Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

The jury literally has a bell they can ring to force Trump to show up on command. Greatest thing ever!

The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself. it’s up to us.

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you don’t.

I desperately hope that, yet again, I am wrong.

Somebody needs to explain to DeSantis that nobody needs to do anything to make him look bad.

So many bastards, so little time.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Ah, the different things are different argument.

Let there be snark.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

No one could have predicted…

I was confident that someone would point it out and thought why not me.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.

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

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

If West Virginia and San Francisco had a love child.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / What The ACTUAL Hell??

What The ACTUAL Hell??

by | 83 Comments

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Did he really just say this?

I am going to be out of can’t evens before this all ends.

Open thread

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83Comments

  2. 2.

    MisterForkbeard

    I’m very hopeful that Democrats literally play this clip repeatedly throughout the day.

    “Donald Trump LITERALLY says he’s not worried about impeachment because he’s hiding information from the Senate.” Alternating impeachment managers can make the point soberly (“It’s our duty to bring this information in and consider it carefully – Trump himself believes it has a great impact on the case.”) and rudely (“Are Republicans really so craven that they’ll taken even this and neglect to do their basic jobs? Or even pretend to do their jobs?”)

    The first is probably much more effective, but you never know. :)

  3. 3.

    burnspbesq

    So yeah, he just admitted doing what is alleged in the second article of impeachment.

    Think it matters to twenty Senate Republicans?

    Me neither.

  4. 4.

    bbleh

    I am fairly sure that, from his POV and that of his supporters, that’s not only perfectly okay to say, it’s actually a good thing, and hilarious besides!

    He’s winning! And he’s making the libruls mad! It’s a two-fer

    That it’s dishonest, and destructive of norms fundamental to governance, is at worst a minor matter and arguably is also a good thing.

  5. 5.

    Jerzy Russian

    That is certainly up there on the WTF? scale.

    If it were me and I was being charged with crimes, my inclination would be to shut the fuck up, rather than to state out loud that the prosecutor cannot prove I am guilty because they have not seen material that I have in my possession.

  6. 6.

    Kent

    So after this coverup show trial, the House just goes back and spends the next 9 months investing the COVERUP and keeps every damn Trumper paying for high-priced lawyers from now until election day.  Pulls at every fucking string.  And just goes all Benghazi on his ass.

    They could have had a legitimate trial in the Senate.  But they didn’t so now the House has to go back and do the Senate’s job for them.   It’s not the CRIME, it’s the COVERUP after all.  Haven’t we learned that by now?

  8. 8.

    MisterForkbeard

    @bbleh: I think this is basically right. He’s telling his people that he’s guilty but he’s CHEATING to win, and they like this. Republicans like this! Republicans like that their Senators are covering up for the guy!

    And this works so long as Democrats don’t have sufficient leverage points to force real consequences and so long as the rest of the electorate doesn’t turn on them in sufficient numbers.

    But seriously, being obviously corrupt is part of the charm so long as it’s deployed against Dems.

  9. 9.

    Bobby Thomson

    Honestly, I don’t know why the party hasn’t set up a web site, updated daily, with summaries of all the evidence and video clips of admissions like this. Plenty of earned media so they wouldn’t even have to pay to air them.

  10. 10.

    Betty Cracker

    When Trump makes damaging statements like this, it’s always fun to watch the reaction of the toadies, Mnuchin, in this case. His head wobbles a bit, like a haggis on a stick. LOL!

  15. 15.

    Cheryl Rofer

    Also –

  18. 18.

    Aardvark Cheeselog

    After calling Sens. Rubio (R-Brahman Motors) and Rick Scott (R-Medicare Fraud), I note that Sen. Scott seems to have inherited Sen. Nelson’s old phone number.

    Do the thing that Betty Cracker said… if you have an R Senator, call their offices, leave a voicemail, and at least make their staffers listen to Yet Another outraged American.

  23. 23.

    cmorenc

    @Cheryl Rofer: (quoting Joe Lockhart):

    It was early this morning on CNBC, but the President said he wants to cut entitlements in his second term including social security. Medicare and Medicaid are also targets. He says they’re the easiest to cut. Gamechanger for the election.

    Trump enjoys playing “hold my beer and watch this” for consumption with his base.  OK, so Trump doesn’t drink beer, but it’s the same paradigm, and the stunt is taunting Ds and progressives.  He correctly thinks he’s successfully pulled off so many outrageous stunts to enthrall his base, and has enough R officeholders bullied shitless from stopping him – he’ll get away with this, too.  In fact, Trump’s life experience is that he’s always gotten away with whatever shit he’s pulled.

    Whether enough of the electorate strongly enough disapproves of his whole act enough to bother to turn out in enough states to toss his ass out in the street remains to be seen.

  24. 24.

    TaMara (HFG)

    I just gave the ducks fresh pool water,  my blood pressure drops in relation to listening to them quack and splash around in the pool. Sigh. I do enjoy them.

    Okay, back to work for me. You guys behave and I’ll check back later to see if anything earth-shattering happens during the trial today.

  25. 25.

    germy

    It was early this morning on CNBC, but the President said he wants to cut entitlements in his second term including social security. Medicare and Medicaid are also targets.

    Makes sense.  We can’t increase military spending, create a Space Force, build a wall, and give millionaires/billionaires massive tax cuts without tightening our belts somewhere…

  26. 26.

    chopper

    ah, the ol’ rick james defense:

    Come on, what am I gonna do, just all of a sudden jump up and grind my feet on somebody’s couch like it’s something to do? Come on, I got a little more sense then that.

    …Yeah, I remember grinding my feet on Eddie’s couch.

  27. 27.

    piratedan

    to pile on to Kent’s thought (which I had also expressed earlier) if the House Dems chose to, they could probably draft a unique set of impeachment items each month, couple it with the usual side of obstruction of justice and earnestly lay out each of his crimes…

    February – Campaign finance violations – The Stormy Daniels case in using campaign funds to pay off porn stars in an illicit affair while on the campaign trail (just in time for Valentine’s Day!)

    March – Emoluments clause violations

    April – The abuse of the AUMF to kill off Sulemeni

    June – Security violations of communications protocols in e-mails and cell phone usage

    July – ICE – civil rights and international law violations of asylum seekers

    August – Misuse of federal funding to build his fucking wall

    September – Perjury

    and we can leave the heavy heat for October where his loans and tax evasion come to light in regards to his relationship with Putin

     

    and its not as if those don’t trip your trigger, there’s more crime to pick and choose from.  The GOP insisted that there was a “there” with Benghazi and wore us down with Clinton Derangement Fatigue.  The Dems can make a very potent counterpoint illustration on just what corruption really is.  Doesn’t matter if the press plays along or not, people are watching and make Mitch McConnell stand the fuck up and defend ALL of this corruption and bring along on his short tether each and every one of these GOP Senators for the ride.

  31. 31.

    oatler.

    At this point I actually like Trump more than McConnell because Trump will soon collapse through dementia/heart problems but McConnell WILL NEVER FUCKING DIE.

  33. 33.

    Chyron HR

    @germy:

    Sure, Bernie the completely rogue agents who coincidentally make up the entirety of Bernie’s staff have already announced that Biden is the REAL enemy of Social Security.

  36. 36.

    smintheus

    @jonas: I would be surprised if Warren does not jump on this and have an ad out by tomorrow. The third rail is the third rail.

  37. 37.

    LeftCoastYankee

    I think part of the reason they wanted no TV was to avoid triggering an outburst of Twitter confessions (or witness intimidation) from the Idiot.

    Then he goes and does it in person….

  44. 44.

    trollhattan

    @chopper:

    1. Pass tax bill that enriches the rich and turbocharges the national debt and budget deficit.
    2. Wait until the Usual Suspects finally notice massive debt and deficit and begin yapping on their CNBC “Shout about finance” slots.
    3. Demand “entitlement” cuts [i.e., “Free Stuff”] that the Democrat-controlled House refuses to tackle, in shiny new [a.k.a. really farking old] tax bill.
    4. Profit!

    Known nomes.

  47. 47.

    Roger Moore

    Bragging about it is the whole point.  Trump doesn’t want to engage in corruption behind closed doors.  He wants to do it out in the open and then have people defend his right to do so, because it’s a way of demonstrating his power.

  50. 50.

    evinfuilt

    1. Pass tax bill that enriches the rich and turbocharges the national debt and budget deficit.
    2. Wait until the Usual Suspects finally notice massive debt and deficit and begin yapping on their CNBC “Shout about finance” slots.
    3. Demand “entitlement” cuts [i.e., “Free Stuff”] that the Democrat-controlled House refuses to tackle, in shiny new [a.k.a. really farking old] tax bill.
    4. Profit!

    @trollhattan:

    It’s like that’s their game plan, as they did to Clinton, then Obama, and who ever is next.

  51. 51.

    smintheus

    Last night I rewatched the movie Memento, and I was struck by how well it depicted our contempary political scene. The protagonist is openly mocked, abused, and made a travesty through manipulation because he doesn’t remember and rarely pushes back against any of the mockery, abuse, or manipulation. That’s a perfect metaphor for the pathetic state of American journalism and a large segment of the American electorate.

  52. 52.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    …aw, fuck. Terry Jones is no more. He has ceased to be. ‘E’s expired and gone to meet ‘is maker! ‘E’s a stiff! Bereft of life, ‘e rests in peace! If you hadn’t nailed ‘im to the perch ‘e’d be pushing up the daisies! ‘Is metabolic processes are now ‘istory! ‘E’s off the twig! ‘E’s kicked the bucket, ‘e’s shuffled off ‘is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir invisible!! THIS IS AN EX-PYTHON!!

    There may have been other comedy troupes (or solo comedians) with higher hit to miss ratios than Python’s, but I don’t think any others were as formative to my sense of humour. Not all of their material has aged so well, either, but the best bits are timeless.

    In addition to writing and performing, of course, Jones directed much of their material, including Holy Grail (alongside Gilliam) and Life of Brian (by himself). And he also did plenty of things outside of Python, including scholarship. (In point of fact, Holy Grail is truer to Mallory than most other adaptations of Arthurian legend in large part due to Jones’ scholarship, and a surprising amount of historical accuracy also went into the film [except where it was funny to diverge from history], again largely as a result of Jones. And that’s not even touching on Flying Circus.)

    Jones’ death around this time was essentially a foregone conclusion, given that he’d been diagnosed with dementia several years ago, but it doesn’t make it any less of a bummer to hear. R.I.P., mate.

    Ceterum censeo factionem Republicanam esse delendam.

  53. 53.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    @(((CassandraLeo))): …and of course, I completely neglected to mention that Neil Innes (who would deserve immortality for the Rutles alone) left us a few weeks ago. Just a bad time for fans of ageing British comedians. I’ll have to put on Holy Grail tonight, obviously.

    Ceterum censeo factionem Republicanam esse delendam.

  54. 54.

    Ruckus

    I am officially out of fucks.

    I’ve never known a limit before today – but I just slammed into mine.

  55. 55.

    piratedan

    @(((CassandraLeo))): what seemed to make them timeless (imho) is that they proved you could be smart AND funny and that making fun of authority (and all of its conventions) is something that most of us appreciate when its idiocy is revealed for what it is…

    favorite bit is the Upper-Class Twit of the Year sketch…

  56. 56.

    Kay

    Trump also said he wants to cut Medicare and Social Security, and will if he’s reelected.

    He’s so thrilled to be at Davos (where they’re kissing his ass) that he forgot to lie about it.

    Runs ads on it now. He’s bragging to his wealthy supporters about how he plans to screw his own voters and he and his team are too fucking stupid to realize we can all hear them.

  57. 57.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    Omarosa predicted it in 2016:

    Former “Apprentice” contestant and top Donald Trump cheerleader Omarosa Manigault is warning his critics they will soon be bowing down before him.

    “Every critic, every detractor, will have to bow down to President Trump,” she said. “It’s everyone who’s ever doubted Donald, who ever disagreed, who ever challenged him. It is the ultimate revenge to become the most powerful man in the universe.”

  58. 58.

    Kay

    The Trump Family are being lauded at Davos.

    Our elites are morally and ethically bankrupt, which is why no one listens to them anymore. They have only themselves to blame for the collapse of institutions. They’re poor quality people. Of course the institutions they run are weak and became discredited. They ran them into the ground.

  60. 60.

    Ruckus

    @Cameron:

    What makes moscow dangerous is that he reached the limit of what he could realistically do to screw up everything that the country stands for about 4 years ago. To make progress on his agenda, he has to resort to illegal and underhanded everything. Which is exactly what he’s doing.

  61. 61.

    Spc

    @Jerzy Russian: its hard to tell what he means given his oft incoherent use of English. Saying the quiet parts out loud?. Maybe. Trying to express that only he knows what happened and what the process was since he was there? Also possible – poorly stated as usual but possible.

  62. 62.

    Kay

    Josh Campbell
    @joshscampbell
    ·2h
    President Trump claims it would be a “national security problem” if former National Security Adviser
    @AmbJohnBolton
    testified in his impeachment trial.
    Trump also says he doesn’t “like people testifying when they didn’t leave on good terms.”

    I love how he has the logo of this “prestigious” institution behind his head as he spouts this ridiculous babble and they’re all such goddammned power-worshiping sheep they’re earnestly hanging on his every word.

    Whatever they paid for their expensive educations- and it’s a LOT in a room like that- they paid too much. Not a one of them has a mind of their own. Ripe for the picking by any random authoritarian moron that came along. They’re Trump’s marks.

  63. 63.

    catclub

    @Bobby Thomson: I don’t know why the party hasn’t set up a web site, updated daily, with summaries of all the evidence and video clips of admissions like this. Plenty of earned media so they wouldn’t even have to pay to air them.

     

    you crack me up.

  64. 64.

    catclub

    @Cameron: I think McConnell is more dangerous because he isn’t a moron.

     

    and I will repeat that it is not Mitch, it is all  the GOP senators that are fully behind Mitch. It would take only 4 to cut him off at the knees. There aren’t.

  65. 65.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @catclub: the different approaches of the vulnerable senators interests me: McSally and Tillis doubling down on trumpism, Collins talking out of both sides of her face and her ass, Gardner keeping his head down (and I think at this point playing to his post-Senate employers)

  66. 66.

    Another Scott

    @Kay: Donnie and his hangers-on live by:

    Après moi, le déluge.

    He thinks, and wants everyone else to think, that he is America.

    “I would like you to do us a favor though…”

    We need to fight against this.  We are, still, a nation of laws, not of men (and women).

    “That it is of the Essence of a free Republic, that the People be governed by FIXED LAWS OF THEIR OWN MAKING.”

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  69. 69.

    chopper

    @Roger Moore:

    exactly. this is him showing off to everyone that he owns the GOP part and parcel. they degraded themselves and he’s rubbing their noses in it because that’s what he does.

  75. 75.

    ziggy

    It sounds to me like his dementia has progressed to the point that he is just parroting things that his handlers/enablers have told him–“we have all the material”, “my call was perfect”, etc…his own vocabulary and phrasing has regressed so much, I don’t believe he would formulate those phrases on his own, and they are very awkward. Have some pity for his handlers, what a tough job, just to even keep a straight face!

  76. 76.

    WaterGirl

    @ziggy:

    Have some pity for his handlers, what a tough job, just to even keep a straight face!

    They are aiding and abetting a criminal. No pity, no mercy.

  79. 79.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    @Amir Khalid: The Dead Parrot sketch was of course written by Cleese and Chapman (and performed by Cleese and Palin), but it still seems obligatory to quote it whenever any Python member joins the great Comedy Troupe in the Sky. I doubt that any of the Pythons themselves would have wanted anything else.

    @piratedan: I completely agree with this. They shaped a good portion of not merely my taste in comedy but my worldview, by showing that those in power are often as clueless as the rest of us, if not more so. I think my favourite bit to this extent is probably Dennis the Constitutional Peasant, which I would assume that Palin and Jones probably co-wrote, considering that they played Dennis and Dennis’ mother, respectively. (Upper-Class Twit of the Year is of course a classic as well.)

    @Mnemosyne: …I also agree with this.

    Ceterum censeo factionem Republicanam esse delendam.

  80. 80.

    Searcher

    @Cheryl Rofer: Don’t you remember this from the last election?  You’re supposed to take Trump seriously but not literally.  Obviously, Trump saying he wants to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid just shows he is serious about the deficit (despite increasing it by leaps and bounds).  He doesn’t literally want to cut any benefits (to old white people), and only a Democrat would pretend he did.

    (I was going to go with sarcasm-pink for that, but I just realized that talking heads have probably already said it, which depressed me too much, so now it’s I-made-myself-sad-purple.)

  81. 81.

    WaterGirl

    @Searcher:

    I would have thought that I-made-myself-sad-purple would have been this color:

    I-made-myself-sad-purple.

    I think your purple is a happier purple.

  82. 82.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @cmorenc: In fact, Trump’s life experience is that he’s always gotten away with whatever shit he’s pulled.

    Trump just remembers the times he did , not the times his peepee got spanked.

    Just keep in mind that Trump would be coasting to a reelection if he wasn’t such a viscous twatwaffle.

  83. 83.

    VOR

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: Just keep in mind that Trump would be coasting to a reelection if he wasn’t such a viscous twatwaffle.

    I disagree. Being a vicious twatwaffle is why his Base loves him. Finally, someone willing to be a complete asshole. But he is their asshole and that’s why he has that cult-like 40% support. Also why he can’t go higher, too.

    But you are right, a normal President with this economy would be in much better position with independents.

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