"Healing the divide" and "not being divisive" are also now suddenly huge topics that it's very important for Biden-Harris to undertake. Because, you know, the Trump administration is working so hard at that at this very moment.

I don't think you give them enough credit. The GOP wanted to push for fiscal responsibility while Trump was in office, but the media wouldn't give them a platform to get the message out. It is the media's fault for suppressing their true desire for a balanced budget. The media was more interested in posting fake news about Trump than letting them get their message out. Now that they've got a platform, they'll show us how important it is.

Okay, now a little more seriously. I would like to think that many of the GOP legislators are as tired of the Trump show as we are. While silence in opposing Trump was cowardly, I do think that there were some who opposed Trump but realized that speaking against him would kill their political careers. It tells you what is more important to them.

But I still hold out hope that there are some legislators who do care about America and realize that we don't need another term of Trump, or anyone like him.

It’s shot like this that got Trump elected in the first place.

GOP promises red meat for r-t-rds to get votes but once they have the power they spend like crazy.

GOP wants big government, dems want big government. Only difference is who gets weird its power.

I’m not saying that Trump was a solution to this, it’s just that he was perceived as one.

I’m surprised that people believe anything they’re told by either party or the media.

But a shocking and disheartening number of people do.

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Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb

Trump lowered taxes so that means they could spend more money. Because that's how you lower the deficit.

Many members of the Trump Administration tried to sell the myth that the 2017 tax cuts would pay for themselves. So did GOP members of Congress. No serious economists believed it.

Surprise. They didn’t pay for themselves.

At least Ted Cruz was being honest when he recently admitted that the deficit would matter again once Biden was in office.

The average deficit when employment has been at or below 4% is zero. Trump's deficit for his first 3 years is a unique outlier.

"So we spent 2.5.. Think of that, $2.5 trillion. All new tanks and missiles, and rockets and everything is tippy top. Nobody thought we could ever get there and we’ve done it quickly. Most of the equipment is there. Much of it is there. Most of it’s coming. The rest of it’s coming in over the next, I would say, six months to 12 months."

Trump campaigned on building up the military but he also said he knew how to cut wasteful military spending.

Agree that both parties spend money to buy votes. There's a reason the appropriations committee is a prized seat.

Okay, now a little more seriously. I would like to think that many of the GOP legislators are as tired of the Trump show as we are. While silence in opposing Trump was cowardly, I do think that there were some who opposed Trump but realized that speaking against him would kill their political careers. It tells you what is more important to them.

If these guys had no effect, most republicans likely thought, "what's the point."

Mattis: "I was basically directed to do something that I thought went beyond stupid to felony stupid, strategically jeopardizing our place in the world and everything else, that's when I quit."

Kelly: He is the most flawed person I have ever met in my life

McMaster: “He is aiding and abetting Putin’s efforts by not being direct about this." In regard to Russia manipulating American voters.

Not to mention the 500 ex national security members who supported Biden or the 2000 DOJ/FBI members who condemned Barr. They barely made a blip in the news.

Follow up question: when will they start caring about how much golf Biden plays? My guess, the first time he steps onto the golf course.

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-----------------------------Baron Von Speedypants
-----------------------------RunTraining articles here:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...runtraining;#1612485

Both parties suck. However, the GOP sucks much worse right now. I don’t support all of the D platform (or all of the R platform), but the R party seems to have zero answers right now. I’m giving the D’s a chance for the next couple elections.

Cruz is especially loathsome.

drn92

I don't disagree with the bolded statement. And you're not alone with your opinion of Cruz:

“You have to understand that I like Ted Cruz probably more than my colleagues like Ted Cruz. And I hate Ted Cruz.”
Al Franken

"If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you," Lindsey Graham


There was a famous joke that Obama should nominate Ted Cruz to the Supreme Court, that way you get to nominate 8 other judges, because the other 8 would quickly quit after having to deal with Ted Cruz.

Rex Tillerson: "...he's a fucking moron."

No, not the only difference... Bigger difference is one side likes to pretend they’re for limited gov’t, states rights, and fiscal responsibility. At least the Ds are relatively honest about their platform by comparison.

Or at least I heard you complain about hypocrisy just recently when Newsom did it.

“Why do people take such an instant dislike to Ted Cruz? It just saves time.” - staffer from the Bush administration

“Lucifer in the flesh,” as House Speaker John Boehner - also - “I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.”

George W. Bush: “I just don’t like the guy.”

Conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer: “Everybody who knows him in the Senate hates him. And I think hate is not an exaggeration.”

Princeton roommate Craig Mazin: “Ted Cruz is a nightmare of a human being. I have plenty of problems with his politics, but truthfully his personality is so awful that 99 percent of why I hate him is just his personality. If he agreed with me on every issue, I would hate him only one percent less.”

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

Trump accused his father of being involved in the JFK assassination. Ted Cruz being the standup family man that he is, slithered back to Trump to kiss his ass. That's the Ted Cruz I know.

Does anyone take the current GOP leadership seriously?

And dems pretend to care about poor people.

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Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb

but the obvious first step tp fixing the deficit is admitting the Trump tax cuts didn't work and repealing them. Which Biden says he wants to do anyway. All the Dems need to do is tell this simple narrative and it really is simple.

Will it work any better than it did with the Bush tax cuts? There is a simple narrative used to attack Dems who repeal unsustainable tax cuts which seems to work every single time.

This is honestly my problem with the current GOP it’s just clear hypocrisy. They don’t care about the debt. They don’t care about transparency. They don’t care about states rights. They don’t care about local government. The people on power don’t even care about their own platform. (This has been evidenced by the last 4 years).

Now they will scream from high heavens that the democrats won’t negotiate with them. (When they don’t even care about what they are talking about.).

Amen. And trickle down is just that, barely a trickle. Yet many of main street Joes continue to support.

I'm really really hoping that this cycle was enough to create memories that last for longer than 6 months with the country's eligible voters... but I'm pretty far from confident that will be the case...

I suspect they'll start carping on about "family values" any day now too.