Patterico's Pontifications

4/25/2019

Sleepy Joe Is In

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:19 am



With a shot at Trump over his Charlottesville comments:

Trump welcomes him:

Hey, if Republicans can run a handsy old codger with a history of dishonesty and a penchant for saying goofy and inappropriate things, why can’t Democrats?

The impression I get is that a white guy isn’t woke enough for the Dems.

[Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.]

210 Responses to “Sleepy Joe Is In”

  1. Joe’s good comedy. Welcome!

    Patterico (115b1f)

  2. He has always upset me. Mostly because of this:

    https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/biden-flashback-i-think-i-probably-have-a-much-higher-iq-than-you-do

    But then, I *do* think that the moral and ethical aspects of a candidate matter.

    Ugh.

    Simon Jester (02fa6f)

  3. I have his campaign slogan. For both the primaries and the general: “I’m Sane.”

    nk (dbc370)

  4. You know who’s to blame, of course. Schools. A dozen generations of impressionable young minds brainwashed that everybody can grow up to be President.

    nk (dbc370)

  5. That still doesn’t explain Trump.

    nk (dbc370)

  6. Think about it.

    nk (dbc370)

  7. Sleepy Joe brings his wealth of private sector experience to the race.

    Munroe (cd8bd5)

  8. Joe Biden – 2020: “A Touch Too Much”

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  9. In 1987 Biden liked about Bork. In 1991 he lied about Thomas. In 1988 Joe plagiarized (aka Lied) a speech from a British labour leader and tried to pass it off as his own. Now, he’s lying about Charlottsville and what Trump said.

    Joey “Hands” Biden has this friendly “Slow Joe” demeanor that’s makes you think he’s a decent, moderate, person. But he’s not. He’s also been accused of blackmailing the Ukraine government to stop an investigation into a company that was employing his son. Further, we don’t need a 78 y/o President. But who knows how well he’ll do. After all, we’re talking about Democrat voters.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  10. Joe is good comedy, but the SNL segment wasn’t that funny. The audience was pretty quiet.

    Paul Montagu (7968e9)

  11. https://static.pjmedia.com/instapundit/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/bidengrope.jpg

    Joe Biden – 2020: Grope n’ Strange

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  12. The Democrat party is very odd. You got all these “young Guns” that around 40 or so. Or have only been prominent for 6 or 8 years, and then you got these incredibly old guys who went to HS when Ike was President. To Bernie and Biden TV is that new thing their parents got when they were Kids. Do we really need someone close to 80 as President? Especially someone who’s spent their entire lives in Politics? I don’t think so.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  13. Biden in 2020: “If I told You You Were Beautiful, America, Would You Hold It Against Me?”

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  14. “Hey, if Republicans can run a handsy old codger with a history of dishonesty and a penchant for saying goofy and inappropriate things, why can’t Democrats?”

    A shot at Bush 41, when we just laid him to rest. Too soon.

    Munroe (5c3274)

  15. Biden – 2020: The Audacity of Grope

    Joe Biden – 2020: Candy For Every Little Girl And A Puppy In My Van

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  16. From the NYT Best-Seller List… “Dreams of Your Hot Little Daughter”, by Joe Biden

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  17. Although I suppose it would run contrary to his “I’m (Almost) Sane” campaign theme, I’m hoping “Sleepy Joe” starts referring to the incumbent as “Kremlin Don”.

    Dave (1bb933)

  18. The Democrats will not nominate an old white guy. He’s not even gay to give him some edge.

    But as long as Trump is their standard banner, the GOP has no ground on which to complain about other candidates who have a history of lying.

    But I agree that a man who is (just barely) old enough to be my father is not the most desireable candidate.

    kishnevi (0c10d1)

  19. While I don’t agree with Biden on much else, his announcement video is spot on.

    Dave (1bb933)

  20. not the most desireable candidate

    You may have noticed that we haven’t had the luxury of voting for “the most desirable candidate” recently…

    Dave (1bb933)

  21. Joey the Hare needs $100,000.00 a day to stay in.

    mg (8cbc69)

  22. 17… There was no Trump-Russia conspiracy… Mueller Report: “They [the Russians] appeared not to have preexisting contacts and struggled to connect with senior officials around the President-Elect.”

    Just how thick-headed are you people?

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  23. “Just how thick-headed are you people?”
    Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/25/2019 @ 9:09 am

    Not even his plugs could take root.

    Munroe (7bbb94)

  24. @22 Why so defensive?

    He’s the Kremlin’s chosen and supported candidate; the Mueller Report established that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

    And it’s perfectly fine to have spies from hostile dictatorships working behind the scenes for your presidential campaign.

    Dave (1bb933)

  25. “Just how thick-headed are you people?”

    Seriously? They send out a revised Thickness Report daily.

    Btw my campaign motto suggestion is:

    Touch America – 2020

    harkin (a741df)

  26. “Kremlin’s chosen and supported candidate”

    Wait till you hear about Bernie Sanders, they think he’s a bigger pigeon than Chairman Zero.

    harkin (a741df)

  27. Not even his plugs could take root.

    Seriously?

    nk (dbc370)

  28. The McCain family offered a non-denial denial about supporting Biden. I wonder how many “Never Trumpers” will jump on the Biden wagon. After all, nothing says “Conservative” more than a Liberal Democrat.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  29. There was no Trump-Russia conspiracy

    Not for lack of trying on the part of Team Trump.
    The kindest interpretation is that the Putin regime found them to be a bunch of idiots who were too idiotic even to qualify as useful idiots.

    kishnevi (0c10d1)

  30. rcocean (1a839e) — 4/25/2019 @ 9:28 am

    You must admit that of all the possible challengers to Trump, Biden would be the most socially unjust one.

    kishnevi (0c10d1)

  31. So smart he was Putin’s agent, so stupid he didn’t know it.

    They need to throw a White House Halloween party and have Melania wear a huge Queen Of Diamonds.

    harkin (a741df)

  32. Trump was nominated in 2016 because half a dozen other candidates split the “sane” vote in the early primaries, while Trump monopolized the fringe.

    Could the opposite dynamic work for Biden? With Bernie and all the Bernie wannabes splitting the fringe vote, and Biden the only (barely) mainstream candidate, could he cruise into the lead as Trump did, winning 25-30% of the vote against a divided field in the early primaries?

    It might be harder for him in a 2-way race against Bernie, but that would require all the prima donnas getting out before Biden amasses an insurmountable lead (which Rubio, Kasich, etc refused to do in 2016 for the GOP).

    Dave (1bb933)

  33. I wonder how many “Never Trumpers” will jump on the Biden wagon.

    I will probably vote for Biden in the CA primary (which is not restricted to registered Dems).

    Dave (1bb933)

  34. Thinking way ahead to potential running mates, it is sad that perhaps the sanest black democratic congressperson is actually a RINO named Will Hurd (TX).

    urbanleftbehind (29c1c0)

  35. “Sleepy Joe brings his wealth of private sector experience to the race.”

    – Munroe

    Like Trump brought his wealth of governing experience and constitutional knowledge. lol.

    Leviticus (efada1)

  36. Like Trump brought his wealth of governing experience and constitutional knowledge. lol.

    His successful hair transplants, too.

    nk (dbc370)

  37. Biden and the Charlottesville thing… seriously… Trump was misquoted, taken out of context… Biden would have Americans believe it was the rise of ’30s Nazism, American-style.

    Negativity is an unusual focus to kick off a presidential run.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  38. Slightly stoop-shouldered and doddering a little unsteady on his feet, ol’Joey-Bee made a well-televised ‘walk’ to a Wilmington pizza parlor, shuffling in to order a pepperoni pie to go– touching everything and everybody along the way– then leaves in a car. Measles, anybody?

    These days, with smartphones and all, we ‘phone’ them kinda orders in, Joey-Bee, then wait for delivery in 30 minutes or less– and sooner than you’d like, it’ll be by drone. Don’t wanna tip a driver, eh, Joey-Bee?

    He reminds me of my grandfather, another glad-handing tactile-type from Pennsylvania; he’s been dead 35 years, along with the rest of the 1980’s.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  39. Thats the next skit on SNL, a hair-pulling fight that ensues when Joey B tries to sneak a feel on Ivanka.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  40. Trump has gotten more “conservative” things done than any of his more qualified primary opponents would ever dream of doing or attempt to do. Wiith the exception of Kasich or Bush, I would’ve supported any of them in 2016 before I would support Trump as the candidate. So all his buffoonish behavior and tweeting aside, I’m pleased with what he’s done, given the constant wild-eyed fever swampers and bumfuzzled mincing of NeverTrump pushback.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  41. It really is a race to the bottom.

    Simon Jester (02fa6f)

  42. It’s heartwarming to see all those ‘folks’ – those street-walking Wilmington Social Security recipients- greetin’ Joey-Bee ’round noon on a Thursday.

    The young were busy working.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  43. Seriously Charlottesville, can people not read. When i first heard someone bagging on Trump over this , I said no way would he say that. And all it took was a quick google search to read the text of the speech to CLEARLY see he was talking about the people there to protect the monuments in a historical sense. It amazes me people even use this when it is so easily debunked with a simple search and read. But then I guess the reading part stumps alot of people, hence dimocrats.

    Tom K (1cda1b)

  44. Pepperoni pizza a little constipating, Joey-Bee? MSNBC chyron: ‘Biden to officially lunch campaign May 18 in Philadelphia.’

    “We’ll be dead by then.” – Astronaut Clayton Stone [James Franciscus] ‘Marooned’ 1969

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  45. ^ actually, it read ‘launch’ but ‘lunch’ is a typo for the better.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  46. I will not vote for him in the primary for the same reason I won’t vote for Sen. Sanders in the primary: if elected, he will be 80 during his first term, and the statistical odds of dementia are simply too high for me to be willing to take the risk.

    aphrael (3f0569)

  47. the statistical odds of dementia are simply too high for me to be willing to take the risk.

    The “statistical odds” are not very high, really:
    Estimated dementia incidence rate among older people in the United States as of 2015, by age group (per 1,000 population)

    For 80-84 year olds, it’s about 3.3%.

    Dave (1bb933)

  48. In his two previous runs for president, Biden did not win a single primary. He’s gaffe prone and a poor campaigner. But the Democrats are desperate.

    Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1)

  49. But the Democrats are desperate.

    The fact that they can’t field even a single candidate under 75 who can convincingly pose as a centrist is pretty remarkable.

    Dave (1bb933)

  50. Dave — sure, and that’s unacceptably high.

    aphrael (3f0569)

  51. I won’t vote for him because he’s a Democrat and besides he helped Obama steal the 2008 nomination from Hillary which made Hillary steal the 2016 nomination from Bernie who is really the lawful President because Putin stole the election from Hillary and gave it to Trump but Bernie won’t make it this time either because he is from Vermont and Vermont never had gun control because it is the birthplace of the Second Amendment and Democrats like gun control and hate the Second Amendment because they’d rather buy marijuana instead of ammunition and anyway they’re mostly too stoned to shoot straight either so they just sit and smoke marijuana and listen to rap music and give an absentee ballot to a vote harvester to fill in any way they want and in the end the Democrat nomination goes to the candidate who can afford to hire the most vote harvesters so what’s the point anyway and I hope you all had a good 4/20 you sheep.

    nk (dbc370)

  52. It’s dismaying, though unsurprising, to see all these Trump supporters who can barely contain their outrage at Joe’s inappropriate handsiness. Just like it’s dismaying, though unsurprising, to watch Joe’s fans tie themselves in knots to explain how Trump’s behavior is oh so different than their guy’s.

    Here’s a novel idea: what if people of all political persuasions actually respected women? Even when it means holding your guy accountable?

    TR (4c7c54)

  53. *sigh*
    “With a shot at Trump over his Charlottesville comments”

    Will this fake news ever die? I mean, if you want #FakeNews to be rendered politically dead, you shouldn’t keep bringing this up. Scott Adams has a great roundup here:
    https://twitter.com/scottadamssays/status/1121385145758412800?s=11

    Having said that, I think Biden can easily beat Trump. The question is: Can he overcome the loud socialist movement that’s currently infecting the Democratic party?

    whembly (51f28e)

  54. “I won’t vote for him because he’s a Democrat and besides he helped Obama steal the 2008 nomination from Hillary which made Hillary steal the 2016 nomination from Bernie who is really the lawful President because Putin stole the election from Hillary and gave it to Trump but Bernie won’t make it this time either because he is from Vermont and Vermont never had gun control because it is the birthplace of the Second Amendment and Democrats like gun control and hate the Second Amendment because they’d rather buy marijuana instead of ammunition and anyway they’re mostly too stoned to shoot straight either so they just sit and smoke marijuana and listen to rap music and give an absentee ballot to a vote harvester to fill in any way they want and in the end the Democrat nomination goes to the candidate who can afford to hire the most vote harvesters so what’s the point anyway and I hope you all had a good 4/20 you sheep.”

    I thought only us old men had a tendency to run on and on… I’ll only add, “Now you kids get off my goddam lawn!”

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  55. I would not want to run against Donald Trump. Here’s one thing that *no one* else has and that is that he is going to have a lot of fun doing this. He’s going to f*cking enjoy it. Partly because he doesn’t care if he loses. Trump’s secret weapon is that he doesn’t give a f***. How do you run against that? Everyone else, especially the women the young cats, seem miserable. I have a feeling we’re in for four more years of the Donald.

    JRH (14e837)

  56. women *and the young cats.

    JRH (14e837)

  57. The last hurrah; he coulda been a kingmaker and wangled the U.S. ambassadorship to the Court of St. James’s as a reward for a win; instead, he’ll end up as America’s court jester.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  58. 57… the power of *and*…

    https://youtu.be/slr4cymXaLQ

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  59. …he was talking about the people there to protect the monuments in a historical sense.

    The people who showed up to “protect the monuments” were neo-Nazis, organized by neo-Nazis. I’m really not sure how chants of “Jews will not replace us!” have one f**king to do with Confederate monuments. There were no “very fine people” on the Unite the Right side.

    Paul Montagu (7968e9)

  60. How’s your head, Joey-Bee? Remember those “procedures?”

    We do.

    Campaign needs a rockin’ tune to stay hip w/t kids: Emerson Lake & Palmer’s ‘Brain Salad Surgery’— released back in your day: 1973.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  61. It’s dismaying, though unsurprising, to see all these Trump supporters who can barely contain their outrage at Joe’s inappropriate handsiness.

    Don’t be dismayed, it’s not outrage. It’s just amusement over a serial groper who has a history of creeping out both adults and children.

    harkin (a741df)

  62. #60

    …he was talking about the people there to protect the monuments in a historical sense.

    The people who showed up to “protect the monuments” were neo-Nazis, organized by neo-Nazis. I’m really not sure how chants of “Jews will not replace us!” have one f**king to do with Confederate monuments. There were no “very fine people” on the Unite the Right side.

    Paul Montagu (7968e9) — 4/25/2019 @ 12:00 pm

    Trump specifically pointed out that the neo-nazi/white supremicists should be condemned. So no, he wasn’t talking about them. Again, check out Scott’s tweet about this:
    https://twitter.com/scottadamssays/status/1121385145758412800?s=11

    whembly (51f28e)

  63. Could the opposite dynamic work for Biden? With Bernie and all the Bernie wannabes splitting the fringe vote, and Biden the only (barely) mainstream candidate, could he cruise into the lead as Trump did, winning 25-30% of the vote against a divided field in the early primaries?

    So, how big is the Super-Delegate vote this time.. IRC, Hillary had locked up all the Unelected delegates (Senators, Congressmen, Party leaders, etc.) before she even announced, making Bernie’s job almost impossible.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  64. I hereby officially petition Patrick to place the phrase “Joey-Bee” on the language filter list.

    Who’s with me?

    Dave (1bb933)

  65. Biden has name recognition, but every day or three, his blarney will outpace his brains and he’ll say something stupid, and then the coverage on him will be more about his gaffes and why such an old guy is still so gaffe-prone. I don’t see Biden or Bernie going all the way.

    Paul Montagu (7968e9)

  66. Biden: Vote for the Other Dirty Old Man.

    Bored Lawyer (694070)

  67. obstruction of justice can be found in Ma. as a judge was charged with helping a illegal escape a court room avoiding an Ice agent. Charlie Baker Republican {lmao} appointed the far left commie judge.

    mg (8cbc69)

  68. Groper joe is in! Now he can explain his homophobic attacks on gays being untrustworthy (speech 1973) attacks on anita hill alowing uncle thomas on supreme court. Groper joes iraq war vote so republicans couldn’t use his vote against him when he ran for president disqualifies him for many like me.

    lany (76e08b)

  69. Trump specifically pointed out that the neo-nazi/white supremicists should be condemned.

    Let’s not gaslight. He waited three days before condemning neo-Nazis. Trump could have easily said what Ted Cruz said, on the very day that woman was murdered by a racist, but instead Trump waffled and equivocated. At that embarrassment of a conference, he downplayed the actual presence of neo-Nazis, and then he said there were “very fine people” on both sides, engaging in a bogus moral equivalency. There were no such “very fine people” who showed up to “protest” the removal of Confederate statutes. From a guy who was there:

    That’s what originally set me off about this Trump claim. I live in the Charlottesville area, and I know very fine people who oppose the removal of the monuments based on high-minded notions about preserving history. I’m one of them. So I know that we weren’t there that night. Only the white nationalists were there.

    What’s more, these were the people whom Trump said were “protesting very quietly”, which was complete bulls**t. He lied about counter-protesters not having permits. This from the guy who made the laughable comment that “before I make a statement, I like to know the facts”. He wouldn’t know a fact if it slapped him upside the head.

    Paul Montagu (7968e9)

  70. Ann Althouse is angry because Je Biden lied in his introductory camaign video (although, to be accurate, it is acommon lie, so often repeated that Joe Biden may think it is the truth – and also Trump and his partisans don’t know how to rebut it.)

    https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6329595&postID=4780486153579383920&bpli=1&pli=1

    It’s what he said about Charlottsville:

    I’m blogging this morning in a public place, so although I’ve put up 2 posts about Biden’s announcement video, I had not yet listened to it. I finally got out my headphones out so I could listen, but I could not get through to the end, because I became so angry at the LIE and the continued music and montage became torture to me.

    In the part that I did see, we were shown images from the Charlottesville march — replete with the “Jews will not replace us chant” and swastikas — and then Biden’s blandly earnest face asserted that Trump said some of them “are fine people.” But Trump did not say that! It’s absolutely established that Trump excluded those people explicitly before saying that there were some fine people on both sides of the question of keeping Confederate statues. (At the time of the fine people remark, Trump said, “I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and white nationalists because they should be condemned totally.”)

    How dare Biden rest his campaign on a blatant lie — a lie that has been used to stir up fear and racial discord?! The hypocrisy of offering to bring us together and embrace lofty values when he is either repulsively ignorant or just plain lying!

    I could not finish watching that video. I tried, but I couldn’t force myself. It’s utterly toxic bilge.

    Now Trump may have been mistaken about the demonstrators. There apparently wasn’t anybody there, on the killer’s side at that third demonstration about the statue of Robert E. Lee, except neo-Nazis and white nationalists.

    But anyway Trump was talking about the issue. Trump was wrong about what was going on, but he wasn’t trying to say or imply what the Democrats are accusing him of.

    Ann Althouse links to this:

    https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/03/21/trump_didnt_call_neo-nazis_fine_people_heres_proof_139815.html

    That realclearpolitics article links to an earlier article steve Cortes wrote:

    https://vimeo.com/user87970289/review/323958647/2b1b2d5925

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  71. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/03/21/trump_didnt_call_neo-nazis_fine_people_heres_proof_139815.html

    For any honest person, therefore, to conclude that the president somehow praised the very people he actually derided, reveals a blatant and blinding level of bias.

    Nonetheless, countless so-called journalists have furthered this damnable lie.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  72. Dammit, comment in moderation for too many links.

    Paul Montagu (7968e9)

  73. To me it’s crazy to think the President would say anyone who called themself a Nazi is a fine person. Would Netanyahu remain on good terms with the President? The President’s daughter and son in law are Jewish, would they remain on good terms?
    But that’s the narrative nowadays: the President praised Nazis. And that’s why the MSM is the enemy of the United States of America.
    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/us/politics/trump-press-conference-transcript.html

    Bruce (fda6c1)

  74. At this rate of leftist and NT indignation, hand wringing and autophagy (I too, indulge far too much in a certain website), Biden will be the Zell Miller equivalent of the 2020 RNC.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  75. 70.

    Groper joe is in!

    Mark Simone has a video of Joe Biden doing whatever it was he was doing….to Hillary Clinton!

    https://710wor.iheart.com/featured/mark-simone/content/2019-04-01-watch-creepy-joe-biden-grope-hillary-clinton/

    Some famous Joe Biden gaffes courtesy of the Daily Beast:

    https://710wor.iheart.com/featured/mark-simone/content/2019-04-24-watch-some-dumb-joe-biden-gaffes/

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  76. Unfit:

    North Korea issued a $2 million bill for the hospital care of comatose American Otto Warmbier, insisting that a U.S. official sign a pledge to pay it before being allowed to fly the University of Virginia student from Pyongyang in 2017.
    The presentation of the invoice — not previously disclosed by U.S. or North Korean officials — was extraordinarily brazen even for a regime known for its aggressive tactics.
    But the main U.S. envoy sent to retrieve Warmbier signed an agreement to pay the medical bill on instructions passed down from President Trump, according to two people familiar with the situation.

    Paul Montagu (7968e9)

  77. 74. Of course it’s crazy to say that Trump said that anyone who called themselves a Nazi is fine person. even if one or two sentences he said would logically mean that (because there was nobody else n the killer’s side on that day inn Charlottsville.

    But Democrats of course would have a theory: Dog whistles! Like if you don’t understand it that way, you’re living in abuble – you’re missing out on what everyone knows – you’re out of touch.
    Like everybody knows who was there. Like there’s great big mass movement of such people that Trump might hae wanted to appeal to.

    There are a few other “racism is growing in the United States” type of lies going around.

    If Joe Biden is forced into these lies, or into saying bad things about Trump without checking, there is not too much hope for the Democratc Party to name a decent candidate.

    But actually I would just give him a B minus on this. We’ll see if he keeps up a pattern of lies, and if he endorrses every common false trope that crculates among the Democratc Party faithful.

    Also if he endorses bad policy positions.

    At a minimum, Joe Biden comes across as weak.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  78. Entry interface, Joey-Bee: that time when things slam into the atmosphere– before burning up.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  79. Paul Montagu (7968e9) — 4/25/2019 @ 2:00 pm

    But the main U.S. envoy sent to retrieve Warmbier signed an agreement to pay the medical bill on instructions passed down from President Trump, according to two people familiar with the situation.

    Did the Unted States government pay it??

    And has the North Korean government mentioned it again?

    Or was this like some things the Pueblo crew signed?

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  80. But that just illustrates how dumb we as a country might be for treating a considerable multiple higher of unlawful entrants who breach physical barriers at no cost to the countries in question.
    It is SOP in less developed countries across the left to right spectrum to not release a patient from their room unless a bill is paid (dont know if purchase orders or promissory notes are excepted in lieu of – thank god I faked my way through “guey/cabron” Spanish and had my then wive’s old mica to have our daughter treated at Guadalajara’s equivalent of Parkland or Cook County Stroger back when she had a bad flu).

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  81. Crazy Uncles Joe’s expiration date has already passed !

    The Conservative Curmudgeon (c118b3)

  82. 66… oh, Lord… he’s been triggered…

    Colonel Haiku (39d859)

  83. Did the Unted States government pay it??

    You mean, did Trump welsh on paying ransom to the North Korean tinpot? Typically, if We the People sign a promise to pay, we’re good for it.

    Paul Montagu (7968e9)

  84. If Joe Biden is forced into these lies, or into saying bad things about Trump without checking, there is not too much hope for the Democratc Party to name a decent candidate.

    But actually I would just give him a B minus on this. We’ll see if he keeps up a pattern of lies, and if he endorrses every common false trope that crculates among the Democratc Party faithful.

    Also if he endorses bad policy positions.

    At a minimum, Joe Biden comes across as weak.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75) — 4/25/2019 @ 2:03 pm

    You’re giving the benefit of the doubt to Joe “they’re gonna put y’all in chains” Biden when it comes to lying. Why?

    NJRob (ccc703)

  85. @77. See, our Captain does support a gov’t healthcare plan after all. 😉

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  86. 50. Dave (1bb933) — 4/25/2019 @ 11:06 am

    The fact that they can’t field even a single candidate under 75 who can convincingly pose as a centrist is pretty remarkable.

    Well, there;s Amy Klobuchar.

    https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/02/centrist-democrats-2020-amy-klobuchar-sherrod-brown.html

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  87. 85. NJRob (ccc703) — 4/25/2019 @ 2:40 pm

    You’re giving the benefit of the doubt to Joe “they’re gonna put y’all in chains” Biden when it comes to lying. Why?

    And that reminds me if his statement in the Vice Presidential debate in 2012 that abrtion would be in danger if Romney was elected.

    I just think that the Charlottsville lie, or maybe better, “misrepresentation” unlike some other lies, is not something that every semi-informed person is going to know is a lie. It may not take too much for someone to play again. Semi-apologizing for what he put Anita Hilll through, in my opinion, is worse.

    What everyone should know is that the claim about what Trump meant needs to be verified, although it not clear what Biden would be trying to say. That this was a dog whistle?

    One thing is clear: it’s not original with Biden. Biden just went with the conventional wisdom and may just not have cared to determine whether this was a fair reading of what Trump said or not. He may not realize how unfair it is.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  88. You mean, did Trump welsh on paying ransom to the North Korean tinpot? Typically, if We the People sign a promise to pay, we’re good for it.

    Who’s to say Michael Cohen didn’t send Little Rocket Man a check signed by “David Dennison”?

    Dave (49db1a)

  89. Paul Montagu (7968e9) — 4/25/2019 @ 1:37 pm

    Let’s not gaslight

    Wait, we’re not gaslighting now? Hold on, I need to short some oil stocks if neverTrump is going to stop gaslighting.

    There were no such “very fine people”

    Ah, I see what you’re doing there.

    frosty48 (c141b1)

  90. From his tweet, Donald Trump appears to sense that Joe Biden is not too close to Bill or Hillary Clinton or the Democratic smear machine and wishes him well.

    Anybody not so close is getting attacked I think.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  91. Some things I wanted to say in other threads (but inadvertantly lost my comment)

    @Kevin M: Bill Clinton did not commit perjury in public. That was just lying. He committed perjury inn eitehr an affidavit or a deposition (maybe both) in the Monica Lewisnsky case and later in a closed grand jury room.

    In that grand jury testimony he almost revealed he had committed a federal crime (spying on Starr) before he caught himself. It’s in his testimony but everyone missed this.

    Bill Clinton wanted to cite, as support, Monica Lewinsky’s definition of sex in her not-as-yet released testimony as not including oral sex – but he stopped himself when he realized he was not supposed to know that!

    I think Clinton had informants in Starr’s office and the most important one likely was former 1973 Senate Watergate Committee (Ervin committee) chief counsel Samuel Dash whom Starr had made into some kind of adviser and who knew everything starr was doing.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  92. @ immigration:

    I read anotehr article that said an Indian langage seaking section of Guatemals is being depopulated almost. This makes sense. 30% or whatever are speaking those languages but there are not so many who do.

    Tom Friedman has the same thing in his column. It looks like he is echoing Dem Pary strategists.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  93. There were no such “very fine people”

    But would Trump know that?

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  94. Sad to see Biden starting his campaign with a big lie.

    “Excuse me, they didn’t put themselves down as neo-Nazis, and you had some very bad people in that group. But you also had people that were very fine people on both sides. You had people in that group – excuse me, excuse me, I saw the same pictures you did. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of, to them, a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name.”

    After another question at that press conference, Trump became even more explicit:

    “I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and white nationalists because they should be condemned totally.”

    https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/03/21/trump_didnt_call_neo-nazis_fine_people_heres_proof_139815.html

    David in Cal (0d5a1d)

  95. ‘At that embarrassment of a conference, he downplayed the actual presence of neo-Nazis, and then he said there were “very fine people” on both sides, engaging in a bogus moral equivalency.’
    Paul Montagu (7968e9) — 4/25/2019 @ 1:37 pm

    Jeez, he clearly didn’t realize the Covington kids were there.

    Munroe (e24993)

  96. But would Trump know that?

    Does his ignorance make his comments any better?

    Paul Montagu (7968e9)

  97. 98. Does his ignorance make his comments any better?

    Very much so.

    The Dems weren’t interested in making Trump understand what he said wrong, or in getting him to correct himself – the were interested in impugning Trump is the worst possible way they could even though it didn’t make much sense.

    Sammy Finkelman (30b6b6)

  98. “Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead.” — Teddy Roosevelt

    “It was love [with Kim Jong Un] at first sight.” — Donald Trump

    nk (dbc370)

  99. Head and Shoulders above the rest

    mg (8cbc69)

  100. Very much so.

    So it’s better that Trump was talking out of his a$$ instead of outright lying? How is that, Sammy? He’s a racist either way because he (1) didn’t care about the truth but was willing to defend neo-Nazi racists for no good reason and without any factual basis, or (2) knew the truth but decided to intentionally deceive the American people.

    Paul Montagu (7968e9)

  101. Trump didn’t praise Neo-nazis at Charlottsville, he condemned them. As been pointed out a million times. Biden and the Liberals can blah, blah all they want, but that’s it. Is anyone surprised Joe “Hands” Biden is a liar?

    rcocean (1a839e)

  102. The people that keep hanging on to that disproven Trump/Charlottesville bologna remind me of those that cling to the Covington students were racisty racists hoax. In fact, many appear to be the very same folks.

    Willfully ignorant.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  103. This just in! Commie anus prepares crackdown on lips n’ anus on a bun!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  104. I think it’s hilarious all the people in this thread getting mad that Biden might be lying about Donald “Ted Cruz’s dad was involved in JFK’s assassination” Trump.

    Davethulhu (9847a2)

  105. I think it’s hilarious that people who thought 0bama lying over 100 times about keeping their doctors and their insurance was okay find it hilarious about all the people in this thread getting mad that Biden might be lying about Donald “Ted Cruz’s dad was involved in JFK’s assassination” Trump.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  106. ““Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead.” — Teddy Roosevelt”

    Pure politics if you know the real story. The Brits and the French had refused to support Teddy’s plan and had also convinced the Sultan to give in to the Raisuli’s demands. Teddy had also just been surprised to learn Perdicaris had given up his US citizenship for a Greek one decades earlier.

    Roosevelt said “This government wants Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead” to save face at the Republican National Convention, which not only saved face but had the crowd roaring in approval.

    The govt didn’t even disclose Perdicaris’ true citizenship till 1933.

    harkin (58d012)

  107. if you support lying/groping joe Biden you can no longer complain about Trump. I think that’s how this works.

    kaf (c408bb)

  108. “I think it’s hilarious”

    I’m glad I could lift your spirits, Haiku. Turn that frown upside down.

    Davethulhu (9847a2)

  109. “if you support lying/groping joe Biden you can no longer complain about Trump. I think that’s how this works.”

    this works both ways, luckily I don’t support Joe Biden.

    Davethulhu (9847a2)

  110. Democrats trying to preserve their Confederate past versus other Democrats trying to erase it, is the most nearly accurate description of Charlottesville.

    nk (dbc370)

  111. FFS… what’s next, Joe Biden!?!? https://twitter.com/mad_liberals/status/1121386993068519426

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  112. But I’ll accept “assholes who should get jobs” too.

    nk (dbc370)

  113. “Democrats trying to preserve their Confederate past ”

    Keep telling yourself this. “Unite the Right” was not a Democratic rally.

    Davethulhu (9847a2)

  114. 110… Squidtastic, baby! 🦑

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  115. Trump didn’t praise Neo-nazis at Charlottsville, he condemned them.

    He specifically said there were “very fine people” protesting at Charlottesville. The people at those “protests” were pretty much all neo-Nazis and white nationalists.

    Paul Montagu (7968e9)

  116. As I noted in a previous thread some time ago, Camille Paglia observed in 2016 that if Trump won the election, it would destroy the power structure of both the Democratic and Republican parties. And it has.

    If the power brokers, big money donors and superdelegates at the DNC were smart and really wanted to take back the White House, they would have recruited a centrist governor from a prominent state. Not that there are very many Democrats who fit that bill, but a candidate like that would win “bigly.”

    None of the younger Democrats have any kind of real chance of winning the election, nor do the older retreads. Biden may have the best opportunity to return midwestern, blue collar swing voters back to the fold, but Obama nostalgia is a losing strategy.

    As much as I despise Hillary Clinton, her op-ed in the Washington Post did offer some sound advice. The Democrats should use their majority in the House to issue subpoenas, hold hearings and conduct investigations, build the case for impeachment over the next year. Trump will fight back tooth and nail, of course, resulting in long, drawn out legal battles, but then that’s the point.

    Dissatisfaction with Trump is incredibly high among the electorate, and sensible people of both parties. He really isn’t that popular, nor are his policies and rhetoric, and his base is shrinking.

    The GOP is in a perilous dilemma. Every representative is up for election to the House, but Republicans have to defend far more seats in the Senate–the opposite of 2016. Perhaps the Democrats are playing the long game. They’re not thinking of regaining the White House, but of maintaining their majority in House and retaking the majority in the Senate. That would be the worse case scenario for Trump. Biden may not win the election, but he could usher in a Congressional majority. Having built the case for impeachment over two years, the Democrats would then surely pounce, while the Republicans destroy themselves defending the indefensible Trump.

    Howbeit, the president’s legislative agenda is dead in the water for the next two years, and probably the four after, if he survives the onslaught of scrutiny and oversight which is sure to come.

    The only benefit I see to Trump’s election is that it will force Congress to reign in the executive branch. Because this sh!t is getting way out of order.

    Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1)

  117. Meanwhile…..

    St. Louis, MO – Just hours after a nonprofit group posted bail for a man accused of assaulting his wife, the suspect went to the woman’s home and brutally murdered her, according to prosecutors.

    Samuel Lee Scott, 54, was arrested for domestic abuse on April 5, after he allegedly beat 54-year-old Marcia Johnson, injuring her cheekbone and ear, the Associated Press reported…..

    ….The Bail Project Executive Director Robin Steinberg said the group was “deeply saddened” by Johnson’s murder, but said that they were in no way responsible for what had occurred.

    “No one could have predicted this tragedy,” Steinberg claimed, according to the Associated Press…..

    …..St. Louis Bail Project site manager Mike Milton also released a statement in the wake of the brutal murder, and argued that the group’s cause was more important than Johnson’s murder, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

    https://defensemaven.io/bluelivesmatter/news/nonprofit-pays-bail-for-man-who-attacked-his-wife-hours-later-he-murders-her-44H_wmJSukiGfnpPa5q4Vw/

    harkin (58d012)

  118. “Howbeit, the president’s legislative agenda is dead in the water for the next two years, and probably the four after, if he survives the onslaught of scrutiny and oversight which is sure to come.”

    Mission accomplished Barack.

    harkin (58d012)

  119. John Havlicek, RIP 🙏

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  120. Ooh, poor Donald, the Democrats rained on his parade and he got wet.
    OR
    Horsesh!t! That’s just an excuse for an ineffectual Fifth Avenue fancyboy’s incompetence.

    nk (dbc370)

  121. Trump didn’t praise Neo-nazis at Charlottsville, he condemned them. As been pointed out a million times. Biden and the Liberals can blah, blah all they want, but that’s it.

    If you take his words at face value, Trump thought non-white supremacists (that is, people who wanted to preserve statues for reasons of historical importance, and no other reason) were present at the Unite the Right rally. There were none, so that means he can’t figure out someone is a neoNazi when he sees them marching in full goosestep.

    If you are okay with a POTUS with mental acuity problems like that, that’s your business. I am not.

    Kishnevi (8f5d8c)

  122. But let’s say it’s true. Sincerely, now. That Trump’s legislative agenda is dead in the water for the next two to six years. Shouldn’t he step out of the way and let another Republican President take over? Now that he’s nothing more than dead weight?

    nk (dbc370)

  123. You may have noticed that we haven’t had the luxury of voting for “a desirable candidate” recently…

    FIFY

    Kevin M (21ca15)

  124. If you are okay with a POTUS with mental acuity problems like that, that’s your business. I am not.

    You’d prefer a steel-trap mind that wanted to strip you of all you hold dear, instead?

    Asking for a friend.

    Kevin M (21ca15)

  125. No, just basic competency.

    Trump seems to not even clear that bar.

    Kishnevi (8f5d8c)

  126. Alright. There are TWENTY-THREE candidates for president.

    Two Republicans:
    Donald Trump
    Bill Weld

    Twenty Democrats:
    Joe Biden
    Cory Booker
    Pete Buttigieg
    Julián Castro
    John Delaney
    Tulsi Gabbard
    Kirsten Gillibrand
    Mike Gravel
    Kamala Harris
    John Hickenlooper
    Jay Inslee
    Amy Klobuchar
    Wayne Messam
    Seth Moulton
    Beto O’Rourke
    Tim Ryan
    Eric Swalwell
    Elizabeth Warren
    Marianne Williamson
    Andrew Yang

    And one Communist running as a Democrat
    Bernie Sanders

    ======================================

    Pick the candidate of each party closest to your views, then the one who will win the nomination.

    Closest: Bill Weld and Donald Tr … oh wait, a Democrat. Hmmmn. Never mind. It sucks already.
    Who will win the nominations? Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, which will prove Wallace wrong.

    Kevin M (21ca15)

  127. Let’s talk for a minute about mental acuity.

    How stupid does Trump think his supporters must be to swallow the glaring contradictions contained in this pair of tweets:

    As has been incorrectly reported by the Fake News Media, I never told then White House Counsel Don McGahn to fire Robert Mueller, even though I had the legal right to do so. If I wanted to fire Mueller, I didn’t need McGahn to do it, I could have done it myself. Nevertheless,….— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2019

    ….Mueller was NOT fired and was respectfully allowed to finish his work on what I, and many others, say was an illegal investigation (there was no crime), headed by a Trump hater who was highly conflicted, and a group of 18 VERY ANGRY Democrats. DRAIN THE SWAMP!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2019

    To believe that Trump has treated Mueller respectfully, you’d have to have been locked in an internet-proof closet for the last two years. He can’t manage to maintain “respect” from one clause to the next in the same damned sentence, much less for two days in a row.

    And whatever media, fake or otherwise, is reporting on the Mueller report, the report itself is crystal clear in its references to the witnesses and sources, including documentary evidence, and they’re from people with first-hand access granted them by Trump, including but by no means limited to his White House counsel (McGann) and chief of staff (Priebus).

    And yes, good lawyers actually do take notes; there are no exceptions!

    It bothers me a lot that Trump’s mental acuity is so spectacularly bad. What leaves me still puzzled, however, is why all the people who he’s insulting — that is, everyone who he thinks might believe this stuff, despite it’s palpable falsity — continue to eat it up with a spoon instead of taking the offense they should.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  128. Blech. Let’s try that again:

    What leaves me still puzzled, however, is why all the people whom he’s insulting — that is, everyone whom he thinks might believe this stuff, despite its palpable falsity — continue to eat it up with a spoon instead of taking the offense they should.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  129. Pick the candidate of each party closest to your views, then the one who will win the nomination.

    You left out Larry Hogan, and he’s only closer to my views because the incumbent has zero character. Trump and some Democrat will win the nomination, and then I’ll pick a GOP write-in or Libertarian who isn’t a nutjob.

    Paul Montagu (7968e9)

  130. What leaves me still puzzled, however, is why all the people whom he’s insulting — that is, everyone whom he thinks might believe this stuff, despite its palpable falsity — continue to eat it up with a spoon instead of taking the offense they should.

    A lot more people should have been offended when Trump told them he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose their support. Instead, they have mostly seemed willing to prove him correct.

    Radegunda (9a5cd5)

  131. The new federal case in Massachusetts that mg mentioned above (#69) regarding obstruction of justice is an interesting one, regarding which I earnestly solicit reactions, if any, from fellow commenters, especially those (like nk and our host) with criminal court experience.

    The defendant state-court judge is alleged in the federal indictment (hattip Volohk) to have conspired with the defendant courtroom officer (aka bailiff) in April 2018 to prevent a plain-clothes ICE officer from apprehending, for immediate deportation, an illegal alien who’d been twice deported already and was under an order forbidding reentry through 2027. The judge allegedly instructed the court reporter to turn off the recording system, then directed the officer to secretly release the defendant from a rear “sally-port” exit in order to avoid his arrest by the ICE officer; the judge allegedly also instructed another court staffer to affirmatively misrepresent to the ICE officer where the defendant would be released.

    In other words, short of pulling out her cellphone to order him up an Uber with a getaway driver, it’s hard to imagine — at least based on the allegations in the indictment, which are quite detailed and specific — how much more blatantly this state-court judge could have interfered with the enforcement of federal immigration law. But then she (allegedly) lied about it before a grand jury.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  132. I’ll bet the bailiff flips.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  133. Govna Baker is a stooge for nominating this hack. Baker has more support from democrats than republicans in Massachusetts. I hope the bailiff squeals, Beldar.

    mg (8cbc69)

  134. We have a rare moment of complete agreement, mg. I expect this indictment will be much discussed at courthouses around the nation tomorrow, including — and hopefully especially — in sanctuary cities, and that is a very good thing.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  135. @128. Twenty-three??

    “The day ain’t over yet…” – Curly [Jack Palance] ‘City Slickers’ 1991

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  136. My thoughts exactly , Beldar. Those sanctuary cities and all judges as well as bailiffs have been put in the spotlight.

    mg (8cbc69)

  137. Ma. AG Maura Healy says its grandstanding by the feds. This state is so screwed up. The courts are a waste bag.

    mg (8cbc69)

  138. Groper joe? Clintonista lib/dykes must be desperate for establishment candidate to fight off bernie sanders wing of party. Groper joe says he is man of the people at wealthy donors fund raiser. Anita hill tells groper joe you just decided to apologize when you decide to run for president? apology unaccepted. Like hillary decides to apologize for her iraq war vote when anti war democrats flock to obama.

    lany (c0e37c)

  139. People voting Joe will be happy to know they have esteemed lawyer Avenatti voting Joe as well.
    What a country…

    mg (8cbc69)

  140. A few degrees OT but someone on last night’s Instapundit open thread started insinuating that Pence had knowledge of and brooked no resistance to an FBI surveillance operation against the President and that several Dem, NT and RelucTrump politicians were given special envelopes at the Bush memorial service.

    urbanleftbehind (29c1c0)

  141. that sounds like Q – anon stuff.

    Don’t think Pence has the cajones to do anything but sit there and look constipated.

    JRH (52aed3)

  142. ok upon reflection you didn’t say Pence *did* anything. Still sounds like fiction.

    JRH (52aed3)

  143. 134. I don’t think it matters all that much if the bailiff does flip — although I do think that testimony would prove to be pretty interesting. The evidence against the judge is damning and the defense seems to amount to little more than “I’m above the law.”

    Gryph (08c844)

  144. Beldar @133
    I think it would make for a good Moot Court case, revolving around the substantive question of “corruptly attempt to obstruct, influence, and impede an official proceeding, to wit, an ICE federal removal proceeding”, and I imagine a likewise good case for young AUSAs to hone their trial skills. 😉 I don’t think it’s cut and dried, but on the other hand I have no experience with the federal law of obstruction of justice to base that “thunk” on.

    The judge and the defense lawyer would both be professionally disciplined in Illinois for 1) engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation, and 2) engaging in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice. That I am pretty sure of.

    nk (dbc370)

  145. Veeeeery interesting:

    https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2019/04/18/robert-mueller-interviewed-president-trump-six-days-after-criminal-obstruction-investigation-began/

    The TL;DR version is that ginning up an obstruction charge on Trump pre-dated the naming of a SC and that investigation was begun by McCabe the day after Comey got canned. Within 72 hours, McCabe lied to Congress about said investigation (by never mentioning it when asked a direct question about it by Sen. Rubio) and Rosenstein was on board with a special counsel. In less than a week, Rosenstein and Mueller were in the Oval Office under the pretense of Mueller getting Comey’s job but in reality conducting a pre-SC fishing expedition to see what they could drum up (Sundance believes that Mueller illegally brought a recording device in with him; a fact that McCabe surreptitiously hinted at in his book to keep from being a fall-guy).

    All the journalists with a modicum of integrity have been saying that the MUH RUSHYA COLLUSION investigation stalled out within the first six months of Mueller taking the SC job and that after that all resources went into ‘investigating’ Trump on obstruction charges.

    This article takes it one step further: that it was always about the obstruction investigation and the collusion narrative was just a smokescreen and goad to elicit an actionable offense from Trump. With this in mind, a lot of actions by Mueller’s office and its allies in the DOJ and press take on a whole new meaning. All the gaslighting, the all the threats of indictments with no action, all the talk of ‘X is cooperating fully and what he’s saying is explosive’ or ‘we have tapes’, the constant talk of arresting Don Jr.: every bit of it was just a massive head-fake to try and get the president to do something rash like pardon Cohen or fire Rosenstein and/or Mueller upon which they could hang an obstruction charge.

    And Trump didn’t fall for any of it! He was patient and bided his time. He protested his innocence on social media but never once took action against the investigation or hindered Mueller in any way. Belying the caricature of him being a tantrum-throwing baby, Trump showed incredible self-control and discipline while he was poked and prodded by his enemies. Now that Mueller has closed up shop and Trump has an AG that actually backs up his boss (I can’t say for certain that Barr’s nomination was the main reason Mueller wrapped it up but it is one heck of a coincidence that those two events occurred around the same time), that patience is paying dividends as Trump can come out of his corner swinging with the moral strength of an innocent man defamed and actual crimes that can be investigated and prosecuted.

    All those cops and ‘intelligence’ agents playing mafia games and Trump was just doing business legitimately the entire time.

    Eliot Ness Cosplayer (2c9b36)

  146. How to identify a Trump Kool-Aid drinker: When he says, “Trump showed incredible self-control and discipline…”

    Paul Montagu (7968e9)

  147. “The judge and the defense lawyer would both be professionally disciplined in Illinois….”
    nk (dbc370) — 4/26/2019 @ 7:45 am

    That doesn’t seem to work so well in blue states. To wit:
    https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2017/06/court_officials_find_no_violat.html?outputType=amp

    Unless the Feds step in, from a particular kind of Federal administration (do you think a Bush regime would get involved?), I wouldn’t expect anything to be done.

    Munroe (4b25e2)

  148. Another woman judge, eh?

    Arrested on a charge of immigration,
    Armando never took the witness stand
    Lady judge turned to her bailiff
    Said you free that brown eyed man
    You want your job you better free that brown eyed man

    Way back in history three thousand years
    Back every since the world began
    There’s been a whole lot of good women shed a tear
    For a brown eyed handsome man
    That’s what the trouble was brown eyed handsome man

    nk (dbc370)

  149. Trump and Charlottesville.

    DRJ (15874d)

  150. How to identify a Trump Kool-Aid drinker: When he says, “Trump showed incredible self-control and discipline…”

    I figured it had to be satire…

    Dave (1bb933)

  151. I dunno, Paul and Dave. “Trump”, “self-control”, and “discipline”, in the same breath, sounds pretty incredible to me.

    nk (dbc370)

  152. It’s almost as incredible as Biden’s video, aka let’s make America great again-again: electric boogaloo II the Obama version.

    frosty48 (c141b1)

  153. That is our serial commenter. He comes and goes.

    DRJ (15874d)

  154. Elliott: “all the talk of ‘X is cooperating fully and what he’s saying is explosive…”

    But none of this was coming out of Mueller’s office….and none of it was coming out of news organizations reporting only facts…..all of it was coming out of organizations doing news analysis…which is code for speculation and spinning. The problem is that we can no longer tell the difference between facts and speculation….and we get manipulated because “the media” needs to push our buttons to get us compulsively tuning in…and being outraged.

    There are commenters here who will never acknowledge that Mueller’s investigation had any legitimate basis/purpose. These are people who live in the spin cycle…and can’t get beyond partisanship. Our democracy stalls if we can’t objectively and critically assess facts….whether it supports our side or not.

    AJ_Liberty (ec7f74)

  155. I skimmed through that indictment, Beldar. What were that judge and staffer thinking?

    Interestingly, the indictment doesn’t name the illegal alien involved, but uses the initials A.S., for “alien subject.” Who was this guy? He had been deported twice before, and was under an order of denial of re-entry, but he was arrested on warrant out of Pennsylvania for drug possession. No mention is made of his country of origin or nationality, but I seriously doubt he was from Mexico or Central America.

    Nor do I believe entered the country repeatedly through the supposed hotbed of illegal immigration, McAllen, Texas. This is why that idea is such a joke. All these reporters come flocking down here to cover illegal immigration, like they have a clue. Here’s the thing. McAllen is where the headquarter for Customs and Border Patrol for all of South Texas is located, meaning that’s where the arrests for illegal entry are recorded, not where they are made. South Texas covers an immense area, from Laredo to Corpus Christi south, larger than several states combined. Laredo, which has the largest truck stop in the country, is where most illegal entry and contraband flows through, because it offers easier access to the interior, and it’s almost 200 miles north from McAllen. Same with Corpus Christi, except it’s a port city. However, all arrests made in both and along the border are recorded by the CBP in McAllen. (El Paso, which is over 800 miles north, is another area illegal entry and contraband flows through, but arrests made there are not recorded here.)

    Massachusetts is more that 2,000 miles from McAllen. That’s a hell of a drive or a bus trip, so unless this guy took a plane, I don’t see how he could have gotten from here to there. Unless he had a lot of money, was working for a cartel perhaps, and used a fake passport for re-entry. That I can believe.

    It was about ten years ago when I got this assignment on a repossessed home in McAllen. It was relatively easy to find, a nice two-story house in a gated community. I met the locksmith, rekeyed and secured the house, and as I was walking around, taking pictures and notes, the a/c contractor showed up to inspect. He came downstairs with a cigar box he had found in the ducts, inside of which were twenty forged passports for some mean-looking, ugly people. Okay, that required two days of interviews with the US Marshalls, the DEA, the ATF, and the Texas Rangers. But what could I tell them? I didn’t know who the owner or any of these people were. All I did was secure the house, perform a walk-through inspection, and the a/c guy found this cigar box with these passports.

    This is what I’m talking about. Illegal immigration is a far more complicated issue than most people will allow. Building a Wall, at tremendous construction and maintenance cost, will not solve the problem.

    Even worse, I got an assignment on a repossessed home just two years ago. This one was more difficult to find, because it was on extra-county land, not recorded in any subdivision. All I had to go by was a rural route number, and it was way out in the middle of nowhere, outside of Rio Grande City. I finally found it, by taking an unmarked dirt road off the two-lane highway. A 5,000 sf, two-story mansion in the middle of one acre on a 17-acre tract. Inside, it was stunning. There was literally millions of dollars worth of fine, hand crafted, custom made furnishings, all imported from Europe–sofas, chairs, desks, cabinets, living, dining and bedroom sets, exquisite crystal and fine china, ivory sinks and tubs with gold faucets.

    It took me week and some serious research to figure it all out. The actual owner was a plaza boss for the Gulf Cartel; he had put the property under his wife’s, a school teacher’s, name. He had been busted by the DEA in 1994, made a deal with the Feds so that his wife could keep the house. He died in prison in 1996, and she took out a reverse mortgage because her salary couldn’t cover the payments. When the loan was foreclosed on, she disappeared.

    And I get this assignment ten years after the fact? I found and inspected it, but there’s nothing I can with it. I cannot remove any of the personal property, by law, nor can I list or sell it. I can’t even submit a price opinion. I’m just the guy who found and secured it, amidst all this federal hypocrisy, and I don’t get paid for all the work I did.

    Meanwhile, this middle-class couple, who owned their home and started a business, pursued the American Dream, get everything taken away from them due to asset forfeiture, because their teenage college student son was busted for possession of less than a quarter ounce of marijuana. The Police seized everything–their house, their business, their bank accounts. Does that make any sense to you? This drug lord, or his wife, gets to keep his house and all its belongings, while this family gets robbed of everything.

    That’s a real problem for me. Biden is on the record supporting asset forfeiture and the death penalty for drug dealers. That’s a real problem for him.

    Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1)

  156. “But none of this was coming out of Mueller’s office”

    If the news report wasn’t stamped with ‘The Special Counsel’s Office and The Special Counsel Robert Mueller Himself Approves This Message’ than obviously none of it had their approval, it’s not like they were issuing specific corrections to specific overheated news reports late in the game when they were running out of time and credibility, and certainly not like any of the people actually doing wok on it had connections with Adam Schiff or his media buddies.

    If there’s one thing we know about the media errand boys, it’s that they act totally on their own, no outside incentives, totally isolated, no coordination or collusion between them, even when their messaging is word-for-word the same.

    Elliot Ness Cosplayer (ff23e4)

  157. GG/Beldar: The A.S. in question in the Massachusetts case was a Dominican Republic national, who are by geographical constraint usually Visa overstays (due to flying in, though there is some complicated sea route involving first getting to Puerto Rico and assuming an alias on the island before traveling to the mainland US). But yes he was a pretty big drug figure, so who knows if he was directed first to Mexico or Colombia for “papering”, much as Yasiel Puig (Cuba to Mexico, but was held in abeyance by cartel figures until they got a finders fee from an organization).

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  158. “Meanwhile, this middle-class couple, who owned their home and started a business, pursued the American Dream, get everything taken away from them due to asset forfeiture, because their teenage college student son was busted for possession of less than a quarter ounce of marijuana.”

    Doesn’t sound like anything’s wrong, this is just what we call ‘a successful application of the Rule of Law.'[yers]

    Elliot Ness Cosplayer (744b80)

  159. I figured it had to be satire…

    Kinda like “Donald Trump has been our most biblical president,” or “Trump’s greatest quality is compassion,” or “Trump tells it like it is,” and countless others.

    Radegunda (9a5cd5)

  160. PowerLine’s Hinderaker took another look at the assertion that Trump ordered McGahn to fire Mueller.

    He writes (and, yes, he misspells McGahn’s name):
    “If the quotes attributed to McGhan are correct, it appears that President Trump directed him to try to persuade Rod Rosenstein that Mueller had a conflict and should be discharged as special counsel–not that McGhan himself should fire Mueller or order Rosenstein to do so, something that the White House counsel would not have the power to do. Thus, McGhan’s response that he “would see what he could do” was appropriate.

    “The Mueller Report says, initially, that “[o]n Saturday, June 17, 2017, the President called McGahn and directed him to have the Special Counsel removed.” But if you keep reading, that description is wrong. Rather, Trump “directed him to call Rosenstein and say that Mueller had conflicts that precluded him from serving as Special Counsel.” Trump told McGhan to make an argument to Rosenstein, not to deliver an order to Rosenstein. Mueller gets it right the second time when he refers to the president’s “order to call the Department of Justice.” (bold added)

    “Whether Mueller had a conflict of interest that should have disqualified him from serving as special counsel is hotly debated, but in any event, it was not unreasonable for President Trump to hold the view that he had a conflict. Nor was it unreasonable for him to consider it possible that Rosenstein could be persuaded that that opinion was correct. I don’t see anything wrong with dispatching his White House counsel to take the matter up with Rosenstein.”

    https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/04/did-trump-try-to-fire-mueller.php

    Thoughts?

    ColoComment (b48a15)

  161. How stupid does Trump think his supporters must be to swallow the glaring contradictions contained in this pair of tweets

    He knows they don’t really care.

    Kevin M (21ca15)

  162. Interestingly, the indictment doesn’t name the illegal alien involved, but uses the initials A.S., for “alien subject.” Who was this guy? He had been deported twice before, and was under an order of denial of re-entry, but he was arrested on warrant out of Pennsylvania for drug possession. No mention is made of his country of origin or nationality, but I seriously doubt he was from Mexico or Central America.

    Medina-Perez, a twice-deported illegal immigrant with a fugitive warrant for drunken driving in Pennsylvania, had been in Joseph’s courtroom in order to be arraigned on drug charges, the Boston Globe previously reported.

    Medina-Perez was the subject of an ICE detainer — a written request to hold an individual wanted for deportation for up to 48 hours — and an ICE agent was waiting in the lobby of the courthouse to detain Medina-Perez after the arraignment, officials said. But during the hearing, Joseph asked Medina-Perez’s attorney “ICE is going to get him?,” according to courtroom recordings obtained by the Boston Globe in December and released in court documents Thursday.

    Medina-Perez’s lawyer was also heard telling Joseph “ICE will pick him up if he walks out the front door. But I think the best thing for us to do is clear the fugitive issue and release him on a personal, and hope that he can avoid ICE…That’s the best I can do.”

    “What if we detain him?” the judge asked before requesting the clerk to turn off the courtroom’s audio recorder, leaving nearly a minute unrecorded.

    Minutes later, Medina-Perez’s attorney said his client “has some property downstairs” and needed to speak to an interpreter, which Joseph allowed.

    MacGregor then used his security access card to escort Medina-Perez out of the courthouse without being seen by the ICE agent, officials said.

    “With the recorder off, defendant Joseph and the Defense Attorney discussed devising a way to have A.S. [Medina-Perez] avoid being arrested by the ICE officer,” court documents stated.

    https://www.foxnews.com/us/massachusetts-judge-who-helped-illegal-immigrant-escape-ice-arrest-indicted-federal-authorities-say

    Kevin M (21ca15)

  163. He knows they don’t really care.

    Reality is just speed-bump on the road to American Greatness!

    Dave (1bb933)

  164. But (same link):

    Medina-Perez’s freedom was short-lived. He was arrested a month later after the court hearing and again let go, this time by an immigration judge who freed him on bond, the Boston Globe reported. That case is currently pending, officials said. The 38-year-old native of the Dominican Republic had been previously deported in January 2003 and June 2007, ICE said. His real name is Oscar Manuel Peguero, although he goes by several aliases.

    Kevin M (21ca15)

  165. Now, why did an immigration judge release him on bond? There is utterly no way that he can avoid deportation, is there?

    Kevin M (21ca15)

  166. Reality is just speed-bump on the road to American Greatness!

    This is not unique to the GOP. At least Trump’s policies are understandable, if occasionally misguided. The Democratic Left is plowing virgin ground.

    Kevin M (21ca15)

  167. https://reason.com/2019/04/24/trump-is-a-victim-of-his-own-dishonesty/

    I was never much impressed by the evidence of “collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russia, an allegation that was conclusively debunked by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report, which was released by the Justice Department last Thursday. The one thing that made me think there might be something to the conspiracy theory was the fact that Trump kept denying it.
    The president’s habitual dishonesty justifies a rebuttable presumption that the truth is the opposite of whatever he says. That rule of thumb led many of his critics astray in this case, but it also illustrates the practical advantages of telling the truth, since Trump’s weaselly ways prolonged the Russia investigation and lent credence to the suspicion that he had something to hide

    Kishnevi (682c47)

  168. Over 6 million raised in the first 24 hours. Nice haul.

    mg (8cbc69)

  169. Joe stumbled through everything but the propaganda:

    https://youtu.be/9PH5LhMCvyM

    harkin (a741df)

  170. “You had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides. … I saw the same pictures as you did. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of, to them, a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name. … So you know what, it’s fine. You’re changing history. You’re changing culture. And you had people — and I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and the White nationalists, because they should be condemned totally — but you had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and White nationalists. Okay? And the press has treated them absolutely unfairly. Now, in the other group also, you had some fine people. But you also had troublemakers, and you see them come with the black outfits and with the helmets and with the baseball bats. You had a lot of bad people in the other group.”

    Trump’s Charlottesville comments twisted by Joe Biden and the media

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/04/26/joe-biden-donald-trump-charlotttesville-fine-people-neo-nazis-column/3588970002/

    harkin (a741df)

  171. Doesn’t fit the narrative, harkin.

    Colonel Haiku (951ecf)

  172. Dang …and I thought the odds were good they’d actually show up given the coach an d 2 of its key players, despite the optic:

    http://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/virginias-national-championship-basketball-team-will-not-celebrate-title-with-white-house-visit/

    urbanleftbehind (29c1c0)

  173. And later that TV season: http://youtu.be/3WFCSGavQSk

    urbanleftbehind (72eba6)

  174. Thoughts?

    My thoughts are that the folks at Powerline are Trump-bedazzled hacks who sold their souls to bend their collective knees to Trump’s iron throne. The fact is that McGahn and seven others–on the record and under oath–testified that Trump ordered McGahn to fire Mueller, and which was corroborated by contemporaneous notes and phone records (link).

    Paul Montagu (7968e9)

  175. The SNL skit was better than In Living Color, but Carrey did his goofy best.

    Paul Montagu (7968e9)

  176. Nambla will be next to endorse Joe Plugs.

    mg (8cbc69)

  177. @178. Funnier still; all the “senators” in that skit – “Heflin,” “Kennedy,” “Simon,” and “Thurmond” are long, frigging dead — except ol’man and newly minted presidential candidate, Joe Biden.

    “Meet the future.” – Butch Cassidy [Paul Newman] ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ 1969

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  178. Scott Adams does a pretty good job breaking down the “fine people” thing in a recent YouTube video. I wonder if he reads this blog since he described some of the responses here almost verbatim.

    frosty48 (aa452c)

  179. Trump ordered McGahn to fire Mueller

    I like the analysis of the magic word defense. Sort of reminds me of the exonerate discussion.

    Strangely, ordering McGahn to fire Mueller actually did not happen. Ordered McGahn to convince RR to fire him is more correct but why quibble with little things like that right?

    frosty48 (aa452c)

  180. Firing Mueller – personally or by ordering staff to do it – would be within legal bounds, I’ve read.

    Colonel Haiku (951ecf)

  181. Business Insider:

    President Donald Trump repeatedly ordered White House counsel Don McGahn to fire special counsel Robert Mueller in 2017 and 2018, and then asked McGahn to release a statement denying that Trump had done so, according to Mueller’s Russia investigation report.

    McGahn reportedly refused to do so.

    On June 17, 2017, Trump called McGahn at home and “directed him to call the Acting Attorney General and say that the Special Counsel had conflicts of interest and must be removed,” the report found.

    That does not sound like Trump only wanted McGahn to convince someone to fire Mueller.

    DRJ (15874d)

  182. Strangely, ordering Tom Hagen to hit Don Barzini actually did not happen. Ordered Tom Hagen to convince Luca Brasi to hit him is more correct but why quibble with little things like that right?

    I almost give Trump credit for knowing he needed a cutout, but only almost. It has to be cutout who’ll keep his mouth shut and won’t flip.

    nk (dbc370)

  183. Whether efforts to fire Mueller are obstruction depends on the totality of the facts and circumstances. For example:

    Efforts to fire Mueller

    Obstructive act (p. 87): Former White House Counsel Don McGahn is a “credible witness” in providing evidence that Trump indeed attempted to fire Mueller. This “would qualify as an obstructive act” if the firing “would naturally obstruct the investigation and any grand jury proceedings that might flow from the inquiry.”

    Nexus (p. 89): “Substantial evidence” indicates that, at this point, Trump was aware that “his conduct was under investigation by a federal prosecutor who could present any evidence of federal crimes to a grand jury.”

    Intent (p. 89): “Substantial evidence indicates that the President’s attempts to remove the Special Counsel were linked to the Special Counsel’s oversight of investigations that involved the President’s conduct[.]”

    DRJ (15874d)

  184. NK, I think part of why Trump isn’t more effective is because he wants to maintain deniability in so many instances. Clear instructions that he’ll follow through on don’t leave him any wiggle room if there’s push back. So it’s competing camps and ambiguity that will allow him to say something wasn’t really his idea.

    A current example is the competing immigration plans under Miller and Kushner. He’s not tied to either one.

    I suspect he could have gotten a lot more when GOP had both houses if he’d picked a direction, owned it, and sold his supporters on the idea that he’d gotten the best possible deal and the results are awesome.

    Time123 (b87ded)

  185. He can rouse the rabble to make him their leader but he can’t lead.

    nk (dbc370)

  186. Especially when all those disloyal officers sneak into the wardroom and steal the strawberries.

    nk (dbc370)

  187. Trump really needs more people up his ass, it’s that important.

    Colonel Haiku (951ecf)

  188. Time123,

    That may be true. I certainly thought that Trump’s vagueness was a strategy to be all things to all people, but now I think he is just profoundly ignorant but thinks he knows everything. I suspect he would be telling us that he knows more than all his advisers if Obama hadn’t said it first.

    DRJ (15874d)

  189. I never said he didn’t intend to get him fired. I said he (Trump) didn’t order McGahn to fire Mueller.

    The original claim was Trump ordered McGahn to fire Mueller. Are we sticking with that or have we shifted to Trump intended to get Mueller fired and we’re saying those two statements are exactly the same?

    frosty48 (aa452c)

  190. Are we sticking with that or have we shifted to Trump intended to get Mueller fired and we’re saying those two statements are exactly the same?

    Neither. There was both an intent and an act. The act being ordering McGahn to convince Rosenstein to fire Mueller.

    Materially, there is no difference. No more than paying your light bill in person at the electric company or having the mailman deliver a check.

    nk (dbc370)

  191. I almost give Trump credit for knowing he needed a cutout, but only almost. It has to be cutout who’ll keep his mouth shut and won’t flip.

    McGahn isn’t a war consigliere.

    Dave (1bb933)

  192. 191. Trump has said he knows more about taxes, the courts, social media, campaign finance, TV, lawsuits, politicians, debt, trade, ‘the system,’ renewables, infrastructure, money, democrats, construction, the economy, and drones, than anybody. I assume that includes his advisers.

    JRH (52aed3)

  193. Materially, there is no difference. No more than paying your light bill in person at the electric company or having the mailman deliver a check.

    But if you mailed in your check and then said you paid it in person you’d be lying.

    Just like you’d be lying if you said Trump ordered McGahn to fire Mueller.

    I’m not saying it’s a material lie. But if you’re making a case against Trump lying it’s best to avoid lying as part of that.

    frosty48 (cde3e1)

  194. Frosty,

    I think ordered/directed/asked/suggested are very similar here. The answer to if the words amount to obstruction is probably something a jury would have to decide.

    The point is, it’s what he wanted a subordinate to do.

    Time123 (d54166)

  195. 194.

    194.I almost give Trump credit for knowing he needed a cutout, but only almost. It has to be cutout who’ll keep his mouth shut and won’t flip.

    If that’s what Trump wanted, he could have gotten it. McGahn didn’t volunteer anything. He was subpoenaed. Trump could have claimed executive privilege (and litigated that) but that would cause political problems for one thing and he had been told by his lawyers that Mueller would clear him, as in fact he did really, in the end. And he was told that the more he co-operated with Mueller the sooner it would happen, but it didn’t happen anywhere nearly as fast as they kept telling him.

    McGahn later told Trump that this conversation was not covered by attorney client privilege.

    What happened was that Trump had probably heard on TV somewhere that Mueller had a conflict of iterest with regard to him (Trump) because he’s once been on the opposite side of a lawsuit or something. Whatever it was, it was not something that was considered to call for a recusal.

    Trump wanted McGahn to go to Rosenstein and tell him that Mueller should be removed because of this conflict of interest. (now it probably wasn’t this conflict of interest that bothered Trump – that was just an excuse – but his friendship with Comey and hiring of mostly Democrats and other
    things)

    Trump also wanted McGahn to tell Attorney General Sessions that he should limit the scope of the Mueller inquiry and to start or re-open an investigation of Hillary (if I got this right, secondhand)

    Sammy Finkelman (30b6b6)

  196. Trump’s problem is that he didn’t understand that in Government – as opposed to business – Loyalty in No.1 In Government its the most important attribute. Its better to have a 2nd rate loyal lawyer, than a 1st rate traitor. In business, loyalty isn’t the most important attribute. Betraying Trump Enterprises to who exactly?

    So Trump hired Rosenstein, Sessions, and McGahn and got screwed big time. Because their first loyalty was to themselves and not the POTUS. IN fact the Mueller Report shows these lawyers wouldn’t take a single ounce of risk to protect Trump. They were all for themselves. Of course, Sessions in typical Republican Dumbo fashion has pleased no one. Trumpsters hate, lIberals still hate him, Never Trumpers hate him. But he has his precious “ethics” to hold on to, while he fades into obscurity.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  197. “Truth over lies…” crows Plagiarist Joe;
    Where the Allegheny meets the O-HI-o.

    Hilarious, “folks.”

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  198. Is michael Cohen an example to you of the kind of first rate lawyer he was able to get before?

    Time123 (d54166)

  199. 199. Wait a second. Their loyalty should not be to the boss (except maybe for the Press secretary and not even that) but to the people of the United States and the constitution of course.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  200. I read a commentary that said that Joe Biden was the only Democratic candidate for president speaking about Trump.

    (Explanation, to the extent this is true: The others have policy proposals.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  201. Sleepy Joe maybe means the only way he makes so many gaffes is that he’s half asleep.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  202. @201 “The people of the United States” were NOT demanding Sessions recuse himself. Nor does the Constitution require the White House Counsel put his first loyal to himself, and the President Last. In fact, I don’t think the U.S. Constitution says ANYTHING about a White House Counsel or the AG recusing himself. But the Constitution says nothing about Abortion, so maybe its there, in the same invisible ink.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  203. “I’ve got a bottle of Cristal on ice and a cute little beagle puppy in my van just out back…”

    https://static.pjmedia.com/election/user-content/49/files/2019/04/AP_9307200205.sized-770x415xc.jpg

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  204. Sessions was right.
    Trump was wrong.
    All the obstruction stuff comes as a result of trying to stop the investigation.
    Which turned out to have caught a lot of Russia witches.

    Time123 (d54166)

  205. There was no obstruction.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  206. Unreal: Biden plagiarizes Obama. =mike drop=

    DCSCA (797bc0)


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