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You are here: Home / Politics / Glibertarianism / Late Night Horrorshow Open Thread: Look, See CPAC 2017 — See CPAC Run!

Late Night Horrorshow Open Thread: Look, See CPAC 2017 — See CPAC Run!

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Yes, the American Conservative Union’s combination trade show and meat market is cheesy and ludicrous when it’s not revolting, but on the other hand, the President-Asterisk and the people actually running his administration are in attendance…

Jennifer Jacobs, at Bloomberg, “Bannon Rallies Conservatives for ‘Economic Nationalist Agenda’“:

President Donald Trump’s top advisers girded conservative activists for battle with the nation’s political and media establishments to deliver his campaign agenda of trade protection, immigration limits and a shrinking of government regulation.

“Every day is going to be a fight,” Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, said. “We want you to have our back.” He warned that “the corporatist, globalist media” are “adamantly opposed to an economic nationalist agenda like Donald Trump has.”…

Vice President Mike Pence reinforced Bannon’s us-against-them rhetoric when he took the stage Thursday evening.

“The media, the elites, the insiders, everybody else who profits off of preserving the status quo, they dismissed our president every step of the way,” Pence said. “And in dismissing him, they also dismissed millions of the hard-working, forgotten men and women who make this country great. And worse yet, they’re still trying to dismiss him. They’re still trying to dismiss all of us.”

Bannon, Priebus and Pence assured the thousands of activists that Trump wouldn’t back down from his campaign promises. Pence said, “We’re in the promise-keeping business these days.” Bannon said he’s proud that Trump has refused to moderate his message or to give any ground on delivering on his campaign commitments…

Although Trump was ridiculed at last year’s CPAC conference by rival presidential candidates and skipped the gathering to campaign elsewhere, prominent members of his administration this year dominate program…

Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway also talked to the group Thursday. Other Trump administration officials scheduled to speak include Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency; deputy assistant Sebastian Gorka; and Andrew Bremberg, director of Trump’s Domestic Policy Council. Trump is set to address the gathering on Friday…

Rosie Gray, at the Atlantic, on “The Bannon-Priebus Buddy Act“:

… While a suit-clad Priebus offered standard fare about taxes and regulation, Bannon, in khakis and no tie, went in a different direction. His appearance was a reminder of how unusual it is that Bannon, whose career in politics thus far had consisted of aggressive opposition not just to the left but to establishment Republicans in Priebus’s mold, has ascended in such a short period of time to the highest levels of power in the White House.

Bannon began by calling attention to his outsider status, thanking American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp, who was moderating the conversation, for “finally inviting me to CPAC.” (Bannon and Breitbart had in the past held an event called “The Uninvited” outside CPAC, featuring speakers who were not included in CPAC’s program, like anti-Muslim activist Frank Gaffney.)

He listed the administration’s top three priorities as national security and sovereignty, “economic nationalism,” and the “deconstruction of the administrative state.”…

Both Bannon and Priebus stayed on message when it came to another top priority of this White House: discrediting the media.

Asked what the biggest misconception had been about the administration so far, Priebus said “in regards to us two, I think the biggest misconception is everything that you’re reading.” He lamented the media’s coverage of Trump during the campaign, referring dismissively to media speculation about “what controversy in the primary is going to take down President Trump.” (As Republican National Committee chairman, Priebus reportedly encouraged Trump to drop out of the race after the release of the Access Hollywood tape in which Trump was recorded boasting about groping women.)…

Bannon, as is his wont, went further, repeatedly calling the media the “opposition party,” a term he started using in an interview with The New York Times last month. He denounced the “corporatist, globalist media adamantly opposed to an economic nationalist agenda like Donald Trump has.”

“If you think they are giving you your country back without a fight, you are sadly mistaken,” Bannon said.

He complained that the press isn’t offering an accurate picture of Trump’s efforts. “If you look at the opposition party and how they portray the campaign, how they portrayed the transition, and how they are portraying the administration, it’s always wrong,” Bannon said…

(Not much) credit where due, CPAC’s organizers did eject the “face of the alt-right”, now that the lamestream media is actually paying attention…

… Spencer, who purchased his own tickets to CPAC, was ejected after a CPAC staffer spotted him and revoked his credentials. Defiant, Spencer flashed his empty lanyard to reporters as he left the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center just outside D.C., where the conservative confab is taking place over the next few days.

“They threw me out, it’s pathetic,” he said on his way out, saying that he wanted to have conversations inside on identity politics.

“I guess that they just discovered who I was, because the truth is that people want to talk to me, not to other conservatives.”

A CPAC spokesperson told NBC that the group ejected Spencer because it finds his views “repugnant.”…

Reader Interactions

84Comments

  2. 2.

    Peale

    Don’t they have to decry the nazis as a left wing group anyway? I mean these are the guys who made books about nazis = new deal and nazis = gay perverts into best sellers.

  3. 3.

    SiubhanDuinne

    “Oh, Reince,” said Steve. “You are funny.”

    Funny, funny Reince.

    Funny, funny Steve.

    “Oh, look,” said Reince. “I do not see Kellyanne.”

    “Kellyanne cannot play with us today,” said Steve.

    Kellyanne is sad. Reince is sad. Steve is not sad.

    Poor Kellyanne. Poor Reince.

  5. 5.

    ? Martin

    How’d you miss the antisemitic dogwhistle by Bannon?

    Bannon also described Trump as “the greatest public speaker … since William Jennings Bryan”.

    Bryan was a christian fundamentalists that would routinely mix populist with antisemitic speech. The understandably famous cross of gold speech features is quite prominently:

    Having behind us the commercial interests and the laboring interests and all the toiling masses, we shall answer their demands for a gold standard by saying to them, you shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.

    The CPAC crowd knows who Bryan was. The alt-right does as well. Comparing Trump to Bryan is signaling something quite specific – don’t let the rich jews hold you down. Trump is just too stupid to recognize the association.

  6. 6.

    Mnemosyne

    Fascinating to see them insisting that they’re not white nationalists, they’re economic nationalists.

    That, boys and girls, is what you call “creating plausible deniability for the rubes.”

  13. 13.

    Mnemosyne

    Also, Pence saying they’re in the “promise-keeping” business?

    That’s not a dog whistle to the Christianists, that’s a fucking air horn.

  14. 14.

    SFAW

    In previous years, I used to comment about the wingnuts’ desire to roam the city streets, yelling “Muslimen ‘raus!”

    With Bannon running the show, it looks like I’ll have to return to the original version in the not-too-distant future.

  16. 16.

    Aleta

    They look like they became ‘friends’ only after Reince ‘learned’ to turn over his lunch money without resisting.

  18. 18.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Adam L Silverman: No, and unfortunately, I get cut off after the first paragraph. But from the headline, I can tell where this is going. Being associated with Trump is poison, and Mercer seems unaware of the implications.

  20. 20.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Peale: Oh, they did. The “alt-right” is really a leftist plot to discredit (ha!) the “Conservative Movement.”

  21. 21.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    @Mnemosyne:

    white nationalists… economic nationalists…

    Potato… potaaato… it’s the NATIONALIST part that matters…

  26. 26.

    efgoldman

    Richard Spencer being escorted out by security at CPAC

    Next year he’ll be the fucking keynote speaker.

  29. 29.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Villago Delenda Est: @Mnemosyne:
    Try this link:
    https://www.wsj.com/articles/you-have-to-stop-renaissance-executive-tells-boss-about-trump-support-1487845803

    Its interesting in and of itself. But the final sentence is chilling. After the WSJ piece went up this happened:

    On Thursday morning, after an online version of this story appeared, Mr. Magerman received a new phone call from Renaissance. A representative told Mr. Magerman that he was being suspended without pay and no longer could have contact with the company.

    A Renaissance spokesman declined to comment.

  30. 30.

    Miss Bianca

    It’s all fun and games now, but this “economic nationalism” is going to start hitting people in the face soon, and they’re not gonna like it. The new tariffs on wood from Canada are taking effect on April 24, and they will be retroactive to February 1st. Price of lumber is going to skyrocket. Metal will also be affected. Fuel prices are also going to start rising. People are gonna be so sick of winning the “economic nationalism” game by the time the economy tanks. I’m thinking June at the latest.

  31. 31.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Redshift: He may not, but he’s clearly read, seen, or heard the Derrida reference. No one just uses deconstruct in that context.

  34. 34.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Adam L Silverman: And I to you. Publically, thanks again for all you do here. It’s fascinating, it’s informative, and it helps us all expand our understanding of some things that are very arcane and oversimplified by our ADHD media.

  35. 35.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Adam L Silverman: That link still didn’t include the entire article so we’re missing the chill. Your additional information was pretty shocking in and of itself, though.

  36. 36.

    Mnemosyne

    @Miss Bianca:

    Unlike Nazi Germany, the US is a consumer-based economy. And if people are feeling insecure, they’re going to stop buying stuff and going on vacations, and that’s only going to make the problem worse.

  37. 37.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mnemosyne: Nope, the hedge fund. Mercer is one of the two senior partners/owner partners. The person featured in the article is one of the other 98 partners and the guy that invented most of the trading tech that allowed the firm to make tons of money.

  38. 38.

    ? Martin

    @Mnemosyne: No, Renaissance Hedge Fund. It’s an automated trading fund. Magerman was the guy who programmed it.

    Magerman is an orthodox jew and donates a lot of money to the community. He’s obviously alarmed by the antisemitism flowing out of the WH and took issue with his boss openly promoting Trump.

  39. 39.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Villago Delenda Est: @Mnemosyne: hmm. Here’s a couple of copy and paste sections:

    David Magerman says he was in his home office in suburban Philadelphia earlier this month when the phone rang. His boss, hedge-fund billionaire Robert Mercer, was on the line.

    “I hear you’re going around saying I’m a white supremacist,” Mr. Mercer said. “That’s ridiculous.”

    In the prior weeks, Mr. Magerman, a registered Democrat who calls himself a centrist, had complained to colleagues about Mr. Mercer’s role as a prominent booster of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

    Now word of Mr. Magerman’s criticism had reached Mr. Mercer, co-chief executive of Renaissance Technologies LLC, one of the world’s most successful hedge funds.

    And:

    “Those weren’t my exact words,” Mr. Magerman said he told Mr. Mercer, stammering and then explaining his concerns about Mr. Trump’s policy positions, rhetoric and cabinet choices. “If what you’re doing is harming the country then you have to stop.”

    Mr. Mercer declined to comment through a spokesman. In a statement, Renaissance’s chairman and founder, Jim Simons, who has been a prominent financial backer of Democrats, said, “I have worked closely with Bob Mercer since he joined our firm almost 25 years ago. While our politics differ dramatically, I have always thought him to be of impeccable character.”

    And:

    Historically, some leaders of Renaissance, which is based on Long Island, N.Y., have leaned Democratic, including Mr. Simons, who donated to Hillary Clinton ’s 2016 presidential campaign.

    Some Renaissance executives chafed at the unwanted publicity brought to the firm by Mr. Mercer’s activities during the presidential race, according to people close to the matter. In addition to providing crucial financial help when Mr. Trump’s candidacy was lagging, Mr. Mercer and his daughter Rebekah advised the campaign, suggesting the installation of two Mercer family confidantes, Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway, atop the campaign. Those two now hold senior White House positions.

    Until now, however, nobody within the tight-lipped hedge fund has gone public with a grievance.

    “His views show contempt for the social safety net that he doesn’t need, but many Americans do,” said Mr. Magerman, 48 years old, during an interview with The Wall Street Journal at the Dairy Café, a kosher restaurant he owns in Bala Cynwyd, Pa. “Now he’s using the money I helped him make to implement his worldview” by supporting Mr. Trump and encouraging that “government be shrunk down to the size of a pinhead.”

    Mr. Magerman, a 20-year Renaissance veteran who helped design the fund’s trading systems, says he is speaking only for himself, and that there is no sign of a broad insurrection at the firm.

    Mr. Magerman makes millions of dollars a year, drives a Tesla and says he gives more than $10 million in charity annually. A research scientist, he is one of 100 partners at the firm, but he isn’t one of Renaissance’s most senior executives.

    “I’d like to think I’m speaking out in a way that won’t risk my job, but it’s very possible they could fire me,” he said. “My wife isn’t comfortable with me jeopardizing my job, but she realizes it’s my prerogative and agrees with my sentiments.”

    He has concluded that every new piece of code he developed for Renaissance helped Mr. Mercer make more money and gave him greater ability to influence the country.

    To try to counteract his boss’s activities, Mr. Magerman says he has been in touch with local Democratic leaders and plans to make major contributions to the party. He says he called Planned Parenthood to offer his assistance and contacted Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and White House adviser, to voice his concerns about Ms. Conway and Mr. Bannon. He says he failed to reach Mr. Kushner.

    Final bit for context:

    Mr. Magerman says he first spoke with Mr. Mercer in January, when Mr. Magerman, who donates to local schools, called Mr. Mercer to ask for the opportunity to reach out to Rebekah Mercer to offer the administration help on education policy.

    During the call, they talked politics, disagreeing about some of the administration’s early steps. After airing his concerns with others at the company, Mr. Magerman received the second call from Mr. Mercer two weeks ago.

    The conversation grew strained. After telling Mr. Mercer to stop harming the country, he said Mr. Mercer responded that his goal had been to defeat Mrs. Clinton and that he wouldn’t remain very involved in politics.

    “How can you say you’re not involved?” Mr. Magerman said, citing an outside group Rebekah Mercer was involved in that was aimed at boosting Mr. Trump’s agenda.

    Mr. Magerman has one idea that would reduce the power of people like Mr. Mercer. He said he was thinking about reaching out to Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) to craft proposals to reduce speculative trading, which presumably would curtail Renaissance’s profits.

    In conversation at his cafe, Mr. Magerman said he hoped his public statements wouldn’t cost him his job. But if he does get fired, he said, he would have more time to devote to politics and other causes.

    “This is my life’s work—I ran a group that wrote the trading system they still use,” he said. “But I feel relieved I’m now doing something, and if they fire me, maybe it’s for the best.”

    And now to bed. You all have fun!

  40. 40.

    TriassicSands

    From the WaPo:

    Spicer: Feds could step up enforcement against marijuana use in states

    One significant failure of Obama’s — failing to make cannabis a Schedule II or III drug. President Obama’s laissez-faire attitude toward enforcement was fine while he was in office, but it left us wide open for recriminalization if and when a Republican was elected president. Now, it’s in the hands of the Evil Elf Jeff Sessions.

    I live in Washington State and I don’t use cannabis either medicinally or recreationally, but I think the criminalization of marijuana is utterly insane. Will this be just one more instance of the wingers’ sacred belief in States’ Rights being ignored?

    Naturally, I’m certain the world’s foremost authority on cannabis — Donald Trump — knows what is best for every American. Thank goodness he has Dr. Jeffrey Sessions advising him.

  41. 41.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    @Miss Bianca:

    People are gonna be so sick of winning the “economic nationalism” game by the time the economy tanks.

    So I’m scanning kinda fast, and my mind takes in ‘Nationalism’ and then ‘tanks’ and it’s like, Whoa… and then I realize, it’s ECONOMICALLY tanks… and not the other kind…

  42. 42.

    jl

    @Mnemosyne: Bannon is a vicious toxic nutcase, and he could do white nationalism very successfully. You just enact a lot of incompetent nutso laws that mess with people of color, commit negligence like bum rushing a bunch of abusive thugs into the immigration service so they can harass the current target demo to be demonized and persecuted. Then make sure it gets on TV so your bigot base will get its jollies and laughs. Any vicious fool can do that.

    So, this POS wants to brand himself as an economic nationalist? Fine. His bunch won’t be able to deliver. Fan base won’t care, but a lot of voters, a lot of white voters, a lot of white bigot voters will be really pissed off. All I have to say to Bannon is, ‘Go right ahead, jerk.’.

  43. 43.

    ? Martin

    @TriassicSands:

    One significant failure of Obama’s — failing to make cannabis a Schedule II or III drug. President Obama’s laissez-faire attitude toward enforcement was fine while he was in office, but it left us wide open for recriminalization if and when a Republican was elected president. Now, it’s in the hands of the Evil Elf Jeff Sessions.

    Only Congress can change that for marijuana, and they were not about to do so.

  44. 44.

    jl

    From TPM blog, multiple stories that Reince will be on the hook for interfering with FBI probe into the Trump Russian dirty money corruption. If he does, Priebus is the kind of doofus frat rat jerk who thought he was a big shot player, but who is the first one to get punked by the cool kids.

  45. 45.

    ? Martin

    @jl: He’ll only be on the hook if Congress puts him on it. Right now, they believe they’re relying on Reince to keep Bannon from blowing the place up.

  46. 46.

    jl

    @? Martin:

    ” They believe they’re relying on Reince to keep Bannon from blowing the place up. ”

    I think it would be very stupid to believe that.

  47. 47.

    Death Panel Truck

    @TriassicSands: I stocked up on cannabis this afternoon. I now possess approximately 39 grams, which is 11 grams more than the Washington legal limit of one ounce. I smoke cannabis to sleep better, it works, and I’m afraid Sessions and his jackbooted thugs are planning the raids of the dispensaries even as we speak.

  50. 50.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    @Death Panel Truck:

    I’m afraid Sessions and his jackbooted thugs are planning the raids of the dispensaries even as we speak.

    And if they can catch some transgender illegals trying score, it’ll be a perfect trifecta of wonderfulness…

  51. 51.

    jl

    @? Martin: After thinking about it, I do hope they are stupid enough to believe it. May God grant vast stupidity to my enemies. The old guy upstairs is listening to me for once.

    I’m not particularly good at understanding popular political perceptions. Seems to me that Priebus is nothing but a laughable and hilariously inept front man trying to convince people that the establishment GOP has some kind of control over this toxic freak show. Debases and humiliates himself even more than Christie has.

  52. 52.

    jl

    @Thru the Looking Glass…: I’ll watch for news of Muslim transgender undocumented refugees of political violence trying to score medial weed for their lower back pain, and getting busted and deported. Why settle for a trifecta when you can have pentfecta for sexfecta.

    Edit: ‘sexfecta’ insimpluendos I cannot quite fathom, and don’t want to.

  53. 53.

    Mnemosyne

    @jl:

    Oh, I’m not denying that Bannon could get a whole lot of white nationalism implemented. I’m just pointing out that doing so will crash the US economy, and possibly the world economy, because our economy depends on having people other than white nationalists spend money on consumer goods. As we saw in the Bush years, having very rich people spend money on high-end luxury goods isn’t enough to keep our economy afloat.

    ETA: Travel and tourism alone is almost 3 percent of our GDP. Who wants to travel when you might have the fucking Border Patrol checking your papers when you get off your domestic flight?

  55. 55.

    Calming Influence

    @TriassicSands:

    I live in Washington State and I don’t use cannabis either medicinally or recreationally, but I think the criminalization of marijuana is utterly insane.

    This describes me as well. The appearance of pot shops seems to have had zero impact on daily life in the evergreen state. But Spicey linked pot to opioid addiction in today’s White House news briefing, and as everybody knows, reefer leads to madness. So fuck state’s rights in this case.

  56. 56.

    seaboogie

    I think that we can write off congress now that the GOP has power, and only knows how to grab power, but does not know what to do with it (i.e. govern) besides pay back their monied backers.

    Now, though, we are relying on the judiciary, journos, spooks, deep state, and populist uprising…and there is a lot of red meat there…interesting times. To the barricades!

  59. 59.

    ? Martin

    This speaks a bit to the conversation I had with my students last night.

    By overturning this nondiscrimination protection, the Trump administration claims it’s protecting children — not from bullies or menacing adults, but from their own peers. This infuriates me. I know how messy things can get when adults overstep their boundaries and insert themselves — their politics, their fears, their prejudices, their ignorance — into the lives of young people.

    Part of the reason they are uninterested in hearing my warnings about how violent actions will be perceived is that they don’t trust us. They live in a wholly different world from adults. There are few transgender individuals on TV, few undocumented individuals portrayed in a positive light. Caitlyn Jenner emerged like some kind of alien species to adults, because old white men who run TV networks aren’t interesting in risking ad dollars by putting someone in a show that won’t appeal to the 45-60 demographic. But you go on Youtube and all of society is there (except largely for old people). The world through the Youtube lens looks like a completely different, more diverse, more interesting place than it does on TV. They have no hangups about muslims or transgender people because they see them on social media every day, where they’re just as funny and insecure and dumb as everyone else. In other words, they’re all normal. The only people that aren’t normal are the old white evangelicals that seem to think everyone must conform to their set of norms.

    Young people are absolutely horrified by this.

  60. 60.

    ThresherK

    A CPAC spokesperson told NBC that the group ejected Spencer because it finds his views “repugnant”.

    Views, plural? What view beyond “too well-known as a Nazi” broke their camel’s back?

    Sorta like Milo, whose xenophobia, transphobia, and more, set off exactly zero of their alarms. Until he found one that was too much.

  61. 61.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    @TriassicSands:

    1) this doesn’t make any sense: if obama could descheduled pot, couldn’t trump reschedule it?

    2)

    President Obama’s laissez-faire attitude toward enforcement was fine while he was in office, but it left us wide open for recriminalization if and when a Republican was elected president.

    Maybe all the alt-left, emoprogs, firebagger, DudeBro losers who voted for stein and johnson or stayed home should have thought of that. Sad!

  62. 62.

    Russ

    What I see happening is many people wanting to enact their favorite legislation, idea, agenda enacted by Trump. All with no coherent plan to address how any one of them dovetails with any of the other and certainly no idea of what the consequences of each one are in relation to others. Funnel everyone’s wish list items through the idiot and let him swing in the wind when the inevitable shit hits the fan.

  63. 63.

    ? Martin

    @Villago Delenda Est: I don’t think folks like Bannon give a single shit about the economy. I think he’s entirely about some form of racial/religious/cultural purity that by removing the nonconformists they can vastly simplify government and the economy. People will be poorer, but they’ll be unburdened by the complexities of an inclusive government and economy. If you believe in the inherent superiority of white christians, then you would welcome a global trade war on the basis that it would be impossible for us to lose.

    I don’t see any significant difference between that and what Hilter or Stalin wanted, mind you. They were not particularly concerned about economic prosperity for the masses either.

  64. 64.

    fuckwit

    I sure hope the economy doesn’t go tits up by June. Just signed a 15month lease on a ridiculously overpriced apartment, still lowest price I could find.

    Bitcoin seems to be doing well, at least.

    Also, my wingnut father seemed to have finally infected my NPR-listening mother with wingnuttery. She’s volunteering for anti-sex “crisis pregnancy” centers and defending Bilk O’Lielly.

    I don’t see any of this improving until after it hits a severe and deadly breaking point.

  65. 65.

    ? Martin

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: There’s only two ways to do that in the US. Either the Atty General, after a fairly lengthy review chooses to add or remove it, or Congress does it with no need for review.

    The catching point for doing this is that US law requires that domestic drug policy be consistent with international trade agreements. The effect of legalizing pot in the US would be to effectively legalize it globally because the US carries so much critical leverage over global trade. It would immediately become legal to import/export via existing trade agreements, and being a member of the WTO would push the WTO to treat it as any other trade good. That’s why the executive branch won’t do it without Congress’ backing – the international implications of that policy change are immense and if that change caused problems in other nations, we’d be blamed for it.

    Now, I’m in favor of the change, but Democrats shouldn’t stumble into this in the same way Trump did his travel ban, with no consideration of the extended impact of it.

  66. 66.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    @Russ:

    What I see happening is many people wanting to enact their favorite legislation, idea, agenda enacted by Trump.

    You mean like this crazy-ass shit?

    Arizona Republicans Want To Prosecute Protesters The Same Way They Do Terrorists

    “Lawmakers say they’re targeting “paid protesters.”

    Paid protesters… of whom no proof of existence is offered…

    Here’s the kicker…

    Stipulates an overt act is not required as proof of a riot offense.

    That is verbiage right out of the bill… they intend to prosecute PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATORS under RICO… and a demonstration doesn’t have to turn violent to qualify…

    I can only imagine what sort of insane BS they’re gonna throw against the wall over the next two years trying to derail the 2018 elections…

  67. 67.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @? Martin:

    I think he’s entirely about some form of racial/religious/cultural purity that by removing the nonconformists they can vastly simplify government and the economy.

    This is why he must be destroyed. He and all who seek to deny the reality of the complexity of 21st Century Earth.

  68. 68.

    TriassicSands

    @? Martin:

    Only Congress can change that for marijuana, and they were not about to do so.

    From what I’ve been able to find that is not true. Rescheduling is done by petitioning the DEA. The last time there was a petition for cannabis was in 2011 by then Washington State governor Christine Gregoire. Congress could reschedule cannabis but it is not the expected or primary route to rescheduling — that would be through the petition process.

    Rather than use the word “failure,” I’d revise that to disappointment.

    I’ll have to look into the specific history, but Obama chose Chuck Rosenberg to head the DEA in 2015. I don’t know anything yet about Rosenburg, but I intend to look into him. While the president can’t (apparently) order cannabis rescheduled it does seem likely that a president, given eight years on office, who felt strongly about the issue could probably get it done through appointments, the bully pulpit, and pressure.

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:

    1) this doesn’t make any sense: if obama could descheduled pot, couldn’t trump reschedule it?

    Could, but wouldn’t necessarily. Rescheduling, especially to Schedule II wouldn’t make cannabis legal, but it would make research a lot easier. It would still require a prescription (as far as the feds are concerned) and there wouldn’t necessarily be a compelling reason to reschedule back to Schedule I, especially since only idiots and Jeff Sessions/Donald Trump think cannabis is a killer gateway drug from hell. But, if the president couldn’t reschedule it, then Trump couldn’t reschedule it.

    My disappointment in Obama was that he didn’t make any visible effort to remove this bit of horrendous government hypocrisy. The importance of rescheduling is not legalization (it wouldn’t affect that), but making research — good, real, peer-reviewed research — much easier to do.

  69. 69.

    jl

    @? Martin: Bannon is a toxic and vicious idiot. Good time to bring up fact that Morocco was the first country to recognize the US, and an early community of refugees were Muslims from North Africa, in Charleston South Carolina, of all places.

    Edit: hmm… IIRC it was Morocco. Maybe France and Netherlands were before Morocco. I shoulda looked it up first.

    If This 1780s Southern Politician Fought Islamophobia, We Can Too
    TPM blog
    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/if-charles-pinckney-1780s-southern-politician-fought-islamophobia-we-can-too

    The US was never culturally homogeneous. Some founders, like Franklin, fretted about it. But we wised up with time, and was not a vicious idiot. Bannon’s whole cause is an ignorant lie serving hatred and violence.

    And if these goons get their way, the slicing and dicing of society for the sake of homogeneity will never end. First we need to get rid of Muslims to have nice pretty culturally homogeneous neighborhoods. Soon after the Jews and Blacks and Hispanics are banished to ghettos, they will look around and wonder why liberal Christian churches are allowed. And Catholic parishes.

    We need to explain all that to everyone who will listen. These vicious thugs are extremely dangerous.

  70. 70.

    TriassicSands

    @? Martin:

    Martin, I don’t think it’s the AG, but the DEA that does the rescheduling. But hadn’t you argued above that only Congress could reschedule?

    The main route would normally be to petition the DEA. I’m going to try to find out what the process is within the DEA — who makes the decision, a committee or the head of the DEA?

    The effect of legalizing pot in the US would be to effectively legalize it globally because the US carries so much critical leverage over global trade.

    You’re mixing apples and LSD. Rescheduling does not legalize marijuana. Gregoire’s petition asked for it to be rescheduled to Schedule II, which may have been the only realistic target, but, in fact, Schedule III is probably where cannabis belongs based on the definitions used by the feds.

  71. 71.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:

    @TriassicSands:

    My disappointment in Obama was that he didn’t make any visible effort to remove this bit of horrendous government hypocrisy.

    to paraphrase Chairman Mao, white male privilege is poison.

  73. 73.

    SFAW

    @fuckwit:

    I don’t see any of this improving until after it hits a severe and deadly breaking point.

    And even then …

    Shitgibbon supporters and apologists will scream about (in no particular order) Dems, Obama, Dems, darkies, LGBT, Dems, wimmins, Dems, the “lazy poor,” Dems, Elizabeth Warren, Hitlary, Dems, and LOSERS! It is not clear whether the rational part of the electorate will respond with a hearty-enough “Fuck you!” to that screaming, since the MSM will be giving the screaming a lot more air play. I would be pleasantly surprised if the MSM finally decided to do its/their job(s).

    I think if Bannon were gone, things would be significantly different. Maybe if he pisses of Kim Jong-un, because there’s no way that Shitgibbon would boot him.

    I’m glad Magerman will be trying to do something about this shit, I hope other people with his “leverage” join him.

  74. 74.

    SFAW

    @Adam L Silverman:

    In addition to providing crucial financial help when Mr. Trump’s candidacy was lagging, Mr. Mercer and his daughter Rebekah advised the campaign, suggesting the installation of two Mercer family confidantes, Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway, atop the campaign.

    That was one of the more interesting sentences. I had a general sense that Mercer was an evil fuck with far too much influence (“but George Soros!!!!!!”), but hadn’t realized how a lot of the current shit-storm is directly or indirectly his fault.

  75. 75.

    The Simp in the Suit

    Deconstruction of the administrative state.

    THIS is Bannon’s end game. All against all.

  76. 76.

    Another Scott

    @Miss Bianca: Also too – HotelNewsNow:

    The U.S. hotel industry reported mixed results in the three key performance metrics during the week of 12-18 February 2017, according to data from STR.

    In a year-over-year comparison with the week of 14-20 February 2016:

    Occupancy: -3.2% to 62.2%
    […]

    The numbers are volatile, but the trend being down isn’t surprising…

    Something to watch going forward.

    (via CalculatedRiskBlog.com)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  79. 79.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    ACU’s Dan Schneider now onstage denouncing the alt-right as a “hateful left-wing fascist group.

    ROLF of course.

  80. 80.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Mnemosyne:

    Also, Pence saying they’re in the “promise-keeping” business?

    That’s not a dog whistle to the Christianists, that’s a fucking air horn.

    Promise Keepers, the Christian dads have mock sex with their daughters party thing? Now we know why Pence is the Trump Admin.

  81. 81.

    Anonymous patient

    @Calming Influence:

    The real facts are that in states that have legalized marijuana, opioid addiction and overdose deaths are down. In all the other states, where marijuana is treated more like heroin (OK not really, de facto legal unless you get caught) opioid problems continue to increase.

    Dear friend with degenerative neurological disease similar to MS suffered with pain and loss of control in her limbs. It might have been treatable if it was diagnosed earlier, but she didn’t have health insurance until she got on Medicaid after she lost her job and home. Dies of an OD trying to self-medicate the pain with heroin – brilliant woman who ran out of control from health issues. Thanks political masters of the universe.

    But marijuana is the gateway drug: everyone on smack uses pot first. Let alone the fact that they also all use tobacco, and milk, and beer and wine. The hugest big lie for now.

    And we all know how the big lie works, if you repeat it forever, it makes all the news shows, and soon everyone knows that pot causes the opioid epidemic, right? Of course it does, regardless of the facts.

    The real facts. That legal marijuana availability slows (may even stop) the opioid epidemic.

  82. 82.

    JustRuss

    My wife’s attending a convention in the same facility as CPAC. She’s surprised how many of the attendees are are youngish 20-somethings, although that cohort skews 2-1 male. She finds the young folks pretty friendly and easy to talk to. The older attendees won’t even make eye contact with her group, which consists of a couple thousand higher-ed employees and grad students.

  83. 83.

    Mike in Arlington

    My question/thought on the enforcement of federal pot laws is how will it affect the budget of the DOJ/FBI? Will democrats in states where pot is legal for recreational purposes (or where there is support for legalization) be able to make the case that we are spending a ton of money on going after those dangerous, dangerous pot heads (and pushing pot smokers to buy from drug cartels, sending the money to those dangerous, dangerous foreigners) when there are other issues/problems that should be the DOJ’s priority (like terrorism)?

  84. 84.

    Death Panel Truck

    @Anonymous patient:

    But marijuana is the gateway drug: everyone on smack uses pot first.

    I blame Jack Webb. “Marijuana is the flame, heroin is the fuse, LSD is the bomb!”

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