he should have read the fine print that was way bold.
In the meantime, farming is going nowhere thanks to the emotionally unstable trump.
Jerry, Wilted Weenie’s popularity is leaking. I commented this on the CAFO post:
Ray Martimaas farms in the Orient area, that metropolis near Faulkton. There are approximately 4570 members of the Martimaas family, give or take a few, and it appears they are getting fed up with the GOP. This comes from a FB post which links to a Wapo article that I can’t access. He says they lost about $700,000 last year, farmers aren’t getting operating loans and some are having to sell out. Martimaas says he’d vote for a Democrat like Montana’s Steve Bullock next time.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LEADSouthDakota/permalink/907949129555403/?app=fbl
Ms. Debbo, Or how about a Democrat like Cory? There are a lot of folks that would fit the bill of a gent like Steve Bullock, but it seems that Ray and his family have not yet seen the light of how badly they have been screwed over the years. They seem to be kind of there, but not quite. What about Elizabeth Warren? Not only a strong candidate but an advocate of the kind of needs that should be right in Ray’s wheelhouse, especially after he just lost three quarters of a million bucks. Come on Ray organize like farmers used to do back in the day starting first with dumping the current farmers organizations for new directions.
All of the mass numbers of Democrats running for president should re think that position. Beto, go back to Texas and run for senate. Mr. Bullock, we know you don’t wanna be a senator, cool beans, but your country needs you to fill that seat for the sake of folks like Ray and his family along with the rest of the ag community that you know and care so much about.