Patterico's Pontifications

3/27/2017

Trump Tweets Out Yet Another Attack On The Freedom Caucus; Pledges To Deal With Democrats

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 11:30 pm



I have argued that the members of the Freedom Caucus who opposed TrumpCare aka the AHCA are heroes. Donald Trump apparently disagrees:

What he calls “the jaws of victory” I call “the jaws of ObamaCare lite.” For Trump, the solution, apparently, is to negotiate with Democrats:

Nothing says “good policy” like a deal that makes Democrats happy!

Here’s the problem with Trump’s latest tantrum: the folks in the Freedom Caucus were not the only people who opposed this dog of a bill. They’re just the ones Paul Ryan wanted to blame. Leon Wolf has an indispensable piece about this, and I’ll just tease you with a few paragraphs:

Ryan would have you believe that the Freedom Caucus was solely responsible for the scuttling of his deeply unpopular pet project to “repeal” Obamacare. The media, which are largely ignorant of the internal dynamics of the House GOP caucus because they are largely staffed by ex-Democrat Hill staffers, have been happy to carry Ryan’s water in this regard — either because they, too, dislike the Freedom Caucus or because they are too lazy to dig even an inch below the surface and learn the truth.

Of course, the Freedom Caucus might well wish to claim the AHCA’s defeat as a net positive since Americans opposed its passage by a whopping margin of 56 percent. However, regardless of the particulars of the act, Ryan now has a convenient scapegoat he can blame for the party’s failure to pass a bill that at least nominally replaced Obamacare — both with Chamber of Commerce-types who supported AHCA-style reform and, more significantly, with President Donald Trump (who looks increasingly likely to enter the fray in Republican House primaries in 2018). And with the latter target, there is evidence that his campaign is working, since Trump has begun grousing aloud about Freedom Caucus members on his Twitter account.

The facts, however, tell a very different story. Even though liberals and moderates in the House GOP caucus were quieter during the AHCA debate, they were no less opposed to the bill. The only difference is that Ryan opted not to place them in a difficult position — an opportunity Freedom Caucus members were not afforded.

All emphasis in the original. Read it all.

There’s a path to repealing ObamaCare that makes sense. That path is not making “great deals” with Democrats out of pique. The correct path is Ted Cruz’s plan. That path is the free market.

Pass it and dare the chucklehead Trump to veto it.

[Cross-posted at RedState and The Jury Talks Back.]

184 Responses to “Trump Tweets Out Yet Another Attack On The Freedom Caucus; Pledges To Deal With Democrats”

  1. I said this would happen.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  2. The HFC is going to be really disappointed when the Christmas Tree Bill (aka Infrastructure) gets passed and all they get is coal. DEMOCRATS will get stuff, but they won’t.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  3. Most of DJT’s history is about making a deal, any deal, and then simply not following through on the parts he does not like. He then relied upon his legal team to make legal recovery as cost prohibitive as possible.

    His best besties in the financial world operated on a similar methodology. In their case, all that mattered was the fees generated by transactions. Then, if risk needed to be off-loaded, they misrepresented its nature and found suckers willing to buy it. Legal recovery by the suckers? Fat chance.

    DJT is as a bully who must perpetually declare victory. He can ill afford to be perceived weak. Ooops. Too late.

    Ed from SFV (3400a5)

  4. Pft. Patterico can’t even play one dimensional chess. Much less the 7 dimensional chess President Trump is playing here.

    jcurtis (3b0813)

  5. Funnily enough the alleged skeletons in Trump’s closet may determine how much strength the Congressional Republican Party has here.

    Trump isn’t a Conservative and all the concerns sensible Republicans had are completely valid. His agenda is just different from the party that has adopted him.

    When pathways inevitably diverge Trump has The Mob and will try to use it to pressure Republicans into voting the bread and circuses he plans to put on.

    The Republicans have the levers of domestic power and their ability to yank his chain will depend heavily on how much real dirt there may be in his tax returns, his foreign business dealings or the other baggage he brings with him.

    Bob (ec5d2f)

  6. If I were running for office, the second biggest favor Trump could do me would be to support my opponent.

    nk (dbc370)

  7. you can’t negotiate with the freedom filth caucus cause they don’t negotiate in good faith

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  8. Back during the campaign, I heard a lot of people saying they weren’t really Trump supporters but they were voting for him just because he promised to shake things up and oust the GOP establishment – the RINO’s – from their positions of power. I warned them at the time that Trump is the very definition of a RINO and that he was going to have to make a deal with the very GOP establishment he was running against if he wanted to actually get anything done, and the GOP establishment, as unprincipled as they are, would be more than happy to make a deal with the Devil as long as he won elections. Bringing Goldman Sachs execs into the campaign, the talk of how the GOP preferred Trump to Cruz because they could “work” with Trump, the hiring of Reince Priebus (Reince Freaking Priebus!), the friendliness with the Clintons and Chuck Schumer and Planned Parenthood, a lifetime of crony capitalism – how many red flags do you need to warn you that Trump has no intention of over-turning the status quo but in fact just the opposite?

    And now many of those same people who claimed they only supported Trump to the extent that he was going to change things are some of his loudest defenders in maintaining the status quo. It’s a cult of personality, Obama 2.0.

    Jerryskids (3308c1)

  9. Bingo.

    Patterico (4af482)

  10. mr. trump with his startlingly bold executive orders have done more in a few months for conservative than the narcissistic freedom filth have done their whole careers

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  11. ugh for *conservatives* i mean

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  12. “LOSING IT: Schumer goes off on Trump supporter at NYC restaurant, witness says.

    “They are a highly respected couple, and Schumer made a scene, yelling, ‘She voted for Trump!’ The Califanos left the restaurant, but Schumer followed them outside.” On the sidewalk, Schumer carried on with his fantastical filibuster: “ ‘How could you vote for Trump? He’s a liar!’ He kept repeating, ‘He’s a liar!’ ”

    Hilary confirmed the confrontation, telling Page Six, “Sen. Schumer was really rude . . . He’s our senator, and I don’t really like him. Yes, I voted for Trump. Schumer joined us outside and he told me Trump was a liar. I should have told him that Hillary Clinton was a liar, but I was so surprised I didn’t say anything.”

    Joe Califano was my boss back at Dewey Ballantine. I’m glad to hear he’s doing well, though the Joe I remember probably wouldn’t have let some punk Senator yell at his wife. And good for Hilary.

    But this is pretty much proof that Trump is living rent-free in the heads of the Democratic leadership. His victory really did cause a party-wide nervous breakdown.

    UPDATE: From the comments: “Clearly this shows that the Senator from New York may be losing his ability to direct the affairs of state!”

    Plus: “People who are confident do not do that in public.” True.”

    https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/261028/

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  13. They told me if I didn’t vote for Trump the Democrats would get what they wanted, and they were right!

    Then again, I said if I do vote for Trump the Democrats would get what they wanted, so…

    Sean (41ed1e)

  14. Even though liberals and moderates in the House GOP caucus were quieter during the AHCA debate, they were no less opposed to the bill.

    I think, first of all, Trump and his people, or anyway Trump, didn’t even notice they were losing House Republican moderates, and second, they started with the moderates, and then they tried to bring in the Freedom Caucus holdouts, so they blame the Freedom Caucus. They were the last piece needed. Also, they just assumed them in at the start.

    I think Trump is not now going to try to reach a deal with the Freedom Caucus, because getting them means losing other people. There’s no possiblility of getting a majority that way. So that a non-starter.

    I should also say that the whole thing was a bad bill, from almost any perspective, so that thing couldn’t pass and the people who agreed to vote for it did it largely on the premise that the law would not stay in that shape at the end of 2018.

    They’ll have to craft something else.

    Sammy Finkelman (8a31dc)

  15. Never mind all this nonsense. Listen to my song.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  16. yes yes the freedom filth have neutered and segregated themselves like ebola zika tuberculosis victims

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  17. 12. That’s great.

    Donald Trump should really get Joe Califano involved in writing the bill, and he can bring along some Democrats.

    Of course Donald Trump is blustering, and pretending to be more optimistic than he is, when he says “The Democrats will make a deal with me on healthcare” but that’s what he wants to do.

    Making a deal with Democrats as a whole is a bad idea and won’t work (unless maybe he can get Senator Charles Schumer to agree, which just maybe is possible) because he’ll lose the majority of the Republicans. He’d probably have to practically let the Democrats write the bill to get a deal, and that wouldn’t work.

    He has to split the Democrats.

    Probably very formally, not like the old 1950s/1960s Southern Democrat- Republican coalition, because the Democratic Party has become too tightly held together.

    It is not necessary, or even desireable, for them to switch parties, and they can’t for a variety of reasons, including immigration/amnesty/sanctuary cities, abortion, hostility of their constitutents toward Trump as a person, and the Russian factor.

    Another possibility is for that deal to make a deal to get close to happening – and then they can
    make a deal with the Democratic leadership to at least allow free votes with no pressure.

    But if not, Trump, and Paul Ryan, will have to make a deal with what will have to practically become a separate caucus, (not necessarily, or likely, of the most conservative Democrats) and that includes offering them sub-committee chairmanships, maybe even a committee chairmanship or two, like in the New York State Senate, which they should study more.

    Campaign finance reform of the sort that makes candidates more independent amd makes it easier to raise money for campaigns might be the glue to get this thing going. (It could something like dollar for dollar unconditional advance tax credits for campiagn contributions, perhaps limited in dollar amount, and limited to people who can also vote for the candidate. Although limiting this to people who can vote for a candidate, might create trouble in poorer districts. If it’s refundable, maybe it can work there too somewhat.)

    And they would also agree to try to get state Republican parties, to treat them as Republicans when it comes to reapportionment, in Congressional distrcting after the 2020 election. Although since that’s only after the 2020 election, that one is hard to promise, but they can gain the support of other House Republcan members in their state, and can at least help with fundraising, especially if the Demoratic campaign committees threaten to cut them off.

    Sammy Finkelman (8a31dc)

  18. “MARCH 28, 2017
    LIVE BY THE PEN AND PHONE, DIE BY THE PEN AND PHONE: Trump takes biggest swing yet at Obama climate legacy.

    Trump plans to order the EPA to rewrite tough rules that make it virtually impossible to build a new coal-fired power plant, and he will tell the Interior Department to end Obama’s moratorium on new coal mines on federal lands, among other steps, White House officials said.

    Additionally, the president’s “energy independence” executive order also will repeal several Obama-era environmental directives aimed at reducing the federal government’s own carbon footprint, and it will direct agencies to ferret out any additional policies that “result in impediments” to U.S. energy production, a likely reference to restrictions on fracking and offshore drilling. The president also will tell federal regulators to stop using the “social cost of carbon,” which attempts to quantify the effects of climate change, in economic analyses of future rules.

    “There is every reason to believe that the federal government will no longer seek to punish American consumers and businesses for using the energy resources that fuel our economy,” U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue said in a statement welcoming the order.

    Excellent. The key to energy independence, or close to it, is simply to follow John Galt’s polite request to “Get the hell out of my way!” ”

    https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/261046/

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  19. You gonna find out mister when you meet that Texas sh*tster…

    https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/261035/

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  20. “KORI SCHAKE: Trump Has a Strategy for Destroying the Islamic State — and It’s Working.”

    http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/03/27/trump-has-a-strategy-for-destroying-the-islamic-state-and-its-working/

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  21. There IS some good news out there… for those who have an interest.

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  22. “VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: The Russian Farce. “Remember when Obama and Hillary cozied up to Putin? And recall when the media rejoiced at surveillance leaks about Team Trump?”

    And:

    The Obama administration came up with a reset–soft-glove approach to Vladimir’s Russia, characterized by Secretary Hillary Clinton’s heralded pushing of the red plastic button on March 6, 2009, in Geneva. Reset was couched in overt criticism of George W. Bush, who had supposedly alienated Putin by reacting too harshly (like a typical cowboy) to Russia’s aggression in Georgia.

    Over the next few years, the reset policy consisted of, among other things, backtracking on previously agreed-on missile-defense plans in Eastern Europe. In the second presidential debate of 2012, Obama portrayed Romney as being too tough on Russia, to the point of delusion:

    A few months ago when you were asked what’s the biggest geopolitical threat facing America, you said Russia, not al-Qaeda. You said Russia. In the 1980s, they’re now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because, you know, the Cold War’s been over for 20 years.

    The Obama administration invited Russia into the Middle East for the first time in nearly a half-century to help Obama back off from his own redline threats to attack Syria if evidence of WMD usage appeared. Moreover, after the Crimea and eastern Ukraine aggressions, the perception in most of the Western world was that the U.S. was not sufficiently tough with Putin, largely because of its commitment to a prior (though failed) outreach.

    So what ended this one-sided reset in 2016?

    The estrangement certainly did not coincide entirely with Putin’s aggressions on Russia’s borders. Nor were Democrats inordinately angry with Putin when he bombed non-al-Qaeda Syrian resistance fighters.

    Rather, Democrats’ split with Putin grew from the perception that hackers had easily entered the porous e-mail account of Hillary Clinton’s campaign guru John Podesta and released his messages to WikiLeaks. This led to general embarrassment for Hillary and the Democrats — and they floated the theory that WikiLeaks and Julian Assange were taking orders from Putin or at least operating with the encouragement of the Kremlin’s intelligence services.”

    https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/261018/

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  23. SQUIRREL SQUIRREL SQUIRREL SQUIRREL SQUIRREL

    Leviticus (632b14)

  24. We know cornyn’s attitude, he was the anti tea party marshal, back in the oughts

    narciso (0b94ed)

  25. So what ended this one-sided reset in 2016?

    It ended in 2014. Putin attempting to elect Trump was a result.

    Sammy Finkelman (8a31dc)

  26. Clearly negotiating strategy is not a strong suit of politicians and civil servants. They usually get a blank check for whatever they want and pass along all accountability to the tax payer ….. Yeah, Democrats are going to work with Trump to give him a legislative win!

    Seriously, are people this stupid or has Trump truly made people this deranged?

    You have a simple problem in the R Caucus — many of them are closet Democrats. All I care about is we go rightward at every inflection point. So from a directional perspective I support the Freedom Caucus’s instincts. But their ability to determine when to swerve is pretty bad — this bill should have passed with the Trump Assurances on Phase 2 and 3.

    Even if Trump doesn’t deliver, Obamacare Light is better than Obamacare and the Freedom Caucus could reclaim their virginity again (and again, and again) by saying Trump sold them out.

    Blah (44eaa0)

  27. #25 Funny, given all the money Podesta and Clintons took from Russia you would think them more suggestible to Russia than a billionaire who gives two farts about a couple hundred grand.

    Plus their butter soft Russia Policy from 2009to 2017 would be anecdotal evidence to support their conspiring with Russia.

    But when you are propagandized and suffering from Confirmational Bias facts don’t mean much. You keep pointing to fired Manafort and say RUSSIA as to divert from being losers.

    Can’t wait for the next Democrat flameout and billions spent all the while blaming foreigners for their failures (XENOPHOBES!)

    Blah (44eaa0)

  28. @12 Colonel Haiku

    Schumer must be kin to the guy who attacked Michael Savage.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  29. @23 Colonel Haiku

    Someone on Reddit was saying how dumb of a stunt it was for Trump to give Merkel a bill for NATO. A literal invoice. Hillary would never pull a dumb stunt like that.

    I said,” Two Words: Reset Button.”

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  30. Sammeh…

    “Rather, Democrats’ split with Putin grew from the perception that hackers had easily entered the porous e-mail account of Hillary Clinton’s campaign guru John Podesta and released his messages to WikiLeaks. This led to general embarrassment for Hillary and the Democrats — and they floated the theory that WikiLeaks and Julian Assange were taking orders from Putin or at least operating with the encouragement of the Kremlin’s intelligence services.”

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  31. PandP… and yet the Germans claim that never happened… no NATO bill.

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  32. One big problem with health care as I see it is there needs to be a mechanism in place to tell dumb people “no”.

    That could be a price mechanism. That could be legal reform to help doctors who tell dumb people “no, you don’t need x and I’m not tying up resources because you read Web MD.”

    To wit, I heard a story about a girl who is a nurse going to the ER on a Friday night because her regular doctor told her her thyroid appeared slightly enlarged. It’s not an emergency. No doctor is going to treat you even if you are diagnosed with something. If someone sticks a knife in your thyroid come see us.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  33. @32 Colonel Haiku

    Send them to collections I say!

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  34. i’m old enough to remember when mitt romney announced during the 2012 presidential debate that russia was our enemy, eliciting laughter from barack, candy crowley, and all of the democrats who are freaking out about russia today

    it sounds like the democrats no longer want flexibility with russia after the election

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  35. Last year I stepped on a nail out in a goat pasture. I ended up going to the ER the next night with a 103 degree fever and three different bacterial infections. I also had to get an echocardiogram. If anything I waited too long, but at least it was appropriate.

    Just as an aside, if you can lay there on that table looking at your heart valves opening and closing and think, “There is no God” you are just an *sshole.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  36. @36 Cruz Supporter

    Somehow getting a guy who is a secret agent of Russia elected transformed them into our enemy overnight.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  37. John Podesta got “hacked” like Sarah Palin got “hacked”.

    I remember when some people loading trucks for the warehouse locked the keys in the truck. A manager told me to call a locksmith. Guy comes out and I’m excited because I think I’m about to see him pull some cool lockpick business. He gets a wire out and goes after the toggle on the wing window. If it’s something I can do it’s not hacking or art for that matter.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  38. 36. 38. The only thing is, Donald Trump is not really a secret agent of Russia and he proved it again today with the condemnation by his State department of the arrests of the demonstrators in Russia.

    The same thing, perhaps, cannot necessarily be said for all people who got involved in his campaign, like maybe Michael Flynn, and I don’t know what the story in his case is, or taht of Roger Stone, but after all, Harry S. Truman defended Alger Hiss.

    Now Jill Stein of the Green Party, that’s maybe somewhat different.

    Sammy Finkelman (8a31dc)

  39. Colonle Haiku @31

    “Rather, Democrats’ split with Putin grew from the perception that hackers had easily entered the porous e-mail account of Hillary Clinton’s campaign guru John Podesta and released his messages to WikiLeaks. This led to general embarrassment for Hillary and the Democrats — and they floated the theory that WikiLeaks and Julian Assange were taking orders from Putin or at least operating with the encouragement of the Kremlin’s intelligence services.”

    That was the point of no return, and resulted in open, unquestioned opposition to Russia, but what about Putin’s split from the Clintons? Clinton and company want to date it back to 2011, but I think it maybe only really goes back to 2014. But it certainly goes back before 2016.

    Maybe you can say it was only in June 2016 that Putin cast his vote.

    Sammy Finkelman (8a31dc)

  40. “Last year I stepped on a nail out in a goat pasture. I ended up going to the ER the next night with a 103 degree fever and three different bacterial infections. I also had to get an echocardiogram. If anything I waited too long, but at least it was appropriate.”

    That’s the effin’ you got for the effin’ you were hopin’ to get, ya horny bastead…

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  41. PandP… you aren’t of Greek heritage, are you?

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  42. Obama… “On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved, but it’s important for him [Vladimir Putin] to give me space.”

    Medvedev answered: “Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you . . . ”

    Obama agreed and elaborated, “This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility.”

    Medvedev finished the hot-mic conversation with, “I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir, and I stand with you.”

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  43. “unprincipled GOP establishment”

    I will take this 1000 times over a principled Socialist government.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  44. Speaking of dumb people, I witnessed an awkward moment in an ER almost 20 years ago.

    I’m sitting there listening to this couple close by talking about the girl’s diagnoses of an ectopic pregnancy. The bad part was when the guy excitedly called his mom to tell her they were “pregnant”.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  45. omg these Rs are so embarassment

    they all suck so bad I can’t even

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  46. Colonel Haiku

    Scottish and German. And for the record I was pushing it through the fence. I’ve always heard if you feed them long enough they look like you.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  47. whatabout hillary? whatabout obama?

    Davethulhu (fab944)

  48. The German army trains with sticks and most of its aircraft are grounded, so their likely to challenge volodya, practically nil.

    narciso (3e2620)

  49. Except crowdstrike, the source of the finding had to revise their last report re the Ukrainian army.

    narciso (3e2620)

  50. 44. That was in 2012.

    Sammy Finkelman (8a31dc)

  51. ohnoes the freedom filth caucus continues to alienate its own disillusioned members

    “I worked very hard to get President Trump elected,” Babin said. “And listen, we have a president that will sign our legislation now. So we need to support that agenda.”

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  52. oh yay here comes ivanka with her special eyebrows look at me i’m so pretty

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  53. Colonel Haiku (6b7575) — 3/28/2017 @ 7:42 am

    Summary please? FP doesn’t even let me read more than one paragraph before demanding I register with them.

    kishnevi (94cb02)

  54. 46. I guess the message didn’t get through as to what an ectopic pregnancy was. (I don’t think it can lead to a live birth, although I don’t know ffi anyone ever tried moving it. Maybe it is too late for a placenta to form.)

    The only solution seems to be an abortion, either by a drug (considered preferable) or surgery.

    Oh, wait, look:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ectopic_pregnancy

    While a fetus of ectopic pregnancy is typically not viable, very rarely, a live baby has been delivered from an abdominal pregnancy. In such a situation the placenta sits on the intraabdominal organs or the peritoneum and has found sufficient blood supply…Support to near viability has occasionally been described, but even in third world countries, the diagnosis is most commonly made at 16 to 20 weeks gestation. Such a fetus would have to be delivered by laparotomy. Maternal morbidity and mortality from extrauterine pregnancy are high as attempts to remove the placenta from the organs to which it is attached usually lead to uncontrollable bleeding from the attachment site. If the organ to which the placenta is attached is removable, such as a section of bowel, then the placenta should be removed together with that organ. This is such a rare occurrence that true data are unavailable and reliance must be made on anecdotal reports.[27][28][29] However, the vast majority of abdominal pregnancies require intervention well before fetal viability because of the risk of bleeding.

    I don’t think they even call removing this abortion, and so it is not an issue, not even for Catholic hospitals apparently.

    Wikipedia says the rate of ectopic pregnancy is about 1% or 2% that of the number of live births in developed countries when not using fertility treatments. It is higher in women with certain conditions. If is left alone, it can cause serious problems.

    Sammy Finkelman (8a31dc)

  55. Nothing says “good policy” like a deal that makes Democrats happy!

    And nothing says “smart politics” like handing the Republican presidential nomination to a Big Gubmint Democrat who endorsed Hillary Clinton and bankrolled Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid!

    Remember a year ago, when anybody who had ever suggested the possibility of finding common ground with the Democrats was reviled as a “uniparty establishment cuck”?

    Dave (711345)

  56. 21. 55. I’m seeing the whole article. Maybe try a different computer, or delete your cookies or something. The article does not live up to is billing and doesn’t even seem to make sense.

    Trump strategy for destroying the Islamic State:

    1) Speed – that’s a goal, not a strategy. Obama was prepared to take years (although that’s not really true.)

    2) Troops will stay in Iraq for a long time. No arbitrary timeline.

    3) Assist countries we want to win wars, in spite of authoritarian tendencies, civilian casualties, and domestic human rights records (applies to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.) Winning wars is a priority above human rights.

    4) But not a priority above containing Iran? I don’t understand what he means here by laying the foundations of anti-Iran coalition. Nothing follows. He mentions that there’s no agreement yet with Turkey over the role of Kurdish forces in retaking Raqqa. Are those Kurds allies of Iran? In which case policy should be the opposite. The U.S. wants to use them. Turkey doesn’t want them involved.

    Sammy Finkelman (8a31dc)

  57. I think the problem is that we need the Kurds, for the purpose of stability in both northern Iraq and northwestern Syria, but Turkey is opposed because it doesn’t want the Kurds to become too strong, and we need Turkey to contain Iran. We also need Russia. But of course Russia wants Iran to be, if not uncontained, contained only for the benefit of Russia.

    kishnevi (94cb02)

  58. Sammy

    A fertilized embryo is a lot like that deal you get at Lowe’s to hook up your refrigerator’s icemaker.

    There was a novel where someone was trying to gestate babies in men. Theoretically possible but problematic.

    Pinandpuller (8db671)

  59. It’s an adaptation of nixon’ s proxy strategy, with a dash of kirkpAtrick’z preference for authoritarian regimes, as opposed to the kingdom which is totalitarian.

    narciso (3e2620)

  60. Hey Trump the democrats have already begun to “deal” with you on the Unaffordable Care Act:

    They’ve absolved themselves of ownership and handed it to you.

    They are sticking to plan and insisting the only real “fix” is single payer (aka Bernie’s $18 trillion debt plan).

    They are getting ready to line up every person who loses coverage (aka loses the ability to have their neighbors pay for it) and accuse you of wonton cruelty.

    It’s free market or bust Donald, anything else and you lose your base.

    harkin (517285)

  61. “wanton”, not a Chinese appectizer.

    harkin (517285)

  62. moderate republican kansastrash voted to do nasty obamacare all up in it

    will Governor Brownback have the good sense to veto?

    “To expand Obamacare when the program is in a death spiral is not responsible policy,” Melika Willoughby, Brownback’s spokeswoman, said in a statement as the Senate kicked off debate on the bill.

    Nineteen states, including Kansas and Missouri, have yet to expand the program. Based on Willoughby’s statement it appears unlikely that Brownback will allow it to become law.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  63. There was a novel where someone was trying to gestate babies in men. Theoretically possible but problematic

    The true problem being that it served as the premise of a Schwarzenneger/DeVito/Emma Thompson filme. (Junior. Saw that in the movie theater, and memorable mostly because I have yet to see another movie in theater ever since.) Pregnant Arnie yields at best mild comedy.

    kishnevi (94cb02)

  64. 60: So anybody can do it (so long as the copper/or plastic 1/4″ is already stucking up from the floorboard. Pin’s #2 point was explored in what I consider to have been the last great episode of The Cosby Show c. Spring of 1990 (whereby the men carried babies, but actually gave birth to the object of their aspirations–sports car, boat, puppies, a Hoagie! with orange soda), before it became a training ground for future Fox/WB/Tyler Perry players.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  65. Well Brownback definitely knows about death spirals.

    Davethulhu (fab944)

  66. no he doesn’t take it back

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  67. during college, paul ryan spent a summer driving the oscar mayer weinermobile
    in literary criticism, i think they call that foreshadowing

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  68. Here’s something I never thought I’d live long enough to hear a black man say.

    https://youtu.be/yVYbdvLL5Ow

    Rev. Hoagie® (785e38)

  69. The correct path is Ted Cruz’s plan.

    We heard: Dr. Seuss.

    Green eggs and ham-handed,
    His plan is you see;
    ‘Cause Theodore G.,
    Was not an MD.

    “Don’t I always get you the best medical attention available?” – Harry Turner [Bing Crosby] ‘Road To Hong Kong’ 1962

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  70. If you idiots vote for Hillary she won’t repeal Obamacare. Binary choice you guys!

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  71. …the Freedom Caucus who opposed TrumpCare aka the AHCA are heroes.

    Heroes are sandwiches. The CIC will dining out on them out for weeks and Ryan pick up the check.

    “You let a whole column get stalled and strafed on account of a couple of jackasses? What the hell’s the matter with you?” – general Patton [George C. Scott] ‘Patton’ 1970

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  72. Dr Huxtable should have been an anesthesiologist.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  73. He sorta was.

    Sammy Finkelman (8a31dc)

  74. @72 Dustin

    A Constitution Nazi would say that the President doesn’t repeal anything but I wouldn’t say that so I won’t.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  75. Crowdstrike Report is political hackery promulgated by a Putin hater who makes $$$$ off Russia paranoia because of the Founder’s “unique ability as a Russian” to fight those nasty Rooskies.

    Fact our IC took this report as gospel anyone remember WMD and Ahmad Chalabi?) is a perfect example of Confirmational Bias.

    I’d bet $10,000 not only is the Crowdstrike Report flawed. I would bet our IC has zero evidence of its own the Rooskies hacked the DNC. Add to this that while Assange is a scumbag he is an honest one. Truly a site where you can trust the content (because they don’t manufacture it themselves).

    Anyone in the FBI with some chops should be able to debunk Crowdstrike and then go back to the IC and request they find proof of Rooskie influence or issue an ACCURATE REPORT which is WE DON’T REALLY KNOW WHO DID THE DNC HACK!

    Blah (44eaa0)

  76. Sammy

    I read that Elvis used to swipe the Physician’s Desk Reference periodically so he could keep up with the latest on drug interactions. I wonder if the Cos picked that up from him.

    I recently heard an even creepier story about Elvis than usual. He actually dated Wink Martindale’s wife when she was 14. Her mom let her go out with him after he came back from Germany. I don’t think I’d be bringing that up were I Wink.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  77. @69. “Pork-Ryan’d”? Very ‘Bush’-league.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  78. There’s a conspiracy theory that New Coke was released so that Coke could replace cane sugar with high fructose corn sweetener and go back to Classic Coke with no one the wiser.

    That sort of feels like what Ryan is doing.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  79. Somebody put the Dem’s on that rebuilt title ok?

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  80. Traitor Ryan is the most powerful democrat in d.c.

    mg (21de20)

  81. “It’s free market or bust Donald, anything else and you lose your base.”

    Doubt it. Trumps appeal was about immigration and jobs. Obamacare is on congress to fix, and I for one believe that became realistically impossible once Justice Roberts gave his blessings to Obamacare. Politically speaking. In the time since it has just become too entrenched, to where now there is no longer the structure left without it.

    So congress did come up with a plan to begin rebuilding the structure, and start us moving away from single payer again, but unfortunately conservatives, again, lost to their own version of utopia, have rejected the possible for the perfect, and we are left with the Democrat plan.

    Then these same nevertrumpers, standing on their principles and their hate for hypocrisy, abandon condemning Trump for pushing the Republican plan while hoping he fails, start gloating Trump was for the Democrat plan all along…that these nevertrumpers saddled us with in rejecting the Republican plan Trump was for!

    Trump derangement syndrome indeed.

    Leon (168f33)

  82. No you mean curve ball (Raf alwan) who wee a bnd asset. He had detailed schematics

    narciso (d1f714)

  83. Is Trump worse than Hillary would have been? As Davethulhu and Dustin pointed out, it was a binary choice.

    Buncha snowflakes crying or screaming in the waaahmbulance because Trump is imperfect.

    And then there’s Patterico offering Trump advice after many articles calling Trump a lying, thieving, arsehole. Sure, Trump is bound to pay attention.

    Fred Z (05d938)

  84. i remember during the campaign when the nevertrumpers were assuring us that a president trump would never ever nominate a supreme court justice in the mold of scalia

    let’s just say that neil gorsuch was not on hillary’s shortlist
    i bet he wasn’t even on evan mcmuffin’s short list

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  85. Patterico, you’re right but the ruling class isn’t going to give up their hold on US without the fight Ryan and McConnell won’t allow to work its way to the floor.

    crazy (d3b449)

  86. A Constitution Nazi would say that the President doesn’t repeal anything but I wouldn’t say that so I won’t.

    Pinandpuller

    You have a good point of course. At the end of the day, it’s up to the conservatives to send a repeal bill to Trump.

    Yet it’s Trump promising to get with the democrats and get us a better Obamacare. Trump is the guy who said the government is going to pay for our medical needs. Trump said he was a conservative but he wasn’t. I guess we’re a little past that point, but it’s worth nothing that there’s no difference between Trump and Hillary when it comes to political philosophy.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  87. “Scottish and German. And for the record I was pushing it through the fence.”

    Sonuvagun, PandP… weren’t you worried about the splinters ?!?! Or was it a knot hole?

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  88. i remember during the campaign when the nevertrumpers were assuring us that a president trump would never ever nominate a supreme court justice in the mold of scalia

    I guess you better hope this isn’t another Souter or Roberts that Republican partisans insisted was awesome but turned out to suck. You don’t really know, but hey, you’re a cheerleader and this is literally the only thing you have to talk about when Trump breaks his promise on Obamacare or anything else. Here’s Trump campaigning to work with democrats on Obamacare and you just want to talk about judges.

    I hope Trump isn’t an historic failure because that might mean the democrats take over for a long time. History doesn’t usually get FDRs without some Hoovers first, and Trump sure looks like a Hoover.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  89. this just in from reuters;
    President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to undo a slew of Obama-era climate change regulations that his administration says is hobbling oil drillers and coal miners, a move environmental groups have vowed to take to court.

    yet our “conservative” nevertrump friends still insist on a stack of bibles that mr donald’s no better than hillary

    love it!

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  90. Trump supporter,

    Still not on topic. Did you read the post? You seem to be really desperate to change the subject from Obamacare and Ted Cruz’s view on what should be done.

    Do you think it’s dishonest that you’ve been diametrically opposed to Cruz on everything for over a year and call yourself “cruz supporter”? The vast majority of your comments are intended to insult anyone who criticizes Trump as a “nevertrumper”, and you are particularly hostile towards Cruz’s supporters. You’re most angry about those who defended Cruz’s family from Trump’s attacks.

    Why do you keep the name “Cruz Supporter”? Is it to dishonestly suggest that you are one?

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  91. Didn’t you mention that you have never voted for cruz in any election?

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  92. So the time is now to present said bill:

    http://acecomments.mu.nu/?post=369050

    narciso (d1f714)

  93. Sorry Dustin, you opened the door with:

    “Trump said he was a conservative but he wasn’t. I guess we’re a little past that point, but it’s worth nothing that there’s no difference between Trump and Hillary when it comes to political philosophy.”
    (As others before you in this thread)

    You keep saying there’s no difference between Trump and Clinton, based on a failed congressional bill, so others are naturally going to show where you are full of it on a dozen other things happening.
    Like what’s going on at the EPA. Like efforts to slow unvetted refugees, like trying to cut regulations, like going after sanctuary cities, bringing jobs home, nominating conservative judges, and so on and so forth.

    Clinton would not only not do any of that, she would have done the opposite of all that.

    Give it a rest, you make yourself look small.

    Leon (168f33)

  94. Cruz Supporter:

    Methinks you hit a nerve.

    Harkin (e70e36)

  95. #96 harkin

    our friend dustin always attacks me personally whenever he realizes he has no legitimate response to the assertion that president donald actually is preferable to queen hillary or that evan mcmuffin guy

    today even kori schake published a column espousing how president mr donald has a plan to defeat isis, and she was one of the conservatives who turned coat and voted for hillary

    the nomination of neil gorsuch and rescinding barack’s climate change regulations are two huge recent victories for conservatives, yet some of our conservative friends such as mr dustin wish to re-litigate the gop primaries of a year ago

    sure, i would have loved that mr ted or mr marco were president, but neither of them is
    so we dance with who is on the dance floor
    not with whom is sitting home washing their hair
    get with reality, mr dustin

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  96. Can you imagine Clinton doing this?

    Donald Trump signed four bills reversing Obama-era legislation from the Roosevelt Room at the White House Monday.

    The president canceled the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” rule, which blacklists companies from receiving federal contracts if have violated labor rules in the past, the “Planning 2.0” rule, which dealt with how to use 245 million acres of federal land and was opposed by the energy industry, and two regulations under the “Every Student Succeeds Act,” which Trump said removes “an additional layer of bureaucracy to encourage freedom in our schools.”

    As he signed the orders, Trump said there was “a lot more coming” and he would “remove every job killing regulation we can find.”

    “This was a lot of work by a lot of people to get this done,” Trump said. “It will lead to a lot more jobs for a lot more people.”

    http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/27/trump-signs-four-bills-rolling-back-obama-era-regulations/

    Sorry Charlie, Ryan’s incompetence has no chance of Trump “losing his base”

    Leon (168f33)

  97. good god who knew ryan would be this unbelievably incompetent i sure didn’t

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  98. Leon,

    It’s always fascinating to me that Trump’s fans like to insult people like that. So I’m “small” now. OK thanks for sharing your insult.

    Trump’s behavior on Obamacare breaks his promises and it’s a great insight into his big government philosophy. He is remarkably similar to Hillary on this issue.

    Scott Pelley: Universal health care?

    Donald Trump: I am going to take care of everybody. I don’t care if it costs me votes or not. Everybody’s going to be taken care of much better than they’re taken care of now.

    Scott Pelley: The uninsured person is going to be taken care of how?

    Donald Trump: They’re going to be taken care of. I would make a deal with existing hospitals to take care of people. And, you know what, if this is probably–

    Scott Pelley: Make a deal? Who pays for it?

    Donald Trump: –the government’s gonna pay for it.

    So you and Trump Supporter want to talk about some very recent thing that Trump did with environmental regulations instead of the subject of this discussion thread, and when I call that what it is (a distraction because this issue shows Trump’s true colors) you insulted me instead of responding with reasoning.

    But we don’t really know much about Trump’s actions today. We don’t know if his environmental policies are intended to help his campaign contributors, Russian companies, or Wal-Mart (Like many big democrats running our largest corporations, Hillary used to be on the board of Wal-Mart you know). We don’t know if Trump’s actions were legislative in nature. In my opinion, it’s not the president’s job to make laws by executive order. That’s up to congress. But to you, if it’s an environmental rule of some kind, that proves someone is a lefty and if it’s ending an environmental rule of some kind, that proves someone is a conservative. I don’t agree at all. Hillary would definitely have been ending many regulations for those who paid her appropriately. But more importantly, this is a complete ‘look squirrels!’ effort to defend Trump.

    If that’s all you’ve got, to insult Trump’s critics and change the subject, perhaps you should just admit you’re wrong. It’s so rare for Trump’s fans to admit he is wrong, but his presidency is extremely unpopular right now. If you want him to succeed you should be interested in why the country is so disappointed with his failed leadership on Obamacare.

    I think Cruz has this issue right. I think those of us who support Cruz should be demanding Trump follow Cruz’s lead.

    Trump Supporter:

    Methinks you hit a nerve.

    Harkin

    Yes, dishonesty is something I am very critical of.

    Do you have anything to say on Trump’s views on healthcare? Do you agree with Trump that the government should just pay for it? How do you distinguish Trump from Hillary’s 1994 healthcare disaster? I think Trump and Hillary are the same on this critical issue. I think Cruz would be a better candidate in 2020.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  99. don’t let anybody make you feel like less of a person just cause you don’t like President Trump

    that’s not America

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  100. our friend dustin always attacks me personally whenever he realizes he has no legitimate response to the assertion that president donald actually is preferable to queen hillary or that evan mcmuffin guy

    I didn’t mean to upset you this much and if you need to take a break from the site until you calm down, please feel free.

    When you regain your composure, note that my point was that we’re talking about Obamacare right now. You have a tendency to find one argument and repeat it for several months. You liked the binary choice thing for a while and you’re still on it now, only you added the Gorsuch thing to it.

    But we’re talking about Obamacare. It’s tedious if you’re just going to say the same thing, but it’s also pretty annoying that you pose as a Cruz supporter in order to dismiss what Cruz is talking about while cheerleading obsessively for a man who was so nasty to Cruz.

    Anyway, I hope you feel better!

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  101. don’t let anybody make you feel like less of a person just cause you don’t like President Trump

    that’s not America

    happyfeet

    Quite right!

    In fact, the vast majority of Americans disapprove of Trump. Trump used to tweet mockery of Obama for his 39% approval rating, but Trump’s is at 36% and dropping. America hates the guy, and he has lost what little political capital he had and looks so weak now.

    I guess he’s going to make some noise and flail around with executive orders for a while… he doesn’t need to work hard to do that. Meanwhile, America has the same healthcare she would have if we elected Hillary. That’s a fact. Trump’s fans are bound to be a little unhappy with those who point this out. I’m actually happy to see it as it’s a sign they might jump to Cruz in 2020.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  102. “It’s always fascinating to me that Trump’s fans like to insult people like that”

    Says the guy that just finished calling another a cheerleader and dishonest.

    Yeah, I should know better by now than to engage you. It’s kinda like trying to milk a bull.

    I’m done.

    Leon (168f33)

  103. Maybe part of the problem is that many of Trump’s worst suckers are extreme partisans and now they have to defend Trump praising the democrats and working with the democrats to get a more democrat version of Obamacare, something I explained to you guys was what a con man like Trump was going to do. Should have gone with Cruz.

    It’s hard to eat crow so they want to talk about the rainforest or something. OK great, but what about that $2100 insurance premium? I guess the bills aren’t printed on recycled paper now, but is there any other progress Trump can report?

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  104. Says the guy that just finished calling another a cheerleader and dishonest.

    Yeah, I should know better by now than to engage you. It’s kinda like trying to milk a bull.

    I’m done.

    Leon (

    I think when I call Trump Supporter a Cheerleader I’m not really insulting her. That’s just a basic and obvious point. As is the dishonesty. I guess this might be hard for you to see. But you’re twisting around a lot here. Are you saying insults are bad, except when you do it, or are you saying criticisms are bad if they are based on reasons? Or I guess it’s more of a ‘she’s on my side so there’ kind of thing.

    Anyway, please be done. I have never once seen a comment from you that contributed anything so by all means you and the rest of the Trump defense force can just ignore me as I point out that you’re shouting Squirrel every time Trump screws up.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  105. President Trump’s moving the ball down the field for all of us conservatives and me

    I’m so happy

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  106. @91. Earth. A write off.

    “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!” – Chiffon margarine advertising tag, 1970’s

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  107. Not just your feet?

    Leon (168f33)

  108. President Trump’s moving the ball down the field for all of us conservatives and me

    I’m so happy

    happyfeet

    I will give you this, at least you understand we’re talking about Obamacare.

    Trump made some grand promises, and of course his promises sounded better than the other guys, because the other guys were running for president and knew the president can’t just promise the moon. Unfortunately, I’m not sure that Trump wants to keep his promises. I think he’s planning to work with democrats to make Obamacare a bipartisan disaster.

    As I explained in a different thread, Obamacare is an entitlement, and over time these things become much harder to repeal. Now is basically the first time the GOP has had the power to do it… it was a major point of the election (same with the 2010 election).

    If we wait, that means more fear and more dependency as Obamacare approaches third rail status. If the GOP endorses some new edition of Obamacare, that makes it even harder to fix.

    We need to pay the political price now and repeal it now. That’s the leadership that needs to happen. Trump’s ‘we’ll make a deal with the democrats now’ concept is very weak leadership and short sighted. I do not think Trump cares about the looming entitlement debt situation, or the perverse impacts of government run or funded healthcare. I say this partly because I judge the man by his actions, but also because he’s more or less endorsed Hillary’s 1994 vision of healthcare.

    When I point this out, it’s not surprising to see Trump’s fans talk about the Supreme Court or some EPA thing, but really Trump’s fans of all people should be demanding Trump not keep making them look like fools and suckers.

    At any rate, I disagree that Trump has moved the ball ‘for all conservatives’ as you say, if he’s making a deal with democrats on the issue. I think Trump claimed to be conservative in an effort to fool voters, because he’s just a politician.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  109. no for reals totally happy

    what Mr. Trump did today to liberate the oppressed carbon dioxide molecules really touched me in my heart

    he makes you realize

    anything’s possible as long as you STAY POSITIVE and don’t let the h8rs get u down hashtag #hepersisted

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  110. our friend dustin is a tough-talking texan who likes to make personal attacks
    to invoke a texas cliche, we want to see more cattle and less hat (LOL)

    president donald is getting tough in the international arena
    his un ambassador nikki haley is telling the jew-haters that they can go to hell
    hillary-supporter kori schake says that president trump is beginning to kick some isis butt

    on the domestic front, president donald has nominated neil gorsuch
    and he’s rescinded barack’s kooky global warming regulations

    these are victories, yet our pal dustin wants to convince us that hillary would have done the same
    wut?

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  111. Trump Supporter

    Thanks for all the personal insults and shouting squirrel a bunch more times. If you say something dishonest I’ll call it dishonest. If you’re going to have a conniption fit about this “personal attack”, perhaps you shouldn’t issue me so many personal attacks again. Makes you look a little spastic.

    The topic remains Obamacare. Cruz’s actual supporters have a winning argument on this issue. You are not one of us. You are a Trump shill and you’re trolling the thread by bringing up everything you can think of that isn’t the discussion topic.

    Can you distinguish Trump from Hillary on health care? It’s all you ever want to do. We’re playing the game by your binary choice rules. this should be easy for you!

    And yes, I noticed you ignored my direct question about why you call yourself “cruz supporter”. We both know you use that name because you’re being obnoxious. Why not call yourself “Trump Supporter”? Honesty is the best policy. I mean that straight, with no snark. You come across so poorly.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  112. @89 Colonel Haiku

    Our family motto is “Goats are for milk, women are for pleasure.” The only penetration was a nail in my foot.

    You know one thing I admire about the Greeks is they figured out how to use every part of a goat. And some parts even two or three times in the same night.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  113. anything’s possible as long as you STAY POSITIVE and don’t let the h8rs get u down hashtag #hepersisted

    happyfeet

    Well, I don’t think Trump’s promises on Obamacare are possible because he already broke them, but I like the positive attitude.

    He said it would “be easy” and he failed so it’s a good time to keep one’s chin up if you’re a Trump fan.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  114. walk it off walk it off

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  115. Do infrastructure next, gather bipartisan support and momentum, then the complexities tax reform to manage expenditures in out years then revisit tweaks to ACA.

    Healthcare is done. The good-guy Allies landed in Normandy, established the beachhead and the bad-guy Germans failed to push them back into the sea. The good-guys are sweeping toward Berlin. Expect one last bad-guy push-back, a ‘Bulge’ before final victory by the good-guys–and unconditional surrender.

    “Nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated!” – Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, 2017

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  116. #106
    i love how our good-natured conservative friend dustin refers to me as a woman even though he knows i’m a man
    is that his cultural kink? i don’t know

    then he’ll ultimately retreat to the friendly confines of patterico’s living room (“THE JURY SPEAKS!!!”) and pronounce that he’s a paragon of civility, polite manners, virtue, and good will towards men … and women. (LOL)

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  117. Healthcare is done. The good-guy Allies landed in Normandy, established the beachhead and the bad-guy Germans failed to push them back into the sea. The good-guys are sweeping toward Berlin. Expect one last bad-guy push-back, a ‘Bulge’ before final victory by the good-guys–and unconditional surrender.

    I’d swap the good and bad but I think you’re right.

    Trump blew it bad.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  118. i love how our good-natured conservative friend dustin refers to me as a woman even though he knows i’m a man

    Actually I honestly thought you were a woman. I apologize for that one. No offense intended by that.

    then he’ll ultimately retreat to the friendly confines of patterico’s living room (“THE JURY SPEAKS!!!”) and pronounce that he’s a paragon of civility, polite manners, virtue, and good will towards men … and women. (LOL)

    You’ve said that many times and I have no idea what you’re talking about. You really seem to hate me and you’re very paranoid about it. For some reason the trolls here always get real upset with me because I am very direct about what you’re doing.

    If at any time in your thousands of words you want to talk about the discussion topic: Trump and Obamacare, please start. Otherwise it sure looks to me like you’re trolling to keep the discussion away from the real issues.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  119. Can anyone really predict how a judge is ultimately going to turn out? Like the Superbowl.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  120. 114… lol… they are a very resourceful people, PandP.

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  121. and the Lord Perceval said, “let there be smarm”, and it was so…

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  122. Can anyone really predict how a judge is ultimately going to turn out? Like the Superbowl.

    Pinandpuller

    My guess is that he’s going to be like Alito, but you never know when you’re going to get a Kennedy or a Souter. Our process for this stuff is pretty bizarre because the judges hide their views on everything. I actually think this is something Trump did OK with, but who knows.

    Trump screwing up Obamacare is one of the many reasons we have a lot to worry about for the appointments of his successors. Will Trump be replaced by Elizabeth Warren instead of two terms of Ted Cruz? Who knows? This kind of analysis is interesting but when a Trump fan uses it to shut down criticism of Trump on Obamacare, where he truly is the same as Hillary, I think it’s worth calling out.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  123. Low-hanging fruit is all that Trump is capable of. And I don’t mean just his supporters.

    And that includes his pick of Gorsuch. After all that the Senate Republicans had invested in holding up Scalia’s replacement, the appointment of anyone less like Scalia than Gorsuch would have been DOA. So I give Trump credit for doing the right thing when there was nothing else he could have done.

    As far as his EPA regs go, his appointment of Exxon-Mobil as the new Department of State already told us where his “priorities” are.

    nk (dbc370)

  124. “TRY, TRY AGAIN? Affordable Care Act Repeal Is Back on the Agenda, Republicans Say.

    Republican members of Congress said they hoped that revisiting the issue would lead this time to a solution and a vote in the House.

    “I think everyone wants to get to yes and support President Trump,” said Representative Dave Brat, Republican of Virginia and a Freedom Caucus member. “There is a package in there that is a win-win.”

    Representative Raúl Labrador of Idaho, another Freedom Caucus member, said he hoped the discussions would yield a compromise that brings the party together after a divisive debate that revealed deep fissures. “I think we will have a better, stronger product that will unify the conference,” Mr. Labrador said.

    The House leadership needs to worry less about what might clear the Senate, and concentrate more on winning passage in the House.”

    https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/261065/

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  125. And remember… only Democrats and wannabe quimbies go all shemotional.

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  126. Time to back off a few turns on the old b*tch bolt.

    Robin Williams Mork and Mindy

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  127. nk

    Trump as Tantalus?

    Hey, did you update all your Cheney Halliburton McHitler bumper stickers? Are we changing over to Exxon Mobile McStalin?

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  128. dustin, you’ve referred to me as “he” on many occasions in the past

    so it’s just another one of your texas tall tales “why” you called me a “woman” today
    you were doing it to be insulting (which is fine) — but why not stand up like a proud tuffff texan and admit it?

    you’re simply angry because president donald has nominated judge gorsuch and he’s rescinded the silly global “warming” policies that barack instituted

    and you know all that flies in the face of your moral equivalency between mr donald and queen hillary

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  129. It’s fascinating when a partisan’s dehumanization of the other party reveals something about their personal insecurities. “Oh, democrats are less manly.” Sounds like the “cuck” thing, which reveals a lot about the fears of the Alex Jones alt-right guys who say that.

    In reality, there are a lot of people with great merit in our society who have different philosophies on things. There are some noble, honest, hard working, veterans who worship Allah and believe in socialism. There are plenty of Mark Foleys and Dennis Hasterts in the Republican party and there’s no reason for a die hard Team R guy to think a republican must be like Ronald Reagan.

    There’s a reason the GOP has decayed so badly. The degree of partisanship needed to try to hold this sinking ship together is a symptom of the disease. If partisans just had a little confidence… but I guess they have little to be confident about, with a Hillary donating social welfare con man in the White House.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  130. https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/261065/

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575) — 3/28/2017 @ 2:56 pm

    Here’s the original article, from the “failing” ny times:
    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/28/us/politics/health-care-obamacare-freedom-caucus.html

    it certainly doesn’t sound like Cruz’s one line repeal. it does sound like ryan wants to negotiate with the hfc, which is funny because they demanded a bunch of changes to AHCA and then shot it down anyway the first time around.

    Davethulhu (fab944)

  131. dustin, you’ve referred to me as “he” on many occasions in the past

    so it’s just another one of your texas tall tales “why” you called me a “woman” today
    you were doing it to be insulting (which is fine) — but why not stand up like a proud tuffff texan and admit it?

    you’re simply angry because president donald has nominated judge gorsuch and he’s rescinded the silly global “warming” policies that barack instituted

    and you know all that flies in the face of your moral equivalency between mr donald and queen hillary

    Cruz Supporter

    Wow. Get help. You’ve ceased punctuation and capitalization you’re so fevered now.

    Also, not sure why you hate Texas, not sure what your moral argument is, and not sure why you’re so angry (but you always are). I honestly never cared what your gender is and I’m not sure why you’re so upset. Most of my favorite commenters here are women. DRJ is probably the smartest commenter who ever wrote here and she’s a she. I think I initially confused you with Elissa (this makes more sense in the context where you supported Rubio over Cruz and were then a moderate and less obnoxious weirdo). I’ve referred to you by she most of the time, I bet, but I don’t think I personify and obsess with people I disagree with on the internet like you do (you’ve apparently given very deep thought to me).

    I apologized and you should be a man and accept the apology and move on. This isn’t important, but if you really really really need everyone to know you’re man, why not change your name to something suggesting gender? Personally, I think you calling yourself Cruz Supporter is as obnoxious as a conservative like me going to Kos and calling myself Hillary supporter, when I tell everyone she’s just like Trump. You shouldn’t define yourself entirely on your politics anyway. Be an individual. You have a terrible history here anyway so it wouldn’t hurt you to start with a fresh slate.

    But 1000 pardons for mistaking you for the wrong sex. (LOL)

    —–

    Oh wait, I’m being naive again. You’re a troll and this is your way of keeping the thread derailed. You can’t explain how Trump and Hillary are distinct.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  132. is not a troll

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  133. it certainly doesn’t sound like Cruz’s one line repeal. it does sound like ryan wants to negotiate with the hfc, which is funny because they demanded a bunch of changes to AHCA and then shot it down anyway the first time around.

    Davethulhu

    I guess some of my frustration is that Trump treats the HFC the way Hillary treats it. He clearly see conservative republicans as his political opponent. His tweets about them are intended to divide the GOP, and now Trump is aligning himself with the democrats. Perhaps he only means to do so on this one issue, but this happens to be the first challenge he’s had as president and it’s exactly what his conservative critics said he would do.

    The house owes the people a vote on repeal. And if Trump vetoes it, so be it.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  134. is not a troll

    happyfeet

    Define a troll.

    To me it’s someone who thwarts the discussion of a topic.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  135. P&p
    My nurse says lol is a little much. Good one @114

    mg (21de20)

  136. Dave teh Squid… if you like your ObamaCare, you can keep your ObamaCare…

    In your case, you may or may not still qualify for Medicaid.

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  137. Wannabe Democrat fanboys are a lowT bunch.

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  138. Who knew!?!?

    “THAT’S WHY GOD INVENTED SHOES AND ROLLED-UP MAGAZINES: Spiders could theoretically eat every human on Earth in one year. “There’s a good chance at least one spider is staring at you right now, sizing you up from a darkened corner of the room, eight eyes glistening in the shadows.”

    Plus: “The world’s spiders consume somewhere between 400 million and 800 million tons of prey in any given year. That means that spiders eat at least as much meat as all 7 billion humans on the planet combined, who the authors note consume about 400 million tons of meat and fish each year. Or, for a slightly more disturbing comparison: The total biomass of all adult humans on Earth is estimated to be 287 million tons. Even if you tack on another 70 million-ish tons to account for the weight of kids, it’s still not equal to the total amount of food eaten by spiders in a given year, exceeding the total weight of humanity. In other words, spiders could eat all of us and still be hungry.”

    https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/261031/

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  139. Trump’s in the White House. Hillary Clinton is at happy hour.

    🌲 Hillary Clinton will never be POTUS. 🌲

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  140. Still over mach grande

    http://acecomments.mu.nu/?post=369052

    narciso (d1f714)

  141. KKKillary and the fascist left are getting all excited because President Trump lost the health care battle (round one, that is). They thnk they are going to impeach Trump and “install” KKKillary like some third world tin-pot. Ain’t happenin’. The line of succession is pretty clear about Vice President Mike Pence. He would have to be removed from office through the same impeachment mechanisms as Trump, and unless there is ample evidence that he also literally stole the election, he won’t be. But then the order of succession goes through Paul Ryan, Orrin Hatch, and 13 members of Trump’s cabinet — and Hillary Clinton is nowhere on that list. NOTE-Nowhere on the list.

    You’d need to impeach six people just to get to a non-Republican … and it’s Mad Dog Mattis.

    https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wp_aOu2IKLE/WNmyPv6mHSI/AAAAAAABH24/gpPtpVhbjVYBITEJ-YkjfCX0SdnYYAWUwCLcB/s640/1ninetymilesllJvt1qj46iqo1_500.jpg

    Rev. Hoagie® (785e38)

  142. a troll’s someone what’s all butthurt cause wonder woman shaved her pits

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  143. also, allahpundit

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  144. dustin, your texas tuff guy facade is being chinked
    (however, your reputation as a liar remains stalwart!)

    if you wish to continue to refer to me as a “woman,” that’s fine
    but the actual record shows that you have regularly referred to me as a “he”
    so your “golly gee, i’m just a gomer pyle and i didn’t knowwwww you were a mannnn!” excuse fails to carry water — even in texxxas

    you’re angry at me because president mr donald has far exceeded the moral equivalence to hillary which you demanded was the truth

    hillary would never have nominated neil gorsuch and she never would have rescinded the global warming regulations which president mr donald rescinded today

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  145. all those liberated carbon dioxide molecules running around without dinner plans

    it’s nuts

    but in the best way

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  146. in fact
    mr dustin
    i’ll agree to change my monniker to trump supporter
    if you promise to change your monniker to athletic supporter

    because while i may have voted for a d*ck
    you … (well, you can make the analogy)

    is it a deal?

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  147. @141. Da! Either way, it’s Stoli time.

    “I didn’t have any supper with my drink.” – Alec Leemas [Richard Burton] ‘The Spy Who Came In From The Cold’ 1965

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  148. “There are many, many problems with him [Trump] as a human being but he’s not racist and there just might be a chance something good will come out of that situation because he terrifies politicians.”

    — John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten

    Colonel Haiku (6b7575)

  149. Trump Supporter, your nastiness is consistent with the bizarre anger Trump’s fans have expressed here for a long time now. It’s completely disproportionate to anything I’ve said to you, and makes your repeated complaints about my mild comments seem as hysterical as your descriptions of my behavior seem dishonest.

    The real reason you’re freaking out is that I keep insisting we talk about Trump and Obamacare. Pinning trolls to what matters drives them to act like you’re acting. So hey, great, Hillary lost. She was as bad as Trump so I’m glad she lost. I’ve been criticizing her for years before you even showed up here. Yay. But what about Trump working with democrats on Obamacare? Another fifty comments about how Trump beat her doesn’t change the fact that Trump needs to do something about Obamacare, immediately, for the good of the nation. Trump’s the president, and he’s accountable now. The election is long long over at this point. Arguing about whether we should vote for Trump is something you keep doing, but the rest of us have moved on to discussing what’s going on today, such as Trump working with democrats on Obamacare. You’ve always found it easy to criticize Republicans, but never Trump, even now, campaign over and Trump swerving to the left as predicted.

    Me I’ve given up worrying about politics. Obama, Trump, whatever. Life’s much better when you don’t worry about the fate of some politicians.

    KKKillary and the fascist left are getting all excited because President Trump lost the health care battle (round one, that is). They thnk they are going to impeach Trump and “install” KKKillary like some third world tin-pot.

    But democrats aren’t nazis or crazy. Most democrats actually love America, freedom, and their families. They are normal human beings, except for one thing: a lot of them have a bizarre paranoia about Republicans. They think Republicans are fascists and believe they want evil done. Partisanship has ruined our great system of government.

    Democrat voters rejected Hillary in the primary, but the system was rigged. You don’t have to rig a primary if your voters like someone. Hillary is so bad she only beat Trump in the popular vote by three million. I don’t think you have to lose any more sleep worrying about Hillary being installed. She’s done and it’s time to focus on Trump’s performance in keeping all these grand promises that got him to the White House.

    I just hope the GOP figures out a good way to primary Trump without tearing the party apart. It’s going to be awful.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  150. “There are many, many problems with him [Trump] as a human being”

    — John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  151. “What’s amazing is the patience and dignity of Brexit voters. For nine months the political elite raged against them, ridiculed them, demonised them; branded them racist, destructive, “low information”; dragged their democratic choice to the courts in the hope that some clever judge would declare it illegitimate; took to the streets to call them idiots and buffoons and unwitting slaves of demagoguery; held them responsible for economic downturn and a return of fascism; declared them unfit for serious public life, which is apparently best left to experts. And yet Brexit voters didn’t go mad or riot or crumble. They stuck to their principles (an amazing 96% say they’d vote for Brexit again) and patiently waited for their political choice to be acted upon. They kept their faith in democracy. They behaved liked the free-willed, autonomous adults that democracy needs in order to work and thrive.”

    https://www.facebook.com/brendan.oneill.79/posts/1307951275961629

    Sounds very familiar…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  152. On Trump, and repealing Obamacare: as we all know, bills originate in the House, then go through the Senate, where they can be modified, then sent back to the House, and then if they pass all that, they go to the President who can only sign or not.

    The president can encourage, cajole, threaten, sell, or criticise throughout the process, but he really has no power other than to sign or not once it reaches his desk. Before that, it is on congress to write the thing and present it to the President.

    Some nevertrumpers would like us to believe that it’s Trumps fault that congress failed to present him a bill to sign. I guess they believe it is up to the President to write the bill, then send in the Secret Service to threaten to shoot congressmen who don’t vote for it. Not doing so is a failure of the President.

    Those nevertrumpers are deeply dishonest. We all know who they are.

    Leon (168f33)

  153. The president can encourage, cajole, threaten, sell, or criticise throughout the process

    He certainly threatened…but in reality he did a great deal less than that. The Great Dealmaker didn’t even try to make a deal. Which is why he can be justly blamed. Of course there is a lot if blame to go around.

    kishnevi (077ff2)

  154. On Trump, and repealing Obamacare: as we all know, bills originate in the House, then go through the Senate, where they can be modified, then sent back to the House, and then if they pass all that, they go to the President who can only sign or not.

    \

    Trump made the promise. But now we learn he just can’t keep it. Why it’s not really his fault!

    Funny how we blame Obama for Obamacare.

    he really has no power

    I expect Trump’s fans will be using this argument a lot over the next few years. It’s not his fault. It’s not his fault. He can’t do anything about it. Meanwhile we have the same healthcare laws we’d have if Hillary had been elected.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  155. “Dave teh Squid… if you like your ObamaCare, you can keep your ObamaCare…

    In your case, you may or may not still qualify for Medicaid.
    Colonel Haiku (6b7575) — 3/28/2017 @ 3:53 pm”

    Proud squid.

    Look at that mess, coronello.

    https://i0.wp.com/www.defensemedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Belknap-aftermath.jpg?resize=720%2C576

    One man saved that wreck.

    http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/bt1-andrew-gallagher-risked-his-life-to-save-others-aboard-uss-belknap/

    So, proud squid. I bring them back.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  156. Obamacare is an expensive motherf***er, on the front end with the premiums and on the back end with the co-pays and out-of-pocket, but it errs on the side of people having health insurance. It tries to cover as many people as possible for as many things as possible. So a lot of people like it. Or a large part of it. And those people vote. And write to and call their Congresscritters too. And not all those Congresscritters are in safe GOP districts where just the Obama in front of Care is enough to make them go along with full repeal.

    Reality bites.

    nk (dbc370)

  157. That looks hellacious, Steve.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  158. oh god who’s editing drudge tonight

    just tone it the eff down

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  159. Thought control Ala Firefox , an interesting twist not terribly practical I think:
    news.nationalpost.com/arts/movies/first-photos-of-alicia-vikander-as-lara-croft-in-the-tomb-raider-remake-surface-featuring-pants

    narciso (d1f714)

  160. I expect Trump’s fans will be using this argument a lot over the next few years. It’s not his fault. It’s not his fault. He can’t do anything about it.

    He’s a victim of circumstance!

    I don’t remember any caveats about needing to rely on others in Trump’s campaign speeches.

    What I do remember is: “I alone can fix it.”

    Dave (711345)

  161. It as hellacious, if the term has any meaning, coronello.

    You will find no Halls of Fame that will have me as a member. But this man…

    http://media.navysna.org/HOF/G/Gallagher.htm

    On November 1975 while conducting night flight operations east of Sicily, the USS Belknap (CG 26) and the USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) collided, Belknap sustained major damage and a fire that raged for more than 2 hours before being brought under control. At the time of the collision, BT2 Gallagher and the members of his watch team remained behind despite heavy smoke and flames in the fire room. Then disregarding their own personal safety they secured the fuel oil closing valves, the fuel oil service pumps and other key propulsion machinery. The result of this action was to decisively prevent ship’s fuel oil from feeding the raging fire which had started in the mid-ships section of the ship coincident with the collision. After ensuring that the supply of fuel to his fire room was secured, BT2 Gallagher notified main control of the necessity to evacuate the fire room and his intention to do so. He then directed each member of his watch section to safety, and only left the space when he was sure all others had departed the severely burning area before him. He further led his men through flames on the main deck area to safety on the forecastle. During his efforts BT2 Gallagher sustained first and second degree burns over approximately seventy-five percent of his body, and smoke inhalation. As a result of his actions, potential fatal additional damage to the burning ship and numerous additional casualties were prevented, and the lives of his watch team saved. For his courage and devotion to duty he was awarded the Legion of Merit.

    He said he saw what he came to believe was an angel who led him out of the burning space. The angel was wearing khaki.

    Lundquist: It was your guardian angel.

    Gallagher: It had to have been. I can’t explain it, I’m not a very religious person, but it was, there was an entity there that helped me get out of that real thick, thick smoke. And I started to walk up the steps, the ladder going into the ward room, and then I went to make a turn, there was a door that went out to the quarter deck, but there was a guy there standing and, again, I couldn’t see him but he was wearing khakis and he was saying, “You can’t get out this way. You can’t get out this way,” and he had the door opened about this far and you could see a river of flames. So I walked athwartships through the ward room, and something came through the ward room ceiling and landed on top of the ward room table. The table flipped, and then I got outside. I’m amidships, on the starboard side. I felt the cold air…

    I’m no angel, but to this day I maintain my first aid quals.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  162. Barely 2 months in and read all the poor-mouthing. Nattering nabobs of nutbaggery.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  163. dustin (athletic supporter), you lost the election, bro, and you’re angry about it.

    drink some chamomile tea, or watch some fun old movies on TCM.
    or do both.
    seriously, chill out with the personal attacks. it doesn’t look cool no matter what your girlfriend tells you. (LOL)

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  164. If you don’t believe it was hellacious, look at this.

    http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OjVasRVmWAo/TiWDpy5NjqI/AAAAAAAAEwU/fjWQGcBrmyY/s1600/USS%2BBelknap%2B8.jpg

    Screw Rosie O’Donnel fire does melt steel.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  165. What I do remember is: “I alone can fix it.”

    Dave

    It would be funnier if it didn’t mean so much damage to a great country or to the right.

    It still baffles me that Trump won the election, even if technically most voters rejected him. It baffles me that he was nominated. People really seemed to buy into his BS. And now they are mad.

    It’s going to be more dumb bumper sticker politics, more excuses, more nastiness, and after Trump I think it will remain pretty bad for a long time unless we’re blessed with a special leader who can somehow bring us beyond this partisanship.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  166. Barely 2 months in and read all the poor-mouthing. Nattering nabobs of nutbaggery.
    Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/28/2017 @ 8:00 pm

    I’m impressed. Spiro Agnew.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  167. Goes tube restaurant business, Steve,

    narciso (d1f714)

  168. @131 Dustin

    Reminds me of that old joke: why was there only one Allah worshiping socialist on the Space Shuttle Challenger?

    Pinandpuller (ee9508)

  169. Dustin @131 let me know if I’ve said anything you disagree with.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  170. Valar Morghulis-a girl has no gender.

    Pinandpuller (ee9508)

  171. @143 Rev Hoagie

    Hillary lost her unpaid unsworn office in the West Wing health care revamping scheme too. I guess Trump IS just like her (LOL).

    Pinandpuller (ee9508)

  172. Hillary broke through that health care f*cking glass ceiling for all you girls with a dream out there.

    Pinandpuller (ee9508)

  173. Cruz Supporter

    4chan took a vote. Hello Boaty McBoatface Supporter!

    Pinandpuller (ee9508)

  174. Dustin @131 let me know if I’ve said anything you disagree with.

    Steve57

    the part about screwing Rosie O’Donnell.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  175. Holy Sh*t Melvin Belli was on Star Trek!

    Pinandpuller (ee9508)

  176. Did you know the King of Jordan was on Star Trek.

    Davethulhu (c75fb7)

  177. @182 Davethulhu

    SPOILER!

    I’m a hypocrite, I know.

    Pinandpuller (ee9508)

  178. Just can’t get away from these damn, dirty Space Lawyers.

    Did I mention he’s dead, Jim? Died as he lived: bankrupt.

    Pinandpuller (ee9508)


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