I wouldn’t mind having some of this Mueller iconography for my backyard bar, particularly the candles:
I don’t see it so much among the bitter cynics at this here blog, but Mueller’s legend as the Patron Saint of Justice who is poised to smite TrumpCo has reached epic proportions in some quarters. I wish they’d manage their expectations better.
Mueller seems like a straight shooter, but we should remember the man is a Republican. Anyone who remained a Republican through the Bush II and then Obama years is morally suspect in my book until they prove otherwise.
Even if Mr. Mueller possesses a store of integrity that is vanishingly rare among modern Republicans, it’s possible that his investigation will come to naught, either because there isn’t enough direct evidence to nail Trump and his current associates or because Trump’s toadies in the DOJ and congress manage to suppress the report.
I’m not trying to be Debbie Downer here. Mueller’s investigation has already uncovered a storehouse of malfeasance and corruption that would mire any predecessor’s administration in scandal until the day it was turned out of office by angry voters. It says something about the lunacy abroad in the land that Trump can show his face in public anywhere without being pelted by rotting produce.
Maybe the indictments issued so far are just the beginning. Maybe the report alluded to in the news last night will provide impeachment fodder for a Democratic majority congress. I fervently hope Mueller is allowed to continue his work, and I hope he brings the whole astoundingly corrupt pack of grift-mavens down. This is just a reminder that we shouldn’t count on it.
Open thread!
PS: My phone is blowing up with alerts about Roger Stone claiming he “dined with Julian Assange” right before Wikileaks started publishing the DNC emails. Haven’t we known that for a while now? Maybe Mueller can figure out why Stone had advance knowledge about Al Franken’s troubles. If Trump-Russia explodes the myth of Roger Stone, that alone would rid the American body politic of its most prolific and loathsome political tick.
Lilly von Schtupp
I remember Fitzmas. ?
Mike in DC
I don’t think Mueller’s a holy paladin of justice. I just think this thing stinks so bad any reasonable person would want to clean it up and bring charges wherever they could.
hueyplong
1. We knew about Stone’s dinner but this is Stone admitting it.
2. F anyone who posts a taunt about Fitzmas.
Skepticat
I really agree that we may be wishing for too much and ignoring reality … which still does exist someplace in the world, I hope.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I’m in the camp of “Meuller’s great, but none of it matters if we don’t take the House”. Even if trump does fire Meuller, Chairman Adam Schiff, backed up by Speaker Pelosi, can do all kinds of things to fuck up trump. Ranking Member Schiff can go on Rachel Maddow and fume righteously about Paul Ryan helping Nunes (or whoever) burying the report.
There are outliers like Schneiderman indicting Jared, and maybe event Ivanka and Junior over that SoHo project that wasn’t in SoHo, or Putin deciding it serves his interest to humiliate trump, but The House elections are the main event.
oatler.
Lighting candles for a Republican saint? Nah gahn do it, wouldn’t be prudent…
Betty Cracker
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
QFT.
Major Major Major Major
Mueller’s actions, and all the possible reactions to them, should—whatever else they inspire in us—motivate us even further to make November the biggest #BlueWave possible.
Villago Delenda Est
The MAGAts are all celebrating, they think Donald is off the hook by being named as a “subject”, not a “target”.
Clueless fucking morons, just like Donald. As Mueller is able to prove more and more, your status as part of the investigation can change.
Jeffro
1) Obstruction report out by June/July (per TPM)…that should simmer nicely all summer, eh? Hmm, I wonder what the effect on the midterms will be?
2) Huge numbers of indictments dropped (all at once? or along the way, in bunches?) all around Trumpov…all geared towards going after those who can be straight-up indicted (no worries about needing impeachment proceedings)…adds to the perception that this is an organized criminal enterprise (hint hint). It should also produce many additional examples of obstruction. It’ll also raise the burning question: how could so many people around Trumpov be guilty of conspiracy with a hostile foreign power and/or money laundering, and he himself be innocent?
3) And then Mueller swings the RICO hammer…
T S
No kidding. Agree totally. But although the usual suspects around here aren’t into the delusional faith in Mueller we see in fake twitter prophet circles, some are still too optimistic that there are even serious crimes to uncover that were committed by Trump himself The impeachable facts may all already be known. Lack of ethics, non illegal collusion. These knowns should end his Presidency. We shouldnt need more in a sane world. Probably not getting much more than that.
schrodingers_cat
Let Mueller do his job, let us do our job of voting more Ds to Congress and work towards taking back the House and Senate.
rk
I’m not too impressed with Muller. Look at his record with the Anthrax attacks in 2001. The FBI named the wrong man as “person of interest”, then harassed him for months, subsequently got sued and he won a five million dollar settlement from the government. The second person named as the perpetrator killed himself and some of the evidence was very dubious. Muller was in charge of the whole fiasco. I’m sure he’s good, but he may just come up empty.
TenguPhule
I remember when John Cole was a rabid Bush II partisan.
Rational Republicans are a dying breed.
Let’s hope they haven’t gone entirely extinct.
eclare
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Abso-fucking-lutely, gotta take the House.
scav
The age of the extravagent gesture, aimed for personal broadcast, it is certainly a confusing one, especially when twinned with snark and both amateur and professional trolling or disinformtion. Objects in the mirror may be utterly unlike what they appear to be.
TenguPhule
@rk:
Look at Balloon Juice in 2002.
Chyron HR
@Villago Delenda Est:
CHALMERS: The President is “off the hook”?
SKINNER: Yes!
CHALMERS: In the “witch hunt”?
SKINNER: Yes.
CHALMERS: Yes. And you call it a witch hunt even though the Special Counsel is a Republican who was appointed by another Republican who was appointed by Trump?
SKINNER: Yeah… You know, the… One thing I should… Excuse me for one second.
CHALMERS: Of course.
(beat)
SKINNER: Ah, a wonderful discussion! America has been made great again already! I’m pooped!
CHALMERS: Yes, I should be–GOOD LORD WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE OVAL OFFICE?
SKINNER: …Stable genius?
LAO
@Villago Delenda Est: You know what I call a “target”? A former “subject”.
For those interested, popehat at popehat.com has a great explainer.
TenguPhule
That’s my job here, apparently.
China just invoked soybeans, corn & aircraft in the Trade War.
Boeing and US farmers about to have a world of hurt coming.
rk
@TenguPhule:
If I’d had to pin my hopes on Balloon juice taking down Trump, I’d fall into despair!
T S
@Chyron HR: Dialogues are actually that bad. “Logic.”
Brachiator
Yeah, I guess this is true for some people.
I’ve just been reading about the investigation now and then, and simply watching to see where it might lead.
JPL
Rosenstein can sit on the report, and since he hasn’t been fired, I assume that is what the plan is. I’m in the same camp as Betty.
Major Major Major Major
@Chyron HR: are we still doing steamed hams?
hueyplong
Mueller seems to haunt Trump. That’ll do for now.
MisterForkbeard
@Betty Cracker: The fucked up thing is how much the deck is stacked in the House. What was that last study – it said Democrats have to win something like 56-44 nationally in order got get 50.1% representation in the House?
That’s really, really hard. We’re all on board for it, but it’s entirely possibly we end up with historic democratic gains that can’t quite reach the threshold needed. And then where are we? The media will probably claim (much like the did the last couple of times) that this means the country REALLY prefers Republicans in charge and pretend more people voted for them. I don’t know what we do at that point.
Betty Cracker
@T S:
Well named. I not only unfollowed a slew of those, I muted them to stop them showing up as retweets in my timeline.
Betty Cracker
@MisterForkbeard: I don’t even want to think about that possibility. I believe we will win and will do everything I can to make sure we do. I’m glad folks aren’t complacent about it. It’s going to take a huge push.
Major Major Major Major
@MisterForkbeard:
What we should’ve done in 2009–ignore them.
Brachiator
@TenguPhule:
But Trump assured us that there is no trade war, just the foolish mistakes of the past, which he will mightily redress. Somehow. Maybe. Or just shift the blame to someone else.
Chyron HR
@Major Major Major Major:
“You know, Seymour, this blog post is quite similar to the Steamed Hams scene from the Simpsons.”
Just the Facts
Remember, the GOP Congress will do NOTHING to impeach Trump. Mueller could have video of Trump raping an infant, and Paul Ryan & Co. would be “concerned” about all infant-rapists being unfairly painted with the same broad Fisher-Price brush.
It’s up to us in 2018 and 2020–at the ballot box.
Mnemosyne
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I’m in the same camp. If we don’t take the House, it won’t matter what Mueller uncovers, because the Republicans will pay no penalty at all for it.
Major Major Major Major
@Chyron HR: “Steamed Hams” reaches its zenith with Jeff Goldblum as Principal Skinner
Chyron HR
@Major Major Major Major:
Do memes have a “zenith” or “nadir”?
Lalophobia
Double-think is a powerful thing. I keep tabs on it all because it’s fascinating and, I firmly believe no matter how it turns out, will end up being historic in scope. These people are as far from competent in everything they do as I would be on a nuclear submarine, which means a severe lack of track and ass covering.
And whatever else you want to say about him, to Mueller’s credit, he seems to be taking to heart that old adage about how when you come at the king you’d best not miss. We’ll have to see if he does or he doesn’t. In the meantime, we vote.
Major Major Major Major
@Chyron HR:
When Jeff Goldblum is involved.
The Midnight Lurker
Don’t meet with Mueller, Donnie! It’s a trap!!
Adam L Silverman
Ooopsie!
Chris Cillizza, Maggie Haberman, Andrea Mitchell, and LTG Flynn were unavailable for comment.
Cermet
I never even thought that Mueller could touch the orange fart cloud – only congress can and that can’t happen no matter how the mid-terms turn out. The only thing I hoped for was Mueller will provide enough proof by 2020 to really ignite the dem base and depress the thugs. Otherwise, the fart cloud is completely safe via the constitution.
Mnemosyne
Since I know some people are using the recent broadcast of “Jesus Christ Superstar” as their chosen form of escapism, Vulture has a funny ”highs and lows” article that I think covers it.
(Short version: they’re fans, but they recognize the few imperfections.)
ruemara
Weird. I posted something, but it went away.
Adam L Silverman
@Villago Delenda Est: Correct. Mueller has multiple lanes of investigation going on. The obstruction of justice lane is just one of them. The really big one, and the one that is at the heart of the entire mess, is the Russian cyberwar/cyber crime in support of Russian active measures investigation. When he starts bringing indictments in this lane things will really be heating up. It will show just what the conspiracy was and who was involved with it – Americans, Russians, etc. The next biggest one is into the financial crimes his team has uncovered as a result of the cyber war/cyber crime and active measures investigation. That will also be significant. The obstruction of justice investigation, while important, is actually not the main event.
It is important to remember that Leonig’s and Costa’s investigation was full of spin and hearsay. Until/unless we actually hear from Mueller’s spokesperson, there is no way to know just what is going on with the obstruction of justice portions of the Special Counsel’s investigations. And Leonig and Costa have at least one detail wrong. Mueller is not investigating collusion, he is investigation conspiracy against the United States.
Gin & Tonic
@Adam L Silverman: Less here than meets the eye, IMO. DMARC is not a panacea.
TenguPhule
@MisterForkbeard:
It would be uncivil to mention it.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman: But her emails!
Adam L Silverman
@LAO: As opposed to popehat at something else.com?
TenguPhule
@Mnemosyne:
Pretty sure American government falls apart at that point and all hell breaks loose.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: I’m not sure invoke is the word you want here.
TenguPhule
@Cermet:
Not true. It just has never been tested yet.
Mnemosyne
@Gin & Tonic:
Not the point. There was also less than met the eye when it came to Hillary’s emails, but that didn’t stop the MSM from inflating it into a “scandal” that prevented her from being elected.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman: When it comes to tariffs, your tomato is my potato.
LAO
@Adam L Silverman: Aren’t you sassy today.
Adam L Silverman
@MisterForkbeard: The Brennan Center report indicated they needed an 11 point or better swing. The average swing in the special elections over the past year, even those the Democrats have lost, has been 13 points.
Adam L Silverman
@LAO: Also bright eyed and bushy tailed.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule:
Major Major Major Major
@Adam L Silverman: lol, “meat of swine”
@Adam L Silverman: 11-point swing or margin?
Villago Delenda Est
@Cermet: There is a school of thought that a sitting President can be indicted on criminal charges. This school was very active in the late 90’s.
Mnemosyne
@Adam L Silverman:
As we know, Trump’s ambassadors have been endearing themselves to the native populations all over the world, so I wouldn’t be surprised at all.
ETA: And when I say “native populations,” I’m including places like the Netherlands. ??
Yutsano
@Adam L Silverman: @Major Major Major Major: I also wonder how much of this is based on old historical records that could predict these elections. It looks to me like what’s happening is way different than anything that has happened in the past. I wonder if all these predictors are just trying to keep up their relevance. Or their Republican bias by saying it’s just SO HARD!!!
Matt
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I don’t get it. If the GOP gives so little of a fuck about laws that they’ll never impeach, why would they consent to even *seat* a Congress where they had lost the majority? Who precisely would stop them at that point? If that’s where we are, the rule of law has already died and we’re just ignoring it until the corpse starts to smell.
Waldo
Let’s not forget that for Mueller, this sh*t is personal. To whatever degree Putin is controlling Trump, he’s also controlling the DOJ and the FBI. In other words, everyone at the DOJ now has a former KGB officer for a boss. No amount of party loyalty is going to make that arrangement palatable to a former federal prosecutor and FBI director.
That’s what I’m counting on anyway.
TenguPhule
@Matt:
This is the part where the old men with onions on their belt come out to yell at you.
HeleninEire
@Lilly von Schtupp: This.
TenguPhule
@Waldo:
Also, Trump excels at making people hate him.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman: Interesting that they export more plane parts then beef in terms of value.
Adam L Silverman
@Major Major Major Major: I believe it was margin.
tobie
My sense from all the talk yesterday regarding reports is that Mueller is of the opinion that sitting Presidents cannot be indicted, only impeached. That’s the Justice Dept position and I imagine he and Rosenstein won’t challenge it.
Adam L Silverman
@Yutsano: I don’t think that’s it. My understanding is that the Brennan Center report very clearly looked at the effects of the redistricting after the 2010 census and how that has made it very, very difficult for the Democrats to flip the House. I think it also drilled down into the various voter disenfranchisement and suppression efforts as well.
I do agree that there is something happening that is not yet widely registering. And even if it was, I’m not sure the vast majority of election specialists would have an explanatory theory to make sense of it.
Brachiator
@Matt:
This would be interesting, I guess. By what authority could the old Congress refuse to seat a duly elected new Congress?
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: I’ll have a slice of cabin, from the emergency exit area, medium rare please.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman: I’m afraid we can only offer you offal of swine without the livers.
Adam L Silverman
@Brachiator: None. There is no authority to do so.
Yutsano
@Adam L Silverman: After the Pennsylvania redistricting decision and the massive blue success in elections after Ossoff, there is definitely something in the wind. A bunch of minds are experiencing either buyer’s remorse or being shaken from apathy because something is going way wrong. I can’t even exactly give a prediction on what’s going to happen here.
Plus the marginal district gerrymanders are where the Democrats really need to be working right now. Seems like anything less than R+6 is a real possible pick-up.
danielx
A boil on the neck of the body politic.
schrodingers_cat
@Yutsano: These nationwide statistics are not particularly useful, we need to fight this seat by seat.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: That is definitely not kosher for Passover!
MomSense
Everyone make sure you are in fighting form by the end of the summer. The three months leading up to the November election are going to require stamina. Whatever helps you feel centered, do it. Meditation, prayer, exercise, yoga, walks, painting, crafts, fixing cars, boxing, playing music, hanging out with friends pet and human, and anything else you can think of.
I’m anticipating the active measures will he dialed up, the media will be insufferable, the ads will be horrendous, and the work will be daunting. Plus we will be feeling so much anxiety because the stakes will be so high.
Leto
@tobie: From the popehat article about this:
https://www.popehat.com/2018/04/04/what-it-means-that-trump-is-only-a-subject/
Waratah
@tobie: I have not seen This is coming from Mueller.
I have not seen anything come from Mueller, and they do not leak. republicans are good at making it looks like it comes from Mueller
trollhattan
@Chyron HR:
“Not a dime’s worth of difference.”
Adam L Silverman
@Leto: Stay right where you are. Someone using a nym will be along in a moment to explain to you why a sitting president cannot be indicted, that this reality is how the Founders and Framers wanted it, which is why it is made explicitly clear in both the constitution and the Federalist Papers.
Narrator’s Voice: none of the above, other than someone using a nym coming along to explain, is actually empirically true and verifiable.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman: It was genetically engineered to not have feet, so you’re covered.
Mnemosyne
@Adam L Silverman:
It’s hard to come up with a theoretical framework for “people got pissed off and snapped.”
Millard Filmore
@Adam L Silverman:
I’m partial to window seat flank. Less chance of contamination by random pathogens.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
we were a Philco family
Roger Moore
@Matt:
Because the decision to impeach is one expressly granted to Congress by the Constitution. They have every legal right to look at whatever information Mueller sends them and decide it doesn’t rise to the level of an impeachable offense. They don’t have the same clear Constitutional right to ignore elections. So it’s entirely within the realm of possibility that they would be willing to ignore the President’s crimes but not ignore an election loss.
JPL
@MomSense: Good advice!
Leto
@Adam L Silverman: Speaking of the Federalist Papers, my former congress critter Mick Mulvany (/spit) used one of them to talk about the over reach of a tyrannical government in his opening report about the CFPB performance to Congress. And then proceeded to tell Congress to basically defund his agency. South Carolina seems to produce an excess of $hit-heels that make it to the federal level.
Lalophobia
@MomSense:
What if nothing you have ever done has ever made you feel centered?
…..Asking for a friend. *shifty eyes*
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@MisterForkbeard:
At that point, the Republicans need to be overthrown. By any means if necessary. No joke. Because if they can’t be voted out, then what other way is there to dislodge them?
jl
Mueller doesn’t have to be a saint to do some good. Maybe he is timing his plans for the release of the report on the obstruction aspect of his investigation to get Congress’ attention this summer. Mueller could be doing some passive aggressive BS and still do some good. Force the GOP Congress to do something to control an abysmally unfit and dangerous president, or face electoral catastrophe in November. Maybe Mueller, in his stalwart GOPism is deluded enough to think that the GOP Congress will be able to do much about either putting some limits on the damage Trump can do, or staving off electoral catastrophe for the GOP Congress. I don’t have any faith that GOP Congress is capable of doing much of anything other than stuffing money into rich donor corporations’ and individual donors’ pockets. Not sure they can even understand anything beyond that.
feebog
Mueller expects to be fired at some point. His preliminary report on Trumpov’s obstruction will not be made public. This is his insurance policy against being fired. The timeline is June or July and you can expect the shit to hit the fan shortly thereafter. Kushner and Donnie Jr. will be indicted and that is when Trumpov will go batshit insane and create his own version of the Saturday Night Massacre. I expect this to happen around the end of September, right in the middle of the mid-term campaigns. Buckle up, the ride, she is going to be bumpy..
jl
@feebog: Firing Mueller around end of September would mean mass protest demonstrations all over the country up to election day. Many of them will be huge and make a lot of news.
If the massacre is politically bloody enough, maybe a few lefty cities will get up some general strikes.
patroclus
I’m pretty skeptical that Mueller will end up nailing Trump as well. I view Trump as more incompetent than diabolical mastermind, so I think the likelihood that he organized the Russians into doing what they did to be unlikely. More likely to me is that he benefited from their actions but that he was only vaguely aware of the specifics. And while I think he definitely tried to obstruct justice, I’m not sure if it can really be proven. He clearly lies all the time though, so if he does it to Mueller’s team, perjury is on the table. But he hasn’t done it as yet. I think emoluments and bribery can be proven, but are unlikely to generate impeachment and certainly not removal.
As many have said, the real test is political – taking the House will change the dynamic. If Republicans had controlled Congress during the Nixon era, Watergate could probably been contained like Trump has been able to do so far.
El Caganer
@Brachiator: It would be by executive order from Sleazer Disgustus himself.
Mnemosyne
@MomSense:
… otter videos …
Yutsano
@patroclus:
Conspiracy by any other name…
Anyone involved in a conspiracy does not have to have knowledge of what the others are doing. They just have to be at least shown to be involved and either expect to or actually gain benefit. Dolt45 is in all of this up to his neck regardless of what he can actually testify to.
Brachiator
@El Caganer:
It would not be a legal order.
Let me make something up off the top of my head. If there were, say, credible evidence of some massive Russian interference which had affected Congressional elections, I think that the state legislatures would have to decide how to proceed. But this would have to be state by state.
But as I say, I am making stuff up. But I don’t see how the president could interfere or intervene. I don’t see that the sitting Congress would have any power either.
Anonymous At Work
@David Anderson:
What do you make of the Iowa “health care plan [wink wink]” strategy? I’m particularly interested in Medica’s response and Iowa’s extremely expensive single person.
burnspbesq
Trump asking Comey to go easy on Flynn was obstruction. Every element of the offense is there, neatly wrapped and with a bow on them.
Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.
MomSense
@Lalophobia:
Experiment and see what moves you.
MomSense
@Mnemosyne:
Awwwww!
Jeffro
@patroclus:
I know this sounds like a play on the old joke, but in this case…Russia organized him. (Ok, not even ‘organized’…just did the hacking and helped weaponize it, with Americans’ help)
This is what my RWNJ brother tries to tell me (no offense) – that Trumpov “happened to benefit”. Uh uh. His campaign – Don Jr, Jared, Flynn, Manafort, Page, Stone, most definitely knew what was going on.
His own words (multiple times) aren’t enough?
rikyrah
@MisterForkbeard:
We need 24 seats .
There are 50 GOPERS in Blue States.
We can do this.
Ruckus
I’d bet that most of us would like to believe that there are at least a few good, reasonable republicans left in this world, the concept that this might be possible is even necessary to believe that this country can survive this total onslaught of bullshit that is today’s republican party.
Jeffro
@rikyrah: Oh yeah we can!
Mnemosyne
@MomSense:
I am seriously considering a trip to Portland (OR) just to see Lincoln, Prince of Sea Pups, with my own two eyes. I lurve him so much. ?
TenguPhule
@Brachiator:
National Security invoked, martial law declared. Voting sites declared at imminent risk of unspecified threat in targeted states. Unauthorized civilians denied entry until further notice while federal officials try to determine when an all clear can be given at a later date.
jl
@TenguPhule: who is going in enforce it? Local sheriff and cops? No. National Guard? That will be up to individual state governors, who will be at the mercy of state, not national election rules and laws. If the Trumpsters try to pull stuff like an illegal emergency decree, we need to head out to stop it in a proactive and informed and optimistic way. Any attempt at illegal emergency decrees will have to go up against very stiff countervailing precedents for elections proceeding, no matter what, Civil War being just one example.
Yutsano
@TenguPhule: In case you haven’t noticed, this is a VERY big country. There are not enough Guardsmen nor police who could contain all of us. And “national security” can’t just be invoked on a whim. He’s still really behind on legal judgments.
Barbara
@MisterForkbeard: You can’t look at it globally. You have to look at it seat by seat. The net pick up number needed is 24. California, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Illinois have something like 48 Republican House reps combined. There are 26 House districts that voted for Hillary Clinton over Trump that have Republican representatives (many are of course in one of those 4 states). The Brennan Center or whoever put out a report that maximized the difficulty of current voter distribution for Democrats was trying to emphasize the unfairness of gerrymandering. Forget about that. Pick a district close to you that could be flipped and do your best. Here, for me, that’s Barbara Comstock. There are three South Florida districts that are held by Republicans that are ripe for being picked off, as is the district of Will Hurd along the Texas border with Mexico, and Martha McSally’s district, and yes, even that of Cathie McMorris Rodgers.
Adam L Silverman
@Mnemosyne: I have a framework for that. It is called rebellion.
Yutsano
@Barbara:
We were discussing this at the meet-up Saturday. If McMorris-Rodgers is in trouble, something BIG is up. She has three fairly large colleges in her district. It is entirely possible the kids are willing to start voting in their school counties as opposed to absentee* back home.
*I’m not sure how they treat absentee in an all-mail voting state, but there must be some kind of process.
feebog
@rikyrah:
“We need 24 seats.”
Nope. Conor Lamb’s win in PA brings the number down to 23. Take a look at the Cook Political Report ratings. There are a boatload of tossup and lean Republican seats in jeopardy at this point. Dems can get up to 40 with a 12 to 13 point margin.
Barbara
@Yutsano: I read earlier that Paul Ryan’s PAC set up an office in her district, which means her internal polling must be terrible at this point. It’s funny, she was supposed to be the next big thing for Republicans but she seems to have faded away.
SiubhanDuinne
@Mnemosyne:
Those WHISKERS!!!
Yutsano
@Barbara: This makes me really wonder. If she’s in trouble in the reddest part of the east of Washington, it’s possible the ENTIRE west side goes blue. And if that happens…Speaker Nancy Pelosi once more!
Jay
@TenguPhule:
What, no Putin’s Little Green Men allied with the Ammosexuals,
Jeasus Fucking Christ on a Cross.
Last night, Cumo sat down with the 8 IDC Dino’s at the Last Supper, and they all decided they are going to be Democrats again, and stop fucking up New York State and New York City, in alliance with the Republicans.
They are all getting primaried by real Democrats and are scared shitless of the Blue Wave.
Take the wins, do a victory lap amongst the flowers, come back and do it all over again.
Adam,
Btw, the study showed a needed lead of 10 points, to 22 points, based on November numbers.
358 listed 28 seats as “toss ups”, based on December numbers, that they were “giving” to the Republican’s based on the economy and the Stock Market.
Of course, in 3 months, that’s all changed, but 538 isn’t even gonna bother with November 2018 until summer.
LongHairedWeirdo
On reason Mueller is revered is likely that he’s all we have.
Look: we all know Trump is taking bribes (but the known bribes are indirect), self-dealing, likely conspiring with a foreign power, and probably corrupt in ways we haven’t even imagined yet. And the GOP isn’t even going through the motions of Congressional oversight; and the Courts are typically hands-off because oversight of the executive is generally the province of Congress.
Some people would say this makes the GOP hypocrites. To that, I’ll quote Biden: malarkey! They don’t have standards they preach, and fail to adhere to – they simply fling any mud (at least, you hope it’s unusually stinky mud…) to see what sticks. Their only standard is GOP Good, Democrats Bad, and they adhere to that perfectly.
It’s possible they’ll hold both chambers of Congress; I sure hope not, but it wouldn’t violate the laws of physics, so it’s possible. If they do that, Mueller is the only person even attempting to do anything – or, rather, he’s the only person who is trying to do something, that isn’t going to be blocked (if governmental) or too greedy/cowardly/etc. to care (the media).
Even the dimmest light of hope shines awfully bright in pitch darkness.
jl
@Yutsano: If CA OR and WA go solid blue, I expect Trump to try to invade, in order to put down the insurrection. We’ll be occupied just long enough for the Trumpsters to figure out ‘what the hell is going on’.
JoeyJoeJoe Junior Shabadoo
@feebog: With the redrawing though, Lamb’s seat has been replaced with a different SW PA seat that’s likely to go GOP again. Lamb is now in a district with a republican Congressman, so technically he has to defeat the other guy to make up for the Republicans gaining his current seat
Jay
@jl:
Him and what twitter?
So tell me again how many St.Petersbug trolls are selling doom and gloom and ammosexual “wolverine” fantasy’s here?
If the West Coast goes full blue, Treason Tribble will pick his nose some more, yell and glower, and order more cheeseburgers and diet coke, while he rage tweets at Peter Thiel.
jl
@Jay: some snark is so obvious I don’t think it needs to be labeled as such. I think there will be tremendous and effective push back from states if Trump tries any ‘national emergency’ tricks with the election, as indicated in my comment above. And that will be nothing at all compared to what he’ll get if he talks about any election results being illegitimate after the fact, let along try to do anything about it. Then it will be mass demo and general strike time, and many many state governments will be supportive of citizen action.
Mnemosyne
@jl:
To paraphrase Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca: “There are parts of Los Angeles that I would not advise you to try and invade.” We have a lot of people out here who love their guns without being fucking morons about it. Trump and his minions would be shocked to discover how many.
MomSense
@Mnemosyne:
Do it!!! And send photos to Alain so we get to enjoy.
jl
@Mnemosyne: Even Mississippi told the Trumpsters to go stuff it when his bogus election fraud commission tried to mess with the state’s election system. I think only the most foolish and corrupt GOP state governments would sit by and do nothing.
Jay
@jl:
Treason Tribble, is not going to declare a “National Emergency”, put down the video games and pick up some Constitutional Writings.
TenguPhule
@Yutsano:
Ohio, Florida.Swing districts. It can’t be done across the whole country, but as we’ve learned, you only need to fuck it up in a few key places to cause a cascade effect.
TenguPhule
@jl:
Not true.
Partial Mobilization.
In time of national emergency declared by the President for any unit or any member for not more than 24 consecutive months.
Use of Militia and Armed Forces to Enforce Federal Authority.
Whenever the President considers that unlawful obstructions, assemblages, or rebellion make it impracticable to enforce the laws of the United States in any state or territory, he may call into Federal service such of the militia of any state. This is another statutory exception to the PCA.
Interference with State and Federal law.
The President, by using the militia or the armed forces, or both, or by any other means, shall take such measures as he considers necessary to suppress, in a state, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy.
Or if Congress declares a state of emergency.
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@TenguPhule:
No one would believe them. It would be a blatant power grab.
J R in WV
@Lalophobia:
Actually, target practice gives me a very centered feeling. Careful attention to detail, calm approach, take a breath, gently squeeze, bullseye! Really. Been doing it for over 50 years now. Here I’m usually the only shooter, it’s really quiet countryside.
At a range it’s more difficult, others working at it all around you.
jl
@TenguPhule: Thanks for that info. But now I kick it back to you. What is federal authority over state-run elections, even in an national emergency?