Rachel Maddow often manages to come up with a very different take on the news as compared to other talk show hosts. She is fascinated with history, so she often takes her viewers down new paths.
When she was trying to figure out JD Vance, she discovered two of the men who influenced his views. One is a podcaster named “Jack Murphy,” whose real name is John Goldman. He is known for racism, misogyny, and his association with the alt-right. He is very big on the idea of women’s submission to men. He even wrote a book about it.
The other is a man named Curtis Yarvin, a podcaster who is known for his anti-democratic, anti-egalitarian views.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Trump is now proposing Soviet-style model cities on federal lands.
From Politico Pro:
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Holy cow! Talk about NUTS!
And make no mistake, Trump works for Putin, his Rubles bag.
And I still want to know what happened to those BALLOT BOXES Ivanka purchased from China.
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That sounds more like a Bill Gates or Elon Musk vision. trump doesn’t have “the smarts” to have an idea that detailed. But if trump does win, I’m sure he will do his best to sell off Federal Lands to the highest bidder.
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Ronald Reagan came into office as Governor of California with a plan to sell of redwood timber to balance the state budget. The howling of critics made him back off that disastrous plan.
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Yikes. This sounds like Khrushchev announcing the creation of his Khrushchevkas in an address to the Politburo.
Politics in the U.S. just keeps getting weirder and weirder.
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Just my thoughts!
If trump wins, JD Vance will be the next POTUS. trump will pull a stunt… after the new administration is in place…. and give it over to Vance. trump is only there to get across the “finish line”. trump doesn’t want to do the work to “run” the country….he just likes to “win”. JD was picked by Jr, Eric and Jared (and the other billionaires) because they are the ones running the trump empire now and will make a lot of $$$$ if/when the rich libertarian a-holes get their way. This has been the plan all along…since at least the 2nd term of “the shrub”(probably since Clinton). Both “sides” have been involved as this really isn’t Dem vs Rep….it’s a get rich off tax $$$$ at all cost regardless of party affiliation.
Again, just my thoughts and my gut feeling.
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You are right, Lisa. Trump has no interest in governing. He wants to golf, rest, and sell stuff to his followers. Getting rich and famous is all he wants. He used to be bored by daily briefings. Never read them. Told his staff to summarize them. JD Vance will take charge. Pence was deferential. Vance will be assertive.
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LisaM said: Both “sides” have been involved as this really isn’t Dem vs Rep….it’s a get rich off tax $$$$ at all cost regardless of party affiliation. end quote
Oh no, both-siderism, seriously.
All I have to say is SCOTUS, SCOTUS, SCOTUS and more SCOTUS. There is a huge difference between Democratic and GOP appointees to the super duper court. There’s a big difference between Clarence Thomas and Elena Kagan, for example. Bill Clinton gave us Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. This is why it is essential to vote Democratic in case there is a vacancy on the SCOTUS. That depraved narcissist, Trump, got to appoint THREE righties to the SCOTUS!!!!!! In one term!!!!! We will be stuck with his picks for possibly decades.
In any case, Trump is a terminal egomaniac who will not step aside for anyone.
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I don’t believe we have had a Dem or Rep party since Bush 1. The neo-libs are and have always been a party of and by themselves. Just look how chummy and friendly Obama, Bush and the Clintons look when they’re together….I’m not saying that they should despise each other or name call each other, but they seem to travel within the same circle of wealthy, tax $$$ ambitious billionaires. I believe “We the People” have been duped, for many years now, thinking that there are 2 political parties that “serve” the people.
Sorry if you don’t like how I feel, but I am entitled to my own opinion on how I see it based on how I grew up within “the system”. Denying the problem has only led us further down the rabbit hole. So I really don’t care if you accuse me of both -siderism.
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Lisa, until the arrival of trumpism, bipartisanship was normal. It wasn’t a matter of $$$, it patriotism. Partisanship stopped at the water’s edge. But there were often members of both parties sponsoring important legislation.
That’s not corrupt. That’s working for the public.
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LisaM: Yes, there is too much corporate money sloshing around in our political system, too many bought off politicians. But you know that there is a huge difference, a huge chasm between Trump and Harris, Vance and Walz. Trump is the GOP party, he’s taken it over with other GOP gargoyles like Boebert, Cruz, Graham, M T Greene, etc., ad nauseam. The Democratic Party is not as depraved as the Trump/GOP. I’m not saying that the Democrats are saints, but they are clearly preferable to the party of lies and deception, the Trump/GOP.
I actually agree with most of the other comments you have made over the past months (years even). Very perceptive and analytical comments, way to go and keep them coming.
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Joe Jersey, you are exactly right. I am glad you pointed it out.
M. Gessen is one of most insightful observers of the rise of fascism, and I strongly recommend their audio conversation (can read transcript) in yesterday’s NYT:
“The Real Loser of the V.P. Debate: It’s our politics.”
She nails reporters who casually do the kinds of things you noted in that comment, without (I assume) recognizing how much they are helping authoritarianism take place.
“When you place lies and facts on an even footing, it basically creates a political sphere in which there’s no fact-based reality. That’s a pre-totalitarian condition. You can’t have politics if you don’t have a shared reality and if you don’t place an absolute value on the truth. I think that normalization degrades our political life and degrades our understanding of politics.”
……..
“It’s a classic false equivalence. Walz is talking about his time in Hong Kong and possibly fibbing, possibly misremembering, but it’s a minor, minor thing in his background. Versus Vance’s out-and-out lies about an actual insurrection and actual violent attack on our institutions of state. To put them on the same level is absurd……”
“….. we do have an election coming up in which one of the candidates is a liar and an aspiring autocrat and the other is not those things. And voters, at least some voters, are genuinely choosing between them, and that is already damaging to our politics.
As journalists, we can’t not cover this reality. So the question is: How do we cover this reality in a way that doesn’t amplify the damage, that doesn’t exacerbate the damage, but that reduces the damage?”
(There’s more, worth reading or listening to)
The answer is NOT to present a false equivalency. Hitler and flawed leaders of opposing non-fascist parties were not both equally bad. Netanyahu and the Israeli opposition are not equally bad. The Dems and the Republicans are not equally bad.
It says something about someone’s values when they believe that two things that should not be equated are the same.
Authoritarian government is NOT the same as a flawed democracy where money has too much power.
Bernie, AOC, scholars of authoritarianism and democracy agree with this.
Is there even one respected voice who says that both parties are the same?
Not AOC. Not Bernie. Not that people fighting to make the Democrats more responsive. Not historians.
Not Diane Ravitch.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Racists are entitled to their own opinion. Anti-Catholics are entitled to their own opinion. Anti-Semites are entitled to their own opinion. J D Vance and Donald Trump are entitled to their own opinions.
And the rest of us are entitled – I would say obligated by our belief in truthfulness and honesty – to point out if someone’s “opinion” is contradicted by facts and reality.
I recommend M. Gessen’s audio piece/transcript in the NYT.
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Like Trump, Vance is a sociopath yet far more intelligent. His socio-political outlook makes Machiavelli look like a sincere philanthropist. It was quite disturbing to see the media describe his debate performance as somehow reasonable. He not only lied about every major issue, he had the wherewithal to make it look as if he were being genuine. He wasn’t. The media is so intent on presenting normal that it ignores danger. I have at various time worried about the cleverness of such politicians as Hawley, Cruz, DeSantis et al. As they got greater exposure they lost much of their influence. I hope the same happens with Vance, but Tuesday illustrates he has enough self awareness to shape shift for popular acceptability. Vance will be with us for a while.
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I can understand Maddow’s ambivalence about releasing this clip on her show. It all seems so conspiratorial and weird. However, it depicts real conversations on two podcasts, and it gives us a picture of Vance’s true intentions. He is a far more disciplined liar than Trump. His debate performance was an attempt to normalize Vance to voters.
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Retired Teacher,
His debate performance was meant to normalize both himself and Trump. After all, Trump agreed to the peaceful transfer of power on Jan 21. Forget Jan 6. Forget that he continued to lie about his loss for the next 3+ years. He never accepted the transfer of power.
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Trump is a convicted felon. He is desperately trying to stay out of prison. MSM seems to have conveniently forgotten that part, but the rest of us who care about the future of our country and democracy will never forget who and what he is.
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Yes, he announced his candidacy in 2022, historically early. Any time he was charged with a crime, he cried “election interference.”
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Vance is the face of the USA’s Future Right. As portrayed as
‘He looks good. He sounds good. So he must be good,’
How many times have you heard that one down the years?
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A fellow I worked with a few years back just posted on my Facebook Page that “J.D. Vance is the future of the Republican Party and of America.”
That would be a good reason to move to, I don’t know, New Zealand.
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At the time the RMS Titanic was considered the apex and future of modern ocean liners.
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