Everything about this is amazing. And all real Donald quotes.
Smug.
Jordan Klepper as hype man- who knew?
by John Cole| 70 Comments
This post is in: Election 2016
Everything about this is amazing. And all real Donald quotes.
Smug.
Jordan Klepper as hype man- who knew?
This post is in: Cruz-ifiction, Election 2016, JEB! = John Ellis Not-Bush 2016, Open Threads, Republicans in Disarray!, Clown car
(h/t commentor Omnes Omnibus)
I’d actually forgotten Jeb had endorsed Ted “Lucifer in the Flesh” Cruz. Guess that’s why ThanksGeorge decided to wander back into the field of fire, via CNN:
A reflective Jeb Bush said he had no regrets Thursday about his failed presidential bid, saying in his first interview since leaving the race that Donald Trump could still lose the nomination fight.
“There’s a possibility that he won’t get 50% on the first ballot,” Bush told CNN’s Jamie Gangel, giving his first television interview exclusively to CNN after dropping out of the presidential race in February. “And if he doesn’t do that, there are a whole lot of people who don’t believe he’s the proper guy.”
Bush, who has endorsed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for president but been largely invisible as a surrogate, wouldn’t say whether he would support Trump as the nominee in November, though he added there’s no way he would vote for Hillary Clinton. When asked repeatedly how he would vote if Trump became the nominee, Bush responded, “I’m hopeful he won’t be.”
The former governor said only two people could win the nomination, seeming to not recognize the argument made by Ohio Gov. John Kasich that he could emerge as the nominee.
Bush said he observed Trump’s foreign policy speech Wednesday with bewilderment, saying, “I don’t think he is a serious person.”…
It’s Insert Your Own Jokes Here time!
Apart from recycling, what’s on the agenda as we wrap up another long week?
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Friday Morning Open Thread: Klown Prince JEB! Rejoins the ConversationPost + Comments (199)
by Adam L Silverman| 184 Comments
This post is in: Domestic Politics, Election 2016, Foreign Affairs, Politics, Silverman on Security, The Trump Doctrine
I’ve had a chance to read and reread the transcript of Donald Trump’s foreign policy speech, as well as reflect on both what was written and what was delivered. I will leave the fiskings and point by point takedowns of the contradictions, flaws in logic, petty vindictiveness, and inconsistencies to others. I want, instead, to focus in on the core of the address, which could, perhaps, be referred to the Trump Doctrine. The Trump Doctrine, at its core, can be boiled down to America (we) will be treated fairly. As I wrote yesterday in my initial impressions, this is essentially National Security Narcissism. The Trump Doctrine of America being treated fairly runs through all of the five weaknesses he identified in his remarks. Even when those weaknesses don’t bear a lot of close scrutiny or resemble reality or contradict each other. More than that, however, is that the Trump Doctrine is really the animating force or theme of the entire Trump campaign. The other candidates had better treat Donald Trump fairly, the Republican National Committee better treat Donald Trump fairly, the Republican establishment better treat Donald Trump fairly, the media better treat Donald Trump fairly, the state level parties that handle the primaries and all the delegates chosen better treat Donald Trump fairly. And Donald Trump will make them treat him fairly! And the only candidate, nay the only person in America who can ensure that you are treated fairly is Donald Trump. And if he isn’t treated fairly or the US isn’t treated fairly, then he will get even!
In one way this is pure genius. It seamlessly connects the domestic and foreign policy, for lack of a better term because there really has been no discussion of policies (or even the shorthand of ends and objectives by Mr. Trump or his campaign surrogates), within the campaign’s messaging. And by doing so it reaches right out to and connects with those supporting Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and ambitions. The average American, in some cases even the above average American, really does not know how policy is formulated or strategy is developed for domestic issues, let alone for foreign or defense issues. Donald Trump’s speech yesterday cut through all of that reality – that how the official business of America at the Federal, state, and municipal levels is done is often arcane and messy – and reached right for his supporter’s guts. Donald Trump has consistently been telling Americans – in his Washington Post interview, as well as the one in the New York Times, in his media appearances, at debates and town halls, and at his rallies – that they are being taken advantage of and that only Donald Trump can stop this. All he’s now done is formally extend it into the realm of foreign and defense policy and connect the pieces together.
So what does the Trump Doctrine, America will be treated fairly, really mean? Donald Trump has provided some explanation. NATO members must start paying their minimums and the alliance’s focus must be adjusted for a post Cold War world. Never mind that the Obama Administration was already engaging on the European defense spending issue and that NATO has already adjusted their mission set for the post Cold War world. Our other allies and partners must actually pay us for the privilege of our partnerships. The reality is that South Korea and Japan, who were both explicitly mentioned in this regard, already do so. And while there was a small amount of aid given to Saudi Arabia for military training, $10,000, that is not even a rounding error in the foreign military sales budget. It also means that if trade deals don’t actually work out to the US’s advantage, that the US will simply walk away from them. While this may work in private business deals in the US, it is not that simple when dealing with multilateral agreements negotiated through diplomatic channels. Of course it may also not mean any of these things as it is not at all clear that beyond the concept of fair treatment, Mr. Trump has actually thought through most of what would happen should he, as President, try to respond when he feels that the US has not been treated fairly.
The only people that should be happy with Mr. Trump’s foreign policy remarks are Vladimir Putin, the leadership of the People’s Republic of China, and the Islamic extremists running the Islamic State and al Qaeda. Mr. Trump’s doctrine of America will be treated fairly screams a revanchist approach to foreign and defense policy. Should the US not be treated fairly, the US will then retaliate. Maybe that’s taking our things and going home. Maybe that’s getting even. Maybe its something else, but because Donald Trump’s emphasis is on unpredictability there is no way to really know.
Vladimir Putin must be thrilled. Especially over the tough talk directed towards NATO and the EU, China and the Middle East. One of the cores of Putinism is to roll back NATO’s post Cold War expansion and weaken, if not outright dissolve, the EU. Both because he feels they are interfering in his near abroad and because part of Putinism is also revanchist; seeking retribution (h/t for both to: Stiftungleostrauss) for American and European predation on a weak post Soviet Russia. Putin also would love to have the US pull back from the Middle East and Asia so he could extend his influence there, as well as open up new opportunities and markets.
Similarly, the Chinese leadership would love for the US, in a snit, to take its expeditionary military presence in the Asia-Pacific region and go home. It seems to have escaped Mr. Trump’s notice that the only thing keeping China from not just fully capturing the Senkaku and Diaoyu Islands, but from China’s actions in regard to them from turning into a full out Asian-Pacific war is that the US’s military presence keeps the sea and ground lines of commerce and communication open in the region. The People’s Republic would be thrilled if the US pulled its personnel out of Japan and South Korea and ended regional exercises in a snit of alleged unfair treatment. They would also, just like Vladimir Putin, like to be able to seek new opportunities in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Arab North Africa. They are already pursuing their own interests in all of these places, as well as sub-Saharan Africa, so having the US pull out because its new President’s feeling were hurt would be a dream come true.
Finally, the Islamic extremists that run the Islamic State and al Qaeda are most likely giving prayers of thanks every time Mr. Trump talks about excluding Muslims from the US, going after not just suspected and identified terrorists, but members of their families as well, and bringing back water boarding and then adding worse – whatever worse is. Aside from alienating the leadership of the Muslim majority countries that we need to be partnered with to contain and ultimately attrit the Islamic State and al Qaeda until they are incapable of causing the harm, destruction, and chaos they currently do, Mr. Trump’s remarks are the best recruiting material an Islamic extremist could ask for. Rather than having to destroy the gray zone themselves in order to force Muslims to chose a side, the Islamic State and al Qaeda can sit back and watch Mr. Trump’s rhetoric do it for them. And then leverage it in recruiting materials.
While Donald Trump’s doctrine of America will be treated fairly may not make a lot of specific policy sense in regard to the global system that the US exists within, it makes perfect sense as a campaign theme to further connect Trump with his supporters. The real genius behind the Trump Doctrine is that it is Donald Trump’s promise to his supporters and anyone amenable to his message that: Donald Trump will be treated fairly, only Donald Trump can ensure Americans will be treated fairly, and only Donald Trump can ensure that America will be treated fairly. National Security Narcissism indeed.
Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy Speech Part the Second: The Trump DoctrinePost + Comments (184)
This post is in: Bernie Sanders 2016, Election 2016, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat
.@BernieSanders says he's in this race to win but experts say he is "starting his descent.” https://t.co/2JppaBuXFg pic.twitter.com/eig2nDtl4l
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) April 28, 2016
From the NYTimes, yesterday:
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Battered by four defeats in Tuesday night’s primaries, Bernie Sanders is planning to lay off hundreds of campaign staffers across the country and focus much of his remaining effort on winning the June 7 California primary…
Despite the changes, Mr. Sanders said he would remain in the race through the party’s summer convention and stressed that he hoped to bring staff members back on board if his political fortunes improved. But political experts say the layoffs signal Mr. Sanders is beginning to accept that he will not be the Democratic nominee and is now focused on pulling the party toward a more progressive agenda.
“We want to win as many delegates as we can, so we do not need workers now in states around the country,” Mr. Sanders said in an interview. “We don’t need people right now in Connecticut. That election is over. We don’t need them in Maryland. So what we are going to do is allocate our resources to the 14 contests that remain, and that means that we are going to be cutting back on staff.”…
Rumor is that the layoffs were not handled to best-practice standards:
Wait, hold on: is Bernie talking to the media how Sanders staffers are learning they’re probably going to lose their jobs?
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) April 27, 2016
On the conference call, Jeff Weaver made the announcement and Sanders himself did not join the call, upsetting some true believers.
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) April 28, 2016
By far the weirdest part of the Bernie layoffs news is the campaign's lack of money. Has to be an untold spend-side story there.
— Tom Watson (@tomwatson) April 28, 2016
Well, about that last tweet… The Washington Post, today — “Sanders is biggest spender of 2016 so far — generating millions for consultants”:
The small-dollar fundraising juggernaut that has kept Bernie Sanders’s insurgent White House bid afloat far longer than anticipated has generated another unexpected impact: a financial windfall for his team of Washington consultants.
By the end of March, the self-described democratic socialist senator from Vermont had spent nearly $166 million on his campaign — more than any other 2016 presidential contender, including rival Hillary Clinton. More than $91 million went to a small group of admakers and media buyers who produced a swarm of commercials and placed them on television, radio and online, according to a Washington Post analysis of Federal Election Commission reports.
While the vast majority of that money was passed along to television stations and websites to pay for the advertising, millions in fees were kept by the companies, The Post calculated. While it is impossible to determine precisely how much the top consultants have earned, FEC filings indicate the top three media firms have reaped payments of seven figures…
The large profits stem in part from the fact that no one in Sanders’s campaign imagined he would generate such enormous financial support. So unlike Clinton, he did not cap how much his consultants could earn in commissions from what was expected to be a bare-bones operation, according to campaign officials.
That has meant big payouts for the firm of senior strategist Tad Devine, which has produced the bulk of the campaign’s ads; Old Towne Media, a small media placement operation run by two of Devine’s longtime buyers; and Revolution Messaging, a digital firm led by veterans of President Obama’s 2008 campaign.
And the commissions may continue to pile up, even though Sanders’s chances of securing the Democratic nomination have been all but extinguished. After he lost four out of the five states that held primaries Tuesday, his campaign began laying off 225 staffers around the country. But Sanders is still actively seeking donations, and he has said repeatedly that he plans to press on through the California primary in early June, an effort that could include more expensive advertising. “So long as we have a path toward victory, no matter how narrow it may be, we’ll pursue it,” the senator told The Post on Wednesday…
Does the Sanders team really think contesting California could increase his influence at the convention? If anything, it HURTS him
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) April 27, 2016
Exactly. He'd have more influence if he turned the millions for CA ads over to state parties in battlegrounds. https://t.co/mgiLh4ezSk
— Greg Pinelo (@gregpinelo) April 27, 2016
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*(title explained)
This post is in: Election 2016
This made me laugh because I have no doubt it is one of the truest things John Boehner has ever said:
Much of the discussion – and laughs – focused on Boehner’s views on the current presidential candidates. Segueing into the topic, Kennedy asked Boehner to be frank given that the event was not being broadcasted, and the former Speaker responded in kind. When specifically asked his opinions on Ted Cruz, Boehner made a face, drawing laughter from the crowd.
“Lucifer in the flesh,” the former speaker said. “I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.”
I bet when this whole thing is over he’ll end up getting 27% of the GOP vote.
Everyone Hates Ted (a continuing theme)Post + Comments (199)
This post is in: Election 2016, Hail to the Hairpiece, Open Threads, Republicans in Disarray!, Assholes
Somewhere Paul Manafort is calling all the dictators and torturers in his Rolodex to see if they will take him back
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) April 27, 2016
And there’s so much of it, right now. Politico reports that “Trump rejects new adviser’s push to make him ‘presidential’”:
… Trump became upset late last week when he learned from media reports that Manafort privately told Republican leaders that the billionaire reality TV star was “projecting an image” for voters and would begin toning down his rhetoric, according to the sources. They said that Trump also expressed concern about Manafort bringing several former lobbying colleagues into the campaign, as first reported by POLITICO.
Now Trump is taking steps to return some authority to Manafort’s chief internal rival, campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
Neither Lewandowski nor Manafort responded to requests for comment, though Manafort on Sunday during an interview on Fox News blamed Lewandowski’s regime for shortcomings in the campaign’s delegate wrangling operation. Lewandowski’s allies responded by privately questioning whether Manafort has done anything to improve the situation. They grumble that Manafort has spent a disproportionate amount of time on television — just as Trump himself has been avoiding the Sunday morning talk show circuit at Manafort’s urging.
“I think it pisses him off that he was getting free television by going on the shows and now Paul Manafort is out there resurrecting his career,” said one campaign operative. Citing Manafort’s advocacy within the campaign for an expensive advertising push in upcoming states, the operative said Trump is “saying I can get on every show I want for free and you’re telling me not to do that and that I should pay for my advertising? That doesn’t pass the smell test to me.”
The mounting tension comes as Trump is struggling to incorporate traditional political tactics with the cult-of-personality approach that helped him climb from long shot to front-runner for the GOP nomination. In some ways, Manafort and Lewandowski represent the ego and the id of that balance, with the hardscrabble outsider Lewandowski earning Trump’s trust early, only to be challenged by the more polished insider brought in late last month to provide help as Trump’s campaign struggled to secure loyal convention delegates…
************
Anyone wants to take bets on when the Lewandowski/Manafort spat moves beyond the metaphorical pissing matches to an actual fist fight? And has Roger Stone started the betting book already?
Okay, National Enquirer Literally Linking Ted Cruz to JFK Assassination Now https://t.co/wDpWPf7JjE via @mediaite
— Phillips Pasha (@PhillipsPasha) April 26, 2016
Roger Stone, Trump's freelance dirty trickster, is JFK assassination conspiracist with National Enquirer ties. https://t.co/C6XaeuXUvg
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) April 26, 2016
Thursday Morning Open Thread: Schadenfreude for BreakfastPost + Comments (189)
This post is in: Cruz-ifiction, Election 2016, Open Threads, Republican Stupidity, Republicans in Disarray!, Assholes
Living in ruins of the palace within my dreams
And you know we're on each other's team pic.twitter.com/CuS0BINkeH— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) April 27, 2016
Every pot will find its lid, as the saying goes. According to the Washington Post:
INDIANAPOLIS — Ted Cruz, in an apparent act of desperation, announced Wednesday that Carly Fiorina will be his vice presidential running mate if he is the Republican nominee for president.
Announcing a running mate is an unusual step that comes as he trails GOP front-runner Donald Trump by a wide margin and faces an increasingly narrow path to the Republican nomination.
Cruz hopes to gain steam in what amounts to a must-win for him in Tuesday’s Indiana primary. A day before the announcement, Trump drubbed Cruz in five Eastern states and stretched his overall lead in delegates to the Republican convention to nearly 400…
Well, at least it’ll make the comedians happy. TBH, it already has…
“I would define that ticket to the American people in this way: mean and meaner,” @BarbaraBoxer on Cruz/Fiorina: https://t.co/sfkFKPtKYi
— Marin Cogan (@marincogan) April 27, 2016
Apart from snark (more below the fold), what’s on the agenda for the evening?
Real takeaway from last night was that the scale of Trumps victories made Cruz look ridiculous. So this definitely helps.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 27, 2016
Having worked for an Indiana politician, I fail to see how picking a CEO who laid off a lot of workers as VP is a net plus in that state
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) April 27, 2016
Carly Fiorina is like when a reality show brings back a fan favorite who got eliminated early. She's the Omarosa of veep picks
— Wyeth Ruthven (@wyethwire) April 27, 2016
These people like Fiorina more than Cruz. That's pretty sad right there.
— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) April 27, 2016
At some point, an aide will interrupt this speech to tell Cruz that Trump is making his convention acceptance speech in Cleveland.
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) April 27, 2016
Stick a fork in Cruz. It's over. DecimaTED. https://t.co/QuTdwE7ekH
— AlGiordano (@AlGiordano) April 27, 2016
Electric. pic.twitter.com/OruR5WhKCx
— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) April 27, 2016
Open Thread: Hightlighting Each Other’s… QualitiesPost + Comments (262)