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2018 American Political Scene

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  • Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
    That is rather remarkable. I'm still a little stunned by that news.

    What does the board attribute this miracle to?
    Both sides had their rails greased

    Comment


    • Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
      I've never been particularly comfortable with Kelly's immigration stance, to be honest. I included him in the 'non-awful' Trump appointments because he seemed to be a responsible adult. Unlike pretty much all the rest.

      Doesn't matter either way, he'll be gone like all the rest. Mattis will probably be the last one standing, for whatever that's worth.
      The depressing thing here is just how far the bar is being lowered. Every administration has its fair share of fools & knaves, but this one seems determined to make it a clean sweep. SIGH!


      Originally posted by Ironduke View Post
      If nobody considered Trump rawdogging a porn star a week after his kid was born a scandal, this will probably blow over too, and it's onto the next scandal.
      Looking for a silver lining here, Trump has exposed how completely hollow the moralizing bleatings of the Christian Right are. That shouldn't come as news to anyone paying attention, but it has been laid bare in a particularly public way in the last 18 months.
      sigpic

      Win nervously lose tragically - Reds C C

      Comment


      • Originally posted by Bigfella View Post
        Looking for a silver lining here, Trump has exposed how completely hollow the moralizing bleatings of the Christian Right are. That shouldn't come as news to anyone paying attention, but it has been laid bare in a particularly public way in the last 18 months.
        Well, from the evangelical perspective, rawdogging a porn star, while married, with a one-week old newborn is a lesser sin than being pro-baby murderer.
        "Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."

        Comment


        • https://www.politico.com/story/2018/...02084?lo=ap_b1

          Second White House staffer resigns amid abuse allegations

          A second White House official has resigned over domestic abuse allegations, according to the White House.

          Speechwriter David Sorensen, who worked at the Council on Environmental Quality, part of the Executive Office of the President, submitted his resignation after being confronted by White House officials, said deputy press secretary Raj Shah.

          Sorensen’s departure was first reported by the Washington Post.
          "Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."

          Comment


          • Originally posted by Ironduke View Post
            Well, from the evangelical perspective, rawdogging a porn star, while married, with a one-week old newborn is a lesser sin than being pro-baby murderer.
            Even that doesn't really worry them, otherwise Scott DeJarlais wouldn't have been re-elected multiple times after it emerged he had pressured his mistress to have an abortion. Even a kiddie fiddler like Roy Moore came within a few points of getting into the Senate.

            There are no principles here.
            sigpic

            Win nervously lose tragically - Reds C C

            Comment


            • Originally posted by Bigfella View Post
              Even that doesn't really worry them, otherwise Scott DeJarlais wouldn't have been re-elected multiple times after it emerged he had pressured his mistress to have an abortion. Even a kiddie fiddler like Roy Moore came within a few points of getting into the Senate.

              There are no principles here.
              He did come within 38 votes of losing re-nomination in 2014. But as long as an elected official votes "correctly" on bills, or pursues the "correct" policies, this subset of voters don't really care what you did personally. Or at least they don't care enough. He has 100% rating from the NRLC and 0% from NARAL, and that's all most of these people need.

              https://www.politico.com/magazine/st...lection-110028
              "Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."

              Comment


              • Originally posted by astralis View Post

                of course, citanon's comment there is particularly funny to me because back in 2011, when we actually did need significant further stimulus, the GOP screamed about deficits til their ears went blue. now that the economy is going gangbusters, we just injected some more (not particularly effective) stimulus.
                We screamed bloody deficit because Obama's stimulus proposals were idiotic. Now we actually have stuff that makes sense. Little Asty will thank our hypocrisy when he grows up. :P

                Comment


                • A bunch of hoopla over unimportant nothings. Nobody will care in a week.

                  This here is the real scandal. Trump's own justice appointee, untainted by the previous administration, resigning after 9 months? The morons at CNN and else where need to clear the air and find out what this lady has to say. As much as I like Trump's economics policies, his conflict with Justice needs to be reigned in. That's actually dangerous stuff for the country.

                  Comment


                  • Pretty sure she had her foot out the door for awhile now. Having been the board member of a domestic abuse organization and having worked at a battered women's shelter allowed her a drama-free out, that nobody can make a fuss about, and she can outwardly plausibly deny it had anything to do with any pressures because of the sword of Damocles over Rosenstein's head, Mueller, the Russia investigation etc. I don't think she's going to go on TV either.

                    I think we can safely assume the threats against Rosenstein and Trump's other DoJ shenanigans are the main factor in her exit, even if she never says it. Who wants to be next in line after all of what Trump has said and done? Who wants to be put through the wringer by a chief who keeps his subordinates on edge, undermines them, turns on them, accuses them of being deep state conspirators, and belittles and scapegoats their superiors in the chain of command?
                    Last edited by Ironduke; 10 Feb 18,, 07:14.
                    "Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by citanon View Post
                      We screamed bloody deficit because Obama's stimulus proposals were idiotic. Now we actually have stuff that makes sense. Little Asty will thank our hypocrisy when he grows up. :P
                      The US economy doesn't need further stimulus. While I agree with the corporate tax rate cut to keep us competitive vis-a-vis the rest of the world, the rest of the cuts were unnecessary.
                      "Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."

                      Comment


                      • Originally posted by Ironduke View Post
                        The US economy doesn't need further stimulus. While I agree with the corporate tax rate cut to keep us competitive vis-a-vis the rest of the world, the rest of the cuts were unnecessary.
                        Well, at least this time everybody can agree that they each get something.

                        Comment


                        • Originally posted by citanon View Post
                          A bunch of hoopla over unimportant nothings. Nobody will care in a week.
                          https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-h...y-resignation/

                          Sure enough, the inevitable result of grasping at straws.

                          Originally posted by Ironduke View Post
                          Pretty sure she had her foot out the door for awhile now. Having been the board member of a domestic abuse organization and having worked at a battered women's shelter allowed her a drama-free out, that nobody can make a fuss about, and she can outwardly plausibly deny it had anything to do with any pressures because of the sword of Damocles over Rosenstein's head, Mueller, the Russia investigation etc. I don't think she's going to go on TV either.

                          I think we can safely assume the threats against Rosenstein and Trump's other DoJ shenanigans are the main factor in her exit, even if she never says it. Who wants to be next in line after all of what Trump has said and done? Who wants to be put through the wringer by a chief who keeps his subordinates on edge, undermines them, turns on them, accuses them of being deep state conspirators, and belittles and scapegoats their superiors in the chain of command?

                          But I think this is the crux of the danger that the Trump presidency poses to the country. It's not the laughable accusations about Russian collusion (in fact the ones laughing the hardest are in the Kremlin), it's not his supposed "instability" hyped in true drama queen style by any number of grand standing (will be polite here) coming out of the wood works and making their living in front of the cameras, it's Trumps demand for personal loyalty from cabinet officials. Of course there usually is some personal loyalty between close advisors, appointees, and the President, but ultimately their loyalties should be the the country and the Constitution. Demanding personal loyalty from the people in charge of Justice in particular is deeply troubling.

                          FFS if the media can hype Omarosa's crazy ravings they can afford to hype this a little.

                          Oh, no, wait, they can't. She is a serious professional not a professional reality star. It's not tabloid worthy and therefore no longer fitting for America's revered media outlets. Plus, she doesn't look like this:

                          Click image for larger version

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                          So, no pretty face to drive web traffic. Am I too cynical?

                          https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/09/polit...bus/index.html

                          Nope. I'm an angel compared to the editors at CNN.
                          Last edited by citanon; 10 Feb 18,, 07:54.

                          Comment


                          • Originally posted by citanon View Post
                            Well, at least this time everybody can agree that they each get something.
                            In a rather regressive way, and we're borrowing money from China to pay for the tax cuts.
                            "Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."

                            Comment


                            • But I think this is the crux of the danger that the Trump presidency poses to the country. It's not the laughable accusations about Russian collusion (in fact the ones laughing the hardest are in the Kremlin), it's not his supposed "instability" hyped in true drama queen style by any number of grand standing (will be polite here) coming out of the wood works and making their living in front of the cameras, it's Trumps demand for personal loyalty from cabinet officials. Of course there usually is some personal loyalty between close advisors, appointees, and the President, but ultimately their loyalties should be the the country and the Constitution. Demanding personal loyalty from the people in charge of Justice in particular is deeply troubling.
                              I honestly think there is more to the collusion story, but that Manafort is the central figure in it, not Trump directly. That being said, Nixon didn't order or even know in advance of the burglary into the DNC, but down he went.

                              I agree with the rest of what you said. Our executive officers don't take the following oath:

                              I, [name], do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.
                              What Trump expects is fealty along the lines of that sworn to George III. While executive officers do serve at the pleasure of the President, they have a higher loyalty. Our oaths are the way they are as an explicit rejection of fealty-type oaths.
                              "Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."

                              Comment


                              • Originally posted by Ironduke View Post
                                In a rather regressive way, and we're borrowing money from China to pay for the tax cuts.
                                Actually, we are mostly borrowing money from the Fed.

                                Comment

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