The Frankish Reich

So Tucker fans, please give me the exec summary: did anyone mention the elephant (and I don't mean the orange one) in the room, the "I hate him passionately" thing?

I just assume Vivek is running for VP. He provides no reason for voting for him instead of Trump other than "I'm young" And of course he won't say anything remotely contrary to Trump The gods only know where they'll go next.

Yeah, we have a delightful storied history in America with literacy and civics tests to qualify to vote. https://americanhistory.si.edu/democracy-exhibition/vote-voice/keeping-vote/state-rules-federal-rules/literacy-tests

I just think it's fair to always edit Vivek by substituting the plural "gods" for the singular "God."

There but for the grace of the gods go I

So why is he saying this "God" stuff more than anyone other than Mike Pence (say what you will about him, he is obviously a true believer). It's ok to be in a political debate without bringing up God ... you brought it up Vivek. Maybe it's fair to ask "what do you mean?" "What is your religious faith/tradition?" "How does it fit within the Judeo-Christian background of our founders?"

I doubt "The Left" is saying "You must be a Christian to lead our nation." They are saying you are a lying pharma bro masquerading as a pseudo-Christian.

But Obama wasn't a Muslim. He was a Christian. Nikki Haley was raised a Sikh. She is a Christian. They have apparently accepted Jesus Christ as their lord and savior, which is something the religious right thinks is important in our leadership. That's why Vivek is compelled to say "God is real." But he is not a Christian. Different.

I think as properly conceived today that's correct. It's certainly not correct with respect to Hindu nationalists like Modi. And Vivek's second talking point: "there are two genders," is weirdly defensive given all the gender switching gods of Hindu mythology. Again: not fair game if he comes out and says "I was raised a Hindu, and raised with a moral code that respects life, family, and an ethical way of living." But that's not what he's saying. There's a word for what he's doing: lying. EDIT: https://www.amazon.com/Hindus-Alternative-History-Wendy-Doniger/dp/014311669X Recommended. Really good huge book (I admit I didn't finish it). It's really impossible to reconcile this with the capital G "God is real."

So the real question for Vivek is: why on earth would we vote for you instead of Trump? I heard nothing to separate him from Trump other than "I'm younger." As the surprising rising star of the Republican Party, he's about to get a lot of light shined on his past. His history as an investor is fair game. And yes, he did support Martin Shkreli, the pharma bro. Take a close look at what that guy did, exploiting loopholes in the regulatory system and jacking up drug prices for ordinary people. Some illegal things, some legal but not exactly honorable things.

In case people don't understand: I don't think it matters. It has often been said that the only real religious bias left in American politics is against atheists. I would vote for an atheist or a Hindu or a Muslim or a Buddhist or a Christian, as long as they are competent, reasonably decent people. But this guy has a weird talking point meant to appeal to the Republican religious right: "God is real." That doesn't even make sense coming from a practicing Hindu, at least without any explanation. It is certainly not the capital G God of the Republican religious right. All these righteous Republicans love talking about our Judeo-Christian values - values they say informed our constitution and form of government. Those are not the values of Vivek's religion or upbringing. Does he share them as a matter of philosophy but not belief? None of it makes sense logically. It is pandering. It is bs. On that we agree.

Yes. But that doesn't mean he has to be a smarmy pandering ass. Twice he mentioned "God." Ending with his #1 talking point: "God is real." The other candidates didn't want to go there, but again the obvious question is "what God or gods are you even talking about?" Clearly not the God of Abraham, of the Jews, of the Christians, of the Muslims. So I call him out not for being a non-Christian, not for being a Brahmin, but for being a shameless bs artist.

I’m kind of speed watching it on delay. Main impressions: - Vivek is a major a-hole. Doesn’t come off as smart, but as a smartass. - Pence is more forceful, better prepared than I recall. He went in big on the Christian thing. It’s Iowa, it’s his only hope. - Scott is the anti-Vivek. Good manners, nice guy. Which means that as a Republican he will be out of the race after NH. - Haley is fine. Too reasonable for the current Republican mindset. VP. By the way, in case anyone missed it Michael Wolff, author of 2 Trump books who had remarkable access, strongly hints that she had a little thing with Trump. Eeew. - Christie is running because he hates Trump and wants to remain a favorite of the pundit class. - Burgum: far too normal for todays Republican Party. Mitt without the Mormonism - DeSantis: he is, indeed, awkward. Attack dog doesn’t suit him. Toast.

Boycott!

I don't have an issue with the fake (or to be more accurate, exaggerated) accent. All country singers do that, just like all old British blooze singers did that Mick Jagger thing that (they thought) made them sound black. A lot of hip hop artists today put on that fake New York black accent too. But yeah ... something tells me there's more than a little astroturf in the sudden emergence of this grassroots troubador....

I agree. That's why (until the new Trump Tariff proposal) I hated Elizabeth Warren's idea of adding some kind of "wealth tax" to the income tax and the death tax. I thought that was the low point of of tax policy proposals from nominally legitimate candidates. But now we have a new winner!

So now more talking about the tax and spend provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act. Biden was just a cheerleader with a pen! I just said I thought Ryan-Trump was more good than bad. And that the "bad" had more to do with no related component reducing federal spending. Good for you on your tax bracket. Now please send that EV tax credit back to the Treasury.

I am old enough to remember when "ring around the collar" was a bad thing that you needed a better detergent to eliminate. And surely Trump (if compos mentis?) too. So not only stupid plan, but also stupid metaphor.

You mean he doesn't write the tax code anymore. Because he was all-in on Paul Ryan's tax bill when Republicans held the House, the Senate, and the White House. So yeah, it's like how Biden didn't "write" the so-called Inflation Reduction Act. (The jury's still out on the Ryan-Trump legislation. Believe it or not, I believe it was more good than bad. But it needed to be countered with spending reductions. It wasn't, not even under Trump. And obviously exacerbated under Biden)

Wrong. Biden has allowed Trump's China tariffs to remain in place. I've criticized him for doing so. And I just said the IRA was bad legislation. Don't get so used to people here being 100% supportive of one side or the other that you assume everyone is like that. I'm not. Well, the China tariff is already in place. He was quite clear - he's contemplating a 10 percent across the board tariff on all goods/all countries. Regardless of what one thinks of Biden's approach, this is probably the single worst economic/trade proposal to come from a leading presidential candidate in my lifetime. Really, it is that bad. (and that's not even talking about how it would violate various treaties). Think about Buffalo with a huge diminution in U.S.-Canada trade for starters. And if he doesn't mean Canada or Mexico (or the EU, or Japan, or whatever), well, it wouldn't have been hard to say so. He said it: across the board.

I agree. The so-called IRA was bad legislation. I don't know what any of that has to do with Trump saying he's going to raise taxes. And yes, he said it - the suggested 10 percent tariff is indeed a "tax" -- “When companies come in and they dump their products in the United States, they should pay, automatically, let’s say a 10 percent tax,” Trump said on Fox Business. “I do like the 10 percent for everybody.” A tax that every American will pay when the buy pretty much anything, as it would pervade the entire manufacturing supply chain. Trump is searching (just like Vivek) for a new "build the wall" that sounds good to low information voters but that is either insane and insanely counterproductive (if implemented), or insane and certain to be conveniently forgotten or made to apply only to a narrow category of imports/countries if he is elected.

See what I just did? I "liked" a comment you made!

Well, then say what you mean. As it stands, we have a member of the capitalist/investor class calling out his colleagues for doing something he doesn't like, and saying he'll put a stop to all of that. How? To whom? With what limitations? Like I said: sounds oh-so-good and tough to low information voters.

OK, go ahead, defend this new special piece of idiocy: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/08/22/trump-trade-tariffs/ I've seen conservative lawyer John Hinderaker's comments posted here about other matters, arguing against the various prosecutions of Trump, etc. Here's what he has to say about this: I don’t suppose many people care, but Donald Trump’s latest venture into trade policy is idiotic. Trump’s tariff plan is so dumb that for once, the Washington Post is actually right: “Trump vows massive new tariffs if elected, risking global economic war.” Putting WaPo in the right isn’t easy, but Trump managed to accomplish it: Among the ideas [Trump and his advisers] discussed was Trump’s plan to enact a “universal baseline tariff” on virtually all imports to the United States, the people said. This idea, which Trump has taken to describing as the creation of a “ring around the U.S. economy,” could represent a massive escalation of global economic chaos, surpassing the international trade discord that marked much of his first administration. Trump advisers have for months discussed various potential levels to set the tariff rate, and they said the plan remains a work in progress with major questions left unresolved, the people said. But that didn’t stop the politician from breaking some news: On Fox Business on Thursday, the former president called for setting this tariff at 10 percent “automatically” for all countries, a move that experts warn could lead to higher prices for consumers throughout the economy and could likely lead to a global trade war. This is a Worldwide Depression Act. And he's running on it. And they say Biden has lost it.

I agree. I'm old enough now to have seen the changing of the guards many times over. It was a big deal when the very young (and highly annoying) Jane Pauley took over the NBC Today show, leapfrogging lots of older women. Then in time when she was pushed aside for a younger woman it was just all so unfair ...