- Thom Hartmann on the motivation of Republicans: Greed;
- Brief items about Trump as dictator; why Trump talks about heaven; Robert Reich on how to respond to Trump’s lies about “crime wave” (point out Trump’s violations); the suspended postal shipments to the US because of Trump’s tariffs; how ICE is capturing fire fighters while on duty; the relentless cruel campaign against Kilmar Abrego Garcia; and more about how women should submit, JFK Jr.s magical powers of diagnosis, and lowering standards.
Another quick batch. Which to begin with?
Here’s a writer and radio host I’ve been aware of for a while but not followed closely. Addressing that question about what really motivates Republicans (and those who vote for them).
The Hartmann Report, Thom Hartmann, 28 Aug 2025: The Long Con: Why Every Republican Policy—From Guns to Healthcare to Taxes—Harms the Public & Enriches the Few
Subtitled: For decades, the GOP has perfected the art of sabotage, turning government into a racket where the suffering of millions is simply the cost of keeping billionaires happy…
Longish piece, beginning
Yesterday there was another highly publicized school shooting. Republicans, as usual, are offering thoughts and prayers:
But why?
Why have Republicans — who, before Reagan, were the party in favor of gun control — decided that it’s just fine for America to be the only country in the world where the leading cause of childhood deaths and injury is bullets?
Why have Republicans — who, during the Eisenhower administration, pushed for massive public works programs like the interstate freeways and new schools coast-to-coast — decided instead to kill off as many of those sorts of programs as possible to pay for tax gifts to billionaires?
And so on.
They don’t care about governing; they’re just in it for themselves.
This is a far cry from the idealistic notions of public service that animated the Founders and generations of Americans who’ve fought and died for this country in the years since. It’s a twisted embrace of Ayn Rand Libertarianism, a philosophy that says greed is good and whoever’s the most efficient predator deserves whatever they can steal or con people out of.
Once you understand that simple reality, everything else the GOP is up to makes sense.
The question is, “Why?” and Hartmann considers a series of potential reasons, rejecting all of them. It’s not about ideology, charity, Christianity, public health, conservatism, making the world a better place, having a better-educated electorate or populace; it’s not about “culture” or “gun violence” or “protecting our children” or immigrants taking jobs from Americans; it’s not putting America “first.”
At the end of the day, all Republican politicians care about is money. Greed is their principle animating force, and is what binds them to their morbidly rich donors.
The greed embraced by Republican politicians — and the billionaires and CEOs who fund them — is why average Americans can’t have nice things. It’s why we and our children must walk the tightrope of life without the same safety net other countries — from Canada to Costa Rica, France to Taiwan — offer their citizens. It’s why children are dead today in Minneapolis as Republican politicians happily pocket NRA cash.
Why do people keep voting Republican? He doesn’t address that, but it’s pretty easy to interpolate. It’s because Republicans convince voters that they *do* care about those other things, especially about Christianity and conservatism and immigrants.
\\\
Here again.
The New Republic, 26 Aug 2025: Trump Just Said Exactly What a Dictator Would Say, subtitled “The president had a despotic message for Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.”
President Donald Trump sounded like a tyrannical toddler Tuesday as he declared that he has “the right to do anything” he wants.
\\
He’s pandering to his followers. Or, maybe he really believes it.
Salon, Chauncey DeVega, 28 Aug 2025: Why Donald Trump keeps talking about heaven, subtitled “Even if he’s not quite a humble sinner in search of grace, it’s still smart politics”
\\
Again and again, you can’t persuade voters like those who support Trump with statistics.
Robert Reich, 28 Aug 2025: How to respond to Trump’s lies about a “crime wave”
Democrats
worry if they deny crime is a problem, they could turn off swing voters who always and inevitably worry about crime.
Because there’s a certain mindset that *always* worries about crime. All it takes is one TV report to amp up the anxiety of people with that mindset.
Instead, point out how lax Trump is about crime among his supporters.
Hammer Trump for pardoning the 1,500 criminals who violently attacked the United States capitol and caused the deaths of four police officers — and for then firing the federal prosecutors who held them accountable.
He *pardoned* the rioters, and *fired* the prosecutors. This should be mind-boggling.
Trump is soft on crime as long as the crime serves his own purposes.
\\\
And so here we are with this administration. Is this what you voted for, MAGA?
USA Today, 28 Aug 2025: Over 30 countries suspended or restricted shipments to US. Here’s a list.
And
Politico, via Associated Press, 28 Aug 2025: Mexico suspends postal shipments to United States over tariff confusion
\
Is this what you voted for?
JMG, 28 Aug 2025 (from NYT): Border Patrol Arrests WA Firefighters During Wildfire
\
The cruelty is the point.
Slate, Shirin Ali, 28 Aug 2025: Trump’s Team Simply Cannot Leave This Man Alone, subtitled “First, they deported him unlawfully. Now, they’re trying a new, cruel form of punishment.”
This is about Kilmar Abrego Garcia,
the Maryland husband and father who—by the Department of Justice’s own admission—was deported by mistake in March. The federal government has relentlessly pursued Abrego Garcia’s deportation since he was released from El Salvador’s custody, allowing him just a few days to reunite with his family until they again arrested and detained him this week.
\
Almost cave-man advice. Dragging the woman by her hair.
Media Matters, 28 Aug 2025: Charlie Kirk tells Taylor Swift to “submit to your husband” and “have a ton of children”
Subtitled: Kirk: “Submit to your husband, Taylor. You’re not in charge.”
\
Conservatives just *know* things.
JMG, 28 Aug 2025: Kennedy: I Can Diagnose Children By Looking At Them
\
Lowering the bar, again and again.
JMG, 28 Aug 2025: DOJ: Immigration Judges No Longer Need Experience
Prejudices and “common sense,” apparently, are sufficient.
