Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Republicans do not trust women.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Trump should be leading, not lying.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

This fight is for everything.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / What’s going on with Haley?

What’s going on with Haley?

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Breaking news from The Post:

President Trump said Tuesday that he will make an announcement in the Oval Office at 10: 30 a.m. about U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley amid reports that she is resigning.

Haley, the former Republican governor of South Carolina, was confirmed shortly after Trump’s inauguration last year.

“Big announcement with my friend Ambassador Nikki Haley in the Oval Office at 10:30am,” Trump said on Twitter.

We’ll soon see. Open thread.

Reader Interactions

170Comments

  1. 1.

    Corner Stone

    Setting up to be the interim Senator from SC when Lindsey gets the AG job. Then a run for President in 2024.

  2. 2.

    SFAW

    If Shitgibbon is talking about a big announcement, it seems unlikely she’d be resigning without going into some other Maladmin position.

  5. 5.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Corner Stone: @SiubhanDuinne: Makes sense, but this is not a good headline a week before the midterms and they could have done it after. OTOH trump’s tweet makes it look more like he was in on…. something.
    /shrugs/

  8. 8.

    Elizabelle

    Trump does not appoint South Carolina senators. Henry McMaster, the current governor, does.

    But like anyone ever breaks with Trump.

  11. 11.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Of course, the current SC governor — not Trump — would be the one to name a replacement Senator.

    You’re right about the timing, though. We’ll find out in a few minutes, I guess.

  13. 13.

    Elizabelle

    Maybe Pence is being replaced?

    You got all these angry women; put Haley in as VP. Look how good Republicans are about women’s rights and issues.

    He knows how the usual suspects will fall for the shiny object for a significant period of time.

  15. 15.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Elizabelle: IIRC McMaster’s a hardcore trumper, he’d be all in if this were some choreographed move. Just the timing is weird

  17. 17.

    lamh36

    the young man who’s mother started that stupid #HimToo hashtag started a twitter acct just so he could say his mama doesn’t know what she’s talking bout!

    The son featured in that mother’s original #HimToo tweet? This is the guy, and this is one of the best tweets ever. Good on you, Pieter.

    That was my Mom. Sometimes the people we love do things that hurt us without realizing it. Let’s turn this around. I respect and #BelieveWomen . I never have and never will support #HimToo . I’m a proud Navy vet, Cat Dad and Ally. Also, Twitter, your meme game is on point.

    https://twitter.com/thatwasmymom/status/1049518834972020737?s=21

    https://twitter.com/cmclymer/status/1049525866156498949?s=21

  18. 18.

    germy

    PEETUS seems to love the showbiz aspect of his job the most. The “Big Announcement!” the rallies, the big show last night with Bort Kavenaggghh, the merchandising. The actual work, not so much.

  19. 19.

    JGabriel

    SFAW:

    If Shitgibbon is talking about a big announcement, it seems unlikely she’d be resigning without going into some other Maladmin position.

    Exactly what I was thinking. Shit-shoe Spanky is most likely “promoting” her to another position in his cabinet.

    “Promoting” in quotes, because in the Trump malministration: The higher you go, the lower you sink.

  22. 22.

    germy

    @Elizabelle:

    Maybe Pence is being replaced?

    A more important job in the administration for Pence, or just shown the door? If he’s eased out into the wilderness, what happens to his dreams of being PEETUS (minus the pee)? I thought it was his destiny.

  23. 23.

    SFAW

    @JGabriel:

    The higher you go, the lower you sink.

    Not in the eyes of REAL Americans, i.e., the economically-anxious WWC, who are the only people that matter (to the MSM) in this country.

  24. 24.

    Corner Stone

    Am I the only person who sometimes thinks Paul Ryan has already left elected office? Dude ghosted all of DC it seems like.

  25. 25.

    Elizabelle

    10:30 am has come and gone. And I am not about to go online to see Trump’s bloviating.

    Keep me apprised. I hope it’s not she’s being elevated to VP, but can’t you just see it — look, we got us a woman, and a brown one too. Those libtards can’t even get Crooked Hillary over the finish line.

    Yeah, maybe we were a little rough about Kavanaugh. But now he have Nikki Haley to work for women. So it’s all good.

    Suck that, libtards. Hello there, press. Why yes, let’s talk in glowing terms about Nikki Haley and her independent spirit and moderation.

    Especially since Susan Collins is no longer suitable for that purpose. Lookie here — shiny object.

  28. 28.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Elizabelle:

    Maybe Pence is being replaced?

    I believe he is the one person in the Administration whom Trump can not fire.

    But I was thinking maybe Kelly out, Haley in as CoS?

  30. 30.

    The Dangerman

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    But I was thinking maybe Kelly out, Haley in as CoS?

    Wasn’t Haley supposedly Donald’s NY squeeze? Melania might have a problem with her being Chief of, um, his Staff.

  31. 31.

    germy

    PARIS — Viktoria Marinova, a 30-year-old Bulgarian journalist who recently had become the anchor of a talk show focused on investigative reporting, was raped and killed Saturday in a case that has sent shock waves through Europe.

    The motivation behind her killing remains unknown, and Bulgarian authorities say they have yet to establish a link between her death in the northeastern city of Ruse and her work as a journalist. But because Marinova is the third reporter to be killed in Europe in the past year, the news stoked anxieties about the safety of journalists on the continent.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/a-bulgarian-journalist-was-raped-and-murdered-in-a-case-that-has-shocked-europe/2018/10/08/7a4bed2a-cb08-11e8-ad0a-0e01efba3cc1_story.html?utm_term=.757574441d1c

  32. 32.

    SFAW

    @Corner Stone:

    I think there will be a cooling off period before Sessions gets the boot. May not be til after midterms.

    Maybe he saw a baseball game, and saw a non-Mets manager pull off a double switch, and barfed out “Hey! Good idea!”

    [NB: The Mets thing: Mickey Callaway, their current manager, seemed to have a difficult time grasping the concept of a double-switch, at least during the first three months of the season. Every other manager had no problem getting it.]

  34. 34.

    Corner Stone

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    But I was thinking maybe Kelly out, Haley in as CoS?

    I thought Haley was trying to keep some distance between her and outright Trump stink? If she goes CoS that myth gets harder to wash away later.

  37. 37.

    Kraux Pas

    @germy:

    A more important job in the administration for Pence, or just shown the door? If he’s eased out into the wilderness, what happens to his dreams of being PEETUS (minus the pee)? I thought it was his destiny.

    Maybe the Republican party needs a Vice President who is insulated from the Russia debacle. Still, no word of Pence resigning so this is just idle musing.

  39. 39.

    The Moar You Know

    Only thing you can absolutely, positively guarantee is that her replacement will be worse.

    @Gin & Tonic: I figure it will be John Bolton, it’s always been his dream job.

  40. 40.

    Elizabelle

    CNN: Clinton says Trump remarks at Kavanaugh swearing-in undermine Supreme Court

    actual headline on CNN front page: Hillary Clinton: Kavanaugh swearing in was like a political rally

    Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that President Donald Trump staged a “political rally” at Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s ceremonial swearing-in that “further undermined the image and integrity of the court.”

    “What was done last night in the White House was a political rally. It further undermined the image and integrity of the court,” Clinton, Trump’s Democratic 2016 election opponent, told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview.

    “And that troubles me greatly. It saddens me. Because our judicial system has been viewed as one of the main pillars of our constitutional government. So I don’t know how people are going to react to it. I think, given our divides, it will pretty much fall predictably between those who are for and those who are against,” Clinton said.

    “But the President’s been true to form,” she continued. “He has insulted, attacked, demeaned women throughout the campaign — really for many years leading up to the campaign. And he’s continued to do that inside the White House.”

    … Just days after Democrats lost their bitter fight to keep Kavanaugh off the high court, Clinton told Amanpour that her husband, former President Bill Clinton, thinks that “Democrats have to be tougher.”

    “Bill had to be incredibly strong — first to get elected, then to get re-elected and to survive. And it was not easy by any means, obviously. But he really believes that Democrats have to be tougher,” she said, adding that he also thinks the party will “have to stand up to the bullying and intimidation” from Republicans.

    Clinton told Amanpour that she thinks that in the future her husband will “have things to say about his own experience and how it applies here.”

    The former President has previously been vocal about his views on Trump’s presidency. In June, he said impeachment hearings would have begun if a Democratic president, instead of Trump, were in power and the Russia investigation was as far along as it was at that time. Clinton himself was impeached in 1998 by the House, but the Senate acquitted him, preventing his removal from office.

    The former secretary of state also told Amanpour that Democrats need to draw a hard line against Republicans.

    “You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about,” she said. “That’s why I believe, if we are fortunate enough to win back the House and or the Senate, that’s when civility can start again.”

    “But until then, the only thing Republicans seem to recognize is strength,” she said.

    They are about power, by any means necessary. Enough with the civility forced upon Democrats and not expected of Republicans.

    Especially when Trump and McConnell and all the GOP leaders are calling Democrats an out of control mob.

  41. 41.

    SiubhanDuinne

    NPR says:

    1. She told Trump six months ago
    2. She wants to take some “time off”
    3. She’ll stay at UN until end of this year
    4. He would like her to return to his administration some time in the future

    Something else is going on. He has never (as far as I recall) made a formal Oval Office announcement about any previous departures. A leak or a tweet or at most SHS in a presser.

  42. 42.

    Kraux Pas

    @The Dangerman:

    Kanye?

    Roseanne?

    Not sure whether it’s funny or sad that every celebrity I put up as an example of whom the Democrats could run for President who would be as insane a choice as Donald Trump, um, support Donald Trump.

  44. 44.

    brettvk

    Haley hasn’t been totally incompetent at the UN, so, given the Peter Principle made flesh in this administration, she must be either removed or moved to another position where her incompetence will fully flower.

  45. 45.

    JGabriel

    @SFAW:

    Not in the eyes of REAL Americans, i.e., the economically-anxious WWC, who are the only people that matter (to the MSM) in this country.

    I think of them as the FAKE Americans, and think of us as the REAL Americans.

  46. 46.

    SFAW

    @Elizabelle:

    Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that President Donald Trump staged a “political rally” at Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s ceremonial swearing-in that “further undermined the image and integrity of the court.”

    Lock her up!

  47. 47.

    Barbara

    TPM says she first discussed resigning last week. My guess is that she was asked to delay until after Supreme Court drama was finished. She has been the subject of some unflattering stories about the expenses associated with her residence in New York, though that seems to have been considered a bit unfair to blame on her (she moved into the same residence used by prior UN reps). There is apparently some talk of misuse of air travel and such, like Brock Long and so many others in Trump’s cabinet. Maybe she sees the writing on the wall with Russia. Who knows.

  49. 49.

    Gelfling 545

    Maybe she’s just sick of being humiliated among her peers at the UN. “Hey, Ambassador Haley! How’s your historically productive boss? Haw Haw Haw!”

  50. 50.

    SFAW

    @JGabriel:

    I think of them as the FAKE Americans, and think of us as the REAL Americans.

    Oh, you libtards, with your belief in “reality” and “truth.” How quaint.

  52. 52.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    OT but this man is crazy.

    The paid D.C. protesters are now ready to REALLY protest because they haven’t gotten their checks – in other words, they weren’t paid! Screamers in Congress, and outside, were far too obvious – less professional than anticipated by those paying (or not paying) the bills!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 9, 2018

  53. 53.

    Elizabelle

    So nothing’s going on? Trump was just pulling everyone’s chain; demonstrating how he can make them snap to?

  56. 56.

    Elizabelle

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I guess we just need to keep working for the midterms, and step back from the craziness.

    Trump and the GOP are going to get someone killed. And then call themselves the “victims.”

    PS: the other way to read that blurb about the WaPost Costa story: the GOP knows it is out of touch.

  57. 57.

    jonas

    I always thought Haley was burnishing her resume for a run in 2020 or 2024 as a non-insane Republican. So either she figures that that 1. that was never going to happen and the party will be Trump’s forever so fuck it, or 2. get out while the gettin’s good and start washing the stink off before she has to start shaking hands with lots of pig farmers in Iowa in 2019.

  59. 59.

    Corner Stone

    This presser is lasting for frickin’ ever. Sure am glad Trump has abso-fucking-lutely nothing else on his daily schedule so he can blather for an hour about a resignation and lie to reporters for a bit.

  61. 61.

    scav

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Well, he is both a purchaser of crowds and a not-bill-payer of long practice. . . he just can’t help seeing what he knows. See also don’t all men grab pussies and drunkenly-rape-attempt so what’s with the whining?

  62. 62.

    Schlemazel

    Pieter Hanson is the young man whose mom dragged him into #himtoo. Here is his tweet on the subject
    “Sometimes the people we love do things that hurt us without realizing it,” he wrote. “Let’s turn this around. I respect and #BelieveWomen. I never have and never will support #HimToo. I’m a proud Navy vet, Cat Dad and Ally.”

    I am suspecting it is not #metoo that is keeping him away from women. If that is the case his mother should be shamed for the rest of her life

  63. 63.

    Jeffro

    I think she is getting out before the blue tsunami hits, which would allow her time in the Trumpov administration can conveniently go down the collective American memory hole.

    She is the fake moderate that the both sides media and the never trumpers are looking for, after all

  64. 64.

    sherparick1

    @Elizabelle: First, remember that Trump is the culmination of the Conservative Movement of the last 50 years and its fantasies. And its about power of imposing his and the Movement’s fantasies on the rest of us. In their fantasies the Democrats are a combination of MS-13, the Crips and Bloods, and Militant Suffragettes screaming at them in elevators and trying to penetrate their bullet proof mansions in the Hamptons. https://nypost.com/2018/10/06/hamptons-millionaires-build-luxe-panic-rooms-to-hide-from-ms-13/ And the Fox News and other Murdoch Press outlets that they watch and read convinces them that this fantasy is reality. It is really scary that the business elite in this country has become so nutty.

  65. 65.

    SFAW

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    The paid D.C. protesters are now ready to REALLY protest because they haven’t gotten their checks – in other words, they weren’t paid! Screamers in Congress, and outside, were far too obvious – less professional than anticipated by those paying (or not paying) the bills!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 9, 2018

    Every accusation is a confession, motherfucker.

  66. 66.

    Uncle Cosmo

    “Nikki Haley was nominated for [the] position [of United States Ambassador to the United Nations] by President Donald Trump and was confirmed by the Senate.” (source)

    And there you have it. Time for Musical Chairs around the Trumpoline, to the tune of the Horst-Wessel Lied:

    Trump fires Sessions, appoints Haley as Attorney-General (already confirmed by the Senate so no hearings required)
    Haley fires Rosenstein & Muller, resigns after midterms
    Trump nominates Miz Linsday as Attorney General, who is confirmed on party-line vote in lame-duck session
    Haley appointed by SC-GOV to fill Miz Lindsay’s Senate seat

    Hell, maybe Twitler appoints Jeff Beauregard to the UN ambassadorship – he might be attracted by the opportunity to verbally abuse the entire planet’s worth of black, brown, yellow, Mooslim, female, nonheterosexual people from the bully’s pulpit at the UN…

  68. 68.

    The Moar You Know

    I am suspecting it is not #metoo that is keeping him away from women. If that is the case his mother should be shamed for the rest of her life

    @Schlemazel: I’m thinking today is “Um, Mom, uh, well, really don’t know how to say this – I gotta tell you something, OK?”

  69. 69.

    Barbara

    @Schlemazel: By this time tomorrow he should have more offers for one on one dates with women than any other man in America. I mean, who could resist someone who refers to himself as a cat dad.

  70. 70.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Couple of idle thoughts:

    1. It feels to me that there was very little coverage of Melania’s Africa tour apart from a couple of photos of her in Great White Hunter or Out of Africa costumes. Is she even back from the trip yet?

    2. Just learned that Hope Hicks is the new Executive VP and Chief Communications Officer at FOX. That would normally (“normally,” ha! I am funny!) be biggish news, but I hadn’t heard or seen a thing about it. Did we discuss it here and I simply missed it?

  71. 71.

    Schlemazel

    @Barbara:
    Lady foolish enough to have married me says she thinks he has a gf. I looked at his twitter timeline & my cis-based gaydar is pinging like mad. Don’t rely on my impression but if I am right his mom did him real dirt and it would only be sadder if she did it without knowing she was doing it.

  72. 72.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    gathering from twitter that this little farewell photo op is as bonkers as anything else from trump-world

    Josh Marshall @ joshtpm
    -Trump thanks Haley for making UN ambassador “a more glamorous position”.
    -CNN: Trump reportedly caught off guard by Haley’s resignation, despite claim she flagged it six months ago.

  73. 73.

    Betty Cracker

    @John Cole: Looks like it’ll hit well north and west of us. We’ll get some rain, wind and minor storm surge according to the local weather folks, but that’s it. Fingers crossed!

  74. 74.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @Corner Stone:
    You know, it’s not nice to talk about someone behind their back

    That is not why he does it. He vacillates between outrageously dumb positions that are indefensible to mentioning or asking questions that are transparent. You’ll also note the attempted pile on when he spots an unpopular opinion he can bandwagon against another commenter

    I know you were referring to me, based on the context of the thread. I say stupid shit sometimes when I’m upset and frustrated and I apologize for it. And when I see something somebody says I disagree with I say so. I don’t try to bandwagon anything. Don’t try to psychoanalyze me, CS. Whatever I said or did to you, I’m truly sorry but don’t pull shit like this. Don’t accuse me of being a troll.

    Oh, and I like to ask questions because I’m curious and value the people who post here.

  75. 75.

    waspuppet

    @Corner Stone: That makes pretty good sense.

    That said, whatever else she is (which is bad), she’s a woman and not a white nationalist. She was accumulating all the baggage of being a Trumpite and was never going to get the benefits.

    She was an odd pick in the first place — or, she was until you remember her appointment gave Henry McMaster, who was almost literally the first elected official to endorse Trump, the governor’s job.

  76. 76.

    FelonyGovt

    Sounds like Shitgibbon has a sad that he’s been out of the news front and center for the past few weeks due to the Kavanaugh circus. Now he’s back serving up word salad to a horrified nation.

  77. 77.

    Tenar Arha

    @Betty Cracker: FYI, re-post from last night for you.

    Here’s something good (plus bc I was out socializing I didn’t check the news or watch anything on what my beloved father used to call the boob tube/the idiot box).
    A Star Is Born Is the perfect tragic romance & emotional release we all need right now.

    ?? & double plus good. I’m serious. It was beyond all my expectations. And it so impressed my ace best friend she actually gave me permission to ID her sexuality & quote her; she said it was the first time in about 6 years that she cared about a heterosexual romance.

  80. 80.

    Corner Stone

    @waspuppet: I agree she was an unusual pick in the first place, but nothing about Trump’s cabinet made any sense so it was harder to see any further than just rewarding McMaster for being a nutjob Trumpite.
    I thought she had managed to stay away from most of the Trump crap but now reports are she was about to be seriously investigated for misuse of funds/planes/etc. So who knows if this may have been an escape clause to stop that investigation?

  84. 84.

    dmsilev

    During her resignation announcement speech, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley heaped praise upon President Donald Trump and his family members.

    “Jared is such a hidden genius that no one understands,” she said of the President’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. “I mean, to redo the NAFTA deal the way he did, what I have done working with him on the Middle East peace plan, it is so unbelievably well done.”

    Whatever Haley is getting, I hope it was worth exchanging every last remaining shred of her dignity. Actually, no I hope it wasn’t worth that.

  86. 86.

    NotMax

    @>SiubhanDuinne (#70 above)

    Revolving door.

    In her new role at Fox, she’ll report to Fox chief legal and policy officer Viet Dinh. She’ll also work closely with Fox’s incoming CEO and chairman Lachlan Murdoch — the eldest son of 21st Century Fox and News Corp’s founder Rupert Murdoch.

    The announcement comes just three months after top Fox News exec Bill Shine took a role at the White House as Trump’s assistant and deputy chief of staff for communications. Source

    Along with Hicks, announcement also made of former Biden chief of staff appointment at Fox. See here.

    Also too,

    There was a certain irony in the news that broke Oct. 8, that Hope Hicks will become executive vp and head of corporate communications for the new Fox once it’s untangled from the current Disney/Fox merger. In fact, ironies abounded, though they were probably lost on Hicks herself.

    For one thing, a major news organization’s chief spokesperson will now be the woman whose last job was defending the coiner of “Fake News.”

    For another, a woman who admitted telling “white lies,” when asked about her White House work by the House Intelligence Committee, will be Fox’s most prominent mouthpiece.

    For a third, a person who was sued by a handful of plaintiffs for violating their First Amendment rights (she was accused of helping block them from Donald Trump’s Twitter account) will be the spokesperson for a company whose existence depends on the First Amendment, even when it seems more like a Trump apologist than antagonist. Source

  88. 88.

    Citizen Alan

    @Barbara:

    Honestly, until I saw his picture, I’d assumed the guy was the father of a child who was going to a school whose mascot was the Wildcats or something.

  89. 89.

    Brachiator

    @germy:

    PEETUS seems to love the showbiz aspect of his job the most. The “Big Announcement!” the rallies, the big show last night with Bort Kavenaggghh, the merchandising.

    I recently heard some historian note this. Damn. I forget who. But he or she pointed out how game show/reality show Trump does things. He will tease out announcements (coming soon, I will tell you more after this brief break, you won’t believe how amazing this will be), all this show biz/grifter shtick designed to keep the viewer glued to Channel Trump.

  92. 92.

    The Moar You Know

    “Jared is such a hidden genius that no one understands,” she said of the President’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. “I mean, to redo the NAFTA deal the way he did, what I have done working with him on the Middle East peace plan, it is so unbelievably well done.”

    @dmsilev: Christ. First Lindsey’s turnaround from “principled opposition” to “which boot shall I lick first, your Excellency?” and then this load of shit? Mark my words. He’s got kompromat on every goddamn person working for him save Sessions.

    Sessions has Donnie’s kompromat. And he’s not going anywhere, not before the midterms, not after.

    So who is holding Sessions’ leash? Putin himself?

  93. 93.

    Barbara

    @Betty Cracker: I am supposed to fly to Tampa tomorrow night and American Airlines is still claiming that no Tampa flights will be affected. I assume they are trying to see how many people will cancel before they pull the trigger so they don’t have to give refunds. So annoying.

  94. 94.

    goblue72

    @Elizabelle: Vice President is a separate Constitutional office. The only way to remove the Vice President is via impeachment.

    That the President and Vice President run together on the same ticket is a mere (but quite longstanding) happenstance of political history. In the early days of the Republic, the Vice President was often a candidate for President and was the guy who came in second (in the case of John Addams and Thomas Jefferson) or originally was running for President but wasn’t even coming in #2 and agreed to back out to help the other guy become President (in the case of Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr).

    The VP is at the same time the most generally weakest and the most narrowly strongest of the Constitutional offices.

  96. 96.

    Barbara

    @Schlemazel: As a mom I definitely think that moms should stay out of their kids’ love lives unless specifically invited to express an opinion.

  97. 97.

    Brachiator

    @The Dangerman:

    Wasn’t Haley supposedly Donald’s NY squeeze?

    Trump is probably impotent. And although I don’t think much of Haley’s politics, I don’t think it fair to try to reduce her to being a Trump courtesan.

    I’m betting that her replacement will be someone that National Security Advisor Bolton recommends.

  98. 98.

    Kay

    @SFAW:

    She’s right. It was appalling. A whole room full of powerful people knighting one of their own. Kavanaugh cracked a joke about his failure to explain or justify his finances. Then he campaigned for a whole slate of GOP Senators.

    He singled out Rob Portman as one of his cronies, which is nice. Broadening the field. Portman is far Right but he keeps his head down so no one realizes how far Right. Once Kavanaugh follows orders and takes a wrecking ball to existing law we can use the campaign rally tape against him.

    Democrats think this is a good issue for them. I assume they have polling of their base. They’re all running on it.

    It won’t be the last time we see Justice Kavanaugh’s campaign rally. I wouldn’t just use it for metoo. It’s really gold on the plutocrat issue. They basically gathered to sneer at the public. Some of the better justices looked hugely uncomfortable.

  99. 99.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    I’ve been thinking about Rosenstein on AF 1 yesterday vs the fuss about Bill Clinton meeting with Lynch on her plane. As I recall, she recused herself from investigating HRC after that. Maybe Trump is trying to set up a situation where Rosenstein will be pressured to recuse himself.

  100. 100.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @NotMax:

    Thanks. Somehow missed it all — the announcement, the analysis — and only happened to see a passing reference in a different story on another blog.

  101. 101.

    Mnemosyne

    @Elizabelle:

    “But the President’s been true to form,” she continued.

    Are national Democrats picking this theme up from Beto? Because I like it.

  103. 103.

    Kay

    @SFAW:

    The most amusing part of the campaign rally to me was where Kavanaugh insisted (again) to be given credit for volunteering in schools.

    Millions of people volunteer in public schools every year. I think there are 4 volunteer sports or academic tutors on my block. Only Brett Kavanaugh believes this sacrifice he’s making is worthy of national acclaim and gratitude. He has such an exalted sense of himself. What’s pretty much normal undergoes a kind of grade inflation. He really thinks this is extraordinary.

  104. 104.

    trollhattan

    When first hearing about Haley I guessed she was sick of taking direction from Bolton once he joined the maladministration. I doubt Trump gives a rat’s ass about the UN, other than when they’re laughing at him (not with you, Donny) but Bolton hates them with a neocon’s purple passion.

    She is a grifter so something surfacing seems plausible, although a true Trumper denies everything and holds on to their Precious because it belongs to them, them, them.

  105. 105.

    Marcopolo

    Since this seems to be the live thread. It’s just one poll but here is your Kavanaugh bump:

    CNN poll: Democrats are fired up and maintain a strong 2018 lead

    Four weeks out from Election Day, Democrats remain well ahead of Republicans in a generic ballot matchup, with 54% of likely voters saying they support the Democrat in their district and 41% backing a Republican, according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

    This is the widest margin of support for Democrats in a midterm cycle since 2006, when at this point, the party held a whopping 21-point lead over Republicans among likely voters. That’s also when Democrats seized control of the House from Republicans, making Nancy Pelosi speaker until 2011.

    And since I am an effing politics nerd & do a daily 10 minute time sample of donations on ActBlue, I just witnessed the counter go up $300K ($30/min) in that time. I am sure that is a little bit of an anomaly but the highest previously I saw was end of quarter fundraising @ $18K/min. Make of it what you will, but I do think Ds are fired up.

  106. 106.

    Kay

    @Marcopolo:

    They’re telling us here they need 9 ahead to get the House, due to the GOP map-rigging. I insisted they tell me a number so I may have bullied them into making one up, but that is the number :)

  109. 109.

    Kay

    amy walter
    ‏Verified account
    @amyewalter
    4h4 hours ago
    More
    Trump’s ‘all base all the time’ strategy worked in ’16 in large part b/c there wasn’t equal energy on Dem side. And, independent voters were breaking evenly. In 2018, the math is different. Motivated Ds + indies (esp women) anti-Trump.

    Now we can all watch them rush to hedge their bets after predicting disaster for Democrats 48 hours ago. Donald Trump is so far inside their heads – they cannot resist him. Why rush to claim a political victory for him when they had no idea, and still don’t know?

  110. 110.

    p.a.

    @Marcopolo: They have to show up to vote, and have their t’s crossed and i’s dotted, and then some. And post-election, the fascists are laying the groundwork for delegitimizing any Dem victories.

  111. 111.

    Aleta

    Before hearing arguments on Tuesday, the (SC) justices turned aside appeals of a 2017 ruling authored by Kavanaugh on the lower court that struck down a 2015 environmental rule imposed under former President Barack Obama regulating a potent greenhouse gas linked to climate change.

    The appeals were brought by an environmental group and companies that supported the rule, which had limited hydrofluorocarbons used in a variety of products including spray cans and air conditioners.

    Reuters

  112. 112.

    Marcopolo

    @Kay: I’ve been telling my friends I think the Ds take the House but I don’t know if it is a 1 seat or 20 seat margin. That was prior to K which I do think activated some Rs (but also some more Ds). Since it is literally a decade’s worth of news cycles until Nov. 6th, aside from looking at fundamentals I don’t think any prediction is failsafe. On the positive side, the Democrats generally have outstanding candidates (and a few extraordinary ones–I really think Gillum, for example, might win us a couple extra house seats in FL), we are pretty much competing for every seat, and it looks like the vast majority of Democratic candidates will have a competitive level of cash.

    In the meantime, I’m telling everyone keep your head down & focus on getting folks to the polls.

  113. 113.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Best.
    Newspaper.
    Correction.
    EVER.

    From FTFNYT:

    Correction: October 9, 2018

    An earlier version of this article incorrectly described where Justice Sonia Sotomayor went to school. She attended Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx, not pubic high school.

    Wonder how the correction to the correction will read.

  115. 115.

    Eural Joiner

    Just my 2 cents (since we’re all guessing) – Lindsay is not posturing to be AG (a temporary, administration based position) he’s running to be Strom Thurmond – act crazy enough and the people of SC (where I live) are guaranteed to vote you in for the next forty years. He’s in a plum seat, a lucrative station with a great deal of real power and influence. Why jump that ship for the AG position which is much less influential?

  116. 116.

    Corner Stone

    @Kay:

    Why rush to claim a political victory for him when they had no idea, and still don’t know?

    They know it was a victory for Trump because they said it was. Just like it was Trump’s best week so far. And it was because as others have noted, not one single major Sunday Show even mentioned the NYTimes report on the Trump family tax fraud. They did on AMJoy, but none of the majors.

  119. 119.

    germy

    not one single major Sunday Show even mentioned the NYTimes report on the Trump family tax fraud.

    I wonder if the bosses at the sunday shows have their own issues with taxes. It seems to be a subject they don’t want discussed.

  120. 120.

    Elizabelle

    @Corner Stone:

    not one single major Sunday Show even mentioned the NYTimes report on the Trump family tax fraud. They did on AMJoy, but none of the majors.

    Yeah, what’s up with that? It’s like it never happened.

  122. 122.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Marcopolo: I think this “activation” / “enthusiasm” theory is poppycock insofar as it has anything to do with Kavanaugh in particular. There’s always some kind of nonsense that gets Republicans all fired up before an election. Remember breaking news about a woman exposed to ebola riding a bicycle?

  123. 123.

    Corner Stone

    @Marcopolo:

    I really think Gillum, for example, might win us a couple extra house seats in FL)

    Tell me my concerns have been noted, but I am starting to think Hurricane Michael may take people in FL minds off voting and give Scott a respite to do something “Executive” in the interim.

  124. 124.

    Kay

    @Marcopolo:

    I don’t know either. I will be pleased if people don’t fall for Kavanaugh’s bullshit though. I organized a canvass Sat and now it’s joining with another canvass and they’re sending us 30 miles east, which is bizarre, but does seem specific, right? Like they know something?

  125. 125.

    JWR

    @Kay:

    Now we can all watch them rush to hedge their bets after predicting disaster for Democrats 48 hours ago.

    It seemed to me that the NPR/Marist poll last week was the entire basis for this mythical K-bounce. (It was 4 solid days of K-bounce, horseracey BS.)

  126. 126.

    Aleta

    @Aleta: We’re not powerless: our recourse is to avoid and publicize those products, and to work for state representatives who commit to environmental regulation..

  127. 127.

    FlipYrWhig

    @JWR: I probably could find an answer to this on my own, but do you happen to know offhand if last week was also when pollsters started doing different likely-voter vs. registered-voter screens?

  128. 128.

    germy

    @Gin & Tonic:

    You won’t always get a response to everything you post. Move on. It’s just a stupid blog.

    I find solace in knowing that the army of commenters here who find my remarks uninteresting is dwarfed by the number of lurkers who find my remarks uninteresting.

  129. 129.

    Mnemosyne

    @Kay:

    I don’t even have kids and I do a volunteer program at a local public school. Can I haz Supreme Court seat now?

  130. 130.

    Marcopolo

    @Corner Stone: Guess we will see. First, Gillum & Scott are in different races. Second, Michael is supposed to rip straight through with no stopping on its way to a date with the Outer Banks so it sounds like any damage will be dealt quickly (and I do not mean to understate how bad quickly dealt damage can be–I hope everyone in the path is taking all precautions necessary). I do know Gillum has suspended his campaign. As Mayor of Tallahassee he also has a chance to do something as an executive. Anyways, I have been so so impressed by the way he takes issues & frames them I’ll be surprised if Michael winds up being a boost for Rs for any reason.

    In the meantime, Michael hitting the panhandle means a few extra days of voter registration for the entire state.

    Gotta run now, everyone have a lovely day!

  133. 133.

    Aleta

    Mnemosyne mentioned this last night: Heidi Heitkamp sent an email asking for volunteers to come to ND.

    (Email) Right now, what we need most is people power. This race will come down to the slimmest of margins, and what’s going to put us over the finish line is volunteers who are willing to knock doors and make phone calls to get out the vote.

    (Website) We need volunteers to stay through Election Day, especially in Grand Forks, Bismarck and Wahpeton.

    The signup form on her site asks “Do you need a place to stay?” and “When is the earliest you can come?”

    Perhaps there’s a way to donate travel expenses, for someone we know on the blog who might have the time and willingness but not the funds.

  134. 134.

    psycholinguist

    @germy: Fahrenthold and O’Connell in the Post picked up that string and traced it out a bit farther, focusing on what Trump did post sell-off of the family properties. He appears to have used the vast majority of the money to shore up his debt in existing properties, and then somehow ? found a whole lot of cash to go on a buying spree. The article seems to be written to establish that his 90s and 2000s spending wasn’t the proceeds of cashing in on his parents estate. Feels like this is the groundwork for a larger story to emerge, but I’ve thought that before as well.

  136. 136.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Kay:

    She’s right. It was appalling. A whole room full of powerful people knighting one of their own.

    I was horrified to see a photo with RBG there. Did all the other Justices attend? What could have possessed them (I’m talking, of course, about not only RBG but Breyer, Kagan, and Sotomayor)?

  138. 138.

    Gravenstone

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Well, expecting Trump to remember something that happened 6 hours ago, let alone 6 months ago is a stretch. Unless that something somehow tweaked his gigantic ego and corresponding sense of grievance. Then, good luck getting him to ever forget about it!

  139. 139.

    Kay

    @JWR:

    As I said I don’t know but why are they so vulnerable to Donald Trump’s bullshit? He lies constantly. I’m also suspicious of them as an industry because they have so many metoo problems themselves- my God, FOX is like a sewer of sexual harassment. They have a conflict of interest.

  144. 144.

    catclub

    @Timurid:

    Haley looked like she was in a hostage video.

    I think this is MUCH more likely than aiming to replace Lindsey Graham after Graham replaces Sessions as AG. If that were the case, she would not have to resign as UN ambassador.

  147. 147.

    Elizabelle

    New threads up.

    @Kay: I think we are going to be overwhelmed by the amount of corruption that is exposed. But sunlight is the best disinfectant.

    That and voting.

  148. 148.

    Kay

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I don’t know but I would guess they all went because they care about the court’s legitimacy. Most lawyers (and don’t yell at me lawyers! it’s true!) are conventional- they value order and rules. I’m fairly conventional so I include myself in this. It’s a really rigid system they’re in – it has boundaries. They value the institution and its legitimacy- IMO so much so that they sometimes don’t tell the truth about it. “Keeping up appearances” becomes more important than the substance of the thing. That’s what I want to talk about- whether “the institution” holds its value no matter the people who are in it. I don’t think it does. I think the quality of the thing is wholly dependent on the quality of the people in it.

    To me it’s like “this is delicious lemon-aide!” and you say “well, but it’s made of beets… and it’s not looking so yummy” and they keep saying “it’s lemon-aide! That’s what it says on the carton!”

  149. 149.

    Taobhan

    The word is that Wilford Brimley – er, John Bolton – was elbowing his way onto what Haley considered her turf. Maybe but who knows? I can hardly wait to see where Haley lands next to advance Orange Fartcloud’s agenda to destroy our democratic form of government and further impoverish the American people. I’m sure there’s a empty seat for her somewhere on the Wingnut Welfare bus if she can’t find a government job.

  150. 150.

    Kay

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Like “the senate”. If “the senate” is worse than it used to be the reason is most likely “the senators” – those people.

    We just saw this “institutions” thing fail, with Trump. They said “the institution of the presidency will make him better”. You can’t make lemon-aide out of beets. Instead we got beet juice.

  151. 151.

    Steve in the ATL

    @NotMax:

    In her new role at Fox, she’ll report to Fox chief legal and policy officer Viet Dinh. She’ll also work closely with Fox’s incoming CEO and chairman Lachlan Murdoch — the eldest son of 21st Century Fox and News Corp’s founder Rupert Murdoch.

    Well, this answers the question of whom she’s fucking now

  152. 152.

    Barbara

    @Steve in the ATL: Who, not whom. I don’t know if I agree with your assessment but I do think her entire job will be to receive phone calls from Trump in order to tell Fox News what issues and ideas it should be focusing on.

  154. 154.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mnemosyne:

    She did look miserable, as though she would have preferred to be in a dentist’s chair with Laurence Olivier wielding a drill.

    I have since seen (Pierce, I think) that all eight SCOTUS Justices attended. And a different photo from the one I saw earlier showed Roberts, Thomas, and Breyer. But why? How could the Liberal Four be compelled to attend? It really sickens me that they went along and apparently failed to stand up to whatever pressure may have been threatened.

  156. 156.

    J R in WV

    @Kay:

    I can’t imagine why the liberal justices felt any need to attend at all. You couldn’t induce me to have attended that without a shotgun pointed at me. Well, other guns, perhaps a Tazer, but you get my point.

    I suppose they had no way to really understand it was going to become a campaign rally before it happened. And otherwise, if that hadn’t happened, they may have felt bad about not “wellcoming” their new partner on the Supreme bench. But still, Trump, what chould you expect?

  158. 158.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Kay:

    I don’t know but I would guess they all went because they care about the court’s legitimacy. Most lawyers (and don’t yell at me lawyers! it’s true!) are conventional- they value order and rules.

    I agree, but one of the things — the main thing, in fact — about the Court’s legitimacy is its independence and distance from the other two branches of government. So having any of the Justices show up for this travesty of a sham of a clown show of a campaign rally completely undermines that independence. Sickening.

  160. 160.

    J R in WV

    @Mnemosyne:

    No one can require a Supreme Court Justice to do anything, even show up for work is merely a norm, not a requirement. I feel sure Justice Ginsburg was dismayed at the campaign rally feel of the event, and came to welcome “Justice” Kavanaugh to the bench they will share. Which would be a normal thing to have happen, were it not for Trump trumping all norms.

  161. 161.

    Kay

    @J R in WV:

    Well, they’re a team, colleagues, and lawyers sort of pride themselves on getting along with colleagues they hate :)

    Losing it and screaming ” you, SIR, are a fucking FRAUD” is frowned upon.

    It’s like..stoic. Self-sacrificing. That’s valued. You’re supposed to be able to fight and shake hands after. It helps if you’;re shallow and easily distracted, like me.

  164. 164.

    Aleta

    @Kay: “They said “the institution of the presidency will make him better”.”

    They also said, he’s inexperienced so he will be checked to prevent damage. (Compared to the wily woman with experience who’ll do much more damage.) Said my 19-20 year old friends in our discussion one evening, repeating what they’d read.

    I think about the way Trump accuses others of what he’s guilty of, and I remember:
    More than just a revealing personality glitch of his, this is how Republican operatives weakened news stories that would hurt them. They whipped up stories about the Clinton Foundation and about Clinton in kahoots with Wall Street and the banks. (+ The obvious presence of Jones, Willey, Broaddrick and ? at the Oct. debate.)

    Today Trump is still supported by people who admit they depend on help from undocumented people, but are making money in the stock market, tax reductions and, they expect, from deregulation.

    These stories about his support from upper class households and businesses are not reported much. They haven’t turned from him despite the destruction of norms and decency. I suspect it’s another reason that people in that class, incl. ones who had stories about Kavanaugh, stayed quiet about him. He is expected to be good for corporate business.

  168. 168.

    sgrAstar

    @Aleta:

    Perhaps there’s a way to donate travel expenses, for someone we know on the blog who might have the time and willingness but not the funds.

    Great idea, Aleta! I would love to support any Juicer who wanted to do this. ✊️

Comments are closed.