New: House Dems already beat their online fundraising haul for all of 2015 and it's only May.
Tump = ATM for Dems.https://t.co/22yT8HtZ3l
— Alex Seitz-Wald (@aseitzwald) May 18, 2017
… The unusual fundraising haul is the latest sign that President Donald Trump is motivating Democrats in extraordinary ways as the party looks to win back the 24 seats it needs to retake the House of Representatives in next year’s midterm elections and put Rep. Nancy Pelosi back in the Speaker’s chair.
The DCCC raised $20 million in online contributions since the start of the year from contributions averaging just $18, according to the group, beating the $19.7 million the committee raised during 2015, the last off-year ahead of an election year.
The campaign arm of House Democrats said more than 2.2 million people joined the committee’s grassroots email lists since the beginning of January, including 156,00 new donors.
“The DCCC is actively building the largest battleground in a decade, and that’s a testament to the grassroots energy that we’re witnessing every day, in every corner of America,” said DCCC Spokesman Tyler Law. “Our record smashing grassroots, online fundraising haul is further evidence that House Democrats are on offense while Republicans are in a full meltdown.”…
Pelosi, having some fun w Qs about Trump's tweets: "How did he spell witch hunt?"
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) May 18, 2017
FWIW, Pelosi talks about impeachment differently than in 2006. Then, it was "off the table." Now, it's not up to her if Dems discuss it.
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) May 18, 2017
Because, well…
I think we need to consider the possibility that the Trump White House is populated by morons. https://t.co/N3KwNPoH65 pic.twitter.com/jBScoL3YO7
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) May 18, 2017
EXCLUSIVE: Trump planning retaliation for leaks — “ludicrous” revenge plan targeting Obama administration. https://t.co/1X3jbK41Fl
— Benjamin Pauker (@benpauker) May 18, 2017
What’s (that we know about) on the agenda as we look forward to wrapping up the week?
Baud
Assange is off the hook in Sweden.
rikyrah
Good Morning Everyone ???
Mustang Bobby
@Baud: Yumpin’ Yiminy… ugh. That stinks like week-old lutefisk.
rikyrah
@Baud:
Story,?
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
Kay
Sherrod Brown is kind of scratchy and blunt, which I used to think was a liability for a politician but lately I’m like “oh, thank God, someone stated the obvious”
Is there any “call Congress and oppose” effort? I’d join that. He shouldn’t get this position. I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him and he’s in no way qualified.
Mustang Bobby
Plotting beeg trouble for moose and squirrel?
divF
@Baud: How’s that ? Statue of limitations run out ?
Also, good morning from Jeddah. The Donald arrives in Riyadh in 20 hours, according to the countdown clock provided by the Saudi government. Fortunately, Riyadh is 500+ miles from here, so little opportunity for disruption.
Baud
@rikyrah:
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/BigStory12/idUSKCN18F0TC
Mustang Bobby
@Kay: Not only that he’s unqualified, every time Joe Lieberman opens his mouth he reminds me of the dad on “ALF.”
Patricia Kayden
@Mustang Bobby: The Obama administration is gone and relaxing as they enjoy a much deserved break from politicking. What the hell is Trump going to do to them? Ridiculous. So looking forward to him being forced out of office along with the rest of his gang.
Frankensteinbeck
Man, I’m disappointed. I told all my friends the AHCA had to be redone, and apparently it’s still uncertain. I can’t see how the new changes alter the CBO score that much. On the other hand, it’s true Ryan lied to his caucus and hasn’t sent it to the Senate.
Morzer
Just so that this doesn’t get lost in the change from the night shift:
https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-05-18/house-may-be-forced-to-vote-again-on-gop-s-obamacare-repeal-bill
debbie
I don’t remember the Obama administration mishandling sensitive data? Have I forgotten something?
Frankensteinbeck
@Morzer:
Yeah, but how can it not go under $2 billion when the first one was like $335 billion for 10 years? Adam was sure, and he’s the most reliable source I know except Mayhew. I’m really upset. This is the most important news since the revision passed.
Baud
@Frankensteinbeck: You should chill. Until yesterday, we thought passage in the House was a done deal. Now we have a glimmer of hope.
debbie
@Kay:
Hey Kay. I saw your post yesterday about Cordray. I’m wondering whether they’ll ever actually do anything about the CFPB now. There’s so much other stuff going on.
Baud
@debbie: Did you just take something Trump said seriously?
Morzer
And if anyone wants to know all about Trump’s latest hire:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2017/05/18/a-david-clarke-dossier/
Be warned, you won’t want to read about David Clarke’s sordid career after or during a meal.
debbie
@Baud:
Sometimes I doubt my memory.
Frankensteinbeck
@Baud:
I just hate telling my friends a false rumor. This is the thing I get furious about when other people do it. Oh, well. But David/Mayhew put up a post. His take was ‘This is insanely complicated and my gut instinct is it will pass CBO, but that’s a shot in the dark.’
debbie
@Morzer:
All anyone needs to know is that he’s been a substitute host on Glenn Beck’s show.
Kay
@Mustang Bobby:
If they’re trying to restore credibility they’re on the wrong track. It’s that moronic idea that someone with ties or a past with both Republicans and Democrats is somehow “good”. Trump voted for Democrats at one time. Has that made him good? No. He’s bad at his job. It’s at the level of the least-informed voter.
It doesn’t have to be this dumb. We could have higher standards.
kindness
One way we need to grow as a nation is our MSM (minus Fox and the braying right wing nutz) needs to call things at their face value. Stop being polite because you are just being played. And NO! Both sides don’t do it and no other side has ever done this before.
They won’t of course. I have to wonder if their bosses keep them leashed or drugged (by their paychecks most likely).
Baud
@Frankensteinbeck: If they are your friends, they’ll understand. When other people do it, they don’t correct the record and apologize. That’s the difference between being human and making mistakes and being deceitful or untrustworthy.
Frankensteinbeck
@Baud:
Oh, they’ll understand, but it’s a personal thing. A) I’m disappointing people in a big way. B) Unreliable political rumors are a giant pet peeve. They’re the thing I’ve crusaded about here for years*. Oh, well. I’m sure I’ll calm down when my blood sugar moderates.
EDIT: That and ‘The GOP is run by racism.’
Kay
@debbie:
That’s a very careful answer, though, “I may have to”. I think you got it right. If the CFPB goes down he’ll go back to Ohio.
I like him for sticking with it and suing. Not bailing when it got hard. He’s a very good lawyer, in addition to his Jeopardy skill :)
My friend worked on his AG campaign and Cordray is his first choice for governor.
Betty Cracker
@Kay: It would not surprise me if this is another massive miscalculation by Trump (thinking Lieberman would be a popular choice), or whichever unqualified hack is gaming out political strategy for him. A lot of Democrats can’t abide Lieberman. Sounds like most of them are going with the “we need someone with law enforcement experience” rationale, which conveniently eliminates Lieberman while also being the truth!
Morzer
@debbie:
Glenn Beck is a worthless drug-addled kook, but David Clarke is crazier and has actually done or allowed the sort of things that Beck and his fellow lunatics only dream of.
NorthLeft12
One of the last lines in the FP article had a security expert wondering how Deadbeat Donald’s idiot posse could try and equate Trump’s security breach with the malware attack sharing information that occurred during President Obama’s time, is obviously not familiar with the “Both Sides Do It” faction that dominates US media. This is a piece of cake for those guys.
Baud
@NorthLeft12: They tried it with Susan Rice recently and it failed badly for them. Of course, their base will eat it up, but their base is like MIkey. They’ll eat anything.
Betty Cracker
@Morzer: Saw on Twitter that the person who used to run that section in DHS said employees were aghast at the prospect of working for that kook.
Kay
@debbie:
This is kind of sad but I think truthful. My middle son is getting involved in his union, electricians. He votes for Democrats and is a surprisingly reliable voter for a 22 year old. He did an absentee at my kitchen table in ’16 and was teasing me he was voting for Jill Stein- he didn’t- he voted for Clinton but this is the sort of joke he enjoys :)
He’s very quiet, doesn’t talk that much but he asked me who was running for Ohio gov on the D side – he’s going to some kind of political rally/picnic Saturday. I told him and he said “don’t pick a woman again- they won’t vote for her”.
Ugh. I wonder what he hears.
OzarkHillbilly
@Morzer: Chaffetz can’t get away from the SS Trump fast enough and that idiot is climbing aboard. I’m glad he’s joining the Trump admin. This is the beginning of the end of that asshole and soon we will never hear from him again.
Frankensteinbeck
@kindness:
I think they’re just Republicans. Or more specifically, ‘Reagan Democrats’, people who think they’re liberal but agree with the Republicans about everything and so applaud themselves for being open-minded. They love liars, tax cuts, slashing the safety net, and sure as Hell don’t think black lives matter. So they’re going to defend Republicans if it requires twisting themselves into pretzels, and particularly pretend, always, that racism is fringe and basically over.
EDIT: Oh, and wars. Are there any hawks more gleeful than MSM pundits?
Baud
@Kay:
He probably hears a lot about their economic anxiety, of course.
debbie
@Kay:
One can never forget one is living in Ohio. ;)
I think a candidate being a woman is just an excuse for your son’s coworkers. I’ll bet Mary Taylor doesn’t face that same kind of hurdle with conservative voters.
James E Powell
@Kay:
The level of the least informed voter is the level that determines outcomes.
Baud
@Frankensteinbeck: It kills me that the media is one of the main reasons we are in this mess, but now we are forced to rely on them to do their jobs. It also kills me that Trump will be very lucrative for them.
Mustang Bobby
@Kay: Marcy Kaptur in Toledo seems to do pretty well with the union vote there, right?
Morzer
@OzarkHillbilly:
Chaffetz is an interesting one. Not the person I would have guessed would be the first rat to desert the sinking shit. My guess is that he saw something that terrified him and is making off with his winnings before the roof falls in.
OzarkHillbilly
@Kay:
Trust me Kay, you don’t want to know. 95% of all construction workers are Neanderthals at heart.
Kay
@Baud:
He kept hinting this might be a problem in ’16 but he voted Bernie in the primary so I considered him “biased” :)
I do think labor unions provided a window into those sorts of people for Democrats and with fewer and fewer union members they have lost that insight and information. Clinton was pilloried for her weird flag burning shit but I was once at a labor-heavy Dem dinner in ’06 (or thereabouts) and they all stood up and clapped when the speaker mentioned it. I was flabbergasted. THIS is what they clap for? You have to know what they think before you can seek to persuade them otherwise.
hueyplong
@Mustang Bobby: That’s some Dad-on-Elf libel. Sherrod Brown speaks for me, though he came up about a half dozen F-bombs short.
@Frankensteinbeck I’m well and truly tired of the term “Reagan Democrats” being used instead of the more honest “racists.” The term “Reagan Democrats” as employed merely describes the voters who followed southern racist Democrats over to the GOP. They are, no doubt, economically insecure, the little snowflakes.
Baud
@Kay: I feel like a dirty little secret on our side of the aisle is that the reason the Dems can’t be more liberal than they are is because of the need to appeal to those working class and union workers who will still consider voting for Dems and who are by and large conservative-leaning in their worldview. (The other major non-liberal block are white suburbanites, although there is probably some overlap there.)
OzarkHillbilly
@Morzer: The man has a sure fire instinct for self-preservation. I gotta give him that much.
Kay
@Mustang Bobby:
She does and there’s always been this conventional wisdom in Ohio (which I have never been able to verify) that female judicial candidates have an edge- they’re considered “more fair” (supposedly).
Kaptur is complicated. Her ethnicity and religion and temperament and approach fits very well with older Toledo Democrats. She’s ideal for a number of reasons. She’s almost a “type” in that specific area of the country. They trust her in a way that transcends “female”. She really is one of them.
TS
@Baud:
Ho of the morning has made exactly that point. They currently have their highest ratings ever – only beaten by election night.
Morzer
@OzarkHillbilly:
It all goes to show that survival of the fittest has nothing to do with justice or intelligence.
Kay
@Baud:
They have moved on social issues though. There’s a lot less heat around abortion than there used to be and a lot of lower/middle income young people here (who probably don’t vote) are almost socially liberal. This is a very conservative county and 13 year old boys can be jerks but I listen to my son’s friends and they call each other out on making derogatory comments on gay people. It’s not as acceptable as it was. To me the key is admitting it exists and confronting it rather than writing them off or denying it. Obama’s campaigns recognized the reality of it- they did a very specific thing they called “validators” where they had local people who could reach other local people and almost “vouch” for him. I think that was to get past knee-jerk restistance based on race. It worked. They GOT comfortable with him but Obama didn’t pretend it didn’t exist. His campaign was very matter of fact about it “this is a barrier and how can we get past it”
Baud
@Kay: Right. But it takes work, and it’s a slow process. And then Dems get criticized for not moving more quickly or being more aggressive. It’s frustrating.
OzarkHillbilly
@Morzer: One does not need to run faster than the lion, just faster than the guy that is with you.
NorthLeft12
I read on Digby’s blog that a former head of Mossad is publicly encouraging the Israeli intelligence agency to withhold certain sensitive information to “punish” America/Trump and hopefully this will make Deadbeat Donald think twice before burning another source.
The problem with that strategy is that Deadbeat Donald don’t care. Trump doesn’t give a shit. He will do what he wants, when he wants, no matter the consequences to others. He shared that information with the Russians in a stupidly obvious attempt to impress the Russians by showing that Donny has the best people reporting to him with the best intel. This transparent effort to humiliate and dominate them goes to the core of what that fool is. He will get constantly played by every world leader he deals with.
Actually, his performance so far makes me wonder how stupid most business people are. I mean, how could they not take advantage of Trump in any negotiation and absolutely take him to the cleaners? His pathology is just too easy to manipulate. Could be that most of them just avoided the stress and unpleasantness of dealing with the fool, no matter how much money they could make off/with him.
Kay
@Baud:
It’s sort of like I tell my juveniles and the high schoolers how to dress to reassure adults. It would be nice if people didn’t judge people on sight but they do. They have to surmount this barrier. They can figure out a way to do it but don’t deny it exists “on principle”. Deal with it. Wear the khaki pants and collar shirt or don’t but accept that it exists.
It doesn’t matter if they “should” be influenced by clothes. They are. Get past it.
Baud
@NorthLeft12: From what I’ve read, he seems to have gotten a lot worse with age. There may have been a time when he was just like any other businessperson.
Baud
@Kay: Ugh. That cuts deep. I don’t like to shop and my wardrobe reflects that. I think that has cost me upward mobility.
MomSense
@Baud:
I Fucking hate our media but here we are rooting for them.
I think the media played chicken with the election. They assumed Clinton would win so they had a big ratings party with her so called scandals and the trump rallies. And now we are all suffering through endless crises and incompetence.
Mustang Bobby
@Morzer: Or in his case, survival of the twittest.
Ramalama
@Kay: Thank you for this. I loathe Joe Lieberman. I loatherman him.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud:
Maybe just like any other criminal business person.
charluckles
“Members of Trump’s inner circle are apparently angry with the department for refusing to share certain classified information with White House staffers, because they lack proper clearances — a roadblock the White House insists doesn’t exist, because it has the president’s signoff.”
WTF
Baud
@charluckles: I’d get the president’s sign-off in writing before sharing a thing.
OzarkHillbilly
@Mustang Bobby: Heh.
Kay
@Baud:
They need to look “safe” to adults and that translates into bland clothing. It’s like what people say about animals, right? “They’re more afraid of you than you are of them!”
Baud
@MomSense: We all have to bear our crosses. We kind of have to root for Comey now too.
@OzarkHillbilly: I thought that was implied. :-)
Gin & Tonic
@NorthLeft12:
He’s not a businessman. He’s a real-estate developer. That’s a specific field, and it is not known for the intellectual caliber of its players. Even there, when he came up against well-qualified people, he lost his shirt.
Ramalama
Has anyone read this “>excellent analysis about Kellyanne and needing to take a shower whenever she went on air to shill for Trump?
Lindy West is shrill. And so am I.
Kay
@Ramalama:
I do too. I was horrified when Gore picked him. I hated him early :)
Quinerly
@Kay:
I’m pretty sure I remember Lieberman with that sanctimonious smirk on his face sitting in a prominent place during the Gorsuch hearings.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: If I had his sign off in writing that would be a sure sign NOT to.
Morzer
@Baud:
Well, I think you look very dapper in the arugula shorts and grey poupon shirt!
NorthLeft12
@Baud: Yes, that is the most important task for the Trump circus……convincing the base. But lets face it, that howling pack of deplorables will believe anything that exalts their leader and smears Obama.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: You’re right. I was being redundant.
Kay
@Ramalama:
It’s really not amazing that a huge liar like Trump hired a group of huge liars. They ALL lie. He must have some question in the interview that pegs that. “Pass this one to the next round- will lie easily”
Baud
@Morzer: Thanks! You should see me when I’m not wearing them.
Kay
@Quinerly:
He endorsed Sarah Palin. Enough said.
Ramalama
@Kay: Me too. Wonder who Gore would have picked had Clinton kept his stains off of interns.
Perhaps one of the gifts of the Trump administration is the fact that we no longer need moral scolds in our government.
I’m getting ahead of myself, as Pence is next up to bat.
Baud
@Kay: And Flynn!
Morzer
@Ramalama:
Mike “Motherfucker” Pence…
blowback
@Baud: Not really. This is a non-withdrawal withdrawal:
He’s unlikely to visit Sweden voluntarily but who’s to say some intelligence agency won’t kidnap and deliver him there
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: No thanx.
Morzer
@Baud:
The Mountain That Wobbles?
Enhanced Voting Techniques
More like five year old boys.
El Caganer
@Morzer: But the vets all love him!
http://reverbpress.com/news/stolen-valor-army-vet-sheriff-clarke-toy-uniform/
Gin & Tonic
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Five year old boys can learn stuff.
Quinerly
@Kay:
Yep. I don’t remember him praising her specifically but I do know how tight he and McCain were/are. The prominent place at the Gorsuch hearings puzzled me, though. Wonder if he is associated with the law firm that helped shepherd Gorsuch through the nomination?
Vor
According to Wikipedia, Lieberman was Attorney General of Connecticut from 83-89. So he has law enforcement on his resume, although not Federal.
Gin & Tonic
@Quinerly: He works for the law firm that represents one Donald J Trump. *That* is his primary qualification.
jacy
@Gin & Tonic:
Real Estate management and development is a cesspool. I’ve never personally known anyone in the field who wasn’t a) an asshole, and b) shady as fuck, if not outright criminal.
Morzer
@Gin & Tonic:
Someone has apparently been trying to hide that fact on Wikipedia.
rikyrah
@Baud:
Uh uh uh ??
Jeffro
@Morzer: Just another troll hire, like putting DeVos in charge of Education, or Pruitt in charge of HHS. They managed to find a black guy who thinks BLM is a terrorist group – what could be better?
Same with Lieberman. As G&T noted in #88 – his only qualification is that he’s a Dem (in name) and he’s already ‘in’ as a Trumpov loyalist.
This is all they do. It’s all they are. Cleek’s Law Trolls.
Kay
@Baud:
Oh, he’s horrible. No more horrible people. Why is that so hard? You’d think we could take some of these older horrible people off the list of potential hires. God knows there’s plenty of new ones.
I hate politicians who were prosecutors a hundred years ago and still boast about it, too. Remember Arlen Specter?
“He was a PROSECUTOR you know”. Yeah. We all know. He’s been riding it for decades.
sherparick
@NorthLeft12: 1. Well, obviously, a lot of folks have taken advantage of him over the years. 2. Extreme Narcissism and primate dominance displays were attributes that were features, not bugs, in the celebrity media culture in the U.S. and New York in the 1980s and 90s, and even more bizarre Reality TV period of the first decade of the 21st century. Whatever was great for attracting eyeballs, to sell crap, and make money, was rewarded. 3. The “cult of the businessman,” which has existed in the U.S. almost since it started was able to wrap Trump into a mystique of competence without really possessing a shred of administrative skills. 4. A lot of his and his folks ploys and responses to the current catastrophes seem moronic to us, but I have enough friends and acquaintances who basically get their news from the Right Wing Infotainment Industrial Complex and they constantly hear and respond to any allegation about Trump with “Clinton’s evil and corrupt and her husband is pedophile and Obama “ruined” the country and the media never held him accountable for his “scandals.” These statements are uttered in declarative sentences, with lots of Fox news tropes, but without specificity or evidence. This is also where Trump, Paul Ryan, McConnell and the current gang of Republicans and Conservatives are at the moment. This is where they are different even from Karl Rove, Cheney, and Bush, and certainly the Reagan/G. H. W. Bush Administrations. Those administrations at least aimed at getting a majority of the country behind them. But Trump, Ryan, Pence, et. al, are only interested in the 40% of electorate, almost all white, the Republican Donor Class, and the Christianist agenda; they want tax cuts and punishment for the rest of the country. They want to dominate the rest of the country as a minority. For the Trumpkins, the ploy to go after the Obama administration for a program to share intel with allies on cyber-security threats as being worst then Trump’s off-handed sharing with the Russians the most sensitive secrets of state appears brilliant since they know this lie will be repeated by Fox and Talk Radio for the rest of the week and their base will eat it up and be further enraged at the MSM.
sherparick
@NorthLeft12: yes, Ron Fournier and Michael Dowd will attribute all of Donald Trump’s catastrophes as being due to “Obama’s failure to lead.”
Kay
@Baud:
Trey Gowdy, prosecutor. There you go.
Immanentize
@Betty Cracker: I know this sounds maybe age-ist, but Joe Lieberman is friggin 75 years old. The FBI Director — by statute! — gets a 10 year appointment. You do the math.
Mezz
Strange/terrifying thought:
Are we now placed in a position to fervently hope for That Man’s well-being and health?? Think of it: the greatest and best service that he could do right now, at this moment – the greatest service to his brand, the GOP, his crime family kleptocrats, his own farcical reputation – would be to suffer some type of grievous assault/injury while traveling abroad. FSM forbid something terrible were to happen to him.
Obviously that would play out: the neo-fascists demand war against whomever was responsible, all criminal investigations would maybe end (speak not ill of the dead and all that nonsense) and his kleptocratic family would get away with it all, AND his stupid and destructive agenda would get rammed through, again, “in honor of the shit-stain he represented to the White House, we pass his shitty agenda …” Heavens, I can just hear the sanctimoniousness of that assh*le Ryan now as he demand the House do all this garbage.
Wow, this is going to keep me up at night now until he gets back. What an evil prick.
Paul in KY
As stupid as it sounds to us, that strategery (That dastardly IslamoFacist Athiest Obama did this!), has worked time & again with his moron base. That’s who they are pitching it to.
Does mean (IMO) that they think they are in deep doo doo when they have to lobby their jerkwads like that.
gvg
@Morzer: David Clark is black but seems to hate other black people. I don’t get that. Actually he seems to hate everyone who tells him not to injure others. He appears to be covering up several murders and some of his police men should be tried for murder.
Maybe charges can be brought when he is no longer boss there. A new job would not protect him.
MomSense
@Baud:
So true, Baud. I hate Comey with a passion and yet I am now praying to the gods that he has the goods on Dolt45.
Paul in KY
@Ramalama: If he’d picked Bob Graham, he’d have been President. No doubt.
laura
Does anyone doubt for one second that Joe Leiberman would absolutely affirm his loyalty to Trump, instead of protecting and defending the Constitution?
Holy Joe wears his sanctimony like a greasy film of sweat after an all nighter coke-n-booze jag.
NorthLeft12
@OzarkHillbilly:
I wonder if I am becoming more radically progressive as I age, but more and more it seems that the common capitalist business model is based on fraud and violation of government regulations.
The overarching purpose of a business enterprise is to make as much money as possible for its owners, regardless of the interests of the customers, employees, community, and society at large. This philosophy is used to justify all manner of criminality because of the belief that maximum profit for the owners is good and beneficial for everyone. Laws and regulations are seen as hurdles in the way of maximizing the profit.
This seems to be a further extension of the trickle down theory, which is still an article of faith among many….and not just conservatives.
NorthLeft12
@sherparick: Thanks for the response. Lengthy, but entertaining.
LurkerNoLonger
All this Lieberman talk is just a head fake for Trump’s actual pick for FBI director: Whitey Bolger.
GregB
@MomSense:
A little noticed part of the Comey story when the notes aspect first dropped.
One of his confidants said something to the effect. You don’t think he’d drop the good stuff right out of the gate.
Comey’s little black book has some cruise missiles yet to launch.
hovercraft
@Baud:
Wardrobe and grooming will not hold BAUD 2020 back!!
Just look how far he who shall not be named got.
Betty Cracker
@gvg: Clarke is an authoritarian and a twisted sadist. He would enlist under any banner that allowed him to act on his evil impulses, and Trump’s was the handiest. I hope he gets prosecuted for the horrible things that went on at his jail. He shouldn’t be walking the streets a free man, let alone in any position of authority.
Betty Cracker
@Immanentize: Agreed. And frankly, actual Democrats would do well to get away from the gerontocracy in politics too. I have a lot of respect for Joe Biden, but I hope like hell he doesn’t run in 2020.
blowback
Am I allowed to ask what was so bombshell-like about the Washington Post report?
That the president decided to de-classify secret information, which he is allowed to do whenever he likes, and passed it to two high-ranking officials of a country with which he is attempting to establish cordial relations as what is believed to be one of his election pledges.
Or was the bombshell that the Washington Post revealed to ISIS how, where, when and by whom some intelligence related to them had been acquired by the U.S. government.
I doubt the Russians were unaware of the threat since it’s been widely publicised in the news media for quite a few months now and it’s very unlikely they would pass any information to ISIS since they and their allies seem to be killing quite a few ISIS fighters. The only probable consequence for the Israelis is next time Netanyahu visits Moscow he might receive a telling off from Putin if Mossad hadn’t already passed or more likely traded the information to the SVR.
hovercraft
@Quinerly:
By endorsing McGrump and sticking with him after he picked Palin, he was implicitly endorsing her. There were several serious actual republicans who explicitly said that the pick caused them to endorse Obama because she was patently unqualified because she posed a danger to the country. He doesn’t get to say he was just sticking with his amigo, they both displayed an incredible lack of judgment.
I didn’t watch the Gorsuck hearings so no idea what the deal was there, but him sitting behind De Vos is more proof that he has terrible judgment.
Ruckus
@kindness:
The MSM is all about eyeballs. If they piss off a member of the cult (the republican party for the past few decades) they piss off most members of the cult. That of course is why it’s a cult, people follow the
leadersherd rather than even try to think for themselves.hovercraft
@MomSense:
I hate Comey, I hate the media, but alas I have to root for them all, because we need their help to bring down the orange menace. Sigh. Sometimes it’s worth the sacrifice of principles, we worked with Stalin to defeat Hitler so there is precedent ; (
How is your Dad doing?
ThresherK
Here in CT, I have broken thumbs hitting buttons on the remote when Blowmentum (or his name) shows up on my TV. I therefore can’t say, but if he endorsed Obama or Hillary like any normal Connecticut Democrat (i.e. full-throated), I missed it.
laura
Ten Grain did a quick list of Holy Joe’s greatest hits.
Behold:
Oh, Yeah, About That FBI Thing | Mock Paper Scissors
https://mockpaperscissors.com/2017/05/18/oh-yeah-about-that-fbi-thing/
Jeffro
Brooksie stole a page from Kay’s playbook this morning: Trumpov’s Talent Vacuum
This isn’t the first piece I’ve seen this week about how no rational person will or should want to work for Trumpov. Maybe it’s time for “Trumpsubstantiation” to hit the national discourse???
NorthLeft12
@blowback: I am sure others that are much more knowledgeable than me will reply to you, but my take is that a normal, thoughtful, and prudent President would declassify material after careful consideration and consultation with the Intelligence services.
I sincerely doubt that this happened here. Deadbeat Donald most likely decided completely on his own to “show off” his great intel to [in his mind] impress and obligate the Russians to him. Yes, to him, not the US of A. Trump would be completely ignorant of the ramifications of his action, and frankly I believe he would be completely uncaring of the consequences to the source and the agencies involved. It is who he is.
Thru the Looking Glass...
That’s because you’re not a desperate, self-deluded idiot, Mr. Green…
Shalimar
From MSNBC, Jared Kushner, Mr. Peace-in-the-Middle-East, is taking credit for negotiating an arms deal with Saudi Arabia.
I assume all the putting Israel in it’s place that has occurred in the last week is a huge step towards bringing peace any day now.
mainmata
@Kay: In addition to the obvious conflict of interest as part of Trump’s law firm, he’s 75 years old for a 10 year term and the FBI Director’s job is a very stressful one at that. Trump is clearly expecting that Whining Joe would bury any Russia investigation, which is ludicrous.
Shalimar
@Jeffro: Trump has also blacklisted 3/4 of the party for saying negative things about him in public. That also limits the potential hires.
hovercraft
@Betty Cracker:
Doesn’t he have to get a security clearance to do the job at DHS? At what point will Twitler learn that hiring people under investigation is not smart? At this point I’m waiting for him to hire Sheriff Joe, Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, pardon Bernie Madoff and nominate him as his new Treasury Secretary.
Mnemosyne
@Betty Cracker:
Here in Los Angeles County, our former sheriff just got 3 years in prison for obstruction of justice during an investigation into our jails.
Of course, I live in a Democrat-dominated state and in a county that’s even deeper blue, so we still have some politicians who believe in the rule of law. And when one of Baca’s henchmen had the balls to run for sheriff himself even though he was under indictment on similar charges, he got his ass handed to him at the ballot box.
Sloane Ranger
@divF: The BBC reported the Metropolitan Police as saying he’ll still be arrested if he leaves the Embassy on a charge of jumping his bail. Of course, that’s not exactly a Premier League offense, but it is something!
Mnemosyne
@blowback:
Well, I have to get up and get ready for work, but I’ll take a little of the bait. The bombshell was not that the Washington Post revealed that information to ISIS, but that TASS had done so. Remember them, the only media outlet that was allowed into the room while the meeting took place?
And when your only defense of the president’s handing code-word classified information to a hostile power is, Well, it was legal for him to do it! you already know you don’t have much of a defense.
Shalimar
@blowback: Presidents aren’t experts in classified information. Our government employs thousands of people who are. Yes, the president is the final decision-maker, but there is a process for what and when to declassify and it should be followed. It wasn’t.
In addition, it developed later in the week that the asset Trump burned was an irreplaceable Israeli source within ISIS. That is a huge problem, though there is no way Trump knew that was what he was doing. This is why you let professionals decide what intel to reveal to enemies, if any.
Finally, Trump’s long ass-kissing record towards Russia is seriously disturbing. They are an enemy. Their goals are not ours, especially in Syria. What he did was stupid.
hovercraft
@NorthLeft12:
Exactly, Twitler was showing off. Even the Shrub who was a moron, had more sense. There was an incident here he too wanted to show off, so he told his CoS, who contacted the IC and told them the president wanted to “show the Russians how it’s done in the big leagues”. The IC then prepared a special PDB that contained highly classified information that the IC had determined it was okay for Putin to see, that’s how it’s supposed to be done. Blurting out information to a rival you wish to have closer ties to, when said rival is working with a person who in turn is working with people we are fighting against is stupid. Yes we have some common goals in Syria, but while we see ISIL as the biggest threat, Assad and Russia do not, they see the rebels who we are arming and supporting as the biggest threat. So while we all want to end the civil war there, we want different winners in the end. Never mind the fact that the information he blurted out gave away crucial details that could be reverse engineered to figure out who the information came from, and that spy is not one of ours, it’s an Israeli who spent years working his way far enough into ISIL to be in a position to actually have access to this type of information. So he also probably burned a very important allies agent at best, or got him killed at worst.
Loose lips sink ships.
Shalimar
@Mnemosyne: That is important too. The Post printed the story 4-5 days after Trump gave Lavrov the info. The damage and response within the intelligence community had already been done by that point.
Jeffro
@Shalimar:
It’s really quite remarkable, all the low-talent, damaged people he surrounds himself with. But I mean who else would a world-class fraud and asshole like Trumpov attract, right?
Btw folks (and I hope this gets its own thread later): Professor Krugman is shriiiiiiillll today – What’s the Matter With Republicans?
Ouch!
And then there’s this:
*K-thug forgets there is a second GOP imperative on a par with tax cuts for the wealthy: the restoration of white male privilege, or failing that, carrying out hostilities against those not white and male.
And then the chilling finale:
schrodingers_cat
I love the smell of Russian trolls in the morning. I hope the weather is nice in Smolensk.
hovercraft
@schrodingers_cat:
I know, that’s why I chose the bank shot off of Canada ; )
germy
@hovercraft: A few days ago Elizabeth Warren said if Madoff wasn’t locked up he’d probably have a place in the admin.
MomSense
@hovercraft:
He walked yesterday! I went home to work, do laundry, and sleep. I’ll head back this weekend to relieve my stepmom. I think the reality of how long the rehab will be is hitting them both and thankfully they have decided to have him go to a rehab (before they were both saying no, no, no) because they really do need the support.
It’s amazing how tiring just being the visitor at the hospital is. I slept 11 hours last night which is unheard of for me.
hovercraft
@germy:
I guess he’s out to prove that he’s a real New Yorker, and he just wants to uphold all NY traditions.
WARNING NY POST
Study proves NY politicians most corrupt in nation
November 9, 2015
He wants to be the best, so maybe he’s trying to eclipse NY and show us all much bigger and better than them he can be, no one tops the Twitler!
hovercraft
@MomSense:
Yay! So glad he’s on the road to recovery. Rehab is definitely the way to go, yes it sucks to be in another institution but it really is for the best, trying to do it at home is just too hard unless you have other people there to help you 24/7. Sitting by a hospital bed just waiting and watching is hard, and it takes it’s toll, all those emotions churning really do take a lot out of you even when you think that you’re past the worst, your emotions are still all over the place. Best of luck to all three of you, sending positive thoughts ;) and {{{ }}}s
Thru the Looking Glass...
@Shalimar:
Well shit… Trump’s become radioactive so quickly he probably glows in the dark by now…
Thru the Looking Glass...
@Jeffro:
Aaaaannnnddd… right on cue, Sheriff Clark makes his entrance…
Jeffro
@Thru the Looking Glass…: Funny you should mention Clarke…here’s a paragraph near the end of Brooks’ piece:
LOL
What other disagreeable dregs of humanity might be called to serve in the next few months? Other than Joe Lieberman, I mean…
Juju
@Quinerly: I think I saw him sitting somewhere behind Betsy DeVoss. I guess he gets around.
blowback
@Mnemosyne:
Do you have a link to TASS for that or a link to the source of that claim, I’ve looked and I can’t find one.
blowback
@NorthLeft12: If the Russians acquired intelligence of a terrorist attack on the United States you would be quite happy for Russians not to share that with the United States government because it’s hostile to Russia?
blowback
@Sloane Ranger: If he surrenders to the police and admits his guilt I doubt he’ll even spend a night in a police cell. the current guidance for sentencing for failing to surrender is community service and a fine -anything more would be hard to justify.The legal guidance of the Crown Prosecution Service can be found here
Citizen Alan
@Ramalama:
Semen stains or no, Gore was a fool to have passed on Bob Graham.
SgrAstar
@Morzer: Chaffetz is a soulless tool. Utah press say he’s heading to Fox News and considering a run for the governorship in 2020. He may be ducking fallout from the burgeoning trump fiasco, but I think his primary motivation is $.
les
@Jeffro:
I disagree; that, like “pro choice,” is a “get the rubes to vote for us” tactic. There’s some state level action on race and abortion, but fed level rethugs aren’t worried about it.
TenguPhule
@blowback:
What part of endangering irreplaceable intelligence sources in ISIS did you miss?
What part of behaving like a traitor in private with the Russians did you miss?
Putin is offering to provide a TRANSCRIPT of the meeting. Where the fuck did you think he got it from?
blowback
@TenguPhule:
H.R.McMaster who was present throughout the meeting said that Trump did not reveal the source of the intelligence, the nature of which was discernible from frequent news reports over the last few months. The sources that claimed otherwise were anonymous “current and former officials”. When they appear and give evidence under oath, I might attach more credibility to their claim, until then I will believe H.R.McMaster who could be called to give evidence under oath to Congress at any time. You might want to believe anonymous “current and former officials but their anonymity counts against them
Is the United States at war with Russia? Should I be digging a hole out back for a shelter?
Trump stood on a platform which included having cordial relations with Russia and he was elected president, so he gets to decide just which countries are enemies of the United States. Do you get to decide what U.S. foreign policy is? Does Hillary Clinton get to decide what U.S. foreign policy is? You and many others might not like his policy on this issue but that is irrelevant.
Probably not from TASS as they only sent a photographer. Maybe Lavrov or Kislyak took a recording device or maybe the Russian party included a minute-taker, but that isn’t what I asked about. I wanted to know when, where and how TASS had revealed details of the source of the intelligence to the public.
I understand that you want to see Trump impeached but if he is to be impeached successfully it requires a far stronger case than this one,