Cont: The Trump Presidency VIII

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JoeMorgue said:
Confession. If by some miracle Trump does get impeached to the point of being removed from office, I'd wager it's going to be over some technicality rather than any of the big things people are really upset about. A "Getting Capone for Tax Evasion" moment if you will.

I can't put my finger on why it just... seems like that's how it would go.
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Yes and no, violating the emoluments clause of the constitution would work, but of course anything congress wants can be a high crime and misdemeanor.

If he doesn't get immunity I think that the more minor charges are the only ones likely to be charged, but impeachment isn't exactly well established legal practice.
 
Paul2 said:
Trump now says he holds Putin personally responsible for the election meddling. Is there anyone who accepts that at face value given his absurd would/wouldn’t statement, his performance at the press conference, and everything he’s said or done about Russia in the last 2 years?

He’s had to be dragged kicking and screaming into it. The mystery is not whether something is going on, but just exactly what.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/18/politics/trump-putin-election-interference/index.html
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So he finally sent the thank you card?
 
Two weeks before his inauguration, Donald J. Trump was shown highly classified intelligence indicating that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had personally ordered complex cyberattacks to sway the 2016 American election.

The evidence included texts and emails from Russian military officers and information gleaned from a top-secret source close to Mr. Putin, who had described to the C.I.A. how the Kremlin decided to execute its campaign of hacking and disinformation.

Mr. Trump sounded grudgingly convinced, according to several people who attended the intelligence briefing. But ever since, Mr. Trump has tried to cloud the very clear findings that he received on Jan. 6, 2017, which his own intelligence leaders have unanimously endorsed.

The shifting narrative underscores the degree to which Mr. Trump regularly picks and chooses intelligence to suit his political purposes. That has never been more clear than this week.
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Linky.

At this point, it doesn't matter if he is actually compromised or just acting like it.
 
I got to thinking while descending into my cups tonight that there is someone who used to lionized by the Republicans and mentioned with reverence at every political rally: Ronald Wilson Reagan. AKA, Saint Ronnie.

Why? Because Reagan, for all his faults and there were many, was a cold war warrior against the then Soviet Union. Sclerotic as he was, he knew an enemy when he saw one. "Tear down this wall!"

Now, raising his voice in abstentia would be beyond embarrassing to any GOPer. My, my how the mighty have fallen.
 
Trump tweets

"The Democrats have a death wish, in more ways than one - they actually want to abolish ICE. This should cost them heavily in the Midterms. Yesterday, the Republicans overwhelmingly passed a bill supporting ICE!"
 
Trump tweets

"The Fake News Media is going Crazy! They make up stories without any backup, sources or proof. Many of the stories written about me, and the good people surrounding me, are total fiction. Problem is, when you complain you just give them more publicity. But I’ll complain anyway!"

"The Fake News Media wants so badly to see a major confrontation with Russia, even a confrontation that could lead to war. They are pushing so recklessly hard and hate the fact that I’ll probably have a good relationship with Putin. We are doing MUCH better than any other country!"
 
Captain_Swoop said:
Trump tweets

"The Democrats have a death wish, in more ways than one - they actually want to abolish ICE. This should cost them heavily in the Midterms. Yesterday, the Republicans overwhelmingly passed a bill supporting ICE!"
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Is there any truth to the highlighted or is it a typical Presidential lie ?
 
The Don said:
Is there any truth to the highlighted or is it a typical Presidential lie ?
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There are some who want to abolish the ICE. However, among those "some" include, apparently, members of the ICE itself.

More to the point, though, the question is, even if it is true, so what? The president claims or implies that the alternative is wide "open borders" with no enforcement.

We had plenty of immigration control before the creation of the ICE, we can do it again. Those who want to abolish the ICE want to replace it with something that works better.

So it's not completely a lie (although he overstates the extent of the opinion), it's a false dichotomy.
 
pgwenthold said:
There are some who want to abolish the ICE. However, among those "some" include, apparently, members of the ICE itself.

More to the point, though, the question is, even if it is true, so what? The president claims or implies that the alternative is wide "open borders" with no enforcement.

We had plenty of immigration control before the creation of the ICE, we can do it again. Those who want to abolish the ICE want to replace it with something that works better.

So it's not completely a lie (although he overstates the extent of the opinion), it's a false dichotomy.
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Thank you for the clarification. It seems that these days:

Those who want to abolish the ICE want to replace it with something that works better.
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Is far too complicated and nuanced a message for a large part of the US electorate.

As the Kaiser Chiefs say:

Well, nothing I said's so important
That it can't be shortened
To fit on a badge
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The Don said:
Is there any truth to the highlighted or is it a typical Presidential lie ?
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It's true. Some Democrats want to return enforcement to the Customs and Border Protection agency. The argument is that the culture of ICE -- heavily focused on expanding deportations -- can't be reformed.
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-abolish-ice-house-20180712-story.html
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/19/17116980/ice-abolish-immigration-arrest-deport
https://www.thenation.com/article/mean-abolish-ice/
 
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The Don said:
Thank you for the clarification. It seems that these days:



Is far too complicated and nuanced a message for a large part of the US electorate.

As the Kaiser Chiefs say:
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The meat of it gets more nuanced. Different parts of ICE would be broken up and put under other departments rather than a single entity with a national security impetus. Customs is a largely a Commerce Department concern. Immigration touches on HHS, State, Education, and Labor. You can still have "border security" apprehend people. But when someone claims refugee status or asylum, other figures should step into that process than front line LEOs from an organization that doesn't have such a defensive mindset and mission.
 
Bob001 said:
It's true. Some Democrats want to return enforcement to the Customs and Border Protection agency. The argument is that the culture of ICE -- heavily focused on expanding deportations -- can't be reformed.
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-abolish-ice-house-20180712-story.html
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/19/17116980/ice-abolish-immigration-arrest-deport
https://www.thenation.com/article/mean-abolish-ice/
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It's a half truth. When you say that Democrats want to get rid of ICE, it can sound like party policy when there is instead a minority of Dems advocating that policy.

To be fair, a half truth is a large step up for Trump.
 
phiwum said:
It's a half truth. When you say that Democrats want to get rid of ICE, it can sound like party policy when there is instead a minority of Dems advocating that policy.

To be fair, a half truth is a large step up for Trump.
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That's why I said "some."
 
Fast Eddie B said:
To be fair, our prior president had 8 years to close that down, but allegedly found himself powerless to do so.
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It is indeed the distinct failure of an entire nation. Yet, now with ample majorities across the board, still no action from the GOP.

***
Clear Congressional political collusion with Russia:
House GOP refuses to renew election security funding as Democrats fume over Russian interference
No, I do not believe the flimsy, weak GOP excuses given in the article, especially in today's context.
 
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Trump gets to be on the cover of Time again.
More specifically, the cover features Trump and Putin's faces digitally merged into a single person.

For the second month in a row, Time magazine has put a provocative photo illustration of President Donald Trump on its cover -- this time, morphing him into Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In it, Trump's distinctive blonde hair, wispy eyebrows and pursed lips merge with Putin's nose and blue eyes.
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