I like all of it; f-bombs, misspellings, typos! The while enchilada! And the commentary!
Thanks Jeff for giving it a shot and not overthinking it but just putting it out there! Because at the time the richest middleaged crybaby had his big spoon out and stirring up Twitter and I was, oh no, we can't lose Jeff's writing!
So glad you did page one and onward. My comment, What he said!!!
I’m sorry, and I didn’t mean to offend you. I just have a sarcastic sense of humor. I’m a retired copy editor, among other things, so I tend to find typos whether I want to or not. 😊
No worries. Not trying to make an excuse for myself. I realize how frustrating it must be to read typos. Sorta like having a career in science and listening to morons talk about doing their own research? Hahaha?!
Wish I could send you a cake. Love the name you chose in 90 seconds flat (now THAT'S quick-witted), the community you've built here who are hilarious and informed and very fine spellers and way cool, and of course: opening up the present that is your Substack every morning. Happy Birthday to yoooouu!
Jeff, thank YOU for writing these brilliant pieces each day! They are a breath of fresh air wafting over the landfill of news we receive daily. (Also--your spelling is exceptional.)
YOU, Dear Jeff Tiedrich, are helping me and probably countless others from descending into a total hopeless funk. I love your daily rants, cannot live without them. Never stop! 💙
I don't know about that. I look to you as the authority on the proper spelling of your everlonger description of the orange one. More hyphenated and multisyllabic words every week!
You can. NOT. Imagine how much I look forward to this little shouty newsy thang every day. Thank YOU for allowing us to see written down and confirming all the scary thoughts swirling around our heads and putting them in such an elegant manner. ❤️
I am happy to see you at this location since I quit one of those others. You may have as well, I believe. You are someone's whose comments I enjoy, and I remember your name because each time I see it I think of Mt. Everest.
Thank you! Yes, this is going to be my home now. I can't stomach what Steve has done. He's been manipulating us for quite a while now I see in retrospect. All of those columns on Biden's age -- over and over and over again. All of those pictures of his trip with his son, his dogs? IMHO, it was BS to cover up the arrangements he was making with Phillips. He has changed his stripes many times: repugnicant to (supposedly) Democrat and apparently back to repugnicant again; Christian to Jew; some others I'm forgetting. He has his rages against certain people: John McCain, Maggie Haberman among other, which I always thought was weird -- i.e., borderline behavior from "love them" to "hate them". The group was great, over all, but I'm gone -- as are you and many (most?) others. I don't think I can get back my subscription fee, but I'mma gonna try!
Me too! I quit Steve S. when he started bitching about ppl he had a personal vendetta against. I commented to him that I thought he was above that because he really had a smart and wise way of putting things during Trump's time in office. I respected him, I thought he was fantastic. I also followed Jeff religiously and Asha Rangappa and Politics Girl and Sarah Cooper (she did the lip syncing thing to trumpf's speeches and news interviews- like "How to Medical" etc) she was hilarious but now she's all about advertising her comic career and book deal. Only one who lasted is Jeff, he's the only one I read every day and I love him to bits! I still like Asha and Politics Girl but they depress me, they don't make feel better about all the bullshit going on, just worse, and worried. Anyways
"Happy Happy- Joy-Joy Birthday!"- Ren & Stimpy-- "Drinks-! For all my friends!" -Barfly (Mickey Rourke)
I like Joyce Vance. She helps me understand some complex legal issues. You were very perceptive to recognize an imbalance in Steve when he began attacking people who, as you say, he had a personal vendetta against. I felt extremely uncomfortable with his attacks on McCain and his daughter and on Maggie Haberman. Someone else reminded me of Harry/Megan.
You know, I stopped following and listening to him when he went overboard on the Megan/Harry stuff. A little bit was okay, but I didn't see the relevance to any of it to what we were dealing with here.
He pushed really hard for Tim Ryan for the Senate in OH, and I absolutely agreed with him there. Now I wonder whether he was trying to be a Kingmaker and thought that Tim would be his ticket to the WH against Joe. I don't think Tim Ryan, had he won, would have been party to anything like what Phillips is doing!
I unsubscribed the damn nanosecond after I read his "announcement" about supporting Dean Phillips. Stopped following him. I won't try to get my money back; it's not worth the hassle for 75 bucks. I can't wait to see Rick Wilson shred him. God, he just made me so angry and I also felt betrayed. Grrr.
As I've contemplated the situation, I would sum it up by saying that Steve appeared to want to be a moral authority. He wanted to wear an S on his shirt and be praised for saving democracy. In the end, he turned out to be nothing more than a wannabe king maker and shill for the highest bidder. That is how I view it and why I'm going away.
Why is it white men with a lot of money think they are entitled to run for president with barely any governing experience? There are certainly more people who know Dean Phillips' name now than before this stunt.
Judges are supposed to avoid the appearance of impropriety where it could be mistaken for such a thing. (Too bad this isn't a requirement for all in gov't or life.) Steve is protesting the protestations around Harlan Crow while claiming innocence in the vein of tffg, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Bob Menendez, et al. in my never humble viewing of it. What is the technical term? Oh right, twatwaffle.
Kathy, you just perfectly summed up everything I’ve been thinking about Steve Schmidt for a while, and that’s why I quit about a month ago and you stopped seeing me on that site. I’m so glad you’re here too. Plus that business you mentioned about him raising his fees...that’s just BS. He was always charging more than the average Substack anyway.
You were more aware than I. It took that insane post yesterday for me to blow -- although as I said, I'd been feeling increasingly more uncomfortable over time.
I’m not sure what Rick Wilson charges because I am a free subscriber at the moment. But Rick allows unpaid subscribers to comment on most of his newsletters. He puts out some podcasts and a newsletter now and then for paid subscribers, but he makes most of his stuff available for free. I had no real clue that Steve was going to do this, but there was something about his ego, his anger against certain people, the Biden age thing, and other stuff that was troubling me and I just said goodbye. He did interview Dean Phillips a while back, so I had a feeling this might happen, but I never knew for sure. After I heard about this, because Lisa sent me a text letting me know, I went into his latest newsletter and read it, and I saw all the parting angry comments that people were writing. I’m glad that people let him have it. I’m not sure it will change anything about him, but it looks like a good 80% of people dropped out in one day.
Same here. I am repulsed by social media, and I may be the only person in the universe that’s never had an active Facebook, TikTok, or Twitter account.
Hello again, I’m just sticking this here because it’s a link to a newsletter by the attorney, Robert Hubbell, who has been publishing for several years. I discovered him about a year ago because someone pointed him out to me, and I find him to be highly intelligent, optimistic, and a balm for the soul during these difficult times. All of his newsletters are free unless you want to comment, because he tends to get a bunch of trolls if he doesn’t restrict the commenting; however, the site has been very clean lately, mainly because you have to pay to comment. He sends the newsletter out late every night Pacific time except for Saturdays, so most people read it in the morning. I am a paying subscriber because I feel my money is well spent on Robert, and it’s only five dollars a month. I think he’s one of the sanest voices out there in the Democratic Party. Have a good rest of the weekend. I am exhausted and going to bed early. I don’t know how President Biden does what he does. He absolutely amazes me, which is why I’m so disgusted with this focus on the age thing.
Happy Fucking Birthday Jeff! You’re hilarious, profane, and spot on every time. Thank you for helping us cope with all the fuckery with humor. You’re the BEST!
Speaking as someone who woke up on her birthday in 2016 to the awful news of TFG not losing badly enough — because he never fucking won anything — adding “fucktangle” and “shitweasle” to my vocab ALONE is more than worth my sub. Thank you, Jeff, for your bottomless outrage. ❤️
Are you kidding me now? You are why I get out of bed every morning. I had no idea who you were but started reading you and thinking, this guy thinks just like me and uses the same language doing it! 😝 Ever since 2016, The F bomb is my go to, and I thought, being a 70 something grandma I shouldn’t be acting this way, but I do and love every second on here with like minded folks! Happy Birthday to us! And thank you Jeff! You rock!
Oh, no no, not in front of my sweet granddaughter. But this grandma, did fill her in on the orange 💩 and how justice was coming for him. I asked her if they were discussing the indictments in current events…..she said they didn’t discuss current events in school….wait, what? And she goes to a good school! 🤔
Teachers and school board members are already going through a LOT due to the politicizing of education; I'm not surprised that they don't want phone calls and hate emails every evening after discussing the news of the day in school.
IKR? If we'd all had interesting history teachers, maybe we really could learn some history and stop repeating it like it's happening for the first time! I wish I had grandkids just so I could read them those books. Adults don't like it when I try and get them to sit in a reading circle on the floor.
I’m in your age group, Joanne, and I too have colored the air very very blue since 2016. I was never a heavy cusser, and was very careful not to curse around the older English cousins. But I’m afraid to go see them now for fear I won’t be able to rein it in anymore. The bastard’s really fucked up my human relations in more than one way.
I know what you mean! I used to be a nice person, and now I'm all, FUCK 'EM! Agent Orange has affected us all in some way or another, but at least I'm not in a cult!
I probably talk too much to "people" online who think that FJB are Joe Biden's initials. You can read the right-wing talking points coming through every time, as if THEY get a newsletter every morning. I'm pulling back from them because it has made me nastier than I wish to be. Someone a few days ago told me that the flag in my avatar was a PedoFlag! What can you possibly do with that but ignore it or fight it? I'm ignoring it more and more. It leads nowhere, ever. Thanks, Deb!
Agreed! I think I may be going to hell for some of my thoughts regarding the Orange turd, like hoping he chokes on a chicken bone, or slips in the bathroom and hits his orange pouf on his golden commode...🤭 but I don’t think of myself as a bad person...only one who is scared to death of what will happen if he doesn’t go to jail.
Agent Orange: I have no idea what rock I’ve been living under, but I think that’s the first time I’ve heard that name for Trump, and I’ve heard a lot of names for that madman. It’s perfect. He’s like a disease that rots people (his followers) from the inside out.
Spike Lee did an excellent documentary series in 2021 called, "NYC Epicenters: 9/11-2021½." (Also HBO, like "Game Change") In it, when he had to refer to Trump in on-screen graphics, he never used his name and only identified him as "Agent Orange." This is a pretty serious documentary and that came up the first time and I almost fell out of the chair! And he carried it throughout -- I never saw anything like "Donald Trump" onscreen, just "Agent Orange."
I also threaded wrong, so this comment is floating free in the comments! LOL No editing here, I guess.
I heard about this film, but I have not seen it yet. It’s been very well reviewed almost everywhere and I absolutely love Spike Lee. I think he’s one of the best filmmakers of our generation. I’ll have to make a point of watching this at some point. Thanks for mentioning this.
Congratulations, Jeff! And more importantly, THANK YOU for keeping us informed, while always finding humor in every bat-shit-crazy situation.. We’re all so much better off because of your newsletter and this fabulous community!
Happy Birthday! I am so glad you got the idea to do this Jeff. We get to hear the truth AND laugh often. The only combination that saves sanity. Thank you! Hugs from Chicago!
Congratulations Jeff!!!! I’m so happy to have you and the gang to help me get through the toxic Years Of Orange Makeup Hell!! Thanks for all the time and effort you put in leading this crew ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Happy birthday. This place has made my life better. Even when I turn off ALL the incoming news - print, tv, blogs, articles, etc., I still look forward to and read Jeff’s opinion and everyone’s comments. And before I get all sappy here, may I add that some of you guys are right bastards and funny as all get out.
I just upgraded to paid today (immediately after unsubscribing from Steve Schmidt's newsletter after he announced he's working on Dean Phillips' campaign, because fuck that guy). Happy to be here!
Hi Andrea, about a month ago I unsubscribed from Steve because his ever increasing ego was really a turn off for me. I was also done with the Biden/Harris bashing, and I had a feeling when he interviewed Dean Phillips a while ago that he was going to do this. I suggest you hop on over to Rick Wilson’s Substack site. Rick is intelligent, funny, and understands way better than Steve does what is at stake in the United States these days. He’s not going to try to end our democracy by pumping up a little known, inexperienced congressman because he’s going to get some big income from it. Also, Rick is going to be working hard to take Dean Phillips down early in this egomaniacal adventure. You’ll love the community we have here at Jeff’s site. And you’ll probably very much enjoy Rick Wilson as well.
I've been reading Rick Wilson for the past month or so and am thisclose to clicking the Upgrade button. I saw his short take-down video of Deam Phillips, and if I were Phillips, I'd be running for the hills! Now, Schmidt is doing his campaign? Yeah, fuck him and that! There has always been, for me, something off-putting about Steve Schmidt. No matter what he was talking about, usually against fascism, etc., it always seemed just a little bit too strident for my tastes -- somewhere along the lines of the lady protesting too much. After getting over the initial kneejerk reaction to Rick Wilson, though, and reading his ETTD book, he seemed to me to be far more sincere in his efforts to take down the Orange Menace. Didn't Schmidt have a falling out with The Lincoln Project too?
In the end, he brought us Sarah Palin, and I have a VERY difficult time forgiving that because of what it lead to. Nicolle Wallace has done penance for that since 2008 and is now a well-respected FORMER Republican on MSNBC, and I have no qualms about her at all anymore. Steve Schmidt made a big production out of leaving the Republican Party and is now campaign manager for a Biden spoiler candidate? Yeah, fuck that guy!
Everything you said!! Money talks you know. As far as I know, Schmidt left the LP a while ago, but he claims to have been the main start up guy for the organization. In any case, I’m done with him. I got sick of the “Biden is too old” drama a month ago, so I was gone before this announcement.
All anybody on that side seems to have left is the "Biden is too old" trope. And, well, I don't much care how old he is -- he's been one of the best presidents of my 65-year lifetime. I hesitate to say he's doing as well or even better than Obama did, but I think I will anyway. Obama had the "problem" of having to be careful of everything he did and said because he was President While Black. Biden doesn't have that problem, so look what the evil in the Republican Party does. It's Hunter, and Ashley, and bank deposits from Joe's brother, and a whole host of bullshit that is meaningless. So, they go to "age." It's bullshit and I can only hope that enough people realize that to re-elect him.
I forgot about the ONE good thing coming from the appearance of Sarah Palin, getting to see Julianne Moore portray her insane ass in "Game Change." I'd even give an honorable mention to Tina Fey! Palin was only good for high drama and comedy. "All of them, Katie. All of them." 🤣🤣🤣
I never saw that movie! I may need to look it up. By the way, when you were still subscribed to Steve Schmidt, do you remember when he disowned the accusation of pairing McCain up with Sarah Palin? Apparently someone else on the team had the idea and he tried to dissuade them from inviting her in as the VP. So I think he doesn’t want the blame to go to him, and I don’t know the backstory so I won’t comment any further.
And I agree that Republicans have literally no policies that the American people are interested in. And they know this, so it’s all about these culture issues and other stupidity to get the base riled up. I don’t think there are enough crazy people out there to vote for Trump again, but with all these other candidates in the mix, now I have concerns; which is why it seems like such an atrocious act of selfishness for Steve to do this.
No, I was never subscribed to him. I was referencing when I'd see him on MSNBC after he left the Dark Side, supposedly, but the story wouldn't surprise me at all.
I was on month to month with Steve Schmidt and actually wrote to him that although I did appreciate his commentary, "a little goes a long way." And Dean Phillips is my Congressman! Kind of a WTF moment when that announcement came out...
I have liked Dean Phillips as a Congressman but never thought about him in the WH! Such dangerous times... I can't believe the rational vote would go for Trump in 2024 but I guess we have already seen stranger things happening... is this a hedge running Dean? The polls have been rather inaccurate from 2016, forward. So, am I to believe that Trump is really in the lead? Is this primary action a reaction to Trump or something else? And does this just make open labels more likely to run their GOP-type candidate. Can they?
I don’t think Trump is really in the lead. I’m not going to start worrying about polls until sometime next year. Anything can happen between now and then, and this entire campaign with Phillips could fall flat on its face, especially after Rick Wilson, the attack dog, goes after both of them. When former friends become enemies, it can be quite interesting. My understanding is that your congressman has voted 100% with Biden. That’s the kind of Democrat we need, especially coming from Midwestern states. This whole thing is just crazy.
Also, Schmidt is very persuasive in his rhetoric but he is also trying to create the case from flimsy evidence (polls) and fear mongering.
Do we wish for a perfect candidate? Or a younger one or one as charismatic as Obama? Sure. But what we have is a wishing is bs and we have very successful president, now. Opposition groups including a fascist GOP would rather dismantle our government and replace it with project 2025! That is a greater risk than fear of aging. I would rather have 4 more years of Biden, as a steady and experienced statesman over Phillips, who got played and now wants to play us, the voters of any stripe.
He would better serve the US by getting re-elected in his district. It will be a shame if a Republican takes over that seat, because Dean is NOT going to be president. I hope this turns out to highlight Biden's vast experience compared to a guy who ran an ice cream empire before holding office. There is no comparison with Biden's expertise in everything from domestic to foreign issues.
I unsubscribed today as well and unfollowed Schmidt on Twitter. And yes, Andrea - FUCK that guy! There are so many amazing future Democrat leaders i.e. Buttigieg, Whitmer, Newsom, Goldman, Raskin, Harris, Pritzker, Klobuchar, etc. (too many to list) that will step forward in 2028 but 2024 is NOT the time and another billionaire wannabe is not the one. President Biden has earned the right to finish the job and I, for one, am going to help him do just that!
I read Steve for free and I get so pissed off that I couldn’t leave comments every time he brought up Biden’s age. (The Bulwark keeps doing this too.) There were LOTS of people who said they were unsubscribing today. As Janet said, check out Rick Wilson. He did a great YouTube on Dean, saying he’s going to regret throwing his hat in the ring. Rick also wrote the books “Everything rump Touches Dies” & “Running Against the Devil”
Phillips is a very wealthy man, and I’m sure there’s big money in this for Steve. After he has spent the past year writing incessantly about what grave danger we are in and the fascist uprising, he goes and does this, putting a good man like Biden in even more danger. WTF?!
Count me among the unsubscribed. He was talking out of both sides of his mouth. All I have to go on is what he says and the actions that back up those words. They stopped synchronizing. I moved on and will not listen to him again. I don't give a benefit of the doubt when your words stop matching your actions especially when you have a previous record of Palin and Schultz.
forgot to mention that you folks all spell better than I do, too
At least you didn't celebrate with an unsolicited dick pic, Republican style!
It's comments like this that make me celebrate being here. Praise Zeus. Blessed. 🤣🤣🤣
🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣
How fucking true is that !!!
😹😹😹
Your spelling doesn’t keep us coming back each day, your wit and f-bombs do.
I like all of it; f-bombs, misspellings, typos! The while enchilada! And the commentary!
Thanks Jeff for giving it a shot and not overthinking it but just putting it out there! Because at the time the richest middleaged crybaby had his big spoon out and stirring up Twitter and I was, oh no, we can't lose Jeff's writing!
So glad you did page one and onward. My comment, What he said!!!
You mean the “whole” enchilada, right? I mean since you’re talking about typos.😂😂
If you say so
Excuse my typos as I am losing my vision so I don't catch them all.
I’m sorry, and I didn’t mean to offend you. I just have a sarcastic sense of humor. I’m a retired copy editor, among other things, so I tend to find typos whether I want to or not. 😊
No worries. Not trying to make an excuse for myself. I realize how frustrating it must be to read typos. Sorta like having a career in science and listening to morons talk about doing their own research? Hahaha?!
Wish I could send you a cake. Love the name you chose in 90 seconds flat (now THAT'S quick-witted), the community you've built here who are hilarious and informed and very fine spellers and way cool, and of course: opening up the present that is your Substack every morning. Happy Birthday to yoooouu!
Jeff, thank YOU for writing these brilliant pieces each day! They are a breath of fresh air wafting over the landfill of news we receive daily. (Also--your spelling is exceptional.)
YOU, Dear Jeff Tiedrich, are helping me and probably countless others from descending into a total hopeless funk. I love your daily rants, cannot live without them. Never stop! 💙
Truth!
Doesn’t make us better at anything much
I don't know about that. I look to you as the authority on the proper spelling of your everlonger description of the orange one. More hyphenated and multisyllabic words every week!
I have an unhealthy hate for the red squiggly lines under misspelled words, so it's a gift AND a curse.
No FUCKING way!
We have the best words too!
We ain’t got no good grammar however.
You can. NOT. Imagine how much I look forward to this little shouty newsy thang every day. Thank YOU for allowing us to see written down and confirming all the scary thoughts swirling around our heads and putting them in such an elegant manner. ❤️
100%
(agree with all except -- "elegant"? LOL!!!)
I am happy to see you at this location since I quit one of those others. You may have as well, I believe. You are someone's whose comments I enjoy, and I remember your name because each time I see it I think of Mt. Everest.
Thank you! Yes, this is going to be my home now. I can't stomach what Steve has done. He's been manipulating us for quite a while now I see in retrospect. All of those columns on Biden's age -- over and over and over again. All of those pictures of his trip with his son, his dogs? IMHO, it was BS to cover up the arrangements he was making with Phillips. He has changed his stripes many times: repugnicant to (supposedly) Democrat and apparently back to repugnicant again; Christian to Jew; some others I'm forgetting. He has his rages against certain people: John McCain, Maggie Haberman among other, which I always thought was weird -- i.e., borderline behavior from "love them" to "hate them". The group was great, over all, but I'm gone -- as are you and many (most?) others. I don't think I can get back my subscription fee, but I'mma gonna try!
Me too! I quit Steve S. when he started bitching about ppl he had a personal vendetta against. I commented to him that I thought he was above that because he really had a smart and wise way of putting things during Trump's time in office. I respected him, I thought he was fantastic. I also followed Jeff religiously and Asha Rangappa and Politics Girl and Sarah Cooper (she did the lip syncing thing to trumpf's speeches and news interviews- like "How to Medical" etc) she was hilarious but now she's all about advertising her comic career and book deal. Only one who lasted is Jeff, he's the only one I read every day and I love him to bits! I still like Asha and Politics Girl but they depress me, they don't make feel better about all the bullshit going on, just worse, and worried. Anyways
"Happy Happy- Joy-Joy Birthday!"- Ren & Stimpy-- "Drinks-! For all my friends!" -Barfly (Mickey Rourke)
I like Joyce Vance. She helps me understand some complex legal issues. You were very perceptive to recognize an imbalance in Steve when he began attacking people who, as you say, he had a personal vendetta against. I felt extremely uncomfortable with his attacks on McCain and his daughter and on Maggie Haberman. Someone else reminded me of Harry/Megan.
Politics Girl is steady, as is Rick Wilson, not cross-promoting here on Jeff's time but it has come up somehow about these folks.
Too many bright comedians just use Xitter to promote their shows and merch. It's too bad, because they have a lot to offer.
One last holdout is Trae Crowder, the "liberal redneck"; he's not co-opted into nothing but self-promotion. So far.
Anyway happy birthday fucking-anniversary, Jeff.
"I don't think you're happy enough..."
You know, I stopped following and listening to him when he went overboard on the Megan/Harry stuff. A little bit was okay, but I didn't see the relevance to any of it to what we were dealing with here.
He pushed really hard for Tim Ryan for the Senate in OH, and I absolutely agreed with him there. Now I wonder whether he was trying to be a Kingmaker and thought that Tim would be his ticket to the WH against Joe. I don't think Tim Ryan, had he won, would have been party to anything like what Phillips is doing!
Very interesting. (You're right about Megan/Harry. I'd forgotten about that.)
When there was the split with Lincoln Project, that was my canary. The bird said, "ruh-roah."
May I please ask who Steve is? Because if I’m following him I want to stop!!
Steve Schmidt, the man who helped usher Sarah Palin into our lives.
It has to be Schmidt. That dude has become (or, always was) so full of himself. I mean, what a wanker.
I’m going to have to keep looking, I don’t think I am but better to be safe
then sorry!!!
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/steve-schmidt-advising-dean-phillips-1234864257/
Are you following him?
No, I am not!! 👏
I don’t know! How can I find out?
I unsubscribed the damn nanosecond after I read his "announcement" about supporting Dean Phillips. Stopped following him. I won't try to get my money back; it's not worth the hassle for 75 bucks. I can't wait to see Rick Wilson shred him. God, he just made me so angry and I also felt betrayed. Grrr.
Yes. Guess we were "Warned". LOL
As I've contemplated the situation, I would sum it up by saying that Steve appeared to want to be a moral authority. He wanted to wear an S on his shirt and be praised for saving democracy. In the end, he turned out to be nothing more than a wannabe king maker and shill for the highest bidder. That is how I view it and why I'm going away.
Why is it white men with a lot of money think they are entitled to run for president with barely any governing experience? There are certainly more people who know Dean Phillips' name now than before this stunt.
Judges are supposed to avoid the appearance of impropriety where it could be mistaken for such a thing. (Too bad this isn't a requirement for all in gov't or life.) Steve is protesting the protestations around Harlan Crow while claiming innocence in the vein of tffg, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Bob Menendez, et al. in my never humble viewing of it. What is the technical term? Oh right, twatwaffle.
LOL!
Twatwaffle for president! Has a nice ring to it.
Kathy, you just perfectly summed up everything I’ve been thinking about Steve Schmidt for a while, and that’s why I quit about a month ago and you stopped seeing me on that site. I’m so glad you’re here too. Plus that business you mentioned about him raising his fees...that’s just BS. He was always charging more than the average Substack anyway.
You were more aware than I. It took that insane post yesterday for me to blow -- although as I said, I'd been feeling increasingly more uncomfortable over time.
Wilson is $60.
I’m not sure what Rick Wilson charges because I am a free subscriber at the moment. But Rick allows unpaid subscribers to comment on most of his newsletters. He puts out some podcasts and a newsletter now and then for paid subscribers, but he makes most of his stuff available for free. I had no real clue that Steve was going to do this, but there was something about his ego, his anger against certain people, the Biden age thing, and other stuff that was troubling me and I just said goodbye. He did interview Dean Phillips a while back, so I had a feeling this might happen, but I never knew for sure. After I heard about this, because Lisa sent me a text letting me know, I went into his latest newsletter and read it, and I saw all the parting angry comments that people were writing. I’m glad that people let him have it. I’m not sure it will change anything about him, but it looks like a good 80% of people dropped out in one day.
I have never been a participant in either Twitter -- I mean x -- or Tik Tok. They never sat well with me, and even more so now.
I am happy for the existence of both Jeff's daily report and some other writers on Substack, all of which I only got into about six months ago.
Same here. I am repulsed by social media, and I may be the only person in the universe that’s never had an active Facebook, TikTok, or Twitter account.
P.S. My husband is indeed a sherpa from Nepal. Never worked on Chomolungma, (means "Goddess Mother of the World"), however!
Wow!!!! How incredibly awesome!
Same! I found Jeff first after a year away from that other place!
Hello again, I’m just sticking this here because it’s a link to a newsletter by the attorney, Robert Hubbell, who has been publishing for several years. I discovered him about a year ago because someone pointed him out to me, and I find him to be highly intelligent, optimistic, and a balm for the soul during these difficult times. All of his newsletters are free unless you want to comment, because he tends to get a bunch of trolls if he doesn’t restrict the commenting; however, the site has been very clean lately, mainly because you have to pay to comment. He sends the newsletter out late every night Pacific time except for Saturdays, so most people read it in the morning. I am a paying subscriber because I feel my money is well spent on Robert, and it’s only five dollars a month. I think he’s one of the sanest voices out there in the Democratic Party. Have a good rest of the weekend. I am exhausted and going to bed early. I don’t know how President Biden does what he does. He absolutely amazes me, which is why I’m so disgusted with this focus on the age thing.
https://open.substack.com/pub/roberthubbell/p/a-choice-republicans-will-regret?r=2vk1c6&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
I'm already a subscriber with Robert Hubbell, too! I also like his newsletters very much.
I wasn’t sure. Good to know. 😊
I love elegant..........truth style ☮️
LOL!
"elegant" = SATIRE
Indeed!
Good to see you here!!! 😊
Came here to say this
Me too♥️
Love your newsletter. Your snark keeps me going in the crazy world.
I love being in a place who all speak snark as their native tongue.
Happy Fucking Birthday Jeff! You’re hilarious, profane, and spot on every time. Thank you for helping us cope with all the fuckery with humor. You’re the BEST!
Speaking as someone who woke up on her birthday in 2016 to the awful news of TFG not losing badly enough — because he never fucking won anything — adding “fucktangle” and “shitweasle” to my vocab ALONE is more than worth my sub. Thank you, Jeff, for your bottomless outrage. ❤️
Fucktangle and shitweasel are great!! Love them both 🤣
Jeff needs his own dictionary; he creates the BEST words.
It is indeed a real community. Ragtag or scholarly, outraged or... outrageous. JT, you da man.
Are you kidding me now? You are why I get out of bed every morning. I had no idea who you were but started reading you and thinking, this guy thinks just like me and uses the same language doing it! 😝 Ever since 2016, The F bomb is my go to, and I thought, being a 70 something grandma I shouldn’t be acting this way, but I do and love every second on here with like minded folks! Happy Birthday to us! And thank you Jeff! You rock!
There was never a better time to use the fuck word with abandon. It’s my fave although i zip it up in front of grandkids. 😉
Oh, no no, not in front of my sweet granddaughter. But this grandma, did fill her in on the orange 💩 and how justice was coming for him. I asked her if they were discussing the indictments in current events…..she said they didn’t discuss current events in school….wait, what? And she goes to a good school! 🤔
Teachers and school board members are already going through a LOT due to the politicizing of education; I'm not surprised that they don't want phone calls and hate emails every evening after discussing the news of the day in school.
Give her James Fell's Sweary History books. She'll be smarter and better off for it. ♥️
IKR? If we'd all had interesting history teachers, maybe we really could learn some history and stop repeating it like it's happening for the first time! I wish I had grandkids just so I could read them those books. Adults don't like it when I try and get them to sit in a reading circle on the floor.
Ditto from this 78 year old activist.
I’m in your age group, Joanne, and I too have colored the air very very blue since 2016. I was never a heavy cusser, and was very careful not to curse around the older English cousins. But I’m afraid to go see them now for fear I won’t be able to rein it in anymore. The bastard’s really fucked up my human relations in more than one way.
I know what you mean! I used to be a nice person, and now I'm all, FUCK 'EM! Agent Orange has affected us all in some way or another, but at least I'm not in a cult!
You're still a very nice person, Steve! We all are...we're just not fascists, and we love democracy and our country!
I probably talk too much to "people" online who think that FJB are Joe Biden's initials. You can read the right-wing talking points coming through every time, as if THEY get a newsletter every morning. I'm pulling back from them because it has made me nastier than I wish to be. Someone a few days ago told me that the flag in my avatar was a PedoFlag! What can you possibly do with that but ignore it or fight it? I'm ignoring it more and more. It leads nowhere, ever. Thanks, Deb!
🤗🥰
Agreed! I think I may be going to hell for some of my thoughts regarding the Orange turd, like hoping he chokes on a chicken bone, or slips in the bathroom and hits his orange pouf on his golden commode...🤭 but I don’t think of myself as a bad person...only one who is scared to death of what will happen if he doesn’t go to jail.
Agent Orange: I have no idea what rock I’ve been living under, but I think that’s the first time I’ve heard that name for Trump, and I’ve heard a lot of names for that madman. It’s perfect. He’s like a disease that rots people (his followers) from the inside out.
Spike Lee did an excellent documentary series in 2021 called, "NYC Epicenters: 9/11-2021½." (Also HBO, like "Game Change") In it, when he had to refer to Trump in on-screen graphics, he never used his name and only identified him as "Agent Orange." This is a pretty serious documentary and that came up the first time and I almost fell out of the chair! And he carried it throughout -- I never saw anything like "Donald Trump" onscreen, just "Agent Orange."
I also threaded wrong, so this comment is floating free in the comments! LOL No editing here, I guess.
I heard about this film, but I have not seen it yet. It’s been very well reviewed almost everywhere and I absolutely love Spike Lee. I think he’s one of the best filmmakers of our generation. I’ll have to make a point of watching this at some point. Thanks for mentioning this.
You may not consider yourself in a cult but I’m in the “I fucking hate trump” cult.
This 75 year old grandma concurs! For me it feels like I finally have a place where I can express myself freely, Fucks and all. :)
Yes 😂
Congratulations, Jeff! And more importantly, THANK YOU for keeping us informed, while always finding humor in every bat-shit-crazy situation.. We’re all so much better off because of your newsletter and this fabulous community!
Happy Birthday! I am so glad you got the idea to do this Jeff. We get to hear the truth AND laugh often. The only combination that saves sanity. Thank you! Hugs from Chicago!
I feel and double every “fuck” you write. Your writing is helping to keep me from going completely insane over politics and the world, in general.
Same here 😂
Congratulations Jeff!!!! I’m so happy to have you and the gang to help me get through the toxic Years Of Orange Makeup Hell!! Thanks for all the time and effort you put in leading this crew ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Oh definitely!!
Happy birthday. This place has made my life better. Even when I turn off ALL the incoming news - print, tv, blogs, articles, etc., I still look forward to and read Jeff’s opinion and everyone’s comments. And before I get all sappy here, may I add that some of you guys are right bastards and funny as all get out.
What would we do without your snarky potty mouth, Jeff. My day isn’t complete without reading your newsletter. Congrats to you.
You write what I am screaming in my head. So thank you!!
You had me at first “fuck”! Your Twitter was the hook, though. 💕 Keep saying what my mother wouldn’t let me say!
More than one former Twitter follower here I’d say.
Yes, that was where I first read Jeff's opinions :). Now Twitter is a different landscape, off-putting and hard to wade through...
I've been gone from Twitter for a year, I found most people I loved on it were also on Substack. Now I never have to deal with Musk Melon's bullshit.
I’m on Threads and moved away from X. Musk=yuk
I just upgraded to paid today (immediately after unsubscribing from Steve Schmidt's newsletter after he announced he's working on Dean Phillips' campaign, because fuck that guy). Happy to be here!
Hi Andrea, about a month ago I unsubscribed from Steve because his ever increasing ego was really a turn off for me. I was also done with the Biden/Harris bashing, and I had a feeling when he interviewed Dean Phillips a while ago that he was going to do this. I suggest you hop on over to Rick Wilson’s Substack site. Rick is intelligent, funny, and understands way better than Steve does what is at stake in the United States these days. He’s not going to try to end our democracy by pumping up a little known, inexperienced congressman because he’s going to get some big income from it. Also, Rick is going to be working hard to take Dean Phillips down early in this egomaniacal adventure. You’ll love the community we have here at Jeff’s site. And you’ll probably very much enjoy Rick Wilson as well.
Rick's place.... gotcha. (Everyone goes to Rick's...)
Thanks Janet. The ego was getting to me as well.
Looove Rick!
I also unsubscribed to Steve a few months ago. Thanks. I love Rick but didn’t know he had a substack. Will check it out! Thanks!
I've been reading Rick Wilson for the past month or so and am thisclose to clicking the Upgrade button. I saw his short take-down video of Deam Phillips, and if I were Phillips, I'd be running for the hills! Now, Schmidt is doing his campaign? Yeah, fuck him and that! There has always been, for me, something off-putting about Steve Schmidt. No matter what he was talking about, usually against fascism, etc., it always seemed just a little bit too strident for my tastes -- somewhere along the lines of the lady protesting too much. After getting over the initial kneejerk reaction to Rick Wilson, though, and reading his ETTD book, he seemed to me to be far more sincere in his efforts to take down the Orange Menace. Didn't Schmidt have a falling out with The Lincoln Project too?
In the end, he brought us Sarah Palin, and I have a VERY difficult time forgiving that because of what it lead to. Nicolle Wallace has done penance for that since 2008 and is now a well-respected FORMER Republican on MSNBC, and I have no qualms about her at all anymore. Steve Schmidt made a big production out of leaving the Republican Party and is now campaign manager for a Biden spoiler candidate? Yeah, fuck that guy!
Everything you said!! Money talks you know. As far as I know, Schmidt left the LP a while ago, but he claims to have been the main start up guy for the organization. In any case, I’m done with him. I got sick of the “Biden is too old” drama a month ago, so I was gone before this announcement.
All anybody on that side seems to have left is the "Biden is too old" trope. And, well, I don't much care how old he is -- he's been one of the best presidents of my 65-year lifetime. I hesitate to say he's doing as well or even better than Obama did, but I think I will anyway. Obama had the "problem" of having to be careful of everything he did and said because he was President While Black. Biden doesn't have that problem, so look what the evil in the Republican Party does. It's Hunter, and Ashley, and bank deposits from Joe's brother, and a whole host of bullshit that is meaningless. So, they go to "age." It's bullshit and I can only hope that enough people realize that to re-elect him.
I forgot about the ONE good thing coming from the appearance of Sarah Palin, getting to see Julianne Moore portray her insane ass in "Game Change." I'd even give an honorable mention to Tina Fey! Palin was only good for high drama and comedy. "All of them, Katie. All of them." 🤣🤣🤣
I never saw that movie! I may need to look it up. By the way, when you were still subscribed to Steve Schmidt, do you remember when he disowned the accusation of pairing McCain up with Sarah Palin? Apparently someone else on the team had the idea and he tried to dissuade them from inviting her in as the VP. So I think he doesn’t want the blame to go to him, and I don’t know the backstory so I won’t comment any further.
And I agree that Republicans have literally no policies that the American people are interested in. And they know this, so it’s all about these culture issues and other stupidity to get the base riled up. I don’t think there are enough crazy people out there to vote for Trump again, but with all these other candidates in the mix, now I have concerns; which is why it seems like such an atrocious act of selfishness for Steve to do this.
No, I was never subscribed to him. I was referencing when I'd see him on MSNBC after he left the Dark Side, supposedly, but the story wouldn't surprise me at all.
I think he needs the $$
Ditto
I was on month to month with Steve Schmidt and actually wrote to him that although I did appreciate his commentary, "a little goes a long way." And Dean Phillips is my Congressman! Kind of a WTF moment when that announcement came out...
I have liked Dean Phillips as a Congressman but never thought about him in the WH! Such dangerous times... I can't believe the rational vote would go for Trump in 2024 but I guess we have already seen stranger things happening... is this a hedge running Dean? The polls have been rather inaccurate from 2016, forward. So, am I to believe that Trump is really in the lead? Is this primary action a reaction to Trump or something else? And does this just make open labels more likely to run their GOP-type candidate. Can they?
Sheesh...
I don’t think Trump is really in the lead. I’m not going to start worrying about polls until sometime next year. Anything can happen between now and then, and this entire campaign with Phillips could fall flat on its face, especially after Rick Wilson, the attack dog, goes after both of them. When former friends become enemies, it can be quite interesting. My understanding is that your congressman has voted 100% with Biden. That’s the kind of Democrat we need, especially coming from Midwestern states. This whole thing is just crazy.
Also, Schmidt is very persuasive in his rhetoric but he is also trying to create the case from flimsy evidence (polls) and fear mongering.
Do we wish for a perfect candidate? Or a younger one or one as charismatic as Obama? Sure. But what we have is a wishing is bs and we have very successful president, now. Opposition groups including a fascist GOP would rather dismantle our government and replace it with project 2025! That is a greater risk than fear of aging. I would rather have 4 more years of Biden, as a steady and experienced statesman over Phillips, who got played and now wants to play us, the voters of any stripe.
Agreed!
Phillips; D-Congressman in a past R district, yes.
For President, against his own parry? WTAF and NO! PLEASE....
He would better serve the US by getting re-elected in his district. It will be a shame if a Republican takes over that seat, because Dean is NOT going to be president. I hope this turns out to highlight Biden's vast experience compared to a guy who ran an ice cream empire before holding office. There is no comparison with Biden's expertise in everything from domestic to foreign issues.
Rick Wilson is da man. And he'll shred his ex-friend Steve Schmidt right along with Dean Phillips. It'll be delicious.
Yes, it will be a guilty pleasure like no other. The Biden team really needs to come out swinging early on and drown out Phillips quickly.
I unsubscribed today as well and unfollowed Schmidt on Twitter. And yes, Andrea - FUCK that guy! There are so many amazing future Democrat leaders i.e. Buttigieg, Whitmer, Newsom, Goldman, Raskin, Harris, Pritzker, Klobuchar, etc. (too many to list) that will step forward in 2028 but 2024 is NOT the time and another billionaire wannabe is not the one. President Biden has earned the right to finish the job and I, for one, am going to help him do just that!
I read Steve for free and I get so pissed off that I couldn’t leave comments every time he brought up Biden’s age. (The Bulwark keeps doing this too.) There were LOTS of people who said they were unsubscribing today. As Janet said, check out Rick Wilson. He did a great YouTube on Dean, saying he’s going to regret throwing his hat in the ring. Rick also wrote the books “Everything rump Touches Dies” & “Running Against the Devil”
I unsubscribed to Steve several
months ago because I unfortunately saw his true colors, his writing on the wall!!!!! Read his essay yesterday, not shocked but horrified !!!
Love Jeff and many thanks!
Ditto.
I was shocked at Schmidt, too. He is such an excellent voice against fascism, but he could inadvertently take us into it.
I don't read Schmidt that often these days. He's really done that???? Fuck him. Talk about hypocrisy....
Phillips is a very wealthy man, and I’m sure there’s big money in this for Steve. After he has spent the past year writing incessantly about what grave danger we are in and the fascist uprising, he goes and does this, putting a good man like Biden in even more danger. WTF?!
I’m hanging with Steve a bit longer Andrea but we shall see. If the newsletter is only about Dean, I’ll leave. 😞
I'd been thinking of leaving for awhile - I was tired of the Biden/Harris hate - but he completely jumped the shark with this latest move.
This newsletter is way more up my alley anyway.
I agree on the Biden/Harris hate. I’ll let you know 😀. I might not last more than a day. Take care Andrea!
Pull the plug now ! 🙁he’s been heading in that direction for a long time!
I'm of the same mind.
Count me among the unsubscribed. He was talking out of both sides of his mouth. All I have to go on is what he says and the actions that back up those words. They stopped synchronizing. I moved on and will not listen to him again. I don't give a benefit of the doubt when your words stop matching your actions especially when you have a previous record of Palin and Schultz.