47 Comments

Easy question Greg - will the Democrats have the stones? Nope. Not unless they replace the geriatric leadership in the House and Senate with younger leaders who recognize the existential threat posed by Republicans.

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I think Nancy has proved herself pretty resilient. She has her flaws, to be sure, but she ain't Chuck.

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She lost me when she failed to throw the book at Trump in either impeachment. She made it too easy for the Republicans to let him off the hook. It would have been much harder if she had hit him with the self dealing, the emoluments, the nepotism, the selling out to Putin, the obstruction of justice, etc.

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Correct me if I am wrong, but I heard that the "one charge" impeachment article was to simplify and guarantee impeachment. The Senate was NEVER going to convict.

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Dems have the stones? Where have you been….? What’s more accurate is, “Will the apathetic voters make it to the polls ?

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That is some great writing Greg. Thanks!

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Thanks!

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Jun 14, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

Please tell us, if you know, does Schumer read you? Because we desperately need him to. Wonderful piece, as always.

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Highly doubtful.

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Schumer just isn't a flame-thrower. If we had a firebrand like Tim Ryan as Minority Leader, we'd be in better shape. In Chuck's defense, every time I wrote to his office about a medical insurer trying to screw me over, they stepped in on my behalf. and fined the insurer. But yeah, McConnell is walking all over Chuck. Sad.

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Nice to know his office helped you out. I think he’s a sincerely good guy. Just ill-equipped for the job he presently has.

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Jun 15, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

Totally. I can't tell you how many times he helped me out, and I don't even know him personally! He's a good person to have representing you because he takes good care of his constituents. But he's a lover - not a fighter!

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As a Senator for New York, he's good. As a Senate Majority Leader, he leaves much to be desired. Both things are true.

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Jun 15, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

Agree! He's a Mensch alright. But to battle Mitch, we need a warrior!

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I just wish we could outlaw carrying weapons in public. That’s all. Seems like that would be a step toward civilization. Meanwhile the Dems have failed remarkably to generate a PR campaign that can keep up with the dark side. Who is speaking for the democratic majority? Why can’t she be heard? (Must be a “she” because so many male democrats are just wimps. Even Obama kept his mouth shut when McConnell blatantly violated the Constitution). Unbelievable, really. It’s like the democrats are afraid they’ll be bullied by someone. Wonder who?

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There are more thoughts beyond whats seen or heard in public driving decisions. GOP may have finally signed their death warrant among real conservatives…

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It's partly messaging, but mostly how the media, which is largely owned by rightwingers, frames everything. It's a disgrace.

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Jun 14, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

You hit the nail on the head. If I arrived to a City in the US where everyone was doing 'open carry' - I'd be on the next plane out of town. How is this even 'good for business'?

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No clue. There is a fringe that insists in ensuring the right to bear arms go unimpeded. Most of us don’t see that happening, but there are those who are fearful and are forever on watch…

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We need a Rupert, but one with a tad of integrity…

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Ya nailed it, again…! Keep those coals red hot! I’m sharing and folks are listening! Great stuff!

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Thanks, Ed!

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Wow, Greg. You have one helluva dot-connection brain. Do you expect to see the House side figure this out so we can get a meaningful gun control law on the books?

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Never mind; I see the House didn't figure it out.

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Predictable, alas...

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Most welcome, Sir!

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Jun 14, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

Great scribbling

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Jun 14, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

Excellent column, again. I agree wholeheartedly and started tweeting as soon as MItch demanded legislation beore the sun sets that any bill to protect SCOTUS even more should be attached to an assult weapons ban, no amendments allowed. McConnell has been playing this long game for 40 years.

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Almost four full decades of Lucy moving the football.

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Jun 14, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

This is a prefect analogy. I wonder who you have in mind for Iron Man, because we really need him now. This feels very much like the "End Game."

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Oh the irony [pun intended] of relying on an arms dealer... : )

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Jun 14, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

Up until the Mango Wanker came on the scene, I thought I understood how US politics worked. No more. In the face of all the things you've laid out here, and the continued fire hose of the revelations of more and more Republicans being involved in The Big Lie and/or Jan 6th, we're STILL looking at a red wave in November! Does that make ANY sense? We seem to have gone WAY beyond "making the libs cry" -- this continuous bullshit from the right is what people believe now, like good little students of Goebbels. It still shocks me, and I don't think I'll ever get used to it.

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Jun 14, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

The key here is found back in 1980, when the GOP realised it would never raise enough campaign funds from small business and the middle class. And demographics were shifting towards the Dems very fast. So they sold out to corporations and the super-rich, and proceeded to destroy education, suppress the vote, gerrymander, clog the courts with crap, etc etc.

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Jun 15, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

Don’t forget how they bowed down to the evangelicals.

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They’ve painted themselves into a corner, and will whore for votes from any deplorables or gullibles. What a shame.

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Yes, it is disgusting to watch the downward spiral - that we are also caught up in. I know it can be traced back to many things but the one that stands out to me is Newt Gingrich. His efforts awakened a monster that has yet to be tamed.

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I hear you. Nothing makes much sense anymore. Which is part of their goal.

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"wears on his left hand like some sort of steroidal, extraterrestrial Michael Jackson."

Surely you are not implying Moscow Mitch likes little boys?

(satire, I promise. It's satire)

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How can (or who can?) help Dems create a COURAGE stone? R's have always had a shamelessness stone and very few D's are willing to repeatedly call them out on it unless geriatic group makes way for more Mallory McMorrow's please? Btw, I know nothing of the Avengers and both understood and appreciated this analogy...

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Thanks. Maybe there is just one Courage Stone that they all have to share, like the Fates and their Eye?

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Indeed...hope springs eternal, but confess I'm pessimistic.

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My God! I thoroughly enjoyed this piece of great journalism! Your comparison of Thanos = McConnell was superb. The “stones” was an eye catcher and using them to describe the evilness of the partisans on the court was so descriptive. I could visualize everything. I assure you, I too, want Chuck to go and be replaced by Amy. He is too polite, too meek, to hold that position. Klobuchar would be 100 times more effective because she doesn’t take any bullshit off of anyone!

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Thank you. Go Amy go!

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Excellent metaphor! So spot on. Your use of Rep. Scott Fitzgerald’s tweet has led me to a tangent. We have lived part-time in the Janesville-Madison area of Wisconsin for the past 20+ years. I have watched the politics in Wisconsin go from solid Blue to very Purple. Scott Walker, Scott Fitzgerald and Robin Vos are the main reasons why. They have done so much damage to Democracy in Wisconsin. Remember “Right to Work” (cough, vomit)? Thankfully, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has stopped a lot of their most recent cruel attempts. Wisconsin is a microcosm of the things the Republican party intends for the United States where Republican Legislatures are in charge. An interesting thing that hasn’t gotten much National press attention is the “investigation” of voter fraud in the 2020 election, that former Supreme Court justice Michael Gableman has been “conducting”. Robin Vos appointed him at the behest of Trump. When it became clear that Gableman was not finding any evidence of the fraud, Vos tried to end the investigation. However, Trump is keeping pressure on Vos to continue the investigation and has indicated support for Vos’s competitor in the upcoming primary. Many trumplicans in Wisconsin are now turning against Vos, who in their opinion has not done enough to support Trump’s Big Lie. How ironic.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2022/06/01/wisconsin-election-review-goes-beyond-original-budget-nears-900-000/7457832001/

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Lordy, do you see things that others miss. Thank you for always putting a different spin on things that are “reasoned” to death. I know nothing of “Infinity Stones” but your use of them makes the situation crystal clear. It’s now or never…

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