I've written before, i am one sick human being. Seriously. Went to the Tipirneni rally tonight at the Masonic Lodge and i attended with all the right intentions. Sit quietly in the back of the room and just listen. Honest, that was my plan. Funny how so little goes accordingly. See, the one rub was the three people who showed up with their American Patriots in Action shirts on and two with MAGA hats. Really? My first intention was to stop them from disrupting the gathering at whatever cost. They were more civil than expected, and the crowd was quick to respond. That worked a bit and of course they recorded everything. At times it wasn't pretty. By the end of the night i was flying high off the action (see what i mean, who gets juiced at a political town hall meeting?). Just before it finished, i took the mike and put it into overdrive. Oops, my bad. It must have worked cause the crowd was going wild, Tipirneni was smiling and the three were buried in the reactions. All in all, it was a blast and will be sure to make the next couple as well. Nice.
Who is the "they" that recorded it, Tipirneni or the red hats? Would love to see it. Wish I could have attended the fun.
The red hats recorded it. It would be way cool for Dr T's team to do the same and post a link to the recorded event. That way any effort to cut and paste is quickly refuted. I would love to have seen the last half hour of it looped for folks to see the changing face of the democratic party in AZ.
My mind was working overtime the other night at the event. Damn, i keep admitting how off i am. Anyway, what struck me was the opportunity the Maga folks brought to the party. A quick step back to set this up, is important. A friend the other day suggested to me that Trump is a good businessman. We argued about that one. What i was willing to concede was he is great at marketing/branding. He is a brilliant showman, especially for those who like/love professional wrestling and reality TV. He is quick to find a villain and target them...a kind of good versus evil pitch that works for him. So as i was sitting in the room, it dawned on me, rather than get angry about them being there, use it to get the crowd hyped. They made it easy, as their last speaker, talking about amnesty, kept using the phrase "rule of law." Really? I stepped to the mic and simply asked why Maga supporters always used that phrase when the current president was clueless about it. And by pointing out that in past years, when rally's like this were held, they couldn't get democrats in the room, and now thanks to the three Trump supporters in attendance, we were also drawing republicans...clearly, they are nervous about the blue wave. To answer your question C, the face of the party is changing. As E noted above. Dr Tipireni is a whole different candidate than the sacrificial lamb the party has thrown to the wolves in the past. I also am impressed with Kyrsten Sinema and especially how she has remade her candidacy. The ads she is running are brilliant. I want candidates who run on issues, not just against Trump. Let's be honest, AZ was always dead red, but with so many of us moving here from the mid-west and west coast, there is obviously a more liberal leaning bias that is beginning to show. Way more, but off to the walk the young girl.
Trump went broke running casinos, as well as an airline, fake university, consumer products, even a football team. Four bankruptcies , unpaid contractors, IRS issues. Hardly a great businessman. His bad deals far outnumber his successful deals. He can't borrow from any bank except Duetshe, and they won't lend him their money. They act as a middle man lending him questionable money (Duetshe paid $630 million in penalties for a Russian money laundering scheme). . That's Trump's bank.
Wouldn't/couldn't disagree with any of what you wrote Fix. That's why i always smile when people tell me what a great businessman he is/was. The reality is between what dad gave him to start off and what he inherited when he died, it was a goodly portion of his wealth today. And let's not forget his tax write-off he refuses to show folks with his tax returns. The housing/building markets were rife with guys who failed miserably but were able to recover because of bad tax laws. You can't take away his marketing prowess though. Getting others to build hotels with his name on them was genius. He was incredible in building the Trump brand, almost on his own using his showmanship and bluster. Overstating everything is a way of life for him and one of the reasons he struggles today...it's in his DNA. You also have to give him credit for out-hustling Hilary. While she was on cruise-control during the election, he raced from one rally to the next drawing massive crowds who were eating out of his hand on the gibberish he was spewing. Funny thing is, it worked. I think for many the reality is settling in. He is a one trick pony and way too many folks get tired of the same song and dance routine over and over again. That's why i think both Dr Tipireni and Kyrsten Sinema are good candidates with a solid chance to win. They both come across as normal and with both feet on the ground. Solutions, not BS are built into their platforms. Lots of people have watched in horror as both the house and the senate have failed in their duties to hold the office of the president to higher standard. The republicans are so afraid the Donald will attack them, they let his crazy antics go unchecked. All of that said, these political rally's need some excitement at them. What we saw with Trump is, excitement works. People enjoy a circus and Trump has given it to them in spades. That's why when the Maga folks show up, hating on them is senseless, they feed off it. On the other hand, welcoming them but using their own brand of craziness to showcase the differences is a powerful tool and one we need use to our advantage. Like i've said, gonna be one hell a November to remember.
Just an opinion, but I don’t believe the coming November elections will change anything at all and will probably be remembered for that. Most people do not vote issues as much as they vote party, looks, and personality. Unfortunately, the Dems have no one in the wings able to stir the emotions of the voters in a way to influence the November elections or even the upcoming presidential election. We’ve got too much dead wood in Congress. A congress that gets nothing done except taking care of themselves. Unless the makeup of congress is drastically changed, there will be no significant legislative actions by congress. However, the voters will put life-long congressmen back in office for another do noting term. As for the candidates mentioned in this thread, here is a very short comparison of each; Lesko Tipirneni Sinema Supports border wall Does not support border wall Does not support border wall Will not fight to keep Medicare & SS Will fight to keep Medicare and SS Will fight to keep Medicare & SS Long time career politician Never in politics Trying to become career politician Supported Trumps tax cuts Supports cuts only for middle class Did not support tax plan Note on Lesko Lesko’s claim to fame is that she helped construct a bill governing the use of golf carts in Sun City. She counts heavily on the Sun City voters to keep her in office. Note on Tax Bill The 1.5 trillion tax bill recently passed will benefit Trump and everyone in congress forever, while the tax cut middle class Americans see will expire in 10 years. Who do you think will make up that tax difference after 10 years? Not Trump, not large corporations, not millionaires or billionaires, but the average middle class American. By the way, where is the post card you will use to file your taxes? Note on Border wall. Building a border wall along our southern border will become a wall of SHAME. In 1987 Ronald Reagan challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to "Tear Down" the Berlin wall. In November of 1989, the Berlin wall began to be demolished and the world cheered including America. Our Pres says he’s gonna build a wall and make Mexico pay for it, so I guess we’re all going to be Mexican.
Interesting points gang and i am certain there are those who hope the mid-term elections are poorly attended. It's not unusual for folks to just tune out. This year may be different, given the divisiveness and current political climate. It will be fascinating to see if the insanity that is fueling the angst is more bluster than action. I really like the fact at least some of the democratic party is platform/issues driven, rather than screaming about beating the guy with the orange hair and the folks he is supporting. Time will tell SCR, but it is important each of us do our part rather than waiting for someone else to do it.
Hoping Brill wins and #az04 can say goodbye to Gosar. Here is the ad where Gosar's siblings are supporting the candidate running against him.
What many people don't realize is that Fred Trump and subsequently The Donald all got their money from a "woman". She started with buying apartment buildings.
In the interest of fairness, the “woman” was Fred’s mother, the Donald’s grandmother. It should be noted as well, that money came from “renting” women to miners during the Klondike gold rush. Yup, that makes him a major pimp, but we shouldn’t hold that against the president. Trump’s father is a more interesting character. There appears to be several sides to the man. There’s been a lot written about the “sin’s” of the father but there was also a very generous side to him as well. He was philanthropic in ways his son would never come close to. All of which circles back to the current state of politics in the country today. It is unimaginable to me to watch normally sane individuals tolerating the theater of the absurd we are living in and through. The republicans’ have turned a blind eye to things they would have hung others out to dry for doing. A circus atmosphere has become the norm and we just accept as being okay. It’s not. And let me be clear; this election isn’t about impeaching him. If that were ever to happen, it would be only if the Mueller investigation found proof he was complicit in working with Russia to impact the outcome of the 2016 election. Personally, i don’t think that will be the case, but we shall see. This election is about returning sanity and normalacy to the process. It’s about having people in place who will hold our elected officials accountable and willing to speak out when their actions are foolhardy and irresponsible. Unfortunately the republicans have been unwilling to do so of late.