Advice for Republicans and Conservatives - 11/14/2022

 

Advice for the GOP and conservative voters.

Republicans don't want to hear it, but too bad. Here it is, some honest advice:

1. Figure out how you're going to appeal to 18-29 year old voters. They went overwhelmingly blue in 2022. Sure, they're brainwashed by teachers and TV and music and on and on and on. You can bitch about that and forego their votes forever, or find some policies and proposals that might appeal to them. I don't know of a damned thing in the GOP platform that is specifically intended to get 18-29 year old voters to vote for them. You do? What is it?

2. Unmarried women voted for Democrats in large numbers. Why? Abortion. Lindsay Graham tried to get a reasonable compromise on abortion going earlier this year. He was attacked from both the left and the right, as both sides have adopted absolutes. What's the party's position? No bullshit. No hedging. No deception. Hey, if you don't care whether unmarried women vote for Republicans ever again, then don't change nothin'.

3. Trump. Figure it out. After 2020 and 2022 you still think he wins? I don't. God forbid I like DeSantis better. God forbid DeSantis appeals to a broader base. Yeah, McConnell, Ryan, Bush, etc. suck. If you think Trump can win without DeSantis supporters, and without support from moderate Republicans who support McConnell, Ryan, Bush, etc., you are wrong. Dead wrong. I have VERY low confidence that Trump will win in 2024 if he's the nominee. I give him two chances: slim and none. You love him? Well a LOT of people whose votes he needs hate his guts and they are NOT going to vote for him.

4. Stop fighting about and bitching about mail-in voting. Fighting it and bitching about it is the same as conceding elections. It's fucking tiresome and unproductive. You don't trust mail-in ballots? You don't like them? Guess what? You are stuck with them. And even without cheating they help Democrats. How? Low enthusiasm voters don't have to get out of the house to vote, and there has been an enthusiasm gap in both 2020 and 2022 that mail-in voting almost totally took care of. Also, think about this. The GOP has been pushing "Vote on Election Day, ONLY vote on Election Day." It's a fucking stupid strategy. If there are long lines and people are going to give up, if there are problems with machines and people need to vote with a provisional ballot, and if someone gets the flu and can't get out, all those issues disproportionately take away GOP votes.

5. It it time to drop the MAGA slogan. It's too stained by Trumpism. Change the mantra to "Putting America First" and stick with it. MAGA was great in 2016. Since then? Not as much. Time to turn over a new leaf.

The definition of insanity is doing the same things over again and expecting a different result. Too many seem to want to do exactly the same things as 2018, 2020, and 2022 in 2024 and expect a different result. It's not a losing strategy. It's not a strategy at all.

Trump, DeSantis, 2022 and 2024

Sometimes I wish President Trump would shut the fuck up. This is sometimes:

I don't give a rat's ass if McConnell, Ryan, Jeb Bush, or anyone else talks to Governor DeSantis. Don't get me wrong, I don't like any of the three, not even a little bit. DeSantis is a great governor in my state. He won by 20 points. Trump never won Florida by 20. In my opinion, the attack on DeSantis is another classic unforced Trump error. And to all the Trump supporters coming in with the "4-D Chess" and "Trump is always three steps ahead" bullshit? Just fucking stop it. It ain't 4-D Chess. It ain't some secret or master plan so brilliant none of us can see. It's petty. It's selfish. It's NOT in the GOP or conservatism's best interests to have an internal civil war because Trump and his core supporters want absolute purity, wherein vengeance is more important than unity and winning. So, President Trump. Shut the fuck up about DeSantis. And shut the fuck up about 2020, too. I will NOT vote for you or anyone else "because 2020". 2024 is about the future. Talk about the future. Talk about the Democrats.

I love our Governor. I hope he just ignores Trump totally.

Donald Trump is the king of unforced errors and really bad endorsements.

Why didn't the GOP make bigger gains:

Because unmarried women broke left over abortion in far greater numbers than expected. Because voters 18-29 were conned by President Biden into this phony student loan relief bullshit. It was never constitutional, no more so than Trump shuffling previously allocated funds around the ledger to pay for the wall. The courts shot that down. This is NO DIFFERENT. Congress allocates money, not the White House. The money was a scam, and that's all there is to it. So to the 18-29 year olds out there. Suck it up. You were scammed by a U.S. politician. Wasn't the first time this has happened. Won't be the last. Get used to it.

You was duped, kids. Wanna buy a watch?

Abortion cost the GOP a lot more votes than they expected. Young unmarried women love abortion rights.

Pennsylvania:

While I'm at it, I'm gotta mention Pennsylvania. The GOP gubernatorial candidate was the Trump picked candidate. He lost. Dr. Oz was the worst GOP Senatorial candidate in my recent memory. Endorsed by Trump. Lost. Trump ain't no kingmaker. There is a lesson here in PA, friends. Trump, 2020 PA election shenanigans (a.k.a. malarky!) aside, Trump lost there in 2020 and his candidates there lost in 2022, too. You think Trump is the answer to bringing PA into the fold in 2024? Insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting a different result.

Trump's biggest endorsement mistake, Dr. Oz.

How bad a candidate was Dr. Oz? A brain damaged slob in a hoodie who can't speak coherently for 30 consecutive seconds won. Trump screwed the pooch in Pennsylvania, both with his endorsement for Governor and especially with his choice of Dr. Oz. Fetterman? Really, Pennsylvania? Really? I'm talking to you, PA voters. How fucked up are you? Really, really fucked up. That's how fucked up you are. Given two bad choices, you chose the brain damaged slob who can't even speak over the snake oil selling surgeon. Gotcha.

How bad is it? It's so bad they elected a brain damaged slob to the US Senate.

Apparently voters in Pennsylvania also elected a dead guy. He was a better choice than Fetterman or Dr. Oz, though. 

Over to Arizona:

I love Keri Lake. I absolutely love her.

Trump endorsed or no, I love Kari Lake. Sue me.

Arizona is an embarrassment. That's it. Their elections are a joke. The fact the votes aren't counted yet is an indictment of incompetence. And every single minute that passes and as each does we get further and further from Election Day, the opportunities and likelihood for cheating and corruption go up. I really don't give a fuck at this point what the explanations or excuses are. If Florida had 99% of the vote counted on Election Day night, how in the hell has Arizona been at 70% days after?

"I'm in charge of my own election." (fictitious but accurate quote) Move along. Nothing to see here.

And how in the fuck is Katie Hobbs, Arizona's Secretary of State, allowed to oversee an election for the highest office in the state when she's one of the main candidates? She damned well ought to have recused herself. I know whoever took over for her is likely to have been an extreme Katie Hobbs loyalist. I get that. But be that as it may be, she ought to have recused and instead I see photos of her in election counting facilities. That's a joke.

Vote Tomorrow! - 11/7/2022

Tomorrow is Election Day in the U.S.A.  Get off your ass out and vote. 

Whatever your party affiliation is, vote.

Whatever your most important issues are, vote.

Our system is imperfect, but it's the one we've got. Take advantage of it. It's a right. It's your duty.

Some changes I'd like to see made to the voting process in the U.S.:

1. Show ID to register. Show ID to vote. ID verified at registration and at the polls. With today's technology, it ain't that hard. The phony claims that this will disenfranchise various groups is bullshit. Quit saying Black people are too stupid and incapable of getting and having an ID. Stop saying that shit, you racist bastards. And for the record, turnout in places where ID requirements are imposed often goes up, not down. Don't give me the voter suppression bullshit. It's crock and you know it is.

2. For mail in and absentee voting, impose a deadline for mailing (postmarked by) several days before Election Day, the preceding Friday seems fair and reasonable. Ballots received after polls closed invalid, too. Mail in and absentee ballots counted (but not reported) starting the Saturday before Election Day. There's no excuse for waiting till AFTER polls close to start looking at absentee and mail in votes. I'm talking to you, Pennsylvania. It's a system primed for cheating.

3. We have early voting here in FL and I really like it. They pick 3-4 locations in each county and we can vote for 2 weeks or so before Election Day. It would be nice if at least one of the locations was open the weekend prior to Election Day to make it easier for some working folks to vote. Early voting should end on the Sunday prior to Election Day. Make early voting locations available everywhere. Obviously, large population centers will need more or bigger early voting venues. It can be done.

4. Mail in, absentee, and early votes can start to be tallied, but not reported, on the day prior to Election Day. This year that would be today, Nov 7th.

5. Voter fraud, ballot fraud, and tabulation fraud should be a federal crime, punishable by fine, imprisonment, and a MANDATORY loss of voting privileges for a period of 10 or so years. Penalties should sale up proportionally depending on the magnitude of the crime.

6. Non-citizens should NEVER vote. No exceptions, no matter how well intended. Non-citizens caught attempting to register to vote or actually voting should be deported expeditiously and without arduous process. Voting is a fundamental predicate for our entire system and government. If a guest attempts to meddle in that process, they should no longer be welcome here. Period.

Now get out and vote. Me? I'm not going to. I already did.