Quote :

"Ngl, it's been chuckle-inducing to hear MAGA-hats moaning about how the pardon undermines the rule of law. As if that were something they were even remotely worried about"

It's decidedly not funny that they don't see the obvious logical contradictions.

12/3/2024 8:20:02 AM

My only real objection here is that he was so vocal and emphatic about saying "I won't pardon him" before. Just say some meaningless crap, "We're going to let the justice system run its course," which sort of implies you won't pardon but leaves the door open.

Yes, Hunter Biden is guilty of all of this. He's now been convicted, thoroughly discredited, and his influence all stripped away. Him serving jail time does very little to serve the public interest; all prosecutions from this point forward (and realistically, all recent prosecutions of him) have only served partisan political purposes. So I say, fine, pardon him. Better yet, pardon everyone else Trump has suggested he'll go after. Vindman, Fauci, whoever.

12/3/2024 8:21:59 AM

I only heard him I believe twice mention it, and one of those times I believe he simply said "no"...didn't seem too vocal or emphatic to me.

[Edited on December 3, 2024 at 9:07 AM. Reason : Don't stop believing]

12/3/2024 9:05:05 AM

https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1863388592753504509

I honestly don't see any way to excuse it. The reason we have Trump is because of the declining trust in institutions over the last many decades. this pardon will only further erode trust.

12/3/2024 10:24:06 AM

It ain't right, and it gives ample cover for most of the dumb norm-breaking crap Trump already had planned.

My question is why do this now rather than in the literal final days like most Presidents do?

12/3/2024 10:58:20 AM

Everything about the last month hasn't sat well but I don't even know how to feel. After spending years criticizing Trump's behavior at transition, it would be hypocritical to be combative, but it seems like there must be some middle ground between combative and having a buddy buddy handshake meeting. Especially after spending months calling him a threat to democracy. For the pardons it's similar, I barely care and I'm kinda eager for Dems to stop worrying about norms, but I was looking for lame duck actions that would help the country rather than help him personally.

I don't know, this is more of a rant than an opinion post, as I said I don't even know what I want here, just seems like folks are laying down.


[Edited on December 3, 2024 at 11:24 AM. Reason : A]

12/3/2024 11:22:49 AM

Quote :

"The reason we have Trump is because of the declining trust in institutions over the last many decades. "

I've been puzzled why so many Millenials/Xennials trust institutions at all. We lived through the Iraq war, opiate epidemic, bailouts, and destruction of communities because of globalism. How do you have any trust left? If you actually don't trust institutions I apologize. This does not feel like it should be something only Trump voters imagine.

Nate Silver has managed to make the worst political calls this election season, including that Florida would be a tight race.

[Edited on December 3, 2024 at 12:15 PM. Reason : a]

12/3/2024 12:13:13 PM

Quote :

"How do you have any trust left?"

because I try not to engage in black and white thinking and remember that the world is complicated and nuanced. i'm not saying I blindly trust institutions. like most americans (as reflected in the aforementioned polls), I'm not happy with a lot of what i've seen from the expert class, et al in my lifetime. but the world also HAS improved in many many ways. we tend to focus on the negatives. and what's the alternative, anyways? get on my knees and suck trump off? or bernie? i'm content to see this era as an inevitable if not necessary creative destruction in our politics, but i'd much rather have seen Gore win and see where that timeline would have taken us

[Edited on December 3, 2024 at 12:35 PM. Reason : do not give up hope for a rational society]

12/3/2024 12:33:36 PM

^^Nate Silver is not an institution.

12/3/2024 12:50:41 PM

^ 538 is!

Quote :

"what's the alternative, anyways? get on my knees and suck trump off? or bernie? i'm content to see this era as an inevitable if not necessary creative destruction in our politics"

Creative destruction has a nice ring to it. The status quo elite needs to let the new elite cook. The Fourth Republic has outlived it's usefulness.

12/3/2024 2:11:29 PM

^ thats not comforting when musk is saying Hitler was right, and there’s tons of literal white supremacists in his orbit as well

Letting them cook seems like a terrible idea

Democracy is better even if it’s slower sometimes

[Edited on December 3, 2024 at 4:45 PM. Reason : C]

12/3/2024 4:44:45 PM

Quote :

"^ thats not comforting when musk is saying Hitler was right, and there’s tons of literal white supremacists in his orbit as well "

Project 2025 outlaws silly propaganda about white supremacists. Report to the lithium mines.

12/3/2024 5:05:06 PM

Hang on, I'll be right there, just gotta delete this tweet mocking egg prices real quick.

12/3/2024 6:09:35 PM