The 2020 Presidential Election Tournament

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Today was the last day of the RNC.

What a show!

I'll be posting things from it, but there is no comparison with the DNC.

Well, here's a comparison.

It's like President Trump and the RNC staged a symphony orchestra concert playing a heroic symphony and ending with a huge work for orchestra, massive chorus, soloists and offstage brass and percussion, while Biden and the DNC played a kazoo rendition of "We are the Dinosaurs."

Michael

[ThatGuy]

10 minutes ago, Michael Stuart Kelly said:

Today was the last day of the RNC.

What a show!

I'll be posting things from it, but there is no comparison with the DNC.

Well, here's a comparison.

It's like President Trump and the RNC staged a symphony orchestra concert playing a heroic symphony and ending with a huge work for orchestra, massive chorus, soloists and offstage brass and percussion, while Biden and the DNC played a kazoo rendition of "We are the Dinosaurs."

Michael

I dunno...a kazoo rendition of "We Are the Dinosaurs" sounds like it could at least have a campy B-movie fun-factor to it...(maybe more like the Libertarian Party convention?)

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

A few initial reactions about today's RNC conclusion from some of the people I follow on Twitter.

and

and

and

and

There is plenty more where that came from.

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

CSPAN had to change its informal polling method because so many people who called the Democrats line were saying they were going to vote for Trump.

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

On 8/27/2020 at 2:52 PM, Michael Stuart Kelly said:

Pelosi is terrified and trying to fake it with condescension.

In her bubble, no debates might work.

Out here in the real world, she's not going to like the results.

Her backtrack didn't take long at all.

I guess she didn't like the results.

Even Neil Cavuto can't give her much cover.

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

The grind is kicking into gear.

Not grind as in working.

Grind as in grinding down something.

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

21 hours ago, ThatGuy said:

This one's for MSK:
 

 

TG,

I was glad to see that, but I was taking it with a grain of salt. Glenn's audience is growing back since he stopped being an anti-Trumper.

But in this video, he seems sincere.

I still feel uneasy about him, though. I believe in redemption, but I don't think I will ever endorse him the way I used to. That kind of trust has to be earned and I haven't yet seen anything from him that would do that. 

I now find him to be a fellow traveler (except for when he isn't  ) going his own way, not a kindred spirit.

Michael

[tmj]

I think Nancy almost swallowed her dentures choking back and not saying that Joe is a master debater.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

How about the black vote?

This is going all over the Internet.

Talk about laying down some truth...

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

The video below is not a campaign-funded ad.

But it's effective as part of the drip drip drip...

There is a virtual army out there of super-talented people producing things like this on their own.

Lots and lots of things like this.

Trump 2020...

Michael

[Peter]

1 hour ago, Michael Stuart Kelly said:

But it's effective as part of the drip drip drip...

Wait until the aftermath of Trump’s visit to Wisconsin. Mostly, the Kenosha rioters are not from the city of Kenosha. The traitors go there to participate in a rebellion. Trump is not backing down about his visit. "I will see you on Tuesday!” Unfortunately, that reminds me how bank robbers wait for a delivery from an armored car before striking. Peter

Notes. KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Some residents in Kenosha fear a planned visit by President Donald Trump after unrest over the police shooting of Jacob Blake may stir more emotions and cause more violence and destruction in the divided southeastern Wisconsin city after several days of peace . . . . Volunteers and businesses on Sunday worked to clean up from fires and vandalism that destroyed buildings and prompted surviving restaurants, grocery stores, and barbershops to board up . . . Kenosha police said Sunday that they had arrested 175 people since the protests began in the bedroom community between Chicago and Milwaukee. Of those, 102 were from outside Kenosha, including 44 different cities. Many arrests were for curfew violations, and included possible charges for burglary, possession of illegal drugs and carrying concealed weapons without a permit, officials said. More than 20 firearms had been seized.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Give it your best shot, Joe.

Michael

[Jules Troy]

Man of few words?

At least coherent ones anyway...

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

And just to be perfectly clear:

Michael

[Ellen Stuttle]

4 hours ago, Michael Stuart Kelly said:

And just to be perfectly clear:

Did you notice the "Manipulated Media" warning? (That might have been added after you posted the vid.)

Ellen

[Mark]

Ellen,

Spiro Agnew, 13 November 1969
----------------------------------

Tonight I want to discuss the importance of the television news medium to the American people. ... Are we demanding enough of our television news presentations? And are the men of this medium demanding enough of themselves?
... [He criticizes how newscasters treated Nixon’s last public address.]

The purpose of my remarks tonight is to focus your attention on this little group of men who not only enjoy a right of instant rebuttal to every Presidential address, but, more importantly, wield a free hand in selecting, presenting and interpreting the great issues in our nation. First, let’s define that power.
... [He describes how large is the audience of the three television networks.]

Now how is this network news determined? A small group of men, numbering perhaps no more than a dozen anchormen, commentators and executive producers, settle upon the 20 minutes or so of film and commentary that’s to reach the public. This selection is made from the 90 to 180 minutes that may be available. Their powers of choice are broad.

They decide what 40 to 50 million people will learn of the day’s events in the nation and in the world. ... these men can create national issues overnight. They can make or break by their coverage and commentary a moratorium on the war. They can elevate men from obscurity to national prominence within a week. They can reward some politicians with national exposure and ignore others.
... [He gives a few examples and repeats someone’s claim that the powers of the networks represent “a concentration of power over American public opinion unknown in history.”]

Now what do Americans know of the men who wield this power? Of the men who produce and direct the network news, the nation knows practically nothing. Of the commentators, most Americans know little other than that they reflect an urbane and assured presence seemingly well-informed on every important matter. We do know that to a man these commentators and producers live and work in the geographical and intellectual confines of Washington, D.C., or New York City ...
... [and he repeats someone’s claim that this is “the most unrepresentative community in the entire United States.”]

Both communities bask in their own provincialism, their own parochialism.

We can deduce that these men read the same newspapers. They draw their political and social views from the same sources. Worse, they talk constantly to one another, thereby providing artificial reinforcement to their shared viewpoints. Do they allow their biases to influence the selection and presentation of the news? ...
... [He repeats a few TV commentators confessing to their bias and gives an example of it from one of them.]

Is it not fair and relevant to question its concentration in the hands of a tiny, enclosed fraternity of privileged men elected by no one and enjoying a monopoly sanctioned and licensed by Government?

The views of the majority of this fraternity do not ... represent the views of America. That is why such a great gulf existed between how the nation received the President’s address and how the networks reviewed it. ...

... As with other American institutions, perhaps it is time that the networks were made more responsive to the views of the nation and more responsible to the people they serve.

Now I want to make myself perfectly clear. I’m not asking for Government censorship or any other kinds of censorship. I’m asking whether a form of censorship already exists when the news that 40 million Americans receive each night is determined by a handful of men responsible only to their corporate employers and is filtered through a handful of commentators who admit to their own set of biases.

The question I’m raising here tonight should have been raised by others long ago. They should have been raised by those Americans who have traditionally considered the preservation of freedom of speech and freedom of the press their special provinces of responsibility. They should have been raised by those Americans who share the view ... that right conclusions are more likely to be gathered out of a multitude of tongues than through any kind of authoritative selection. ...
...
... [He elaborates at length on the power of the limited number of networks compared with the many newspapers.  He gives further examples the networks misrepresenting current events.]

And in the network’s endless pursuit of controversy, we should ask: ... What is the end result—to inform or to confuse? How does the ongoing exploration for more action, more excitement, more drama serve our national search for internal peace and stability. ... Bad news drives out good news. The irrational is more controversial than the rational. Concurrence can no longer compete with dissent.

... Normality has become the nemesis of the network news. Now the upshot of all this controversy is that a narrow and distorted picture of America often emerges from the televised news.

A single, dramatic piece of the mosaic becomes in the minds of millions the entire picture. And the American who relies upon television for his news might conclude that the majority of American students are embittered radicals. That the majority of black Americans feel no regard for their country. That violence and lawlessness are the rule rather than the exception on the American campus.

We know that none of these conclusions is true.

Perhaps the place to start looking for a credibility gap is not the offices of the Government in Washington but in the studios of the networks in New York. ...
...
... when a single commentator or producer, night after night, determines for millions of people how much of each side of a great issue they are going to see and hear, should he not first disclose his personal views on the issue as well?

In this search for excitement and controversy, has more than equal time gone to the minority of Americans who specialize in attacking the United States—its institutions and its citizens?

Tonight I’ve raised questions. I’ve made no attempt to suggest the answers. The answers must come from the media men. They are challenged to turn their critical powers on themselves, to direct their energy, their talent and their conviction toward improving the quality and objectivity of news presentation. They are challenged to structure their own civic ethics to relate to the great responsibilities they hold.

And the people of America are challenged, too, challenged to press for responsible news presentation. The people can let the networks know that they want their news straight and objective. The people can register their complaints on bias through mail to the networks and phone calls to local stations. This is one case where the people must defend themselves, where
the citizen, not the Government, must be the reformer; where the consumer can be the most effective crusader.
...
... we’d never trust such power, as I’ve described, over public opinion in the hands of an elected Government. It’s time we questioned it in the hands of a small unelected elite. The great networks have dominated America’s airwaves for decades. The people are entitled a full accounting their stewardship.

[Mark]

A Tyranny Perpetual and Universal?
Is the leftist dream now within reach? If President Trump loses, we will find out.

Great article by Michael Anton, famous for the essay “The Flight 93 Election” during the last election.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

6 hours ago, Ellen Stuttle said:

Did you notice the "Manipulated Media" warning? (That might have been added after you posted the vid.)

Ellen,

It wasn't appearing on my computer when I posted it.

But it is manipulated media. And the Trump War Room finally justified it.

Cringe...

This was not one of their better efforts. They should not have used the word "joke."

That's what idiots say when they get busted, they were only joking.

I understand the point of the Trump War Room, though. The left constantly takes phrases President Trump said out of context, then accuses him of racism and other do-nasties--like with the "fine people" hoax.

For those who don't know what this is, during the Charlottesville statue demonstration a while back, President Trump said there were fine people on both sides of the issue (meaning the statue issue). Then three or four seconds later, he said of course, he wasn't talking about white supremacists, who should always be condemned.

Then the left took the first "fine people" part, chopped off the second denouncing white supremacists, and ran with it as proof that Trump is a white supremacist. "Trump says white supremacists are very fine people." Blah blah blah. This would be silly if not for the fact that, even today, Biden perpetrates this hoax in his speeches. And many Biden followers believe it.

Obviously, Twitter does not object when that happens.

The problem with the attempt above is that this underlying message is too subtle for effect.

But I might be wrong. It is causing quite a shit storm with GOTCHA galore coming from self-righteous Twitter warriors.

After this cooks for a while and the left goes nuts with it and amplifies it all over the place, if the Trump War Room can present something colorful and widely viewed with the message, if Biden can do it, so can we, this thing might come off in terms of getting some of the duped Biden supporters to look at the hoax for a fact check.

 

 

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

I'm beginning to think giving the Democrats a taste of their own medicine through editing videos has been discussed and encouraged among the backroom people.

Steve Scalise did a manipulated video before the "You won't be safe in Joe Biden's America!" video above.

It's causing an uproar, so that part is working. But I don't see many people on the Republican side saying this is payback and chuckling (like they do when President Trump does his excesses). I just see people looking on as if this were a misfire. That's a good way to brand yourself with the wrong thing to your own people.

Steve Scalise removes video accusing Biden of wanting to defund police after backlash over alleged manipulation

Everybody is grandstanding in that article, and frankly, in this event, so I don't think this particular video is going to have any impact on the election. None at all. Ditto for the "You won't be safe in Joe Biden's America!" video.

But I wish they would get more creative and do it right. Hell, they should run this stuff by President Trump before they let loose. He knows how to do it right. Two words from him would show them how to fix it and make lib heads explode all over the fake news mainstream media and fake news social media.

Michael

[Peter]

If I heard correctly the Kenosha city council welcomes Trump's visit.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Dayaamm!

it looks like there is going to be a steady stream of these kinds of videos every time Biden opens his mouth.

I'm still holding out for Hillary Clinton to make her move.

The problem with the Dems, though, is that Biden won't die.

I think they thought it would be easy to convince him to step back and let someone younger step in once things were in place with the nomination. They didn't count on the vanity of politicians. Biden--qua politician--could become catatonic and would still refuse to back out with goddam eye movements.

So, for the puppet-masters behind the scenes, for them to have a fighting chance, he needs to die. Like yesterday. Of natural causes. Unaided. Because the world lens is just too focused on him right now for anything other than provable natural causes to work.

But the sucker won't die.

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Panic setting in.

This is not a fluke video.

There is a ton of stuff like this out there.

Michael

[Mark]

I don't like Biden either but Trump's alleged excerpt sounds like it was made from words cut and pasted together from Biden's speech.  It sounds phony.

Below is Biden's original speech.  I haven't listened to all of it but what little I did listen to was cogent.

 

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

30 minutes ago, Mark said:

... Trump's alleged excerpt sounds like it was made from words cut and pasted together from Biden's speech.  It sounds phony.

9:40

Listen or not. You're choice.

30 minutes ago, Mark said:

I haven't listened to all of it but what little I did listen to was cogent.

9:40

Listen or not. You're choice.

Here are Biden's words that are supposedly "cut and pasted together" and "phony."

Quote

"Covid has taken this year, just since the outbreak, has taken more than 100 year, look, here's, the lives, it's just, when you think about it."

9:40

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Here's a an easy way to put to rest any doubts people may have about Biden's waning mental faculties.

From The Washington Examiner, Byron York reporting, from a few days ago:

Trump calls for drug tests before Biden debate

Quote

President Trump says he will call for drug tests for both former Vice President Joe Biden and himself before the first candidates' debate on Sept. 29. In an Oval Office interview Wednesday, the president expressed suspicion at what he said was a sudden, marked improvement in Biden's debate performance during the Democratic primary season and suggested that he believes the improvement was the result of drugs. The president offered no evidence to support his speculation.

. . .

Q: "What do you think was going on?"

"I don't know how he could have been so incompetent in his debate performances and then all of a sudden be OK against Bernie," Trump answered. "My point is, if you go back and watch some of those numerous debates, he was so bad. He wasn't even coherent. And against Bernie, he was. And we're calling for a drug test."

Q: "Is this like a prizefight, where beforehand you have a test?"

"Well, it is a prizefight," Trump answered. "It's no different from the gladiators, except we have to use our brain and our mouth. And our body to stand. I want all standing; they want to sit down."

Trump based his call entirely on his own observations and not on any actual knowledge of Biden's actions. "All I can tell you is that I'm pretty good at this stuff," he said. "I look. I watched him in the debates with all of the different people. He was close to incompetent, if not incompetent, and against Bernie, he was normal ... and I say, 'How does that happen?'"

A drug test is a reasonable demand.

If anyone opposes it, we know what they want to hide.

 

A President should govern with his normal human mental faculties functioning, his brain fully functioning on its own, not with his brain dependent on a drug to work correctly for a short spell.

Michael