Patterico's Pontifications

4/11/2018

Paul Ryan Will Not Seek Re-Election

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:19 am



He didn’t do anything meaningful that others could not have done, and he failed at a lot. But others probably would have failed under the same circumstances. I don’t see anything uniquely bad about this one man that explains failure to reform entitlements or rein in spending. And if you think ObamaCare will finally be repealed now that the evil Ryan is out, you have learned nothing.

At least the way for Paul Nehlen is now clear! (He said, hoping he was joking.)

UPDATE: I wish I had more time to blog, but other chewy news items include Trump threatening Russia by tweet, and Russia responding by threatening American troops if we send missiles to Syria. So long, mom, I’m off to drop the bomb, so don’t wait up for me. Also, Andrew C. McCarthy’s piece on the Cohen searches is excellent. Read it.

[Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.]

140 Responses to “Paul Ryan Will Not Seek Re-Election”

  1. i have long questioned Mr. Ryan’s commitment to sparkle motion

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  2. most likely this is just sheer cowardice

    as the dirty fbi moves ahead with their coup Ryan’s decided he wants to just stand aside and leave them to it

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  3. I liked him. I still do. Compared to previous Speakers — Tip O’Neill, Jim Wright, Tom Foley, Newt Gingrich, Dennis Hastert, Nancy Pelosi, John Boehner — he was as good as it gets.

    nk (dbc370)

  4. Another ‘wave goodbye.’

    2012 conservative GOP Vice Presidential candidate, Ayn Rand devotee and lame duck wants to ‘spend more time with his family’ yet plans to hang around as Speaker for 8 more months. Wisconsin cheesy.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  5. Paul Ryan is a lefty coward according to some of you. If true, that would put about 98 percent of Americans on the liberal left. And you Paul Ryan critics far to the right… of pretty much everyone.

    noel (b4d580)

  6. True, nk, just the fact he was not a “pol” by appearance anyway. If this is Kevin McCarthy’s time as speaker, plus Dev Nunes plus a creeping upward in the polls John Cox, this could be the salad era of non-crazy California (Huntington Beach also claims Mike Pompeo as a native son).

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  7. Politico analysis from 2012….

    “Nate Silver of The New York Times concluded that the Wisconsin congressman is “roughly as conservative as Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota. The model, which rates members of the House and Senate throughout different time periods on a common ideology scale, led Silver to label Ryan “the most conservative Republican member of Congress to be picked for the vice-presidential slot since at least 1900.”

    noel (b4d580)

  8. But others probably would have failed under the same circumstances. I don’t see anything uniquely bad about this one man that explains failure to reform entitlements or rein in spending.

    Nor do I. You’re referring to Trump, right?

    random viking (6a54c2)

  9. He could be the poster child for Conservatives who get swallowed whole by the Deep State. He may have once sincerely believed he could work with those forces to place some modicum of economic and regulatory sanity in DC, but soon enough was co-opted.

    He became the most useful idiot of our time – and quite an accomplished liar.

    Ed from SFV (1752e1)

  10. And let’s not forget that the Speaker has another Constitutional role besides herding the cats that make up the House of Representatives. He is second in line, after the Vice-President, for the Presidency. I would be comfortable with Ryan as President.

    nk (dbc370)

  11. Politico analysis from 2012….

    Politico analysis from 2012…. “Trump has no chance”

    Ryan softened his stance on a lot of issues since then, particularly illegal immigration. I doubt he would score the same.

    random viking (6a54c2)

  12. Ryan saw an Obamacare repeal vote through the House and sent it to the Senate where it was strangled by the likes of McCain, Graham, Collins, and Alexander. I still don’t understand why people want to blame him for that. I would like to think that Ryan is leaving because he can’t stomach the $1.3 trillion deficit this year, and he knows that under this current Administration there is zero — absolutely zero — chance of entitlement reform.

    JVW (42615e)

  13. UPDATE: I wish I had more time to blog, but other chewy news items include Trump threatening Russia by tweet, and Russia responding by threatening American troops if we send missiles to Syria. So long, mom, I’m off to drop the bomb, so don’t wait up for me. Also, Andrew C. McCarthy’s piece on the Cohen searches is excellent. Read it.

    Patterico (996bc5)

  14. I lost a great deal of respect for Ryan after he presided over the convention that nominated Trump.

    “Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.”
    – John Stuart Mill

    Thanks for nothing, Chairman Ryan.

    Dave (445e97)

  15. But others probably would have failed under the same circumstances. I don’t see anything uniquely bad about this one man that explains failure to reform entitlements or rein in spending.

    No, to Ryan, he said, ignoring the joke. But seriously, it’s true of Trump too. This is on our crap electorate.

    Patterico (996bc5)

  16. Ryan saw an Obamacare repeal vote through the House and sent it to the Senate where it was strangled by the likes of McCain, Graham, Collins, and Alexander. I still don’t understand why people want to blame him for that.

    This is correct.

    Patterico (996bc5)

  17. I’ll cut Trump slack on whether he’s “threatening” or “taunting” Russia in Syria, and infer instead that he’s giving honest warning to Putin to move Russian personnel away from where our missiles will strike. Like he did last time. Leaving it up to Putin whether he wants to use his people as human shields.

    nk (dbc370)

  18. Ryan’s failure to speak out forcefully and consistently against Trump since the convention also does him no credit.

    Dave (445e97)

  19. Ed says, “He could be the poster child for Conservatives who get swallowed whole by the Deep State.”

    One. There is no deep state.

    Two. The House is where your “deep state” gets its authorization. Not the other way around.

    And Three. No-one has told you? The Speakers job is to pass legislation. Not to pass around your conspiracy theories.

    noel (b4d580)

  20. I can’t wait. Why don’t you “deep state” types tell us who the members of this secret club are? Throw a few names at us. I could use a chuckle this morning.

    noel (b4d580)

  21. Geez, this Donald Trump guy is the poster-child for TDS:

    Why do we keep broadcasting when we are going to attack Syria. Why can’t we just be quiet and, if we attack at all, catch them by surprise?
    9:45 PM – Aug 28, 2013

    For the first time in the history of military operations a country has broadcast what, when and where they will be doing in a future attack!
    2:09 AM – Aug 31, 2013

    Who are our generals that are allowing this fiasco to happen right before our eyes. Call it the “PLENTY OF NOTICE WAR”
    2:31 AM – Aug 31, 2013

    In war, the elememt of surprise is sooooo important.What the hell is Obama Trump doing.
    7:40 PM – Sep 1, 2013

    Dave (445e97)

  22. “As any longtime reader knows, I was a Never Trumper throughout the election. But when the nation selected him, I laid down that label and accepted reality. Trump was my president for the next four to eight years, I earnestly hoped for his and my country’s success, and I would praise or criticize him based on his actions.

    But if I were one of those dead-enders who kept fighting reality, the last thing I’d do is rehash the same failed strategy that didn’t stop him in 2016. What is obvious to any Army captain or novice entrepreneur was utterly lost on several of our most celebrated pundits and political strategists.

    With Trump’s election, the political landscape changed, just as it did when Obama was elected. Declaring either presidency invalid — due to a Russian conspiracy or a forged birth certificate — was doomed to failure since the voters chose both of them. And mocking a president is easily blurred with mocking the millions who selected him.”

    https://ricochet.com/509257/yes-anti-trumpism-failure-always-destined-one/

    Colonel Haiku (b209d4)

  23. I’ll cut him slack on that, too. As a private citizen, you can say whatever sh!t comes into your head. As President, you should worry whether dropping a missile on Russian troops in Syria will cause Russia to drop a MIRV on Manhattan.

    nk (dbc370)

  24. The McCarthy article is good. Thank you for recommending it.

    DRJ (15874d)

  25. @18. He didn’t want the job from the start and doesn’t want it at the end.

    @21. LOL Nike was a missile before it became a tag line: ‘Just do it.’

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  26. These BarcaLounger Generals…

    Colonel Haiku (b209d4)

  27. Always trust CNN, Dave.

    Colonel Haiku (b209d4)

  28. This is on our crap electorate.

    If only the self-anointed smart people could run this country, without elections getting in the way.

    The mask slips a tad.

    random viking (6a54c2)

  29. We used to believe in an informed American electorate that understands American values and principles.

    DRJ (15874d)

  30. Now we believe in Winning! Charlie Sheen values.

    DRJ (15874d)

  31. @29: Rught on cue. Thanks DRJ.

    random viking (6a54c2)

  32. *Right

    random viking (6a54c2)

  33. @28. This is on our crap electorate.

    The Deplorables? Or is they dah great 47% Unwashed.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  34. He could be the poster child for Conservatives who get swallowed whole by the Deep State.

    This is orijinal türkçe daha iyi.

    … and Russia responding by threatening American troops if we send missiles to Syria.

    Apparently the threat you’re referring to was made by the Russian ambassador to Lebanon. Notably, Putin’s press secretary has not repeated it. Russia’s general staff chief Gerasimov has said something rather different – that Russia “will respond” to any strike that endangers Russian lives.

    Moscow will not and cannot go to war to protect Assad. The will and the means are simply not there (at time of writing there are reports that the Russians are withdrawing all naval assets from Tartus).

    JP (699888)

  35. Who is the “Deep State”…

    The “Deep State” is the entrenched bureaucracy… leaders in FBI/ DOJ/Congress that have been using nearly any means necessary to try and steal the 2016 election. This started with the dossier that was used as a pretext to obtain FISA warrants to “wiretap” Trump via his associates… a document that in all likelihood was bought and paid for by Barack Obama and/or Hillary Clinton and that the last 16 months of this fustercluck has one purpose – to remove the President altogether or so damage him to the extent he cannot govern as he needs to, which will effectively roadblock his agenda.

    Colonel Haiku (b209d4)

  36. The Deplorables?

    No, can’t use Hillary’s verbiage. Trumpkins.

    random viking (6a54c2)

  37. I’m glad you agree, random viking.

    DRJ (15874d)

  38. We’re in a populist phase.

    DRJ (15874d)

  39. Concerns for ordinary people is admirable. Most of us are ordinary people, but that doesn’t mean we have to throw out traditional values.

    DRJ (15874d)

  40. Boehner on conservatives (aka not him) on why there won’t be a conservative Speaker:

    “They know they can’t win,” Boehner told The Columbus Dispatch. “So I’m sure that’s not going to happen.”

    If they can’t have a moderate, the GOP establishment would still rather have populist leaders than conservative leaders.

    DRJ (15874d)

  41. Concerns for ordinary people is admirable. Most of us are ordinary people, but that doesn’t mean we have to throw out traditional values.

    Who decides? You? Who elected you?

    random viking (329078)

  42. Remember what Mike Lee wrote?

    ‘It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones,” Calvin Coolidge once said. With a unified federal government soon to be in Republican hands, however, maybe we can do a bit of both.

    But how? While congressional Republicans tend to identify as conservatives, President-elect Donald Trump is a populist. Many observers, including some Republicans, see this as an un-squareable circle.

    I disagree. For all the challenges a President Trump may present conservatives during his term, his populism need not be one of them. Far from contradictory, conservatism and populism complement each other in ways that can change history — as did the most successful populist in recent decades, Ronald Reagan.

    The chief political weakness of conservatism is its difficulty identifying problems that are appropriate for political correction. Conservatism’s view of human nature and history teaches us that problems are inevitable in this world and that attempts to use government to solve them often only make things worse.

    This insight actually makes us good at finding solutions. At our best, conservatives craft policy reforms that empower bottom-up, trial-and-error problem-solving and the institutions that facilitate it, such as markets and civil society. At our worst, though, we can seem indifferent to suffering and injustice because we overlook problems that require our action or resign ourselves to their insolvability.

    Populists, on the other hand, have an uncanny knack for identifying social problems. It’s when pressed for solutions that populists tend to reveal their characteristic weakness. Unable to draw on a coherent philosophy, populists can tend toward inconsistent or unserious proposals.

    The rough terms of a successful partnership seem obvious. Populism identifies the problems; conservatism develops the solutions; and President Trump oversees the process with a veto pen that keeps everyone honest. Call it “principled populism”: an authentic conservatism focused on solving the problems that face working Americans in a fracturing society and globalizing economy.

    Doesn’t that seem even more true after 15 months of Trump’s populism? There is a role for Trump and his ability to connect with people’s concerns, but he only wins with conservative solutions.

    DRJ (15874d)

  43. I am an American like you, random viking. That makes my voice equal to yours.

    DRJ (15874d)

  44. I have one fault to find with McCarthy’s linked column, in this sentence:

    The rap on Mueller (including from your humble correspondent) has been that his investigation has no limits.

    That’s true as far as it goes; that has been the story McCarthy has tirelessly preached since last summer. What he ought to have said next, however, was: “And I was completely wrong about that.”

    Instead, he links to his own piece, published after the Rosenstein memo from last August surfaced a few days ago, in which he doubles down and insists (ellipsis his): “So … was I wrong? No, I was right.”

    No, he was absolutely, positively wrong, because (1) he misread the regs to imply that Mueller’s authority had to be spelled out in the public order appointing him, and (2) he assumed there were no private memos through which the Acting AG had satisfied his obligation under the regs (specifically, 28 CFR § 600.4(a)) to ensure that the “Special Counsel will be provided with a specific factual statement of the matter to be investigated.” His failure to admit error now is disappointing.

    But his comments about the Cohen raid are spot on, and I do not fault him for including — as appropriate background and context — the discussion of the Obama campaign’s cheapo settlement of election law violation charges. He likewise could have included, as further context, the results of the unsuccessful John Edwards prosecution in connection with his baby-momma payoff and cover-up. All of that tends to caution us in expecting any massive ultimate criminal liability, on the part of Cohen, Trump, or anyone else in the campaign, in connection with the failure to properly report what might be construed to be a $130k gift to the Trump 2016 campaign by paying off the porn star (and, presumably, another similar gift from the payoff to the bunny).

    Nevertheless — and this is the point of the column — even a comparatively piddling potential criminal law violation can still generate probable cause for the search warrant just executed on Cohen, presuming that the DoJ’s internal guidelines have been followed, and this stuff remains, potentially, extremely dangerous to Trump — mostly because of the overreaction it’s likely to trigger.

    As for Speaker Ryan: I have long been a fan of his, and remain one. I supported him as a potential GOP presidential nominee in 2008, when the GOP instead nominated the grumpy old man from Arizona. I supported him again in 2012, when he ended up being Romney’s running mate, a role he performed superbly. I agree with those who’re speculating that his decision not to run for reelection now reflects a clear-eyed recognition that entitlements reform, and with it, more general budgetary and fiscal reforms, is utterly impossible while Trump — an avowed opponent to all such — is in the WH, and improbably as long as there’s a 60-vote cloture rule in the Senate.

    And the day he leaves the Speakership, Ryan becomes the most obvious and credible alternative as a GOP presidential candidate in 2020. I intend to support him for that.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  45. President Trump does the best conservative solutions. This is why the dirty fbi should stop trying to turn america into nazi germany by doing a coup on the president.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  46. About gosh darn time this quitter quit. What a useless piece of white trash Ryan is. At least he didn’t rape anybody that we know of. Yet.

    mg (9e54f8)

  47. A coup is all they can do. He has no scalp worth taking.

    nk (dbc370)

  48. I can see ryan lobbying for Facebook as he has already on their payroll!

    mg (9e54f8)

  49. Why did I just get deja vu?

    nk (dbc370)

  50. There’s so much more they could be doing with the time and resources they’re devoting to this dirty nazi coup attempt.

    Especially now that spring’s here and they can get outside more.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  51. Perhaps the Mexican govt. could hire ryan to build a wall for them.

    mg (9e54f8)

  52. Yes, spring is here. Life is skittles and life is beer.
    I think the loveliest time of the year is the spring.
    I do, don’t you? Of course you do!
    But there’s one thing that makes spring complete for me,
    And makes every Sunday a treat for me.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhuMLpdnOjY

    Skorcher (5b282a)

  53. Lehrer forever.

    felipe (5b25e2)

  54. 52.Perhaps the Mexican govt. could hire ryan to build a wall for them.

    Why not… or he’ll go to pot, just like Boehner:

    John Boehner, former U.S. House Speaker, Joins Board Of Cannabis Company

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/john-boehner-cannabis-1.4614357

    Former U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner has joined the board of an American cannabis company.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  55. He’s in charge of putting in the crying jags?

    nk (dbc370)

  56. @56.He’s in charge of putting in the crying jags?

    Dah Boehner for a nickel, going to sell you lots of sweet dreams…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XqyGoE2Q4Y

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  57. Waiting for the absolutely gleeful post about Erickson’s supermarket convo with a Repub. congressman……

    harkin (607a84)

  58. If a lid is still an ounce, a nickel bag is $50.00 now.

    nk (dbc370)

  59. From the legal shops. I don’t know on the street.

    nk (dbc370)

  60. Damn, what is it with former Ohio RINO congressman – young Kasich got fired from a Reagan field office for selling weed to fellow staffers back in ’76.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  61. @48 nk

    Yes, Ryan can bring back the beard President when he gives Angela Merkin a back rub.

    Pinandpuller (ab37f4)

  62. populism not ayn randist libertarian conservatism was elcted to lead the republican party and free traders were sent packing. paul ryan don’t let the door hit you on the way out!

    no paul is good paul (cac661)

  63. I don’t know if this is the right thread, Miss DRJ, but how about let Populism be The Arrow and Conservatism be The Archer?

    Pinandpuller (51e9e9)

  64. GD… I said GD the pusherman!

    Colonel Haiku (b209d4)

  65. Ryan was snuffed out by Agent Orange.

    Tillman (a95660)

  66. Pin 64,

    We may get criticized for violent imagery but it sounds good to me.

    DRJ (15874d)

  67. Lady Justice is topless and blindfolded

    #metoo

    Pinandpuller (51e9e9)

  68. For Mr DCSCA and Bill Ayers

    Let Populism be the ship

    Let Conservatism be the rudder

    Let Democrats be chained

    And man the oars

    Amen

    Pinandpuller (51e9e9)

  69. Phil Valentine read the story about the school district that handed out 16″ bats to teachers. He called it Walking Small.

    Pinandpuller (51e9e9)

  70. Would you say, Miss DRJ, that the Populism Conservative Hybrid is vigorous but ultimately unable to propagate?

    Pinandpuller (51e9e9)

  71. I don’t know but my guess is the populist party needs a charismatic leader to succeed, and charisma isn’t that easy to come by.

    DRJ (15874d)

  72. President Trump sparkles with charisma it’s probably a good thing i never run into him at brunch cause i’d probably just stare at him the whole time

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  73. With Ryan pulling out, the Cohen raid’s promise of scandalous revelations, combined with Comey’s upcoming book and primetime TV Trump bashing interview with Clinton’s sawed-off cat’s paw in the offing, look for seething #NeverTrumpers to re-surface like self-invited Zombies on All Hallows Eve ravenous to feast on the corpse of their despised boogeyman.

    Thoroughly obsessed and abosolutely convinced only their righteous crusade against a democratically elected president can save the nation from the clutches of an evil upstart, #NeverTrumpers won’t be able to resist an opportunity to drive a wooden stake into The Donald’s heart.

    ropelight (4e0637)

  74. And the day he leaves the Speakership, Ryan becomes the most obvious and credible alternative as a GOP presidential candidate in 2020. I intend to support him for that.

    Why did it take 46 comments to get to this obvious point? Oh, yeah, the Trump brigade thinks they’re winning.

    OTOH, Beldar is wrong about Mueller because he continues to look at a political event as a legal one. Mueller continues to lose his political capital as he strays further and further from what THE PUBLIC WAS TOLD was his mission.

    Now, having been unable to find any hint of Russian collusion, or other interference in the electoral process, he appears to be chasing down bimbos. That worked so well for Gingrich and the GOP in the 90’s after they couldn’t get any traction on Whitewater. And they had perjury on film.

    Mueller is done. All he has left is Sampson-in-the-temple and the leaked threats today smack of blackmail. At this point an order to wrap it up would be taken by all but the most deranged Democrats as a reasonable one.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  75. Ryan tried to get things done. The Yahoo right in the House stopped a lot of it and McConnell stopped the rest. His initial Obamacare dismantling was opposed by people who wanted a straight repeal, never might that any straight repeal died when Romney lost. Effing tantrums and wishful thinking masquerading as policy. Instead they got Obamacare extended as far as the eye can see.

    Of course Ryan is quitting. He’ll go home, spend some time with the wife and kids, and line up his ducks for 2020. Trump will have pissed everyone off by then.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  76. *never MIND. My fingers do the weirdest typoes.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  77. I was just listening to S. Molyneaux on Reason and Evidence based thinking vs Conclusion based thinking. I think good people can still disagree on Trump rationally and evidentially because so many Trump Climate reporting stations have been overgrown with urban sprawl.

    Pinandpuller (51e9e9)

  78. “I really thought when I took this job, Jake, that this is probably the last elected office I would have,” Ryan said. “I’m not going to run for president. That’s not my plan. I’m not going to do that.”

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  79. Unh-huh. Sure he’s not going to run. But, come late 2019, when Trump’s managed to do nothing but piss people off and his job approval rating is 30% and nothing has been done about the illegals, well, then he just might reconsider.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  80. If the GOP loses the House and/or the Senate, the GOP knives will be out and looking for someone to blame. And Trump will be the guy standing there with the bloody hands.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  81. Kevin M: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. We don’t know that Mueller has nothing. Mueller may have videos of the hookers peeing the bed; if he’s doing his job properly, we wouldn’t know that. Mueller may have a blood oath with DNA markers proving that Trump and Putin signed a mutual pact to disrupt the American election; if he’s doing his job properly, we wouldn’t know that, either.

    Do I think it’s likely Mueller has either of those two things? Nope, they both strike me as improbable.

    Do I think it’s entirely possible that Mueller has in hand evidence that you and I haven’t seen yet, but that might someday persuade a jury that Trump’s committed one or more felonies? Oh, yes, I think that’s entirely possible. I’m not arguing that it’s more probable or not, but Trump could very well have done some spectacularly stupid things that turn out to be illegal, because just like the Clintons he thinks he’s above the law, he doesn’t respect the rule of law, and he’s gotten away with that for his entire life. His personality cult exists for the purpose of reaffirming to him daily that he can continue to get away with anything.

    I don’t think Mueller’s a member of his personality cult.

    You’re right that the public has a poor understanding of how and why it can be proper for a foreign intelligence investigation to generate a criminal investigation into a porn star. Their poor understanding doesn’t matter much. What matters instead is the understanding of the members of Congress who’d be considering Trump’s (now-still-entirely-theoretical) criminal misconduct in the context of impeachment proceedings.

    And Mueller can’t run his investigation — neither its start nor its stop, neither its continuance in original channels nor its expansion to others — based on what the public, with its dim understanding of all this, has been led to expect by the cacophony of voices who’re pursuing utterly antithetical objectives.

    So I don’t agree that Mueller is “done.” The only thing I can agree to is that we don’t know yet whether he’s done.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  82. speaking of wisconsin cheesy I hear very very good things about this

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  83. @ Kevin M: What are the leaked threats today that smack of blackmail, to which you referred in #75 above? I may have missed something, but you’ve got me curious.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  84. Why did it take 46 comments to get to this obvious point?

    A few years enrolled in the Sarah Palin School For Quitters should have him easily forgotten by 2020.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  85. when you nail it you nail it Mr. DCSCA

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  86. yes yes fascism is ascendant right here in the same failmerica robert mueller and his dirty cougar-dyke wife went to prom and danced awkwardly

    like in a John Hughes movie

    #metoo

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  87. Kevin M: What are the leaked threats today that smack of blackmail, to which you referred in #75 above? I may have missed something, but you’ve got me curious.

    I can’t remember where I saw it, but the idea was that if Trump shut Mueller down, everything in his files would be released to the press.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  88. Admittedly this is discussed in the 3rd person, as a suggestion to Mueller, but it still represents a timely threat.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  89. when has going FULL NAZI not been a timely threat

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  90. Do I think it’s entirely possible that Mueller has in hand evidence that you and I haven’t seen yet, but that might someday persuade a jury that Trump’s committed one or more felonies? Oh, yes, I think that’s entirely possible.

    And I’m sure that Trump HAS committed one or two felonies. Most of us have, either knowingly or unknowingly.

    But the special prosecutor law isn’t a blank check, is it? Doesn’t the AG have to say “We have some reason to believe that one or more crimes were committed (see list). You are to see if Trump or his staff did any of these things.”

    If they turn their efforts to Trump’s prior real estate dealings, or whether gambling is going on in his hotels, one has to ask — when does it end? Is it just open season on Donald Trump; go until you get something?

    Kevin M (752a26)

  91. Unh-huh. Sure he’s not going to run. But, come late 2019, when Trump’s managed to do nothing but piss people off and his job approval rating is 30% and nothing has been done about the illegals, well, then he just might reconsider.

    Ryan is a basically honest, decent and intelligent person. He’s a lot like a mellower and slightly more telegenic version of Ted Cruz. He’s not cut out to take on Trump.

    Dave (445e97)

  92. @93.Ryan is a basically honest, decent and intelligent person…

    Yes– “he was a quiet man…” who voiced pride in teaching his young daughter to kill deer. Bet he’s got a clown suit in the closet, too.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  93. Their poor understanding doesn’t matter much. What matters instead is the understanding of the members of Congress who’d be considering Trump’s (now-still-entirely-theoretical) criminal misconduct in the context of impeachment proceedings.

    And this is where I fundamentally disagree. Impeachment is NOT a legal proceeding. It is a political act. The Senate is NOT a jury and the rules of the trial are whatever the Senate says they are. Those involved in an impeachment and/or trial are themselves subject to political judgement. See for example what happened to Speaker Livingston.

    The GOP paid dearly for impeaching Bill Clinton for WHAT THE PUBLIC VIEWED as getting a hummer. You can talk about perjury all you want, but the public perception, and the resulting backlash, were about impeaching Clinton for sex.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  94. Bet he’s got a clown suit in the closet, too.

    and daddy romney makes him buy the old-school morm-style vaseline

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  95. I short, impeachment is not an alternative legal process for finding someone guilty of a crime, it is a means of removing an official from office. Not all crimes will rise to that level, and not all that rises to that level are crimes. If, for example, we found that Trump was hiding an advancing case of Alzheimer’s, impeachment would be in order even though having Alzheimer’s is not a crime.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  96. Happyfeet… there’s talk you diddle little kids. Why and for how long?

    Colonel Haiku (b209d4)

  97. He’s not cut out to take on Trump.

    All that is required … is for good men to do nothing.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  98. He’s [Ryan] a lot like a mellower and slightly more telegenic version of Ted Cruz. He’s not cut out to take on Trump.

    It’s not Ryan’s job to take on Trump. His job was to remove Obama’s stank from the federal government, and fully fund a border wall.

    [Ferdi erkin]

    papertiger (c8116c)

  99. Happyfeet… there’s talk you diddle little kids. Why and for how long?

    Yeah, this calling everyone he Trump doesn’t like is not only tiresome, it reeks of projection.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  100. Clinton’s trial in the Senate was a circus, with a clown (Trent Lott); and the Lord Chancellor right out of Gilbert and Sullivan, complete with the robe. Rehnquist. At least he resisted the urge to break out into song:

    Love unrequited, robs me of me rest
    Love, hopeless love, my ardent soul encumbers
    Love, nightmare like, lies heavy of me chest
    And weaves itself into my midnight slumbers

    nk (dbc370)

  101. 93.Ryan is a basically honest, decent and intelligent person…

    Yes– “he was a quiet man…” who voiced pride in teaching his young daughter to kill deer. Bet he’s got a clown suit in the closet, too.

    DCSCA (797bc0) — 4/11/2018 @ 7:30 pm

    You should climb out of your BarcaLounger, and hang with the college campus snowflakes who are so easily triggered, Pops.

    Colonel Haiku (b209d4)

  102. @103. =Haiku!= Gesundheit!

    What?! And miss Jack Benny on the Philco?

    Well!

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  103. Yeah, this calling everyone he Trump doesn’t like is not only tiresome, it reeks of projection.

    i like trump a LOT i really do

    he’s been there for us through this difficult time as we take the hormones and transition from a food stamp nation to a productive one

    it’s scary and exciting and disorienting

    this is our last chance

    this is out last dance

    this is ourselves

    under pressure

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  104. … You never.”

    Colonel Haiku (b209d4)

  105. ugh this is *our* last dance i mean

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  106. [result from Wisconsin’s 1st congressional district]

    2016 President Donald Trump 53 – Hillary Clinton 42% Republican

    How is it that Ryan is a good man in the mold of Ted Cruz, but see this as a signal for him to curl up into his shell and split town?

    Dude must be a Clinton man.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  107. @96.and daddy romney makes him buy the old-school morm-style Vaseline

    When they’re together they’re good but when they’re bad, they’re better, eh, Mr. Feet.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  108. no he’s a romney boi

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  109. When they’re together they’re good but when they’re bad, they’re better, eh, Mr. Feet.

    if you’re talking about man boy love sexual pleasure with disturbing mormon nuances then yes

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  110. @105. i like trump a LOT i really do

    He’ll leave you his key under the orange mat, Mr. Feet.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  111. promises promises

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  112. @ Kevin M: Well, thanks for the link. It’s a fantasy by a writer at The New Republic whose premise is that Mueller will go rogue and violate all the regulations in 28 CFR part 600, though, and there’s no reason whatsoever to suggest that Mueller would ever do that.

    I’ve yet to see a single persuasive argument that Mueller or anyone on his own team has leaked anything. Today, however, there were more details in the press about details of the Cohen search warrant, whose entire existence was first confirmed by Cohen’s own lawyer and Trump, then discussed again on and off the record by Cohen’s lawyer the following day, the discussed again today (the Access Hollywood angle) by a combination of “persons familiar with the search warrant” (not “the investigation”), which I again interpret to be Cohen’s lawyer. They not only want to publicize these details themselves, they want to capture a whole week’s news cycle while doing so.

    I think this is an insane defense strategy, for either Cohen or his client — but it certain does seem Trumplike. He and Cohen certainly deserve each other.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  113. Ryan won with 65% of the vote in his district, to Trump’s 53%. Trump was coy about endorsing him. I imagine that helped.

    nk (dbc370)

  114. @111. More Mae West playing the WC Fields, Mr. Feet. Butt points scored all the same.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  115. They not only want to publicize these details themselves, they want to capture a whole week’s news cycle while doing so.

    But, but, but … those mean old New York US Attorneys violated the sacred attorney-client privilege, Beldar!

    nk (dbc370)

  116. All the assertions that the SDNY search warrant was based on a referral from Mueller, for example, have come from Cohen’s lawyer, not from Mueller. I don’t know how Cohen’s lawyer thinks he even knows that, if all he’s seen so far is the search warrant itself. But I would take everything that Cohen or his own lawyer say with a big grain of salt — in fact, one of those salt lick blocks that ranchers leave out for cattle.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  117. All that is required … is for good men to do nothing.

    Sending Sister Jean to mud-wrestle Stormy Daniels just gives evil another easy win.

    Ryan could have taken on Trump – bureaucratically – at the convention. In that environment, Ryan (who knows what he’s doing) would run circles around a clueless con artist.

    He could have also taken on Trump within the halls of Congress – refusing to move legislation unless Trump behaved, for instance.

    Ryan is a policy wonk’s policy wonk, who wants to talk about ideas. I see zero chance that he tees himself up for a year and a half of shameless lies and puerile insults from Spanky.

    Dave (445e97)

  118. Speaking of which:

    Stormy.

    Melania.

    Cage.

    Mud.

    Which one makes it out?

    Dave (445e97)

  119. melania’s a lady

    stormy is dirty porn-trash like chelsea clinton and them filthy bush girls

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  120. Squeaker of the House – PAUL RYAN TRAP [YouTube]

    Just add peanut butter.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  121. I think that from now on we should call it the “Deeeeeep Staaaate”. Sounds a little more ominous that way. Our friends at Infowars have indicated that it is likely headquartered in…. Area 51. (Be advised that not everyone can fully comprehend this important information.)

    noel (b4d580)

  122. yes it is a very deep state

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  123. Right. Deep. And it is no coincidence that Area 51 is practically next door to Death Valley, the cite with the lowest elevation in the US!!!!

    noel (b4d580)

  124. death valley is fun it has a castle

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  125. I’m surprised that this isn’t getting more attention. Ryan’s departure is a big deal:

    Ryan and his caucus hoped to run on the tax cut, the economy, and infrastructure. All of these messages now will be swept aside. Ryan owns his share of the blame; too often, he behaved as if he was some deferential junior VP at a Trump resort and not the leader of the House of Representatives in a co-equal branch of government. The idea, popular among the House leadership, that a diet of ass-kissing and deference would make Trump into a normal president who didn’t need the political equivalent of Depends was always a strategic mistake.

    A top Ryan aide texted me this morning: “It’s going to be a civil war. No one knows how bad this will get. Kevin [McCarthy] is such a [eff]ing moron he’s going to get rolled by Pelosi every day. FML.”

    The whole article is an eye-opener: https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-takes-out-paul-ryan-and-its-going-to-be-a-civil-war?ref=home

    Tillman (a95660)

  126. 121.melania’s a lady

    Pole lady Mr. Feet? Oh wait, she’s merely a Slav to fashion.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  127. I think this is an insane defense strategy, for either Cohen or his client — but it certain does seem Trumplike. He and Cohen certainly deserve each other.

    Well, yes. I find I have some difficulty here. I despise Trump and would have voted for any of his opponents not named Kasich or Santorum first. Yet, I am glad he won over Hillary. I would not mind it if Trump were impeached for Alzheimer’s, or incompetence, or conduct unbecoming, should the political case be made.

    But I do not want him impeached for a “crime” that would forever castrate all future presidents. The reasons matter and they can’t be bullsh1t. Which is why Mueller’s probe, assuming it does not find collusion or election-fixing, needs to end. We do not need a special counsel to uncover mundane crimes at the periphery. We have numerous regular counsel for that. Enough is enough. Charge someone or go home.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  128. Question: Did hte Clinton impeachment set the precedent that perjury is not a valid ground for removal? When the Senate voted No, did they say “he did not lie” or did they say “we don’t care”?

    Kevin M (752a26)

  129. *valid sufficient

    Kevin M (752a26)

  130. she’s merely a Slav to fashion

    O stahp it

    Dave (445e97)

  131. When the Senate voted No, did they say “he did not lie”

    Clinton went on TV five months before the senate trial began and confessed to lying…

    The defense his lawyers presented against the charges was basically “Who cares?”

    Dave (445e97)

  132. I would take everything that Cohen or his own lawyer say with a big grain of salt — in fact, one of those salt lick blocks that ranchers leave out for cattle.

    Beldar (fa637a) — 4/11/2018 @ 8:05 pm

    This time of year it’s so important to get the red colored salt blocks with supplemental magnesium, Mr Beldar:

    The cause of grass tetany (grass staggers, milk tetany, lactation tetany, winter tetany, wheat pasture poisoning, crested wheatgrass poisoning, barley poisoning) has been poorly understood, yet annual death losses cost beef producers millions of dollars. It affects mature cattle grazing lush forage, after weather changes like freezing early spring pastures or sudden growth after rainfall following drought.

    This disease was first described in Britain in 1930, associated with magnesium deficiency and calcium deficiency (“milk fever”) and excess potassium in the blood of affected animals. During cool, wet conditions or regrowth after frost or drought damage, sodium levels in certain forage plants plummet, while nitrogen and potassium levels spike. The dead cattle have high levels of potassium in their eye fluid.

    Grain News

    Pinandpuller (42cd28)

  133. I short, impeachment is not an alternative legal process for finding someone guilty of a crime, it is a means of removing an official from office.

    ie Rod Rosenstein

    Not all crimes will rise to that level, and not all that rises to that level are crimes. If, for example, we found that Trump was hiding an advancing case of Alzheimer’s, impeachment would be in order even though having Alzheimer’s is not a crime.

    Kevin M (752a26) — 4/11/2018 @ 7:43 pm

    25th Amendment?

    Pinandpuller (42cd28)

  134. Ryan is a basically honest, decent and intelligent person. He’s a lot like a mellower and slightly more telegenic version of Ted Cruz. He’s not cut out to take on Trump.

    Dave (445e97) — 4/11/2018 @ 7:24 pm

    Now he can cash in, all he has to do is Play Ball

    Pinandpuller (42cd28)

  135. When the Senate voted No, did they say “he did not lie” or did they say “we don’t care”?

    45 Democrats said: “We’re Democrats”.
    50 Republicans said: “We’re Republicans”.
    Four Republicans said: “We’re from liberal states and we better watch our asses.”
    One Republican, Richard Shelby, said: “I’m really a Democrat.”

    nk (dbc370)

  136. Paraphrasing Agent Orange:
    “If I wanted Mueller fired, he woulda been fired already.” = Unmitigated jackass talking.

    Tillman (a95660)

  137. The Republican Party died with the boooshes.

    mg (9e54f8)

  138. Ryan’s legacy – stabbing American taxpayers in the back while making the liberal Koch brothers richer.

    mg (9e54f8)


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.1228 secs.