fishonjazz
Well-Known Member
Contributor
2018 Award Winner
2019 Award Winner
20-21 Award Winner
2022 Award Winner
2023 Award Winner
2024 Award Winner
2025 Award Winner
Trump Dictatorship and All Things Politics
- Thread starter LogGrad98
- Start date
I agree I don’t see it working either. I don’t think it’s countries he wants to fold, it’s businesses. If he can get businesses to grovel and negotiate exemptions by reshoring operations I guess it works… kinda? But he’ll need many massive projects that will take years. Businesses usually commit and then kick the can. I expect him to dangle tax cuts to push them to commit.
This is going to be very interesting. GOP is leveraging all of us on a bet.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
fishonjazz
Well-Known Member
Contributor
2018 Award Winner
2019 Award Winner
20-21 Award Winner
2022 Award Winner
2023 Award Winner
2024 Award Winner
2025 Award Winner
When I was kid I could buy a penguin for like $20. Now after these tariffs I'm going to be priced out of the penguin purchasing market damn it.
fishonjazz
Well-Known Member
Contributor
2018 Award Winner
2019 Award Winner
20-21 Award Winner
2022 Award Winner
2023 Award Winner
2024 Award Winner
2025 Award Winner
I think I know why he tariffed those penguin islands though. There is a US military base there named Diego Garcia. He probably thought Diego Garcia was a person.
If only the military base was named James Smith, penguins would still be affordable.
If only the military base was named James Smith, penguins would still be affordable.
The Thriller
Well-Known Member
The morons in Indiana have a chance to replace him with a Democrat. Let’s see if they condone his words and actions or if they’ll punish him? No one has more contempt for their own voters than Republican politicians. This guy assumes his constituents are too addicted to Fox News and Facebook to learn about or care about his interactions with this guy. And he’s probably right, given the voting history of those people.GOP senator says he 'won't apologize' after telling fired federal worker he 'deserved it'
Story by Brittany Carloni and Terry Collins, USA TODAY NETWORK
• 11h•
3 min read
Sen. Jim Banks said Wednesday he's not apologizing after a video spread online showing the Indiana Republican calling a fired federal worker who confronted him on camera over sweeping government cuts "a clown" who “probably deserved” to lose his job.
The exchange in Washington, D.C., garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Instagram and X. It led some conservatives to praise Banks for "brutal honesty” and others to question the senator’s remarks as thousands of federal workers face mass layoffs under the Trump administration.
n a video posted on X Wednesday morning, Banks said he would not "back down" from his comments or support of Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency's federal government cuts.
"The Democrats and the left-wing media have lost their minds because I told a left-wing activist in the halls of the Senate office buildings yesterday what I really thought," said Banks in the post. "A clown is a clown, who’s chasing senators through the halls with a cellphone, complaining about losing a left-wing 'woke' job in the federal government that should have never been a federal job to begin with."
GOP lawmaker told fired federal worker 'you probably deserved it'
The senator's comments came a day after the exchange with Mack Schroeder, a former Health and Human Services employee, who told USA TODAY he was fired on Feb. 14, and was protesting Tuesday with other fired federal workers when he recorded the interaction.
The video shows Schroeder off-camera approaching Banks before the lawmaker gets on an elevator. Schroeder asked Banks if he is "going to do anything" to stop the federal cuts, including to social service programs.
"Hi, I was a worker at HHS," Schroeder said. "I was fired illegally on February 14th. There are many people who are not getting social service programs, especially people with disabilities. Are you going to do anything to stop what’s happening?"
“You probably deserved it,” Banks responds in the video.
“Why did I deserve it?” Schroeder asked.
“Because you seem like a clown,” Banks said as the elevator doors closed. The senator is using an image from the interaction as a “#NewProfilePic” on his X account.
US Senator-elect Jim Banks, Republican of Indiana, looks on during a photo opportunity at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on November 12, 2024.© ALLISON ROBBERT, AFP via Getty Images
Schroeder, who initially called Banks' comments "very childish," told USA TODAY on Wednesday he wonders what Banks, a first-term U.S. senator, will do when confronted by his constituents over their concerns.
"Over 150,000 Indiana residents rely on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Now that the entire LIHEAP staff has been fired, how will the senator ensure his constituents get heating in their homes?"
Social media attention is nothing new to Banks
It’s the second video tied to the Indiana senator that has gained widespread attention on social media in the last few weeks. In late March, Banks posted a video on his government X account showing a staff member delivering Parlor Donuts to a town hall in Allen County held by an Indivisible group in northeast Indiana.
Several people in the video question why he did not appear at the event to answer questions from constituents. In the post, Banks called the organization a "Democrat anti-Trump/Banks group." The national organization said on its website that it focuses on "actions to resist the GOP's agenda."
The reaction to the videos is not unusual for Banks, a strong supporter of President Donald Trump who has gone viral before for comments on social media. Last year, when a New York jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records, Banks called the state an insult using an expletive in a post also on X.
Banks, who previously represented northeast Indiana in the House, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2024. He was uncontested in the Republican primary and won the general election over his Democratic opponent by almost 20 percentage points.
The Thriller
Well-Known Member
Thoughts and prayers. Elections have consequences
TheStormofWar
Well-Known Member
If you are on the left side of the aisle, you are beating the **** out of them with billboards, media ads, and pop ups in the midwest and southeast until the midterms come. Of course, I don't give the DNC credit for an overabundance of brains or ability to read a room, so...
The Thriller
Well-Known Member
Sure. I guess democrats can do that. But a large segment of the population is so far gone I don’t think it matters what Democrats do or say. The grip racism, grievance, Fox News, and corrupt pastors have on many people is too great.
Identity trumps ideology almost every time.
Many of these people will never change their identity or admit that Trump and the GOP have exploited them for years. They’re going down with this ship.
Regardless, your point still stands. Democrats need to be taking advantage of these self-inflicted wounds by republicans and really need to get on the messaging boards to win people over. That starts with giving some of these old farts the plank and letting younger better messengers do their things.
TheStormofWar
Well-Known Member
Depends. Just need enough folks to realize who is really pilfering their wallet to make a change.
The Thriller
Well-Known Member
fishonjazz
Well-Known Member
Contributor
2018 Award Winner
2019 Award Winner
20-21 Award Winner
2022 Award Winner
2023 Award Winner
2024 Award Winner
2025 Award Winner
Which would all just be "fake newsed" away.....
TheStormofWar
Well-Known Member
They can fake news it all they want. As grotesque as this is though, death of a close friend or family member because no emergency services or loans to rebuild were available after a disaster is proof enough. If they "fake news" that, then there is no saving them and they are better off with the reality of their own making and maybe passing because of it. You can only help folks who want to help themselves.
Al-O-Meter
Well-Known Member
That is the most interesting piece of the puzzle. Many or most of the big multi-nationals have subsidiaries in Ireland or other tax havens which they use to off-shore profits. The products are made here. The products are sold here. The profit is realized in another country with lower tax rates. The products were only in that other country on paper and never physically left the US. Trump's tariffs may put a stop to that tax dodge which has long given the major multi-nationals an unfair advantage over mom and pop start-ups too small to institute it.
LogGrad98
Well-Known Member
Contributor
20-21 Award Winner
2022 Award Winner
2023 Award Winner
2024 Award Winner
Well they have 2 choices in a cult, fully embrace their Dear Leader and find ways to justify all the **** the Dear Leader spews, or leave the cult. One guess which side this guy is on. He is a dyed in the blue TCG, Trump-***-Guzzler.GOP senator says he 'won't apologize' after telling fired federal worker he 'deserved it'
Story by Brittany Carloni and Terry Collins, USA TODAY NETWORK
• 11h•
3 min read
Sen. Jim Banks said Wednesday he's not apologizing after a video spread online showing the Indiana Republican calling a fired federal worker who confronted him on camera over sweeping government cuts "a clown" who “probably deserved” to lose his job.
The exchange in Washington, D.C., garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Instagram and X. It led some conservatives to praise Banks for "brutal honesty” and others to question the senator’s remarks as thousands of federal workers face mass layoffs under the Trump administration.
n a video posted on X Wednesday morning, Banks said he would not "back down" from his comments or support of Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency's federal government cuts.
"The Democrats and the left-wing media have lost their minds because I told a left-wing activist in the halls of the Senate office buildings yesterday what I really thought," said Banks in the post. "A clown is a clown, who’s chasing senators through the halls with a cellphone, complaining about losing a left-wing 'woke' job in the federal government that should have never been a federal job to begin with."
GOP lawmaker told fired federal worker 'you probably deserved it'
The senator's comments came a day after the exchange with Mack Schroeder, a former Health and Human Services employee, who told USA TODAY he was fired on Feb. 14, and was protesting Tuesday with other fired federal workers when he recorded the interaction.
The video shows Schroeder off-camera approaching Banks before the lawmaker gets on an elevator. Schroeder asked Banks if he is "going to do anything" to stop the federal cuts, including to social service programs.
"Hi, I was a worker at HHS," Schroeder said. "I was fired illegally on February 14th. There are many people who are not getting social service programs, especially people with disabilities. Are you going to do anything to stop what’s happening?"
“You probably deserved it,” Banks responds in the video.
“Why did I deserve it?” Schroeder asked.
“Because you seem like a clown,” Banks said as the elevator doors closed. The senator is using an image from the interaction as a “#NewProfilePic” on his X account.
US Senator-elect Jim Banks, Republican of Indiana, looks on during a photo opportunity at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on November 12, 2024.© ALLISON ROBBERT, AFP via Getty Images
Schroeder, who initially called Banks' comments "very childish," told USA TODAY on Wednesday he wonders what Banks, a first-term U.S. senator, will do when confronted by his constituents over their concerns.
"Over 150,000 Indiana residents rely on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Now that the entire LIHEAP staff has been fired, how will the senator ensure his constituents get heating in their homes?"
Social media attention is nothing new to Banks
It’s the second video tied to the Indiana senator that has gained widespread attention on social media in the last few weeks. In late March, Banks posted a video on his government X account showing a staff member delivering Parlor Donuts to a town hall in Allen County held by an Indivisible group in northeast Indiana.
Several people in the video question why he did not appear at the event to answer questions from constituents. In the post, Banks called the organization a "Democrat anti-Trump/Banks group." The national organization said on its website that it focuses on "actions to resist the GOP's agenda."
The reaction to the videos is not unusual for Banks, a strong supporter of President Donald Trump who has gone viral before for comments on social media. Last year, when a New York jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records, Banks called the state an insult using an expletive in a post also on X.
Banks, who previously represented northeast Indiana in the House, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2024. He was uncontested in the Republican primary and won the general election over his Democratic opponent by almost 20 percentage points.
LogGrad98
Well-Known Member
Contributor
20-21 Award Winner
2022 Award Winner
2023 Award Winner
2024 Award Winner
IMHO it has nothing to do with economics or business at all. It is about sowing chaos to break down the barriers that might get in the way of a Trump Dictatorship. It is just one more step to usurping total power from the federal government so there is no way to get Trump out of office. That is the goal, that is what they have been focused on the whole time. Trump and his allies and their aspirations of a Dictatorial American Empire. They couldn't care less what it does to the people as long as they get the power they crave. That is the end game for all this, unless we find a way to effectively blockade them and maybe even kick him out of office before he can take all the power.
We sink or swim together. We are an irredeemably stupid people. Any half-decent, poorly educated, or semi-rational person could see this coming from a mile away.
LogGrad98
Well-Known Member
Contributor
20-21 Award Winner
2022 Award Winner
2023 Award Winner
2024 Award Winner
Never underestimate the gullibility of regular people in large groups. Cults have a special hold on people, and MAGA is absolutely a cult.
Al-O-Meter
Well-Known Member
Although American history doesn't seem to be one of your passions, Google can be your friend. The Tariff of Abominations (1828) was associated with the economic depression starting in 1815. It didn't cause the depression but it did lead to the Nullification Crisis. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff (1930) is associated with the Great Depression which started in 1929. Neither of the listed tariffs "caused" a depression.
I don't believe tariffs to be a good thing and hope we abandon the tariffs, but dislike of that economic policy doesn't justify lying about history.