Now who can argue with that?
Open thread!
by Adam L Silverman| 362 Comments
This post is in: 2020 Elections, America, Domestic Politics, Open Threads, Politics
by Adam L Silverman| 424 Comments
This post is in: 2020 Elections, America, Domestic Politics, Open Threads, Politics
Here’s a live feed from PBS:
C-SPAN is not providing an embed link.
Here’s USA Today’s debate bingo card:
And finally, this pretty much sums up my view of tonight’s debate.
I’d rather catheterize myself with a rusty lemon zester in the back seat of a Kia driven by Prince Phillip https://t.co/fsZVYWFOob
— FraudulentChinaBallotBarnHat (@Popehat) September 29, 2020
Open thread!
The First 2020 Presidential Debate Live Feed and Open ThreadPost + Comments (424)
by Betty Cracker| 268 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads, Politics
Tom Sullivan at Digby’s blog posted an interesting idea on how the Senate Dems might handle the upcoming Barrett hearings, given that they are numerically powerless to stop Republicans from confirming the judge. Sullivan says the concept originated on history prof Bill Svelmoe’s FB page, and the gist is to turn the hearings into The Trump Show, with Democrats using examples of Trump admin malfeasance to elicit responses on legal questions. An excerpt:
Judge Barrett, would you please explain the emoluments clause in the Constitution. [She does.] Judge Barrett, if a president were to refuse to divest himself of his properties and, in fact, continue to steer millions of dollars of tax payer money to his properties, would this violate the emoluments clause?
Then simply go down the list of specific cases in which Trump and his family of grifters have used the presidency to enrich themselves. Ask her repeatedly if this violates the emoluments clause. Include of course using the American ambassador to Britain to try to get the British Open golf tournament at a Trump property. Judge Barrett, does this violate the emoluments clause?
It’s not a bad idea. The Trump admin is one long carnival of criminality, so the Dems wouldn’t run out of source material: Hatch Act violations, refusal to comply with congressional oversight, the Ukraine shake-down, family separations at the border, etc.
As Svelmoe put it, flipping the script this way would weaponize Barrett’s “supposed good character and keen legal mind against the administration that has nominated her. Let her either convict Trump or embarrass herself by trying to weasel out of convicting Trump. Either way, it’ll be great television …”
Sounds like a solid idea. What say you? Open thread.
Highlight Trump’s malfeasance at Barrett confirmation hearings?Post + Comments (268)
This post is in: Activist Judges!, Civil Rights, Republican Venality
NEW: Trump and GOP aim to complete reshaping of federal judiciary with new SCOTUS nominee https://t.co/xX8aTSboff pic.twitter.com/NtVeToUntk
— The Hill (@thehill) September 29, 2020
This administration is threatening the very legitimacy of the Court — and all of us — by trying to rush through a nominee.
We must take action.
Message your senator NOW to delay a SCOTUS confirmation ⬇️ https://t.co/irLAqi5OKj
— ACLU (@ACLU) September 28, 2020
While the odds, at this moment, are in Coney Barrett’s favor, when it comes to seating a new Supreme Court Justice, “rush” is a relative term. The first hearing isn’t scheduled until October 12th, which is two weeks or approximately 750 internet news cycles from now. The AP put out a good explainer on the process over the weekend. Here’s the latest from the NYTimes:
… The White House planned to send paperwork to the Senate formally nominating Judge Barrett, a Notre Dame law professor and appeals court judge in Chicago, on Tuesday, when lawmakers reconvene after the Jewish high holidays. She was also scheduled to begin courtesy visits to Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader who championed her selection; Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee; and many Republicans on the panel.
Some top Democrats, still steaming over Republicans’ rush to fill the seat so close to an election, turned down offers to meet, laying the first bricks in a wall of opposition to the nomination they plan to erect in the coming weeks. Others pledged to use the meetings to begin pressing Judge Barrett to explain her views on politically divisive issues that could come before the court, like abortion rights, gay rights, the Affordable Care Act and affirmative action…
Out of public view, the Judiciary Committee was already working at full tilt to prepare for four days of nationally televised hearings set to begin in just two weeks. The committee typically has more than a month for such preparations, but Republicans insist no more time is necessary because Judge Barrett’s record was studied by many of the same lawmakers in 2017, when she was nominated to sit on the appeals court.
Both sides were quickly bringing on extra help, with close to 20 lawyers and law clerks temporarily joining the committee between the Democrats and Republicans. The additions were reported earlier by Politico…
Per the AP:
… Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham says his panel will hold four days of confirmation hearings the week of Oct. 12.
Once the committee approves the nomination, it goes to the Senate floor for a final vote. This could all happen by Nov. 3 if the process goes smoothly. Graham said he hopes the committee can move the nomination to the Senate floor by the week of Oct. 26 for a confirmation vote…
Republicans are privately aiming to hold the final vote the last week of October, but acknowledge the tight timeline and say they will need to see how the hearings go. McConnell has been careful not to say when he believes the final confirmation vote will happen, other than “this year.” …
(I’m sure Senator-for-the-moment Graham is happy to have this dumped on his lap right now — it’s not as though he had other issues, like an increasing tight reelection campaign, to think about.)
Once again: While the GOP is eager to stress the ‘inevitability’ of Judge Coney Barrett’s ascension, there’s a lot going on between now and November 3rd, and almost as much between then and January 21st…
If it feels like Judge Amy Coney Barrett's SCOTUS nomination is moving real fast, it's because it is. A little history + a little math: https://t.co/PwLCkeUPYO
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) September 28, 2020
Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, has close ties to a charismatic Christian group that holds men are divinely ordained as the "head” of the family. @MBieseck @MRSmithAP https://t.co/Evd1a9fcsi
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 29, 2020
Billionaire climate polluter Charles Koch is pressuring senators into confirming Amy Coney Barrett by waging media campaigns vs them all over the country: https://t.co/hUr1nYHE5T
— Jane Mayer (@JaneMayerNYer) September 27, 2020
GOP Death Cult Open Thread: The SCOTUS RushPost + Comments (132)
This post is in: 2020 Elections, COVID-19 Coronavirus, Rofer on International Relations, Trumpery
The New York Times now has Donald Trump’s income tax returns “extending over two decades”. They say that the returns come from a person who had legal access to them. The Times’s first article provides eighteen takeaways. They promise more to come. Each takeaway is a string that other news organizations can pull.
Trump runs through money and then manages to find yet another source to bankroll him. At this point, he owes $421 million to unknown parties. There are hints and guesses about connections to a hotel deal in Azerbaijan that appears to have laundered money for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and to Deutsche Bank through Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s son.
Dicey connections and unknown sources of money point to possible influence over Trump. We don’t know enough about them. At one time, there seems to have been an FBI counterintelligence investigation into these influences. Then, it was said, that investigation (or those investigations) were folded into the special counsel investigation led by Robert Mueller. We have learned, however, that Mueller deliberately avoided the counterintelligence implications.
Was there ever a counterintelligence investigation? Is there one now? This goes back to that New York Times October Surprise in 2016: Investigating Donald Trump, F.B.I. Sees No Clear Link to Russia. The Times has never apologized for or explained this article, nor its concurrent fascination with Hillary Clinton’s emails. If there was an investigation, what happened to its materials? Rod Rosenstein seems like a person who might know.
Shortly after the Times article on Trump’s taxes appeared, Brad Parscale was taken to a hospital by police officers called by his wife. He was threatening suicide after beating his wife. Since he’s a white guy, he wasn’t shot by police as so many Black people are. Demonstrations for Breona Taylor and Black Lives Matter continued through the week after no charges were brought against the police for her death.
Covid-19 continues to kill more than 200,000 people as Trump spreads disinformation. Trump has largely pushed Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx out of his planning circle, if such still exists. Trump’s preference is clearly to pretend that there is no problem, that people are not dying. Republican governors eager to toady up to him are allowing bars and restaurants, major spreading sites, to open up. Trump, of course, has been having close-spaced, no-mask rallies, although he has conceded to the need for air circulation by holding many of them outdoors or in airport hangers. People infected now will by dying shortly before the election. Seems like a bad strategy.
Fauci and Birx have been replaced by Scott Atlas, a Fox commentator who actually is a doctor, but in radiology, a specialty far removed from infectious disease. Like a lot of armchair epidemiologists (largely financially well-off white men), he believes that it’s best to infect the population and see who survives. The total death toll for that, by a number of estimates, would be in the range of two million. Even Robert Redfield, another Trump creature, is concerned about Atlas’s advice. Trump is going in this direction as experts point out that a vaccine will not be ready before the election.cov
Trump also continues his disinformation campaign against the election. Although Russia in particular, and to a smaller degree, China and Iran are spreading disinformation, the largest and loudest source of disinformation is Trump’s tweets. Voting by mail is safe, although it is wise to do it as early as possible because of Postmaster General Louis De Joy’s vandalism. Trump seems to have subsided from his refusal to endorse a peaceful succession. He is unlikely ever to do that, but he is a coward.
Weekend polls show Joe Biden in the lead by 7 or so percentage points. Those polls were taken before the news of Trump’s tax returns broke. Biden continues to pick up endorsements – from almost 500 former military and national security officials, Tom Ridge, and Dwayne Johnson (“The Rock”). Senatorial races are moving well for Democrats also; Jaime Harrison has been getting a steady stream of money while Lindsey Graham has had to beg for money on Fox. The first debate between Trump and Biden is Tuesday night, and Trump is raving about drug tests. Nancy Pelosi is urging supporters to look at races that will tilt state representation Democratic in preparation for Trump funny business that throws the election into the House.
In other news, the administration is trying to run out the time to renew the New START Treaty, the only arms control treaty they have not destroyed. Russia is willing to extend the treaty, but the adminstration negotiator, Marshall Billingslea, continues to insist that China be a party and that Russia accept a number of conditions. Neither will happen. The treaty extends a couple of weeks after January 20, so it is possible that if Biden is elected, the treaty could be extended, although it will be very close.
Almost two months ago in Belarus, Alexander Lukashenka lost an election to Sviatlana Tsikanouskaya. Large demonstrations have taken place in all the main Belarusian cities since then. Lukashenka has begged Vladimir Putin for help, but Lukashenka has been cool to Putin’s desires for the two countries to effectively merge in the past, so what Putin has provided has been very limited. It’s also likely that Putin doesn’t want to be associated with a bloodbath, which is what it would take to end the demonstrations. Lukashenka had himself inaugurated as president in a private ceremony, but over the weekend Tsikanouskaya was inaugurated by the people in a large outdoor ceremony. European nations support Tsikanouskaya, and the US has even made a statement in her favor.
Tanks are rolling between Armenia and Azerbaijan, with Turkey supporting Azerbaijan and Russia taking Armenia’s side. The point of dispute is Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan, not contiguous with Armenia. The territory has been a point of conflict since at least 1994. Syrian rebels are signing up to fight with Azerbaijan, but not many seem to be there yet.
Alexei Navalny is recuperating in Germany from Novichok poisoning, obviously by the Russian government, although their position is “Who us?” They have also seized his apartment, so it’s clear they don’t want him back.
Trump is in trouble. No candidate, according to various experts, has ever come back from a 7-point deficit at this time in the campaign, and Trump seems uninterested in broadening his appeal. It’s hard to see how the tax revelations help him, nor that he can turn around a stunning debate. Still, there is the electoral college and the willingness of some governors to aid and abet vote suppression.
He may also be in trouble for likely crimes represented in his tax returns. Although no crime has been proved by the Times articles, they document a number of questionable activities and coincidences. The question of Trump’s creditors hangs over all. Will the counterintelligence investigation be resumed? It seems important to know who the creditors are. They have enormous power over him, whether they are foreign or domestic.
Putin has troubles too. In addition to the demonstrations against his (flawed) man in Belarus, demonstrations are taking place in several cities in Russia. Now there’s another war in the south Caucasus. An arms race, which it looks like we’re heading into, benefits neither side.
My big-picture, 40,000-feet take is that we’re going to make it through to the inauguration of Joe Biden in January. But it won’t be pretty along the way.
This post is in: 2020 Elections, C.R.E.A.M., Open Threads, Republican Venality
What does this do to the model Nate https://t.co/of8yG8F58Z
— Evan Scrimshaw (@EScrimshaw) September 28, 2020
… For the MAGA kids in the peanut gallery…
SRSLY, though: This would seem to be a strong indicator that the suits at the NYTimes have decided that propping up Trump would be pursuing a sunk cost fallacy. The king is dead, long live the king! cry the Very Serious Media Persons.
NYT reports that “within the next four years, more than $300 million in loans — obligations for which he is personally responsible — will come due” for President Trump. https://t.co/ZRYQrrWLSq
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) September 27, 2020
This may be why @realDonaldTrump has potential legal problems. If you claim massive losses to avoid paying federal income taxes but inflate your revenues and assets on bank documents for loan purposes, wouldn’t that constitute fraud?
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) September 27, 2020
Worth noting that significant delinquent debt disqualifies most people from obtaining a government security clearance.
The U.S. government views this as a vulnerability and a point of leverage for foreign adversaries seeking access to classified information.
— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) September 27, 2020
The Trump tax story is a national security story.
— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) September 28, 2020
You can read Trump's tax returns two ways: either Donald Trump is the greatest tax cheat in US history – or he is a financial desperado hopelessly in debt to God knows who & needs every dollar he scams from Secret Service golf car rentals just to pay the electricity bill
— David Frum (@davidfrum) September 27, 2020
With any* luck it won't really matter to him on account of being in federal prison for the rest of his natural life
*read: more luck than anyone or anything has ever had in the history of the universe
— Bart Crisp (@crispy_bart) September 27, 2020
Another reason not to be blase is that the tax story is more likely to matter if the Biden campaign tries to MAKE it matter. The EMAILS/Wikileaks stuff were nothingburgers but they mattered in part because Trump talked about them all the time, and this is a REAL scandal
— Scott Lemieux (@LemieuxLGM) September 27, 2020
"$70,000 in hairstyling for television" https://t.co/2LDo3WKIS0
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) September 27, 2020
Admit it, though — you’d have to be paid a lot to touch that thing, too…
Remember the reaction when John Edwards was caught paying $400 for a haircut? Trump paid $70,000 on hair care. How is that even possible? Does that thing sitting on his head eat Pangolins and colossal squid eggs?
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) September 28, 2020
As always, Twitterati: Sharing is caring!
He’s broke. And facing criminal charges. That’s why @realDonaldTrump is sabotaging the mail, welcoming foreign interference, and inciting violence to win an election. This is going to be a rocky ride — but civic participation and unity are our antidotes.
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) September 27, 2020
Trump Crime Cartel Open Thread: Spell It Out…Post + Comments (234)
This post is in: Biden-Harris 2020, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat
I’m in.
Who’s with me? pic.twitter.com/7Jw7KbthWv— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) September 25, 2020
"We’d expect nothing less from Donald Trump, who pissed away the chance to protect the lives of 200K Americans when he didn't make a plan to stop COVID-19." (2/2)
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 27, 2020
At this moment, we're facing both the worst public health crisis of our lifetime and the existential threat of climate change.
We need a president who believes in science.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 26, 2020
Trump’s hand-picked successor to Justice Ginsburg’s seat makes it clear: they intend to destroy the Affordable Care Act & overturn Roe. This selection would move the court further right for a generation & harm millions of Americans.
I strongly oppose Judge Barrett’s nomination.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) September 26, 2020
Amy Coney Barrett will work to gut Roe v. Wade and the ACA, taking away health care coverage from millions of Americans—including those with pre-existing conditions. And make no mistake: Trump is counting on her to swing the Supreme Court in his favor when he loses this election. pic.twitter.com/cTpOHgintZ
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) September 26, 2020
The most underrated electoral dynamic of 2020 is that taking healthcare away during a pandemic is not a talking point but a likelihood on November 10. Lots of less impactful topics have been discussed more thoroughly by talk shows, but this is one reason people are in a rage.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) September 26, 2020
BREAKING: Joe Biden leads Pres. Trump nationally by 10 points among likely voters, new @ABC News/WaPo poll finds. https://t.co/9Dn8Hh9Qlb
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) September 27, 2020
Also, every ‘but her emails’ NYTimes political ‘reporter’ and their bosses owes this woman a personal apology:
Four years ago today: @HillaryClinton: "So you've got to ask yourself, why won't he release his tax returns? And I think there may be a couple of reasons. First, maybe he's not as rich as he says he is. Second, maybe he's not as charitable as he claims to be." pic.twitter.com/zvj75qVAmf
— Bros4Joe ? (@Bros4Joe) September 27, 2020
Monday Morning Open Thread: Democratic Messaging, ON POINTPost + Comments (148)