This seems significant (via NPR):
2016 RNC Delegate: Trump Directed Change To Party Platform On Ukraine Support
President Trump may have been involved with a change to the Republican Party campaign platform last year that watered down support for U.S. assistance to Ukraine, according to new information from someone who was involved.
Diana Denman, a Republican delegate who supported arming U.S. allies in Ukraine, has told people that Trump aide J.D. Gordon said at the Republican Convention in 2016 that Trump directed him to support weakening that position in the official platform.
Recall that this was the only proposed platform policy the Trump people saw fit to adjust. After running a “populist” campaign that was credited by the more gullible members of the Beltway media herd for rejecting GOP orthodoxy and goring Republican sacred cows left and right, when the so-called insurgents seized control, the sole alteration they requested just coincidentally was designed to make Putin’s life easier.
Trump’s flunky Gordon now denies he told Denman that the platform change request came from Trump. Uh huh.
I’ve always thought this platform change smelled fishier than a scratch-and-dent Chicken of the Sea warehouse.
Corner Stone
There is no way the order came directly from Trump. Gordon was using the imprimatur and is now protecting someone else. Maybe himself.
fuckwit
@Corner Stone: Manafort, I’d guess.
columbusqueen
I’m sorry this is OT, but i’m kinda worried. Here’s a link to a GofundMe page I’ve set up to try & save my house:
https://www.gofundme.com/tqjcd-saving-my-house
If you can help me, fellow jackals, I would be beyond grateful. I hate asking for help, but I don’t know what else to do. Thank you in advance.
NotMax
Oh, now you’ve made the gray matter remember reading a story about a Mississippi warehouse on the Gulf of Mexico used to store frozen shrimp that was opened up something like 10 days after Katrina had knocked out the power.
That’ll clear the sinuses. :)
GregB
Did Jurassic Pork get a gender reassignment?
Duane
@fuckwit: If Manafort complains about his ankle bracelet, a 20 lb ball and chain would work.
Villago Delenda Est
It is, and Donald has been denying it for over a year, because it is so damning.
He is a traitor, heading a party of traitors.
Another Scott
How is this in any way controversial? Wasn’t it known at the time that Trump was behind it?
WaPo – July 2016:
Of course it came from Trump. Sure, dot-the-i’s and cross-the-t’s, but let’s not think that Donnie somehow wasn’t in charge of his campaign (especially after hearing the swearing scuttlebutt the last couple of days).
Cheers,
Scott.
Bill Arnold
It is significant; at the very least it will increase the odds that some others … recover their memories.
Since it’s an open thread, interesting meme piece in nymag: The Republican War on Economics (By Jonathan Chait)
(Italics/bold mine.)
Shalimar
Iirc, Diana Denman was the main source for the original story. To begin with, she didn’t name the campaign official. Then she later named Gordon. Now she is saying the instruction came from Trump. I assume she was hesitant because she is/was a Trump supporter and didn’t want to hurt the cause, but it doesn’t help her credibility that she keeps adding details.
columbusqueen
Just to give a little more detail, the last seven years have been hell on the job & health front. I had to stop practicing law b/c the stress was pushing my diabetes & depression into the red zone. It me three and a half years to get even a minimum wage job. My husband & I managed until until this summer, when my medical problems threw a wrinkle into our budget. I don’t know where we & our furbabies can afford to go if we lose our place.
Between this crap & living in Trumplandia, I’ve been tempted to end it all, but I’m trying to fight back. Sorry to vent, but I have a lot of pain I keep bottled up.
OTOH, my brother’s girlfriend dumped him & he’s back with my SIL. A disaster for him, but a good thing for me.
Thanks for putting up with me, folks. I would’ve put this on an open thread, but it looked dead.
Shalimar
@GregB: I didn’t recognize the name, but she has a sporadic posting history that has nothing to do with asking for help before. I think just a regular lurker in need.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
Does anybody else get the feeling that this whole shit show is gathering speed? How much longer can they hang on with everything falling down around their ears?
Shalimar
@columbusqueen: I wish I could help, but it is a tough time here too. Best of luck with getting enough help from others.
lumpkin
I always figured the platform change was a minor thing on its own but I’m pretty sure it was a token down payment to Putin to demonstrate Trump loyalty. On the Trump side it encouraged Putin support thru the general. On the Putin side it roped the whole bunch of the Trump people into the con by getting them to compromise themselves and start the slide down the slope.
Mnemosyne
@columbusqueen:
You might get a better response if you email Anne Laurie and discuss getting a front-page post. Sometimes people will feel a little more like you’ve been vetted that way, if that makes sense.
Shalimar
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): Kushner is working on something big to get enough money to pay the $1.2 billion due in February. If whatever he is doing falls through, his future is hopeless and who knows what he will do. He is the next domino in Mueller’s case.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): apparently Fox News has dedicated itself to the idea that the Meuller and the FBI are the Deep State run wild. Slab-head Donnie is promoting their tweets, etc
different-church-lady
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): All I know is I never thought I would live through Watergate twice.
Adam L Silverman
The question I want answered is why is it so important to create and sustain the impression that VP Pence is completely out of the loop on all of this stuff? Remember, Pence was chosen by Manafort who finagled the President into picking him and then keeping him when he got buyer’s remorse. Was a decision made to try to compartment Pence in case it became impossible to keep the President, his campaign’s, his transition’s, and now his administration’s participation in Russia’s active measures campaign against the US under wraps? Was a decision made to try to compartment Pence so that if/when the President is removed or resigns, the conspirators still have one of their agents in place as a result of succession?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Raoul
Speaking of breaking RNC news, the party committee headed by Ronna, the niece of Mitt “I tweeted against Roy Moore today” Romney just re-endorsed Moore and acknowledged that it is moving money for him again. Such scum.
And I can’t quite picture the Romney clan holiday gathering (assuming they are reasonably close, as political uncle and niece might be).
Adam L Silverman
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): To paraphrase comedian Ron White: How far will the plane take you when only one engine is left? All the way to the site of the plane crash!
NotMax
Howdy, Adam. Did you happen to come across anything about this?
Inflaming things (if accurate); it’s the precision targeting procedure involved that initially raises questions as to capability for me.
Adam L Silverman
@different-church-lady: First as tragedy, second as farce.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: What this are we referring to?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Meuller should watch that Seinfeld when George has to escape from a gang of enraged senior citizens on hov-arounds
and I’m gonna call my Senators tomorrow to ask what they’ll do if trump acts against Meuller
NotMax
@NotMax
Dagnabbit. Bad linky.
Fix: Did you happen to come across anything about this?
columbusqueen
@Mnemosyne: I did email her, but I haven’t heard back–I’m sorry, I guess I panic too easily lately.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: I saw the initial report shortly after it was reported. Haven’t drilled down. I did see the long, detailed NY Times take down of Saudi’s claim they used missile defense to shoot down that Houthi missile a few weeks ago. And I’ve seen the footage of Saleh’s corpse and his shot up SUV.
columbusqueen
@Adam L Silverman: It certainly looks that way.
Shalimar
@Adam L Silverman: If they wanted to compartment Pence, they shouldn’t have put him in charge of the transition, and let it be known that he was in the room for the decision to fire Comey. There was a concerted effort to paint Pence as a key aide for the first 4-5 months of the administration. They’re trying to protect Pence now, and maybe were trying to protect him from the start but really suck at it.
Another Scott
@columbusqueen: I’m sorry you’ve had to go through all of that. :-(
Your goal is quite large, and your time-frame is quite short. I hope you’re also trying to get help from others.
I don’t mean to be critical, so please don’t take this the wrong way. I know you’ve been posting here a while (Google turns up 4 pages of your comments), but this request for help seems to have shown up out of the blue. The picture in your GoFundMe seems to have been taken in a very nice building and invites the question – “Is that the house?” Or is it a church or something? You’re inviting questions from people using that picture about whether you will never have enough to keep your house in the longer term. Maybe consider changing it. Is it possible to use a picture of the house, or a different one?
I’m sure your parents wanted most of all was for you to live your life for you the best you can. Houses and things are wonderful, but what really matters is our best memories, how we treat others, and how we maximize the good we can do and the enjoyment we can help increase in the world. Don’t let the house be a boat anchor for you. Investigate all of your options.
Hope this helps a little.
Good luck! And let us know how you’re doing.
Cheers,
Scott.
NotMax
@Adam L. Silverman
Yeah, haven’t seen anything more to either confirm or refute. AFAICT, no substantive statement yet from the UAE.
Adam L Silverman
@Shalimar: Actually they’ve been trying to have it both ways since he was put in charge of the transition. That’s why I find it interesting.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
also, another case, like with promoting Flynn and firing Comey, where the large adult children (so, Kushner) were rumored to be of great influence. And IIRC right around the time Kushner and Manafort responded to Fredo’s call to meet with the Russian lawyer over “adoptions”.
Shalimar
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I do not think “clearly” means what he thinks it means.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: I haven’t. But I also haven’t been looking. Had other stuff to do today.
Cheryl Rofer
Here is a longer version of Denman’s story, including the original platform plank and the changed version. It seems significant, too, that Carter Page said in an email to J. D. Gordon, Joseph Schmitz, Bert Mizusawa, Chuck Kubic, Walid Phares, and Tera Dahl, “As for the Ukraine amendment, excellent work.”
It seems to have been the only modification to the platform suggested by the Trump camp.
burnspbesq
@Another Scott:
“Quid pro quo, Clarice.”
Gin & Tonic
@Cheryl Rofer: Not “seems.” Was.
columbusqueen
@Another Scott: It’s a wedding pic from six years ago–I don’t have any other pictures of myself at the moment. I’ll try to get a picture of the house.
Cheryl Rofer
@Gin & Tonic: Thanks. I was about 90% sure, but not completely.
Mnemosyne
@Another Scott:
@columbusqueen:
I think Scott is saying some wise things that you may want to think about and maybe discuss with people you know IRL. People get very attached to the idea of owning a house and what that represents to them on a deep emotional level, but at the end of the day, it is an object.
Disclaimer: we don’t own a house and never have, in part because my husband associates home ownership with his parents’ constant struggles to keep their house and their eventual divorce when it became too hard for them to keep up with it financially. He has vivid memories of coming home from school and discovering the electricity had been shut off — again — because his parents couldn’t afford it.
columbusqueen
@Mnemosyne: Yes, I will. I just know that with our bad credit, we will have trouble renting, & there’s a chance my brother may be joining us if things blow up again with him. Am still trying to get over strep throat, but will talk to friends when I am well.
Mnemosyne
@columbusqueen:
It’s difficult to make tough decisions when you’re already feeling like you’ve been backed into a corner. Sometimes the best you can do is pick the least harmful choice and not beat yourself up for it. I’m still pretty mad at myself for screwing up my knee so badly that it’s going to need surgery, but in the moment it was a choice between a head injury and a knee injury, and a knee is easier to fix than a brain.
Dmbeaster
This very early display of Putin love was remarkable when it happened, and weird since the GOP went apesh!t when Obama did not declare war over Crimea. Now it was OK.
The other gigantic early tell was when boy wonder Kushner was caught trying to set up a secret channel to Moscow so that Trump could have private communications with Putin not observeable to US intelligence.
Kayla Rudbek
@Bill Arnold: as I keep saying, Republican economics is Calvinist theology and not an empirical science
Barry
@Shalimar: “There was a concerted effort to paint Pence as a key aide for the first 4-5 months of the administration. They’re trying to protect Pence now, and maybe were trying to protect him ”
The GOP leadership wants to protect him. The Trump cabal likely wants to tie him closer.