"""At a campaign rally in January 2016, he claimed, “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.”"""
And his supporters understood that he was referring to the fact that the media had "Boy Who Cried Wolf"ed so often that they would never believe said media if it reported that he shot someone.
If Trump wins my vote it will be because I think our foreign relations (i.e. with Russia, China, N. Korea, Iran) have worsened greatly in Biden's first term.
I might have added the politicizing of institutions against even common citizens opposing their policies, side-stepping the Constitution and Courts, overt and less obvious violations of the First Amendment, and lawfare to try to eliminate opponents. But the addition of these travesties would not have made your point any more clearly or powerfully than you have.
I am still proud to be a paid subscriber. Your writing is thoughtful and refreshing.
I also would like to add some other reasons why Trump will get re-elected.
1) Strong Borders means MORE LEGAL immigration, especially from Latin America. This infuriated the white nationalists so much they abandoned Trump during the 2020 election.
2) Amazingly strong support of the Black community, including increasing funding to the HBCUs.
3) The FIRST STEP Act, which undid much of the harm done by Biden’s Crime Bill. More than 90% of the first-time nonviolent offenders serving life sentences released under the Act were Black.
Many on the left think criminal justice reform means defunding police, which only increases crime and puts black and brown communities at even greater risk. The First Step Act is an example of true criminal justice reform and will probably be remembered as one of the greatest achievements of his (first) term in office.
I recently returned to my old neighborhood Capital Hill in Seattle for a quick visit and I was just stunned. I lived there when it was a student and artist enclave and then it became a tech money upscale neighborhood. Now it is graffiti and garbage and boarded up buildings. I’ve lived in big cities my whole life, and I’ve seen a lot of change, but I’ve never seen such rapid decay.
That is what defunding the police does. And the deaths of young black men rapidly increased because the gangs took over. I hate Seattle because of how much they don’t understand what hurts people of color. they don’t understand that a few black criminals can make all the law abiding Black people in the neighborhood suffer deeply, but instead somehow sympathize with the criminals.
One of my black colleagues at the Seattle Times told me early on that Seattle was one of the most racist cities he'd ever seen. As far as the damaging effects of defunding go, Oakland is even worse. I wrote about it, and Seneca Scott, for The Free Press. And Scott recently debated the topic alongside Michael Shellenberger as part of a Free Press/FIRE event, which is worth checking out.
Oakland is terrible - but it's always been terrible and just got more terrible.
Seattle is absolutely the most racist city I've ever lived in. I made reports to the EEOC while I lived there. I watched good Black employees get their heartbroken by finding out that "liberal" Seattle absolutely hated even the most subtle deviations from white Nordic culture - like laughing at work (oh no!). And then they'd move back home to the south or east coast! I'm a California mutt and I've never been treated so badly in my life by coworkers. It breaks my heart too - it's one of the most naturally beautiful places on the west coast and I really tried to make it work there.
It is beautiful. You may know the old joke that God made France, but decided that he made it too beautiful, so he tried to even things out by filling it with French people. That joke works with Seattle too. But after I left the city, I spent several months on Kitsap and I fell in love with many of those blue-collar, coastal towns. Not to mention nature is even prettier out that way. So although Seattle was a disappointment, the Pacific Northwest still looms large in my heart.
A buddy of mine said the same. What’s your reason? By the way, it’s the Song of the Volga Boatmen, the region where Lenin ran around spreading disinformation during the Volga famine in order to maximize deaths. So I chose it because it related to how I started this stack and to the theme here of political extremism, but I’m always open to ideas about how to improve.
I know that song, because I grew up around a lot of Volga Germans. Sometimes they were called Russkies because they only spoke German and we were stupid. But your content is so far beyond that dirge. I will think about what would be better, because I like you and your point of view. I’m not a music guy. I’m really good with materials.
Great one. So clear and simple. Thank you David
"""At a campaign rally in January 2016, he claimed, “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.”"""
And his supporters understood that he was referring to the fact that the media had "Boy Who Cried Wolf"ed so often that they would never believe said media if it reported that he shot someone.
But his critics sure didn't.
If Trump wins my vote it will be because I think our foreign relations (i.e. with Russia, China, N. Korea, Iran) have worsened greatly in Biden's first term.
Short, simple, to the point.
I might have added the politicizing of institutions against even common citizens opposing their policies, side-stepping the Constitution and Courts, overt and less obvious violations of the First Amendment, and lawfare to try to eliminate opponents. But the addition of these travesties would not have made your point any more clearly or powerfully than you have.
I am still proud to be a paid subscriber. Your writing is thoughtful and refreshing.
Thank you.
Thank you, totally on target.
There will also be massive riots by the left.
Great writeup but both sides have their immovable base and it is far from unique to Trump:
"A glass of water with a ‘D’ could win their districts." - Nancy Pelosi in regards to her and AOC’s districts.
I argued in favor of the likelihood of a Trump victory a few months ago. I think my points made there continue to stand up to scrutiny, if not moreso.
https://americandreaming.substack.com/p/trump-and-bidens-paths-to-victory
I also would like to add some other reasons why Trump will get re-elected.
1) Strong Borders means MORE LEGAL immigration, especially from Latin America. This infuriated the white nationalists so much they abandoned Trump during the 2020 election.
2) Amazingly strong support of the Black community, including increasing funding to the HBCUs.
3) The FIRST STEP Act, which undid much of the harm done by Biden’s Crime Bill. More than 90% of the first-time nonviolent offenders serving life sentences released under the Act were Black.
Many on the left think criminal justice reform means defunding police, which only increases crime and puts black and brown communities at even greater risk. The First Step Act is an example of true criminal justice reform and will probably be remembered as one of the greatest achievements of his (first) term in office.
I recently returned to my old neighborhood Capital Hill in Seattle for a quick visit and I was just stunned. I lived there when it was a student and artist enclave and then it became a tech money upscale neighborhood. Now it is graffiti and garbage and boarded up buildings. I’ve lived in big cities my whole life, and I’ve seen a lot of change, but I’ve never seen such rapid decay.
That is what defunding the police does. And the deaths of young black men rapidly increased because the gangs took over. I hate Seattle because of how much they don’t understand what hurts people of color. they don’t understand that a few black criminals can make all the law abiding Black people in the neighborhood suffer deeply, but instead somehow sympathize with the criminals.
One of my black colleagues at the Seattle Times told me early on that Seattle was one of the most racist cities he'd ever seen. As far as the damaging effects of defunding go, Oakland is even worse. I wrote about it, and Seneca Scott, for The Free Press. And Scott recently debated the topic alongside Michael Shellenberger as part of a Free Press/FIRE event, which is worth checking out.
Oakland is terrible - but it's always been terrible and just got more terrible.
Seattle is absolutely the most racist city I've ever lived in. I made reports to the EEOC while I lived there. I watched good Black employees get their heartbroken by finding out that "liberal" Seattle absolutely hated even the most subtle deviations from white Nordic culture - like laughing at work (oh no!). And then they'd move back home to the south or east coast! I'm a California mutt and I've never been treated so badly in my life by coworkers. It breaks my heart too - it's one of the most naturally beautiful places on the west coast and I really tried to make it work there.
It is beautiful. You may know the old joke that God made France, but decided that he made it too beautiful, so he tried to even things out by filling it with French people. That joke works with Seattle too. But after I left the city, I spent several months on Kitsap and I fell in love with many of those blue-collar, coastal towns. Not to mention nature is even prettier out that way. So although Seattle was a disappointment, the Pacific Northwest still looms large in my heart.
Brilliant, David. But I still hate the intro dirge. Glad to be a paying subscriber despite your terrible choice of music.
A buddy of mine said the same. What’s your reason? By the way, it’s the Song of the Volga Boatmen, the region where Lenin ran around spreading disinformation during the Volga famine in order to maximize deaths. So I chose it because it related to how I started this stack and to the theme here of political extremism, but I’m always open to ideas about how to improve.
I know that song, because I grew up around a lot of Volga Germans. Sometimes they were called Russkies because they only spoke German and we were stupid. But your content is so far beyond that dirge. I will think about what would be better, because I like you and your point of view. I’m not a music guy. I’m really good with materials.
Amazingly accurate. Bravo.