The domestic/foreign trade relation issues apply to more than just the US.

You're not the boss of me. — creativesoul

Yes I am.

You really think that your vote is "wasted" by voting a third party? — ssu

Yes.

When there is a will, there's a way... — ssu

The collective will for a third party is far too miniscule for it to be considered a serious possibility. There's no appetite for a third party. So, you're right, in a sense: there's no will, and therefore no way.

Or, on a different interpretation, you're not just wrong, but foolishly mistaken. You keep on willing, and see where it gets you. You think a third party will be a serious contender anytime soon? Pie in the sky!

I can’ t fathom how any self-described Christian could approve of Trump if they know anything about him.
— Wayfarer

Might have something to do with ushering in the End of Time. — Amity

I agree. To fill it out a bit. Based on Revelations a "new Jerusalem" is one of the signs of the Apocalypse according to Evangelicals. One of Trump's promises was to make Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

A few other points:

Trump is a man and even if he is, as some believe, sent by God, he is a man and has human foibles, he sins and is deserving of forgiveness no matter of how many pussies he grabs and how many women he cheats on his wives with.

He claims to be anti-abortion and has promised to overturn Roe, packing the courts with anti-abortion judges.

Evangelicals favor small government and the dismantling of the administrative state because they see the government as a threat to freedom, specifically religious freedom, and more specifically their religious freedom. Trump has positioned himself as a champion of religious freedom, even if they see through his phony religious piety.

Evangelicals favor small government... — Fooloso4

...to which end, Trump is about to sign off on the all-time record for Government deficits.....

...to which end, Trump is about to sign off on the all-time record for Government deficits..... — Wayfarer

Once upon a time, long, long ago, before Trump that was supposed to have mattered to Republicans, although the truth is that the Democratic administrations have done much better at lowering the deficit. In any case, I don't think it has ever been much of a concern for the Evangelicals, since for them small government means staying out of their business, the business of religion.

Good article on how (White) Nationalism is becoming an ad hoc conservative intellectualism as a response to Trump.

For whatever reason(ancient corrupted laptop) I cannot access the links you've been providing. Could you provide germane excerpts? I'm curious to see the language use regarding trade, assuming it's discussed.

Just Google Osita Nwanevu and New Yorker and read his most recent article

Tried copy/paste the url. No can do. Tried what you just suggested. Same result.

Republican elected officials act more like bots than people. It is quite clear that they are all on the same page. I wonder who writes that script?

Lol, I'm waiting for the Mueller testimony. Guy is made of diamond.

To fill it out a bit. Based on Revelations a "new Jerusalem" is one of the signs of the Apocalypse according to Evangelicals. One of Trump's promises was to make Jerusalem the capital of Israel. — Fooloso4

Yes. Thanks for picking up my lazy point and expanding.

Let's all reincarnate J. Edgar Hoover, so accountability is restored.

I think the goal of the testimony has been achieved. An educated electorate is perhaps the highest good that can be imparted by one's leaders.

Good article on how (White) Nationalism is becoming an ad hoc conservative intellectualism as a response to Trump. — Maw

Pretty damn scary. Combined with reports of how well Trump's stance on immigration seems to go with swing-state voters, it seems like the most ugly kind of nationalism gains traction in the US. The deadly kind.

I think the goal of the testimony has been achieved. An educated electorate is perhaps the highest good that can be imparted by one's leaders. — Wallows

While the Republicans are anxious to declare the end of the investigation, I do not think that Mueller's testimony accomplished what needs to be done. My not rendering conclusions he left it up to Congress, but Congress is so divided along partly lines that it will not render impartial conclusions. The Democrats must do what Mueller did not. They must present the investigation's findings in a clear and persuasive manner. They may not be able to convince their colleagues to impeach but they can bring the truth to the American people.

They may not be able to convince their colleagues to impeach but they can bring the truth to the American people. — Fooloso4

And you believe the American people care about the truth because...?

And you believe the American people care about the truth because...? — Benkei

Because I am not yet that cynical. Perhaps four more years of Trump and I will be.

I don't think it is because people don't care about the truth, it is rather what they believe the truth to be. But it is also about priorities. Some may not care that Trump obstructed justice or has questionable dealings with the Russians or whatever unless they think I will hurt them in some way.

Trump has so corrupted the public discourse that he succeeds in getting millions of people to think false is true, down is up, bad is good. 'It is what I say', he says - and people believe it. So what's so disgusting, and so alarming, about this episode, is that Mueller's findings and testimony are obviously damning; it shows beyond reasonable doubt that there was co-operation between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives to interfere in the US Presidential Election. And yet the main beneficiary of this effort will stand in front of the world's media and deny it - and sufficient numbers will believe it to prevent any action being taken.

You're watching America being destroyed from within.

'while watching what happened on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, when Robert Mueller, the former special counsel, testified before two House committees, I struggled to contain a rising sense of dread about where the country is heading. With Republicans united behind the President, Democrats uncertain about how to proceed, and Mueller reluctant to the last to come straight out and say that the President committed impeachable offenses, it looks like Trump’s blitzkrieg tactics of demonizing anyone who challenges him, terrorizing potential dissidents on his own side, and relentlessly spouting propaganda over social media may have worked. If so, he will have recorded a historic victory over the bedrock American principles of congressional oversight and equality before the law.'

John Cassidy, The New Yorker

'The wanton disrespect that these elected Republicans showed Mueller was perhaps the most alarming testament yet to Trump’s total conquest of the Party. In today’s G.O.P., as in Stalin’s Russia, evidently, decades of loyal public service count for nothing when the leader and his henchmen decide someone represents a threat and the apparatchiks have been ordered to take that person down. All that matters is carrying out the order and staying in the leader’s good graces. That isn’t congressional oversight. It is scorched-earth politics of a kind that is entirely antithetical to the notion of checks and balances enshrined in the U.S. Constitution,'

John Cassidy, The New Yorker

“In today’s G.O.P., as in Stalin’s Russia, evidently, decades of loyal public service count for nothing when the leader and his henchmen decide someone represents a threat and the apparatchiks have been ordered to take that person down. “

Just a guess, but I’ll go out on a limb and posit that Stalin’s crowd would’ve eschewed the due-process based exchanges in the agora and readily escorted Mueller to the gulag, alongside the other 15-20 million sent there during Stalin’s reign.

Perhaps the GOP needs a tutorial on what it means to mimic Stalin.

My hope is that there are still enough people who value the truth and can distinguish truth from lies, and, and this is important, they reside and will vote in one of the states that will determine the election.

Mueller reluctant to the last to come straight out and say that the President committed impeachable offenses — Wayfarer

This is a big problem. Unfortunately, the Republican politicians are putting their own interests ahead of the country's and together with Fox News have convinced a large portion of the country not to believe Mueller while at the same time convincing them that Mueller did not find that Trump did anything wrong.

I really hope so also. But it's unbelievable that it's come this far (or fallen this far, more like it.) One consolation is that I'm sure that there's a lot of really influential people in politics, public life and media, who are seeing through it. And I hope that the Democratic Party can put together a credible ticket and platform to take to the elections, they're never going to get there if they go too far to the left.

All serious Democratic candidates are polling higher 1:1 against Trump, so I don't understand why ideological position matters at this juncture. At best, what is needed is a candidate with an ideologically coherent and forward-looking politics to inspire and spur the base, and Warren/Sanders are in the best position to do that, particularly given that they are favorites among younger voters who (at least Millennials) will be the largest demographic in America, surpassing older and more conservative Boomers. I also thought this article was a great read and captures that sentiment well.

So what's so disgusting, and so alarming, about this episode, is that Mueller's findings and testimony are obviously damning; it shows beyond reasonable doubt that there was co-operation between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives to interfere in the US Presidential Election. And yet the main beneficiary of this effort will stand in front of the world's media and deny it - and sufficient numbers will believe it to prevent any action being taken. — Wayfarer

There's a saying, "it falls on deaf ears". I think it means that if they do not want to ear it, they will not hear it.

Just a guess, but I’ll go out on a limb and posit that Stalin’s crowd would’ve eschewed the due-process based exchanges in the agora and readily escorted Mueller to the gulag, alongside the other 15-20 million sent there during Stalin’s reign.

Perhaps the GOP needs a tutorial on what it means to mimic Stalin. — Reshuffle

Your guess is wrong. Even Stalin could not just take out anyone without discussion. Just look at the conflict with Trotsky.

The point of such comparisons is to draw attention to where we the US is headed if that behaviour is the new normal.

All serious Democratic candidates are polling higher 1:1 against Trump, so I don't understand why ideological position matters at this juncture — Maw

Those are national polls. On MSNBC tonight, a poll showed that the only candidate who was ahead of Trump in Ohio was Biden. They say that as Ohio goes so goes the country (or at least a Republican hasn’t won the electoral college in the modern era without winning Ohio).

Those are national polls. On MSNBC tonight, a poll showed that the only candidate who was ahead of Trump in Ohio was Biden. They say that as Ohio goes so goes the country (or at least a Republican hasn’t won the electoral college in the modern era without winning Ohio) — Noah Te Stroete

The nation elects the president, not Ohio.