New @andrewrestuccia: Trump’s “shithole” comments are still reverberating, with several administration officials privately worrying that their future job prospects could be damaged by association, according to a person familiar with their thinking. https://t.co/Gv9Ix32IwM
— Carrie Budoff Brown (@cbudoffbrown) January 19, 2018
If they’re just figuring this out now, then to be honest, I don’t think they’d be good hires in any case.
— Anne Owen (@anneowenphd) January 19, 2018
They knew he was a scorpion when they took him to their bosoms. Politico sympathizes, even if the rest of us refuse to do so:
The first year of Donald Trump’s presidency is coming to a close with administration officials exhausted and uncertain after two extraordinary weeks of chaos, even by the standards of this White House.
The drama underlines a fundamental truth about Trump’s presidency: The faces may change, but it seems the storyline never does.
Nearly six months after retired Marine Gen. John Kelly took over from former Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus as chief of staff, the president is as undisciplined as ever. That’s sent morale in the West Wing plunging to new depths, according to more than half a dozen current and former White House officials and outside advisers.
The current upheaval comes as senior administration officials are weighing whether to leave their jobs or stay in the government…
After ending 2017 with the passage of a sweeping rewrite of the tax code, White House officials had hoped to return from their holiday breaks refreshed and refocused. Instead, they’ve been thrust into yet another real-life game of Whac-A-Mole, forced to deal with an explosive tell-all book; racially charged remarks by the president that upended negotiations over an immigration deal; and now the prospect of a government spending crisis.
Some West Wing staffers are dealing with their frustration by keeping their heads down and focusing on the issues over which they have control. As a result, the White House is becoming increasingly siloed, with policy staffers separated from the top brass in the West Wing…
People close to the Trump administration argue staffers are just feeling the wear and tear of jobs that routinely involve working 12- to 15-hour days.
“This has nothing to do with a particular president, it has more to do with the fact that these are all-encompassing jobs,” said American Conservative Union head Matt Schlapp, whose wife, Mercedes, works in the West Wing and who regularly speaks with the president and other top staffers.
The White House declined to comment…
Anyone check Hair Fuhrer’s tweetstream?
“And in the meantime… “…
Is it me or is this a damning paragraph? https://t.co/pylP9iv8JO pic.twitter.com/WPmXauRztY
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) January 19, 2018
Litlebritdifrnt
I have no idea how to post tweets but Shitgibon just posted something how wonderful the weather was for a womans march and celebrate his great presidency and Nancy Pelosi posted “who is going to tell him?” best thing ever all day!
different-church-lady
Look, nearly half the 2016 electorate voted for chaos. Some of them knew it consciously, and some only subconsciously (“We need a change!”), but every single one of them voted for chaos.
The only remaining question is: now that they have the what they voted for, will they continue to like what they got?
I don’t think the answer is as easy as we wish it were.
schrodingers_cat
@different-church-lady: I would say they voted out of spite. It was a fuck you vote. Chaos is what resulted from that self indulgent vote. I am looking T voters and also JS voters (and other third party voters).
GregB
Anyone still working for Trump may want to seek refuge in Argentina after their tenure crashes and burns in a maelstrom of shame and humiliation.
p.a.
@different-church-lady: Unless trump rings their doorbell then hits them in the head with a hammer, they’ll support him. Some will say: “well I deserved to be hit with a hammer”, others: “the Dems made him hit me with a hammer.”
Jeff
@different-church-lady: It had to get this bad and maybe worse before real change happens.
Corner Stone
They are “worried”, eh? Furrowed brows? Concern on their faces? When do the stern letters of sternity start coming?
Corner Stone
@Jeff: They had to burn the…
swiftfox
At first glance I thought it said the feces may change…
Corner Stone
@p.a.:
Others will say, “Give him a chance, already! Today it’s a hammer but next week he may slap me with a fish. Then I’ll have dinner!”
Gelfling 545
Little sympathy from me. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jiZZ0IJL2_w
Baud
@p.a.: Can I hit Trump voters with a hammer?
Corner Stone
@different-church-lady: They voted for a high name recognition reality TV “Boss Man”. The fact that he showed them how racist he really is was just the hush money payout at the end of the assault.
Gin & Tonic
@GregB: Hey. hold on. Argentina is very nice. Why would you want to inflict that on them?
Gin & Tonic
@Jeff:
So Susan Sarandon was right after all. Heighten the contradictions!
Elie
Things are going to get a lot worse due to incompetence but also the wishes of the guy pulling the strings in Moscow. I do believe that we are in for a protracted and complex conflict imbedding several battles but all destabilizing until the American people flip the Congress and Mueller starts really laying it down. Those things will not necessarily calm things down. We are in a war for this country’s survival as a democratic republic. Trumps role for Putin is to make sure we have as much chaos as possible along w the Republican enablers Get ready
Corner Stone
@Gin & Tonic:
“Dear God! That’s…that’s Davis X. Machina’s entrance music!!”
germy
@Gin & Tonic:
And she gets a nice tax cut! Win win!
Yarrow
Christ, these people are stupid. They’re only just now figuring this out? Have none of them noticed that Sean Spicer can’t get a cushy TV gig?
Shana
I’m sorry, is running the country just a distraction from elections? Is that what these idiots really think? I can’t even….
Gelfling 545
@Yarrow: And I don’t think anybody’s going to buy their “I only stayed to save western civilization” routine either.
Baud
@Gin & Tonic:
No sacrifice by other people is too great a price.
germy
@Shana:
The tax “reform” got them really energized. Remember how wild they were?
The rest of the business of lawmaking just seems to bore and tire them.
germy
@Yarrow: The guy who replaced Jeff Lord was let go last month.
mike in dc
I love these assumptions that, while governing is too hard, running for re-election will be a snap. Do they not realize that, post-midterms, one of the easiest chants to work up at Dem rallies will be “Where’s the wall?” Trump’s failure to keep his promises to his base will be hung around his neck(to depress their turnout), and his unique combo of malevolence and incompetence will be neatly recapitulated to draw swing voters into the blue circle.
JGabriel
Anne Laurie @ Top:
I’m not checking the tweetstream of anyone called Spanky.
Baud
@mike in dc: FWIW, I don’t think we should emphasize the absence of the Wall but Trump’s failure to get Mexico to pay up.
zhena gogolia
I asked a friend in Moscow how Trump’s phrase was translated, and she was kind of surprised that I even thought it was remarkable, because it was translated as “dirty holes.”
StringOnAStick
I was at the grocery store this morning, and National Enquirer’s cover has our scary, melanin-enhanced previous POTUS looming over the shit gibbon, still causing evil, evil things to poor l’il trumpy dumpy. No mention of Stormy Daniels. On the higher checkout stand rack was a similar magazine called Insight”, and it was totally Stormy, with sex with the mango moron mentioned right there on the front cover. It seems to me that sex scandal sells better than politics, at least with the sort of people who read either of these crap mags. FOX may not be mentioning Stormy, but there are lots of other outlets that are. I want the story to be well known for when it comes out (and you know it will) that she was paid off with campaign funds (which is highly illegal).
Oh, also Stormy is doing a national strip club tour, and the ads for it are the photo of her with mango moron; it’s called the “Make America Horny Again’ tour. She’d better have good security because I could see someone both scary and armed taking offense to her attempt to cash in on her current 15 minutes of fame, mango moron being a good Christian man and all…
germy
@Baud:
didn’t one of the democrats say something to the effect of “Sure, we’ll agree to the wall. Show us the check from Mexico and we’ll vote yes.”
I don’t remember which democrat it was, but he has a good sense of humor.
chopper
@Baud:
how do you think they became that stupid in the first place?
Yarrow
@Baud: Preet Bharara has the right take on the shutdown.
TaMara (HFG)
@Litlebritdifrnt:
Ruckus
Just got back from the women’s march.
I know it’s LA and therefore the against sentiment might just be a bit stronger, but I’d say the attendance was over 250,000. Was talking to a fellow and looking at signs and then we joined the march. It was 4 lanes wide street with parking lanes, people curb to curb and lasted for just over an hour. Most of the signs were good, a lot of them were great. Saw a gentleman with a home made puppet on a pole, it was very well done. A lot of printed signs but most were hand painted. Didn’t see one misspelling. Old white male wasn’t even close to a majority. Just being white maybe didn’t even make it. The crowd was very well behaved and just as well pissed off.
germy
@StringOnAStick: her autograph on michael wolff’s book would be quite a collectible.
James E. Powell
@different-church-lady: @schrodingers_cat:
You’re both right. They voted for “this will piss off and offend everyone I hate.” And that’s what Trump & the Republicans are giving them. They love this and they will all vote for more of the same. I sincerely hope that there is no Democrat who is going to focus his or her campaign on convincing Trump voters to change their minds. Our way forward is to get our people to the polls.
Sm*t Cl*de
Rev. Franklin Graham has refused to condemn Trump for hiring prostitutes and paying them off. He’s not going to put his own income stream at risk.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Ruckus:
Well, I wasn’t there.
Ruckus
@Shana:
Yes, yes it is. Which is of course why they are idiots.
JMG
@StringOnAStick:
For obvious reasons, security at most strip clubs is excellent and not to be trifled with.
Mary G
@Ruckus: I wanted to go so badly today, but it didn’t work out. I kind of dreaded checking the web in case it wasn’t big, but it seems like it was huge everywhere. Chicago PD said their crowd was bigger than last year. The signs gladden my heart.
Sm*t Cl*de
@Yarrow:
The plan, as with previous Trump bankruptcies, is to pay it off in roubles.
Immanentize
@James E. Powell: I had a thought today that somehow we might be able to convince a LOT of Trump voters that Voter Registration was only for Democrats. I really think it could work…..
Cain
Just came back from the women’s march in Denver and I got to have lunch with two candidates for Colorado House, and a current representative. I apparently get to walk in (with a heads up) at his office anytime. I’ve consented to help one of the candidates with social media and what not.
I’m hoping to check out what our candidate for SoS in Colorado is doing as well. I promised I would spend some time on her campaign as well.
We should do a balloon juice/resist meeting @TaMara :)
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@StringOnAStick: I’m beginning to like Stormy.
Ruckus
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Why Not?
Lots of great picture potential. I of course didn’t think to take my camera.
It was also very well handled by Metro and the LAPD. The Metro commuter lines added an extra car for 50% more capacity and they had 5 or 6 buses outside the stations in case something went wrong or the crowds were bigger than expected. Metro and cops at the station to sell tap cards (needed to ride) and in general make sure things went as smooth as possible. As I’ve said before I worked in professional sports and I’ve actually worked events where the promoter hired a local motorcycle gang for security, which worked amazingly well. This was far better.
Sm*t Cl*de
@JGabriel:
That’s Spancialosaphus Lacrimosae to you!
retiredeng
@Baud: I thought Mexico was going to fund the US government during the shitdown. Not so?
laura
The Sacramento March was PACKED!
Blue skies, brisk, so many great signs, taiko drums, people of all shades, ages, genders, lots and lots of enthusiasm.
Time for a nap.
Ruckus
@Mary G:
Gentleman I was talking to went last year and he said that the it was much bigger. I don’t doubt that it was but this wasn’t all that small just not really, really huge. I can’t imagine what 750,000 was like last year. Last yr I gave myself 2 hrs to get there and spent most of that on the platform with a lot of others and never even got on the trains, as they were too packed to even stuff anyone on. This year with each train being 50% bigger we all got on but it was standing room only and the subway was packed.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Ruckus: Why not? Metrolink on weekends isn’t the best service and mornings, really? I just finished breakfast.
Ruckus
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Yeah, I did have to sacrifice and get up early but other than that…….
Even as a semi retired old fart I get up before the crack of noon. Have medications to attend to, morning and night.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Ruckus: Remember, I’m nocturnal.
efgoldman
@Gin & Tonic:
They must be pretty much out of original nazis by now.
efgoldman
@Corner Stone:
And here it is!
SiubhanDuinne
Not sure whether or not this is an open thread, but I have an off-the-wall O/T question for the Jackaltariat.
Is there a term or word for someone who has been dead longer than they were alive? For instance, say someone was born in 1900 and died age 59 in 1959. In 2018 that person will have died 59 years ago (don’t worry about days and leap years and shit; right now I’m only concerned about terminology). Is there a word or phrase to capture that phenomenon?
P. S. I am a serious person and this is a serious question.
efgoldman
@SiubhanDuinne: “Corpse”
Tata
I used to comment here all the time. Since I got the feeling the election would end badly, I haven’t had much to say anywhere, at all. This morning, I worked in a family-owned bagel place, where I bake cakes and cookies, completely visible to the public. I wore a multi-colored pussy hat all day, making my statement without a word. I saw recognition in a lot of eyes.
This is a part-time job I took to send my grandson to space camp, where his brilliance won’t scare the dumb grownups. My feeling is stupid should hurt stupid people more than it pains me to deal with it.
Cowgirl in the Sandi
Just got back from the Oakland march – there were tons of people with great signs! The crowd was diverse and friendly. The sky was blue, weather was great – hope is rising!
Vortac
@SiubhanDuinne: Since such a word would describe a very time-limited period, there likely has not been enough of a need to drive the creation of one. Really, how often do you hear someone speaking of that condition (death interval equals life span) at all? Words are only created to name concepts that need encapsulation. If you’re still looking for a term, try this one: “equimort”.