YEAH DEF. DIDN’T SEE THIS COMING:
In 2016, Erick Erickson could not have been clearer. Donald Trump was “a racist” and “a fascist.” It was no wonder, Mr. Erickson wrote, that “so many people with swastikas in their Twitter profile pics” supported him. “I will not vote for Donald Trump. Ever,” he insisted, adding his voice to the chorus of Never Trump Republicans.
Last week, Mr. Erickson, a well-known conservative blogger, titled one of his pieces “I Support the President.” In three years, he had come completely around, a transformation that is a testament to President Trump’s remarkable consolidation of support inside the Republican Party. The effort to impeach the president, Mr. Erickson wrote, was a desperate move by people “who have never come to terms with him.”
“Never Trump” no more, conservatives have largely resigned themselves to a more accommodating state of mind: “Never mind Trump.” And their change in attitude helps to mute the much smaller group of conservative voices who remain highly critical of the president and have questioned his conduct.
Glenn Beck, the radio host who once called Mr. Trump “an immoral man who is absent decency or dignity,” now says that his defeat in 2020 would mark “the end of the country as we know it.” Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who so bitterly feuded with the president during the 2016 primaries that Mr. Trump gave out Mr. Graham’s cellphone number on national television, declared last week that impeachment was nothing but “a political set up.”
You mean to tell me that such upstanding citizens like Erick son of Erick and Glenn Beck are grifters and frauds whose only core principles are hating Democrats and making sure they are in on the grift? I’m shocked!
?BillinGlendaleCA
I’m shocked as well John, just shocked I tell ya.
Raven
Countdown to NYT hysteria.
trollhattan
See, Trump used to claim he was a “Democrat” so we can all appreciate their confusion and suspicion when he claimed to be Conservative and Republican. Well by golly, now they really can trust him!
Can you snort coke off supermodel asses at Studio 54 and still become a Republican president? Yes, yes you can. Dream the dream, son.
Mike in NC
Speaking of assholes, this is in the Washington Post: “Trump calls for Romney’s impeachment after senator criticizes president’s China, Ukraine appeals” (Fat Bastard seems unaware that senators cannot be impeached, or maybe he’ll demand an amendment to the Constitution to make it happen.)
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mike in NC: Actually one Senator was impeached in one of the first few Congresses. He
resignedwas expelled before the Senate took up the bill for trial(the Senate took their time).ETA: Here’s the lowdown from the US Senate site
Mnemosyne
Erickson and Beck have figured out that if Trump brings down the Republican Party, they’re sinking to the bottom right along with it. They have no other choice but to stay on board desperately trying to bail it out no matter how high the water gets.
Rihilism
Apparently, it’s Rick Perry’s turn to go under the bus.
https://www.axios.com/trump-blamed-rick-perry-call-ukraine-zelensky-8178447a-0374-4ac6-b321-a9454b0565d4.html
Yarrow
Erick is in the Republican/ Conservative/ Evangelical/ NRA nexus. For example, from Wikipedia:
NRA, Russian government, transition team, Jeff Sessions. It’s not exactly hidden. Of course he’s supporting Trump. It would seem obvious that he might also be compromised.
Yarrow
@Rihilism: You knew it was coming…
Mnemosyne
@Yarrow:
They’re.
ALL.
Compromised.
Every single one of them.
No exceptions.
That’s why Romney started babbling about the Russians being our greatest enemy in 2012. He knew what was happening but didn’t have the balls to try and stop it. He still doesn’t.
dmsilev
@Rihilism:
This was of course the call that Trump has spent the last couple of weeks defending as ‘perfect’ and ‘just trying to fight corruption’.
Yarrow
@Mnemosyne: Yep. Been obvious since the 2016 election. Before if we knew what to look for.
Uncle Jeffy
I’m shocked – shocked! – that sex is going on in this whorehouse!
A Ghost To Most
The noisy ones are the ones who know they’re compromised. The quiet ones aren’t sure yet.
Rihilism
@Yarrow: @dmsilev: It’s truly amazing how he is attempting to blackmail everybody at once (House Republicans, Senate Republicans, Pence, Perry, Pompeo, Mulvaney, Barr, etc.). Not sure if it’s gonna work or not, but it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving group of immoral scumbags. Here’s hoping that Trump burns the Repub party down to save his own ass.
Jay
Aleta
In a year they’ll be onto a different tune.
Traitors. Póg Mo Thóin.
Yarrow
@Rihilism: It’s not all that amazing because he’s a narcissist and this is how narcissists behave. It’s entirely predictable and it’s been clear from the beginning that this is what he would do. He’ll throw everyone under the bus before he goes. Everyone, including his own kids. Ivanka may be last but he’ll throw her under the bus too in an attempt to save himself. Pence is in deep shit, even if he’s too dumb to realize it yet.
Shalimar
@Mike in NC: It seems clear from context that Trump wants Romney recalled by voters in Utah. Whethef he doesn’t know what a recall election is, or is just repeating impeach over and over for his idiot followers like he is with perfect, who knows.
Mandalay
Add Michelle Malkin to that list of grifters. She truly despised Trump (“You don’t like women you can’t control…”), attacked him as a “clown”, and was openly contemptuous of him.
And then he got elected, and her principles suddenly seemed kinda icky and pointless. Like Graham, Cruz and Rubio, she realized that she’d be out of work if she fought with Trump, and would probably be unable to safely appear in public. And now she knows she has to stay in her damn lane, or else.
The only one of those RWNJ grifters I have any respect for is Ann Coulter. She is odious and racist, but at least she has the spirit of a honey badger, and truly doesn’t give a flying fuck about attacking and offending Trump.
She is literally the only one of them I can think of who isn’t scared** of Trump.
** I suppose it’s possible that a few of them are actually dumb enough to believe Trump is a great man, but I doubt it. After all, they’re just grifters who believe whatever is financially convenient.
Jay
Full thread worth reading.
Booger
@Yarrow: different erickson, I believe.
gene108
@dmsilev:
In whatever Trump snippets, I have listened to Trump never says he’s “fighting corruption”. He just says something like “we’re doing something about corruption in Ukraine”.
I take this to mean Ukraine is not as corrupt as he wants them to be and he needs to get the corrupt assholes, who worked with Manafort back in
Yarrow
@Booger: Aww..crap. You’re right. Sorry for the mistake and thanks for the correction. Oh well. The rest of it still applies. He’s deep in the nexus of it all.
Jay
Jay
Stuck in moderation.
Cacti
It is not possible to be a good person and support Donald Trump.
It is not possible to be a patriot and support Donald Trump.
Period.
Rihilism
@Yarrow: I agree. I’ve just never encountered such a person in my life and it’d be almost fascinating or amazing in kinda of a detached observational way (like “hey, read this crazy case study I found in American Journal of Psychiatry) except for the fact that this amoral psychopath has access to nuclear weapons.
Gin & Tonic
@dmsilev: I am still sometimes surprised that he can just completely turn around on some topic in a matter of a day or two, and all the lickspittles and sycophants suck it right up. We have always been at war with Eastasia indeed.
zhena gogolia
@Mnemosyne:
Wow, you’re a bigger conspiracy theorist than I am!
Jay
TS (the original)
Catching up on today’s posts
1. Trump is doing to Biden what he did to Hillary Clinton & the media are his able assistants – at least one op ed, one news article every day about Hunter Biden in Ukraine
2. Nothing ever seems to surface about trump’s dependence on some drugs, trumps inability to walk more than 100 yards and his very weird shape when attempting to stand erect
3. The US political media has no spine when it comes to asking trump questions
4. No media disgust with the language used consistently by trump to attack those he dislikes – and no push back on the fact that this is the top level of trump’s language skills.
The media supports the right to rule of the GOP – regardless of the person doing the ruling.
zhena gogolia
I have to say I had no idea about the Russia connection until during the 2016 campaign, before Trump was nominated, when I was doing a tutorial with a student who wanted to watch Russian TV coverage of the Republican debates. At first I thought it was funny that they were making Trump look like the big tough guy who was taking down all the other candidates. I thought it was just Russian mishigass. Later I realized that there was something more sinister going on.
Gin & Tonic
@gene108: “Manafort” and “corruption” are synonyms.
Rihilism
I’d also add Fox News to Trump’s blackmail list. He just recently brought up his long time desire to start his own media empire (the real reason he ran for president). “Fox better stay in line or else I’ll put them out of business” (which of course he’ll do anyway).
mrmoshpotato
@Rihilism: I would cry from laughing if the desire to curse about this shitshow wasn’t overpowering it.
Sure Soviet shitpile Donnie dumbfuck. D in ‘Meats’ Perry is a mastermind of international fuckery.
gene108
@TS (the original):
FTFY
mrmoshpotato
@Uncle Jeffy: LOL Bravo!
Mary G
I think Cruz did the fastest 180. He was all “vote your conscience” at the RNC, then before the election, he was phonebanking for Twitler. What a difference a month or two make.
Jay
TS (the original)
@Jay:
And ….. the Mayor has a censure motion against him on the agenda for the next meeting. Recordings don’t even work any more with those who support corrupt police.
RAVEN
Oct 5th, 2019 –
Today sees the release of Michael Stipe’s “Your Capricious Soul”, his solo debut- currently available exclusively from MichaelStipe.com. The release is timed to coincide with October 7th’s “International Rebellion” climate justice protests. And, for the following 365 days, Stipe is redirecting all of his earnings from sales and synchronization licensing to Extinction Rebellion to help aid their work of non-violent protest of government inaction to the climate emergency.
Gvg
I worked for someone we decided was a compulsive liar. Now I wonder if he was a Narcissist, because he did this change his story every day, sometimes every hour, ignoring that he had told us a different story before. We were all pretty young, and he freaked us out because we felt we didn’t know what he would do next. Only lasted about 2 months before we got him fired. He was the manager, but we called the owner and told him what was happening. 25 out of 27 employees told the owner we would quit if he didn’t get rid of that manager. I thought it was going badly while the owner sat there giggling at our stories, but actually he was just boggled at how weird it was. The owner made us face the manager, but then he fired him and changed the locks that night.it was more than 30 years ago and I have never encountered some one like that again. Trump does remind me of him, I just can’t understand why the GOP didn’t turn on him right away. He doesn’t keep his word and is just so difficult to deal with. Party loyalty or not, they should have never let him into their ranks.
Rihilism
@TS (the original): Only one (maybe two) metropolitan newspaper has called for him to resign compared with the media feeding frenzy during Clinton’s impeachment. They are obviously monetizing the chaos for click bait. Especially the NYT.
Mandalay
@Jay:
There are a whole lot of turds in that thread. Of course the money quote from the “disrespectful” Commissioner is being studiously ignored by the law and order brigade:
Jay
@Rihilism:
The only way Dolt 45 could put Faux out of business, is if Faux made him CEO.
TS (the original)
deleted
Jay
The Russians are getting even more domestic help this Election.
Mandalay
@TS (the original):
Betty Cracker had a fine thread on that very topic a few days ago.
John Revolta
@Gvg: I just can’t understand why the GOP didn’t turn on him right away
Kindred souls.
Mnemosyne
@zhena gogolia:
To be clear, I didn’t know it at the time. It only became obvious in retrospect, particularly since Karl Rove was trying to play his gerrymandering trick with Wisconsin to eke out an electoral college victory for Romney and was visibly pissed off on live TV that it didn’t work.
Jeffro
@Rihilism: I just saw that! How exciting for the GOP, wondering who’s next under those hefty front wheels of the TRUMPOV TRAIN!
LOLOL
And here I was just ragging my RWNJ brother and dad about their “hearsay” nonsense from a week ago…it’s great when the president* corroborates the whistleblower on live TV and nukes the “hearsay” defense. It’s a whole ‘nother level when he goes and throws one of his cabinet secretaries under the TT’s wheels while testing out defense #93
Good luck with that shit, trumpov. This Senate impeachment trial is going to be a BLAST!
Jay
Jeffro
@Mary G: You mean, what a difference Rebekah Mercer and her gazillions makes.
TS (the original)
@Rihilism: And Rick Perry was supposedly going to resign
Guess trump decided to get ahead of Perry & fire him before the fact of the latter talking to the house committees.
Rihilism
@Jay: I don’t know. I think, given his rabid cult following who’d gladly follow him off a cliff, he might actually do some damage before he eventually files for bankruptcy.
Juju
In regards to Eric, son of Eric and Glenn Beck, I did nazi that coming.
Sorry, but someone had to do it.
Jay
Jay
@Rihilism:
He’d do more damage running Faux.
Rihilism
@TS (the original): Exactly! That’s what caught me so off guard about this. I thought that Perry was going to try his best to quietly go into hiding. Maybe he was afraid of lying to Congress and made the mistake of telling that to Trump.
@mrmoshpotato: Wiley Perry, suuuuper geeenius.
Jay
Frankensteinbeck
One important thing is that Never Trumpers did not know at first that Trump was their guy. They’re used to dog whistle politics and pretending to be sensible. He seemed dangerously uncommitted to conservative principles like fucking over the poor, destroying all regulations, and stripping the government of everyone but corrupt grifters. He wasn’t religious, so he might not be homophobic and misogynistic enough (hating TGs is a branch of those). Then they got to see him in action, and like the evangelicals they slowly realized he was their true champion, a meaner-than-shit, lying, chickenshit braggart and universal Nazi-level bigot. They ate the red meat, liked it, and craved more. Some of them do still wish he was smarter, but they’re sure not turning on him for a little thing like that.
@Mnemosyne:
Naah. Romney is also as dumb as a rock. People forget because he looks so much smarter than Trump. Romney was the biggest train wreck Republicans had nominated yet. This truly has been a process in the Republican Party.
Viva BrisVegas
The Trump grift has swallowed wingnuttia whole.
Double Erick and Beck have no choice but to join the Trump train or else find honest jobs.
The real reward will come after Trump is gone and they can recycle their fever dreams about his downfall to deplorables for the rest of their lives. Maybe gin up little a bit of domestic terrorism while they are at it.
lamh36
And under the bus goes Rick Perry…hated when his dumb azz was governor of Texas…so I have no sympathy for the bus tire tracks on his back…
Jim, Foolish Literalist
just think of the tall grass that a former (and I believe popular in his state and his party) two-term Governor of Texas could have grazed in, and he chose a second (at best) tier appointment from Donald Fucking trump.
ETA: and Dancing With The Stars. How could I forget Dancing With The Stars
hee hee
Patricia Kayden
@Cacti: Amen to that. Trump hasn’t changed. He’s always been an awful, bullying, bigoted, stupid human being. If you support him, you support who he is and what he represents. I truly hope that he brings the entire GOP with him.
debbie
@Mike in NC:
That’s a distant second to his demand that Schiff be tried for treason for “saying terrible things.”
Patricia Kayden
@lamh36: If you take a job in the Trump administration, you know what you’ve signed up for. Oh well. You’re no victim.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I wonder if some right-wing gremlin will tell him about expulsion and he starts tweeting at the Turtle about it
and that’s when our cold-blooded friend finally explains that trump needs him more than he needs trump
sdhays
LOL: Dump Calls for Romney to be Impeached.
TS (the original)
@Rihilism:
If I believe the press (always doubtful) Perry realised he didn’t have a clue what he was doing & was one of the few of trump’s minions who depended on & followed the advice from the permanent members of his department. If he was involved with Ukraine calls that would have been because he was doing trump’s bidding & it is hoped he will say as much to congress. (& I know following orders is not a defense of wrong doing – but if it helps impeach trump, Perry will get a pass).
Jeffro
@Jay: Hmm…isn’t Daily Caller ol’ Tucker Carlson’s outfit?
Funny, that.
Aleta
“Not a lot of people know this but, I didn’t even want to make the call. The only reason I made the call was because Rick asked me to. Something about an LNG [liquified natural gas] plant.”
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@sdhays:
to quote Stevie Ray, that’s a cold shot
Aleta
@Aleta: ‘Not a lot of people know this, but I didn’t even want to run for President. The only reason I did was because Vlad asked me to. Something about money laundering.’
chris
@Aleta: So what? He still said what he said he said.
Not that any reporter will say that. I just turned off MSNBC because the meat puppet said that the allegations against the Bidens were “unsubstantiated.” Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!
Mary G
My speakers aren’t working, but the closed captioning and body language tells me #MoscowMitch had another bad public outing in Kentucky:
sukabi
@Booger: yes, that Erickson was hooked up with the Russian spy Maria Butina..
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
This is like the end of “Goodfellas” when they eliminate witnesses to the Lufthansa hi-jacking.
I expect Rick Perry will be found frozen in a meat locker.
Mary G
Some amusing responses in this thread:
debbie
@Mary G:
Pity she didn’t bring up farmers along with the coal miners.
lamh36
No assailants have been identified…of course
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mary G: The chicken is with the mustard, Soledad.
zhena gogolia
@Mary G:
Oh, you need to hear her. She’s great. Lovely accent.
zhena gogolia
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
Is “Layla” playing yet?
Mnemosyne
@lamh36:
Gee, that’s not suspicious at all. ?
chris
A little good and funny news.
NotMax
@Mary G
Pro tip: Look in the freezer.
Jeffro
@Aleta:
May he tell the cops at the interrogation table, skraggly strands of fake blond hiding his tears, and soon.
Mnemosyne
@Mary G:
I managed to tweak my neck taking a nap this afternoon. I am not happy about middle age. ?
Jeffro
PS RWNJ dad is melting down over my victory lap (re: “hearsay!…no wait, ‘perfect call’…no wait, ‘corruption’ but only in the Ukraine and with the Bidens…no wait, ‘Rick made me do it’!)
That “accommodation” op-ed in the NYT is a nice lil’ outline for anyone who wants to point out to RWNJs just how far down the rabbit hole they are.
NotMax
@Mnemosyne
You ain’t seen nothing yet. Wait another twenty years.
Ruckus
@Rihilism:
You left out a bit.
And it doesn’t work at all.
Jay
sukabi
@Mary G: it’s the dirt drumpf collects.
Ladyraxterinok
@lamh36:
Really have zero respect for public.
They commit crimes and cover them up all brazenly out in full public view
Turgidson
As soon as these nitwits realized Hair Furor pissed off liberals, they were all in. It’s pretty much that simple.
I know Bretbug Stephens claims to be NeverTrump, but he’d vote for him in a millisecond over any Democrat if he had to. Instead he’ll vote for the Libertarian and wank about how independent a thinker he is.
Ruckus
@zhena gogolia:
Can you debate the she is wrong about the conspiracy?
They all act like they are in it up to their eyeballs and few will stand up and at least remain a never trumper. They are willing to go to what looks like the last mile to remain true to him. They chose him, supported him and he bad mouths all of them and they don’t leave. There aren’t too many other conclusions to be made here.
Mary G
@Mnemosyne: I’m 63 and have lost a few abilities I used to take for granted in the memory area. I never ever had to look up the spelling of a word until recently. My body’s been a wreck for decades. Getting old isn’t for sissies.
TS (the original)
@Mary G: And it sounds like she will vote for Elizabeth Warren
Apart from that – why do any of them vote for the GOP – they’re sick, they’re poor & they have no jobs and no health insurance.
Ruckus
@Gvg:
They are all so power hungry and bad at it that when a loud mouthed grifter comes along and shows them how to do it, they may never leave, right up until the second it’s their ass on the line. Then it’s anyone’s guess as to if they will or won’t. But think what happens if they do. They will be left with pretty much no grifting possibilities left. And how many of them can do better than where they are now?
Jay
sdhays
@Jay: Everything is fine.
rikyrah
@Mnemosyne:
All of them ???
rikyrah
@Jay: ??????
Robmassing
As always, a RWNJ has no choice but to run into the arms of our authoritarian mob boss lunatic president because Teh Left Has Gone Too Far.
dww44
All should have pity on me who’s had to witness the Erick Erickson capitulation in real time, since he has a regular gig writing for the local paper and is PROMINENTLY featured at the top of each Sunday’s sole opinion page. About the only day of the week there is even an opinion page, since the McClatchey owned newspaper has about 7 staffers locally and expends most of its efforts trying to make it appear that we are actually getting local news. Part of that effort has been the rehiring of Erickson who used to, maybe still does, live here or somewhere between here and Atlanta.
So I got that conversion of his in our local paper quite some weeks, if not a couple of months ago, and have since had to read his paeans of praise to Herr Trump. Seriously, the GOP is truly nothing but a cult any longer. Not an independent thoughtful thinker left among the lot of them. And their capitulation is doubly nauseating when first they were vocal doubters. What happened to them? Trump could not possible have dirt on all of them.
Jinchi
Well that’s one way to get some diversity of opinion on the Sunday news shows.