Priebus is said to be leaving the traveling White House caravan early, returning this week instead of staying the full foreign trip.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) May 21, 2017
@maggieNYT is this like an Agatha Christie thing– one by one they leave until only the "person of interest" is left?
— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) May 21, 2017
@JRubinBlogger @maggieNYT Ten Little Minions or Murder on the Disorient Express
— Glenn Fleishman (@GlennF) May 21, 2017
@JRubinBlogger @maggieNYT Similar to excusing yourself to go to bathroom at restaurant & leaving, 1 by 1, so last person to pay the bill, or go to prison #Impeach
— Timbo (@TimFaulkner_81) May 21, 2017
@LorenRaeDeJ @dandrezner Priebus wants to save his ass
— Helaine Abramson (@armyheromom) May 21, 2017
Hm: leaving, or sent home? https://t.co/qudmUhxpxQ
— Greg Greene (@ggreeneva) May 21, 2017
don't want pence home alone? https://t.co/rrZwv9jIFB
— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) May 21, 2017
Absolutely *not* fleeing the Titanic, per fellow WH cronies:
…The decision for Priebus to return to the US was pre-planned, not spur-of-the-moment, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders and a second Trump adviser said.
“He was planning to come for the first stop and then head back for the budget roll out,” Sanders said.
The chaotic nature of this White House has prevented Trump’s team from doing much strategic planning, the second Trump adviser said. Leaving the trip early would give Priebus time to plan for the President’s return, the adviser said.
Some major issues are awaiting Trump back home, including the possible hiring of outside legal counsel in the Russia probe, the selection of a new FBI director, and the effort to pivot back to the President’s domestic agenda…
he should never have been on the trip in the first place. chiefs of staff usually dont travel https://t.co/dEDN0AJvpA
— jim manley (@jamespmanley) May 21, 2017
If Priebus is ditched Trump’s top advisors are his daughter/SiL (nominally Democrats but really kleptocrats) & guy who wants to destroy GOP https://t.co/bWZumnfbyP
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) May 21, 2017
Yeah, like that’s any different than when Priebus was on the plane.
Reince’s job is to (try to) ram the oligarchs’ agenda through Congress, voters be damned. Trump’s agenda is to loot everything not nailed down, or that his thieving spawn can pry loose. No point in the GOP’s hand-chosen ‘Chief of Staff’ trying to keep them in line, as the Saudi portion of the trip has made abundantly clear.
efgoldman
Well, that and the fact that they couldn’t plan a potty break
Baud
Has the air smelled a little sweeter since they’ve been gone?
germy
Yarrow
Rumor has it Priebus is coming back because he has a date with the FBI.
Mnemosyne
Well, thanks to John Cole’s twitter feed, I now know that Kamala Harris will be the libertarian dudebros’ target of choice if she ever decides to run for governor or president. Conor Friedersdorf is already demanding that she apologize for any and all drug convictions while she was Attorney General of California.
Christ, what an asshole.
Mike J
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hNIX7V21pU
Baud
@germy:
Also some creepy, mysterious, spooky, and ooky figures.
Iowa Old Lady
@germy: Could that tweeter mean “kookie”? Because cooky figures sound tasty.
Another Scott
Wuh?
They didn’t plan on him returning before they left?
(groucho-roll-eyes.gif)
Cheers,
Scott.
Baud
@Mike J: So it was an unplanned, spur of the moment decision then.
Baud
@Mnemosyne: I can’t believe they are going after the minority female candidate.
cmorenc
We’re between a rock and a hard place.
1) Trump manages to stay in office for 4 years and we have to pin our hopes on defeating a scorched-earth Koch-assisted character assassination against whomever the dems launch, and meanwhile nervously watch over our other shoulder for third-party prima donna spoilers to split the anti-Trump vote.
2) Trump is impeached or voluntarily steps down under pressure before his term ends. Then we get, President Pence.
3) Both Trump and Pence are impeached or forced to step down under pressure before their term ends. Then we get President Paul Ryan.
I reluctantly, fearfully pick door #2, hoping that as smoothly double-talking as Pence can be in the short run (e.g. in the VP debate vs Kaine) – hoping that before long, he’ll wear with national voters about as well as he was doing with Indiana voters as governor, had Trump not bailed him out by nominating him for his VP selection.
Chyron HR
Tired? Reince? TIRED?!
germy
@Baud:
Mike J
@cmorenc: I think with Pence or even Ryan, the Dems have a strong moral argument against passing any major legislation or appointing anyone to lifetime terms. The caretaker of a corrupt administration should not be treated as if he has a mandate.
Mnemosyne
@germy:
I like the commenter who called it a “choose your own adventure conspiracy theory.”
sukabi
One thing is certain, whatever the official reason given for Pubis’ early return, it’s a lie.
efgoldman
@Baud:
Forgot the sarcasm tag again? Presidents have to remember those things
germy
@Iowa Old Lady:
A gingerbread man.
Baud
@germy: Whose family?
clay
@cmorenc: I have to imagine that if Pence were to become president, he would be a damaged one with no political capital to accomplish anything. Ryan even more so.
I’m too young to remember Ford, but I don’t think he got much accomplished, did he? I know history’s not a guide, but it’s at least an outline.
sukabi
@germy: it’s what they do.
germy
@efgoldman: Didn’t they heckle women of color at the convention?
ThresherK
@Chyron HR: I see what you did there.
“Reibus started well, no question, in France…”
the Conster, la Citoyenne
Can anyone imagine that self-aggrandizing divisive fraud Sanders saying this? I can’t, because he never would.
This guy is running as a Dem against Paul Ryan. and he’s #theResistance. Pitch in.
chris
I’ll just move this up here.
https://twitter.com/stephenlautens/status/863433305982685184
Again, EW!
James J Hare
@Baud: No they left all their hangers-on here in DC.
germy
@Baud:
Jim, Foolish Literalist
There were stories last week, that kind of got lost in the maelstrom, that Priebus had made some inappropriate overtures to Comey and/or Comey’s office.
Teddys Person
@Mike J: Agreed, but the Republicans don’t give a fig about morality when they want to create a Randian state with a healthy sprinkling of imposed fundamentalist Christian laws.
efgoldman
@cmorenc:
No. We. Don’t. Again.
The only way Granny Starver succeeds is if both offices, pres and VP, leave office on the same day so that both offices are vacant at the same time. Otherwise whichever is left, is president, and appoints a VP who then must be confirmed by majority vote in both houses.
It’s in the 25th amendment, second clause. Clear as can be.
p.a.
@cmorenc: or: America, you are required to play *hrumph hrumph* Russian Roulette. But you DO get to pick the type of gun and round.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Yes.
MisterForkbeard
@cmorenc: Just a heads up, #3 only happens if Pence and Trump are impeached and removed at the same time. Otherwise, a new VP is chosen (by the then-president) who then becomes the next person in the succession line, meaning Ryan doesn’t get it.
It would mostly depend on who Pence would choose as VP – but it probably wouldn’t be Ryan.
ETA: I see efgoldman beat me to the punch. :)
p.a.
@clay:
WIN buttons!
comment 31.5 in moderation because???
Baud
@germy: Damn, I thought that was as over as the Comet Pizza thing.
Teddys Person
@efgoldman: What if Pence is ousted before a new VP could be selected and confirmed? Isn’t that how we get Ryan?
Baud
@MisterForkbeard: New VP would have to be confirmed by a 2/3 vote. Dems could block it.
efgoldman
@germy:
There won’t be any Wilmer delegates next time, or at least not enough to be anything more than a minor nuisance.
germy
@Teddys Person:
Someone should tell them Rand was a Reagan-hating atheist.
Mike J
Mnemosyne
@Baud:
I know! Shocked face! ?
p.a.
@germy: fake news.
Another Scott
@cmorenc: Your #3 depends on the order that the vice presidency is refilled. If Pence goes first, then Ryan won’t get the Presidency (remember Agnew -> Ford).
And the Vice Presidency has been vacant for extended periods, so even if Pence moves up, that doesn’t mean that Ryan is next.
Lots of interesting details at Wikipedia – including arguments that the Speaker taking the Presidency would be unconstitutional.
Cheers,
Scott.
Baud
@Mike J: The while Trump Twitter thing is more eerie than any Twilight Zone episode I’ve ever seen.
Seth Owen
@efgoldman: This assumes these people have the ability to pick a new VP who could pass the Congressional shit show. One can easily imagine this might be a problem. Could the Republicans even agree on a candidate?
efgoldman
@Teddys Person:
If Pence is president for even an hour, he can designate the VP.
@Baud:
Nope. Majority.
Can’t anybody (a) google and (2) read?
Teddys Person
@germy: “That’s a lie spread by the liberal media. Ayn Rand wanted to have Reagan’s babies to create the perfect superhuman overlord for this great nation, and Ms. Rand attended church every Sunday to make sure no one got the urge to help the less fortunate.” responded Paul Ryan
Baud
The thing is, who could replace Ryan as speaker?
Roger Moore
@efgoldman:
Yeah, I’m inclined to blame the chaos in the inability to plan, not the other way around.
Mnemosyne
@germy:
They heckled Elizabeth Warren at the convention. Every Democrat at the DNC was an enemy to them, including President and Mrs. Obama. Fuckers.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Seth Owen: I imagine they’d drag Colin Powell out of mothballs, or someone like him. I can’t think of anyone like him. And I mean his public image, not the facts. I know what he is.
Yarrow
@efgoldman: I thought there was an instance in our history where the office of the Vice President was left vacant for awhile. Can’t remember details. Anyone know?
Baud
@efgoldman: Ah. Confused it with the 25th amendment process everyone keeps talking about.
MisterForkbeard
@Baud: When you complain about literally everything, it can always be thrown in your face.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@efgoldman:
Doesn’t have to be the same day, just before the office of Vice President is filled.
Calouste
@MisterForkbeard: The new VP doesn’t happen immediately. Both Nixon and Ford were without a VP for 2-3 months.
Anyway, there’s not going to be a President Ryan. If both the shitgibbon and Pence go, Ryan and McConnell go as well.
Ken
Home Alone 5: White House Follies
efgoldman
@Seth Owen:
Like any other confirmable position – he keeps submitting names until he gets one confirmed
p.a.
@Baud: No one in Hollywood including Serling could conceive of a Donald Trump as President. Previous visions lacked the combination of corruption and blanket stupidity. Beyond the vision of Poe or Lovecraft too. Possibly some sci fi characters, but not my genre.
Teddys Person
@efgoldman: I can both google and read, but this assumes Pence remains in office until the new VP is confirmed.
“… who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.” What happens if Pence is removed and this person is not confirmed? Then there is no President or Vice President.
MisterForkbeard
@Mnemosyne: I still can’t believe these assholes did that. I saw so many “Warren BETRAYED us! She’s part of the evil machine!” posts after she officially endorsed Hillary. Not a single one of these people had the presence of mind to think about *why* some as well-regarded as Warren might be on the Hillary Train. Nope, it could only be for personal gain.
Anyone who supported that kind of anti-Warren action is someone I never wanted to talk to again.
NotMax
Blather, Reince, deceit.
efgoldman
@Baud:
Somebody even less competent. And isn’t that a scary thought?
Baud
@p.a.: Yeah, Trump really hits the trifecta of stupid, fascist, and corrupt.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Newt!
John Revolta
@clay: He pardoned Nixon, which was the one thing he had to do.
MisterForkbeard
@efgoldman: I don’t think they’d have to do multiple votes. Essentially, if Trump goes then Pence is the leader of the party, and Republicans ALWAYS fall in line. They’d confirm almost anyone just to limit the ongoing PR damage in any case. I think Pence would probably pick a woman or minority, just to get the “first female or latino/asian VP” checkmark for the Republicans, even if the party members themselves would never have voted for it.
Nicole
@Mnemosyne: Off topic, but wanted to mention that I and the better half and the 6-year-old went to see Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 today and I agree with your interpretation- I thought it was an excellent piece about the evils of toxic masculinity and white colonialism. Also, Baby Groot’s eyes! Oh my. Too much cute.
Yarrow
@efgoldman: Apparently Trump can’t even get anyone to agree to be considered for the FBI job, so it might be harder than we think to get someone to agree to be Pence’s VP if Pence were suspected of being complicit and about to be impeached. I know they’d get to be President, but they’d also be known to have taken the position offered by a traitor, so…
MisterForkbeard
@Yarrow: Isn’t Lieberman still supposed to be the top choice for FBI Director? For some reason?
Also, I think we’ve already established that most GOP folks will take a job from an inherently and obviously evil person if they get more power out of it.
Baud
@Yarrow: It’s amazing that offices that in other times people would kill each other to get can’t get filled. Who know there were so many liberals out there?
efgoldman
@Yarrow:
Every time the VP succeeded a dead president before 1965, when it was passed and ratified.
p.a.
P P. Pence and Palin. In your heart you know it’s coming.
Yarrow
@MisterForkbeard: Who knows. Weren’t we also told they’d announce the FBI director before Trump got on the plane for the trip?
Teddys Person
@Yarrow: Paul Ryan wants to be president and don’t think he cares how he gets there.
MisterForkbeard
@Yarrow: If so, I didn’t catch that. But then, Trump lies about a lot of stuff.
NotMax
@p.a.
Said it during the primaries, said it during the general, said it since – think The Mule from Asimov’s Foundation trilogy as an analogue.
(Less, sadly, the sterility. Still Hari Seldon weeps.)
efgoldman
@MisterForkbeard:
You’re usually not delusional
ETA: And anyway, Phyllis Schlafly is still dead
Mnemosyne
@Nicole:
I’m still trying to get G to go see it, but he just finished his spring semester of grad school and is still decompressing.
I think Brachiator had a point about the homoerotic imagery as well, but I think that ends up feeding back into the overall theme. For a goofy comic book movie, it’s a surprisingly solid screenplay, especially when It comes to the themes.
Roger Moore
@efgoldman:
Those two sentences contradict each other. They don’t have to leave on the same day. They have to leave within a short enough span that the President can’t appoint a VP and have him confirmed before he gets pushed out, too. Seriously, if trump were forced out and Pence’s position looked sketchy, do you really think Paul Ryan would schedule a confirmation vote on Pence’s VP nominee? I think he’d be more likely to give away all his money and retire to a monastery than give up a likely shot at becoming President.
Another Scott
@efgoldman: President Alan Keyes has a nice ring to it, nicht wahr?
:-/
Cheers,
Scott.
NotMax
@Yarrow
Pre-25th amendment, the office was vacant several times.
Other than v.p. being next in line, the order of the line of succession has changed multiple times as well.
Peale
@Yarrow: Andrew Johnson never replaced himself.
MisterForkbeard
@efgoldman: Okay, the sticking point there is PENCE, who apparently is afraid of women or what he might do around women.
But I’ve been thinking about this for awhile. In terms of the smart play, you’re looking at a credulous media (and maybe Country) that desperately wants to believe this new GOP after Trump is kinder, better, and doesn’t hate women and minorities. Picking a minority/female VP would be a great PR win for them and buy a lot of media consideration… remember how eager they are even NOW about “Trump Pivots”. And Republicans would be smug for the next 3 decades about how they “Had the first female VP” or “Had the first asian VP”, therefore they’re not racist/sexist.
I wouldn’t be surprised by this at all – it’s the same train of thought that lead to Palin as McCain’s pick. But then, McCain is a lot more sane than Pence is… which is a low bar, for sure.
ETA: This has the added bonus of infuriating liberals, who’d be incredibly annoyed both at the obvious patronizing ploy AND that the media would fall for it. Per Cleek’s Law, I think we might have a potential path for this.
p.a.
@Yarrow: Interesting issue. Given the IC
leaksgushers any Rethug could fear he/she wouldn’t be able to bollocks up the investigation, ruining any chance of career advancement or wingnut welfare. Fascist parties are notoriously unforgiving. May be why Holy Joe’s oleaginous name is floating on top of the sump pit.Another Scott
In other news, Reuters:
Conservatives just can’t resist over-reaching and beating up on their voters, no matter what country they’re in.
It’s hard to believe that Labour and Corbyn have any chance at all, but seeing May and her fellow wingers stumble would be a good thing.
Cheers,
Scott.
Baud
@Another Scott: Are manifestos a thing in the UK? Corbyn released one as well.
NotMax
@Peale
Don’t even have to go back that far (or to Tyler or earlier).
During living memory both Truman and LBJ had no veep during their first terms.
efgoldman
@Peale:
Tyler, Chester Arthur, Teddy Roosevelt until his own election, Truman and LBJ ditto….
Baud
@efgoldman: Fuck LBI!
ETA: Dammit, you fixed it.
Nicole
@Mnemosyne: I missed Brachiator’s comment; what imagery did B. see as homoerotic? I didn’t catch anything that stood out to me. Mind you; I can be quite dense about those kind of things; it often has to reach Top Gun levels before I’m aware of it.
artem1s
@MisterForkbeard:
Maybe they trot Condi out again? She probably has slightly more credibility than Powell. And they let her be both a token black and a token woman at Augusta…
LurkerNoLonger
@p.a.: There was an episode with a young Dennis Hopper as a Hitler wannabe that comes close. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/He%27s_Alive
efgoldman
@MisterForkbeard:
Smart play? From the man who was actually known as the dumbest person in congress in the same caucus with the likes of Gohmert, Yoho and Bachmann?
debbie
I love this image: “Ten Little Minions.”
Another Scott
@Baud: I guess so. It’s a good word – I guess it’s got too many letters for the press to use it here, or something.
I didn’t realize that May’s slogan was “Forward Together”. And a blue color scheme. It’s got kind of a deja vu quality to it…. :-/
Cheers,
Scott.
(I wonder how Hillary’s people feel about that.)
MisterForkbeard
@efgoldman: Like I said, the chief problem with all of this is that it’s… Pence. Not gonna argue that it’s likely, but I do think it’s possible. Especially if Pence has some adviser’s with half a brain that aren’t screaming racists/sexists.
chris
@efgoldman: And there’s your list of VP candidates.
ETA: Also too, Cruz.
clay
@Baud: The Communist Manifesto was originally printed in the UK, so maybe.
BBA
@efgoldman: Doesn’t have to be same day, just as long as they’re both forced out before the confirmation vote for the new VP.
And as we know, confirmation votes aren’t exactly timely.
MisterForkbeard
@chris: I am interested in your ideas and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
Another Scott
@clay: Wikipedia says the word in English goes back to 1620-mumble.
Cheers,
Scott.
germy
@artem1s:
Mia Love could be a game changer!
Baud
@Another Scott: Interesting that they tried to cut their base’s financial support. It works here because of the sparrows and the rods theory. I don’t know enough about UK to know what they were thinking when they proposed it.
ETA: Maybe the Tories will rename themselves the Leopards Eating Peoples’ Faces Party.
chris
@MisterForkbeard:
Already you have a problem.
Vhh
@clay: Ford: Whip Inflation Now buttons.
Uncle Cosmo
@efgoldman: Getting sick of you repeating this BULLSHIT, ef. You presume a level of competence & coordination on the part of the GOP for which there is nearly no evidence & no precedent.
Remember the last (& only) time we did the 25th Amendment Tango? Seems not, so let me refresh your memory:
It took 2 days from Agnew’s resignation (10 Oct 1973) for your “Tricksie Dicksie Nixie” (NB one of the lamest attempts at cleverness I’ve ever seen on this blog) even to nominate a replacement for him. And another 54 days< for Gerry Ford to be confirmed (6 Dec 1973) The office of VPOTUS was vacant for 8 weeks, & if Nixon had stroked out at any point during the interval, Speaker of the House Carl Albert would have become President.
Go look it up.
Calouste
@Baud: Yep, manifestos are a thing in the UK (take note for Baud 2020).
The Tories after still over 40% though, which means their majority is safe.
Jeffro
The overseas trip still has a week to go, right? And the Orange Menace is already “exhausted”?
Sounds good! Let’s see what the week brings.
amk
Baud
@Calouste: Still a couple of weeks to go. Maybe the Conservatives will propose turning old people into food. That might reduce the size of their majority.
efgoldman
@MisterForkbeard:
Not likely. They’re all RWNJs. His advisors over the years would likely have been winnowed to those who think exactly like he does.
Roger Moore
@BBA:
Especially if one of the people scheduling said vote stands to benefit personally by delaying it. As I said above, if one of trump and Pence is forced out and the other looks like he might be, Ryan will never schedule a vote on the VP nomination. He will use every excuse in the book and maybe come up with a few more, but he’s not going to let there be a vote when delaying it gives him the Presidency. Not gonna happen.
NotMax
@efgoldman
Add Fillmore and Coolidge to the list who succeeded to the presidency.
Also too, both Madison’s first term and second term veeps died, Jackson’s first resigned, Pierce’s died (after just over month in office), Grant’s second veep died, as did both Cleveland’s and McKinley’s firsts, and Taft’s veep died.
TS
She is incapable of learning – trump will refute this statement as soon as he recovers from being so very very tired.
Cookie monster
My partner just got back from the CA dem convention in Sacramento. A friend there was threatened with a fist by someone in an … Uh… “Wilmer-crat” tee, among other fun things.
efgoldman
@Uncle Cosmo: Goodness. How long have you kept that in before you let it out. That’s not healthy.
Baud
@Cookie monster: Is your friend a neoliberal?
efgoldman
@NotMax:
I just used the examples I remembered off the top of my head.
Cookie monster
@Baud: a retiree who is a life long Democrat, union member/rep and outspoken Hillary supporter. So, obviously (and a corporate shill to boot.)
Mnemosyne
@Cookie monster:
Yeah, it sounds like things got pretty ugly, and the sour grapes from the losing candidate for the head of CA’s party didn’t help matters.
NotMax
@efgoldman
That you remember Chester Alan* Arthur at all is impressive.
*Trivia: He pronounced his middle name ah-LAHN.
Mnemosyne
@Nicole:
Trying to avoid spoilers even though we’re 3 weeks into the run, but you have one male character being repeatedly penetrated by bolts of power from another male character. And because of who the characters are, that gives it a little bit of squickiness.
clay
@Roger Moore: Ah, so Ryan will be following the McConnell Rule: “Congress shall confirm or deny a President’s nominees unless political gain can be obtained by refusing to do one’s Constitutionally mandated fucking job.”
NotMax
@Mnemosyne
Sometimes a
cigarbolt of power is just acigarbolt of power.;)
efgoldman
@NotMax:
Fifth or sixth grade, I got him assigned to do a report. He had about an inch in Britannica.
Another Scott
@Baud: Reuters:
That was hardly a full-throated defense by Boris. They have to do “something”, therefore – obviously – they must make the people who aren’t in the 0.1% much worse off. It’s the same as over here – taxes on the wealthy are always bad. :-/
Here’s hoping that Corbyn and Labour cracks the code, but I’m not optimistic.
Cheers,
Scott.
Just One More Canuck
@p.a.: In your guts, you know they’re nuts
clay
@Mnemosyne: That’s a bit of a stretch, I’d say. Otherwise, any time one male character shoots another one it’d be homoerotic. “The bullets penetrated him hard and fast…”
Cookie monster
@Mnemosyne: Yeah, I want super impressed with Kimberley before today, but she’s looking worse and worse, and her people were hyper aggressive all weekend, I hear. The worst, I’m told, were observers rather than delegates.
It was ugly all weekend, the raised fist – said incident happened Saturday during voting period.
eldorado
impeaching trump doesn’t matter. take back the house for sure in 2018 and a narrow margin in the senate as a bonus. five or six committee investigations of his crew follow, in which they are ‘under oath’ and they can either commit perjury and go to prison or turn on the other criminals and those dudes go to jail. or rat out bigger fish.
decimate the entire gop congress. take back the white house in 2020. reverse all of this b.s.
Mnemosyne
@clay:
I see you’ve never taken a class in feminist film theory. ? Have you seen the film yet? I wouldn’t say it’s Top Gun obvious, but since a seduction scene preceded it …
Roger Moore
@clay:
I’m not sure if he would be quite as brazen as McConnell was. It would just turn out that VP is so important throughout the government that every committee and subcommittee in the House would have jurisdiction over the nomination, so they’d all get a chance to have hearings. Then they’d need a nice long recess to go back and listen to their constituents about the issue. And a good long debate on the House floor. Oh, and it couldn’t completely dominate business, so they’d continue to do other important stuff like debate name changes to post offices while the process was going on.
I’m sure that Ryan could figure out six months of delays in the process without actually coming right out and saying there isn’t going to be a vote. That should be enough time for President Foot-on-banana-peel to either get his balance or slide out of office.
NotMax
@clay
Only because it is Chuck Connors (rumored to have a beyond massive schlong), the opening of The Rifleman which America saw every week.
;)
(Shan’t inflict the semi-infamous Connors/Johnny Crawford comic book photo cover on you.)
clay
@eldorado:
I don’t fully agree. I think that Trump has been so damaging to our democratic norms and institutions that impeachment would be a message that future Presidents (and candidates) would not be able to get away with what he has done.
Shalimar
@efgoldman: A majority vote in the House would be impossible without Ryan’s support. Hell, he has a tough enough time reaching 218 votes for his own legislation. If Trump or Pence resigned or were removed from office, and Ryan were sure the other was going to follow in due time, it would be to Ryan’s advantage to block any VP choice other than him.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: I’m thinking of having shirts made: “Proud Neoliberal”.
clay
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Those people wouldn’t get the sarcasm.
Roger Moore
@efgoldman:
I also had Arthur for a report (5th grade, IIRC). Fortunately, we had Americana, which is naturally better than Britannica for people like minor US presidents. I think I also found a chapter or two on him in some book about all the US Presidents. His term was actually pretty important historically, because it’s when the Spoils System was really replaced by civil service, though Congress deserves- and receives- more of the credit for that than he does.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@efgoldman: You didn’t personally interview him?
Shalimar
@clay: Republicans don’t understand those messages. They rebel against them. Nixon’s resignation didn’t stop Iran/Contra, all of the W. scandals*, or Trump from happening.
*Remember when oil company lobbyists were caught paying for hookers at Dept. of the Interior office parties? Was that even among the top 10 worst things that happened under Bush/Cheney?
ThresherK
@efgoldman: Chester Arthur is one of, what, eight veeps to succeed to the Presidency on death or resignation? That’s pretty memorable in a “middle-school history class covers it” way.
A lot easier.to.remember than VPs dying or otherwise leaving office, as was mentioned upthread.
NotMax
@NotMax
When I say rumored, BTW, it was listed among his “accomplishments” in his obituary.
efgoldman
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
I couldn’t get an appointment
clay
@Mnemosyne:
No, but I don’t a general class on film criticism which had a section on feminist feminism film crit. We discussed the movie Alien a lot.
Yes, I was the guy who pointed out that there were easily insulted, vain villains who were an unnatural shade of yellow. But I’m not 100% clear on which scene you’re talking about. (In fact, when you first mentioned homoeroticism, I assumed you were referring to the relationship between the Sean Gunn character and Yondu.)
sukabi
@Teddys Person: no, then pres. Picks new vp…that’s how Nixon got Ford
magurakurin
@Baud: mate, they booed Dolores Huerta…
Jim Parish
@ThresherK: Nine: eight by death (Tyler, Fillmore, A. Johnson, Arthur, T. Roosevelt, Coolidge, Truman, L. Johnson) and one by resignation (Ford, of course).
I remember this, because at one point – pre-Watergate – I read that eight presidents and eight vice-presidents had died in office. The coincidence in numbers nailed it in my memory.
NotMax
The Year of Living Dangerously coming at top of the hour on TCM.
Mel Gibson (boo!) more than offset by Linda Hunt.
Roger Moore
@Shalimar:
Worse things, in no particular order and off the top of my head:
9/11
Letting bin Laden escape Tora Bora
Iraq
Gitmo
Roberts
Alito
Katrina
abu Ghraib
the financial crisis
warrantless wiretapping
That’s 10, and we’re still at low-hanging fruit.
Mnemosyne
@clay:
Nah, the relationship between Yondu and the Sean Gunn character was yet another of the father-son relationships in the film. He’s pissed because Yondu favors Peter, the prodigal son, over him, the faithful son. Like I said, it’s a theme in EVERY storyline.
But, okay, I’ll mark it with —
SPOILER HERE
It’s during the initial fight between Peter and Ego, where Peter attacks Ego after finding out that Ego killed his mom. Ego pierces and lifts him with bolts of energy. Since they had just spent a lot of time talking about how they were going to be side-by-side, all alone in the galaxy together so Peter didn’t need his girlfriend anymore … well, the implications are pretty obvious.
END SPOILER
ThresherK
@Jim Parish: I forgot Fillmore. (A common refrain from all quarters.) There goes my A in Caretaker Presidents.
efgoldman
@ThresherK:
And he comments here, too
Frankensteinbeck
@MisterForkbeard:
Pence himself is the bigot’s bigot. And dumb as a rock. It would offend him to the depths of his Dominionist soul to put anyone but a white fundamentalist male in the VP seat if he finally gets the chance to launch his theocracy.
Lurking Canadian
@clay: efgoldman’s argument can also trivially be used to prove that Merrick Garland is well into his second year on the Supreme Court.
He does not seem even slightly chastened by this observation.
Splitting Image
@clay:
Ford put John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court for a 35-year run. If a seat opened up while Pence was in charge, he would get all the capital he needed by filling it.
Splitting Image
@ThresherK:
I tried listing them in my head a couple of weeks back and came up one short. Turned out that the one I missed was Franklin Pierce. Most of the ones between Van Buren and Buchanan seem to be forgettable and interchangeable.
liberal
“Rohan is mine!”
mainmata
@clay: I was a returning Peace Corps Volunteer when Ford became President and he promptly instituted the Whip Inflation Now (WIN) program, which caused a big recession and the only time in my life I was on unemployment compensation (a really weird experience as I had been an income earner from age 11 and right through college). I don’t blame him since it was a reaction to Nixon’s wage/price controls but certainly showed me that Republicans are absolutely disasters on economic policy. (And that’s true to now.) Then I went to grad school and went overseas for many years while America became a conservative country. So….(I live in the liberal right coast and also try to relate to farmers who are Trumpers, p.s. dialogue).
Aaron
Beware the return of Darth Priebus!
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@germy:
“In her heart she really loved Jesus.” would be the reply. Keep in mind these are the same people who have Christopher Hitchens, one of the Four Horsmen of the Atheist Apocalypse with Richard Dawkins, doing a post mortum conversion to Christianity.
Nicole
@Mnemosyne: Late to the party (I went to sleep) so you may not see this, but my better half and I discussed whether that was the image before I read your comment, but I think it’s hard to interpret it as sexual, especially due to their relationship to each other. Incredibly violent metaphor, but the penetrations were through the chest and later through the head. I took the placement as more metaphorical about the specific relationship of the two and how said relationship can be toxic to the parties involved on a universal level- the scars the more powerful of the two can leave behind in the heart and mind, so to speak.
We also wondered if it were the shot of the ship full of sleeping men cuddling, but I felt the positions lingered on were more parent-child in feel than lovers. I think the film was really thumping home the “what makes a family” theme wherever it could.
But people interpret what they will; doesn’t mean it’s wrong. I have a lot more experience as a parent, and someone wrestling with the ghosts of the parent-child relationship than I do as a victim of physical abuse, so my biases are informed by my own experiences.
Nicole
@Mnemosyne: I just skimmed down to your comment about Ego saying Peter wouldn’t need Gamora anymore.
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
Again, I saw it through my lens of a parent currently with a young child, where you really do want to be everything to your kid. I didn’t get a sexual vibe at all; I got a parent wanting to keep their child close and not let them go. Parents can be weird that way. I kidded that after my son was born, I was much more sympathetic towards Mrs. Bates. ;)
Though in Ego’s case, I think it was also another big flaw of parents- the desire to control what your child will be. Lord knows, he was willing enough to throw away children that didn’t meet his exacting standards. Toxic parenting was another huge, huge theme in this film, and may I say, it was really refreshing to see the fathers being depicted as the bad parents for a change (both Quill’s and Gamora’s/Nebula’s). There are plenty of very selfish parents in the world.