7. Amazing! Why? Because in that brief moment, the Republican leader of the United States Congress sounded just like a Democrat would sound after being attacked by a Republican.
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aug 30, 2025, 4:16 pm • 0 0 • view
8. Johnson does not counterattack. He did not say Newsom was lying (he was not lying). Instead, Johnson did what his counterpart Hakeem Jeffries often does after a Republican lays into him. He retreated to a “reasonable man’s” position to show that his party is the one that really cares abt crime.
aug 30, 2025, 11:53 am • 104 10 • view
9. How did this happen? First, Newsom told the truth. Red-state crime surpasses blue-state crime. Second, by telling the truth, he questioned Trump’s intentions.
aug 30, 2025, 11:54 am • 112 20 • view
10. If crime is such an emergency in Washington and Chicago that he has to send in the military to restore public safety, why isn’t he doing that in Louisiana? Why isn’t the House speaker demanding law and order?
aug 30, 2025, 11:54 am • 113 21 • view
11. The implied answer is they don’t really care about law and order, only whether what they say about it leads to the subjugation they desire.
aug 30, 2025, 11:54 am • 98 8 • view
Newsom’s talking points are still crap. He continues to live in the Law and Order frame. Look at what Brandon Scott is doing in Baltimore. Reduce crime with social programs, not more police.
aug 30, 2025, 1:04 pm • 8 0 • view
Of course, social programmes are preferable to more police. But pointing this out would not have made the crucial point here, namely that sending the military in is not about crime at all. It would have taken the Republicans argument at good faith
aug 30, 2025, 2:03 pm • 2 0 • view
12. But importantly, Gavin Newsom did not accept as true anything Trump and the Republicans say about crime and public safety. He did not validate any of their lies. He did not concede any ground to them.
aug 30, 2025, 11:55 am • 115 14 • view
13. He did not say to himself, “Well, Americans really are concerned about crime and Dems shouldn’t ignore that.” He knows Trump does not care, and did not cover up bad faith with good faith. Most of all, he did not, as @timothysnyder.bsky.social often warns, surrender in advance. The result?
aug 30, 2025, 11:55 am • 92 5 • view
14. Johnson retreated. In the face of attack, he tried making himself seem like “the adult in the room.” “We’ve got to address [crime] everywhere that it rears its ugly head.” He did what Democrats do. That’s amazing.
aug 30, 2025, 11:55 am • 77 8 • view
Except that MAGA know that these things are lies. The knew that the Big Lie was a lie. They know that it is just giving Trump COVER to do what they want to do which is to crush the libs, particularly those in blue cities, particularly in minority communities.
aug 30, 2025, 2:10 pm • 0 0 • view
15. Most Democrats do not have the megaphone that Newsom has. Most are not going to force Fox to ask high-level Republicans to respond to them. Even so, what Newsom is doing is replicable.
aug 30, 2025, 11:56 am • 79 9 • view
16. Do not accept in any way the lies told by Trump and the GOP, even when, or *especially when*, those lies come out of the mouths of independent voters. The Republicans do not mean what they say. They do not act in good faith. Overlooking this fundamental truth inevitably makes things worse.
aug 30, 2025, 11:56 am • 101 20 • view
17. This is why I see potential disaster in efforts by a “new coalition” of more than 100 “new Dems” to show voters they really care about immigration reform. The Post reported on the group’s “bipartisan” proposal, a mix of increased “border security” and more ways for immigrants to reside legally.
aug 30, 2025, 11:57 am • 56 6 • view
Great podcast about motivations of Trump supporters. At about 20:45, MacWilliams makes a critical point about the opposition. "People talking about *Mayors need to partner with Trump*... NO!!! You have to call using the National Guard in a police action as WRONG!" audioboom.com/posts/877008...
aug 30, 2025, 9:06 pm • 2 0 • view