FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2026
...on this September 11: We don't expect to be posting again until next week. On this specific September 11, here's the report we'd recommend:
Conservative Fmr. Appeals Court Judge Explains How Republicans Are Trying to ‘Steal’ Midterms in Shocking Column...
A former appeals court judge tore into Republicans in a lengthy piece describing how conservatives are prepping to...steal the upcoming midterm elections.
Michael Luttig, a George H.W. Bush appointee who served as an appeals court judge from 1991 to 2006, unloaded in a piece he penned for The New Republic on Thursday, entitled, “The Final Battle for America’s Democracy.”
And so on from there. With respect to the ongoing, current assault on the possibility of the American project, that's the report we'd recommend today.
Here's the link to Luttig's piece in the New Republic. We don't see a paywall blocking the essay by this widely-celebrated, famously conservative former judge.
For what it's worth, Judge Luttig discussed this theory with Ali Velshi on the August 6 edition of The 11th Hour. To see that discussion, you can start by clicking here.
For Judge Luttig's presentation of this thesis at his Substack site, you can simply click this.
We've been hoping that Judge Luttig's presentations would gain a bit more attention in this dangerous, madness-powered time. Maybe his presentation in the New Republic will sprout a pair of wings.
As always, please note this last important point:
The fact that Judge Luttig says it doesn't necessarily make it true.
Republican voters are attending a Trump rally in Texas, and imploring Republican leaders that elected Dems "Should be shot."
ReplyDeleteThis is nothing new.
If Dems did anything remotely similar Republicans would be clutching their pearls and we'd never hear the end of it.
Frankly, this used to be an effective strategy by Republicans, although less so now that they have lost credibility.
Beware of any supposed liberal advising Dems to back off and bow down to or find common ground with Republicans, such a person is a foe not an ally.
Interestingly, as petty and revengeful as Trump and the Republicans are, they have shown no interest in going after the perpetrators of the supposed assassination attempts against Trump that also happen to be White Republican males.
@1:13 The difference between the side. Reps say Dems should be shot. Dems actually shoot Reps.
DeleteSomerby almost seems giddy at the prospect.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know. What he suggests is that this is a “dangerous, madness-powered time.” Sounds more “terrified” than “giddy” to my ear.
DeleteI think you have a theory in your head and you bend and strain what Somerby says to fit your theory rather than adjust your theory to encompass what he actually says.
Yes, of course, that’s exactly what I do.
Delete"I don’t know."
DeleteAgree.
This troll DG doesn't know the obvious, good to know, and hardly surprising.
Somerby is definitely "giddy at the prospect", nothing would please him more than to see those pesky yet popular progressive and left of center Democrats get what Somerby views as some comeuppance.
Sure. Your “theory” is that Somerby is pushing right-wing views. In today’s post, Somerby is pushing the idea that Trump may steal the midterm elections, which, of course, is not a right-wing view. So in your head, to avoid the dissonance between what Somerby writes and your theory, you imagine the reason he’s telling us that Trump might steal the election is because that’s what he’s hoping for.
DeleteWhen facts conflict with your theory, just change the facts.
DeleteTrolls be trolling.
DeleteThis particular right wing troll has a real hard on for Somerby leading to blind loyalty, typical right wing behavior, a case study.
Of course Somerby is giddy.
There has been extensive reporting on this, since 2020, when Trump first began trying to overturn that election. If Somerby had paid attention to Rachel Maddow beyond being irritated by her chuckle, he might have noticed that she has been relentlessly discussing the possibility that Trump wants to steal this election. It’s basically a main topic of discussion on MSNBC. Somerby ridiculed her coverage of the fake electors in 2020, if you recall. One wonders how seriously he has taken this issue, choosing to focus on his notion that Trump really believed he won in 2020, rather than Trump’s obvious and deliberate desire, aided and abetted by the gop, to overturn that one in order to stay in power. Today’s essay by Luttig, which shows a continuation of the gop’s efforts in 2020, seems to be news to Somerby.
DeleteTrump wants to and plans to steal the election and all of his supporters are on board.
DeleteSomerby worries, rightfully so, that Trump's boorishness is bad for the Republicans, but he too is on board because in his warped mind Dems deserve it.
Bob is rubbing his thighs, and possibly stuffing cash down his pants.
DeleteYou’re rubbing your wiener, and nothing is happening.
Delete3:15 - And you can infer all that from what Somerby says, which is that we are experiencing “a dangerous , madness-powered time”! Who, exactly, do you think is paying Somerby to tell us that the Trump era is both mad and dangerous? Putin? Right-wing billionaires? Why would either pay Somerby to tell us that Trump is nuts and yet has the ability to push the big red button?
DeleteRight, DG, the best thing to do is stop being mean to the fascists and show some sympathy for orange felon.
DeleteI figured I wouldn’t get an answer to my question: Who would pay Somerby to tell us that Trump is a dangerous nutball?
DeleteTrump exhorting his crowd of deplorables to cheat like hell in the upcoming election, to cheers, and the voices in the crowd exhorting the shooting of Democrats. Nice leader, nice bunch.
ReplyDeleteFucking fascists, what is it going to take for media to tell the truth?
DeleteThe fucking nerve of Giuliani telling Mayor Mamdani not to go to memorial service, when it was just revealed how Giuliani hid the truth about the health danger around ground 0
ReplyDeleteMore people died from the ghoulish Giuliani and his successor Bloomberg hiding the truth than from the 9/11 attack.
DeleteGiuliani is a disgusting unAmerican pig.
DeleteThen there's W's recent warning to pay closer attention terrorist threats when he and his neocon cabal took the rest of August (2001) off after US intelligence warned of an imminent terrorist attack in America.
DeleteHe needs to STFU and return to trying to paint watercolors of horses.
"The fact that Judge Luttig has said it doesn't necessarily mean that it's true."
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Copernicus has said that the solar system revolves around the sun didn't necessarily mean that it's true.
It is that kind of coyness that exposes Somerby's right wing agenda.
DeleteAll motion is relative. From where I sit, the sun, the moon, and the stars go around the earth.
DeleteSomerby doesn’t believe in relativity.
DeleteShame on Judge Luttig.
ReplyDelete“Judge J. Michael Luttig has not made public diagnoses or specific statements regarding Donald Trump's clinical mental health.
Instead, the retired conservative federal judge has focused his public criticisms on Trump's political conduct, adherence to the rule of law, and fitness for office in terms of democratic norms:
* Clear and Present Danger: Luttig famously stated during the House January 6 committee hearings that Donald Trump and his allies are a clear and present danger to American democracy because of their ongoing efforts to undermine electoral systems.
* War on the Rule of Law: Luttig has characterized Trump's actions and attacks on the federal judiciary as an unprecedented assault on American constitutional order rather than a medical issue. “ (Google/ AI)
Tsk tsk.
Where’s the pity for Trump?
Delete