Trump’s new scampaign CEO Stephen Bannon…we know he’s from Breitbart’s MiniTruth, but where have we heard that name? Steve M. of No More Mister Nice Blog reminds us who this Bannon character is:
Trailer for Palin film made by Stephen Bannon, Trump's new campaign chief.https://t.co/HbONVX2Bk8
— Steve M. (@nomoremister) August 17, 2016
Quitting Bull’s failed hagiographer. Great choice!
Meanwhile, the other big hire, new scampaign manager Kellyanne Conway, has been handling Trump’s outreach to women for several weeks, a period in which polls steadily show Trump barreling toward the losing end of a historic gender gap. A few weeks back, Conway shared her unique strategy for steering the Tangerine Turd away from remarks that might be off-putting to the ladies:
On a recent afternoon, spooning chilled pea soup at a French restaurant near Times Square, Conway, 49, hints how she’ll tackle this challenge. You can’t just tell Trump what to do, she said. You have to give him options.
She illustrates the point with a story about her 11-year-old daughter.
When Claudia emerged from her room on Memorial Day sporting turquoise, Conway asked her to change into blue. “She goes, ‘Turquoise is blue.’ And it is. But it wasn’t a shade available to Betsy Ross when she stayed up through the night sewing the damn flag.”
She chose not to argue with the preteen, which would have delayed their morning. Instead she laid out four Betsy Ross blue choices on her bed. “Minutes later,” she says, “she came out in one of those shades.”
Conway follows the same approach with the Republican presidential nominee. Never command. That could insult him. Always make suggestions, backed with information in 10-second sound bites: Betsy Ross lacked turquoise. Female voters want compassion.
Acting tough comes naturally to Trump. Compassion … well, she says, he has it. They’re working on showing it off. She withholds the details.
The above interview was conducted prior to the Democratic National Convention, so we can conclude that the strategy inspired by seamstress Betsy Ross was insufficient to sew Trump’s trap shut about Captain Khan’s family. Can Conway can entice her candidate to select blue togs for the remaining 83 days of the campaign? Color me skeptical!
*All puns strictly intended.
dr. bloor
KellyAnne isn’t exactly selling her candidate by citing a strategy that shrinks have been recommending to the parents of willful three-year-olds like, forever.
On the other hand, chilled pea soup sounds like it could be tasty.
Miss Bianca
“I’ve laid out four shades of nonmisogynistic blue for you, Mr. Trump, so why are you coming out in “bleeding from her whatever” red?”
cmorenc
I’m trying real hard to imagine the “laying out proper Betsy Ross blue clothing color choices” approach being successfully used by the National Security team advising Trump in the Situation Room over a situation like the Cuban Missile Crisis or 9/11 or deciding whether the mission to get Bin Laden at Abbottabad is a “go”. When Trump is being faced with a really huuuuuge decision, with no bankruptcy court or banks or father’s wealth available as a backup plan. Trump would choose fire-engine red, regardless of whether the generals and security team told him his only good options were to play some shade of blue – cause that’s just the way he rolls, and he isn’t about to change who he is.
schrodinger's cat
Trump is not tough, he acts like an overgrown toddler. You know who is tough, Hillary and our current president.
schrodinger's cat
So glad I don’t have cable, I am not exposed to blithering idiots like Conway.
ellie
So basically Trump has to be treated like an 11-year-old girl? God help us all.
dmsilev
I feel there’s something missing from this charming anecdote. WTF is the problem with turquoise? Or was it vetoed simply because Mommy Dearest felt like asserting her dominance over her daughter?
amk
so much mollycoddling by the rethug establishment, the msm minions and his scampaign staff and yet the turd shines through it all.
JGabriel
WaPo via Betty Cracker @ Top:
Never challenge Trump’s authority. That will make him lash out from insecurity.
See, this is Conway’s big mistake – female voters want competence. Which, apparently, is more than you can say for conservative white males.
Jerzy Russian
Brilliant! If you don’t win the next Nobel Prize for Literature, we will know that the voting was rigged.
Regarding choices, isn’t “don’ be an asshole” always a choice?
The Other Chuck
Any one else think micromanaging the wardrobe color palette of one’s daughter to that degree is itself kinda fucked up?
The Dangerman
So, are they going to go balls to the wall to try and win (meaning, UGLY campaigning, even more threatening campaign events) or is this just a tell that what he plans to do is start a new network that is farther to the right than Fox? Gotta be one or the other or Breibart dude makes no sense.
dmsilev
Also, let’s look at the slightly bigger picture. Trump’s campaign manager is the head of Breitbart News (sic). Trump’s senior campaign advisor is the former head of Fox News (fresh available after a massive sexual harassment scandal). How long until we learn that Trump’s strategy team is now a collective of Reddit and 4chan posters?
Brent
@dmsilev: Betsy Ross didn’t use turquoise. Apparently reason enough to erase the color from one’s wardrobe. Conservatives are really fucking weird.
rikyrah
America’s top colleges 2016
The No. 1 FORBES Top College 2016 is Stanford University , followed by Williams College and Princeton University . The highest ranking public school is the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The University of Notre Dame is the premier Midwestern institution and Davidson College lands as the best school in the South.
The FORBES 9th annual Top Colleges ranking speaks directly to three important trends:
The emerging clout-flip from the Northeast Establishment to new guard West Coast schools;
The contest between small student-centric liberal arts colleges and juggernaut STEM-oriented research universities;
The disproportionately high number of old, private schools as the best return on investment.
Jerry
What does it say about Conway that she is one of the blonde bimbi that *DID* manage to do well and get promoted regularly at Fox under Ailes? Especially in light of her being hired just after Ailes made the recommendation to Donny over 18 holes?
As Lewandowski put it: “She’s done this for a long time… She also brings a sense of calmness to Donald Trump.” I bet she does.
dmsilev
@JGabriel:
And never make direct eye contact. And if he shows his ass, that’s an attempt at a dominance display.
Are we _sure_ Trump isn’t an orangutan?
JGabriel
@ellie:
Donald Trump, Mean Girl.
jl
I heard on the news this morning that this Bannon guy made his fortune financing the old Seinfeld show. I hope that is an indicator of what his idea of ‘content’ is. A Trump campaign that is patently about nothing might be good development.
I don’t have time, or the interest, right now to read them. But I see a couple of stories about more to come on the Manafort/Ukraine/Yanukavich connection. Wonder if ouster of Manafort was not altogether voluntary. Somebody in Trump camp found out it would be a problem. Who is capable of that kind of due diligence and thought in the Trump campaign? Ivanka?
nonynony
The first part is sound advice. You’re an advisor for god’s sake – you shouldn’t be “commanding” the candidate – the candidate is your goddam boss. You give them the information and a recommendation and they use their judgment to decide whether your advice is good or not.
The second part though – more evidence that Trump can’t think outside the sound bite. I’m not surprised – he’s a corporate CEO and only the best of them manage to be more than puddle-deep thinkers (which is why they end up being the best). Most of them are just really good at playing hot potato with their problems and not being the guy who is holding the problem when the music stops. Trump seems really good at that, but skill at hot potato doesn’t translate into analysis or good management skills.
JGabriel
@dmsilev:
Is there such a thing as an orange-utang? Because I’m pretty sure that’s what Trump is.
jl
FYWP ate my comment. I’ll try again. If I see two of them. I’ll type alternative deep thoughts if I can edit.
I heard on the news this morning that this Bannon guy made his fortune financing the old Seinfeld show. I hope that is an indicator of what his idea of ‘content’ is. A Trump campaign that is patently about nothing might be good development.
I don’t have time, or the interest, right now to read them. But I see a couple of stories about more to come on the Manafort/Ukraine/Yanukavich connection. Wonder if ouster of Manafort was not altogether voluntary. Somebody in Trump camp found out it would be a problem. Who is capable of that kind of due diligence and thought in the Trump campaign? Ivanka?
nonynony
@Brent:
To give her the benefit of the doubt, maybe they were going to a parade or memorial service or something?
Unless you’re going to be in a parade or a memorial service, why the heck would it matter what she was wearing on Memorial day? The battles that some parents choose to pick with their kids are just weird I guess.
sigaba
@dmsilev: “I’ll always be bigger than you and I’ll always win, child!”
A pattern emerges with these people…
jl
FYWP eating my speculation on ouster of Manafort. Are U_kr__n_ or Y_n_k_v_ch forbidden worship words now? Or are we not allowed to type Iv_nk_ Tr_mp?
Anyway, I see news stories saying more info to come on Manafort’s corrupt consulting in Eastern Europe, and I wonder whether his ouster was completely voluntary. I don’t have time or interest to delve into that cesspool right now. I guess if Mr. M gets slowly pushed out completely, that might be a clue.
dmsilev
@Brent: Take a look at the picture of Conway in the linked story. Lots of non-Rossian colors in her garb. If that’s her example of effective nudging, well good luck with that I suppose.
JGabriel
@nonynony:
Or the battles that Mainstream Conservatives choose to pick with people, offspring or not, are just weird.
MattF
Trump’s taking the final turn away from the Republican party, such as it is. Bannon is known for despising McConnell, Ryan, etc. From here on in, it’s splitsville on the right. We’re also going to get a rehash of all possible Clinton hate as well as tutti fruiti conspiracy theories.
Cermet
@rikyrah: High end private schools can be a huge bargain for people not making a lot of $$$. They provide really steep discounts for the average income person (middle to upper middle class also get rather steep discounts, too). Making them far, away cheaper than most high end public schools. They are a really cheap way to get a degree; down side – getting accepted. You are on the hook for all non-tuition costs (room/board/books.)
jl
Also, credit where credit is due, I guess. I heard news items that called out Trump on his damned and obvious lie that he voiced opposition to Iraq invasion and withdrawal
yellowdog
@The Other Chuck: It was Memorial Day. She wanted everyone to look like a flag. Because flags are what Memorial Day is all about.
Corner Stone
She has four fucking blue dresses of similar shade that all fit her 11 year old daughter? WTF? I can’t keep my 11 year old in the same pair of shorts for more than two weeks, no way am I buying four of the nearly same piece of clothing.
dr. bloor
@rikyrah: Wait, Williams and the USMA moved to Cali?
SFAW
Re: blue vs turquoise
One hopes that the background to the anecdote was that Conway’s daughter was supposed to be playing Betsy Ross, or some other colonial personage, thus the “no turquoise” thing.
Because if it’s anything other than that, I would venture to posit that Conway is — as they say in all the best places — “fucked in the head.”
ETA: Or, what yellowdog said.
Joel
Going from Quitting Bull to the Shit Magnate. Is that a lateral move?
jl
@jl:
I meant to type:
“Also, credit where credit is due, I guess. I heard news items that called out Trump on his damned and obvious lie that he voiced opposition to Iraq invasion and withdrawal before they happened“
Villago Delenda Est
@dmsilev: He’s a shitgibbon. A tiny-fingered, Cheeto-faced, ferret wearing shitgibbon.
Humboldtblue
@dmsilev: Well he is orange, not the rust colored orange of the orangutan, but orange nonetheless.
And as a reddit commenter cold pea soup sounds disgusting because peas are disgusting AND I’M NO0T GONNA EAT THEM!
yellowdog
@jl: I’m hoping he gets dragged out in handcuffs.
Kay
Democrats pander to AA voters, but Republicans announced a strategy where the way to “manage” Donald Trump is for the woman to act like he’s ten years old and coddle his giant ego.
Because that’s what women do at work- they focus all their attention on clever ways to trick men into doing what they want. It’s how we spend all our time, just scheming away looking for ways to control the power players without making them mad.
Jesus. It’s right out of a 1950’s job description for secretaries. God forbid she should upset the great man by telling him the truth and approaching him as a peer. Better to use her feminine wiles to trick him into behaving. She learned those skills mothering, of course.
dmsilev
Speaking of disturbing videos, TPM brings us this charmer:
Mike E
Well, the Trolling of America is fully unfurled, hooray. Now, let’s pivot to all the down ticket contests and see if we can kick these mofos to the curb, pls
Corner Stone
@The Other Chuck:
I’m happy if he remembers to put on deodorant. I’m going to waste my energy on talking him out of the neon green shirt with the black and orange shorts? Nope.
SFAW
@dmsilev:
Well, has he ever been seen in the same room as one? If not, then it would be irresponsible not to speculate.
[Note: I am ignoring, for the moment, the need to have him in the same room as EVERY orangutan on earth, simultaneously, to make sure he’s not the one “who just stepped out for a minute.”]
daves09
So, two extreme rightwingers, one of whom is apparently a dominance freak, who have no experience running national campaigns, are, fifty days before early voting begins, stepping in to save Trump’s campaign. I’m sure that they’ve been telling Trump that the whole problem is that he hasn’t been being himself. So now he’s going to just be himself-what could possibly go wrong?
catclub
@dmsilev:
Nonetheless, the media is liberal.
As to choices. If you limit choices that helps with a toddler. It is a sign that the president knows about the issue when he tells his subordinates to come up with more choices on how to deal with an issue. he has evaluated the presented choices and found them incomplete.
schrodinger's cat
I am sure both orangutans and 11 year old girls have more poise and sense than the Rage Cantaloupe.
bemused
Several years ago Conway was talking to college students, perhaps young republicans, iirc, on cspan and she caught my attention when she said ‘we” don’t want too many people, or everyone to vote. You didn’t hear Republicans say that out loud on tv and it seemed to me that she may not have intended to let that slip out of her mouth.
jl
@Kay: I think Iv_nk_ can manage The Donald, and only one I’ve seen in that clan who has something approaching normal self-discipline and connection with reality. Would be good for GOP, but dangerous for the country, to dump The Donald and replace the childish old fool with his daughter.
catclub
@Joel: I thought quitting bull was Palin.
Corner Stone
@Kay:
I.KNEW.IT!
SFAW
@Humboldtblue:
Given how you feel about the soup, I guess I won’t tell you that “pea” soup is actually a misspelling of its original name.
Mudge
1. I feel sorry for the daughter. An 11 year old would know she is being manipulated, unlike Trump supporters.
2. The Betsy Ross story is sweet, but likely untrue.
3. We do not know if Betsy had turquoise cloth, if we believe the myth. We do know she had plenty of obsolete red, white and blue English flags hanging around to use.
4. Never knew there was any tradition to wear red, white and blue on Memorial Day. Live and learn.
Frankensteinbeck
@schrodinger’s cat:
To a large portion of the American populace, including almost all TV pundits and Republicans, posturing and cruelty are strength and toughness. It’s a bully mentality, and they see actual courage as weakness.
jl
Bannon can make another fortune off his future documentary “Trump Unchained!”. Good business decision on his part to take over campaign. And if he helps save the country by dooming the Trump and the GOP, maybe put his pic on some paper money someday?
Kay
@jl:
Because if he believes that she’s the boss of him, hoo boy, his giant ego won’t allow him to go along, and that won’t go well!
Also, always walk ten steps behind him and smile!
gratuitous
As long as everyone around him treats Trump like Anthony Fremont, things are just fine. Cross him, and you’ll find yourself in the cornfield. Yeah, this sounds like a real stable individual, the kind of guy you want to have sitting in the big chair.
Joel
@rikyrah: What’s funny about those rankings is that Washington Monthly has a completely different list, based on social mobility rankings. UC system schools (San Diego, Riverside, Berkeley) are 3 of the top 4.
In fact, the list is dominated by public schools, predominantly from UC. Stanford 5th, Harvard 8th, MIT 15th.
Corner Stone
@jl:
She can’t even get him to keep himself from patting her on the ass on stage in front of a national audience. Why do you think she is nowhere to be found at the moment?
catclub
@jl: Manafort:
I cannot imagine Trump conducting a sensible investigation to decide if Manafort should go or not. I will note that Trump actually does not know how to fire people. He did not fire Manafort, and he did not fire Corey Lewandowski. Somebody else did.
Brent
@nonynony: @yellowdog:
Yeah. Fair enough. Under those circumstances it seems to me that the more reasonable thing to do would be to just explain to her daughter why a specific type of blue was required for this particular event rather than the strange mind game about giving her some illusion of control. But the anecdote does seem a lot less weird in that context.
p.a.
@Jerzy Russian: I believe ‘asshole, y/n’ is the FIRST box in the tree.
dmsilev
Lead headline on RedState right now: “Is a Maximum Hillary Win Taking Shape?”. Just below that is “Trump Once Again Mistakes Flattery For Competence, Hires Breitbart News’ Stephen Bannon As Campaign Chief Exec”.
I’m actually surprised. I expected RedState to bow to the inevitable and swing back towards Trump after the conventions, but they’re really sticking with NeverTrump. Not proHillary, of course, that would be unpossible, but actively depressing Trump’s vote count is Good Enough.
Joel
@catclub: Quitting Bull = Palin, Shit Magnate = Trump; Bannon = making the lateral move.
Kay
@Corner Stone:
Gross, working for him. Imagine the endless ego stroking and passive aggressive wrangling. It makes me tired just thinking about it.
I hope he’s paying her a lot and she gets the money up front. The Trumps don’t pay people once they get the service.
Corner Stone
“Let Trump Be Trump!”
I hope Sorkin has some strong copyright protection on The West Wing because I see yooge potential for this new crack staff to start full on ripping off populist memes from it.
Redshift
@The Dangerman:
Remember that Trump can’t abide anyone but total yes-men for long. Manafort surely has plenty of experience buttering up dictators, but possibly a client who is going down in flames and refuses any advice was too doomed to ride all the way.
Or maybe Putin has realized backing Trump is doing his cause more harm than good.
1,000 Flouncing Lurkers (was fidelioscabinet)
@Brent: If they were doing some kind of serious Memorial Day event with lots of photos, as opposed to a family picnic, I can seeing going for flag colors. But I think in that case I’d have explained why the color mattered before the kid got dressed in the first place. You’re not too young at 11 to start thinking about occasion-appropriate clothing. Of course, this should probably start with a discussion of when the pink tulle skirt does and does not work…
MattF
Le sigh. The despicable John Yoo has come out against Trump.
Frankensteinbeck
@catclub:
Wait, what? Manafort got dumped? When did this happen? I missed it, and the discussion (given Putin’s vengeful reputation) must have been fascinating!
1,000 Flouncing Lurkers (was fidelioscabinet)
@dmsilev: Baboon or mandrill, surely.
catclub
@Joel: Oops, my mistake. I realized that after i posted. sad!
jl
@catclub: That is why I started thinking about Iv_nk_ or other Tr_mp kids involved in the decision. Though I admit, going to Bannon doesn’t fit with the kids being involved, since most of them seem smarter and more normal that the old fart.
Maybe the CNN goon who used to be his body man/campaign manager organized a coup? That is an alternative. Or maybe just fortuitous coincidence. Trump got tired of being told to act like a grown-up, and just a coincidence that more dirt is coming on Mr. M’s corrupt consulting Though to be fair, the corrupt consulting for vile tyrants and disgusting political systems is quite common in both GOP and Dem top campaign hacks, so probably it isn’t the vile consulting but the Russian connection that would be the problem.
Anyway, the Trump campaign has become so boring, i am glad that we will see Trump Unchained. The WI dog and pony show was pretty standard bigot GOP politics. Trump can do better, classier and more exciting than that, and Trump knows it. Let Trump be Trump.
Villago Delenda Est
@Mudge: I used to wear green. Because I was in the Army.
Roger Moore
@Cermet:
Private schools also tend to have better support systems for their students. A lot of public schools take a sink-or-swim attitude toward their students, which I think has gotten stronger with cuts in funding. That hurts them badly in student retention and graduation rate, which are included in the rankings.
catclub
@Frankensteinbeck:
He got replaced/re-organized around, but not fired. So what exactly is his job in the Trump scampaign? Who knows?
Corner Stone
I’m just wondering how a seemingly docile alter ego will inspire more women to give Trump a second look?
“Oh, she doesn’t command him so as not to anger him. And she gives him a choice with some context, so it looks like his decision. Well, I’ll be! That’s sounds just like what I do with Bobby Rae all the time! Maybe this Trump guy is not so bad after all!”
gogol's wife
@The Other Chuck:
There are so many things wrong with that anecdote.
On Memorial Day you’re only allowed to wear shades that were available to Betsy Ross? Okay, then the Second Amendment means you get to have a front-loading musket.
And we’re supposed to be reassured that he has to be treated like a child by his staff.
John M. Burt
@Joel: @Joel: The mind boggles, but I think I’d actually rather try to herd the Alaskan Bag of Bobcats than cajole the Great Orange Toddler.
gogol's wife
@rikyrah:
I’m sorry, but the idea that Stanford is better than Harvard or Yale is ridiculous.
Kay
@efgoldman:
Exactly. By the time they’re 11 we have a more honest relationship with them and it really can bear up under a disagreement. They can handle that.
This is what created Donald Trump. She knows that right? No one ever told him the truth.
Martha from Augusta
@Cermet: Most of those schools base aid packages on the total cost of attendance which includes non-tuition costs like books, room & board, trips back home, etc.
Frankensteinbeck
@jl:
These sound more like announcements of people saying they’ve finally figured out how to keep Trump from being himself. I’ll believe it when I see it. Trump has managed one or two speeches in a row before, then explodes with pent-up asshole stupidity.
JGabriel
@Jerzy Russian:
I suppose it depends on genetics to some extent. So, for Trump, it is possible that don’t be an asshole is just not ever a choice.
gogol's wife
@Kay:
hey, little girl, comb your hair, fix your makeup, soon he will walk through that door
1,000 Flouncing Lurkers (was fidelioscabinet)
@daves09: “two extreme rightwingers, one of whom is apparently a dominance freak”
All extreme RWNJs are dominance freaks. It’s baked in. They require a clear hierarchy in order to avoid paralyzing anxiety attacks. I think this also explains a lot of their reaction to gays and lesbians–there has to be a dominant partner in the relationship, in their view.
Kay
@Corner Stone:
Why does he get angry when she does her job? Why is that acceptable? She’s an asshole enabler. They’re hurting all of us, these people. Christ. Now we all have to do this.
oklahomo
@Corner Stone: That was one of the options she offered to keep him from slipping her some tongue.
Gin & Tonic
@jl: That stuff about Manafort is old, old news to anyone who should be in a position to know. His client list has been no secret. Yes, it’s hitting the MSM now, so people who didn’t know can go “ooh” and “aah”, but anyone who knows anything about Ukraine has known about that amoral blood-soaked scumbag for ages.
scav
@efgoldman: So they’ll serve it up to their candidate and it’ll be the same pattern of limited demeaning options offered his potential electorate, only with less tact and even fewer palatable options. They see and treat everyone other than themselves as dim bulbs responding automatically to simplistic cues (the fact that not everyone is their base seemingly escapes them). I await the national advertising campaign of How Voting for Trump cures Cancer with One Weird Trick (You won’t believe step #4).
eric
“Kellyanne, stand up, Trump’s passin'”
gogol's wife
@oklahomo:
brain bleach please
Martha from Augusta
@MattF: Whelp, that means Hillary is worse than Hitler. Stein/Whatshisname ’16!
jl
@Frankensteinbeck: Josh Marshall has a good track record for predicting Trump moves, and is the inventor of the Trump’s Razor principle. I’ll read Marshall’s take on the latest Trump nonsense. Maybe something about the latest news will make sense.
I did think that the WI garbage was a pretty boring standard and predictable GOP bigot show. I’m sure Trump was unsatisfied with pumping out that bog standard crap. Let Trump be Trump! At last we can marvel and behold The Man!
jl
@Gin & Tonic:
” anyone who knows anything about Ukraine ”
That means not a lot of people, I think.
Mike J
Oh, I have time to refill my coffee before the Honduras – Brazil game starts….
dr. bloor
@1,000 Flouncing Lurkers (was fidelioscabinet):
They crave a power hierarchy for sure, but if you think they’re all into being dominant, let me refer you to some shrinks and sex workers I know.
Mike J
@efgoldman:
I don’t think she minded turquoise in general, just for the 4th of July party.
Corner Stone
@oklahomo: Good God. What was the third option?
NCSteve
I have now officially elevated “take back the House” from “hope” to “realistic possibility.”
Corner Stone
@dr. bloor:
That’s a very interesting insight. I have a friend that would be very interested in continuing the discussion. Can haz references naow?
jl
I can imagine Trump’s responses to Manfort’s suggestions on some of the great Trump plans.
“My poll watchers can’t have special uniforms? No way. They need uniforms. I’ll got a top designer who can do it. They’ll look very classy.”
“Waddya mean they gotta read ‘rules’? The Blacks love me. They like action. We’ll need to take action. Great free media if our guys can take action right away at the polls”
“Waddya mean I can’t call them ‘The Blacks’? Weak! That’s weak.”
Fair Economist
@dmsilev:Omarosa is Trump’s foreign policy spokesperson. Yeah, things are going to go GREAT if he gets elected. I’m sure Merkel and Xi Linpeng will be happy to bow down before Trump.
schrodinger's cat
@efgoldman: See, I don’t have as much self discipline. I would have my TV on MSNBC and get agitated watching the rage pundits.
RaflW
Given all the campaign troubles, treating Trump like an 11 year old does seam like about the only choice available.
Corner Stone
@efgoldman:
There’s always an elevator somewhere nearby. Why do you think he keeps putting his name on multi-story buildings?
oklahomo
@Corner Stone: Hillary and Bernie masks and a lot of lingerie.
schrodinger's cat
No FP about Trump’s immigration plan?
Betty Cracker
@dmsilev: “More importantly”? She’s utterly deranged, so she must fit right in.
amygdala
Am I alone in thinking a Trump-epithet throwdown between Betty and our favorite MIT professor would be a thing of beauty?
Peale
@jl: Yeah. I understand that the “election/political” consultant class claims to be mercenary and is morally suspect, but Manafort was doing a lot more than just flying in for an election to be a communication director. There is an ideological component to who he was working for and how long he stayed in Ukraine working. Plus looking at the history, he has the long standing relationships with dictators. There doesn’t seem to be a point in his resume where he was just working for, say, the Christian Democrat party in their election against the Labor Liberal Party of such and such state. He isn’t a conservative. He appears to support who would ever be an authoritarian tyrant.
Frankensteinbeck
@Corner Stone:
Short fingers.
schrodinger's cat
This loyalty test that Trump is going to administer to all visitors to get a US visa, is it going to be at the port of entry or the embassy or consulate where you get the visa?
And does my 75 year old M-I-L have to pledge allegiance to the US constitution when she comes to visit?
Peale
@efgoldman: No. It is professional though. Trump doesn’t think he needs no frickin’ legal opinion to justify torture. It works and times have changed and that’s enough for him to tear up the geneva convention and start putting electrodes on testicles. What’s a guy like John Yoo supposed to do to make a living if people don’t think they need legal opinions to do that?
schrodinger's cat
@efgoldman: He is a neocon, as most GOPers who have come out against T have been.
gvg
@dmsilev: It is quite possible that Trump wants us all to bow down to him, but keep in mind how many times Trump spokespeople have said the boss wants A, and 5 minutes later Trump says that isn’t true. The spokespeople evidently don’t really know DT. I have also noticed how his general supporters seem to project their own ideas onto Trump in spite of clear evidence that they are wrong. I think his campaign workers are just more excited than the general supporter. They are just as delusional.
Trump has shown that he doesn’t really know what the actual powers of the President aren’t, so he may think getting elected will get him lots of bows. Sort of like he thought the general would be like the primaries. He also clearly didn’t expect the level of scrutiny he would get later in the process. if he was elected and wanted bows, even some of his voters would resist. And the critics will never stop no matter how popular you think you are..
Miss Bianca
o/t (because, derailing Trumpster Fire post with HRC goodness!) but I am really enjoying this Newsweek article about the “Queenmakers” – the circle of women who are big donors to HRC’s campaign and how they got there.
Kay
Yeah, sure you would. She has the trust problem and you have the “absolutely unqualified racist” problem.
That’s the most common sentiment on her boss: 1. unqualified, 2. racist. There are real questions on whether he’s sane. I have my doubts.
Joel
@catclub: money laundering…
MattF
@Kay: She’s speaking as an advocate of the ‘pivot to the crazy’, after all.
Kay
This is a timely reminder, I think:
Trump was never popular with normal people outside the GOP base. He doesn’t have to “get back” popularity- he has to change his personality. They never liked him. Morning Joe liked him! The GOP base liked him! But most people never did.
Matt McIrvin
@Kay:
I do remember the technique showing up in a lot of parenting manuals about managing small children. You give the kid a range of choices, all of which are broadly acceptable, so they have some emotional buy-in to the decision. (The temptation is always to provide one good choice and one transparently awful one, as a kind of ultimatum–but that’s the wrong way to do it; a kid in a pissy mood will always, always call your bluff.)
That she’s openly talking about handling a presidential candidate this way is telling. I guess if you’re a powerful and manly enough dude you can require toddler handling protocols and it’s OK.
Just One More Canuck
@ellie: my 11 year old daughter is far more mature than Trump
Shell
Yaargghh.If I have to hear the phrase “Let Trump be Trump…”
Though its been funny hearing all the Trumpbots trying to spin this as a positive thing. “Let Trump..” worked so well during the primaries! Yay! Course, its useless to keep reminding them that its not the primaries anymore and Trump going off script during the General has led to his tanking numbers.
amk
@Miss Bianca: Thanks for a good read.
1,000 Flouncing Lurkers (was fidelioscabinet)
@dr. bloor: I don’t think I said they were all into being dominant. Just that they’re all freaks about it. Someone has to be dominated, and someone has to dominate, and everyone is in a fixed position (I didn’t mean to add a double entendre there, but it works only too well!) where they know who’s the boss at any time, and who is going to be bossed around.
Martha from Augusta
@gogol’s wife: I think there’s a basic problem with these rankings in general. What does it mean to say that Stanford is better than Harvard or Harvard is better than Stanford, particularly when such statements change from year to year?
Personally, I think I received a much better education at Stanford than I would have if I had gone to Yale, where the undergraduate program in my major wasn’t particularly well-regarded, or Harvard, where it was nonexistent.
Betty Cracker
@Kay: What was it Clinton said about Trump way back? “I don’t think he’ll wear well”? She was right.
Kay
@MattF:
Why would most people like this nasty loudmouth? What does he bring to the table as far as wanting him around? He gives voice to the lowest elements of the GOP base. That’s practically a cottage industry. There were vacancies in that job?
eric
@amk: And will fight til they drop to get her elected because of (1) the history involved and the statement it makes about equality and (2) the abomination on the other side. There is no way that her advisers (or Hillary) will take anything for granted.
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
I loved it too. Spot on. His brilliant “own the cable channels strategy” just meant we heard him bellowing about shit he doesn’t understand for 9 months before the convention even started. He contradicts himself constantly because he never shuts up.
catclub
@gvg:
This is true for every popular politician. Ask the bernieBros if Sanders is implacably opposed to Clinton.
Ask Obama fans if he supports a public option or medicare for all. Or immediate withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Actually, now that I have stated it. I am not sure what I believe Clinton is in favor of when there is no evidence for such belief.
JCJ
@dmsilev:
At one time David Letterman did a bit called “Trump or Monkey” where he would show two pictures of hair and the contestant had to guess if it was Donald Trump or an orangutan. Maybe there just simply isn’t a difference.
eric
Trump board meeting!
“Think of the colors!”
catclub
@Kay:
He had his own TV show and had much better name recognition than the 16 dwarfs, His TV show showed him making decisions.
Ruviana
@dmsilev: I’m just amazed to learn there’s a dress code for Memorial Day.
RandomMonster
I think the Breitbart tool was added because the Manafort-Ukraine connection is really heating up. To wit: AP Sources: Manafort tied to undisclosed foreign lobbying.
JCJ
@JCJ:
Trump or Monkey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-WD-7dAuKM
MattF
@RandomMonster: Y’know, I was just thinking that. ‘Campaign CEO indicted’ would be a negative for several reasons.
Kay
I’m touchy about all the apologizing women have to do. I hate when they do it on phone messages “sorry to bother you!” when they’re asking a perfectly fine question! OMG, I’m not that mean.
They don’t have to apologize for calling me at work. It’s my job.
I would like everyone to stop apologizing for doing their jobs :)
Fair Economist
I think this is just more evidence that Trump is running this campaign as publicity for a future media operation. The increasingly and gratuitously outrageous behavior is intended to force the Republican Establishment to disavow him as he needs the official rejection of the current conservative power/media structure to justify going off and founding his own. Unfortunately for him, all his many outrages have so far been insufficient to get Priebus, Ryan, and McConnell to boot him, as they recognize the resulting civil war will kill them politically. So, he’s going to shell Fort Sumter himself by having an avowed enemy of Priebus/Ryan/McConnell run his campaign.
I’m sure Priebus’ cornflakes are floating in bourbon this morning.
amk
jl
@Peale: I see in Josh Marshall’s twitter feed that there is a story that Manfort was involved in plotting Russian takeover of Crimea. So between Trump having to put up with stuff like Manfort telling him that Trump poll watchers could not wear classy specially designed uniforms, and bad dirt coming out on Manafort, I can see why he would have to go.
I’m tired of boring Trump anyway. Let Trump be Trump. Trump Unleashed! He’ll zoom up in the polls. You just watch.
Maybe pair Trump rallies with unveiling of new O’Keefe stings? This will be epic.
Actually, I hope and pray that even more outrageous Trump antics will seal GOP doom this election.
mike in dc
So Breitbart, Ailes and Putin proxies are working together to get Trump elected. Kellyanne Conway must wear tinted contacts to conceal that her eyes are solid demon black. It’s like a rainbow coalition of stupid, ugly, hateful, racist, tasteless, angry and crazy.
? Martin
@Betty Cracker: I don’t understand this strategy of having Rudy as the warmup at the rallies. As someone who grew up in NYC, pretty sure bringing the very definitions of NY loudmouths to southern and midwestern states is not an approach to win over the locals.
Anoniminous
The old adage “First rate people hire first rate people, second rate people hire third rate people, third rate people hire their nephew” is applicable; the Trump campaign is chock-a-block with nephews.
? Martin
@efgoldman: [sigh] Indeed he is.
Betty Cracker
@? Martin: I used to have a similar opinion about a Northeastern bully boy like Christie’s chances in Dixie, but I’ve had to revise it in light of Trump’s success in the region.
Calouste
@gogol’s wife: Dubya didn’t get a degree from Stanford. He got one from the other two.
bluefish
@The Other Chuck: Totally! Very odd business this no turquoise on Memorial Day thing going on at Kellyanne’s pad. Does this jazz go on at every holiday? Why oh why are these folks so focused on endless head trips and mind games? Could it be because power is king and not much else matters? Poor kid. That said, keep the hits coming, Trumpsters. Between this turquoise prejudice and Omarosa’s Frontline gaffe, I’m feeling peachy, rosy, and fifty shades of way.
Kenneth Kohl
@Kay:
Somehow, the fraudulent financial dealings of Trump wouldn’t generate a lot of trust on my part, so Trump shouldn’t push the “trust” dimension too much.
gogol's wife
@Martha from Augusta:
Yes, the rankings are kind of ridiculous, and yes, of course it depends on the individual student.
As a humanist, I think Harvard and Yale undergrad are still the liberal-arts ideal.
japa21
@catclub: Obama was/is definitely in favor of a public option. He is in all likelihood in favor of a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan but understands that now is not the best time. I highly doubt he is in favor of medicare for all, as that would not be good policy.
bluefish
@dmsilev: Like The Other Chuck noted, this anecdote is so bizarre and telling. These folks can’t seem to help themselves. Except at the trough. With sincere apologies to pigs, who are remarkable creatures.
jl
@Peale: Good point. Josh Marshall’s twitter feed says there is a story that Manafort was involved in plotting Russian Crimea take over as a good ‘PR move’ for deposed Yanukavych. Not a good story from several perspectives, and won’t be helpful for Trump campaign.
Amir Khalid
Off topic, but apparently Texans prefer a moron to a creep.
Paul Wartenberg
Driftglass is pissed that Democrats can’t hire any bloggers to their campaigns without the Republicans throwing hissy fits… meanwhile the wingnut online media gets six-figure jobs with no accountability with full-crazed (not even half) candidates like Trump.
hovercraft
@dmsilev:
Well Bill Maher did say he wanted proof that his mother hadn’t slept with one, so who knows.
Frankensteinbeck
@catclub:
It’s not her fault if you don’t pay attention. How about ‘A lifetime of activism for women’s issues, with a secondary focus on minority issues in general’?
burnspbesq
@rikyrah:
ND over U of C and Northwestern? Ha.
Davidson is a great school, but a comparison of Davidson and Duke is strictly apples and oranges. Same with West Point and whatever you think are the best public universities (Cal gets my vote, but you can also make cases for Michigan, UVa, UCLA, and Texas).
Shorter me: it’s a silly exercise.
Paul Wartenberg
@? Martin:
Rudy says what Trump and the Raging White Morans want every day all day: Bash Obama, Bash Hillary, Bash the Mooslums, Bash Bash Bash.
dmsilev
@Amir Khalid: Hey, you take that back! He has I’m-smart glasses now!
jl
@dmsilev:
” Are we _sure_ Trump isn’t an orangutan? ”
I think orangutans can climb trees and eat a healthy diet. Though they are strong, not weak. Probably need to pick through points of comparison and contrast. Not as simple as you might think.
Amir Khalid
On the topic of the Trump campaign’s newest hires, it may be that the candidate only gets to choose from among the wrong people because the right people, the kind he really needs, are all too aware he won’t listen to them. So he winds up with people who either don’t say no to his face, or reckon they’ve figured out a way to use him.
CONGRATULATIONS!
@Amir Khalid: Perry v. Cruz? Perry and I didn’t even have to think about it. I cannot think of any election where Cruz could be the “better choice” and that would probably include Hitler.
Frankensteinbeck
@jl:
On the other hand, they are rapists.
Patricia Kayden
@Miss Bianca: Comments like yours are why we need an up vote button on Balloon Juice.
VOR
I am reminded of the Simpsons Movie where President Schwarzenegger chooses an option without asking what is in it. “I was elected to Lead, not to Read”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D3mqiKgquY
scav
@Kay: Cross people like him; others are mostly over him. Cross-over appeal: about as attractive and convincing as his comb-over hairpiece.
Martha from Augusta
@burnspbesq: Yeah, when you’re saying USMA is the best public college, you’re making one hell of a set of assumptions about your generic prospective freshman.
Aleta
If only Trump could figure out how to tell women what they want.
jc
Trump said, “I don’t want to pivot.” But it turned out that he had no pivot in him. He’s a one-trick phony. He and his small-minded supporters are going to richly deserve the thrashing they get in November.
SFAW
@Villago Delenda Est:
And here I was thinking it’s because you’re a leprechaun.
RareSanity
I wonder if it is just a coincidence that this occurred at the same time that Trump is due to receive his first classified intelligence briefing…
Could the FBI/CIA have said, “We’re not telling you a damn thing as long as that Russian asset is around”?
SFAW
@Aleta:
He has no problem with that.
What he needs to do is phrase it so that husbands will tell their
wiveswimmins what to do.schrodinger's cat
@Villago Delenda Est: Green is also the color of Islam on the subcontinent.
Shell
But the infuriating thing is these people will continue to get hired for other gigs and appear on cable shows as respected “pundits.”
schrodinger's cat
@Kay: They liked that he could say obnoxious things they wouldn’t get away with but I wonder how many people actually like him as a human being.
Mike J
@amk:
That’s nice, but it would be better if they came out against Paul Ryan for believing the same things. It’s easy to be against Trump, he’s a clown. Come out against McCain who has policies identical to Trump.
catclub
@japa21:
only if by ‘in favor of’ you also mean it the same way I would like a pony. Obama NEVER pushed for a public option. Many people claimed ‘he sold us out because he never even tried’. I take that as evidence they thought he was in favor of it when he was not.
Likewise, if you asked his supporters in 2008: Is Obama in favor of getting our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan? Most would say yes.
because that was what they were saying in their heads.
But the evidence then was that Obama wanted to win the war ( or at least make the situation better there) in Afghanistan by adding troops. He said he wanted to get the troops out of Iraq and did that, but not Afghanistan.
Jeffro
Man you step out for a little Hard Times and 186 comments go by…holy cow folks…
scav
Think my link to this was too close to the bottom of a dead thread. This NYT: Trump Casinos’ Tax Debt Was $30 Million. Then Christie Took Office is a joy on both Christie being Christie and Trump being Trump details. Trump got away with paying about 17 cents on the dollar on back taxes accumulated over years and accusations of misfiling the amount he had paid. Owe 30 million, pay back about 5 million after 6 years — if only that sort of Jubilee was available to all of us with debt.
But, isn’t it sweet, they double date — and Trump still felt the need for the public choke-chain and spurning.
hovercraft
@catclub:
It’ a work around. From the WA Po
His light has been hidden under a bushel, lo these last few months, and no puts baby orange in a corner dammit!
Culture of Truth
Dems have already been doing this to Donald Trump. “You can respond to this bait, this bait, this bait, or this bait.”
hovercraft
@Fair Economist:
She’s the director of his outreach to African Americans. So far she is doing a stellar job.
Nina
Speaking from the point of view of an amateur fabric art historian, I have used the dyes that would have been available to Betsy Ross, woad and indigo.
Woad without modern mordants (chemicals to fix the dye to the fabric) makes a fairly pale, slightly greyish blue, a faded blue jean blue. Indigo without modern mordants is a more vibrant color, but it’s still not the dark blue that you see on most of today’s flags. Indigo was the much more expensive choice during the time period. It’s also fairly easy to get a turquoise effect with woad and high end wool, which is probably what Betsy Ross used to make the flag.
You need chemical dyes to get the heavy solid royal and navy blues, or you need to use a crapton of Indigo. Which, again, was the more expensive option.
So the kid’s turquoise, depending on how green it was, was probably a more authentic color choice than her mother’s navy blue.
Villago Delenda Est
@MattF: But…but…look over here at Hillary’s emails!
muddy
@bluefish:
Trump’s electorate: peachy, rosy and fifty shades of WHEY.
? Martin
Somehow I don’t think this is going to get George Will and David Frum back into the party.
Matt McIrvin
Seeing people pushing the “Hillary is ill and near death” line really hard now on social media.
Corner Stone
@Nina:
Boom! Roasted!
Come to BJ for the pet/poop pics, stay for the Betsy Ross era woad and indigo dyes knowledge!
catclub
@Frankensteinbeck:
I don’t think you got my point. My point was that the fans put their beliefs onto the face of their favorite candidate, when there is not evidence to do that. Are you suggesting that the belief that Hillary has backed woman’s issues for a lifetime is something that I believe she has done, but there is actually no evidence for that belief?
I was looking for something I(or her fans) am strongly in favor of, that we think Hillary is also
in favor of, when she actually is not.
The example I gave was the berniebros are convinced that Sanders is STILL implacably opposed to Hillary, when he at least strongly prefers her to Trump.
RaflW
@mike in dc:
AKA the Republican voter base.
Corner Stone
@Matt McIrvin:
It’s no different than the same speculation we (I am also guilty) have been speculating on about Trump’s mental health. Just a tactic to project out moving forward. Largely irrelevant.
SFAW
@Fair Economist:
And, somewhere in Heaven, The Goat is saying “I sure-as-shit hope I’m not related to her.”
Jeffro
@Fair Economist:
Bailey’s. Bourbon is for lunch!
RaflW
Please proceed, fake-billionaire rage-cheeto.
Peale
@hovercraft: Yeah. I find it amazing. He thinks he has pivoted when he has done no such thing. So it will be interesting to find out what this new direction will be. I swear, they honestly believe that the 13 million votes they got in the primary are enough and they are acting like they need to go back to appealing to them. Do they think they lost them? Are those primary voters going to vote for Gary Johnson now that they’ve found out that Trump is a squish on their issues?
Peale
@Jeffro: He’s from wisconsin. It’s brandy, not bourbon, in those cheerios.
Villago Delenda Est
@srv: By all means, use that Acme product well, shitgibbon.
Corner Stone
@hovercraft:
More like an unabashed white nationalist. Can we please correct the usage of “Alt-Right” any time we see it? There is no Alt-Right, just like there is no division between Trump and the Republican Party. The “Alt-Right” is and has always been racist white supremacists. The Republican Party is and has always been in modern times racist white supremacists.
There is no Alt-Right just as there is no Republican Party outside of Trump.
Frankensteinbeck
@catclub:
Then I wholly misundesrstood you. Never mind!
Peale
@Matt McIrvin: Its so funny. I guess this is based on her taking light days off in August during a campaign when most people are trying to not pay attention while on vacation or watching the Olympics. Trump should try it to. Its a great way to reset his campaign. Duck hunting would help. (snickers).
Villago Delenda Est
@Matt McIrvin: They’re getting even more desperate as it becomes obvious that Drumpf is going to get a historical drubbing, and take the rancid corpse that is the GOP down with him.
nonynony
@hovercraft:
Welp, I can see why he’d be Trump’s go to for new position of Top Yes Man. He’s telling the bossman exactly what the bossman wants to hear, yessireebob!
As a liberal I have to say that this strategy of letting Trump be Trump terrifies and angers me. So very scared, so very angry. Please won’t someone step in and get Trump to act like a normal politician? You’re making this tired old liberal very angry and very afraid!
SFAW
@Corner Stone:
Except Trump demonstrated his tenuous grip on reality on almost a daily basis. Hillary, on the other hand, had a questionable video showing something (“but we don’t know what”) and Sean Hannity or equivalent pretending there was something there. So, yeah, both sides.
Corner Stone
Bannon’s entire goal is to move the “populist” white nationalism viewpoint from “Alt” into “mainstream”. He does not give a shit about Trump winning, and if it means the Republican “establishment” is torn asunder in a brutal flaming loss, then so much the better for his cause. Who will pick up the broken pieces? Not the CoC types.
Villago Delenda Est
@Corner Stone: “Alt-right” = Nazi scum.
Emma
New in TPM: Trump won’t use American intelligence assets: I don’t trust them.
Villago Delenda Est
@nonynony: I’m less concerned with Drumpf himself, than with his rabid followers. There’s no telling how they’ll react the morning after the election.
Jeffro
@CONGRATULATIONS!:
Truly, the Right side of the Senate chamber is so debased at this point that it couldn’t even matter. Perry or Cruz along with Lee, McConnell, Ernst, McCain, Rubio (well, soon maybe not Rubio), Sessions, Cotton, Blunt, Burr, Corker, Cornyn, Grassley, Hatch, Paul, Inhofe. Jaysus, it’s enough to make you want to amend the Constitution and limit these clowns to 1 per state.
aimai
Who was the guy right before Breitbart, saying “to hell with the establishment?” he seemed familiar but I couldn’t place him. Kind of looked and sounded like Joe Klein, of all people.
SFAW
@nonynony:
Right after we throw you in the briar patch.
Peale
@Villago Delenda Est: when I hit Alt-right on my keyboard, nothing happens. It it really ctrl-alt-right?
Keith P.
@Corner Stone: it’s funny because “Let Mitt be Mitt!” was going around 4 years ago. The GOP playbook is like that Waffle House menu that Gary Kubiak carries around on the sidelines. Only Kubiak’s playbook is double-sided.
BruceFromOhio
@dmsilev: “More importantly, every critic, every detractor will have to bow down to President Trump.”
A sweeping bow with a flourish, right after I’ve thrown all of the rotten fruit and vegetables I brought with me. Shoes, too.
Corner Stone
@SFAW: Point being it is largely irrelevant. So, both sides, I guess.
Fair Economist
@Nina: As a historical record, we have Trumbull’s painting of the surrender of Cornwallis, painted in the 1780’s. Not the current dark flag blue but not turquoise either.
On a side note, my son got a project on the Revolutionary War American flag for 8th grade history, the point of which was that the so-called “Betsy Ross flag” with thirteen stars in a circle got very little if any use in spite of being the flag in practically every painting or movie made recently. I note Trumbull (who was contemporaneous) didn’t paint a Betsy Ross flag.
bluefish
@Nina. Thank you, Nina, for the interesting lesson. I read a mini biography of Betsy Ross over 50 years ago. She’d have taken Conway’s earlobe and wrung it hard.
Looks like Donald is saying US Intel services are no good cuz Trump knows best. Wonder if he’s getting ready to go into loose lips mode. Now propped up by Mr. Super Whacko Conspiracies by the pound. Here’s to hoping his briefing today consisted of a basic geography lesson.
Everytime I think we’re reaching critical mass, he switches the channel. A talent for that.
Corner Stone
@Emma: He’s bringing Gen Flynn as a fact checker on the intel sources. This is wild.
ETA, he’s also bringing Christie but that’s mainly in case he gets hungry in the middle of the briefing and needs donuts or McD’s.
catclub
@RaflW: “Shine on, you crazy diamond”, also works.
Peale
@aimai: Really!? Joe Klein, sans-culotte?
MattF
Yes, someone on CNN called Trump a ‘turdtornado‘.
dmsilev
@BruceFromOhio: I got more of a ‘Kneel! Kneel before Zod!’ vibe from it.
Emma
@Corner Stone: Let’s face it. We got pulled through the Rift by renegade Cybermen and haven’t really woken up to the fact that we’re in a different Universe.
dmsilev
@Emma: I imagine the feeling is mutual.
SFAW
@Corner Stone:
Yeah, I can see how one candidate’s daily demonstration(s) of possible mental illness is just as irrelevant as some bullshit “Hillary had a stroke” contention from the wingnuts.
Emma
@srv: John Adams wanted Washington to have a hereditary title. So?
Emma
@dmsilev: Yeah. Right now they’re shredding paper meant for the briefing.
Keith P.
@MattF: Heh, and it was Ben Shapiro. Last time I saw him, Zoey Tur threatened to put him in an ambulance.
Shell
They don’t even pretend anymore.
Clinton is giving a major economic speech in Cleveland right now. What is Fox showing? Something about Nazi gold. Jeebus.
Cat48
Bob Costa tweeted that Trump’s Campaign was now run by Bannon, Coulter, and Jeff Sessions. Expect constant bare knuckles attacks on Clinton.
Not good!
SiubhanDuinne
@jc:
Exsssss-ellent!
hilts
Kellyanne Conway is dumber than a horse’s ass and it was a pleasure watching Don Lemon wipe the floor with her last night after Trump’s stupid speech. With someone as dumb as Conway heading Trump’s campaign, I feel even more confident that he’ll lose in November.
? Martin
@Cat48: Why not good? Is there anything they can say that hasn’t already been said? They’ve accused Hillary of personally committing murder – more than once. This isn’t going to introduce any new component to the election. If anything it’ll simply serve to illustrate how fucking unhinged these people are when it comes to Clinton personally and women more generally. Watch that college educated white and women votes continue to slide toward Clinton.
? Martin
@hilts: She lost an argument to Don Lemon?
Sweet Jesus..
Corner Stone
@SFAW: He’s losing points because he’s a racist asshole with no filter every other hour. She’s not going to lose points because of some wild speculation. Largely irrelevant.
Cermet
@Villago Delenda Est: Most will rise up and destroy – absoultly destroy the very fabric of this country …that is, if their Mom lets them and their computer usage will not be curtailed nor their access to the porn channel. Yeah, I’m real worried the day after a tRump loses and those angry white boys sit around and complain that no woo-man will ever tell them what to do, dag-nab-it
gwangung
@Calouste: Thereby PROVING Stanford’s superiority.
And we let everyone know it.
dmsilev
@Emma: I think they should give Trump a special briefing. Explain to him the progress in enforcing the Sokovia Accords, recent updates in containing the aggression shown towards the US by the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, and of course the latest news on the ongoing crisis in Freedonia.
BruceFromOhio
@mike in dc: This made me laugh. I could envision a donor pulling out a flask of holy water and flinging it around the room, splashing a little on everyone, before sitting down at the table with this tribe.
Corner Stone
@Keith P.:
Holy schnikey. I just realized that’s a parent of NBC/MSNBC’s Katy Tur, who also got death threats after Trump singled her out to the audience.
jl
@srv: Hamilton is BJ hero because he liked Big Government and had hot affairs with hot chicks.
It may be time to think about that.
germy
@srv:
But so are we.
germy
@Corner Stone: Tort reform!
Trollhattan
@efgoldman: And not just any old university–Boalt Hall at Berkeley. Must be utterly weird taking classes from the guy.
raven
Zoey was the chopper pilot that got the Reginald Denny video. At this time his wife was the cameraperson.
Corner Stone
@Cat48:
Was that Trumpian Sarcasm?
I, for one, can imagine no better combo than Bannon, Coulter and arguably one of the dumbest five serving Senators Jeff Sessions being in charge of the Trump campaign.
jl
@dmsilev:
Duck Soup The Laws of My Administration (1933)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSsUoxlSADk
Miss Bianca
@Patricia Kayden: aw, shucks.
raven
@efgoldman: Fucking Saxby Chambliss is going to teach at the UGA law school the year.
Corner Stone
@dmsilev:
They should also include up to date reports on the air assaults engaged in by Baron Munchausen.
bemused
A old white wingnut wrote in local paper Trump only meant voting when with his second amendment remark but in 2008 there was a movie and book about assassinating GW Bush that liberals and media thought was great. Anyone have an idea what the heck he is talking about? I don’t remember a movie or book like that.
Miss Bianca
@schrodinger’s cat: completely o/t, but I’m looking to do some reference reading on the Punjab. Any sources you would recommend? Any/all suggestions gratefully received.
Tom65
Are we sure this isn’t Gary Busey playing a massive trick on us?
https://youtu.be/LleBj6Q-Zng
Betty Cracker
@srv: Even a whinnying, Tribble-wearing knob finds a bitcoin once in a while.
oklahomo
@BruceFromOhio: Assumes he would attract donors who could handle holy water themselves.
schrodinger's cat
@Miss Bianca: Can you tell me more about what you want to know? History? Distant past, recent past? Culture?
Cambridge University’s series on Indian history is pretty good, although it can be a bit dry and scholarly.
scav
@germy: and Trump wants to make us far more unreliable. Always be ready to walk away, from deals, treaties, campaign promises, vows of marriage, social norms. . . not sure why the shitgibbon fanboi club think they’re so special.
germy
@scav: The old fraud even faked his doctor’s note. I swear to God, this election season is a W.C. Fields movie.
Jeffro
@bemused: It was a documentary-style indie flick called “Death of a President”. Nobody thought it was ‘great’ (or even in good taste)
catclub
@Corner Stone:
yes. Who is more of an asset for the Russians, Manafort or Flynn?
Villago Delenda Est
@bemused: I think it was at the same time Drumpf saw people dancing in the streets in New Jersey at the destruction of the WTC.
Jeffro
@? Martin:
I know, right? It ought to be a euphemism and/or BJ tagline here going forward…
Miss Bianca
@schrodinger’s cat: “All of them, Katie!” – History, geography, culture, religious mixture (particularly Sikhism and how it interacts with the Muslim/Hindi majorities). Recent (as in, 20th-century to present) history probably more important than ancient. Dry and scholarly works for me!
Miss Bianca
@Emma: That’s…that’s just…hoo, boy. I don’t even have any words for this one.
sukabi
OT, SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION ALERT.
am launching a new photography business, so if any of you in SW Washington are interested or have friends in need of portraits I’d be more than grateful for the business…
On Facebook
Website Sukabi Studios
Thanks for looking :-)
Cat48
@? Martin:
@ CornerStone You both are probably right.
I think it’s probably just my mood today. Just feeling gloomy. I guess it will be>>Trump, even crazier & more racist than ever before!
Rand Careaga
@MattF:
He has come out against Trump only because he thinks Trump can’t be counted upon to appoint sufficiently “conservative” justices to SCOTUS.
aimai
@bemused: I think there was a movie that included the assasination of George Bush,but it wasn’t “produced by liberals” whatever the fuck that means. And it certainly wasn’t promoted by Kerry or any other candidate for election.
schrodinger's cat
@Miss Bianca: Punjab was one of the two major states partitioned do you want to focus on the Indian Punjab i or the one in Pakistan?
Miss Bianca
@schrodinger’s cat: India.
scav
Good thing they don’t believe in science, otherwise we might have to invade the latest explodey thing. What’s more it just seems to be that kind of partnership. Star snapped before and after nova explosion (Or, maybe since the thief is a white dwarf and blows up the system, it’s more a white collar crime and will be written up as an aspiration in a management paperback.) Moocher white dwarf steals from larger binary partner and goes all nova with it.
bemused
@Jeffro:
Never heard of it that I can recall. I’ve been pretty plugged into politics and liberal websites/radio for almost two decades and knew immediately the old fart was repeating the same old crap from the same old RW sources that Trump quotes. I knew liberals wouldn’t “love” it and wonder which media reported it. I’d bet he only pays attention to Fox, etc. Liberals and media are “one on the same” as he put it. He also thinks PETA is a big influence with liberals and Dem legislators and probably thinks ACORN is still active.
Aleta
Here’s a story, from The Hill.
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/291680-report-manafort-helped-ukraine-party-pay-us-lobbyists
schrodinger's cat
@Miss Bianca: There are plenty of movies about Punjab, since the Hindi film industry is dominated by Punjabis.
germy
Miss Bianca
@schrodinger’s cat: It *is*? See, that’s the kind of thing I had no idea about. I figured movie production was based more in the south!
schrodinger's cat
@Miss Bianca: The geographical locus of the Hindi movie business is Mumbai (Bombay) which is on the west coast of India (kinda in the middle, not north or south), where my family is from. But the movie industry is dominated by Punjabi actors.
While I am no expert, I can tell you what I know. You can email me on my bloggy email, [email protected].
Shana
@gogol’s wife: Yeah, and I thought UChicago at #20 was low too.
On the other hand, younger daughter is heading to #2 in a couple of weeks for her Masters. Woot!
Aleta
Here;s a quote (from Fusion), taken from a video statement by Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Fusion is also releasing another damaging story about Manafort today.
Miss Bianca
@schrodinger’s cat: will do, thanks!
Villago Delenda Est
@germy: The ironing, it’s everywhere with these assclowns.
Martha from Augusta
@srv:
Worst. PlayStation game. Ever.
Calouste
@Matt McIrvin: More prove that the right can’t see further than their nose is long, and it’s all projection.
If Clinton dies or had to step down because of health issues, Kaine would take over. Governor and Senator, very qualified to be President, and pretty much on the same page as Clinton policy-wise.
Trump of course has been saying that he is the only one that can fix things, so if something were to happen to him, the GOP would be stuck with someone who by Trump’s admission can’t fix things.
daves09
@efgoldman: Yoo is tenured because right wing biggies gave the money to make it so. Happens all the time. Think the Koch bros. contributions. And no, I don’t care what it looks
like, it’s not bribery.
Origuy
@Miss Bianca: I’m currently reading John Keay’s India: A History. It’s pretty good, although I picked it up mainly because Bookbub listed the Kindle edition on sale a while back. Latest revision was 2013, so it included a lot of the recent archaeology about the Indus Valley civilization at Harappa.
gogol's wife
@Aleta:
Molodets, Misha!
Betty Cracker
@Martha from Augusta: Tee hee!
Gin & Tonic
@Aleta: From that Fusion story
Rand Careaga
@scav: Topic of the inaugural lecture delivered by Professor John Faulkner, UC Santa Cruz (Astronomy Department) in 1973: “Can a Beautiful Young Star Find Lasting Happiness in the Arms of a Degenerate Dwarf?” He packed the auditorium.
bemused
@Villago Delenda Est:
Ha. How they keep all these fabrications and conspiracy theories in their heads is a mystery. Facts are too damn hard but BS is easy.
Just One More Canuck
I cant see the phrase ‘brain trust’ without hearing it in Pappy O’Daniel’s voice – I think Delmar is smarter than the whole Trump gang
Miss Bianca
@Origuy: t’anks!
schrodinger's cat
@Miss Bianca:Husband kitteh suggests the History of Sikhs by Khuswant SIngh.
Mnemosyne
@gogol’s wife:
Depends which coast you’re on. Out here on the Left Coast, a degree from Stanford or Berkeley will get you farther than Harvard or Yale.
Halloween Jack
@dmsilev: According to Wikipedia, “The first recorded use of turquoise as a color name in English was in 1573.” Regardless of why the flag’s designer(s) chose that shade of blue (it almost certainly wasn’t Betsy Ross, an upholsterer who was claimed at the time of the first centennial to have done so by descendants), it wasn’t that turquoise was unknown at the time. (For that matter, the official colors weren’t specified until the 20th century.)
Miss Bianca
@schrodinger’s cat: Yay! More sources! Thank husband kitteh for me, plz!
Mnemosyne
@catclub:
Now I see the problem: none of those things are beliefs. The public option or Medicare for All are not moral stances. They’re POLICIES.
Never trust someone who tells you that a policy position should have the force of a moral belief. That’s how you end up with millions of people dying because a politician wants to make a Great Leap Forward.
Glennis
Not much of an art history scholar, is she?
https://www.google.com/search?q=art+history+paintings+woman+blue&espv=2&biw=1920&bih=947&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi2qOrgl8nOAhUHKiYKHVijAVAQ_AUIBigB#tbm=isch&q=art+history+portrait+aqua+18th+century&imgrc=XRxCTN_T0ZAQEM%3A
Glennis
There’s your problem right there. Trump doesn’t know what compassion is.
Mnemosyne
@srv:
Wrong again. As usual.
schrodinger's cat
@Miss Bianca: I will! Khushwant Singh’s novel on the partition of British India, A Train to Pakistan, is also a classic.
Mnemosyne
@Gin & Tonic:
Given that list, it’s hard to argue that Manafort was wrong, really. Perhaps a little too honest, if anything.
charon
@Jeffro:
Texas Republican politics are controlled by Christian Right fundamentalists ( e.g., Steve Hotze) and Perry is really tight with them. So yeah, Perry has the wind in his sails in Texas.
Miss Bianca
@schrodinger’s cat: Ohh, books are on order with the library! I’ll email you for more sources later, but these will do great to start with!
We had a large(ish) Punjabi Sikh population on the northwest side of Chicago, when I lived there back in the 90s. I actually got to hear the Punjab equivalent of the poet laureate – I wish I could remember his name – when he was there on a visit to recite some of his works. The ex and I were at the hall running sound and drinking endless cups of tea. Of course I didn’t understand a damned word, but it was a fascinating experience regardless!
Blueskies
@Cermet: Yep, and it’s been that way for many decades. I went to an Ivy because my alma mater made it cheaper for me to attend there than to go in-state to State U.
Mnemosyne
@Miss Bianca:
Sikhs are pretty common in the Midwest — I had a couple in my circle of friends in high school. At least in the 1980s, it was common for everyone from India to socialize together since immigrant Sikhs and Hindus had a lot in common.
(There were probably a few Muslims, too, but I honestly don’t remember. Everyone was definitely from India proper, not Pakistan or Bangladesh.)
schrodinger's cat
@Mnemosyne: A Punjabi Sikh, Hindu and a Muslim have far more in common including language and culture, than say someone from one of the four southern Indian states.
schrodinger's cat
@Mnemosyne: A Punjabi Sikh, Hindu and a Muslim have far more in common including language and culture, than say someone from one of the four southern Indian states.
FYWP won’t let me edit.
Brachiator
@Calouste:
I think the GOP would be pleased, maybe even relieved, to have Pence replace Trump.
Barb2
@catclub:
No “evidence” because you are too lazy to read about her history. Health care insurance for children? That was Senator Clinton. Or just listen to Bill Clinton’s speech at the DNC. He gave about the easiest and best overview Hillary’s life long work for children, women and families.
You are not a nice person. Pretending ignorance.
Big Jim Slade
Regarding the post’s title, Primus has done this little bit of wordplay, too.
J R in WV
@gogol’s wife:
“…the idea that Stanford is better that Havaad or Yale is redic…”
Well, see, I would disagree with that, as so many Havaad and Yale men (and women) are legacy admissions, associated with millions of $$ in alumni donations. Not that this doesn’t happen at Stanford, but still, where did W. go to school again? Not Stanford, was it? No, didn’t think so.
gogol's wife
@J R in WV:
I was thinking of faculty rather than students.
Don’t look at me, I went to a place that probably didn’t break the top 100 on the list.
Old Broad in California
Old Broad In California
Interesting article from a doctor about the extreme phoniness of Trump’s “Doctor’s Letter”.