Suddenly, the Election Is About Weird vs. Normal

 

Suddenly, the Election Is About Weird vs. Normal

Existential dread isn’t saving democracy. Maybe making the campaign a referendum on weirdness will work.

 

Jill Lawrence

Jul 29, 2024

DONALD TRUMP IS “old and quite weird.” He is “someone you wouldn’t want to sit near at a restaurant.” JD Vance is “a creep.” He would empower states to track women’s menstrual cycles and federal authorities to block them from crossing state lines for abortion care. This pair is bizarre. Just plain strange.

Behold the Harris for President campaign’s increasingly favored line of attack on the Republican ticket, an approach credited to both Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris herself.

The Vance-is-a-creep email made me blink in surprise. But by the time the weird-guy-in-restaurant statement showed up a few hours later, with the word “strange” in the subject line, I laughed. Who wouldn’t relate to that? Could it be that Democrats are . . . onto something?

I’ve often joked and lamented in recent years about channeling the angst of Democrats and Never Trump Republicans, from anger and rage to despair and resolve. ‘Overwrought’ is probably the best way to describe the default state of millions of minds, including mine, for the past nine years.

My most angst-ridden moment during Trump’s first term came well before the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot that left five people dead and has led to nearly 1,500 arrests so far. It was in July 2020. The pandemic was going strong, I’d just had to cancel a second trip West to see my sons, and Trump, in an act of what Utah Sen. Mitt Romney called “historic corruption,” had just commuted his buddy Roger Stone’s sentence for seven felony convictions.

“Don’t let Donald Trump break us, America,” I wrote in the headline of a column—as much a warning for myself as for others. 

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Joe Biden won in 2020 by channeling angst into a campaign to save the “soul of America” and protect its democracy. He was still doing it this year until he ended his 2024 bid, and he is still right—America remains at risk.

But high-minded defenses of our principles and elegant rhetorical phrases aren’t doing the job. Neither is existential dread. Trump shouldn’t have a chance in hell—and yet he does. It’s time to try something new. It’s time to be less lofty and more grounded in daily reality. It’s time to talk about the weirdness on “the other side,” as Walz said last week on MSNBC’s Morning Joe and other shows: “They want to take books away, they want to be in your exam room. . . . These are weird ideas.”

Weird and strange are descriptive words. They are not like the brutal taunts and name-calling Trump routinely lobs at people without giving his cruelty a second thought. The elevated language about the threat Trump poses to the American experiment is accurate. But the former president, a convicted felon who moved seamlessly and speedily last week from attacking “Crooked Joe” to attacking “Crooked Kamala,” doesn’t deserve it.

Trump especially doesn’t deserve it after picking Vance as his running mate. I mean, not even Trump has claimed, as Vance has, that the Democrats and the country are run by “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made” and want to make everyone else miserable, and so essentially “we’ve turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it.”

Also, he said that all children should have a vote, with moms and dads controlling their ballots. When you go to the polls as a parent, he said in 2022, “you should have more power” than people who don’t have kids. For good measure, he accused Democrats of the “pernicious” and “evil” act of rejecting the American family, asserted (despite evidence to the contrary) that all rising Democratic leaders are childless, and said (without evidence) that “many of the most unhappy and most miserable and angry people in our media are childless adults.”

Was this guy even vetted? It’s not like this all happened in some previous century. The comments came in 2021 and 2022 talks with Tucker Carlson, Charlie Kirk, and students at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. I don’t know what would be worse, that these red-flag remarks went undetected, or that the vetters noticed and said this is fine, or that they noticed and Trump knew, but his two older sons said JD was the only smart choice and he believed them

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And then when the comments resurfaced last week, the newly named vice presidential nominee chose to defend rather than defuse them; to insult people like Jennifer Aniston and Taylor Swift all over again in a conversation Friday with Megyn Kelly. And then on Sunday he “tripled down,” as the Harris campaign put it, in a “weird night” on Fox News.

Was Trump overconfident or inattentive in picking Vance? Either way, it was a mistake. In an echo of Sarah Palin 2008, he violated the “First, Do No Harm” rule of running mates. And the cost for him could be dire. Usually the worst outcome for losing candidates is they return to their regularly scheduled lives. For Trump, that life is an expensive tangle of indictments, trials, appeals, and maybe even prison.

The campaign will be dark and desperate as he seeks to avoid that fate. It already is. A second Trump presidency would also be dark and desperate, as he uses his powers, newly reinforced by the Supreme Court’s immunity-for-presidents ruling, to avoid consequences for him, his friends, relatives, allies, and cronies.

There are two potential upsides to this. One is this year’s uniquely abbreviated 100-day campaign. The other is the Vance effect. Reasonable people may well ask at this point: Did we not already have enough weirdness with Trump praising Hannibal Lecter and foreign dictators between boasts about overturning Roe v. Wade and monologues on whether he’d rather be electrocuted or eaten by a shark?

Trump obviously was counting on Vance to reinforce the MAGA brand and maximize MAGA turnout this fall. Instead he has doubled, tripled, and maybe even quadrupled the weirdness factor. The ticket is now so strange and out of the mainstream that maybe democracy can be saved after all.

NEW INC. MAGAZINE COLUMN ON D.E.I. FROM HOWARD TULLMAN

Here's Why I Think DEI Is Dead

The goals of these programs are great, but the execution has been horrible. Entrepreneurs need to tap into all kinds of talent for their startups--but this isn't the way to do it. 

Expert Opinion By Howard Tullman, General managing partner, G2T3V and Chicago High Tech Investors @howardtullman1

Jul 30, 2024

 

Serious entrepreneurs who are heads-down, completely focused, and worrying about building their new businesses don't have a lot of bandwidth, or even much interest, in many of the woke, self-righteous and virtue-signaling campaigns that consume the mainstream media, elite academics, college kids, and click-bait driven social media mavens and "influencers." Committed entrepreneurs have real work to do, modest bank accounts to conserve, impending milestones and benchmarks, and an entire team to recruit, build, motivate and lead.

Pondering pronouns, satisfying snowflakes, and solving the world's problems overnight aren't high priorities.

In fact, so many of the men and women I deal with every day would readily admit that they don't even know, care about, or understand the latest issues and outrages that allegedly are so upsetting and unsettling to absolutely no one they know or do business with. They've largely tuned out the noise and carefully filtered their feeds because they're smart enough not to waste endless hours staring at, and sharing, the factoids, falsehoods and stories constantly streaming on their phones and screens, which can trigger enragement rather than engagement, and ignorance rather than education.

At the same time, when this clutter, confusion, and conflict threaten to interfere with the company's operations, smart new business builders step up and shut the arguments down. Instead of "centering" (whatever that means) on the critics along with their countless grievances, the best small business owner entrepreneurs work to refocus their teams on the things that really matter in the short and long run: mission, metrics, work ethic, and results. Prioritizing the needs, desires, and morale of your strongest performers is essential. All the rest of the nice-to-haves--diversity, equity, and inclusion--will have to wait until the company can afford them after it's comfortably making payroll and profits.

There's an equally important philosophical reason why true entrepreneurs simply can't tolerate the scourge of idiot wokery, identity politics, and DEI devotees in general. They're meritocracy absolutists--plain and simple. While you can't win without passion, perspiration, and preparation, the bottom line is that attracting, energizing, and retaining critical talent is the whole ballgame, and it's never been a harder battle than it is today. Talent comes in all colors, sizes, and shapes, so anything that narrows the scope of the search leads to less-than-optimal results. We want creative and innovative people, and we know that they're a "package deal" that includes their own quirks, concerns, and oddities. All of which is perfectly fine if they're the right folks for the job.

The best man, woman, or dog in the fight is the one who brings home the bacon. Schemes like diversity statements, which unfairly skew the selection, evaluation, promotion, and compensation procedures, have no place in business to begin with. But in the startup world, where each hire adds or subtracts exponentially from the team's strengths, these considerations along with trigger warnings and intersectionality concerns (whatever those are), demoralize the true performers; they drive the best candidates and prospects away, and deprive the businesses of the personnel and skill sets that are essential to their ultimate success.

Add to that the fact that the hypocrisy inherent in these pretend programs--where job applicants have to suck it up and compose bogus DEI statements about how they would contribute to diversity, which contain all the approved buzzwords and platitudes about improving the world--and you have a foolproof formula for undermining and eventually destroying the true culture of the company which the founders are trying to support and sustain. These tired and tedious equity-and-fairness dogs and dogmas don't hunt in the real world of building new businesses.  

On the other hand, in the largest corporations, East and West Coast colleges and universities, and plenty of government bureaucracies, there seem to be infinite funds, interest, and appetites to create new positions, roles and departments, such as the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing. These hives of hipness are then stuffed full of the woke folks who have little or no relevant experience, are provided with next to no guidance or supervision, and have no idea of what they're supposed to be doing or whom they're actually serving. They have lots of time on their hands and plenty of spendable funds, and face zero accountability.

The only people ever held to account are those fearless observers foolish enough to question the goals and objectives of these individuals and entities and how anyone determines whether their efforts are successful. No one who wishes to remain gainfully employed should even consider asking any of these new and imperious mini emperors about their wardrobes.   

It's entirely possible that things will never get better in higher education because the self-satisfied people promoting these programs and the people who are employed and paid by them are all drinking the latest Kool-Aid. These hypocrites are basking in the approval of their equally deluded peers, suffering no pain or penalties from the budget bloat they generate. They have no interest in any financial metrics or accountability and are being entirely consumed by appearances and campus politics rather than by actual impact or results.

The only good news on this front is that--at least in terms of some of the most influential and sizable tech firms--there's finally some light appearing at the end of this very dark, narrow-minded and useless tunnel. Because, at some point, the market does keep score and the math increasingly makes no sense. The goals of the DEI programs may very well be laudable, but it's clear that the implementations have been horrible and caused more pain and conflict than positive impact. We're starting to see the same reckoning around these programs that we're seeing with respect to the near-term nothingness of the vast amounts these same firms have squandered on generative A.I.

Microsoft recently joined a host of tech leaders in laying off a DEI team after wasting millions on a politically correct, but essentially useless, woke initiative. Previously, Meta, Google, Snap, Lyft, Zoom and Tesla had all reduced or eliminated diversity-oriented staff members and programs that had been added in the wake of the BLM protests in 2020. Other firms moving to dump their DEI initiatives include John Deere, Home Depot, and Wayfair. Unfortunately, at the same time as they're cleaning things up, firms like Deere are also reverting to the old strategy of sending jobs out of the country to cheaper workforces.

The message and the bottom line are pretty simple. The hapless and the half-hearted are happy to hang around as long as you're stupid enough to have them. When piety and political correctness are prioritized over performance, it's the doers and the highly valued talent that leave the firm and the DEI do-rights, the do-nothings, and the dregs that remain.

 

CONVICTED FELON AND CRIMINAL TRUMP'S PLAN TO END DEMOCRACY

 

TRUMP LOSING IT MORE EVERY DAY

 

TRUMP IS WEIRD OLD TOAST

 

WEIRD IS JUST THE BEGINNING 

Trump Just Had His Worst Week—Ever

 

Trump Just Had His Worst Week—Ever

He thought he had this race in the bag.

 

A.B. Stoddard

Jul 29, 2024

 

IT MUST BE HARD TO TRANSITION from martyr anointed by God and positioned to win in a blowout to jealous old whiner grumbling about the misunderstood relevance of Hannibal Lecter.

Life came at Donald Trump fast when Sleepy Joe Biden took his name off the Democratic ticket and endorsed Kamala Harris last week.

Within days, the vice president had captivated the nation, united her party, upended the campaign, raised record sums, tied up the race in polling, and seen a bounce in her favorability ratings.

In the same stretch of time Trump had backed out of a debate, watched JD Vance become a meme, fielded concerns about what a failure it was to pick Vance, and seen his own approval rating erode under Harris’s attacks.

Even his main man, Elon Musk, piled on—suddenly denying he had committed to spending $45 million per month supporting Trump’s campaign.

Trump had been riding high. He had a consistent lead over President Joe Biden both nationally and in all the swing state polling, in some places beyond the margin of error. Following his catastrophic debate on June 27, Biden refused to step aside, keeping the national debate focused on questions about his age and fitness. And after Trump was nearly killed at a July 13 rally in Pennsylvania, the image on every TV screen and newspaper front page showed him rising bloodied but defiant. He was, literally, the picture of strength.

Two days later, at the Republican convention, the faithful gathered in jubilation to celebrate his survival, his nomination, and his choice of running mate. Trump had escaped with his life, and the election was his to lose.

From that commanding position Trump chose Vance to juice the bro vote in the Rust Belt and to firm up connections to Silicon Valley. Harris had lower approval than Biden, and Democrats had long worried she would be a drag on the ticket.

Republicans weren’t licking their chops—they were drooling.

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But one historic tweet from Rehoboth, Delaware changed everything. “I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down,” wrote President Biden. Suddenly, a weak vs. strong campaign became one of future vs. past, young vs. old, positive vs. negative, possibility vs. fear. Trump’s candidacy is old and stale, and the third time is not charming. Harris may be the sitting vice president, but her candidacy is sparkling and new.

Trump lost altitude so quickly he forgot he was supposed to have been transformed by the attempt on his life. Suddenly he can no longer fake serenity and humility, and that crap about unity his supporters attested to after the attempted assassination.

A noticeably grouchy Trump admitted Saturday that was all BS. “No, I haven’t changed,” he said. “Maybe I’ve gotten worse. Because I get angry at the incompetence that I witness every single day.”

Enraged by Harris’s surge, Trump is flailing about for any attack to use on her. He has accused her of “committing crimes,” said she doesn’t like Jewish people (despite being married to one), and called her “sick,” “a bum,” and “evil.”

The political world is buzzing, not only over Harris’s momentum but the coming announcement of her choice of running mate. Undecided voters are learning about impressive, capable, and normal Democrats all over the country—from Gov. Andy Beshear to Gov. Josh Shapiro to Gov. Tim Walz. They’re also seeing clips of the inimitable Pete Buttigieg pop up in their feeds, destroying Trump and Vance on television every few hours.

Meanwhile Vance is now a joke—starring in viral dolphin and couch content online and performing poorly out on the stump. The worst of all sins, in Trump’s book, is that he makes bad TV. He gives every appearance of being miserable.

But more dangerous for the Trump campaign is that Vance’s extremist comments about abortion, childless women, and his desire to “overthrow” Democrats “in some way” are likely to energize even more female vote against Trump.

These are the worst days Trump has had in his nearly a decade in politics. Getting indicted was nothing. Getting convicted was merely a speed bump. His 2020 electoral defeat and January 6th became opportunities to build his loyal base of the deceived and aggrieved. One could argue that Trump suffered a worse week in early October 2016 when the leaked Access Hollywood tape revealed he relished grabbing women “by the p—sy” and many in his party abandoned him in horror just weeks before the election. But back in 2016, Trump wasn’t trying to stay out of jail. A loss back then was going to get him a sweet perch on Fox & Friends to bash a President Hillary Clinton daily, and it might have even helped him land the Trump Tower Moscow deal he wanted so badly.

Ten days ago Trump thought he couldn’t lose. Yet new voter registration, donations, polling, and volunteer signups show Harris has been met with enthusiasm among young, black, Latino and independent voters.

Trump has been robbed of his mojo. Infuriated, he gripes nonsensically about wanting a refund for all the money he spent campaigning against Biden. He isn’t the messiah he thought he was two weeks ago, he is just the same man-baby he always was. And now he’s running against a black woman. He might lose to a black woman.

It’s very unfair.

TEN KEY PRINCIPLES TO SAVE AND SUPPORT DEMOCRACY


1. Democracies rest on rule of law; someone who denies the sanctity of the Constitution and serially violates our laws cannot be president.


2. Democracy cannot survive without truth, facts, science and evidence.
(Trump has destroyed trust and truth.)

3. Free and fair elections are the essence of democracy, where power resides in the people.


4. Civil discourse must be the means to resolve differences; compromise is essential to governance.


5. A democratic government cannot operate without an independent, nonpartisan civil service, and subject matter expertise is essential to good government.


6. An ethical government free from corruption and self-interest is essential to our democracy.


7. The United States is the indispensable nation for international stability, economic prosperity and democracy. Our military takes an oath to the Constitution, not to a single leader.


8. Democracies require and ensure widespread prosperity. Democracies that deliver economically for citizens require a domestic calm, commitment to the rule of law and opposition to cronyism.


9. A vibrant, independent press is vital to democracy.
 (Mainstream corporate media has totally failed to report honestly and continually on Trump's lies and threats.)

10. Equality and civil rights (“All men [and women] are created …”) are foundational to our American creed.

CONGRATS TO PAWS CHICAGO HONOREES BILL JACOBS AND CANDACE JORDAN - THANKS ALSO TO LISA DENT

 

BRING ON THE DEBATE 2

 

CAN'T WAIT TO SEE KAMALA MAKE MINCEMEAT OUT OF THE ORANGE MONSTER IN A DEBATE.

AMERICA IS BEGGING FOR SOMEONE TO FINALLY AND DIRECTLY CALL THIS LYING TRAITOR OUT ON HIS DAILY HUNDREDS OF LIES AND ALL HIS CROOKED CRONIES.

PLEASE DON'T ACCEPT THE HYPOCRITICAL AND TWO-FACED "SUGGESTIONS" FROM THE PUNDITS AND MAINSTREAM CORPORATE MEDIA THAT IT'S NOT LADYLIKE OR PRESIDENTIAL TO POUND THIS CHEAP PIKER INTO THE GROUND.

WE WANT STRONG LEADERS TO PERMANENTLY RETIRE THIS CLOWN AND HIS AUTOCRATIC DREAMS.

VANCE VIDEO - DANCING QUEEN VIDEO - new

 VANCE    click to watch great video 

TRUMP'S LATEST LIES START TO SURFACE - BULLET BULLSHIT - MAXIPAD MORON

 

PROSECUTE THE FELON

 

WHO ARE YOU...A QUESTION COUCHED IN CONFUSION