This is how you take back the House:
Democrats are moving urgently to harness the wave of grass-roots protests that have greeted President Trump in his first weeks in office to reclaim the House majority in next year’s midterm elections.
As of this week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is hiring full-time operatives to do political organizing work in 20 key Republican-held districts — an unusually early investment in House races that do not even have declared candidates yet.
I’m not a big fan of how the DCCC and DNC usually do things. They blow a lot of money on ads that don’t accomplish anything. Putting operatives on the ground early *does* accomplish something. Kudos to the DCCC.
I’m giving them $50 a month as long as they keep this up.
matryoshka
I hope they will plant some people in Missouri. Neither McCaskill nor Blunt has any town hall meetings on tap and from what I hear, Blunt’s people are not interested in hearing from the proles.
janeform
I’ve heard that the Michigan Democratic Party is hiring organizers. They’re starting to get what they need to do.
Juice Box
The execrable Darrell Issa won by 1200 votes in November. I’ve already donated to his challenger who is planning a rematch. I was pleased that the DCCC put CA-49 on their list.
joel hanes
One of the best things about EMILY’s List is the acronym:
Early Money Is Like Yeast (it raises the dough)
Giving early multiplies effectiveness
Jim, Foolish Literalist
two more brave, brave Sir Robins, Illinois and Virginia
Major Major Major Major
“Ugh, protests don’t do anything and are pointless wankery and the party committees are useless wastes of money!”
PhoenixRising
I love me some Ben Ray, but…This is news because it’s an example of the DCCC doing something with donations that will be associated with a positive outcome. Not an example of the DCCC creating a positive outcome. Make a note that the DCCC, under Lujan’s leadership, is able to ID a parade and jump in front waving a baton, which is more than it’s been able to do in the past.
I will give a crisp $20 bill and a fresh box of donuts to any registered Dem whose door I knock in Sept/Oct ’18 who does not realize there is an election coming right up, or tells me he (it’s always a he) isn’t going to be bothered because it won’t make a difference.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
Boys From Brazil:
Mike in DC
Start with 20 seats, build towards 100. We need a big enough majority that we won’t lose it in the next election.
rikyrah
Team Trump took aim at a key layer of accountability
02/02/17 10:40 AM
By Steve Benen
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General announced late yesterday that it’s moving forward with an investigation into how Donald Trump’s Muslim ban was launched and implemented. The Washington Post noted that the probe, launched in response to congressional appeals and whistleblower complaints, will focus on “whether employees engaged in misconduct or failed to comply with court orders.”
The story is a reminder about the importance of inspectors general – and why Trump World may not care for their work. The Post had a related report yesterday on aides to the new president taking aim at IG offices throughout the executive branch.
The email shows that the effort to replace the inspectors was not limited to a handful of agencies, but that it was intended to take aim at inspectors general across government departments.
Note, this isn’t based on rumors, but rather, an actual email obtained by members of Congress.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
bemused
My god, are our Dems learning?
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
rikyrah
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:
I thought this would be The Onion.
But, it’s not.
Uh huh
Uh huh
schrodingers_cat
@Major Major Major Major: I have got a better one. Its all Banon’s plan so that Middle America will turn against us. Immigration ban is just a distraction.
Major Major Major Major
@schrodingers_cat: they’re going to cancel the elections anyway.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@bemused:
It’s what they’re relearning. This is akin to what Dean started with the 50-state stragety. Obama’s two campaigns did something similar albeit within the campaign structure and not the wider party structure.
But yeah, this is what we need to be doing.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
Betty Cracker
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: Good for Schwarzenegger. After Trump skewered him for bad ratings after AS premiered on the show (I still can’t believe I’m tying this fucking sentence!), Schwarzenegger offered a pretty good olive branch that invoked the “better angels of our nature.” Someone who isn’t a raging narcissist (i.e., someone other than Trump) would have taken that olive branch and moved on. But the bloated ego currently occupying the Oval Office isn’t capable of that.
JordanRules
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: Arnold also responded directly via IG. He suggested a job swap. Someone should poll that!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQA2jkdgmSz/?hl=en
Shalimar
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: The video is even better than the statement. As bad as Arnold was as governor of California, he would still be infinitely better than Trump or Pence or Ryan as our president for the next 4 years.
Raven Onthill
Is our Democrats learning?
Sure hope so. For me, the bottom line in all the recriminations over the near-total Democratic defeat in most states is that the party lost touch with the voters and so lost power. Maybe the leadership has figured this out.
D58826
(sigh) No good deed goes unpunished. Obama set up a program to help vets get gov’t jobs. GOP screwed them with sequester. Result – 2/3rds of vets voted for Trump who now has imposed a hiring freeze that will disproportionately affect vets.
elections have consequences.
https://newrepublic.com/article/140357/donald-trump-no-friend-veterans
Yarrow
They listened to Kay! Good job, Kay!
schrodingers_cat
@Major Major Major Major: Do you really believe that, or is that snark.
Major Major Major Major
@D58826: vets would’ve voted for Trump overwhelmingly anyway, even if Obama had made it rain cookies. For most of them it’s tribal. Like the people of Elkhart, they think they succeed in spite of democrats, not because of their programs.
Humboldtblue
It’s a good move. I have a large family and while we are all pretty politically literate and reliable we were never activists. But I have some absurdly awesome sisters, extraordinary women, and now they are going non-stop with the phone calls, the emails, the networking, hell, I even tried to talk one of my sisters into running for local office. As long as the GOP continues to wave the yooge fuck you finger to the American people the fuel for this rise in action will continue.
Shalimar
@Betty Cracker: He even rambles on about his massive election mandate when he talks with foreign leaders. I wish just one of them would answer his ego-tripping bullshit by saying “you lost the popular vote, and you’re the most unpopular incoming president in the history of your country, including Lincoln, whose election caused half of your states to secede.”
Iowa Old Lady
Arnold’s tweet this morning:
A Ghost to Most
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:
Looks like Gorsuch just got a middle name:
Neil Fascism Forever Gorsuch.
GregB
Trump and Trumpists: Obama is the worst and most incompetent President ever.
But, but, but we used Obama’s plans to enact the Yemen raid.
Timurid
So Trump was apparently blackout drunk when he showed up to this prayer breakfast thing.
I’m going with that, as it’s the least scary explanation…
Iowa Old Lady
The buck stops at the President’s desk. Period. That he refuses to accept that is a bad sign.
But we knew that.
Major Major Major Major
@schrodingers_cat: snark, like what you said and I said originally. Snark and comment replies are like prions and protein, anything they touch becomes snark too.
Yarrow
@GregB: Saw a debate last night by national security types on Twitter over who was responsible. Although they agree much of the plans were Obama’s the whole “buck stops here” thing is pretty strong with them and ultimately Trump could have vetoed the raid, despite what the intelligence and military people presented him. One of them used the phrase “Obama pocket vetoed” the raid, by not going ahead with it while president. The fact that Trump chose to go ahead with it is on him.
Wingnut media may claim it’s Obama’s raid but the national security folks seem to have a different view.
Turgidson
@Shalimar:
Arnold was indeed a shitty governor, but he’s inestimably better than ANY Republican who could be competitive in that party’s primary. He’s not a Flat Earther. That right there makes him better.
Timurid
@A Ghost to Most: On one hand, that is dirty pool. We’d all hate to be held accountable for what we did as stupid teenagers. On the other hand, he accepted a stolen seat. If you’re going to be an accessory to grand theft, you’d better be ready for some cheap shots.
mick mcDick
the past week i have donated 100 each to ProPublica, ACLU, and now DCCC.
freedom’s just another word for get the check book out.
hovercraft
@Major Major Major Major:
Isn’t it funny that when our side is protesting, the right and the media accuse us of having a tantrum and or being sore losers, but when the tea party jackoffs were out in the streets on their government scooters, they were the voice of the people, whose voices needed to be listened to?
It’s getting to them, even the media is beginning to notice, keep it up.
Yarrow
@Timurid: He wasn’t just some member of the “Fascism Forever” club. He was the Founder and President. The article also frames it this way:
Okay, then.
Teddy's Person
@Timurid: What needs to happen now is for Dems to present evidence that his worldview hasn’t changed a lick.
satby
@Timurid: I think a lot of our world view and outlook developes during those years. I wouldn’t have it blackball him from a regular job in a lot of fields, but it should disqualify him as a SCOTUS nominee.
hovercraft
@D58826:
I’m sorry* to say I have no FUCKING SYMPATHY for them, they were warned, they were told, so fuck them. They thought what, that they were exempt from his bullshit because they are vets, because he said he loves the vets? He lies all the fucking time and they chose to believe him, so when they are out of jobs, the VA is privatized and the safety net is shredded, I hope they appreciate the MAGA commander in chief they elected.
This shit is too fast and too dangerous, I’m in take no prisoner mode, lets help the innocent who did nothing to deserve this shit, the rest who did, can go fuck themselves.
*So in the end I’m actually not sorry.
satby
And the Standing Rock Sioux are planning a march in DC on 3/10/17.
They’re going to need allies to turn out too.
mai naem mobile
Ahnuld wants to switch jobs with Dolt 45. Sounds excellent to me. Change the fucking constitution already and let furriners be president. Please. Even Ahnuld.
The Moar You Know
@Timurid: It’s not dirty pool. I could have easily gone to jail in my teens, really truly, but even then I never would have done something so stupid as to put something like that in writing, much less in my high school yearbook.
O. Felix Culpa
More evidence that grassroots pushback does work. Both conservation and sportsmen’s group’s raised an outcry:
GOP lawmaker withdraws bill to sell federal land.
(Link to The Hill)
JordanRules
@satby:
Yeah, agreed. He could’ve also strongly disavowed it when he got older and proceeded with a legal career that would help lend him credibility on that front.
Peale
@Yarrow: And my guess is that the reason he “pocket vetoed” the raid was that if things went wrong, he didn’t want a shitstorm globally during a transition. I doubt he left a little land mine for Trump to fall on.
geg6
@hovercraft:
That’s exactly where I am. Fuck ’em. This is what they wanted. Now they’re gonna get it. Good and hard. It’s the only thing that makes me feel better these days.
amk
LOL.
Major Major Major Major
@hovercraft: and how we lap it up and repeat it about ourselves? Hilarious.
You know, this Fascism Forever Club thing reminds me of somebody I knew in high school through the fencing community. Smart guy, young Republican type, who literally had a club named HUAC club and liked to make ‘malaise’ jokes. (I am 31, to give you an idea of when this would have been.) He was the type of person who was probably bullied, so he was above all the “suck it, libtard!” explicit reflexive and literal hippie-punching. But he wasn’t the type of person who was actually particularly interesting. I don’t know that he had hobbies outside of fencing or friends to speak of. He was so desperate for quirks that he invented affectations, for example a fondness for trombones even though you could tell he didn’t actually care. I think his HUAC Club nonsense was another manifestation. We weren’t exactly raised under the specter of the red death. He was just kind of a dick, but a sad, lonely dick who did stupid shit for attention just like any other person in that situation, but his attention-seeking took that form in particular. He is exactly the sort of person who would think an ironic (*wink wink*) Fascism Forever Club was hilarious.
Humboldtblue
@Turgidson:
And he at least considers the environment and health care as key and important issues and addressed while he was in Sacramento.
Teddy's Person
I’m a long time lurker/occasional commenter trying to transition into a semi-regular commenter since the start of the reign of Drumphf, but every single comment (from the same computer using the same nym) goes into moderation. I’m finding it hard to be part of the conversation when I’m on a time delay. If any PTB read this, please help. Thanks!
SatanicPanic
@Juice Box: That guy is toast and he knows it. At least in San Diego county Democrats are going to be showing up at the polls next time.
Shalimar
@Yarrow: The article makes no mention of any other members of the Fascism Forever club, and Gorsuch was at Georgetown Preparatory because mommy was in Washington trying to destroy the EPA from within. I assume young Gorsuch was an asshole, but this sounds more like trying to embarrass the parents and make waves than anything else.
Betty Cracker
@hovercraft: I feel the same way about the reversal of the order that would have kept coal companies from dumping toxins in streams, the loss of black lung benefits due to ACA repeal, etc. In WV specifically, I’m sorry non-lunatics like Cole and friends will be affected; they have my sympathy. But the shitheads in WV who voted for Trump? They can collapse in an acidic gutter and choke to death while horking up a diseased lung for all I care.
Humboldtblue
@Peale:
Obama would have never trifled with lives like that. This has all the hallmarks of Trump and his team’s bluster — Obama was too much of a pussy to go after these bastards, let’s who ’em what REAL MEN DO!
amk
@hovercraft: before the elections, army times released an internal poll where nearly 3/4 of serving vets said they would for this shithead. but then they have voted mainly for rethugs who constantly undermine their interest.
Peale
@O. Felix Culpa: That’s actually one of the reasons I think we need some dem to bite the big one and work with Republicans on the Wall to End All Walls. There are reasons why there are gaps in the last wall. In several places the wall will be unpopular, and not just with “open border” activists and easily ignored Latinos. Write the law. Declare that construction will start in May 2018 in Texas and fill the law with a bunch of stuff that declares the federal government has eminent domain during the construction period over every spot within 50 miles of the border, and can build roads to support the construction anywhere it wants. Then sit back and watch what happens.
D58826
@satby: Since his judicial decisions seem to fall in line with his youthful writings, then I say they are relevant.
Jeffro
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I’m already signed up to help Rep Comstock’s district Swing Left…come on NoVA peeps, let’s do this! She’s a grinning, lying, little weasel of the first order (no, not THAT First Order, but close)
Yarrow
@Shalimar: Yeah, it’s hard to say from that one article. I guess we’d have to see school newspapers from that time and peruse the yearbook to see if other people had the Fascism Forever club listed in their activities.
Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]
@Major Major Major Major:
I didn’t know you went to high school with Mathew Dowd, my condolences.
jackmac
Here’s a cowardly and unaccountable Republican congressman in Chicago’s western suburbs that needs to lose his seat.
Gin & Tonic
I know there’s not a lot of love for CNN here, but I just read that they’re expanding their investigative unit and have hired Simon Ostrovsky, who is a native Russian and did excellent work covering Ukraine in 2014 for Vice. He’s a great reporter and really knows his stuff.
SiubhanDuinne
@Shalimar:
I love that he doesn’t even give him the easy courtesy of a title.
“Hey, Donald!”
jackmac
Aides to Rep. Peter Roskam, a Republican from Chicago’s western suburbs, cancelled a meeting with constituents on Roskam’s positions on Affordable Care Act repeal and replacement. Why? A reporter showed up with the group.
Coward.
Yarrow
@Gin & Tonic: Good for them. They’re being cut out of “access journalism” by the Trump administration. Actual investigative journalism seems to be the in thing right now.
bemused
Is president FUBAR unraveling? Very difficult to say considering who he is but he seems even more unhinged in this last week…or not. Clearly, if Jared and Ivanka are trying to lessen the damage, they aren’t making a dent.
low-tech cyclist
First sensible thing any of the Dem committees have done since Rahm forced Howard Dean out of the DNC.
Yeah, I’ll have to toss the DCCC a few shekels.
randy khan
@David Canadian Anchor Baby Koch:
Ahnold is not amused by Trump.
Jeffro
@jackmac:
They’re all doing this…skipping out on town halls, leaving their phones off the hook, and so on. It’s great: what more could you ask for to help us build momentum? And can I just add, this is ONLY TWO WEEKS into the Trumpov presidency? We’re going to ramp up on these bastards even harder, across 18 solid months!!
Turgidson
@bemused: rumor is that Bannon saves his really heinous shit for Saturday’s because Jared and Ivanka are observing the Sabbath and not around to object.
A Ghost to Most
@D58826:
this. Let him repudiate it. Or not.
/and yes, fuck LBJ
Mary G
@Yarrow: That was the first thing I thought. Somebody finally listened to our Kay! Go Kay!
zhena gogolia
@Jeffro:
A Republican jerk defeated our wonderful Democratic state senator, running on a “I’ll lower all your taxes” platform. Then the first thing he did was co-sponsor an anti-abortion measure. He was shocked to find hundreds of women appearing at his town halls to ask him pointed questions. He took down the town-hall announcements from his website, but people already knew about them so showed up at the second one; then he cancelled the third one.
hovercraft
@Betty Cracker:
I hear you on WV, and I actually am sorry for you non insane people in Florida, who will be the first to suffer from the affects of global warming but keep voting for shits like Batboy, Lil Marco and the Shitgibbon. Sympathy these days must be reserved for the worthy. This election has had the effect of turning many of us bleeding heart liberals who are supposed to be all for doing things for the common good, and helping even those who don’t agree with us, into fuck you, you’re on your own motherfucker if you voted for this. There is only so much one can do for those who won’t help themselves.
randy khan
@Peale:
I think that’s probably right – he figured that the time would pass when the plan would be high on the list of things to do, and Trump would never see it. But instead it got presented to Trump, who likely didn’t understand the risks, and so he approved it.
One other point: Trump probably doesn’t mind the collateral damage at all, including the 8 year old, and probably also including the SEAL.
jl
@Juice Box: I didn’t know he had such trouble winning. I’ll remember that for the midterms.
So, I heard the Trump try to calm the population by reassuring us about his tough phone calls. Fool.
I don’t care about tough phone calls. I care about lunatic phone calls.
Re the Australia flap, I wonder if the major news media will note that the WH was supposedly on board with accepting the refugees from Australia as of Jan 29 (at which time I believe that fool was already president). Then the goof gets on the phone with the Australian PM and all hell breaks loose. Trump sends out lying and dishonest tweets claiming he didn’t know about the deal.
President is tough, fine. President is lying lunatic swindler, not fine.
Gin & Tonic
The sanctions that Obama imposed in December on dealings with Russia’s FSB have been removed.
Quid pro quo.
bemused
@Turgidson:
Would not surprise me, the shifty, double-dealing dirtbag that he is.
Hungry Joe
Arnold was a bad governor in the sense that, well, I disagreed with most of his policy decisions. He was, however, competent. Not by much, but still.
I really, REALLY like the idea of “nearest swing district”: We find out what swing district is nearest to us, then flood the zone. Mine is — HA! — Issa’s. I walked precincts for Applegate, his opponent, this time, but I didn’t do nearly enough. MARINE COLONEL Applegate has already announced that he’s running again in 2018. We’re going to hand Issa’s charred ass to him.
p.a.
2018 Senate 25D 8R, that’s tough. 2020 22R 11D (Sessions is 2020).
Here’s the age rundown of the whole Senate.
Depends must be in demand there.
Iowa Old Lady
@Gin & Tonic: Is that for real?
Yarrow
@Mary G: I know! And I haven’t seen her in this thread yet. Calling Kay! I hope she sees this. She should be pleased.
oklahomo
@Turgidson: Hitler used to do a lot of shit on Saturdays because the British MPs were usually out of London for the weekends.
Yarrow
@Gin & Tonic: Really? Wonder what McCain and Graham and Rubio have to say about that.
JordanRules
@Gin & Tonic: Traitors in our midst. Putin was like, cool I’ll just wait it out Barrack and a couple weeks after the hand-off, boom, it’s done.
This is all nuts.
Jeffro
@zhena gogolia:
That’ll play well across the next 18 months! Go women go!!!
Gin & Tonic
@Iowa Old Lady: Yes.
Yarrow
File this under not shocking news.
Gin & Tonic
@Iowa Old Lady: Actually, here’s the real order.
rikyrah
Trump’s VA nominee at odds with Trump over privatization
02/02/17 11:20 AM—UPDATED 02/02/17 11:34 AM
By Steve Benen
When it comes to choosing cabinet nominees, Donald Trump’s lineup has sent a plethora of nominees to the Senate. Some are odd, some are conventional, some are ridiculous, and a few are even qualified.
But of all the president’s selections, the one that’s hardest to explain was one of his final choices. Three weeks ago, Trump, with the rest of his cabinet nearly complete, tapped David Shulkin to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. There’s no doubt that Shulkin is qualified and committed to the VA’s core missions, and he’s practically a shoo-in for confirmation.
What’s notable about this, however, is that Trump spent a year and a half railing against the Obama administration’s treatment of veterans, but when it came time to pick a VA secretary, Trump picked the Obama administration’s undersecretary for health at the VA – making Shulkin the only top political appointee who’ll serve in both administrations.
Complicating matters further, Shulkin seems to have no use for one of Trump’s key ideas on veterans’ care. The Washington Post reported yesterday:
SgrAstar
@Gin & Tonic: Arkady Ostrovsky? The Orwell Prize winner?
jl
@Hungry Joe: Arnold as CA gub had some very strong points (climate change, health care reform) and a lot of very weak ones (many related to his allegiance to wrongheaded ‘run government like a business’ swindles). Fact that he won wrecked the reactionary CA GOP’s plan to win the recall and wreck CA government, and the CA GOP, a monstrous group of reactionary dimwit brutes, hated his guts for that, and fact that by their standards he is a dirty commie pinko. Maybe if Arnold had the guts to leave the party, he would have been more effective.
Gin & Tonic
@SgrAstar: Simon, not Arkady. Journalist, reporter.
sherparick
Trump and Co-President Bannon have apparently ordered a boycott of CNN. It will be interesting how the rest of the News Media respond to this because when the Obama administration singled out Fox News as “different” and essentially an arm of the Republican Party in 2009, they all came to Fox News defense. I would not hold my breadth waiting for Fox to join any united resistance with CNN and Reuters. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-obamas-feud-with-fox-news/
tobie
@Gin & Tonic:
Gotta wonder if this will be his Achilles heel. He’s going to get everyone he wanted for his cabinet, so Dems now need to refocus their energy on questions like, “What did Trump know, and when did he know it” with respect to Russian interference in the election. Older white voters may be filled with rancid hate for every group in the Democratic coalition and even the Democratic party but they came of age in the Cold War and they are still uncomfortable with all things Russian. If this raises doubts amongst some of his supporters, it’s a good thing.
rikyrah
@Peale:
Oh my….that would be fun.
jl
@rikyrah: Besides being an all-purpose bigot and a ruthless con man, Trump is an ignorant fool who has no clue what he is doing or how anything works. So, not surprising.
Edit: But, looks like Shulkin is a rare bit of good news. If he can slow the wrecking crew, it will be a good thing, as long as he can last in that ship of fools that is now the executive branch.
JMG
Foreign relations expert say the sanctions move was a more-or-less routine tinkering, cash value maybe $5K. I do note that Iran basically laughed at Trump-Flynn messages. They know Putin’s got their back.
MazeDancer
@Gin & Tonic:
That insanity is tied for most impossible to bear news with the reality that Trump killed a Navy Seal because he wanted to get a headline about his being able to accomplish a raid Mr. Obama wouldn’t do.
Those two things are weighing so heavily, it’s hard to even care about the Cabinet.
Bannon is determined to start a war and give the world to Putin. Can he be stopped? If the GOP don’t care, it’s hard to see how.
Yes, Chaffetz backed off selling parks for profits because of protests, but will GOP be able to stop salivating over destroying Medicare long enough to stop Bannon and Putin?
hedgehog the occasional commenter
Very pleased to see CO-6 on the list. I may need to reconsider donating to the DCCC. (About a month ago I lost my temper with some poor DSCC (Senate campaign) staffer who called for a donation; I told her they were useless and to take my name off their call list, NOW.)
guachi
Major problem for regaining the House in 2018 is that even with the Democrats losing the popular vote by .8% nationwide they only have 44.6% of the seats.
Using the 2016 results, getting to even nets the Dems 3 seats. Even boosting the Democratic percentage by 5 only nets them 13 seats, still not a majority.
The Democrats would need a 7% swing to get the 24 seats needed for a majority. Not impossible, but very hard.
Major Major Major Major
CNN is interviewing Milo about last night’s protests, so, great job silencing him, rioters!
p.a.
@JMG:
Really? Hasn’t Persia/Iran always rightly been suspicious of Russian aims there? Of course the enemy of my enemy etc…
rikyrah
Why Trump’s National Prayer Breakfast speech matters
02/02/17 12:45 PM
By Steve Benen
Every year during Barack Obama’s presidency, the Democrat would make an appearance at the National Prayer Breakfast, where he’d deliver pensive, thought-provoking remarks about the depths of his Christian faith. And nearly every year, conservatives would express their outrage over the ideas the president challenged them to consider.
Donald Trump is clearly a very different kind of president, and his remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast captured an almost unrecognizable perspective.
For example, the Republican thought it’d be wise to reflect on his NBC reality show. “[W]e had tremendous success on ‘The Apprentice,’” Trump said, adding, “And they hired a big, big movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to take my place. And we know how that turned out. The ratings went down the tubes. It’s been a total disaster and Mark will never, ever bet against Trump again. And I want to just pray for Arnold if we can, for those ratings, OK?”
Yes, the president used the National Prayer Breakfast to talk about television ratings for a reality show – which he remains the executive producer of – because everything at all times is about him and his career.
Trump went on to use inspirational rhetoric such as, “The world is in trouble, but we’re going to straighten it out. OK? That’s what I do. I fix things. We’re going to straighten it out. Believe me. When you hear about the tough phone calls I’m having, don’t worry about it. Just don’t worry about it.”
But there was a substantive element of the speech that probably mattered more than Trump’s embarrassing boasts:
SiubhanDuinne
Question for the Juicetariat:
Let’s assume that well before the end of his first term, Republican President* leaves office (Amendment XXV/4, impeachment, heart attack, gets bored and walks away, doesn’t matter), meaning Pence becomes POTUS.
In a normal change of administrations, as we know, all political appointees — Cabinet officers, some Ambassadors, staffers in a wide range of posts — submit their resignations. Sometimes they stay on for a while, occasionally they are formally reappointed, mostly they depart for greener and more lucrative pastures.
But what happens when a president leaves midterm? Pence would bring his own staff, I’m sure (goodbye, Bannon? goodbye, Kellyanne?) but is he obliged or expected to hang on to his predecessor’s Cabinet secretaries for the duration of the term?
Major Major Major Major
@p.a.: aren’t they allies in Syria?
The Other Bob
If Reps and Senator cancel all their townhalls and avoid their offices it is time to take the protests to the front of their houses.
JordanRules
@Major Major Major Major: Wish CNN wouldn’t interview him. Yemen op and FSB sanction changes should probably be given more air time.
Major Major Major Major
@The Other Bob: Family is off-limits, and that’s where their families live.
A Ghost to Most
Matthew McConaughey says it’s time to embrace T.coli
fuck Matthew McConaughey
p.a.
@Major Major Major Major: I honestly don’t know wtf is up in Syria. I think the militias spin a wheel every week and reformulate alliances. But working together in Syria is different from getting Russian support at home. Diplomatic support sure, but advanced weapons etc usually means trainers, technicians, support personnel etc and I’m sure Iran doesn’t want that.
Major Major Major Major
@A Ghost to Most: Spoken like a rich famous straight white man.
Steve in the ATL
@A Ghost to Most: fortunately, I’m not in the habit of taking political advice from celebrities. And as dumb as this is, it’s still better than what Susan Sarandon said.
Turgidson
@MazeDancer:
And that’s great and all. But Chaffetz is an awful grease stain of a person, so I’d be willing to bet cash money that this abominable idea reemerges as a rider to some must-pass appropriations bill or something, when he thinks people aren’t paying attention to this anymore.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@A Ghost to Most: Matthew is ignoring the very first thing was declare whole segements of American society not wanted for having the wrong skin color, genitilla, education level, sexuality, religion and hobbies. Not to mention as a Hellywood actor McConaughey is on the enemy’s list too.
SFAW
@Timurid:
Unless he picked that name to be ironic, and was anti-fascist etc. — which seems unlikely, given the “flavor” of his various rulings — then he doesn’t get any slack. He’s old enough that Fascism (in the form of Nazis) was still fresh enough in everyone’s mind that there were certain things you didn’t do.
People make mistakes, especially when young, but most non-congenital-assholes know there are certain lines you don’t cross. If he had started “Child Molesters Club” or “Torture Today, Tomorrow, and Forever!” would that have been a “youthful indiscretion” for which he deserves a break? If he and his pals had strolled down the streets of Jewish neighborhoods yelling “Juden ‘raus!,” would that have been an “unfortunate event” but nothing more? (And I’m not talking about free speech issues.)
Roger Moore
@GregB:
Yeah, the plan Obama refused to implement because the intelligence wasn’t good enough. Maybe he had better judgment than they’re willing to recognize.
A Ghost to Most
@Steve in the ATL:agreed, but there’s two sides now. Pick one.
I do not intend to cooperate with fascists, and I think everyone who does deserves to be called out on it.
Kumbaya is fucking history.
Turgidson
@tobie:
You’d think so. But polling quite clearly shows that a massive chunk of GOP voters’ estimation of Putin jumped considerably once Hair Furor started talking nice about him and comparing him favorably to the Kenyan Usurper. It’s clear that some of the old guard GOP politicos and elected officials are resisting the Putin love (albeit very meekly so as not to get Hair Furor pissed off at them), but GOP base voters at this point are so far gone, so drunk on hatred of all things liberal, brown, Democratic, etc., that they consider a Democratic president (or, starting in 2019, any Democrat who treasonously dares to even challenge Hair Furor for reelection) of their own country a bigger enemy than a Russian autocrat. They’ll believe whatever Trump and Bannon tell them to.
Citizen Alan
@SiubhanDuinne:
Iirc, the basis for Andrew Johnson’s impeachment proceedings was his decision to fire all of Lincoln’s cabinet members despite a law passed by The Radical Republicans forbidding him from doing so. The impeachment effort failed, and the law was subsequently held unconstitutional. So I assume that precedent would allow president Pence to fire Trump’s cabal if you choose to do so
Yarrow
Of course they did.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@SiubhanDuinne:
VPs typically keep the previous cabinets. Peance seems to have his head together more than Trump/Bannon so I would expect Peance to slowly replace everyone from Trump with TRUE Christians(as in white, male, Republicans, you know, just like Jesus) So a swing towards full on Godbothering 24/7.
MazeDancer
@Turgidson:
No question, Chaffetz will find another way to do something sleazy and horrible about destroying the parks.
The picture he posted from his Instagram feed about taking away his terrible bill was another moment in “Animals Always Know”. That poor dog looked like it suffers mightily.
SFAW
@tobie:
You’re kidding, right? They showed, not three months ago, that all that stuff takes a back seat to gettin’ their hate on against them darkies (and others). Russian interference was known, to a great-enough extent that the voters you discuss had plenty of opportunity to do something about it on 11/8. Seems they didn’t “do something about it on 11/8,” after all.
Woodrow/asim
@SiubhanDuinne:
I believe, and Wikipedia confirms, that the last time this happened — Ford — most of the Cabinet stayed, at least for a year or two.
So, I’d say yes — and I’d expect many of Trump’s Cabinet would stay under Pence.
Major Major Major Major
@Yarrow: He’s already light-years beyond Nixon, but I’m still amazed by how many Nixonian parallels there are.
@MazeDancer: I love how his reasons for scrapping the park-selling bill were, in order: I’m a gun owner; I’m a hunter; and then, only last, I’m a lover of public lands.
schrodingers_cat
@A Ghost to Most: He did always seem like a douche bag.
D58826
ot – Treasury just announced some easing of the sanctions on the FSB (new name of KGB). Twitter consensus is it is a minor technical change but has terrible optics.
I’m sure the GOP would be in full meltdown if Obama had made these adjustments to the original set of sanctions.
https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/827216820205522944
SiubhanDuinne
@Citizen Alan:
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
@Woodrow/asim:
Thanks!
Gin & Tonic
@D58826: The fact that it was public in Moscow before D.C. is more than “optics.”
NeenerNeener
@Roger Moore: Was Yemen supposed to be Twitler’s “got Bin Laden” moment? He’s trying to outdo Obama, and not succeeding. Wasn’t the announcement that we got Bin Laden on the same day that Obama slapped Trump around for birtherism nonsense at the correspondent’s dinner?
catclub
@D58826: @Yarrow:
one message on vets not getting hired – the government freeze on hiring. next message on Democrats hiring organizers.
Maybe they will hire veterans!
Timurid
@SFAW:
I do have a big problem with Gorsuch, but it’s not that.
The problem is that he’s a thief.
chopper
@rikyrah:
and of course now it’s fuckin’ crickets. gornisht.
catclub
@NeenerNeener:
No. The raid was happening while the slapping around was taking place. The announcement was later.
Major Major Major Major
@NeenerNeener: It was probably supposed to be his Somali pirates moment.
Doug R
@mai naem mobile: I don’t have much of a problem with Naturlized citizens running for president. Of course, that means Ted “Calgary” Cruz would qualify.
Cacti
@NeenerNeener:
I’m guessing something like that.
Instead, Obama got bin Laden and Trump got an 8-year old girl.
catclub
@Timurid: Thief at least. The Democrats are not bothering to say that Trump – given that the majority did not vote for him, and that his EC margin was small – should govern like a moderate – and name a consensus SC judge.
They don’t even bother to do that.
D58826
@Gin & Tonic: True but from what the experts are saying it has Little real impact on the actual sanctions. Since reading the actual documents is much like pouring bleach in your eyes I’ll have to defer to the experts. OTOH it probably is the camels nose for later more significant easing of the sanctions.
But it is better for das Fuhrer to be yelling at the Aussies than talking about the renewed fighting in Ukraine.
Jeffro
@A Ghost to Most: Seconded. Fuck that and fuck him. We’d owe it to the majority that voted for HRC to oppose any Republican president (particularly when it comes to Garland’s seat being “filled) but Trump is a danger to the republic and the world.
Turgidson
@D58826:
You can finish that sentence with just about anything you want, and it would be true. And they will barely raise a peep at anything Trump does unless it calls for a tax hike on the rich.
Brachiator
@Major Major Major Major:
The difference is that the Republicans have learned how to stand by their man.
Josie
@Teddy’s Person: It may be due to the apostrophe in your nym. I seem to remember a few others having to remove the apostrophe in order to be acceptable to FYWP.
Timurid
Anyone remember the Edmund Muskie crying incident? That ended a career.
Trump is now having a meltdown worse than that a least once a day. But THIS IS FINE.
SFAW
@Timurid:
By “thief,” I assume you mean “of Garland’s seat.”
Yeah, whatever. Your garden-variety Rethug — whether elected, or a constituent — doesn’t give a shit about that.
What the constituents might give a shit about is putting a fascist-lover on SCOTUS. What elected Rethugs might give a shit about is the “optics” of confirming a fascist-lover, or if their constituents register their displeasure about it.
Of course, 11/8 showed that they’re probably all OK with all of that. I mean, it’s not as if Gorsuch dressed up as Hitler on camera, so what’s the BFD, libtards?
I dearly wish those motherfuckers were not so much in love with Cleek’s Law.
Corner Stone
I am just glad that Trump finally came to his senses and honored the Constitution by fully divesting himself from his businesses.
Roger Moore
@Turgidson:
If he were really smart, he’d do it just after sundown on Friday, since that would give him a full 24 hours lead time. It would also get it into the worst news deadzone.
D58826
also OT
http://prospect.org/article/republican-governors-trickle-downers-week
But the rubes still vote for them (sigh)
Yarrow
@Major Major Major Major:
Thought you’d appreciate this.
Major Major Major Major
@D58826: of course they do. Everybody Knows™ the only legitimate way of expressing economic anxiety is voting for republicans, the poor dears.
D58826
@Turgidson: True. By the way how many Congressional committee hearing are scheduled to investigate the raid in Yemen? what I can’t hear your answer – the crickets are just so loud.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Yarrow:
Isn’t that illegal?
Teddys Person
@Josie: Thank you. Testing your theory.
Yarrow
@Corner Stone: Hey there. How you holding up with the Tamron Hall news?
Roger Moore
@jl:
I don’t think it was lack of guts; it was that he felt as if he was more of a Republican than a Democrat. He was on the centrist edge of Republican thought, but he was more of a Republican than a Democrat. Of course he actually seems to believe in good government, if a smaller government than Democrats want, which puts him at odds with the “all government is evil” faction that dominates the party.
Humboldtblue
@Major Major Major Major:
Exactly. I just had a comments section set-to with a self described liberal who switched to Trump because … and he had no answers when I asked him if he supported open bigotry against gays and lesbians, the selling of our natural resources to the highest bidder or the fact that he voted for a man bought and paid for by the Russians or that he has already pissed off all of our closest allies.
I was accused of being rude.
Of course I was rude, fuck it’s me, what the fuck did he expect?
eclare
@Roger Moore: Wasn’t that when the Muslim ban was signed, late on Friday?
chopper
@Cacti:
and you just know that if the yemen raid had gone off even slightly well, drumpf would have interrupted prime time TV to brag about what a yuge operation it was.
Roger Moore
@guachi:
That’s assuming a uniform nationwide swing. They can get there without a huge swing if they target specific seats and push really hard there.
Brachiator
@tobie:
Of course, Russian ain’t the same thing as “Soviet.”
Putin’s ambitions to revive the Russian empire is not the same thing as the “we will bury you” ideological mission of the Communists.
Corner Stone
@Yarrow: I fee like I am waking up again on Nov 9, 2016. It can’t be real, can it? IT CAN’T BE REAL!
ETA I was going to change that typo to “I feel” but I think it is more appropriate this way.
hovercraft
@NeenerNeener: Obama’s still winning, Wah !!!!
Approval ratings, Bin Laden still dead, he even got fucking pirates, who even knew there were still fucking pirates other than Johnny Depp out there, in 2009 FFS ! I have people protesting all over the place every time I fucking do anything, and even my favorite medium abandoned me to freak out about his backwards hat, Twitter is MINE Dammit !! Why doesn’t anyone cool want to hang out with me, it’s not fair I’m the most powerful man in the world, and still Branson won’t take my calls, and Silicon Valley is shitting all over me.
WAH :-(
Corner Stone
I feel like NBC is taking on Trump’s attitude re: regulations. They add one white woman and take away two black people.
Peale
@Humboldtblue: “He’s to the left of the Democrats on Trade and Taking on the Banks!” Of course, his solution to the trade imbalance is to punish Meixco for somehow cheating and he’s signed on against the banks because they won’t lend him money because he doesn’t pay his debts. But he’s really with you! He’s really a stealth Democrat.
Major Major Major Major
@Roger Moore: Alain says Bannon goes to sleep around 8pm and gets up around 2am, so that might not be feasible long-term. Also, wtf, who does that? Is Bannon just that drunk by 8pm every day?
Corner Stone
@Yarrow:
What news? There’s no news. There.Is.No.News.
I’m fine. Fine. This is fine.
D58826
@Humboldtblue: My conservative sister has been swooning over their new pastor and his husband but still voted for das Fuhrer. She doesn’t seem to see the contradiction. in spite of having a masters degree.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Shalimar: Yes, at lest Arnold had the decency to limit his failures to failed policies. It’s really hard to picture Arnold screaming at an ally like Master Negotiator did.
Ohio Mom
@Teddy’s Person: is it the apostraphe? I seem so remember some other commenters with apostrophes in their names having issues with comments not appearing.
Yarrow
@Corner Stone: So sorry for you. Mary G sends her best too. We both thought of you when we heard the news. I’m glad you are holding up under such terrible circumstances. I hope she finds another home on TV soon.
Roger Moore
@SiubhanDuinne:
Not at all. Political appointees serve at the pleasure of the President. He can ask for their resignations at any time for any reason or no reason. He may face serious political fallout if his reasons are obviously suspect (e.g. Saturday Night Massacre), but “I want to appoint my own guy for the post rather than the previous President’s guy” is a perfectly valid reason to replace them. In normal practice, they would probably be asked to stay on during the appointment/approval process so the office wouldn’t stay vacant, but even that is just a convenience so the office doesn’t stay empty for too long.
How much this would apply to Pence replacing Trump is another question. There’s reason to suspect Pence was heavily involved in Trump’s appointments, at least for most of the domestic policy positions, so he probably wouldn’t be inclined to replace them.
Mnemosyne
@Teddy’s Person:
WordPress hates apostrophes. You need to remove the apostrophe from your nym.
Trust me, as a former copy editor, I feel your pain about that.
dogwood
@Doug R:
Cruz is not a naturalized citizen.
Roger Moore
@MazeDancer:
I think it’s much less about the Parks- Utah is justifiably proud of its National Parks, and they’re very important to the economy in large parts of the state*- and more about the rest of the federal land. It’s basically a huge land grab for places like the National Forests and BLM grazing land. I’m pretty sure they’d love to privatize a lot of the archaeological sites so pot hunters could loot them for the irreplaceable archaeological relics, also, too.
*Besides, they’re mostly pretty worthless for anything much besides recreation. Parks have a strong tendency to have been set up in places where nobody could find any worthwhile resources to exploit. Canyonlands in Utah is the ultimate example of this. It only became a recreational area after it was prospected for Uranium; it turned out not to have any, but the prospecting routes turned out to be great for off-road driving and mountain biking.
Apost''fe
This is a test of putting two apostrophes in a nym.
Teddys Person
Thanks to all about the apostrophe. Since I recently read a comment here that the first comment with a new nym automatically goes to moderation, this is my second test comment sans the offending punctuation.
Brachiator
@Humboldtblue:
But, but, jobs!
A solid core of Americans are happy as pigs in slop with Trump, and don’t really see a need to justify their faith in him.
Roger Moore
@Major Major Major Major:
Somebody who knows he may need to intervene when his
bosssockpuppet starts tweeting around that time. ETA: Or maybe he’s just trying to stay on Moscow time.Teddys Person
Success! Balloon Juice is about to experience all the best comments. Trust me, I’m like a smart person.
Mnemosyne
@Brachiator:
One of G’s cousins seriously said, “But taxes!” on Facebook.
Now G wants Zuckerberg to add a “bitchslap” option. Or at least a “facepalm” one.
EBT
@Major Major Major Major: The people who hide behind human shields are the ones guilty of harming them.
SFAW
@Humboldtblue:
More-genteel rudeness, of course.
ETA: Alternately: you could say the HE is the one who’s ACTUALLY rude, for calling you rude. [Transitive Property applied from racism]
Hellbastard
Just donated $25 to the DCCC link and “adopted” Texas 23rd (stretches the southern border from El Paso to San Antonio).
Here’s a news report on our anti-Trump ally from Tuesday in Lubbock:
http://www.fox34.com/story/34395049/demonstrators-raise-their-voices-against-president-trumps-executive-order