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If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

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You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2018 / I’ll Be In My Basement Room

I’ll Be In My Basement Room

by Jewish Steel|  January 30, 20182:00 pm| 147 Comments

This post is in: Election 2018, Open Threads, Our Failed Media Experiment

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I’m sure I’m not the first one to make this observation, but the supposed accelerated news cycle is having a stroboscopic effect on the passage of this presidency for me. At first everything was moving at such a breathless pace that I felt an almost physical sense of movement. Now, everything has been moving so fast for so long that it’s as though things are standing perfectly still. One scandal feels much like the next. We are in a land that has no signposts: a featureless plane of stupidity, a weird stasis.

And so, in spite of the oft repeated cliche that any X amount of time is an eternity in politics I will defy the scolds and gaze into deep time, like I did in 2010 when Republicans had their Tea Party wave. Back then, I’d looked forward to 2020, the next redistricting year, and concluded that Hillary would be the best set-up to take us back to the promised land. I made a few key phone calls and said only, “Clear the field.” You know the rest. Looks like I may have been right in my assessment. But not in the way I expected.

Looking beyond 2020, one thing that concerns me about a post-Trump world is the sort of anti-First Law of Motion of the media. Once a body is set in motion in the vacuity of media space, no countervailing force will stop it from doing the thing that gets eyeballs, clicks–turns a profit, in other words. And so I look forward and wonder, will Jake Tapper be able to prevent himself from scolding President Gillibrand for some totally anodyne shit? Will the media be so high on its own supply of rageahol that it won’t be able to wind itself down and cover a “normal” presidency? What possible incentive will it have to do that in what will likely be an even more fragmented media landscape?

It seems like the kind of question media boffin Jay Rosen might have some thoughts about. Or the enlightened jackal salon of the Balloon Juice commentariat?

Not that there’s much we can do about it. (And lamenting the deteriorating level public discourse is as old as the agora.) But what we can do is elect some Democrats. And here’s how: This is the fund that’s split between all eventual Democratic nominees in House districts currently held by Republicans.

Goal Thermometer

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Reader Interactions

147Comments

  1. 1.

    Jerry

    January 30, 2018 at 2:09 pm

    The First Law of Media Motion: Once a body is set in motion in the vacuity of media space, no countervailing force will stop it from doing the thing that gets eyeballs, clicks–turns a profit, in other words.

    Love it. I’ve never heard this before, is this all yours?

  2. 2.

    LAO

    January 30, 2018 at 2:11 pm

    I don’t believe that the media will ever distinguish between “good faith” and “bad faith” arguments, so I have very little hope in the future.

  3. 3.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    January 30, 2018 at 2:12 pm

    Let me just note that I heard the original of that song over the weekend at a restaurant. When I noted that I’ll always love to hear Townes’ version, it was cool to hear the original, the bartender (again) mildly chastised me for not coming to trivia there, where he has lost of music questions.

    @LAO: Sadly, I think your view is correct, and I share it.

  4. 4.

    Patricia Kayden

    January 30, 2018 at 2:14 pm

    Both sides are equally bad is a MSM mantra that won’t die easily. Let’s see if Toobin is one of many journalists and commentators who will stop lying that our two main parties are both corrupt.

  5. 5.

    Corner Stone

    January 30, 2018 at 2:16 pm

    What possible incentive will it have to do that in what will likely be an even more fragmented media landscape?

    None. Scandal sells. You only need to see the most recent example, Fire and Fury, to know they are all salivating over their next Big Clickpiece or Social Media profile raiser.

  6. 6.

    Corner Stone

    January 30, 2018 at 2:20 pm

    Something I’ve noticed over the last year is the velocity of change in the village media. It seems like every time I see the same reporter or talking head they have a different employer. I can never tell what’s a step up in stature or prestige any longer. Is it better to be a featured beat writer for WaPo or the WHC for PBS?
    ISTM, this relentless swinger party they are all engaged in only further serves to ensure we will have scandalous, sensational, no-news news coverage for the foreseeable future.

  7. 7.

    The Moar You Know

    January 30, 2018 at 2:21 pm

    Will the media be so high on its own supply of rageahol that it won’t be able to wind itself down and cover a “normal” presidency?

    Rageahol and more to the point, money. Trump has been an incredible boon to media distribution in all its manifold forms. Once he’s gone they are fucked unless the can keep the eyes and clicks of the Trumpetariat, and there’s only one way to do that. It will make their treatment of Obama look responsible.

    ETA: this will apply to either a Dem or “responsible” GOP president. It won’t matter. The media will carve them to bits. They have to, now. It’s all going to be about money.

  8. 8.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 30, 2018 at 2:23 pm

    a featureless plane of stupidity

    Such an accurate and evocative description of what I see when I read the news. And I’m generally much calmer now than I was a year ago, as you also noted. It’s not that I’ve tuned out, so much as I’m moving along with the cycles now so there’s no acceleration.

    Many of my friends on social media seem to still have their outrage meters spiked and are operating at what can’t be a healthy level of rage. It stresses me out just looking at Facebook now, and not (just) because of idiots sharing idiotic things like I sometimes complain about.

  9. 9.

    Jewish Steel

    January 30, 2018 at 2:25 pm

    @Jerry: It came to me whole while I was working. So, maybe! I’m a musician and learned to trust that sometimes inspiration is just your subconscious reworking something you already know.

  10. 10.

    Jewish Steel

    January 30, 2018 at 2:28 pm

    @Corner Stone: Wow. You know, now that you point this out, that’s totally true. I always assume they are traveling downmarket b/c that is the only direction to go in a world that cares less and less about both good journalism and the news biz.

  11. 11.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 30, 2018 at 2:28 pm

    @Jewish Steel: a creative writing teacher once told me that every story is just a combination of the last book you read, the last song you heard, and the last fight you had.

  12. 12.

    Mike E

    January 30, 2018 at 2:29 pm

    @Corner Stone: watching PBS News Hour I witnessed Tamara Keith almost make a point about Tr*mp’s overt lawbreaking…it was clearly painful, like she pulled her lower lip over her head and swallowed herself. I make it a point to not watch these news gymnastics, or anything that passes for “analysis” these days

  13. 13.

    The Moar You Know

    January 30, 2018 at 2:33 pm

    Many of my friends on social media seem to still have their outrage meters spiked and are operating at what can’t be a healthy level of rage.

    @Major Major Major Major: I have a fair number of those on the FB, but two in particular who I am genuinely worried about, one who is family. Both elderly, both not well, and far, far too angry for their own good. They’re not wrong (that’s the hard part) but they need to leave it to some of us younger folks who can handle the cortisol. They can’t.

  14. 14.

    Jewish Steel

    January 30, 2018 at 2:35 pm

    @The Moar You Know: Yup. My fear. Of course, they already did this to the most qualified presidential candidate on the last ballot. They’ve got practice.

    @Major Major Major Major: My composition teacher, after reviewing my latest exercise sat and thought for a moment, then wheeled around and grabbed a book of sonatas by Schubert. There is was, in a different key, the melody I had brought him. He knew I didn’t steal it on purpose but said it was the reason we’ve got to know our music history inside and out.

  15. 15.

    LAO

    January 30, 2018 at 2:39 pm

    I’m all out of outrage for the moment — but this, this is fucking ridiculous.

    from the article:

    Sources say that Trump has adopted a two-track strategy to deal with the Mueller investigation.

    One is an un-Trumpian passivity and trust. He keeps telling some in his circle that Mueller — any day now — will tell him he is off the hook for any charge of collusion with the Russians or obstruction of justice.

    But Trump — who trusts no one, or at least no one for long — has now decided that he must have an alternative strategy that does not involve having Justice Department officials fire Mueller.

    “I think he’s been convinced that firing Mueller would not only create a firestorm, it would play right into Mueller’s hands,” said another friend, “because it would give Mueller the moral high ground.”

    Instead, as is now becoming plain, the Trump strategy is to discredit the investigation and the FBI without officially removing the leadership. Trump is even talking to friends about the possibility of asking Attorney General Jeff Sessions to consider prosecuting Mueller and his team.

    “Here’s how it would work: ‘We’re sorry, Mr. Mueller, you won’t be able to run the federal grand jury today because he has to go testify to another federal grand jury,'” said one Trump adviser.

  16. 16.

    Spanky

    January 30, 2018 at 2:45 pm

    @LAO: Like Mueller’s a one-man shop? Are these people truly this stupid?

    That question would have once been rhetorical, but it’s like rhetorical questions about Trump are all turned inside out.

  17. 17.

    LAO

    January 30, 2018 at 2:46 pm

    @Spanky: yes.

  18. 18.

    DougJ

    January 30, 2018 at 2:47 pm

    Great post. Possibly my favorite song of all time.

  19. 19.

    Percysowner

    January 30, 2018 at 2:48 pm

    Trump adviser: President considering ‘prosecuting Mueller and his team’ over Russia probe Because of course he is. But her EMAILS! Both Sides do it! I feel sick.

  20. 20.

    Corner Stone

    January 30, 2018 at 2:49 pm

    I can’t fucking stand Tom Brokaw. Will you finally swallow those marbles in your mouth and choke to fucking death? For the good of the country, sir. The good of the country.

  21. 21.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 30, 2018 at 2:49 pm

    @Jewish Steel: one time I accidentally basically wrote the mad tea party in one scene.

  22. 22.

    DougJ

    January 30, 2018 at 2:51 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    I fucking hate him too.

  23. 23.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    January 30, 2018 at 2:51 pm

    I think Black Mirror has it called; the future media personality will be a cartoon dog that does nothing but insults everyone.

    The problem with stroking the Rage to 11 is what do you do for the next hit? Moore and child molestation was to much.y. That’s why Trump is screwed over time, sooner or later his dotard, racists, cheese burger eating, woman hater act will become old and his base will drop him, for a cartoon of a talking foul mouthed dog.

  24. 24.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 30, 2018 at 2:52 pm

    the supposed accelerated news cycle is having a stroboscopic effect on the passage of this presidency for me.

    The stroboscope analogy is perfect, and I wish I’d thought of it! I didn’t, but I shall be stealing it. Thanks for the imagery.

  25. 25.

    Mary G

    January 30, 2018 at 2:52 pm

    @Corner Stone: It’s like a massive game of musical chairs, isn’t it?

    I am feeling schadenfreude because the Dow Jones went down more than 170 points yesterday and is down about 370 so far today. So 500+ point drop just when Twitler’s SOTU drops. I am old enough to remember when that big of a drop in two days would be a huge news story.

  26. 26.

    ET

    January 30, 2018 at 2:53 pm

    I will say that given the sheer speed with regards to scandals, tweets, staff turnover, and other types of news re tRump that a lot of regular folk and news people are having a hard time putting what is going on in its place and understanding it. I feel like the real accounting for this administration can’t happen until it is over not just because of the speed of events, but also because the idiot at the top is erratic and everything changes always and nothing ever just is and stays that way.

  27. 27.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 30, 2018 at 2:56 pm

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    I think Black Mirror has it called; the future media personality will be a cartoon dog that does nothing but insults everyone.

    I haven’t seen much past the first season, but I see they’ve retained their penchant for the obvious.

  28. 28.

    mai naem mobile

    January 30, 2018 at 2:56 pm

    I am not even convinced that Muellers not going to paper over stuff and be a good little Republican. Everybody’s so convinced he’s some white knight in shining armor. Who the fuck knows? Mueller, Comey,Baker and McCabe could just move on and get multi million payoffs at law firms. Let Manafort, Gates,Papadopoulos and Page be collateral damage. Flynn gets pardoned. I don’t trust the GOP at all.

  29. 29.

    Spanky

    January 30, 2018 at 2:57 pm

    @Mary G: Yeah, but that was back when the Dow was under 2000. Hell, it’s gone up over 6000 just since the inauguration. “Everyone” knows that the market is at the end of a really good cycle. The herd is ready to be spooked.

  30. 30.

    Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)

    January 30, 2018 at 2:58 pm

    @LAO: That is literally incredible. I’m having a hard time making myself believe Trump thinks he can prosecute Mueller.

  31. 31.

    T S

    January 30, 2018 at 2:58 pm

    @Mary G: Maybe a Constitutional crisis scares the bot traders?

  32. 32.

    LAO

    January 30, 2018 at 3:01 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): And, what the heck has Sessions being telling him, that Trump believes he can order the prosecution of any individual? I’m gobsmacked.

  33. 33.

    Corner Stone

    January 30, 2018 at 3:03 pm

    @mai naem mobile:

    I am not even convinced that Muellers not going to paper over stuff and be a good little Republican. Everybody’s so convinced he’s some white knight in shining armor. Who the fuck knows?

    He’s all we’ve got. Some third tier functionary outside the system. All of our other institutions have failed. So we’ll accept his report to Congress that Trump et al are dirtier than Hog Heaven, we’ll nod our heads solemnly and be at peace because we knew it all along.

  34. 34.

    Corner Stone

    January 30, 2018 at 3:04 pm

    @LAO:

    And, what the heck has Sessions being telling him

    “Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me! Mueller’s the one you want! It’s Mueller’s fault, not mine!”

  35. 35.

    LAO

    January 30, 2018 at 3:04 pm

    @mai naem mobile: I’m no fan of the GOP, but Mueller is a straight shooter — he left his high-paying legal job to take on the investigation. We should have a degree of faith in him.

  36. 36.

    Corner Stone

    January 30, 2018 at 3:05 pm

    Man, this Chris Wray fella. What a scumbag.

  37. 37.

    FlipYrWhig

    January 30, 2018 at 3:05 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): Trump is very stupid, like incredibly and unfathomably stupid, and doesn’t really understand what the law is or what lawyers do. He thinks of “his lawyers” as the guys who make problems go away. That’s what he wants to do here, use lawyers to something something and then his problems go away.

  38. 38.

    GregB

    January 30, 2018 at 3:05 pm

    Can we assume that once the economy shits the bed we will be told how poor Trump inherited the bigly terribke Obama economy?

  39. 39.

    Kay

    January 30, 2018 at 3:07 pm

    Ken Dilanian
    ‏
    Verified account

    @KenDilanianNBC
    21h21 hours ago
    More
    Schiff reveals that the intel committee is *investigating* the FBI and the Justice Department.

    This is getting genuinely alarming. What do we do if they remove everyone except loyalists? It seems like a huge public protest is the only thing “we” CAN do.

  40. 40.

    Gravenstone

    January 30, 2018 at 3:07 pm

    @mai naem mobile: There’s a huge level of Republican agita currently. If there was even a whisper that Mueller would whitewash the results of his investigation, I doubt we’d be seeing this particular response. There are plenty of other things to worry about without creating new ones from the whole cloth.

  41. 41.

    Jewish Steel

    January 30, 2018 at 3:07 pm

    @DougJ: Time spent with the very simple and beautiful Mick Taylor solo pays dividends to any level guitarist. This guy (not me) breaks it down very nicely.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMOtRxPxhZI

  42. 42.

    FlipYrWhig

    January 30, 2018 at 3:09 pm

    @GregB: More likely is that Trump will say his enemies in the “deep economy” are trying to make him look bad. Democrats and liberals will say that’s absurd. And Glenn Greenwald and Matt Taibbi and the rest will react to the reaction by saying LOL LIBS TRUST AND LOVE CORPORATIONS NOW HYPOCRITE ESTABLISHMENT NEOLIBERALS GOTTA NEOLIBERAL

  43. 43.

    catclub

    January 30, 2018 at 3:09 pm

    @Mary G:

    I am old enough to remember when that big of a drop in two days would be a huge news story.

    instead, the market is only up 6% on the year, (month), rather than up 8%.

  44. 44.

    LAO

    January 30, 2018 at 3:10 pm

    @Corner Stone: I wish there was a like button for comments.

  45. 45.

    catclub

    January 30, 2018 at 3:11 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    Man, this Chris Wray fella. What a scumbag.

    Trump picked him, so no reason to be surprised.

  46. 46.

    Gravenstone

    January 30, 2018 at 3:12 pm

    @Spanky: Sounds like today’s big drop is largely due to adverse reaction to the Bezos/Buffet/Dimon troika threatening to inconvenience the healthcare gravy train. But yes, the long relatively steady rise in the market post-Big Recession is due to come to an end at some point, so why not now?

  47. 47.

    Corner Stone

    January 30, 2018 at 3:13 pm

    @FlipYrWhig: Finally! I have long sought a definition for “neoliberal”. At long, long last hopefully my quest can come to an end.

  48. 48.

    debbie

    January 30, 2018 at 3:15 pm

    @Mary G:

    Can’t wait to hear him bullshit his way past that.

  49. 49.

    charon

    January 30, 2018 at 3:16 pm

    @Spanky:

    Like Mueller’s a one-man shop? Are these people truly this stupid?

    Rosenstein controls the scope of Mueller’s investigation, but has been giving Mueller all the funding and scope he has requested.

    So – just fire Rosenstein and replace him with one of the Trump loyalists who is already confirmed by the Senate to something else – problem solved.

  50. 50.

    debbie

    January 30, 2018 at 3:17 pm

    @Kay:

    It worked for Hitler, after all.

  51. 51.

    Corner Stone

    January 30, 2018 at 3:17 pm

    @Kay:

    This is getting genuinely alarming. What do we do if they remove everyone except loyalists?

    If that happens I plan to apply for a job at the FBI. Sure it’ll be a pay cut, but the perks man! The perks! I’ll get to threaten, harass, and even jail my enemies. And, oh goodness, the level of stalking I’m gonna pull off. This is going to be epic!

  52. 52.

    gene108

    January 30, 2018 at 3:18 pm

    @Jewish Steel:

    I always assume they are traveling downmarket b/c that is the only direction to go in a world that cares less and less about both good journalism and the news biz.

    I think people still care about good reporting. It is just so damned hard to find that the default setting is to tune it all out as white noise in the background.

    The NYT does good reporting every once in awhile, but the signal to noise ratio isn’t enough to make me want to subscribe.

  53. 53.

    bluefish

    January 30, 2018 at 3:19 pm

    Thank you for your first paragraph alone! Best description I’ve read yet of the surreal sense of time, non-time, un-time, we’ve all been experiencing here at our shack. Unmoored. It’s of comfort to see this sensation described so lucidly.

  54. 54.

    catclub

    January 30, 2018 at 3:19 pm

    @Gravenstone:

    the long relatively steady rise in the market post-Big Recession is due to come to an end at some point, so why not now?

    20% correction to catch its breath is more likely than ‘come to an end’, in my view.
    There is not much in the economy that will bring a collapse in stock prices, like the previous case – huge amounts of highly rated debt not being what it promised to be – then all the banks suspect the solvency of each other (because they were each holding unknown amounts of that dodgy debt as ‘assets’).

    Instead, if there is no euphoria, there is no place for a crash to happen. I admit that things are starting to look more euphoric than over the previous few years.

    Rising interest rates might slow growth, but so far, they are being raised pretty slowly.

  55. 55.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 30, 2018 at 3:19 pm

    CNN alert tells me trump wants the memo out ASAP, but not before his speech ?

  56. 56.

    debbie

    January 30, 2018 at 3:20 pm

    As much as I’ve loved that album and listened to it at least eleventy billion times, I say Merry Clayton steals the show.

  57. 57.

    eric

    January 30, 2018 at 3:20 pm

    Criminal folks: can Mueller prosecute the claims he finds or just make a report? can he go to a preliminary hearing rto publicly put forth his evidence if he so desires it?

  58. 58.

    catclub

    January 30, 2018 at 3:22 pm

    @charon:

    one of the Trump loyalists who is already confirmed by the Senate to something else – problem solved.

    are there any? I thought one problem Trump has is actually nominating all those subcabinet officers.

  59. 59.

    trollhattan

    January 30, 2018 at 3:24 pm

    @Jewish Steel:
    Mick Taylor plays on the majority of my favorite Stones albums. Coinkidink? I think not.

  60. 60.

    artem1s

    January 30, 2018 at 3:24 pm

    I often wondered how Britain handled it’s media problem after the tabloids took over everything over there. I always wondered if we would suvive what Rupert Murdoch did to Western media consumption. Still not sure we will.

  61. 61.

    Just One More Canuck

    January 30, 2018 at 3:25 pm

    @LAO: I know I shouldn’t ask, but did they give any reason for prosecuting Mueller. That would make for a good laugh

  62. 62.

    FlipYrWhig

    January 30, 2018 at 3:25 pm

    @Corner Stone: People who use it mean “sucks, and in a related matter have you noticed I have a rose in my Twitter name?”

  63. 63.

    Amaranthine RBG

    January 30, 2018 at 3:26 pm

    @Kay:

    Yes. As I’ve mentioned, I’m active on several hunting/gun/fishing forums. The political tilt is about what you would expect but in the past week, lots of regulars have absolutely gone off the deep end: Mueller/McCabe/Rosenstein are criminals and should be prosecuted for treason is a popular refrain.

    In the past, I’d guess that about 10% of commenters were liberal, 20% were hardcore alt-right, and 70% were mainstream conservative. Now 90% of the comments are of the ilk I described above. And this isn’t bot traffic.

    I probably have a higher tolerance for different viewpoints than most folks, but this is genuinely alarming.

  64. 64.

    trollhattan

    January 30, 2018 at 3:29 pm

    O/T when is Uday and Qusay’s next bigly game safari?

    A Croatian national has died in unclear circumstances while hunting lions with two friends in South Africa. Pero Jelinic, 75, was hit by a bullet on Saturday at Leeubosch Lodge farm, about 355km (221 miles) west of Johannesburg, police said.

    “At this stage it is not clear who fired the fatal shot that killed Mr Jelinic,” a police spokeswoman said.

    One of Mr Jelinic’s hunting friends said it had been an accident but police have opened a culpable homicide case. They say Mr Jelinic was shot after the hunters had already killed one lion and were tracking a second. The injured man was airlifted to hospital but died shortly afterwards.

    Police are also investigating whether the hunters had illegal guns while hunting lions bred in captivity, police spokeswoman Charlize van der Linden told news24 website.

    Somebody needs to check the lions for possible guns.

  65. 65.

    Amaranthine RBG

    January 30, 2018 at 3:29 pm

    @Just One More Canuck: Treason is the reason I’ve been hearing. That, along with, Democrats funded the Steel dossier and the FBI conspired with Clinton to interfere with the election. Mueller is relying on the discredited dossier. Q.E.D.

    Seriously.

    Crazy.

  66. 66.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 30, 2018 at 3:29 pm

    @FlipYrWhig: very rarely they’re discussing South American political history.

  67. 67.

    Jager

    January 30, 2018 at 3:30 pm

    If you read the alternative history mystery “Fatherland” by Robert Harris, you begin to realize just how much some “Americans” would love living in a Nazi state, everything is so comfortable, so easy, no pesky minorities, clean streets, no crime except hidden away at the very top levels of government and society.

  68. 68.

    Gravenstone

    January 30, 2018 at 3:31 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: No one dare upstage The Donald!

  69. 69.

    trollhattan

    January 30, 2018 at 3:31 pm

    @Just One More Canuck:
    Federal statute Sec#09385: being a big meany and also, too, turning down Trump’s offer of three porn stars.

  70. 70.

    LAO

    January 30, 2018 at 3:32 pm

    @Just One More Canuck: No.

    @eric: I believe, there is a sitting grand jury. It has already produced indictments. Grand jury matters are sealed (ie. can’t be made public) — this applies to prosecutors and law enforcement. Suprisingly — grand jury witness are free to divulge anything they have testified to or about but this rarely seems to happen.

    (And, yes I just realize I responded to a comment directed at Criminal folk).

  71. 71.

    trollhattan

    January 30, 2018 at 3:32 pm

    @Jager:
    Don’t forget das Autobahn–no speed limit!

  72. 72.

    Kay

    January 30, 2018 at 3:33 pm

    @Amaranthine RBG:

    I just wish we had a Plan B other than “yell a lot”

    I feel like our Plan A was “Someone in charge will do something”. Time for Plan B.

  73. 73.

    ET

    January 30, 2018 at 3:33 pm

    @LAO: I am not sure he needs Sessions to tell him that.

    His entire life tRump has had people to do his work for him and has been allowed to move though life with few if any consequences. This has warped him. All are at his bidding. It has left him with the impression that he doesn’t fail others fail him. He is always the smartest person in the room and knows more about nuclear weapons than experts working int he field for 30 years.

  74. 74.

    Betty Cracker

    January 30, 2018 at 3:35 pm

    “Featureless plane of stupidity” nails it.

    I’m still incredibly angry — to an unhealthy degree, probably. I flipped off an elderly woman in Sarasota on I-75 the other day because the back of her Durango was plastered with Trump stickers, and as I was passing her, I was thinking, “YOU’RE the fucking reason my in-law in DACA status isn’t able to sleep nights. YOU’RE the fucking reason I’m worried about Pence shoving my gay kid in the closet. YOU’RE the fucking reason this state will be underwater soon,” etc. So, I flipped her off and mouthed “FUCK YOU!” as I passed for good measure. She looked mildly shocked at such an affront from a white lady in an old Caddy…

  75. 75.

    gene108

    January 30, 2018 at 3:35 pm

    @ET:

    I will say that given the sheer speed with regards to scandals, tweets, staff turnover, and other types of news re tRump that a lot of regular folk and news people are having a hard time putting what is going on in its place and understanding it.

    I agree. Trump overwhelms the senses.

    The level of corruption, at every level imaginable, such as self-dealing, conflicts of interest, and extra-marital affairs that would bog down most administrations is like eight, ninth, and tenth things on the list of corrupt shit Trump and his Cabinet are up to.

    And yet conservatives in this country cheer him on. This worries me more, because they a good percentage of this country only cares about advancing their agenda at all costs, even if our democratic institutions are ground down in the process.

  76. 76.

    LAO

    January 30, 2018 at 3:36 pm

    @trollhattan: I believe that 18 USC Section 2380*

    **** Don’t bother looking it up — not a real statute.

  77. 77.

    Jeffro

    January 30, 2018 at 3:36 pm

    Well hey, here’s one (almost) #NeverTrumper wondering “what the hell happened”?

    Michael Steele…c’mon, man:

    As President Trump opines on the state of the union on Tuesday night, Steele looks back on the GOP and his frustration with how it has changed in the age of Trump. The tax bill is an example of how the party lost its way. After running around the country for 18 months, “[making] the argument for why Republican leadership and Republican governance was important as an A.) an important check on [President Barack] Obama and B.) to show that we had the capacity to govern,” Steele said, “I don’t know what the hell happened. … I sat there and watched them vote for a $1.5 trillion debt increase. … It made no sense because it was inconsistent and it has been inconsistent with what we said we wanted to do, how we would govern.”

    It’s…it’s almost like they don’t have any principles but the Kochs’ and Trump’s at this point, amirite Michael?

    Conservative values? What are those, again?

    Y’all better hurry up and join the center-center party in this country before the republic isn’t a republic anymore…just sayin’…

  78. 78.

    Kay

    January 30, 2018 at 3:36 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    All of our other institutions have failed.

    They really have. I honestly didn’t consider that at the outset- that they just wouldn’t be up to it. I thought they’d rally! Instead they seem to be down for the count.

  79. 79.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 30, 2018 at 3:38 pm

    @Gravenstone: I hope somebody has a huge embarrassing leak ready for right after.

  80. 80.

    catclub

    January 30, 2018 at 3:38 pm

    @ET:

    knows more about nuclear weapons than experts working int he field for 30 years.

    and why not, Trump has an uncle who was a physicist. QE Doofus

  81. 81.

    LAO

    January 30, 2018 at 3:38 pm

    @ET: I was inarticulate — why isn’t Sessions telling Trump that Trump doesn’t have the authority to direct the prosecution of any individual. Sessions must engage in constant toadying in order to maintain his position as Attorney General.

  82. 82.

    Kay

    January 30, 2018 at 3:40 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    They’ve probably been bad for a long time and we just didn’t know it because there weren’t stressors on the system.

    It’s like when people said Florida’s election systems were a fucking mess in 2000. They’re all a mess. It just usually doesn’t come down to 300 votes.

  83. 83.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 30, 2018 at 3:40 pm

    @Jewish Steel:

    He knew I didn’t steal it on purpose

    Jewish Steal

  84. 84.

    Betty Cracker

    January 30, 2018 at 3:41 pm

    @mai naem mobile: Glad I’m not alone in that fear. The more Trump & Co. squeal, the more credible Mueller seems, but still, it’s slim reed to hang your hopes on.

  85. 85.

    DougJ

    January 30, 2018 at 3:42 pm

    @debbie:

    Different album. This one is from Sticky Fingers

  86. 86.

    Kay

    January 30, 2018 at 3:42 pm

    @LAO:

    why isn’t Sessions telling Trump that Trump doesn’t have the authority to direct the prosecution of any individual.

    Because he’s horrible at his job? He’s not even a good toady. Just a bad hire from any perspective, even Trump’s.

  87. 87.

    charon

    January 30, 2018 at 3:43 pm

    @eric:

    Mueller can indict and prosecute everyone except DJT.

    To do anything to Trump, he needs Attorney General to OK it. ie, he needs an OK before he can report anything like an impeachment recommendation.

  88. 88.

    gene108

    January 30, 2018 at 3:44 pm

    @Jeffro:

    Conservative values? What are those, again?

    Just win baby!

  89. 89.

    Spanky

    January 30, 2018 at 3:45 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    @Gravenstone: I hope somebody has a huge embarrassing leak ready for right after.

    Unpossible. All of those old coots in Congress wear Depends.

  90. 90.

    LAO

    January 30, 2018 at 3:45 pm

    @Kay: Sessions has an agenda at the Department of Justice — a longstanding, vile, racist agenda — that I believe, he finds worth debasing himself to pursue. And I think it pre-dates the emergence of Trump as a candidate.

  91. 91.

    Gravenstone

    January 30, 2018 at 3:45 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Drop it in the midst of the SotU debacle. Let the news orgs already be talking about it once his prattling comes to a merciful end. He might well stroke out immediately at the affront, the sheer lack of attention due his august personnage.

  92. 92.

    Millard Filmore

    January 30, 2018 at 3:46 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    CNN alert tells me trump wants the memo out ASAP, but not before his speech

    All that concern for methods and sources is misplaced. Any information in the hands of the Republican political leadership must be assumed to be compromised.

  93. 93.

    Kay

    January 30, 2018 at 3:48 pm

    Ladies and Gentlemen, Our Institutions:

    This Week‏Verified account
    @ThisWeekABC
    Follow Follow @ThisWeekABC
    More
    [email protected]: “I’m unaware of any official effort on the part of the White House to undermine the special counsel. So I don’t feel any particular need to reach out to protect someone who seems to need no protection.”

    Need a Plan B. Definitely. They’re not up to this challenge.

  94. 94.

    Gravenstone

    January 30, 2018 at 3:48 pm

    @Spanky: Maybe the Russian piss tape* performers will make a cameo appearance.

    * yes I know, no such thing – but a handy shorthand for whatever kompromat actually is held

  95. 95.

    Jewish Steel

    January 30, 2018 at 3:48 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Nice!

  96. 96.

    Amaranthine RBG

    January 30, 2018 at 3:49 pm

    @Kay:

    The SOTU would be a good time for some patriotic democrat to stand up and yell “You’re unfit to be president” until the Sargent At Arms removes him or her. Then another democrat stands up and does the same thing.

    I think it may be time to just start throwing bodies on the gears of the machine.

  97. 97.

    LAO

    January 30, 2018 at 3:49 pm

    @Kay: I love the fact that he used the term “official” — is he aware of any “unofficial” effort to undermine the special counsel?

  98. 98.

    gene108

    January 30, 2018 at 3:50 pm

    @Kay:

    @Corner Stone:

    All of our other institutions have failed.

    They really have. I honestly didn’t consider that at the outset- that they just wouldn’t be up to it. I thought they’d rally! Instead they seem to be down for the count.

    I thought the institutions were sort of holding up until this week.

    The Republican assault on the FBI looks like it will succeed. And now the FBI becomes a tool to punish political enemies, we are heading into banana republic tin-pot dictator territory.

  99. 99.

    The Moar You Know

    January 30, 2018 at 3:52 pm

    I am not even convinced that Muellers not going to paper over stuff and be a good little Republican. Everybody’s so convinced he’s some white knight in shining armor. Who the fuck knows?

    @mai naem mobile: I agree. I gave up on this as a route to remediate the harm done by the 2016 elections months ago. Midterm elections are ten months away. He is slow walking this.

    We either win these midterms or live with the consequences forever. No one is coming to save us.

  100. 100.

    debbie

    January 30, 2018 at 3:53 pm

    @DougJ:

    Oops. Never mind.

  101. 101.

    Kay

    January 30, 2018 at 3:53 pm

    @LAO:

    Of course he’s “aware” of it. He’s helping direct it. But it’s not “official”. Not file-stamped or anything.

    They’re ridiculous and perhaps more importantly they’re just not up to this. There was a never a guarantee that they would be. It’s a myth that people always “rise” to challenges. Most of the time they don’t. He’s not rising.

  102. 102.

    LanceThruster

    January 30, 2018 at 3:54 pm

    @FlipYrWhig:

    They specifically decided to keep accepting corporate funding. I don’t know that people actually comprehend what an amazing feat Bernie’s grassroots campaign funding was.

  103. 103.

    Millard Filmore

    January 30, 2018 at 3:54 pm

    @charon:

    To do anything to Trump, he [Mueller] needs Attorney General to OK it.

    Is that why Nixon was simply an unindicted co-conspirator?

  104. 104.

    gene108

    January 30, 2018 at 3:56 pm

    Maybe we can get Putin to into detail about he messed with our elections, and bought off Trump and the Republicans.

    Probably the only thing that would get enough attention to provoke enough outrage to force a change from Republicans.

    Help us Vladimir Vladimirivitch Putin, your our only hope.

  105. 105.

    ruemara

    January 30, 2018 at 3:57 pm

    Look, if folks don’t make it plain that there are consequences from the populace, Mueller’s investigation will be largely just an academic yes this guy is a crook study.

  106. 106.

    LAO

    January 30, 2018 at 3:57 pm

    @Kay: I don’t think it’s a matter of whether or not Congressional republicans are up to this or willing to rise to the challenge. I think that they simply do not care. They hope to treat this as “politics as usual” which is so fucking dishonest and they expect that the media will respond as it always does but crediting their bad faith arguments as valid.

  107. 107.

    Millard Filmore

    January 30, 2018 at 3:57 pm

    @Gravenstone:

    * yes I know, no such thing

    Trump has enjoyed his special activities in more places than a Moscow hotel room, and Russian intelligence services are not the only ones capable of recording them.

  108. 108.

    Kay

    January 30, 2018 at 3:59 pm

    @LAO:

    Extraordinary people are extraordinary and rare. We just happen not to have any at this time. We have mediocre people. It happens.

    There could be a crisis where one asks “who will answer the call?” and the response is “no one. no one will” :)

    That’s actually MORE likely than a dramatic rescue, I would think.

  109. 109.

    efgoldman

    January 30, 2018 at 4:00 pm

    @Mary G:

    I am old enough to remember when that big of a drop in two days would be a huge news story.

    Barely a blip, by percentage, in a 26000 market

  110. 110.

    Tilda Swintons Bald Cap

    January 30, 2018 at 4:01 pm

    @The Moar You Know: Also the whole Obstruction of Justice is weak sauce. It’s like the charge you come up with because you don’t have enough to really charge the perp one something worse. Way worse stuff happened, are we ever going to find out? It’s almost two year since the election and we still don’t know what really happened as far as Russia, Cambridge Analytica etc.
    I go back and forth between, we will win in November and start to get things sorted, or maybe I should buy guns, lots of guns.

  111. 111.

    Tazj

    January 30, 2018 at 4:01 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Of course, nothing can take attention away from the greatest speech in history. He’ll leave the further destruction of democracy to another day.

  112. 112.

    Ruckus

    January 30, 2018 at 4:01 pm

    @Patricia Kayden:
    I wonder if some of the third party vote was because of the media’s both sides bullshit. All the denigrating of an actual candidate and equalizing that with an actual moron. If you weren’t politically saviy who could you believe?

  113. 113.

    Betty Cracker

    January 30, 2018 at 4:01 pm

    @Amaranthine RBG: I like that plan.

  114. 114.

    Lapassionara

    January 30, 2018 at 4:07 pm

    @gene108: Yes. I have relatives who are or have been FBI agents. They are Republicans through and through. To find them, and people like them, under attack is mind boggling.

    I know Moveon has a plan of action in case Mueller is fired, but I think we should start implementing that plan earlier than that. Mueller’s firing will be too late.

  115. 115.

    Ruckus

    January 30, 2018 at 4:09 pm

    @The Moar You Know:
    I have to tune out every so often because otherwise the stress is killing me. I was thinking about this yesterday, and realized exactly what you are saying, I can’t deal with any where near the level of stress that I could even 10 yrs ago.

  116. 116.

    eric

    January 30, 2018 at 4:11 pm

    @charon: So, can Mueller say “fuck it” i am going to have a probable cause hearing for someone not yet indicted by the Grand Jury and make all of his evidence public? I understand why he might not want to do this in the ordinary course, but if he wanted to explain his case for the “public good,” can he do it? thanks

  117. 117.

    bemused

    January 30, 2018 at 4:14 pm

    @LAO:

    I don’t care if some experts don’t think he is technically mentally ill. The guy is mucho delusional.

  118. 118.

    Jager

    January 30, 2018 at 4:14 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    She would have shit her drawers, gone off the road and rolled her car in the median if you’d been driving a NEW Caddy!

  119. 119.

    trollhattan

    January 30, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    @LAO:
    Wasn’t that part of the Carter-era Anti-Meanie crime bill?

  120. 120.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 30, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    @bemused: Why is this a delusion? Can’t he do it? He just needs to fire enough honest people and replace them with enough sycophants. And power ultimately comes from the barrel of a gun.

  121. 121.

    Ruckus

    January 30, 2018 at 4:18 pm

    @FlipYrWhig:
    This. Full. Stop.
    I just do not understand why people think drumpf is anything but a fucking moron. He proves it every day.

  122. 122.

    Amaranthine RBG

    January 30, 2018 at 4:19 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    All the plan requires is a tiny bit of courage. …

    (Yeah, I am not holding my breath.)

  123. 123.

    bemused

    January 30, 2018 at 4:24 pm

    @Matt McIrvin:

    Reading that article, it’s his general belief that everything always works in his favor even when it obviously doesn’t. He has no doubts he will WIN at anything. Manafort won’t flip on him. He believes he can turn bird shit into gold and diamonds. And on and on.

  124. 124.

    Boatboy_srq

    January 30, 2018 at 4:25 pm

    @Corner Stone: However horrible a pResident Lord Dampnut has proven, he’s been media gold. Publishers will – as is the wont of plucky traded enterprises – forecast ever greater scandals which will sell ever more books and articles and views/clicks, and are likely to manufacture scandal if none appears. One wonders whether the hyperventilation over the Scsndal-Free Presidency that was Obama’s two terms wws not driven by the ignorati-led clusterfvck that was the Shrubbery and the eight-year search for the hidden skeletons in the Clenis’ closet. So far Lord Dampnut has been an embarrassment of riches for Beltway gossips and scandalmongers, and that and the sweet sweet advertising revenue will be a hard habit to break.

  125. 125.

    Ruckus

    January 30, 2018 at 4:26 pm

    @Betty Cracker:
    Thing is, she deserved it. From your description, she’s all in for the shitstain, and proud of it.

  126. 126.

    Corner Stone

    January 30, 2018 at 4:28 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    from a white lady in an old Caddy…

    Were you heading back from buying your T-bone steaks?

  127. 127.

    Corner Stone

    January 30, 2018 at 4:35 pm

    @Kay:

    They’ve probably been bad for a long time and we just didn’t know it because there weren’t stressors on the system.

    They have been consistently weakened since the Nixon pardon. Then GHWB pardoning everyone in sight over Iran Contra. WJC pushed the limits but in the end submitted himself to the process and rule of law, no matter what fever dreams RWNJ’s think happened. Then we had the 2000 SCOTUS decision and GWB/Cheney warping the IC to their will, with the assistance of the media. Obama played by the rules but he also never held anyone accountable, for basically anything. After 30 or 40 years, the table was perfectly set for someone who is a stone cold moron who has never suffered a consequence in his entire life. They were hollowed out long ago, we just had a couple Democratic Presidents in interims that allowed us to believe they were still functioning and whole. Each successive Republican President has pushed them closer to the cliff.

  128. 128.

    Corner Stone

    January 30, 2018 at 4:40 pm

    @Kay:

    @SenateMajLdr: “I’m unaware of any official effort on the part of the White House

    You mean they didn’t send you a fucking memo on the WH letterhead saying they were going to turf Mueller?
    Asshole.

  129. 129.

    Corner Stone

    January 30, 2018 at 4:41 pm

    @gene108:

    I thought the institutions were sort of holding up until this week.

    He’s packing the courts with RWNJ’s. The last in line is our military. Any guesses as to how that turns out?

  130. 130.

    Mike in DC

    January 30, 2018 at 4:45 pm

    Mueller can do a few things to make it harder to fire him:
    1. Subpoena Trump. Even if Trump fights it, firing the guy who subpoenas you is a nonstarter.
    2. Refer the obstruction charge. If he fires Mueller it just gives the impeachment referral greater momentum.
    3. Charge literally anyone for the underlying conspiracy with Russia. It moves the national conversation to a different place.

  131. 131.

    J R in WV

    January 30, 2018 at 4:48 pm

    @Mary G:

    I am feeling schadenfreude because the Dow Jones went down more than 170 points yesterday and is down about 370 so far today. So 500+ point drop just when Twitler’s SOTU drops. I am old enough to remember when that big of a drop in two days would be a huge news story.

    I remember way back when, a hundred years ago, when 500 points on the Dow was nearly 10% of the market….wait, that was 8 years ago, when Obama took office….

    Now it’s more like 2%, not good, but still a real drop. Hope it allows people to boo when he talks about the great market resulting from his good governance. Like anything he’s ever done has moved the market in a good way. That great tax bill and his stupidity about free trade (hating it, we hates it…) will destroy our economy.

  132. 132.

    joel hanes

    January 30, 2018 at 4:48 pm

    OT, but Jesus Christ on a crutch

    FEMA ending food and water aid to Puerto Rico
    https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/29/581511023/fema-to-end-food-and-water-aid-for-puerto-rico

  133. 133.

    Fair Economist

    January 30, 2018 at 4:52 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    They have been consistently weakened since the Nixon pardon. Then GHWB pardoning everyone in sight over Iran Contra.

    I think Iran-Contra is the key. It was a horrific scandal – direct violation of an old respected law to aid an enemy (Iran), help butcher innocents in Central America, *and* set off a disastrous drug epidemic in the states. Yet the Republicans got away with it, through manipulation of the legal process (immunizing North), accepting Reagan’s “I don’t remember”, and GWHB’s mad pardon pen. And, the likely ringleader, GHWB himself, is a more-or-less respected elder statesman (yes, I know about the recent “cop-a-feel” revelations, but you all know what I mean).

  134. 134.

    trollhattan

    January 30, 2018 at 4:56 pm

    @Fair Economist:
    Yeah, VP and former CIA-chief GHWB knew nothing, nothing about the goings-on in the White House. Reagan sure scampered away happy and dumb, and that’s evidently how we like it. No Ken Starr treatment until we had a Dem in office.

  135. 135.

    ruemara

    January 30, 2018 at 4:57 pm

    @joel hanes: Genocide by neglect. See also, Flint Michigan.

  136. 136.

    Spanky

    January 30, 2018 at 4:59 pm

    Well here’s a handy guide I just found at the WaPo:

    Mueller won’t indict Trump. But here’s what he can do.

    ( By Eric Columbus January 30 at 3:00 PM Follow @EricColumbus
    Eric Columbus served as senior counsel to the deputy attorney general in the Department of Justice and as special counsel to the general counsel in the Department of Homeland Security during the Obama administration.)

    It lays out how the laws changed post-Ken Starr, not necessarily to our advantage.

  137. 137.

    J R in WV

    January 30, 2018 at 5:05 pm

    @eric:

    “Criminal folks: can Mueller prosecute the claims he finds or just make a report?”

    He’s already got two convictions/guilty pleas and two indictments due to come to trial in the near future. Those two guys are wearing a GPS bracelet under home confinement. He’s got a Grand Jury hearing evidence and handing up indictments when requested. So, YES he can prosecute everyone he discovers to be guilty of a crime. Possibly excepting the mastermind idiot, Trump.

  138. 138.

    Betty Cracker

    January 30, 2018 at 5:07 pm

    @Ruckus: It wasn’t just Trump campaign stickers, though there were several of those. She had really obnoxious stickers like, “Proud Deplorable!” and “He Is Your President! Get Over it!” and “Build The Wall!” and “America Is Back,” etc. Still, it’s not like me to do something like that. I’m actually pretty mild mannered in person!

  139. 139.

    Bex

    January 30, 2018 at 5:07 pm

    @Jager: Read Harris’s new book, “Munich.” Excellent and scary.

  140. 140.

    opiejeanne

    January 30, 2018 at 5:26 pm

    @Betty Cracker: I’ve gotten to spewing vitriol and profanity at such a volume that my husband is beginning to think I’ve had a stroke.

  141. 141.

    J R in WV

    January 30, 2018 at 5:34 pm

    @gene108:

    Actually, now the situation is such that I suspect the Kompromat the Russians have on Trump won’t do them any good. None of the Republicans care what crimes and treason that rat bastard has committed. What good is kompromat in that situation???

  142. 142.

    J R in WV

    January 30, 2018 at 5:45 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    Driving down the road in my Pink Cadillac, my Pink Cadillac….

    Never pictured you in a Caddy, always imagined a truck or SUV in the FL vack country. But now that I think about the FL back country, sure, Cadillac makes sense too.

  143. 143.

    J R in WV

    January 30, 2018 at 5:48 pm

    @opiejeanne:

    Me too, but my wife just asks “What is it now?” because she knows what’s going on.

  144. 144.

    Corner Stone

    January 30, 2018 at 6:02 pm

    @opiejeanne:

    I’ve gotten to spewing vitriol and profanity at such a volume that my husband is beginning to think I’ve had a stroke.

    Is he ok with you referring to him as “toaster”?

  145. 145.

    different-church-lady

    January 30, 2018 at 6:48 pm

    @Jerry: I am going to do everything in my meager internet powers to make this a well-known law, and the rest of you should too.

  146. 146.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    January 30, 2018 at 7:11 pm

    How did Jerry Hall go from Mick Jagger to Rupert Murdoch?! Talk about traveling downmarket.

  147. 147.

    afanasia

    January 30, 2018 at 11:04 pm

    @LAO: unless I’m confusing him with someone else, he also left a big money legal firm at least once to work as a line prosecutor in, I think, DC. He likes being a prosecutor. He gets bored. He seems like an interesting man. Sorry I don’t have the link – don’t have the time to find it now

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