Hartmann Report

It’s as difficult to disentangle racism from birtherism as it is tough to separate the Three-Fifths Compromise from the Electoral College. The Three-Fifths Compromise gave a larger share of representation in Congress to slave states. And because the Electoral College reflects the makeup of Congress, one could argue that were it not for slavery, George W. Bush and Donald Trump never would have become president. Slavery has been the single largest defining factor in the history and arc of American politics. That salient “peculiar institution” is responsible for the Second Amendment and for the Electoral College working the way it does.

The Best of the Rest of the News. — What did you think of Trump’s acceptance speech? — Is multi-multi-millionaire JD Vance pretending to be a working class hero? — The Project 2025 plan for Medicare should frighten us all. — Former Republican George Conway rolls out his new “Anti-Psychopath PAC” and it’s a doozy! — Crazy Alert! Newsmax gets Donald Trump Jr’s fiancee to speak for Black woman...say what? — Hunter in a Farmer’s World Alert! ADHD: Pick “positive addictions” like exercise. — Wisdom School Alert! From Soviet Shadows to Pagan Revival: Rediscovering Ancient Spirituality in Modern Latvia

They don't want to tweak government; they want to burn it down and start over from scratch… Today, following both Vance's and Trump's speeches at the RNC, the future trajectory of America if they're elected is pretty clear. First, it's important to acknowledge that this is no longer your (or my) father's GOP. Vance is the pre-packaged, well-massaged "product" of a group of Silicon Valley billionaires who are enamored of the writings of Ayn Rand and David Koch's Libertarian movement. Trump has made it clear he's happy to go along with the Galt's Gulch crowd, particularly if it makes him more money. These men (they're nearly all men) are revolutionaries with little regard for political history or norms. Think Mao, Lenin, Pol Pot, or Mussolini. They don't want to tweak government; they want to burn it down and start it over from scratch. Rebuild it as a completely different system of governance.

Sworn to uphold the law, Republican justices have twisted legal precedents to serve a radical agenda. This betrayal threatens the very fabric of American democracy… In JD Vance's speech last night — arguing that America is "not just an idea" of a pluralistic, multiracial society but instead is "a place that had been cast aside and forgotten by America's ruling class in Washington" where rural white Americans live — he didn't shout out to the Supreme Court and how they have paved the way for the radical Project 2025 agenda to deconstruct the America we know. But he could have. Every one of those Republican justices on the Supreme Court, when questioned about the topic during their Senate confirmation hearings, promised to respect the text and meaning of the Constitution, previous Courts' precedents or stare decisis, and legal history. Each of them lied about these things under oath.

It’s the second-most ancient form of governance humanity knows, described in detail in works both modern and ancient, dating all the way back to ancient Sumeria, China, Mesoamerica & Europe… “If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.” —Thomas Paine, The Crisis, December 23, 1776 Marjorie Taylor Greene told Republicans at the RNC this week that Donald Trump “will make us wealthy.” What’s she really saying? And who is “us”? A lot of words get thrown around to describe what we can expect with a MAGA Republican administration at full strength. From “authoritarian” to “fascist” to “Christian Nationalist” and worse. However, most of these words and phrases have — for most Americans — no specific meaning and so are often just considered either a cheap slur or hyperbole. But the reality is that the MAGA wing of the GOP (now fully in control of the Party) and the rightwing billionaires who fund the think tanks and networks that keep it alive do have a very specific idea about how America should be governed. And there’s nothing new or modern about it.

JD Vance, now the Republican candidate for vice president, is fully supportive of every aspect of Donald Trump's cons and nakedly anti-American and pro-dictator policies... A lot happened at the RNC yesterday, but the most telling moment predicting the future of America's conservative movement and the GOP was when Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was soundly and loudly booed by the assembled delegates and participants, and then JD Vance was selected for VP. It was the death knell of the old order, the Republican Party that has held a relatively consistent set of values since the 1880s, and the beginning of something entirely new.

Will Trump & the RNC repudiate authoritarianism and instead embrace bipartisanship and world peace? Or are they going to continue driving the GOP down the fascist road? Historian Douglas Brinkley told the story on CNN Sunday morning about how after President Ronald Reagan was shot, when he woke up in the hospital, he told a friend nearby that the experience had transformed him, that he was now going to dedicate his life to peace. Not only did he not once blame the shooting on Democrats; Reagan instead largely followed through on that promise.

The founders and framers thought they could prevent somebody like Donald Trump from ever becoming president. They were wrong, and we’re still paying the price. It’s often said that the Electoral College was brought into being to perpetuate or protect the institution of slavery, and, indeed, during the first half-century of America it gave the slave states several presidents who otherwise wouldn’t have been elected. Most of the pro-slave-state bias of the Electoral College, however, was a function of the Three-Fifths Compromise (which, until the 1870s, gave slave states more members in the House of Representatives than called for by the size of their voting public) and the decision to give each state two US senators. But, according to the framers of the Constitution themselves, the real reason for the Electoral College was to prevent a foreign power from placing their stooge in the White House.

The Best of the Rest of the News. — Finally: The New York Times Editorial Board Calls for Republicans To Reject Trump. — Trump Snubs McConnell's Warning, Rolls Out Red Carpet for Authoritarian. — Election Bombshell: RNC Uses Fake Electors to Crown Trump! — Clarence Thomas' all-expense paid visit to Putin? Wait what? — Voter Suppression Alert: House Republicans Pass Controversial SAVE Act! — Inflation Takes a Dip: June's 0.1% Drop Fuels Hopes for Rate Cuts. — Urgent Warning: Southern US Experiencing Unprecedented Sea-Level Rise! — Hunter in a Farmer's World Alert! Workaholic Hunters Need to Schedule Time with Friends

AOC's resolution shines a light on the misconduct of Thomas and Alito. It's a bold step towards cleansing the Supreme Court of corruption… Article III of the Constitution, which defines the roles and powers of the court system, says: "The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour…" Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is taking the Framers at their word; this week she introduced articles of impeachment against both Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.