Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

This fight is for everything.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Weird. Rome has an American Pope and America has a Russian President.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

They are not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Another Battle Begins

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Another Battle Begins

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(Jeff Danziger’s website)
.

As if Lord Smallgloves could tell you what was in “his” budget… Greg Sargent, in the Washington Post, “Even some Republicans balk at Trump’s plan for steep budget cuts”:

… While some fiscally conservative lawmakers, particularly in the House, found a lot to praise in Trump’s plan to balance the budget within 10 years, most Republicans flatly rejected the White House proposal. The divide sets up a clash between House conservatives and a growing number of Senate Republicans who would rather work with Democrats on a spending deal than entertain Trump’s deep cuts.

“This is kind of the game,” said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Tex.). “We know that the president’s budget won’t pass as proposed.”

Instead, Cornyn said he believes conversations are already underway about how Republicans can negotiate with Democrats to avoid across-the-board spending cuts that are scheduled to go into effect in October. Those talks could include broad spending increases for domestic and military programs that break from Trump’s plan for deep cuts in education, housing, research and health care…

Budget experts questioned many of the economic assumptions that the White House put into its plan, saying it was preposterous to claim that massive tax cuts and spending reductions will lead to a surge in economic growth…

“Even some Republicans” plan on a political career that lasts beyond the next election — maybe even one that doesn’t involve people spitting on them in the street. This ain’t a budget proposal, it’s a new chapter in a cultists’ holy book. Or a performance-art script for grifters hoping to massage the plutocrats’ greed glands…

Reader Interactions

173Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    Trump continues to make fools of his supporters. (The Atlantic)

    For the first time, the White House has put into writing an outline of President Trump’s long-promised and often-hyped plan to pour as much as $1 trillion into rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure.

    It did not leave Trump’s would-be negotiating partners impressed.

    The president’s budget proposal sets aside just $200 billion for infrastructure over the next 10 years while vowing to meet Trump’s much higher target by incentivizing private development and clearing the way for projects that the Obama administration nixed over environmental concerns, most notably the Keystone XL pipeline. Yet the White House simultaneously called for slashing the budget for existing infrastructure programs at the Department of Transportation (by more than 12 percent) and the Army Corps of Engineers (by more than 16 percent), which Democrats said would cancel out the impact of Trump’s promised investment.

    “It’s crap,” declared Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon, the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. ….

    Senate Democrats released an analysis showing that the Trump budget actually contained a net cut to infrastructure programs, reducing federal outlays by $145 billion over 10 years. Those include cuts to Amtrak, the Highway Trust Fund, eliminating TIGER grants, and a number of other reductions.

    ….. But the furious criticism of his infrastructure outline dampens hopes for action on one of the few areas where Trump’s campaign promises aligned with Democratic priorities.

    “President Trump’s campaign promises on infrastructure are crumbling faster than our roads and bridges,” Senate Minority Charles Schumer said in a statement, noting that the White House had ignored a $1 trillion proposal Democrats had sent earlier this year. “Democrats stand ready to work with President Trump to create jobs,” Schumer said, “but will stand united in opposition to the types of dangerous cuts we see today.”

    The builder-turned-politician has been beating the drum on infrastructure since his debut on the campaign trail, when he vowed to rebuild “our roads, our bridges, our airports.” When Hillary Clinton offered up a program that would have topped out at $500 billion, Trump said he would more than double it. …..

    Led by budget director Mick Mulvaney, the conservative spending hawks who drafted Trump’s blueprint appear to have further curtailed his ambitions. “Simply providing more federal funding for infrastructure is not the solution,” the budget proposal reads.

  2. 2.

    PsiFighter37

    Mulvaney is an evil, venal person. He also represented what was undoubtedly one of the poorer districts in the country. What a dick.

  3. 3.

    Cermet

    But think of the children of billionaire’s …these poor soul’s need to inherit vast wealth to maintain their life style and huge tax cuts so they can try to die with even more wealth … the children of the super wealthy matter(!) you heartless dem’s.

  7. 7.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud:

    “Simply providing more federal funding for infrastructure is not the solution,” the budget proposal reads.

    Yes, because less is more.

  12. 12.

    Spaniel

    Sometimes it feels like screaming at clouds with this type of behavior by Trump and his lieutenants. Using a quote from the movie “Gladiator” where the senator played by Jacoby tells the other senators that the emperor would continue to be loved by the masses as long as they are distracted by the games and a few loaves of bread as he kills the empire/republic.

  13. 13.

    debbie

    @Geoduck:

    I object to the gals’ head coverings. If they could do that for the pope, they could have done so for the Saudis.

  14. 14.

    gene108

    @Baud:

    As long as his supporters no longer have to be “politically correct”, Trump can never let them down.

  15. 15.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Matt Fuller @MEPFuller

    Mnuchin privately told the Freedom Caucus today that Trump opposes the border adjustment tax.

    7 replies 73 retweets 99 likes

    Haley Byrd‏ @byrdinator

    The funniest part of the whole border adjustment tax debate is that Trump, who called for 35% tariffs, opposes it.

    5 replies 30 retweets 45 likes

    It’s as if Trump was lying all along!

  16. 16.

    NotMax

    Repeated for the a.m. crowd.

    FYI (emphasis added).

    Indiana heating and cooling company Carrier is eliminating more than 600 jobs from its Indianapolis facility, despite promises made as part of a deal with President Donald Trump to keep the positions in the U.S.

    In a letter received by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development on Monday, Carrier said it isn’t closing the facility but the job eliminations will be permanent.
    [snip]
    According to the letter, 338 employees will be eliminated by July 20. Another four will be let go by Oct. 1, and 290 will be out of work just before Christmas on Dec. 22.
    [snip]
    According to the Indianapolis Star, Carrier is moving its fan coil production to Mexico. That move impacts plants in Indianapolis and Huntington. Source

  17. 17.

    debbie

    @Baud:

    Every group that supported Trump needs to be confronted and asked to explain how they accept their members being screwed. I’m thinking evangelicals, pro-lifers, manufacturers, etc.

  18. 18.

    bystander

    “We are no longer going to measure compassion…. by the # of people that we help” – Mulvaney saying it shld be abt getting people off help

    Trump is just appealing to his evangelical base.

    Good morning, everyone! Moanin’ Joe is wailing on twitler this morning. He even turned on Trey Gowdy and singled out his,ludicrous behavior at the hearing yesterday. He even commented on the oily sheen on Gowdy’s forehead.

  21. 21.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Seriously, Trump biggest sales pitch to WCW was that Mexico was taking away their jobs via NAFTA and he would cancel NAFTA and slap a 45% tariff on imports.

    And they fell for it — hook, line, and zinker. (video)

  22. 22.

    bystander

    @Geoduck: Ivanka looks ready for her marriage to Satan and Melania looks like her doyenne.

    I wondered if they would be so bold as to meet the Pope without covering their heads. Funny how that works, huh?

  23. 23.

    Baud

    @NotMax:

    According to the letter, 338 employees will be eliminated by July 20. Another four will be let go by Oct. 1, and 290 will be out of work just before Christmas on Dec. 22.

    I wonder if they are tired of winning.

  24. 24.

    NotMax

    Call it what it is, the arbeit macht frei budget.

    @OzarkHillbilly

    Corollary to the ‘tax cuts create burgeoning revenue’ nonsense: Less money invested in infrastructure results in more and better infrastructure.

    We’ll be hip deep in bridges and tunnels before you know it!

  27. 27.

    JPL

    For the last decade Fox so called news, told viewers that the browns were stealing all their money. If only the browns weren’t on food stamps and such, there would be more money for them. Fool me once………………………….

  28. 28.

    FlipYrWhig

    Mulvaney is one of the worst of the Trumplings because he’s so smug and giddy.

  29. 29.

    satby

    @NotMax: and the (from the article)

    he $7 million package of grants and tax credits Trump helped broker, along with Vice President Mike Pence, who was then-governor of Indiana

    was totally well spent on executive bonuses, I bet.

  32. 32.

    Patricia Kayden

    @amk: Hope. In the face of dwindling prospects, Schumer is expressing hope.

    Democrats should sit back and let Republicans fight over this awful budget. Not one Democrat should support it.

  35. 35.

    JPL

    @Geoduck: I found this on Bradd Jaffy’s feed

    Trump describes meeting the Pope: “He is something … We had a fantastic meeting.”

    hmmm

  36. 36.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Bill O’Reilly, Formerly Of Fox News, Found Dead In Long Island Home Is A Death Hoax

    Shawn Rice — May 22, 2017

    Damn. I was hoping Hillary had struck again.

  37. 37.

    EBT

    Surplus drawing tablet showed up, so I drew my first piece of practice art. Turned up pretty good, only about twice as long as it would take with a mouse. Which isn’t bad considering the amount of tactile learning I can feel the tablet can benefit from.

  38. 38.

    Jeffro

    @Baud:

    Mulvaney: “Simply providing more federal funding for infrastructure is not the solution,” the budget proposal reads.

    Why not, Mr. Mulvaney? Why does it always take vastly more $$$ (usually in the form of tax cuts) to get the rich to do anything, but the solution to improving our roads, bridges, and ports is less money? How does one buy more of a good or service with less money??

    ETA: I see others got there first…ah well…

  40. 40.

    NorthLeft12

    Eisenhower: “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies…a theft from those who hunger & are not fed…”

    Looks like Deadbeat Donald and the GOP are assuming that Ike was endorsing that policy.

  41. 41.

    NotMax

    @NotMax

    Corrected for sloppy coding.

    Totally OT: Kind of warming up to The Doctor Blake Mysteries on Netflix. Depths of the characters still to be plumbed (one hopes).

  44. 44.

    MattF

    IMO, it’s notable (and now generally taken for granted) how Trump and his cohorts lie, have lied, and will continue to lie about everything, all the time. It’s like, “Yeah, we’re lying assholes– what about it?”

  46. 46.

    NotMax

    @MattF

    Shameful that each and every story does not being with a mandatory one-sentence paragraph, to wit, “This is not normal.”

  47. 47.

    satby

    @NotMax: I will look for it, thanks! Watched Fury on TCM yesterday for the first time. Chilling in its portrayal of mob violence in way that felt really relevant today.
    Everything old is new again.

  50. 50.

    Study pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    @Geoduck: It’s like everything they “know” about The Vatican they learned watching The Godfather.

    Also, a penny for your thoughts, Il Popa.

  51. 51.

    Immanentize

    @NotMax: wouldn’t it be wonderful if some sly reporter could ask Mulvaney, “So your safety net economic theory is that work will make people free?”

  53. 53.

    germy

    The DCCC on Tuesday confirmed it has added U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, to its target list, where she joins U.S. Rep John Faso, R-Kinderhook, and several other Republicans in the New York congressional delegation. Both Stefanik’s 21st Congressional District and Faso’s 19th district have been won by Democrats in recent years.

    “House Republicans’ midterm prospects grow dimmer with each passing day thanks to the endless supply of chaos, scandal and broken promises to voters from Republican-controlled Washington,” said Meredith Kelly, a spokeswoman for the DCCC.

    In all, the campaign committee is now targeting 79 Republican-held House seats. The designation means the DCCC will offer consultation, funding and organizational support to Democrats running in those districts.

    Stefanik, who at 32 is the youngest member of the House of Representatives, would be seeking her third two-year term if she runs again in 2018. To date, her only competitor is Democrat Patrick Nelson of Stillwater, 27, a legislative aide in the state Assembly.

    As of their most recent federal financial filings, Nelson had raised $5,692, all from small individual contributions, while Stefanik had raised $270,203. But with the election still 18 months away, serious fundraising hasn’t begun.

  54. 54.

    zhena gogolia

    @bystander:

    Orthodox Jewish women are supposed to dress modestly and cover their hair, don’t you know that? Oh, wait . . . .

  55. 55.

    Bruce K

    Builder-turned-politician, my (censored by Homeland Security). Call him a grifter-turned-politician, you’ll be within lightspeed-lag distance of the truth.

    Seriously. Once this mess is cleaned up, if any of the people currently in power are able to talk to anyone with political power in the United States without having to factor in lightspeed lag, they’re too damn close to Washington.

  57. 57.

    zhena gogolia

    @NotMax:

    Doctor Blake is terrific! He’ll grow on you, I guarantee. It turns out he was a big pop star at one time — check Youtube, it’ll blow your mind. I guess that explains the twangy guitar soundtrack.

  58. 58.

    Immanentize

    @MattF: I read an article somewhere that suggested this is the biggest flaw in our democratic institutions. They really only work if everyone obeys Norma. Look at how successful the Garland blocking effort was. There is really no way to effectively counter such norm breaking shit.

  60. 60.

    Gex

    @debbie: Muslim ban, abortion restrictions, war on LGBTs for the first two groups. They will take this trade every single time no matter how much they suffer for that decision.

  61. 61.

    Immanentize

    @Immanentize: Norms. Although we should obey Norma as well. Sitting in the PET scan facility. For all the fancy nuclear science they sure have shitty wifi and reception here.

  62. 62.

    Ohio Mom

    Actually, Michelle Obama did the same: no head covering in SA, black dress and veil when meeting with the Pope at the Vatican.

    Just google “Obamas meet Pope,” and click on Images. Though needless to say, the Obamas look a lot more relaxed and comfortable than the Trumps, as does the Pope in their presence.

    Obviously these outfits are some sort of tradition/secret code. Which I don’t get, what makes the Pope more special than anyone else?

  64. 64.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Immanentize:

    There is really no way to effectively counter such norm breaking shit.

    There are always 2nd Amendment solutions.

  66. 66.

    Steeplejack

    @NotMax:

    I like The Doctor Blake Mysteries. Have been watching it for a while on one of the second-tier PBS stations here that specializes in all things BBC, BBC-adjacent and “British” in general. Some good Australian series have fallen out of the mix. Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries is probably the most famous. Janet King is a good cops-and-prosecutors show. And Mr. and Mrs. Murder is a quirky one-season run about a pair of crime-scene cleaners that is very funny in (what I assume to be) a particularly Aussie way.

    My only complaint about Doctor Blake is that occasionally it leans a little too hard on the “conservative, constricted 1950s” theme.

    ETA: And I think you will find sufficient character-plumbing in Dr. Blake.

  67. 67.

    Ohio Mom

    @Immanentize: Ah, keeping your wife company — and I am keeping you two in my thoughts. Hope the news is as good as it can be, under the circumstances.

  70. 70.

    efgoldman

    @PsiFighter37:

    Mulvaney is an evil, venal person.

    I said in the late nite thread that he’s not only evil and venal, he is a really, really sick and twisted individual.
    He’d have had a great time in Papa Doc’s Haiti.

  72. 72.

    efgoldman

    @amk:

    Naivete?

    If Vermilion Voldemort proposed a real bill, I’m sure Schumer will be glad to work with him.
    He won’t, we won’t, end of story.
    Schumer is neither dumb nor naive., It was the right thing to say, in context.

  73. 73.

    Ohio Mom

    @rikyrah: That’s what I mean, why? None of them are any more Catholic than they are Muslim, why one protocol for Rome and another for Saudi Arabia?

    Then again, all the men don kippahs when at the Western Wall and none of them are Jewish either.

    Maybe because the Wall and Vatican are shrines, and they are all visiting Saudis in secular settings? I guess they wouldn’t dare go into a mosque, bad optics for the audience back home.

    Anyway, it feels funny to be defending Melania’s outfits but I try to be a fair person.

  74. 74.

    Another Scott

    @debbie: It looks like funeral garb to me, maybe related to the Manchester bombing? Dunno. But Donnie grinning like a deranged clown doesn’t fit at all.

    “Hey, look at me! See, the Pope likes me! See, I’m the Greatest!! Let me tell you about my Huge Inauguration Crowd!!11!!”

    (sigh)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  75. 75.

    NotMax

    @SteeplejackAt this early point, am impressed that they managed to round up what appears to be every period vehicle on the continent.

  76. 76.

    Immanentize

    @OzarkHillbilly: The quickest way to secure gun restrictions would be to arm black and brown folks. See, Sacramento, Black Panthers.

    Of course, the other way is the ballot box, but that is so compromised as well. I wonder if Sorros would be willing to fund the League of Women Voters on a huge Nationwide everyone must vote media campaign.

  77. 77.

    Aimai

    @Ohio Mom: the difference (I think) lies in where the meeting took place. In mosques snd churches they followed religious law but elsewhere, as US citizens, they followed their own custom.

  79. 79.

    Another Scott

    @NotMax: Trump is his own anti-particle. He’s a Yin-Yang Cleek’s Law.

    He does the opposite of what he says – and he has in the past said the opposite of whatever he is saying now.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  84. 84.

    Bobby Thomson

    I have to laugh at all this “if only the Tsar knew” commentary. This is exactly what Trump was going to do, and anyone without severe brain damage knew it. “What a betrayal of his promises!” “This isn’t Trump!” “Is he not paying attention?” As to the latter, no, but to the extent he cares, he agrees with all of this.

  85. 85.

    Immanentize

    @Aimai: Before Vatican II, all women wore head coverings in church. And there were little hat hooks in all the pews so that men could take theirs off. It really was a much more formal time. The Vatican is still a very formal place. So was Italy as recently as the ’90’s when men could not enter churches in shorts or women in pants or with short skirts. Many churches still made tourist women cover their heads.
    God really hates looking at heads.

  88. 88.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Ohio Mom:

    Maybe because the Wall and Vatican are shrines,

    I am struck by the juxtaposition of those 2, one the holiest site in all of Judaism, a ruin, the other a monument to excess existing solely for the *purpose* of keeping the rubes in line, and enriching itself via that enterprise.

    *when I say ‘it’s sole purpose’ I speak of the majority of it’s history, there have been divergences on occasion

  89. 89.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Immanentize: The thing that got me about the whole 2nd Amendment BS was the idea in their heads that they were the only ones who owned guns.

  91. 91.

    Weaselone

    I’m going to quibble with the Wapo excerpt. This budget will not balance the budget in 10 years. It flat out ignores the revenue lost due to the tax cuts and includes the ridiculous assumption that these ignored cuts will generate a couple trillion in additional revenue. That’s BS. On top of that, this budget cuts items with high economic multipliers and diverts them to things with low multipliers like tax cuts for the wealthy and military spending. It’s likely to cause an economic calamity if it’s actually passed.

  92. 92.

    Immanentize

    @OzarkHillbilly: I know. There is some truth, but only some. And then there is what Saint Jim said:. Five to one, baby … they got the guns but we got the numbers.”

  93. 93.

    Steeplejack

    @NotMax:

    I always laugh when I see how gingerly they treat vintage cars in any production.

    On camera: “We’ve got to get back to headquarters! Step on it!”

    Off camera: “Your actor will drive the vehicle out of frame and stop immediately. He will not exceed 15 miles per hour and he will not rev the goddamn engine!”

  95. 95.

    Ghost of Fitzmas past

    If you cared about this you’d have worked to get Hillary elected instead of humping bernie. Don’t blame the repugs for being repugs

  97. 97.

    Sab

    @Immanentize: Thanks. I just went to Mass last Sunday with my Catholic spouse, and I was wondering what those little hooks on the pews were for.

  98. 98.

    MomSense

    @Immanentize:

    The nucular waves are jamming your wifi! Or maybe it’s the other way around. We should ask Dr. Jill Stein.

    Hoping for the best possible news for you lovely Imms.

  100. 100.

    Shalimar

    @satby: The sloppy reporting on that Carrier deal still pisses me off. Trump didn’t broker shit. All he did was say “Mike, we need a good headline. You still have the power as governor of Indiana to give them lots of tax credits; go give them anything they want.”

  101. 101.

    rikyrah

    @Ohio Mom:

    @rikyrah: That’s what I mean, why? None of them are any more Catholic than they are Muslim, why one protocol for Rome and another for Saudi Arabia?

    Saw on a twitter feed:

    Women who meet the Pope in the Vatican are to wear black with a head covering.
    The allowed exceptions?
    Catholic Queens and Princesses – they can wear white, but still have to have the head covering.

  102. 102.

    Emma

    @Ohio Mom: It’s really custom. When visiting the Vatican officially, women are supposed to wear modest black dresses and head coverings.Catholic queens have the “right of white” and dress accordingly. You can play with it: Queen Rania wore a black dress but a traditional muslim white scarf. The woman who is technically his equal, Queen Elizabeth, wore a regular suit. When he visits your country, you please yourself.

    Actually Melania is fine. It’s that Addams-family style bridal thing on Ivanka’s head that looks weird.

    Added: note the Pope isn’t fussy. Angelina Jolie wore black but no head covering and Amal Clooney wore a turban-style hat. Both these women work with charities dear to his heart.

  111. 111.

    Shalimar

    @rikyrah: Trump to the pope: “I just bought a cock ring. It’s the best. Really high quality. Wanna see? … I wear it on my toe so it’s always there when I need it.”

  112. 112.

    Morzer

    Shimon Prokupecz‏Verified account @ShimonPro 1h1 hour ago

    Joe Lieberman no longer being considered for FBI director. President’s team has hit the restart button on the search for a new FBI Director

  114. 114.

    Morzer

    Manu Raju‏Verified account
    @mkraju

    Trey Gowdy, senior GOP member of House Intel, downplayed Brennan’s testimony, telling me it’s not unusual for Russians to contact campaigns

  115. 115.

    Ohio Mom

    @Emma: I did not know that Queen Elizabeth is considered to be the Pope’s equal.

    This is how I know I truly am an American at heart, that it is in my bones that all men are created equal: stuff like learning the Pope and Queen are somehow peers and we should honor this wacky belief, makes me chuckle and roll my eyes.

  118. 118.

    MattF

    @Morzer: Not very surprised. I agree that HolyJoe is a piece ‘o work, but I doubt that he’d pledge personal loyalty to Trump.

  119. 119.

    rikyrah

    In presence of pool reporters @POTUS said to @Pontifex it’s “a very great honor.” The pope did not say anything. He did not smile. pic.twitter.com/Li0uhlE7w9

    — Steve Herman (@W7VOA) May 24, 2017

  121. 121.

    Shalimar

    @Morzer: Brennan is trying to tell you that it should be unusual and that campaigns have no business talking with Russians. Gowdy can’t be this stupid.

  124. 124.

    NotMax

    @Morzer

    (Frantic phone call to TV network honcho.) “Hey look, got a surefire ratings blockbuster for you – ‘So You Think You Can Be an F.B.I. Director?’ Have your people call my people right away, okay?”

  126. 126.

    Morzer

    @Shalimar:

    Assumes level of intelligence not previously evident in Gowdy. Not sure Brennan was communicating with me in particular.

  129. 129.

    Emma

    @Ohio Mom: Although the Vatican would never admit it publicly, as the Head of the Church of England and the oldest reigning monarch, she rates.

    She’s cheeky about it too. Supposedly she has called the Head of the Catholic Church in England “my cardinal.”

  130. 130.

    rikyrah

    Russia scandal reaches new level: Donald Trump lawyers up
    05/24/17 08:00 AM
    By Steve Benen

    When a political scandal grows more serious, and powerful officials grow anxious about the direction of an ongoing investigation, we tend to reach the “lawyer up” phase: the point at which the powerful hire outside counsel to represent their interests.

    In the Russia scandal, Donald Trump has now reached this stage.

    President Donald Trump is expected to retain Marc Kasowitz as private attorney on matters related to the Russia investigation, sources familiar with the decision told NBC News Tuesday.

    Kasowitz has represented Trump in the past. Fox Business and ABC News earlier reported that Trump was expected to retain Kasowitz in relation to the Russia investigation.

    Note, Kasowitz will represent Trump as an individual. This is separate from the White House’s counsel’s office, currently led by Don McGahn, which oversees legal matters related to the presidency.

    Kasowitz is a curious choice. The New York attorney does not, for example, have a background in constitutional or defense cases – whether the president will face specific legal allegations remains unclear – though he has represented Trump in a variety of civil cases, “including on his divorce records, real estate transactions and allegations of fraud at Trump University.”

  131. 131.

    rikyrah

    On entitlements, Trump arrives at his ‘Read My Lips’ moment
    05/24/17 08:40 AM
    By Steve Benen

    In 1988, then-Vice President George H.W. Bush was seen by some in his party as too moderate, and he sought to assuage those concerns by vowing not to raise taxes. It became a central pillar of Bush’s national campaign: “Read my lips,” he said. “No new taxes.”

    It was a promise Bush decided not to keep. The Republican, needing to cut a budget deal with a Democratic Congress, eventually agreed to some tax increases, reluctantly abandoning his pledge because, as Bush saw it, Democratic lawmakers didn’t leave him with much of a choice.

    Nearly three decades later, Donald Trump is in the White House, and with the unveiling of his new budget, another Republican president has arrived at a “read-my-lips” moment of his own.

    As a candidate, Trump took care to separate himself from the GOP field and his party’s orthodoxy by making a promise other Republicans wouldn’t consider and didn’t believe:

    “I’m not going to cut Social Security like every other Republican and I’m not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid. Every other Republican’s going to cut, and even if they wouldn’t, they don’t know what to do because they don’t know where the money is. I do. I do.”

  132. 132.

    bemused

    Watch Randi Rhodes youtube interview with Malcolm Nance the other day. Nance said Republicans have gamed out when it’s time to turn on Trump at about 31 min. They will wait until their Trump voters approval rating of Trump has dropped to 31% and not before. They will go right up to the very edge of the cliff trying get their tax cuts and flush Americans down the toilet.

    Meanwhile Morning Joe said many Republicans are terrified as hell of cutting off crucial health life supports and the repercussions to their seats.

  134. 134.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    @bemused:

    I’ve said the same thing – when Trump’s polling falls below 40% with his base you’ll start to see the natives get restless in the House. I don’t know what it would take to get to 31%, but the IC seems intent on launching torpedoes almost daily that hit below the waterline.

  135. 135.

    p.a.

    Lifelong friend (literally pre-kindergarten), on disability SSI, former junkie (he was given last rights from needle sharing AIDS years ago; the drug cocktail saved him. Then he’s recently been cured of Hep C) was/is a Trumpist. I never really argued with him, just kind of tried to point out the bs he was swallowing in a gentle way. Anyway we were talking across the fence last evening and he was concerned about losing SSI and the end of preexisting condition protections if he had to get private insurance. My response: you know the expression “marry your partner marry their family?” Marry the President marry his party. No response, just a head shake.

  136. 136.

    LurkerNoLonger

    I don’t get why these idiots don’t put forth a more moderate, but still conservative, budget and then let congress be the bad guys? What they’re doing now is proposing something that makes them look like they not only want to fuck the average American, but kill them and eat them too.

  137. 137.

    hovercraft

    @Ohio Mom:
    The “heads” of all religions* are considered equal, so as the Head of the Church of England she is his equal, The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople head of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

    * Were talking traditional and for the most part western religions, sorry Scientologists and Mormons, no soup for you yet, if ever.

  138. 138.

    rikyrah

    @Ohio Mom:

    @Emma: I did not know that Queen Elizabeth is considered to be the Pope’s equal.

    I don’t think it’s because she’s the Queen. I think it’s because, as Queen, she’s the head of the Anglican Church.

  139. 139.

    MomSense

    @the Conster, la Citoyenne:

    I think a lot of us have been saying this. The way to move on the investigation and preventing AHCA and bully economic tax cuts is to hammer at his poll numbers. The Republicans are just the perfect combination of sociopath, opportunist, and cowardly to hide behing Dolt 45s skirts just long enough to hurt as many people as possible. Once they think the whiff of unpopularity sticks to them – they will turn on him.

  140. 140.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @NotMax:

    When they be-ing the be-ingue
    It birngs back the suond of Muzak so tedner,
    It brigns back a nigth of dyslexic speldnor…

  141. 141.

    Repatriated

    @LurkerNoLonger:

    I don’t get why these idiots don’t put forth a more moderate, but still conservative, budget and then let congress be the bad guys?

    It’s too late for them to do that — Trump is instantly impeachable if the GOP congress turns on him. Someone has to be the “bad cop” in the budget negotiations, and he’s in far too weak a position to push that off on the House.

    Once they pass whatever atrocity they can and it’s signed, he can be booted out at will and then blamed for it.

    Mind you, I think a simple continuing resolution is still a plausible outcome, but they might be able to do worse.

  142. 142.

    Jeffro

    @Morzer: (re: Lieberman being out of the running for FBI director) I’m trying to picture that help-wanted ad at this point…

    They’re going to end up with a mall cop (apologies to mall cops) who supported Trumpov early on, I bet.

  143. 143.

    Another Scott

    @LurkerNoLonger: Trump’s people don’t understand or do politics. Politicians are stupid, you see. Donnie goes with his gut, and his plutocrats, so that’s why his budget looks the way it does.

    It’s like expecting a pivot from him. There will never be a pivot. Scorpion, frog, etc.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  146. 146.

    Jilli Brown

    Trump should be forced to stand behind a podium to take questions on and defend his budget. I’d pay to see that show.

  147. 147.

    NorthLeft12

    @Immanentize: Yes, I remember those hat hooks from my younger, more religious days. My brothers and I used to play with the ones in the Polish Church we were taken to, as they were spring loaded. Drove my parents nuts. Brother – Mom – Brother – Dad – Me. When my sister came along she was carried or sat on my Mom’s knees.

  149. 149.

    Heidi Mom

    @zhena gogolia: I agree. As for character development, all the characters grow in depth, especially Jean, and including even the apparently evil businessman who holds the power in town. Doctor Blake gives Inspector Lewis a run for his money as the most decent person ever portrayed on television.

  150. 150.

    mainmata

    @debbie: In addition, the head covering for women went out with Vatican II more than 50 years ago and even then it applied only when in Church, which they were not when meeting the Pope. More stupidity from the Dump clan.

  151. 151.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)

    @Ohio Mom: There is formal protocol in place for what to wear to a papal audience. It’s a survival from a age when people were, in general, more formal about dress, but for women, it affects the color of what’s worn, skirt length, and headgear. It looks weird because we don’t see that in play much in our daily lives, and women rarely wear hats except for sun protection these days. The closest we might see is the donning of suits and ties by male sports teams undergoing the ceremonial White House visit after a championship win. Boston Bruins, 2012; Chicago Blackhawks, 2013; and Pittsburgh Penguins, 2016. I picked hockey for a reason–most of the players on those three teams aren’t Americans, and yet the protocol of wearing a suit and tie applies to all of them.

    I wonder if the whole “our rules don’t apply to you on a state visit” thing the Saudis are doing is, in part, an effort to be hospitable to distinguished guests (as it doesn’t apply to foreign women living in KSA, outside of select areas), and in part an effort to demonstrate that they aren’t hopelessly trapped in a 15th century time loop. Of course, there’s also the internal factions in KSA to be considered, and I wonder if there’s an effort by the rulers to demonstrate to the religious police that they aren’t in fact, the boss of the king involved.

    This Pope doesn’t care, I suspect, but it’s easier than arguing with his protocol staff, and he has bigger fish to fry that what his guests are wearing.

  154. 154.

    Wyatt Derp

    “Simply providing more federal funding for infrastructure is not the solution,” the budget proposal reads.

    No, clearly huge tax cuts for the rich are the answer. Now what was the question?

  157. 157.

    Kristine

    Interesting Guardian article about T***p playing the “bad cop” with his budget so that anything the GOP Congress puts together will look less austere by comparison.

    The writer states that the Rs are better at this game than the Dems, who tend to get played in these situations. Unfortunately, he’s not wrong, though I hope that tide is turning.

  158. 158.

    Larv

    @rikyrah:

    Kasowitz is a curious choice. The New York attorney does not, for example, have a background in constitutional or defense cases – whether the president will face specific legal allegations remains unclear – though he has represented Trump in a variety of civil cases, “including on his divorce records, real estate transactions and allegations of fraud at Trump University.”

    This is another case of Trump valuing personal loyalty over competence and experience. I’m not at all surprised. And once again, it’s likely to come back to bite Trump in the ass.

  159. 159.

    randy khan

    @Baud:

    @NotMax:

    According to the letter, 338 employees will be eliminated by July 20. Another four will be let go by Oct. 1, and 290 will be out of work just before Christmas on Dec. 22.

    I wonder if they are tired of winning.

    I really, really hope that somebody finds a couple of sympathetic victims of the layoff and cuts some ads.

  161. 161.

    les

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Women’s hair is supposed to provoke lust in men or something like that, that’s the rationale behind covering your head with a veil.

    Always worked for me.

  162. 162.

    catclub

    @Jeffro:

    Mulvaney: “Simply providing more federal funding for infrastructure is not the solution,” the budget proposal reads.

    But it seems to work for the defense budget.

  163. 163.

    catclub

    @Kristine:

    The writer states that the Rs are better at this game than the Dems, who tend to get played in these situations.

    you might want to review all the budget deals that Obama did. GOP claims a win but the details turned out otherwise.

  167. 167.

    J R in WV

    @Jeffro:

    “They’re going to end up with a mall cop (apologies to mall cops) who supported Trumpov early on, I bet.”

    What about that black fascist sheriff from, what Minneapolis? He’s got Law Enforcement experience, so he would be perfect for head of the FBI…!! Am I Right?

    ETA to fix stuff…

  168. 168.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @NorthLeft12: Old, old, old (& not terribly clever) joke about the exotic dancer who rushed off to Mass one Sunday nude from the waist up, only to be stopped at the door by the parish pastor who informed her she could not enter. “But Father,” she said, “I have a divine right!” “Yes,” he replied, taking in her architectural accoutrements (i.e., from apse to nave to flying buttresses), “and your left’s pretty nice too, but you can’t go in without covering your head.”

  169. 169.

    Mnemosyne

    @hovercraft:

    sorry Scientologists and Mormons, no soup for you yet, if ever.

    Apparently the Mormons keep trying to get the Vatican to declare them Christians so that converts from Mormonism to Catholicism can skip the step of being baptized. The Catholic Church will recognize a Christian baptism from other Protestant and Orthodox churches as being a valid Christian baptism, but Mormons are considered non-Christians like Jews, Muslims, Hindus, etc and have to be baptized before they can proceed with conversion.

    You’d think it wouldn’t matter much since the only people it affects are people who leave the Mormon church, but that public acceptance as fellow Christians is very important to the LDS.

  170. 170.

    Origuy

    Wikipedia even has an article on Privilège du blanc, listing all the women who have that privilege. Currently, it’s the Queens of Spain and Belgium, the Princesses of Monaco and Naples, and the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. A pretty exclusive club.

  171. 171.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @SiubhanDuinne: @Miss Bianca: I was somewhat taken aback to discover last year that “Begin the Beguine” which most know as an instrumental (Artie Shaw’s clarinet having bigfooted most every other version) in fact not only has lyrics but Cole Porter lyrics a damn sight less rococo than his more famous verbal bizarritudes. I memorized them & upon occasion get the chance to sing the number at a local jazz jam session. So it was the first thing that leapt to mind upon perusing NotMax’s triple-martini-ized post… /TMI

  173. 173.

    TenguPhule

    @debbie:

    Every group that supported Trump needs to be confronted and asked to explain how they accept their members being screwed. I’m thinking evangelicals, pro-lifers, manufacturers, etc.

    “You have been buggered by a spiked dildo, Trump-supporter. How does that make you feel?”

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