mtutiger

I remember that period of time when conservatives liked to throw the word "c*ck" around toward established Republicans. Clearly it's taken on new meaning in our current era.... The lack of self respect and shame that these guys all exhibit is kinda sad and pathetic IMO... sure, power's on the line and they're gonna do what they're gonna do to get it and / or maintain it, but how willingly people sacrifice their dignity in pursuit of it will always be foreign to me.

Really getting the sense that the CEOs have been tuned out like the rest of us collectively have been... because it shouldn't be surprising that Donald Trump doesn't come across coherent when you actually listen to the guy talk.

The point about not just voting for the person but the administration is an important one. Biden is old, he is frail, like most old people he's slowing down in old age. But with maybe one or two exceptions, his cabinet is top notch and filled with people who, at the end of the day, are capable of administering this government. Trump, on the other hand, will likely be stocking his cabinet with the likes of Stephen Miller, Mike Davis, Devin Nunes, etc.... not only would I not trust any of those guy to run a three car funeral procession (let alone the government), when you listen to their words, they are dangerous as well. Not only will they not guard against Trump's worst impulses, they will fan those flames. It's a tough sell as a mass message to the general voting public, of course, but it doesn't make it any less true.

It's a fair point... he said something similar in his rally in Nevada over the weekend, but the only thing Wisconsin or Michigan is good for in his mind are votes.

It flies under the radar because of the Milwaukee comments, but Trump's idea of replacing the income tax with jacking up tariffs is such a terrible idea, honestly one of his worst. Like, isn't the goal of tariffs to reduce imports? If you're reducing imports, you are going to gradually bring in less in tariffs which, in turn, would lead to less government funding. Which means cuts to government programs that everyday Americans take for granted and higher prices for everyday Americans on consumer goods. I doubt it would happen even if he won, it's too looney tunes for the business wing of his party, but it's a real illustration about how little he understands policy.

The asymmetry in how Trump or those on the right can absolutely **** on cities with impunity while even the mildest criticism or negative observation of rural America gets you tagged as "elitist".... it's really really old.

People will say it's in keeping with a standard Midwest Republican to hate on the big cities, but overall, I really think Trump has nothing but contempt for this part of the country deep down.

Just insane

Rulli's margin probably comes down to performing slightly better in his State Senate seat (centered in Youngstown)... he only underperformed 15-20% in Mahoning and Columbiana, versus upwards up 30-35% in counties in the southern part of the district. It's a low turnout election, but man, this is not the kind of district you'd expect this to happen in even in a low turnout environment

There's undoubtedly a real social component to outwardly projecting support for Trump in certain social circles or different parts of the country (I've seen it in my family as well). I also think it's a lot less socially acceptable to say that you support Biden as well... even when talking with people in my life who are more left leaning, because of his various issues (ie. age) and low approval numbers, it can become like walking on egg shells to even say positive things about his Presidency (and yes, particularly on getting legislation passed, there have been successes). When you combine that with Biden's job approval numbers, one can theorize a world where it's not nearly as socially unacceptable to support Trump in 2024 versus 2016 or that the whole "shy voter" theory really doesn't apply here. Or that if anything, it's a lot less socially acceptable to say you like Biden, particularly in red areas. Overall, I remain struck overall by the lack of energy on the ground.... granted I'm in a red county in a blue state, but I see more signs for local candidates or "Pritzker Sucks" signs than actual Trump paraphernalia. I know what gets projected on social media, but in real life, I don't know that the movement has the juice that it once did.

There's a larger cultural point to made that is bigger than baseball, but rage sells. Particularly in the age of social media. But it's a choice, particularly when it comes to sports which, in the grand scheme of things, matter less than many other things going on out there

I still watch the games, obviously, but the negativity relative to their record or the expectations they had going into the year has made it a lot harder to have fun engaging with others when discussing this team. It's relatively tame here, it's even worse on Twitter or other venues. I'm not saying they are good or that they are where any of us want them to be (they are very mid, they aren't where we want them to be), but the relentless negativity just gets old.

As far as I can tell, people are free to express who they want to sign or trade for. It doesn't mean that everyone is going to agree with them or will look at the situation the same way. My thing with this conversation is that we're talking about Mark Canha who, by all accounts, has been exactly as advertised this year. As Ed laid out, there was a scenario to bring him in, and this team was a really good fit in terms of his skillset and where he is at in his career. I understand that he isn't the greatest hitter in the world and all, but even with him being one of their more productive players and being as advertised, it's never enough because Teoscar Hernandez. Or Joc Pederson. Or [insert name here]. And certainly, on Earth 2.0 where they pass on Canha and go chips all-in on Teoscar and come up short, it would be 2023 all over again with people saying "why aren't they doing anything". I've seen this movie before, and it's getting as old as watching the actual team can be sometimes.

That explains a lot lol

And if they did wait around and see if they won the Teoscar sweepstakes and didn't (a highly likely outcome in this hypothetical), they'd be getting blasted by the same folks complaining that they settled on Mark Canha. Just can't win with that logic.

Generally speaking, it's not in the interest of any GM or POBO in this sport to broadcast their innermost thoughts on past deliberations to the rest of the league. Scott Harris isn't unique in that regard.... I don't see any of them doing it, not just him. I have no idea what players the Tigers were or weren't in on last offseason, but often what the fans ask for in transparency would, in practice, would have negative knock-on effects in practice

This framing by Axios is absolutely insane...

I can't speak for others, but I love this country. Even with all of it's flaws and the negative parts of this history. The "left", as it were, cedes a lot of ground when they aren't able to balance love of country with the idea that one can love the country while acknowledging the past and while pushing the country to continue improving.

And, though our media ecosystem, they lead us collectively around by the nose and convince us all that we are reliving the Great Depression. It's incredible. It's incredibly cynical, but unfortunately, we collectively are all marks apparently.

He's right. This country has many problems (even with inflation metrics easing, I understand why people are frustrated for instance)... but it's not a hellhole. That's not what I see when I walk out the door everyday, it's not what I see in my day to day life with a job that takes me to a number of different types of areas in and around a city (Chicago) that these folks all reflexively hate. At some point, one starts to wonder whether Trump or his associates, who use their platform to air this stuff, actually love the country. I honestly don't know... if they did, maybe they would focus their rhetoric on building it up versus just tearing it down

This is appalling

It was announced as a press conference, so it wasn't really as advertised.