As we watch Trump soil himself on Twitter, up to and including suggesting that his impeachment would lead to civil war, I just can’t get over how badly he shot himself in the foot by releasing that call memorandum. He clearly caught his moron defenders flat-footed. Their latest defense is that the whistleblower’s information is secondhand, but even if that matters (which it doesn’t), the Trump Administration’s own transcript-like document validates what the whistleblower said. At this point, the main Ukraine-related impeachment charge doesn’t even require the whistleblower’s statement. That fact is so obvious even the beltway media gets it. (And, btw, my God is Kevin McCarthy a dumb fuck.)
The memo is probably a big part of the reason that the polls are swinging in favor of an impeachment inquiry.
There seems to be a little controversy brewing about whether the inquiry should be narrow and only focus on Ukraine, or wider and focus on the other wrongdoing, but that hardly seems to matter. Trump’s most recent tweets threatening the whistleblower’s sources show that he’s just going to keep fucking that chicken no matter what kind of inquiry Schiff and the other committees decide to undertake.
Update: I had missed this report that McConnell was pushing hard for Trump to release the call memo. Mitch fucked him good, looks like.
Daoud bin Daoud
I love schadenfreude and popcorn for breakfast!
chris
mapghimagsik
All this talk of civil war is depressing because while I hope that most of his followers have a shred of sanity and/or realize that a real war means all these lovely things we’ve gotten used to enjoying pretty much dry up. The loonies are going to loonie, though.
Daoud bin Daoud
@mapghimagsik: More people are going to die before the Malignant Mango Manbaby is driven from office.
Jeffro
I’ll be interested to see what his tweets read/sound like when the end approaches (ie, like in 72 hours or so from now)
Will it just be an unintelligible string of consonants, like some sort of Welsh record-holding place name?
Or will it just be “eeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!”, followed by a tweet from the US Marshals or something?
Rommie
Well, we know for sure now that Just Joking is IOKIYAR. Welming, I know. It certainly triggered someone, though, so I think it was worth it.
I’m pretty sure It’s Not A Crime is a play they’ll run into the ground next.
artem1s
So Dump has started the Kavanaugh Defense part of his deflection strategy. White guy screaming and crying in outrage until he gets what he wants will absolutely work on David Brooks. I guess we’ll have to see how the rest of The Village Idiots respond.
Jeffro
@mapghimagsik: The rest of the GOP better step up, or any innocent blood spilled over this jackass’s careless tweeting is on their heads.
– every Dem candidate, ever
– every media person in the galaxy
Let’s hear it, Dems and snooze media
artem1s
@Jeffro: maybe more like MeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEE!
MattF
This is the absolute gobsmacking, the WTF, the alternative-reality aspect of the current timeline. Textbook writers will be citing Trump’s cognitive dissonance, decompensation, and projection for generations to come.
smintheus
A measure of how bad Trump’s allies are floundering is the fact that the latest talking point involves threatening vaguely that if Democrats continue to investigate Trump’s crimes then DOJ hacks *could* turn up crimes committed by Democrats.
That plus the fact that they accidentally emailed their first, equally bad set of talking points to the Democrats in the House.
geg6
McCarthy made a total ass out of himself on 60 Minutes last night. It was freaking hilarious, the look on his face. He thought he’d caught the media in some sort of lie and was all triumphant for a minute or two and then Pelley read straight from the memo. He also was pretty astonished that Pelley hit him with spewing the mistakenly widely disseminated White House talking points that the WH hilariously thought House Dems would just give back and not mention in public. Like he couldn’t believe Pelley wasn’t buying his bullshit. These guys really have lived in a bubble for way too long.
Aleta
I have to think they know worse revelations are coming soon. Including more names.
rikyrah
Tell it ? ?
Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) Tweeted:
Dear white people journalists: it’s not only on people of color to call out that trash @cnn story that erases women of color and their leading role in impeachment.
You see what they did there. You know how they are. You have column inches. You have Medium accounts. SAY SOMETHING! twitter.com/ElieNYC/status/1178319121605447686?s=17
germy
@geg6: Even Chris Wallace pushed back against Stephen Miller on Fox. He really made Miller work to get his talking points out.
Speaking of talking points, I notice Graham actually brought a printed copy with him on all his appearances.
Icedfire
@chris: Ukraine Clown Posse is good, but (and I can’t believe I’m saying this, given how maligned they’ve been since I was a teen) ICP doesn’t deserve to be used for that comparison. They’ve pretty openly pushed back against fascists over the last several years, and their fans enjoy the fight.
Personally, I’m partial to adding “-a-Lago” to all of these dipshit misadventures so that everyone will know that it ties back to Trump. Ukraine-a-Lago, Shithole-a-Lago, etc.
Cheryl Rofer
@Jeffro: COVFEFE COVFEFE COVFEFE
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford
@chris: Ukraine Clown Posse is awesome!
Roger Moore
@chris:
Impeachment! How the fuck does it work?
Evil_Paul
@mapghimagsik: The thing that’s keeping me sane is that no-one’s gone around organizing his followers. Hitler has his brow shirts, Mussolini went with black, but while the MAGAts got hats nobody ever went around organizing and training them. So while there might be millions of them out there, they’ll be more like a headless chicken than a bull in the china shop.
I mean, I know there’s groups out there, but with no overall command structure they’re just as likely to fight each other over who gets to be in charge or whine about food (like the Malheur losers) as they are to plunge the US into civil war.
A lot of bad things might happen before the end, but at least there’s that.
Richard Guhl
With the politics of impeachment swiftly changing, GOP Senators may well find themselves trapped between a rock and a hard place. Stick with Trump and risk the general election. Vote to convict and risk the wrath of the cult.
It couldn’t happen to a worse collection of sycophants.
Spanky
@geg6: @germy: They have lived in their bubble too long, and the media aided and abetted.
Now, it seems the media has calculated (“If it bleeds it leads”) that pushback will get the greater clicks and eyeballs. I’m not gonna ascribe their turnaround to any suddenly awakened sense of morals or patriotism. Watch what happens if the wind starts blowing the other way.
germy
@Spanky: You’re absolutely right.
Amir Khalid
Every day I grow more convinced that the Trump administration will eventually destroy itself by sheer incompetence. What I fear is that it will also destroy much else along the way: America’s democratic institutions, its good name and international standing, its economy, its environment, its social order …
eric
@Richard Guhl: ANY violence directed at the Whistleblower or the underlying sources will change the dynamic. Suburban white moms are not going to like that and there are enough that vote R to scare the chickenshits in the R-Party.
jeffreyw
I would love to find out that McTurtle read the call memo before he told Moldy Mango that he should release it.
Chris Johnson
@Icedfire: Yeah, agreed. Juggalos are so much better than the current crop of fascists it’s not even funny.
That said,
FUCKING WHISTLES HOW DO THEY WORK
germy
oldster
The impeachment investigation *must* be widened at least far enough to successfully obtain and publicize Trump’s tax returns.
We don’t want him only impeached, we want him discredited and humiliated, and nothing will do that as thoroughly as his tax returns.
But if the House Dems wrap up impeachment too quickly, we will never get a second chance.
Immanentize
@Aleta:
When will someone crack the vault of other hidden-for-political reasons phone calls? The big names will never be allowed free, but:
Boris Johnson?
Salvini or Berlusconi?
Bolsonaro?
Duterte?
Jaraslav Kaczinski or Duda in Poland?
Etc.
Hoodie
Not too surprising. I’ve become more and more convinced that Trump is seriously mentally ill. Trump often exhibits a weird, inverted moral sense, likely stemming from his pathological narcissism, in which right and wrong are determined by his subjective perception of what feeds or damages his ego. His underlings were trying to hide the Ukraine conversation and other activities because they knew that they objectively would be perceived as an abuse of power and possibly illegal. He probably doesn’t see anything wrong with them and, in fact, views them as morally compelled, i.e., shaking down an ally for political dirt is not an abuse of office, but rather an obligation (or a perk). His tweets this morning are not witness intimidation and incitements to violence, but rather a moral defense of his “right” (i.e., rather than privilege) to hold the presidency. He thinks like a gangster, but a particularly sick one.
Quinerly
@jeffreyw: I would bet he did read it.
chris
@Icedfire: @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford: Another one seen somewhere: Ukrainium One
(Yes, I agree the ICP doesn’t really deserve it but I still laughed.)
Chris Johnson
As far as McConnell, it just goes to show you that Moscow no longer wants Donald Trump to be its man in Washington. Or even Moscow Mitch.
It does make me wonder who else they’ve got, apart from the obvious Pence, and the obvious McConnell. Is Paul Ryan one of theirs? Apparently he’s returning to Washington.
Gin & Tonic
Catching up with some weekend news, here’s a good piece in the LA Times, interviewing Yuri Lutsenko, former Prosecutor General of Ukraine. To their credit, they seem to have an actual Ukrainian, actually in Ukraine, actually interviewing a key (former) Ukrainian government official. Other media outlets could take note.
Key grafs:
It’s when you assume everyone is just as corrupt as you are, and find out they’re not, that you start getting in trouble.
germy
@Chris Johnson:
I didn’t know that. I thought Ryan was using his new powers as a board member of Fox News. He wants to return to politics? If so, I fear the beltway media will fall over themselves to flatter him.
Immanentize
@Chris Johnson: If Putin’s goal is to sow discord in the US and thereby keep its eyes off the rest of the world (particularly Russia), an impeachment process is as good as it gets. They do not need “their man” in Washington, just gridlock and argument to get away with whatever they choose to do. What a good time for some breathing room in Estonia and Latvia?
chris
@Amir Khalid:
Word! And they’ll take the rest of us with them but I think that’s the plan. You can’t make a good kleptocracy without breaking all the norms.
Spanky
BTW, Jeff Flake is in the WaPo Opinion pages, trying to resurrect his image. I don’t recommend clicking.
Jamie
@Richard Guhl:
This is why I’m gonna guess that, if this gets worse, McConnell’s best strategy for keeping his majority is going to be to push like hell behind the scenes for Trump to resign. Otherwise every Senator will have to go on record with a vote guaranteed to piss off voters their re-election depends on.
dmsilev
@Gin & Tonic:
In a larger sense, this is the fatal flaw in Trump’s strategy for dealing with Nancy Pelosi and her team. I’m still giggling at the thought of him calling her and asking to cut a deal to avoid impeachment.
scav
@Amir Khalid:
I think many of those are pretty much in the rear view mirror already.
dmsilev
@Spanky: I did read it earlier today. Look at it this way: “See, even Republicans from a conservative state like Arizona are deeply troubled by Trump’s actions.”
(“Deeply troubled” is of course meaningless on a practical level, but it is useful to point at to help dispel the whole “partisan witch hunt” line)
Jeffro
@Spanky: flake is dumb…he expects that the same GOP senators who vote to acquit trumpov in an impeachment trial will somehow find the spine to openly oppose his re-nomination/election?
Of course…because that would benefit Jeff Flake. Unbelievable
zhena gogolia
The “Civil War” threat comes straight from Vladimir Vladimirovich. I note that Tulsi also used it in her tweet dismissing the Mueller investigation.
Hoodie
McConnell’s reasoning for releasing the memo is purely practical and better for him and the senate GOP, and has little to do with Trump’s motivations. McConnell knew the whistleblower report was going to come out, knew it was really bad and wanted to get out ahead of the story as the best of a limited number of bad options. After all, there is a chance that the public and press would swallow this like it has myriad other Trump outrages. If the public buys the full hangout approach, things move on as usual. If not, McConnell can claim clean hands and, with regret, cut Trump’s throat to get a liability out of the picture.
Repatriated
@jeffreyw:
I don’t think anyone read it after it went into the secret squirrel server.
Trump seems obsessed with the belief that the call was “perfect”. Someone told him that.
There was no doubt a notecard with “DO NOT ASK HIM TO MAKE IT UP IF HE HAS TO” and “DO NOT SAY ‘OR ELSE'”. Somehow he managed that, which was enough (he thought) to keep himself in the clear. And the people in the room agreed, and kept the response on his level: “That was perfect, Sir.”
It’s like he’d finally redeemed himself for failing to “DO NOT CONGRATULATE”.
germy
Jacob Wohl put up a $50K bounty for whoever outs the whistleblower?
laura
Never underestimate the Moran that is McCarthy. He’s stupider than gym jordan, he’s more pliant than a single-player bum wad, and he’s willing to say anything on direction of his current handler.
See also, his comments about russian assets and the granny starver telling him to shut his tap and “keep it in the family.”
Totally agree with icedfire, the ICP have used the courts to push back on their misidentification as a gang and stand firm on the 1st Amendment. That Shaggy Too Dope and Violent J prevailed just goes to show that out groups do the hard work that in groups never have to.
Kelly
@Icedfire:
I like this. Like “-gate”added to everything since Nixon’s Watergate scandal it’s versatile and “-gate” has grown stale.
Mike in NC
Front page headline in local neo-Confederate rag: “Inquiry has Trump allies in disarray” complete with a photo of Rudy Nosferatu foaming at the mouth. Sad!
germy
chris
@germy: Hold the presses! Hilarity to ensue!
Mike in DC
@Jamie: 45 will only resign if he’s promised a pardon, which of course would become an albatross around the neck of Pence. If he’s removed, the constitution appears to prohibit the use of a pardon.
The Dangerman
This falls squarely into the schoolyard chant of “you and what Army, Motherfucker”.
Yes, there could be violence; no, it wouldn’t be widespread. It would be put down quickly. It wouldn’t be pretty but there would be a shitload less voters for their side as they would either be, 1 dead, or, 2, in prison.
germy
@chris: I love their driveway press conferences. Sometimes they even provide donuts.
Calouste
@zhena gogolia: Terrorist Boris Johnson is threatening that there will be riots in the UK if he doesn’t get his way on Brexit. Wonder where he got that idea from. (And imagine what would happen if Gerry Adams said something along those lines about Northern Ireland )
TS (the original)
McCarthy And McConnell Drag Dems For ‘Personal Hatred’ Of Trump
Thinking back to the Obama years – there is a pot and kettle working with this pair – and if there is any hatred coming from democrats it would be towards McConnell and McCarthy for supporting the imbecile.
germy
(photo of Boris Johnson)
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Really? That sounds like Turtle has decided Trump is threat to Turtle’s own ambitions it’s time for Grandpa Pants on the ground to go.
(Or Turtle’s lost it himself, not impossible, the two of them are way past their time)
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@Evil_Paul:
My Aunt went full in on the Q-Anon crazy. They all really believe they are warriors for Trump. It is deeply disturbing. And while she is hardly young, it is very much like Nazi youth in the level of propaganda and organization.
Chyron HR
@chris:
“Our sources have revealed that an American politician has colluded with the president of thuhhhh Ukraine to steal the 2020 election! And the name of that person is (opens envelope) Uh, never mind, go home. Come back tomorrow.”
germy
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: Unfortunately there are plenty of young faces cheering at the drumpf rallies.
Mnemosyne
Now I’m wondering if McConnell pushed to release the memo because he was trying to screw Trump, or if he thought that even Trump couldn’t be stupid enough to release evidence of outright criminality. ?
Mnemosyne
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony:
It really is a cult. Basically, your aunt joined the Moonies. Ugh.
CliosFanboy
@germy: the MAGA hats I tend to see in DC are always on some young white male…
randy khan
@chris:
My working title for the scandal is The Trump Administration.
Belafon
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: Sounds more like the uprising Hitler was counting on at the end of WW2 to save him and Germany.
JGabriel
What I can’t figure is ‘Why?’
Did McConnell really believe the call summary would be exonerating? Did he want to fuck Trump, and if so, why? Trump hasn’t treated McConnell that badly, comparatively speaking. Did McConnell want to push Trump out to contain the damage he’s doing to the GOP? That ain’t gonna help – it just gave momentum to an avalanche of damage to the GOP. Did he believe the Biden story had legs. Did he think it would damage Biden more than Trump? Did McConnell himself actually believe Trump’s lies about Biden?
Whatever McConnell’s motivation, this looks like a YUGE miscalculation on his part.
Tony Jay
@Calouste:
The bulk of the British Media is doing its best to keep the focus on accusations that Johnson is a serial groper of young women and away from the unfortunate juncture between his incendiary rhetoric and threats of civil-disorder from the far-Right. They really don’t want to spoil the click-grabbing excitement by calling the Humbugger out for what he’s trying to do, and would much rather stroke its chin over literally anything else*.
It’ll only get worse as we approach the date when he HAS to go crawling to the EU begging for an extension of resign. At which point the Tories go into toxic-shock syndrome and the ranks of the Farage Corps swell with a sudden influx of Blotchy-White Lanterns.
*ETA – Except for the serious evidence that he engaged in fraud to get in the pants of an American ‘businesswoman’ while London Mayor and has a deal with Hedge Fund backers to make them billions by forcing a No-Deal Brexit. They’d rather skate delicately around those scoops too.
cain
@mapghimagsik:
They also bought into the groupthink that we’re all cowards and wimps. I think they are in for some shock. There is absolutely no nobility on their end, while we’re basically some of us are basically fighting for our survival.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Tony Jay:
I mean, the Prime Minster potentially being a molester is kind of a big deal too in my book…
chris
Tick, tock
jl
Others have speculated about motivations of McConnell. Impossible to tell. One thing I’ve thought is that the inside bigshots know more about it than we do. There were enough public reports of Giuliani’s adventures in secret agent man in Ukraine to know something very fishy was going on since early this year. As I’ve noted before, big national corporate media chose to ignore those reports for some reason. But, the interested part of the public knew Giuliani was up to something dirty wrt to at least Manafort for quite a while. What did the insiders know?
I wonder how much scuttlebutt was circulating in the Senate. Kamala Harris’ question to Barr earlier this year about whether he’d been asked to investigate anyone, and Barr’s very odd, and guilty and dishonest as hell response, comes to mind. I wonder if Harris’ questions was partly meant as a signal that the Dems know what was going on, and the GOP better watch itself. I guess that depends on the balance of Dem concerns that the Trumpster would get away with the scheme and actually manage to throw the election, and wisdom or letting McConnell know that the Dems knew something was up.
If the WH insiders were reporting weird shit going on with the WB, they were probably talking with some Senators and House members too. McConnell may have known some very bad stuff was on record and stashed, but would come out before 2020. We don’t know how long he’s seen a big and very unpopular mess wrt to Truimpster behavior and resulting problems keeping Senate. We don’t know how long he’s been planning damage control, and necessity to separate GOP from Trump (not that there is much difference in substance, just in style and discipline).
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@Mnemosyne:
It’s heartbreaking. :(
rikyrah
????
Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) Tweeted:
Trump is panicking tonight and tweeting about “civil war” if he’s removed from office. It tells us one very important, immediate thing: He’s not convinced McConnell’s Senate won’t vote to convict him. twitter.com/BFriedmanDC/status/1178486008750465025?s=17
Gin & Tonic
@CliosFanboy: The last couple of years there’s been a weird phenomenon of skater kids in Kyiv wearing (perhaps ironically?) MAGA hats. I wonder if that will change.
germy
@CliosFanboy: Yes. Some folks joke about trumpers all “riding mobility scooters” but there’s a new generation of RWNJ. They don’t even need Fox TV; they’ve got online sources .
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@cain:
Yup. They all think their opponents, who they limited to the “effete, latte sipping liberals who all drive a Prius” stereotype, could never possibly put up a fight; that they’re the only ones who, if push came to shove, could use a gun.
Then again, I suppose it depends on who you talk to. Liberals are either a bunch of weak losers or are violent Antifa leftists
rikyrah
Lynn V (@lynnv378) Tweeted:
I didn’t realize just how much I needed to see someone defend Hillary against the attacks she faced. I’ve waited since 2015/2016. To have someone like Kamala Harris give a loud voice to what little old unimportant accounts like mine have been saying since then means a lot. twitter.com/lynnv378/status/1178449090969051137?s=17
Betty Cracker
I was gob-smacked by the release of the not-transcript too, but now it all makes sense. To cope with the intolerable abyss of insecurity at his core, Trump constructed a fact-free bubble in which to live where everything he does is wise and perfect. Since he inherited millions of dollars, he was able to float along in that bubble despite a catastrophic fail-parade of a career that would have landed a non-rich person in jail. And since he found a debased and grasping political party willing to make him its golden calf to extend the dwindling power of white folks and advance its plutocratic agenda, he’s still floating in that bubble.
The shake-down call was “perfect” in Trump’s eyes because everything Trump does is perfect in his fictional world. The same is true of the sycophants in Congress and the wingnut media, who are either true believers at this point or acting out of fear/self-preservation among the true believers. Not sure if McConnell is caught up in that too or was really trying to bring Trump down by urging him to release the not-transcript. I don’t think he’s as smart as people think he is, so I suspect the former.
rikyrah
???
The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) Tweeted:
Trump is flailing like a blindfolded drunk swinging at a piñata.
13 tweets in two hours and counting. twitter.com/HoarseWisperer/status/1178673209593487360?s=17
MattF
@JGabriel: McConnell’s a snake, so it’s possible that he’s designed very special concrete footwear for Trump. I doubt it— but the fact that it’s a real possibility is just amazeballs.
Just Chuck
I still say he resigns via a pissy tweet.
rikyrah
TRUMP IS A DICTATOR: Call him #DictatorDonald. Only a communist backed wannabe tyrant lacking all morals, loyalty to his oath & steeped in immeasurable stupidity would call for American lawmaker to be arrested for for investigating his own crimes. Beware. He wants #CivilWar2 pic.twitter.com/gECVuL9ux8
— Malcolm Nance (@MalcolmNance) September 30, 2019
Just Chuck
@MattF: Given the shady businesses Mitch is involved in, I suspect he just wants to normalize Trump’s behavior by getting the transcript out there now so they can spin it and kill it. Worked for the Meuller report … at least temporarily.
There’s also the possibility that he just isn’t that smart.
rikyrah
????
Somebody (@sogreat1989) Tweeted:
For every single person who says Kamala Harris would be a great AG I’m going to say Elizabeth Warren would make a great Secretary of Treasury.
twitter.com/sogreat1989/status/1178668250462392323?s=17
Tony Jay
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
It’s being framed by the media as anonymous allegations of historical groping, and his defenders are going to town on the usual “Who waits 20 years to make a complaint?” and “It’s all a partisan smear!” defenses. And since it absolutely doesn’t bother his Base one iota, especially if true (it’s true), then it’s less of a scandal to the Media than a conveniently prurient distraction.
We’ve even had one woman come forward to declare that Johnson definitely DID NOT grope her. She happens to be the wife of his lab-grown chief-adviser Dominic “Angry Bald Anarchist” Cummings, which just makes it odder.
jl
The push back from most of the corporate news national affairs celebs was good to see. My theory is that at some point the news celebs have to choose between credibility with the audience and their cherished balance. Have to balance looking like a fool versus access and protection from retaliation from Trumpsters and GOP with a lot of power. They go with whatever hurts their pocket book the most the quickest.
The hourly headline national news is still in balance mode, and just presents three second sound bites. A Miller soundbite is being broadcast by CBS, which I remember because Chris Wallace immediately obliterated it, and Miller’s credibility. But the Miller soundbite goes out at the top of the hour, presented after the Democratic soundbite, and unchallenged. People should contact the broadcasters, maybe local stations that are more sensitive to audience criticism, and tell them they’ll turn the knob if the news is just bullshit.
JaySinWA
@Mnemosyne: I have always thought the latter. McConnell thought even team Trump couldn’t be this stupid. He was wrong.
Miss Bianca
@rikyrah: What did Kamala say about HRC? Somehow I missed this.
Jamie
@Mike in DC:
Oh, I don’t think it’s likely that he’ll resign. I just think that, were it possible, getting him to do so would be far and away McConnell’s best move.
cain
@Evil_Paul:
Possibly, but those folks are a real threat. Consider what happened in Oregon. I can see these militia causing civil unrest and panic. Of course, nobody is watching these clowns thanks to Trump.
I think most of them are middle aged and likely obese. They’ll soon know that civil unrest might cut off their precious supply of McDonalds.
rikyrah
Truth ?
More on #Ukraine confirming that the #Trump narrative on #HunterBiden is false.
Joe may not be my first choice but we can support who we want and still dispel lies about other candidates. It’s what separates us from the MAGAnuts.
t.co/Xko3yI9VoX
— Portia McGonagal of Winterfell (@PortiaMcGonagal) September 30, 2019
JoeyJoeJoe
@chris:
By presidential election results, the seat might actually be the most Republican district in the nation, so maybe an unlikely pickup
rikyrah
Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) Tweeted:
As the impeachment inquiry unfolds, always remember that cornered animals are the most dangerous. twitter.com/joncoopertweets/status/1178514185140998144?s=17
Betty Cracker
@Miss Bianca: Here it is with bonus response from Hillary! :)
Barbara
@rikyrah: That’s giving Trump too much credit and, I believe, misreading him. He just can’t stand to be held up to public contradiction. Even if it doesn’t end up removing him from office, it’s a continuous stream of criticism that is like darts being thrown at his ego from every direction. As for McConnell, whether he read the transcript (or summary thereof), whether it was damaging or not, once it becomes known that it exists, the only thing worse than releasing it is hiding it. I am not sure I agree because Trump has been pretty effective at stonewalling investigations, but eventually, he was going to do something that crossed the line for too many people, as in, people who matter to Mitch McConnell.
rikyrah
@Miss Bianca:
She defended her and her campaign.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Tony Jay:
McConnell approval is like 18% so this is brilliant, from McConnell’s POV; he gets Trump to suicide himself, which gets rid of a big thing the voters are upset and blame McConnell for while at the time same it’s not McConnell’s fault, so Trump’s idiot Base won’t blame McConnel.
cain
@germy:
Sick fucking burn, yo. That’s gotta hurt.
jl
More shoes have been ready to drop for a while. Will Neal stop his mysterious inactivity on other whistle blower?
Ways And Means Mulling Release Of Trump Tax Whistleblower Complaint
talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/ways-and-means-mulling-release-of-trump-tax-whistleblower-complaint
cain
@oldster:
We’re going to need Pence’s as well.
Bruce K
Since the nightmare began on election night 2016, I’ve figured the tipping point would come when the Republicans with their hands on the levers of power came to the conclusion that Trump had become a net liability to their own selfish ends. Not the country, mind you; I’ve despaired of finding genuine patriotism in a 21st-century Trump-supporting Republican.
McConnell and his ilk have profited greatly from the Trump Administration, but they’ll sell him down the river* in a heartbeat if they think that best serves their own personal interests.
*Or send him up the river, possibly in the original, literal sense, with the river in question being the Hudson and the final destination being Sing Sing.
Evil_Paul
@cain: You’d think they would have clued in, seeing how groups like BLM organized so quickly across the entire country, or things like #MeToo took off and spread like wildfire. When people are legitimately scared for their safety, they’ll act. When people are genuinely outraged at an injustice, they’ll join. When people are motivated because they care, they’ll be a lot more likely to cooperate and accept a lesser role in a good cause simply because it’s a good cause.
Contrast this with the III%-ers where every fifth man thinks he should be called ‘the Colonel.’ Or the Proud Boys where everyone’s worried they’re not alpha enough. If they don’t have order imposed from above, they’ll have a hell of a time creating it on their own.
rikyrah
sing along, everyone …LOL
?????
If you’re guilty and you know it… pic.twitter.com/ulFWZ71rfK
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) September 30, 2019
rikyrah
Tell it ? ?
Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) Tweeted:
Dear white people journalists: it’s not only on people of color to call out that trash @cnn story that erases women of color and their leading role in impeachment.
You see what they did there. You know how they are. You have column inches. You have Medium accounts. SAY SOMETHING!
twitter.com/ElieNYC/status/1178319121605447686?s=17
Uncle Cosmo
@Jamie: That would make a lot of sense if we were further along the election calendar. MMPB (MoskvaMitch Putin’s B*tch) needs to be able to go to Twitler & say what Goldwater said to Nixon – his support in the Senate could fit into a (clown) car. It’d be easy for Cheeto Benito to laugh in his face & dare GOP Senators to vote to remove him so long as every one of those senators knows he’d be primaried from the right & crucified by the base. After the primary filing deadlines in the various states, when there are no longer credible opponents within the party (eta: for those who are up for re-election this year), it could work.
rikyrah
????
RUDY: “I might go down but I ain’t going down alone bitch.”
t.co/CFc6njW5eZ
— Wakandan War Dog (@Kennymack1971) September 29, 2019
feebog
For all the credit McTurtle gets as a brilliant tactician it is possible that he just miscalculated and screwed this up. He may have thought, hey we got past the Mueller investigation, we can skate by this one as well. The alternative is that he knew how bad the fallout was going to be, and wanted to get ahead of the story instead of the Dems eventually releasing the information.
JR
Approaching the 230th anniversary of the October Days.
Betty Cracker
Fascinating:
What’s Putin’s play here, y’all?
The Thin Black Duke
@germy: Back in the day, the lynching of black people was a popular sport in the South. But then, the FBI finally got serious about these atrocities, did their jobs, and put those punks in white hoods in jail. Not surprisingly, lynching stopped because the once the cowards had realized there was going to be accountability for their crimes, they put away their ropes and mumbled ‘nigger’, in private instead. So, if the cops and judges do their jobs, I’m not worried about these loudmouth dirtbags wearing MAGA hats.
Hoodie
@Betty Cracker:
More likely, Trump takes any given set of facts and reconstructs and/or distorts them so that he not only did nothing wrong, but he actually did the right (perfect) thing.
jayjaybear
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: Schroedinger’s Liberal. Like Schroedinger’s President (Obama being both an ineffectual wimp AND a power-grasping despot simultaneously) or Schroedinger’s Immigrant (both lazy on welfare AND ‘stealing our jerbs!’ at the same time).
patrick II
Trump is desperate in part because of projection. He feels that once he is powless others will treat him the way he treats the powerless, with never ending investigations and imprisonment. And he is right, but for the wrong reasons. He thinks it will be for revenge, but it will he for justice. Mostly.
But for that reason he will do anything to stay in power, because he has acted so badly. The same can he said for many in the Republican party.
JWR
@jl:
This morning, CBS had Jonathan Turley on explaining that there’s not really a quid there because argle-bargle and besides, this Hunter Biden stuff just might have some legs! (Yeah, that’s not verbatim, but it was pretty much the gist of the impression he gave, no doubt because he’s been a sleepy liddle’ GOP hack of late.)
Jamie
@Uncle Cosmo:
Excellent point.
oldster
@Betty Cracker:
It’s a not so subtle reminder to Trump: we have the transcripts of these conversations, too: in fact, we have the tapes. And we can release them any time. Stay in line, or we can make your problems, much, much worse.
JPL
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Trump will blame him and that’s all it takes.
Kelly
@cain: We need to stop calling right wing armed gangs militia. Militia report to are under the discipline of the governor of their state.
hueyplong
If this were a Scorsese movie, the other mobsters wouldn’t let such an absurdly loose cannon like Trump f up their world.
“Remo, what do you think?”
“Look, why take a chance, at least that’s the way I feel about it.”
Is yertle as smart as Remo?
trollhattan
@MattF:
At the end of the day McConnell’s #1 priority is McConnell–his senate seat first and foremost, his majority leader position second. If Trump is on fire and hurtling towards a suburban strip mall, Turtle will jump and pull that ripcord. He ain’t going down with Trump.
Maye it’s a tell and maybe it’s just hedging his bets.
JPL
@JWR: I stopped watching CBS weeks ago, because I no longer found them relevant
germy
@The Thin Black Duke:
That doesn’t make me optimistic.
JaySinWA
@Betty Cracker: Putin is pointing real hard publicly that there is bad stuff in his conversation. He is cutting Trump loose.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Betty Cracker:
Mock Trump for his bootlicking with Putin.
germy
@rikyrah:
trollhattan
@Kelly:
They imagine themselves “militia” and imagine their “sporting rifles” as anti-tyranny insurance policies. It’s why they’re armed to the gills.
Kelly
@feebog:Mitch McConnell may figure getting it out now so it will be “old news” next fall is the best he can make of a bad situation,
GregB
@Betty Cracker:
It supports the notion that Trump is in a nefarious alliance with him. It also makes Trump look like a weak junior partner in the relationship. It furthers American destabilization. It shows Putin’s utter contempt for Trump to the entire world.
trollhattan
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
Whatever further value Trump may have for Russia their overarching goal of destabilizing the West is unchanged. They know Donny will keep chasing shiny things as long as they coo praises in his ear. [ewww]
MattF
@Betty Cracker: My view is that the Ruskies are as boggled by the current situation as everyone else. They are trying to protect their interests, and if that means giving Trump a not-so-gentle push down the chute, then down he will go.
Redshift
I keep thinking about how the we were all (correctly) alarmed about what Trump would do once he had fired all the “adults” who were restraining him, but all this broke because they were also the ones stopping him from doing really stupid self-destructive stuff.
Kelly
@trollhattan: Absolutely. I gag over the way they have co opted “patriot”. I’m an atheist and I also grind my teeth at the right wing nutjobs referring to only themselves as “Christian” .
piratedan
@feebog: I think Mitch is making a rather calculated play here…
1) get DJT and his administration of fools impeached. The crimes are many, stupid, eye-popping… watch the Dems go full doggie chew-toy on his ass and have at least DJT impeached and possibly Pence too, doesn’t matter to Mitch, he still is in control of the Senate (for now) and as long as he continues to line his pockets, obstruct Democrats, my guess is the checks from outside the country and inside the country will still clear when he deposits them,
2) prosecution and scandal fatigue, by the time that the Dems get thru with the DJT administration, I guessing he’ll bank on the Dems being satisfied with Trump and stop there, why dig further, they’ve got their scalp, they’ve got their man, and by that time, the media will have moved on to the 2020 shiny and then he can either exit gracefully stage left with his cash or stay for another round if he thinks that the GOP will maintain their majority. but feeling pretty good that he’s halted the minority progress for at least a decade while the Dems have to spend all of their time unfucking what the GOP has done and by the time that that takes place, the GOP can bounce back decrying that the Dems took too long in giving America what they wanted, well welcome back to the new and improved GOP!!!!!!!!
yes its cynical, but then again, so is our Moscow Mitch
cain
The Thin Black Duke
@germy: Back in the day, the lynching of black people was a popular sport in the South. But then, the FBI finally got serious about these atrocities, did their jobs, and put those punks in white hoods in jail. Not surprisingly, lynching stopped because the once the cowards had realized there was going to be accountability for their crimes, they put away their ropes and mumbled ‘nigger’, in private instead. So, if the cops and judges do their jobs, I’m not worried about these loudmouth dirtbags wearing MAGA hats. @germy: @germy: Hey, folks can either bitch and moan whine on the internet about How Unfair Life Is, or roll up their sleeves and do the hard work of kicking these nutjobs out of the White House next November, because a Democratic administration won’t turn a blind eye to this bullshit.
Leto
@germy: He’s still a pilot in the Air National Guard, and he still hasn’t called for impeachment. Better words than Romney, but just as useless. Fuck’em.
Oathkeepers laying it all out in screenshotted tweets, essentially calling for civil war. Like someone said upthread they don’t just need Fox, they also have a pretty big online presence.
rikyrah
????
Linda Pritchett (@VoteLindaPritch) Tweeted:
This is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen! The preacher & choir all in one! The Official Impeach Trump church versión song! t.co/PMADknWzjP twitter.com/VoteLindaPritch/status/1178400955081150466?s=17
TS (the original)
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
Hasn’t caused any harm to the President* – why would it cause harm to the PM. Only left wing politicians are not allowed to do such things.
bluefoot
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: The only thing I can think of is that Moscow itch wants to deflect from his own culpability. For instance, not allowing legislation to protect election integrity to come to the Senate floor. Or his role in blocking release of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Just to name two things.
JWR
@JPL:
Took you that long, eh? ;-) But srsly, I neglected to point out that my comment was in addition to jl’s, and was intentioned to point out just how badly not just CBS, but also its local affiliate have fallen.
Inventor
@rikyrah: Both are true. It’s also true that either would make an excellent President.
JGabriel
@Betty Cracker:
Seconded.
MCA1
Since today’s theme seems to be Civil War analogies, here’s one that occurred to me last week: Nancy consolidating all of the impeachment stuff in Intelligence is sort of like announcing she’s found her Grant in the person of Schiff. Tactically sound, not showy, won’t shy away from the dirtiness of the task. Nadler and Neal have sort of been like McClellan and Halleck, all form over substance and thinking the enemy will fight clean or just give up at the sight of your righteousness and order. Maybe Maxine Waters can come in and be Sherman here, and clean out the rest of the rot by following the money after Twittler’s cooked.
Alien Radio
@Tony Jay: The Story that the PM is a serial Groper of women INTERSECTS with his connections to the far right. This Hooters Waitress with the pole in her east London flat that got all that public money for her vapourware startup, was connected to Bannon and Milo Yiannopoulis. back in 2013 Boris appeared at (pro bono) speaking engagements with them. that means the Mercers.
rikyrah
@Betty Cracker:
the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WOULD NEED RUSSIAN CONSENT?
DA PHUQ????
Kent
Remember folks, we have a SECOND whistleblower related to Trump’s Taxes and apparent illegal preferential treatment he has been getting from the IRS.
Dems should be wrapping these two things together into a single 2-part impeachment investigation. Let all these GOP lackeys who are condoning treason, also go on the record condoning cheating on your taxes to the tune of millions of dollars. That should play well in middle America.
PJ
@Betty Cracker: Not having any inside information whatsoever, I would guess:
1) This is a warning to Trump, like the previous Kremlin message about the transcripts between Moscow and Trump; and
2) It is also meant to goad Democrats into making sure those transcripts are made public, so that Trump is that much closer to impeachment and conviction.
Putin never expected Trump to actually win the election, so the last three years have been icing on the cake; his real goal was always to cripple democracy here and lower American power around the world. If there is hard evidence of Trump being their puppet, it’s all good for Russia.
I would think that it would be much better for them if Trump hung in as long as possible and got more and more insane, up to and after the election, whereas these kind of public statements seem to make it more likely he will go sooner. On the other hand, they may consider their big coup to be their corruption of the GOP/NRA/evangelicals, and getting Trump out of the way might help them protect those relationships in the long run. This may also be why McConnell urged Trump to release the Ukraine call memorandum, to protect himself and the GOP in the long run.
Trying to figure out motivations of corrupt actors puts me into a conspiracy mindset, which would cause me to worry about my mental health were it not for all of the evidence that the leadership of the GOP/NRA/evangelicals is, in fact, wholly corrupted.
patrick II
In the setup for the impeachment story Scott Pelly said that Biden interfered to stop an investigation of the company Hunter Biden worked for by Skorin. They all get that part wrong. Skorin was corrupt and not investigating Biden’s company, or most other companies. Joe Biden actually increased the likliehood that his son’s company would be investigated if the put a real investigator in the Prosecutor’s office. The whole premise they assume has been set by the Republicans and is wrong. This mistake is public knowledge. George Stephanopolous got it right with his interview with Giuliani. I wish the rest of the media would catch up.
NotMax
OT.
5:53 a.m. Barely drifted off and was rudely awakened by phone ringing from a robocall for a credit card scam.
ARRRGGGHH!
Millard Filmore
@Kelly:
You mean those armed gangsters are not spilling out of the ‘hoods?
cain
@Evil_Paul:
Better stated than my original comment. Yes, absolutely. And those people will fight tooth and nail. I don’t think these folks have that kind of resilience because they aren’t really fighting for anything in particular, they are just a bunch of aggrieved people and most of them are actually in the same boat as the rest of us when it comes to economic power and justice. Once they come to grips to loss and what not they’ll either think deeply about what is important or they will be in a fueled rage for vengeance.
Jess
Interesting that 28% think the Ukraine call was “proper.” The “27% rule” seems to still be in effect, more or less…
JanieM
@rikyrah:
That was my reaction too. Like, the American president is beholden to the Russians, and not to the American people?
Well…..in this case…….probably. But still.
But it’s international “diplomacy,” and I’m too literal-minded to understand that at the best of times. So I suppose it’s what other people have speculated: a message within a message within a message.
Kent
@piratedan:
I think you are forgetting that Mitch’s wife Elaine Chow is in Trump’s Cabinet and has her own mini corruption scandal related to special access for Chinese associates and I’m not sure what all. If Trump goes down and brings members of his corrupt cabinet with him, Mrs. Mitch could be one of them.
I’m guessing that Mitch knew the transcripts would eventually come up anyway and thought this was going to be like Mueller where they could do a partial early release and spin things themselves rather than have it come out as part of a Dem investigation and have it spun by the Dems in hearings.
Leto
@Kent: The judge in the case, a Trumpov appointee, has been slow walking this. Again, thank you #moscowmitch for continuing to break our democracy.
Gin & Tonic
@patrick II: The corrupt Prosecutor General was Viktor Shokin, not Skorin.
Actually the *founder* of Burisma was investigated by Ukrainian authorities two years before Hunter Biden joined the company’s board. No wrongdoing was found then. There was no investigation *after* Biden joined the board because no reason for such an investigation was ever profferred.
Ladyraxterinok
@zhena gogolia: Interesting that Robert Jeffress, minister of First (So)Baptist Church in Dallas said on Fox that there’d be a civil war if Trump were impeached or left office. I think Trump’s tweet qtd him.
JimBakker has been talking civil war to protect Trump for some time,
Barbara
@rikyrah: It seems like a really strange thing to put out there. On the one hand, of course the president doesn’t need the permission of Russia to disseminate information. But by putting it out there, it gives rise to the inference that failing to disclose means that Trump is at the beck and call of Russia. Of course, you and I would not be surprised, but it surprises me that Russia would want it to be that obvious. Because once it becomes explicit it becomes untenable.
piratedan
@Kent: understood Kent, I just think MM is making a pragmatic play here, not saying its smart, but based on the behavior of the media and the sheer volume of crimes, that fatigue in both the media and public support for the cleaning of our governmental Aegean stables may wane by the time we get to “their” crimes.
Kent
@Leto:
Right but if it comes up with a new committee as part of an impeachment inquiry rather than an ordinary IRS oversight committee they could issue new subpoenas and potentially wind up in a different courtroom with a different judge, especially if the new subpoenas are more expansive or substantially different.
Even if the same judge is slow-walking things, it’s a whole new thing to toss into the media maelstrom and a whole new thing for Dems to chew on.
JGabriel
via Betty Cracker:
Or what? What does Putin think he can do if the transcripts are released?
To intimidate Trump. Or give him an excuse to not release the transcripts. Or both. And create more chaos in the US at the same time.
Or, maybe, Putin is just as sick of Trump as the rest of us, enjoys watching Trump flail, and wants Democrats to pursue the transcripts. And, of course, also wants to create more chaos in the US at the same time.
Since creating chaos is the consistent result whatever the motivation, perhaps creating chaos is the primary motivation. In other words, maybe Putin’s stirring shit up just to stir shit up.
Leto
@Kent: This was reported on before the Ukrainian shitshow. It was simply lost in the maelstrom, but if we can combine the two, the more the merrier.
cain
@Kelly:
Right wingers will co-opt every public nationalistic sentiment. Support the troops, pledge of allegiance, flags all over the place -while respecting nothing about them by either thought or deed, it’s all superficial nonsense. They’re approach to religion is the same – the whole point is to create an atmosphere where they can judge other people for not having sufficient fealty. But you know, just putting a support the troops magnet on your car is sufficient, while voting down any initiative to help troops adjust when coming back, healthcare whatever. The pro-life movement is the same damn thing. It’s all the same shit with these people.
JWR
@patrick II:
And another mark against CBS is that Meet the Press lady and her utter failure Sunday morning not to correct Hissy Fit Lindsey. So yeah, thank our lucky stars (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) for not only That Clinton Blowjob Guy and Jake Tapper for doing at least a bit of homework before going to air.
jl
@JWR: There doesn’t need to be a ‘quid’ since Trump was soliciting foreign aid for an a domestic election. I think Barr dodged that little detail by declaring that the Ukrainian government beginning a bogus investigation to dig up dirt on Biden didn’t have any value.
Edit: IIRC Wallace, and at least one other news celeb pointed this out over the weekend. Wallace also pointed out that there was a legit process for US govt to request Ukraine to start an investigation, so why didn’t the US do that. And Wallace went over the recent history of US govt certifications that Ukraine had cleaned up its corruption and there were no outstanding issues, which was needed to OK the delivery of the military aid. Wallace demolished Miller’s BS
I watched Cuomo, Wallace, and somebody else demolish the GOPer guests yesterday and was glad to see it. I thought Pelley tried to pre-balance his 60 minutes piece at the beginning by saying that the UKP (Ukraine Klown Posse) scandal was a part of the Russian collusion charge (huh?). I’ve read Pelley used to be a good reporter, but now he seems to be either a dimwit or corruptly and intentionally obtuse. But McCarthy’s performance was so dismal and laughable, it didn’t work.
The GOP might just be arrogant. Thing is, in my cynical view, the politicians need to remember that if the corporate media news celebrities’ idea of investigative journalism is to sit by the phone and wait for some hack or politician to call them up with some good material with some soundbite and stereotype sizzle, the hacks and pols need to call up with good material. GOP might think that they don’t have to hold up their end of that con, since it seems like the new celebs take any garbage the GOP dishes out.
I’m sure recent Fox News segments have gotten some attention, where the GOPers show up and their celebs don’t toss softballs, they are willing to play tee-ball. And the GOPers can’t do anything. There are some Ingraham segments with Giuliani that are hilarious. You can watch Ingraham’s face wilt after she tees everything up for Giuliani and he just goes batshit insane and digs himself in deeper.
NotMax
@Leto
We’re going to have to come up with a collective noun for maelstroms.
cain
@piratedan:
It’s possible, but Americans also love juicy gossip and there will be enough personal stories and other things that will keep American riveted. Meanwhile the Tang Dynasty spokesman will continue his beleaguered attempts to defend himself by de-evolving into crazy and crazy stuff. The FTFNYT will continue to interview the same 15 “centrists” who are angry at liberals, and why they aren’t already deported by ICE.
JoyceH
Here’s my take on why they released the call notes. They knew it was bad, but it didn’t seem all that bad to them – because there are others a lot worse. Once knowledge of a WB complaint came out and reporting that it involved Ukraine, they figured if they released it, it would cause the usual three or four day scandal uproar and then die down. And the other worse calls would be safely ignored.
JGabriel
@MCA1:
Could be. But I think consolidating impeachment in the Intelligence committee is also a way for Pelosi to emphasize that Trump’s continuance in office is an ongoing security risk – in a way that isn’t emphasized by consolidating the impeachment inquiry in a more domestic-focused committee like Justice or Ways & Means.
Edited to Add: It also helps undermine any classification claims from the WH, since everyone on Intelligence has (or gets) security clearance.
Frankensteinbeck
I think the simplest explanation is that McConnell had not read the ‘transcript’ but assumed – correctly – that it would be doctored. His mistake was not realizing that Trump was so stupid that he would release a confession thinking it’s exoneration. Remember, McConnell is nowhere near as smart as his reputation. 90% of what McConnell has accomplished is obstruction, and the Senate is designed to make obstruction easy. He hasn’t even been able to fill a lot of Trump’s empty cabinet seats, which should be routine. He only barely succeeded in passing the legislation his caucus wants more than anything else in the world, a huge tax cut for the rich. He failed to pass the legislation his caucus wants second most in the world, repealing Obamacare. The reason McConnell has been able to do so much damage with things like Garland is not that he’s smart, it’s that he’s such an asshole he does easy things that no one else was evil enough to consider.
EDIT – @Leto:
They’re out of luck. They’ve had their moment. The whole thing with the Bundy standoff and the refuge occupation was that it was meant to be an inspirational flag for all the armed ‘patriots’ they were sure were just waiting to stand up against the tyrannical liberal government. They got crickets. Look to the recent Nazi marches. These are the strongest and bravest of the conservative extremists, and they ran and hid the moment they found out they were outnumbered.
cain
@MCA1:
The queen leads. She needs to be front and center at every political news show.
Tony Jay
@Alien Radio:
I take your point. The corruption while Mayor angle definitely leads into his links to the money behind the far-Right. He was funnelling public money into Arcuri’s shell company while screwing her, which leads me to think someone identified his weakness for straying and willingness to spray around other people’s money to get what he wants. The whole thing sounds like an audition to me. “Show is you play by the same rules we do and we can do business” type of thing.
The groping story (which is probably just the tip of an iceberg) shows the kind of entitled, manipulative SOB he always was and underlined that you could – get away with shit like that in those circles, if you were valuable enough to the people paying your victims’ salaries.
Ksmiami
@cain: first cut off their internet, then their medications, then their money, then drone fumigate them out of existence. it doesn’t even need to come to a true fight. And remember they started it.
Leto
@NotMax: Maelstromi? Maelstri? Costa Maelinostra? I’ll keep brain storming…
jl
@jl: So, zero excuse for CBS to pick out a three second soundbite of Miller’s BS and put it in the hourly headline news. But I think CBS is still the oldsters’ preferred network, so they are maybe have to bend over backward to preserve balance? Anyway, incompetent and/ore corrupt work and they need to hear about it. Contacting local affiliate probably best since they are more sensitive. I’ve contacted the one hear several times, and told them I won’t listen any more (not quite true, they have very good traffic reports) because national headquarters puts out too much dishonest BS.
JGabriel
@NotMax:
Heh. Reminds me of that quip from BtVS, about suddenly needing to know the plural for Apocalypse.
Aleta
@rikyrah:
Thank you for this!
From his instagram : instagram.com/p/B2-kqxEgdii/
iamwill.johnson, Kevin Johnson Jr.
trnc
@geg6: Did Pelley ask hom if the number of prople paid by Russia has expanded in the last few years?
rikyrah
@Hoodie:
THIS was the least criminal thing he’s done…so, they thought they could handle it. After all, they’re STILL hiding the REAL criminality.
cain
@Ksmiami:
1) yes 2) increase medication or get correct medication 3) the Republicans already have their money 4) awww..
They won’t likely fight, true. They are all armchair quaterbacks.
Frankensteinbeck
@rikyrah:
I honestly think Trump thought it was exculpatory. He believes this evidence he’s asking for exists, believes that he’s proving his enemies are crooks and he’s innocent. Doesn’t that make him a hero?
Tractarian
I am not surprised he released the memo. He knows by know that GOP congresspeople and media lackeys will do and say anything to defend him, no matter the circumstances. So why not get it all out in the open? It was not unreasonable for them to think that it would all be forgotten by campaign season. After all, it’s not all that different from the Russia situation, and he got off scot-free on that one.
jl
Another thing is that Trump’s complete incompetence may have surprised everyone, including the Russians. They might have expected more from Trump than sowing chaos. We don’t know how bad Trump’s very private and undocumented sessions with Putin are. But Putin may have really wanted Trump to deliver something, anything, more than making a mess. What has Trump delivered that is on Putin’s wish list, on sanctions, tearing up NATO, etc? Nothing, really. Trump is too undisciplined and incompetent to do anything but run crummy scams that only dingbats and rubes fall for.
Now Trump has proven to be such a mes, he might blow his own cover, and Russian thuggery might pour out the scandal for the world to see, including other countries (UK comes to mind). Trump is such a mess he’s putting all his cronies, flunkies and bosses (foreign and domestic) in a very tough spot, which would be a good thing.
I hope enough of the dirt is made public before 2020 for us to understand McConnell’s motivations. At least one commenter said that McConnell thought the fake transcript of the call could be spun away, or he hadn’t seen it but thought it wouldn’t be that bad. McConnell may not be a brilliant as his reputation, but I cant’ believe he is that stupid or naive.
Miss Bianca
@Betty Cracker: @rikyrah: ooh, all right! Way to go for both of them!
Spanky
@Leto: “Shitshow.” Don’t overthink.
cain
@jl:
I’m hoping that once all this Russian collusion and interference comes out that – that any association with Russians and their money will be toxic – a third rail in politics. It’s important that we actually start that kind of speechifying right now. We’ve been way way too mild about it.
Remember when Republicans would talk shit about Russia on a nearly daily basis back in the 80s and 90s.
Leto
@Spanky: “Clusterfuck” tried and true.
JWR
@jl:
Hear, hear! (And I do, and I do!)
I’m not sure about them being the oldster network, since their on-screen talent, such as it is, is so young and so vibrant and… no wait. It’s nursing homes I’m thinking of. ;-) But Thanks for the as always great insights re the smoking hulk that is CBS these days.
Gravenstone
@germy: I doubt Wohl has that kind of money. So who is bankrolling him, and are they on board with Wohl publicly soliciting murder?
eta: oops, I misread “outs” as something more sinister. Still …
Redshift
@jl:
The one thing Putin seems to have wanted from Trump more than anything is relief from sanctions. He hasn’t gotten it (despite Trump and his crew basically promising it), and there’s been no sign he will.
(I’m sure we all remember, but in the Trump Tower meeting and other times, when the Russians “wanted to talk about adoption,” they were actually taking about sanctions. Putin stopped adoptions in retaliation for that, and he could restart then whenever he wants.)
Mandalay
@jl:
I agree with you that McConnell is far from naive. Perhaps his thinking is:
– Now that Democrats have their foot in the door, he knows that everything is going to come out eventually, so the sooner bad stuff comes out the better.
– He wants to start distancing Republicans in Congress (or at least in the Senate) from Trump for the 2020 elections. That transcript is 100% Trump and 0% Congressional Republicans.
Aleta
Iirc civil war was used as a bluff in Nov. 2016. Used as a bluff (I believe by Roger Stone) in Dec 2016 at talk of Russian interference and investigation. At crisis points in 2017, 2018, at Mueller …. I just looked at the twitter of the deranged pastor, omg. Civil war, Jesus for Trump, Israel. The pastor is an actor, like Stone and Stewart. Actors are dangerous, they have crazed followers, but activating the civil war threat is their go-to bluff when called to help. Fcking bullies hoping that scaring people will put a chill on the climbing polls. I hate bullies.
Mandalay
The beginning of the end for Trump?…
Of course he has a choice, but let’s not dwell on that. Cut and run, Mitch…it’s not too late for President Romney to save us!
jl
@JWR: The local affiliate is miles better than the junk their national boss pumps out. They actually have informative interviews. They recently had several longer than usual interviews with Ukraine area experts explaining the history and debunking the BS. But I call them anyway to complain, and threaten that their national news outfit is so biased that I might have to turn them off completely. Not sure what good it does, maybe they get calls that scare them into providing good local stuff to compensate, or they know they are serving the SF Bay Area.
Pelley’s biased and inaccurate BS for the 60 Minutes was outrageous. But McCarthy was so dismal I don’t think CBS’ attempt to use dishonesty and inaccuracy to balance out the story worked. I was surprised that IMHO Chris Wallace did the most efficient informative and well prepared, and very clearly explained, demolition of GOP talking points this weekend. Wallace was very calm, very direct and, because Miller was such a mess, it came off as brutal, because it was, again, due to Miller, not Wallace. Wallace was calm and measured.
rikyrah
@Tony Jay:
Follow the money. I totally believe the deal with the Hedge Fund backers.
rikyrah
@chris:
This is TEXAS!!
WHAT do they know?
jl
@Mandalay: If McConnell is as clever as some say, he might decide to let Trump and Pence fend for themselves, which if experience is any guide, means they will commit political suicide. Running against caretaker president Pelosi might be the best situation he can think of. Pence gets buried by 20 points or more in current polls against any Dem. Wild scenario, but we are in a wild situation.
Gravenstone
@Leto: So these chucklenuts are all ready for the charges of sedition that await them under a Democratic administration? All neatly documented by their own tweets and memes?
J R in WV
@germy:
I think Jacob is pretty broke, and wants to raise a whole lot of money, none of which will actually go to the people who claim to ID the whistleblower. And of course even if he does pay someone for outing the whistleblower, he’ll also claim $247,000 worth of overhead to handle the fundraising and the bribe.
Repatriated
@Mnemosyne: The latter. They “survived” the Mueller report — how bad could the “transcript” be, especially with strategic redactions? Dump it before the whistleblower report gets out and it’ll play out the same way.
Trump couldn’t comprehend that a transcript of a “perfect” call could be damaging.
NotMax
@J R in WV
Yup. Can’t tell the
playerstraitors without a program anymore but fairly sure he was crying poverty like a month or so ago.germy
@J R in WV: I wonder what the future holds for him.
NotMax
@germy
Magic 8-ball sez: Ignominy.
;)
sukabi
@Mnemosyne: that will break on whether McConnell actually read the memo the WH released.
sukabi
@rikyrah:
Unless the fraud was masquerading as Edris Elba I don’t understand how that would work.
Ruckus
@jl:
I think this is likely. Moscow Mitch knows the score and he knows that staying with trump too long will screw him. I don’t think he’s up for that and his first goal is always himself and as he is not as stupid as possible and still able to breathe I’d bet actual money that he will back away and actually do his job. He’s up for reelection, and I’d bet even KY isn’t pleased with him. They may keep him just because he is powerful and not as dumb as a box of rocks, but they may dump him just because of trump. Getting out of the way is probably better for him than what he’s been doing.
joel hanes
@Ksmiami:
then drone fumigate them out of existence.
I’m angry too, but IMHO advocating a war crime is just a bit over the line.
Mnemosyne
@rikyrah:
I’ve been saying that, too. The banksters would shit themselves sideways if that happened. ?
But if Warren is the nominee, I still want Harris as VP. I think they make a great team.
Mnemosyne
@Frankensteinbeck:
This is pretty much the classic definition of a toxic narcissist. It’s not that they’re smarter, it’s that they do shit that a normal human with empathy would never consider doing and think that no one else has ever thought of it.
J R in WV
@Betty Cracker:
They’re desperate to keep those calls from becoming public. Which is interesting, why would they care if it isn’t terrifically guilty? And of course we need no such permission to release any recordings of Presidential communications. What a load of fresh-killed bollacks.