Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

If you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it is privilege.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

He really is that stupid.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

The National Guard is not Batman.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

“Alexa, change the president.”

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Economic leverage

Economic leverage

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Josh Marshall makes a very good point this morning about Trump’s toxicity:

Every president has these industry councils like the ones we’ve been talking about in recent days. They range from meaningless to not terribly important. They’re mainly symbolic. With everything that’s happened in recent days, I don’t want to make it out like the decisions of a small number of CEOs is the biggest news. Still, we should recognize that it is entirely unprecedented to have a sitting president become so toxic that corporate America feels unable to publicly associate with him. That is totally, totally new territory.

Last November, the Brookings Institute looked at the election and they made a very key point. The areas of the country where there was both population density and wealth voted for Clinton.

Visibly enraging not-Trump voters is a money loser.

Reader Interactions

185Comments

  1. 1.

    efgoldman

    But wait! I’ve been told since grade school that the Republiklowns were the rich plutocrat party.

  2. 2.

    Baud

    @efgoldman: The truth is that both parties are a coalition of elites and regular folks. The chief difference is that they are comfortable with their coalition but many on our side are not comfortable with ours.

  3. 3.

    burnspbesq

    Ever since I saw that graphic, I’ve wondered what the richest county that went for Trump was. My guess would be Tarrant (Ft. Worth) or Cobb (Suburban Atlanta).

  5. 5.

    danielx

    @Baud:

    Plus which as a matter of policy the Dems do generally let a few more crumbs fall off the table for the proles and give at least lip service to the New Deal, etc etc.

  6. 6.

    burnspbesq

    @SatanicPanic:

    I live in OC, and while Trump lost it, it’s still blood-red Republican. The OC part of CA-49 saved Darrell Issa’s ass, and Walters, Rohrbacher, and Royce continue to win big every two years.

  7. 7.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    I would think that Corporate America decided minority money is just as green as white people’s money was obvious when Lady Gaga was singing “I was born this way” at the super Bowl half time show. If not they HAVE to have minorities and woman just staff their companies, and if it’s not that, then it’s they don’t want to piss off all their Asian customers by associating their corporate name with white racist idiots.

  8. 8.

    dm

    That rich counties went for Democrats doesn’t necessarily mean that rich people did. Those ~16% of counties also represent about 50% of the population (and had 3 million more votes) than the 84% of counties that went Trump.

    That means those bigger pies were divided among many more people.

  9. 9.

    tobie

    This chart is so telling. Blue America generates the GDP; red America takes more than it contributes. Oh will the irony never end.

  11. 11.

    Another Scott

    @burnspbesq: From the Brookings link:

    Here you can see very clearly that with the exceptions of the Phoenix and Fort Worth areas and a big chunk of Long Island Clinton won every large-sized county economy in the country. Her base of 493 counties was heavily metropolitan. By contrast, Trumpland consists of hundreds and hundreds of tiny low-output locations that comprise the non-metropolitan hinterland of America, along with some suburban and exurban metro counties, as Indeed Chief Economist Jed Kolko pointed out in a tweet.

    It’s interesting, and shows again that Trump’s “victory” was very hollow.

    But what are we doing about it? Passing out anvils to Donnie’s minions is great, but it’s not enough. We need to be pushing a new agenda with passion and commitment. There’s not enough time to change the system before 2018, so we’ve got to work within it.

    Is Robinson right that ‘Better Deal’ is too timid and Democrats need to ‘go big of go home’? Dunno. But he is right that Democrats need to fight for every vote and not assume that the Teabaggers will just give up and that the voters will simply choose Democrats by default…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  12. 12.

    lamh36

    @ThePlumLineGS
    Now that Bannon is out, note:

    The economic nationalism wasn’t real. It was a fig leaf for xenophobia and racism:

    wapo.st/2xaSjvS

    It was NEVER about economic anxiety…

  13. 13.

    grammypat

    Henceforth, when I speak of the president* (* h/t Mr. Chas Pierce), I will refer to him as the “Toxic Toddler.” Think I could get a copyright?

  14. 14.

    jl

    But Trump assured us non Trump base people during the campaign that this would not happen. He could be whatever he willed himself to be, and do so very quickly and easily. He would ditch the BS gimmicks he needed to win the GOP primary, and become very very presidential. Terrifically so. He would deliver top dignified and moderate presidential presidenting. Would be no more ‘rough’ Trump you saw during the campaign.

    So, I don’t believe it.

  17. 17.

    Yarrow

    @lamh36:

    My money is on his going to war with Jarred..and the rest of the folks in WH that spoke against him!

    As I posted in the previous thread:

    Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump noted a relationship with a rich Putin ally on security forms t.co/cUcbtvdN2L pic.twitter.com/FClZbc1fMv— Bloomberg Politics (@bpolitics) August 18, 2017

    Just imagine what Bannon knows about Jared and Ivanka. Not enough popcorn in the world.

  18. 18.

    lamh36

    Per CNN: “Now I’m free. I’ve got my hands back on my weapons. Someone said “it’s Bannon the Barbarian”. I am definitely going to crush…knowing what I know, we’re gonna rev that machine up and rev it up we will do”

    It’s.About.To.Go.Down

  19. 19.

    Yarrow

    Oh, and this:

    NEW: BANNON has told friends to get ready for "Bannon 'da barbarian," and is preparing to go "MEDIEVAL" on Hill GOP t.co/WLBDUkn7Oq— Alex Isenstadt (@politicoalex) August 18, 2017

    Bannon da barbarian? Someone who is good at Photoshop needs to get right on this!

  20. 20.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @lamh36:

    It was NEVER about economic anxiety…

    eh, in a way. Once upon a time one could be white, lazy and useless and still get a job because companies HAD to hire white. Now these Racially Superior Americans are unfairly forced to compete with minorities, woman and the Racially Superior aren’t properly equipped for a completive work environment that unfairly demand skill sets other than showning up to work and lecturing your coworkers about what you saw on Fox . Do note it’s luzer white America that voted for Trump.

  22. 22.

    germy

    @lamh36:

    “Now I’m free. I’ve got my hands back on my weapons. Someone said “it’s Bannon the Barbarian”. I am definitely going to crush…knowing what I know, we’re gonna rev that machine up and rev it up we will do”

    Is he in some sort of manic phase?

  26. 26.

    geg6

    @Yarrow:

    Yup. When a colleague ran into my office to tip me off to the news (move-in week on campus makes the student aid office the vortex of the hurricane and, thus, no wasting work hours cruising the ‘Net), my first reaction was that Jerrod was toast. Totally confused my colleague and I had to explain. My explanation was, basically, your comment.

  27. 27.

    germy

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    It’s the booze talkin’.

    But I imagine at some point he’d fall asleep.

    What is this, the third day? I wonder if he’s slept, or if he’s just babbling maniacally at this point nonstop.

  28. 28.

    Mary G

    Orange County, CA has come a long way in my lifetime. The local John Birchers came to see my dad in 1963 to tell him he must forbid my mom from starting a thrift shop because it was a Communist front. He offered to let them tell her themselves and she got so mad and yelled so loud and long at them she had a miscarriage. The shop is going strong in its 53rd year.

  36. 36.

    Mike J

    As has been pointed out before, the number of counties mentioned above is misleading.
    Number of counties, population
    NY 62, 20M
    CA 58, 39M
    GA 159, 10M
    KY 120, 4M

  39. 39.

    Fair Economist

    @burnspbesq:

    I live in OC, and while Trump lost it, it’s still blood-red Republican.

    Well, yes, but more in the way the South was Democratic in the ’80s. Downticket is still red but nationally and statewide it’s now purple. That shift predicts the downticket will start shifting, starting at the top (Congress) and moving down from there. Flipping multiple Congressional seats is very possible, especially with a wave election.

  48. 48.

    trollhattan

    @Another Scott:
    BTW, them rural Trumpian folk aren’t out there in the scantly populated boonies trapped by economic woes, they’re out there because they can’t stand to be around others, at least not often. It’s how they roll.

  52. 52.

    trollhattan

    @germy:
    When he finally passes out he’ll channel Peggy Noonan and dream sweet dreams about licking Ronny Reagan’s loafers.

  53. 53.

    chris

    So I go offline for one day to do a good deed like they taught me in Cub Scouts. Come back and… Holy shit! The rats are swan diving from the superstructure and it’s a wonderful thing to see.

  62. 62.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Ah, Gawd!

    the usual suspects are already trotting out another wave of “pivot” stories

    The stoopid — it burns.

  65. 65.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    “I hire the best people!”

    Bannon
    Scaramucci
    Reincy
    Cory
    Flynn
    Spicy
    Manafort
    Page
    Dubke
    Epshtyn

    Tune in next week to see who gets fired in this season installment of Survivor: White House.

  67. 67.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @trollhattan:

    Has Peggy Noonan been exceptionally quiet and/or circumspect during these first seven months of the Trump (mal)administration? (Is she even still alive?) I don’t read the WSJ, but it seems to me that under Bush 41, Clinton, Bush 43, and Obama, her columns were fairly often cited by others (mostly in an “OMG-can-you-believe-what-Nooners-has-said-now?!” kind of way) so that one was generally aware of her being a nuisance and buzzing around in the background like a drunken housefly. But I honestly don’t think I’ve seen or heard her name since January until you just now. Did she retire? Pass out?

  68. 68.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Quinerly:

    Poco, too?

    Speaking of Poco, how did his surgery go? Is he back home? Have had my various bits crossed for him, and hope the tumour turns out to be benign.

    ETA: What Yarrow asked at #66.

  71. 71.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Rick Wilson‏ @TheRickWilson

    Remember, remember,
    The 8th of November,
    ‘Twas Putin, and treason and plot;
    I see no reason
    Why pro-Russian treason
    Should ever be forgot.

    You’ll know why in about two weeks.

    5:38 PM – 17 Aug 2017

    572 replies 2,470 retweets 5,750 likes

    Something Big is coming

  73. 73.

    eclare

    @Quinerly: Thanks! I was asking about this in a downstairs thread and was informed that Bannon gets funded by the Mercers, and they have ties to Russia.

  74. 74.

    chris

    @SiubhanDuinne: I was browsing in a bookstore this afternoon when I sensed a disturbance in the force or somebody pissing on my wa. P. Noonan has a new book out called The Time of Our Lives. No, I didn’t touch it.

  76. 76.

    frosty fred

    @SiubhanDuinne: The blog Mock, Paper, Scissors does occasional parodies of Noonan’s recent columns, under a clever headline that naturally escapes me.

  77. 77.

    cain

    Reddit thread on Oregon’s free access to reproductive services (AKA abortion) here The best part is all these men saying “awesome! I’m going to get a vasectomy!” I had no idea so many wanted to do that…

  80. 80.

    Gelfling 545

    @germy: Saw the Madness of King George at the Shaw Festival last weekend. One of the King’s symptoms was inability to sleep combined with incessant and repetitive talking. Hmmm.

  83. 83.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @frosty fred:

    I was not aware of Mock, Paper, Scissors. Now bookmarked. Thank you! (Haven’t taken time to look for the Nooners spoofs, but I’ll poke around.)

  85. 85.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Gelfling 545:

    Saw the Madness of King George at the Shaw Festival last weekend. One of the King’s symptoms was inability to sleep combined with incessant and repetitive talking. Hmmm.

    In fairness, that seems to describe some of the cats in Adam’s “Friday Afternoon Break” thread.

  86. 86.

    Quinerly

    @Yarrow: @SiubhanDuinne: Thanks for asking about Baud’s running mate! Poco is home and stoned out of his mind from heavy drugs. Mouth tumor removed without a hitch. Not deep, not in the bone. It’s off for testing at the vet school…results next week. Oh, and no teeth removed this time. He lost two teeth with a similar tumor 18 months ago. Kitty adviser John Lennon is keeping an eye on him.??

  93. 93.

    cain

    @Major Major Major Major:

    @cain: I can see the allure.

    Me too, but I wasn’t expecting the celebration by men. I could understand women but.. men seemed like they were high5ing each other. Of course, they went after to “pro-birth” people who got all hot and bothered about it.

  94. 94.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Quinerly:

    Very glad it didn’t go deep. Is he aware he has a LEGION of fans all across the country (probably all over the world) rooting for him and wishing him well? We need Poco strong and healthy for the Baud/Poco! 2020! campaign.

    ETA: Also, too, the Republicans are bound to trump up some fake and phony charge for impeaching Baud a few months into his inevitable presidency, and Poco needs to be fully fit to step in if needed.

  99. 99.

    Yarrow

    @Quinerly: Awww…glad everything went well. Fingers crossed for good results from the testing. I hope they gave him the good stuff and he’s enjoying a nice, relaxing nap.

  100. 100.

    ArchTeryx

    @cain: I got my answer to them. “You really want me to have a bunch of white kids that’ll be loaded down with disabilities? Then why do you keep voting to take away any hope of them getting health care and probably doom them to an early death?”

    Checkmate, fuckers. Or at least, the response will be a fine selection of Word Salad straight from King Azaz’s own banquet table.

  101. 101.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @chris:

    P. Noonan has a new book out called The Time of Our Lives. No, I didn’t touch it.

    Aaaaaarrrgh!! Why you want to ruin a girl’s appetite like that?!?!?

  103. 103.

    Quinerly

    @SiubhanDuinne:
    There’s confirmation of a pee tape, though. Today was assembly line like neuter day for a rescue group. A parade of young males had gone in just as we were arriving at the clinic. Baud’s running mate let loose at the counter…surgeon explained about the younger males that came through with all their hormones flying around. Said the older neutered “Pocos” try to mark their turf higher and with more gusto. Let’s not let this get out. I don’t think Baud! should even know.

  105. 105.

    eclare

    @Quinerly: Good, I saw earlier that the vet hadn’t called, which was good. Glad surgery went well, and he is snoozing/out of it!

  106. 106.

    Suzanne

    What is heartbreaking about this chart is that the two counties I have lived in the longest in my life are 1) Maricopa County, AZ, and 2) Suffolk County, NY.

    LORD DELIVER ME FROM EVIL.

  107. 107.

    eclare

    @cain: I have heard it is the “March Madness” operation. Guys get it done Thursday morning, then spend the long weekend in bed with plenty to watch on tv.

  108. 108.

    germy

    What Will Happen to Admiral Mike Rogers, the Spy Who Knew Too Much?

    Whatever actually occurred between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin during and after the election, America’s digital surveillance chief, Admiral Mike Rogers, knows it.

  111. 111.

    Yarrow

    @eclare: Another connection is Bannon’s relationship with Nigel Farage. From a June article in The Guardian.

    The president’s chief White House strategist, who served as chief executive of the Trump campaign, has known Farage since 2012, when he was working as a senior editor at Breitbart News, the rightwing news website. The former investment banker – seen as the driving force behind Trump’s “America First” nationalist policies – hosted Farage in the US while he was leading Ukip and introduced him to key US conservatives. Breitbart strongly supported the leave campaign during the EU referendum in the UK and Bannon is seen as the main conduit between Trump and Farage.

  112. 112.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Quinerly:

    I will never tell him! (But will hold the info in abeyance in case there is a need for, you should excuse the expression, leaks.)

  113. 113.

    Mnemosyne

    @Gelfling 545:

    The current thinking is apparently that George III had bipolar disorder, not porphyria. Turns out that his physician was giving him an herbal remedy known to turn urine blue.

  114. 114.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @WaterGirl:

    I think she might be taking steps to give them away.

    Oh, no! I thought they had managed to work their way into her soft heart.

  116. 116.

    ET

    I am amused that the first letter of every paragraph of that group “We QUIT” letter from the presidential arts group spells out RESIST. Wonder if anyone at the WH caught it.

  117. 117.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mnemosyne:

    Several years ago, I no longer remember why, I took an* herbal supplement that was heavy on the chlorophyll. My pee was always the most luscious shade of chartreuse.

    *sorry, Steve in the ATL

  119. 119.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @ET:

    I doubt anyone at the WH caught it on their own, but it’s turned into enough of a meme that key advisors are surely aware of it by now.

  120. 120.

    Suzanne

    @SiubhanDuinne: I love that Chuck Close and Thom Mayne, both of whom I admire very much, signed that letter.

    Fuck with artists and architects, man. I dare you.

  121. 121.

    Quinerly

    Trump’s people tried to call Heather’s mother during the funeral. What a fucked up WH. Can’t even get the basics right.

  124. 124.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Suzanne:

    Sixteen of the seventeen members signed the letter. All seventeen members signed the letter. They resigned en masse. Yes, Melania Trump is Honorary Chair, and yes, there are a number of Cabinet officials who are ex officio on the committee, but the ones who count — the ones actually from the arts community — looked around, said “Fuck this, we’re outta here,” and walked away, leaving a nice little acrostic in their wake.

  125. 125.

    Quinerly

    @Major Major Major Major:
    MSNBC broadcasted much of the funeral. Obviously, Fox didn’t. I think I just understood from a snippet of an interview with the mom that the WH was frantically leaving messages that the president was trying to get in touch…THE DAY OF HER CHILD’S FUNERAL.

  126. 126.

    germy

    Bloomberg Politics ✔ @bpolitics

    Bannon ally Sebastian Gorka faces possible removal from his White House post, sources say

  133. 133.

    rikyrah

    Matthew Dowd‏Verified account @matthewjdowd

    Not a single member of Trump’s Evangelical Council has resigned. We have learned corporate America has a greater moral compass. So so sad.
    11:28 AM – 16 Aug 2017

  139. 139.

    Yarrow

    Those that see Bannon's departure as a victory for order are in for a rude awakening. Debt default & shutdown are much more likely now.— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) August 18, 2017

    Oh, great.

  140. 140.

    eclare

    @rikyrah: Nope, linked downstairs, one finally resigned today. Here

    If you google his church and him I can see why he would quit. Seemed odd for him to serve in the first place.

  142. 142.

    Matt McIrvin

    @SiubhanDuinne: She’s turned against Trump bigly. She wrote a column that got some attention recently that was in her Maureen Dowd-lite style, about how Trump’s problem was his lack of manliness.

  143. 143.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Not to be impatient or anything, but weren’t there supposed to be some new poll numbers coming out around an hour ago? NEEDS FRIDAY NEWS DUMP PLZ!!

  145. 145.

    germy

    The "Reince Priebus" legacy lives strong on Urban Dictionary, where it means 'to stuff poop into a condom, freeze it, and use it as a dildo'— shut up, mike ginn (@shutupmikeginn) July 28, 2017

  147. 147.

    Raven

    Long day. Hit the water at 7am for a 5 hr nearshore trip. I caught 18 Spanish mackerel, a few smaller fish and a decent bonnet head shark (released). I fed 8 people, smoked a bunch and still have 10 or so filets. It’s brutally hot here on Edisto Island but we were moving on the water so it was tolerable. Just saw the Bannon deal, nice.

  153. 153.

    WaterGirl

    @SiubhanDuinne: I think it would have been much better if they hadn’t said a word about that and waited for someone to notice it. Saying “look how clever we are!” doesn’t really make them look clever.

  157. 157.

    WaterGirl

    @Yarrow: If Steve Bannon was the biggest voice of reason in the White House, we are in even bigger trouble than I realized, and I didn’t think that was even possible.

  160. 160.

    JPL

    @Raven: During the Trump era we have 24 hour news dumps. Forget the olden days where you could expect something on a Friday night. Happy fishing.

  163. 163.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @TS:

    Probably deliberate – trump did not want to talk to her.

    “We tried. God knows, we tried.”

  164. 164.

    TS

    @rikyrah:

    Not a single member of Trump’s Evangelical Council has resigned. We have learned corporate America has a greater moral compass. So so sad

    First one has gone “My statement regarding my resignation from the President’s Evangelical Advisory Board”

    edit – already posted by eclare above

  165. 165.

    Raven

    @ljt: That is so cool! I went out with Fontaine Charter today. Really nice young man was the guide and we just smoked em. We’re in that goofy golf townhouse joint. My bride’s family rented over near the beach but this was the best we could get for just 2 people and 2 doggies. We’re going home in the early morning, I would have never guessed a BJ’r here!

  166. 166.

    Fair Economist

    @Yarrow: I don’t think Bannon was a useful good influence. He was advocating, or at least pretending to advocate, some good things like higher taxes on the wealthy and infrastructure but those weren’t going to happen. Breitbart’s stands indicate he’s probably a shutdown *advocate*, if anything. He was against war with North Korea, but so is every other adviser still standing. OTOH he was a big advocate of voter suppression, breaking up families, ICE fascism, border walls, etc. He won’t be missed.

  173. 173.

    ljt

    @Raven: Too bad you won’t be here Monday for the eclipse. Been mostly lurking here for I can’t remember how long (definitely pre-Rosie). Weird how I feel I know you, and wish I’d known you were here so I could say hi!

  178. 178.

    Davebo

    @Raven: Guided trips are almost always worth the money! Hell I’ve hired guides to fish tournaments, but only charity tournaments.

    Still, part of the guides job is to help you stay legal.

  179. 179.

    randy khan

    The decimation continues – I just saw that 12 of the 15 members of the Commerce Department’s Digital Economy Board of Advisors have resigned in the last few days. The people who resigned included someone from Comcast, Zoe Baird (remember her?), the president of Microsoft, the CEO of Consumer Reports, the CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, the CEO of Weightwatchers, the executive chairwoman of Mozilla, and the president of IEEE. Austan Goolsbee had been on the board and resigned in January, so there are only two people left.

  180. 180.

    Raven

    @Davebo: well, I went back to the pictures and counted them and there are 15. He never said a word, I just caught them and when it slowed down we moved in to see if we could get a tarpon. I counted them while he was getting the cleaning stuff together and, bending that it was about a thousand degrees in the shade I miscounted,

  182. 182.

    burnspbesq

    I’ve been here since 1986, and I’m normally OK with incremental change, but Dornan to Royce in 31 years is a small goddam increment.

  184. 184.

    frosty

    @Raven: I’m not a fisherman in the least but that sounds like a great day. Hell, being on the water for (almost) any reason is a great day. I’m partial to sailing myself and don’t get out nearly often enough.

  185. 185.

    Ken_L

    They range from meaningless to not terribly important? How can that be? According to the “Clinton Cash” brigade, someone bribed Hillary with millions just to get appointed to one.

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