Mitt Romney retires and gives a scathing review of the GOP

[kaz]

False dichotomy.

Do better.

Biden's book does a good job of showing just how submissive the other Republicans in Congress are. They agree with him but are too chickenshit to speak out.

Power over country.

Huh, a Democrat doesn't like the Republicans. Who saw that coming? EVERYONE.

But damn, your avatar is epic, what a great Trump pic

 

[Hector12]

The New Republic, September 16, 2023

This week, Mitt Romney announced that he will not seek reelection to Congress. Almost simultaneously, The Atlantic excerpted a new biography of the senator that describes how surprised he was when he first discovered how two-faced his Republican colleagues are. “Almost without exception, they shared my view of [Trump],” Romney recalled. “In public, of course, they played their parts as Trump loyalists, often contorting themselves rhetorically to defend the president’s most indefensible behavior. But in private, they ridiculed his ignorance, rolled their eyes at his antics, and made incisive observations about his warped, toddler like psyche.”​

In the biography, by McKay Coppins, Romney recalled one Senate Republican lunch where Trump made some rambling remarks. “The senators were respectful and attentive. As soon as Trump left … the Republican caucus burst into laughter.”​

​

Romney, who voted twice to impeach Trump, is leaving behind a gaggle of spineless Republicans who would burn our democracy down to appease the former president.​

---------------

Intelligent, well educated Republican politicians know what an ignorant, dishonest, inarticulate bounder Trump is. They also know that Trump has cast a spell over the poorly educated, angry white men Trump pretends to love.

They know that they need to pretend to support Trump to save their careers. I suspect that they privately hope that Trump is found guilty of at least some of the 91 felonies he is accused of in four indictments, sent to prison, and denied the ability to run for election.

They hope further that someone less embarrassing than Trump, perhaps DeSantis, wins the Republican nomination.

My hope is that Trump ends his life in prison, in debt, and in disgrace, and that he is denied the opportunity to communicate with his rabid cult of stupid, poorly educated, angry white men.

 

[bripat9643]

Republicans have been voting for huge deficits ever since the Reagan administration, with their dogma that it is always a good time to cut taxes for the rich, and never a good time to raise them. Reagan cut the top tax rate from 70% to 28%.

Deficits aren't cause by a failure to raise taxes but by the Dim eagerness to spend. It never is a good time to raise taxes.

When is it a good time to cut spending?

 

[bripat9643]

The New Republic, September 16, 2023

This week, Mitt Romney announced that he will not seek reelection to Congress. Almost simultaneously, The Atlantic excerpted a new biography of the senator that describes how surprised he was when he first discovered how two-faced his Republican colleagues are. “Almost without exception, they shared my view of [Trump],” Romney recalled. “In public, of course, they played their parts as Trump loyalists, often contorting themselves rhetorically to defend the president’s most indefensible behavior. But in private, they ridiculed his ignorance, rolled their eyes at his antics, and made incisive observations about his warped, toddler like psyche.”​

In the biography, by McKay Coppins, Romney recalled one Senate Republican lunch where Trump made some rambling remarks. “The senators were respectful and attentive. As soon as Trump left … the Republican caucus burst into laughter.”​

​

Romney, who voted twice to impeach Trump, is leaving behind a gaggle of spineless Republicans who would burn our democracy down to appease the former president.​

---------------

Intelligent, well educated Republican politicians know what an ignorant, dishonest, inarticulate bounder Trump is. They also know that Trump has cast a spell over the poorly educated, angry white men Trump pretends to love.

They know that they need to pretend to support Trump to save their careers. I suspect that they privately hope that Trump is found guilty of at least some of the 91 felonies he is accused of in four indictments, sent to prison, and denied the ability to run for election.

They hope further that someone less embarrassing than Trump, perhaps DeSantis, wins the Republican nomination.

My hope is that Trump ends his life in prison, in debt, and in disgrace, and that he is denied the opportunity to communicate with his rabid cult of stupid, poorly educated, angry white men.

So you expect us to swallow these claims with no evidence aside from Romney's say-so? That's the kind of epistemology that Democrats love.

 

[Hector12]

Deficits aren't cause by a failure to raise taxes but by the Dim eagerness to spend. It never is a good time to raise taxes.

When is it a good time to cut spending?

Reagan significantly increased public expenditures, primarily the Department of Defense, which rose (in constant 2000 dollars) from $267.1 billion in 1980 (4.9% of GDP and 22.7% of public expenditure) to $393.1 billion in 1988 (5.8% of GDP and 27.3% of public expenditure); most of those years military spending was about 6% of GDP, exceeding this number in 4 different years. All these numbers had not been seen since the end of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War in 1973.[35] In 1981, Reagan significantly reduced the maximum tax rate, which affected the highest income earners, and lowered the top marginal tax rate from 70% to 50%; in 1986 he further reduced the rate to 28%.[36] The federal deficit under Reagan peaked at 6% of GDP in 1983, falling to 3.2% of GDP in 1987[37] and to 3.1% of GDP in his final budget.[38] The inflation-adjusted rate of growth in federal spending fell from 4% under Jimmy Carter to 2.5% under Ronald Reagan. This was the slowest rate of growth in inflation adjusted spending since Eisenhower. However, federal deficit as percent of GDP was up throughout the Reagan presidency from 2.7% at the end of (and throughout) the Carter administration.[15][38][39] As a short-run strategy to reduce inflation and lower nominal interest rates, the U.S. borrowed both domestically and abroad to cover the Federal budget deficits, raising the national debt from $997 billion to $2.85 trillion.[40] This led to the U.S. moving from the world's largest international creditor to the world's largest debtor nation.[9] Reagan described the new debt as the "greatest disappointment" of his presidency.[41]
Reaganomics - Wikipedia

Reagan was too much of a fool to know that he would raise the national debt by cutting the top tax rate while raising military spending. It was not necessary to raise military spending during his administration because the United States was a at peace.

-----------

We should cut spending on programs that do not work. We have wasted tons of money trying to close the race gap in mental aptitude tests and academic performance. The race gap persists because it is caused genetically. We should stop trying to close it.

The more we spend on welfare checks to single mothers with illegitimate children, the more the illegitimacy rate rises. We should end most of the welfare system, and all support for illegitimate children.

 

[Hector12]

So you expect us to swallow these claims with no evidence aside from Romney's say-so? That's the kind of epistemology that Democrats love.

What Romney says is plausible. I cannot understand why any intelligent person does not despise Trump. Even those who agree with Trump on policy must recoil from his dishonesty, his ignorance, and his low class personality.

 

[kaz]

The New Republic, September 16, 2023

This week, Mitt Romney announced that he will not seek reelection to Congress. Almost simultaneously, The Atlantic excerpted a new biography of the senator that describes how surprised he was when he first discovered how two-faced his Republican colleagues are. “Almost without exception, they shared my view of [Trump],” Romney recalled. “In public, of course, they played their parts as Trump loyalists, often contorting themselves rhetorically to defend the president’s most indefensible behavior. But in private, they ridiculed his ignorance, rolled their eyes at his antics, and made incisive observations about his warped, toddler like psyche.”​

In the biography, by McKay Coppins, Romney recalled one Senate Republican lunch where Trump made some rambling remarks. “The senators were respectful and attentive. As soon as Trump left … the Republican caucus burst into laughter.”​

​

Romney, who voted twice to impeach Trump, is leaving behind a gaggle of spineless Republicans who would burn our democracy down to appease the former president.​

---------------

Intelligent, well educated Republican politicians know what an ignorant, dishonest, inarticulate bounder Trump is. They also know that Trump has cast a spell over the poorly educated, angry white men Trump pretends to love.

They know that they need to pretend to support Trump to save their careers. I suspect that they privately hope that Trump is found guilty of at least some of the 91 felonies he is accused of in four indictments, sent to prison, and denied the ability to run for election.

They hope further that someone less embarrassing than Trump, perhaps DeSantis, wins the Republican nomination.

My hope is that Trump ends his life in prison, in debt, and in disgrace, and that he is denied the opportunity to communicate with his rabid cult of stupid, poorly educated, angry white men.

Something happened to Mitt between the second and third Obama debate. He was like Toro . Toro was a great guy I frequently disagreed with but had great conversations with. Then one day an angry leftist replaced him. Just like Romney. Romney kicked Obama's ass twice, then rolled over like they kidnapped his family in the third and was never the same. I'd have loved to get that Romney back, but he's not coming back, just like the real Toro isn't.

So Mitt, don't let the door hit you on the way out. And fake Toro, get your own user name

 

[Hector12]

Something happened to Mitt between the second and third Obama debate. He was like Toro . Toro was a great guy I frequently disagreed with but had great conversations with. Then one day an angry leftist replaced him. Just like Romney. Romney kicked Obama's ass twice, then rolled over like they kidnapped his family in the third and was never the same. I'd have loved to get that Romney back, but he's not coming back, just like the real Toro isn't.

So Mitt, don't let the door hit you on the way out. And fake Toro, get your own user name

The something that happened to Romney is that he is unwilling to lie any more about what the Republican Party has become. Most Republicans think Trump won the last election and that global warming is a Hoax.

I am not saying the Democrats are any better. Most Democrats thought the death of George Floyd was more tragic than the black ghetto riots that followed, and which cost two billion dollars in damage. Most Democrats think the assertions of Charles Murray and Professor Richard Herrnstein in The Bell Curve are psuedo science.

 

[bripat9643]

Reagan significantly increased public expenditures, primarily the Department of Defense, which rose (in constant 2000 dollars) from $267.1 billion in 1980 (4.9% of GDP and 22.7% of public expenditure) to $393.1 billion in 1988 (5.8% of GDP and 27.3% of public expenditure); most of those years military spending was about 6% of GDP, exceeding this number in 4 different years. All these numbers had not been seen since the end of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War in 1973.[35] In 1981, Reagan significantly reduced the maximum tax rate, which affected the highest income earners, and lowered the top marginal tax rate from 70% to 50%; in 1986 he further reduced the rate to 28%.[36] The federal deficit under Reagan peaked at 6% of GDP in 1983, falling to 3.2% of GDP in 1987[37] and to 3.1% of GDP in his final budget.[38] The inflation-adjusted rate of growth in federal spending fell from 4% under Jimmy Carter to 2.5% under Ronald Reagan. This was the slowest rate of growth in inflation adjusted spending since Eisenhower. However, federal deficit as percent of GDP was up throughout the Reagan presidency from 2.7% at the end of (and throughout) the Carter administration.[15][38][39] As a short-run strategy to reduce inflation and lower nominal interest rates, the U.S. borrowed both domestically and abroad to cover the Federal budget deficits, raising the national debt from $997 billion to $2.85 trillion.[40] This led to the U.S. moving from the world's largest international creditor to the world's largest debtor nation.[9] Reagan described the new debt as the "greatest disappointment" of his presidency.[41]
Reaganomics - Wikipedia

Reagan was too much of a fool to know that he would raise the national debt by cutting the top tax rate while raising military spending. It was not necessary to raise military spending during his administration because the United States was a at peace.

-----------

We should cut spending on programs that do not work. We have wasted tons of money trying to close the race gap in mental aptitude tests and academic performance. The race gap persists because it is caused genetically. We should stop trying to close it.

The more we spend on welfare checks to single mothers with illegitimate children, the more the illegitimacy rate rises. We should end most of the welfare system, and all support for illegitimate children.

For every dollar increase in Defense spending, the House Democrats demanded a 5 dollar increase in social spending. Democrats are the ones who demanded most of the new spending. Every dollar of spending has to be approved by the House, so blaming the president for everything is the sure sign of a demagogue.

You're such a fool that you believe your own rhetoric.

 

[kaz]

The something that happened to Romney is that he is unwilling to lie any more about what the Republican Party has become

Twelve percent down by the river wearing a tuna vest

 

[bripat9643]

The something that happened to Romney is that he is unwilling to lie any more about what the Republican Party has become. Most Republicans think Trump won the last election and that global warming is a Hoax.

I am not saying the Democrats are any better. Most Democrats thought the death of George Floyd was more tragic than the black ghetto riots that followed, and which cost two billion dollars in damage. Most Democrats think the assertions of Charles Murray and Professor Richard Herrnstein in The Bell Curve are psuedo science.

No one lies like a Democrat. Romney's problem is that he was desperate to gain the approval of Democrats. The only way you can do that if you're a Republican is toss your Republican ideals into the waste bin. You can't win as as a Republican if you want to be popular at Washington parties.

 

[Hector12]

No one lies like a Democrat.

False or misleading statements by Donald Trump​

During his term as President of the United States, Donald Trump made tens of thousands of false or misleading claims. The Washington Post's fact-checker tallied the number of false or misleading claims as 30,573, an average of approximately 21 per day during his presidential term.[1][5][6][7] Separately, the Toronto Star tallied the number of false claims as 5,276 by June 2019, an average of 6.1 per day.[2] Commentators and fact-checkers have described the scale of his mendacity as "unprecedented" in American politics,[13] and the consistency of falsehoods a distinctive part of his business and political identities.[14] Scholarly analysis of Trump's tweets found "significant evidence" of an intent to deceive.[15]

False or misleading statements by Donald Trump - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Trump lies far more. The poorly educated cult followers Trump pretends to love are so gullible they believe his lies.

 

[bripat9643]

False or misleading statements by Donald Trump​

During his term as President of the United States, Donald Trump made tens of thousands of false or misleading claims. The Washington Post's fact-checker tallied the number of false or misleading claims as 30,573, an average of approximately 21 per day during his presidential term.[1][5][6][7] Separately, the Toronto Star tallied the number of false claims as 5,276 by June 2019, an average of 6.1 per day.[2] Commentators and fact-checkers have described the scale of his mendacity as "unprecedented" in American politics,[13] and the consistency of falsehoods a distinctive part of his business and political identities.[14] Scholarly analysis of Trump's tweets found "significant evidence" of an intent to deceive.[15]

False or misleading statements by Donald Trump - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Trump lies far more. The poorly educated cult followers Trump pretends to love are so gullible they believe his lies.

Spare us. Biden gets caught lying every time he opens his mouth. His latest lie is his claim that he taught a course a the University of Pennsylvania. The so-called document lies of Trump, on closer inspection, turn out to be nothing more than opinions that the left disagrees with. Citing this claim only shows that you are almost as dishonest as Biden.

 

[BluesLegend]

We won't miss backstabber disloyal Romney. Utah was going to kick his ass to the curb, it was forced retirement.

 

[BluesLegend]

Spare us. Biden gets caught lying every time he opens his mouth.

Dems lying doesn't bother their fat cow base one bit.

 

[Flash]

When you are from Utah and a high profile politician and the LDS Church won't even endorse any more you then you have pretty well fucked up.

 

[Hector12]

For every dollar increase in Defense spending, the House Democrats demanded a 5 dollar increase in social spending. Democrats are the ones who demanded most of the new spending. Every dollar of spending has to be approved by the House, so blaming the president for everything is the sure sign of a demagogue.

You're such a fool that you believe your own rhetoric.

David Stockman was Reagan's Director of the Office and Budget from 1981 to 1985. if there was any truth to what you say he would have discussed it in his book The Triumph of Politics: Why the Reagan Revolution Failed. He said nothing about it, so there is no truth to what you say.

I will not call you a liar, because you probably believe what you post. Nevertheless, anyone with an accurate memory of the Reagan Administration knows that it was not a time for bold new initiatives in domestic programs.

Stockman said the Reagan Revolution failed because it was dishonest. He said that contrary to Reagan's assertions it was never possible to cut taxes, raise military spending, and balance the budget without making deep cuts in Social Security, Medicare, farm subsidies, business subsidies, and military pensions.

Stockman said that those cuts were not made because Reagan knew that many, perhaps most, of the people who voted for him supported those programs.

 

[Hector12]

Spare us. Biden gets caught lying every time he opens his mouth. His latest lie is his claim that he taught a course a the University of Pennsylvania. The so-called document lies of Trump, on closer inspection, turn out to be nothing more than opinions that the left disagrees with. Citing this claim only shows that you are almost as dishonest as Biden.

A 1984 GQ profile of Trump quoted him stating he owned the whole block on Central Park South and Avenue of the Americas. GQ noted that the two buildings Trump owned in that area were likely less than a sixth of the block.[30]

In a 2005 interview with Golf Magazine, Trump said he was able to purchase Mar-a-Lago in 1985 by first purchasing the beach in front of it, then announcing false plans to build large houses between Mar-a-Lago and the ocean (to lower the price of Mar-a-Lago by blocking its view).[31]

In his 2016–2020 financial reports, he claimed that the Trump Hotel in the Old Post Office Building in Washington, D.C. had revenue of over $150 million. In 2021, the House Oversight and Reform Committee revealed that, to the contrary, the property had a net loss of $70 million (~$70 million in 2021) during that period.[32]

The New York state attorney general, Letitia James, has opened a civil investigation into Trump's business practices, especially regarding inflated property values.[33] Additionally, she joined the Manhattan district attorney's office in a criminal investigation into possible property tax fraud by the Trump Organization. The company is suspected of significantly misrepresenting its property values: inflating reports to apply for loans, deflating reports to lower tax bills.[34] In February 2022, amid the ongoing civil and criminal probe, Mazars informed the Trump Organization that it would no longer support the accuracy of the previous decade of financial statements it had prepared for the organization, suggesting that the Trump Organization had provided it with false information. Mazars said that, furthermore, it would no longer serve as the accountant for the Trump Organization nor would it file personal tax returns for Donald and Melania Trump.[35]

Following the October 1987 stock market crash, Trump claimed to press that he had taken no losses and had sold all his stock a month before. Per SEC filings he owned large stakes in some companies during the crash. Forbes calculated that Trump had lost at least $19 million related to Resorts International stock,[37][better source needed][38] while journalist Gwenda Blair noted $22 million from stock in the Alexander's department store chain.[39]

Challenging estimates of his net worth he considered too low, in 1989 Trump said he had very little debt.[40] Reuters reported Trump owed $4 billion (~$7.44 billion in 2021) to more than 70 banks at the beginning of 1990.[41]

David Fahrenthold investigated the long history of Trump's claims about his charitable giving and found little evidence the claims are true.[45][46] Following Fahrenthold's reporting, the Attorney General of New York opened an inquiry into the Donald J. Trump Foundation's fundraising practices, and ultimately issued a "notice of violation" ordering the Foundation to stop raising money in New York.[47] The Foundation had to admit it engaged in self-dealing practices to benefit Trump, his family, and businesses.[48] Fahrenthold won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting for his coverage of Trump's claimed charitable giving[49] and casting "doubt on Donald Trump's assertions of generosity toward charities".[50]

False or misleading statements by Donald Trump - Wikipedia

And on and on. Those are not differences in interpretation. Those are differences between truth and falsehood.

 

[Toro]

Something happened to Mitt between the second and third Obama debate. He was like Toro . Toro was a great guy I frequently disagreed with but had great conversations with. Then one day an angry leftist replaced him. Just like Romney. Romney kicked Obama's ass twice, then rolled over like they kidnapped his family in the third and was never the same. I'd have loved to get that Romney back, but he's not coming back, just like the real Toro isn't.

So Mitt, don't let the door hit you on the way out. And fake Toro, get your own user name

kaz

I haven't changed anything. You have.

You have decided to throw your lot behind a lying, grifting, immoral, authoritarian, anti-democratic conman who wipes his ass with the COTUS.

And you know what? Most of the Republican leadership agrees with me. That's the gist of The Atlantic article.

You and the rest of MAGA are frauds.

 

[westwall]

Biden is a better President than Trump was. Trump is the worst president in American history. Negative job creation, stagnant stock market, low GDP numbers, 1.1 million Americans died as a result of his covid response, and all of your trade deals and strategic arms limitation treaties were trashed. Ridiculously high deficits when he should have been cutting spending in a boom economy, not taxes.

Only if you are chinese.