Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of July 29

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/29/joe-biden-reform-supreme-court-presidential-immunity-plan-announcement/

In which Biden proposes term limits and a binding code of ethics for judges, and a constitutional amendment to take away presidential immunity.

XKCD Kamala Harris loves Venn Diagrams

The Trump Campaign Has Peaked Too Soon

Every battle has its culminating point—the perfect moment for a counterattack.

the culminating point is a paradox; it’s a moment of maximum vulnerability at a time when you believe you are at maximum strength.

The photo of Trump in the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt calls to mind the most memorable image of a hill-taking in American history

Following the attempt on his life, Trump posted on Truth Social about uniting the country.... But his selection of J. D. Vance as his running mate and his combative remarks when accepting his presidential nomination make clear that he will remain on the attack. This renders him vulnerable.

The Republicans may have peaked four months too soon. The Democrats’ best hope for victory is to regroup and vigorously exploit this vulnerability.

(This was written and published just before Biden stepped down, and Kamala stepped up, but I have been increasingly thinking about it over the last week.)

Democrats Have Finally Learned the Value of Shitposting

Pinning the Republicans as odd and weird has become the Democratic Party’s primary weapon this week. And they unsheathed it because the internet and the base was ready for it. Did I think that last week a joke about the possible VP having sex with a couch would land so hard? No, no I didn’t. But here we are, in a new era where Democrats are the ones doing the dunking.

“It is deeply important to Republican policy and ideology that they are not the weird ones, so they will never be able to let it go. It [sic] shows that Democrats are done playing nice with people who do not play nice with us,” said Emma Mont, Democratic creator and an admin for the @Organizermemes X account. “There are groups of people online who for years have been begging Democrats to lose the niceties, and now that they have, those online folks are excited to participate.”

I've been thinking about this a lot.

For the longest time, political opinion was driven largely by old school media.

Trump unleashed the power of twitter like nobody else. He would tweet something outrageous, and before traditional media had a chance to react, Trump distracted everyone with something else even more absurd. It kept everyones attention focused on Trump, which is probably right where he wanted it.

I think Kamala and her supporters have unleashed the power of the meme, and it is driving all the narratives and capturing all the headlines.

Trump is using his usual tricks of saying wildly inappropriate things. But instead of outrage, the meme machine immediately ridicules Trump & Vance.

And that is what my wife is reading. When she reads the news headlines. The headlines talk about yesterdays memes.

Ridicule of Sarah Palin felt like the nail in the coffin of John McCain's presidential run.

It reminds me of my favorite movie tag line... "In the court at Versailles, bullets can kill, but wit is deadly,"

What does "weird" even mean? Why the vagueness works — and why it's driving MAGA nuts

"Weird" is a vague term, almost impossible to define.

Vague accusations or opaque language to draw people into a debate is a highly effective trolling technique

Trump is an ignoramus in most respects, but he's a proven master of this particular strategy. He regularly says things that could have multiple meanings, each with a different implied or possible level of harm, inciting lengthy disagreements about what he "really" meant.

Trump uses this technique to normalize previously off-limits ideas all the time. His infamous "very fine people" comment, in response to the 2017 white supremacist riot in Charlottesville, Virginia, is a classic example. Seven years later, people are still arguing over whether he really meant to call violent neo-Nazis "fine people," as if it were a whole lot better if he was just talking about other racists who showed up.

But just because this kind of deliberate ambiguity can be used for evil doesn't mean it can't also be used for good.

Uber, Lyft, DoorDash workers remain contractors due to California Supreme Court ruling

Donald Trump falsely suggests Kamala Harris misled voters about her race

Swifties are leveraging their fandom to campaign for Kamala Harris

Georgia website that lets people cancel voter registrations briefly displayed personal data

But Monday's rollout of the site by Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was marred by a glitch that allowed people to access a voter's date of birth, driver's license number and last four numbers of a Social Security number. That's the same information needed to verify a person's identity and allow a registration to be canceled.

‘Weird’ and the breaking of the fascist fever

We’ve spent nearly a decade calling the American fascist movement dangerous (it is) and anti-democratic (it is) and an existential threat to our constitutional republic (it is). These attacks have been stern and serious and delivered with a set jaw and a straight face. While the Trumpists have paraded around the country happily spewing sexist and racist and homophobic invective and asking the libs if they’re triggered, if they’re going to cry to mommy, the left has shaken its head in the most somber way possible and in many cases answered with yes, we are triggered, this is very much upsetting.

This approach has fed into what the fascists want: To be taken seriously, to be seen as dangerous edgelords ready and willing to buck the status quo, to be regarded by enemies and supporters alike as revolutionaries on the cusp of victory. We have given them exactly what they want.

The road to the electoral destruction of the American fascist movement will be paved with allegations of them being weird. We must continue to point and laugh – to troll the trolls who have poisoned our politics and our loved ones. They have no defense for this line of attack. The right is helplessly, hopelessly flailing because they have never been taken so unseriously.

Their underbelly is exposed. Keep poking.

Harris candidacy is shifting the electoral map

Trump attack on Harris racial identity as cheap heat

For multi racial Americans, Trump's attack on Harris' identity felt personal

‘Unnerved’ Donald Trump struggles to respond to Kamala Harris candidacy

“He’s clearly unnerved. And when Trump is unnerved he becomes verbally undisciplined and hostile,” said Doug Schoen, a veteran political consultant, who was baffled by the former president’s decision to question Harris’ identity.

Part of the frustration among Republicans is that Harris, a former California attorney-general who has veered in and out of progressive politics, should be a ripe target for Trump — if only he could stick to the script.

Yet the Harrisburg rally was drowned out by the race controversy Trump whipped up earlier that day in Chicago. “If he steps on himself, as he does each day,” said Schoen, “then these messages aren’t going to get through.”

$10M Cash Withdrawl Drove Secret Probe into whether Trump Took Money from Egypt (gift article)

Republicans Line Up to Endorse Kamala Harris (Newsweek)

Republicans lined up to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris with a new grassroots program that was launched on Sunday.

Though I assume most of these had already endorsed Biden.