Why millions of good Americans will not vote for Biden and the Democrats
Those on the left say they cannot understand why tens of millions of Americans will not vote for President Biden or Democrats in general. Their bewilderment goes so far that they label Republican voters as cultists, insurrectionists, un-American, a threat to democracy. In this commentary, I shall try to explain why half of the American people will vote for Republicans – and even President Trump – – over Democrats and President Biden. While the bewildered souls will not agree, I can only hope they can better understand. It is a long commentary because there are so many good reasons to not cast a ballot for Biden.
In the past, I have given my reasons for voting for President Trump in a General Election – even though I hope he is not the GOP standard bearer for 2024. He will not get my vote in the Florida primary.
As an effort to enlighten those on the left is suggest that there are several major issues that trump (no pun intended) the legal problems and personality defects of Trump. Some of these are issues related to the progressive Democratic Party and some related to specific Biden policies – but as President, he owns them all.
Biden is too old. More and more, age seems to be taking a toll on him physically and mentally. Yes, there are folks his age who are in great shape in body and mind. Biden is not one of them. I believe that the odds are against Biden serving out a second term. I find the thought of Vice President Harris becoming President to be frightening. My worse fear is that we will have an incapacitated President like we did with Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt – and that family and staffers will be controlling the levers of government behind the scenes.
Kamala Harris. Vice President Harris is even more unpopular than Biden. She represents the more radical elements in the Democratic Party. It is unlikely that she could be nominated by Democrats or elected by the American people on her own. But, given Biden’s age and health, it is reasonable to believe they she could ascend to the presidency if Biden did not compete a second term. All things considered, that is a very reasonable concern.
The border crisis. The open borders have been a major threat to national security and the safety of the American people – and it has gotten consistently worse since Biden entered the Oval Office. Minimally, the Biden open borders policy has overwhelmed Americas social services. More crucially, it has enabled tens of thousands of criminals, drug cartellians and gangbangers – such as MS-13 — to take up their criminal activities mostly in our major cities and along the southern border – costing the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans from murders, drug overdoses and even car accidents. Biden has shown no interest in even attempting to stem the tide of illegal aliens crossing the border. Instead of imposing policies to secure the border, Biden policies create incentives – such as sanctuary cities, free education, welfare benefits, drivers’ licenses and even limited voting rights. In many cases, there is immunity from prosecution. In fact, his current request for money from Congress (the taxpayers) is not to stop the flow of illegal aliens, but rather to facilitate their admissions processing.
Inflation and the economy. Biden has been promoting his “Bidenomics” as the hallmark of a successful program that has created a wonderful economy for the American People. The only problem is his claims are political bullpoop. His tax-and-spend approach has contributed significantly to the worst inflation in 40 years. His policies are running up enormous deficits and adding trillions of dollars to the National Debt. Biden’s spend-tax-and-borrow policies are an existential threat to the welfare of future generations. You see the Biden approach in terms of funding for Isael – something we need to do. House Republicans propose a bill that would offset the money to Israel with commensurate cuts in other areas – specifically a portion of the new funding for the IRS. Bide says he would veto any such measure. His approach is to get the money from tax increases of more borrowing.
Surging crime. Biden presides over a Party that not only fails to fight crime but enables it. In additional to importing crime from throughout the world at the southern border, Biden and the Democrats have engaged in a broad range of policies to tip the scales of justice to the benefit of the criminals. For years, Democrat-run justice systems in the big cities have allowed criminals to walk without being held accountable. Biden – who was once tough on crime – has taken up a radical left woke … political correctness … identity politics – philosophy that essentially offers immunity from certain crimes, such as shoplifting, mugging and looting. There is virtually no enforcement of the laws when it comes to rioting, looting and arson. Harris actually raised money to provide bail for the few rioters who were arrested. That will not be necessary in the future because Democrats – such as Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker – have passed laws eliminating cash bail. Democrats launched an attack on policing that morphed into defunding. Biden says he opposes defunding police but approves of transferring funds to social programs. That defunds policing.
The world of woke. Woke is just a variation of the preview cultural absurdities – political correctness and identity politics. It has not only undermined the cultural moral and political values of America but has created a divisive cultural war based on irrational social policies that have men dominating women’s sports, the youngest school children being exposed to inappropriate sex and gender education, criminal justice being undermined, political indoctrination supplanting education in colleges and universities. Identity politics is the source of division and conflict that undermines America’s long successful history of assimilation and e pluribus unum. The woke culture is at the heart of contemporary Democrat policies.
Afghanistan. Biden’s decision to surrender in Afghanistan was a wrong decision – and carried out at the worst possible time and in the worst possible way. Biden ignored the advice of his own top brass and foreign leaders. In one day, more American combatants died than in several years of warfare. America and the west lost critical intelligence infrastructure … billions of dollars in military equipment … and further eroded America’s world leadership. It provided more geography and resources for terrorists – some of which went on recruitment campaigns. Many experts predicted that the surrender in Afghanistan would lead to more aggressive terrorism – and that appears to be the case. It is noteworthy that the planning for the Hamas attack on Israel came shortly after Biden’s decision to surrender in Afghanistan.
Ukraine. While Biden pledged total support for Ukraine, his actions never followed his words. He has been engaged in a too little/too late policy in doling out sanctions and delivering weapons. Biden has demonstrated weakness – even cowardice — in the face of Putin’s belligerent language. Whether Biden policies will result in a victory for Putin is yet to be determined but prolonging the war – at great costs to life and treasury – is increasing the odds in favor of the Madman of Moscow.
Iran. Biden and the Democrats do not seem to understand that Iran is not an adversary – but an enemy — of the United States. The White House – and almost everyone else in the world — recognizes the regime in Tehran as the number one state sponsor of world terrorism – and as the force behind Hamas’ attack on Israel. Diplomatic and military weakness in the face of expanding Iranian sponsored terrorism has led to the growth of terrorism wherever it is rooted. At the time of this writing, Iranian surrogates have attacked American assets in Iraq and Syria 28 times – and Biden has countered with threats and to minor military responses.
Integrity. Biden is a man of questionable honesty and integrity. This is measuring Biden against a standard scale of integrity. It is not a comparative evaluation between him and Trump. Biden has been a serial liar throughout his history. He lied about his schooling … conversation with a train porter … his driving a truck … his being raise in a Jewish temple … about his being arrested at a civil rights demonstration (4 Pinocchios for that one).
More seriously, he lies to the public about significant policy matters. He said negotiating drug prices would save the taxpayers billions (the Congressional Budget Office said savings would be “negligible”). … no increase in taxes for those earning under $400,000 (did not apply to individual taxpayers) … he cut the deficit and National Debt (untrue in both cases) … said he would hit Russia with maximum sanctions (did not).
And then there is the issue of Hunter Biden and the family fortunes. He said knew nothing about his son’s business dealings. While that issue is still developing, there is more than enough evidence to show that Biden not only knew a lot about Hunter’s business, but he may also have been deeply involved. That is currently under investigation.
Finally, there is the illegal possession of government documents, including classified documents. Granted it is not on the scale of the Trump case – and Biden handled it differently when caught. The fact remains, however, that Biden purloined White House documents – including classified documents — when he was only a Senator at the time. Biden’s transgression was serious enough for his own Attorney General to appoint a special counsel to pursue the case.
Racism. This one will have some folks on the left with their undies in a bunch. One cannot call Biden a racist, but he remains passive on the reality that his party presides over the most oppressive and deadly institutional racism that remains in urban America – including the segregation of millions of Black citizens. Blacks have been trapped in impoverishment by generational welfare dependence – a situation that prevented generations of minority citizens from achieving upward mobility, assimilation and the pursuit of ambitions and opportunities. The truth about urban institutional racism is resulting in a growing number of black voters switching to the GOP.
Urban degradation. The major urban centers of America are in meltdown. They are environments of pervasive and violent criminality. Gangs, drug dealers and political occupiers put much of the commons off limits to average citizens. Police departments are undermanned and underfunded – with low moral that undermines enforcement. These cities are home to the iconic ghettoes that endanger and oppress millions of minority citizens. Homeless encampments create dangerous and filthy environments. Immigrants are arriving by the thousands without adequate housing –drawn by misguided sanctuary policies and laws. Municipal services suffer budget cuts at a time when needs are greatest –because of an exodus of taxpaying individuals and businesses. The public-school systems are failing. The poverty rates are increasing. And these conditions are the results of Democrat one-party rule for generations.
Democracy. This one will ignite more hair on the left than any of the others. Democrats have spent a lot of political capital to case the Republican Party as the party of insurrection and authoritarianism. Those of us on the right see the danger to the American (small-d) democratic Republic. It is the evolution of the federal system – with most governing powers belonging to the states and we the people – evolving into a top-down authoritarian government run by a permanent elite establishment from Washington. Authoritarian is the consolidation of power at the top. A democratic republican distributes power another the people. That is the essential foundation of the Constitution. It does not take a constitutional scholar to see which party promotes a strong expanded and powerful regulatory central government and which party fights for limited government, low taxes and maximum personal freedom.
Summary
These thirteen points are a general summary of the major reasons why millions of good Americans will vote Republican—even if Trump is at the head of the ticket. There are undoubtedly other reasons.
Democrats and those on the left will undoubtedly take exception to these reasons, but that is expected and, to some extent, irrelevant. The reasons are the reasons. Those on the left may take umbrage – and even propose their own list as to why they will not vote for Republicans … or Trump. And their reasons will be their reasons.
I offer up these reasons as an attempt to explain to the bewildered left why Trump seems to be tied or even ahead of Biden in most polls. And this despite all of Trump’s legal problems and the left’s drumbeat narratives casting the entire Republican Party – from Trump to the grassroots voters – as enemies of the state. Even the enemies of mankind. Democrats may disagree with my reasons, but they would be foolish to dismiss them out-of-hand.
This is not a prediction of election results in 2024. It is much too early – and the nation is too divided for such crystal ball projections at this point. But … there ARE damn good reasons why millions of good people will not be voting for Biden and the Democrats.
So, there ‘tis.
Jefferson Airplane asks:
“Have you seen our saucers?
Star children on the black road to salvation;
You’ve got to care for the needs of your planet;
Children of the forest and child of the Woodstock nation;
Catch the dawn that once was there;
First born atomic generation;
Open the door,
Don’t you know that’s what it’s for?
Come on and join us,
On the other side of the sun.”
Apparently Hoirst did not see the saucers flying over last night’s election results.
From Politico: “Democrats romp, Youngkin flops: 4 takeaways from Tuesday’s election” have you seen the saucers?
ABC adds: “6 election night takeaways: Democrats win big, but GOP holds Mississippi” proving they own the poor and undereducated.
NBC is more measured: “Election 2023 results: Democrats pick up wins on Ohio abortion ballot measure, Kentucky governor’s race and Virginia Legislature.”
But Newsmax counters with: “Rep. Van Drew to Newsmax: ‘Red Wave’ Coming for GOP on Election Night” because we never get tired of singing that same old song.” Now that guy in not Horist-ing around. As I have said many times based on Horist insightful vision of his own world —– yup, it’s over, we might as well stay home like they did in Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio.
Keep on pitching Mr. Horist, I think you are getting it over the plate now. But, based on your story —– how do you explain last night?
Frank Stetson … what does you rant have to do with my commentary? You just love to espouse — as if you have an audience more than yourselves — and sometimes Tom. I will deal with the election in a future commentary. You are such a joke….LMAO
And a big fat laugh that must be.
For the mentally challenged who couldn’t catch my drift, I was comparing the Horist fantasy of early polling against the reality of an actual vote. The fantasy is all Republican, the reality was heavily Democratic. Ironic, ain’t it.
Seems like 2020, no 2022, all over again.
And it turned on one issue, abortion, an issue you forgot in your joke of an op-ed. Ironic ain’t it.
Hey Frank, Larry may chuck your emails but its obvious you are in his head, he is thinking of you when he writes, “Democrats and those on the left will undoubtedly take exception to these reasons, but that is expected and, to some extent, irrelevant. The reasons are the reasons. Those on the left may take umbrage – and even propose their own list as to why they will not vote for Republicans … or Trump (Why not just say Franks going to give us his PITA list again!) LOL . And their reasons will be their reasons.” Congrats!
Frank, it’s time. Republish your list please. Larry can be elevated to prophet if you do so!!!
I was never much of a Jefferson Airplane fan. Looks like they were doing a little too much electrified grass when they wrote that one. I prefer more mellow tunes like,
Where have all the good Dems go, long time passing.
Where have all the good Dems gone, long long time ago.
Where have all the good Dems gone, gone to beat Republicans everyone,
When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn.
Two topics that Larry skillfully avoided was that many of those GOP surprise losses were due to the abortion issue. Dems are doing a great job at making that the focus of all elections. Not sure how the surprise results this past Tuesday will translate to the bigger general election in 2024 but my guess is that many women and even some men like me will come out voting for women to have compassionate choices on the abortion issue. With women it’s the number one issue. And I warned Larry about this a year ago that this would happen and keep happening until GOP moves away from the hard right on this issue. Another thing not mentioned was Trump endorsed some of the losers. It appears that the Trump seal of approval is taking the same course as his Trump Select Steaks did years ago. It should be a very interesting 2024!
Ah, while Airplane a no, Starship a yes, Segar was probably second to Arlo in my all-time visits. Many a Thanksgiving shared with Arlo, Pete and the family in Carnegie Hall. First, dinner at the Brooklyn Diner, then on to the show where I can honestly say I have performed above the stage at Carnegie Hall and I know how to get there: practice, practice, practice. And box 1 or 2, stage right. That’s my version of church, Dude.
The best was a tribute night, it was going slow with old standbys and older crowd, when the Weavers, with the female lead looking like Aunt Bea from Mayberry, in her Southern drawl, shouts out: “this one’s for you George Bush,” as they belt out Sinner Man and the tame audience went wild for the rest of the night. Pete was great that night.
Went enough that Arlo recognized my favorite shout out after the decades past. He really hated Alice’s, did it once or twice in the years, yeah I heard an even better story, but in the end trotted it out for the 3 last years in memory (memory of putting some money away before retirement, well, he earned it). Every time I heard it, I screamed “one more time,” in my unique Stetsonian voice. Then I hear: “you again…..” Either I needed to stop or get another box :>) Ah, the memories. And then off to the Lincoln where a hybrid can take a Escalade in the jam before the tubes. Just gotta have that “come on, hit me, it’s a stinkin hybrid” auto attitude, dude.
As to your request: Were you better off four years ago under Donald J. Trump? You say so, you say the economy was stronger, criminals were weaker and outsiders stayed outside. You forget that in 2020, that the world was on sick place with the old being wiped out, the illegals staying home, the economy in collapse, as the US handled the pandemic worse than any other developed nation on the planet. We sucked pondwater and it was on Trump’s watch. He responded by spending us into the debt shithouse racking up over 30% of the Total US Debt while returning the lowest gdp growth since Herbert Hoover screwed the economic pooch. Reagan, Bush, even Carter could not fuck up this bad.
Ten reasons why Horist won’t vote for Trump in the primary but can’t wait to pull the lever for Trump in the national. We’ll lean this to the commander in chef focus:
1. His ability to read people: ‘Wait a minute. You know, Hezbollah is very smart.’ They’re all very smart,”
2. His science and tech savvy: “I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute. … Is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning, because, you see, it gets in the lungs, and it does a tremendous number on the lungs?”
3. ‘I like people who weren’t captured’ says captain bonespur with his four, count em, four deferments for a bone spur that has never bothered him since.
4. “And one of the things that I’m frankly most proud of is that in 2003, 2004, I was totally against going into Iraq because you’re going to destabilize the Middle East. I called it. I called it very strongly. And it was very important.” Horist loves the policies so he probably loves this one too. I wonder if he realizes that it never happened. It’s a Trump lie.
5. Because this commander in chief, well, he knows war, he knows it well: ““But we have to be extremely vigilant and extremely careful when it comes to nuclear. Nuclear changes the whole ballgame. Frankly, I would have said get out of Syria; get out – if we didn’t have the power of weaponry today. The power is so massive that we can’t just leave areas that 50 years ago or 75 years ago we wouldn’t care. It was hand-to-hand combat.” Yes, the boys of WWII only fought hand to hand. The Panzers were a bit tough to tackle though…… And remember, he’d get out of Syria except for the high tech…..
6. “We should take Iraq’s oil as spoils of war” could be a favorite Horist policy and the reason he calls for war, war, war.
7. ‘Being nice to Rocket Man hasn’t worked in 25 years, why would it work now? Clinton failed, Bush failed, and Obama failed. I won’t fail.’ Except he did fail and the missile and nuclear programs continued. Trump claimed “mission accomplished” literally as the missiles flew.
8. ‘I do know what to do and I would know how to bring Isil to the table or, beyond that, defeat Isil very quickly. And I’m not gonna tell you what it is.’ It turned out to be the same thing Obama did except to lower the safeguards and kill more innocent civilians. But it was the plan deployed during Obama.
9. Look, the man knows war, the man knows pandemics, “The closest thing is in 1917, they say, the great pandemic. It certainly was a terrible thing where they lost anywhere from 50 to 100 million people. Probably ended the Second World War. All the soldiers were sick.” Uh, WWI asshole……
10. In closing, Trump has a unique ability to sum things up in a manner not seen since Yogi Berra. Speaking about a deadly hurricane, he nails it: “”one of the wettest we’ve ever seen, from the standpoint of water” probably differentiating it from the showers he gets from Stormy Daniels :>)
Vote on, donate as much as you can. He’s got $250M on the line in NY case and three more to go. Give, give as much as you can. Give until you can afford not to give to a real candidate. Luckily, he doesn’t help anyone else or he would certainly be going bankrupt….. So many crimes, so little time. Not allegedly anymore. There are crimes, there are judgements, he is liable, his business is criminal, his conspirators are criminal, and soon he will be too.
Ahhh thank you Frank! Your list always tickles my funny bone and never disappoints! And now Larry can claim prophet cred since he called it that someone who seems described as you, would publish such a list! You have made my Independent/Unaffiliated day!
Were you referring to Alice Cooper by chance?
Yeah, I would not call Hezbollah smart, I think it would be more like crafty. Yes that disinfectant bit was classic! Along with a shot of Clorox as a chaser! Great cocktail for aspiring corpses! Captain Bonespur is a good one!!! True, nukes change the game, or at least accelerate the game’s end. Yeah he seems to have a love thing going on with Rocketman. Maybe he admires the haircut or just wants to get into his sister’s pants. We may never know. Yes in WWI we lost more soldiers to the Spanish flu than combat I seem to recall. That was late ’17 to mid ’18 if memory serves me. What really aggravated me about Trump and the pandemic was that Xi told him on December 27th or so but Trump said nothing for a month. The CDC knew but were awaiting on Trump and orders on what to do. And then the CDC and Faucci held onto the S. Korean data for a month before releasing it to the pharma companies to analyze for a vaccine. Have they come out yet with cherry flavored Clorox yet?
You know the hawks on stage want to hold China financially accountable for Covid. That’s all well and good but China is going to come back with all of that evidence I presented over a year ago and tell the world that we funded the experiments and they were doing it as a favor to the US, Faucci, and US CDC. We will end up on that hook with the Chinese. I wonder if any of them thought about that. I think it was Tim Scott who said that we should make China pay for Covid. I think the others just stayed silent.
Hey, one thing nobody has yet to mention and I keep thinking about with Trump. I think our biggest danger with Trump is his narcissistic personality. In the past, Putin stroked Trumps ego and wound up with national secrets. Putin was doing good at damaging NATO because he was stroking Trump’s ego. My big concern is when Trump is the WH and no longer worried about re-election, just how much more will the behaviors be released! He could do much more damage when his “full-Narc” shows its ugly head!
Hey, thanks for the list again! Its always entertaining. And now Larry is a prophet! Cheers!
Most people still think that Biden’s too retarded and too old. Down ballot races doesn’t always tell. But we flipped Louisiana governors seat recently. The Kentucky hillbillies are naturally stupid. It comes from years of inbreeding.
It does not matter. Ya’ll do not get it. The MACHINES will vote for him. Done and dusted.
when will the dems realize that they are a party of lemmings behind a drunken old woman in the house and a dum dum in the senate? Do any of the dems think for themselves? I don’t think so.
Betty: Republicans have come to embrace the lie. They love to tell them, they love to hear them, and the biggest liar of all —– they revere him. It’s really strange but twisted that they all line up to scream: please sir, can we have some more lies?
Last night as I napped through the debate, I thought I even heard the familiar refrains from the John McCain song *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8hEtI9AI0U* And I wondered how many minutes after 1/21/2025 would DeSantis push the button —- somewhere? You know this guy had the balls to admit sending arms to Israel. Big arms. Anyone got a Constitutional issue with States supporting foreign wars on their own without even conferring with the President? Makes me wonder what he does with his armed State Guard that reports directly to him….. No wonder he’s able to state: “I’ll take the arrows; I’ll take the slings.” Now, even with that mixed metaphor and the picture of DeSantis taking a sling looking like Jim Jordan whipping him with a jock strap in the shower, in my mind, I soldiered on. I mean, I get how you take an arrow, but how do you “take” a sling?
I realize it’s easy to chest thump on the stump, but folks —- that was one hawkish crowd. One of the things that brought many together was the incredible concept to build out and bulk up our navy to match the Chinese threat of more ships than us. This is true. They have more ships. So, the contestants argued we need more ships. Many more ships. Only Christie said —- NO, we need more subs, not more ships.
Turns out that quality is as important as quantity but only Christie realized it; the rest just said more, more, give me more.
I wondered what other issues did they try to scare the shit out of you, then suggest dumping all sorts of taxpayer dollars on more offense, more defense, more, more, more….. Remember, this is the crowd promising a balance budget, and even debt pay down, on day one.
Fact is the Chinese have more ships; just not the good ones. Think about modern warfare, the real thing, not the police actions we often allow ourselves to get into. Ships are pretty easy targets sitting there on top of the water. Turns out real easy for planes…. Except for the subs. And the best place for planes is a mobile airport — the aircraft carrier. We have lots of subs. We have lots of carriers. The Chinese, not so much…..
We have 11 carriers, they have 2. We have 92 destroyers, China about 50, however then have 78 subs, we have 10. Christie was spot on.
Where they beat us is in Corvettes, Frigates, the second of which we are already building more of. Personally, unless they’ve developed ship-stealth capabilities, like Christie I would amplify the subs and maybe a carrier or two. But a general program as most Republicans said you needed to sleep at night is like building planes after the invention of the jet……
The key, according to military mavens, is carriers, subs, and destroyers, where we lead overall, just need a few more subs which we are fast tracking as I type. The rest are just sitting ducks, and I would actually include the destroyers too, except they are nice to protect the prize, the carriers.
But the point is that a larger navy is not necessarily a better navy and scaring the hell out of people for a capability that is already in hand seems like a lie. Yes, we need some more subs, but they are coming, so why do these folks all want more ships, more ships. I mean DeSantis wants to double the size of the world’s strongest navy so we can be the world’s even stronger strongest navy? Maybe he should stick to sending unwanted arms to Israel.
And in the big one, the one to end all wars, even the carriers won’t matter much once the rockets red glare stares down our flag one last time. After that destruction, the subs rise and it starts all over again. And then we live with the resulting biological nightmare.
Sure, they scared you into building more ships against China. And I’m just some snowflake. But try this: our warheads on a single, solitary US nuclear-armed submarine has over 7x the power of every bombs dropped during World War II including Dresden, Nagasaki, and Hiroshima. We have 58 subs out there. In a real war, a big one, the ships are unimportant and won’t do much for too long. It’s the subs that finish the task that the silo’s begin.
That’s a truth that’s hard to lie around and these folks on stage better have better solutions than “I think we’re gonna need a bigger boat.” Quit the lies. And when you catch them, quit the source.
Good post Frank.
Yes you are correct about the sling and Jordan snapping DeSantis in the butt. Maybe Buttigieg will join them once he is done with that federal investigation about using private DOT jets when he could have used commercial airlines cheaper!
Overall I agree with your assessment of the combatants yesterday were all hawkish. The real issue is when to be a statesman and when to be a hawk. We need a POTUS that will be the right blend to gain world support and strike some fear in the hearts of our enemies. Right now, our enemies view us as a doormat thanks to ….. you know who!
Ships and a powerful navy and air force are the two main ways we impose our political will on other nations when they get naughty. Ships are very important. We are generations ahead of China on ship technologies and design. We are also way ahead on naval tactics which is why China always shadows us when we do joint maneuvers. Christie was rather on target about the subs but I hope he realizes that those subs have to be parked pretty far away from Taiwan where the SCS is deep enough. Most of the SCS between Taiwan and China mainland is about 200 – 300 feet deep, so it’s easy to see those subs. The ocean side is much deeper as you get father away. On number of ships he is correct that China has more but the US has more tonnage. China is farther ahead than we think but much of those corvettes are for local coastal patrolling, not for blue water power projection. Xi has refocused them from social programs and economy to party security and power projection, so they are getting more aggressive. Xi is now having economic problems due to Covid aftereffects of shutdowns combined with being an infrastructure investment driven economy when they need to be more of a consumption bottoms-up economy. And it does not appear like they are making the shift, they do not seem to know how since they were never really big consumers. For anyone interested in ships and navy sizes, there is a great article at *https://fairbd.net/china-navy-vs-us-navy/#Naval_Assets_and_Fleet_Size*
It isn’t just more and more ships though. China, US, and to some degree Russia are what I now call “weapons based economy”. The more weapons, the more economy, higher paying jobs, people at work, etc. Actually one of the things DeSantis talked about during your snooze was that we do not have the infrastructure in place to build the ships. So he wants more ship building infrastructure which he is correct in. We have lost much of our ship building capacity. Currently I think we have either 3 or 4 locations still able to build ships and that is the real problem!
Yes number of nuke warheads is great but the problem is we have around 5,300 missiles with multiple warheads but we only have around 800 launchers called “silos”. Some systems may be able to reload in as little as a few minutes, while others may take several hours or even days to reload. And I think any deep investigation would find its a real crap shoot if the software to launch will actually work since much of it as of a couple years ago was still on the old floppy disks!
Truth is that large floating platforms now have to stay far away because of anti-ship missiles that can ruin your whole day at sea. While it is true that our carriers house up to 200 fighters which is more than many countries have in their whole airforce, the fact is that these carriers now have to be parked so far away to avoid the missiles that the parking distance to target can exceed the fuel supply of the fighter planes. I think increasingly satellites will be used combined with missiles. This is why China is or shall I say, has, developed a satellite killer and reclaimer vehicle, and so has Russia. We are behind. The problem is that there is so much space junk up there now from years of us and the Russians abandoning stuff that the atmosphere looks like a garbage dump. Its getting difficult to launch and steer around all of the junk!
So I think we need a new platform and not more of the old platforms. We need a platform that has the stealth of a sub, can carry limited numbers of lightly armed aircraft, and can launch small disposable satellites to use in lower orbit for communications with missiles in an attack and then dispose of it by self destruction or retrieval. And perhaps have a version of those platforms that can float in upper level atmospheres just at the edge of what is defined as space, which I think is at least 40,000 feet up.
Tom, if they use the silos, they will not need to reload…..chances are.
Point is we have non-war police actions everywhere. Our “wars” are fairly conventional. But when the big one rolls, it’s a very different game. Ships are pretty unimportant, carriers will not be like “the last ship,” it will be the last ship with no where to go, little time, and nothing to shoot. Because the subs will be under and when they rise, we do Armageddon all over again.
Perhaps Horist is right, there can be limited nuclear war, but it all depends on saner minds prevailing, and once the subs submerge, there is no more thinking —- it’s just automatic.
So frankly, at that point who cares about ships, planes, armor, much less cracker-boys pea shooter. You would be lucky to be in The Walking Dead. Those who go in the first wave will be the lucky ones.
It seems most of these hawks forget the true horror that is war. And what we have seen will be nothing like this. Not even close.
Now that I’ve cheered you up, yes, we need new types of stuff for our police actions and limited traditional war efforts. Why not, we should get something for the biggest budget in defense history in the world. But “ships” as these jerks where droning on about is just stupid. On the numbers, the technology, and the need.
We have 68 subs, 10 less. My bad, sorry.
Very interesting and revealing article Larry!
Larry you skillfully avoided that many of those GOP surprise losses were due to the abortion issue. Dems are doing a great job at making that the focus of all elections. They are whipping the tar out of the GOP on that issue. Slobberknocking and smack downing the GOP big time. Not sure how the surprise results this past Tuesday will translate to the bigger general election in 2024 but my guess is that many women and even some men like me will come out voting for women to have compassionate choices on the abortion issue. With women it’s the number one issue. And I warned You, Larry, about this a year ago that this would happen and keep happening until GOP moves away from the hard right on this issue. Another thing not mentioned was Trump endorsed some of the losers. It appears that the Trump seal of approval is taking the same course as his Trump Select Steaks did years ago. It should be a very interesting 2024!
Again, most Independents/Unaffiliated voters want to see a government that works well and gets results. So we will first look at those kind of issues that can produce a better working government and better results for the most people. Such issues that will be important to us may be the following (from your list):
1) Abortion – big issue for women and some of us men. We want women to have a wide range of options and systems that support those options. I think for women, abortion issues will trump economic issues.
2) Bidens Age – not so much his age as who is making the decisions these days. Many of us probably feel Biden is not, or is coerced.
3) Kamala Harris – She is a non-starter with most of us, and her combined with Biden’s age are big issue for us.
4) Border Security – big issue. Example of broken government. Period. But we also want to see immigration reform finally happen. Fix the system and stop taking advantage of immigrants like they do in Arizona.
5) Inflation and economy- Yes, its an issue with us (gas, food, energy, medical) but the bigger issue is national debt is eroding our ability to have influence in the world as well as it is about to cause cutting of programs we believe in. And supply chains worry us when we see how much comes from China.
6) Ukraine and Israel – Independents like when government keeps its word, we define that as integrity. We have promises to keep to both. To us its more of a moral/policy issue. We struggle to determine who is the bigger scum bag between Biden the snake and Trump the jackal. We feel it is extremely sad that in such a big populous country, the best we can do is a choice between two scumbags, and of course the scumbag in training Ron Desantis – but we will take him before Trump. Many Independents became Independents in 2020 because of Biden and Trump.
Crime – only as it relates to mass protests with $B of damage, no arrests and shut down transportation systems such as highways and airports. We will care more about this in our local elections than any federal choices.
Woke and Afghanistan – Woke is a fad, not worried because it will fade like all fads. Afghanistan is moldy news now. We are way past it. Most of us view Afghanistan as both Trump and Biden to blame equally. Don’t bother us with it.
Integrity – we like it but we are realistic and know that neither Biden or Trump has any integrity.
Racism and Urban issues – There has always been racism. It will continue, and hearts cannot change by legislation. Most of us are not racist. So all we want is fairness and same chances for all. Urban issues are for the cities to solve using their own money, not federal dollars. We will simply go to the safe cities, mountains, and beaches. Both Biden and Trump are out of touch with these issues anyway.
Democracy – yes we like it but do not believe the Dem messages that big D is in any danger. Many of us feel Biden and Trump would be the biggest dangers to big D.
I would see Independent women leaning for Biden because of abortion, and independent men leaning to Trump because of economy and border. These will be the prevailing issues.
Hey Larry, I got a kick out of that “Frank paragraph” you wrote. We know who’s image you had in your head when you wrote that paragraph! You may not let the insults get to you but your paragraph reveals Frank is in your head! You would be lucky if he re-published his list because that would elevate you to prophetic status! :>))
Tom … what has happened to your critical thinking. You now seem to be critical without thinking. How you could interpret my comment about”Democrats and those on the left” as a reference to Frank is beyond comprehension. Just for the record, I was not thinking of Frank. You have again assumed yourself into a falsehood. And you matter-a-factly refer to the results on Tuesday as a “surprise.” Perhaps to you, but not to anyone who follows the political realities. I have just finished a commentary on that subject that counters your theory. I also just finished a commentary explaining why the pro-abortion folks get it wrong when they only see abortion as a pragmatic political issue. And I see that the mutual admiration Tom and Frank bromance is holding strong. LOL
Maybe because that paragraph fit your other comments in earlier posts to a tee. Nobody else has given any form of list as to why we should not vote for Trump. Only Frank has done that. Maybe I was acting on circumstantial evidence, but it was pretty strong evidence! And its ok if he get in your head a little bit. Your only human despite the mental shield. And I enjoy your articles.
Actually many newscasts called the election results a surprise to the GOP. The GOP thought they were going to do better for sure. Some said “stunned”, some said “shocked”, some said “unexpected, etc. I fully expected such results and forcasted them in an earlier blog response to one of your articles on abortion and the GOP.
i do not think the pro-abortion folks see it as only a pragmatic political issue. I think they also see it as a necessary reality in order to help some women and resolve tough situations. And I see it as one tool of many to provide “successful pregnancy outcomes for all women”. I have probably done more research on abortion than any other issue. I can find no biblical instruction condemning it, and the science seems to be in large agreement that pain is not felt by a fetus until about week 24. The only reference I could find was King David and Psalm 139:13 where David appears to be talking about the process by which God creates people, i.e. gestation, embryo, fetus, ….. breathing human. Almost all of the biblical literature on the topic actually goes the other direction and basically supports the pro-abortion or what others call pro-choice position. Murder is only defined as an act against a self sustaining, living, breathing air on its own human being. This a fetus does not qualify as a murder victim.
I admire you too Larry. No need for jealousy. And Frank is a big enough person that he does not mind me admiring some of your thoughts as well. There is room for all at God’s table! A fun thought would be if God sat you and Frank side by side at the Feast of the Lamb! I would want in on that! LOL
Tom … You really believe that Frank is the only one left wing Democrat who could compile a list of their reasons for voting for Biden or against Trump. Mine was a generic statement. Frank was not in my mind. Sorry … you made a miscall based on lack of specific knowledge.
I wish I had the time to respond to all the many inaccuracies in your and Frank’s looooong response.s Actually, I don’t wish that. I would not respond if that was all i had to do all day. The fact is, I am not in the point/counterpoint with you or Frank — and do not feel the same pen pal relationship you two enjoy — which is fine, if that is what you like. I more often respond to you because you maintain some level of objectivity and do not have Franks’ obsessive nature to be the nasty constant attack dog.
I was struck by one claim you made in your response. That “Murder is only defined as an act against a self sustaining, living, breathing air on its own human being.” That is not a legal definition that I have seen anywhere and runs contrary to cases where the killing of a baby in the womb was prosecuted as murder. Buy your definition, I can only assume that you approve of late term and even pre-birth abortions?
He’s avoiding abortion the same way Biden avoids agism. Both blind to the obvious. Yes, after the last go round, I realized I have tweaked him, am under his skin, usually after he’s goes off the reservation getting way too personal. I try to do a reset, but can only last through so many arrows, or is that slings?
It’s too bad, he’s the best they got, although it seems a low bar. I mean, Oliver can’t even read a calendar. Dumpster is just that. Alice pastes well. And the machine writes like a machines but says so very little. And BS is just an adequate name.
At least Horist is of his own mind, does not just follow the blogsphere, and once in a blue moon, shares an actual fact. Not sure why he thinks I am bashing and needs to respond not in kind, but over the top. And then he cries when I hit back.
Like I say: calm down, take a deep breadth, and let’s discuss some issues without the personality attacks. Maybe next time.
As to the election; the polls are the polls, and the election was the election. The polls speak to feelings, the election speaks to reality. The elections have been consistent. Trump have never won a popular vote: EVER. Trump tried to rig the last election and a Trump mob tried to take over Congress. Trump’s business profited by cheating to the tune of hundreds of millions or more. Trump digitally raped that woman and then demeaned and defamed her over it. He paid a porn star for service while Barron was being born. He went out of his way to throw Cohen, on medical leave, back into jail because he didn’t like his book. He grabs em by the pussy, claims he can shoot people and get away with it, makes em so mad that blood comes out of their….., this is not a good guy. This is not a man of honor. The man is a thug who enjoys putting pain in a stranger. Horist votes for that. I won’t. I’ll take the old guy who turned covid around, brought us out of economic collapse, and has invested in infrastructure, health, and combating climate change.
I think I get Larry. He is low 80’s years old. I am a few behind him but was raised by that same generation, and I think you were too. The generation that raised us was all about “how it looks to others” rather than “are we happy with our substance”. This is why psychological help was very taboo back in the 1950’s through 1970 until Hollywood popularized psychotherapy by referring often in interviews to their shrink.
Larry was most likely raised by parents that were more concerned about impression over substance. They like most parents back then were more concerned about how they looked in public and at church and people not knowing what was going on in the home. This is why child abuse, spousal abuse, incest, etc. all mushroomed back then, it was a hush hush subject. Much of Larry’s generation, pre-1946 is like this. They listened to their parents more, did well in society, and were very concerned about image. Larry has in previous posts mentioned his rather large following, and I think its great that many follow him. Sometimes you mention true facts that are inconvenient to the impression Larry wishes to convey to that large audience. And it upsets him. When Larry is confronted with possible hypocrisy, or inaccurate statements that he may make, and the evidence of it is shown, it disturbs that impression he wishes all to see. You remember back in the day when you were going somewhere and mom said, “Make sure you have clean underwear on!” Well pointing out hypocrisy and inaccurate statements is like showing the world Larry’s underwear which are most likely boxers. This is why he thinks you are bashing him. It violates his sense of impression and image. I just did the same thing when I mentioned his impenetrable shell (described in the last day or two) and that you got in his head based on what seemed to me to be a very targeted paragraph where he refers to liberals will have a list of reasons why not to elect Trump. Correct me if I am wrong, but you are the only one that I know of that has published such a list on this blog. But Larry got offended because he cannot cope with the impression or image of you getting in his head, penetrating that shell, for even a second. Most likely, given the choice of you getting into his head or swimming in pig shit, he would choose pig shit.
You and I agree on some things and not on others. And sometimes we vociferously disagree. But we are generally respectful and do not violate each others sense of self and image. And we are always ready to discuss another topic.
I agree on Trump but I am still waiting for a 3rd party or alternative set of candidate(s). We got a year yet, maybe something will give.
From …. you and Frank love to talk about me rather than to me — mostly with armchair psychoanalyses and assumptions as to my feelings and motivations rather than an exploration of the issues. I know it will make no difference to you or Frank, but I will tell you that you are wrong, wrong, wrong on almost every description you guys advance. I am not obsessed with in my exchanges … jealous …you guys do not have residency in my head. I do not even get angry, I do not lie. I am not a Trumper. etc. etc. etc. That is why a speak of the mythical Larry Horist that is your strawman. When you exaggerate my reaction to you guys, you actually exaggerate your importance to me. I read some of your stuff. I occasionally respond when I have a moment . And the rest of the time you are not on my mind at all. Sorry to disappoint. Even all your mischaracterizations of me have no impact on me emotionally. Contrary to your misdiagnosis of me, Dr.Tom, I am a very happy person — comfortable in my own skin, which neither you, Frank nor Mike are able to get under….lol
Horist accusing Tom and Frank of getting personal in stead of factual.
That’s rich.
He usually complains something like, “too many facts, too little time, so let me tell you what’s wrong with you, you dumb dumb,” or some superfluous sanctimonious clap trap psycho babel. There’s probably one of these in one of his rants above.
Another Horist tome that provides his opinions while skirting the facts. For most voters, they cast their ballot based on their wallet. Republicans have been in control of how the US budget plays out since the early years of Reagan-reduce taxes and cut spending and everyone will be happy. However, that mantra has resulted in dramatic wage inequality, with the Rich getting richer, and the poor doing less well. Republicans see this as an ok situation-the thinking being “I earned it, I should keep it”. However this thinking does not take into account that those in the lower echelons are essential to keep the the country running, and should not be subject to abject poverty. The democrats have a different view, which is put money at the base where it is needed and the economy will grow. This policy has been followed by Biden, and has been unquestionably successful as shown by the really good GDP figures. Larry points out that inflation has been high-the vast majority of that is due to the business shutdowns during Covid, not the spending by Biden. Interest rates are high (kudos to the fed for trying to keep inflation from getting out of control), but as the inflation rate comes down, some easing is likely. Larry also points out how his new speaker is tying spending increases to spending cuts. The first foray into this idea is to cut the IRS budget. Much as we all dislike taxes-they are essential, they provide the money that operates the country. It has been rightly noted that this cut would actually increase the deficit significantly because there would be fewer agents going after the scofflaws that don’t pay their fair share. In true republican ignorance, the new speaker just doesn’t get it. There is much more in Larry’s tome worth commenting on, but the question I have about most of that-if republicans feel those issues are so important to the public-why are their elected officials in congress not working on them, and instead focusing on trying to dig up dirt on Biden (which will be just as successful as their ‘Hillary’ investigations were in the past?
You have some good points Mike f. Be careful, you sound a bit like Frank, and I am agreeing with you. Larry may take this as a polygamous threesome bromance!
Larry seems to ascribe more to the Bush era “trickle down” economics. The stats all say that this approach mostly helped the rich and increased the economic divide. I have no problem with an economic divide, its a natural outcome to assigning value based on education level and job skills intensity (such as doctors and lawyers) as opposed to essential unskilled or low education jobs needed to keep the machine running smooth (like waitresses, janitorial services, etc.). You and Frank seem to ascribe to the “consumer based model” where more money at the bottom increases the demand for goods and services which creates more jobs and allow more people to participate in the economy. It might not surprise you (or Larry) that as a moderate Independent, I am for a mix of both that is commensurate with need and proportional to efficient governance.
What makes me angry is tax cuts that get shoved into our national debt. The wealth divide just got bigger with the Trump tax cuts that were shoved into our national debt. This can only give way to spending by borrowing more because we never cut anything. Not good.
The Republicans would have won all the elections if they can get their heads out of their asses when it comes to abortion.
Catholic policy’s are what is ruining the Republican base.
NO ABORTION NO MATTER WHAT!
What year are you living in.
Abortion should be allowed in cases of RAPE, INSEST, SAFTY TO THE MOTHER! Period!
Has every Catholic in America Adopted a Baby? Then shut the F up!
I know FOR FACT, the last RED WAVE DID NOT HAPPEN, just for this reason.
Lindsey Graham has the worst timing in history!
Wonder why Pelosi is so popular as a Catholic with America? Because she is in the age of modern technology although she is Prehistoric herself. Technology shows, there will be danger to the Mother! then Act accordingly!
As far as Franks comments, who gives a shit.
My rain gutters are more important than him.
I agree about the reason for the losses. I told Larry this would happen a year ago or so in a few other article opinions.
Catholics believe that their legislators who are Catholic should be espousing Catholic values in all of their votes. Essentially Catholics believe that Catholic legislators are an extension of the Catholic church and this ought to be so in government. I constantly argued with Catholics that Pelosi has more than Catholics to represent.
I was recently censored from one Catholic blog on Catholic Vote called “Disquis”. I got disgusted when a male on the blog said, “If a woman is raped and does not want to have the baby then she has a mental problem because who could kill an innocent child.” Think about that one for a moment. You are a woman, just got violated in the most cruel way possible, got pregnant as a result of the traumatic event, and this guy is going to tell you that you have a mental problem if you want an abortion, and that you are wrong.
I am glad your rain gutters are important because if they clog, you could have a big problem.
It’s not just the Catholics who are anti-abortion, people who claim to be Christian are as well. However, the real takeaway here is that Republicans do not believe in majority rule-it is their way or the Highway. This, of course, is showcased in the fight over abortion-even in states where the electorate has voted to enshrine abortion into their constitution, republicans are putting forth legal challenges to these voter approved actions. Before the Ohio election, republicans attempted to enforce their opinions by changing the law from 50% approval to 60%-fortunately voters saw through that scam and defeated it. Of course there are multiple other actions that prove this philosophy-desantis vs Disney, schoool boards banning books. Of course Larry likes to call democrats ‘authoritarians’ but these actions are the very definition of what is authoritarian government-a minority dictating what the majority can do…