Pelosi Victory Lap: We Rushed Omnibus Vote So Republicans Could Not Find Out What Was in It
You have to pass the bill before you find out what’s in it.
As the House on Friday overwhelmingly passed the $1.1 trillion government spending bill, Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi shook hands on the chamber floor.
Can you feel the love tonight?
The omnibus bill does not block or restrict in any way Syrian or Iraqi refugees from coming to the U.S. It does not defund Planned Parenthood. It does not defund Obama’s illegal executive amnesty. It does not defund sanctuary cities. It funds ObamaCare but delays two unpopular taxes under ObamaCare that might fuel opposition to the law. It will increase the debt with spending and tax cuts that are not paid for by spending cuts.
And now, Nancy Pelosi is not just doing a victory lap — she is bragging about how this was shoved down Republicans’ throats before they could learn what was in the bill:
“We’ve had to sort of calibrate how we presented this to members because … we were afraid [Republicans] might pull things out if more Republicans knew about what was in the bill,” she continued, explaining all the hesitation from Democrats in the hours after the bill was made public.
Earlier in the week, she had instructed members in a closed-door meeting to “keep on their long faces” and not speak publicly about everything Democrats won in the omnibus, according to a senior House aide. She wanted them to avoid speaking about provisions they fought to include, as well as poison pill policy riders they insisted be removed, instead suggesting they just say they were “still reading the language” when asked how they planned to vote.
“Now they’re done, that’s it. There’s no way they can change the rule or anything like that; the speaker said it’s closed,” said Pelosi on Friday, “so we feel pretty good about bragging about what’s in the bill to get our votes and also not risking changing anything in the bill.”
The story below [the Roll Call story] illustrates the brokenness of Washington, where only a few individuals negotiate nearly $2 trillion in provisions and tell the rest of Congress to take it or leave it. I voted no on this disgusting omnibus bill that harms Americans and bankrupts the next generation.
No wonder Paul Ryan wanted to change the rules to make it harder to get rid of the Speaker.
Burn it down.
Patterico (2e1e5e) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:09 amonly way i can see voting is if trump goes third party
these heavily-bearded cheesedoodle republicans are too sleazy, and they do vile and unspeakable things on failmerica
happyfeet (831175) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:13 amhas any candidate blasted (or at least criticized) the Omnibus Bill ?
seeRpea (b8d11e) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:14 amYup. Ted Cruz.
Patterico (2e1e5e) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:16 amMr. Trump did
happyfeet (831175) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:16 amI have a torch to get er done.
mg (31009b) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:19 amthat romney chose this sleazy heavily-bearded wisco peckerhead to be his vp tells you a lot about mitt’s perverted lack of character and his dishonorable intentions i think
happyfeet (831175) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:20 amOnly 95 House Republicans voted against this horrible bill, while 150 supported it.
Further, not voting on the bill on the Senate side because he was busy campaigning, was Marco Rubio, who said, “in essence, not voting for it, is a vote against it.”
Dana (86e864) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:22 ammarco sleazio is disqualified
happyfeet (831175) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:23 amHow much will we take? They are going to keep shoveling do do our way until we fight or run out of toilet paper.
mg (31009b) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:26 amAnd if Hillary wins the BEST we’ll see is four more years of compromises like this.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:28 ami’m not voting for Rs anymore they’re whorish and cowardly and all they do is tax tax tax and spend spend spend and plus also what they do on those young latino boys is against Jesus
happyfeet (831175) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:29 amI am stocking up on t.p.
mg (31009b) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:29 amIf you didn’t vote for Romney last time, this, too, is your fault.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:29 am“in essence, not voting for it, is a vote against it.”
So mealy-mouthed, so delicate and squishy.
As for the following, the tagline is wrong since it should read “the American people…who aren’t idiotically of the left.”
Mark (f713e4) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:30 amRomney lol
is the head whore of whoreville
happyfeet (831175) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:31 amIt ain’t all on Mitt, Turncoat Ryan fooled lots of people, me included. But that’s over now. Ryan is on my shit list, along with Lois Lerner, Jamie Gorelick, Susan Rice, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Huma Abedin, Chuck Schumer, Anthony Weiner, Eric Holder, Bernie Madoff, and all the rest. He belongs in that company.
Ryan has betrayed conservatives, stabbed them in the back. He’s word isn’t worth spit.
Some up and coming conservative should take him on in the GOP primary election, if Ryan doesn’t switch parties first. I’ll send his opponent a check, no matter the party.
ropelight (ff9f57) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:44 amSo, happy, name a candidate you like.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:06 amIn a RINOic convergence of cosmic proportions Medved fawningly interviewd Ryan about the Omnibus. I could only take a few seconds of Ryan and Medved trying to sell this crap sandwich as “strong, conservative.”
Ryan posted the transcript at his speaker.gov website. I am not alone. Every single comment was brutal.
I’m sure by now Ryan has GOP staffers astroturfing the comments singing his praises, though.
Steve57 (ade9b5) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:12 ami liked Scott Walker before he showed everybody what a completely unpresidential and hopelessly incompetent loser he is
also i liked Ted Cruz before he ran to kentucky to arm wrassle mike huckabee for the honor of doing a public butt-snuffling on Kim Davis, who is a deeply bigoted and divisive igmo what only a sleazebag like the pope could love
currently i am a pikachu without a candidate
i am very lonely
happyfeet (831175) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:18 amI think this is the Speaker.gov post Steve57 mentioned. The post is disgusting. It erases any lingering respect I had for Ryan. The comments are brutal but deserved.
DRJ (15874d) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:19 amYou don’t vote anyway so why the lonely act?
DRJ (15874d) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:20 amFollowing excerpt is by David Codrea 12/18/15 from Oath Keepers:
ropelight (ff9f57) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:21 amDid the Senate already pass it? Is it a foregone conclusion they will?
Disgusting, this is.
I would like someone to declare their candidacy to primary against Ryan in his district right now. I would give money to the person.
MD in Philly (not in Philly at the moment) (deca84) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:24 amSurely there is at least one person with money to move to WI and fund their own campaign for a House seat.
MD in Philly (not in Philly at the moment) (deca84) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:26 amOne fed up, disgusted, mad as heck and not going to take it anymore type person.
MD in Philly (not in Philly at the moment) (deca84) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:26 amMD, see if you can enliist Hoagie, he’s bucks up, retired with time on his hands, and would never vote for the garbage Ryan is pushing. Yeah, Reject Ryan – Vote Hoagie!
ropelight (ff9f57) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:31 am“You don’t vote anyway so why the lonely act?” DRJ asked cynically, as if a wee lil pikachu, all on his own but with heart steeled true, ensconced in regions of deepest dark blue, had a vote he could cast for to help stage a coup.
In reply the pikachu looked down at his hands, feeling more helpless than ever.
happyfeet (831175) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:31 amcheese doodle will switch parties and win. team r loses the house and he is voted in as democratic speaker of the house.
mg (31009b) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:35 ama lot of people don’t realize that this heavily-bearded marxist cheesedoodle married him a rich democrat sugar mama
happyfeet (831175) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:37 amGood idea, ropelight, though I think his wife is quite tied in to the Korean community in the are.
Hmmm, anybody have a hologram projector to put a “Hoagie” in the sky, like a signal for batman?
What would be better is in someone in WI with a jacka** started advertising his animal running against Ryan, saying it would be an improvement.
MD in Philly (not in Philly at the moment) (deca84) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:41 amThe Democrats have no morals, ethics, ideas, decency, vision, survival instinct, sense of irony, but they do have a Red Queen and discipline.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:42 amHappyfeet always brings “the Light”, doesn’t he? Effing scumbag…
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:44 ampooper
happyfeet (831175) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:50 amHoagie, Hoagie, he’s our man, if won’t do it Steve57 can.
ropelight (ff9f57) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:51 amThere is only one party and they are in the Capital. It’s why Cruz fans like myself areally considering voting for Trump.
I don’t trust any of them anymore.
njrob (fd1860) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:52 amtrump it up a lil more git the party goin on the dance floor
happyfeet (831175) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:54 amThere’s a swingin’ party in your future, happyfeet.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:59 amIt should be why Trump fans are considering voting for Cruz.
Patterico (2e1e5e) — 12/20/2015 @ 12:00 pmBack in 2012, Paul Ryan was the guy I wanted to run for President. I was thrilled when Romney picked him for VP (though I’d have preferred the ticked the other way around).
Damn, was I wrong! It wasn’t long after the election that I learned about what Ryan was really like. That’s why I was bitterly opposed to him becoming speaker; amongst other things, he’s a proven liar.
I wasn’t a Romney fan, but I voted donated to and voted for him. I despised McCain, but I held my nose and voted for him in 2008. This time around though, no way in hell will I vote for a GOP establishment candidate. I truly don’t care if that puts Hillary in the white house, because the GOPe is just as scummy as she is, so there’s no real difference in that they’ll do (just what they’ll say).
So, for me, that rules out only two GOP candidates; Bush and Rubio. Oh, there are some others in the race I hate, like Kasich, but I’d hold my nose and vote for him, or any of the others, but not a GOPe sock puppet. And no matter what, I will be going to the polls to vote for my congressman (who amongst other things fought the omnibus).
If anyone has any doubts about what Rubio really is, look at who Jeb’s doners are defecting to. Also, bear in mind that Rubio promised to do all he could, including procedural votes, to stop the omnibus, but then didn’t even bother showing up. Cruz and Paul did, and I applaud them for it.
Ah, I just paused to check the senate roll call on the omnibus. Lindsey Graham showed up to vote and voted FOR the damn thing. So, Lindsey Graham joins Bush and Rubio on my “Never, no matter what” list. (oh well, I hated him anyway).
Arizona CJ (dabb2a) — 12/20/2015 @ 12:05 pmAnd scatter the ashes.
Patricia (5fc097) — 12/20/2015 @ 12:07 pmryan appears to be submissive to Godless nancy.
mg (31009b) — 12/20/2015 @ 12:10 pmThis is exactly why Trump is so popular.
Republican voters are sick and tired of being Charlie Brown. We no longer believe we will ever kick the football…
gahrie (12cc0f) — 12/20/2015 @ 12:17 pmA vote force Trump is a force multiplier, it’s triple threat, it’s a vote against the Dims, a vote against the GOPe, and a vote for the only guy in the race who can’t be bought and the guy who says the right things time after time. So, what’s not to like?
ropelight (ff9f57) — 12/20/2015 @ 12:25 pmI look at that photo of Ryan, smug and all, and want to see him smacked him in the face.
Get a shave, dude.
All of this crappola pie is made much worse because of the ethos of “shhh, please don’t be so candid, blunt and non-PC! That’s rude, unkind and so declasse!” Or, “But compassionate [ie, left-leaning] people mean well, they’re so nice, loving and generous, so let’s always give them more benefit of the doubt!”
Far too many Americans are guilty of that exact type of mindset (ie, opinion polls showing a fairly large percentage of people in the US holding the Republicans in low-esteem, and not the Democrats, for the sequestration in 2013. Or What’s-His-Name still doing better in those same polls than his predecessor did during his last 2 years in office).
I see the face of the garden-variety MSM liberal in the following video, no less smug than Ryan or Pelosi, and the scenes of the squish-squish Tory prime minster of the UK (who emotionally is the type most likely to fall for the winsome smile of What’s-His-Name at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave—and probably — due to Paul-Ryan-type of lovey-dovey towards a San-Fran-Nan — is more likely to proclaim “but America’s president at least is a good man”), and, again, I want to see such people smacked in the kisser:
Stephanopoulos Interviews Trump
Mark (f713e4) — 12/20/2015 @ 12:36 pmYes. 65-33
Marco Rubio did not vote.
Patterico (2e1e5e) — 12/20/2015 @ 12:41 pmwhat kind of person doesn’t even bother to vote on something this important
i can’t understand it
happyfeet (831175) — 12/20/2015 @ 12:43 pmit must be that rubio’s priority is to reassure the whorepublican establishment that he has no intention of changing business as usual
cause of those are his boys
happyfeet (831175) — 12/20/2015 @ 12:44 pmMark,
You attempt to turn every thread into a “Obama is a good man” discussion. Not only is it tiresome, it is disrespectful for you to try to foist your monomania on every other commenter. Democrats are the party that elevate their intentions over results. To discuss whether their intentions are pure plays into their hands — as if they could win by showing that they mean well — and more importantly is NOT WHAT THIS POST IS ABOUT.
You have tried this on both posts today despite being told that you are, more and more, behaving like a troll. At some point, and that point is quickly arriving, you’ll be treated as one.
Patterico (2e1e5e) — 12/20/2015 @ 12:46 pmThe word “whore” has just been added to the list of words that trigger moderation.
Patterico (2e1e5e) — 12/20/2015 @ 12:48 pmoh nuts i really like that word
happyfeet (831175) — 12/20/2015 @ 12:48 pmYes, we all noticed.
Patterico (2e1e5e) — 12/20/2015 @ 12:49 pmIf politics is like a sausage factory, this Republican Congress is a sausage factory supplied solely by road-kill. Worse, they no longer bother to peel the pelt off six-day old critter-carcasses.
I still favor Cruz, but I found this commentary by Conrad Black defending Trump:
http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/conrad-black-in-defence-of-donald-trump
As you can see, it is even-handed and addresses a number of lies and distortions practiced by the LHMFM, including, sadly, Max Boot. I have enjoyed many of Max’s books, but I think I’ll be a bit more discriminating before I invest any more time on his next effort.
Black’s article gives you some idea of what discourse could be like in our political process if there was just one conservative media outlet located in the lower forty-eight. It also suggests why Bush’s administration railroaded Black about ten years ago.
I’m hoping that Ryan is primaried.
BobStewartatHome (a52abe) — 12/20/2015 @ 12:51 pmThis “deal” was the result of having a Democrat in the White House. “Unexpectedly!”
Don’t like the deal? Don’t put a Democrat in the White House again. And if you don’t think the GOP Congress has any effect, I suggest you revisit what Congress passed 2009-2010. Stimulus. Obamacare. Frank-Dodd.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 12/20/2015 @ 12:54 pmYet he has lawyers write threatening letters directed at people who engage in clearly protected (and true!) speech about Trump.
That piece is written by a Trump pal who is bending over backwards to portray a lunatic as reasonable. No sale.
Patterico (2e1e5e) — 12/20/2015 @ 12:54 pmSheesh.
http://www.speaker.gov/general/long-time-ago-congress-far-far-away
Speaker Fuzz-Face is sure proud that “Today, the House passed a year-long spending bill that contains zero earmarks.”
LISTEN, clown ===> when you’ve given away the store, the farm, all your assets, all OUR assets, AND everybody’s children’s and grandchildren’s future earnings — there is NO FREAKING NEED for earmarks.
Doo-Dah, Doo-Dah (404eb5) — 12/20/2015 @ 12:56 pmThe word “happyfeet” should be added to the list of words that trigger moderation.
John Hitchcock (fba867) — 12/20/2015 @ 1:07 pm#55: Black makes no bones about his friendship with Trump. My point was that someone was willing to defend him. But this someone lives in Canada, and is no longer welcome in the U. S. We’d be better off if a media outlet in the U. S. was capable of writing such a comment. It gives you a chance to rebut what you disagree with, and we all benefit.( Although I found the “lunatic” reference less than convincing.) Instead, we just get lies about Democrats, when it makes them look better, and lies about conservatives, always. And our RINOs have figured out how to stay beneath the LHMFM’s radar, like little mice in the root cellar. So there’s no reason to pay attention to almost all U. S. outlets, and this defeats the benefits that the 1st Amendment was intended to bestow on our society.
But it does make blogs like yours very helpful.
BobStewartatHome (a52abe) — 12/20/2015 @ 1:22 pmall these poopers is puttin me off my christmas
yeah i’m looking at you Mr. H
happyfeet (831175) — 12/20/2015 @ 1:23 pm“I coulda had a bottle in front of me, instead I had a frontal lobotomy”
– happyfeet
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 12/20/2015 @ 1:35 pmI think Patterico should moderate any comment that has “good man” in it. The comments can be released when a moderator has time, but maybe it will help those who use that term learn to moderate themselves.
DRJ (15874d) — 12/20/2015 @ 1:39 pmRegarding the Cruz quote in post #4 (Patterico).
I particularly like the phrase “Volcanically frustrated”. It sums it up and crystallizes it so well.
I’m pretty much settled on Cruz as my preferred candidate in the primaries, and will vote accordingly if he’s still in serious contention (in other words, not a zombie candidacy) when Arizona’s primary occurs in late March. I’ll also donate accordingly.
As for the general in November, I’ll vote for and donate to any non-GOPe R candidate, even if I don’t like them.
Arizona CJ (dabb2a) — 12/20/2015 @ 1:44 pmSo down to Trump and Cruz if my State primary makes any difference by the time it rolls around.
I’m disappointed that neither Jindal or Walker have made any public policy comments about this Omnibus Bill. I was hoping at least one of them would turn out to be Reagan-esque.
Anyone else confused by #49?
seeRpea (b8d11e) — 12/20/2015 @ 1:45 pm#50 – good chance for happyfeet to expand his vocabulary 🙂
Outstanding comment. Saved me from posting one along the same lines.
Among the Senators who supported the omninus is Senator John Republican Cornyn. I’m saddened he won his primary in 2014. I recall his many radio ads about his tough conservative leadership and ‘keeping Texas red’. When it was time to ask to be re-elected, he ran as something he wasn’t.
This omnibus disaster is a campaign commercial for Trump. I am not a fan of Trump, but I understand his supporters. What argument could you possibly use on them? That Trump is lying about his views and would govern to the left, like Hillary or Gore whom Trump has supported? That he’s a big government crony capitalist who abused eminent domain (my biggest pet peeve in all of government)? In other words, at worst Trump is no worse than the phony GOP is. The hail mary Trump idea comes with no real risk of making anything worse. And Trump is horribly frustrating to the very people like Paul Hipster Beard Ryan who screwed the GOP up? Sounds cool.
I can’t see how Pelosi as speaker of the house is worse. Replace Justice Roberts with Ginsburg and you change fewer than 20% of his votes and far fewer of the actual results. At least Iraq is free and we won the cold war, right?
You can’t tell me Speaker Hipster-Beard McDreamy-pecs isn’t a narcissist like Trump. Trump fans think the GOP is useless. They doubt everything a politician promises them, even a freshman Senator like Cruz with extremely limited leadership experience and an even more limited success list. These guys have given up on the GOP and embraced that they can simply sabotage it forever if they want. Largely out of spite and nothing more! The GOP really runs things so poorly that I, a guy who doesn’t want Trump to be nominated, can’t see how the GOP status quo is worse. The GOP ran things so badly that they made this Trump thing possible. Chew on that.
Dustin (2a8be7) — 12/20/2015 @ 2:04 pmThe political leaders in Washington are like Henry Potter in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Too bad no one watches that movie anymore.
DRJ (15874d) — 12/20/2015 @ 2:05 pmOkay, I am a “squish” compared to most people here. But I think I reflect a lot of how the country is feeling.
This business that “XXXX is no different from Hillary Clinton, so it doesn’t matter how I vote” is just tantrum throwing.
We went through this before, remember? And the people who said that are quiet about how Romney is “no different” from Obama, nowadays. Their comments are easily retrieved.
So throw tantrums, if you need to do so. Get it out your system. Then get back to business, please.
I hate omnibus bills. I think that any BIG government, left or right, is not responsive and a bad idea. It has sufficient “girth” to allow parasites to grow.
The rightful upset of many voters is what fuels all the Trump silliness.
Keep in mind the continual meme-warfare going on. The DNC and MSM (and many supposedly right of center people) are helping with that “branding.” The goal is for people’s “gut reactions” to be manipulated. Too often, we help the DNC with that.
Hate on Paul Ryan if you want. Primary him, if you want.
But fix the problem, not the blame. And the problem is NOT any particular politician. It’s the statist bureaucracy that has grown up. And that is the fault of BOTH right and left.
Cruz should run Pelosi’s comments, over and over. And push for smaller bills. And force politicians to read and be responsible for the bills they sign.
Remember what P.J. O’Rourke said about politics. Giving power and money to politicians is like giving whiskey and car keys to fifteen year old boys.
This is why the “conservatarian” movement is important. Patterico linked to it here:
https://patterico.com/2015/11/19/praise-for-charles-c-w-cookes-conservatarian-manifesto/
It’s worth your time. Sure, it’s easier to sit around and come up with nasty nicknames and say that there is no hope, and even spend a lot of energy snarking while saying that your vote doesn’t count. But it’s lazy. And more to the point, it makes the DNC smile…and laugh at me. I hate that. You should, too.
Throwing fits about how Ryan isn’t a real Republican, and how XXX is no different from Hillary? Silly. I hope it makes people feel better.
But remember when you say (with respect, Patterico) “burn it down,” those are kids you are talking about. My kids, too.
Fix the problem, not the blame.
Final thing. When JFK became POTUS, he sent McNamara to learn about the nuclear war strategies of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
After listening to them, McNamara supposedy said “Gentleman, you don’t have a strategy. You have some kind of terrible spasm.”
Make sure that your plans for the future aren’t a spasm. Sitting out elections and then kvetching and cussing is your right. But I would, again, rather go down trying to fix the problem than revel in fixing blame.
But that’s just me. Keep in mind that the Democrats are in lockstep, by “otherizing” folks who don’t think the way they do. We should be careful of the same fate.
Change is evolutionary or revolutionary. The former is slow, and the latter is bloody. I would argue that the growth of statism has actually been slow. Be careful about what fast change. You may get it. Good and hard.
Just my opinion, folks.
Simon Jester (085f53) — 12/20/2015 @ 2:05 pmPut yourself in the shoes of a Republican in Congress. Most important mission is to get re-elected so you can have a 15 or 20+ year career. With that, you have a killer pension, you can take advantage of inside info as to where to invest your money. So somebody earning $200K a year can be a multi-millionaire by the time they retire. Think LBJ.
Then, become a lobbyist, and make millions more per year. So you can be like Dennis Hastert and have the funds to pay $3 million+ in blackmail. The Republican members, especially in what is a swing district or state, fear most of all being blamed by the local media that their vote shut down the entire govt and hurt all those innocent people by your mean spirited vote…
Good chance you won’t get re-elected if the media really goes after you, which they will because you’re not a lefty. This isn’t making an excuse for them, just pointing out they’re only really interested in their family being financially secure for the next couple of generations or more, not to really give a damn about their constituents.
Is this too cynical?
dee (8035cb) — 12/20/2015 @ 2:21 pmSimon Jester,
Good comment. In the meantime, we the people are indeed fighting for change. People are leaving the GOP and taking their money with them. People are backing outside candidates, at the national and state levels, but these changes will take time. In the meantime though, things like this horrible spending bill are still being passed, and we are still bound to suffer the consequences. I think throwing a fit directed at Ryan and the establishment R’s is warranted, especially if it continues to wake people up to the reality that we are continually getting hosed.
Dana (86e864) — 12/20/2015 @ 2:21 pmPut yourself in the shoes of a Republican in Congress. Most important mission is to get re-elected so you can have a 15 or 20+ year career.
15 – 20+ year career … That’s a big part of the problem right there.
Dana (86e864) — 12/20/2015 @ 2:23 pmThe VichyGOP will fight Cruz or Trump harder than they will fight against Clinton or Obama because the oppose Cruz and they don’t want to share power with an outsider like Trump.
They HATE the conservative base of the party and their masks have been off since 2012.
This isn’t an accident. And frankly, the “Freedom Caucus” knew this when Ryan deigned to serve as SotH and they failed to oppose him vigorously. I am beginning to doubt their sincerity. It is all starting to look like kabuki theatre to me….
WarEagle82 (44dbd0) — 12/20/2015 @ 2:44 pmDana is quite right. Term limits, the same social security and healthcare we get would make a big difference. No more career politicos. And no insider trading.
Gazzer (e9938c) — 12/20/2015 @ 3:07 pmThings have changed a lot in the past 7 years. Can we afford 30-40 years to s-l-o-w-l-y change it back? Is it even possible to change it back?
DRJ (15874d) — 12/20/2015 @ 3:14 pmTo answer your questions, DRJ:
The US, indeed the world, doesn’t have 30 years remaining to repair all the damage that has occurred in these last 9 years. And the mortal blows have already been struck. But that doesn’t mean we don’t fight. Because there’s much more at risk than mere principalities.
John Hitchcock (fba867) — 12/20/2015 @ 3:19 pmfood stamp’s corrupt IRS strangled the tea party and heavily-bearded cheesedoodle wiscotrash boy ryan can’t point to anything the establishment nancyboys did what imposed any consequences whatsoever
cause they lurved it
let it burn
happyfeet (831175) — 12/20/2015 @ 3:30 pmI have kids and a grandchild and I’ll be goddamned if I’ll throw my hands in the air and say “let it burn”… and to Hell with anyone who does.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 12/20/2015 @ 3:36 pmMy theory is that this will hasten the revolution. My thoughts are here.
Tammany Hall was a key innovation in governance and under the leadership of Boss Tweed functioned as a dispenser of social justice to Irish immigrants.
Rooted in Jeffersonian democracy and transformed by the massive Irish immigration of the mid-nineteenth century, Tammany Hall, New York City’s Democratic organization, became synonymous with machine politics. … An expert in Irish-American history, Golway unsurprisingly sees the origins of this form of political organization in Irish anti-institutional activism. In overcoming and battling nativism in America, reaching out, albeit not selflessly, to new immigrant groups … the organization became, through Senator Robert F. Wagner, a major factor in the New Deal and, later, American liberalism.
Eventually, they pulled down the temple of corruption. Too greedy, I guess.
Mike K (90dfdc) — 12/20/2015 @ 3:36 pmfailmerica is a burgeoningly fascist debt-bloated dissipated cowardstate what’s lying in its own filth in the gutter of history waiting to die Mr. Colonel
if it’s Hillary or Paul Ryan what rapes the corpse does it really make a difference?
pls to explain
happyfeet (831175) — 12/20/2015 @ 3:39 pmwhich is not to say they can’t both have a turn
happyfeet (831175) — 12/20/2015 @ 3:40 pmseriously simon, mcnamara, as an arbiter of anything, when did he ever have a clue, when he wasn’t a useless tool, speaking of which, ryan seems to have rubberstamped most of the dem
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 3:50 pm‘transformational’ priorities, they got the oil export ban,
I’ve got a rhyme that comes in a riddle… O-Hi-O!… What’s round on the ends and high in the middle?… O-Hi-O!
Apparently, Ryan is high on his own supply.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 12/20/2015 @ 4:02 pmnancy ryan is the new poster boy for the go along, get along flock.
mg (31009b) — 12/20/2015 @ 4:25 pm“This is exactly why Trump is so popular.”
“Republican voters are sick and tired of being Charlie Brown. We no longer believe we will ever kick the football…” – gahrie (12cc0f)
Well said.
ThOR (a52560) — 12/20/2015 @ 4:29 pmThey ousted one Speaker, only to be replaced with one who does the same things and has more support, so he can’t be ousted for several years — unless he loses in a primary. Ryan needs to be Cantored. In the meantime, the only backstop I see is to elect a conservative President. A real conservative.
DRJ (15874d) — 12/20/2015 @ 4:30 pmDRJ
mg (31009b) — 12/20/2015 @ 4:33 pmWill a conservative president be neutered by the one party in d.c.?
the victory by brat, and judge hanen, was what stalled the top men’s advance,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 4:36 pm#79: Narciso, agreed. The “Best and the Brightest” are poster boys for failure, albeit unrecognized by those who thought, and still think today, that government should be run like Camelot. Body counts and kill ratios replaced strategic goals, and this folly cost us 58,307 killed, 2,400 MIA or POW, and 300,000+ wounded. Not to mention several million Vietnamese, North and South, who perished. Marilyn Monroe’s emblematic “Happy Birthday Mr. President” was the high point of the regime’s contribution to American culture. But I will give them credit for the Moon landing, which was extraordinary. It should have led to something much better than Nixon, Ford and Carter, but they were dealing with the dead and wounded of Mr. McNamara’s war.
BobStewartatHome (a52abe) — 12/20/2015 @ 4:42 pmthey put Ellsberg in charge of evaluating the SIOP, and he sent a copy of it to the Russians, this is why the Plumbers were convened, first Lansdale then Kissinger, signed off on him,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 4:47 pmmcnamara’s program was more like obamacare, as mark moyar pointed out, getting rid of Diem, set back the counterinsurgency program significantly, although that may been more due to Harriman’s boys, like Michael Forrestal, and Roger Hilsman,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 4:56 pmSimon – with all due respect, that is a steaming pile of BS. Exactly why would I trust any of these jackwagons to work to correct things? Right now, they actively enable leftist policies, and lie to our faces. I am going to blame them, as they deserve the blame. They have to EARN trust and support. And votes. They have not earned any of mine.
JD (24492e) — 12/20/2015 @ 4:59 pmDRJ
Will a conservative president be neutered by the one party in d.c.?
My concern, too and the best argument to let Trump blow the place up. We have fracking so middle east oil is not a trump (pardon me) card. Close the borders and fix the domestic mess first.
I worry about a revolution if nothing happens, or god help us, Hillary is elected.
I have a brand new AR 15 and a brand new Colt 1911. I’d just as soon not need them.
Mike K (90dfdc) — 12/20/2015 @ 5:07 pmso we got the oil export ban lifted that’s good, but they saved the Dems from the consequence of the Cadillac tax, let more mind arson, flow into the schools, fund the resettlement of illegals, and Syrians,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 5:09 pmI’m concerned that this crude collapse, takes the fracking option out of the toolbox, as the Saudis intended, when they did a similar thing from 86-90,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 5:11 pmThe F-111 was a best-brightest initiative, and it ended up being somewhat useful in a niche role, but McNamara dreamed of greater things. It was going to revolutionize military procurement by buying one airplane that could do everything. That was the idea, but one after another, the multitasks flopped. The weight was so great that carrier landings were the first to go. Coincidentally, the Su-24, one of which was shot down by Turkey a month ago, was the Russian response to the F-111. Which tells you something about the state of the Russian air force.
I think the DoD has bought in to the same concept with the F-35. It will be interesting to see just how effective the attempt to satisfy multiple missions using slightly modified versions of one aircraft works out. I’m dubious, but micro-miniaturization and smart weapons probably offer some significant flexibility in the electronics and the armaments. Let’s hope the parts aren’t purchased from China.
BobStewartatHome (a52abe) — 12/20/2015 @ 5:17 pm64 … Replace Justice Roberts with Ginsburg and you change fewer than 20% of his votes and far fewer of the actual results. …
More like 30% which is rather a lot considering about half the decisions are unanimous.
James B. Shearer (ebb36c) — 12/20/2015 @ 5:25 pmnote we didn’t try to that with the aircraft in WW 2, the Bearcat, Mustang, had vastly different requirements,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 5:28 pmI wonder how long Saudi Arabia can afford to sell oil at these prices. Their “entitlements” are the sort of thing that used to be distributed to a small fraction of aristocrats in Europe, and it cost Louis XVI his head when his efforts to maintain the payments became a burden on those who actually worked and produced something. In the Saudi case, none of the citizens work, and when they can’t pay the immigrant labor plus the entitlements, the whole thing will crash and burn.
BobStewartatHome (a52abe) — 12/20/2015 @ 5:30 pmIt takes a Democrat to see the opportunities in streamlining our military by standardizing everything. Of course, they think officers in their dress uniforms are best used as waiters at WH events, so their understanding of what the military actually does is suspect.
BobStewartatHome (a52abe) — 12/20/2015 @ 5:33 pm54 Don’t like the deal? Don’t put a Democrat in the White House again. …
No, this deal makes it obvious that the White House is just half problem. The Republican leadership in Congress (which one must assume represent the views of most Republican members) also have priorities far from my own.
As just one example while I agree the oil export ban was dumb it wasn’t something that was worth giving up anything much to get repealed. But the Republicans gave up a lot.
James B. Shearer (ebb36c) — 12/20/2015 @ 5:37 pmI think of them more like late Czarist Russia, a fusion of church and state, presiding over a roiling militant minority,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 5:38 pmI think apart from things that no one can plan and the sovereignty of God we’re sunk.
Not that I am advocating giving up.
Overall DC is no longer responsive to the informed public. The results of the last Repub victory in Congress demonstrates this. They knew to campaign as conservatives to get elected and ignore what got them there,
Except for Cruz.
I gave my platform the other day,
Cruz should go full out disrupt it all,
Promise to Never sign an omnibus budget and do a Clint dirty Harry over it
Refuse to sign any more exceptions for fed officials
Promise to campaign for primary candidates that run against incumbents who oppose his agenda.
If a third party can not succeed then we need to remake one of them
MD in Philly (not in Philly) (deca84) — 12/20/2015 @ 5:38 pmDo populist stuff like never sign a bill for anything unless the public had time to read it before Congress votes on it,
And if Congress thinks he is bluffing then they can make his day.
Lots of people who are fed up will vote for him from both parties.
re #98: by looking at the vote totals it does seem that the leadership was representing the wishes of the vast majority of GOP Reps.
seeRpea (b8d11e) — 12/20/2015 @ 6:11 pmAt this point i’m all for a dysfunctional government. If Cruz would come out as in #100 , that would swing me. I think Trump would be more than willing to veto bills he didn’t like, but I’m not so sure he would be against the concepts of Omnibus Bills. Then again, he could be quite the disruptor even if his politics agrees with the Congress’s.
seeRpea (b8d11e) — 12/20/2015 @ 6:15 pmOr the majority of reps were willing to vote with the leadership, no matter what they had told their constituents,
which again throws doubt as to why the Conservative group was willing to support Ryan.
I keep thinking DC is a place where everyone has a (metaphorical) gun pointed at each others head in a game of mutual blackmail.
MD in Philly (not in Philly at the moment) (deca84) — 12/20/2015 @ 6:17 pmlike my evoking mos eiseley, ‘a den of scum and villainy’ was it a coincidence that corker had big ‘discrepancies’ in his campaign account,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 6:21 pmhttp://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2015/12/which-republican-has-hurt-conservatism-the-most.php
MD in Philly (not in Philly at the moment) (deca84) — 12/20/2015 @ 6:23 pm#93, Bob, the TFX/F-111 was Lyndon Johnson’s baby, it was built in Texas, and steering the contract to General Dynamics garnered LBJ at least $100,000 under the table in cold cash that we know about. But, as the scandal unfolded Fred Korth, Secretary of the Navy was forced to resign. Previously, he had been President of Continental Bank which was General Dynamics principal source of funding. It was so obviously a glaring conflict of interest even LBJ couldn’t save Korth’s sorry hide.
Korth had been appointed SECNAV by John Kennedy after strong arm-twisting by LBJ. Previously the TFX/F-111 project was an Air Force initiative (to replace the F-105) but Robert McNamara suddenly switched the program to the Navy. Soon thereafter, Fred Korth was appointed and although both Boeing and Lockheed submitted less expensive and superior performing designs, Korth intervened at the last minute and selected the General Dynamics plane.
Attorney General Bobby Kennedy was leaking information detrimental to Korth and LBJ in order to convince his brother to drop LBJ from the ’64 Democrat ticket. When LBJ was informed (second hand from Mary Jo Kopechne) that JFK had already sounded out Florida Senator George Smathers to replace LBJ as VP Johnson knew the clock was ticking on his political career and he was looking at possible jail time.
That’s when the plot to assassinate JFK quickened.
ropelight (ff9f57) — 12/20/2015 @ 6:24 pmwell Florida wasn’t a real major player in 63, he was a Kennedy friend, but I don’t see how the policies would have appreciably changed, plus anything sourced to the crazy Canadian Peter Dale Scott, and the future Obama advisor who urged a ‘winnie the poo’ foreign policy seems dubious,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 6:36 pmVoting has lost its appeal.
DNF (ffe548) — 12/20/2015 @ 6:38 pmbesides George Smathers was also supposedly tied to Bobby Baker, it’s more likely that Oswald who had ties to the Cuban DGI going back to Minsk, capped Kennedy as reprisal for the Cuba project,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 6:42 pm#107, narciso, Smathers was JFK’s mentor in the Senate, an usher at JFK’s wedding, and the only non-family member invited to the kennedy family compound at Hyannis for the private reception. Smathers was also a political ally, he headed Kennedy’s Southern regional Presidential campaign.
My opinions aren’t sourced to any one individual (I lived these events), and if Peter Dale Scott agrees with me that’s fine with me, but I don’t march in anyone’s parade. Your assumption is insulting as is the underhanded way you introduced it. You owe me an apology.
ropelight (ff9f57) — 12/20/2015 @ 6:47 pmRussians would be aware of the impact of the assasinations of Alexander 2, Stolypin and co, in the demoralization of a nation, by causing less competent officials to rise,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 6:47 pmPablum!
ropelight (ff9f57) — 12/20/2015 @ 6:48 pmLee Oswald was 24 years old, he had a wife who couldn’t speak English, a veryv young daughter, and a 2 month old baby. Not the sort one would expect might kill a man who he admired and respected.
ropelight (ff9f57) — 12/20/2015 @ 6:51 pmhad this fellow lived there likely would have been no Batista coup, and Fidel would be an obscure law school graduate, eking a living,
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/cuba-news/NYT-8-17-1951-12.pdf
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 7:01 pmChibas criticized the cronyism, embezzlement and general degredation in that era, hard to think of an American parallel,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 7:23 pmthere’s also the parallels with Berlusconi, who was connected six ways from sunday, two both establishment parties, but when they collapsed, he created a new populist ruling coalition,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 7:27 pmI donno about that, narciso, it seems the Cuban Senator made a botch job of staging his own suicide. From Wikipedia: (paragraph brakes and emphasis added)
ropelight (ff9f57) — 12/20/2015 @ 7:32 pmCheck this link out. I mistakenly surmised his whole time on the bench, but apparently it’s a more recent trend that has gotten worse and worse until lately:
Thomas is usually right, so it’s alarming that he parts ways with Thomas more than twice as often as Ginsburg. Roberts was supposed to be a good pick at the time, but that SMU lady (can’t recall her name) was probably the better call. Bush had a pretty good gut about people.
Dustin (2a8be7) — 12/20/2015 @ 7:40 pmThe link I meant to inline above.
Dustin (2a8be7) — 12/20/2015 @ 7:40 pmHarriet Miers, Hewitt was one of those who had a panic attack over her nomination,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 7:41 pmKennedy, Souter, Roberts, I think we can conclude it’s enemy action, occasionally he will chose to uphold a liberty like the 2nd Amendment, but his collateral damage to our institutions have been severe indeed,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 7:45 pmHewitt wasn’t the only one. I was beside myself with contempt for the Miers nomination, as were more than a few other commenters here.
As for reformers who died suddenly, history is replete with ’em. From Akhenaten, to the Gracchi Brothers, to Nathan Hale, to Joe McCarthy, to John and Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Jerry Parks, et al.
ropelight (ff9f57) — 12/20/2015 @ 7:46 pmShould have included Brietbart too.
ropelight (ff9f57) — 12/20/2015 @ 7:47 pmI still have a soft spot for the younger kennedy, he seemed more sincere than his older brother, McCarthy is reviled, because he spoke a little truth, in his great bluster,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 7:51 pmthe shape of an earthquake varies from place to place,
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35147266
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 7:57 pmTail gunner Joe was a very flawed man, but don’t sell him short, he spoke more than a little truth, most of it leaked to him by J Edgar Hoover, and Senate staffers. Incidentally, the young Robert Kennedy was one of Joe’s assistants.
ropelight (ff9f57) — 12/20/2015 @ 7:57 pmSince Trump started running I have seen this kind of metaphorical argument for him. Someone said he would cause the GOP establishment to “implode” a while ago. A metaphor is something not literally true (is he actually going to dynamite something?).
When people argue for things using metaphors it’s a sign to me that they don’t really know what they mean. What is he literally expected to do?
Gerald A (949d7d) — 12/20/2015 @ 8:03 pmmore than a little, perhaps sloppy on the details, but often that’s the only way to get people’s attention, about a systemic crisis in foreign and domestic policy,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 8:04 pmcreate a new governing coalition, like the example I included above, the current paradigm doesn’t work,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 8:08 pmIt won’t do any good to elect Trump. The Combine will simply override his vetoes. Remember 1994? When the best party to be in was the Non-Incumbent Party? That’s all we can do. Vote them out, no matter who replaces them. It won’t help us, nothing will, but it will hurt them.
nk (dbc370) — 12/20/2015 @ 8:10 pmDid you catch in the debate where Trump said instead of spending that money on the Iraq war we should have spent it domestically? Do any of those enamored with him actually pay attention to EVERYTHING he says, as opposed to selectively focusing on certain things?
Gerald A (949d7d) — 12/20/2015 @ 8:11 pmMake that *to only elect Trump*.
nk (dbc370) — 12/20/2015 @ 8:11 pmthe notion is to have a wider coalition, he takes issue with those who think funds were poorly allocated in the Iraq intervention, he throws the baby out with the bathwater, Cruz more articulately makes the point, although he doesn’t offer an alternative strategy, the Sunni remnant has always been the problem in Iraq, from their entitled status under the Ottomans to the Golden Square, to the Baath to the Islamic State,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 8:16 pmSimon, #66, it should be noted for the record that Trump is a Megastatist. His problem is not that the government is too big, but that it is doing the wrong things. And he is no more inclined that Obama is to let Congress sort out the law — if anything Trump would issue more diktats than Obama does.
And there’s a lot of people who want that. All this legal mumbo-jumbo is frustrating. Just line the bastards up and shoot them.
Me, I still hope to restore the Republic.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 12/20/2015 @ 8:19 pmDid you catch in the debate where Trump said instead of spending that money on the Iraq war we should have spent it domestically?
Seems like a pretty darn good idea to me. Lots of American blood and treasure when down that rat hole with little good to show for it. We well might have opened Pandora’s Box, time will tell.
ropelight (ff9f57) — 12/20/2015 @ 8:24 pmthat seems unlikely, Obama’s diktats are geared to ‘fundamental transformation,’ Trump would have some significant changes, but I don’t think he has a total worldview,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 8:26 pmdebaathification is considered one of those seven seals, but in truth, who had looted the treasury, disenfranchised the majority, plunged the populace into forever war,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 8:29 pmAfter this, I plan to vote for Cruz. I had been seriously considering Rubio, but now I think that only candidates who have proven that they can refuse to work with other Republicans to sell us out are suitable.
Ibidem (f7be92) — 12/20/2015 @ 8:56 pmI’m wondering if sending letters to Ryan and McConnell–indicating that (a) we don’t want their agenda, and it wasn’t what we voted for; and (b) their intransigence has made us want to vote for the supposedly “unelectable” candidates, because none of the other options will get us what we want–would make any impact.
Interesting stuff ropelight. The VENOVA decrypts and a number of defections by Soviet agents in the mids ’40s confirmed that our government was lousy with spies. A deputy director of the OSS was identified, and because of that, the FBI kept the information secret from the CIA and Truman for five years, into the 50’s. I hadn’t thought about McCarthy, but now that you mention his name, he shares some characteristics Trump. If he could have stayed sober, he might have amounted to something.
BobStewartatHome (a52abe) — 12/20/2015 @ 9:03 pmif you have the right pedigree, they will forgive nearly anything,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-very-principled-boy-the-life-of-duncan-lee-red-spy-and-cold-warrior-by-mark-a-bradley/2014/05/09/23c5fc3c-ca5b-11e3-93eb-6c0037dde2ad_story.html
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 9:06 pmGerald, when it comes to metaphors, dynamite and imploding are not bedfellows. A black hole would be the correct choice for imploding something, and perhaps Trump is the man for the job.
BobStewartatHome (a52abe) — 12/20/2015 @ 9:09 pmLaMalfa’s (R-CA 1st Congressional district) statement of opposition:
Ibidem (f7be92) — 12/20/2015 @ 9:13 pmhttps://lamalfa.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-lamalfa-opposes-11-trillion-omnibus-spending-bill
just like 20 years after Lee’s death, we discovered a thirty year dgi mole at state, who also had a blue chip pedigree, from the Graham Bell clan,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 9:23 pmNarcso, notice how the caption in WP article describes Bentley as a “self-styled former Red Agent …”. Anyone who can read can find numerous confirmations that Bentley was a heck of a lot more than some “self-styled” housewife who wanted her 15 minutes of fame. It is this sort of underhanded, sneaky, indirect bias that has so discredited our LHMFM. They think they’ve cleverly planted seeds of doubt in our minds about the validity of the “Red scare”, when all they have really accomplished is to make us wonder how any one could be so stupid as to write such a caption, and to instill in their readership a sense of outrage that they would have such a low opinion of abilities and knowledge of their customers.
But then again, their audience is Congress, its staffers, and federal clerks, custodians, Supreme Court Justices, and messengers. So they might have judged their audience correctly.
BobStewartatHome (a52abe) — 12/20/2015 @ 9:28 pmshe was a seven sisters grad, Wellesley, and like our SJW cades they would never deliberately make a mistake, like recruitment by the KGB.
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 9:31 pmHere’s a link to the Congressional vote:
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/roll705.xml
I expect my support for a number of the “YEAS” will be relegated to the past tense in 2016.
Notice that they don’t break the names down to states unless there is a potential ambiguity (e. g., Poe(TX).) The low information voter would find this page of little use.
BobStewartatHome (a52abe) — 12/20/2015 @ 9:43 pmit’s an odd coalition, among the nos were Water, Grijalva, and McDermott, perhaps because of the oil export ban removal,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 9:47 pmHere’s a little tidbit to chew on, just one, there are many more:
Days before the assassination Lee Oswald visited the FBI office in Dallas, he came to see Agent James Hosty who was out at the time. Oswald left a handwritten note for Hosty.
After the assassination Hosty showed the note to his supervisor who instructed him to get rid of it. Hosty testified he tore the note into pieces and flushed it down the toilet. Tom Johnson, a former press secretary to President Johnson who later became publisher of The Dallas Times Herald and The Los Angeles Times as well as a president of CNN, confirmed the existence of Oswald note with former FBI director Clarence Kelley during his time at the Dallas Times Herald.
That’s not only destruction of evidence, it’s also withholding a handwritten note from the accused assassin to the FBI only days before JFK was assassinated right under the FBI’s nose.
Now ask yourself what could motivate the agency tasked with investigating JFK’s presumed assassin and building a case against him would blatantly violate the law by destroying evidence (a felony) and withholding even the existence of a note from the Warren Commission.
Why, if uncovering the truth was the objective, was the note destroyed? But, if concealing the truth was the FBI’s objective then flushing the note makes perfect sense. Think it over and make your own call.
ropelight (ff9f57) — 12/20/2015 @ 9:48 pmseriously, you have a marine, who defected to russia, married the niece of an MVD official, at some point gave targeting info on U2s, came back into the country, took a shot at a former govt official, General Walker, had pro castro affiliations, went down to Mexico City, and partied with the Cuban embassy staff, and then shot the President, he’s lucky they didn’t detail hosty to the DEW line,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 9:56 pmprojection is what’s on tap,
http://www.redstate.com/2015/12/20/bill-clinton-barack-obama-donald-trump-isis-recruiting-video-video/
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 9:58 pmSeriously, would the US State Department lend a defector the money to come back to the US and bring his Russian wife and infant daughter with him, would they expedite the necessary passports and visas, would they smooth the path with notoriously difficult Soviet officials, and then fail to question Oswald about possible traitorous collaboration in the downing of the U-2?
Would such a person be granted the high level clearances necessary to work in a special security photo mapping facility? Or, is it just possible Oswald was a trained CIA black operator all along?
ropelight (ff9f57) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:17 pmyes, there are no parallels with what just went on in California, this month,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:22 pm118 119
I have no idea where the Slate article got those numbers. They don’t agree with other sources for the 2014 term. SCOTUSblog has Roberts voting with Ginsburg 69% of the time (as compared to 84% of the time with with Scalia). Kennedy on the other hand voted with Ginsburg 77% of the time (as compared to 70% of the time with Scalia).
And you shouldn’t just look at one term.
James B. Shearer (ebb36c) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:48 pmRoberts is being blackmailed, anytime the Left really needs his vote they get it. Other times his votes are his own, which is increasingly less often. The Left owns him.
Roberts and his wife adopted 2 children illegally and he knows that unless he knuckles under his crime will be exposed and he’ll lose the children, and likely his wife too. He’s trying to wait it out till the children are old enough to make their own decisions. Till then he jumps when his chain is pulled.
ropelight (ff9f57) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:59 pmHe may be blackmailed, but the theory that it’s because of his children’s adoptions is as unlikely as JFK being assassinated by Bobby who wanted Jackie and in turn was assassinated by Onassis whom Jackie had married because he had the means to avenge her husband. In other words, bad television script. If Roberts has any skeletons in his closet, it’s complicity in, or the covering up of, the chicaneries of his rich jerkoff clients from when he was a lawyer.
nk (dbc370) — 12/20/2015 @ 11:24 pm150-narciso
mg (31009b) — 12/21/2015 @ 2:51 amCruz should run with that propaganda, as no journalist will touch it for fear of team republican and their partners in crime, the democrats.
I still have not read Beldar and his take on the bearded dolt and his lying republican cabal.
mg (31009b) — 12/21/2015 @ 2:57 amAnd the problem is NOT any particular politician. It’s the statist bureaucracy that has grown up.
nonono this is not a political problem of people taking statist or non-statist positions
this is corruption
heavily-bearded wiscotrash deficitpig has to go
happyfeet (831175) — 12/21/2015 @ 3:02 amThe republican party has been overrun by democrats. To think otherwise would be naive.
mg (31009b) — 12/21/2015 @ 3:05 amI don’t think obama is leaving the white house because of an election. We will have to fight to get America back. And when we do Washington D.C. needs to be torched.
Poland has the answer.
mg (31009b) — 12/21/2015 @ 3:11 amhttp://www.barenakedislam.com/2013/07/12/polish-defence-leagues-warning-to-muslims/
157. After that how’s about we get the Repugnants take on this:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-12-20/americas-ship-sinking-former-bush-official-exposes-unfixable-corruption-inside-estab
The Greenies are another industrial complex robbing us blind while destroying that they must save. These plays on our apathetic complicity confound us at every turn and the Ryan’s of this world have their fingers in each.
DNF (755a85) — 12/21/2015 @ 3:59 amjust when you think the American military can’t get any sleazier
happyfeet (831175) — 12/21/2015 @ 5:02 amRoberts and his wife married in 1966, 4 years later they adopted a boy and a girl said to be of Latin American origin. However, the children appear to be of Irish origin.
Irish law prevents both private adoptions and out-of- country adoptions of Irish children by non-Irish citizen parents. Roberts arranged for the third party adoption of the 2 infant children by Irish parents, who then turned around and put the children up for private adoption.
Clearly, if the children were adopted illegally the threat they could be reclaimed by the Irish government hangs like the Sword of Damocles over the heads of Roberts and his wife.
ropelight (dd1c6c) — 12/21/2015 @ 5:48 amWilkerson was Powell’s arabist iago, boderline 9/11 denialist, levick watercarrier, Christian persecutor.
narciso (732bc0) — 12/21/2015 @ 6:04 amWhen I referred to dynamiting I was talking about the first metaphor, “blowing up” DC. I was just adding Trump making the GOPe “implode” as another example of using metaphors to describe what Trump is going to do.
Again if the rationale for wanting someone elected or some policy enacted consists of metaphors, then those people have no actual idea what they’re trying to do. The rationale behind leftist policies often seem to be supported in large part by a bunch of metaphors, which is why they yield bizarre results.
With respect to either imploding or exploding things, that can only literally refer to a physical object. When people start talking about Trump “blowing up” DC or “imploding” the GOPe, they are like a bunch of leftist loons.
Gerald A (5dca03) — 12/21/2015 @ 6:05 amConrad black was purged from his post by the fitz, who lavished attention on a real crook, David radler, who looted Hollinger to the same extent.
narciso (732bc0) — 12/21/2015 @ 6:07 amWho turned the company to breeden who sold it to the piranha bros, who would subsequently employ jeb for the last seven years, but it took one of the most vocal supporters of the war on terror offline.
narciso (732bc0) — 12/21/2015 @ 6:17 amBarclay brothers, but you get the notion.
narciso (732bc0) — 12/21/2015 @ 6:20 amhe’s fric to her frac
Colonel Haiku (d14968) — 12/21/2015 @ 7:15 amtweedle-dee to tweedle-dumb
or the Boobsey Twins
Fair point, but I think the problem is that something has changed with Roberts and he’s become more of a fan of executive interpretation/legislation as time has gone on. Sounds like paranoia to say they are blackmailing him, but it would actually be a simple explanation for the change.
At any rate, that was part of a larger point. Conservatives get let down so often it’s not really a matter of if, but when, with just about all of them. Cruz speaks dynamically about his conservative principles on the fly, but he is a freshman senator. In a few years, he will let us down. Everyone here has to know that. Still the best of the bunch right now ideologically and on the brains basis, and compared to the last several nominees (and candidates) obviously a nice change.
A Trump fan may well be so used to all the ‘good’ conservatives letting them down that they aren’t seeing Trump’s big government ideas as distinguishing him from the other candidates. And you all know what a punch in the nose the last couple of nominees were to conservatives. A whole lot of ‘deal with it, losers’ and not a lot of listening, and inevitable disaster on election day. That is where Trump got his opportunity. There is a great big red button on our ballots now we can use to get a little bit even with those for whom this political party is so important. While I do not intend to press it I have noticed its lovely and alluring sheen.
If it doesn’t come down to Cruz v Rubio and like every single primary before my vote is absolutely not going to help get a good candidate picked, that Trump protest vote will be reconsidered.
Dustin (2a8be7) — 12/21/2015 @ 7:25 amropelight (dd1c6c) — 12/21/2015 @ 5:48 am
And this is based on what evidence other than the kids’ coloring? None, right? Latin America is chock-full of blond, blue-eyed criollos. Some of them the kind of Northern and Middle European women Trump likes, in a “lifestyle” which might produce unwanted children and of a religion which forbids abortion.
But let’s look at the whole blackmail thing, anyway. Where did Roberts let you down except on Obamacare? Not on the gun cases. Not on the campaign finance cases. Not on Hobby Lobby. Not on gay oxymoron. Only on Obamacare which is supported, openly and covertly, by the health insurance industry and the medical and pharmaceutical establishments. Where Roberts had his most notorious clients as a lawyer. Blackmail no; not biting the hand that fed him maybe.
nk (dbc370) — 12/21/2015 @ 7:42 amJames B. Shearer (ebb36c) — 12/20/2015 @ 10:48 pm
Yes, those statistics do lack … how you say in your country? … credibility. Is like statistic that say 5 out of 6 times Russian Roulette is perfectly safe.
nk (dbc370) — 12/21/2015 @ 7:47 amWhen people argue for things using metaphors it’s a sign to me that they don’t really know what they mean. What is he literally expected to do?
I went to bed last night and missed that I seem to have offended you. I understand quite well what is happening, and where it might lead. Do you ?
Trump is not my candidate but we are in a very odd time. Something like 1860 with a Buchanan clone in the White House who is filling southern armories with weapons for the soon-to-be enemy. Another metaphor and I know you don’t like those but that is what Obama resembles.
How long can things go on as they have since 2006 ? Bush failed to stop the Democrats from destroying the economy after they took Congress in 2006. Maybe it was too late but he was preoccupied with Iraq.
Do some reading about Weimar in the late 1920s as they destroyed the German middle class. The purpose at the time was to evade paying war reparations but they brought on Hitler and the next war.
I don’t equate Trump with Hitler as the left does. I think Hillary is a better comparison. Trump would probably close the borders and reverse almost all that Obama has done by executive order.
It can be done.
An array of President Obama’s policies—changing immigration law, blocking the Keystone XL pipeline, the Iranian nuclear agreement and the normalization of relations with Cuba, among others—were implemented exclusively through executive action. Because any president is free “to revoke, modify or supersede his own orders or those issued by a predecessor,” as the Congressional Research Service puts it, a Republican president could overturn every Obama executive action the moment after taking the oath of office.
I think Trump, elated at being actually elected, might just do that. It would raise hell in DC but that is OK with me.
That’s what I meant by the metaphor which you did not understand,.
Mike K (90dfdc) — 12/21/2015 @ 8:12 amMaybe I’m being naive, Dustin, but I can’t say I “know” that. This guy seems different. He seems like the real deal. I don’t think he’s perfect; I don’t think he’ll never compromise; I don’t think he’ll do everything I would do. But he seems perfectly happy pissing off the leadership in his party if that’s what he has to do to keep his promises to his constituents. I really like that about him, a lot.
Patterico (2e1e5e) — 12/21/2015 @ 8:18 amNo, nk, it starts with noticing the children look Irish or Northern European, but then it continues on into an inquiry on the children’t provenance. Working back from the private adoption in Latin America, the trail leads directly to Ireland.
The adoption of Irish children by Irish citizens resident in Latin America would not be unusual in and of itself, but the exceptionally brief time period between acquiring the children in a legitimate adoption and quickly facilitating a private adoption to parents ineligible under Irish law smacks of the sort of end run a lawyer might employ who was intent on providing his wife with the fulfillment of an abiding obsession.
Confidence in the validity of our speculation is only enhanced by evidence of trips to Ireland, visits to adoption agencies, and the actual meeting between Roberts and his wife and the 2 infants well prior to the Latin American adoption. Roberts and his wife were said to have fallen in love with the children who later became theirs by a strangely circuitous route.
I believe Roberts is being blackmailed.
ropelight (dd1c6c) — 12/21/2015 @ 8:27 amCruz speaks dynamically about his conservative principles on the fly, but he is a freshman senator. In a few years, he will let us down. Everyone here has to know that.
To add to Patterico’s comment: Dustin, do you really think that it’s standard operating procedure for a freshman senator to alienate the leadership from the get-go as Cruz has done? And he’s done this because he has remained steadfast in his conservatism. He’s had every opportunity to be a more popular figure by playing nice, but has instead opted to stay true to himself and his principles. To me, if anyone has a bigger chance of not disappointing, it’s the person who is willing to risk not being liked and who, from day one, stands on the principles he claims to believe in and refuses to bow to popular opinion.
Dana (86e864) — 12/21/2015 @ 8:32 am(It should go without saying that everyone disappoints at some point in time. That’s just the fallibility of man. But certainly there are varying degrees.)
Dana (86e864) — 12/21/2015 @ 8:34 amDon’t let it bring you down
Colonel Haiku (d14968) — 12/21/2015 @ 8:38 amIt’s only money burning
Just find someone who’s yearning
And make sure he’s not a clown
Mike K,
I think you’re projecting your own hopes onto Chump — and he has certainly given voters a blank slate on which they can write all their own personal desires, which will never come true.
If he is elected, he will be a GIANT disappointment to conservatives. He will be Ahhhnold times ten.
People seriously need to get over the idea that Chump would be this revolutionary figure who would get all this awesome conservative stuff done. I think he would grow government bigger than Hillary ever could. I really do. Because he’d get many Republicans to go along with him. It’s what they want to do anyway. With Trump providing cover, they could grab all the goodies they have wanted to grab for so long.
Patterico (2e1e5e) — 12/21/2015 @ 8:43 am164. Impeachable, certainly, but the weight of the evidence from all sources is damning.
DNF (ffe548) — 12/21/2015 @ 8:45 amSocial science is rather clear on the effects of peer group pressure on individuals newly introduced into existing organizations. No matter what ideas and values the new arrival brings with him, after about 3 years his preferences are largely no different than those of long standing members.
It shows why the effort to elect better people usually disappoints. It’s a good idea to keep in mind that repeating the same action and expecting a different result is a text book definition of mental disorder.
ropelight (dd1c6c) — 12/21/2015 @ 8:45 ami can’t stand this indecision married with a lack of vision
happyfeet (a037ad) — 12/21/2015 @ 8:59 amI think he would grow government bigger than Hillary ever could. I really do.
All the candidates this year are blank slates, Cruz as much as anyone else. Personally, I have doubts that Trump can win but I fear the GOP establishment, including Ryan, would lose the election to keep control. Illinois is a model for what they are capable of. Read about the career of Peter Fitzgerald. They gave us Obama rather than support Fitzgerald.
Mike K (90dfdc) — 12/21/2015 @ 9:00 amwhy wouldn’t the Top Men rally behind him, then,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/21/2015 @ 9:02 amif Trump is the nominee way i see it he’d be the only alternative to Hillary
and i got me a distaste for that woman
something about her puts a pikachu off his christmas
happyfeet (a037ad) — 12/21/2015 @ 9:20 amIt’s not exactly unheard of for a freshman to come into DC on the notion he’s a wide-eyed outsider who wants to shake up Washington and thumb his nose at the powers that be that have broken everything. SOP is a reasonable way to express the strategy though I think cliche also works.
Cruz’s resume:
1. Great lawyer at the highest levels of lawyerin’ if you looked into it.
2. Was elected over Dewhurst, beating the odds big time.
3. Has driven a great primary campaign.
4. This guy seems different.
5. He seems like the real deal.
We do not know that he’s the real deal yet, particularly when it comes to management of a corrupt mess of bureaucracy that opposes his goals, AKA the job. We’ll have to pass that bill to find out what’s in it. Cruz will have to use a completely new skill set we haven’t seen.
I can hear the reply already “but the other guys aren’t any better” Sure. I prefer Cruz quite a bit. I also don’t think much of any politician. Many aren’t impressed enough to take the primary seriously, and thus vote Trump for the message it’s sending. I think that’s hard to understand if you’re really buying one of the other candidates.
Dustin (2a8be7) — 12/21/2015 @ 9:50 amthe leadership can’t catch a clue with a two by four, maybe as in Gotham, they are all corrupt, one way or another, why else do they act as basengis,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/21/2015 @ 9:54 amI got annoyed with Cruz when he blustered about turning the sand into glass in the Middle East. What??
I would love to hear from him that he intends to root out jihadis at home by checking what mosques and schools are teaching, for instance, and closing them down if they are radical or Jew-hating.
Patricia (5fc097) — 12/21/2015 @ 9:58 amThe President has no legal authority to close a mosque, period. Nor does he have any authority to check what they’re teaching. The lunatic lesbian Mayor of Houston demanded local churches send her the contents of their sermons or something. You can’t challenge the loony left’s illegal overreaches if you support that. Even Trump hasn’t said he’d do that, but if he did he’d clearly be trying to appeal to the lowest info people who form the base of his support.
Gerald A (5dca03) — 12/21/2015 @ 10:10 amIf that’s what you mean by “blow the place up” I’m all for it. That’s what I would hope any conservative would do.
Gerald A (5dca03) — 12/21/2015 @ 10:12 amthere is a whole political legal social network designed to prevent proactive activity against Islamist, CAIR is the tip of the iceberg, that you saw in San Bernardino,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/21/2015 @ 10:12 amOr making it glow, or whatever. I know. Me too.
Patterico (2e1e5e) — 12/21/2015 @ 10:15 amI give him a pass on that, if one is continually gasping at candidate’s pronouncement, you’re going to run out of air,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/21/2015 @ 10:20 amI got annoyed with Cruz when he blustered about turning the sand into glass in the Middle East. What??
That’s the verbiage of a stereotypical conservative what hand-wringing about helping the unfortunate and disaffected is to the stereotypical liberal.
Each side of the political spectrum has quirks that, at least depending on certain circumstances, leaves me cold (with the left, of course, being far worse in that regard).
Mark (74fce8) — 12/21/2015 @ 10:28 amMeanwhile here’s a very plausible argument that we’re heading into a recession next year:
The Global Recession of 2016
You can always find someone saying that (or that we’re headed for inflation) but his argument makes a lot of sense.
Gerald A (5dca03) — 12/21/2015 @ 11:38 amIt seemed really out of character, Patrick, like out-trumping Trump.
Patricia (5fc097) — 12/21/2015 @ 3:03 pmI got annoyed with Cruz when he blustered about turning the sand into glass in the Middle East. What?
I think Trump, elated at being actually elected, might just do that.
There, those go together, I think. It would be awesome.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 12/21/2015 @ 5:08 pmropelight–
There are Irish-looking kids everywhere, and there’s a reason for that.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 12/21/2015 @ 5:09 pmropelight–
The note from Oswald said: “I plan to kill the President.” Damn right they destroyed it. Made them look bad.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 12/21/2015 @ 5:10 pmread “The Secret History of the CIA”, it’s all explained… https://t.co/7PndkjkcV7
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 12/21/2015 @ 5:13 pmNot the carp from Joseph trento, the one who hounded an admiral to death.
narciso (732bc0) — 12/21/2015 @ 5:52 pmI pointed upthread all the tripwires they missed in getting him.
narciso (732bc0) — 12/21/2015 @ 5:53 pmi’m still undecided between Trump and Cruz but …
seeRpea (515f88) — 12/21/2015 @ 6:43 pmOne of my heroes just tilted me in favor of voting for Trump if the need arises,
Schlafly just has had enough of the betrayals.
http://www.wnd.com/2015/12/top-conservative-trump-is-last-hope-for-america/
I still have reservations.
narciso (732bc0) — 12/21/2015 @ 6:56 pmme too , narciso, me too .
seeRpea (515f88) — 12/21/2015 @ 7:51 pmI got annoyed with Cruz when he blustered about turning the sand into glass in the Middle East. What?
Some folks, not necessarily limited to the Middle East, should be reminded that being a nuclear power makes you a legitimate target for a preemptive nuclear attack.
nk (dbc370) — 12/21/2015 @ 8:44 pmPeople seriously need to get over the idea that Chump would be this revolutionary figure who would get all this awesome conservative stuff done. I think he would grow government bigger than Hillary ever could. I really do. Because he’d get many Republicans to go along with him.
That paragraph makes me very uneasy. It can easily be interpreted as full of ideological equivalency, if you will—ie, form of moral equivalency or moral relativism.
Mark (f713e4) — 12/21/2015 @ 11:30 pmFor one thing, if nicknames are going to be used, “Chump” needs to be counterbalanced with, for example, “Shrillery.” Moreover, Bill’s wife is so leftwing in both sentiment and demeanor — and, worse of all, so extremely dishonest on top of all that liberalism pouring out of her — that I don’t think even squishy Trump — Republican cohorts or otherwise — would ever outdo her in the spendthrift department.
#198, Kevin, read my comment at #175, there’s more to it than appearance. Your attempt to reduce the issue to a commonplace is dishonest, chickenshit, and typical of your blustering polemics. Your comments too often obscure and offend rather than clarify and inform.
Additionally, contrary to your silly attempt at humor, we don’t know what message Oswald attempted to convey to FBI Agent Hosty because he committed a felony by destroying evidence and the agency conspired to conceal Oswald’s attempt to communicate with the FBI from the Warren Commission.
Read my comment at #148. Official misconduct, at the felony level, by the lead investigation agency into JFK’s assassination just isn’t something that can be glossed over with a stupid quip.
ropelight (454bf8) — 12/22/2015 @ 6:08 amI’ve been away for a while. Did crying six year olds become mods and make this ‘equal time name calling’ a new rule?
Why did you write the sentence this way? It’s a quadruple compound sentence, but you’re only saying Hillary is very very leftwing. You do so with weak references. She’s Bill Clinton’s wife. So what? Clinton was quite moderate compared to modern democrats, signing DOMA and budgets that conservatives would sever their limbs for. She’s a liar, I agree, but how is this a partisan trait? It’s not, period, and only a fool trusts a politician because they claim the right side.
Hillary has a limited resume, so I don’t think it’s true that we know her politics (and I wonder if she has any). Trump, on the other hand, has an extensive resume of not only funding the Clintons, but abusing eminent domain, free speech rights, and proposing all manner of lefty things in healthcare and immigration. Do you see President Trump saying “the solution to our problems is for my department to stay out of the way and patiently let things fix themselves”? Or do you see him enacting a billion directives?
Clinton’s presidency would be about one thing: the politics of keeping power and winning more elections. Trump’s would be about using government power to leave a TRUMP TOWER sized mark on society, even if it meant losing elections and with zero concern for the future of the GOP.
Dustin (2a8be7) — 12/22/2015 @ 6:43 amShe did her dissertation on alinsky, she sought inspiration from sdser Carl ogilvy, she worked for the left wing legal services corporation, the center for American progress was originally their vehicle.
narciso (732bc0) — 12/22/2015 @ 6:48 amYeah, in college she wrote about a real left wing guy. I wrote a few like that myself and I’m more conservative than Darth Vader.
Dustin (2a8be7) — 12/22/2015 @ 7:03 amit’s a little more than that, trump, our citizen kane figure, without the idealistic prologue, absorbed the dem ethos of the 70s, more of the koch flavor then the dinkins/deblasio strain,
narciso (732bc0) — 12/22/2015 @ 7:07 amhe gave to the right committees, was obsessed with the MITI powerhouse, in the 80s, where did that go, someone ask James Fallows,
Right. Crony to the core. Trump is the worst sort of politician. He would be more like LBJ than folks realize. At the same time, I get a lot of immature satisfaction from his success. The GOP deserves this good and hard.
Hillary, a striver from day one, married correctly and wrote the right things, and was a zealous congressional aide, all doing the right things from her point of view, to get her here. It never seems to click because for Hillary political success is the ends, not the means. She’s seeking to be elevated and successful. We all know people like that. Trump has an agenda (even if it’s totally manic); Hillary is her agenda.
Dustin (2a8be7) — 12/22/2015 @ 7:19 amHillary is very very leftwing. You do so with weak references.
Hillary has a limited resume, so I don’t think it’s true that we know her politics (and I wonder if she has any).
Dustin, I think you’re being very naive about Hillary, not even referencing, for example, what narcisco pointed out. Also, in effect, you too are playing a game of ideological equivalency (whether you mean to or not) by making those people unsure about “Chump” feel less unsure about “Shrillery.”
BTW, Bill only leaned a bit right on occasion because of the tenor of the times, mainly because of the US Congress being turned over to the Republicans. I still recall the speech Hillary’s old man gave the day after the Newt-Gingrich election, if you will, and he looked and sounded shocked, if not devastated. Believe me, if Bill had been pushed to the left by an election that instead had put control of the Congress in the hands of the left, he probably — probably — wouldn’t have been quite so sad and stunned and, in turn, wouldn’t have exactly resisted being tugged to the left by legislators.
Mark (74fce8) — 12/22/2015 @ 10:03 amI’m more conservative than Darth Vader.
Are you really? I have to ask that question because if your gut instincts really are of the right, no way, no how, would you feel anything but disgust and total cynicism towards Hillary. IOW, you’d never say something like: “I don’t think we know her politics.”
Mark (74fce8) — 12/22/2015 @ 10:06 amSome folks, not necessarily limited to the Middle East, should be reminded that being a nuclear power makes you a legitimate target for a preemptive nuclear attack.
Yes. This. There is a codicil to the Non-proliferation Treaty that says the existing nuclear powers pledge not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states (with some hedging about allies of nuclear-weapon states). The flip side is also true and intentionally so.
So, for example, if North Korea should start shelling Seoul, the US might very well start by using tactical nukes to kill everything between 10 and 30 miles from the DMZ. Or a crowd-pleaser on Pyongyang.
Frankly, the time is long past to make that kind of a statement. People forget about the stick if all they ever see are carrots.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 12/22/2015 @ 10:22 amI think he would grow government bigger than Hillary ever could. I really do. Because he’d get many Republicans to go along with him.
W did, just for that reason. TSA. No Child Left Behind. Total Information Awareness (now rebranded). Medicare Part D. All passed with many GOP votes.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 12/22/2015 @ 10:25 amI prefer Rump to Chump. The Chumps are the ones cozying up to Rump.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 12/22/2015 @ 10:27 amIn college, I did a paper on the cult of the Hashashin.
nk (dbc370) — 12/22/2015 @ 10:31 amFor real.
nk (dbc370) — 12/22/2015 @ 10:31 amAnd I grew up on Nasreddin Hodja stories.
nk (dbc370) — 12/22/2015 @ 10:33 amIndeed, he worked with people he disagreed with and I think the results were better for the country as a result (than if he had refused to and made a political battle out of the disaster). I could criticize Bill Clinton all day, but that one thing was an important difference between he and Obama. I think Bush 43 also worked with people he disagreed with, partly because of the atmosphere of what it took to do the job in his day. Obama has changed the executive branch and I wonder if we’ll see the pressure of working with congress ever do what it used to.
I do have a cynical view of her, but I don’t feel that way because of her particular politics. I don’t even pay attention to the news anymore and off the top of my head I can think of 180s Hillary has made on guns, immigration, and gay marriage. Do you think she has real principles on these issues that just so happen to have switched conveniently with public opinion? Of course I got in a lot of arguments here because I made the same point ad nauseam about a couple of Republicans in the last primary. I disliked them because they were conning America, not because of any particular difference I have with them on the issues. The big con last round was the winner. The big con this round is also winning. I am not going to let myself get bent out of shape over it again.
What’s more important to you? Character or platform? To me, only one of the two merits disgust. I have good friends that have character but disagree with me on every political controversy we’ve ever discussed. I wish you had the experience of friendship with a truly different point of view like this.
Dustin (2a8be7) — 12/22/2015 @ 12:37 pmPELOSI: Ryan gave away the store…
Pic and link at Drudge.
ropelight (cc7211) — 12/23/2015 @ 8:50 am