38 Comments

Love/hate here for me - I think there’s some really good points (the technical defining of the combat zone and all of that to get the technically correct read that flies in the face of reality is a good point - I’m a lawyer so I do that kind of stuff for a living but it’s exhausting to the rest of the population that isn’t a masochist). But I was also disappointed by some of the attacks on what I feel like are pretty basic stuff: following the rules and law. This paragraph especially struck me:

“Kamala Harris — and the Washington-oriented tribe of A students she represents — love the facts. They love adhering to the law, following the rules, being judicious.”

Really? Is following the rules and law THAT out of touch? I cringed at the long term implications of this mindset and I think it’s one thing that scares me about Trump and what he represents: the non-apologetic selfish self-interested “I can get away with whatever.” Almost everyone despises this when they see it not associated with their candidate and ALL politicians do it (most aren’t open about it), but we accept some of this and push back when it gets too extreme. With Trump the extreme IS the brand. This is why the “democracy is at stake” stuff feels corny but also true.

The point about lying also wasn’t great for me. To crib Animal Farm, All politicians lie, but some politicians lie more than others. I accept there will be no truthful politician, but I can’t accept someone who is completely divorced from reality as Trump is.

I think the term “existential threat” gets used too much and probably has gotten overplayed in this election, but we need to accept that no system is perfect and that leaders will be flawed. I’m way more against Trump and what he represents than I am pro-Harris, but those are the stakes. The GOP (or what’s left of it) needs to move on so we can get back to having an election where at least there’s some sense of purpose non-perfect system.

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Appreciate the candid feedback. I actually think I...agree? Perhaps this could've been clearer, but the article is criticizing Washington's obsession with the letter of the law over its spirit. This is what leads to Harris saying there are no active duty troops in any combat areas in the world. Technically true but in any meaningful sense false. Laws are the codification of our morality, so of course they're important.

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Yeah, I definitely can sense the thread of that throughout, it probably got buried a bit for me when reading. Maybe I was reading that a bit too technically.

I run into the “technically correct, the best kind of correct” a ton in my work life and it’s infuriating. The Dems in particular I feel have fostered this in response to Trump’s lies and it’s not a winning position at all. It’s a McKinsey or KMPG footnote that 95% of our population doesn’t want to hear your technical nuanced explanation for. Everyone just gets annoyed at it. I thought that piece came through better in the article. There’s a time and place for this stuff and sometimes it’s important, but I agree with the premise that it’s gotten out of hand.

Good piece for me to chew on more - I think some clarity on the thesis is a good fair, but constructive criticism given I generally agree with that described narrative.

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Agreed, but the plans put forth by Trump’s backers are literally a threat to the existence of democratic government in the US, so IMO, this is not a hyperbolic phrase. It is simply the shortest explanation for what is at stake. Ignore the man behind the curtain (or the hippo).

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Fucking nailed it. In the most depressing way possible both parties are "misjudging" (I feel like this is how they want it though) what the majority "wants". Because it's so much easier to sell hyperbolic rage bait to ignorant folks and let the other guys keep talking down to their base about how we're the ones not smart enough to understand what's really happening. What a fucking choice. Assholes as far as the eye can see.

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Thank you Ken. I love your description of the “A” people continually telling us that our perception of the truth doesn’t conform to their narrow definitions so we must not trust our own decisions. Truly laughable but as you point out it’s our loss and the country’s loss. Keep up the great work and keen insights.

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Would it surprise you I wasn't an A student

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Spot on! My favorite sentence: “Facts are insufferable to your typical American, especially when what comes out of the mouths of the A-students is that up is down, war is peace, and an empty wallet is full.”

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Your article takes me back to the political writing I grew up on. Didn’t feel stale or out of date in the slightest.

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Psyched to hear this. Which writers did you used to read?

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I really enjoyed the article but still want to hear more about the bicycling hippo in love.

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"When any typical citizen might ask, ‘What about the Middle East?’ or some other region, the A students are ready to school them on why it’s not this and it’s not that, not only until people’s eyes glaze over but also to the point where they get angry."

This. It's the level of BS that permeates the MSM currently.

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Remember when Biden said "we're not at war anywhere"? https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/biden-declares-were-not-at-war-anywhere

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Yep. And I believe that Harris also makes the same claim:

https://www.vox.com/kamala-harris/371497/harris-troops-war-zones

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Right, I wonder if they're sharing notes? It's such a bizarre claim I don't remember anyone else making.

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Given that neither of the mainstream party, I mean parties, actually represent we, the people, why do we let them get away with this year after year? Time to turn the tables on them by voting third-party. In such a duopoly, whatever do you have to lose by doing so. Just imagine how you'll feel seeing millions and millions of votes that went to a non-approved candidate. That would likely be the best day any of us have had for a very long time, or ever. Imagine how TPTB are going to feel as well, and that makes it even better. Remember the point is not that "the thrid-party candidate is not going to win," it's, rather, that the public no longer sees them as the only game in town.

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That’s the thinking that got us the first Trump presidency. I’ve been watching 3rd party spoilers hand us Republican Presidents for a long time. Perot, Nader, etc. didn’t change a thing. What we need is for people to stay engaged and communicate with their elected officials on a regular basis. We can’t just leave it up to them. We need to incorporate citizen activism into our daily lives. You know, read the whole articles.

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During the debate Trump stated that he was looking searching for health care plan that was cheaper and better then what we have. Opportunity for Harris to say I have one, Medicare For All. That would have given people something they need. Follow that up with you have to vote for Congress People that support that. Put pressure on politicians owned by the donors. Unfortunately Harris is in the I support my donors camp.

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I'm still laughing at "I have a concept for a plan". All timer!

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Don’t blame me, I voted for the hippo.

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lol

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Right on target, enjoyed the article.

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Right on.

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glad you liked it, nathan!

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The news has turned me into a proctologist.

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googled it and as far as i can tell that means butt doctor?

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Yup. 'Cause all I see are assholes...

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This blogs analysis is usually thoughtful and thought-provoking but today’s post is just stupid. “Everyone knows that the politicians don’t have any plans that will ever be implemented.” That is just wrong - and stupid. Our government at the federal, state, and local level is implementing programs that started as plans that touch every part of our lives. $30 insulin or a new parking lot solar project or making changing zoning to make accessory dwellings allowable are all policies that started as plans. You insult the multitude of unsung heroes making a difference in peoples lives in SPITE of our politics with such blanket, defeatist nonsense.

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I think the writer is talking about sweeping plans — a vision for the country. Like Great Society or the New Deal. The kind of ambitious proposals that are always met with, "But how will Congress pass it" or "The Supreme Court would strike it down, why bother." I don't think anyone disputes the smaller efforts.

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Well they should said that then bc it did not come across that way. And I’d dispute a claim that big ideas don’t get thru either. It took 80 years of attempts to get universal health care coverage, Obamacare was a pretty big idea that is making a difference in the lives of millions of ppl, while acknowledging that it doesn’t go as far as many of us would have liked and would still like. It’s sooooo easy to be negative, it’s soooo hard to make progress, I just have no patience for the lazy defeatism. We are dealing with human beings who are extremely flawed, of course progress is going to be hard.

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Appreciate your candid thoughts. Well, I certainly would not be doing this job if I thought change wasn't possible!

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Copy “A Student” Replace “Nerdass Fucking Dorks”

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Makes me wonder: is America unique in its inability to get things done or move the country in a better direction on a broad scale? Is it our people, the politicians, our structure of government? Or is it not so unique to America after all?

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Well we certainly have passed visionary legislation (e.g. Great Society, New Deal, Civil Rights Act) under the same system of government we have today, so I don't think it's that.

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