The embattled administration’s talking points have been distributed, with two words underlined in gold Sharpie: MOVE FORWARD. First up, Mouth of Shitgibbon Kellyanne Conway on the Today show:
“That makes no sense.” @MLauer to @KellyannePolls while discussing Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn pic.twitter.com/94SaFlQJxo
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 14, 2017
Next up: GOP back-bencher Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) on CNN:
Rep. Chris Collins defends the Trump administration: "I don't believe anyone knew what Gen. Flynn was doing" https://t.co/ammvFP2TPa
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 14, 2017
The tweeted summaries don’t do either segment justice. Lauer points out that Team Shitgibbon was told Flynn was compromised more than a month ago, and yet Flynn was functioning as the highest level adviser right up until yesterday — that’s the part that “makes no sense.” And Conway can’t and doesn’t even attempt to explain it.
Collins’ response is even weirder: After the “hoocoodanode” response didn’t pass the laugh test, Collins asserts an aggressively ignorant “50 First Dates” approach to governance, wherein every day is a new day, and treason that happened last month is treason under the bridge, damn it, so why dwell on such unpleasantness?
Both remain implacably focused on the future — move along, citizens, nothing to see here! Both (but especially Conway) maintain a flat affect when responding to their questioners’ rising incredulity, wearing expressions reminiscent of psychologically traumatized kidnap victims forced to read a denunciation of their captor’s enemy on camera. In this case, the enemy is truth.
Team Shitgibbon had all night to cobble together a media strategy to contain the damage of the Flynn implosion. That this was the best they could do is telling. Popcorn futures will skyrocket at the opening bell, and I hope one particular woman in Chappaqua has an inexhaustible supply of gourmet kettle corn laid aside.
ETA: I am calling my elected officials today — yes, even Lil’ Marco — to urge them to support a comprehensive, independent investigation of the Trump administration’s ties to Russia. I encourage y’all to do the same.
ETA II: And David Brooks’ favorite sun-kissed Son of the Prairie weighs in, repeating the MOVE FORWARD mantra:
Republican Sen. John Thune says he doesn't know if Michael Flynn acted alone on Russia https://t.co/fkqii2si9P https://t.co/yEfM1PN9qC
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 14, 2017
Honest to dog, it’s like Rubio’s primary programmer installed a loop in their skulls! Spicer will probably seize up upon the 40th repetition and have to be tag-teamed by the Miller Ragebot.
Baud
George S.: “Why would the president send Kelly Ann Conway on our show if she can’t answer basic questions?”
(Paraphrase)
Frankensteinbeck
Trump does not admit he’s wrong. Narcissists don’t. Remember his walk back of birtherism? He wasn’t wrong, he was doing blacks a favor by investigating!
Patricia Kayden
Move forward with the Resistance. This is a corrupt administration which may end up collapsing under its own weight.
debbie
Bet this isn’t the job Kellyanne thought she was going to have.
Baud
@debbie: Unless she’s stupid, she couldn’t have expected anything else.
Frankensteinbeck
@debbie:
I think she assumed the press would buy any lie.
cmorenc
Finally, at least for the moment, the MSM seems to be doing its job of aggressively skeptical coverage of the Trump Administration, instead of the he-said-she-said and shiny object B.S. of the campaign. It would have been nice had this change in approach come along say, six months ago.
Baud
@cmorenc: Not possible. Nor will this stick when we have our next nominee.
Patricia Kayden
@debbie: She’s pretty good at it though. Lying comes easy to her. She smiles and bats her eyes and lies as if she’s telling a bedtime story. This ain’t her first rodeo.
Jeffro
They would have done better to put Flynn on a plane to Russia (possibly with said plane encountering “mechanical difficulties” somewhere over the Arctic…difficulties of a most difficult kind)
It just dawned on me while riding in to work this morning: they really have no way out here. I don’t mean just regarding Flynn…I mean, this thing is only going to get wider, there’s too much evidence and too many stakeholders want Trumpov gone for reasons both right and wrong.
I’m already anticipating my RWNJ dad and brother responding to my email victory lap last night with “yeah whatever, now you’ll get President Pence”. I’m not at all worried about that, and I don’t think it’ll happen anyway. Pence will have his own ‘what did Pence know, and when did he know it?’ issues as this thing drags and drags out. Bigger picture though is what will happen when Republicans start defecting in the face of a likely 2018 landslide. Some folks (I saw a few note this in an earlier thread) have already picked up that if the GOP doesn’t clean house, and in a hurry, then not only might Dems win the House (and all SORTS of oversight/impeachment power), but then Pelosi is in line to be president, not Ryan, when Trump & Pence are kicked out.
And the final reason there’s no way out here for the GOP: Trump is Trump. Who’s he likely to turn his fire on once Republicans start defecting (there’s that word again :) ? I think it’s highly likely that the long-anticipated GOP civil war kicks off very shortly, as some of the elected pols try to save their dwindling fortunes and the base goes apeshit with the establishment Rs “betraying” Trump.
So, what can we do? KEEP UP THE PRESSURE! It’s working! And be happy warriors, everyone! If it helps, just picture any of these unprincipled Randian goons watching their .01% dreams – the ones they were willing to sacrifice the country for – go up in a puff of smoke
El Caganer
@Frankensteinbeck: Given past behavior, not an unreasonable assumption.
JPL
Last Friday Trump said he had not heard about reports about Flynn. The WH knew for the last month.
Jeffro
@Frankensteinbeck: You beat me to it! Trump is Trump, therefore the GOP is screwed.
Kay
I have a little bit of a project. My youngest is in a band – he plays the guitar. The base player is a Trump supporter. They’re kids so you-all can’t hate him :)
He’s not at all a bad kid. He’s funny and he doesn’t have an easy life – his mother works “second” which is the absolute worst shift for kid-raising because you never see them. It started during the campaign when he asked me if I was a Clinton “supporter”. that’s a respectful way to put it so I took him seriously. It’s really been sort of fun. He asked me about the EO’s and what he’s really asking is whether courts have the authority to review executive or legislative actions. So I gave him Marbury v Madison which he looked up. I tease him- ask him when he’s “joining the resistance” and I feel like he’s wavering. This has turned into a challenge – i want him on the team :)
Jeffro
@Patricia Kayden: You beat me to it, too! Keep up the pressure!
GregB
I am surprised Kellyann Conway has the time to be a press flack for Trump. I assumed her job as a background actor on the set of The Waking Dead was full time.
As I said, she is the Portrait of Dorian Gray for this maladministration.
Also speaking of zombies, the entire Republican Party has been rendered into a state of lifeless compliance by the Shitgibbon.
Baud
@Kay:
After all these years, you still don’t know me at all.
Old Dan and Little Anne
The media got exactly what it wanted. Fuck them. They got tired of Benghazi and emails so they helped trump get elected for some fresh stories. Hurray.
PK
Karma!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFBAjhxjQ90
debbie
@Frankensteinbeck:
Yes, just like Trump assumed he’d be accorded total respect once he had taken the oath.
aimai
@Kay: I think you can get him. Kids, ultimately, want a lot of good stuff. They are easily fooled at first but when they apply themselves they can really focus and change their minds.
Kay
@Baud:
i give them the brutal truth- I think they play old songs that they have heard and they believe they wrote. This isn’t the era they listen to so my sense is they really don’t know they stole the whole opening guitar passage- I say “it’s fine but it’s The Police”.
Lit3Bolt
@Jeffro:
I agree with much of this.
Just want to add that this story is not just a national scandal. It’s an international one. It’s not just our IC community that has knives out for Trump.
Jeffro
By the way since there are some DBTs fans here, here’s a song made just for today (no, it’s not about Flynn…it’s a great sideways take on Valentine’s Day!)
Feb 14
=)
wuzzat
@Patricia Kayden: I don’t know… watching her with the sound off and her body language screams “trapped.”
debbie
@Baud:
I’m going with stupid. ;)
@Patricia Kayden:
I don’t think she’s good though. I mean, Bagdhad Bob always had an answer, but they were always silly answers.
JPL
@Old Dan and Little Anne: Hillary was careless.
Earlier I mentioned, that maybe Comey was compromised. Sally Yates was fired, but Comey stayed.
Eric S.
OT: I just boarded the Chicago Red Line at the Addison stop. In the station there was a table with 6 or so plain clothes cops and a sign that read “Security Check In Progress.” There were at least a dozen passengers passing through the station at the same time. All of us had some kind of bag or backpack. The cops were doing nothing but talking to each other until the African woman with dreads walked in behind me. She was immediately, “randomly” selected to have her bag inspected. Do I need to mention every other passenger was white? I didn’t think so.
MattF
I posted a link to Tango earlier– but it seems so appropriate to the Trump era that I’m reposting it. It’s a classic short film (vintage 1980) with what is known as a ‘temporally reciprocal structure’.
debbie
@Kay:
Whether you can turn him will depend on his parents. I know my dad had me supporting Nixon, but then I got a brain and we argued endlessly over Vietnam.
efgoldman
Betty your leadership, activism and enthusiasm is wonderful to behold, especially because you are represented (and governed, in Tallahassee) by a bunch of insane red-assed RWNJs.
But (sorry) I think in this particular case, you’re wasting your time. Neither Yertle McTurtle nor Granny Starver is going to allow actual hearings. They will bury any resolution the Dems offer. They won’t hold hearings, they won’t subpoena a single person or document, they won’t hear testimony – and they’ll croak it as much in secret as possible.
Eric S.
@Frankensteinbeck: with some evidence from observing their stenography in the past.
Jeffro
Btw here’s Bloody Bill Kristol’s take on l’affair Flynn:
Mike S.
“Move Forward”
Sounds familiar…
Isn’t that exactly what Obama said we should all do when confronted with the fact that Holder refused to prosecute bankers for the historically unprecedented fraud that birthed the financial crisis?
Don’t get me wrong, Trump is uniquely horrible and worse than BHO, but lets not pretend ‘move forward’ is a lame move pulled only by the Trump administration on a matter of great importance.
MattF
@Jeffro: I think, in fact, it means that Trump knew about Flynn’s conversation with the Russians and knew Flynn was lying about it..
AMinNC
I called both my GOP senators yesterday and asked for an independent commission to investigate ties between Trump Campaign/Administration and Russia. In their local offices I spoke with actual people, and they indicated they had been getting calls on this. I also paused for a moment and said to the staffers, “I know you are a Republican, but doesn’t this bother you? Don’t you think getting to the bottom of these multiple connections to a hostile foreign government is more important than backing up your Party? Shouldn’t Senator X be acting in our national interest? This is not normal.” In both cases there was a long pause, a heavy sigh, and a slow, flat response, yes Ma’am, I’ll make sure that the Senator hears your concerns.
If even staffers and true loyalists are being beaten down by the Russia connections, I think this should be vocally front and center every day for every Dem elected official, and Dem. Party spokesperson, and every regular citizen on their Facebook pages and in conversations with Republican friends and Relatives from now until upcoming special congressional elections, and through the midterms. We must tie the silence and misjudgment of the entire GOP Congress to this corrupt administration.
debit
@efgoldman:
Not Betty, but I’m just fine “wasting” my time in this manner. I am the original cynic and have posted before my doubts about any true change or justice. However, I refuse to just shrug and go on with business as usual. Push back, and keep pushing back, and if it truly doesn’t change anything at least there’s the satisfaction that I tried.
JPL
@efgoldman: Every Democratic member who is allowed on TV, needs to point out that the republicans are putting party before country. They need to preach it from the rooftops
if necessary.
What Debit said also.
JMG
@efgoldman: You think this is the last leak about Russia we’ll get? It was relatively easy to make Flynn too hot to hold. I have to assume there’s worse in reserve. Remember, Ryan as good as dropped Trump right after the Access Hollywood tape, then returned to the fold in time for the election. He’s not exactly a “I want him in my foxhole” guy.
Jeffro
Brooksie is hysterical today in the NYT (I don’t mean raving mad, I mean he’s making me laugh hysterically). After referencing several folks no one has heard of (ever) as models for how to resist Trump, he concludes with:
Yes, David, it was Baby Boomers that ‘lost touch with the voters and paved the way for Trump’, sure. Or perhaps ONE OF OUR TWO MAJOR PARTIES LOST ITS FUCKING MIND in its mad lust for power (primarily, the power to keep servicing the .01%)
Jesus, this guy. It’s not hard to resist, David, and you don’t need to cite some crazy-a$$ “Bonhoeffer” or “St. Benedict” as models. It’s called “Vote Democrat Until the GOP Comes To Its Senses”. It’s called “There Are Worse Things Than Letting Hillary Clinton Run a Moderately Progressive Administration”.
Baud
@Mike S.:
First, no. Obama’s move forward was about Bush and war crimes, not Wall Street.
Second, Obama didn’t try to use move forward as an excuse to avoid accountability for scandals in his own administration, as Trump is now doing.
Baud
@Jeffro: This.
Betty Cracker
@efgoldman: I’ll outsource my response to one of my favorite senators:
Weaselone
Ms. Conway and her ilk are just a chew toy for what little remains of a functional media.The strategy on Fox is apparently to never speak of this incident and the Breitbartosphere is playing this as a vicious liberal attack on a true Patriot.
SRW1
“Do you think it is important to know, Senator?”
Gin & Tonic
Interesting. I’m reading on the Twitter machine that Kim Jong Un’s brother has been killed (assassinated?) in Malaysia.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Jeffro:
I would throw “So you think it’s grand the president is a fraking traitor? Selling us out to the Russians has nothing to do with politics. What’s wrong with you all? Snap out of it!”
Just One More Canuck
betty at top:
“every day is a new day, and treason that happened last month is treason under the bridge, damn it, so why dwell on such unpleasantness”
“let’s not bicker and argue about ‘oo betrayed ‘oo – this is supposed to be a happy occasion”
MattF
@Gin & Tonic: Via WaPo:
Obviously an accident.
Gin & Tonic
@MattF: The only accident is that they were witnessed doing it.
amk
Remember all those Obama’s katrina moments?
But treason? No biggie.
Fun times.
hovercraft
@Baud:
Why is everyone so mean to us, we keep telling you words, and you have the audacity to want the words to make sense. This is so not fair, you’re making this whole governing thing so hard.
The answer to the question is that they think that they can gish gallop through anything.
Baud
@MattF: If he were armed, this never would have happened.
Gin & Tonic
@Baud: Yeah, it’s always good to be armed in an airport.
Jeffro
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: They’re hopeless, I’ve tried. Too much Fox News (dad) and Breitbart/Instapundit (bro). My dad thinks we are already some sort of socialist paradise, which I find just fascinating in an almost Matrix-y way.
debit
@hovercraft: Just watched the video at top and her gallop has slowed to a sad trot. Poor, poor Kelly Ann. If there is a hell, I hope her punishment is to swallow 45’s shit for eternity.
Baud
@Jeffro: We’re glad you escaped!
Jeffro
Btw I had great fun explaining to co-workers the new definition of a “Flynn unit” (24 days)…which led to discussion of a “Friedman unit” (6 months)
We are all praying for a “Trump unit” that’s somewhere in between those two standards ;)
mainmata
Liking the Miller Ragebot meme. If he sticks around that needs to be turned into a cartoon (not that he isn’t one already).
Baud
@Jeffro:
I hope the Trump unit = Tippecanoe unit.
hovercraft
@debbie:
She knew, just look at her comments about him when she was running Cruz’s superpac. She knowingly sold her soul, I’m so glad that the media seems to tired of her bullshit too.
Elizabelle
@debit: Swallow his … something.
Where’s our Walter picture? Hug that goofy guy for us.
cokane
BUT HER EMAILS
GregB
Remember when the Republican establishment came down like a ton of bricks on John Lewis because he said that Trump wasn’t legitimate because he was compromised by Russia?
These people are bad at cover-ups
JPL
@cokane: She was careless.
What are the odds that Fox news hires Flynn by the end of the day. Money will insure that Flynn will keep his mouth shut.
greennotGreen
@Mike S.: Obama is a Democrat. It is Never Okay if you’re a Democrat. Had he pursued charges against the Bush administration, the Republicans would have argued loudly and endlessly that it was Entirely Political and Obama was attacking Bush-Cheney for Keeping America Safe.
Republicans could press charges against a Republican administration…and all be primaried by Neanderthals next campaign season. Not that it should matter. Loyalty to ones country should outweigh loyalty to the party.
Tom
@Jeffro: Originally read that as “Republicans start defecating in the face of a 2018 landslide.” Works both ways.
debit
@Elizabelle: For you. https://flic.kr/p/S85zt8
cmorenc
@Jeffro:
Um…weren’t we sort of thinking about months ago that if the GOP was stupid enough to actually let Trump win the nomination, Hillary would win in a landslide and carry a clear Senate majority with her, cause only the hard-core 27% gave a shit about the email-ghazi thing and she’d already handed Gowdy and company their asses when they tried to grill her before a Congressional committee?
MORAL: Don’t discount the ability of too many voters beyond the hard-core 27% to make astoundingly stupid, self-destructive choices in favor of their abusers. Happens all the time with abusive relationships.
Aleta
xOxO Walter
Elizabelle
@debit: My other spirit animal!
Thank you. He is such a doll. I hope he’s here, comfortably, long enough to amaze us all.
JPL
@debit: Aww! What a happy dog.
JPL
@Elizabelle: He already has amazed us all. I’m so glad that he found a home with debit. She did good!
Gin & Tonic
Meanwhile, the brave and completely unbiased investigators at WikiLeaks tweet this:
Ecuador holds its election on Sunday. Julian better start packing, no?
GregB
Hey Walter.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Gin & Tonic:
Hopefully, somebody with an axe to grind against him paints the Ecuadorian Embassy gate with his gray matter as he steps outside.
Preferably by way of a cricket bat – that would be fitting.
Yarrow
@GregB:
I hope John Lewis gets on the TV shows today to remind everyone. This might also be a good time for Harry Reid to have an interview. He was talking about this way back in the dark ages of the campaign.
Is the “Not a puppet! You’re the puppet!” debate clip getting any play yet?
bystander
@debit: Walter invites hugs.
Yarrow
@debit: Debit! Thanks for linking the pictures and video of Walter the other day. The one of you giving him fries from the tables is hilarious. I actually laughed out loud as that french fry made its appearance from the edge of the table. Walter was so happy to get such a yummy treat. Such a good boy!
Spanky
@debit: Who’s a good doggie?!?
bystander
I foolishly tried to watch Morning Joe. Thirty seconds in, Joe starts telling us he talked to his friend who always votes Dem and he has been enjoying having a POTUS who doesn’t kiss foreigners’ asses. Of course, were it not for the fact that the current POTUS is in all likelihood deeply compromised, we would all love Trumputin. I wish I could strangle Joe on TV just as a lesson to David Brooks and Tom Friedman.
gene108
@JPL:
Wing nut welfare has kept Ollie North from flipping for over 30 years.
Jeffro
@Yarrow: I might just have to tweet at representative Lewis and remind him to take a victory lap ;)
SFAW
@debit:
“OK, so I sat still for your photo, NOW do I get a biscuit? How about NOW? OK, how about NOW???””
Thanks so much for the beautiful shot of your good boy.
ETA: Or french fries, I guess.
Amir Khalid
@Gin & Tonic:
CNN is reporting the story with a quote from the Selangor state CID chief, so it seems legit. KIm Jong Nam (the eldest brother) had apparently been living here for some time because he was out of favour with the fam and feared for his life.
ThresherK
@debit: Walllllterrrrrr!
PS I’ve never heard of this Rep. Collins. Looks like Susan (Invisible Girl) Collins has some competition for Worst Congresscritter with the Same Name.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
A few minutes ago, Deadbeat started tweeting about the leaks, whining.
LOL
?eric
@bystander: Even the Holy Roman Emperor had to kiss ass. We all do. It is not a sign of weakness, it is a recognition of reality. Sometimes that ass that kisses is the ass that gets kissed, as it all depends on circumstance.
Gin & Tonic
@Amir Khalid:
Seems like he had a reason. Is it getting much play in local media?
laura
@debit: Thank you for the Valentine!
What a happy, toofy fellow.
Kay
Another day, another blatant, televised lie by the President of the United States.
We’re all chumps for the Trumps to screw now. They have absolute contempt for the public. They lie as a matter of course, about everything, and they believe they will never be held accountable for any of it.
They turned the whole country into Trump University.
JPL
That great journalist, Moby, has posted this on his facebook page
I have no information who his sources are, but it sounds plausible. Personally, I think Trump attacks NK this week, in order to change the subject.
btw.. I know who Moby is
Patricia Kayden
@Jeffro:
And Democrats need to push this Russia story every time they appear on cable t.v. The fact that Russia has puppets in our government, including the current President, should be THE NEWS. Republicans should be forced to defend Trump’s ties to Putin at all times. There is no way that a Democratic administration could get away with this conduct.
Patricia Kayden
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Which one is Deadbeat? Feels like they’re all deadbeats.
Aleta
@Kay: We’re paying off vacation condos that will never exist.
Patricia Kayden
@debit: Awwwww. Walter looks sweet and laidback as usual.
Eric U.
the intelligence agencies are leaking like a sieve, which would be troubling if the actions of the administration itself weren’t far more troubling.
Usually, a republican administration can count on the support of these agencies, but it turns out there is a level of incompetence that they will not tolerate
Kay
If millions of ordinary people get hurt by the incompetent liar that cable tv hosts promoted, can we have a serious discussion about boycotting all of them? They make millions of dollars. Shouldn’t there be some kind of market correction where they become unemployed and unemployable? They add no value and their idiotic career promotion harms regular people. They should be broke.
opiejeanne
@JPL: Moby? Is this a Moby who is not the musician Moby?
debbie
@JPL:
Putin is pretty good at coming up with a “pretence.”
Applejinx
@cmorenc:
That or, you know, the Democratic party doesn’t have to be the same thing as Hillary Clinton, who should have been able to demolish freaking Donald Trump beyond all hope of cheating if she’d been trying intelligently and if she’d been representing the electorate rather than only those prepared to uproot and move to California or New York or wherever’s the current prosperity bubble.
Yes, you were, and it’s not because the entire nation is tire-rim-eating crazy. America did not commit harakiri to get away from the Democratic Party, as much as the Republicans would like to believe that. They were rejecting Hillary Clinton, and her history both legit and fantasized. She did effectively show America who she was, and if it had been that great, then no amount of Kremlin meddling would have thrown the election.
MY hope was that no amount of meddling would throw the election. I was wrong, and in the state I was working (New Hampshire), MoveOn was sending out canvassers who had never seen a Democrat come their way. And it’s not that big of a state, but they only wanted city centers and devoted their efforts to canvassing and re-canvassing the same voters until those voters were completely pissed off. “Don’t you people have records?” they would say. “This is the third time you’ve called me this morning!”
Landslide my ass. If a thing rots it’s not just the right half rotting, leaving the left half pristine.
The Democratic Party’s fucking incompetence and alliance with oligarchs ALLOWED the country to be won by fucking shysters and straight-up liars pretending not to be oligarch Russian spies. Don’t come around now and talk landslide.
Patricia Kayden
@Gin & Tonic: It’s actually good that Assange has completely revealed his true colors. He’s supporting Marie LePen so we know he’s okay with anti-Semites and bigots. The Left was conned.
Yarrow
@Patricia Kayden: I’m guessing he means Dolt 45.
Especially the “etc”. That shit is notoriously difficult to deal on.
Kay
@Aleta:
I resent it. I wasn’t dumb enough to get snookered by this pack of thieves and now I’m lumped in with everyone who was. It’s like being forced to pay Trump University tuition.
debbie
@debit:
What a great guy! I missed the fries shot, but his happiness jumps right out of the photo.
JPL
@opiejeanne: The musician. It’s on his facebook page and this was posted before Flynn resigned.
Villago Delenda Est
At this point, if you have an -R after your name, and are a member of Congress, you are an accessory after the fact.
Time for mass resignations.
Oh, wait. They have no honor. I guess we’ll have to take care of this by other, non-voluntary, means.
Yarrow
@debbie: I found the Walter video! Walter gets fries from 5 Guys. So sweet.
debbie
@Yarrow:
Just like a Lab! Thanks!
The Moar You Know
Sounds to me like some serious lawyer firepower was laid down last night. The coordination of message and tone of delivery is not an accident, they all sound like they’re prepping for their depositions already.
manyakitty
@Kay: Right on! Set him on the good path before it’s too late.
PPCLI
@Yarrow:
Naw, nobody will need to leak about N. Korea, since you decided to discuss the confidential details in front of scores of Mar-El-Lago guests, foreign nationals waiting on tables, and aides without security clearance hoisting unsecured smartphones as flashlights to read top secret documents.
scav
The thing that strikes me in the first clip is how passive Kellyanne is determined to make Trump out to be. That sweet little misled thing, being lied to and then being forced into a corner with a resignation. Poor widdle wide-eyed Twumpy.
She is told to speak on his behalf, to re-iterate that Mike Flynn has resigned, that the situation had become unsustainable for him (the “him” left floating, could mean Mike Flynn found the situation unsustainable, thus prompting the resignation). The president accepted the resignation, did not act to resolve the situation.
Furthermore, Trump did not act, was passive for a month in the face of information provided by the Justice Department of not just the lies Flynn told the American public, the VP, and government in general, but also his apparently cowboy personally active dealings a with a significant foreign government during a period of international tension (How’s that reflect on the action boy boss-man president?). Her “characterization” of the same month is just a reiteration that Flynn stayed in a position of power despite worrying evidence. They’re not even disputing that: they just want to point out that they’re moving on, apparently without recognizing the past even exists, let alone learning from it. This is some sort of Markov chain of governance with swift-onset amnesia.
Chris Collins is just out spreading the good news that no one in the admin apparently knows what is going on as though it was a superior selling point and a proof of innocence and superiority. That and polishes the Markov chain and amnesia theory of governance. “Guess what? Something happened! Now what? On to the next surprise!” Whee!
We’ve moved beyond Where’s My Cheese airport book management / governance to What’s Cheese, and Who Gives a Fuck about Cheese governance.
Yarrow
@debbie: It’s the fry slowly appearing into the frame that cracks me up. He’s eyeing it and then chomp! And the “That was good! I want more!” look. Aww…
The Moar You Know
@debit: Hey, you feel free to post those every day. I love seeing that wonderful doggie.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@JPL:
I’m sure that would make the Republic of Korea really happy.
Bex
@Jeffro: Maybe you should look into Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s history with resisting Hitler (and being executed because of it) and Benedict’s response to the decaying and dying Roman Empire. Just because Brooks cites them, and you couldn’t be bothered to at least look them up doesn’t mean they were nobody and did nothing.
Bupalos
Kind of looks like this thing could go down the drain sooner rather than later, which to me makes it all the more important to tie republicans to this anchor. As of today, I’d say they could still get out of this largely undamaged because trump is still an independent brand. Dems need to be bringing more names into this, especially those who have taken any pains to project independence while carrying trump water….chaffetz, granny starver, cotton.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Jason Chaffetz is a real person and a real Republican MOC, not a fictional character from the youtube series of a college sophomore wannabe Aaron Sorkin
Yarrow
@scav:
Ha! That made me laugh. That stupid Cheese book…
@Bupalos: Hey, how are you doing? You seemed to be having a rough time the other night.
Kay
I’m not moving forward until Mr. Comey holds a press conference. I know we’re all supposed to move on and pretend this blatant bias and unequal treatment didn’t happen but I find it offensive and corrosive of the entire federal government’s credibility. They are doing damage to something that they didn’t earn but inherited as a gift from better people who did the job prior and that’s just more privilege as far as I’m concerned. They can piss away their own credibility if they want to but they shouldn’t bring the whole thing down with them. They’re robbing us, all of us.
It’s like a bank account that was built up over decades and they come along and withdraw, withdraw, withdraw. Spending credibility they didn’t earn like drunken sailors.
Aleta
@Yarrow: I also love
Walter and Ellie are banned from the kitchen
Mike in DC
FlynnBannon
Miller
Gorka
Anton
Priebus
Conway
Cohen
Stone
Page
Manafort
Trump
Pence
Yarrow
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Oh, he wishes that were true. Okay, everyone. That’s the cue to get to the phones and bombard your Reps with requests for them to investigate the entire administration and its Russian ties.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
As I remember there are about a million (no shit) artillery pieces within range of Seoul.
An attack escalates out of control in about 3 minutes, and deaths would be measured in millions.
JPL
@?BillinGlendaleCA: We shouldn’t worry though, because Mattis and Tillerson will save us. amirite
schrodingers_cat
Lo and behold, BS supporters are here to tell us how Democrats suck and their resistance will amount to nothing. Zilch. Shunya. Zero.
ETA: I hope you are being paid for your creative efforts.
zhena gogolia
@Mike in DC:
Where’s Ryan?
JPL
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Chaffetz is busy investigating Sid the Science guy on PBS kids
MomSense
@debit:
Oh I love him so much. I get teary when I see his sweet face and I’ve never even met him!
How is he feeling? Thank you so much for taking care of him. He looks so content.
Yarrow
@Aleta: I know! Hilarious. Those poor, poor, deprived doggies. No steak for them.
Aleta
And then they pass what they have stolen from the people down to their own children, while other children are evicted, hungry and shamed.
Mike in DC
@zhena gogolia:
Hopefully we will take care of that in 2018. :)
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Seoul has 10 million people, it’s about 25 miles from central Seoul to the DMZ. This is insane, and personal(most of my wife’s family live in Seoul).
Yarrow
@Kay:
YES! This. Love how you put it. “the add no value and they harm regular people.” Yes, they do. They add nothing. If all the pundit shows disappeared right now we would certainly be no worse off. So what do they add? Nothing. Get rid of them.
scav
@Kay: God put national credibility and crude oil in the ground for a reason, so that the white powers-that-be right now can be comfortable. To not take advantage of all of that immediately is to spit in the face of the Almighty. The Brand is an asset to be exploited. This is just Rolling Coal applied to Credibility.
Yarrow
@MomSense: There’s video of Walter getting fries! Look at my comment above.
Iowa Old Lady
The only way to handle Kellyanne Conway is to repeatedly ask her the same question. Books on parenting call this the broken record technique. Don’t argue with your kid. Just repeat what you want them to do.
But basically, I can’t see why any show would ask her to appear. She has zero credibility (Bowling Green, anyone?) so she’s not going to tell you anything new. As a matter of fact, after she appears, you’ll know less than you did before because your brain will die a little.
O. Felix Culpa
@schrodingers_cat:
Thank you for addressing that for me while I was composing a response in my head. In the meantime, some of us are working on actual resistance and grassroots organizing. We’re not winning everything (of course), but we’re winning some battles and building muscle for more battles and elections ahead.
schrodingers_cat
@Kay: I would add Pure BullShit Newshour to that list. The contrast between them and the BBC’s half an hour show couldn’t be more stark. One has actual reporters on the ground and other has spokesbots, thinktank whores and Republicans posing as “experts”.
GregB
@Mike in DC:
Scratch Manafort too. He quit and is under investigation.
Nashville_fan
Hmmmm . . .
No morning tweet storm from Dear leader?
Strange . . .
Yarrow
@Iowa Old Lady:
Ain’t that the truth. She hurts my head. Didn’t some network refuse to have her on? Was it CNN?
Martha
Supposedly (underline that) the Russians hacked both R and D emails, but only released the D’s info during the campaign. How much of the current Republican push-back to investigations (I’m looking at you Nunes/Chaffetz) is because they know they’ve been hacked and there’s incriminating info they don’t want released?
hedgehog mobile
@debit: Aww Walter! Thank you.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I don’t know who McDermott is, but Barro is a libertarian/recent-Republican and not given to cheerleading wish-casting from progressives. Elections are a long way off, of course, and mid-terms, and bad Senate map, but I do think a lot a tote-bagger/would-be sophisticates are prone to these kinds of checks-and-balances voting arguments. I have a hunch they cost the Dems a lot of Senate votes in places like WI, PA and maybe even IN
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@O. Felix Culpa:
Here, let me do a BernieBot response;
amk
@Nashville_fan: Don’t worry. it’s up already whining about can’t someone get rid of all these pesky leaks.
Aleta
@Yarrow: It’s incomprehensible ! But ever-good Walter politely waits 3 seconds, until surely the ban has been lifted.
debbie
@Kay:
Since when has Trump had to think about paying his bills?
hedgehog mobile
@O. Felix Culpa: Thank you both. The best I had was FOAD.
Yarrow
@GregB: Manafort lives in Trump Tower. He may have “quit” the campaign, but it’s unlikely he quit Trump.
debbie
@Mike in DC:
Gorka has got to be next. I’m not a violent person, but I want to punch that sanctimonious pig every time I hear his voice.
debit
@MomSense: He’s doing well. The cancer hasn’t spread any further and the bone density in his hip looks the same. He’s on an additional pain med, since his mobility is getting worse, but he still gets around okay and will do his bunny hop run when he thinks Ellie is getting food before he does. He’s on a monthly schedule now for xrays to keep an eye on any new growth. We’re taking one day at a time, but as long as his appetite is good and I can manage his pain, we’ll keep trucking on.
amk
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: bs will literally saying that while the nut job’s travel ban was the headline news.
SFAW
@Yarrow:
I may haveta report debit to the ASPCW: trying to spike Walter’s cholesterol like that! And all those carbs!
[I un-eagerly await someone to tell me there’s no cholesterol in Five Guys’ fries.]
The Moar You Know
@Jeffro: I’ve gotten this from my office wingnuts recently. I laughed at them. Pence, who is a psycho, at least has experience running a state. Is he the guy I want? No, that guy retired recently. But he would be a damn sight better than Carrotface Hitler.
And I suspect he is not compromised by the Russian government either. So bring Pence on, idiots. He’s a theocrat with little imagination, but by God he’s at least not a career criminal.
@Martha: All of it. I have never in my life seen a party back off so fast from promised investigations, and that really can only mean one thing.
manyakitty
@debit: Thank you! Who’s a good boy? Walter is the best boy!
O. Felix Culpa
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Love the regional accent rendering! Just can’t quite pinpoint the source…/
@hedgehog mobile: You captured my visceral response. Which is why it took me some time to compose a slightly more *adult* comment. ;)
debbie
@Aleta:
Too funny! “I’ll just take one more step to see if she really, REALLY means it.”
Barbara
@hovercraft: Conway sold her soul to the Mercer family. When they supported Cruz, she did too. I assume that they were instrumental in getting her hired by Trump. Finding herself making excuses for what amounts to treason was probably not what she had in mind. If I were her I would resign immediately and go back to New Jersey and what would be for a lot of people an alternative perfect life, married to a wealthy lawyer and hardly in need of money. But she has been part of the right wing establishment for so long, at this point, I assume she is trying to hold on long enough for the tax cuts and destruction of Medicare to move forward. I don’t think loyalty to Trump is what motivates her.
Iowa Old Lady
@bystander: “Kiss foreigners’ asses” is the foreign relations equivalent of “political correctness.” That is both mean treating others with the same respect you want for yourself. Can’t have that.
Shinobi
We need to stop making fun of Republicans for their talking points and start emulating them. Repetition WORKS. Remember, most people need to hear something 3 times to remember it.
Aleta
@Iowa Old Lady: Today she is a bedraggled high school cheerleader who’s hopped and skipped her little heart out to help the boys win, but they keep fumbling the ball. But tomorrow’s another school day. Gotta go wash and curl her hair.
hovercraft
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: These people really think we are stupid don’t they, I mean the FBI was “taking care” of Hillary’s server issues, but somehow it was necessary for endless investigation into that. That situation where there was a violation of a rule not of the law, was so serious that he is still in fact investigation it, but this man committing treason on the other hand, nothing to see here move along. Someone needs to primary his ass, he is the worst.
schrodingers_cat
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: You forgot to throw in a couple of sentences about Hillary’s coronation and DWS.
randy khan
@Yarrow:
Absolutely.
The funny thing is that I pinged all of my Congressional folks Sunday night, and specifically mentioned Flynn, so I guess I don’t need to do it again. (Besides, they’re all on board, so it was just positive reinforcement.)
tobie
Has any prominent Republican stepped forward to demand an investigation yet? I shouldn’t be but I’m absolutely startled by their silence. How nakedly partisan can you get? Well, we now know the answer….the hijacking of the executive branch by a foreign government is a-okay, as long as that government is supporting the GOP. This is really sick.
Aleta
@debit: His coat just looks beautiful (as it has since he came home to you), so his insides must be absorbing and using the nutrients. Have the pain or the meds reduced his appetite?
ChrisB
@Jeffro: I can’t believe — or actually I very much can believe — how much of a pass Mike Pence has gotten over the last 12 hours. Oh, he was lied to. Oh, he was misled. Why should anyone believe that he had no inkling of what was going on? And if he really was ignorant, then (a) he is too naïve, dimwitted, and incurious to be VP and (b) he is as much to blame as anyone for not correcting his own misstatements, or lies, sometime in the past 2-3 weeks.
Debbie1
@Mike S.: WOW!
opiejeanne
@schrodingers_cat: I wish they’d give it a rest already. Yeesh.
Patricia Kayden
@Yarrow: Now I’m watching all the Walter (and Ellie) videos. Sweet!
opiejeanne
@hedgehog mobile: I was going to be a bit less polite.
Debbie1
@ChrisB: First of all, thanks for those remarks about Pence. My take, confessional colleagues didn’t call him Dense Pence for nothing, but he’s in this too. So are others in this Russia-friendly admin.
Jeffro
@Bex: don’t be silly – the whole argument is an attempt to obscure the obvious. If we want to resist Trump, just resist…just vote D…just push on MoCs. I don’t need Brooks’ bullshit distractions
Yarrow
@debit: So glad Walter is doing okay. Thank you for posting the pictures and video the other day. I’ve been sharing the video here. Walter is such a sweetheart.
debit
@Aleta: No, he has a great appetite. He eats Natural Balance Chicken and Green Pea and gets fish oil gel caps in every meal, then Synovi chews twice a day (they’re what I hide his meds in). Plus he gets rawhide chews once a day (more if he convinces my daughter that he’s been forgotten). He also gets various other dogs treats at whim and sometimes, fries. I don’t like giving my dogs people food and I never treat at the table, but Walter makes me break my own rules.
His coat and skin were terrible when John found him, and he had a smell that no amount of bathing could conquer. But now he doesn’t smell at all and like you said, his coat is beautiful, soft and silky. Sometimes I pet him and marvel at how far he’s come.
Josie
I just called my representative (Cuellar-D) and Senators Cornyn and Cruz (good luck). All were local offices, answered promptly and super courteous. Senator Cornyn’s person informed me that there was already an investigation underway by the Senate Intelligence Committee. I repeated that I wanted an independent investigation, since this was too important to be left to politicians. He seemed a little nonplussed by that but promised to pass it along.
Aleta
@ChrisB:
The Republican party is all hands on deck to keep Pence afloat. And to keep the focus off Trump’s participation in sending info to the Russians.
Anyone out there defending them to the press should be called to testify under oath. Dems need to publish a list.
rikyrah
@Jeffro:
FIGHT
PROTEST
RESIST
It’s all we have, people.
zhena gogolia
@debit:
Walter has a beautiful soul, you can see it in his eyes. Bless you for what you’ve done.
rikyrah
@Kay:
It’s why we have three branches of government.
And, why federal judges have lifetime appointments.
some of that stuff in the Constitution actually does make sense….LOL
Quinerly
@O. Felix Culpa:
Finally, I see a comment from you! So wonderful meeting you at San Marcos Cafe Saturday! Stay in touch! We are off to El Rito for early lunch, Cuba for a look around, and finally a landing in Bernalillo, NM. Take care.
rikyrah
@debbie:
He gets the same amount of respect that he showed 44….
Tell that to a Dolt45 Supporter and wait for them to purse their lips to try and rationalize it away.
Receipts……ah….those precious receipts….
debit
@debit:
Doh. Chicken and Sweet Potato. The cats get Chicken and Green Pea.
rikyrah
@Lit3Bolt:
Which cannot be underestimated.
Aleta
@Josie: Good point.
And before the SIC investigation begins, its members need to disclose under oath what/when they knew about Russian contacts during the Trump campaign/transition/administration. Anyone who refuses must be removed or recused.
hovercraft
@Barbara:
Oh I know all about her history, I think her initial support for the Shitgibbon was a combination of the Mercer money and her hatred for all things Clinton, but most especially Hillary. She owns her own poling/strategy shop, and has done well for herself in her own right. She is there to promote a right wing agenda, when she first came up she was a huge admirer of Phyllis Schlafly, she wants the agenda, who carries it out is secondary for her.
Misogynist moniker notwithstanding, it’s a scathing look at Coulter and her ilk from Charles Taylor in Salon from 2002
Among the political figures Conway worked for were
Congressman Jack Kemp
Senator Fred Thompson
Vice President Dan Quayle
Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich
Congressman (now Vice President) Mike Pence
Another client in 2012 was U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin.
Given that client list, I don’t think she’s losing any sleep over who her boss is, do you?
MomSense
@Aleta:
I’m sure the information about the Russian hacking including all the ties with the 45/dense campaign have been part of many of his security briefings since the nomination and obviously during the transition and now that he is veep.
No way he didn’t know but then I watched him lie with conviction repeatedly during the vp debate.
Bubblegum Tate
The other talking point I’m seeing is: “This just proves how honest the Trump administration is! Even the slightest hint of a lie, and you’re out!” Because when you think of Donald Trump, you think of scrupulous honesty.
Also, too: “Flynn is out after minor error: contrast to O who kept people like Holder in. We have a vastly better President, folks.” (That’s a verbatim quote. I didn’t make it up.)
NorthLeft12
Please don’t expect any kind of change from the Republicans. They know their base better than anybody, and they know that they can simply hunker down and BS their way through this. Trump has the R by his name so they will do whatever they can to get him and his band of clowns through these issues.
They know that turning on him is the worst thing that they could do. Yeah, they will tut tut and softly criticize him, but they will not seriously investigate him, or actually defeat something he wants.
Counting on the Repubs to get rid of Deadbeat Donald is a fool’s game.
Larkspur
@Kay: Thank dog you are there for the bass player. Bass players have a hard enough time without also being burdened by Trumpism. My life would have been brighter during those early years if I’d had a mom-mentor like you.
As for their lyrics, tell them to use statements by Kellyanne Conway. I can’t help with the tune-sampling, but you could get some great lyrics from Kellyanne. Maybe I’ll try to write some….
Humdog
Debit, do they need to put Walter out to do the X-rays? All the vet stuff you are doing can get expensive fast. Since you are doing all the work, can we all help out at all with the bills?
Thank you for making Walter’s nursing home and hospice so wonderful and comfy!
Josie
@NorthLeft12: What you say is true, but I still think we should make those calls. They need to hear from all their constituents.
SiubhanDuinne
@Kay:
To channel my inner rikyrah — Tell that truth, Kay.
scav
@Bubblegum Tate: Funny how that first hint was a solid month or so ago and The Vastly Better President™ didn’t DO anything more proactive than accept a resignation. Manly!
debit
@Humdog: Thank you for the offer, but no, it’s fine. They don’t have to sedate him, just hold him still and sometimes stretch him out to get the image they want. He’s very good about it and gets handfuls of treats from the techs afterward (and kisses and hugs).
chopper
@Mike S.:
fuckin’ Obama. that fuckin’ guy, amirite?
Larkspur
@Josie: Yeah, I called my rep Jared Huffman (talked to a person), my senator Kamala Harris (left a message) and what the heck, I called Congressman John Lewis (talked to a person) just because I wanted to express support.
SiubhanDuinne
@Mike in DC:
I recognize every name but Anton. Who’s Anton?
Also, shouldn’t Kushner be somewhere on that list?
MCA1
I want to see some coordinated talking points out of Dems here, not just to keep the heat dialed up on the GOP, but for a longer term purpose: wrest back control of the “which party owns that whole patriotism thing” football.
This is so simple. 1. Russia is not our friend. 2. Flynn betrayed us to Russia. 3. Trump and Pence knew it and/or condoned it, and did nothing about it for at minimum a month. 4. GOP Congress won’t support independent investigations.
Conclusions to be repeated ad nauseum: 1. The White House is compromised or needs to prove it’s not. 2. Republicans are traitors, either active or passive by putting party over country.
Gin & Tonic
I’m seeing that Sen Roy Blunt (R-MO), a member of the Intelligence Committee, is calling for an “exhaustive” investigation. Sounds to me like shoes are dropping to the floor.
Gin & Tonic
@scav:
Sure he did. He fired Sally Yates immediately.
ET
Yes lets move forward and discuss how awesome it is to have the Russians defend Flynn.
sukabi
@Jeffro: not just “serious” (talk about a “no shit, Sherlock” deduction), likely a “they ALL KNEW and participated level of seriousness… And with the repubs in congress unwilling to investigate it makes me wonder if maybe drumpf has dirt on them he’s threatening to expose…
Time for spooks to “expand” their leaks.
SiubhanDuinne
@debbie:
I had previously missed this about Gorka:
(Edited to fix my blockquote goof.)
Timurid
@Aleta: With everything they’ve done and everything they plan to do, a little light perjury is no big thing.
JPL
I’m so jealous…
https://twitter.com/MichelleObama/status/831534530221707265
and here is Barack
https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/831527113211645959
trollhattan
@debbie:
This. His faux WF Buckley accent is reason enough, but listening to him proclaim a 50-year Republican Reich and the obvious genius that is Bannon and Trump (really) is reason enough to gulag him, stat.
Barbara
@hovercraft: It’s one thing to drink the koolaid that your own side cooks up. It’s another thing to drink the koolaid concocted by Vladimir Putin and delivered through his intermediary. Why does Trump love Putin? Why would he sell out U.S. interests in favor of Russia? She might still be in a state of denial, but it can’t last forever.
geg6
@debit:
That’s what I was feeding Koda and Lovey and they liked it and were doing well on it. However, I got a coupon for the new kibble with an really stupid name (I And Love And You) and bought a small bag to mix in to see if they like it. The online reviews had it rated extremely high in quality and you can buy it at local grocery stores here (so no special trips to Petsmart). Well, Lovey went absolutely apeshit for it and Koda really like it a lot, too. So I think when this bag of Natural Balance is done, I’m switching to the weird name stuff. I like the kibble, too. It’s shaped like hearts.
David Spikes
@Applejinx: Fuck you Berniebot creep-go back underground and let the adults talk.
Apple jinx motto-I dislike Trump but I really, really hate Hillary so no matter what everything will always be her fault.
trollhattan
@SiubhanDuinne:
Interesting. California had an assemblyman, governor candidate who was busted bringing a loaded pistol to his flight. One guess as to which party.
Immanentize
@JPL:
He’s just a fat white Dick, isn’t he? /s/ Ismael
OK, I realize that just described Bannon as well….
tobie
@SiubhanDuinne:
It sounds like the judge was obligated to recuse himself but did not. If this is the case, Judge Newman should be subjected to a judicial review.
trollhattan
@Bubblegum Tate:
How do they manage balancing twice-fired, first by Obama?
artem1s
@Kay:
He’s a kid still. He is exhibiting the skills to look up info on his own and evaluate it. Encourage that and he may come to see that as an underlying tenet of liberalism and progressive politics and a forward thinking culture. If he is a good guy, he will probably come to the realization, all on his own, that hanging with people who aren’t afraid of new stuff and educating themselves, is more fun that hanging with bible humpers that screech gloom and doom at you all day. Also, it’s likely he is afraid of ‘outdoing’ his mom. Could be he doesn’t want to ‘betray’ her. If her beliefs trend conservative and favor downpunching, he may just be working thru the emotional turmoil of figuring out a parent doesn’t always have the right or moral answers.
rikyrah
@AMinNC:
Excellent
Immanentize
@JPL: Wow, I thought it would be another Moby — I am a big fan of his music — particularly his early sampling efforts. Just Wow! I bow to you, brother….
Mike in DC
@SiubhanDuinne:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Anton
I guess Kushner could go on the list, along with Spicer. There’s probably 20 to 25 names total, more if you count all of cabinet members. I’m focused on the policymakers, strategists, spokespersons and administrators. Plus the two at the top. Okay, near the top, under Putin, of course.
Applejinx
@sukabi: Not Trump. Russia.
They all knew. The Senate altered the National Defense Authorization Act to waive any requirement for Flynn to have confirmation hearings.
Democrats and Republicans alike. They all know what this is.
Applejinx
@David Spikes: Fuck you, traitor.
scav
@Gin & Tonic: Ah, you are right. Those wimminz, ruining things again. No wonder Kellyanne has that wild-eyed look, wondering that round symbol painted on her back hits its best-by date.
JustRuss
OK, I have to give Trump credit: He turned Matt Lauer into a hard-hitting journalist. I would not have thought that was possible.
Watching Conway is just painful, I wonder if these “journalists” are being mean to her to try to scare her from coming on their shows anymore.
gvg
the thing about Pence is under our laws, the Vice President has very little actual power. Lately it has become customary to keep them more aware, since the nuclear era began. We have also begun expecting that a President will use the VP as a proxy but I think that only started with Clinton. Trump didn’t know Pence before and didn’t actually like him at least at the begining. I can’t tell from here if he would actually have known, when he would have known and I don’t actually think he could do something about it. He would have no influence at all if Trump had the contacts with other people who knew how to run a government office. A lot of his influence has evidently come after the shedding of Christie. After the administration is set up, Trump may ignore him again. He might know everything, he might not. His past is not filled with palling around with Russia. If he did realize at some point, should he have resigned? because that just gives up more on Trump of the Russian dupes. who would Trump pick to replace him? I am going to wait and see about this, tho I don’t trust the guy at all as a religious fanatic.
I also have seen specific stories that say the DOJ briefed Trumps lawyer a month ago with the presumption that of course it was passed along to Trump but I am not sure we should presume this. His leadership style seems to be to indicate people will not tell him unpleasant things all the time. he also clearly doesn’t understand much of what he is told.
Noticing Krushner has almost disappeared from sight.
rikyrah
@debit:
thanks debit :)
hovercraft
Awww, it seems Putin is having a sad :-(
Kremlin, Russian lawmakers play down Flynn’s resignation
NATALIYA VASILYEVA,Associated Press 42 minutes ago
MOSCOW (AP) —
…….The Russian establishment has not harbored any illusions about the Trump administration’s pro-Russia stance for some time now, said Alexei Makarkin at the Moscow-based Center for Political Technologies.
“This infatuation with Trump in Russia is over, and Flynn as a person who has contributed to this infatuation stopped being perceived as a figure who can have a real impact on the U.S. foreign policy,” Makarkin said.
The nomination of Tillerson, former chief executive at ExxonMobil, showed the Russians that he, not Flynn, would be doing the negotiating, Makarkin said.
Ties between Moscow and Washington plummeted to post-Cold War lows after Russia annexed Crimea and threw its weight behind separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine in 2014. The United States responded with economic sanctions and visa bans.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on Flynn’s resignation, saying it’s an internal matter for Trump’s administration and “none of our business.” Asked if Moscow still hopes for its relations with the U.S. to improve, he said it is “too early to say” since “Trump’s team has not been shaped yet.”
The Kremlin earlier said it was not expecting a breakthrough before the two presidents meet in person. Putin has suggested that could take place in Slovenia, the home nation of Trump’s wife, Melania, but added that it will be up to Trump to determine the time and place.
Russia’s visibly muted reaction to Flynn’s departure comes as Tillerson is set to hold his first meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov later this week. Tillerson, who has sealed multiple deals in Russia and was even decorated with the Russian “Order of Friendship” award, is widely described as a tough negotiator who will not make promises to Russia that he cannot keep.
Still, several senior Russian lawmakers expressed their disappointment over Flynn’s resignation on social media.
Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the foreign affairs committee at the Federation Council, said in a Facebook post that firing a national security adviser for his contacts with Russia is “not just paranoia but something even worse.”
Kosachev also expressed frustration with the Trump administration. “Either Trump hasn’t found the necessary independence and he’s been driven into a corner… or Russophobia has permeated the new administration from top to bottom,” he wrote.
Alexei Pushkov, chairman of the information committee at the Federation Council, tweeted shortly after the resignation announcement that “it was not Flynn who was targeted but relations with Russia.”
By early afternoon, some lawmakers began to retract their original indignant comments, in line with the restrained tone taken by the Kremlin.
Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the foreign affairs committee at the State Duma, first described Flynn’s departure as a “negative signal” for Russia-U.S. relations, but two hours later switched to more moderate language, stressing that it “cannot fundamentally influence Russia-U.S. ties.”
Fyodor Lukyanov, chairman of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policies, a group of Russian foreign policy experts, told the RIA Novosti news agency that it’s not yet clear what impact Flynn’s resignation may have.
“There’s nothing to influence yet, there are no relations as such. Our countries have relations shaped by the former administration, which were awful, and Trump was going to change that,” he said.
Yet Trump’s first telephone call with Putin last month demonstrated that Trump did not have anything to offer to Russia immediately, Makarkin said.
“It has led to a realization that if Flynn wanted to promote better ties with Russia, he would not have the real chance to,” he said.
Gindy51
@ET: Of course they are going to defend their investment.
rikyrah
@Mike in DC:
I love your list
debbie
@SiubhanDuinne:
Good freakin’ grief!
sigaba
@debbie: It does not help that Gorka appears to be a Holocaust cosplayer.
trollhattan
@sigaba:
Jesus. I hope the BBC figure this out before inviting him back to tongue-bathe Trump on the air.
sukabi
@hovercraft: Did you see the weird tweet they put out last night?
Don’t eat the black burger?
Lizzy L
NYT Breaking News: shit, meet fan.
Russia has secretly deployed a new cruise missile despite complaints from American officials that it violates a landmark arms control treaty that helped seal the end of the Cold War, administration officials say.
The move presents a major challenge for President Trump, who has vowed to improve relations with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and to pursue future arms accords.
Jerzy Russian
@Jeffro: Kristol is correct about something? Great, there goes the fabric of space time, just when Spring Training is getting into full swing.
bupalos
@Yarrow: worse than rough, thanks for asking, kind of in the middle of a slow-motion business failure while trying to raise 3 little girls and process the annihilation of many of the things I care about as regards these here United States of America.
Getting things upright, but probably more ridiculous meltdowns to come.
Bubblegum Tate
@trollhattan:
By doggedly pretending it never happened, of course.
jc
The worst possible thing for the Trumpies is for the average folks at home to realize that the train is off the track and heading down the slippery slope. If they can prevent that, they can keep pretending to be a legitimate administration.