Vice President nominee JD Vance has just said in a speech that people without children have not invested in the future and therefore should have less of an influence in participating in a democracy. This is not an interpretation, it’s completely what he thinks should happen.
Meanwhile, Trump urges a group of Christians to vote “I LOVE Christians!” he shouted. That’s not the worrying thing. He then says that he’s asking them to get out there and vote “one last time” – he said will fix things so that they won’t have to vote ever again.
Even if neither of these measures can possibly be taken – isn’t it just a little concerning that they even think these things, let alone say them out loud?
I clearly don’t understand the thought process. Yes she hasn’t got kids but perhaps, just maybe, she might care about… drum roll… the futures of other people, and – bear with me here – their kids?
As for Donald nothing surprises me anymore.
Vance is a Catholic convert, so it must be tricky balancing that with his view that the Pope has no interest in the future of the world. Unless of course it only applies to women.
She does however have stepchildren.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/kamala-harris-stepdaughter-responds-childless-attack-jd-vance-rcna163673
Vance said that in 2021 apparently, those remarks are being publicised now. Trump may have meant it is the last time they can vote for him as it would be his second term, let’s hope that is what he meant
DT’s words could also be construed as meaning the last time they could vote for him because his notoriously atrocious diet makes it most unlikely he be around much longer
I don’t think so. He said something along the lines of “this is the last time – don’t worry about voting ever again, I’ll fix all that…”.
Here you go, the transcript:
“Christians get out and vote, just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years you know what? It’ll be fixed it’ll be fine you won’t have to vote anymore my beautiful Christians I love you Christians I’m not Christian you gotta get out and vote. In four years you don’t have to vote again we’ll have it fixed so good you don’t have to vote.”
It’s up to the Youngs this time around. The choice between democracy and fascism has never been clearer – if they don’t use the first (in the numbers they have) to defeat the second, they no longer have Boomers to blame for all their ills. Add the black vote, and the Hispanic, and anybody left with an ounce of sense in their heads, and it’ll be a timely rout of the “Grand Old Party”. It won’t eradicate Nazism and Fascism from their long-established place in American society – that poison feeds on the ignorance that has always flourished there. It’s always been a violent nation, established on genocide, revolution and civil war, with the delusion of itself as a global peacekeeper somehow keeping “Old Glory” flying. In terms of historic civilisations, it’s still a toddler throwing tantrums, for all its giant steps. And toddlers can be monsters.
Still and all, Trump lost last time, and against a less charismatic opponent.
I agree. Harris isn’t perfect but she’s sensible and credible. She even seems likeable.
The Republican Convention straight after the assassination attempt was the absolute peak of MAGA. Did you see them? Fucking nutjobs. Our irredeemably sad local fluffers were there (Farage, Hopkins, Johnson, Truss) hoping to touch the hem of His nappy and not succeeding – but making the best of it in the way people do when they are sorely disappointed. I am hoping beyond hope that that was the zenith.
I think Harris should absolutely annihilate Trump. She really should.
(From the private collection of Archie Valparaiso)
Unsee!
A whole basket of deplorable right there.
That reminds me I need to buy some onions.
You’ve brought a tear to me rheumy old eye there, Hubes
I’d have thought the group of people with less investment in the future are the elderly, not those without children.
That’s the impression I get, and continue to get by talking to people, re: ‘Brexit’.
A significant number of them, many now dead, didn’t seem to give a stuff in 2016.
I wouldn’t imagine it’s much more different in the States.
This is true – Americans didn’t give a stuff about Brexit.
That’s very Conway, H.P.
@deramdaze
Were they dead before or after you spoke to them, D?
Brain dead in 2016, for sure.
Subsequently, one guy I absolutely know was an ultra keen leaver – now dead, so absolutely, by definition, not with a huge investment in the future – and many, many others in the Obits in my orbit who also voted that way.
Impossible to find out, but I wonder when the tipping point would be, if it hasn’t already happened (I reckon it has), when all the people’s votes who voted that day, who are still alive, added up to a Remain result?
Even assuming our lords and masters were in a position to reapply for membership, it would require all 27 member states to agree to our being let back in.
Achieving such an agreement would be slow and painful; and even if ultimately successful, would not see the UK granted anything like the terms it had before the ERG mob collectively shat the bed for the rest of us
Not talking about that.
Talking about… “do people give a crap”… re: age… and I’d say, “less”.
Far from being in decline, the number of older (Farage supporters/likely leave) voters rose by roughly 50% between the 2015 and 2024 elections – from 2.8 million to 4.1 million.
Going back t your original point re old people with little investment in the future. They at least got off their jacksies and turned out to vote in 2016. Large numbers of younger voters (those with the most to lose) on the other hand couldn’t be arsed and stayed home.
Hope their American cousins are more aware of how important a role their votes will play if Trump is to be stopped roughly 100 days from now
Sorry, should read 3.8 million and not 2.8 million.
While only 10% rather than 50%, an increase is an increase
I wish I’d kept the article that showed the statistics. Post-Brexit, the Youngs blamed the Olds for the disastrous results (mirroring the US “all the Boomers fault” line popular among deep-thinking Genwhatevs), but if, as you say, all the people whose futures would be affected most – young people – had turned up to vote, the country wouldn’t be in the “aspiring shithole nation” category it is now. It does seem like there’s some kind of rising awareness among US Youngs that they can actually determine their own futures. 100 days, that’s all they got. 100 days – and that’s not a lot.
Jaygee, it’s too late in the evening to bother with now, but I think you just might find that the swing since 2015 to 2024 has been ever so slightly towards the left.
Just a hunch.
@deramdaze
You didn’t ask about the swing from the right to the left though – probably because there were leave voters on both sides of the political divide.
You very specifically addressed the decline in the number of older voters who were likely to have voted for Brexit and had since died.
I think you’ll also find that this year’s swing to the left was preceded by a sizeable shift to the right in 2019.
@deramdaze
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/more-young-people-voted-reform-075908907.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJKfIB26Ng_uf7SCeXiAM-nMIocup3Lfb_hiqRrtf3kJ5j-CgbLoaql71VSr5PwfpBEmGBDKhz0GZuFpUxaYDWDaieeGewfX3_Ggxe_KzCXaq_7CPcn9QlVKW-v91RL04zHGBDnqhh0j8ImAVrz-t99BLcvHa-NwbTw6AV8cp1VJ
I dearly hope Harris gets in, but I have this awful suspicion that Trump might just beat her. If he does, and if he and his lackeys carry out everything they have threatened to do, America could become a very grim place indeed.
I can imagine millions of his supporters then getting buyer’s remorse and saying “We didn’t know he or his policies would be as bad as this.” If so, they will have no one to blame but themselves.
He has done and said so many things that should by rights have ended his chances. But almost half the country still wants him to be their leader. Even though he and Vance are making it very clear just what they will do once in power. We truly live in strange times.
Excellent piece on Vance in the New Yorker.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/j-d-vances-sad-strange-politics-of-family?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=tny&utm_mailing=TNY_Daily_Free_072524&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=email&utm_term=tny_daily_digest&bxid=60db012fb69d4c18c21488fa&cndid=65537219&hasha=2625e84bb1ddce5d8e8835038b42b03c&hashb=f0ed764340d103b38489e09717d20f15778eee06&hashc=5c7b4e64d21c443f1208d2557d313a89552bea940d44a7a65afd39af05d0a6ef&esrc=growl2-regGate-0521&mbid=CRMNYR012019
“For the Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, a woman’s place is at home, having babies with her husband, no matter how fallible that man may be. “It is clear, on a primal, emotional level, why Vance sees this as the better deal than what he got,” Winter notes. “But what results is a blinkered, grotesquely narcissistic vision of the social contract—an identity politics of one grown child.”
Trump may live to regret his choice.
I really wonder if he’s capable of regret, which involves some level of introspection and even self-criticism. He’s more likely to blame, to lash out in anger. Nothing is ever his fault. Everything about his behaviour and language since Harris got the job suggest he’s becoming even angrier. He’s desperate, he’s incoherent, and he has no idea what to do. No game plan other than blaming and insulting and lying. Vance is widely recognised as the lightweight opportunist he is, but Trump has no Plan B.
I said skeptical things about KH, but am warming to her. She doesn’t seem as weird or stupid as most other American politicians. There has to be a bit of nastiness in her to fight back, and I’d like her to get gloves off with the Orange Jesus, then really expose his stupidity and nastiness, so making even more evident how unsuitable he is for the role of President. I agree that many Trumpistas would claim “we didnae ken, we didnae ken” when he got in (“aye, well ye ken noo”), and see his being in power would be like playing chess with a pigeon (they shit all over the board and knock the pieces over, not knowing any better). I actually think he’s boring even his own side now, and the passion isn’t there – just some all-American histrionics. Meanwhile, Vance’s cat-lady comment is his “deplorables” moment: happy days.
Yes, he does seem to be boring Republicans now. Witness his bizarre repeated comments about Hannibal Lecter and his speech about choosing death by sharks or being electrocuted. Once, such bits would have got his supporters in a righteous lather (“He’s so right about Lecter!!”, “Yes, let’s kill all the sharks!!!”). Now? Comments like that just get Dems and neutrals pointing out how deeply weird he is.
Surely there must be serious Republican politicians or power brokers who are realising they have hitched themselves and their party to a burning clown car. That would explain why Orange Jesus seems to be losing some of his lustre.
Those senior Republicans have had since 2014, 2015 to realise they have hitched their wagon to an absolute monster but since no one came near to rivalling him in terms of appeal to a vast rump of Americans, despite the constant weirdness, criminality, offensiveness, boorishness, lies etc. Til he’s inspiring Biden levels of panic, they’ll stick with him. The frightening thing is that a decade or so from now, what monsters from the deep will be in presidential races, inspired by Trump.
The next trick by the Orange One will be to fake his death then rise on the third day. ‘Lord of Lies”, you born-agains. Get with it.
I mean, you say this now, but I honestly wouldnt be surprised if he contrived to ‘die’ and be resurrected the day before the polls open. “It’s a miracle!” etc.
He has the audacity.
@Vincent
He’d suffer incredible embarrassment once his subterfuge was exposed and his lies were undone
Do you think so? I think he’d brazen it out using the “Schrödinger’s Asshole” strategy: “I’m fucking with you for my good reason, can’t you take a joke?” or similar. He’s got away with everything else, so has good grounds for thinking he is untouchable.
Nope.
Was making a (rather laboured) joke based on the fact that in addition to being called the Lord of Lies the devil is also known as The Lord of Flies – hence the bit about his (f)lies being undone.
Ah, I see. I am ashamed at missing this.
TBF, I suspect you were far from alone
A toe-tapping hit about the hillbilly hypocrite…
“Feeding votes to the tangerine”. Bravo, family!
It’s an astonishing situation where the man standing to be president was found guilty of sexual abuse (which the judge said would otherwise be accepted as rape) and his VP wants women to have no right to terminate a pregnancy, even if they were raped or victims of incest.
Meanwhile Trump claims not to support “Project 25” despite it having RNC approval and involvement. Under his eye indeed.
His ear seems fully healed with none of it missing, after taking a hit from an assault rifle ammunition round, judging by an Associated Press photo taken of him on July 26th.
I’ve had paper cuts take longer to heal.
I imagine he was going to milk that near miss for all that it was worth. All the way to the White House in November. Then Biden threw the towel in (very reluctantly) and along came Kamala Harris in fighting mode, so he ditched the sympathy-seeking (because it made him look old, which is now a vulnerability for him) and switched back to tried and tested hate-the-Democrats mode instead.
All of that, indeed.
It must have been the merest and slightest of grazes. Hardly even Germolene-worthy.
Isn’t one of the most famous working / single / childless / cat loving Americans a certain Miss Taylor Swift, who has about 8 trillion followers on whatever social media platform you choose……
Sounds like a smart move.
I remember Angela Leadsom saying something like this several years ago when it was her turn to run for leadership of the Conservative Party. I think she dropped out within a day of saying it.