• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Let there be snark.

We will not go back.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Welcome to day five of every-bit-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-would-be.

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

We still have time to mess this up!

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

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

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

“woke” is the new caravan.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

Mobile Menu

  • Seattle Meet-up Post
  • 2025 Activism
  • Targeted Political Fundraising
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2016 / Quid Pro Quo

Quid Pro Quo

by Betty Cracker|  December 4, 201710:04 pm| 49 Comments

This post is in: Election 2016, Goddamned Traitors, Open Threads, Politics, Republican Stupidity, Trump-Russia, Assholes

FacebookTweetEmail

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.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Good breaking news
Next Post: Late night fundraising »

Reader Interactions

49Comments

  1. 1.

    Corner Stone

    December 4, 2017 at 10:08 pm

    Trump’s flunky Gordon now denies he told Denman that the platform change request came from Trump. Uh huh

    There is no way the order came directly from Trump. Gordon was using the imprimatur and is now protecting someone else. Maybe himself.

  2. 2.

    fuckwit

    December 4, 2017 at 10:11 pm

    @Corner Stone: Manafort, I’d guess.

  3. 3.

    columbusqueen

    December 4, 2017 at 10:13 pm

    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.

  4. 4.

    NotMax

    December 4, 2017 at 10:16 pm

    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. :)

  5. 5.

    GregB

    December 4, 2017 at 10:18 pm

    Did Jurassic Pork get a gender reassignment?

  6. 6.

    Duane

    December 4, 2017 at 10:19 pm

    @fuckwit: If Manafort complains about his ankle bracelet, a 20 lb ball and chain would work.

  7. 7.

    Villago Delenda Est

    December 4, 2017 at 10:20 pm

    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.

  8. 8.

    Another Scott

    December 4, 2017 at 10:21 pm

    How is this in any way controversial? Wasn’t it known at the time that Trump was behind it?

    WaPo – July 2016:

    The Trump campaign worked behind the scenes last week to make sure the new Republican platform won’t call for giving weapons to Ukraine to fight Russian and rebel forces, contradicting the view of almost all Republican foreign policy leaders in Washington.

    Throughout the campaign, Trump has been dismissive of calls for supporting the Ukraine government as it fights an ongoing Russian-led intervention. Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, worked as a lobbyist for the Russian-backed former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych for more than a decade.

    Still, Republican delegates at last week’s national security committee platform meeting in Cleveland were surprised when the Trump campaign orchestrated a set of events to make sure that the GOP would not pledge to give Ukraine the weapons it has been asking for from the United States.

    […]

    “This is another example of Trump being out of step with GOP leadership and the mainstream in a way that shows he would be dangerous for America and the world,” said Rachel Hoff, another platform committee member who was in the room.

    […]

    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.

  9. 9.

    Bill Arnold

    December 4, 2017 at 10:27 pm

    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)

    This is a small moment that reveals a great deal about the relation of the Republican Party to the field of economics. Hubbard and Holtz-Eakin represent the right wing of the economic profession. Both of them have long worked closely with the party and have deep sympathy to its ideological orientation. Collins, on the other hand, represents the left wing of the Republican Party. She is indisputably the most moderate — and, arguably, the only moderate — member of her Senate caucus. And yet, on taxes, she maintains a position farther right than any serious economist can maintain. The beliefs of Republican officials and real economists are non-overlapping circles on a Venn diagram.

    (Italics/bold mine.)

  10. 10.

    Shalimar

    December 4, 2017 at 10:29 pm

    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.

  11. 11.

    columbusqueen

    December 4, 2017 at 10:33 pm

    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.

  12. 12.

    Shalimar

    December 4, 2017 at 10:39 pm

    @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.

  13. 13.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    December 4, 2017 at 10:43 pm

    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?

  14. 14.

    Shalimar

    December 4, 2017 at 10:46 pm

    @columbusqueen: I wish I could help, but it is a tough time here too. Best of luck with getting enough help from others.

  15. 15.

    lumpkin

    December 4, 2017 at 10:47 pm

    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.

  16. 16.

    Mnemosyne

    December 4, 2017 at 10:48 pm

    @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.

  17. 17.

    Shalimar

    December 4, 2017 at 10:49 pm

    @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.

  18. 18.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 4, 2017 at 10:50 pm

    @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

    Tom Nichols‏Verified account
    -When you watch an evening of FOX, you realize the narrative builds carefully through the first few programs, reaching a crescendo of madness when Hannity arrives. It’s actually quite well done. Soviet TV wasn’t this well organized.
    -Hannity has now brought in Enron. I am not kidding.
    This is clearly prepping the audience for firing Mueller.
    -Hannity now sucking up to the law enforcement community, and adding that the FBI is a “clear and present danger.” I mean, that’s not at all dangerous.

  19. 19.

    different-church-lady

    December 4, 2017 at 10:50 pm

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): All I know is I never thought I would live through Watergate twice.

  20. 20.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 4, 2017 at 10:50 pm

    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?

  21. 21.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 4, 2017 at 10:55 pm

    ian Beutler‏Verified account
    @ brianbeutler
    Meanwhile, the idea that the FBI, an agency staffed principally with aging white male cops, suffers from left wing bias, is a fucking howler.

  22. 22.

    Raoul

    December 4, 2017 at 10:56 pm

    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).

  23. 23.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 4, 2017 at 10:56 pm

    @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!

  24. 24.

    NotMax

    December 4, 2017 at 10:57 pm

    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.

  25. 25.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 4, 2017 at 10:58 pm

    @different-church-lady: First as tragedy, second as farce.

  26. 26.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 4, 2017 at 10:59 pm

    @NotMax: What this are we referring to?

  27. 27.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 4, 2017 at 10:59 pm

    Tucker Carlson‏Verified account
    The point is clear: the #FBI is out of control and not just in the @ realDonaldTrump investigation. An agency charged with enforcing the law clearly considers itself above the law. That’s a threat to you, and every American, no matter who you voted for. #Tucker @ FoxNews

    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

  28. 28.

    NotMax

    December 4, 2017 at 10:59 pm

    @NotMax

    Dagnabbit. Bad linky.

    Fix: Did you happen to come across anything about this?

  29. 29.

    columbusqueen

    December 4, 2017 at 11:01 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I did email her, but I haven’t heard back–I’m sorry, I guess I panic too easily lately.

  30. 30.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 4, 2017 at 11:02 pm

    @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.

  31. 31.

    columbusqueen

    December 4, 2017 at 11:02 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: It certainly looks that way.

  32. 32.

    Shalimar

    December 4, 2017 at 11:05 pm

    @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.

  33. 33.

    Another Scott

    December 4, 2017 at 11:06 pm

    @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.

  34. 34.

    NotMax

    December 4, 2017 at 11:07 pm

    @Adam L. Silverman

    Yeah, haven’t seen anything more to either confirm or refute. AFAICT, no substantive statement yet from the UAE.

  35. 35.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 4, 2017 at 11:07 pm

    @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.

  36. 36.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 4, 2017 at 11:07 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Remember, Pence was chosen by Manafort who finagled the President into picking him

    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”.

  37. 37.

    Shalimar

    December 4, 2017 at 11:10 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I do not think “clearly” means what he thinks it means.

  38. 38.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 4, 2017 at 11:12 pm

    @NotMax: I haven’t. But I also haven’t been looking. Had other stuff to do today.

  39. 39.

    Cheryl Rofer

    December 4, 2017 at 11:18 pm

    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.

  40. 40.

    burnspbesq

    December 4, 2017 at 11:21 pm

    @Another Scott:

    “Quid pro quo, Clarice.”

  41. 41.

    Gin & Tonic

    December 4, 2017 at 11:22 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: Not “seems.” Was.

  42. 42.

    columbusqueen

    December 4, 2017 at 11:25 pm

    @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.

  43. 43.

    Cheryl Rofer

    December 4, 2017 at 11:25 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Thanks. I was about 90% sure, but not completely.

  44. 44.

    Mnemosyne

    December 4, 2017 at 11:37 pm

    @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.

  45. 45.

    columbusqueen

    December 5, 2017 at 12:08 am

    @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.

  46. 46.

    Mnemosyne

    December 5, 2017 at 12:25 am

    @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.

  47. 47.

    Dmbeaster

    December 5, 2017 at 12:40 am

    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.

  48. 48.

    Kayla Rudbek

    December 5, 2017 at 4:14 am

    @Bill Arnold: as I keep saying, Republican economics is Calvinist theology and not an empirical science

  49. 49.

    Barry

    December 5, 2017 at 10:36 am

    @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.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

On The Road - Albatrossity - The Birds of May 3
Image by Albatrossity (7/31/25)

World Central Kitchen

Donate

Recent Comments

  • Chetan Murthy on Saturday Night Open Thread (Jul 12, 2025 @ 9:49pm)
  • different-church-lady on Saturday Night Open Thread (Jul 12, 2025 @ 9:48pm)
  • Tazj on Saturday Night Open Thread (Jul 12, 2025 @ 9:41pm)
  • Marc on Saturday Night Open Thread (Jul 12, 2025 @ 9:38pm)
  • Sister Golden Bear on Saturday Night Open Thread (Jul 12, 2025 @ 9:38pm)

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
No Kings Protests June 14 2025

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix

Keeping Track

Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
Search Donations from a Brand

Feeling Defeated?  If We Give Up, It's Game Over

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!