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In another thread Curtis and I were going back and forth on whether Trump's time in office demonstrated actual "lining his pockets" corruption or whether the former President's activities were within the bounds of acceptable behavior (not divesting from his business, the MANY Mar-a-Lago trips that benefited his company financially, etc.). My contention was that Trump was at the head of a financially-dubious business heading into 2016 (primarily a licensing and branding business that's largely lost its luster), and him ascending to the White House was a lifeline for his troubled company.

What I'm wondering now is to what extent Trump's personal financial fortunes are dependent on him continuing his "Ponzi scheme" or whether is bilking of GOP true-believers is him seizing on an optional opportunity that fate's dropped on his lap. For the Trump fans out there, can you recall ANYTHING in the past year that would indicate that the Trump Organization is a healthy solvent ongoing entity providing goods and/or services that the market demands OR is it primarily a rent-seeking enterprise at this point with declining assets that it can continue to monetize? Here in Chicago, the skyscraper with his name on it isn't doing well[1], his DC hotel's up for sale[2], and I wonder whether the same pattern is playing out elsewhere.

To put the question another way, if Trump choked on a taco salad tomorrow and went on his way to the Pearly Gates, is there ANY expectation that the company bearing his name would continue to exist as an ongoing corporate entity, or would it collapse like a house of cards? I think that the answer to this may shine a light on whether Trump's continued pumping of his political Ponzi scheme is an existential issue for him and his family or not.

[1] https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-tower-chicago-value-slashed-commercial-retail-space2021-9

[2] https://therealdeal.com/2021/09/07/trump-org-in-advanced-talks-to-sell-dc-hotel-lease/

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Sep 27, 2021Liked by Steve Berman, Chris J. Karr

Steve, You are far more optimistic than I if your worst case scenario is the death of the GOP because I believe the GOP will be the death of our Democratic Republic.

When the GOP apparatus began its systematic purge of moderates, it started the process of moving the party further and further to the right to the point we now have Marjorie Taylor Green, Madison Cawthorn, whose frontal lobe is not fully developed, Lauren Boebert, Tommy Tuberville, and a host of extremists in the US House and Senate and at all levels of government in numerous states. (I can,as I write this comment, literally hear Rush Limbaugh drawing out the word "moderate" with his jowls flapping. Conservative talk radio was the instrument for deriding moderate Relublicans.)

George Washington admonished us that "The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth [unity in government]; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed" and he instructed us that it was "of infinite moment that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national union to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest..."

From 1986-2010, I voted Republican, but then I saw the infiltration into all levels of government and the march toward a one party state and it scared the Bejeezus out of me. We are closer to that one party state now. Should the GOP retake the House and Senate in 2022 and retain them while going the presidency, I think the one party state will be a done deal. We have seen the lengths which the party has taken to overturn our Democracy. All they need are more elected officials to be complicit and they will have them. The GOP has abandoned the principles of integrity in governance and personal rectitude in their relentless pursuit of absolute power.

Washington said it could happen, and it, just about has. "The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty." 2024 will tell.

I have never feared for my country as I fear for it, now.

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Sep 27, 2021Liked by Chris J. Karr

Interestingly, when one uses the term “moderate” it can mean a whole lot of things, as the term is very relative. Some of the people being purged from the major parties aren’t actually moderates ideologically, but maybe in temperament. Those are the ones that Trumpists and the Squad would consider sellouts, because they don’t engage in performative extremism. Brad Raffensperger is clearly a right of center conservative, as are Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, and the 8 other GOP House members(to varying extents). Among the GOP Senators that voted to convict Trump on his 2nd impeachment, only Susan Collins can be reliably considered a moderate, and to a lesser extent, Lisa Murkowski. The rest are firmly conservative, and significantly to the to the right of center. People of good faith can be a passionate liberal, a centrist, or firmly conservative, yet be moderate in temperament and rhetoric. Some of the GOPers that Trump is calling RINOs are actually some of the most conservative elected officials out there. They are just guilty of not being performative extremists in being Trump sycophants(to be distinguished from those who reluctantly voted for Trump for party loyalty reasons or out of concern for the Dem’s leftward lurch). As far as ideology is concerned, the more left leaning Republicans eventually became Democrats and the more right leaning of Democrats eventually became Republicans over time. From what I’ve noticed with their voting patterns, the former GOP turned Democrats tended to shift left to some extent, and the Democrats turned GOP shifted about equally right. The moderates we talk about ideologically today, wouldn’t be considered moderates in the 1960’s to the 1990’s. Both parties have had realignments where this ideological consolidation took place. With the GOP turning more populist and big government, and the Dems shifting to reflect more of a suburbanite, white collar party, it’ll be interesting to see what the parties look like 20 years from now.

When it comes to temperament, there is a spectrum. On one extreme, you have those who live every aspect of their lives through the frame of partisan politics. They tend to be Very Online, sometimes very woke, and are prone to engaging in cancel culture for those don’t agree with them. On the opposite end is complete apathy. They believe everything government does is part of some grand conspiracy, and are very prone to accepting misinformation peddled as conspiracy theories. They sometimes behave like the hyper political when they don’t get their way. Trumpists seem to include a mix of both extremes. And a combo of both ends seems to be their driving fire to keep peddling the Big Lie, including what Steve eloquently mentioned is happening in Georgia. In the middle, are the moderates when it comes to political behavior. They may be strongly liberal, ideologically moderate, strongly conservative, and all shades in between. These rational, behavioral moderates used to be vocal enough and had enough numbers to keep the performative extremists on both ends in check. But lately, it seems the extremists are squeezing in and rooting out the sensible middle(who are ideologically diverse, but fair minded people of good will). And we are seeing Trump on a vengeful streak the very people who would contribute most to the conservative cause. They are moderate to solidly conservative, but are rhetorically and temperamentally moderate. One of the reasons why the late President Reagan was so successful, is that he knew that good politics is about the political arithmetic of addition, not division and subtraction.

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