Renaissance Timber LLC

Maine craftsman. I hand-hew round logs into square beams using only an axe. Supporter of Ukraine. Coauthor of “Men of God — Men of War.”

[Renaissance Timber LLC @TimberLlc]

I’m delighted to announce that “Wood Work: Building a Living, Crafting a Life” is available for preorder (link in comments). Publication date 12/1/26 via Islandport Press. 🪓 🪵

[Renaissance Timber LLC @TimberLlc]

@Pin__Terest @islandportbooks Thank you so much!!!

[Renaissance Timber LLC @TimberLlc]

A reading from “Wood Work: Crafting a Living, Building a Life,” due out 12/1/26 via @islandportbooks Preorder now on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. 🪓 📕

[Renaissance Timber LLC @TimberLlc]

@mamaw87275585 @islandportbooks Thank you so much!

[Renaissance Timber LLC @TimberLlc]

@CanFella @islandportbooks Thank you so much! 🥹🙏🏻

[Renaissance Timber LLC @TimberLlc]

@__chri_s_tine__ @islandportbooks Thank you so very much, Christine! 🥹🥹☺️☺️🙏🏻🙏🏻

[Renaissance Timber LLC @TimberLlc]

@_al83rto_ @islandportbooks 🙏🏻🥹👊🏻

[Renaissance Timber LLC @TimberLlc]

@_al83rto_ @islandportbooks You’re so kind! Thank you!

[Renaissance Timber LLC @TimberLlc]

@thequeenofrust 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[Sofia B. Kinzinger @sofiakinzinger]

This guy is literally auditioning to be the next Secretary of Defense in real time. 🤣

Because that’s how easy it is to manipulate this administration. You just tell them what they want to hear.

[Garry Kasparov @Kasparov63]

As possibly the only person in American politics less popular than Trump himself, it makes perfect sense. An autocrat's circle always grows smaller as ruthless loyalty out of complicity becomes the only relevant qualification.

[Renaissance Timber LLC @TimberLlc]

@Ashton7Sloan @Angry_Staffer 😅

[Natalia Antonova 🇺🇸🇺🇦 @NataliaAntonova]

How tf do you say that about someone who fought in the Somme??

[Renaissance Timber LLC @TimberLlc]

@sofiakinzinger Well said 👏👏👏

[Captain Mark Kelly @CaptMarkKelly]

Lives lost, billions spent for what? Leadership includes the ability to speak truth to power and fight for what’s right, and not just when it’s easy. That quality isn’t one possessed by you or anyone in this administration, and that’s why you continue to fail the American people.

[Renaissance Timber LLC @TimberLlc]

@sofiakinzinger Yes!!!!

[Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini) 🇺🇸🇺🇦 @AdamKinzinger]

The Republican Party is at war with itself today. The White House blames Fox News and lazy candidates. The vice president blames the war he’s been selling to voters. Fingers are pointing in every direction. But for the first time, a lot of them are pointing at Donald Trump.

A senior Senate Republican called it a bloodbath, then added three words: “Trump did this.” For ten years you couldn’t get a Republican to say that out loud.

Now they’re lining up. A former GOP legislator in Texas calls it an abject repudiation of Trumpism. A county chair in Ohio says the party has to drop Trump’s style. And the Republican who just lost in Maine says Trump’s going to be gone in two years.

Whatever happens to Trump, the Congress that let him do whatever he wanted is gone for good. And he knows it.

I break it all down in today’s show (link in reply).

[Renaissance Timber LLC @TimberLlc]

@AdamKinzinger You’re a good man, Adam. It takes a lot of courage and character to stand against the crowd in what you know is right. Grateful for you 👊🏻

[Mitt Romney @MittRomney]

Bad policy, bad character make bad politics: erratic tariffs, impulsive Iran war, blanket pardons, apparent corruption, weaponized justice, ICE brutality, mountainous deficits, hiding Epstein, abandoning allies and coddling enemies. Hoping for a course correction, for the country and for my party.

[Renaissance Timber LLC @TimberLlc]

@JeffFisch @JDVance Right???

[Renaissance Timber LLC @TimberLlc]

Vance positioning himself for a 2026 run within hours of Republicans getting shellacked at the polls is the type of Republican fracturing you’re likely to see more of in the next two years.

[JD Vance @JDVance]

One of the things the data analysts on our side obsessed over was "composition"—whether the electorate looked close enough to 2024 for Republicans to win. And despite polls that showed a Democrat blowout, the data kept on telling us the same story: in some states turnout was merely OK, in other states it was downright amazing, and in no state was it catastrophic. There was a genuine sense of optimism on our team: our people were showing up.

So, I asked the smartest data guy I know, does that mean we're going to shock the world? "No," he told me. "We might do better than the polls suggest. But the data is telling us that a lot of Trump/Vance 2024 voters are pissed and planning to vote for the other guys. Our voters are turning out, but they may not vote for us."

Well, that looks prophetic now. Our voters did show up. In Florida, for example, the electorate was 9 points more Republican than Democrat, just a couple points worse than 2024. Undoubtedly there were places we could have done better on turnout. But the main problem is not turnout. The main problem is that many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026.

There will be a lot of infighting and arguing over what happened and why that is. One of the pollsters I really respect told me that our economic messaging wasn’t sharp enough down the stretch. I’m sure that’s true.

But the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone.

Another pollster—one of the smartest people I know in politics, told me yesterday we’d lose the generic ballot by 13 points. I felt negative going into Tuesday, but even I was shocked by this. In his polling, he saw that a lot of Trump 2024 voters were angry and planning to vote for Democrats. He asked those voters who had abandoned us what would cause them to come back on our team. The top four answers, accounting for nearly all of the responses were:

1) End the war
2) Focus on cost of living/inflation
3) Put America First
4) Change our relationship to Israel

Our voters showed up. And the above four reasons are why many of them voted for Democrats. This is according to a pollster who nailed the results. While many spent Monday attacking Rachel Campos Duffy for calling for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, it turns out her political advice was sound. (She’s also a great person.)

In the next few months, there's going to be a lot of gaslighting. Expect to hear any number of establishment politicians say the solution to our woes is amnesty. I'm open to the idea that we should change enforcement—by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labor, for instance. But anyone pushing amnesty is lying to you.

The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night.

If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that's at least honest.

But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.

I remain hopeful about our country. To the people who are pissed off and want to say, “I told you so”: you’re right, you did tell us so. Take that energy into electing Republicans who share your worldview. To the people who are just pissed at the results, you should be. Let’s take that anger and get back to the work of saving our country.