Merged Trump Fires Comey....

[uke2se]

You're right, they're not but then again Trump still has 80%+ approval ratings among GOP supporters. Is there reason to suppose that older white GOP supporters may not turn out in 2018 ?

A whole heap of them will be dead by then.

 

[Babbylonian]

I'm pretty sure Russia has some very strict laws on Guns but they definitely got 2 out of 3. God also might be a bit of a question mark.

Given that they just gave a blogger a 3-1/2-year prison sentence (suspended) for using a smartphone in a church, you can remove that question mark.

 

[SezMe]

I keep promising myself "less Trump", then some crazy **** like this happens and it sucks me back in again.

Amen, brother. Amen. It's worse than crack ... er, I'm told.

 

[ChristianProgressive]

Which is just silly the president doesn't need any agrement from the military to launch a nuclear first strike, they have the authority to do that it is a fundamental part of the job. Every since the army dropped the second atomic bomb on a japanese city with out bothering to tell the president they were going to do that. And Truman was foolish enough to believe them that Hiroshima was a military base. The fool

Nope. Look up "2-man" rule. No president has the sole authority to order a strike and see that it is carried out. And even if he has a second cabinet member to back him, it still has to go through the joint chiefs down to the lesser commanders. The president (even with cabinet approval) cannot give a direct order to forces.

 

[ChristianProgressive]

It's terrible theory. For one thing, the FBI Director being out of the office does not mean that the office is either open or unguarded. In fact, obtaining access is likely more difficult since fewer people would have an excuse to enter. For another, all that would be required to get Comey out of the office is a call from the Oval Office requesting his presence.

Under normal circumstances you would be more right, but this regime is known for being ham-handed and irrationally paranoid.

 

[Babbylonian]

Under normal circumstances you would be more right, but this regime is known for being ham-handed and irrationally paranoid.

That doesn't mean others should emulate them.

 

[ChristianProgressive]

You're right, they're not but then again Trump still has 80%+ approval ratings among GOP supporters. Is there reason to suppose that older white GOP supporters may not turn out in 2018 ?

I'm sure he will keep his stormTrumpers. It's the moderate/swings and the softer Rs that he is looking at losing. Those may be just enough to tip the balance. (Assuming the election is clean, which is no longer a given.)

 

[SezMe]

I thought that a GOP majority was "baked in" to the House of Representatives due to Gerrymandering.

One analysis that I read indicated that gerrymandering gave the Reps something like a 7% advantage. That is, for a Democrat to win, they would have to win by at least 7%, which is basically a landslide. Getting that large a bump, especially in the South, is really, really hard. I try not to get my hopes up. As you have correctly pointed out more than once, the American political memory is little more than 2-3 days so who knows what the mood of the voting public will be in ~18 months time.

 

[ChristianProgressive]

That doesn't mean others should emulate them.

I agree. But the theory isn't about others' way of doing things, it's about Trump and his minions' way.

 

[ChristianProgressive]

One analysis that I read indicated that gerrymandering gave the Reps something like a 7% advantage. That is, for a Democrat to win, they would have to win by at least 7%, which is basically a landslide. Getting that large a bump, especially in the South, is really, really hard. I try not to get my hopes up. As you have correctly pointed out more than once, the American political memory is little more than 2-3 days so who knows what the mood of the voting public will be in ~18 months time.

We will get a better read on the political mood with the next few special elections (GA and Montana esp).

Of course we are also assuming honest elections, which are no longer a given.

 

[Bob001]

Nope. Look up "2-man" rule. No president has the sole authority to order a strike and see that it is carried out. And even if he has a second cabinet member to back him, it still has to go through the joint chiefs down to the lesser commanders. The president (even with cabinet approval) cannot give a direct order to forces.

You are confused. The President's orders are executed through the chain of command, but nobody has the authority to countermand or veto him. Your "two-man rule" applies in missile silos and submarines, not the White House. The President can literally end the world on a whim.

With a single phone call, the commander in chief has virtually unlimited power to rain down nuclear weapons on any adversarial regime and country at any time.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/st...les-nukes-button-launch-foreign-policy-213955

"The system is set up so that only the president has the authority to order a nuclear war. Nobody has the right to countermand that decision," William J. Perry, the 19th Secretary of State who served under former President Bill Clinton, from 1994 to 1997, told Radiolab.

http://www.businessinsider.com/president-nuke-option-requires-no-permission-2017-4

 

[varwoche]

the whole narrative is false and you know it.

Do you honestly believe Trump is in cohoots with Russia? Flynn (fired by Trump) investigation and indeed every liberal media outlet is just dying to undermine Trump's presidency, it's as simple as that. But go ahead, keep lapping it up.

The whole narrative? It must irk you a great deal that a number of Republicans have expressed serious concerns about Trump + Russia.

Business as usual, right...?

• Trump flat out lied about his relationship with Putin
• Trump flat out lied about his role in GOP platform concerning Ukraine
• Manafort flat out lied about his/Trump role in GOP platform
• Manafort flat out lied about his deep Russian relationships
• Flynn flat out lied about his Russian contacts
• Trump lied by omission about Flynn's contacts
• Sessions flat out lied about his Russian contacts
• Carter Page flat out lied about his Russian contacts
• Various campaign officials lied about Page's relationship with the campaign
• Roger Stone flat out lied about his Russian contacts
• Trump is pretending that Manafort was minimally involved in the campaign
• Trump remains evasive about Flynn to this day
• Trump Jr acknowledged significant Russian money coming into the business, but Trump now denies
• Trump openly encouraged Russia to hack Clinton

Narrative my ass.

Your incredulity is particularly off base when we step back and acknowledge the fantastic degree of ineptitude on display from Trump, combined with a lifetime of sleazy/corrupt behavior. Collusion with Russia would be highly unlikely if we were talking about a politician who is even vaguely normal. But we're not.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Even more irony: a majority of Democrats call for Comey's head 5 months ago, but cry crocodile tears when it actually happens. Pathetic *****.

And the dishonest narrative continues. All the Democratic legislators interviewed since the firing have said it's the suspicious timing not the firing. Does your ear just filter that out?

Also, sacking Comey doesn't stop any alleged investigation the FBI are carrying out. The liberal media knows this. So instead they spin it as "interfering" with the investigation. More ********.

McCabe (acting FBI director) just said in a Senate hearing that no one is going to stop "the good people of the FBI" from this investigation. Just because Trump doesn't get that doesn't mean he didn't fire Comey to try to quash the investigation.

Again, does your ear filter out all the Trumpettes out on the circuit repeating the mantra, there's been enough investigation, nothing was found (not true) and it's time to move on?

I suppose you actually believe that.

Trump will of course appoint a lackey, look at most of the rest of his appointments.

They'll spin any narrative into an anti-Trump narrative. They are now left with no credibility.

The irony of your post comes full circle.


Do you have any comment on why Trump and Sessions both heaped gushing praise on Comey repeatedly before and after the election for the very thing they claim they fired him for now? Trump said he loved Wikileaks and urged Russia to further hack Clinton's emails.

Have you heard the rumors that Rosenstein threatened to resign: Deputy AG Rosenstein was on the verge of resigning, upset over WH pinning Comey firing on him.

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was so upset with the White House for pinning the firing of FBI Director James Comey on him Wednesday that he was on the verge of resigning, an administration source told ABC News.

It is possible to both agree Comey should be fired and still recognize Trump liked Comey when he criticized Clinton publicly, and now is worried about the FBI investigation into Trump.

Despite their having been critical of Comey for his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, Democrats argue that the firing of Comey, who was overseeing the Russia investigation, is an abuse of presidential power.

"The reality is his team is the subject of an investigation,” Adam Schiff, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said in an interview with CNN Wednesday. “None of us know where that investigation is going to lead and that's a very apparent conflict of interest for the president.”

 

[Biscuit]

1. What aspect(s) of the Clinton investigation is trump citing as reason for firing Comey? Trump alternately praised and condemned aspects of the investigation and could have fired Comey on day one, or two, or three....

2 If it's the that the FBI did not recommend charges be filed against Clinton that makes no sense because the department of justice can file charges with or without the FBI's blessing. If this is the reason why hasn't the DOJ filed charges against Clinton?

3. If it's Comey's letters to congress or public statements the timing is all wrong. Why now?

Leaving the Russian investigation aside for just a moment it is pretty obvious there is no logic or reasoning to back up the trump administration's claim that this is about the Clinton investigation. Nothing about that claim makes sense.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

On Wednesday, Democratic senators Dianne Feinstein and Richard Durbin told US media that Mr Comey had asked the deputy attorney general for more resources - mainly staff - for the FBI investigation.

Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores called those reports "totally false".

So, there goes that narrative.


Either way, Republicans and Democrats vowed the House and Senate Intelligence Committees' investigations into the Russia claims would continue.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said if Mr Trump believed replacing Mr Comey would halt the inquiries "he made a big mistake".


Come at me guys, theres another narrative destroyed.

You'd need to show Trump had a clue how the government works in order to dent (let alone destroy) the narrative Trump is trying to obstruct the investigation.

The man thinks he's king. He hasn't quite figured out yet he isn't.

 

[pgwenthold]

All we have to ask is, if Obama had fired Comey the day after the election, how many of those supporting it now would have supported it then? He, he needs to go, right? And in that situation, Obama wouldn't have been doing it to protect his own ass.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Can't Stump The Trump!11!!

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/862460991451344896



(no wonder the 4chan trolls love him so much)

And? We can't agree on firing Comey and still recognize the blatant coverup attempt by Trump at the same time?

 

[pgwenthold]

You'd need to show Trump had a clue how the government works in order to dent (let alone destroy) the narrative Trump is trying to obstruct the investigation.

The man thinks he's king. He hasn't quite figured out yet he isn't.

The rumors are that he STILL wants Flynn back, and the White House Counsel is STILL trying to convince him that he needs to stay away from the guy.

He doesn't believe that Flynn has done anything wrong. Ties to Russia? Not a problem. Unregistered foreign agent? Still not a problem.

 

[Belz...]

You may be right about the smokescreen, but, for instance, reports indicate that the White House is actually, really, legitimately, truly SURPRISED about the negative fallout from firing Comey.

Hilarious

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Hmm? Honestly, what actually matters is that there's far, far more than sufficient cause for serious investigation into the relationships between Russia and both Trump and the people surrounding him. It would be thoroughly irresponsible not to investigate such, given the circumstances. Whether we believe one thing or another is largely immaterial to that.