Trump is an unpopular failure.
Now, what was meant as a bold assertion of presidential prerogative and a down payment on his promise to “eradicate radical Islamic terrorism from the face of the Earth” has dealt President Trump his first political defeat, and energized his opponents after a week of demoralizing developments.
President Donald Trump’s net approval rating dropped by eight points in his first week in the Oval Office, according to daily polls tracked by Gallup.
Republicans in Congress are signing their own political death warrants with their blind obedience to Dear Leader.
Pika
I wrote this years ago because I read Octavia Butler. I am reminding myself of it now: “Do the work you do not want to do. Think critically about even the most basic things, things like touch, for if you do not, they may be taken for granted or twisted into horrible parodies of themselves. Do the work you do not want to do. Honor each time you touch someone physically or otherwise for what it is–an awesome moment of possibility, of risk, of potential loss and potential gain. It is a moment of glorious hope, one that you have a part in shaping, and one that will shape you in ways that you have no way of foreseeing.”
Jeffro
So let’s make that a focus of action this week: start hammering GOP MoCs ( especially the ones in your state or nearby ) and let them know you can’t wait to work/organize/donate against them in 2018 if this continues
debbie
Hopefully the rating will drop significantly when they next poll on the 30th.
Corner Stone
I think it was Jeffro yesterday, as well as a couple others maybe including B Crack, that said one of their not so political loved ones had been radicalized by Trump’s actions. Well, my mom who is an actual follower of Jesus and his teachings and not a “Christian” has gone full on bleeding heart liberal attack mode. Not only is she calling out others who claim the mantle of “Christianity or Evangelical”, but she is seeking out opportunities to aid and assist people who are or may be shortly at risk due to this admin.
It is quite a contrast from her mild, mildly conservative brand of reading her bible, tending to her garden and largely keeping her thoughts about some things to herself.
If she were 20 years younger and felt this strongly I think she would be out in the streets throwing mazel tovs at the demonstrations.
donnah
Pushback, pushback, pushback.
I don’t know how trump voters are reacting to his new ban, but Republican party leaders aren’t standing up to decry his position or executive orders, so I suspect the turds who voted for him are happy and proud to be despised around the world. Every time he opens his yap we see more rights and protections stripped away. And our global relationships are dissolving right before our eyes.
But hey, the majority of voters, the Republicans, are thrilled that he’s executing his campaign promises and they must be elated to give up health care and international friendships and support that have been built over the years.
fuckity fuck.
Corner Stone
How the F do you demote the freaking DNI from the NSC?!
stinger
Good.
Corner Stone
I can pay attention to more than one thing at a time but I am not sure which to be more sheer terror screaming about – the Mulsim Ban EO or the change to the NSC?
I feel like the EO damages our nation in the eyes of the world and makes us overall less powerful and less safe. But the promoting of Bannon to the NSC makes me consider we are in mortal danger as a world at basically any time.
Gin & Tonic
@Corner Stone: And put in his place a guy who was fired as head of DIA for incompetence. You do it by getting everyone so riled up about an EO that they don’t notice who you snuck in the back door.
Van Buren
I bet in a few years they’ll say Hillary lost on purpose to permanently damage the Republican brand.
Iowa Old Lady
@Corner Stone: My first reaction to the NSC change is that we’re all going to die. Then I take a deep breath. But FSM
MomSense
@Corner Stone:
Given how massive the protests are, you know they are going to be looking for ways to shut them down. Since they seem to be following Vlad’s playbook, we have to watch out for crack downs on peaceful protest.
Constant vigilance everyone!
Gin & Tonic
Bill Kristol, of all people:
Sarah, Proud and Tall
Professional Troublemaker via Dr Lizardo at LGF:
debbie
@Corner Stone:
And what are Bannon’s qualifications for sitting on the primary council???
aimai
@Pika: Wow! Thank you so much for posting this. Brilliant. What a woman and writer she was.
Iowa Old Lady
I posted the news about the NSC change on FB and a normally lefty lesbian friend said it didn’t sound accurate. She literally couldn’t believe it.
DCrefugee
Democrats in Congress are signing their own political death warrants with any obedience to Dear Leader.
FTFY
MomSense
@Sarah, Proud and Tall:
And she was absolutely right not to trust them.
debbie
@Iowa Old Lady:
It is unbelievable. Saturday Night Massacre II.
OzarkHillbilly
@donnah:
Ummm, no.
OGLiberal
But Rasmussen tells me he’s at 55 percent approval, although that’s down from 59 percent earlier in the week. He’s very popular!
donnah
@OzarkHillbilly:
sarcasm, sorry
Larkspur
Joy Reid and her guests are bringing it this morning. Naves Jamali just threw out a sardonic “…but the emails!” reference.
Corner Stone
@Larkspur: I hope somebody with a security training background and a hair trigger vicious streak is looking after Joy’s well-being.
Spanky
@Corner Stone: The NSC. By far, the NSC.
That this is covered as an afterthought is more evidence of our useless (or complicit) media.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Gin & Tonic: We’re doomed. //
cmorenc
A little bit soon to presume Trump will necessarily turn out to be a long-term failure, by the metric of Presidential approval poll numbers – even though a longer-term trajectory that ends up in net positive territory will indeed be a valid indicator of some truly terrible characteristics of a majority of our fellow citizenry and electorate. However, it does seem to be true that a rocky start creates a negative inertial force that is much harder to overcome – a fancy way of saying that bad initial impressions are hard to overcome.
Trump’s approach is to attempt to use the levers of power to so forcibly and rapidly overrun opponents on a broader array of fronts than they are able to feasibly defend – rather than making any attempt to persuade and win any disapproving members of the public over. To so rapidly and vastly change the conditions and inertial force of government institutions that even if democrats do regain enough footing in 2018 and 2020 to win back at least the Senate and Presidency, the obstacles and inertia to reversing the changes Trump has set in motion will be so formidable that they cannot be easily undone for many years, if not decades.
In short, the Trump Administration’s model for governing and change does NOT rely on having any sort of popular mandate, even though for him personally, not having majority popular support is a nearly unbearable assault on his narcissistic, petulant ego. It’s more along Bannon’s conception of a right-wing Leninist revolution where a minority faction forcibly cements itself in power, forcing vast change on the populace, despite only being ardently supported by a plurality while inflicting vast dissatisfaction and unease among a clear majority thereof.
biscuits
Since this election, I now hate republicans. I’m not usually a hater but I can no longer excuse their behavior. I’m not mean or violent to them. Just honest. I guess the hardest thing to accept is the flippancy of them. They neither understand nor care about what’s at stake and are completely ignorant to their luck and privilege to live in this country. They need to get out more…but they won’t.
JPL
@Spanky: Yup. Not to worry though because the DNI and Joint Chief of Staffs can be invited to attend.
Yarrow
I turned on the TV to pull up something on my DVR. Apparently it had been left on NBC so Meet the Press came up. Left it on out of curiosity. Chuck Todd is asking a lot of questions of Priebus. “First you say green card holders aren’t affected. Then you say they are. These two things don’t compute.” I think he meant “aren’t compatible” but still. Priebus can’t answer that question. Chuck Todd is pressing him on it.
Now he’s asking him why they didn’t mention the Jews specifically in the Holocaust remembrance day statement. Priebus is replying that he doesn’t regret mentioning the Jews specifically. Chuck says, “why whitewash it by not mentioning it?” Priebus says he wasn’t whitewashing it. Chuck says, “The statement did.”
Now questions about the EO on the National Security Council reordering. Priebus lies and Chuck says, “No! That’s not what it says! It says, “when necessary” and looks like it’s invite only.” Now they’re disagreeing on what the order says. Priebus is lying out his ass.
Honestly, Priebus looks like he’s on a sedative. Body language suggests he does not want to be there. Really uncomfortable. Interesting to watch. Since he’s fairly high up in the administration, it’s an indication of how that’s going. Wasn’t he supposed to be the “establishment go-between” or something? I’m sure that’s fun right now.
Larkspur
@Corner Stone: Oh crap, I hadn’t thought that far. I would take a bullet for Joy Reid, but here I am on the wrong coast. But it would be one effective thing I could have done in my silly little (but cherished) life.
Another Scott
Good morning, everyone.
Drum says the EO pushback and demonstrations might be working as Bannon designed.
Is Drum right? Is this part of Bannon’s plan to destroy everything by riling up “middle America” against the lefty Elitists? Dunno.
But we’re dealing with people who don’t think like us.
Of course we must push-back against these unamerican and unconstitutional orders and policies. But there might be more going on under the surface than appearances would indicate.
Personally, I think it’s mostly incompetence and a refusal to recognize that procedures are in place for a reason. But, as I say, these people don’t think normally. We need a multi-pronged response.
Cheers,
Scott.
Spanky
@JPL: I won’t be surprised when (not if) the DNI and JCS set up a shadow NSC. Most likely on the DL.
Captain C
@Corner Stone: If you only want advice that fits your own garbled preconceptions, and that your white supremacist advisor approves of, it’s quite easy. The potential for disaster is far in the future (ie. more than five minutes away).
Corner Stone
@Spanky:
There aren’t tens of thousands of protestors outside an NSC gathering. So, optics win again.
Plus, IMO about 3% of the nation even know what the NSC is or does. The majority understands outrageous detention.
stinger
@donnah: Slight nit-pick: “the majority of voters” /= “the Republicans”, not by some 3 million voters.
ETA: I see your sarcasm note above.
evodevo
@donnah: Yes, they are. And the others I have talked to are TOTALLY ignorant about ANY but the most publicized of events, i.e. the Women’s March (generally making fun of it), and have absolutely NO idea how this will affect them and their Medicaid/Medicare-using relatives …. uninformed voter is a REAL thing, and in large numbers. The rest are putting their fingers in their ears and humming lalalalalala…
Spanky
@Yarrow: Boy! When you’ve lost Chuckie Toad ….
debbie
@Another Scott:
Except last night showed that the lefty Elitists won’t go down without a fight.
Spanky
@Larkspur: On the other hand, I wonder how well protected Mr. NSC is?
Corner Stone
@JPL:
If it is “relevant” to their duties. And who, I wonder, in that group is qualified to determine what specifics are “relevant” to the fucking DNI?
japa21
@Yarrow: If only Todd had been this persistent prior to the election. But I was pleasantly surprised by how he wouldn’t let things go.
Spanky
@debbie: Also, that the Venn Diagram of Lefty Elitists and US Population are converging like a partial eclipse. I’ll go ahead and predict 73% overlap.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
So in the past hour and a half, DHS issues a statement that announces complete difiance of the injunction and Twitler is blustering a tweetstorm of attacks on media.
Repression IS coming and will affect us all. I think civil violence is inevitable.
Wondering if some mayor – Seattle’s, maybe, or a governor like Brown – may order state forces to break those people from confinement.
Mothra
@Corner Stone: Yeah
Yarrow
@Spanky: Yep. It was telling. I wonder if the winds are shifting?
@japa21: Yeah, no kidding. But he’s a weathervane. If Chuck Todd is that persistent on these issues, could it be that the media sees something is shifting?
Timurid
@Iowa Old Lady:
Well, the slightly encouraging thing is… if Trump wants to go full metal Pinochet tanks in the streets any time soon, pissing in CJCS’s mouth and telling him it’s lemonade is not a good way to start.
On a more discouraging note, Trump trusts law enforcement much more than he does the military, and they’ll likely be the ones doing all the banana republic stuff. If reports about DHS resistance to the court orders are true, arrest warrants will be going out shortly. Seeing when, how and if those are enforced will give us an idea of just how compromised Federal law enforcement really is…
Pika
@aimai: Just so I don’t upset her estate, I need to be clear that those are my words, not hers. Now *her* words are something special. And she knew where we were headed…
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Corner Stone:
Bannon. That fat drunk fuck has Twitler’s feeble, withered root in his hand and is leading him around.
ArchTeryx
Reposted from dead thread.
I know I’ve been Johnny One Note since I first delurked. But I also am a very firm believer in, “First they came for the Communists…” sort of death slide. I may be worried about my own siloed issue, but being an activist for as many years as I’ve been, I can walk and chew gum at the same time.
I originally thought the whole immigration brouhaha was a classic Shiny Object – throw a few hundred people into legal limbo, get everyone protesting, and then execute the real putsch out of sight of the cameras.
I was completely wrong. It’s far bigger in scale and far worse then in my most pessimistic imaginings. It’s as big or bigger then my own “silo” and while I’m late to the party, I’m also man enough to admit I done fucked up.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Timurid:
The marshal’s service is pretty good at what they do. They’ll do the enforcement.
Doubting hat there will be a lot of respect for tradition or comity from the bench on this kind of defiance, not in those circuits.
PST
@Corner Stone: A publication your mother might like, unless she already reads it, is Sojourners. I’m not an evangelical Christians myself, but I read their newsletter regularly. By my lights, its writers draw the right lessons about social justice from their faith.
Mothra
@Corner Stone: Yeah
I think they’re all in neck deep – and scared of criminal charges. I believe the GOPs in Congress are calling each other asking what to do – hang tight or give a mush mouthed criticism.
Who defies a court order? Only those who don’t believe in the law in the first place. Or who believe that when the president does it it’s not illegal .
Yarrow
@Corner Stone: Good for your mom!
I think there’s a big opportunity for finding common ground with Christians who aid refugees. And there are a lot of them. This kind of brute force action is shocking to those folks and it cuts into Middle America and “the heartland.” Let’s keep making sure they know all about it. Peel off those one or two people who are so horrified they can’t vote for Republicans who support this kind of thing. Keep up the pressure!
Spanky
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: My guess is that a ban on protests will come down well before the Scientist’s March. I’m going anyway, and I’ll not be alone. The optics on something going down with a crowd of scientists will be horrendous. And hey, I’m 62 and childless, and some things are worth defying. And here we have a virtual buffet of choices to defy. (“All of them, Katie!”)
Corner Stone
@Another Scott:
I don’t think there is any under the radar genius at work in this admin. You have a couple people who are very talented at recognizing, focusing and directing the fear and hatred that exist in almost every nation on the planet. Bannon is just jacking with the ones that look like him.
The media is going to cover what they can broadcast, which is reaction to the EO. There is nothing but a lot of wonky explaining to be covered about the change to the NSC.
I am sure Bannon et al were aware of that. But even if they had done the NSC change on Wed and then the Muslim Ban EO on next Friday, the change to the NSC would have still been a mere blip on the public’s radar. No one knows what that is or who they are. National Security? Ok, I am sure they are getting the best information from somewhere. He’s a businessman. He can make smaht decisions for the country.
aimai
@Another Scott: Its stupid to worry about what Bannon wants or doesn’t want. Really, really, stupid. They have the power to do whatever Bannon and Trump want without pushback. Pushback can only energize their tiny base so much. It still won’t get them re-elected. And they don’t need base support to do what they want to do next. They need congressional support. And pushback frightens congressional people.
ArchTeryx
I say assumes facts not in evidence. They’ve been doing it since Obama was inaugurated, and yet, they control most of the country and all three branches of the federal government. When they start getting actually voted out office, get back to me.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Washington Governor Inslee told CNN last night that they’re filing their own lawsuit.
Larkspur
@Spanky: I’ll join you, since I am in a similar situation, but I have two years on you. There are a lot people here with children and grandchildren, and I’ll fight for them. (And also for Corner Stone’s mom.)
Jeffro
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: ew ew ew
cmorenc
@Corner Stone:
The Bannon faction inside the Trump Administration may indeed be cynically playing the optics game with outrageous detention – making the play that the take more of the public will be sold on the notion that those objecting and protesting this action are siding with terrorists (or unacceptably risking same) than will be sold on being offended by these measures for the purported safety of the public.
Corner Stone
@PST: I have my own issues with Jim Wallis but that’s a tale for different feline.
Overall, though, as far as I am familiar with their message and mission, IMO Sojourners seem to be pointing in the right direction.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
Lawsuit alone won’t do it, I’m afraid.
It will take the push of force, and not a small amount.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Spanky:
Yep – there will be no permits, and space will have to be simply claimed.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Yah, but that was last night. First steps.
IOW, at least one governor was thinking in terms of personally doing something about it. He also showed up at the protests last night.
JMG
The thing about the NC is that it adds the leaders of the armed forces to the list of people INSIDE the government who are at odds with Trump. Public opinion doesn’t enter into it.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@cmorenc:
Sure, that will net them 100% of the votes they got in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arizona and the like, but how will that help them retain their share of suburban Pennsylvania voters or right wing Israel obsessed Jewish voters in Florida?
Immanentize
@Corner Stone: I assume who is relevant will be determined by the Chair — FLYNN.
Corner Stone
I love, love, love that Jared had his hand on Ivanka’s ass in that photo she sent out last night.
EriktheRed
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I’m totally from Missouri on this.
Yarrow
@ArchTeryx:
When is the next election we need to be focused on? Not 2018–obviously we need to focus on that, but I mean something before that. Isn’t there an election in Virginia this year? Let’s make that a referendum on Republicans.
Speaking of which, When talking with others let’s be sure not just to say “Trump” but “Republican President Trump.” And not just Bannon but “Republican adviser Bannon.” And so forth. Keep tying them together. Repetition like that works. Make sure people remember it’s a Republican administration and the Republicans are making these decisions. Republicans are to blame.
sdhays
@Another Scott: If this works out the way
HimmlerBannon thinks, then we were doomed either way. When the Republican President initiates an explicitly racist attack on a minority, the only hope for this country is to demonstrate that the minority is not alone and that there are people outside the minority who are going to fight for them.NOT. THIS. TIME.
Corner Stone
@Mothra:
By “believe in the law” do you mean that specific law that is being defied? Or just a general belief that no law is applicable?
Because IMO you can have deep faith and revere the rule of law and still defy a specific law or court order that you believe to be unjust.
I may have just over read your comment and not needed to make this explicit as a response, so fwiw.
ArchTeryx
@Yarrow: 2017. Off-off year elections hugely favor Republicans, and key governorships, not to mention the legislature, is up in New Jersey and Virginia. We beat expectations there, then we may just have a chance to limit the damage in 2018.
Baud
@ArchTeryx: A good showing in VA and NJ would also cause the GOP in Congress to panic.
debit
Conway says the judge’s ruling “doesn’t really affect the EO.” I frequently wish very hard that for the rest of her life she experiences nothing but pain, misery and despair.
Brachiator
Sadly, this is just not true. Not yet.
And the Republicans don’t care. Governing is not a popularity contest. And we do not have a parliamentary system where a “no confidence” vote will trigger new elections.
Polls mean nothing. Elections mean everything.
The Republicans control Congress and the White House. And they intend to use the power they have gained to enact their agenda with respect to taxes, the budget, and abortion. Their goal will be to cut taxes for the rich, boost military spending, and then come back and say that other spending, including Social Security, must be slashed to make up for the military spending increase. And then abortion. Always abortion.
The Republicans willingly tied themselves to Trump when they kept him in the primary even as he pissed all over their preferred candidates and their platform.
Trump may get to appoint at least two Supreme Court judges, and fill all the judicial vacancies held up during the Obama Administration.
There is no universe in which the Republican leadership gives a shit about Trump’s failures or popularity. They will continue to prop him up in order to get what they want.
PsiFighter37
@Corner Stone: Donald probably wished it was him.
Alce_e_ardilla
@Another Scott: I think we need to be cautious about ascribing superhuman powers to Trump and his cabal. They don’t play 11th dimensional chess, and they don’t necessarily have a inside line into the hearts and minds of most Americans. Most of the people I have spoken with are horrified by these actions.
FlipYrWhig
@cmorenc: I have been wrong when gauging the public before, but I think Team Trump forgot about how their stupid immigration orders would also affect sympathetic people like doctors and translators.
O. Felix Culpa
@Yarrow:
Yes. My sister- and brother-in-law are staunch conservative evangelicals. BUT, they have been working on refugee resettlement with their bible church and so have direct experience with real life refugees . Yesterday, for the first time, I saw my brother-in-law’s FB feed break ranks with the Trumpistas and roundly criticize the anti-immigration EO. He even pushed back against his other frothing conservative friends’ pushback. I wonder how many other of his ilk have been disaffected similarly?
(It’s curious how conservatives only have empathy when someone they know personally is affected. Maybe we should send them all to Empathy Camp to meet real-life Mexicans, POC, LGBT, Muslims, etc.)
Baud
@Alce_e_ardilla: I agree.
Yarrow
@ArchTeryx: 2017 is this year. When are the elections? November? We need to be focused on these and sending a message.
Both Virginia and New Jersey are good opportunities for Dems. Virginia because so many government employees hear DC and they can’t be happy with this mess. How it translates to the rest of the state I don’t know. As for NJ, the Christie thing has to have had an affect on Republicans there.
Peale
@sdhays: yeah. It’s actually a Poor design. Had they just allowed the existing green card holders in, they could claim that there is no immediate harm to anyone. But they created a group of a few hundred people who are immediately harmed. Protests against things that may be harmful in the future are good, but they can be hazy. the sky doesn’t usually fall the day after a policy change, so protesters are usually left arguing about future damages which may be slow to reveal themselves. This order wasn’t like that.
Immanentize
@Corner Stone: I completely agree that one can
But the penalty for conscientious civil disobedience is a willingness to accept punishment for the unlawful (even if moral) acts. Thoreau
Eta. Except if you are a Bundy, I guess.
Spanky
@PsiFighter37:
You’re probably right! He’d love to have Jared’s hand on his ass. I just know it.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Corner Stone:
God, that’s hilarious/awful. Jared looks like a high-schooler copping a feel on his prom date while her dad takes their picture.
Fast-forward to Dad actually looking at the picture later. “Why, that little—”
Peale
@Yarrow: yeah. It still depends on who the Dems can find to run. Everybody hates Chris, but a lot of Democrats don’t want their own party to win.
Corner Stone
Ok, had a couple spoonfuls of Sea Salted Caramel ice cream. Now for a few minutes of feeling nice and creamy and smooth…
Yarrow
@O. Felix Culpa:
That’s not empathy. That’s just recognizing when something affects them or someone they care about. Empathy is the ability to recognize that something affects other people even when it doesn’t affect you or your loved ones. The lack of empathy is one of the defining characteristics of Republicans.
debit
I think it would be hysterical if every country in the world banned Americans from traveling there. After all, who know who knows who President Bannon will refuse re-entry to next, and they might wind up with unwanted American refugees living in their airports.
chris
Good morning all.
Preznit filed his reelection papers for 2020 5 hours after the inauguration. Apparently this changes a number of things about PACs etc.
Have at it here: @resisterhood
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack (phone):
In this case the Dad would be saying, “Why does he get to have all the fun?”
Jinchi
@ArchTeryx: First they came for the Muslims and the Mexicans and the Blacks and and the Women and the Media and the Scientists and the Unions and the CIA and the NSA and Boeing and Apple …. and Hitler’s ghost said “Man, pace yourself!”
JMG
This weekend has had one visible political impact I don’t think people here recognize because it involves themselves. For the first time in my memory, there are signs the Democrats in Congress are a little afraid of their own base. Senators and Congresspeople went to the airport demos because “there go the people I lead, I must follow them.” I think any of that happy horseshit about cooperating with Trump on infrastructure is dead. I think there will now be close to unanimous Democratic votes against most (not all) Cabinet nominees and that Mitch McConnell’s dream of confirming a Supreme Court justice without using the nuclear option is dead.
Heidi Heitkamp, up for re-election in 2018 in North Dakota, as red as it gets, posted a strong condemnation of the EO on Facebook. I think that’s a straw in the wind.
O. Felix Culpa
@Yarrow:
I hear ya. Having something affect them or someone they care about is the key ingredient to changing their stony hearts and narrow minds. This administration’s overreach is likely to do that in spades. It has already begun. Some right-wingers of course are beyond reach and so be it. But I’m curious to see how many do indeed shift. It’s a big deal when my smugly conservative, outrageously privileged brother-in-law joins the opposition, if only on one issue so far.
Yarrow
@Corner Stone: That sounds like a healthy breakfast!
Yarrow
@Steeplejack (phone): Eww…gross. No wonder she married him. He’s probably way more like her dad than we know. Ugh. Now I’m worried about their kids. Do they have a daughter?
Brachiator
@Sarah, Proud and Tall:
Holy shit. You are right. Has anything like this happened before at this level?
Yarrow
@O. Felix Culpa: Yes, of course! And I’m glad to hear about your brother-in-law and his change of views. Every single person that can be peeled away on any issue is a positive thing. And as I said above, let’s make sure we tie Trump’s actions to Republicans. Always link them. Trump is a Republican. What he does is what Republicans want and support. Period. Unless they get rid of him, he is Republicanism. Keep linking the two. Remind everyone this is who they are.
PsiFighter37
@Yarrow: The Democratic primary may be a bit messy given Tom Perriello jumped in at the last minute. I still think Northam will be the nominee, though, and given that Clinton still won VA handily despite not paying as much attention to the state, I have to think Northam will do better than McAuliffe did in 2013.
In NJ, it sounds like the state Democrats basically handed their nominee to a self-funded ex-Goldman guy (again!)…at least this one seems to have worked at GS a long time ago and been involved in other matters (instead of Corzine, who went straight from GS to the Senate), but it speaks to how badly the machine politics in NJ really need to be overhauled…if they can be bought, they won’t stand up to anyone (which is why Christie rolled them in the 2013 election).
O. Felix Culpa
@Yarrow:
Agreed. They created the monster. Let them own it.
Morzer
@debbie:
Testosterone poisoning and anti-American malevolence.
sdhays
@Peale:
I think you’re right here. These things are harder to fight successfully when done incrementally. Chaos usually isn’t very popular, and it’s clear that the chaos was caused by people in an administration which was already developing a reputation for incompetence (whether it’s true incompetence or competent “Leninism” is irrelevant), so there’s a very good chance that a significant number of people who would have considered a ban on visas from Muslim countries to be be no big deal and even perhaps “a necessary evil” will now not be so sure that it’s a good idea.
At least I hope so. But even so, they’re doing this up front on purpose. The Republicans have mastered the idea of shitting on people as soon as they have power and then pretending it’s all in the past (and who can remember what happened two years ago? – that’s ancient history) come election time.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Corner Stone:
It was implied: “That ass belongs to Daddy!”
Yarrow
@PsiFighter37: I don’t know anything about either of those states’ politics. It’s not too early to have a post on those elections, though, is it? What about down-ticket races in those states? Are legislatures up for election too?
Corner Stone
@Yarrow: I don’t have much of a sweet tooth and almost never eat ice cream any more. This was like it’s in my “In Emergency Break Glass” type situation.
Brachiator
@Corner Stone:
I guess he didn’t feel confident enough to go for the pvssy grab. Or is that reserved for women who are not his wife?
Villago Delenda Est
Good.
The GOP needs to go the way of the NSDAP and the CPSU.
Oblivion.
SiubhanDuinne
@Yarrow:
Their oldest child is a daughter, 5-1/2 years old. There are also two younger boys.
Unrelated, but of possible interest: the recently much-discussed Hannah Arendt classic, The Origins of Totalitarianism, is on sale today on Amazon for $1.99 (Kindle).
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack (phone): “I don’t care whose hand it is! Will somebody spank me?! Please Daddy! I have been a very bad girl!”
Iowa Old Lady
I haven’t been this alienated from my own government since men in my age group were being drafted and sent to Vietnam for no reason I could see. I feel like I did on the day of Kent State when the National Guard opened fire on a crowd of unarmed college students and half the country said killing was too good for them.
Sorry to whine. I’ll get with the forward thinking action in a while. I just need a moment.
Yarrow
@chris:
WOW! This is an amazing thread. Thanks for the link. Everyone should click through and read it. Republican President Trump filed for reelection, which is unprecedented to do so soon. That means he can act differently because he might be acting as “candidate Trump.” It changes how non-profits can respond to him because they can’t “campaign.” He filed FIVE HOURS after inauguration.
Seriously, go read it!
sdhays
@PsiFighter37:
What gives me hope in Virginia is that even in an incredibly low turnout election in 2013 with a not-very-popular gubernatorial candidate (McAuliffe was considered “hold your nose”, basically because of bad memories of fundraising under Clinton – I think a lot of Democrats have been very pleasantly surprised by his tenure as governor, though), Democrats were still able to eke out the statewide offices.
Of course, considering how close 2013 and 2016 were, it still leaves me nervous.
toine
Gotta love Baghdad Barbera… provides insight into what true shamelessness is capable of.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/conway-judge-ruling-trump-travel-ban-order
Enhanced Voting Techniques
One’s left with the impressionism that Bannon and this other clown are running the country based of the game Tropico. Even as coup this sucks because they clearly didn’t take control of the media or have the necessary troops in place.
Steeplejack (phone)
Among all the other stuff that’s going under the radar, I read (maybe here) that Trump talked to Putin for an hour yesterday. That seems kind of unprecedented. Did Kennedy even talk to Khrushchev that long at a time during the Cuban missile crisis?
NeenerNeener
All the Trumpers I know are low-information, tribal Republicans who rarely watch anything that isn’t a sporting event unless it’s Fox News. One of them is a lesbian who voted Trump even though she knows Pence wants to light her up like the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. When the chickens are voting for Colonel Sanders how do you stop them from marching off to the slaughterhouse through force of habit?
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@toine:
Or is she parroting what’s being said in the Junta of the Trump administration? It’s quite possible that Miller, Bannon and Trump all are believe what they get off of the Alt Right media. Trump’s razor; him and his base just believe in stupid things.
Gin & Tonic
@Steeplejack (phone): Takes a long time to properly suck up to your boss.
BBA
All I can think of is James Watt’s old line about how it’s not Democrats and Republicans, it’s liberals and Americans.
I suppose they can’t revoke my citizenship and deport me for being a liberal, but they don’t know they can’t do that.
Another Scott
@toine: I saw a clip of Rinse earlier, before I had a chance to change the channel. He was saying (not a direct quote): “350,000 people entered the US yesterday and only 180 were detained so it’s no big deal…” Yeah, no big deal.
He’s a monster just like the rest of them.
These are the people that argued that crushing the testicles of children was fine.
These are the people who think that murdering the families of “terrorists” is fine.
These are the people who will spin anything they want to do as more than legal, but actually the only possible policy for us to take.
They’re monsters, and can’t be thrown out of office soon enough.
Cheers,
Scott.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Jinchi:
Worth noting that the Nazis were big fans of science (provided it was good German science). Trump Admin, failure at even fascism.
Spanky
@Steeplejack (phone): Well to be fair, a good 20 minutes consisted of “You hang up first!”, ” No, YOU hang up first!” ….
Vhh
CNN reports Trump considering requiring all visitors to US turn over cell phone contacts and all web activity or be denied entry. The Chinese apparently try to steal this stuff electronically, but we are going to demand it physically. I guess Trump has decided the US doesn’t need tourism or any international business connections, wants us to become North Korea and live on grass, coal, and industrial waste.
Cheryl from Maryland
@Yarrow: As far as Virginia goes, the 2017 election includes all 100 of the House of delegates as well as the Executive offices, Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General. For information on the election in general, go here. For more information on the Virginia State Officials at Dulles last night, as well as local politics in general as there is little coverage in the WaPo or Richmond or Roanoke papers, go here.
FlipYrWhig
@toine: They don’t know what a refugee is. They think it’s something scary foreigners say to get legal immunity when they’re starting their terrorist plots. Like that guy who totally did that, the one we’ve all heard of and don’t need to cite!
Baud
@Vhh: It’s OK. The libertarians will stop them.
Unknown known
There’s a twitter account purporting to be rogue POTUS staff (@RoguePOTUSStaff) leaking to resist, who claim the play of Priebus/Ryan/Pence is to pass all the really unpopular stuff that they want, then impeach Trump for whatever the latest craziest thing he has done is. Not as easy as Pence signing it all, but they let Trump absorb the backlash, and play the White Knight who came around to rescue everyone. Risk is he cause too much damage first.
I don’t know if these guys are real, but that’s a very smart and scary analysis. Would probably work just fine with our press corpse too.
Spanky
@Vhh: I’m thinking of the thousands and thousands of tourists (most? Asian) planning on coming for this summer’s solar eclipse, and how that’s going to play out.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Brachiator:
From it’s inception in the 1850s the Republicans have been a top down party due to the contradictions in it’s based it was formed from; the populist know nothings, proto-Wall Street and the pro-Evangelical Abolitionists. Lincoln own staff would tease him by calling him the things like the Dictator because of it. So the instinct is ingrained for them to fall in line behind the leader.
Corner Stone
@Vhh:
“All visitors”. White people?
IDFTS
Corner Stone
I got the Narcosleepy!
Ruckus
@Brachiator:
They will but they are politicians and even the stupider ones know that they have to get elected to keep that power. Sure they may be able to strike now but that pressure from the public is something they understand. In normal times they ignore all but their base but if their base becomes too small for them to win reelection they understand they will be gone. That’s why that pressure is important, these are all people with oversized egos, being one of the 435 or 1 of 100 is something that is important to them. Keeping that pressure on is the only thing we have now. We can’t get a vote of no confidence because of the design of our government. So we have to do the next best thing, a public display of absolutely no confidence. Show them by shear numbers, phone calls, faxes, letters that we think they are wrong and it will cost them their prestige, cushy jobs and possibly their pensions but mostly their power. It’s that or rebellion, and that’s not an option. Nor does it seem necessary, we have a lot of power in governors, state legislators, the media – if they can see the way the wind blows. I also say we need boycotts and possibly a national strike, the boycotts to take on those corporations that don’t agree and a national strike to bring the whole thing front and center if the rest of this doesn’t work. IOW we have to force their hand, insure that they own the destruction of the government and that everyone who doesn’t have their head up their ass will know that they are done. They have nothing if we don’t agree with it, we may have to start over but that has happened before, it may be uncomfortable and unpleasant and costly in lives but we can’t just give up and hope for the worst. A government of the people, by the people and for the people is not an unachievable idea or result, it just takes hard work and desire, not hate and despair.
Peale
@toine: yep. Because it would be devastating to a lot of people, I don’t know how far we should take this argument about where terrorists actually come from. Trumps goal really is to ban Muslims from all countries. Let’s not expand the list on his behalf. These people who were detained yesterday – and who may still be in custody today – reports differ – aren’t terrorsts. They are workers and residents of this country. Christ, take the Yemenis. Or the Lybians. Our official policy is now that if your home country government collapses, your green card is no longer valid and you can be deprived of your property here and deported, no matter how long you’ve lived here.
Dave
@Another Scott: It may be the intention or an intention it doesn’t mean it will work out as they believe. “Alea iacta est” as it were. Bannon isn’t an idiot, well not one that is stupid, but is now elevated in a way he probably only dared to dream. Overreach in this situation with these personalities is almost inevitable.
Iowa Old Lady
@Corner Stone: I’m trying to imagine what the lines at customs and immigration at the airport will look like.
Peale
@Corner Stone: I wish it were all white people. Eventually these things will cost someone too many $$ to ignore.
Literally
I’m sure there is much rejoicing about the ban all over the country at this morning’s weekly meetings of right-wing extremists. And that’s what matters to Trump/Bannon – well, no, it matters that they are sticking it to the liberals. They are happy to be unpopular with everyone but their base.
zhena gogolia
@Corner Stone:
That’s great. Our church was full of (verbal) mazel tov throwers this morning. People are pissed!
Walker
@Unknown known:
This twitter account has been outed as a fake. Some people think it is a Bannon misinformation campaign.
Ruckus
@O. Felix Culpa:
Don’t let them own it, MAKE them own it. Don’t let them run from it, ever. Don’t let them off the hook, ever. Don’t give them the slightest wiggle room, ever. He is their president, he is the leader of their party, he is them, make them own it and make everyone else know they own it.
Peale
@Iowa Old Lady: they will be short. Who will travel if it means automatic detention until someone on a case case basis allows you to enter.
sdhays
@Unknown known: It would not surprise me that they have this plan, but it’s a stupid, stupid plan. Will impeachment be subject to the Hastert Rule? If it is, just exactly how bad will it have had to become for it to pass a majority of the Republican Congressional conference? And if it isn’t, how will the Republicans balance the rage of betrayal from Trump’s supporters and the fact that most of the Republican Congressional delegation still support him?
There’s a reason that Donald Trump won the Republican nomination for President in 2016 – he had the most support and the other candidates all feared his supporters. There is literally nothing he could do, other than suffer a stroke and become a liberal Democrat, to alienate his base. Not one of his opponents would risk alienating his band of deplorables. And the rest of the Republicans couldn’t be bothered enough by anything he did to vote against him in November.
The “establishment” can fantasize all it wants about being able to take back control whenever it wants, but that’s all it is – a pathetic fantasy. The first chance they get to regain control will be after a massive electoral slaughter. And it won’t be on their terms.
Dave
@ArchTeryx: Off year elections have greatly favored Republicans during a democratic administration 2006 existed for instance. I’m not sanguine about this but I’m fairly optimistic that will not hold here. 2017 maybe not 2018 we will know. Regardless we shall see and things are moving very rapidly. We are testing the heighten the contradictions hypothesis rather I would have wanted to or not. The die is cast.
Corner Stone
@Iowa Old Lady:
And what if you’re a millennial Thinkfluencer ™ who has more social media accounts than a long haired rock star does STDs?
What if a group of Marketing Experts from the EU are going to a conference in NYC?
Woodrowfan
Virginia is especially important because the Republican legislature is trying to change how we allocate the electoral votes to make sure they get most of them despite how the state votes. We need a Democratic governor to veto it.
Ruckus
@NeenerNeener:
Habits can be changed, addicts can make positive decisions.
They have to want to and to do that they have to see that making that decision is far better for them. And they usually don’t start with the first decision until they hit rock bottom. I’d say we are close to rock bottom. We for sure are close enough to pull off a few of them and that’s all it really takes to start.
Brachiator
@Ruckus:
Again, the Republicans still embrace Trump and will continue to do so. I did not watch the pundit shows today. Did any Republican leader repudiate Trump? Has any Republican sponsored legislation to counter the EOs?
Republicans still control many states and have rigged Congressional districts to favor them.
And while I agree with you about the need to apply pressure, for now the result is at best indirect.
The midterm elections will be a great test. However, before we get to that point, we may already see new tax laws on the books, at least one Supreme Court justice, and a magnitude of other changes that might affect the country and the world.
Corner Stone
DHS is defying the judge’s court order on the EO ruling??!
Another Scott
@sdhays:
They did fear him and his supporters – after all he did embody the vision they’ve been preaching for decades (the “virtue” of being rich, and never holding elective office, mostly), but other things were in the mix too.
Donnie didn’t win a majority of the actual GOP vote during the primaries. He won he majority of the delegates because the brainiacs at the GOP decided that having “winner take all” primaries was the sensible way to give JEB! the nomination. Without “winner take all” primaries, there would have been a contested convention and Donnie might not have won.
As always, there are many pieces to the puzzle, and throwing out standing processes has consequences.
Cheers,
Scott.
debit
@Walker: Link to confirmation it’s a fake?
Because the only link I can find is from Free Republic.
Brachiator
@Another Scott:
You’re saying that the GOP rigged their primary to give the crown to Jeb! and then Trump beat them at their own game.
That makes his win over them more impressive, not less so.
hovercraft
This guy really knows how to get things done and bring people together. It took constant bitching and opposition for the GOP and their Tea Party allies to drive Obama’s approval numbers down.
Also from Gallop
The Shitgibbon still has to climb up to become as popular as Obama, after two summers of astroturf protests, and the media trying to bring him down, during the worst recession since the depression.
The current protests are spontaneous, led by people not any party entity, the people hate what he’s doing. At the rate he’s going what will it look like by 2018. We must ensure that our side is ready and outraged enough to get out and vote.
2010 was when they took control of government and laid the seeds for the suppression efforts that bore fruit in November. With real harm being done to real people, we have the chance to get millions of people to vote to stop this madness.
Brachiator
@sdhays:
Yep.
Ruckus
@Brachiator:
Yes we probably will. So? What we have is to build popular opinion. We can’t do that by giving up. I’m not a hope for the best type, because the best we can hope for here is an implosion. We have to fight back with the one thing we have, numbers and opinion. As much as they don’t give a fuck about us, other than our current Republican president and his minions these people live to have power and we can show them that they have lost that because that power comes from public opinion. We have a majority, we need to build on that and it looks like a lot of people who are/have been in a what difference does it make they are all politicians and all alike place can be swayed. Will there be a lot of damage in the interim? Of course there will be. Will the ramifications last a long time? Most likely. But those are the things we have to fight against with the tools we have. Will we be successful? Maybe, but what other choice do we have? Give the fuck up? These people are stealing our country, destroying our country, do we just stand by and let them? We’ve sort of been doing that for the last 20-30 yrs because we became complacent. It seems like complacency is finally over, so let’s replace it with something better.
Glidwrith
@toine: Notice the constant repetition of ‘going abroad’? You are now under suspicion if you travel outside the US.
Walker
@debit:
The account has publicly supported (via Tweet) @TulsiGabbard, who is a Putin troll.
sdhays
@Another Scott:
And yet all of those Republicans who didn’t vote for him in the primary supported him in November. The media clung to this trope throughout the primary, but when you looked at the polls of primary voters’ first and second preferences, Trump would come out over 50%. Sure, a substantial minority didn’t particularly like Trump for whatever reason, but they got over it by November.
Republicans won’t believe Trump has to go until they’ve lost the power to decide. Or until an event so terrible occurs that it breaks through their alt-fact bubble…
brendancalling
@Jeffro: already on it. My MO is to follow them on Twitter and taunt them in Trumpese. “PROTESTS RAGE AGAINST UNCONSTITUTIONAL MUSLIM BAN,SAD COWARDS @BOBCORKER, @LAMAR HIDE. SAD WEAK UNAMERICAN #TCOT”
Relentless.
Also too, since my kid is a dual, I ger to waste their time tomorrow making them explain that my kid is safe. I won’t accept that explanation,BTW.
Hellbastard
My days of being a kumbaya liberal are over. Trump is a disgrace and a threat to the country and the world and his supporters need to be identified and ruined.
Brachiator
@Ruckus:
This is simply not true. Republicans will exercise the power they have in defiance of public opinion because they won the election and have partially insulated themselves against electoral defeat. In any event, they are determined to make the most of the current opportunity.
And depending on what happens over the next two years, even winning the 2018 midterms, while absolutely necessary, might not be enough to undo the damage the Republicans will have done.
Bill Arnold
A minor thing given the EO stuff; dunno if it’s been linked yet; the Times of London is reporting that Theresa May held Trump’s hand because Trump is afraid of “stairs and slopes”.
If you can get it to work (I had to create a free account), here’s the link:
Trump and Charles in climate row
I have no idea whether this is true but could certainly believe it. Germaphobia. Fear of Stairs and Slopes. I suppose that to his supporters these weaknesses (if true) are endearing.
J R in WV
@Pika: Ursula K Le Guin is still very much alive and with us today.
glory b
@O. Felix Culpa: Charlie Dent (R-PA), is saying on msnbc that he opposes and got involved because his son’s friend’s family members were detained in Philly.
sukabi
@Corner Stone: has Bannon even been cleared, and if so who buried his skeletons of which there must be many.
Don’t remember him or the other nutbar even being on the ballot.
Way past time for someone to do some “extreme vetting” on the evil clowns in the White House.
bmaccnm
@debit: Is it really bad to wish pancreatic cancer on some like Kellyanne? Because I find myself wishing that upon her.
TriassicSands
Trump continues to play 1/2 dimensional checkers.
TriassicSands
@bmaccnm:
Bad choice. That puts a burden on the health care system. A nice clean lightning strike would be better. Or run over by a truck. Or perhaps a really nasty make-up malfunction.
sukabi
@Steeplejack (phone): he’ll demand someone Photoshop Jared out and him in…similar to how he tried to pressure park service on inUGHeration pics.
Corner Stone
@glory b:
Charlie Dent seemed very squishy on this. It was a, “Yeah we need to address this but this EO is just too broad.” Meaning, to me, that if the admin applies the smallest tweak he will claim victory and shut up.
nelle
@Yarrow: Pompeo’s replacement election (Wichita, Kansas, I believe) will be in April. That is a place to put money on a Democratic challenger to the seat.
TriassicSands
I’d be willing to bet that’s not true.
Every defeat for Trump in the courts is a big win with his base.
Mnemosyne
@Walker:
Gabbard is also a favorite of the remaining Sanders dead-enders. Funny how all of these Russian connections keep showing up in the opposition to Hillary, but I’m sure it’s just another strange and unrelated co-inkydink, amirite, Wilmer fans?
Steeplejack (tablet)
@J R in WV:
They’re talking about Octavia Butler.
Marjowil
@Corner Stone: Malcolm Nance!
mike in dc
@TriassicSands:
Maybe, maybe not. This is a game of percentage points, even tenths or hundredths of percentage points shifting around can make a difference, in the aggregate. Every controversial action peels off a sliver of Trump’s support, as it affects some of his supporters personally enough for them to shift against him. These are not coalition-building or strengthening acts, despite what Bannon believes.
vhh
@Steeplejack (phone): Please note—those phone calls have to go through interpreters in both direction. Having done simultaneous translation for negotiations myself, I can tell you that it slows things down–a lot. Add in the inevitable ceremonial language and circumlocutions, and you are looking at maybe 20 minutes of conversation. I’d like to think it was very like the phone call between Pres. Marvin Muffly and the Soviet premier in Dr. Strangelove. I do hope that Saturday Night Live takes this up in a future show.
rikyrah
@Corner Stone:
both/and
Ruckus
@Brachiator:
Should have added a little something in there.
Overwhelming public opinion.
You are right on the what they will do part, especially if we do nothing. If we can manage to bring overwhelming public opinion down on them and fast they will draw back. Yes they think they have to strike fast. We have to strike faster. And harder. Will we be 100% successful? Hell no, no one is 100% successful, but fortunately we don’t need 100%. Will we fail? Sure it’s possible but public opinion is all each of us have, well that and the legal system. But each of us as citizens, we have public opinion and that ain’t nothing.
Got any better ideas?
Ruckus
@TriassicSands:
Not to be too bitchy but, Too Late.
Radiumgirl
@bmaccnm: It’s not bad enough.
Sam
@donnah: I have a trumpian brother. His line is “give him a chance”. I told him Trump has been at the center of a three ring circus his entire life, and it has been especially intense for the last 18 months. The only thing I don’t know about Trump is the thing he will never, ever, share: his tax returns. My bro saw the justice in that.
Unknown known (formerly known as Ecks, former formerly completely unknown)
@Walker: That’s a fundamentally unconfirmable thing that you seem so sure about.
I don’t know if it’s real or not, but if it’s a Bannon sock puppet, it sure is odd for him to spend so much time making himself look bad (and his boss).
I’m agnostic over whether it’s real, but if you sift through it’s an interesting read – whoever is writing it is clearly bright and informed and perceptive. If it’s a fraud, it’s a talented writer with a good imagining of what life would actually be like there. It may also be throwing out some serious grade bullshit, but as a source of raw material to consider I’m enjoying it… whether or not it ends up being historical fiction vs. actual soop.