I go back and forth about the Russia stuff. On the one hand, I think the Trump campaign’s behavior was genuinely treasonous from a moral perspective and that Trump’s behavior to stifle the investigation is mostly likely criminal from a legal perspective. On the other, none of it’s as important to me as the millions of people’s heath care, or whether 750,000 dreamers get to stay here, or the future of the American middle-class.
But I think we’re certainly headed towards a constitutional crisis. If it lasts til January 2019, it’s probably not the end of the world. If it lasts til January 2021, I think there starts to be real damage.
The Republican party will never hold Trump accountable no matter what he does. The sooner we can get Democrats into power, the better it is for everybody.
You can give here to the Balloon Juice fund that is split equally among all Democratic nominees in House districts currently held by Republicans.
You can give here to Swing Left, which is promoting grass roots action against Republicans in 70 swing districts.
Thanks everybody. And remember, our time will come.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
No, you’re right. Republicans will let this guy do whatever he wants. We need to take Congress. I don’t know what we’ll have left if we don’t. Shit. I thought Bush the Younger was bad…
Calouste
I can’t see how it won’t last until 2021. The shitgibbon had already shown that he doesn’t care if Congress passes something with 95% of the votes, why would he care if the Democrats win the House? I expect there will be a really long government shutdown, it’s what the Banana Republicans want.
Crashman
I know there’s still plenty of time till November but the Dems generic polling lead seems to be shrinking in a big way. Keep fighting but…ugh.
Omnes Omnibus
Paul Simon?
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
@Crashman:
Yeah, that’s going to happen. It’s going to go up and down. Manbaby gives a speech and doesn’t shit himself or set his dick on fire, and it’s going to go down. Then he does something awful and it goes back up again. There’s a long time until November, but overall, I’d sure as hell be in our seats and theirs. One thing we need to do is not flip out every time the generic ballot margin goes down a few points.
Doug R
ActBlue hung on me when I was trying to donate to Conor Lamb last week. I reloaded and now I notice two $25 charges on my visa statement. This better be worth it.
eemom
Paranoia strikes deep in the heartland. But I think it’s all overdone.
rikyrah
I appreciate you bringing forth the financial pleas
zhena gogolia
It’s not important to you that the person who should rightfully be in the White House, and who would not have done any of those things you’re worrying about, was kept out of there by Putin?
Doug R
@Crashman:
Lowest rating for a State of the uniom since CNN started asking the question in 1998.
They ask people if they are going to watch, then call back and ask their opinion. So it skews partisan, this one was R+7, he still only got a 48% approve.
??? Martin
This move against the FBI is feeling more and more like treason.
Doug R
You don’t mind Russia funneling cash to the Republicans via the NRA?
Doug!
@Doug R:
It is.
Doug!
@eemom:
The fears about a constitutional crisis?
Doug!
@Omnes Omnibus:
Yes
Amir Khalid
@Crashman:
Don’t worry too much about it. There will be plenty of new outrages this year to keep the public angry. I know it because a bunch of Republicans with the clock running out on their Congressional careers now have nothing to hold them back from perpetrating those outrages.
I like Paul Simon as a songwriter, even if he was never as generous a musical partner to Artie as he could have been.
Swannie
America is prospering and Democrats are pissed off.
Yutsano
@Crashman: Source?
zhena gogolia
@Swannie:
Idite v p–du.
Mike J
@Crashman:
marcopolo
It’s a depressing thought, but after the way events have played out this month (the total capitulation of elected Rs) I’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that Trump will be staying in office until the next presidential election. He is not getting impeached unless Ds have control of both houses and there is really no way for that to happen in the Senate in 2018.
So, as far as I am concerned, the important thing is to put our heads down, focus our energy, and work to elect as many Democrats as possible at all levels of government. I do think we will flip the House and accomplishing that should at least bring some Executive Branch oversight back. And while giving money is nice, it’s not something everyone can do so I offer another way to help:
Working with Postcards to Voters, my St. Louis Indivisible group wrote over 16,000 GOTV post cards in January for the four MO special house elections happening on Feb. 6th. Postcards to Voters is adding new special elections all the time, usually several per week. They currently have a campaign running for Conor Lamb in PA-18, though it appears all their other races have been completed which reflects the numbers of folks they currently have participating.
Check them out. It is easy peasy. You sign up, they send you a list of 5 addresses (no names), the message you need to put on the postcard (along with other candidate info in case you want to embellish), and you supply the postcards, the stamps, and the writing.
Suzanne
So I was offered a pretty good counter-offer today but I turned it down. ***stressful and I feel bad for being disappointing*** I am trying to get over this cultural programming but it is hard.
So I’m listening to beautiful music.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
Jeez, Putin really isn’t getting his money’s worth with these new trolls. Sad!
Doug R
@Swannie: Your рублей are waiting at the pay window.
zhena gogolia
@Doug R:
On poshel v p–du so svoim pizdiukom.
Suzanne
@marcopolo:
Yes. If not the election after that.
Taking up heavy drinking in 3, 2, 1…..
Omnes Omnibus
@zhena gogolia: Colloquialisms? Or did I break Google Trans?
zhena gogolia
@Omnes Omnibus:
Pretty raw colloquialisms. Using one of Trump’s favorite words.
Gin & Tonic
@Omnes Omnibus: The former.
zhena gogolia
@Omnes Omnibus:
I know Corner Stone doesn’t like it, but I swear when you answer these trolls in Russian they disappear.
Crashman06
@Yutsano: Five Thirty Eight was tweeting about it earlier and Monmouth has a new generic congressional poll
showing the Dem lead down to 6%, which won’t be enough to take the House. But as others have said up thread, it’ll go up and down and there’s still lots of time.
marcopolo
@Suzanne: Well, I did present an alternative (or if you’d like complimentary–though I don’t know how boozy GOTV postcards would go over) activity to occupy your time that might be slightly more productive and healthier for your liver.
Doug R
I tried the top suggestion: Он пошел в п–ду со своим пиздюком.
Gin & Tonic
@Suzanne: Don’t feel bad. Ask why you had to quit to get that kind of offer, and move on.
Another Scott
Done and done.
The wind is still at our backs, Donnie is still horribly unpopular, the courts are still willing to uphold the law and norms even if Donnie and the Teabagger Congress won’t.
Don’t get discouraged. Remember all the pain and hardship our grandparents and parents went through to leave this country for us. Working to win elections is a cakewalk compared to what they went through.
Let’s get it done by fighting these horrible monsters every single day.
Cheers,
Scott.
Doug R
Recognizes cats in Cyrillic now?
rikyrah
For 2018, Democrats need to pay special attention to Florida
1. We should support any effort to register those new residents of Florida from Puerto Rico
2. We need to support the referendum on the ballot to restore voting rights of ex-felons.
The former will help us in 2018.
The latter could put Florida in the BLUE column solidly from 2020 on.
MurAllen
We must be doing something right, the trolls are out in full force.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Omnes Omnibus
@zhena gogolia: If it works, I won’t complain. I’ll just be slightly confused at times. It’s okay; I am used to it.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Ohio Mom
@Suzanne: I missed a few threads, didn’t know you’d given your notice.
Does it ever really work when someone accepts a counter offer? The new place that was going to steal the person away is pissed and does the old place ever again really trust the almost-deserter?
Anyway, congrats!
Mike in NC
Trump was turned as a Kremlin asset way back in 1987. The entire family needs to go to prison for the rest of their sorry lives.
Gin & Tonic
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: I don’t get her. She’s 29, not independently wealthy AFAIK, and is going to have to spend a shitload of money on attorneys.
James E. Powell
@Amir Khalid: @Crashman:
The last time I was told not to worry was November 2016, so I’m more with @Crashman. I can’t help but worry. I’ve completely lost faith in everyone except hardcore Democratic voters.
marcopolo
And here is something just off the wires:
Adam Schiff
@RepAdamSchiff
So there’s a pretty crowded D primary to run against Nunes but can we all agree to do a fundraiser for whomever makes it through to the general election? He is such an @sshole Drumpf shitkisser.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
mainmata
At this point, there is little question that (probably Trump himself) and certainly Jr, Jared and a whole host of his campaign people were working with the Russians to screw the election. That’s straight up treason. We will also find out that Trump has long been a money launderer for the Russian mafia and Central Asian oligarchs. Trump will be convicted of multiple crimes but only after he is no longer “President”. If we survive.
Jager
Every time my congress person, Julia Brownley-D CA 26th, posts something on Facebook, the same three trolls show up in order, 1, 2, 3. I don’t know if they are bots or just cranky old SoCal trolls who spend their lives waiting for her to post something.
marcopolo
I ‘m off to bed soon, but will leave y’all with this good news (apologies if it has already been noted):
chris
@Gin & Tonic: Hicks is a true believer of some sort, has to be to stand that lot. I will not be at all surprised to hear that she has a discreet swastika tattoo.
Anne Laurie
@Gin & Tonic:
She went from a gated suburb in the Aryan-from-Darien CT suburbs, to an internship-turned-job as marketing assistant for Ivanka, to “personal assistant” to The Most Powerful Man in the World. Where the fvck was she gonna pick up enough outside-the-bubble information to realize that sludge rising up around their hips wasn’t chocolate pudding?
Amir Khalid
@James E. Powell:
Whatever the polls may say, whether Democrats worry about it or not, the only thing to do now is keep on keepin’ on.
danielx
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.):
He was bad, but he had enough wit to at least listen to other people with more expertise than him in a given policy area. Granted that it didn’t take much to exceed Dubya’s expertise, his response depended on with whom he surrounded himself. But even more – way more – than with Bush, personal loyalty to Trump himself and his policies counts more than expertise, particularly nonpartisan expertise. However…unlike Bush, Republicans, most especially Republican donors, are seeing their policy preferences being enacted in law beyond their wildest fantasies. Maybe another word there, Republican fantasies being something upon which I do not care to speculate.
The greater wit and wisdom of George W. Bush. Talk about phrases I never thought I’d be typing.
I am starting to think I have lived too long.
Mary G
this article by Ed Kilgore in MY Mag cheered me up: “Trump’s Job Approval Is Underwater in 18 States He Carried in 2016.”
and
@Suzanne: learning that you can say no and be a hardass negotiator is a tough one for women, but when you get their next counter offer for more money it will be sweet.
mai naem mobile
Despite everything – voter suppression,midterm election,gerrymand Erin – if the Dems can’t take the House back this year, they might as well fold up as a party and declare bankruptcy. If you can’t get your voters to come out and vote for you with everything Dolt45 and Congressional Republicons are doing, there is no hope.
Omnes Omnibus
@Anne Laurie: Greenwich. And is anything gated there? Too old to gate, I would think. But SMU? From Greenwich? Weird.
Omnes Omnibus
@mai naem mobile: Are you a Dem? if so, is there any chance of the using we? Let’s take ownership.
danielx
@Suzanne:
It is wonderful music, and you made the right decision. If you wanted to stay there….
What what?
@mai naem mobile: Delurking to say please see comment 54.
Gin & Tonic
@Omnes Omnibus: Greenwich might as well be gated.
Suzanne
@Ohio Mom:
Yeah, I know. And honestly, I don’t think my current team really is positioned to do the kind of work I want to do.
mai naem mobile
@Gin & Tonic: I read somewhere her parents have money. Not super rich but enough for some lawyers fees. She’ll get plenty of money from a book deal or FOX presenter.
Omnes Omnibus
@Gin & Tonic: I understand that. I lived in Newtown. Fairfield County is not a mystery to me.
B.B.A.
@Gin & Tonic: I grew up thinking Greenwich was an unattainably rich enclave, and I’m from Scarsdale for cripes sake.
dww44
@Calouste: He won’t care;but we will and we will have more power and influence. Eyes on the prize…next November!
Omnes Omnibus
@B.B.A.: You are probably thinking WASP/not-WASP rather than money.
mai naem mobile
I remember years ago, Forbes or Fortune had Greenwich was either the richest zip code or richest town in the country going by average household income. I was surprised since I would have expected it to be NY or California.
Mike J
@mai naem mobile: Fairfax, VA had it for a while.
Lyrebird
@Omnes Omnibus:
Plenty of homes have their own gates/fences. “Homes” meaning like “estates”… there are little apartments downtown and whatnot, but outside of there, big lovely properties. Few signs of life.
Anne Laurie
@Omnes Omnibus:
Speaking of gated communities… (IIRC; correct me if I’m wrong)
eemom
@Mike J:
I live here, and it makes no sense.
eemom
@Doug!:
No, just another song on the same album.
Jager
@Lyrebird:
A century ago I dated a woman from Greenwich, her parent’s home was the size of St Andrews golf club. The patio was the size of normal suburban house lot.