Do you have to be a racist to support Trump? No. But you have to be comfortable with his felonies, his lies, his hatefulness, his racist dog whistles; you have to be comfortable with Charlottesville and Jan. 6 and the trashing of norms; you have to be comfortable with a leader whose political power began in, and survives today in, the roots of racism.

Where is the competency test for that?

Click here to read full story, no paywall.

A handful of centrist Democrats have informed me that they are going to vote for Trump in November because Biden is too old.

A few thoughts.

First, they are both too old to run for president so this point is moot.

Joe Biden has been in public office for decades. We know exactly who he is.

We also know who Donald Trump is, but in case you have forgotten, here are a few reminders.

Donald is a racist. For years he lied that President Obama was a Kenyan Muslim without an American birth certificate. He told these lies because Obama is black. And the press treated his birtherism lies like they were worthy of debate. They were not. But in allowing that debate the national political press corp, shamefully, gave the debate over birtherism credibility.

Donald treats women with disdain (grab ‘em by the pussy) and does not care what happens to your wives or daughters if they are impregnated when raped.

Donald did not secure the southern border when he was president and did not allow a deal to go through this year to secure the border. Why? Because he does not care about the border; he only cares about talking about the border.

Donald is not a conservative, a patriot, or respectful of American institutions. He ran up the national debt, repeatedly shows he does not understand tariffs, is openly disrespectful of congress and the judiciary, and was widely disrespected and mocked on the world stage.

Donald does not respect the military, the police, or the rule of law.

There is zero evidence that Donald cares about — or even thinks about — education, healthcare, the economy, religion, science, or the arts.

Donald has never met with nor spoken to a former living president, Republican or Democrat.

Donald still lies that the 2020 election was stolen. It was not. He lost.

Donald has been calling the press, who continues to publicize his remarks, ‘fake news’ and ‘enemy of the people.’ This is a lie.

Donald fomented a violent insurrection in order to stay in power. He did not care if his Vice President was killed in the process.

Donald stole classified national security documents and, when repeatedly asked to return them, refused.

Donald did not allow for a peaceful transfer of power in January 2021. He did not invite the Bidens to the White House, his people did not meet with the incoming administration, and he did not attend the inauguration in which the entire city of Washington DC had to be fenced off and shut down for security reasons due to his rhetoric.

Donald’s own senior staff — Bill Barr, John Kelly, and many others — consistently report that he has no policies and is not only unfit for office but a danger to the office.

Donald is a convicted felon and adjudicated rapist whose threatening language has caused judges and their families, attorneys, and private citizens to need a security detail.

Donald and his pundits use the media — including social media like Facebook and Twitter — to keep his name and constant antics in the news cycle, in effect drowning out any kind of helpful debate.

I could go on, but this leads me to Thursday’s debate.

There is no reason to watch the debate. There is no reason to watch the 24/7 media circus around the debate.

The debate is irrelevant.

You know the candidates.

Vote accordingly.

When I see powerful Kentucky lawmakers — Damon Thayer, Robby Mills, etc — on Twitter/X and elsewhere complaining about their coverage, I am reminded of the wise words of writer Anne Lamott: “If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.” 

Today I’m reporting, as my editor says, from the Kroger parking lot. Read here, no paywall.
https://kentuckylantern.com/2024/06/21/feeling-stuffy-in-that-echo-chamber/

Read here, no paywall.

When a bad bill comes along, they tell us we can fight it: Call your representatives! Get as many people to email them as you can! Meet with them! Tell them why you’re against the bill! Call every day! Your calls and emails and meetings matter!

Hogwash.

Does calling, emailing and going to meetings make us feel better? Yes. But does it really make a difference? Because by the time they meet in January, Senate and House leadership already have a plan and, with rare exception, have chosen the winners and losers. The rest is just theatre.

Click here to read. No paywall.

Here’s my current stack of books. And yes, you’re looking at 4 from Gregg Hurwitz’s “Orphan X” series which combine some of my favorite, chilled-out reading: spy-like thriller, great writing, original main character, totally unpredictable.

In other, though maybe related, news I’ve logged out of social media entirely.

I might pop back into Facebook now and then to check on family and friends, but I recently decided I can either be outraged and irritated on Twitter (which is too-often awful and a terrible time-suck) or I can write a book.

I’m choosing the book.

While I’ll still write the occasional political column (there’s one coming out tomorrow, I think) I am now several months into telling a longer, more complicated story which is often fun, completely unmanageable, exhausting, and satisfying enough to just keep going.

Here’s to summer, to reading, to writing, to dogs and cats and swimming in the lake.

All this time, I’ve been wrong about what the Access Hollywood Tape meant to Trump voters.

Click here to read. No paywall.

Kentucky Senate floor leader Damon Thayer still fancies himself an old school, Reagan Republican, but the truth is he sold his Reagan card on the black market long ago, leaving Kentuckians to clean up the mess he helped make for decades to come.

Read here. No paywall.