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Poll: Nearly Half Of Gen Z Voters Say They Lied About Their Politics

Poll: Nearly Half Of Gen Z Voters Say They Lied About Their Politics

Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign was hoping that Generation Z would play an important role in a victory over Donald Trump. But President-Elect Trump prevailed, picking up at least 277 electoral votes and winning key swing states like Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina.

Moreover, Republicans flipped the U.S. Senate, ousting Sen. Jon Tester in Montana and Sherrod Brown in Ohio.

But Democrats, as of Wednesday morning, November 6, were still hoping that they regained control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

According to an Axios Vibes/Harris Poll survey, 48 percent of Gen-Z members acknowledged that they had "lied to" pollsters, friends, family members and others about who they were planning to vote for.

"Among the Gen-Z voters in the survey," The Hill's Tara Suter explains, "48 percent said they had previously 'lied to' those with whom they are close about which candidates received their votes, more than double the 23 percent of registered voters across all age groups that said they had previously done the same."

In the survey, Suter notes, "22 percent of the registered voters said they might lie 'to someone close' about the candidates they cast their ballot for in the 2024 election, while 78 percent said they wouldn't."

Suter reports, "The intense polarization this election cycle might result in some staying quiet or lying on the topic of their political beliefs when around friends and family…. The Axios Vibes survey featured 1858 registered voters and a 2.6 percentage point margin of error."

Reprinted with permission from AlterNet

Voting By Women

'Best News For Democrats': Surge In Early Voting By Women

On Election Night 2024, decision desks will be paying especially close attention to the vote count in Pennsylvania — a crucial swing state that has 19 electoral votes and will help decide the outcome of the presidential race.

National and battleground state polls have been showing a very close race in the Keystone State, where Republican Donald Trump and Democratic Kamala Harris are tied in CBS News and CNN polls released in late October. A Quinnipiac University poll released on October 30 showed Trump with a two percent lead in Pennsylvania. A Marist poll released on November 1 showed Harris two points head there.

Early voting is underway in Pennsylvania. And according to Politico reporters Megan Messerly and Jessica Piper, Democrats view a heavy turnout among female voters as a very good sign for Harris.

"Across battlegrounds, there is a 10-point gender gap in early voting so far," Messerly and Piper explain in an article published on October 29. "Women account for roughly 55 percent of the early vote, while men are around 45 percent, according to a Politico analysis of early vote data in several key states. The implications for next week's election results are unclear; among registered Republicans, women are voting early more than men, too. But the high female turnout is encouraging to Democratic strategists, who expected that a surge in Republican turnout would result in more gender parity among early voters."

Messerly and Piper add, "It's impossible to know who these women are voting for, including whether Democrats are winning over unaffiliated or moderate Republican women disillusioned with former President Donald Trump. But the gender gap has been one of the defining features of the 2024 campaign, and Harris allies see the lack of a surge of male voters as an encouraging sign."

Tangle News' Issac Saul tweeted that Politico's "analysis of early voting data in Pennsylvania found that women registered as Democrats made up nearly a third of early votes this year from people who did not vote in the state in 2020." And this, Saul added, is the "best news for Dems in weeks."

Democratic strategist Tom Bonier told Politico, "In some states, women are actually exceeding their vote share from 2020, which is, at this point, shocking to me. I never would have bet on that.”

Messerly and Piper report, "According to TargetSmart’s analysis, Black and Latino women under the age of 30 are not only showing up at higher rates than their male peers — but by even a larger margin than they did in 2020."

The Politico reporters add, "That finding is echoed by internal data shared with Politico by the progressive, women-focused organization Supermajority, which is targeting many of these women: More than a third of the 3.6 million low-propensity women the organization is focused on turning out have already voted, which Democrats see as a good sign given that infrequent voters tend to vote later or on Election Day."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

MAGA Extremists Aim To Crash US Economy And Then 'Rebuild Society'

MAGA Extremists Aim To Crash US Economy And Then 'Rebuild Society'

"War Room" host Steve Bannon has often described himself as a "Leninist" — not because he actually embraces communist ideology, but because he applies one of Vladimir Lenin's principles to the MAGA movement.

Lenin famously argued that before a revolutionary movement can make serious progress, it first needs to tear down existing political structures. And Bannon believes the U.S. must be purged of Democrats and non-MAGA Republicans before a total MAGA revolution can come about.

In an October 29 post on X, formerly Twitter, Politix.fm's Brian Beutler argued that some MAGA Republicans are seriously talking about tanking the U.S. economy on purpose in order to give the country a full-fledged MAGA makeover.

Beutler highlights a tweet posted by far-right Trump supporter @FischerKing64, who acknowledged that some of the things Trump is proposing — including "mass deportations" and "firing" government employees in big numbers — could, in fact, create an economic crisis.

@FischerKing64 tweeted, "Markets will tumble. But when the storm passes and everyone realizes we are on a sounder footing, there will be a rapid recovery to a healthier, sustainable economy."

Beutler, in response, warned that @FischerKing64 is making an argument for crashing the economy on purpose.

Beutler posted, "An important story here for the campaign press corps. Trump's top backer, whom Trump has promised to hand this very remit, acknowledges the plan is to crash the economy and markets so they can rebuild society in MAGA's image. I don't think most Trump voters were in on that plan!"

Beutler, in a separate tweet, noted that @FischerKing64 was using "false premises" to push a "bad plan."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

'Spreading Like Wildfire': Trump's Racist Rally May Turn Top Swing State

'Spreading Like Wildfire': Trump's Racist Rally May Turn Top Swing State

The Trump campaign has been trying to distance itself from remarks that comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made during a rally at New York City's Madison Square Garden on Sunday, October 27, where Hinchcliffe described Puerto Rico as a "floating island of garbage."

The backlash against Hinchcliffe's racist joke has been swift. Three well-known Puerto Ricans — Jennifer López, Ricky Martin and reggaetón star Bad Bunny — responded by endorsing Kamala Harris for president.

In an article published by Politico on October 28, reporters Meredith Lee Hill, Mia McCarthy and Holly Otterbein examine the possible fallout in a state that Trump can't afford to lose: Pennsylvania.

The Keystone State has a lot of Puerto Rican residents, from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh to Allentown. And the reporters emphasize that the Hinchcliffe controversy may improve Harris' chances of winning the state.

"Donald Trump has a serious Puerto Rico problem — in Pennsylvania," Hill, McCarthy and the Philly-based Otterbein explain. "Many Puerto Rican voters in the state are furious about racist and demeaning comments delivered at a Trump rally. Some say their dismay is giving Kamala Harris a new opening to win over the state's Latino voters, particularly nearly half a million Pennsylvanians of Puerto Rican descent."

The reporters add, "Evidence of the backlash was immediate on Monday: A nonpartisan Puerto Rican group drafted a letter urging its members to oppose Trump on Election Day. Other Puerto Rican voters were lighting up WhatsApp chats with reactions to the vulgar display and raising it in morning conversations at their bodegas. Some are planning to protest Trump's rally Tuesday, (October 29) in Allentown, a majority-Latino city with one of the largest Puerto Rican populations in the state."

Norberto Dominguez, a Democratic precinct captain in Allentown, told Politico that Puerto Ricans in his area are not taking Hinchcliffe's racist attack on Puerto Rico lightly.

Dominguez observed, "It's spreading like wildfire through the community. It's not the smartest thing to do, to insult people — a large group of voters here in a swing state — and then go to their home asking for votes."

Allentown resident Victor Martínez, who owns the Spanish-language radio station La Mega, told Politico that for Harris' campaign, Hinchcliffe's "floating island of garbage" comment "was just like a gift from the gods."

"If we weren't engaged before," Martínez noted, "we're all paying attention now."

Reprinted with permission from AlterNet


Trump's Pardoned Felons Form A MAGA Movement In Exile

Trump's Pardoned Felons Form A MAGA Movement In Exile

By the time Donald Trump left the White House on January 20, 2021, he had issued a long list of presidential pardons.

The many Trump allies who were granted pardons included, among others, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, ex-Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, "War Room" host Steve Bannon, and veteran GOP operatives Roger Stone and Paul Manafort.

In an article published on October 28, Slate's Molly Olmstead emphasizes that Trump allies who were granted pardons have continued to be prominent figures in the MAGA movement.

Some of these figures have now been hired by the Trump campaign," Olmstead explains. "Others have carved out careers as voices of the MAGA movement in exile, pushing the former president's lies about the 2020 election and grievances about the Biden Administration…. If Trump wins in November, this is a cohort that stands ready to return to power, and once again fall in line with Trump’s orders."

Olmstead points out that Flynn has made millions of dollars from his MAGA-related activities.

"For some years now," Olmstead observes, "he has held a touring conspiracy-theory spectacle called 'ReAwaken America,' in which he pushes QAnon-friendly ideas — often about 'globalists' scheming to stop Trump's work against the deep state — alongside other far-right celebrities and influencers. Flynn was pardoned for lying to the FBI about conversations he had had with the Russian ambassador while he was part of the Trump transition team in 2016; Trump's pre-pardon pressure campaign to protect Flynn was at the center of FBI Director James Comey's firing and Trump's obstruction-of-justice efforts detailed in the Mueller investigation."

Omstead adds, "Flynn's attempts to turn himself into a right-wing hero have paid off: According to the New York Times, Flynn and his family members have made at least $2.2 million off his various self-promotion ventures, including payments from a crowdsourced legal fund. He sells branded merchandise, including a series of 'FlynnLock' rifles. "

According to Olmstead, Bannon "stands out among the list of Trump's pardon recipients for his long-term planning."

"Trump's 2016 campaign chair and a senior strategist during his presidency, Bannon is perhaps singular among MAGA World pardon recipients in that he doesn't cling to the former president for political relevance," Olmstead writes. "Rather, Bannon, through his own media empire, pulls different strains of the far right together, teasing out and connecting their similar passions and paranoias."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet


Maricopa County recorder Stephen Richer

Arson Eyed As Arizona Mailbox Fire Damages Ballots In Democratic District

Arizona was once a deep-red state where Sen. Barry Goldwater and his successor, Sen. John McCain, were regarded by fellow Republicans as the gold standard for conservatism. But Arizona has since evolved into a swing state.

Arizona Democrats are winning a lot more statewide races than they were 30 or 40 years ago, and far-right MAGA Republicans like Kari Lake have been openly disdainful of the Goldwater and McCain conservatives who once dominated the state.

Arizona is among the battleground states where former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have been especially aggressive in their campaigning. And a contentious U.S. Senate race that puts Lake against Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) will be closely watched on Election Night.

According to Phoenix's ABC 15 News, fire and police officials are investigating a fire in a U.S. Postal Service mailbox that included some mail-in ballots. Arson is suspected.

The Phoenix Fire Department, in an official statement, said, "Approximately 20 electoral ballots were damaged, along with additional miscellaneous mail.

"What led to the fire is not yet known," ABC 15 News reports, "but Phoenix Police Department says Phoenix Fire Department's Arson Investigation Taskforce is performing a criminal investigation with postal inspectors and police. ABC 15 reached out to election officials for information impacting those whose ballots may have been damaged."

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer said his office is "waiting for details from law enforcement."

Richer told ABC 15 News, "We encourage all voters who used that mail box in the last 36 hours to check the status of their ballots at https://BeBallotReady.Vote. Successful delivery is usually reflected on that website within 72 hours. Voters should be aware that tomorrow, October 25, is the last day to request a replacement ballot."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

James Carville

'I Am Certain': James Carville Predicts Harris Will Defeat Trump

With the United States' 2024 presidential election less than two weeks away, many polls continue to show a very close race. Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris has small single-digit leads in some national and battleground state polls, while her GOP rival, former President Donald Trump, is slightly ahead in others.

The Hill's Amie Parnes', in an article published on October 23, takes a look at Democratic insiders who privately fear that the campaign is "slipping further away" from Harris. But in a New York Times guest op-ed/essay published the same day, veteran Democratic strategist/consultant James Carville lays out three reasons why he is "certain" Harris will win.

A different Democratic strategist, presumably interviewed on condition of anonymity, told The Hill, "Everyone keeps saying, 'It's close.' Yes, it's close, but are things trending our way? No. And no one wants to openly admit that. Could we still win? Maybe. Should anyone be even slightly optimistic right now? No."

Another Democratic strategist, also quoted anonymously, told The Hill, "If this is a vibe election, the current vibes ain't great."

But the 79-year-old Carville doesn't see it that way at all.

In his New York Times op-ed/essay, Carville argues, "There is a palpable anxiety wailing on the winds of American life right now. More than in any other election in my lifetime, I've been consistently asked by people of all stripes and creeds: 'Can Kamala Harris win this thing? Are we going to be OK?' This sentiment is heard over and over from sweaty Democratic operatives who all too often love to run to the press with their woes."

Carville continues, "While I am not one to take part in the political prediction industry — recently ballooned by mysterious crypto investments gambling on a Donald Trump victory — today I am pulling my stool up to the political poker table to throw my chips all in: America, it will all be OK. Ms. Harris will be elected the next president of the United States. Of this, I am certain."

According to Carville, Harris is headed for victory because: (1) "Mr. Trump is a repeat electoral loser. This time will be no different," (2) "Money matters, and Ms. Harris has it in droves," and (3) "It's just a feeling."

Carville acknowledges that #3 is "100 percent emotional" but points out that Harris has a very broad range of support — from Republican former Vice President Dick Cheney and his equally conservative daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), to self-described "democratic socialist" Rep. Alexandria-Occasion Cortez (D-NY).

"If the Cheneys and AOC get that the Constitution and our democracy are on the ballot," Carville writes, "every true conservative and every true progressive should get it too. A vast majority of Americans are rational, reasonable people of good will…. For the past decade, Mr. Trump has infected American life with a malignant political sickness, one that would have wiped out many other global democracies."

Carville adds, "On January 6, 2021, our democracy itself nearly succumbed to it. But Mr. Trump has stated clearly that this will be the last time he runs for president. That is exactly why we should be exhilarated by what comes next: Mr. Trump is a loser. He is going to lose again."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Liz Cheney Smacks Down Speaker Johnson's Excuses For Trump

Liz Cheney Smacks Down Speaker Johnson's Excuses For Trump

Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, are among the many right-wing conservatives who are supporting Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the United States' 2024 presidential election — a group that also includes former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), former Mike Pence national security aide Olivia Troye, and former Trump White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, among others. Liz Cheney has even spoken at some of Harris' campaign rallies.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), once a Liz Cheney ally, remains a staunch Donald Trump supporter. Johnson has said that he and Liz Cheney have "agreed to disagree" over whether or not Trump is a threat to democracy. But according to Axios reporter Juliegrace Brufke, Johnson and the former congresswoman recently "engaged in a tense text exchange."

Brufke, in an article published on October 21, explained, "Cheney disputed Johnson's characterization of the exchange, telling Axios that she and the speaker 'used to be friends, but we did not 'agree to disagree.' Zoom in: Johnson said he had not spoken to Cheney in a 'very long time,' but decided to text her after 'she said some very uncharitable things.'"


Former Rep. Cheney, during an NBC News appearance on October 13, warned, "I do not have faith that Mike Johnson will fulfill his constitutional obligation."

Unlike many other far-right MAGA Republicans, Johnson is not known for inflammatory rhetoric and has a reputation for being polite to political opponents — at least publicly. And he has sometimes been described as soft-spoken.

Johnson told Axioshe was "disappointed" that Liz Cheney chose to "make things personal, because I've not done that."

The House Speaker added, "We had a little debate in conversation, on text message, back and forth and agreed to disagree."

But the arch-conservative Liz Cheney told Axios, "Had Mike been acting as a lawyer representing Trump, he would have been sanctioned, disbarred or indicted for taking those positions — just as several Trump lawyers were. The courts, including several conservative judges appointed by Trump, rejected each legal argument Mike makes. Mike does not have constitutional authority to overrule the courts. Ignoring those rulings is tyranny Trump's own White House lawyers testified against him."

The former Wyoming congresswoman continued, "Trump's campaign lawyers testified against him. Trump's Justice Department officials testified against him. So did his VP. If Trump is somehow elected, neither Mike nor anyone else will be able to control him."

Read Axios' full article at this link.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Former President Donald Trump

Trump's Own 'Kristallnacht' : A 'Really Violent Day' Of Policing

GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump openly advocated police brutality when, during a campaign speech in Erie, Pennsylvania on Sunday, September 29, he called for "one really violent day" of policing.

This "extraordinarily rough" approach, Trump promised, would dramatically reduce crime in major U.S. cities. And he proposed putting Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) in charge of this effort.

Trump told the crowd, "One rough hour, and I mean real rough, the word will get out, and it will end immediately. End immediately. You know, it'll end immediately."

Political scholars, historians, and experts on authoritarianism have been quick to call out this rhetoric as incredibly dangerous.

Trump told the crowd, "One rough hour, and I mean real rough, the word will get out, and it will end immediately. End immediately. You know, it'll end immediately."

Political scholars, historians and experts on authoritarianism have been quick to call out this rhetoric as incredibly dangerous.

Journalist Jim Stewartson warned that Trump's call for a "really violent day" of policing brought to mind Nazi German's Kristallnacht of November 9, 1938, when Adolf Hitler supporters attacked Jewish businesses all over Germany. Trump didn't use the German word "Kristallnacht" specifically, but Stewartson argued that Trump was promoting something comparable.

Stewartson tweeted, "In PA today, Donald Trump gave one of the most dangerous speeches of the 21st century by describing his strategy for reducing crime as Kristallnacht, 'one extraordinarily rough, one really rough nasty day. One rough hour. You know it'll end immediately…. I've seen this described as The Purge, which is wrong. That was a movie where the population was set against itself. This is the description of state-sponsored wide-spread violence. It actually happened."

Scholar Jamie Chapman, similarly, posted, "For those history buffs out there - yes, he's calling for the Night of Broken Glass (Kristallnacht)."

Historian Dr. Gina van Raphael wrote, "Kristallnacht. That's what Trump is asking for with this purge in a day of violence. I hope the younger ones understand what that means."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

GOP Legislator Torpedoes Trump's Nebraska Electoral Gambit

GOP Legislator Torpedoes Trump's Nebraska Electoral Gambit

Nebraska is among the few states in the U.S. that splits its electoral votes, and the area around Omaha — which has one electoral vote — has been leaning Democrat in recent years.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has been urging Nebraska to abandon that system and switch to a winner-take-all format.

But Nebraska State Sen. Mike McDonnell, a former Democrat turned Republican, is, according to the New York Times, pushing back against the proposal.

In an official statement on Monday, September 23, McDonnell said, "In recent weeks, a conversation around whether to change how we allocate our Electoral College votes has returned to the forefront. I respect the desire of some of my colleagues to have this discussion, and I have taken time to listen carefully to Nebraskans and national leaders on both sides of the issue. After deep consideration, it is clear to me that right now, 43 days from Election Day, is not the moment to make this change."

McDonnell, according to the Times, said he told Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, "I will not change my long-held position and will oppose any attempted changes to our Electoral College system before the 2024 election."

The Nebraska Examiner's Aaron Sanderford notes that "McDonnell's no on winner-take-all leaves Republicans in Nebraska's officially nonpartisan legislature with no path to overcoming a promised filibuster unless a Democrat or nonpartisan senator defects."

"Part of the GOP urgency is wrapped in national polling that shows a close race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee," Sanderford reports. "Some political observers have argued the 2nd District could break a 269-269 Electoral College tie. Few Democrats were surprised that the fate of winner-take-all largely swung on McDonnell, a former Omaha fire union president who switched to the GOP this spring after facing political pushback from Democrats for backing abortion restrictions."

Sanderford adds, "Several said the abortion debate should have shown Republicans that McDonnell is largely immovable once he has made a controversial position clear. McDonnell said when he switched parties that he would not support winner-take-all. Others said he did what helped him most politically.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Mark Robinson

'Disaster For Trump' As GOP Governors Cancel North Carolina Ad Buy

Democratic strategists and Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign believe that of all the states Donald Trump won in 2020, North Carolina is the one they have the best shot at flipping. Polls have been showing a very close race in that state, where Democratic optimism has increased thanks to a scandal involving GOP gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson.

According to CNN, the Trump-endorsed Robinson made some extreme political statements on an adult website called Nude Africa from 2008-2012 — including boasting, "I'm a Black Nazi" and arguing in favor of reinstating slavery. And Democrats are hoping that the scandal will hurt Trump and help Harris in North Carolina.

On September 23, the conservative National Review's Audrey Fahlberg reported that Republican Governors Association (RGA) had decided against additional ad buys in North Carolina.

According to Fahlberg, "The news comes as the Robinson campaign continues to bleed staff. On Sunday, Robinson's campaign sent out a press release announcing that four employees resigned from his campaign: general consultant Conrad Pogorzelski III, campaign manager Christopher Rodriguez, finance director Heather Whillier, and deputy campaign manager Jason Rizk…. Four additional staffers not listed in that press release have also resigned, according to Pogorzelski, Robinson’s former general consultant."

RGA Communications Director Courtney Alexander told the National Review, "We don't comment on internal strategy or investment decisions, but we can confirm what's public: Our current media buy in North Carolina expires tomorrow, and no further placements have been made."

In response to Fahlberg's reporting, political strategist Simon Rosenberg tweeted, "This is a disaster for Trump."

Trump has been an avid Robinson supporter, even comparing him to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

On X, Fahlberg also reported, "This comes after a Robinson fundraiser with RGA chairman & TN gov Bill Lee — originally scheduled for this week — was called off after CNN report, as first reported by NR on Fri."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

New Hampshire's MAGA Libertarians Post Death Threat Against Harris

New Hampshire's MAGA Libertarians Post Death Threat Against Harris

In the Libertarian Party, there has been a great deal of infighting between traditional libertarians and MAGA-influenced alt-right nationalists who have dubbed themselves the party's "blood and soil" faction. That tension was evident during the 2024 Libertarian Party Convention in May, when libertarian traditionalists (who have a lot of common ground with Never Trump conservatives) voiced their displeasure with "blood and soil" members who featured Donald Trump as a speaker.

Meanwhile, in New Hampshire, another Libertarian Party controversy pertaining to the 2024 presidential election has exploded — this time involving a death threat against Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

The New Hampshire Libertarian Party shared a post on X, formerly Twitter, that read, "Anyone who murders Kamala Harris would be an American hero."

An X user flagged the tweet, calling for the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service to conduct an investigation.

This controversy comes at a time when Trump, on his Palm Beach, Florida golf course, survived what appeared to be a second assassination attempt.

The tweet was deleted, but the New Hampshire Libertarian Party did so begrudgingly.

In a September 15 tweet, the New Hampshire Libertarian Party said, "We deleted a tweet because we don’t want to break the terms of this website we agreed to. It's a shame that even on a 'free speech' website that libertarians cannot speak freely. Libertarians are truly the most oppressed minority."

But 2024 Libertarian presidential nominee Chase Oliver, a scathing critic of the MAGA influence that the "blood and soil" faction has brought to his party, is vehemently condemning the death threat against Harris.

On X, Oliver posted, "I 100% condemn the statement from LPNH regarding Kamala Harris. It is abhorrent and should never have been posted. As Libertarians, we condemn the use of force, whether committed by governments, individuals, or other political entities. We are dedicated to the principle of non-aggression and to peaceful solutions to conflict. This is also something we pledge as part of attaining party membership. LPNH's statement should rightfully be condemned by all people."

The New Hampshire Democratic Party is speaking out as well.

New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley said, "The Libertarian Party of NH encouraging the assassination of Vice President Harris must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. Political violence is never acceptable, and their statement was disgusting, dangerous and wrong."

U.S. Secret Service spokesman Nate Herring wouldn't get into specifics but told the Boston Globe's Steve Porter, "The Secret Service is aware of the social media post made by the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, and as a matter of practice, we do not comment on matters involving protective intelligence. We can say, however, that the Secret Service investigates all threats related to our protectees."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Grisham

Fascism Lite? Trump Regime May Use 'Bureaucratic Bullying' Against Critics

In aThis American Life report aired on National Public Radio (NPR) stations in June, some prominent Donald Trump critics — including former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham and the Lincoln Project's Fred Wellman — revealed that they have been looking at possible countries to move to if Trump wins the 2024 presidential election and returns to the White House in January 2025. Grisham and Wellman both said they fear the possibility of retaliation during a second Trump Administration.

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and his wife Rachel Vindman were also interviewed for that segment. Rachel Vindman, fearing retaliation as well, has been urging her husband to consider relocating to another country if Trump wins the election, but he told "This American Life" that he is determined to stay in the U.S. regardless of the election's outcome.

In an in-depth article published on September 12, The New Republic's Greg Sargent examines the possible shape that retaliation against critics could take in a second Trump administration — and how those critics are "bracing to be victimized."

Trump's critics have been debating whether Trump 2.0 would resemble the full-fledged fascism of Chile under Gen. Augusto Pinochet and Paraguay under the Alberto Stroessner dictatorship or the so-called "illiberal democracy" of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

"One set of oft-floated worst-case scenarios looks something like this: Trump orders his pliant pick for attorney general to prosecute Liz Cheney and other high-profile critics and frog-march them before the cameras," Sargent explains. "Trump invokes the Insurrection Act to dispatch the military into cities to crush mass protests. Trump unshackles deportation forces to drag millions of undocumented immigrants from homes and workplaces. Trump purges our nation's intelligence services, stocks them with loyal foot soldiers, and unleashes them as a domestic spying force to gather information on designated enemies of the MAGA movement."

Sargent continues, "It would be folly to dismiss these possibilities, since Trump has repeatedly threatened to carry out something resembling every one of those things. He has vowed to prosecute his political opponents without cause. He has loudly called for the indictment of members of the congressional committee that investigated his January 6, 2021, insurrection attempt. He has mused aloud that he might send the military into Democratic-run cities."

But Sargent emphasizes that a second Trump administration could also bring a "less garish scenario" with a "lower-profile, slow-burn authoritarianism" that "unfolds much more quietly and largely behind the scenes."

Trump critics, according to Sargent, has been consulting lawyers who "are advising them to gird for low-grade bureaucratic bullying."

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) told Sargent, "We are organizing to win this election, but if, God forbid, an authoritarian MAGA clampdown comes, it may not be tanks in the streets and midnight disappearances. It may be more akin to a corrosive long-term campaign of constant official and vigilante harassment against perceived political adversaries of the president-king."

Washington, D.C. attorney Mark Zaid is sounding the alarm as well.

Zaid told Sargent, "A second Trump administration will not hesitate to exercise every executive branch weapon it can against those it considers enemies, real or otherwise. We expect a very targeted approach designed to drain the financial resources of perceived adversaries, designed to leave them neutralized and isolated."

Zaid, according to Sargent, "has been advising clients who are high-profile critics of Trump" to "prepare for IRS audits directed at their personal finances" or deal with "the threat of revoked passports."

One of Zaid's clients is former Mike Pence aide Olivia Troye, a conservative Republican who endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris when she spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Troye told Sargent, "Nothing is off the table for what they could do to me. I'm looking at other countries where I could potentially reside."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Trump Says ABC News Should Lose License After Debate

Trump Says ABC News Should Lose License After Debate

During the first — and possibly the last — 2024 presidential debate between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump on Tuesday night, the former president was, at times, fact-checked by ABC News moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis.

Most of the fact-checking at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, September 10 came from Harris herself, although the moderators occasionally fact-checked claims from Trump that were blatantly false.

For example, Trump falsely claimed that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris' running mate, supports "execution after birth" for babies. And Davis responded, "There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it's born."

After the debate, some of Trump's supporters, including Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, claimed that Muir and Davis' fact-checking put Trump at an unfair disadvantage during the debate. Mullin argued that Trump had to "debate three people" instead of only one.

But Trump went beyond claiming that the debate was unfair.

When he called in to Fox News' morning show, "Fox & Friends," on Wednesday morning, Trump called for "dishonest" ABC News to lose its broadcasting license.

Trump told the hosts, "I think ABC took a big hit last night. To be honest, they’re a news organization — they have to be licensed to do it. They ought to take away their license for the way they did that."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet


Will Trump Get Away With Alleged $10M Egyptian Bribery Scheme?

Will Trump Get Away With Alleged $10M Egyptian Bribery Scheme?

In a Washington Post article published on August 2, reporters Aaron C. Davis and Carol D. Leonnig detailed a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) probe of a withdrawal of almost $10 million from a bank in Cairo, Egypt and its connection to Donald Trump — an investigation that was dropped under the direction of then-U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr.

The Philadelphia Inquirer's Will Bunch examines the Post's reporting in his August 4 column. The article, Bunch argues, raises questions about a larger issue: the threat that bribery and alleged bribery pose to U.S. democracy.

"America's Founders were a little unclear about a lot of stuff — we're still arguing after 233 years about just what the heck they were saying about guns in the Second Amendment," Bunch explains. "But they seemed very adamant about one idea: Bribery is bad for democracy…. It seems pretty clear."

Bunch continues, "Yet over the course of the 21st Century, something has gone awry. A corrupt Supreme Court, aided by a flawed system of criminal justice that gives every possible break to white-collar crooks while cracking down on the underprivileged, hasn't quite legalized bribery, but made it a lot easier to get away with. James Madison and Alexander Hamilton must be spinning in their graves over some of the recent developments."

The columnist emphasizes that U.S. democracy is in trouble if the rule of law is selectively applied.

"The other wrinkle is the recent, abysmal Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity for so-called official acts that would have made Trump's pro-Egypt policies — the quo in this alleged quid pro quo — off limits," Bunch writes. "The next Congress must pass legislation that spells out a president is not above the law."

Bunch adds, "Anyone can talk about making America great again, but that's not really going to happen until we make bribery a crime again."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Bill Barr

Bill Barr Reverts Back To Making Alibis For Felon Trump

More than 40 U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) alumni, according to NBC News, have signed a letter endorsing presumptive 2024 Democratic Kamala Harris as "the best choice to defeat Donald Trump and lead the nation."

But one former DOJ official who didn't sign that letter is Bill Barr, who served as U.S. attorney general under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Donald Trump.

Although Barr was highly critical of Trump in 2021 and 2022 and was hoping that someone else would receive the GOP's 2024 presidential nomination, he is now endorsing him — as he believes a second Trump term would be preferable to a continuation of the Biden Administration's policies.

During a Barr appearance on CNN, host Kaitlan Collins asked him to name one thing President Joe Biden has done that's worse than Trump trying to overturn the results of an election that he lost.

Barr told Collins, "I think his whole administration is a disaster for the country" — to which an incredulous Collins said, "Is worse than subverting the peaceful transfer of power?"

When Barr asked, "Did he succeed?," Collins responded, "Only because Vice President Mike Pence stood in the way."

HuffPost's S.V. Dáte, in response to tweeted video of that interview, commented, "Attempted bank robbery is a crime. Attempted murder is a crime. Attempted burglary is a crime. Someone should tell him."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

GOP Delegates Complain About Trump's 'Dishonest' Platform Process

GOP Delegates Complain About Trump's 'Dishonest' Platform Process

Two years ago, some right-wing media figures — most notably, author Ann Coulter — viewed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the future of the Republican Party and claimed that Donald Trump's influence had seriously declined. But in fact, Trump's stranglehold on the GOP grew even stronger.

Trump increased his influence not only on the Republican National Committee (RNC), but also, on the official 2024 GOP platform.

In a New York Times article published on July 18, reporters Jonathan Swan, Shane Goldmacher and Maggie Haberman detail Trump's campaign to dictate that platform.

"It was the ruthless efficiency of a process months in the making that squelched, silenced or steamrolled any forces who might oppose Mr. Trump," the reporters explain. "The result was the latest evidence of the political maturation of Mr. Trump and his operation."

Trump, according to Swan, Goldmacher and Haberman, was a total micromanager during the process of crafting the platform and "made clear to his team that he wanted the 2024 platform to be his and his alone."

Longtime Republican Gayle Ruzicka, who has served on several platform committees, is critical of the way the process was handled this time.

The Times journalists report that Ruzicka "said the participants had been told" one evening "that there would be subcommittee meetings" — but "instead, she said, delegates were handed what they were told was a draft on Monday."

Ruzicka, they add, "said that after roughly two hours and no amendments considered, the draft was ratified in full."

Ruzicka told the Times, "It was not honest, and that was what bothered me."

Tabitha Walter, executive director of Eagle Forum — the anti-feminist Religious Right group founded by the late Phyllis Schlafly in 1972 — is also highly critical of the way the platform was handled. And she said one woman in particular hounded her.

"Anywhere I would go get coffee and go to the bathroom, she would follow me around," Walter told the Times. "Any time I would take notes, she would read them."

Walter complained that the platform process "felt very hostile" and even compared it to "strong-arming."

According to Swan, Goldmacher and Haberman, Arizona State Rep. Alex Kolodin (one of the Republican delegates) "brought a laptop and printer" during a platform meeting — before "there was a quick vote to confiscate those and any other electronics."

"Mr. Kolodin said he had submitted ideas to the Trump team before the platform committee meeting but did not realize those gathered would have no actual say in the final document," the Times journalists report.

Kolodin told the Times, "This is all for show…. We all would have felt more respected by that upfront approach."

At that meeting, according to Swan, Goldmacher and Haberman, attendees "handed over their phones to party officials, who sealed them in the magnetic pouches."

"Mr. Trump and party operatives were allowed to keep their devices," the Times reporters note. "Only delegates and guests were denied the ability to communicate with the outside world."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.