I truly don't understand this, and nor do a number of people who advise the president. It's like he's trying to lose. https://t.co/GNOwrZEhx9
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) October 6, 2020
The political bet here is just this: The Supreme Court will save the GOP and they don't need a coronavirus bill to run on. I'm not sure how that's gonna look in retrospect a month from now
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) October 6, 2020
Shades of 2018 — “I will take the mantle,” Trump said of blame for a shut down. "I will be the one to shut it down.”https://t.co/iKP59g6QxU
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) October 6, 2020
Nancy Smash, you’re our only hope…
PELOSI back on Dem call now, she doesn't say whether the call with Mnuchin will go on. Doesn't directly address unfolding drama.
"We have a real problem because they know…they have rejected science…” she says of Republicans.
— Heather Caygle (@heatherscope) October 6, 2020
More PELOSI:
"We will have a bill .. obviously the president wants to do it after after the election … Believe me, there are people who think that steroids have an impact on thinking … so I don't know"
— Heather Caygle (@heatherscope) October 6, 2020
And Pelosi is not done hammering Trump. In a letter to Dems she calls his decision to end COVID talks to focus only on SCOTUS “an act of desperation” pic.twitter.com/mPE46m0MFs
— Heather Caygle (@heatherscope) October 6, 2020
IIRC, even with the Squatter-in-Chief’s compliance, a bill could be enacted with a veto-proof majority — *if* the GOP decides not to follow Dear Leader over the cliff…
Hill-HarrisX poll:
Should the Senate first pass a COVID relief bill or confirm Amy Coney Barrett?
Pass a COVID relief bill first 74%
Confirm Amy Coney Barrett first 26%— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 6, 2020
he’s out of time https://t.co/mRIVZapPVN
— kilgore trout, acting president (@KT_So_It_Goes) October 6, 2020
Today's news: Stimulus talks are dead, stocks are dropping and the trade deficit hit a 14-year high.
Polls have long shown that the economy was Trump's most important advantage against Biden. That's already been wiped away *before* all this, CNN's poll this morning showed.
— Eric Bradner (@ericbradner) October 6, 2020
Can you spot the moment when the Stable Genius said he was going to block economic relief during a massive crisis? pic.twitter.com/IyGZ5XL9AW
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) October 6, 2020
Interesting sidelight, from Vanity Fair, yesterday:
… According to sources, Don Jr. has told friends that he tried lobbying Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump, and Jared Kushner to convince the president that he needs to stop acting unstable. “Don Jr. has said he wants to stage an intervention, but Jared and Ivanka keep telling Trump how great he’s doing,” a source said. Don Jr. is said to be reluctant to confront his father alone. “Don said, ‘I’m not going to be the only one to tell him he’s acting crazy,’” the source added…
There is a long history in the Trump family of denying serious illness. According to a Trump family friend, Trump’s father, Fred Trump Sr., insisted on working even after his Alzheimer’s disease advanced in the 1990s. “To retire is to expire!” Fred Sr. would say. The friend said that as Fred Sr.’s disease worsened––he once came down the stairs wearing three neckties––the family created a system so that Fred could think he was still running the Trump Organization. Every day Fred Sr. would go to the office in Brooklyn and they would give him blank papers to sort through and sign. The phone on Fred’s desk was set up so that it could only dial out to his secretary. “Fred pretended to work,” the family friend said…
Instead of putting in the work to negotiate a deal to extend unemployment and give American workers the help they need to pay rent and buy groceries, Donald Trump decided to do what he does best: give up. https://t.co/DxZCbTru5S
— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) October 6, 2020
Reminder:
A Biden presidency would be better for the economy.
After the economic devastation American businesses and workers have been through, we could all use that. https://t.co/O5IqL4Gz1g
— Erik Brynjolfsson (@erikbryn) October 6, 2020
Morzer
I suspect that it comes down to Trump hating anyone and everyone who votes against him. He’s got quite a record of attempted political payback in his four years in office.
Cheryl Rofer
?????
Oh that is very good. Thank you for a rare laugh, AL
germy
JPL
@germy: That is horrifying, but not surprising.
Cheryl Rofer
Here’s Germy’s tweet with the video conveniently available.
MattF
Who knows what’s going on– not me, anyhow.
So…. maybe McConnell and a posse of his Senators want to make a live demo to the base of what they can do as long as they control the Senate. And a hopped-up Trump can be convinced that it’s genius.
germy
germy
@Cheryl Rofer:
Ken
Hmm, all those twitter pundits saying “I don’t understand this,” and our own Tom Levenson on this nearly-top-10000 blog got it right away: “Après moi le déluge”.
Percysowner
Repeating from the previous thread
Well Ohio suddenly has shenanigans.
Some Franklin County voters receive wrong absentee ballots in mail
I’m sure will be STUNNED to hear that Franklin County is a pocket of Blue surrounded by red. Wonder how this happened?
Hoodie
I can see two possibilities, which are not mutually exclusive. The first is, while he’s always been a lunatic, the steroids and ‘rona have pushed him over the edge into suicidal grandiosity. The second is in line with what Swan says; he knows he’s losing, but he’s reinforcing his brand (which looks like deliberately trying to lose) in order to hold on to the lunatics who will continue to be his marks after he leaves office.
Geminid
It looks like Mark Meadows has used trump’s illness to get the upper hand over Mnuchin. Meadows’ Freedom Caucus was instrumental in the republican congressional failures that helped create the blue wave of 2018. Now he’s guiding the republicans to a defeat of historic proportions in 2020.
germy
Eric S.
“he needs to stop acting unstable.”
Acting? Seems to me Jr. is as unawares as Sr.
bluehill
@Percysowner: No need to spend money on ads when you’ve got this going for you.
debbie
@Cheryl Rofer:
That last shot especially!
Ken
@germy: Oh, the poor covid.
debbie
@germy:
Thank you, Universe!
Humanities Prof
Stephen Miller tests positive, per TPM.
If it gets just ONE of these fuckers, could it be him, please?
Edit: germy beat me to it.
Nora Lenderbee
@Cheryl Rofer: “Stop it, Dad, you’re embarrassing me!”
debbie
@Percysowner:
I’ll also repost this related article:
They’re also apologizing for doing the same thing in North Carolina.
Cheryl Rofer
Analyzing Trump’s actions a bit more seriously, he has always advocated walking away from negotiations to (in his view) gain leverage.
He once told Ambassador Richard Burt, an arms control negotiator, that the way to deal with the Russians (Soviets at that time, I think) was to arrive late, stride over to the table, thrust his finger into his counterpart’s chest, yell “Fuck you” and stomp out.
There is a parallel here, and he’s done it before. Many people on Twitter are saying they expect this to last a couple of days.
But Tom could be right too. Things are looking bad for the Republicans.
Immanentize
@germy: I hate our times. “I am not an awful person who has mutilated inocents, why me?” Ask all rational people.
piratedan
@germy: welcome to the 2020 remake… Triumph of the Shrill
Immanentize
@germy: What a nice day for a
whitered wedding.RaflW
Double posting from below (but will skip triple-posting as Cole has bigfooted but here I will be for now).
Heard an episode of Fresh Air maybe 10 days ago, about nuclear weapons. The guest described to Dave Davies that decades ago Trump called some top political appointee who was to be negotiating with the Soviets on (probably?) SALT — or START. Anyway, Trump calls the guy and says, I have the thing for your negotiations: Go into the room on the first day, slam your hand down and yell at them. And walk out.
Of course it’s utterly idiotic. Maybe, possibly, some stunt like that works when you’re an NYC developer and you’re unhappy about the price of concrete or electricians.
It’s not how nuclear non-proliferation works, and it for sure isn’t how winning a campaign works when you’re down by 12 points and all your staff are getting infected with a nasty virus.
“I’ll fuck over the stimulus bill!” will impress voters as much as the similar move would have impressed Russian nuke-diplomats.
Immanentize
@Humanities Prof: no no no. Bill Barr. Let it be him!
Immanentize
@debbie: What company was it in Brooklyn?
CaseyL
If Trump is acting out due to drugs and underlying mental decay, there’s no way to know just what it is he thinks he’s doing.
Because he ain’t thinking, not at all at all. He’s deep into Psychotic Tourettes at this point.
Immanentize
@Cheryl Rofer:
That was the insane advice given to Riker in a STNG episode by a mad replacement captain regarding negotiations with the Kardashians.
ETA. I LOVE AUTOCORRECT:
*Cardassians
RaflW
To Burgess Everett’s ‘political bet’ tweet in the OP: What seems like a tolerable bet to social conservatives who want abortion gone and maybe some amount of pushing back on LGBTQ equality, sure seems like a terrible bet for business Republicans.
No stimulus before the election was pretty damn likely. But it was easy to ‘both sides’ up to now (by lazy, shitty media people — too many of them). Even with the House having sent two different versions to the calcified Senate.
But Trump has put down his marker. Now if no stimulus passes after the election but before Jan 20, Dems have what they need to message the fuck out of the GOP.
I don’t know how this will play out. I sure hope it fuels the fires of people so mad they punish the Republicans right down to elected town officers, and certainly aiding the flipping of legislatures. But who knows what our electorate might do.
RaflW
@germy: “Working remotely” has a lot more wiggle room than “quarantined.” So he was potentially typhoid mary-ing about town for 5 days before his positive, just staying out of the West Wing.
Klassy.
ronrab
Looking at Twitter gives some hint of how Trump/the GOP hope this plays – claim they walked away because Pelosi was being unreasonable. Doesn’t seem like a winner to me, but at least it’s comprehensible.
Croaker
Stephen my child, you have come to me my son. For who now is your father if it is not me? I am the well spring, from which you flow. When I am gone, you will have never been.
– THUSLA DOOM
Kent
Barr
Kent
Really? Did they explain what she was being unreasonable ABOUT?
Thought not.
Croaker
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/postal-service-says-mail-in-ballot-rulings-could-delay-election-mail-delivery/ar-BB19Lkmn
Bill Arnold
@Humanities Prof:
I’ll note, just in passing, that the brain is sometimes damaged by SARS-CoV-2, indirectly through strokes, and there is some evidence of direct infection-caused damage.
Bill Arnold
@Immanentize:
Barr is more powerful, but Miller is more evil. Toss up?
MomSense
@Bill Arnold:
@Immanentize:
How ‘bout a twofer?
ballerat
@Croaker: OK, as a Thulsa Doom fan I do enjoy these quotes.
Josie
@MomSense:
Porque no los dos?
Sloane Ranger
My first thought was his judgement has been affected by the steroids, but trying to force concessions by walking away is a possibility and he has previous.
But, how about this for completely out of the box thinking?
No stimulus will mean all those lazy, deadbeat small business owners and workers currently sitting in their jim jams, binge watching TV and eating popcorn, while waiting for their money for nothing stimulus cheques to arrive will be jolted into action in order to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. They’ll re-open their businesses, hire staff and, as one, tell all those elite busy bodies with all their stupid rules where to get off. Lo and behold, economy takes off like a rocket, Trump saves capitalism!
ballerat
@germy: Is that petulant child arms-crossed-over-chest thing also a nazi thing or just 1920/30s fascist? There is vid of Mussolini doing exactly that. Italian fascism was not the same as nazism.
Obvious where Trump cribbed it from, though, including the arrogant bully head tilt and lips/jaw jutting out/backpfeifengesicht thing.
Trump is too dumb to bother with history. Who tipped him to 1930s fascist public speaking body language? Who coached him? Even Il Duce and Der Führer were coached.
Kent
@Bill Arnold: MORE evil? They are both peak evil. Barr just has more power. Miller is targeting immigrants. Barr is targeting democracy itself. He is FAR more dangerous.
Calouste
@Kent: McConnell.
low-tech cyclist
You mean, the same Nancy Smash that, just six days ago, gave up such leverage as she had by funding the government for another year? Then relied on the goodness of Trump’s or Mnuchin’s heart in order to get a deal?
All sorts of things she could have done. She could have passed a CR that funded everything except ICE. Who wants ICE more, us or Trump & Co.? I don’t get it.
Another Scott
@low-tech cyclist: She knows how to count votes. She’s been doing it for a living for a very long time.
Cheers,
Scott.
geg6
@Another Scott:
This. She is not a fan of unicorns.
Hoppie
@low-tech cyclist: The funding extension is until 11 December. Maximizes her leverage at that point, I would say. Especially if they’ve been wiped out in the Senate and some of the Pukes still want to have a future. Oh, and it was 14 days ago. Duh.
The Bloody Peasant
@Bill Arnold: Why not both? We shouldn’t have to choose. Both men are worthy recipients of COVID’s tender mercies.
Chris T.
Dead thread, but I just have to say: No real need for the correction, both words mean the same creatures!