The Trump Presidency: Part 18

[Ladewig]

They say that the cover-up is worse than the crime.
Trump and his henchmen know that's not true in their case m

Yes, but’s that true for two reasons
A) President Trump doesn’t believe the law applies to him so he doesn’t try to cover things up.
B) Even if (A) weren’t true, President Trump is too incompetent to launch an effective coverup.

 

[Craig4]

Trump Tweets

And the Do Nothing Democrats want to impeach President Trump?

The Hill
@thehill
Poll: Majority of Republicans say Trump is a better president than Lincoln http://hill.cm/IPxeu0U

Just when you thought Trumptrash couldn't get more disgusting.

 

[TragicMonkey]

Does Trump not know what happened to Lincoln?

 

[Darat]

I think you'll find that he was impeached for lying under oath about said BJ.

That is a criminal offence.



Very small beer compared to what Trump appears to be guilty of though.

Process crime!

 

[Darat]

Does Trump not know what happened to Lincoln?

Of course he does, he's seen the documentary about Lincoln https://g.co/kgs/PoZVnb. Well at least the action bits his staff edit together for him.

 

[smartcooky]

I also agree. Trump could not have taken root if the ground wasn't already fertile.

The tragic thing about this (if indeed, "tragic" is the right word) is that his base are too dumb to learn the lessons of history. It is almost certain that they would be the ones most disadvantaged by a Trump-led autocracy - autocrats very often turn on those who helped them get to power once they are no longer needed.

 

[Resume]

You're argument that because Clinton lied about oral sex it means he migbt betray his country to a foreign power is amusing considering Trump's bending over for Putin.

I'm pretty sure The Shrike agrees with you.

 

[Segnosaur]

Re: Clinton's impeachment...

Lying about sex under oath is illegal, but it was about a personal matter.

Personal, except that the holder of that office has a special responsibility to the Republic. Was it a personal matter of sufficient gravity that the President could have been effectively blackmailed to keep it a secret? Yes.

In theory, if someone had a 'secret' that they had broken the law (such s Clinton's perjury) it might open them up to blackmail. However, Clinton's activities were probably well known enough that the opportunity for blackmail would have been limited.

Could you imagine the conversation?

Russians: "We know you lied about sex! We are blackmailing you"
Clinton: "Everyone knows."

 

[SezMe]

As for the topic of voter suppression - the Republicans have been engaging in quite the variety of tactics for quite some time now, with varying and sometimes hard to quantify effects. To poke at some of the direct methods...

In fact, the GOP was under court supervision for illegal voting tactics for 35 years and there's every reason to believe that they should still be under court supervision. They're just like little kids who can't behave, only the consequences are much worse.

The Atlantic has an excellent article about this.

 

[SezMe]

Max Boot used to be a stalwart GOPer who has had his own "come to Jesus" revelation and now writes in opposition to the GOP for the Washington Post. His op-ed today is entitled, GOP deserves to be voted out of existence.

Here's a snippet where he talks about the price the GOP pays for supporting Dump:

A pretty high price, that, but, like a landlord raising the rent because he knows you’re too lazy to move, Trump has dramatically escalated the cost his supporters must pay to stay in his good graces as we approach his fourth year in power. The price came to include overlooking his racist rants (e.g., telling congresswomen of color to “go back” to where they came from); putting kids in cages; kowtowing to Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other tyrants; abandoning America’s Kurdish allies; obstructing justice and stonewalling Congress; declaring a state of emergency to spend money that Congress has not appropriated for a border wall that we don’t need; lying nonstop; using the presidency to enrich himself; and disparaging the press as “the enemy of the people.”

And here's a sentence from his final paragraph:

For aiding and abetting the president’s egregious abuses of power, the Republican Party deserves to be destroyed from top to bottom.

But read the whole thing; nothing brand new but quite an indictment.

 

[smartcooky]

Max Boot used to be a stalwart GOPer who has had his own "come to Jesus" revelation and now writes in opposition to the GOP for the Washington Post. His op-ed today is entitled, GOP deserves to be voted out of existence.

Here's a snippet where he talks about the price the GOP pays for supporting Dump:



And here's a sentence from his final paragraph:


But read the whole thing; nothing brand new but quite an indictment.

Jesus H Christ! He didn't hold anything back did he!?

 

[The Don]

Jesus H Christ! He didn't hold anything back did he!?

#FakeNews

...and even if it wasn't fake, he is just a never-Trumper RINO.

Sadly, 90% of the GOP and 35% of independents think President Trump is doing a great job so although it's nice to see a Republican thinking that President Trump isn't a great President, it's very much a minority view in the party.

As has been pointed out upthread, 53% think that President Trump is a greater President than Abraham Lincoln.

 

[The Don]

Here's a snippet where he talks about the price the GOP pays for supporting Dump:

Taking the quote apart:

A pretty high price, that, but, like a landlord raising the rent because he knows you’re too lazy to move, Trump has dramatically escalated the cost his supporters must pay to stay in his good graces as we approach his fourth year in power. The price came to include overlooking his racist rants (e.g., telling congresswomen of color to “go back” to where they came from)

There's no "price" there, President Trump is echoing the views of a sizeable minority of the US electorate, and a majority of the GOP.

putting kids in cages

Again, there's no price to pay there, its an action the vast majority of GOP supporters can get on board with.

kowtowing to Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other tyrants

Again, no price to pay here. The real villains of the piece are those EU countries who frustrate the US at every step by pushing back on trade deals and who con the US into paying for their defence.

abandoning America’s Kurdish allies

According to the majority of GOP supporters, it's one group of towel-heads, fighting another group of towel heads. The US was tactically smart to make use of them, but there's no point spilling a single drop of American blood, after all it was the Kurds' decision to align with the US.

obstructing justice and stonewalling Congress

A significant minority, and almost all the GOP don't see it that way. They see it as fighting a determined rearguard action against a coup attempt.

declaring a state of emergency to spend money that Congress has not appropriated for a border wall that we don’t need

The thing is, the vast majority of GOP voters think that the border wall is vital for the protection of the US against an invasion from the south.

lying nonstop

Many GOP supporters don't think the President lies, and those that do, don't mind because they think that's just how he is.

using the presidency to enrich himself

That may be Boot's view, but it's not one shared by the majority of GOP supporters.

and disparaging the press as “the enemy of the people.”

Likewise, not a problem for most GOP supporters.


I think Boot has demonstrated how un-moored he has become from current Conservative thinking. The Republican Party he seems to support bears no resemblance to the current GOP.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

That's my main hope for 2020: the Republican Intelligentsia has either disappeared or is anti-Trump. And many of the most fanatical Trump-cheerleaders in the media have been cancelled and/or demonetized.
If you want pro-Trump propaganda, you are doomed to watch FoX on repeat (but skip Fox News!).

 

[Andy_Ross]

Trump Tweets

“Donald Trump was framed back in 2016.” @MariaBartiromo
100% correct, Maria, and we can never let this happen to another president again!

Great writer and historian, Doug Wead, has written a true (not Fake News) account of what is going on in Washington and the White House. His new book, INSIDE TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE, is an incredible description of a very exciting and successful time in our Country’s history. Buy it!

 

[Aridas]

In other news...

TN legislator called for ridding US of higher education in order to "end a liberal breeding ground"

Sen. Kerry Roberts of Springfield called for eliminating higher education while speaking about attending a recent abortion legislative hearing on his conservative radio talk show on Sept. 2.
Roberts specifically called out one activist who testified in favor of protecting abortion rights. He asserted without evidence that the woman’s beliefs were a “product of higher education” and claimed that getting rid of higher education would “save America.”

This is the annoyingly influential anti-education wing of the GOP, so one probably shouldn't be too surprised at the inanity, but still... it's actually something of a backhanded compliment. People who actually know what they're talking about are very, very likely to act to protect abortion rights. Therefore, he's advocating for getting rid of people who actually know what they're talking about. It's a very current Republican Party way of doing things.

 

[Mumbles]

Think it is best for me to avoid US politics threads for a bit.

Am actually genuinely interested, and the whole Trump thing is interesting as he is just an idiot,

But realise I am probably just being an idiot as don't know enough about the history

Apologies if I offended anyone and will still read with interest,

Maybe still make the odd dim post, but not for a while

Suffice it to say this, yet again:

The GOP is not, in any way, a party of "conservatism", or "small government".

It is a reactionary party of fearful white christians screeching about the ******* and spics robbing them, the ragheads getting ready to kill them, the the queers recruiting their children - and the various grifters that have learned to scam them again and again - the NRA, gold and MRA sellers, televangelists, and the like. And it has been this party for decades, with increasing fervor, particularly as younger people look at their rank and file, note the brazen hypocrisy and open celebration of cruelty and destruction, and say "Ugh, you people sicken me, I'm leaving."

Reagan was loudly anti-black people back in the 80s, and long before then, howling about the horrors of integration when he was governor. The "Order" part of "Law and Order" was "White men rule the country, darker skinned people serve them and wallow in poverty. What do you mean, Native Americans - we're the Native Americans!" They're still there, obviously, as seen by their open love of police violence against black people. GWB and Cheney sold them on anti-Muslim and LGBT fervor. Media figures like Fox News and AM Radio have pushed them right along the way, also peddling anti-science so that dinosaur industries could keep lumbering along.

Surprise! Now they're led by a white supremacist who pardons war criminals and refuses to exercise because he thinks it makes you die sooner. His senior advisory team includes a Christianist AG and a Jewish guy who would have banned himself from fleeing to the country from Nazi Germany. Their leading intellectuals are guys who yell at confused college students, and their lead media figures openly claim that Hispanics are dirtying up America. Dolt 45 is a result of these fearful, angry chumps being offered the real deal instead of half-measures, or guys who openly reject such fear like McCain.

 

[Belz...]

The whole bill's a nightmare, apparently, with this vile, repugnant bit of evil being just one of the nightmarish highlights.

Who in the blue hell introduced this bill?

And what if the procedure fails, as it will? Will the doctor and mother also be held accountable?

 

[The Great Zaganza]

cullennz, if you are looking for a European-style Conservative Party in the US, it's the Democrats that come closest.
The GOP is much more comparable to far-right Eastern European parties with strong religious support.

 

[Belz...]

53 percent of Republicans believe that Donald Trump is a better president than Abraham Lincoln, according to a new poll.

https://www.newsweek.com/53-percent-republicans-prefer-trump-lincoln-1474864

6% of Democrats said Trump is better than Lincoln?

What's wrong with this stupid species?

Those really are not "conservative" wishes. Only for what FOX is calling conservative today. Conservative use to mean fiscally responsible. Conservative use to mean being pro free trade. Conservatives use to be pro democracy and anti-dictator.

Roger's point is that it's not the case anymore. This really has become a culture war. I think the country will either fracture, or one of the two ideologies has got to go.

Hey President **** head, impeachment proceedings are not meant to be referenda on popularity, they are meant to be inquiries into crimes.

Trump doesn't understand the concept of crime. He only sees the world through the lens of 'success', which for him means ratings, polls and crowd sizes.