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if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Everybody saw this coming.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

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“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

I was promised a recession.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

Let’s finish the job.

White supremacy is terrorism.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Hail to the Hairpiece / Three Hundred Blind Mice

Three Hundred Blind Mice

by | 273 Comments

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It’s hard to put into words just how brazen this is:

The White House is telling federal agencies to blow off Democratic lawmakers’ oversight requests, as Republicans fear the information could be weaponized against President Donald Trump.

At meetings with top officials for various government departments this spring, Uttam Dhillon, a White House lawyer, told agencies not to cooperate with such requests from Democrats, according to Republican sources inside and outside the administration.

It appears to be a formalization of a practice that had already taken hold, as Democrats have complained that their oversight letters requesting information from agencies have gone unanswered since January, and the Trump administration has not yet explained the rationale.

The declaration amounts to a new level of partisanship in Washington, where the president and his administration already feels besieged by media reports and attacks from Democrats. The idea, Republicans said, is to choke off the Democratic congressional minorities from gaining new information that could be used to attack the president.

“You have Republicans leading the House, the Senate and the White House,” a White House official said. “I don’t think you’d have the Democrats responding to every minority member request if they were in the same position.”

Apparently fascists don’t like oversight. Who knew?

I’m so old I remember when the Republican mantra was “If you haven’t done anything wrong, you don’t have anything to hide.”

Reader Interactions

273Comments

  1. 1.

    SFAW

    I guess Dems are supposed to lie back and think of Russia England, or some such.

    ETA: I’m sure the “moderate” Republicans will exert their influence, and rein in Shitgibbon. Fuckers.

  4. 4.

    gene108

    Democrats are an illegitimate political party, representing Fake Americans, unlike Republicans, who represent Real Americans.

    Only makes sense, from that point of view.

  5. 5.

    SFAW

    @hueyplong:

    Is there anything these assholes say that isn’t projection?

    No, never, not since Bush II (and probably before that).

  7. 7.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Politics, treason, it all the same, right?

    Actually it’s incredibly stupid. The longer it goes the harder the fall with be for the GOP. It’s clear at lest Flyn was engaged in outright treason, the GOP should be the ones digging so they can control it so it doesn’t turn into implicating everyone in the Republican party.

    Fly does come accross as bit of a Bendict Arnold type tratior – though he wasn’t getting the proper respect his awsomeness deserved so went to the otherside.

  8. 8.

    Mike in DC

    Well,,then, they’re really going to enjoy the wave of subpoenas and contempt citations in 2019.

  11. 11.

    Camembert

    I never understood why Obama didn’t do this once the Benghazi thing got rolling. It ended in that horrible day for HRC, where he just hung her out to dry. Nobody should have to go through what she went through, and yet he just sat back and watched.

    Oh, sorry, I mean, “The important thing is that we hire Republican daddies for . . . etc. etc.”

  12. 12.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Uttam Dhillon, a White House lawyer,

    My anagrammatic brain looked at this name and immediately went “Uh, Matt Dillon.”

    ?

  13. 13.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    Yeah, well, asking the president to explain himself about anything is communist, I guess. I’m only surprised he hasn’t told the Republicans in Congress that he won’t answer anything they ask, either. The guy is coming unglued. I don’t know how much longer he can hold it together. I wonder when he’s going to lose it altogether and just snap, and I wonder what it’ll look like. Will he shove Spicey aside at the press briefing and scream at the press? Will he take a swing at somebody? I feel like he can’t take too much more of the daily assaults to his damaged psyche.

  15. 15.

    Ian G.

    Anyone else surprised (in the same sense that Captain Renault was “shocked” by gambling) by the lack of rhetoric from “patriots” about “2nd Amendment solutions” to this brazen corruption and schoolyard authoritarianism?

  16. 16.

    Face

    There was a time that I thought this level of incompetence and assholery would cement a wave election in the Dem’s favor. Then 2016 happened, the GOP ran their absolute worst candidate, and not only did he win, but they kept the Senate, too.

    I have not a drop of confidence that even this partisanship will be punished in any electoral way at all.

  17. 17.

    mai naem mobile

    Fuck these people. Fuck them up the ass with a rusty implement covered with ebola,zika and tetanus filled slime. If the Dems take over the House in 2018 Pelosi better not say impeachment is off the table. I don’t evendors give a shit if Ywrtle still controls the Senate

  19. 19.

    scott (the other one)

    I don’t understand why the likes of, I don’t know, Dick Durbin, maybe? doesn’t go to his GOP colleagues and say, look, you have to understand how badly this turns out. Either we start holding them in contempt of congress, which will be terrible for the country, or once we’re back in the White House–and you know that’s coming–you’ve established this precedent and things are different since Trump: we WILL treat y’all the way you’ve treated us. Don’t tie yourselves to a sinking ship that also has the plague and herpes. Your only hope, politically, is to do the right thing–which is nice, actually, because it means you get to do the right thing.

  21. 21.

    hovercraft

    @Kristine:

    Apparently fascists don’t like oversight. Who knew?

    Yes the leaks will continue, I think what is apparent, is that these people don’t learn. The “Deep State” is real, not because Obama made it that way, but because we are a nation built to withstand a complete change in government every four to eight years you morons. The people who spend their entire careers doing something aren’t just going to stand by mutely while you try to destroy everything they’ve worked for. You can fire a few here and there, but you can’t get rid of them all, there are too many of them.

  23. 23.

    Burnspbesq

    @LAO:

    I can’t wait for the “both sides” analysis from our media.

    In fairness, it’s not hard to imagine the hypothetical administration of a certain other old white man with a Messiah complex doing the same thing.

  24. 24.

    Ian G.

    @Face:

    David Frum said on Twitter the other day what I’ve been thinking for a while, that we’re at the point where France was in 1940, where much of the right has lost its fucking mind over a loathed minority making it to the top of the government (in our case, a black man elected president, in France’s case, the Jewish Léon Blum as prime minister), that they see a foreign dictatorship as the only hope for the future.

    At least our “savior” isn’t Hitler, but a corrupt gangster an ocean away presiding over a withered semi-failed state than can’t even invade Georgia without taking serious casualties.

  25. 25.

    PaulWartenberg

    I’m pretty sure if Obama had done this even when the Dems controlled Congress in 2009 and 2010, Fox Not-News would have called it TREASON.

    trump: the most thin-skinned SOB to ever sit in the Oval Office. And THAT’S including a list made up of Andrew Jackson, Richard Nixon, John Adams, Richard Nixon, LBJ, and Richard Nixon.

  26. 26.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @gene108:
    That, right there, is the secret to all the hypocrisies of conservatism.

    @Face:
    You are right, this partisanship won’t make a difference – but SOMETHING did. Modern America has seen nothing like the protests since Trump took office. They’re on a different scale than anything before. The results of special elections since show a similarly huge political shift. Will it last until November 2018? I don’t know. But right now, Republicans are in line like they always were, but everyone else is pissed and motivated to an extent that is, well, unprecedented.

  27. 27.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    @Ian G.: I don’t know. The last thing I want is for this shitbag to die in office. He’ll be a martyr, and we don’t need that shit. Hell, he could go on a tear, screaming and ranting to reporters and have a heart attack on live television, and his fans will flip out and start spreading stories that Hillary Clinton killed him, and half of them will believe that shit. No. We need this asswipe to slink out of office in disgrace, on his own two feet. I mean, shit. Half of these dickheads believe that Barack Obama was born in Kenya and that Hillary Clinton ran a child molestation ring out of the cellar of a pizza joint that, I understand, doesn’t even have a cellar.

  29. 29.

    Betty Cracker

    Since they can’t get the real info, they should just make shit up. Here’s a real-life scenario from the linked article:

    One month ago, Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) and other Democrats sent a letter to the Office of Personnel Management asking for cybersecurity information after it was revealed that millions of people had their identities compromised. The letter asked questions about how cybersecurity officials were hired, and in Rice’s view, it “was not a political letter at all.”

    “The answer we got back is, ‘We only speak to the chair people of committees.’ We said, ‘That’s absurd, what are you talking about?’” Rice said in an interview. “I was dumbfounded at their response. I had never gotten anything like that … The administration has installed loyalists at every agency to keep tabs on what information people can get.”

    Here’s a made-up statement the Democrats could issue in response using my proposed strategy:

    Do Poor Trump Admin Hiring Practices Contribute to Rampant ID Theft?

    Millions of Americans recently had their identities stolen. Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY) asked the federal agency responsible for the breach about cybersecurity expert hiring practices at the Office of Personnel Management. Republican-appointed officials stonewalled. What are they hiding? Some say the president appointed his 11-year-old son to oversee digital security because the boy is “good at the cyber.” Rice says a full disclosure of the cybersecurity hiring practices is needed to restore confidence.

    I’m only partly kidding…

  30. 30.

    dedc79

    John, you left out the “best” part:

    A White House spokeswoman said the policy of the administration is “to accommodate the requests of chairmen, regardless of their political party.” There are no Democratic chairmen, as Congress is controlled by Republicans.

  31. 31.

    hovercraft

    @Camembert:

    I never understood why Obama didn’t do this once the Benghazi thing got rolling. It ended in that horrible day for HRC, where he just hung her out to dry. Nobody should have to go through what she went through, and yet he just sat back and watched.

    Oh, sorry, I mean, “The important thing is that we hire Republican daddies for . . . etc. etc.”

    Huh? WTF are you talking about?
    Yes of course they should have stonewalled, no one would have had a problem with that. The media wouldn’t have been “very concerned” and speculating 24/7 abut what Hillary was hiding and spent every day speculating about every possible thing she could have done to save them, or did she actually personally call the military while they were on their way to Benghazi and tell them not to go, she really was tired and ready for bed so not to go so she wouldn’t need to stay up waiting for an update. Who knew the President could tell a private citizen to ignore a subpoena from congress, because you know if she had refused to testify voluntarily, they wold have subpoenaed her and said the fact that she initially refused was an admission of guilt, she knew she told the assassins that he was there that day and where the CIA annex was.

    Okay, now I assume you were being sarcastic, if so carry on.

  32. 32.

    gene108

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    The longer it goes the harder the fall with be for the GOP.

    There is too much money – via media, SuperPACS, etc. – buoying the Republican Party for them to sink too far.

    Watch Fox News or listen to right-wing radio and Trump is kicking ass and taking names, and the Democrats are just squawking like a bunch of sore losers.

    If you only get your info from these sources, you assume the Russia hacking is Democrats making excuses for why they lost.

    There’s a captive floor, which the GOP cannot sink below.

    Also, they are super secure in some states, so they will feel they can always rebuild from that base of operations, which they did after the 2008 losses.

    Edit: There’s so much money propping up this modern iteration of the GOP for them to change or for them to fall into oblivion.

  34. 34.

    Ian G.

    @Betty Cracker:

    Hey, Kate Rice, my Congresswoman!

    Everyone with any sense of how dictatorships work knows you install cronies with various levels of competence at every level of government. Whether they know how to do the job is irrelevant. Loyalty is what matters, and if they, say, run the state oil company into the ground and crash the economy like in Venezuela, well, them’s the breaks.

  35. 35.

    bemused

    John Fugelsang:
    The people who always said Reagan won the Cold War are now the ones trying to give the trophy back to Russia.

  39. 39.

    Ian G.

    @bemused:

    I’d say it’s beyond bizarre that the right wants to genuflect before a KGB officer, but see what I wrote above. It was Marshal Petain, the hero of Verdun, who decided to be a vassal of a Bavarian corporal on the other side of the trenches.

  40. 40.

    trollhattan

    @Ian G.:
    Chatted with an Austrian friend last evening who finds many parallels between his country in the ’30s and today’s America. We’re all hoping to simply plow through this heads down, emerging with the minimum damage possible while recognizing the real potential for far worse.

  41. 41.

    TriassicSands

    I’m so old I remember when the Republican mantra was “If you haven’t done anything wrong, you don’t have anything to hide.”

    Yeah, it was their mantra — but it never applied to them.

  42. 42.

    David Hunt

    I’m so old I remember when the Republican mantra was “If you haven’t done anything wrong, you don’t have anything to hide.”

    It’s perfectly consistent. If you haven’t done anything wrong, you don’t have anything to hide.

  43. 43.

    TriassicSands

    I’m so old I remember when the Republican mantra was “If you haven’t done anything wrong, you don’t have anything to hide.”

    Oh yeah, well I’m so old I remember when every single Republican wasn’t a thug, a fascist, or at least an enabler.

  47. 47.

    Ladyraxterinok

    @Keith P.: This means massive protection of voting rights . AND restoring them where they’ve been taken away. THE MAIN job of us all.

  48. 48.

    David Hunt

    @dedc79: That policy of accommodating chairmen regardless of party will be changed the moment Democrats take back either House of Congress and have chairmanships.

  49. 49.

    kindness

    The pendulum swings both ways. Right now it’s flailing off it’s normal circuit and when it comes back we will hear Republicans whine and scream like we have never heard them before.

    If every media outlet doesn’t ask every single Republican it has on if this is OK and if they support it then our MSM has to go too. And I’m already half the way there on that.

  50. 50.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    @scott (the other one):Right now, that’s not going to happen. The Democrats still think things might return to normal. They don’t seem to get that “normal” right now is “Republicans will abuse their power and exercise corrupt misuse of their offices for personal and political gain.”

    It’s vital to remember that the GOP once screamed that Clinton could “SPY on US CITIZENS with nothing but a RUBBER STAMP FROM THE FISA COURT!” and that there was reason to fear jack-booted thugs smashing down your door (even if you weren’t involved in the drug trade) and now are gleefully talking about jailing their political opponents on trumped up charges. There is no healthy normal any more.

  52. 52.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?

    They’re acting like this is some kind of one-party state. I’m afraid they could be right. I worry even if they’re electorally punished that won’t stop them from growing even more extreme (doubling down) and attempting to create a permanent lock on power when they’re voted in again.

    My greatest fear is that the United States could become a semi-failed oligarchic state just like Russia. You can still have elections and live in a dicatorship

  53. 53.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?

    They’re acting like this is some kind of one-party state. I’m afraid they could be right. I worry even if they’re electorally punished that won’t stop them from growing even more extreme (doubling down) and attempting to create a permanent lock on power when they’re voted in again.

    My greatest fear is that the United States could become a semi-failed oligarchic state just like Russia. You can still have elections and live in a police state

  54. 54.

    Humboldtblue

    @Betty Cracker:

    Yeah, he hasn’t been a very popular dude for the past 48 hours or so. I am not at all surprised he was nabbed so quickly. I bet half the police who patrol the area knew him and even in the hardest, nastiest parts of town you will find people may have lost a battle with addiction but they haven’t lost their morals.

    @trollhattan:

    Addicts. Hollywood station is in the toughest part of town and it’s a gathering spot for the thousands of addicts who call Portland home.

  56. 56.

    Wyatt Derp

    This may seem serious but John McCain has furrowed his brow and expressed concern in a mavericky way so everything’s good.

  57. 57.

    Chris

    @Ian G.:

    Anyone else surprised (in the same sense that Captain Renault was “shocked” by gambling) by the lack of rhetoric from “patriots” about “2nd Amendment solutions” to this brazen corruption and schoolyard authoritarianism?

    Nope. There was that eight years stretch between Clinton and Obama during which the Eebil Federal Government granted itself the right to wiretap without a warrant, brought back the torture chamber as an instrument of state, and massively expanded the security state’s programs at home and abroad. The militia movement yawned through all of it. Wasn’t until a black Democrat sat in the White House that they suddenly started worrying again.

  58. 58.

    Jeffro

    @Ian G.:

    David Frum said on Twitter the other day what I’ve been thinking for a while, that we’re at the point where France was in 1940, where much of the right has lost its fucking mind over a loathed minority making it to the top of the government (in our case, a black man elected president, in France’s case, the Jewish Léon Blum as prime minister), that they see a foreign dictatorship as the only hope for the future.

    I usually do okay putting myself in other folks’ shoes and seeing – if not agreeing with – their point of view.

    I can NOT come close to understanding the traitorous, stupid, hateful, and ultimately self-defeating mind set that essentially says, “Putin! Save us and our white privilege (and/or our vast gobs of obscene wealth – depends on which half of the current unholy alliance that is the GOP we’re talking about here)…save us, you KGB mastermind, you oil baron, you murderer…save us from…OUR FELLOW AMERICANS!!”

    Can’t even come close to ‘getting’ that…

  59. 59.

    ruemara

    @Face: You shouldn’t. You should focus on adding people to the electorate who want to vote and are obstructed.

  60. 60.

    Patricia Kayden

    @scott (the other one): You know Democrats are too polite for all that. Not sure why but I doubt you would find many Democrats who would be so aggressive with the other side. Unfortunately.

  61. 61.

    Chris

    @hovercraft:

    Deep state, meh. The professional civil service is real, that’s all there is to it. (The fact that so many leaks are coming out of security agencies that’re crammed with Republican or Republican-leaning employees is a healthy sign, too).

  62. 62.

    Humdog

    While my hate for all things republican blossoms into an enormous stink flower, I find comments like #11 & #14 blaming democrats for unprecedented R fuckitutude nearly as hair pulling. Do these folks wonder what the wife did to deserve her beatings? Every dams time we learn of a new low for Rs, it is Dems let it happen and better not let it happen again. As someone said yesterday, when do the fuckwits who do this shit and the imbeciles who vote for them receive the unmitigated wrath of this commentariat, much less the media and the country?

  64. 64.

    Chris

    @Ian G.:

    David Frum said on Twitter the other day what I’ve been thinking for a while, that we’re at the point where France was in 1940, where much of the right has lost its fucking mind over a loathed minority making it to the top of the government (in our case, a black man elected president, in France’s case, the Jewish Léon Blum as prime minister), that they see a foreign dictatorship as the only hope for the future.

    Yep. I started using the Leon Blum analogy halfway through the Obama years, though I really didn’t expect them to have an opportunity to go full Vichy.

    “Better Hitler than Blum,” right wing politicians were already screaming all through the second half of the thirties.

  65. 65.

    Chris

    @PaulWartenberg:

    I’m pretty sure if Obama had done this even when the Dems controlled Congress in 2009 and 2010, Fox Not-News would have called it TREASON.

    I mean, Fox News would’ve called it treason if he’d ordered French toast, so that’s a pretty good bet.

  67. 67.

    The Moar You Know

    The GOP has set this up knowing full well that, in the unlikely event that Dems manage to regain any power at all, Dems will impose no consequences. And they have been right about that, historically, and are probably right about it now.

    You can still have elections and live in a police state

    @? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?: You got it. That’s the endgame. Our lack of courage in the past has done damage that cannot be repaired.

  68. 68.

    Humboldtblue

    @trollhattan:

    There is an odd spin-off from your comment.

    If you aren’t familiar with the British tabloid Sun and what it did to the supporters of Liverpool football club it’s well worth learning about. The Sun claimed in a massive headline that Liverpool fans who had witnessed 96 of their friends and family die in a police-caused panicked crush at Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield, England, in 1989, had stolen from the dead, rifled their pockets and in some cases urinated on the victims who were crushed to death against the fences surrounding the field.

    It has led to an active boycott of the Sun by anyone associated with the city of Liverpool, the football club or who have in any way shape or form, ties to the victims. The Sun simply does not sell in Liverpool and if you are connected with the rag in any way you’ll get nothing but anger and derision from Liverpudlians.

    Here is current Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp earning his Liver bird spurs by refusing to answer a question from a Sun reporter before the start of the last Premier League season.

    Netflix has an excellent documentary on the incident as well. It’s infuriating, heart-breaking, maddening and simply fucking sad what they did to the victims and the families of the victims.

  69. 69.

    hovercraft

    Over at GOPOLITICO magazine this piece provides a nice distraction from our current waking nightmare.

    How the World’s Most Interesting Man Befriended the World’s Most Powerful Man

    A beer commercial icon became an unlikely pal to the president of the United States. It stayed interesting.

    By Jonathan Goldsmith

    June 02, 2017

    The first time I met President Obama, I was part of a welcoming committee in the state of Vermont, where I now live. He was just starting his second run for the presidency, and we were invited to be in a greeting line of about 200 people. Barbara, my agent who is now my wife, was right when she predicted he would recognize me. Obama is a huge sports fan, especially the NBA. At the time, the Dos Equis commercials were all over ESPN. Our 10-second photo-op turned into a several-minute conversation.

    Still, I thought, this must be a setup. Someone has to be playing a joke on me, and they had prompted him with information. But when Obama mentioned that he loved a New Yorker article about me and quoted from the commercials, I knew he was being sincere. I drove home feeling as if it was a dream. The president of the United States is interested in me, the imaginary most interesting man in the world…………

    I met Barack two more times, once at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2014 and once in the Oval Office, when I was asked to have lunch at the White House by his personal photographer. Unfortunately, the day before our scheduled meeting, there was the terrorist attack at the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris. I was sure the lunch would be canceled, as I assumed the president would be preoccupied.

    The lunch was on, however. But I was informed that, for obvious reasons, the president would not make an appearance. After lunch, the photographer asked if I would like to see the Oval Office. I jumped at the opportunity. Suddenly, the doors swung open and energy filled the room. It was the president.

    “What are you doing here? he asked with mock seriousness.

    “I came to give you this,” I said, thinking fast, reaching into my jacket pocket and producing a cigar.

    “Thanks,” he said. “I came to give you this.”

    It was a little blue jewelry box. Inside were gold presidential cuff links.

    I pull them out from time to time. I wonder if they are real gold. But I would never have them appraised. I already know their value.

    As I was leaving the Oval Office, it all seemed so unbelievable. I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself. Me, an icon of international fame? More like me, the one-time garbage truck driver, chumming around with the leader of the free world.

  70. 70.

    bemused

    @Ian G.:

    They willfully and deliberately choose to ignore and excuse any heinous act committed by their team that would make them go ballistic if done by a liberal. Worse yet, they will turn their perp into a hero.

  71. 71.

    Chris

    @The Moar You Know:

    Democratic political systems aren’t well prepared to deal with something like an entire political party committing (calling a spade a spade) treason.

    I mean, you can’t even indict the politicians here. The fucking voters are the problem. We haven’t faced a problem on this scale since the Civil War.

  74. 74.

    Jeffro

    @Chris:

    I mean, Fox News would’ve called it treason if he’d ordered French toast, so that’s a pretty good bet.

    See, that should have been “so-called French toast”, or better yet, “Freedom Toast”.

  75. 75.

    hovercraft

    @Chris:

    I completely agree, that why I used the scare quotes, civil servants aren’t moles, they are as you say professionals, and in this case whistle blowers.

  76. 76.

    Chris

    @Ian G.:
    @bemused:

    The fact that the treason that was Vichy (and equivalents elsewhere) was in very large part a right wing movement is something that the American right wing has been very successful in scrubbing from popular consciousness. Less so the right wings in Europe, for obvious reasons. Jonah Goldberg could only peddle this kind of shit in America.

  77. 77.

    hovercraft

    Dan Rather On The Most ‘Psychologically Troubled President’ Since Nixon

    “History is going to punish Donald Trump for this decision,” Dan Rather told Lawrence O’Donnell last night about Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.

    Rather, who has observed presidents for decades now, didn’t mince words. He said Trump is “enraged, scared, the Russian narrative is closing in on him,” and said his decision wasn’t grounded in anything other than his need to cultivate his base.

    He called it “a very ominous moment.”

    “Depending how far President Trump can go and how effective he may be the rest of the way, this can make the United States second tier in terms of world leadership, at least on this subject,” he said…………

    “But I do think, Lawrence, it’s something else at work here with President Trump. And William Marshall wrote some of this on the internet today. And that is from the outside looking in, it seems clear that he is mad.

    “He has some rage. He is scared. What did he do with Russia narrative is closing in on him? Still, the investigation is about his tax returns are closing in on him. He just came back from this European trip, and he was angry with the leader of Germany, Ms. Merkel, and the new leader of France.

    “What you have here is a president who is lashing out in anger. We haven’t had a president this psychologically troubled — I’m trying to use my language real carefully. We haven’t had a president this psychologically troubled in this way since at least Richard Nixon,” he said.

  78. 78.

    BC in Illinois

    @Betty Cracker:

    Here’s a made-up statement the Democrats could issue in response using my proposed strategy:

    And your response is right on. I will only add that the Democratic response needs to be constant. The responses will almost write themselves.

    1. I sent a request for information (information on behalf of a constituent, even better);
    2. I was turned down,
    3. Apparently information is only available to Republicans, not the Representative of Congressional District (x);
    3. This is unacceptable. What are they hiding?
    4. This Press release is being sent to every newspaper, every TV station in District (x). I will be available to speak on camera.

    This is not only a Trump action. If the Republicans don’t stop this, they own it. It is our job to make them own it.

    The first time some request to a low-level administrative department – – made for a constituent – – is turned down (because the only proper channels are Republican [One Party To Rule Them All] channels, then every constituent in the Congressional District needs to hear of it.

    They throw shit? We need to set up the fan.

  79. 79.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?

    @The Moar You Know: I said it Was a fear. I don’t think its too late yet. We all have to do our part to stop them from their corrupt and treacherous plans. If that includes violence, then so be it.

    A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once. It seems to me most strange that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come.

    -William Shakespeare

  80. 80.

    The Moar You Know

    The FOIA doesn’t apply?

    @Karen: No, but worse, they’re not going to comply.

    There’s no effective legal remedy for that. We are good and fucked here.

  82. 82.

    Jeffro

    J-RUBS SEES AN OPENING FOR DEMS!!!

    Yes, Democrats have a real shot to win Romney Republicans (ugh)

    What do Romney-Clinton voters want? Look at successful GOP governors whom these voters supported over the past decade. They chose governors perceived as inclusive and enlightened problem-solvers (John Kasich of Ohio, Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, Mitch Daniels of Indiana, etc.). These voters want a good education system, college tuition that does not break the bank, investment in R &D, a dynamic economy (which requires trade, immigration and U.S. leadership in the world), fiscal sanity and a spirit of sensible compromise. They want the U.S. to be respected in the world and not to bask in the approval of tyrants. They don’t want the government doing everything, but they know we aren’t going back to the pre-New Deal era. They support a safety net but want programs to “work” (meaning, result in fewer impoverished people). These are people who navigate in their daily lives by persuasion and compromise, not bullying and insults. They want, in short, some semblance of civil and effective government and international leadership grounded in American values.

    Naturally, this will only work if folks like Kasich, Daniels, and the like were willing to speak up and tell ‘their’ people: we have to leave the current GOP.

    Unfortunately, there’s probably only about 10 voters nationwide who fall into this category anyway…but we’ll take ’em, we’ll take ’em!

  83. 83.

    LAO

    @Patricia Kayden:

    You know Democrats are too polite for all that.

    I’m not sure it’s politeness. Democrats care about governance and republicans don’t. So, it’s much easier for Republicans to be obstructive because it’s a feature not a bug.

  84. 84.

    Chris

    @hovercraft:

    Right – I wasn’t “meh”ing at you, more so at the general “deep state” belief system that’s become popular and that’s supposed to conjure images of Men In Black types in the shadows subverting the government. Like, no – it’s just the civil service. And yes, it does have a few degrees of separation from politicians, because frankly that’s the point. Governments need to keep running with at least some degree of continuity that doesn’t get a complete overhaul every two years and not be entirely staffed by people whose main qualification was having been roommates with the new president during college.

  85. 85.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?

    @BC in Illinois:

    What are they hiding?

    There. That’s it right there. That’s, I think, one of the most effective lines of attack/argument against El Presidente and the Oligarch’s Party. Especially with those in the mushy middle

  87. 87.

    MisterForkbeard

    “You have Republicans leading the House, the Senate and the White House,” a White House official said. “I don’t think you’d have the Democrats responding to every minority member request if they were in the same position.”

    This LITERALLY HAPPENED in 2009-2010, and the Democrats didn’t block Republicans like this. Maybe it would have been good for the damned article to actually point that out? Or a reporter to ask the Republican official about it?

    1. Our republicans are awful and terrible. They’re literally saying the Democrats could have done something the Democrats in fact didn’t do in order to justify their own borderline unconstitutional behavior.

    2. Our media is awful. Good on them for publishing the article, but maybe they could have… you know, pointed out directly that the explanation was bullshit?

  88. 88.

    Ella in New Mexico

    @Camembert:

    I never understood why Obama didn’t do this once the Benghazi thing got rolling. It ended in that horrible day for HRC, where he just hung her out to dry. Nobody should have to go through what she went through, and yet he just sat back and watched.

    @hovercraft:

    Seriously, Obama did the right thing, acted in the way our government is supposed to behave itself. I’m proud of that, and quite frankly, as innocuous as I believe the whole private server/email issue was, the choice to set that system up was HERS and HERS alone. She was given lots of latitude from Obama, who respected her judgement as the delegator he is. And I’m sorry but “hung her out to dry” is just bullshit–he had confidence in her ability to deal in an ethical and legal manner with the issue and had he intervened, he pretty much would have been giving republicans her “bloody head”. They would have found more and more fake scandals and intrigue to harass her with, and now, knowing that it’s very likely the Russians have been helping key Republicans in the House and Senate for a long, long time, I’m guessing they’d have had plenty of fodder for the “gate-mill”.

    In the end, it was not the smartest thing to set up a private server and use it for public business, particularly in such a hostile climate the Republicans have created. But then, she and Bill often are their own worst enemies for handing their opposition the baseball bat they can use to hit them over the head, aren’t they?

    Democrats need to stop blaming themselves that the Republican Party has lied, cheated, and stolen their way into power and has become the most corrupt American political party in history. That’s THEIR doing. Anything our side does that’s imperfect is microscopic in comparison. Stay focused on getting these bastards out of power, forever, not eating our own.

  89. 89.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?

    @raven: I don’t want to fight. I’d rather win hearts and minds so elections can be won for the good guys; to reassert America’s place in the world as a leader for democracy and freedom; to finally live up to the spirit of the words, “All Men are Created Equal”; and to lead humanity into a glorious future of shared prosperity.

    To protect and save this vision, I’ll fight when the need arises. Hopefully it never does.

  91. 91.

    hovercraft

    Trying to muzzle the federal government may slow down democrats access to information that can be “weaponized”, but that’s not going to slow down the investigators as long as the Shigibbon keeps trying to be the hippest most “in touch” president.

    Trump’s tweets ‘a gold mine’ for Mueller probe

    The president’s running public commentary gives investigators real-time insight into the intent behind his actions – and could create problems for him or his aides.

    President Donald Trump’s Twitter feed – packed with more than 35,000 time-stamped missives dating to 2009 – offers a treasure trove of evidence for Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his growing team of investigators, according to lawyers and veterans of past White House scandals.

    Like emails, handwritten notes or transcribed Oval Office conversations, the @realdonaldtrump account gives investigators a detailed timeline of Trump’s thoughts and opinions – including where they might differ from official accounts – and can also be used to establish intent, which can be critical in a criminal investigation…………..

    “They’re a gold mine,” said Peter Zeidenberg, who served on the Justice Department’s special prosecution team during the George W. Bush-era Valerie Plame Wilson investigation and now works as a partner at Arent Fox. “They help paint a picture.”………….

    “I think an investigator would be curious as to whether the president, who necessarily exists in a very unique bubble, was using his tweets and other public statements to communicate with, coordinate with, or direct witnesses,” said Michael Forde, a trial lawyer who represents Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

    The president’s warning last month to the fired FBI director James Comey, that he’d “better hope that there are no tapes” of their conversations, “could well be interpreted as an effort to intimidate a witness,” Forde added…………….

    “There isn’t any reason why a tweet wouldn’t be treated like any other public statement. As long as it is properly attributed to the author and verified as such it would constitute a statement,” said former Watergate prosecutor Richard Ben-Veniste.

    “They’re no different from emails or anything else,” added Forde.

    White-collar lawyers and prosecution veterans say they have little doubt federal investigators were scouring Trump’s social media posts even before Mueller’s appointment last month.

    Facing a barrage of media scrutiny over some of his Twitter posts, the president and some of his aides have on occasion insisted his messages shouldn’t be taken literally. That’s an argument that would face a high bar of scrutiny in a courtroom. “He can tell it to the jury and they’ll decide the credibility of that,” said William Jeffress, a white-collar defense attorney who represented Libby during the Plame investigation.

    Shutting the barn door……

    Since the president can’t be prosecuted in a real court, this would have to be edudicated in congress and they would pretend that he was just blowing off steam, so there’s no real damage. But for his staff, and EO’s the twitters could be really damaging.

  92. 92.

    TriassicSands

    @mai naem mobile:

    If the Dems take over the House in 2018 Pelosi better not say impeachment is off the table. I don’t evendors give a shit if Ywrtle still controls the Senate

    That may not be as easy a decision as it might seem. Yes, Trump is a crook and yes, he has committed impeachable offenses. But Pelosi will likely have zero chance of getting a conviction in the Senate. As has been pointed out many times, impeachment is a political action, not a criminal one.

    If a Democratic House impeached and a Republican controlled (or at least closely split) Senate convicted, then, everything might be OK. But if a Democratic House impeached and the Senate voted along party lines (or close to it), which would guarantee no convicition even if the Dems controlled the Senate, then look out the next time we elect a Democratic president with a Republican House.

    Pelosi could choose to impeach because it’s the right thing to do, even though it is not going to result in a conviction, but would that be the best thing for Democrats in 2020? I think she’ll be thinking more of 2020 than what is simply the right thing to do. It would be a tough call for her; I wouldn’t envy her position.

    Life is a lot more complicated for Democrats than it is for Republicans. Democrats care about tradition, rules, and up to a point, consistency. Republicans care only about what will get them what they want today and what will screw the Democrats every day. Because impeachment is a political action, it is vital that a significant number of Republicans would vote to impeach and what is even more important, a significant number of Republican Senators would vote to convict. It’s always important to remember that Democrats and the GOP are playing by fundamentally different rules, and we don’t want the Democrats to emulate the Republicans. At least, I don’t.

    It will also be critical what the charges would be and the strength of the evidence. If the charges are serious enough and the evidence compelling enough to cause a significant majority of Americans to support impeachment and conviction, then Pelosi would, or at least might, be in a different position.

    A closely divided nation coupled with party line votes in the House and Senate and I wouldn’t expect her to try impeaching the crooked clown.

  93. 93.

    rikyrah

    @kindness:

    The pendulum swings both ways. Right now it’s flailing off it’s normal circuit and when it comes back we will hear Republicans whine and scream like we have never heard them before.

    And, we better pull up every receipt telling their azzes to sit down and shut THE PHUCK up

  94. 94.

    hovercraft

    @Ella in New Mexico:

    Democrats need to stop blaming themselves that the Republican Party has lied, cheated, and stolen their way into power and has become the most corrupt American political party in history. That’s THEIR doing. Anything our side does that’s imperfect is microscopic in comparison. Stay focused on getting these bastards out of power, forever, not eating our own.

    Amen to that.

    @MisterForkbeard:

    I miss Obama. I really, really do.

    Me too, brother, me too!

  95. 95.

    Tilda Swintons Bald Cap

    @TriassicSands: Good comment, except Pelosi is going to be primaried (ha ha), who knows she might even lose. Re: comment 14, I think the Democrats are not going to fuck it up as much as outside actors are going to try to fuck it up again. Coupled with voter suppression etc. There are people actively talking about de-Pelosiing and de-Schumering the party, SMDH.
    The Senate map looks bad and the House is probably out of reach. I have pretty much lost hope at this point, but 2018 is a long way off in political time, who knows…

  96. 96.

    NotMax

    There’s a line or three suggested that involve the words “Wanna See Conference,” but only two sips into 1st coffee of the morning so the gray matter is still on idle.

  98. 98.

    The Moar You Know

    The pendulum swings both ways. Right now it’s flailing off it’s normal circuit and when it comes back we will hear Republicans whine and scream like we have never heard them before

    @kindness: The pendulum metaphor for politics enrages me like no other, because it’s simply not true. Things change, they never return to the way things were. Oftentimes that’s a good thing. For example, the pendulum never swung back on slavery (and that’s a Western-world wide development, not just an American one.)

    For a bad example, American New Deal liberalism was effectively done for by the late 1960s, and the country has kept steering to the right with no end in sight since (Obama would have been considered a typical conservative Republican back in the 1970s, save for his melanin.)

  99. 99.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?

    @Tilda Swintons Bald Cap: It can’t be that bad. Like you said, 2018 is a long time away. GOP and Twitler can fuck up a lot between now and then. Hopefully self-inflicted more than anything

  100. 100.

    smintheus

    On the brighter side, however, the Trumplings haven’t actually head-slammed any Democrats requesting information. So, glasses half full is how I’m seeing it.

  101. 101.

    TenguPhule

    I pointed this out about three months ago.

    Of course the fuckers are breaking the law.

  102. 102.

    TenguPhule

    The idea, Republicans said, is to choke off the Democratic congressional minorities from gaining new information that could be used to attack the president.

    “Yeah, we’re fucking breaking the law, Democrats.”

    “Now what the fuck are you gonna do about it, you pansies?”

  103. 103.

    Kay

    Trump won’t do anything until he’s ordered to by a court and even then they’ll have to enforce it. This is gonna be really ugly. Trump will make Nixon look law-abiding. All of those months when he was campaigning on how stupid everyone in government is? He believes that. They’re not the boss of him.

    I love all these people who assume he’ll honor “norms” as far as investigations/prosecutions. Fat fucking chance. Norms are just rules and he’s spent his whole live believing he was exempt from those.

  104. 104.

    MJS

    @hovercraft: I have news for Dan Rather – if the U.S. is “second tier” at this point, it’s barely second tier, and will soon be third tier, to be followed shortly thereafter by irrelevant. And not just on the issue of climate change.

  105. 105.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?

    @TenguPhule: Vote them out of power, and failing that (assuming elections are rigged and voters disenfranchised), kill them all?

  106. 106.

    TenguPhule

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    The longer it goes the harder the fall with be for the GOP. It’s clear at lest Flyn was engaged in outright treason, the GOP should be the ones digging so they can control it so it doesn’t turn into implicating everyone in the Republican party.

    Vague consequences in the future are always better then admitting wrong doing today.

    Official Republican Motto. Now and forever.

    They seem to think they will get away with it.

    After all, Reagan and both Bushes did.

  107. 107.

    TriassicSands

    @Tilda Swintons Bald Cap:

    The Senate map looks bad and the House is probably out of reach. I have pretty much lost hope at this point, but 2018 is a long way off in political time, who knows…

    I’ve been cautioning friends and family to not get their hopes up too high. The situation in the Senate may be worse than in the House. If we look at some of the recent special elections, we’re seeing what I expected — the races are tighter than usual but the Democrat simply has too large a margin to make up.

    On the other hand, don’t give up all hope. Republican candidates have shown on numerous occasions that if they can’t control their mouths they can lose elections they should have won. Add to that the virtually unlimited capacity for Trump to make a mess of everything he touches and the fact that it may have begun to become obvious that he’s not going to keep some of his promises to his base and some elections could unexpectedly go our way.

    The most important thing for Democratic/progressive/liberal individuals is to not have their personal happiness or life expectancy depend on the Democrats winning one or both houses in 2018. This, 2018, may be the most difficult election to predict in a long time — maybe ever. I would attribute that to Trump.

  108. 108.

    mai naem mobile

    @TriassicSands: 1/If you don’t impeach him,you okay everything he’s done. 2/Politically put the Republican Senators on the hot seat. Have them explain why they won’t convict him. The red state Dem Senators will have plenty of reasons to convict him.3/If Dolt is still around,it keeps him busy fighting the impeachment

  110. 110.

    Gelfling 545

    We need to coin a term for behavior that is at once brazen, short sighted and ill informed. Perhaps trumpish?

  111. 111.

    TenguPhule

    @? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?: Assuming they don’t try to literally kill us all before 2018. And we still have a working federal government.

    Remember, just four months in. And we still have the make or break funding in July.

    And if we manage to get past that crisis, a whole bunch more come up in October. Not counting the ones Trump can cause on his own.

  112. 112.

    Peale

    @TenguPhule: Yep. I expect this to end the same way Bush ended, the the country coming apart at the seems and because there is a crisis, we’ll elect someone to fix the crisis, and then go back to voting for the GOP when the crisis doesn’t go away. I debate with myself whether we should fix the crisis, but then they rich have such a tremendous advantage. We can’t actually destroy their sources of wealth without bankrupting ourselves, whereas they can make us all rather poor and still be raking it in.

  113. 113.

    TenguPhule

    @TriassicSands:

    Add to that the virtually unlimited capacity for Trump to make a mess of everything he touches and the fact that it may have begun to become obvious that he’s not going to keep some of his promises to his base and some elections could unexpectedly go our way.

    And what happens when elections don’t matter? I mean Trump and the GOP are literally ignoring the law to do whatever the hell they want. They’re betting that the force in enforcement is off the table.

  114. 114.

    Kay

    @TenguPhule:

    “Now what the fuck are you gonna do about it, you pansies?”

    But what do they do? Taking action would require admitting that a whole political Party no longer considers themselves subject to laws. What to do? Arrest them? Jail them for contempt? All of them?

    It’s always been fragile. 99% of “law abiding” is consent. It won’t work without the vast majority of people adhering to the norm because without that we’re talking about forcing compliance and the more people there are flouting the rules the bigger that job becomes. I feel like the stage was set for this when Trump busted norms and was rewarded. It’s literally a slippery slope.

  115. 115.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    @Humdog: I’m not blaming Hillary Clinton for not fighting back harder about threats to jail her – that was done to her. That’s not blaming the victim.

    But the Democrats who are holding office and are supposed to be trying to do what’s best for the country? Yes, I will blame them. Not for failing to win election, but for standing by silently and letting it happen. They know the Republicans will do this and worse. They know that the media won’t print criticism unless someone says it. That means they need to speak up, and they don’t.

    That is what I blame them for.

  116. 116.

    TenguPhule

    @Ian G.:

    Anyone else surprised (in the same sense that Captain Renault was “shocked” by gambling) by the lack of rhetoric from “patriots” about “2nd Amendment solutions” to this brazen corruption and schoolyard authoritarianism?

    They’re too busy getting measured for their nice brown uniforms.

  117. 117.

    TenguPhule

    @Kay:

    But what do they do? Taking action would require admitting that a whole political Party no longer considers themselves subject to laws. What to do? Arrest them? Jail them for contempt? All of them?

    Yes.

    If you want a Democracy.

    Otherwise the alternative is me.

  118. 118.

    SFAW

    @TriassicSands:

    You’re fucking kidding, right? Or are you too young to remember the Clinton impeachment? There was approximately zero chance of him getting convicted in the Senate, even with Rehnquist wearing his very-image-of-a-modern-Major-General frock (which I’m sure helped the “lynch him” side). The Rethugs may have paid a little bit of a political price after that, but it didn’t last very long. But the big difference is that Clinton was the figurative equivalent of a jaywalker next to Shitgibbon’s arsonist/vandal/sociopath/rapist/robber.

    About the only (possibly) good thing that MAY come out of Shitgibbon’s attempted destruction of the country, aided and abetted by Turtle and ZEGS, those traitorous fucks, is that it gives the Dems pretty much of a pass if they ever regain control of both houses of Congress, plus the Presidency. And in case someone is thinking “Oh, we shouldn’t stoop to the Rethugs level” — fuck that. The Dems should do everything they can to prevent those traitorous fucks from ever gaining any semblance of power again. Or at least, not until the Rethugs grow the fuck up, and start acting like humans who actually care about the country and its people.

  119. 119.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @TenguPhule:

    And what happens when elections don’t matter?

    Then you get the fighting in the streets that you have been hoping for. I would rather try the ballot box first, tyvm.

  120. 120.

    cain

    @TriassicSands:

    I agree that impeachment will never be a reality unless there was a tape of him committing a crime like murder and/or sleeping with Steve Bannon. (his people would approve sleeping with Ivanka)

    That said, the House can use their power to continue to make Republicans look bad. You know those guys are up to their ears in scandal. Find ways to put obstacles in Fox News and essentially make the right spend money left, right and center.

  121. 121.

    Kay

    Seems relevant that there are more denunciations of Kathy Griffin for bad behavior than there are for the President of the United States’ bad behavior.

    LOW bar for Trump. The lowest. He may actually discredit that office permanently. There was no guarantee it would remain respected. He smears shit all over everything he touches and that position will eventually succumb.

    We have higher standards for 2nd rate entertainers than we do the President.

  122. 122.

    MJS

    @TenguPhule: This seems overly pessimistic to me. There is a lot of “there” there to the Russian investigation, but if Trump et al were of a mind to ignore the rule of law to the extent you suggest, then they’d simply be telling Mueller and everyone else to go pound sand. They’d not only readily admit to what they did, but they’d be bragging about it. They would believe that an explanation of, “Colluding with the Russians was necessary to ensure Crooked Hillary didn’t become President and continue the abysmal policies of the Muslim Kenyan” would carry the day. But that’s not what they’re doing. Instead, they’re doing what scared people do – they’re lawyering up. It may be some time away, but just as with Nixon, when the President becomes too toxic, enough Republicans will jump ship. They will do so to save their own skin, and they will do so because there is every possibility that Pence or whoever ends up President could win in 2020. Ford almost did it in 1976.

  123. 123.

    cintibud

    @hovercraft: What a great article! Folks should go over and read the whole thing – it’s ah, very interesting

    I especially love this:
    “It was a little blue jewelry box. Inside were gold presidential cuff links.
    I pull them out from time to time. I wonder if they are real gold. But I would never have them appraised. I already know their value.”

  124. 124.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    @TriassicSands: The Republicans already showed how to run impeachment. Leak dishonest information that supports only your side, dribbles at a time, to keep the story in the news. Only here, it won’t be a barely-legal evasion in a trial, and no evidence of perjury in front of the grand jury (and evidence-free accusations of suborning of perjury) – it will likely be treason.

  125. 125.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?

    @TenguPhule: Yup. Most self-described teenagers would glady join some kind of SA-style militia with an American face. Maybe it could be called the “Liberty Battalion”? Something self-serving and hypocritical like that.

  126. 126.

    TenguPhule

    @scott (the other one):

    I don’t understand why the likes of, I don’t know, Dick Durbin, maybe? doesn’t go to his GOP colleagues and say, look, you have to understand how badly this turns out. Either we start holding them in contempt of congress, which will be terrible for the country, or once we’re back in the White House–and you know that’s coming–you’ve established this precedent and things are different since Trump: we WILL treat y’all the way you’ve treated us.

    “We’re betting that once we’re in control of everything, Democrats are never going to get into power again, elections be damned. After all, what are you going to fight us with? Protests? Harsh Language? Fuck you, we win.”

    /The Republican mind

  127. 127.

    SFAW

    @TenguPhule:

    And if we manage to get past that crisis, a whole bunch more come up in October. Not counting the ones Trump can cause on his own.

    You are SUCH a Pollyanna

  128. 128.

    Kay

    It sort of doesn’t matter if Trump stays President because now he’s BEEN elected President so the bar is much lower.

    That’s just true and we’ll have to either recover or learn to live with the diminished office. The people who say “it’s the office that’s respected” are wrong. That’s not bestowed permanently. It can be discredited and destroyed. They all have to earn it over and over or it’s just a title.

  129. 129.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?

    @Omnes Omnibus: Agreed. But when confronted with the likes of El Presidente, the Neo-Confederate Leprechaun, and Atlas Failed, the bullet box sure is tempting

  130. 130.

    Chet Murthy

    @SFAW: Newt Gingrich, Bob Livingston, Dennie Hastert. But NoOo, we gotta focus on WJC’s sex “crimes”. Yep, projection since 1998 at least.

  131. 131.

    Emma

    Am I the only one who has noticed a steady growth of pessimist comments? Nothing will work… nothing will succeed… the Democrats are always weak…. the Democrats will fail….. Nancy Pelosi will give it all away… the press won’t tell the truth… Doom. Doom. DOOM!

    Why bother, then? Why not just stop fighting? Go survivalist, move to Canada, whatever. Create an underground railroad for liberals. At least you’ll be doing something instead of bitching.

  132. 132.

    Chet Murthy

    @SiubhanDuinne: Goddam. This shitbird’s Indian-American. What? He thinks they’re not gonna come for him, b/c he’s “one of the good ones”? FFS. I -so- need a Hindi (or any other Indian language — there are hundreds) word for “kapo”. FFS.

  133. 133.

    Kay

    The SCOTUS is respected but that would be diminished if Trump were appointed to it. That’s just true. These “institutions” are just collections of people and ideas. They’re not actual physical bulwarks that exist independently of bad people in or on them. They can stumble along a good way damaged, “zombie institutions” like Krugman’s “zombie banks”, but eventually the person or people who embody the institution define it.

  135. 135.

    TenguPhule

    @MJS:

    There is a lot of “there” there to the Russian investigation, but if Trump et al were of a mind to ignore the rule of law to the extent you suggest, then they’d simply be telling Mueller and everyone else to go pound sand.

    Not how the Republican or Trump’s machine works. Its delay, delay, delay. Its how he fucked with his contractors, the longer it took the more leverage he got. Here, they’re betting on outrage fatigue to settle in, that all the scandals start blurring into “Yeah, he’s a lying asshole, so what else is new?”, shrug the shoulders and its simply accepted as the new normal. I’m already seeing that happen around me in a liberal blue state. It’s rules lawyering to the worst degree, but its bloody effective.

    Remember, the Republicans got caught endorsing TORTURE and managed to avoid paying a price by running out the clock.

  136. 136.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @LongHairedWeirdo:

    They know that the media won’t print criticism unless someone says it.

    No. They know that the media won’t print criticism if they say it. That is why they’ve said it, and you haven’t heard it. That is why nobody knows what Hillary Clinton’s policies were, and that she was more liberal than Sanders in every way except ‘break up the banks’. That is why I listened to endless angry rants that Obama should go out to the people and explain what the ACA does while he was on a tour explaining what the ACA does.

  137. 137.

    Chris

    @Kay:

    One of the ugliest and most underreported moments in the Muslim Ban fights of a couple months ago was when the courts ordered Trump’s EO suspended… and the U.S. Marshals refused to serve court orders to the CBP folks who were violating them.

    Call it another “deep state”/”professional civil service” thing (cops not wanting to go after other cops), call it ingrained authoritarianism that comes from the Republican-heavy law enforcement profession, but that’s easily one of the scariest things that’s happened since Trump was elected. If the people in uniform decide that they’re simply going to stop following the courts, all bets are off.

  138. 138.

    different-church-lady

    @LongHairedWeirdo:

    It’s vital to remember that the GOP manic progressives once screamed that Clinton Obama could “SPY on US CITIZENS with nothing but a RUBBER STAMP FROM THE FISA COURT!”

    I’m so old I can remember 2013.

  139. 139.

    Chris

    @? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?:

    @TenguPhule: Yup. Most self-described teenagers would glady join some kind of SA-style militia with an American face. Maybe it could be called the “Liberty Battalion”? Something self-serving and hypocritical like that.

    “If we ever end up in a fascist police state, the NRA types won’t be La Résistance fighting the evil regime. They’ll be the SA thugs supplementing its forces by chasing down all the Undesirables.”
    – me, every time this topic’s come up.

  140. 140.

    MJS

    @Emma: I notice it too. It’s been 4 months, and a honest to God investigation that has 1) completely discombobulated any agenda this idiot had and 2) has a real chance of driving him from office well before 2020 is already underway. I’ve said it here before – the Watergate break-in occurred in June, 1972. Nixon resigned in August (?), 1974. If you’re pessimistic at this point, you may as well pack it in, because it’s still going to take some time for this to play out.

  145. 145.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Emma: Yes, either pure pessimism or pessimism layered with visions of violence. Neither seems healthy or beneficial to me.

  146. 146.

    TriassicSands

    @mai naem mobile:

    1) I thought I made it clear that impeaching Trump would be the right thing to do. But Pelosi is a political person and she’s got more to weigh that what Trump deserves. If you gave her the choice of getting rid of Trump or winning back the Speakership, which do you think she would choose? And that’s assuming there was a realistic chance of convicting Trump in the Senate. (There isn’t today. That may change.)

    2) For most Republican senators there is no hot seat. This depends substantially on what the national consensus is, but also what the feeling is in individual states. The sad truth of our system is that if you don’t want to vote for the candidate from your traditionally supported party, you can’t vote for a winner. I live in a state with two Democratic senators. If there were a scandal involving one of them that was so bad I simply couldn’t bring myself to vote for her, I still couldn’t and wouldn’t vote for the Republican. I’d either have to abstain or write in the name of someone I genuinely wanted to be my senator but who would have no chance of winning (except, perhaps, in the rarest of cases). In general, Republican voters are a lot more forgiving than Democratic voters are, i.e., they, Republicans, don’t care if the presidential candidate is a vile, despicable, female-abusing, crooked sociopath, they’re not going to vote for a Democrat.

    3) Depending on the makeup of the Senate at the time of the trial, I don’t think he’d have to fight very hard. Of course, he would fight, because that’s what he’s spent most of his business career doing. What is it? More than 3,000 lawsuits in his career? We don’t need to impeach Trump to keep him busy fighting trials or scandals. He’s doing all the work for us. He may even prefer the fighting, something he’s familiar with and has done all his adult life, to trying to be president, which is simply beyone him.

    Removing Trump from office poses a moral dilemma for those of us on the left. He is unfit to be president and he has clearly committed impeachable offenses (emoluments clause at the very least). He poses a genuine threat not only to the well-being of Americans and the US but to the entire planet. He should never have been elected and he should be removed from office.

    But.

    But, if he’s removed from office, Pence will be president. And, while Pence is no genius, he’s not mentally ill like Trump. He has some self-discipline and won’t be up every night at 2 and 3 AM tweeting idiotic things. He won’t needlessly insult all of our allies. He might even see Russia as an adversary, instead of our BFF. The worry would be that he is much more likely to be able to enact the GOP’s nightmarish agenda. That poses a threat to all Americans and the well-being of the country as a whole, but probably not the same level of threat to the world (though I doubt he’d be any better on the environment than Trump).

    So, by doing the right thing and removing Trump from office, we may strengthen the Republicans at the polls in the next election(s) and we would probably improve their chances of enacting at least some of their hellish agenda. I see this as a real dilemma. The discussion is much more involved than this, but the comment is already very long…

  147. 147.

    Kay

    @Chris:

    Right? Because that’s such a part of this country’s narrative- the story we tell about ourselves. The Supreme Court clerk in his station wagon with a piece of paper signed by a judge can force a President- a person with AN ARMY(!) to comply. Rule O Law. The pen is mightier than the sword.

    I don’t think Donald Trump believes he’s subject to rules. That’s a problem. People like that have to be compelled and that’s an ugly process. Genuine civil unrest.

    I never felt like it was a guarantee. I don’t really understand people who take it for granted. It always seemed fragile to me, this agreement we have where 99% of people follow the laws and rules.

  148. 148.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?

    @MJS: I agree that it is overly pessimistic. We’re not there. Yet. But I think we’re headed there in another decade or two unless things change. A lot of current trends, in conservative politics and technology are not looking good.

    Technology is becoming more widespread in our everyday lives and can monitor us as well as influence how we think. Russian interference has proven that at least. The GOP and movement conservatism is moving further right and has in recent years moved to restrict voter franchise, open the flood gates up to vast of amounts of money that corrupts elections (which leads to more radicalization). Media is becoming increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few and entire local tv companies are being bought out by companies with known right-wing biases that influence local coverage.
    Neo-fascism (aka white nationalism) is on the rise as well, which very well could either take over the GOP or displace it after it has rigged power in its favor.

    All of this is, I believe has the power to transform the US into an oligarchic police state. The idea of a superpower like the United States turning into this terrifies me. North Korea with thousands of nukes, more resources, and a better equipped military

  149. 149.

    TenguPhule

    @Kay:

    The SCOTUS is respected but that would be diminished if Trump were appointed to it.

    JFC, Kay, are you trying to start the mother-in-law of all flame wars?

  151. 151.

    MJS

    @TenguPhule: It’s too early to try to run out the clock. And polls indicate that instead of “fatigue” setting in, more and more Americans want to know exactly what happened with the Russians. The investigations that have started can’t be delayed in the same way civil suits can, because such delay invariably ends up making the delayer look guilty. And remember, when Trump sues or is sued, he invariably loses or settles. The U.S. government is not some drywaller with no access to an attorney.

  152. 152.

    hovercraft

    @cintibud:
    He’s lived an interesting life, and he seems to genuinely touched by Obama’s interest in him. I saw this tweet from David Cameron the other day:

    David Cameron
    ✔
    @David_Cameron

    Great to catch up with my good friend @BarackObama today.
    9:56 AM – 27 May 2017

    2,013 2,013 Retweets
    9,800
    He makes friends wherever he goes, when the Shitgibbon is done destroying the world, how many people are going to write touching articles like that one, and do you think any world leader/ex-leader will be tweeting about spending time with him when they no longer have to? history will be kind to Obama, the GOP can try to dismantle his legacy, but they cannot undo the way he touched people. My forever president.

  155. 155.

    TenguPhule

    @Emma:

    Am I the only one who has noticed a steady growth of pessimist comments?

    Your pessimism is someone else’s realism. When people are literally ignoring the law to do whatever the hell they want at the highest levels of power and not suffering the appropriate consequences of it, that’s a VERY BAD THING.

  156. 156.

    rikyrah

    @TriassicSands:

    But, if he’s removed from office, Pence will be president. And, while Pence is no genius, he’s not mentally ill like Trump. He has some self-discipline and won’t be up every night at 2 and 3 AM tweeting idiotic things. He won’t needlessly insult all of our allies. He might even see Russia as an adversary, instead of our BFF. The worry would be that he is much more likely to be able to enact the GOP’s nightmarish agenda. That poses a threat to all Americans and the well-being of the country as a whole, but probably not the same level of threat to the world (though I doubt he’d be any better on the environment than Trump).

    I’ll say this again..

    There is absolutely NO WAY that Dolt45 is going down..

    WITHOUT TAKING PENCE WITH HIM.

    NO.PHUCKING.WAY.

  157. 157.

    MJS

    @ Goku (aka Junior G-Man) : Yes, there are troubling signs. There is also the sign that despite the press, the Russians, and virtually every single Republican voter being against her, Hillary Clinton still received 3 million more votes than her opponent. Hillary Clinton, who has been vilified by ALL press for decades had a convincing popular vote victory. All is not lost, as the marches we’ve seen, and will hopefully continue to see, indicate. It’s just a matter of maintaining that energy, and “Fuck it, everything’s shit, we don’t have a chance” 4 months into this maladministration doesn’t help to keep up that energy.

  158. 158.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?

    @hovercraft: Wow, David Cameron said that? Didn’t know he despised Trump that much. Or would use shitgibbon. Agree with every word

  159. 159.

    TenguPhule

    @MJS:

    It’s too early to try to run out the clock. And polls indicate that instead of “fatigue” setting in, more and more Americans want to know exactly what happened with the Russians. The investigations that have started can’t be delayed in the same way civil suits can, because such delay invariably ends up making the delayer look guilty.

    They’re already doing it. It’s the 9/11 commission all over again on the Republican behavior side.

    As I said earlier, they’re betting on no real force in enforcement. Our system was not designed for this level of blatant non-compliance by the controlling authorities.

  160. 160.

    ruemara

    I hate to say it, but I am so glad no one here was in charge of fighting for civil rights for me. I’d be on child 7 due to owner rape, illiterate and praying for the mercy of death by now. Jesus. You’re not being shot in the streets and if you feel that bad about it, get active with orgs working on the problem of voter suppression. And before you come at me, black female, immigrant, no generational wealth with medical bills and chronic health issues dealing with bias on a daily basis. Praying for merciful release is a normal state for me and I still donate to vote riders, act blue and press GOTV for every race I know about. Even my Bernie forever friends consider me annoyingly focused on winning.

    Hopelessness is a luxury. Really. Survival can’t afford it, even if hope is a bridge too far. The goal is to win as much as possible. Depressing each other is just masturbatory. You know how fucked we are? That’s nice. Welcome. Now what are you doing to unfuck things? Also, fuck WWC voters still waiting for Lord Trump, if they’re your unfuck strategy.

  161. 161.

    rikyrah

    Now Trump Will Take Away Your Contraception
    by Martin Longman
    June 2, 2017 12:03 PM

    A lot of women I talk to are concerned about Donald Trump and his connections to the Russians, but express concern that Vice President Pence would be an even worse president for them because he seems to come straight out of the cast for The Handmaid’s Tale. In no way do I want to diminish or dismiss the validity of their point of view, but I want to highlight that Trump seems to be nearly as obsessed as Pence with the fecundity of the fairer sex.

    As proof, let’s look at what Obamacare has done for American women who want to control their reproduction:

    The architects of the Affordable Care Act intended to broadly expand access to contraception by making it a regular benefit of health insurance, and the Obama administration’s goal was to guarantee birth control for as many women as possible. More than 55 million women have birth control coverage without out-of-pocket costs, according to a study commissioned by the Obama administration and cited in the draft rule.

    By spring 2014, two-thirds of women using birth control pills and nearly 75 percent of women using the contraceptive ring were no longer paying out-of-pocket costs. In 2013 alone, the mandate had saved women $1.4 billion on birth control pills, according to the National Women’s Law Center.

    ……………

    So, here’s what Trump is going to do:

    The Trump administration has drafted a sweeping revision of the government’s contraception coverage mandate that could deny birth control benefits to hundreds of thousands of women who now receive them at no cost under the Affordable Care Act.

    The new rule, which could go into effect as soon as it is published in the Federal Register, greatly expands the number of employers and insurers that could qualify for exemptions from the mandate by claiming a moral or religious objection, including for-profit, publicly traded corporations. A 34,000-word explanation of the intended policy change is blunt about its likely impact on women: “These interim final rules will result in some enrollees in plans of exempt entities not receiving coverage or payments for contraceptive services.”

  162. 162.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?

    @MJS: Definitely room for optimism for sure. Just cautioning. After all, the course of history is not written in stone. Francis Fukuyama learned that lesson the hard way. The culture, given enough time, can be changed

  163. 163.

    rikyrah

    @MJS:

    Yes, there are troubling signs. There is also the sign that despite the press, the Russians, and virtually every single Republican voter being against her, Hillary Clinton still received 3 million more votes than her opponent.

    And, those 3 million have not forgotten it, and are not in the mood to just ‘ forgive and forget’.

  164. 164.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @ruemara: Thank you for this. I get that things are bad, but the level of defeatism I have been seeing here is staggering. Me, I am marching again tomorrow and will give to everyone that I can as long as they are fighting.

  165. 165.

    TenguPhule

    @MJS:

    All is not lost, as the marches we’ve seen, and will hopefully continue to see, indicate. It’s just a matter of maintaining that energy, and “Fuck it, everything’s shit, we don’t have a chance” 4 months into this maladministration doesn’t help to keep up that energy.

    I think the energy is going to have to be put to better use.The marches and protests are nice and public displays of disapproval, but they’re not actually accomplishing anything other then getting people on camera (which is a double edged sword when it comes to the Fascists). The GOP and Trump simply ignore them and that futility can hurt morale badly as it continues.

    Nobody arrested, nobody punished. Just more evil trickling down. That’s the danger.

  166. 166.

    Kay

    @Chris:

    call it ingrained authoritarianism

    Not directly related but this was big “aha” moment yesterday in the car. I listen to this Christian conservative person in the car. He has a nice voice- he used to do high school football play by play on the radio before he went crazy. Anyhow, he’s always going on and on about the Constitution, how everything you need is IN THERE and that has always baffled me about them- how they treat it like Holy Writ and it’s a set of statutes and it’s been amended PLENTY which seems to mean it’s not infallible. I get it now though. They read the Bible literally and they think America is special in the eyes of God so they read the Constitution literally.

    Everyone else probably already got this but now I feel like it makes sense :)

  167. 167.

    Aleta

    @Betty Cracker: You’re so right. At the least, Democrats need to put out a list of every request and question that Republicans refuse to answer. That would give experts (and comics and reporters) an opening to posit answers (or joke about what they are hiding or research a story). Not for nothing have the WApo etc. set up ways to send them information anonymously.

  168. 168.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?

    @ruemara: Hope you weren’t refering to me. Personally, I’m not feeling hopeless, more angry and somewhat optimistic for the future then anything. I guess I was discussing what could happen not what will

  169. 169.

    Emma

    @TenguPhule: I am not arguing that it’s a good thing. I am as dismayed by currents events as any sane person is. But it’s like this: I am at the tail end of five years of post-surgical breast cancer treatment. My body hurts so much that often I cannot distinguish between the body aches caused by Tamoxifen and the body ache due to flu (ed: or arthritis). I often think about stopping. But I still take that medication every day and I keep going. How do you think I would cope if half of my family and friends walked around with horrified faces telling me constantly how bad I look, and how terrible this treatment is, and how I should quit because there’s still a chance I’ll have cancer again anyway?

    There are terrible things happening, yes. But if we all concentrate on working towards change maybe change will happen.

  170. 170.

    TenguPhule

    @ruemara:

    I hate to say it, but I am so glad no one here was in charge of fighting for civil rights for me. I’d be on child 7 due to owner rape, illiterate and praying for the mercy of death by now.

    There were decent people in the Republican party during the fight for civil rights in America and 40% of the country hadn’t lost their minds.

    This time, all the levers of power are held by Fascist assholes.

    ALL. OF. THEM.

  172. 172.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Chet Murthy:

    This shitbird’s Indian-American.

    That honestly didn’t occur to me. I was just playing with the letters in his name.

  173. 173.

    Ghost of Fitzmas past

    What did you expect to happen? No interest in rules of any kind. No shame.

    Nothing you do now matters. It’s over.

  174. 174.

    Turgidson

    @scott (the other one):

    The “right thing” to these vile gargoyles masquerading as human beings is “whatever pisses off liberals and/or makes us and our benefactors richer.” They’ve been looting this country for decades now. They’ve just stopped even bothering to pretend otherwise in recent years. Even Paul “ZEGS” Ryan is getting lazier and lazier about how he’s “saving” the safety net programs he wants to put through the wood chipper.

  175. 175.

    hovercraft

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    That is why I listened to endless angry rants that Obama should go out to the people and explain what the ACA does while he was on a tour explaining what the ACA does.

    My favorite was Tweety pounding away every day that Obama wasn’t concerned about infrastructure and jobs, that if he would only do something on that he could get republicans to work with him on bi-partisan legislation to help Americans. When someone finally pointed out that he had introduced The American Jobs Act to rebuild our infrastructure, and that he had traveled and given speeches to promote it, he was surprised but the said it didn’t count because he’d never heard about it in the media. Or the time Obama held an hour long press conference about Obamacare, but the the last question was about Skip Gates getting arrested on his front porch, and then the media spending the next week saying Obama hates cops, before lamenting the fact that he wasn’t taking the time to explain Obamacare.

  176. 176.

    MJS

    @TenguPhule: You’re acting like there is not, on a near daily basis, a new revelation regarding the Trump regime’s dealings with Russia, none of which make him look good. Mueller’s been on the job, what, 3 weeks, and you’ve already thrown in the towel on the investigation. Did you think Trump would be gone by now? Instead of focusing on Reagan, Bush I and Bush II, look to see what happens when a contemptible politician breaks the law and then tries to cover it up, i.e., June, 1972 – August, 1974.

  177. 177.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?

    @Ghost of Fitzmas past: What do you think about this? All we ever hear from you is how its all over and we need to just give up. I want to hear what you believe in.

    Do you think what is happening is wrong? Do you believe in the rule of law and democracy?

  178. 178.

    TriassicSands

    @LongHairedWeirdo:

    Ah, but they are the Republicans and their rules are different.
    Never forget: IOKIYAR.

    @SFAW:

    Sorry, but I was middle-aged when Clinton was impreached. See my comment immediately above. Democrats don’t, can’t, and shouldn’t play by the same rules that Republicans do. That’s because for Republicans the only rule is one of self-interest. And, as I wrote in another comment, I think Republican voters are a lot more forgiving that Democratic voters are.

    …that it gives the Dems pretty much of a pass if they ever regain control of both houses of Congress, plus the Presidency. And in case someone is thinking “Oh, we shouldn’t stoop to the Rethugs level” — fuck that. The Dems should do everything they can to prevent those traitorous fucks from ever gaining any semblance of power again. Or at least, not until the Rethugs grow the fuck up, and start acting like humans who actually care about the country and its people.

    But, you know what, I don’t want the Democrats to think or act like they are Republicans. If that happens, the country will be even worse off than it is now. Possibly, irreversably so. Revenge is nice to think about but costly to exact. I understand how you feel, but basically you’re talking about turning this country into a full-time, forever banana republic. Yes, it’s hard to win if only one side is actually behaving like they live in a democracy. But your way will almost guarantee that we never will again. Besides, it doesn’t depend on what the Repubicans or Democrats do. What matters is what the voters do. Right now, that is the biggest reason for pessimism about this country. And it’s not an easily fixable problem because we have tens of millions of really stupid, poorly educated, poorly informed voters. But we mustn’t look down on them or criticize them…’cuz they’re “real Amurkins.”

    Above all things I hope the education of the common people will be attended to; convinced that on their good sense we may rely with the most security for the preservation of a due degree of liberty. — T. Jefferson

  180. 180.

    Ruckus

    @TriassicSands:
    Very good summery.
    What you want to do should be tempered by what is possible and probable. Not necessarily abandoned but it should have a reasonable level of actually giving the results you desire because otherwise the risk of getting something far worse is quite likely.
    Yes republicans play, especially right now, a next minute game. But their long term goal is not the same as ours, just from the opposite direction, it is the complete domination of the political map. The reason they like Russia is that it is a failed state, but a failed state with elections and still a one party rule. They get the cake and the calories. Everyone seems to think, “Why don’t the republicans distrust the Russians?” Because they admire them. The Russians, Putin in particular, have become exactly what the republicans want to be. They may succeed. But I don’t think they have built the foundation that is required to take over a somewhat open democracy. Close though. Close enough? I think that’s up to us, each one of us. Are there enough of us that think that we own the government, not the other way around? Are there enough of us that can expose them and try them and win? Interesting times, no?

  181. 181.

    TenguPhule

    @TriassicSands:

    It’s always important to remember that Democrats and the GOP are playing by fundamentally different rules, and we don’t want the Democrats to emulate the Republicans. At least, I don’t.

    The Republicans are only playing by one rule.

    Rule of Power.

    Literally everything else is negotiable.

  182. 182.

    Applejinx

    @TriassicSands:

    I’ve been cautioning friends and family to not get their hopes up too high. The situation in the Senate may be worse than in the House. If we look at some of the recent special elections, we’re seeing what I expected — the races are tighter than usual but the Democrat simply has too large a margin to make up.

    Nah. The time is not yet ripe for this, but remember: Putin doesn’t want the Republicans to be strong either. Once they have trashed the place, Putin’s efforts will turn to undermining them as well, and this will be relatively easy (he presumably knows way more about them, after all they’re on the payroll).

    It wasn’t really a Republican the guy got elected, it was Trump. The thing to expect is not a powerful American dictatorship bestriding the earth. The thing to expect is just endless chaos and stupid. If only there was a word we could use to express this sort of covfefe.

  185. 185.

    Aleta

    @Kay: Some believe that the Constitution and Bill of Rights are god-given documents.* (I think I remember someone like Ryan Bundy explaining this is why he had to invade Malheur.)
    *Except for the amendments

    They also believe anything climate related* is god’s work.
    *Except for climate researchers

  187. 187.

    ruemara

    @? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?: Oh, always remember. It’s not all about you.

    @TenguPhule: So? I tell you what, you go to give up. I have no illusions about what happens to me if I do. So fucking what? I don’t give a shit about republicans. I give a shit about getting everyone on my side to use their power.

    @Ghost of Fitzmas past: What are you, Mouth of Sauron? Tell you what, boca grande, come mierda y muere.

  188. 188.

    Turgidson

    @hovercraft:

    As appalling as the media’s BUT HER EMAILS coverage of the 2016 campaign was, it was hardly surprising that they shat the bed so spectacularly. They spent Obama’s entire fucking presidency chasing shiny objects and waving away or normalizing GOP sabotage. Then blaming BothSidesButObamaCantLead for “gridlock.”

    I hope the Trumpocalypse has lit a fire under at least some of their asses. There are some promising signs. But I won’t be comforted that the media has really, truly changed for the better until Chris fucking Cillizza is considered unemployable by all media outlets with any semblance of shame or integrity. He’s the bellwether.

  189. 189.

    MJS

    If someone would have told me on November 9, 2016, “By June 1, 2017, the idiot this country just elected as president will 1) be up to his fat ass in an investigation that points to treason; 2) have family members and his inner circle caught up in the same investigation; 3) see any attempts at governing turn to shit almost immediately; and 4) be viewed as a dupe and laughingstock by any serious world leaders” I would have said, “That’s about the best we’re going to do in the short term. I’ll take it.”

  190. 190.

    TenguPhule

    @MJS:

    You’re acting like there is not, on a near daily basis, a new revelation regarding the Trump regime’s dealings with Russia, none of which make him look good. Mueller’s been on the job, what, 3 weeks, and you’ve already thrown in the towel on the investigation. Did you think Trump would be gone by now?

    I am well aware of that. My point is what comes after the investigation (which they are trying to drag out to the maximum extent possible). I don’t think you appreciate just how much our justice system relies on voluntary compliance. Especially against power players.

  192. 192.

    TriassicSands

    @rikyrah:

    And who does that leave us with as president? Not, as some say, Ryan. It’s unlikely that both Trump and Pence would go simultaneously and we have an amendment to replace either one should they vacate the office.

    In the unlikely event that both Trump and Pence miraculously were taken down at the same time, that would leave us with Ryan. Do you think that is an improvement over Pence? Don’t forget, the MSM knows that Ryan is a serious, thoughtful guy. He’d be taking over in a crisis. The media would rally the American people to stand behind their new president in this crisis. I don’t see see how Trump and Pence going simultaneously helps at all. But, I’m willing to read your explanation.

  193. 193.

    Peale

    @hovercraft: Yep. We’re actually coming up on the anniversary of the Skip Gates Beer Summit. If you looked at Obama’s approval numbers, they nosedived around that time and never recovered. One of the things that the President should have been aware of is that you don’t have to opine on every single issue of the day or answer every question posed to you.

  196. 196.

    TenguPhule

    @ruemara:

    So?

    So don’t expect the Civil Rights Movement’s tactics to work this time. The enemy has evolved into a more lethal form. We can’t rely on the fundamental decency and basic humanity of the other side, because they have none.

    We’re headed for the unknown part of the map which reads “Here be Dragons.”

  197. 197.

    TenguPhule

    @TriassicSands:

    In the unlikely event that both Trump and Pence miraculously were taken down at the same time, that would leave us with Ryan. Do you think that is an improvement over Pence?

    Ryan and McTurtle are up to their necks in treason. Before he gets sworn in, he’d be taken down too in the event that Trump and Pence are gone.

  198. 198.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Peale: Black people always have to explain themselves to white people, even when they’re the president.

  199. 199.

    MJS

    @TenguPhule: And I don’t think you realize how much of this will ultimately be about politics. You are bound and determined to believe that the Republicans will cancel all elections before they have the chance to be voted out of office. I happen to believe that things aren’t that bad yet, and that enough Republicans will cut Trump loose when they can no longer ignore how much damage he is doing to their careers. Note that I said “enough”, and not “every” Republican.

  201. 201.

    TriassicSands

    @Applejinx:

    The thing to expect is just endless chaos and stupid. If only there was a word we could use to express this sort of covfefe.

    Well said. It really is an open question if any Republican today can manage the presidency. They all face a huge problem — their fundamental beliefs are nonsense and tax cuts do not pay for themselves. So, it is possible that a Pence presidency would just continue the chaos. The question is “Do the American people who vote for Republicans care?”

  203. 203.

    Turgidson

    @Peale:

    He was already about as careful with his words as was humanly possible 99.99% of the time. The one time he very mildly deviated from his usual standard was to say maybe it was stupid to arrest a guy for entering his own house. And it became a goddamn scandal that did fuck up his approval ratings even though it was a blindingly obvious observation to make. If I were him, I would have given serious thought to trying to make it through the rest of my term without speaking in public again. What a fucking joke that was. Was it Ed Henry who sprung that question on him? I feel like it was. Hate that guy.

  204. 204.

    matryoshka

    Karl Rove flipped the bird when he was served a subpoena back in the day, didn’t he? These people are lawless.

  205. 205.

    Aleta

    The gap between rich and poor could be even wider than current data shows, according to a group of researchers who analyzed two massive leaks targeting the financial affairs of the global elite.

    The leaked data is significant enough to revise previous estimates of wealth inequality in the developed world, the researchers found. In Norway, one of the countries they focused on, the country’s richest 300 families appear to keep a third of their wealth offshore, and previously uncounted in government data.

    The economists based their findings on data leaked from the Swiss private banking operations of global bank HSBC, as well as the “Panama Papers” leak connected to law firm Mossack Fonseca, which specializes in helping the wealthy set up offshore financial holdings. (Buzzfeed)

  206. 206.

    Peale

    @Turgidson: I know, I know. But in retrospect, he probably should have just said “I don’t know. It’s not a federal or even a national matter” and left it at that.

  207. 207.

    TenguPhule

    @Kay:

    I don’t think Donald Trump believes he’s subject to rules. That’s a problem. People like that have to be compelled and that’s an ugly process.

    This is what I’ve been trying to say since day one.

    But its worse then that. The attitude has infected the entire Republican Political Organ. All of them have the “I’m untouchable” delusion.

    Without being held to their actions by the law, we have no Republic.

  209. 209.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?

    @MJS: Just being a pedant, but elections don’t have to be cancelled. They can even be free and fair… for white Republicans. Voters with Unamerican beliefs just need to be kept from the ballot box. America saved!

  212. 212.

    TenguPhule

    @MJS:

    You are bound and determined to believe that the Republicans will cancel all elections before they have the chance to be voted out of office.

    I don’t think they’ll have to. I think they’re gonna make sure they win just enough to keep the Democrats from a majority. They’re working hard on the suppression and district lines and broken down machines and outdated software to restrict the power of the vote like a carnival attraction.

    You keep thinking you’re gonna win. Almost. Maybe next time. So close.

    But Lucy keeps pulling the football away at the last minute.

    That’s what worries me.

    That the Republicans will manage to turn Hope into the cruelest weapon of all.

  214. 214.

    Applejinx

    @TenguPhule:

    We can’t rely on the fundamental decency and basic humanity of the other side, because they have none.

    Okay, I’m gonna say it: pretty much your entire concept of the country being totally controlled by willing psychotic CHUDs depends upon the proposition that Hillary Clinton was a saint who walked on water and the ONLY reason anyone could possibly fail to like her is that they’re a twisted maniac governed by Breitbart.

    This is bullshit and wrong.

    People really, truly hate the Republicans too, and people hate the House and the Senate, and they hate Trump. Maybe they want to convince themselves it’s not that bad, and there’s historical precedent for THAT too, but this is the dark side of Balloon Juice Hillary psychosis: if you’re that sure your hero is literally Jesus, then everybody opposing them becomes the Devil and you start telling yourself little stories about how they’re subhuman.

    And then you make no allowances for those supporters to break faith with their leaders, because to you they’re just Orcs, brainless thugs serving as shock troops just because they’re evil through and through, and that’s when you lose hope.

    For fuck’s sake, Hillary Clinton pissed off her own people at the DNC, by blaming her loss on them (on top of everybody else). She showed no loyalty to her own data team and it’s on record. And any of you think failure to vote for her can only be explained by CHUD-like evil? People don’t like her much better than Donald fucking Trump, and that’s a goddamn low bar. It always was a low bar.

    What Trump is doing, is not nearly as popular as you think.

    People are only grudgingly accepting it because the only other choices offered them were Hillary Clinton and an old Jewish Socialist with a lot of baggage and a political agenda that’s just as far from the mainstream as the Republicans’ agenda is.

    Stop panicking so hard and run better candidates.

  215. 215.

    TenguPhule

    @matryoshka:

    Karl Rove flipped the bird when he was served a subpoena back in the day, didn’t he?

    He did. Congress never held him accountable.

    It was a terrible precedent to set after Oliver Fucking North. Hence my pessimism.

  216. 216.

    Chris

    @TenguPhule:

    That is historically how it works – even when the Democratic South was basically a one-party state from the late nineteenth to mid twentieth century, elections never stopped. A combination of extralegal terrorism (either by the authorities or by people who had nothing to fear from them) with legalistic tricks meant to raise the barriers ridiculously high for any other party was all it took.

    A milder version of this gives you the rule of machine politics in a lot of spots elsewhere in the country, too.

  217. 217.

    TriassicSands

    @TenguPhule:

    Ryan and McTurtle are up to their necks in treason.

    Do you have evidence of that? I haven’t seen any. As far as I can tell, right now, that is just wishful thinking (or an assumption). Part of the problem is how inept all the Republicans are. While temporary insanity might not work as a defense, permanent stupidity might.

    And that still and always leaves us with a Republican president. From what you’ve seen of, say, Tillerson, do you think that would be an improvement? He seems pretty inept to me. Mnuchin?

    There is one thing that gives me some comfort (Or is it two?). Ben Carson (13th) and Betsy DeVos (16th) are so far down the line of succession we don’t have to worry (much) about either of them ever taking over. Imagine DeVos as president. Or Carson. Moan.

  218. 218.

    Brachiator

    White House Press Conference.

    Some hints that Trump may use executive privilege to prevent Comey from testifying. Hmmm

  219. 219.

    Ruckus

    @TenguPhule:
    Protests don’t always help. That is true. However what we need now is people on the inside do their jobs. There is real risk to them and most of them know it. They have lives, family, etc. Their job title may not be the most important thing to them, they may not want to risk it. But you give them the signs that what they want and need to do is backed by a very large and vocal segment of the public and that may give them the drive to play their part and insure that the public knows and that the politicians that desire to can end this as well as can be expected. Protests, especially large protests can be that force. It isn’t all that’s needed but it is a part of the process. There has to be opposition and it has to be peaceful and there has to be lots of it. Don’t forget MLK, it works. It takes time but it does.

  220. 220.

    TenguPhule

    @Applejinx:

    Okay, I’m gonna say it: pretty much your entire concept of the country being totally controlled by willing psychotic CHUDs depends upon the proposition that Hillary Clinton was a saint who walked on water and the ONLY reason anyone could possibly fail to like her is that they’re a twisted maniac governed by Breitbart.

    Sorry, you got the wrong guy. I voted for Clinton simply because she was the D candidate, nothing more. I figured out her weaknesses during the Obama campaign and really truly wish another candidate had been chosen because I knew about her weaknesses as a candidate and saw she hadn’t learned from the last time.

    And then you make no allowances for those supporters to break faith with their leaders, because to you they’re just Orcs, brainless thugs serving as shock troops just because they’re evil through and through

    His supporters are worse then Orcs. Orcs have the excuse of not having a choice about their general genetic inclinations towards evil. Trump’s supporters did. They chose evil of their own free will.

    Even if they eventually consider breaking faith with Trump, what about his heirs? You know and I know what they’ll decide in the end.

  222. 222.

    TriassicSands

    @Applejinx:

    What Trump is doing, is not nearly as popular as you think.

    I agree with some of what you wrote, but I have a problem with this sentence. No, I don’t think what Trump is doing is popular, but the question is “Is it unpopular enough to get more than a handful of Republicans to vote for a Democrat (no) or abstain (maybe).” The heart of the matter is “Does Trump’s unpopularity translate into a different outcome in 2018 or 2020?” Unknowable, but probably unlikely. But, stay tuned, Trump is at work…

  223. 223.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?

    @Applejinx: And a lot of the anti-Hillary stuff people were force-fed for 30 years? That had nothing to with it? That was Republicans’ doing. She was better then Trump and should have won. The people who voted for him or did not vote at all will pay for it one way or another (probably from Trump’s actions)
    Nobody here thinks Clinton was perfect.

    The GOP seems popular enough to win elections and appears intent on rigging elections in their favor. It matters not how popular they are with a majority of Americans because the majority of Americans don’t vote regularly enough

  224. 224.

    Brachiator

    @Applejinx:

    Okay, I’m gonna say it: pretty much your entire concept of the country being totally controlled by willing psychotic CHUDs depends upon the proposition that Hillary Clinton was a saint who walked on water and the ONLY reason anyone could possibly fail to like her is that they’re a twisted maniac governed by Breitbart.

    This is probably the dumbest thing that I’ve read on the Internet all day, probably all week.

    What Trump is doing, is not nearly as popular as you think.

    Trump is president and is strongly backed by the GOP leadership. Popularity doesn’t really matter.

    Stop panicking so hard and run better candidates.

    No shit, Sherlock.

  225. 225.

    Corner Stone

    @Applejinx:

    Okay, I’m gonna say it: pretty much your entire concept of the country being totally controlled by willing psychotic CHUDs depends upon the proposition that Hillary Clinton was a saint who walked on water and the ONLY reason anyone could possibly fail to like her is that they’re a twisted maniac governed by Breitbart.

    This is literally in the dictionary as the example for “false premise”.

  226. 226.

    TenguPhule

    @Ruckus:

    However what we need now is people on the inside do their jobs. There is real risk to them and most of them know it. They have lives, family, etc. Their job title may not be the most important thing to them, they may not want to risk it. But you give them the signs that what they want and need to do is backed by a very large and vocal segment of the public and that may give them the drive to play their part and insure that the public knows and that the politicians that desire to can end this as well as can be expected.

    Secure channels for the information to come out. Protect the media who do speak out against Trump (write letters to your local paper editors). Register the voters, but protect those registries like your firstborn child. Document the names and faces of the Trumpsters around you and in your local government. Medical supplies, portable food and water that can be used for civil emergencies or to help support refugees you might take in. Try to find as many people you can trust around you, that would work with you if the chips came down. Emergency plans, if you haven’t made them before then get them ready now.

  227. 227.

    Applejinx

    @? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?:

    @Applejinx: And a lot of the anti-Hillary stuff people were force-fed for 30 years? That had nothing to with it?

    Run somebody else. Hell, O’Malley had really good hair, he might have surprised you.

  228. 228.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    @different-church-lady: Uh… yeah. The GOP screaming about Clinton and the FISA court happened happened in the *90s*. You may not remember, but there was this person in the oval office named “Clinton”.

    I have no idea what 2013 has to do with anything. Not sure I care, since the Republicans insisted that George W.’s wholesale violation of FISA was perfectly okay and intended to protect Americans so we know that they don’t care about issues, just making political hay.

  229. 229.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?

    @Applejinx: There was nobody else at the time. She had the most name recognition, good or bad. And she still won by 3 million votes. That counts for a lot even if she didn’t get elected to the office. The EC needs to go anyway

  230. 230.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    This is a very weird situation where it’s hard to predict what will happen.

    I agree. Whatever way this whole thing ends up unreeling, I suspect it will end up not looking much the way anyone has yet envisioned. And I imagine the timeline will look pretty different from what any of us has imagined. I don’t have the first clue what it will look like, or on what clock or calendar it will unfold. There are plenty of surprises yet to come.

  232. 232.

    Ruckus

    @Emma:
    I read this and I want to scream. Certainly not at you, at me, at the world, especially at those who think life should be perfect. It never is. Not for an instant. I’ve known a few women in your situation, I’m so sorry that you are there and hope it goes well. I’m less than a yr out from cancer treatment, and luckily for me it seems to have gone well but one never really knows do we? Is it in remission, is it gone, will it come back?
    But there are not guarantees in life, not a one.
    I know of a couple, early 60s who are worried about making it in retirement. They own their home, they both have held/hold good paying jobs in government with good benefits, will make more than double in retirement per year income than I’ve ever made in pay per year, have healthy bank accounts and are reasonably healthy. They are scared. My friend who knows them was shaking his head in disbelief as he told me this. Sure it can all turn to shit in an instant, and they have a lot to lose, but that’s kind of the point, they have a lot. Some people have never been in that situation, have never had a lot, have never had to come back from a relatively major loss, be it health or income/lifestyle. It wears on you.

  233. 233.

    Mnemosyne

    @Applejinx:

    O’Malley ran. He flopped.

    Sanders ran. He lost fair and square.

    I realize your hatred for Hillary is irrational and immune to being changed, but you hate her for basically the same irrational reasons that conservatives hated Obama. She is not the harridan you’ve built up in your head.

  234. 234.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Turgidson:

    Was it Ed Henry who sprung that question on him? I feel like it was. Hate that guy.

    Me too, but it was actually Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times who asked the question.

  235. 235.

    TenguPhule

    @Chris:

    That is historically how it works – even when the Democratic South was basically a one-party state from the late nineteenth to mid twentieth century, elections never stopped. A combination of extralegal terrorism (either by the authorities or by people who had nothing to fear from them) with legalistic tricks meant to raise the barriers ridiculously high for any other party was all it took.

    I know. But those who forget history keep telling me its not gonna happen.

    It has before, it can again.

  236. 236.

    rikyrah

    @TriassicSands:

    In the unlikely event that both Trump and Pence miraculously were taken down at the same time, that would leave us with Ryan. Do you think that is an improvement over Pence? Don’t forget, the MSM knows that Ryan is a serious, thoughtful guy. He’d be taking over in a crisis. The media would rally the American people to stand behind their new president in this crisis. I don’t see see how Trump and Pence going simultaneously helps at all. But, I’m willing to read your explanation.

    I think Ryan and Turtle are knee deep up in all of this. I honestly don’t think Ryan survives this.

    But, what if we do?

    Unelected President Ryan?

    He’s a sociopath with no mandate.

    You thought Dolt45 was illegitimate?

    He at least got votes, unlike the ZEGK.

    And, by the time this fire is full blazing, he will be tethered to Dolt45 and Dense for all that he REFUSED to investigate.

  237. 237.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    @Frankensteinbeck: “The Republicans did something and the Democrats said that it wasn’t the right thing to do” is “dog bites man”. It doesn’t get reported.

    When the Democrats start saying “we have legitimate reason to fear that the GOP is covering up what might be treasonous activity among the White House staff,” that will be newsworthy.

    If you’re saying “no, really, they are making statements very close to that, and those statements are simply being ignored” I simply do not believe you, because there’s a playbook for that. They are immediately vilified by Fox News and the rest of the right-wing media.

    “See? SEE how EVIL the CRYBABY LIBERALS are over LOSING THE ELECTION?”

    Now: I *DO* grant that the media is hearing the GOP say “we’re going to do something TRULY EVIL but it’s not evil, because we’re doing it,” and the Democrats say “that’s actually evil, no matter who does it,” and ignoring the latter, because it’s “dog bites man”. But that’s the point: Newt Gingrich learned that he couldn’t kick up a fuss by just saying ordinarily critical things, so he went whole-hog into propagandistic bullshit. And the Democrats can’t do that, but they *can* at least learn that “if you aren’t being listened to when you say ‘we strenuously object to this damage to our national image'” you have to start saying ‘we will not sit idly by while the GOP destroys our nation!'”

  238. 238.

    ruemara

    @Emma: I’m sorry you’re going through that. It’s a drain. I don’t think you’re talking to someone who understands that daily struggle. I appreciate you taking that medicine, and for knowing that it’s critical to keep moving even when you don’t feel it’s possible.

  239. 239.

    hovercraft

    @TenguPhule:
    That 40 % who are insane racists, were democrats back then, and yet we managed to persevere, because laws were changed, many people pretend that I have equal rights, even if they don’t believe I should. I’m a Black woman, when they are out in public they have to pretend, or at least used to. We’ve always had to be optimistic against steep odds, how else does one get up every day and raise normal kids? It’s hard, there are setbacks, sometimes huge setbacks, imagine being a black person when Dred Scott was decided, you had no voice and the highest court in the land ruled against you, or Plessy, we kept fighting, and we will keep fighting now. We have to, those are our kids being shot out there in the streets by cops who were “afraid”. Today I have many more rights than they did, on paper and in reality, but we all know that there’s still a long road to go, which is why still I rise. I come here and I bitch, but on Tuesday I will vote for my primary candidates, I will make calls this weekend to make sure that people know there’s an election on Tuesday. I will give to candidates I deem worthy, I’m fighting every way I know how, don’t mistake anger, bitterness and venting for acceptance, I have hope, and determination, combined they are indefatigable, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually.

  240. 240.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    @TriassicSands: I won’t forget – nor will I forgive :-). But, yes, that is part of the problem. The Republicans have the messaging game down stone-cold.

    I saw two cute bits from Fox: one, a person asking why it wasn’t “obstruction of justice” when Obama said Hillary Clinton had done nothing wrong.

    (Hm. Maybe because she clearly hadn’t, while saying “Hi, I’m your boss, I hope you can let this go, you won’t? You’re fired!” is strong evidence of obstruction?)

    The other was insisting that the Mueller investigation was obviously wrong because collusion with Russia during an election *IS NOT A CRIME*.

    (Yeah, really, there’s no way to commit crimes when colluding with an enemy power. But people *listen* to these bozos!)

  242. 242.

    Psych1

    @Applejinx: They won’t listen to you. This is a commited Worship-Hillery, Hate-Bernie site. When Goldman shows up he will call you a Russian troll.

  243. 243.

    TriassicSands

    @rikyrah:

    And, by the time this fire is full blazing, he will be tethered to Dolt45 and Dense for all that he REFUSED to investigate.

    That matters to you (and me), but does it matter enough to change the votes of Republican voters? Maybe. Maybe not. In the past, if any candidate had been exposed to the kind of scandals that came out about Trump during the campaign they would have been finished. Times have changed. It’s not just partisanship. That may make voters remain Republicans but it is stupidity* that makes them Republicans in the first place.

    *And ignorance and greed and just being nasty thuggish creeps.

  244. 244.

    TenguPhule

    @hovercraft:

    Today I have many more rights than they did, on paper and in reality, but we all know that there’s still a long road to go, which is why still I rise. I come here and I bitch, but on Tuesday I will vote for my primary candidates, I will make calls this weekend to make sure that people know there’s an election on Tuesday. I will give to candidates I deem worthy, I’m fighting every way I know how, don’t mistake anger, bitterness and venting for acceptance, I have hope, and determination, combined they are indefatigable, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually.

    And I absolutely respect that.

    My concern is that trying to do things the right way isn’t going to be enough this time. Not nearly enough.

    Too many lines have been crossed by the GOP. The base and their masters have chosen an ugly road to follow.

  245. 245.

    Emma

    Aaaand right on time, the anti-Hillary bots show up. This thread is cooked and done, folk.

  246. 246.

    TenguPhule

    @LongHairedWeirdo:

    I saw two cute bits from Fox: one, a person asking why it wasn’t “obstruction of justice” when Obama said Hillary Clinton had done nothing wrong.

    (Hm. Maybe because she clearly hadn’t, while saying “Hi, I’m your boss, I hope you can let this go, you won’t? You’re fired!” is strong evidence of obstruction?)

    The other was insisting that the Mueller investigation was obviously wrong because collusion with Russia during an election *IS NOT A CRIME*.

    (Yeah, really, there’s no way to commit crimes when colluding with an enemy power. But people *listen* to these bozos!)

    And sadly, it works. Because a lot of people thought civics in high school was something that should happen to other people.

    So its “Both sides do it!” and “They’re just trying to score political points”.

    The GOP have poisoned the water since 1980. Their harvest is now ready.

  247. 247.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    @Emma: I’ll tell you one thing: I think cynicism is part of what’s killing us.

    I’m… weird. I don’t show it, but I care about people, a lot. I’m also constantly fighting fatigue, and have no real energy, and I often *can’t* do things. Fuck – I remember I asked this mason fellow if he could expound upon what he REALLY valued about being a mason, and I was treated by someone as if I was demanding a defense. It hurt, because, god dammit, I was *sincere*. I mean… it’s a high bar to set. Not everyone can wax poetic about something like that. Not everyone can talk about things on that level, and the way I suppose I was asking. But that’s what I was trying to do, to provide an opening and I reckon I flubbed it, because my brain shuts down when I get tired.

    Still – when I went back to that thread a few weeks later, I was disappointed to see there was no essay about “here’s what I’d tell someone about why being a mason is *great*.” I love that people can love things like that… and I hate that I can’t.

    My life is usually empty. And yet I know we need optimism and that cynicism can kill us. Like, “you KNOW the Democrats would do this!” or “eh, this is just *politics*, it’s not really *that* different from when there needed to be actual *crimes* before people tried to claim there are criminals.”

    We need the mix, though. We need people saying “this is bad, this is really bad,” and we need people to say “this can be much, much better!” and we need people to say “this WILL work out!”

    Just like you… um. Too close. Too personal.

    If I were in a similar situation, I might need someone to say “‘weirdo, you really look like shit!”
    (ObJoke: “Oh, you read my blog, and that’s how you know my nom du blog” “You have a BLOG?” (i.e.: “no, I was calling you a weirdo because… well, gee, it’s AWKWARD now!”)
    And I might need someone to tell me, when I look like shit, “you’re doing GREAT!” and someone else to tell me “you need (more rest, better nutrients, whatever)”.

    They need to be knit together. People have different skills to bring to the cause, and different roles to play, and some of them will be the downers to tell us it’s crappy, and others will be the pollyannas who might give us some energy to keep going, and some will vacillate between the extremes and help us find places to work.

    The point is: whatever the role they play, however they best join the battle, however they love best and strongest, we need all of them. Even, and sometimes, especially, when they piss us off.

    The only thing we don’t need is the raw cynicism that say “it’s horrible, and it won’t – can’t – get better.” It can… but it’s going to take a (non-violent) revolution, not just, e.g., a win in 2018. We need to take “IOKIYAR” as a personal, anger-inducing affront to our sense of decency, not just a “that’s the way it is”. We have to believe in something – if only the dream that America can represent, and we have to reach for that dream, and not let lazy cynicism or evil activities yank that dream from us, or our children.

    Good luck – wishes for strength and best-possible heailng sent your way – and I hope some happiness, even joy, sneaks in from time to time.

  248. 248.

    hovercraft

    @The Thin Black Duke:
    @Peale:

    Black people always have to explain themselves to white people, even when they’re the president.

    Exactly, that’s what got Skip arrested in the first place, he had his keys, ID and all his shit in order, it was his lack of deference while explaining himself to the asshole that got him arrested. We always have to explain ourselves and make sure we’re not uppity when we do it. Which is also why we cannot state the obvious, a cop arresting a man on his own Goddamn property for having a door that sticks is stupid.

  249. 249.

    Turgidson

    @Peale:

    Sorry, rant wasn’t directed at you. Just the memory of that shitshow got my blood to boiling all over again.

    I agree that Obama should have just said “this press conference is about our health care legislation, not a local police matter I don’t know the details of.” But what he did end up saying shouldn’t have turned into the shitshow it did.

  250. 250.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Psych1: And when you accuse everyone here of literally worshipping Hillary, you get called a troll and wonder why.

  251. 251.

    matryoshka

    @TenguPhule: Yeah, that struck me as a really bad sign at the time. I knew society rested on a fragile agreement about following rules. Then we saw the financial crisis, for which no one was held accountable, and shitgibbon just seems like the personification of no accountability. Now people who pay taxes are “losers” and lying is a national pastime. No real reason for optimism as far as I can tell.

  252. 252.

    TriassicSands

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    If impeachment happens after 2018, ‘President Pelosi’ becomes a possibility. This is a very weird situation where it’s hard to predict what will happen.

    I just don’t see both the POTUS and VP slots being open at the same time. The Republicans are unlikely to let that happen — and it’s hard to see how it could. As long as Trump is president, even if he’s been impeached, he could still resign and have Pence take the oath of office and appoint a new VP. Being impeached wouldn’t stop Pence from doing that. If they impeached Pence first, if it looked like he was going to be convicted, he’d resign and Trump could choose a replacement. Short of them both dying on the same day, I don’t see both offices being vacant at the same time.

    Always remember that impeachment is only an indictment; the trial still has to take place and during the lead up to the trial the president or VP both still retain all their powers. Clinton didn’t stop being president when he was being tried.

    The one caveat for me is, as always, Trump. Ordinarily, if the POTUS was going down, a career politician (think Nixon) would resign in such a way to guarantee his own party’s person would succeed him. But Trump doesn’t care at all about the GOP — or, as we all know, anything beyond himself and to a lesser extent his immediate family. I wouldn’t want to be Barron Trump on a sinking ship with his dad as the only other survivor and only one life jacket between them. Sink or swim, Barron.

    Come to think of it, I wouldn’t want to be Barron Trump under any circumstances.

  253. 253.

    Turgidson

    @LongHairedWeirdo:

    I saw two cute bits from Fox: one, a person asking why it wasn’t “obstruction of justice” when Obama said Hillary Clinton had done nothing wrong.

    Did Obama even ever say that? He steered waaaaay clear of the email business the entire election from what I can recall. I can’t remember him saying anything, either way about it. Reporting citing “people close to” Obama has said that he thought she was dumb to set herself up with the private server, but did not comment on the investigation’s merits either way.

  255. 255.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @TriassicSands:
    Choosing a successor is not an instant process. It is potentially a multiple-months process, because it needs approval. If Pence is impeached at all, that he is impeached without a VP appointed is likely.

  256. 256.

    jl

    If they try further obstruction, then the political push back needs to be ferocious.

    Their cover story makes no sense. Supposedly they were discussing Russian withdrawal from Ukraine in return for lifting sanctions.
    Well, OK, fine, that is a ‘deal’, it’s kind of like what in a democracy is called ‘foreign policy’.
    Why would that need secret channels? Trump bragged about he wants to improve relations with Russia and get a better working relationship.
    So, that idea would be good example of a policy Trump could offer as a proposal publicly, right?

    So why all the secret mumbo jumbo? It’s a good thing these people are so stupid. The dirt will come out one way or another.

  257. 257.

    TriassicSands

    @LongHairedWeirdo:

    The only thing we don’t need is the raw cynicism that say “it’s horrible, and it won’t – can’t – get better.”

    Please don’t take this the wrong way — it’s not coming from a language Nazi perspective.

    I would not call what you’re talking about cynicism. I’m pretty old and when I was growing up “cynicism” referred to someone doubting the motives of other people. That means attributing negative motives even to actions that are seemingly positive. “The only reason he did that was because he got something out of it.” Saying that all politicians act only in their own self-interest is cynical.

    I think what you’re talking about is better described as pessimism. Both cynicism and pessimism are corrosive, and you’re right need to be avoided.*

    When I was teaching, a student asked me what a pessimist was. I thought about it and replied:

    An optimist is a person who is in hell and believes s/he will be in heaven the next day even if s/he does nothing.

    A pessimist is a person who is in heaven and believes s/he will be in hell the next day no matter what s/he does.

    And a realist is a person, whether in heaven or hell, who knows where s/he is and the only way to change that is by doing something.

    * When it makes sense. Anyone who has observed the Republicans for any length of time has to be cynical about them. It’s obvious that they don’t care about other people or the welfare of the country. I wish it weren’t so. I wish it were just a big misunderstanding. But it’s not.

  258. 258.

    sukabi

    Past time to get personal with these asshats…some enterprising soul with $$$ to burn needs to start turning over rocks and clearing closets. Plenty of dirty laundry to be aired, perhaps it would “encourage” enough republicans to do the right thing, honor their oath to defend the constitution and finally put country before party.

    Not holding my breath, but a girl can dream.?

  259. 259.

    Sab

    @ruemara: Thanks you for this “annoyingly focused on winning.” I am a white sixtyish Midwestern woman who spent my childhood in the Jim Crow south (NE Florida) during the early sixties phase of the Civil Rights Movement.

    I remember in the early sixties when every adult African American looked terrified every time I saw them. And I was a friendly six to twelve year old child.My brother remembers, and he spoke some Gullah.

    I remember when almost every political politician or leader I respected was assassinated. JFK, MLB, RFK.

    I remember when the Vietnam War ground on and on and we elected a guy who claimed to have a plan to end it, and he instead stretched it out for years and exponentially increased our troop levels and the casualties on both sides.

    Things are terrifying now, especially for documentary challenged immigrants or people with health issues (that includes me).

    But things were very bad in the 1950s and the 1960s and a lot of incredibly brave people jumped in and plugged away. It’s our time now. If Bob Moses could go from NYC to rural Mississippi to register voters, we can certainly go out in our home states and do the same.

  260. 260.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @TriassicSands:

    It’s unlikely that both Trump and Pence would go simultaneously and we have an amendment to replace either one should they vacate the office.

    Please note that the 25th Amendment has been applied to fill a Vice Presidential vacancy exactly twice: Gerald R. Ford in 1973 and Nelson A. Rockefeller the following year. In both instances it took a significant amount of time between the date of the vacancy and its filling.

    Agnew resigned the Vice Presidency on October 10 1973; Ford was nominated by Nixon on October 12, 2013, and took office on December 6, 1973 immediately after confirmation by both houses of Congress – 57 days after the vacancy was created and 55 days after his nomination to fill it.

    Ford in turn left the Vice-Presidency to be sworn in as President on August 9, 1974, immediately after Nixon’s resignation the same day. He nominated Rockefeller as Vice President on August 20, 1973. Rockefeller took the oath of office immediately after House confirmation on December 19, 1974 – 132 days after the vacancy was created and 121 days after his nomination to fill it.

    Even in the case of a nominee generally liked by his Congressional colleagues (Ford) the confirmation process took 8 weeks. The more controversial Rockefeller required over twice as long. In the current fractious environment it would be silly to expect much faster action.

  261. 261.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Uncle Cosmo: To finish the thought:

    Now imagine the imbroglio if either Cheeto Benito or The Dunce were to vacate his office (willingly or un-) while articles of impeachment were being prepared or passed by the House or under active consideration in a trial by the Senate for the other. How likely is it that Congress would accept – that the US electorate would allow them to accept – a Vice Presidential nominee from the beleaguered POTUS? Or that the fractious GOP majorities in both houses (or even more improbably, coalitions of Democrats and “moderate” Republicans in both houses) could settle upon a candidate that they could impose upon the President?

    In such case, IMO, it is not at all unlikely that the Vice Presidency would remain vacant – & that should the President be removed, Speaker Ryan would become the 46th (or maybe 47th) POTUS. Vile though that might be to contemplate…

  264. 264.

    Jack the Second

    @MisterForkbeard: “We’re only doing this because we assume Democrats would also do it in our position, so blame Democrats” has long been a Republican line.

  265. 265.

    geg6

    @Emma:

    I’m with you. Enough with the Eeyores. Fight. Quit bitching and moaning that everything sucks and it’s over for us and the Dems will lose or if they win, they’ll let it all go. If this is where you’re at, you aren’t my ally. You’re enabling everything the Shitgibbon and his minions are doing. Congratulations, assholes. As for me, I intend to fight. With money, with time, with effort, with weapons and fists, if need be. I won’t go down or let my country go down without a fight. To the death, if that’s what it takes.

  266. 266.

    TenguPhule

    @geg6:

    To the death, if that’s what it takes.

    “No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making some other poor dumb bastard die for his country.”

    Living is winning.

  267. 267.

    geg6

    @TenguPhule:

    I’m getting old. If I have to die to save my country, I’m ok with that. And I’m pretty sure Lincoln would disagree with every word of that stupid quote. Sometimes people die saving their country. I wish it wasn’t so, but living isn’t always winning. Only people with no sense of history would say such a thing.

  269. 269.

    SFAW

    @TriassicSands:

    But, you know what, I don’t want the Democrats to think or act like they are Republicans. If that happens, the country will be even worse off than it is now. Possibly, irreversably so. Revenge is nice to think about but costly to exact. I understand how you feel, but basically you’re talking about turning this country into a full-time, forever banana republic. Yes, it’s hard to win if only one side is actually behaving like they live in a democracy. But your way will almost guarantee that we never will again. Besides, it doesn’t depend on what the Repubicans or Democrats do. What matters is what the voters do. Right now, that is the biggest reason for pessimism about this country. And it’s not an easily fixable problem because we have tens of millions of really stupid, poorly educated, poorly informed voters. But we mustn’t look down on them or criticize them…’cuz they’re “real Amurkins.”

    Thanks for your concern.

    Re-read my comment.

    The Dems should do everything they can to prevent those traitorous fucks from ever gaining any semblance of power again. Or at least, not until the Rethugs grow the fuck up, and start acting like humans who actually care about the country and its people.

    I don’t talk about revenge, I talk about, or allude to, preventing the psychopathic (or perhaps it is sociopathic. Or is it both?) part of America, and their enablers – THE REPUBLICAN PARTY — from ever gaining power again. I did NOT say nor suggest that the Dems do anything illegal, immoral, or fattening to do that. Although a small part of me would like to disenfranchise registered Republican voters for a period of five or ten years — sort of a Rawlsian lesson for those morons — and say “How do you traitorous fucks like it NOW??”, I don’t think that’s the way to run a country. I would also like to see all the racist fucks who voted for Shitgibbon, to wake up black one day, let them see the bullshit that minorities go through every fucking day. But, obviously, that’s a pipe dream. And besides, some of them will still be racists afterward.

    And despite your pearl-clutching, removing those motherfuckers from power is more like the liberation of a nation from banana republic dictators, but without the violence that normally accompanies such. [Or are you under the impression that we’re NOT a stone’s throw from banana-republic-status now?] There are plenty of ways to do that, but it takes a lot of hard work. But doing the hard work would be easier if one knows that, if successful, the Dem leadership doesn’t return to the “can’t we all just get along?” crap. We see where that got us last time.

  270. 270.

    Paul

    What is with these names! Uttam Dhillon, Reince Priebus, Steven Mnuchin!

    Does Frump only hire aliens?
    It’s driving my spell checker crazy!

  271. 271.

    SFAW

    @SFAW:

    Had an ETA, too slow a typist:

    The saying goes “Politics ain’t beanbag.” The Dems should act as if the future of the country is at stake. Attack the Rethugs every fucking day; it’s not a complicated thing to do.

  273. 273.

    Tehanu

    @Karen:

    Never mind FOIA, how an Executive Branch employee can refuse to give information to a Congressional inquiry is beyond me. Can’t the Congress issue a subpoena? How can they refuse to comply with that?

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