If the extremist/absolutist right full of decades of Rush Limbaugh feeding them manipulative half-truths in what's left of the Republican party manages a reaction in the other party to go toward the other extreme, then they have won is how I feel. I'm really disliking people of any kind in the streets chanting, the hats, the bumper stickers, all that junk. Now there are exceptions, I think when AIDS was cutting a swath the 'act up' thing with a real goal to it was inspiring, and the same for black lives matter as it's actually saying something and exposing a real problem (even against a guest in a hotel in Portland Oregon recently). But seeing people with a lot of free time chanting and holding ugly signs about Obama does not make me want to see seriously stupid anti-Trump stunts in restaurants or wherever as progress.

A lot of people will have to tally after however long Trump is in and hopefully learn and reflect, and I might hope see how they were manipulated over a long amount of time to be bumper sticker half-truth quoter revolutionaries, blaming, lashing out, all that junk. And I think we've seen just enough from their more motivated opposition that they can also be just as susceptible to flame fanners and turn into a mirror image of sorts. Reactionaries, revolutionaries (post the 1776 one which seemed pretty much wildly successful that no further ones are needed)... not helping their county. If you know say the National Enquirer is half-truth junk at best, even if it feels good or fun, why would you subject yourself to it? Is a Rush Limbaugh with his infotainment let's-find-scapegoats routine any different? "Why there's more trees in the United States Of America today than when the country was founded!" he thundered the first (and last) time I ever watched his show (the one with a wall of flag decorated books of his own), as in environazis are lying to you... now why would you pay attention after that, seriously? Oh, he manipulates and hates, blames and lashes out, shoves patriotic symbols on every surface, but I don't like those Clintons either so it's 'fun'? Fun to blame and hate and castigate large swaths of humanity for the mote in their eye you don't have? To me that's when the current fubar started, or else the weakening of the FCC regulations that opened a door for such modern Lord Haw Haws and Tokyo Roses. Regulations as simplistic job-killers and a redistribution of wealth conspiracy... or protection found to be needed from real experiences millions lived through? You won't know what you've got until it's gone, and I am quite sure Putin and other 'strong men' like him would love to take it from you, the U.S.A. was about something very much different from those people.

Just knowing is doing something and this is the information age. Judge what sources are really reliable and not with a manipulative agenda and know and learn, it's the requirement of liberty. Democracy is not wrong, but it can be bumpy and not easy. The simple answers are usually the most transient... this is why sometimes you can see them moving from one extreme to another, once the Democrats were the pro-segregation and states' rights party, now it looks like a founding pillar of whatever neo pretends-to-be conservative 'movement'. Right now I know of only one kind of movement the U.S. needs, followed by a loud flush and a lot of relief.

Here's hoping for a calmer 2019.

I suspect nominating someone like Beto is a great way to get a repeat of 2016. NO THANK YOU!

Not a defense, but POTUS Donald J. Trump did not utter the first statement. Private Citizen and celebrity Donald J. Trump said it in 2005.


As we hear time and time again, such as when a celebrity or politician is caught saying something that offends people, words have consequences. If she wants to talk like that, she has to be prepared for backlash, hypocritical or not, from folks who don't agree with her or who support her opponents.


Of course there's a disconnect (and yes, I know you're being sarcastic), because the Republicans want womenfolk, particularly those who are young and/or of color, to be silent and not get all uppity and thinking they can have a say in how things are done. It doesn't fit the "way things have been done forever" and it is uncomfortable for Republican men to see non-docile women who think, act, and speak for themselves.


I agree with you that our elected officials should comport themselves at a higher level than the general populace. That said, the rules have gone out the window under this administration, and any pearl-clutching from the right because the little Democrat Muslim girl called the POTUS a "motherf@#$er" is ridiculous. If you applaud Trump for being politically incorrect and "telling it like it is", then don't get your panties in a bunch when someone on the other side does it too.

However, one thing that Rashida Tlaib, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, and their colleagues need to keep in mind is that Donald Trump has already laid claim to the low ground, so their baiting of him in his territory isn't going to end up well for them, because his position there is too solid. Maybe their "go low" rhetoric plays well in Detroit or Brooklyn with their constituents, but they need to remember that they are on the national stage now, and every word, every action, every thing they do is going to be scrutinized from Maui to Maine in the 24-7 news cycle. They are going to bring unnecessary heat on themselves and spend too much of their energy fighting the backlash instead of using it to push for the change they want in Washington and across the nation. As has been said, many times and in many different ways, don't ever wrestle a pig, because you end up filthy and the pig enjoys it.

If anyone believes Trump or the Republicans clutching their pearls over this are actually outraged and not just play-acting for their base, I have a bridge I'd like to sell you.

Also, I did not coin this, and I do not want the baseline discourse to fall too far, but I had to chuckle and relate to someone posting the (paraphrased) following: A freshman Congresswoman saying mother f****er on her first day is the first time I have truly felt represented by any elected official in government.

Stupid double post.

If it's just hypocritical, then it's not really offensive or backlash...just foolishness...and I think that's something that just needs to be called out. If being "real" is something conservatives are okay with when it's their guy then they simply can't cry out against it when it comes from the other side and if they do they need to be slapped in the face with it.