Speaking from my personal experience: it's mostly RFK. Many of his supporters are crunchy conservatives but just as many are Dem-adjacent folks who felt disaffected by the Democratic Party. They liked RFK, and when he joined the Trump team that gave his supporters the permission structure to support Trump as well (or at least be able to swallow Trump as the bitter pill that smuggles RFK in closer to power). If you've ever read Jessica Reed Kraus' fantastically poetic and effusive - if not realistic - waxing about MAHA and MAGA, it highlights the mindset quite well.
Yeah, I don’t consider RFK Jr to be a Democrat since he left the party to run as an independent. And I guess I do not really consider Dem-adjacent people who are so disaffected with the Democratic Party that they’d support RFK, to be what’s commonly understood to be a “moderate Democrat.”
IMO a whole lotta folks were radicalized during the pandemic, including those moderate Dems who generally aligned themselves with liberal 'green and clean' initiatives for food, water, etc, but then found themselves under increasing scrutiny (including friendly fire from their fellow Dems) about their vaccine hesitancy and/or support for alternative health practices. The "crunchy to alt+right pipeline" is an observable phenomena - an expanding distrust for expertise and institutions - and I think RFK is just a waystation on that path.
Agree Emily! I have been a huge supporter of RFK Jr for many years. My vote for Trump is 90% because of RFK Jr.
I’m sure no surprise- also love House in Habit.
There is the entire movement of crunchy holistic health influencers and followers who are doing amazing things right now. Really excited about that movement- regardless of who wins the White House.
HIH fully lost me when she relayed that a psychic told her that Donald Trump is suffering exactly as Jesus also suffered, "to do better for us," but I have to admit she does have a gift for evocative prose.
I don’t think you’re that unintelligent so I’m pretty sure you do get the point. I actually don’t understand any supporter of RFK, whose life’s work was protecting the environment, who is now supporting Trump, the guy whose answer to everything is drill baby drill and who believes climate change is a hoax.
I understand that is what you WANT and HOPE to see...but Trump doesn't have a history of being influenced by anyone or anything other than himself and money. People voted for Trump in 2016 hoping that Mike Pence and "good people" in his cabinet would help influence him and bring a balance to his Administration. That did NOT happen, much to the great disappointment of many lifelong Republicans. And now something like 40 of his 44 cabinet members DON'T endorse him in this election. This should sound major alarms. Who WILL he fill his Cabinet with?
I am so excited about who he will fill his cabinet with if he wins the election. Trump has said in interviews he didn’t know anyone when he started in the White House in 2016.
The head of Trump’s transition team has come right out and said that this time around Trump won’t make the same hiring mistakes he made in 2016. This time, anyone who wants to work in the administration must prove their loyalty and fidelity to the man. This is nothing but politics over country or man over principle. I’m sure it’s the same criteria Vladimir Putin and Victor Orban use in hiring decisions. It’s not the American way and it’s why voters will prevent Trump from ever again wielding the power of the presidency.
I don’t look at it the same way. I look at it as a leader placing people who will support what he is trying to accomplish as a President. I would assume Harris wants to align with people who support her and her values in her administration.
Harris has already committed to having a Republican on her cabinet (that is, someone *still* identifying as a Republican and not joining her party). To me that feels different than hiring only "loyal" staff, and it concerns me that Trump's impulse is to avoid people who might challenge or disagree with him. When we look back on the times in our country where bipartisanship felt more vibrant and active, we hear stories of people who could vehemently and passionately disagree but still chose to work together and stay collegial, because they understood that it's important to hear voices that don't just echo your own. Trump, by his own words and admission, does not feel that way. People are "smart" when they agree with him, and "stupid" when they don't (see his insistence recently to a room full of economists that they were ALL mistaken about tariffs and he was the only one among them who actually 'understood' how tariffs would work).
Any good leader SHOULD want people who occasionally disagree with them, have different perspectives, and have the courage to speak up about it on their team. Surrounding oneself with a bunch of "yes men" is weak leadership. It's what I see Trump aiming to do. That's how Authoritarians and Dictators work. And while one might argue that those people are "strong leaders" because what they want to get done, gets done by force, it's not GOOD leadership.
I agree with you. I am excited about having the people Trump has identified or hinted to be in his cabinet because of their leadership. But I agree with your thoughts on strong leadership.
The only person I've heard is Musk (who is literally trying to buy this election). Interviews with him have given about this possibility have thrown up many red flags. Who else have you heard? Possibly RFK, as that's the only way that RFK would agree to endorse Trump. Whether that will ACTUALLY happen...time will tell.
I agree with you here. We all need to keep in mind the executive branch is just one of three branches for a reason. Many policies both candidates have proposed will require the backing (or not) of the legislative wing. I agree that those supporting Trump like RFK, Tulsi & Musk are a diverse group. All of whom have been in the Democrat party. I think each of them bring a lot to the table in terms of experience and knowledge. I think it would be a huge stretch to call either of them extreme Republicans b
Harris won’t ask for a loyalty pledge. Harris will want people who put country over party, who believe in the rule of law and who will honor their oaths to the Constitution. Harris won’t allow her team to make the deciding factor in hiring to be whether or not the prospective hiree believes Biden won the 2020 election. I assume Harris’s administration will to a certain extent reflect the makeup of the Democrat party, people of widely disparate thoughts and opinions who often disagree among themselves, listen to each other and finally come to some sort of consensus on what decision or direction will benefit the American people as a whole. It won’t be some monolithic group who makes decisions based primarily on loyalty or fealty to a person, especially a person as erratic, uninformed and mendacious as Trump.
@themamattorney (on IG & here on Substack) has a great post today about how well RFK and MAHA have manipulated the crunchy moms to cast their votes for a party that consistently deregulates food, air, and water safety, while the Dems consistently have better records on all of those issues, under the belief that he'll actually be able to manipulate Trump into legislation and policies that his own party does not support. I'd highly recommend reading the whole thing, as she's coming from the perspective of a European immigrant to America with the experience of both food and healthcare systems. It seems so, so obvious that RFK is just a convenient source of voters for Trump.
And the important piece there is that Trump won't be creating this policy. He can tell Congress what he wants. But other than the use of Executive orders he will rely on Congress to make these things happen. I'd be interested to see their responses to these proposed pieces of legislation and if they will ever agree to pass it.
Thanks for sharing. I read it and disagree with many of her points but interesting read. I would recommend Dr Casey Means’ book - Good Energy and it really lays out the conflict of interests of the government agencies. It is because of this corruption and general distrust of government agencies- that RFK Jr is appealing to some crunchy moms. I don’t think RFK Jr ever wanted to go with Trump. He has said in an interview that Trump asked him about VP and he said it would cost him his marriage.
I’m sure Jr. didn’t have to worry about Trump costing him his marriage after Jr. engaged in a salacious sexting affair with the news personality. And you bring up yet another example of Jr.’s power over principle, along with his throwing in with the climate denier, by bending the knee to someone who wants to get rid of most regulations, including those around manufacturing processes and environmental toxins, who wants to cut big pharma’s taxes even more, who is completely against limiting the ability of lobbyists, including those from big pharma, to steer massive amounts of money to politicians and who believes in the power of corporate America above almost everything else. It is the exact antithesis to Jr.’s rationale for making an independent run in the first place. He wasn’t running against the government, just as Casey Means wasn’t railing against the government. What they’re against is corporate capture of certain people and agencies in government and the corrupting influence that follows. Trump is the absolute embodiment of that and for Jr. to throw it all away for the chance to be relevant again is the height of hypocrisy.
So interesting that you’re actually the second person to recommend that book to me today! I have been skeptical of Dr. Means because her promotion of continuous glucose monitoring is based on some really flimsy and unsupported claims, and I don’t love that she platforms folks that I would consider to be inveterate grifters and misinformation purveyors (Vani Hari chief among them!) I do come to this with the inbuilt skepticism born of being a “whole” foods/”real” foods girl for a very long time in my life; I had a friend who ran a largely popular blog about “real” food and nutrition and who had Joel Salatin write the forward for her book, so I am deeply familiar with this space and many of its (IMO) bad actors, and I’m no longer convinced by many of those arguments. That being said…I haven’t actually read her book so I can’t give it a fair shake, but I’m going to see if perhaps our library has a copy that I could check out because it’s clearly making some waves.
Emily- I wanted to share that although I won’t change who I am voting for, I do feel very good about things should Harris win. None of us know what is going to happen but I believe everything will be ok :)
I know. Which is why I used the word “personally.”
Speaking from my personal experience: it's mostly RFK. Many of his supporters are crunchy conservatives but just as many are Dem-adjacent folks who felt disaffected by the Democratic Party. They liked RFK, and when he joined the Trump team that gave his supporters the permission structure to support Trump as well (or at least be able to swallow Trump as the bitter pill that smuggles RFK in closer to power). If you've ever read Jessica Reed Kraus' fantastically poetic and effusive - if not realistic - waxing about MAHA and MAGA, it highlights the mindset quite well.
Yeah, I don’t consider RFK Jr to be a Democrat since he left the party to run as an independent. And I guess I do not really consider Dem-adjacent people who are so disaffected with the Democratic Party that they’d support RFK, to be what’s commonly understood to be a “moderate Democrat.”
IMO a whole lotta folks were radicalized during the pandemic, including those moderate Dems who generally aligned themselves with liberal 'green and clean' initiatives for food, water, etc, but then found themselves under increasing scrutiny (including friendly fire from their fellow Dems) about their vaccine hesitancy and/or support for alternative health practices. The "crunchy to alt+right pipeline" is an observable phenomena - an expanding distrust for expertise and institutions - and I think RFK is just a waystation on that path.
Exactly. I do know extreme Left Folk that are meeting their own extremity back around on the right. Uruboros. Def not seeing this in moderate dems
Agree Emily! I have been a huge supporter of RFK Jr for many years. My vote for Trump is 90% because of RFK Jr.
I’m sure no surprise- also love House in Habit.
There is the entire movement of crunchy holistic health influencers and followers who are doing amazing things right now. Really excited about that movement- regardless of who wins the White House.
HIH fully lost me when she relayed that a psychic told her that Donald Trump is suffering exactly as Jesus also suffered, "to do better for us," but I have to admit she does have a gift for evocative prose.
Yeah- I don’t blame you! Sometimes I do roll my eyes at that stuff.
Not sure what your point was, but glad we are on the same page with that term.
I don’t think you’re that unintelligent so I’m pretty sure you do get the point. I actually don’t understand any supporter of RFK, whose life’s work was protecting the environment, who is now supporting Trump, the guy whose answer to everything is drill baby drill and who believes climate change is a hoax.
Hoping that RFK’s work for the environment influences Trump, should he win.
I understand that is what you WANT and HOPE to see...but Trump doesn't have a history of being influenced by anyone or anything other than himself and money. People voted for Trump in 2016 hoping that Mike Pence and "good people" in his cabinet would help influence him and bring a balance to his Administration. That did NOT happen, much to the great disappointment of many lifelong Republicans. And now something like 40 of his 44 cabinet members DON'T endorse him in this election. This should sound major alarms. Who WILL he fill his Cabinet with?
I am so excited about who he will fill his cabinet with if he wins the election. Trump has said in interviews he didn’t know anyone when he started in the White House in 2016.
Change is needed and very exciting!
The head of Trump’s transition team has come right out and said that this time around Trump won’t make the same hiring mistakes he made in 2016. This time, anyone who wants to work in the administration must prove their loyalty and fidelity to the man. This is nothing but politics over country or man over principle. I’m sure it’s the same criteria Vladimir Putin and Victor Orban use in hiring decisions. It’s not the American way and it’s why voters will prevent Trump from ever again wielding the power of the presidency.
I don’t look at it the same way. I look at it as a leader placing people who will support what he is trying to accomplish as a President. I would assume Harris wants to align with people who support her and her values in her administration.
Harris has already committed to having a Republican on her cabinet (that is, someone *still* identifying as a Republican and not joining her party). To me that feels different than hiring only "loyal" staff, and it concerns me that Trump's impulse is to avoid people who might challenge or disagree with him. When we look back on the times in our country where bipartisanship felt more vibrant and active, we hear stories of people who could vehemently and passionately disagree but still chose to work together and stay collegial, because they understood that it's important to hear voices that don't just echo your own. Trump, by his own words and admission, does not feel that way. People are "smart" when they agree with him, and "stupid" when they don't (see his insistence recently to a room full of economists that they were ALL mistaken about tariffs and he was the only one among them who actually 'understood' how tariffs would work).
Any good leader SHOULD want people who occasionally disagree with them, have different perspectives, and have the courage to speak up about it on their team. Surrounding oneself with a bunch of "yes men" is weak leadership. It's what I see Trump aiming to do. That's how Authoritarians and Dictators work. And while one might argue that those people are "strong leaders" because what they want to get done, gets done by force, it's not GOOD leadership.
I agree with you. I am excited about having the people Trump has identified or hinted to be in his cabinet because of their leadership. But I agree with your thoughts on strong leadership.
The only person I've heard is Musk (who is literally trying to buy this election). Interviews with him have given about this possibility have thrown up many red flags. Who else have you heard? Possibly RFK, as that's the only way that RFK would agree to endorse Trump. Whether that will ACTUALLY happen...time will tell.
I agree with you here. We all need to keep in mind the executive branch is just one of three branches for a reason. Many policies both candidates have proposed will require the backing (or not) of the legislative wing. I agree that those supporting Trump like RFK, Tulsi & Musk are a diverse group. All of whom have been in the Democrat party. I think each of them bring a lot to the table in terms of experience and knowledge. I think it would be a huge stretch to call either of them extreme Republicans b
Harris won’t ask for a loyalty pledge. Harris will want people who put country over party, who believe in the rule of law and who will honor their oaths to the Constitution. Harris won’t allow her team to make the deciding factor in hiring to be whether or not the prospective hiree believes Biden won the 2020 election. I assume Harris’s administration will to a certain extent reflect the makeup of the Democrat party, people of widely disparate thoughts and opinions who often disagree among themselves, listen to each other and finally come to some sort of consensus on what decision or direction will benefit the American people as a whole. It won’t be some monolithic group who makes decisions based primarily on loyalty or fealty to a person, especially a person as erratic, uninformed and mendacious as Trump.
💯
It may not be exciting for immigrants, black and brown people, WOMEN, trans or queer folk.
What are you saying here? Do you realize there is a high probability that Harris isn’t Black as she first claimed?
I know people that identify in each of those areas that are extremely excited and also concerned about Harris being elected. A lot of emotions!
😂
@themamattorney (on IG & here on Substack) has a great post today about how well RFK and MAHA have manipulated the crunchy moms to cast their votes for a party that consistently deregulates food, air, and water safety, while the Dems consistently have better records on all of those issues, under the belief that he'll actually be able to manipulate Trump into legislation and policies that his own party does not support. I'd highly recommend reading the whole thing, as she's coming from the perspective of a European immigrant to America with the experience of both food and healthcare systems. It seems so, so obvious that RFK is just a convenient source of voters for Trump.
And the important piece there is that Trump won't be creating this policy. He can tell Congress what he wants. But other than the use of Executive orders he will rely on Congress to make these things happen. I'd be interested to see their responses to these proposed pieces of legislation and if they will ever agree to pass it.
Thanks for sharing. I read it and disagree with many of her points but interesting read. I would recommend Dr Casey Means’ book - Good Energy and it really lays out the conflict of interests of the government agencies. It is because of this corruption and general distrust of government agencies- that RFK Jr is appealing to some crunchy moms. I don’t think RFK Jr ever wanted to go with Trump. He has said in an interview that Trump asked him about VP and he said it would cost him his marriage.
I’m sure Jr. didn’t have to worry about Trump costing him his marriage after Jr. engaged in a salacious sexting affair with the news personality. And you bring up yet another example of Jr.’s power over principle, along with his throwing in with the climate denier, by bending the knee to someone who wants to get rid of most regulations, including those around manufacturing processes and environmental toxins, who wants to cut big pharma’s taxes even more, who is completely against limiting the ability of lobbyists, including those from big pharma, to steer massive amounts of money to politicians and who believes in the power of corporate America above almost everything else. It is the exact antithesis to Jr.’s rationale for making an independent run in the first place. He wasn’t running against the government, just as Casey Means wasn’t railing against the government. What they’re against is corporate capture of certain people and agencies in government and the corrupting influence that follows. Trump is the absolute embodiment of that and for Jr. to throw it all away for the chance to be relevant again is the height of hypocrisy.
So interesting that you’re actually the second person to recommend that book to me today! I have been skeptical of Dr. Means because her promotion of continuous glucose monitoring is based on some really flimsy and unsupported claims, and I don’t love that she platforms folks that I would consider to be inveterate grifters and misinformation purveyors (Vani Hari chief among them!) I do come to this with the inbuilt skepticism born of being a “whole” foods/”real” foods girl for a very long time in my life; I had a friend who ran a largely popular blog about “real” food and nutrition and who had Joel Salatin write the forward for her book, so I am deeply familiar with this space and many of its (IMO) bad actors, and I’m no longer convinced by many of those arguments. That being said…I haven’t actually read her book so I can’t give it a fair shake, but I’m going to see if perhaps our library has a copy that I could check out because it’s clearly making some waves.
Emily- I wanted to share that although I won’t change who I am voting for, I do feel very good about things should Harris win. None of us know what is going to happen but I believe everything will be ok :)
It is a very good thing that nobody is standing close by me with a feather right now.
I will give you the heads up that some of it gets a little woo-woo. Lol. She lost me in those parts.
LOL, noted!
Good points.