I don't think the fact that he's a convicted felon matters, what matters is the case. And the case in which he got convicted is a nothing-burger. He slept with a porn star while married? Meh, everybody knows he's the kind of guy who would do that. It's obvious people don't care. He paid hush money and falsified business records to cover it up? So what. Everybody knows politicians are corrupt, and campaign finance laws are a mess ("corporations are people", etc.). The last time anyone has been surprised or genuinely put off by this kind of behavior might have been around the time of Bill Clinton.
There is nothing in this case that cannot be shrugged off.
The case where he stole confidential documents and did all kinds of shit in regards to that, that's the important one. If the details of what he did became common public knowledge, and he got a conviction out of it, that might bury him. Sadly, he's got the best ally he could have wished for in the judge, and there'll be no trial until it no longer matters.
Paul Begala spent years playing whipping boy to Tucker Carlson on “Crossfire.” He’s still behaving like Republicans are normal and Trump is a real candidate and not a deranged ass clown. Go lay down, Paul — Hillary was never the problem. You, and men like you, were and are.
Also, imagine if the GOP had this to work with in their campaigns.
The GOP is not the model to follow, per se, but the Democrats’ reticence to point to orange elephant in the room is incredible - incredibly frustrating for voters who watched the first months or year of the Biden Presidency, as he and Congressional Democratic leaders did not use their majorities to effect so many critically important changes that the majority of citizens in this country want. Instead, they pretended that ‘norms & tradditions’ were important to protect, and essentially asserted that the GOP was still a party of legitimacy.
If the GOP faced a Dem candidate like Drumpf (and don't bring the BS that Trump & Biden are two sided of the same coin), the Democratic Party would have taken their coats, put on their galoshes, and waddled home to their millionaire retirements, saying, “Tsk, tsk, tsk. We went high when they went low. It's their fault." They would believe they did their best. Unfortunately, they'd be right……
"I personally doubt that many swing state voters care all that much that Trump promised to make life awesome for rich creeps if they flooded his campaign with much-needed cash. Voters probably assume (correctly) that politics work this way across the board. However, a convicted felon who a jury also found liable for sexual assault is more uniquely terrible. How can political professionals not understand this?"
A candidate taking bribes from Big Oil is the stuff of an Academy Award nominated film, with career defining performances by bright young actors and scenery chewing relish by grizzled old ones.
A candidate being a rapist is the stuff of a deliberately gritty, unfinished looking TV drama shot on shaky cam and using talented but unremarkable looking actors precisely because they don't look like movie stars.
The former is what inspired political professionals to become political professionals. The latter is what they tut over for destroying faith in the system.
How about the message, “I feel your pain at the prospect of a rapist felon in the White House who you wouldn’t let your daughter date, much less let him control the US military”?
After Hillary won the popular vote but lost the EC in 2016 we were treated to the rationalization that, “she was a bad candidate, she had too much baggage, she lost and she just needs to go away.”
And now the Paul Begalas of the world are telling us that even though Trump is a convicted felon, adjudicated rapist and fraudster, an insurrectionist and wannabe dictator (I could keep going but I don’t have the time) we should just ignore all that and talk about the price of eggs.
What’s even worse is that I am sure that Paul Begala would turn around and concede that Biden’s age is a “major concern for voters”. Which I find weird because you can’t have it both ways. You can’t say voters won’t care if Trump raped someone but Joe wearing sneakers because he’s old is beyond the pale.
I think the argument is upside down. The problem isn't people like Begala Nearly as much as people like Begala are the only kind of Democrat that the legacy media invites onto their shows. There are plenty of Democrats that would let Trump have it with both barrels if they were ever invited on these shows. So I put at least as much blame at the feet of the legacy media if not more. they are the ones who decide who gets a turn the microphone.
Yeah for example, these fools often have Three Names on. Why aren't they calling on Schiff or Swalwell, or Raskin? I have to tune in to Brian Tyler Cohen to see Raskin. I've seen AOC interviewed occasionally. Now I know Democrats are also busy working but there's PLENTY of the new breed of Democrat who can go on TV and whoop ass. But that hurts the Republican owners' bottom lines as the Democrats come armed with facts (AND Funny). Like I definitely notice Pete Buttigieg is not getting booked so much anymore.
It was an interesting lesson for me to learn. Because like a lot of other Democrats, I was giving my party a bunch of shit for their crappy messaging but it turns out the messaging is just fine, it's just that that message is being deliberately curtailed and misrepresented by the legacy media. The good news is that most progressive liberals these days don't get their news from the legacy media. And that also includes younger voters. Cable TV is for the grandpas of the world. Legacy media takes simply aren't nearly sophisticated enough for me at this point. Once you really get to know what's going on those shows are just utterly paltry and at times weeks behind in analysis
Those segments on Brian Tyler Cohens podcast should be required viewing for all Americans. A thoughtful articulate host interviewing a thoughtful articulate guest. See, we can have nice things!
That guy is really good. I’mma preorder Shameless once I remember to actually go do it. He’s good at using social media. Hopefully more people can do that. I like the progressive media ecosystem he’s trying to get together too.
Meidas Touch is really good too...But I have a SLIGHT preference for BTCs podcast...Meidas is GREAT for the nitty gritty of all the legal ins and outs...TOTALLY necessary and informative stuff..But BTC talks more about why the law MATTERS and why it needs to reflect a moral center
This is one reason why I like the one-two-punch of the podcasts with Glenn Kirschner and Marc Elias, respectively. They have different areas of law but tie it together well.
I think there is something to the idea that "we should focus on what the voters care about" but it's also true that your messaging can help drive what the voters care about--particularly by connecting it to tangible things the voters can see. "Trump will usurp the rule of law" might not mean anything to Joe Sixpack--how does it affect him if Trump gets away with some crimes, especially when liberals have been telling us for decades that rich connected people get away with crimes all the time? But "Trump is a felon, and will be spending his whole presidency focused on his own revenge, rather than getting inflation down or being ready for the next pandemic" can hit home.
When Republicans complain about illegal immigration, they don't just talk about it as some amorphous lawbreaking--rather, they point out violent crimes, jobs stolen, community services diluted, all as a result of these immigrants--doesn't matter that it's bullshit, the point is they tell a story while Democrats are caught between (1) saying "we're also tough on illegal immigrants, just not as tough!" or (2) trying to invoke compassion for immigrants, rather than telling the story of immigrants serving in our armed forces (a testimonial from a soldier whose life was saved by an immigrant in their platoon?) or immigrants serving their communities (an employee of a business founded by an immigrant who got a better job thanks to that business?).
That's because Murc's Law is cruise control for cool, it's the easiest framework to use and therefore if anything goes wrong it's because a Democrat didn't change something. So President Klan Robe can have all the felonies he wants and remain viable as a candidate, but concern-trolling about Biden gets you all the clicks!
Paul Begala in an alternate 1945 where Germany is having an election-
“We shouldn’t focus on all Hitlers murders of women and children. People care more about kitchen table policies. I wouldn’t even mention the executions”
But that's the problem. If you've been on tee-vee and are famous, or infamous, you're a star. Doesn't matter what you're convicted of, that's what people remember.
Contraception, gay marriage, and personal rights are on the line
All you young folks protesting? He'll have you shot
All you Latinos thinking he'll do you a solid? He'll probably raid your neighborhoods for deportation and let God sort you out (a particular concern of mine given my parents' neighborhood)
His plan to fight inflation? "Drill, baby, drill" (whatever the FUCK that means). And he'll fire Jerome Powell and make someone else lower rates (doesn't that affect inflation? Isn't that the whole POINT of higher rates)
He'll continue the tax cuts for rich people
And mostly, he's a lying sack of shit who you wouldn't want as an employee, a boss, a neighbor or the guy standing next to you at the grocery store.
Maybe someone needs to start saying those things. Lord knows, the 24 hours of news should give someone the opportunity.
I think it's worth noting that the Paul Begalas and James Carvilles of the world have never won a two-candidate Presidential election. Their best efforts came in 2000, 2004, the 2008 primaries, and 2016.
Barack Obama couldn't hire them in 2008 because they were already on board with his opponent in the primaries. Obama/Biden had to take the out-of-favor Howard Dean people. Funny how that turned out. And carried through the 2008 General Election, and 2012. When Biden put together his team in 2020, he didn't hire the A-Team of losers, either.
And they've been enraged ever since. I know a few people who called themselves "PUMAs" in 2008 and at least claimed they would never vote for Obama, and they said so again in 2012. They also muttered dark forebodings in 2020 when Biden followed Obama's lead in not telling the Left to go fuck themselves.
Paul Begala is of the group that prefers to lose to the Fascists than to make coalition with the Socialists and win. If that's what you want, there's your choice. Follow the Begalas and the Snuffleupaguses and Carvilles. The benefit of losing to the Fascists is that you can stand on the sidelines and make sure everyone knows it's not your fault, if you find that consoling.
I don't think the fact that he's a convicted felon matters, what matters is the case. And the case in which he got convicted is a nothing-burger. He slept with a porn star while married? Meh, everybody knows he's the kind of guy who would do that. It's obvious people don't care. He paid hush money and falsified business records to cover it up? So what. Everybody knows politicians are corrupt, and campaign finance laws are a mess ("corporations are people", etc.). The last time anyone has been surprised or genuinely put off by this kind of behavior might have been around the time of Bill Clinton.
There is nothing in this case that cannot be shrugged off.
The case where he stole confidential documents and did all kinds of shit in regards to that, that's the important one. If the details of what he did became common public knowledge, and he got a conviction out of it, that might bury him. Sadly, he's got the best ally he could have wished for in the judge, and there'll be no trial until it no longer matters.
Paul Begala spent years playing whipping boy to Tucker Carlson on “Crossfire.” He’s still behaving like Republicans are normal and Trump is a real candidate and not a deranged ass clown. Go lay down, Paul — Hillary was never the problem. You, and men like you, were and are.
Also, imagine if the GOP had this to work with in their campaigns.
The GOP is not the model to follow, per se, but the Democrats’ reticence to point to orange elephant in the room is incredible - incredibly frustrating for voters who watched the first months or year of the Biden Presidency, as he and Congressional Democratic leaders did not use their majorities to effect so many critically important changes that the majority of citizens in this country want. Instead, they pretended that ‘norms & tradditions’ were important to protect, and essentially asserted that the GOP was still a party of legitimacy.
If the GOP faced a Dem candidate like Drumpf (and don't bring the BS that Trump & Biden are two sided of the same coin), the Democratic Party would have taken their coats, put on their galoshes, and waddled home to their millionaire retirements, saying, “Tsk, tsk, tsk. We went high when they went low. It's their fault." They would believe they did their best. Unfortunately, they'd be right……
"I personally doubt that many swing state voters care all that much that Trump promised to make life awesome for rich creeps if they flooded his campaign with much-needed cash. Voters probably assume (correctly) that politics work this way across the board. However, a convicted felon who a jury also found liable for sexual assault is more uniquely terrible. How can political professionals not understand this?"
A candidate taking bribes from Big Oil is the stuff of an Academy Award nominated film, with career defining performances by bright young actors and scenery chewing relish by grizzled old ones.
A candidate being a rapist is the stuff of a deliberately gritty, unfinished looking TV drama shot on shaky cam and using talented but unremarkable looking actors precisely because they don't look like movie stars.
The former is what inspired political professionals to become political professionals. The latter is what they tut over for destroying faith in the system.
These are the Democrats that got us where we are today. These are the wimps who think our job is to be the loyal opposition even when we’re in charge.
Bengals is so disappointing.
BEGALA. I HATE autoNOTcorrect!
How about the message, “I feel your pain at the prospect of a rapist felon in the White House who you wouldn’t let your daughter date, much less let him control the US military”?
After Hillary won the popular vote but lost the EC in 2016 we were treated to the rationalization that, “she was a bad candidate, she had too much baggage, she lost and she just needs to go away.”
And now the Paul Begalas of the world are telling us that even though Trump is a convicted felon, adjudicated rapist and fraudster, an insurrectionist and wannabe dictator (I could keep going but I don’t have the time) we should just ignore all that and talk about the price of eggs.
What’s even worse is that I am sure that Paul Begala would turn around and concede that Biden’s age is a “major concern for voters”. Which I find weird because you can’t have it both ways. You can’t say voters won’t care if Trump raped someone but Joe wearing sneakers because he’s old is beyond the pale.
I think the argument is upside down. The problem isn't people like Begala Nearly as much as people like Begala are the only kind of Democrat that the legacy media invites onto their shows. There are plenty of Democrats that would let Trump have it with both barrels if they were ever invited on these shows. So I put at least as much blame at the feet of the legacy media if not more. they are the ones who decide who gets a turn the microphone.
Yeah for example, these fools often have Three Names on. Why aren't they calling on Schiff or Swalwell, or Raskin? I have to tune in to Brian Tyler Cohen to see Raskin. I've seen AOC interviewed occasionally. Now I know Democrats are also busy working but there's PLENTY of the new breed of Democrat who can go on TV and whoop ass. But that hurts the Republican owners' bottom lines as the Democrats come armed with facts (AND Funny). Like I definitely notice Pete Buttigieg is not getting booked so much anymore.
It was an interesting lesson for me to learn. Because like a lot of other Democrats, I was giving my party a bunch of shit for their crappy messaging but it turns out the messaging is just fine, it's just that that message is being deliberately curtailed and misrepresented by the legacy media. The good news is that most progressive liberals these days don't get their news from the legacy media. And that also includes younger voters. Cable TV is for the grandpas of the world. Legacy media takes simply aren't nearly sophisticated enough for me at this point. Once you really get to know what's going on those shows are just utterly paltry and at times weeks behind in analysis
Those segments on Brian Tyler Cohens podcast should be required viewing for all Americans. A thoughtful articulate host interviewing a thoughtful articulate guest. See, we can have nice things!
That guy is really good. I’mma preorder Shameless once I remember to actually go do it. He’s good at using social media. Hopefully more people can do that. I like the progressive media ecosystem he’s trying to get together too.
Meidas Touch is really good too...But I have a SLIGHT preference for BTCs podcast...Meidas is GREAT for the nitty gritty of all the legal ins and outs...TOTALLY necessary and informative stuff..But BTC talks more about why the law MATTERS and why it needs to reflect a moral center
This is one reason why I like the one-two-punch of the podcasts with Glenn Kirschner and Marc Elias, respectively. They have different areas of law but tie it together well.
(:
done and doner! I ordered it last week!
Good point
I think there is something to the idea that "we should focus on what the voters care about" but it's also true that your messaging can help drive what the voters care about--particularly by connecting it to tangible things the voters can see. "Trump will usurp the rule of law" might not mean anything to Joe Sixpack--how does it affect him if Trump gets away with some crimes, especially when liberals have been telling us for decades that rich connected people get away with crimes all the time? But "Trump is a felon, and will be spending his whole presidency focused on his own revenge, rather than getting inflation down or being ready for the next pandemic" can hit home.
When Republicans complain about illegal immigration, they don't just talk about it as some amorphous lawbreaking--rather, they point out violent crimes, jobs stolen, community services diluted, all as a result of these immigrants--doesn't matter that it's bullshit, the point is they tell a story while Democrats are caught between (1) saying "we're also tough on illegal immigrants, just not as tough!" or (2) trying to invoke compassion for immigrants, rather than telling the story of immigrants serving in our armed forces (a testimonial from a soldier whose life was saved by an immigrant in their platoon?) or immigrants serving their communities (an employee of a business founded by an immigrant who got a better job thanks to that business?).
That's because Murc's Law is cruise control for cool, it's the easiest framework to use and therefore if anything goes wrong it's because a Democrat didn't change something. So President Klan Robe can have all the felonies he wants and remain viable as a candidate, but concern-trolling about Biden gets you all the clicks!
This^^^^^
Yup. Let's rerun 2016---focus-grouped small-ball bromides recycled from 1992. Again.
🤡
Wasn’t Paul Begala the other shmuck John Stewart called out along with Tucker Carlson for their fake WWE bullshit?
Paul Begala in an alternate 1945 where Germany is having an election-
“We shouldn’t focus on all Hitlers murders of women and children. People care more about kitchen table policies. I wouldn’t even mention the executions”
"When he said 'guns before butter' he lost. People like butter."
Yes I remember when Republicans and the media ignored Clinton’s Emails and focused on her policies instead. lol. Great advice dude.
The good thing about bad advice from Paul Begala is that nobody listens to Paul Begala.
But that's the problem. If you've been on tee-vee and are famous, or infamous, you're a star. Doesn't matter what you're convicted of, that's what people remember.
Worked for OJ
Worked for Martha
Works for Felonius Stunk
The Democrats messaging has always sucked🙄
Why endlessly repeat the same comment over and over and over
🤡
He's a felon
He's a liar
He's a convicted rapist.
He promises to be a dictator for "one day".
Project 2025 promises to ruin your lives
Contraception, gay marriage, and personal rights are on the line
All you young folks protesting? He'll have you shot
All you Latinos thinking he'll do you a solid? He'll probably raid your neighborhoods for deportation and let God sort you out (a particular concern of mine given my parents' neighborhood)
His plan to fight inflation? "Drill, baby, drill" (whatever the FUCK that means). And he'll fire Jerome Powell and make someone else lower rates (doesn't that affect inflation? Isn't that the whole POINT of higher rates)
He'll continue the tax cuts for rich people
And mostly, he's a lying sack of shit who you wouldn't want as an employee, a boss, a neighbor or the guy standing next to you at the grocery store.
Maybe someone needs to start saying those things. Lord knows, the 24 hours of news should give someone the opportunity.
I think it's worth noting that the Paul Begalas and James Carvilles of the world have never won a two-candidate Presidential election. Their best efforts came in 2000, 2004, the 2008 primaries, and 2016.
Barack Obama couldn't hire them in 2008 because they were already on board with his opponent in the primaries. Obama/Biden had to take the out-of-favor Howard Dean people. Funny how that turned out. And carried through the 2008 General Election, and 2012. When Biden put together his team in 2020, he didn't hire the A-Team of losers, either.
And they've been enraged ever since. I know a few people who called themselves "PUMAs" in 2008 and at least claimed they would never vote for Obama, and they said so again in 2012. They also muttered dark forebodings in 2020 when Biden followed Obama's lead in not telling the Left to go fuck themselves.
Paul Begala is of the group that prefers to lose to the Fascists than to make coalition with the Socialists and win. If that's what you want, there's your choice. Follow the Begalas and the Snuffleupaguses and Carvilles. The benefit of losing to the Fascists is that you can stand on the sidelines and make sure everyone knows it's not your fault, if you find that consoling.