Posts Made By: James Brown

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

"You continue to attribute the motivation for regular Trump voters to stupidity."

Perhaps you've never watched interviews of Trump voters at a Trump rally.

That said, I agree with today's opinion column on CNN with Mark Zandi, the chief economics whizz at Moody's economics:

"The outcome of the presidential election isn’t likely to hinge on abortion, immigration or even climate change. It is likely to depend, instead, on the price of gasoline in the leadup to the vote."

"Based on my econometric analysis of past presidential election outcomes looking at the state electoral college vote, which accounts for a wide range of political and economic factors, if gasoline falls toward $3 a gallon by election day, President Joe Biden should win re-election. However, if pump prices rise to more than $4, former President Donald Trump is more likely to prevail"

 https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/20/opinions/gas-prices-presidential-election-biden-trump-zandi/index.html

Originally Posted by Jim Moscheck

I beg to differ, Jim. It'll be the fault of conservatives who haven't and won't speak out against trump. The news organizations are in it for the money and a trump win means high ratings which equals big profits.

I'm miffed we have the same choice as last time with both of the geezers four years older.

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

I think you should have realized that before you voted and helped elect Trump in a previous election.

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

Like Joy Reid said on MSNBC, "The bribe is implied", and MAGACannon appears to be well on her way in securing a future seat on SCOTUS...

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

“Notably, no excuse is provided as to how the former president could miss the classified-marked documents found in his own bedroom at Mar-a-Lago,”

"The matter is now before Judge Aileen Cannon, who is still weighing this motion and several others asking her to toss the case."

"In the meanwhile, she has indefinitely delayed Trump’s trial, refusing to set a new trial date in an order earlier this month while detailing she needed more time to weigh each of the former president’s motions."


https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4677841-additional-classified-records-found-in-trumps-bedroom-after-mar-a-lago-search/

Like Joy Reid said on MSNBC, "The bribe is implied", and MAGACannon appears to be well on her way in securing a future seat on SCOTUS...

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

"Seriously, why do you have a problem with the judge being careful and deliberate in a high stakes criminal trial?"

I guess I have to restate what I've previously and linked to but I've found it nicely summarized:

"To say that Cannon finds herself in an entirely avoidable situation is an understatement. The primary speed bump preventing a swift speedy resolution of the issues she cites in explaining her delay is none other than Cannon herself. It’s impossible at this juncture to definitively apportion the blame for this cascading failure on inexperience, partisan malice and simply being dealt a bum hand. What is clear though is that Cannon has made what should have been one of the most straightforward cases against Trump into a quagmire of her own creation."

"Cannon’s office has struggled with the heavy workload, higher than normal turnover in her chambers, the required clearances her clerks need to handle classified material, and a new propensity for micromanaging given the increased scrutiny on her after the special master ruling."

"That includes her frankly bizarre decision to have the prosecution and defense spend time on crafting potential jury instructions and arguments regarding the Presidential Records Act rather than deal with the more pressing issues on her plate."

"Again, the evidentiary role of classified material would likely slow down any criminal trial, let alone one involving a former president. But given the clear evidence that Trump was in possession of the documents seized despite a subpoena to return them and attempted to foil the government’s efforts to recover them, this should be an open and shut case once it gets before a jury. Instead, Cannon has only painted herself into a corner, overcorrecting from her past mistakes in a way that has only exacerbated her subsequent follies."

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-florida-trial-delay-judge-cannon-rcna151049

Originally Posted by James Lacey

Do you honestly think that Nikki Haley did this for anything other than political gain? Integrity had nothing to do with it. If she wants to run in the future, she'll need Trump supporters. I suppose her supporters will forgive her, and who knows, maybe she thinks she has a shot at the VP slot. On top of that, who knows what kind of back-room deals and agreements have been made with donors and party power-brokers for her support? Integrity has nothing to do with this endorsement.

Originally Posted by James Lacey

As I said, integrity had nothing to do with it. Integrity would demand that she stayed consistent regarding her criticisms of Trump. Instead, she's compromising her values and integrity to stay politically relevant. I don't fault her for it any more than you do.

Originally Posted by James Brown

I see your point, but I think there is a type of integrity at play here.   

I am assuming that Haley is in part motivated by a genuine desire to perform public service.   She is swallowing a huge crap sandwich to remain politically relevant - as you note.   It takes courage and integrity to publicly humiliate herself in this way.   

Bottom line, I think her motivations are at least in part noble.   Rod will no doubt think her motivations are base and selfish.  Obviously we can not know what Ms. Haley thinks and feels at the deepest levels.   But in my view at least, she is taking a huge ego hit to further her desire to perform public service.