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The Tipping Point of Stupid

In most states, you can’t pass yourself off as an election-denying January 6 truther and still be taken seriously by a majority of voters.

By Mark Leibovich


Donald trump has a knack for making his most committed apologists look like complete imbeciles—even if they are not complete imbeciles, though many of them are. This has been true for several years. But in recent weeks, Trump’s trickle-down idiocy has become a significant midterm-election issue for Republicans, and a drag on some of the party’s most vulnerable Senate candidates.

If you’re a candidate seeking a GOP nomination, Trump’s blessing can be a political wonder drug. But it comes with debilitating side effects. These go beyond the standard debasements that Trump inflicts on his dependents (for instance, Trump boasting at a Youngstown, Ohio, rally on Saturday that J. D. Vance, who is running for Senate there, was “in love” with him and “kissing my ass, he wants my support so much”). Assuming an acceptable Trumpian posture requires a determined self-lobotomy. In most states, it’s nearly impossible to pass yourself off as an election-denying January 6 truther and still be taken seriously by a majority of voters. Yet many candidates who clearly know better are doing exactly this.

You might be a media-slick, Ivy-bred brainiac like Vance or Dr. Mehmet Oz, and even admit backstage that you don’t really believe the asininity you’re spouting. As a general rule, though, discerning swing voters tend not to differentiate between fools and those who just play them on TV.

Not every Trump knockoff is faking it, of course. The former president has mainstreamed an authentic collection of cranks, bozos, and racists. The preponderance of safe, gerrymandered seats probably ensures continued employment in the House for the loony-tunes likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The trickier proposition for Republicans involves statewide elections in toss-up states—which is why someone like Greene would almost certainly never win, say, a Senate race in her home state of Georgia. (The actual Republican nominee, Herschel Walker, is himself bananas, but also something of a special case given that he was a University of Georgia football legend.) While the primary successes of Trump’s protégés have saddled Republicans with, as Mitch McConnell put it, low “candidate quality”—people like Walker, Oz, and Blake Masters in Arizona—the former president has imposed a mental headwind against even the most seasoned GOP incumbents. It is to their great disadvantage, at least with most college-educated voters, that remaining Trump-accredited requires shaving dozens of IQ points off an otherwise sound candidate’s brain.

I was contemplating this phenomenon the other day as I watched Senator Marco Rubio of Florida beclown himself in service to the man he used to openly loathe. As Trump’s opponent in 2016, Rubio was one of those ostentatiously saddened and troubled candidates who kept lamenting that Trump was turning that campaign into “a freak show.” Before Rubio became a cast member in the freak show himself, he talked a lot about how dangerous Trump was, how he would not trust Trump with nuclear secrets if, God forbid, he were ever to become president. Perhaps he was worried about something like Trump stashing deeply classified documents in his Mar-a-Lago closets.

During a recent interview, a Florida TV host asked Rubio, who is facing a reelection challenge from Democratic Representative Val Demings, about the Department of Justice’s efforts to retrieve those classified documents. Rubio dismissed the matter as a “storage issue.” DOJ, he argued, doesn’t “deny he should have access to those documents. What they deny is that they were not properly stored.” ​​Rubio’s self-correction to Made MAGA Man apparently compelled him to downplay Trump’s frightful conduct, even though it was something he obviously would have screamed bloody murder about if Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton had done the same. This was not a mere “storage issue,” at least not primarily. It was a “Why is the former president refusing to relinquish scores of classified and highly sensitive documents that don’t belong to him?” issue.

As the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Rubio is clearly aware of this. But he’s been playing this game for a while, and he knew what was required of him. He spoke in his usual rat-a-tat of righteously rehearsed lines, and he did not appear to be having much fun. In fact, Rubio sounded miserable, as he often does when called upon to defend Trump’s indefensibles. He seemed to fully anticipate scorn and ridicule raining down.

It did, but mostly from people who don’t like Rubio anyway. In Florida, a state the former president carried twice, Rubio is probably right that it’s more important to avoid angering Trump or his supporters. But the overriding hassle was that Rubio had to be talking about this topic at all two months before his election. I might have felt a twinge of sympathy, except no one was forcing Rubio to do this.

From the get-go, Republican officials have had to contort themselves in ridiculous ways to navigate Trump’s reality-distortion field. Sean Spicer became the paradigmatic example when the ill-fated White House press secretary spent his second day on the job vomiting his credibility into thin air by insisting—on orders from the new boss—that Trump had drawn a bigger inauguration crowd than Barack Obama had, despite clear visual evidence to the contrary.

We’ve gotten so used to the Trickle-Down-Idiocy Effect that it no longer engenders surprise, let alone outrage. It goes well beyond candidates having to perpetrate lies or offer preposterous explanations such as “storage issue,” “alternative facts,” “normal tourist visit,” and whatnot. Trump’s reckless claims and behaviors have led his dependents into a minefield of topics that, in previous campaign cycles, would likely never have come up, let alone be so fraught.

Absent Trump, Republican candidates in 2022 would be able to focus on subjects that would be more favorable to them and their party, such as inflation, crime, and Biden’s unpopularity. Trump continuously muddles their efforts and requires them to dwell in the bizarre realm of his narcissistic delusions. From Trump’s perspective—and therefore, much of the GOP’s perspective—that world never advanced beyond November 2020. He has done his best to ensure that the stolen-election myth has remained the most important issue in America.

Candidates are well accustomed to playing to the base for the primary and then pivoting to the center for the midterms. Savvy voters understand and tolerate this to a degree. But Trump has made finessing the gap far more complicated.

Dr. Oz, for instance, was recently asked whether he would have voted to certify Biden’s election if he had been in the Senate on January 6. He was never a full-on “it was rigged” guy, but he was always careful to be vague about it. “We cannot leave 2020 behind,” he said more than once during his primary campaign. He was much more definitive this month, however, in response to the question about Biden’s certification. “I would not have objected to it,” Oz said. “By the time the delegates and those reports were sent to the U.S. Senate, our job was to approve it, which is what I would have done.”

By opting for the sky-is-blue answer, Oz took the risk of antagonizing Trump and his election-denying supporters. Was he smart to answer this way, or reckless? Did Trump—being Trump—place Oz in a no-win position where he would come off as either a kook or a traitor?

Oz received this question during a press conference in which he was endorsed by the Republican senator he was vying to replace, Pat Toomey. Again, in any rational political world, the backing of the retiring incumbent would be a straightforward plus. But Toomey’s name has become pure sewage in Trump World over his vote to convict the former president in his second impeachment trial. Trump was reportedly not pleased by Oz’s certification blasphemy or by his willingness to appear with Treasonous Toomey. But props to Oz for doing the bare minimum.

J.d. Vance was no Trump fan at first; the Yale Law grad and Silicon Valley venture capitalist once likened the future president to “cultural heroin.” But since converting to MAGAism, Vance has proved a righteous acolyte. On the holy-grail issue of 2020, he has maintained that the election was stolen, sparing himself, at the very least, the embarrassment of whiplash.

Vance can be cavalier at times, taking stupid much too far. Back in February, he appeared on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast and declared, “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.” I have no idea whether Vance really felt this way or was just engaging in performative indifference and isolationism in an effort to mimic the couch-potato parochialism of his patron (Trump) or the “flood the zone with [censored]” nihilism of his host (Bannon).

But Vance paid a price. His “I don’t care about Ukraine” grenade detonated in his own face when Vladimir Putin launched his unprovoked invasion a few days later. People in both parties rallied behind Ukraine, most notably in northeastern Ohio, home to one of the largest concentrations of Ukrainian Americans in the country. Vance later issued a cleanup statement in which described the Russian invasion as “unquestionably a tragedy.”

Like Rubio in Florida, Vance is vying to represent a GOP-trending state that Trump won twice, so he probably has a bigger cushion to absorb whatever pain his election lies cause him. He remains a slight favorite in his race against Democratic Representative Tim Ryan.

In a less Trump-hospitable state, Vance would have a much harder time. New Hampshire’s Don Bolduc became the latest toadying Trump endorsee to see his apparent faith rewarded, having won the state’s Republican nomination for Senate this month. He spent more than a year as a loud and unrelenting election denier, but just 36 hours after winning the primary, he made a screeching 180. Bolduc, a retired Army general, said he had “come to the conclusion” that the vote “was not stolen” after all. “I’ve done a lot of research on this,” he claimed. (They always do a lot of research!)

Presumably, Bolduc was trying to make himself look like a reasonable general-election candidate, and not a total idiot.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/a...can-candidates-midterm-elections/671501/

TEAM RED: "Ouch! Dang, Facts that make us look creepy AF!"



Now they threw one out for the youth vote. Who is this person/group?

Marjorie Taylor Greene says a GOP-led House will investigate companies that stopped donating to Republicans after the Capitol riot

https://www.yahoo.com/news/marjorie-taylor-greene-says-gop-103731242.html


this must be some of that 'limited government' republican voters keep telling us about.

I hope Georgia scrapes her off the bottom of their shoe. It’ll take time to get her out of the treads but if they’re diligent, and use a stick, it’ll work.

Democrats Wave the White Flag in Florida: ‘Going to Be Ugly’

FLORIDA

‘Going to be ugly’: All signs point to Republican landslide in Florida
National organizations and donors have all but abandoned their candidates — setting off fears that Florida is no longer viewed as competitive. That would have dire implications for the next presidential election.

By MATT DIXON and GARY FINEOUT

10/27/2022 04:30 AM EDT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida Democrats are bracing for a very bad night on Nov. 8.

Less than two weeks before the election, Democrats are signaling that key races are slipping away from them. They point to ominous signs and missed opportunities, including the party’s message on abortion rights and gun control that isn’t resonating and a lack of coordination between the campaigns of Rep. Val Demings, who is vying to unseat Sen. Marco Rubio, and Charlie Crist, who is challenging Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Most worrisome for Democrats, national organizations and donors have all but abandoned their candidates — setting off fears that Florida is no longer viewed as competitive.

That would have dire implications for the next presidential election.

“If Democrats follow this building national narrative and decide not to compete in Florida in 2024, it will be one of the most short-sighted decisions of the last 30 years,” said Greg Goddard, a veteran Florida Democratic fundraiser. “Where do we think the pathway to winning a future presidential election lies?”

Interviews with more than a dozen Democratic operatives, consultants and elected officials reflect that there’s little optimism ahead of the midterms and longstanding issues that show the once-perennial swing state may be lost to them. Consider:

The Democratic Governors Association spent just $685,000 this election cycle. It gave $14 million to Florida in the past two governor races.
Big outside donor money has almost completely dried up. New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg contributed only $1.5 million to Democrats this cycle. He vowed $100 million to Florida in 2020.
Polling shows Republicans making headway in Miami-Dade County, which has long served as a blue stronghold.
Democrats have collectively raised $29 million in the four non-federal statewide races. Republicans raised nearly $200 million.
Florida has trended Republican in recent years, with former President Donald Trump winning the state in 2016 by a little over 1 percent and again in 2020 by an even wider 3-point margin. Many Democrats began to write off the state, even as the party maintained a big voter registration advantage. Now it’s lost that edge — there are now nearly 300,000 more registered Republicans statewide.

It all seems to spell doom for Democrats. Some think the party is just waving a white flag.

State Sen. Jason Pizzo, a Democrat who represents part of South Florida, noted that President Joe Biden has visited the state only twice since becoming president — both during times of crisis instead of specific campaign events. Biden is scheduled to hold a fundraiser and get out the vote rally with Crist in South Florida on Nov. 1, just days before the election. Demings is scheduled to join Biden at the rally.

“What have Democrats done? Not enough,” Pizzo said.

The DeSantis factor
At a recent event in Jacksonville, a few dozen of the most fervent Florida Democratic activists gathered at a union hall to hear Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison rally supporters ahead of the midterms..

Calling the Nov. 8 elections the most important “of our lifetime,” Harrison tried to summon enthusiasm for the slate of Democratic candidates. But there was a sense of resignation from the crowd of activists who have seen Democrats lose almost every major Florida election over the past two decades.

“We are ready to elect Crist,” Harrison told the crowd. “We are ready to elect Val Demings as our next senator.”

The event was supposed to send a charge through the party’s grassroots but instead exposed the lack of coordination among candidates and enthusiasm gap haunting Democrats. Demings wasn’t there, nor were Democratic candidates for state attorney general or agriculture commissioner. Only Crist, the former Florida Republican governor turned Democrat, who is challenging Gov. Ron DeSantis, attended.

“You had the Democratic gubernatorial candidate on his [get out the vote] bus tour in arguably one of the strongest Democratic performing swing counties and best-organized ground games, and you had 50 or 60 people show up?” said Matthew Van Name, a longtime Democratic consultant who attended the event. “2022 is one of the most uncomfortable and segmented cycles I’ve seen.”

“I think Ron DeSantis will win Miami-Dade County. Democratic voters are not at all excited or motivated by Charlie’s campaign.”

Evan Ross, South Florida-based Democratic consultant

The sinking feeling among Democrats comes against the backdrop of DeSantis’ rise. He has become a leading national figure, a likely 2024 GOP presidential candidate and fundraising juggernaut who’s pulled in more than $150 million for his campaign operation during the 2022 cycle and millions more for the Republican Party of Florida.

That cash advantage allowed DeSantis to spend more than $50 million on TV ads, dwarfing what Crist and Democrats could get on the airwaves. Crist, for instance, spent a total of $5.5 million on attack ads, with $1.2 million of that used against Nikki Fried, his Democratic primary opponent.

DeSantis fueled his rise in part by charting his own course on Covid-19, eschewing lockdowns and vaccine mandates. He built a Trumplike connection with conservative base voters that has most political observers asking not if he will win reelection, but by how much. He might even dominate Miami-Dade County, which he lost by 20 points in 2018 to Democratic nominee Andrew Gillum.


That cash advantage allowed DeSantis to spend more than $50 million on TV ads, dwarfing what Crist and Democrats could get on the airwaves. Crist, for instance, spent a total of $5.5 million on attack ads, with $1.2 million of that used against Nikki Fried, his Democratic primary opponent.

DeSantis fueled his rise in part by charting his own course on Covid-19, eschewing lockdowns and vaccine mandates. He built a Trumplike connection with conservative base voters that has most political observers asking not if he will win reelection, but by how much. He might even dominate Miami-Dade County, which he lost by 20 points in 2018 to Democratic nominee Andrew Gillum.

DeSantis calls certain teaching methods ‘inappropriate’ in debate with Crist

SharePlay Video
“I think Ron DeSantis will win Miami-Dade County,” said Evan Ross, a longtime South Florida-based Democratic consultant. “Democratic voters are not at all excited or motivated by Charlie’s campaign. Right now, I think it will be close, but I think DeSantis beats Crist here.”

Ross recently conducted polling in Miami-Dade County that found roughly 15 percent of Democrats saying they would not vote for Crist, while 5 percent of Republicans said they wouldn’t vote for DeSantis. In the county, DeSantis’ approval rating with Republicans is plus-89 percent, while Crist’s approval rating is just plus-49 with Democrats. Democrats still lead Republicans in overall voter registration numbers in Miami-Dade, more than 575,000 to 435,000-plus, though that gap is decreasing.

“The only thing that might give Charlie Crist a chance of becoming governor would be DeSantis aggressively campaigning for him over the next two weeks,” Ross said. “Translation: It’s over. And it’s going to be ugly.”

It’s not the only bad sign for Democrats in Miami-Dade County, where nearly 60 percent of voters are Hispanic.

An internal poll released earlier this month by Democrat Annette Taddeo had her beating her Republican opponent, Rep. María Elvira Salazar, by just 1 point in Miami-Dade County’s 27th Congressional District — but with DeSantis up on Crist by 6 points in that district. DeSantis lost the district in 2018 by nearly 8 points.

That cash advantage allowed DeSantis to spend more than $50 million on TV ads, dwarfing what Crist and Democrats could get on the airwaves. Crist, for instance, spent a total of $5.5 million on attack ads, with $1.2 million of that used against Nikki Fried, his Democratic primary opponent.

DeSantis fueled his rise in part by charting his own course on Covid-19, eschewing lockdowns and vaccine mandates. He built a Trumplike connection with conservative base voters that has most political observers asking not if he will win reelection, but by how much. He might even dominate Miami-Dade County, which he lost by 20 points in 2018 to Democratic nominee Andrew Gillum.

DeSantis calls certain teaching methods ‘inappropriate’ in debate with Crist

“I think Ron DeSantis will win Miami-Dade County,” said Evan Ross, a longtime South Florida-based Democratic consultant. “Democratic voters are not at all excited or motivated by Charlie’s campaign. Right now, I think it will be close, but I think DeSantis beats Crist here.”

Ross recently conducted polling in Miami-Dade County that found roughly 15 percent of Democrats saying they would not vote for Crist, while 5 percent of Republicans said they wouldn’t vote for DeSantis. In the county, DeSantis’ approval rating with Republicans is plus-89 percent, while Crist’s approval rating is just plus-49 with Democrats. Democrats still lead Republicans in overall voter registration numbers in Miami-Dade, more than 575,000 to 435,000-plus, though that gap is decreasing.

“The only thing that might give Charlie Crist a chance of becoming governor would be DeSantis aggressively campaigning for him over the next two weeks,” Ross said. “Translation: It’s over. And it’s going to be ugly.”

It’s not the only bad sign for Democrats in Miami-Dade County, where nearly 60 percent of voters are Hispanic.

An internal poll released earlier this month by Democrat Annette Taddeo had her beating her Republican opponent, Rep. María Elvira Salazar, by just 1 point in Miami-Dade County’s 27th Congressional District — but with DeSantis up on Crist by 6 points in that district. DeSantis lost the district in 2018 by nearly 8 points.

DeSantis and Crist spar over abortion at debate

In the same race, seen as one of the only competitive congressional races left in Florida, Republicans hold an 818-vote advantage with nearly 55,000 votes already cast. Democrats typically win preelection day voting, which is a combination of mail ballots and in-person early voting, so the fact Republicans are winning is a bad sign for Taddeo and Democrats. Especially in a county that has long been one of the state’s biggest Democratic strongholds.

"What it means for Democrats is we need to reset how we define ourselves,” Ross said. “We can’t have candidates who attempt to walk the line on issues. You know, for the most part, where Ron DeSantis stands on every issue. Donald Trump did the same thing. We need to take strong positions.”

Scant optimism
Some Democrats, however, are trying to retain some hope about the looming election.

“Conventional wisdom is that DeSantis and Rubio had this locked up, but it wasn’t long ago that conventional wisdom had Joe Biden dead in the Democratic primary and Trump losing to Hillary by double digits,” said Juan Penalosa, former executive director of the Florida Democratic Party. “Anyone who can say with certainty that they know the election results ahead of time is reading a crystal ball but not a poll. This is going to come down to turnout, and right now, with more than 800,000 votes cast, Democrats have the edge.”

Lauren Book, a Democratic legislative leader who is trying to stop Republicans from gaining a supermajority in the state Senate, added: “Just because a few polls say there’s a red wave should we give up? Absolutely not.”

Steve Schale, a veteran Democratic strategist who still runs a super PAC that supports Biden, was blunt: “I don’t see how we get to 50 percent” of the vote tally by the end of election night.

Schale pointed out how the party is now struggling with Hispanic and non-college educated white voters. Democrats in the past would try to rely on large margins in urban counties, such as Miami-Dade. If that doesn’t happen, there’s no realistic path to victory.

“For me, it’s a simple math question,” he said.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/27/florida-democrats-facing-brutal-midterms-00063666

It's going to be terrible for the democrats.

Good for McMullin. Lee has to go.

This is the way.

I can't wait until midterms are over. Tired of the elections ads. Never thought I'd wish for the ambulance chasing injury lawyer commercials to come back.

We will see how it all plays out.

I am curious to see what happens in PA. All politics aside here, and not to demean Fetterman because of his condition, but I don't see any way that guy should win.

Gonna change your word 'should' to my word 'could,' for purposes of making this post.


Me either.
And that's a sad thing.

Every doctor who has been consulted about Fetterman's condition has claimed that his post-stroke recovery is on-track... and that the lag his communicative processes have no relation to his cognitive processes. In other words, Dude's still there intellectually, but will probably take a political hit, because most folks will judge him based upon how he presented at this debate.

I actually saw/listened to him before the stroke. He's been on my radar/in my feed for more than a year.

His interviews were disciplined, concise. His 'pep rallies' were energetic, focused... and spoke directly to the issues that his constituents were most concerned about. That's why he built the kind of base that stuck with him, even after the stroke. Look him up. He is exactly as I've described him.

And yet, he might lose this election to a guy who:

1. has never lived in the state
2. doesn't know anything about the issues of the state he seeks to 'represent'
3. never really cared about politics before now
4. is only relevant because of his TV-based name recognition.

It's a crying shame, but Fetterman losing his PA senate bid is a distinct possibility.

A man who has actually served Pennsylvania's Public as mayor and state's Lieutenant Governor, is now locked in a dead-heat... with a vacuous TV pill supplement salesman who got his start on a 90's episode of "Oprah!"... and was promoted to run, by a vacuous Reality TV Show MC who actually, inexplicably became POTUS.

_______________


I still have a hard time believing what this country now looks like.
"Dr." Mehmet Oz mocked this man during his stroke recovery. Repeatedly. In the public forum.

"First, do no harm," my ass.
Oz basically stuck his middle finger (and forearm) all the way up Hippocrates' Oath- to promote Dolt 45's ongoing agenda.

Some guy to sit on Capitol Hill.


I can't even, any more-
smdh

and don't get me started on Georgia... with that 'dress Black sock puppet' being propped up by that same Midway Barker.

The thing that bugs me most about Ox is that his show started off good then he started promoting crap products. I presume he was getting paid off to do so. No way he could be that incompetent. Why would anybody vote for someone so easily bought off?

To pwn Team Blue.
I can think of no other reason.

Because the alternative is a guy who has no idea what is going on and likely will need someone to make most major decision for him because of a massive stroke.... its the issue with most races... it's two candidate that both suck...

Actually that's not what the doctors are saying. But okay.

I don't believe any letter that he got from a doctor... watching him in the debate and being in health care for 17 years, he's got some major brain trauma still.... and we expect him to tolerate the stress of congress?

I'd love to actually see his medical records... same for Biden... and frankly, would have loved to seen Trump as well.... but we won't... we get a blanket my doctors say I'm fit... as he's stumbling over words, can't formulate a sentence, and blames the teleprompter for his challenges...

And to add to it... Fetterman should have stepped down before the primaries... if someone, maybe his wife, would have said that he needs to focus on his health and the dems found a decent replacement then this wouldn't even be a close contest...

Oh believe me, I understand and I'll leave it at that.

Which doctors? His? Talking heads with a vested interest?

I've known a couple stroke victims as well as doctors and nurses that who have worked with them. Most improvement is within 90 days; very little and only slight improvement after six months. Obviously everyone is different, but his stroke was five months ago. Fetterman also has a heart condition and had a pacemaker installed after his stroke. Why would people asking questions or raising concerns be off limits?


^ Ridiculous ^

BS. That's just an excuse for republicans to vote for a troll. They always find some reason to justify voting for somebody who is horrible over a real person that cares. I wouldn't piss on Oz if he was on fire, let alone vote for him.

J/c

First early vote was in last week. Voting again in the next county north Monday and then still time to get another dozen votes in without hitting the same voting station twice before election night. This early voting stuff is so cool.

Stop. You know somebody's gullible ass is taking notes for the new 'gazpacho'.

Biden says there are 54 states. That must be where he got the extra votes from.

Those are the deep states, you people are not to know of those.

Katie Porter on voter mindset.

https://youtube.com/shorts/yfwG6dv__jg?feature=share

I've been using disguises to defeat facial recognition software. I've used latex prosthetics/makeup to vote as:

1. myself (with a Cro Magnon brow line)
2. a Klingon
3. an old Jewish man named Moishe (think Eddie Murphy)
4. a bass guitarist in a Mariachi band.

Yeah, that's just how good my spy game is.

On my commutes to the precincts, I wear a hoodie, Ray-Ban aviators, and a black KN-95 CoVid mask. I've super glued my fingertips, so The Man can't lift my fingerprints off the voting machines that I (and thousands of others) have used.

So far, I've been easily able to vote in 4 different precincts without attracting undue attention from those hyper-vigilant, well-armed poll watchers.
The key: doing a b&e mission, setting up portable stripper poles in the corners of the voting precincts the night before. The risk is worth the reward, bruh-
Candy, Cinnamon, Cherry Turnover and Taffy have turned all these dolts into "pole watchers." Their AR15's are now AR15.5's... and they couldn't be happier.

We're gonna win this thing walking away...

I understand that at this point in time people wish to label anyone, even health care professionals as having some vested interest in lying or twisting the truth. That rather than look at them as health care professionals they wish to label them as political shills. Knowing "a couple stroke victims as well as doctors and nurses that who have worked with them" doesn't make you an expert on stroke victims. I'm no expert either. My dad had what is actually a massive stroke. He never walked or talked again until he passed away.

All stroke victims are different. Their recovery times are different. What seems to be your one size fits all scenario is quite wrong. You should notice notable improvement within the first three months but claiming one fully recovers or won't recover far more after that time period is not accurate.......

Stroke Recovery Timeline: How Long Does It Take to Recover?

https://www.flintrehab.com/stroke-recovery-timeline/

I don't know how accurate these doctors are being. But then again neither do you.

I have a buddy that had a stroke a few years back. He’s (was) a percussionist… a damned good one. Unfortunately the stroke took that from him. He was able to get into a research program a year or so ago and was given stem cells. His recovery has been dramatic. He’ll never be able to play his Congo drums the way he use to but his walking and talking has improved greatly. I shed a tear when he posted a video of himself jumping for the first time in years. Such a simple thing as jumping brought so much joy to him… it was both heartbreaking and inspiring. It’s been a long journey for him.
Hopefully one day stem cell therapy will revolutionize healthcare. Not just for stroke victims but for many other afflictions. Science is awesome.

Each stroke is different. I think they are like snowflakes lol. I have had three. One on the right side, and two on the left. I ignored much of the info the DR's tried to feed me. Everybody recovery is different. I am still working on mine.

You've inspired to think bigger. Imma dress up like Mark Meadows and vote in multiple states, not just multiple precincts.

And you know I wish you the best my friend.

Social Security is a ponzi scheme that does not work!

Why Social Security is not a Ponzi Scheme

Social Security is a pay-as-you-go system. Current contributors pay for current beneficiaries. It transfers income from the current generation of workers to the current generation of retirees, with the promise that there will be another generation of workers to pay for the current generation of workers’ retirement. It does not require a doubling of participants every time a payment is made to a current beneficiary or a geometric increase in the number of participants. In its essence, Social Security is a contract between generations, binding together the interests of both young and old in a system that provides protection to all.

Unlike a fraudulent secretive Ponzi scheme, Social Security’s finances are transparent to the public, as required by law. Each year Social Security’s actuaries release a detailed report on the system’s finances. Its dedicated funding source – Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) payroll taxes of current workers – are used to pay benefits for current beneficiaries. For years, these taxes more than covered the cost of the benefits, with the surplus (currently, $2.9 trillion) invested in U.S. Treasury securities, widely considered by finance industry professionals and foreign governments as the world’s best and safest investment. The U.S. government has never defaulted on its Treasury security obligations.

According to Francis X. Cavanaugh, the first Executive Director of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board and a former Department of the Treasury official:

“…the [Social Security] trust fund actually gets a much better deal than the private funds that buy Treasuries in the market. The trust fund, by law, may redeem its securities before maturity at par value, rather than at the sometimes deep market discounts suffered by private investors during periods of rising interest rates. Also, since the trust fund gets its securities directly from the Treasury, it avoids the market transaction costs which private investors must pay. Finally, the law requires the Treasury to pay the trust fund an interest rate on all of its investments in Treasuries equal to the average yield on long-term Treasury marketable securities. This is a significant benefit to the trust fund, since long-term rates are generally much higher than short-term rates.”

Some of the interest on these securities is now being used to cover the gap between what is collected in FICA taxes and the cost of benefits for current retirees.

Finally, Social Security is a mandatory program. Given that workers are required by law to pay FICA taxes, the program has a guaranteed and dedicated source of revenue in perpetuity.

https://www.ncpssm.org/documents/so...s/social-security-is-not-a-ponzi-scheme/

Social Security remains strong and will be able to pay full benefits for many years to come – until 2034. Thereafter, there will still be enough payroll tax revenue coming into the program to pay 78 percent of all benefits owed. Congress has adjusted and revised the program many times since its inception over eighty years ago and there is every reason to believe it will do so again before trust fund reserves are depleted in 12 years.

It is a ponzi scheme. If a worker pays in his entire work life and then dies a week after retiring what did all the money that worker pay in benefit his family? Nothing! It benefits the government and nothing else!

I guess if you shout something over and over again, it becomes true.