.
Politico, “Trump’s penchant for vengeance casts shadow on health care vote”:
Donald Trump didn’t have to issue his threat seriously — “I’m gonna come after you,” he said jokingly Tuesday to a ringleader of House GOP hard-liners opposing his health care bill — to be taken seriously by the 200 Republicans gathered in the Capitol basement.
For a president with a penchant for vengeance — who named “an eye for an eye” as his favorite biblical passage, who banned media outlets from campaign events when he didn’t approve of their coverage, who after the election ousted a GOP state chairman whom he viewed as disloyal, who just last week reminded a GOP governor who hadn’t endorsed him that “I never forget” — the roll-call vote on the Republican health care plan, expected Thursday, will be the first accounting of who’s with him and who’s against him on Capitol Hill…
Greg Sargent, at the Washington Post — “Trump’s lies are failing him, and it is making him deeply frustrated”:
The events of this week are revealing with a new level of clarity that President Trump and the White House have ventured far beyond unconventional levels of dishonesty. Instead, they are revealing on their part something more remarkable and challenging to our system: a kind of deep rot of bad faith — a profound contempt for democratic process and the possibility of agreement on shared reality — that is wildly beyond anything in recent memory and strains the limits of our political vocabulary.
The precipitating moment is the clash between the White House and the FBI over the ongoing investigation of possible Russia-Trump campaign collusion, and in this context, the New York Times has some remarkable new reporting on Trump’s mental state and the reaction to it of the people around him..… Trump continues to vaguely believe that what he tweeted will somehow be validated later, at least in some form. But at the same time, Trump himself is growing aware that his nonstop lies — or delusions, or self-deception, or whatever you want to call all of it — are failing him. And he’s frustrated by it. This is coming to us according to people close to Trump…
That NYTimes story, by Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman:
President Trump is a man seriously susceptible to snagging himself in the nettles of obsession. In the last three weeks, no compulsion has so consumed his psyche, and his Twitter account, as the deeply held and shallowly sourced belief that President Barack Obama tapped his phones…
… [A]ides say that Mr. Trump, who often says, “I’m, like, a really smart person” in public, is driven by a need to prove his legitimacy as president to the many critics who deem him an unworthy victor forever undercut by Hillary Clinton’s three-million-vote win in the popular vote…
Second, fighting back — in this case, against Mr. Obama, the F.B.I. director and members of his own party who say his claim about phone taps is false — is an important part of the president’s self-image. The two most influential role models in Mr. Trump’s youth were men who preached the twin philosophies of relentless self-promotion and the waging of total war against anyone perceived as a threat.
Mr. Trump, according to one longtime adviser, is perpetually playing a soundtrack in his head consisting of advice from his father, Fred, a hard-driving real estate developer who laid the weight of the family’s success on his son’s shoulders. Mr. Trump’s other mentor was the caustic and conniving McCarthy-era lawyer Roy Cohn, who counseled Mr. Trump never to give in or concede error…
Toughness, more than any other attribute, is what Mr. Trump has sought to project during his short and successful political career — and he believes his behavior makes him look tougher, no matter what the press thinks.
As a presidential candidate, he wanted to look dour, and vetoed any campaign imagery that so much as hinted at weakness, aides said. Which is why every self-selected snapshot — down to the squinty-eyed scowl attached to his Twitter account — features a tough-guy sourpuss. “Like Churchill,” is what Mr. Trump would tell staffers when asked what look he was going for…
Finally, Mr. Trump hasn’t let up because no one can stop him.
Within the White House, aides describe a nearly paralytic inability to tell Mr. Trump that he has erred or gone too far on Twitter…
Once again: This isn’t an American presidency, it’s a tinpot kakistocracy.
THANKS AGAIN FOR BREAKING OUR COUNTRY, REPUBS!
Kropadope
I didn’t think a Republican-led impeachment effort was possible. But depending on this AHCA vote and how many defectors there are and how the President reacts, things can get ugly. Trump’s approval rating isn’t where it needs to be for the horribly rated, yet almost universally reelected, Congresscritters to feel much heat from his threats anymore. Hell, it might even give them the opportunity to playact “strong independent leader.”
TS
When President Obama had problems getting the ACA passed, he talked about the issues, what the legislation would do and the people who would benefit. Trump, on the other hand threatens congress GOPers and tells them they will lose the next election if they don’t support him. “We the people” seem to be outside of the equation.
Kropadope
Also, his interpretation on “eye for an eye” is less Biblical and more Hamurrabi’s code.
The main question for Trump, as far as the electorate, is how many people can be activated by tribal folklore?
TenguPhule
This vote will tell us if any Republicans have a shred of dignity and basic sanity left.
Anyone who votes for Trumpcare deserves to burn with him.
Brachiator
Trump may “win” on healthcare because his supporters are reliably, distressingly stupid, and have an unshakeable faith in their leader. They are absolutely convinced that the government will finally yank healthcare from underserved moochers and make sure that hard-working white Americans get exactly what’s coming to them. From a Guardian story about a Trump rally in Kentucky:
These people have immunized themselves against anything that might crack their bond with Trump and the GOP. The crazy thing is that they truly believe that Trump will act like a Democrat and protect the social safety net.
low-tech cyclist
Can we stop using words like ‘kakistocracy’? Even if it’s a real word, hardly anyone knows what it means; I doubt I’ve seen it anywhere else besides here.
I used to laugh at the wingnuts talking to each other using words that only they knew what they meant. It pains me to see people on my side starting to talk in code. The purpose of words is to communicate, dammit.
TenguPhule
@Brachiator:
Oh they’ll get whats coming to them good and hard.
And they’re going to react violently when they find out.
Brachiator
@low-tech cyclist: Rule by the worst accurately describes what is happening here under Trump.
Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn
So if I’m scoring things correctly, Trump will make the second Republican president in a row whose names Republicans will forget – with extreme prejudice – the minute they leave office.
TenguPhule
@low-tech cyclist:
That was Pre-trump. Post-Trump, words mean whatever the hell people want them to at the moment.
Brachiator
OT, if not already noted. Colin Dexter, creator of Inspector Morse has died at age 86. Loved the tv series with John Thaw as Morse.
In a weird way, I think we need someone like a Morse to take Trump down. Someone who is not distracted by the bullshit and phony elitism masquerading as populist concern oozing from Trump.
hellslittlestangel
That cartoon reminds me of The Thing With Two Heads, but in this case both heads are racists!
Cermet
The ACA is dying and this current bill simply hands the loss of the ACA over to the thugs; otherwise, only the dems will own the ACA disaster that is rapidly approaching. Once the mandate was dropped by small hands, the ACA’s slow death spiral has becomes a more rapid one. As insurance companies withdraw from states and rates climb through the roof, exactly how does this result in anything but “blame the dems for the rate increase forcing the poor off their insurance and the $$$ lost by the middle class struggling to pay for these steep increases”?
This vote needs to pass both the house and senate if these thugs are to ever own the eventual collapse of the ACA that they have brought on anyway. At least the dems can recover in the midterms and maybe, come 2020, win all branches resulting in a real healthcare bill being enacted.
JWR
@Brachiator:
Yeah, right. That was the position I was in when my job in aerospace manufacturing, (thanks, Tyco Electronics and Dennis “$15K dog umbrella stands” Kozlowski!), moved over the border, just south of New Mexico, in 2005-2006. How’s about MY job coming back, or any of the others, and at the same rate of pay? Does this guy actually believe that’s gonna happen? But for all of that, I don’t necessarily blame NAFTA, I blame the greed of the owners. NAFTA just made it that much easier to pull off.
Aleta
That Post article about Trump doesn’t mention that their sources
(“This is coming to us according to people close to Trump”) are participating in “the deep rot of bad faith.” And “this deep contempt for process, fact-based debate and policy reality — borders on all-corrosive” describes every Republican in Congress (the ones who couldn’t handle it have left) and their favorite news source. They’re not going to call each other out unless it’s personally profitable.
TriassicSands
Donald Trump demonstrating that he’s not even remotely “like” a smart person (not to mention he sounds like he’s in middle school).
Trump doesn’t know this, but someone should tell him. Most smart people don’t have to tell others how smart they are. Intelligence is difficult to hide. Oh, occasionally there is someone who can fool others, but they are usually very quiet, not loud-mouthed braggarts. It’s true, someone can be smart and insecure and that may lead them to tell everyone how smart they are. But in Trump’s case, his actions give me the overwhelming impression that he’s not at all intelligent. He has certain skills — mostly useful when he’s trying to manipulate or cheat people.
Denying climate change isn’t smart. Gutting the EPA and State Departments? Not smart. Lying about being wiretapped? Not only not smart, but idiotic. The list is endless.
Incidentally, the 60 days allotted for the White House to respond to We the People petitions are now up. No word yet from Trump about releasing his taxes or divestiture. Big surprise. I wonder, with 1,084,000+ signatures on the tax petition if Trump’s response, should there be one, will once again claim that no one cares but journalists. Maybe he’ll claim that over a million journalists and reporters signed the petition.
NotMax
Another day, another holler.
bystander
The Moanin’ Joe panelists seem to concur there aren’t enough votes to pass the House. The discussion of people struggling to realize that healthcare is a right is incredibly boring. None of them can bring him or herself to articulate the idea precisely. Talk about listening to a group of blind people describing an elephant. (With all due respect to blind people and elephants.)
John S.
@Kropadope:
The whole “eye for an eye” thing seems to trip up a lot of wannabe Christians. They always seem to miss the part which immediately follows the refutation of Hammurabi’s code:
?BillinGlendaleCA
@TriassicSands: I said a year ago when Dolt 45’s campaign first started taking off: if someone tells you how rich they are, they aren’t and if someone tells you how smart they are, they aren’t.
JWR
@TriassicSands:
Silly as it sounds, I’m sure he would, with backup from Sean “Scary” Spicer.
TriassicSands
Whoa, I just watched a clip of the Gorsuch hearing. It was the first time I’ve seen Anne’s little boy. What a phony!
Patricia Kayden
@Cermet: Great point. Republicans will find a way to kill the ACA even if they can’t decide on a “replacement”. They’re fine with millions losing healthcare as long as their wealthy benefactors get tax breaks.
bystander
@TriassicSands: Gorsuck is the bench’s Eddie Haskell.
msdc
@low-tech cyclist: Yes. Thank you.
pk
@Brachiator:
What the Guardian fails to mention is that this guy is a stone cold racist. If you take a look at his face book page it’s all about blacks committing crimes against whites, Muslims raping young girls etc. Healthcare has nothing to do with it. This is where the media completely fails, going along with the pretense that Trump supporters are concerned about anything other than maintaining white superiority.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@Kropadope: Yeah I didn’t get the impression that the head of the freedumb caucus was much scared by Trump’s threats. When this bill goes down his threats will prove to be empty and nobody is going to give a crap about his petty vendetta mindset anymore. It’ll be another two weeks and they’ll be laughing in his face rather than behind his back when he issues threats.
trnc
Of course he did. That’s one of the few that almost every non-christian has heard of.
trnc
@bystander:
I was going to say you needn’t worry about disrespecting elephants, but I guess it isn’t their fault they got turned into a mascot by a bunch of dipshits.
Jado
@JWR:
You’re the only victim I have ever seen who blames the owners. Most people in your position are wingnut loons who blame the Clintons and the Democrats for their job being sent to another country by greedheads in the C-level offices.
Nice to see that not everyone loses their mind along with their job. Sorry we didn’t do anything to stop this.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Brachiator: Politically Trump is preaching to the choir, those people are on board but not enough to get what wants to do, done.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@low-tech cyclist:
Push your vocabulary dude
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakistocracy
stinger
@TriassicSands: Wasn’t the “We the People” petition website an initiative of the Obama administration? If so, Purple Rictus can easily ignore it; in fact, I’m surprised it’s still available at whitehouse.gov.
pinacacci
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: I think it’s being pointed out that we know what it means but it’s obscure enough to become the subject of idiotic “How to interpret the Alt-Left” articles.
No One You Know
@Kropadope: Yep. And Hammarubi didn’t intend to make it a mandate. He intended it to limit retaliation to a proportionate degree.
People weren’t supposed to take a life if what they lost was an eye. It was even possible to barter the exchange; if an archer was willing to give up his non-dominant eye to save the offender’s, that could be done.
Threatening someone’s job if they don’t pass a bill is neither proportionate nor presidential.
Trump fails again.
DaddyJ
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: I always assumed it shared a root meaning with “caca” (excrement), so quite redolent with appropriateness as far as I’m concerned!
Aardvark Cheeselog
@low-tech cyclist:
Literate people can figure out the definition of words like this just by looking at them. This is not comparable to wingnut code talk.
craigie
@Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn:
What makes you think he’s leaving?
Keith P.
@low-tech cyclist: Yeah, the best guess I can come up with it is that it has something to do with pants (in spite of the missing ‘h’, since I have literally no other idea of what it could be, and I’m not looking up any more internet terms…NYResolution)
Tehanu
@Brachiator:
You left off these words at the end of that: “… for them. Only.”