Patterico's Pontifications

7/28/2017

Reince Priebus Out

Filed under: General — Dana @ 6:02 pm



[guest post by Dana]

And another one bites the dust. This time it’s Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. He told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that he had resigned yesterday, and explained that the reason for his departuer was that President Trump was gong in a different direction. A direction that would not include Priebus. I guess Priebus wasn’t serving Trump honorably after all, eh?

“Look, the President wanted to go a different direction. I support him in that,” he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on “The Situation Room.”

“I’m doing great,” Priebus said. “I’ve been obviously talking to the President for a few days about this. … the President was great.”

When Blitzer asked Priebus specifically about why he resigned, Priebus said he didn’t want to go into that. He then went on to say that he is still on the Trump Train and supports the president in furthering his agenda. He also told Blitzer that his greatest accomplishment was “getting everyone in the West Wing moving together in the right direction”. Okay then.

The president announced on Twitter that Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly would be replacing the departing Priebus:

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And then he remembered to say something nice about Priebus:

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President Trump is now on his second chief of staff in 190 days. Say, remember when he mocked President Obama for going through three chiefs of staff in three years?

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Hm, of course one is inclined to ask, what’s keeping this president from accomplishing his agenda??

After seeing how he backstabs employees, turns on a dime, publicly shames and humiliates them, I can’t understand why would anyone sign up for such abuse and chaos. But, be that as it may, I guess the next question is, who’s next to go? And perhaps more importantly, as we watch this unfolding drama, where does this leave Bannon, Scaramucchi, and Kushner? Speculate all you want.

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

–Dana

311 Responses to “Reince Priebus Out”

  1. I can’t keep up with all the WINNING!

    Dana (023079)

  2. revisiting the national soros radio chart here

    it occurs to me

    maybe what we’re seeing is

    that President Trump is maybe just way way quicker than previous presidents to realize he needs a different Chief of Staff.

    Which makes sense.

    you pick a Chief of Staff

    then it’s like a start-up environment

    and an Administration coalesces organically around this guy you picked

    it’s to President Trump’s credit that he quickly recognized (record time) that he had the wrong guy in the job and he changed course

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  3. Greetings:

    Kind of hate to see General Kelly reassigned as Homeland Security seemed to have found a higher gear.

    11B40 (6abb5c)

  4. Like I said in the other thread, Priebus was lucky to get out before he was irreparably damaged.

    My prediction: Trump will keep purging the competent and decent people and surround himself with ridiculous toadies like Scaramucci, resulting in a more or less ineffectual administration. In the end, the only way he’ll be hanging on to the Presidency is because if he goes down the Republican drones in Congress will go down with him.

    nk (dbc370)

  5. Why are the Irish so stupid; Kelly’s no hero.

    This is where an individual’s integrity is put to a very public test. And too many are failing it.

    By now it should be clear that anybody accepting a high level position in this administration is either a fool, a jackass, or a junkie in search of a quick power fix. They sell themselves out; their reputations and self-respect sullied and bought off remarkably cheap. Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac but there’s no love lost on these suckers by this salesman who’s first love is himself and will throw any and all under a Fifth Avenue bus in the blink of an eye. That goes for both civilians and generals alike.

    “I am a traitor – a traitor to a madman.” – Field Marshall Rommel [Christopher Plummer] ‘Night Of The Generals’ 1967

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  6. What’s the over/under on how fast Trump starts slagging Priebus on the twitters?

    Jerryskids (cfad51)

  7. What’s keeping Trump from success?

    Maybe, its the backstabbing RINO’s like McCain, who voted to repeal Obamacare in 2015, but supported it in 2017. OR maybe, its people like Senator Graham who threatened to join the Democrats and punish Trump if he fired Mueller. OR maybe, its people like Ryan and the House Republicans who can’t seem to finance a border wall, they supposedly support. OR maybe, its some of the #NEVERTrumpers who constantly attack & Belittle Trump, because helping the liberal democrats destroy a Republican POTUS, is y’know “Conservative”.

    Or maybe its Mitch McConnell, who allows the Democrats to slow-roll Trump’s nominee’s while preventing Trump from making recess appointments.

    rcocean (a72eb2)

  8. He was very polite and professional in the firing. Does that mean something, lol?

    Anyway, I figure he is cleaning house after the debacle with O-care, which experienced people like Priebus were supposed to help bring home.

    Patricia (5fc097)

  9. 7
    Or maybe it’s Trump being totally in over his head and having no idea of what he wants to do, much less how to do it.

    And wasn’t Mexico supposed to pay for that wall, not Congress?

    kishnevi (1a529d)

  10. Priebus was expected to influence Ryan and did not deliver… plus it seems he was not all that good at being chief of staff given all the leakage

    steveg (e8c34d)

  11. @7 “What’s keeping Trump from success?

    Or, ever hear of Occam’s Razor? (Hint: Maybe it’s Trump.)

    Q! (267694)

  12. Yes Q, that was the point of my snarky question posed.

    Dana (023079)

  13. “I’m proud to be Richard Nixon’s sonnuvabitch.” – White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman.

    John F. Kelly will never, ever come close to being able to be Donald Trump’s S.O.B.

    And we know what happened to Haldeman, who with unquestioned loyalty, was by Richard Nixon’s side for 17 years until… =ba-thumpa=

    “In one of the most difficult decisions of my Presidency, I accepted the resignations of two of my closest associates in the White House, Bob Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, two of the finest public servants it has been my privilege to know.” – President Nixon, Watergate televised address, April 30, 1973

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  14. Thanks, Rince, for all your help keeping the debates save for Trump and hopping when he said “toad!” You were the one person who could have derailed Trump before the convention by allowing a free vote. You said No, and lobbied for No. You may well be the James Buchanan of the Republican Party.

    And you have finally discovered just what trusting President Trump brings. Expect several week so blame dumping.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  15. *safe

    Kevin M (752a26)

  16. @7 “What’s keeping Trump from success?”

    What are the four enemies of Soviet agriculture?

    Kevin M (752a26)

  17. Kind of hate to see General Kelly reassigned as Homeland Security seemed to have found a higher gear.

    Who will replace him? Chuck Norris?

    Kevin M (752a26)

  18. @17. General Mills, General Tire, General Electric… any ‘general’ will do and satisfy The Donald, as long as it’s a ‘general’ of some kind– the living breathing part is optional.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  19. Bout time he fired that rino leak machine

    mg (f28fe7)

  20. Now get your daughter and son in law out of d. C.

    mg (f28fe7)

  21. Some people enjoy general mills

    mg (f28fe7)

  22. Thanks, Rince, for all your help keeping the debates save for Trump and hopping when he said “toad!” You were the one person who could have derailed Trump before the convention by allowing a free vote. You said No, and lobbied for No. You may well be the James Buchanan of the Republican Party.

    And you have finally discovered just what trusting President Trump brings. Expect several week so blame dumping.

    Damn Kevin, I could have written that myself. In fact, I did just write it myself…

    Dave (445e97)

  23. Maybe Governor Lardass for Homeland Security?

    He passes the sycophancy test with flying colors. Also, once his term as governor expires, he has no future except through Trump. Homeland Security sometimes shuts things down (bridges, beaches, etc) due to terror threats, and Christie is good at that. He would be more qualified at DHS than Tillerson at State, Carson at HUD, etc.

    Dave (445e97)

  24. Nobody knew how to deal with Trump in the primaries. And he got what, 13.3 million votes? That’s what’s sad. That 13.3 million snaggletooths picked the Republican nominee in a nation of 330 million.

    nk (dbc370)

  25. If Trump fires Sessions, that’s the red line for me. I won’t care what happens to Trump after that.

    AZ Bob (f7a491)

  26. If Trump fires Sessions, that’s the red line for me.

    But daily public humiliation is OK?

    Dave (445e97)

  27. If Clinton primary voters in open primary states had counted by 2s and the 2s crossed over and voted for the same ABT R candidate, this would have been stopped.

    urbanleftbehind (c3855d)

  28. Anyone else find it funny that Priebus chose to go with CNN, of all places, for his first interview?!

    Dana (6898fd)

  29. I realized I forgot to include Scaramucchi with Bannon and Kushner, so I just added him.

    Dana (023079)

  30. it’s not you reince, it’s me

    except

    it’s mostly you

    happytrump (28a91b)

  31. Clearly priebus was the head of the leaking team, just like James baker at the bureau.

    narciso (d1f714)

  32. he sure as hell skittered out the door like a scalded rat when Mr. S called him out on it

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  33. At this point it might be better to bring back general Lynn:
    https://mobile.twitter.com/SaraCarterDC/status/891062861786644482?p=v

    narciso (d1f714)

  34. There is a scandal re where did the money go

    http://www.weeklystandard.com/trump-got-this-one-right/article/2009045

    narciso (d1f714)

  35. Is correct me if I’m wrong scaramucci first job, at the export import bank, has mire policy input than the one he chose.

    narciso (d1f714)

  36. Re issues of cibsequebce

    ww.frontpagemag.com/point/267407/mcmaster-ousts-trump-adviser-who-tried-fire-obama-daniel-greenfield

    narciso (d1f714)

  37. ASPCA’s bigotry is rather telling.

    Typical of the left.

    NJRob (7f4bec)

  38. McMaster has been a complete disaster. He needs to go. Drain the swamp.

    NJRob (7f4bec)

  39. Damn Kevin, I could have written that myself. In fact, I did just write it myself…

    Dave, the difference is that I am frustrated with people who follow all these baseless charges the way saucer freaks converge on Area 51 when there are LOADS of fundamental reasons to dislike Trump. To you, any rock is worth throwing.

    Incompetence. Incoherence. Inability to think on his feet or off them. The real problem with all this Russia BS is that he is incapable of coping with it. Bill Clinton, in his dotage, would ahve been done with this by Jan 23rd. Trump? He actually propagates it. When the story dies down, he tweets about it.

    And we have real issues. Norks with nukes. Iran, still. The last administration deserves 17 independent counsel (counsels?). But Trump sure has immunized them all right.

    The problem with Trump is not ethics, or honesty or who did what during the campaign. It’s just silly political screeching. The problem is that the United States needs a government, and we don’t have one. And those that are adding noise to the system about these pseudo-scandals are just HELPING Trump hide the fact that he is incompetent.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  40. So Derek Harvey, colonel townley and anyone else concerned with Iran seems to purged from the nsc, tillerson seems buddy buddy with Qatar, which is behind the grishenko play, but none of that is the svandal

    narciso (d1f714)

  41. So maverick standing for incompetent va against shilling, pushing bel hadjs designs in Libya and Syria, preventing anything close to regular military discipline with the transgenders

    narciso (1cf445)

  42. And being that Phoenix was one of the worst offending va centers that should mean something.

    narciso (1cf445)

  43. Reince rumored to be the only staffer who didn’t sign OATH. Trump unhappy that he didn’t double down on Scary’s profane rant.

    http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/taibbi-anthony-scaramucci-era-will-be-freakish-embarrassing-short-w494718

    Ben burn (70d425)

  44. @28

    Anyone else find it funny that Priebus chose to go with CNN, of all places, for his first interview?!

    Well, just one week ago Priebus, Spicer and Scaramucci were on Hannity pushing the fairy tale that they were all best buds and everything inside the West Wing was rainbows and unicorns.

    In light of what’s happened since, it would have been kind of awkward to go back there so soon.

    Dave (445e97)

  45. John McCain

    I won’t pretend to have a full answer, but I think there are two big drivers — actually, two big lies — behind Republican cruelty on health care and beyond.

    First, the evils of the G.O.P. plan are the flip side of the virtues of Obamacare. Because Republicans spent almost the entire Obama administration railing against the imaginary horrors of the Affordable Care Act — death panels! — repealing Obamacare was bound to be their first priority.

    Once the prospect of repeal became real, however, Republicans had to face the fact that Obamacare, far from being the failure they portrayed, has done what it was supposed to do: It used higher taxes on the rich to pay for a vast expansion of health coverage. Correspondingly, trying to reverse the A.C.A. means taking away health care from people who desperately need it in order to cut taxes on the rich.

    So one way to understand this ugly health plan is that Republicans, through their political opportunism and dishonesty, boxed themselves into a position that makes them seem cruel and immoral — because they are.

    Ben burn (70d425)

  46. By then, the proceeds of the fraudulent $165,000 loan they’d gotten from the Congressional Federal Credit Union had been sent ahead. It was part of a $283,000 transfer that Awan managed to wire from Capitol Hill. He pulled it off — hilariously, if infuriatingly — by pretending to be his wife in a phone call with the credit union. Told that his proffered reason for the transfer (“funeral arrangements”) wouldn’t fly, “Mrs.” Awan promptly repurposed: Now “she” was “buying property.” Asking no more questions, the credit union wired the money . . . to Pakistan.

    As you let all that sink in, consider this: Awan and his family cabal of fraudsters had access for years to the e-mails and other electronic files of members of the House’s Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committees. It turns out they were accessing members’ computers without their knowledge, transferring files to remote servers, and stealing computer equipment — including hard drives that Awan & Co. smashed to bits of bytes before making tracks.

    They were fired in February. All except Awan, that is. He continued in the employ of Wasserman Schultz, the Florida Democrat, former DNC chairwoman, and Clinton crony. She kept him in place at the United States Congress right up until he was nabbed at the airport on Monday…….

    ……..Congressional-staff salaries are modest, in the $40,000 range. For some reason, Awan was paid about four times as much. He also managed to get his wife, Alvi, on the House payroll . . . then his brother, Abid Awan . . . then Abid’s wife, Natalia Sova. The youngest of the clan, Awan’s brother Jamal, came on board in 2014 — the then-20-year-old commanding an annual salary of $160,000.

    A few of these arrangements appear to have been sinecures: While some Awans were rarely seen around the office, we now know they were engaged in extensive financial shenanigans away from the Capitol. Nevertheless, the Daily Caller’s Luke Rosiak, who has been all over this story, reports that, for their IT “work,” the Pakistani family has reeled in $4 million from U.S. taxpayers since 2009……..

    …….Democrats now say that any access to sensitive information was “unauthorized.” But how hard could it have been to get “unauthorized” access when House Intelligence Committee Dems wanted their staffers to have unbounded access? In 2016, they wrote a letter to an appropriations subcommittee seeking funding so their staffers could obtain “Top Secret — Sensitive Compartmented Information” clearances. TS/SCI is the highest-level security classification…….

    ………As evidence has mounted, the scores of Democrats for whom the Awans worked have expressed no alarm. Instead, we’ve heard slanderous suspicions that the investigation is a product of — all together now — “Islamophobia.”

    https://www.realclearpolitics.com/2017/07/29/debbie_wasserman_schultz_amp_the_pakistani_it_scammers_416828.html

    If only America had elected the most qualified candidate ever as President. She and her competent party staff would have the executive branch running smart, efficient, secure and, above all, scandal-free.

    harkin (54860c)

  47. Awan? What happened to Seth Rich and Chicago fire?

    I understand..

    Ben burn (70d425)

  48. AnnenNothinburger Birferism.

    Ben burn (70d425)

  49. AP

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    Reince Priebus Health care reform John Kelly Politics North America Donald Trump AP Top News
    Trump’s six-month stall sparks a White House shake-up

    By JULIE PACE and JONATHAN LEMIRE
    40 minutes ago
    https://apnews.com/59ee25f98f704db3bb8a072279ca575a Link copied!
    WASHINGTON (AP) — Six months into his presidency, Donald Trump is saddled with a stalled agenda, a West Wing that resembles a viper’s nest, a pile of investigations and a Republican Party that’s starting to break away.

    Trump on Friday indirectly acknowledged the troubled state of his unconventional White House when he abruptly replaced his chief of staff with hard-nosed retired Gen. John Kelly, until now the Homeland Security secretary.

    Kelly will take the desk of Reince Priebus, a Republican operative who was skeptical of Trump’s electoral prospects last year and ultimately came to be viewed by the president as weak and ineffective.

    President Donald Trump says Gen. John F. Kelly is his new White House chief of staff. That means Reince Priebus is out. AP White House Reporter Darlene Superville debriefs Friday’s staff shake up. (July 28)

    Kelly’s ability to succeed will depend on factors outside his control, including whether Trump’s squabbling staff is willing to put aside the rivalries that have sowed disorder and complicated efforts to enact policy.

    But the big question is can Kelly do what Priebus couldn’t? And that’s curbing the president’s penchant for drama and unpredictability, and his tendency to focus more on settling scores than promoting a policy agenda.

    No other aide or adviser has been successful on that front.

    As a candidate, and now as president, Trump has cycled through campaign chiefs and advisers but has remained easily distracted by his personal interests and only loosely tethered to any policy plans.

    “Trump has spent a lot of his political capital on nothing but defending his own reputation,” Alex Conant, a Republican strategist, said of Trump’s first six months in office. “There is no sustained strategy. His attention seems to shift with whatever is leading cable news at that moment.”

    Staff shake-ups are a tried-and-true way for struggling presidents to signal that they are ready to shift course.

    In 1994, President Bill Clinton elevated budget director Leon Panetta to chief of staff with a mandate to bring more discipline to a loosely organized White House. President George W. Bush made the same move with Josh Bolten in 2006 as the Bush presidency buckled under criticism of his handling of the Iraq war and the federal government’s response to Hurricane Katrina.

    Rarely, however, do presidents face as much turmoil as quickly as Trump has.

    His Friday afternoon tweet announcing Kelly’s hiring capped a tumultuous week:

    —his new communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, spewed vulgarities in public at Priebus.

    —Trump drew blunt criticism from GOP lawmakers over his attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions for withdrawing from the federal investigation into Russian campaign interference.

    —Senate Republicans’ efforts to pass legislation that would have overhauled the nation’s health care law collapsed.

    Some Trump allies tried to pin the blame for the health debacle on Priebus. The former Republican National Committee chairman had sold himself to Trump as a well-connected Washington operator who could help round up votes on Capitol Hill. He encouraged Trump to press forward with a health care overhaul early in his presidency.

    But as Republicans sorted through the rubble of their health care failure, it was Trump, not his chief of staff, who was the target of criticism.

    “One of the failures was the president never laid out a plan or his core principles and never sold them to the American people,” said Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa. He said Trump “outsourced the whole issue to Congress.”

    Ben burn (70d425)

  50. @40

    Kevin, thanks for the explanation. Clearly this is where we disagree:

    The problem with Trump is not ethics, or honesty

    Mistakes are part of the job; Dubya made mistakes, his dad made mistakes and Reagan made mistakes. But it was nevertheless possible to support them because they were good and honest men who ultimately took responsibility and projected dignity, decency and humility. Donald Trump, not so much…

    I think Trump’s unfitness and incompetence flows from two sources, and immorality is one of them (laziness is the other).

    Dave (445e97)

  51. Intellectually lazy. Lacks fundamental curiosity. Pathologically insecure (often accompanies Yuge Ego).

    Loyalty Oaf. Knuckle- dragging instincts, faux-fighther who proxies out his mettle. I could go on…

    Ben burn (70d425)

  52. I won’t pretend to have a full answer, but I think there are two big drivers — actually, two big lies — behind Republican cruelty on health care and beyond.

    Ben, you may not realize it, but there are real people suffering due to Obamacare. It is not simply a matter of Democrats/Obamacare = sweetness and light, Republicans/Replacement = cruelty and evil.

    If you are web/cable-literate, you should know who Mary Katherine Ham is. Thanks to Obamacare, a despite Obama’s deceptive promises, she lost her health-care multiple times as a pregnant widow and mother. Many other people are paying exorbitant amounts for policies with astonomical deductibles, thanks to the “cruelty” of Obama and the Democrats.

    Unfortunately, Trump never communicated the stories of people like her, and never made a coherent case for why Obamacare is bad for many people.

    Dave (445e97)

  53. #52,

    The point is, Trump has railed against CNN as fake news from the get-go and views them as the enemy. That Priebus chose to do his first interview with the outlet says something. In spite of his gushing about Trump in the interview, I think the choice to go on CNN was more than a thumb in the face of Priebus’s now former boss, President Trump

    Dana (023079)

  54. In spite of his gushing about Trump in the interview, I think the choice to go on CNN was more than a thumb in the face of Priebus’s now former boss, President Trump

    Certainly possible.

    Dave (445e97)

  55. You don’t have to pick sides to recognize choosing the RNC Chairman as WH COS didn’t get either Trump’s or the GOP establishment’s agenda implemented it only exacerbated the differences. Re-assigning the guy who was getting Trump’s agenda implemented despite bipartisan objections and a department full of Obama holdovers while not seeking the limelight pretty much explains the change. The new guy starts out with a level of trust the old guy never quite earned.

    That said, Gen Kelly’s got his work cut out for him but the universal respect he’s earned in Washington is going to give him a leg up. Ryan and McConnell better get ready. This is a clarifying moment in the who’s leading, who’s following and who needs to get out of the way debate.

    crazy (11d38b)

  56. Burnie the Soros bot is talking to himself again.

    NJRob (7f4bec)

  57. Nutjob knows it’s an insult to be called A progressive.

    How bout Tea Partier? Don’t hear that blather about Natual Born for a while now…(see Galtright)

    Ben burn (70d425)

  58. Another view: President Chaos and the Keystone Kongress

    With all the military guys and Trump family members in place, the administration is beginning to have a faintly South American flavor to it. So I guess we can all look forward to better empanadas and also the collapse of Western civilization.

    You know what’s the funniest thing about all this? The funniest thing is that it’s still better than having the Democrats in power! Like, a lot better. We now know the Obama administration was spying on just about everybody. The Hillary gang seem to have been the ones really colluding with Putin. The Senate minority leader has given up on capitalism. And the former head of the DNC has been doing God-knows-what with a Pakistani IT guy who just got arrested trying to blow the country!

    So while the stupid party is reaching Ultimate Stupid, the evil party has been pushing the needle toward Satanic.

    crazy (11d38b)

  59. Klavan has it about right.

    Soros trolls hardest hit.

    NJRob (7f4bec)

  60. The GaltRight in Silicon Valley..

    “http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/11/white-supremacist-websites-traffic/

    Ben burn (70d425)

  61. Kelly won’t tolerate a disruptive environment, and will try to normalize the reporting lines that usually would go to the chief of staff but have been going directly to the President.
    Swan was told: “He was given full authority. Everyone goes through him.”
    One big challenge: Trump doesn’t like to be told what to do, even by his generals.
    Amazing quote from an outside adviser to the West Wing: “Kelly, being a mature general, may finally be able to get Donald to pivot into a presidential dynamic.”

    Heh

    Ben burn (70d425)

  62. It seems a layer of America is out of sync with the other 63% and the whole ABSURD idea of Democratic Republics.

    Ben burn (70d425)

  63. It’s about bringing order to the WH and its interactions with Washington not order to the chaotic boss. The chaotic boss typically becomes less chaotic as the organization begins to succeed.

    crazy (11d38b)

  64. The manifest incompetence of a self aggrandizing buffoon as President has to be measured against the Platinum Standard of Obama and his progressive agenda. It will take a few years to determine whether Trump can do anywhere near as much damage to the GOP as Obama and the progressives managed to do to the Democrats.

    Rick Ballard (39e1b7)

  65. If we only had a party that mentioned this e very once in a while

    http://thefederalist.com/2017/07/28/media-gop-leadership-obamacare-victims-matter-others

    narciso (d1f714)

  66. Looking forward to an R. Lee Ermey-style (NSFW!) SNL cold-open, with General Kelly as the Marine Corps Senior Drill Instructor handing out tough love to the pukes and maggots of the West Wing:

    “Private Tweeter you had best square your @ss away and start sh!tting me tiffany cufflinks, or I will definitely f*ck you up!”

    Dave (445e97)

  67. This is the kind of small cair appeasing gator in the swamp,

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/veronica-venture-9887759

    narciso (d1f714)

  68. “What’s THIS in private Pyles foot locker?

    A JELLY DOUGHNUT..?

    Ben burn (70d425)

  69. Fun fact: R. Lee Ermey backed Ted Cruz in 2016…

    Dave (445e97)

  70. Mistakes are part of the job

    Yeah, sure. REAGAN made mistakes. But “mistakes” are not what I’m talking about. When I realize that *I* (or you, or my next door neighbor) would do a better job than Trump, ethics or honesty are immaterial.

    If the ghost of Ronald Reagan were to settle into Donald Trump, I would not care if he packed a billion dollars into suitcases for his retirement. We underpay our presidents anyway.

    But Trump aspires to be a mere bumbler. He has no idea how laws get passed. He has no idea how to lead a party. He has no idea the limits of his power. He is unable to respond in the marketplace of ideas (other than scream “you lie!” even when the truth of the assertion is plain to all).

    I have seen this before in other walks of life. A stupid or incompetent person, thrown into a position where they haven’t a clue, tries to act like others they’ve seen in that role, without understanding what they mimic. And people see through the act pretty easily.

    That’s what we have here. Trump is trying to act “like a president” but he has no idea what animates a president or what the tools of the trade really are. So, he blusters and asserts and threatens and attacks, all in a most unconvincing manner.

    So, you worry about ethics, while I worry about the incredible damage an incompetent Commander-in-Chief can do. He could get us into a silly war (Iraq may have been a mistake, but it wasn’t a silly one), or he could keep us out of a necessary one (or lose it though incompetence).

    And then there is the damage to the GOP brand. It’s a pity both he and Hillary could not both lose. My one vote wasn’t enough.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  71. it’s unlikely even the silliest war would be as costly damaging and lethal on our own poor little soldiers as George W. Bush’s Iraq fiasco (what ushered in 8 years of food stamp)

    boyfriend set the bar pretty damn high

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  72. Further, I dislike the Democrats’ use of media and other catspaws to attack with innuendo and lies in ways that undermine what government we have. Not only is it destructive, it’s fundamentally and intellectually dishonest.

    Sure, dig far enough into a campaign and you will find dirt. The fishing expedition going on will catch something — there’s always something. But if you did the same thing to Hillary, or W or Reagan or Mother Teresa you’d find something.

    As I said, fundamentally dishonest.

    And it does several unproductive things. It makes so much noise that SUBSTANTIVE problems are lost amid the chatter. It gets people like me, who dislike Trump fundamentally, defending the man against this week’s media smear. Because I dislike media bullsh1t and triviality more than I dislike Trump.

    Getting people who dislike Trump to defend him, when you are trying to undermine him, is just about the definition of counter-productive.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  73. The Iraq War wasn’t undertaken for “silly” reasons. There were some solid reasons for doing that. Some of them turned out to be incorrect (everyone, including Saddam’s generals) thought there ware piles of Sarin and such. So we found very little. Doesn’t mean the REASON was silly.

    Silly would be getting into a war with Mexico because they won’t pay for the Wall. That is not beyond Trump. Even if you win, it’s still silly.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  74. So, you worry about ethics, while I worry about the incredible damage an incompetent Commander-in-Chief can do. He could get us into a silly war (Iraq may have been a mistake, but it wasn’t a silly one), or he could keep us out of a necessary one (or lose it though incompetence).

    And then there is the damage to the GOP brand.

    I agree with every word you wrote.

    So let’s come at this from a different angle. Is Trump likely to reform his behavior? Is he likely to start to learn how to do his job, start reading white-papers, admitting mistakes, behaving responsibly, deferring to and learning from the judgment of aides who know better?

    Nobody who is honest with themselves could believe that will happen at this point. When he first started running for office, one might have had hope. But he has had two years, and has learned literally nothing about doing the job. If anything, he has gotten worse and drifted farther into his fantasy world.

    So, we have a president who is hopelessly unfit and unqualified, and who is incapable of rehabilitation. What to do?

    His immorality and malfeasance provides the only realistic solution to the problem (impeach him and remove him from office). In addition to being politically necessary and expedient, this has the advantage of being the right thing to do.

    Dave (445e97)

  75. here is a post about how the sleazy head lawyer of the corrupt FBI (James A. Baker) was leaking like hillary’s diapers

    Baker has a long and distinguished career working on intelligence matters. During the Bush Administration, he was counsel for intelligence policy and head of the Office of Intelligence Policy and Review. In 2006, Baker received the George H.W. Bush Award for Excellence in counter-terrorism, the CIA’s highest counter-terrorism award.

    i’m puzzling over why would the author give any credence to awards given by swamptrash to other swamptrash

    that’s just one of their things they do

    how can he not understand that

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  76. Ben Burn, you wouldn’t know what a “Tea Partier” was if he hit you over the head with his musket.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  77. The manifest incompetence of a self aggrandizing buffoon as President has to be measured against the Platinum Standard of Obama and his progressive agenda. It will take a few years to determine whether Trump can do anywhere near as much damage to the GOP as Obama and the progressives managed to do to the Democrats.

    It was perhaps a blessing that Obama was not more competent. Think of what an LBJ could have done with Obama’s first Congress.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  78. Doesn’t mean the REASON was silly.

    i agree with that Mr. M i was sold on it pretty quick

    Iraq had been the most cosmopolitan blah blah blah before Hussein and they would be receptive to and even aspirational of western-style democracy

    our own propaganda sluts and their friends in europe had to engage in an immense propaganda campaign to convince them otherwise

    and of course the corrupt trashy anti-american CIA bimbos put down their taxpayer-funded gay porn and skittles long enough to knee-cap the effort at every step

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  79. It amuses me that happyfeet calls accomplished individuals “swamptrash” while supporting the world’s richest trailer-park trash for president.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  80. It was perhaps a blessing that Obama was not more competent.

    i think he was plenty competent to execute the agenda daddy soros paid him to do

    beyond that he just didn’t give a crap and spent the balance of his time golfing

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  81. What I fear is that Republicans — both now and in the next 4 years — will only listen to people who supported Trump or the Party. They will ignore anyone who refused to support them now. In essence, they will exclude the very people who saw this coming.

    DRJ (15874d)

  82. Today, Trump says “republicans look like fools.” I’ve known that since the nominated him.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  83. Reagans too biggest policy blunders were Beirut and the Iranian initiative, the failure to realize that there were the same players on both side of the ledger.

    narciso (85abcb)

  84. Mr. M our new president is NOT a swampdwelling p.o.s.

    and i love him for it

    unlike the rest of this garbage – every single one of his lackeys new or recently dismissed

    Mr. Trump bears no responsibility for the corrupt fiscally-incontinent morally bankrupt sewer that is the failmerican federal government

    getting someone like him into the WH is a feat what is to be hoped for not even once in one lifetime i fear

    this is a miracle and a hugely revealing indictment of the competence of all the ivy league trash in washington and beyond what fancy themselves to be our rulers

    i love it so much

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  85. If our host or his co-bloggers are looking for a new but timely post, I’d suggest the Tweeter-in-Chief’s recent (post-Senate loss) tweets urging McConnell and Senate Republicans to nuke the rest of the filibuster.

    This is something which I’ve argued in favor of since the moment on Election Day when it became clear that the GOP was, quite improbably, going to hang onto their majority in the U.S. Senate plus gain the tie-breaking vote of the VPOTUS. That put me radically to the right, at the time, of not only Mitch McConnell, but also the likes of Ted Cruz and Mike Lee.

    I confess that it feels odd to have Trump join me and the relatively small number of like-minded Republicans who’ve been making this argument — even though it’s obviously not the consequence of any principled thinking on his part, but a reaction to the stinging Senate defeat he’s trying to distance himself from. Regardless, he’s come to (what I believe to be) the right position now, whatever the path that took him there.

    There is no chance that Trump’s tweets are going to change McConnell’s mind in any direct fashion, but this will indeed be a very conspicuous test of the theory that Trump can pass over the media and even his own party’s politicians to go directly to the public, which might in turn create the kind of constituent and, ultimately, primary voter backlash which might persuade some other GOP senators, who in turn, collectively, might (but probably can’t) persuade McConnell.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  86. Now seeing how the Iraqi mukharabat was indeed very tied into the seemingly incongruous SalAfi underground was a similar problem on w’ s part.

    narciso (85abcb)

  87. In essence, they will exclude the very people who saw this coming.

    Perhaps. If Trump (and the USA) survives four years in office, I see a battle between him and someone with nothing left to lose in the primaries. Regular Republicans won’t normally challenge a sitting GOP president, but this isn’t normal.

    I pray that Romney stays healthy and sharp.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  88. Kevin,

    using derogatory slang to insult the president and those that do live in trailer parks is beneath you. Would you use the term ghetto trash to describe someone or would you consider it racially inflammatory?

    NJRob (7f4bec)

  89. both now and in the next 4 years — will only listen to people who supported Trump or the Party.

    i thought that too yesterday …

    having the stench of nevertrump on you isn’t gonna help you get your way in the future and that in fact it may prove to be a significant impediment to achieving your political aims and goals

    but i think a demonstrable lack of party fealty is less … how to say

    whatever your brand is, that’s less damaging to it than aligning yourself with the petty pouty puerility of the nevertrumpers

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  90. I think Obama was caught off-guard by the backlash to the ACA, and the surprise loss of his filibuster-proof senate with the election of Scott Brown.

    He expected to have at least another year of total legislative freedom, and that evaporated without warning.

    Dave (445e97)

  91. His immorality and malfeasance provides the only realistic solution to the problem (impeach him and remove him from office). In addition to being politically necessary and expedient, this has the advantage of being the right thing to do.

    Not only are these not “high crimes” but hear as I can tell they are not crimes at all. Sure, if you dig far enough you will find a crime. He may have deducted too much for a home office, or doubly pledged collateral on a loan. He might even make U-turns in a business district.

    But there is nothing there like “used the NSA against his opponents” or “had the IRS audit the Tea Party” or “made a verbal deal with Putin that was caught on tape” that has previously been insufficient for impeachment.

    You may think that impeaching Trump over relative trivialities is productive. It is so far from that it’s sad.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  92. using derogatory slang to insult the president and those that do live in trailer parks is beneath you.

    In the context I have no guilt whatsoever. And you can live in a trailer park and not be trash. “trailer park” is an adjective there, describing the type of trash.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  93. Let us hope this is no metaphor for Trump.
    https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2017/07/28/ferrari-driver-crashes-288000-supercar-just-an-hour-after-purchase.html
    But it is appropriate to pause and think of the pain Col. Haiku must have felt when seeing this.

    kishnevi (948a4d)

  94. Beldar, 61 senators, split roughly evenly between parties, recently signed a pledge not to tamper with the legislative filibuster. While every Democrat didn’t sign the pledge, every Democrat would sure vote against changing the filibuster today simply out of self-interest.

    Changing that would be harder than anything the senate attempted in regard to repeal/replacement of Obamacare (where there were never more than 55 opposed).

    I suppose it could make sense if you want to start trying to erode support as part of some long-term campaign to eliminate the filibuster, but at the moment it seems like trying to kick a 55 yard field goal when you just proved you couldn’t make an extra-point.

    Dave (445e97)

  95. He expected to have at least another year of total legislative freedom

    all he expected was lots of fun tasty food, plenty of golf, a showcase-showdown-worthy flight of exotic lux vacations, and the promise of post-presidential wealth*

    that was his reward for doing what he was told

    food stamp’s writ never included party-building exercises or the kind of strategizing meant to help the Democrats consolidate power, cause any rival power to that of the executive branch was a potential threat to the agenda he was selected to enact

    the whole scheme (business plan if you will) of electing a food stamp was to exploit to the fullest all the damage a president can do *without* any assistance from any other branch of government

    mission accomplished Mr. Dave

    * one other thing – he also quite obviously expected a compliant and docile media that wouldn’t question or challenge his programme, but he may have taken that wholly for granted

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  96. Republicans will not aggressively challenge democratic priorities, but the swamp has proven increasingly congenial, Richard Allen was the analogue to general flynn in the reagan era William Clark was a capable successor Mcfarlane and poindexter were less so, winks on the brink details the in-house conflict between strong anti soviet partisans like Perle and riwny and pipes and acconationists like Burt and nitze. Central America was also an area when accomdationist like Thomas renders ruled the roost. He basically had to import ambassadors from Europe and the middle east, negroponte, hinton (Joan didions bet moire) to replace those who accommodated the sandinistas and the fmln. Of course one of the swamp dwellers Robert white sent up his own thinktank which along with then senator Kerry set the narrative for snowfall.
    L

    narciso (d1f714)

  97. No he knew as with Clinton in 94, he would only have a short window, so you had to coop the insurance co panes sothere would be no harry and Louise campaign, the journalist prevented bets mccaughey (need Ross) fro. Getting purchase in the new republic for instance. Medicaid expansion was the bar to catch even fervent republicans like the gov of Arizona.

    narciso (d1f714)

  98. Reagans too biggest policy blunders were Beirut and the Iranian initiative, the failure to realize that there were the same players on both side of the ledger.”

    Don’t forget trusting the Democrats that if he agreed to raise taxes they’d cut back the spending and if he agreed to immigration amnesty they’d secure the border.

    On those two he was the equivalent of this:

    https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sm5LICn-9CM/maxresdefault.jpg

    harkin (54860c)

  99. Just the sort of idiotic snark I have come to expect from Allahpundit.

    What a loser.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  100. I sure know Tea Bags abandoned that name to further Galtright objectives. Changing spotty goals before undies

    Ben burn (70d425)

  101. Beldar,

    I am less sanguine than you are about the benefits of eliminating the filibuster.

    First of all, it appears to have absolutely nothing to do with the recent failed attempts to repeal ObamaCare, in which even weak-tea attempts to repeal parts of the law couldn’t muster even a bare majority.

    Second, after the Dems retake the Senate — and it could happen — we will have no way to stop them. Trump will sign their big-government legislation and we all know he will.

    You could say they are going to get rid of the legislative filibuster, and you might be right . . . but they didn’t under Harry Reid. They eliminated only the one for confirmations. And a large cross-section of Senators from both sides have signed a document pledging to retain the legislative filibuster. I don’t think its death under Dems is a foregone conclusion.

    For now, all this filibuster talk is a distraction from the betrayals of McCain, Capito, Murkowski, Portman, Alexander, and Heller.

    And, going to the subject matter of the post, I don’t see how John Kelly, a good man by all accounts by no legislative expert, is going to be able to do a thing about pushing through ObamaCare repeal. So Patricia’s notion that ousting the fly-killer Reincy is cleaning house re the repeal failure seems dubious in light of the Kelly selection.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  102. source told The Washington Post that once during an Oval Office meeting, a fly began buzzing around Trump’s head, distracting him. Trump eventually summoned Priebus and told him to kill the fly. As a senior White House staffer, the chief of staff would not ordinarily be tasked with such matters.

    TRUMP changed everything

    Ben burn (70d425)

  103. “Hm, of course one is inclined to ask, what’s keeping this president from accomplishing his agenda??”

    Immediately after the Obamacare repeal farce we’ve been treated to by the Republican Congressional Caucus, at this point there should be no question about what’s keeping this president’s agenda from becoming law. Unless you’ve crammed fingers in your ears and are shouting “nananananana . . .”, absolutely none whatsoever.

    Of course, there are plenty who seem to be doing just that.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  104. Heh

    “: I think the problem is that trolling has become a lazy word for a lot of people in positions like yours, or people at the New York Times or the Washington Post or CNN, to just write off anybody who, you know, fires off a criticism toward them, when good trolling to me is actually just getting someone to admit they’re wrong by using their own point of view”

    Ben burn (70d425)

  105. 72.Kelly won’t tolerate a disruptive environment, and will try to normalize the reporting lines that usually would go to the chief of staff but have been going directly to the President.

    That’s already D.O.A.; Ivanka, Jared, the Mooch- even Melania have direct access. Kelly cannot change that. And long time buds like Hannity have a direct line in as well. Reports are Kelly turned this down several times. He’s a fool for giving in. Haldeman- for better or worse- was the strongest because he controlled all access– everybody reported to and went through him alone to the Big Dick. And the Bakers -James and Howard- were effective as well- save Nancy’s meddling. Panetta was good, too. Trump is consistently unmanageable– it’s been a bad thread throughout his life; Ol’Dead Fred didn’t pack him off to military school for nothing. Trump’s gut is his own CoS; any indigestion is a problem for the world. It’s as much a disaster as a lawyer having himself as a client.

    28.Anyone else find it funny that Priebus chose to go with CNN, of all places, for his first interview?!

    No more chuckle than Trump tapping Hannity and O’Reilly as media go-to guys; Rance and CNN’s Wolfman have been personal friends for years.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  106. You may think that impeaching Trump over relative trivialities is productive. It is so far from that it’s sad.

    We’re not talking about impeaching him because he lied about getting a blowjob. Compared to Clinton (who I nevertheless thought deserved impeachment and conviction) the stuff Trump is suspected of is as serious as it gets.

    Dave (445e97)

  107. Dave, perjury is actually a felony. Talking to foreigners is not even a crime. I do it daily in Los Angeles, sometimes without knowing.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  108. And, Dave, the Clinton thing is YOUR strawman, which you brought up yourself and then shot down. Doesn’t affect MY argument at all.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  109. “Talking to foreigners is not even a crime. I do it daily in Los Angeles, sometimes without knowing.”

    LOL

    ThOR (c9324e)

  110. Talking to foreigners is not even a crime.

    You were saying something about strawmen?

    Dave (445e97)

  111. Who didn’t speak to ambassador kislyak at the mayflower, who paid akmetchin and veselnitskaya

    narciso (d1f714)

  112. @ Patterico, who wrote in part (#113):

    First of all, [the filibuster] appears to have absolutely nothing to do with the recent failed attempts to repeal ObamaCare, in which even weak-tea attempts to repeal parts of the law couldn’t muster even a bare majority.

    Second, after the Dems retake the Senate — and it could happen — we will have no way to stop them. Trump will sign their big-government legislation and we all know he will.

    You could say they are going to get rid of the legislative filibuster, and you might be right . . . but they didn’t under Harry Reid. They eliminated only the one for confirmations. And a large cross-section of Senators from both sides have signed a document pledging to retain the legislative filibuster. I don’t think its death under Dems is a foregone conclusion.

    These are good arguments, but respectfully, I don’t buy into either, for reasons that I concede are based on subjective judgments. Those are:

    With respect to the inability to get even 50 Senate votes, the filibuster is in fact the reason why that happened. Nothing on the table — nothing that could be done through reconciliation — was sufficiently transformative enough to actually fix the problems with the healthcare and health insurance systems that government has created, going back long before Obamacare. I return to my “rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic” theme. You want Senators to stick their necks out on a party-line vote, you have to give them some hope of something that will in fact be transformative. Instead, the tiny marginal changes, even those in a proper direction, were still obviously insufficient to prevent the ship from hitting the looming iceberg and promptly sinking. If the GOP nuked the filibuster tomorrow, it wouldn’t be in order to pass some damned “skinny bill” that’s a bandaid, it would be to pass the Comprehensive Restoral of Free Enterprise and Competition to Healthcare Bill of 2017, and it wouldn’t remotely stop at repealing Obamacare. As is, to again mix and return to a previous metaphor, the filibuster rule moved the fences beyond the reach of any and all potential hitters, which forced the GOP to play smallball, and it’s no damned good at smallball.

    Second, I simply have zero confidence — not 1%, but 0% — about your hope that the Dems might keep the legislative filibuster the next time they’re in control but find it even marginally inconvenient. Remember, they nuked the nominations filibuster (which they had only recently themselves created!) over nothing more significant than a handful of circuit court judgeships. I have exactly as much confidence that the Democrats would retain the legislative filibuster as I do that they will now cooperate meaningfully with Republicans in a comprehensive healthcare solution. That entire notion died sometime in the last quarter of the 20th Century. Those who think otherwise don’t even have the Neville Chamberlain excuse of being fooled by a wolf in sheep’s clothing, because the Democratic Wolf — exemplified by the self-same Harry Reid who loudly urged the nuking of the legislative filibuster after having successfully nuked it for nominations — is surely dressed as a wolf.

    But for their ability to play tricks with reconciliation themselves to overcome the 60th vote they lost in MA, do you seriously doubt the Dems would have nuked the legislative filibuster if that were the price of passing Obamacare to begin with?

    No, sir, I won’t join in imputing good motives or restraint to Democrats who haven’t demonstrated that since sometime during the 1970s or 1980s at the very latest. So I don’t reach the same political calculations that you do. The filibuster is a zombie, and those Senators who pretend that it’s still alive are either peddling a whopper to serve Democratic purposes (Schumer) or tragically naive (McConnell).

    Beldar (fa637a)

  113. @92. What I fear is that Republicans — both now and in the next 4 years — will only listen to people who supported Trump or the Party. They will ignore anyone who refused to support them now. In essence, they will exclude the very people who saw this coming.

    What goes around comes around. Seems to be taking some longer than others to realize ideologues are out; pragmatists are in. It is the Republican Party, not the ‘Conservative Party.’ Even Buckley accepted that reality and chased out the nutjobs a few generations ago; ’bout time today’s zealots did as well, or get stuffed back into a box and tossed back into Goldwater’s attic. They’re discovering, to their utter horror, there’s not nearly as many of them as their media echo chambers have led them to believe. ‘Course, they could start their own party– if there’s enough of them. Lotsa luck w/ that one.

    ___________

    Today’s Beldar the Bitter ‘Watergate, Watergate, Watergate’ Words of Wonder:

    “We have never used it. We haven’t used the Bureau and we haven’t used the Justice Department, but things are going to change now. And they’re going to change, and, and they’re going to get it right –” – President Nixon discussing use of government agencies to go after his ‘enemies’ w/HR Haldeman and John Dean, secret White House Oval Office tapes, September 15, 1972

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  114. 5-10 Republican senators are functionally democrats on any given issue of genuine consequence, and McCain’s disgraceful antics will only embolden them

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  115. Anyone who thinks a Dem senator faces a serious risk of being primaried or defeated in a general election over his breach of a prior pledge to preserve the legislative filibuster is being, shall I say, over-optimistic.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  116. So why have we spent six month on this grishenko nonsense, bwcauae maverick andush liege Richard burrow WA its to?

    narciso (d1f714)

  117. If the GOP nuked the filibuster tomorrow, it wouldn’t be in order to pass some damned “skinny bill” that’s a bandaid, it would be to pass the Comprehensive Restoral of Free Enterprise and Competition to Healthcare Bill of 2017, and it wouldn’t remotely stop at repealing Obamacare.

    So why not draft that bill and launch a full-court press to convince the public why it’s the right approach? Pressure the red-state Democrats to support it with big rallies and TV ad buys in their states. If it’s filibustered, make it the hill on which the 2018 midterms are fought.

    If we had a president with any credibility and competence, willing to do hard work to convince people who don’t already agree with him, he could use the bully pulpit to convince people that such a plan was far superior to Obamacare. But sadly, we don’t.

    Dave (445e97)

  118. And furthermore, if you had a bill to address a clear and looming crisis, with broad national support, that was being blocked by 40-odd Democrats who lacked any viable alternative, it would do more to undermine support for the filibuster than any number of moronic presidential tweets.

    Dave (445e97)

  119. @99.@103@38 In fact, it’s apparently very ‘presidential’ NJB, Sober up:

    “I’ve just recognized that, you know, all people have certain traits. The Jews have certain traits. The Irish have certain — for example, the Irish can’t drink. What you always have to remember with the Irish is they get mean. Virtually every Irish I’ve known gets mean when he drinks. Particularly the real Irish. The Italians, of course, those people course don’t have their heads screwed on tight. They are wonderful people, but… the Jews are just a very aggressive and abrasive and obnoxious personality.” – Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States of America, talking ‘personality types’ with aide Charles Colson, Secret White House Oval Office tapes, February 13, 1973

    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/11/us/politics/11nixon.html

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  120. @94. Reagans too biggest policy blunders were Beirut and the Iranian initiative, the failure to realize that there were the same players on both side of the ledger.

    Nah. There was just one: supply-side economics; aka Reaganomics; aka Voodoo economics.

    Everything else is history in rhyme. Sorta like…

    “Let’s Make America Great Again” – Ronald Reagan campaign slogan, 1980

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  121. mccmaster’s a slimy and not particularly adroit mole i think

    these weirdos who spent their lives sequestered from reality, steeping for decades in the sewer of the pentagon

    they’re not particularly good at civilian government or politics

    particularly if they’re given a broad portfolio

    it seems if you can give them a limited and well-defined scope you have a much better chance of them acquitting themselves honorably

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  122. Nah. There was just one: supply-side economics; aka Reaganomics; aka Voodoo economics.

    Yeah, the Long Boom “just happened”, like the Soviet Union’s collapse “just happened”

    Kevin M (752a26)

  123. It is really striking how dim Dave is when he removes doubt.

    narciso (d1f714)

  124. For anyone who asserts that the Democrats will, or even might, act heroically — contrary to their immediate political self-interest — to uphold the legislative filibuster the next time it’s inconvenient to do so: Please give one specific example during the 21st Century of Democratic senators having done that. Show me the unicorn.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  125. Funny how the Nuclear Option travels in socio/Political circles.

    A light switch depending on how the process I managed/mismanaged

    Ben burn (70d425)

  126. “(I)mputing good motives . . . to Democrats” is at the heart of the “stupid” critique. If there is anything we have learned in the past few years it is that Republican pols aren’t particularly stupid. They’re just corrupt and in league with the Dems/K Street. Attributing good motives to Democrats is simply one of the many excuses made by Republican pols for their repeated failures to follow through on their promises – promises they never had any intention of fulfilling. This is what Ted Cruz has been telling us for the longest time – sometimes from the floor of the Senate – and it’s why he is so hated.

    It has nothing to do with tradition or good government. McConnell et al prefer the outcomes the continuation of the filibuster provide, which favor the corrupt center.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  127. Funny how it’s unpopular with the Fading Power Party when past prime.

    “HOW I LONG FOR BIPARTISANS”

    Ben burn (70d425)

  128. The closest recent example of Democrats acting contrary to their own immediate political self-interest to do something heroic would be Biden, as VPOTUS sitting as President of the Senate & House combined, declaring the winner of the electoral college vote, which of course was a ministerial duty under the Constitution in which Biden had zero discretion.

    But the filibuster is extraconstitutional. It rests solely on comity that is now dead. The Dems can argue if they want about who killed it, but I think it’s obvious that they did. Regardless, it’s dead. Why continue to pretend otherwise? Why is pretending otherwise so important that it should be allowed to gridlock the Senate? I’d be in favor of gridlocking the Senate, even in our current legislative perils, if there were even a realistic hope that the Dems would retain the legislative filibuster. But that hope is not realistic. It’s a delusion, one that has become asymmetrically self-destructive to the GOP.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  129. As happy might say, “Havardtrash love bipertisanship.”

    ThOR (c9324e)

  130. “(E)xtraconstitutional”?

    The filibuster shifts the balance of power from the House and the Executive to the Senate. I’d say this usurpation of power is anti-constitutional.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  131. “I guess we’ll have to work with the OTHER Party..”

    Ben burn (70d425)

  132. they really do love the bipartisanship and yes it’s number one because of the outcomes

    but it’s also cause of it flatters them and confirms their ideas about who they are

    but ask yourself, if we got rid of the filibuster, would republican senators still be filthy liars who promised to repeal obamacare and then broke that promise not once but over and over and over again in a whimsical series of votes seemingly crafted as a haughty sneering laugh in the faces of the voters who believed their promise?

    i think the over under on this is

    actually i don’t know how you use that sort of construction

    i got your over and under right here

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  133. Yes, yes.

    The dichotomy of Good v Evil has long tradition of Rumpublican triumph over the bad guys.

    Ben burn (70d425)

  134. hi i’m a Republican senator

    John McCain made a filthy liar out of me!

    he’s a hero!

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  135. I think this concern is well placed as 2018 approaches. Whistling through graveyard..

    Ben burn (70d425)

  136. The searchlight. Molester didnt debAte, he just did it. Re the filibuster.

    narciso (d1f714)

  137. Cook County soda tax to start Wednesday after judge dismissed challenge

    The county had been expecting the tax to bring in $67.5 million this year and $200.6 million in 2018. Earlier this month, Preckwinkle announced layoffs for 300 county workers in the absence of that revenue, though the layoffs have not begun.

    It’s unclear how many people will actually lose their jobs.

    this Preckwinkle hoochie is a genuinely nasty piece of work

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  138. Matt T.

    “I already miss Anthony Scaramucci. Of course, he hasn’t officially been fired yet (checks Twitter), or committed suicide by jumping into boiling steak fat at his Gotti-esque Hunt and Fish Club restaurant in Manhattan (checks Twitter again). But it sure seems like he’s not long for this earth. Even by Trumpian standards, has any federal official had a more disastrous rollout?”

    Ben burn (70d425)

  139. @103 Kevin M

    My daughter could weld a hitch on The White House if you like.

    Pinandpuller (ea25a3)

  140. @133 DCSCA

    At the start of the Obama Administration I received a check from The Treasury It was a couple of hundred dollars. Stimulus they called it.

    Could you explain the difference between that and a $200 tax cut?

    Pinandpuller (ea25a3)

  141. My sister can kick Trumps arse

    Ben burn (70d425)

  142. Socialism/Communism: Great idea. Wrong species. Attributed to EO Wilson by Gad Saad.

    Pinandpuller (ea25a3)

  143. Scaramucci really is a cad in the Donald Trump mold:

    Anthony Scaramucci’s wife demanded a divorce three weeks ago, while she was nine months pregnant, sources told The Post.

    Deidre Scaramucci, 38, fed up with her three-year marriage to the new White House communication director, filed divorce papers on July 6 in Nassau County Supreme Court.

    On Monday, while Anthony was in West Virginia with President Trump for the Boy Scouts Jamboree, Deidre gave birth to the couple’s baby boy James. As of Friday evening, a full four days after delivery, her 53-year-old husband had yet to meet his newborn son […]

    While Anthony was having dinner with President Trump and others in Washington Wednesday night, Deidre was home in Long Island recovering from labor. […]

    Deidre’s infant son, who was born two weeks before his Aug. 8 due date at 5 pounds, 13 ounces, was admitted on Thursday to the neonatal intensive care unit at North Shore Hospital.

    Classy.

    Dave (445e97)

  144. she’s just a hedge fund hoochie what’s cashing out

    this is what hedge fund hoochies do

    you think he got her pregnant on purpose?

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  145. Dave, what Tony was doing was IMPORTANT, not like those girl things. He’ll probably fight her for custody, too, since it’s a boy.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  146. you think he got her pregnant on purpose?

    It’s their second child.

    The two had their first child, Nicholas, in early 2014 and married on July 11, 2014 (once Anthony’s divorce was finalized) in an intimate beach ceremony on Long Island, according to the source close to the couple. They split their time between the North Shore and Southampton.

    “The big shift began when Deidre went from being arm candy to [being a mother] and being unavailable for nights out [and hobnobbing],” the source said. “That’s when [Anthony’s] decision to just continue his life as it was and leave her behind really started to take hold.”

    Dave (445e97)

  147. he seems kinda stupid huh

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  148. In fairness to Scaramucci, I haven’t seen evidence that he has bragged about committing sexual assault or peeping at naked little girls, or fantasized publicly about screwing the daughter from his first marriage, so the parallels to Trump are incomplete.

    Dave (445e97)

  149. I like President Trump he’s a straight shooter and free drinks all around on a nice boat somewheres, as the sun sets over the horizon with the promise of a better, happier tomorrow.

    Whereas Scaramucci’s just making a spectacle out of himself to no purpose and bringing shame onto his family.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  150. I hope President Trump makes you his Communications Director after he throws Scaramucci under the bus, happyfeet.

    Dave (445e97)

  151. hey now don’t jinx it

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  152. Maybe you will be able to get him to post here at Patterico’s Pontifications.

    Dave (445e97)

  153. Because war is about to happen more than anything else.

    jcurtis (1de1f0)

  154. war?

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  155. Esquire

    To be entirely fair, Priebus did come a long way. This was a guy who couldn’t get elected to the Wisconsin state legislature in two tries. Yet he moved all the way up to chairman of the Republican National Committee and White House chief-of-staff, in which job, if the Times can be believed, he functioned more as a piñata than anything else. Now he can go home, sort through all the memorabilia he’s accumulated over the past decade, and gradually reappear as a person. He no longer is the emptiest suit in American politics.

    Ben burn (70d425)

  156. @135- Yeah, the Long Boom “just happened”, like the Soviet Union’s collapse “just happened”

    Yeah, life can be deceptively grand when it’s on a Yankee Doodle credit card.

    The Rooskie demise was in work long before Ronnie left WB behind for the WH; and self-evident to any one who took time to look at civil life in the CCCP in the early ’70s. If you want to give credit where is due- it goes to the creators of every Hollywood film and TV project piped over the airwaves behind the Curtain.

    “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” -Wimpy’ Popeye cartoons, Max Fletcher Features, 1930’s.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  157. Right there was one soviet dissident who predicted it in the 70s, it took a number to pressure points , solisaruty, Afghanistan, the arms buildup to highten the contradiction.

    narciso (d1f714)

  158. Now he can go home, sort through all the memorabilia he’s accumulated over the past decade, and gradually reappear as a person.

    It remains to be seen which of Trump’s crimes he was complicit in.

    If he’s smart, he’ll work out an immunity deal with Mueller and sing like a canary.

    Dave (445e97)

  159. Andre amalrik in 1970, he was the most prescient.

    narciso (d1f714)

  160. @71- LOL A few visits to the GUM department store in Red Square was a much more prescient indicator.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  161. ^@171.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  162. @153- LOL I’m stimulated for you: my check never arrived.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  163. Reagan was a visionary, virtually alone in understanding how close to collapse the Soviets were (and the short-term dangers their military build-up presented during the resulting period of instability). Scholars and experts were almost unanimous in viewing the Soviet Union as an enduring fixture for the foreseeable future.

    “I believe that communism is another sad, bizarre chapter in world history whose last pages even now are being written” – Ronald Reagan, 1983

    Dave (445e97)

  164. 177.Reagan was a visionary, virtually alone in understanding how close to collapse the Soviets were

    Rubbish. Plenty knew, plenty saw.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  165. 168, Trump isn’t gonna leave the White House with insane characters in NK and Iran threatening nuclear destruction for fun or to please some deity. Yes, there will be world war. Goes without saying that you don’t have a Reince Priebus anywhere that situation.

    Poor Reince. Both his first and last names get squiggly red line under them when I type them. I guess he didn’t leave much of a mark on this world. I bet you can’t find another person who both first and last name give you the red squiggly. Hey…wait…does someone controlling my computer not want me to talk about Reince Priebus?

    jcurtis (1de1f0)

  166. Rubbish. Plenty knew, plenty saw.

    “There you go again.”

    Dave (445e97)

  167. it doesn’t matter cause Russia’s back and moar powerful than ever!

    Mitt Romney says they’re what keeps him up at night cause they’re fearsome and also well-organized

    John McCain says they did ACT OF WAR on us and he’s not imbalanced and deranged at all

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  168. @179 Yes, there will be world war.

    How cheerful. There’s a bus marked free rides to Purgetown by way of Buckeyville and a seat’s been saved for you.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  169. Mr. curtis war on NK is something I can support especially if there’s lots of collateral damage to those passive south korean losers what sat around singing kumbayaya while the norks proceeded to develop nukes, while we paid billions of dollars for the privilege of defending their useless asses

    but war on Iran?

    don’t the Saudis and the Israelis have more skin in that game than we do?

    i just can’t get to a let’s go to war place on that one

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  170. @180. Mommie, what comes next? Line?!

    “There you go again, stepping on my lines, raining on my parade, costing me medals. Oh, damn.” – ‘Wizards,’ 1977

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  171. 183, yes, South Korea are weak garbage but the lunatic in NK isn’t interested in South Korea. He expects, from past dealings, that the US will let him build a nuclear arsenal to wipe out the US. He’s less than 3 years away from that and Trump will be president at that time so I expect that he’ll be wiping out NK and their allies with nukes very soon to press our current advantage. Unless there is some cuteness going on that I’m not aware of. Yes, lots of people die in the world when this happens. We all die in a blink of the eye, in the grand perspective.

    jcurtis (1de1f0)

  172. well Mr. Austin Bay has a notebook full of good ideas for in case we need to do war on North Korea

    who’s next in line to chair the senate armed services committee anyways

    it would probably be smart to let Tom Cotton take over right now

    he’s kind of a goof but at the end of the day I don’t think his corrupt cowardly or sleazy

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  173. ugh *he’s* corrupt cowardly or sleazy

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  174. South Korean, Phillipine and Japanese (specifically Okinawan) intransigence stems from a certain demographic of GIs getting it in wile stationed there.

    urbanleftbehind (847a06)

  175. Further to that point, the South Vietnamese were far more worth saving.

    urbanleftbehind (847a06)

  176. Kim Jung-un is simply tweaking (twerking?) everybody’s nose. Every time he tests a missile or a atomic bomb, he removes that weapon from his arsenal. His manufacturing capacity isn’t that good, and those weapons are mostly hand made. When he tests one, he gets what he really wants, which is attention. If our political leaders ignored his petulant outbursts, we’d all be better off for it.

    I say, let him test all he wants, let him waste rockets attacking the empty ocean, let him blow up holes in the ground. The Chinese know that he is not a serious threat, and that’s why they haven’t put the screws on to stop him; they’re perfectly happy with him disarming the DPRK by wastage.

    The practical Dana (dbcf2c)

  177. And you watch hacksea ridge you realize why see were reluctant to give it up, so were at this stage:

    http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/russia-tests-an-intercontinental-ballistic-missile

    narciso (d1f714)

  178. but except any technology NK develops also goes to Iran who will use it to fulfill barack obama’s dream of turning Israel into a radioactive sandbox

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  179. DISCO’s right. We all knew. We were just keeping quiet about it.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  180. No, sir, I won’t join in imputing good motives or restraint to Democrats who haven’t demonstrated that since sometime during the 1970s or 1980s at the very latest.

    I don’t think that’s a fair characterization of my comment. My point is: they could have abolished it when they were last in control but did not. I am quite sure that had you asked any cynical Republican when Harry Reid took over whether he was likely to abolish the judicial filibuster, they would have said yes. How could anyone conclude otherwise! Do they think the Democrats are nice??!!

    But they didn’t.

    And so I am not attributing good motives to them or saying they won’t do it. I’m just saying I’m not as sure as you are that they will. Why didn’t they do it before? Did the GOP block nothing while Obama was President with the legislative filibuster?

    Patterico (115b1f)

  181. . The Chinese know that he is not a serious threat, and that’s why they haven’t put the screws on to stop him; they’re perfectly happy with him disarming the DPRK by wastage

    The Chinese also find it useful to have him on hand to keep us distracted and nervous. And an actual threat to South Korea, the Philippines and Japan. It’s like having a rabid dog on a leash. The neighbors never know if this is the day you let it slip off the chain.

    kishnevi (c81531)

  182. The Chinese know that he is not a serious threat, and that’s why they haven’t put the screws.”

    Interesting perspective but it doesn’t reduce the danger from Il Duce and his merry band of misfits. The mere perception of imminent threat can be easily manipulated. You were talking about Iraq?

    Ben burn (70d425)

  183. And so I am not attributing good motives to them or saying they won’t do it. I’m just saying I’m not as sure as you are that they will. Why didn’t they do it before? Did the GOP block nothing while Obama was President with the legislative filibuster?

    It is important to remember that Democrats in control of Congress need the filibuster just like the GOP does now. They will need something to blame for not passing their promises into law, just like the GOP does now.

    kishnevi (c81531)

  184. @190. You should watch footage of those actual rocket launches closely.

    NK didn’t develop those liquid-fueled rockets, engines and guidance systems on their own. It’s a tricky technology to manage, especially for mobile, in-the-field deployment, fueling and launch. Per NASA, ‘solid fueled rockets are much easier to store and handle than liquid fueled rockets, which makes them ideal for military applications.’ The U.S. Atlas and Titans were such a headache to maintain back in the day, they went to solids as quickly as they could w/Minuteman, Polaris and Possidons. The development of a reliable and efficient solid fuel was the key.

    Back in the ‘tight times’ just after the Soviet collapse, Russian aerospace technology was sold to China to raise cash; their Shenzhou spacecraft is a virtual knockoff of the Russian Soyuz. It’s likely some of that technology made its way to NK. And their past two launches up and down have been impressive, speaking strictly from the a rocketry POV. But it ain’t theirs. Inhibiting miniaturization of the payload is really what has to be the focus now. Back in the day, when Russian missiles were ‘bigger’ and more powerful than U.S. rockets it was because they had to be- their nuclear payloads were bulkier and heavier. But it worked out well to loft Sputnik– and Gagarin for propaganda purposes.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  185. Yes but we’re not talking the crunch times, the Kim dynasty has plenty of cash.

    narciso (d1f714)

  186. Keep your eyes peeled for ‘yellowcake type concern trolling, or tried and true dog-whistles https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Tonkin_Resolution

    Ben burn (b3d5ab)

  187. Of course it was an innocent mistake..

    Wiki

    “It was originally claimed by the National Security Agency that a Second Gulf of Tonkin incident occurred on August 4, 1964, as another sea battle, but instead evidence was found of “Tonkin ghosts”[7] (false radar images) and not actual North Vietnamese torpedo boats. In the 2003 documentary The Fog of War, the former United States Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara admitted that the August 2 USS Maddox attack happened with no Defense Department response, but the August 4 Gulf of Tonkin attack never happened.[8] In 1995, former Secretary of Defense McNamara met with former Vietnam People’s Army General Võ Nguyên Giáp to ask what happened on August 4, 1964 in the second Gulf of Tonkin Incident. “Absolutely nothing”, Giáp replied.[9] Giáp claimed that the attack had been imaginary.[10]

    Ben burn (b3d5ab)

  188. The first attack referred to retaliation for infiltration on
    hainan island

    http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2064

    narciso (d1f714)

  189. @156 Dave

    The Jamboree was his own private War in Afghanistan.

    Pinandpuller (ea25a3)

  190. @199- Yes but the technology and the support systems and integration necessary for same isn’t the sort of thing that’s easily let loose by governments nor distributed fast and smoothly w/o reason. The NK cluster-engine configuration is intriguing; a Russian-design hallmark– and somewhat Falconesque as well. Watch for engine failures.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  191. @170 DCSCA

    I thought I saw a CIB on one of Michael Jackson’s jackets.

    Pinandpuller (ea25a3)

  192. @176 DCSCA

    How did you miss The I Love the Hoodoo that You Do Economics of 2009?

    Were you back in the USSR?

    Pinandpuller (ea25a3)

  193. @186 happyfeet

    Michael Bay probably has a few good ideas as well. Like set everything to explode.

    You know, if we set off an EMP over NK it would set them back to last week.

    Pinandpuller (ea25a3)

  194. She should switch from other ebrres like rizzotohttps://mobile.twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/891132695564210182

    narciso (d1f714)

  195. Did the GOP block nothing while Obama was President with the legislative filibuster?

    I don’t know the answer, but the window would have been fairly brief, since the GOP controlled the House from January 2011 onward, and they only acquired their 41st Senate seat in January of 2010. So there was only one calendar year in which the legislative (as opposed to confirmation) filibuster was relevant.

    Dave (445e97)

  196. Trump is now hate-tweeting China about the DPRK rocket launches…

    Dave (445e97)

  197. If DCSCA is right we need to start dropping Benny Goodman records and Taco Bell on NK tomorrow! And throw in some EBT cards.

    Pinandpuller (d78d4b)

  198. When you’ve been eating g tree bark for so long I doubt think that works:
    http://www.streetwiseprofessor.com/?p=10621

    narciso (d1f714)

  199. Following the Boy Scouts’ example, the cops are now apologizing for Trump’s speech last week.

    Isn’t apologizing for Trump’s speeches supposed to be Mike Pence’s job?

    Dave (445e97)

  200. Don’t you believe it. They’re talking out of both sides of their mouths. They loved Sessions telling them explicitly the DOJ will help them steal, ahem, “forfeit assets” regardless of their own states’ rules against it, and they love Trump telling them his administration will turn a blind eye to police brutality.

    nk (dbc370)

  201. DISCO@131

    How are Nixon’s comments particularly different from Jonathan Turley’s comments about Mooch that appear in today’s USA Today?

    ThOR (c9324e)

  202. i haven’t been reading up on North Korea that much but apparently they’ve been sharing in all those billions food stamp, valerie, and Bob Corker gave to their Iranian terrorist friends

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  203. ugh today i have to finish getting ready for the Toni Preckwinkle beverage tax-rape of working families what starts here in Chicago on wednesday

    the Tribune tells me this isn’t a “sin tax” it’s a “choice tax”

    uncommonly smarmy CNN fake news propaganda slut Jackie Wattles purrs: Chicago residents: That sweet tooth is about to cost you a little extra.

    this is CNN FAKE NEWS

    a 1.25 liter of diet coke what cost you $1.69 before filthy greedy preckwinkle rammed her obscene tax all up in it, will now cost you $2.11 – that’s a whopping 25% increase, Jackie, but you knew that of course you’re just a filthy lying propaganda slut

    Jackie also tells us that “It has been dubbed the “pop tax,” referring to the local term for soda.”

    No Jackie you sleazy cow what ate the last cheddar biscuit, NOBODY calls it that.

    Got any more lies for us, CNN fake news propaganda slut Jackie Wattles?

    Why yes, happy, here you go sugarplum:

    “Revenue from this tax will allow the county to maintain and improve vital services like the healthcare and public safety systems,” the organization said.

    LOL

    That last howler’s from the scam artists at The American Heart Association.

    But what’s the most disgusting aspect of the crappy CNN fake news reporting? Did you notice?

    Yeah.

    They don’t tell you when the tax starts.

    It starts next wednesday, so people have plenty of time to get some pre-tax stuff put away, but not if they get their news from CNN fake news propaganda slut Jackie Wattles.

    We’ll just note the following too…

    “We do not expect a run on soda this evening as this subject is likely not top of mind for our customers due to the length of the legal proceedings over the last few weeks,” Hyland said in an email.

    This tells me Mariano’s doesn’t want this to be top of anyone’s mind in such a way that they associate Toni Preckwinkle’s savage tax-rape of working families with the Mariano’s brand.

    Far as I can tell all I really need is a small bottle of ginger ale for so I can get rid of the last of the Pimm’s.

    But I started getting ready for this last year.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  204. What possessed you to move to the windy city, pikachu?

    narciso (d1f714)

  205. it *was* actually a huge tax cut for me

    but sleazy corrupt mike madigan’s done a lot of work on that since i got here

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  206. Antidemocracy?

    “As part of the lawsuit, the ACLU is requesting a Kansas federal judge unseal documents that Kobach was photographed holding when he met with Trump in November 2016, as well as a draft amendment to federal voting law, which circulated in his office. The documents contain potential amendments to the National Voter Registration Act, a 1993 law requiring motor vehicle and some other state agencies to provide opportunities to register to vote.”

    Ben burn (b3d5ab)

  207. Yes, yes. Keep chasing those dangerous thugs you relentless purveyors of pap.

    AWAN!!

    BENGHAAAAAZZZZZEEEE!

    OBAMA!

    HILLARY!

    Ben burn (b3d5ab)

  208. Birfers never die, they just shed their skin.

    Ben burn (b3d5ab)

  209. Russia is a limited power, geographically speaking probably at the late 18th cwbtyry stage after the Swedish and Turkish war, they only have half of Ukraine, they control none of the balksns.

    narciso (d1f714)

  210. Heh. Maguire is sourcing The Sun for rumors of war. Commenters completely ignore.

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  211. Find somebody on food stamps (EBT). The tax does not apply to sweet drinks purchased with food stamps. You buy his Colt 45 malt liquor for him and he buys the soda pop for you.

    nk (dbc370)

  212. i’m a just not buy anymore

    but i’m moving next spring to a smaller place and i need to clear out all these mixers from my mixology phase

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  213. Must be time for Burnie the Soros bot’s shift.

    Is it a 9 hour shift or 12 hour one? Inquiring minds want to know.

    NJRob (7f4bec)

  214. narcico @223

    Now, that’s loyalty. One way though, maybe. Or do you think somebody else is behind or supports Awan?

    Sammy Finkelman (7577a8)

  215. He hires Tea Baggers too, Nutley.

    Equal opportunity Prog.

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  216. Teahadists are often birfers and many claim to be because Soros pays more.

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  217. So why would we read haverman except to note her category error?

    narciso (d1f714)

  218. Sammy at 233. Blackmail would be my guess. Who knows what he hacked for her? All the Republicans? Bernie Sanders? Trump? The debate questions?

    nk (dbc370)

  219. Trump only threatens Congressional, privileged Concierage heathcare out of REVENGE! not because its the right thing to do. Can’t he do nuthin’ right?

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  220. Are mirrors permitted in Trumplandia?

    That Daily Caller article is a damning account of the disgusting state of journalism today, where being discovered as unethical has no negative consequences. But they never tire of self describing themselves as essential to the country.

    Posted by: Captain Hate | July 30, 2017 at 10:14 AM

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  221. mariano’s already has a special tag on the shelf for every beverage affected by preckwinkle’s greedy attack on working families

    the cheapest ginger ale was the seagram’s brand so that’s what i got usually i’d get cans but now they’ve just pissed me off

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  222. Imagine Donald and Vlad squaring off on a game of rock/paper/scissors.

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  223. yup failmerica’s gonna get pimp-slapped hard for basing its foreign policy on vacuous virtue signaling Mr. burn

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  224. I can see Vlads biceps flexing as Trumps ‘waddle’ flaps about.

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  225. Looking forward to escalating retaliation.

    This is what Trump is good at…bridge burning arsonist.

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  226. these stupid sanctions aren’t President Trump’s fault it’s the sleazy do-nothing McConnell/Ryan congress

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  227. Trump heard once that a good libertarian is also an anarchist, but Trump thought they said ‘arsonist’.

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  228. He’s the Presidunce. His accountability newspaper is delivered every morning.

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  229. he’s a bad mamma jamma he’s built he’s stacked

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  230. Heh! I have to hand it to Trump on this Russian sanctions thing. There were the Democrats getting their panties all damp on the possibility that he’d veto them, and he dashes their tingle by saying he’ll sign them, so they drop back and punt to … can you believe it? … “we needz gud relationz with Russia”. Hast du in deinem leben?

    nk (dbc370)

  231. i think europe and russia should get the pimp-slapping process started off by sanctioning LNG from Lisa Murkowski’s Alaska

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  232. I think the modern-day Armand Hammers who want to sell Russia the rope with which to hang us should all be shipped to Russia. Not necessarily all the way. Twelve miles off the Atlantic coast should do it, and they can swim the rest of the way.

    nk (dbc370)

  233. We can start with the two parties’ designated fruitcakes. Sanders, Rand, Amash, Dunkin, Massie.

    nk (dbc370)

  234. yes yes sounds like a good place to start

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  235. Ordering police officers to violate the constitution and commit civil rights violations is another impeachable offense.

    Trump supporters defend the indefensible in 3, 2, 1, …

    Dave (445e97)

  236. i did a learning this morning

    i have a bottle of fernet to use up… and here is an interesting:

    The drink has been popular in the San Francisco Bay Area since before Prohibition. In 2008, San Francisco accounted for 25% of US consumption. San Francisco bars usually serve fernet as a shot followed by a ginger ale chaser.

    this is awesome cause i got way more ginger ale than i needed cause the most economical choice was a freaking 2 liter

    but that 25% figure is fascinating – my new brother in law (prospective) likes coke as a mixer… check this out:

    [Fernet] is very popular in Argentina, where it was introduced by Italians during the Great European immigration wave to the country. The massively popular drink (Fernet-Cola) was popularized during the mid-1980s encouraged by advertisements of Fratelli Branca in Buenos Aires TV stations with national scope, its popularity growing steadily ever since. In fact, fernet has had the highest growth in consumption in the last 10 years. The popularity of fernet is so strong, that many bars in Buenos Aires have removed it from their menus to encourage consumption of more expensive drinks.

    I think i got my bottle just for one cocktail and it’s just kinda sat there for awhile.

    hrmmm

    The chef Fergus Henderson offers a recipe, entitled both “A Miracle” and “Dr. Henderson” that approximates Branca Menta by combining two parts fernet with one part crème de menthe over ice. The recipe describes this cocktail as a cure for overindulgence.

    my first reaction is that this sounds kinda dreadful

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  237. Stick to the absinthe, happyfeet.

    Anything else would be much less entertaining. 🙂

    Dave (445e97)

  238. ugh absinthe

    it’s too

    how to say

    fussy

    absinthe rinse this absinse rinse that

    it does have a way of going straight to your head though

    i’ve done it chilled 2 to one with angostura like one might would do with an old fashioned, with a splash of simple syrup, and some cherry juice (and just maybe a bar spoon of granulated sugar in the shaker because it sediments out and it’s kind of a fun decadence to take a finger of the settled out sugar after it soaks in the absinthe)

    not that i’d recommend this to anybody

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  239. happyfeet

    Are you suggesting they turned Dollywood NK into Oak Ridge?

    Pinandpuller (ea25a3)

  240. Nk..veto proof?

    He doesn’t like being told what to do..and a hizzy fit and debiltating IBS could be a STONEWALL moment. He loves him some Generals.

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  241. oh gosh you gotta give me more than that

    it’s been a madcap 24 hours in casa pikachu

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  242. Chris Wallace and the Cryptkeeper

    Kellyanne, you’ve got to allow me to ask some questions,” the Fox host told her as she continued to talk. “This week the president continued to attack his attorney general… Does the president want Jeff Sessions to continue as attorney general or — as has been suggested — is he considering him moving over to replace General Kelly as the secretary of homeland security?”

    “That’s a personnel question that only the president can answer,” Conway opined before pivoting to the president’s campaign against “vile groups” of undocumented immigrants. “These MS-13 gangs are murdering innocent Americans and bringing drugs and violence into our communities.”

    “I understand that,” Wallace said, trying to get the interview back on track. But Conway ignored him.

    “The question is, is he considering moving [Sessions to homeland security] if the immigration part of this is so important?” Wallace asked.

    “I won’t comment on that but I will tell you that that the president has expressed frustration about [Sessions recusing himself from the Russia investigation],” Conway admitted. “And look at what’s happened with this ridiculous Russian collusion delusion. You see all these journalists, who built entire TV sets and lower-thirds and screaming graphics and breathless coverage, now slinking away this week, Chris, from the Russian collusion coverage. Why? Because you have everyone, from Jared Kushner meeting with the House and the Senate and giving his public statement.”

    “You have no ‘there’ there whatsoever,” she continued. “We were promised the next Watergate, we don’t even have water polo. We don’t have watermelon. It’s so ridiculous and the only thing I can see happening with Russia right now is this FusionGPS matter [allegedly connected to Hillary Clinton], the Senate witness who said everybody should go look over there at what’s happened. Somebody being paid by the Russians to compile a damaging dossier on Donald Trump. Again, filled with falsities and lies.”

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  243. Heh! I have to hand it to Trump on this Russian sanctions thing. There were the Democrats getting their panties all damp on the possibility that he’d veto them, and he dashes their tingle by saying he’ll sign them, so they drop back and punt to … can you believe it? … “we needz gud relationz with Russia”. Hast du in deinem leben?

    nk (dbc370) — 7/30/2017 @ 8:26 am

    That’s because to the left everything is politics and the pursuit of more power. They don’t care if they need to lie, cheat, steal, kill to maintain or increase their power. Breaking a few legs, backs and lives is just spilled milk to them.

    Trump ruined their game by agreeing to sign the sanctions. So it’s on to the next game.

    NJRob (7f4bec)

  244. Kellyanne forgot that Don Jr. confessed to conspiracy to violate the election laws, apparently.

    Dave (445e97)

  245. Dave,

    keep being so “conservative” and getting those talking points from MSDNC.

    NJRob (7f4bec)

  246. Conway is a good Consigulari. Oaf Oath’s Honor!

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  247. i want her to come to my house for christmas

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  248. @256 Dave

    I don’t think Trump is in the chain of command outside a national emergency.

    Wouldn’t you need a case of a cop using the Trump told me to do it defense?

    Like the submariner who tried to use the Hillary did it defense.

    Pinandpuller (ea25a3)

  249. happyfeet

    Have you ever tried a fish called Burbot?

    They also call it a lawyer because it’s heart is next to it’s a$$hole.

    Pinandpuller (ea25a3)

  250. what kind of sauce does it like

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  251. If Cabinet members switch seats does The Senate have to reconfirmed?

    Pinandpuller (ea25a3)

  252. probably but that would be really quixotic

    McConnell’s corrupt pig wife’s pretty well established the plug n play principle

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  253. Cheap booze raises no objections.

    Pinandpuller (ea25a3)

  254. we don’t have none of that here in Chicago

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  255. Our host asked (#194):

    My point is: they could have abolished it when they were last in control but did not….

    … Why didn’t they do it before? Did the GOP block nothing while Obama was President with the legislative filibuster?

    The Dems didn’t follow through on Reid’s thread and expressed desire only because the Dems lost united control of the government near the end of the first half of Obama’s first term. You’ll recall that they’d gotten united control from the 2008 election wipeout that had given the Dems both chambers of Congress, with a filibuster-proof 60 Senate seats, plus the White House. That changed when Scott Brown filled Ted Kennedy’s seat, though, and the Dems never regained unified control during the rest of Obama’s tenure in office.

    When one’s opponent already holds either chamber of Congress or the WH, then abolishing the legislative filibuster in the Senate wouldn’t get a single bill passed into law for one’s side. One therefore has zero self-incentive to abolish it.

    Even if the Dems retook the Senate in 2018 — which could only happen, given who’s up this year, if the GOP screws up massively, but that’s exactly what Trump+Congress are indeed doing) — the Dems will likewise have zero incentive to abolish it while the GOP holds either the WH or the House. So we’re talking 2020 at the earliest, worst case for the GOP, right?

    But the instant the Dems have even a tiny Senate majority, the House, and the WH — as the GOP does now — the Dems will behead the filibuster zombie and put in its grave. We’ll be on the receiving end of bare-majority rule, and Mitch McConnell can have the moral satisfaction of saying, “Well, at least we didn’t do that first, did we?” as the nation gets screwed. I will not be sympathetic to that excuse.

    Tell me why that’s wrong, please? Tell me what part of it you doubt, and then give me some evidence to support that doubt, so that we consider whether it’s a reasonable doubt. I’m entirely willing to have this important question resolved by that high standard — “beyond a reasonable doubt” — because I’m confident it’s met here, given the Dems’ historic behavior and our common appraisal of their current lack of integrity.

    Bonus questions:

    Q: Which party instituted the two-thirds-voting cloture rule, ending the practice of unlimited filibustering in the Senate, in the first place?

    A: The Dems, at Woodrow Wilson’s urging, in 1917, when the Dems held the WH and both chambers of Congress. They used WW1 and national security as their justification.

    Q: Which party instituted the reduction of the filibuster rule from two-thirds-voting to sixty (which is 3/5ths if everyone’s voting)?

    A: The Dems, in 1975, when the Dems had massive majorities in both chambers of Congress and were confident of beating unelected Gerald Ford in 1976 (as they in fact did).

    Am I the only one who can see the pattern here? Why can’t McConnell, Cruz, and Lee?

    Beldar (fa637a)

  256. In #277, I ought to have written: “So we’re talking January 2021 at the earliest [when the Dems might again be in a position to be motivated to abolish the filibuster, having regained unified control of government], worst case for the GOP, right?” That would be based on November 2020 election results, of course.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  257. More specifically, re 1975: The Dems already had veto-proof majorities in both chambers of Congress, giving them effective unified control of government despite Ford, as evidenced, for example, by the blatant breach of American treaty obligations to the South Vietnamese that resulted in the fall of South Vietnam in April 1975 and the resulting power vacuum in SE Asia.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  258. Not only can you see the pattern, you did a fine job of documenting it.

    Thank you, Beldar.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  259. You can blame LBJ as well as all other democrats for falling for the Tonkin Con.

    Democrats are war mongers.

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  260. We often forget about the dismal record of defeating Insurgencies…including that political optic, Iraq.

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  261. Democrats are venal swine.

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  262. I hope I’m not belaboring the obvious here, but:

    When Reid nuked the nominations filibuster, that didn’t involve the House, and it didn’t matter that the GOP had taken the House, because under the Constitution, on the Senate has an advice & consent role. That’s why divided government didn’t destroy his incentives, and by nuking the nominations filibuster the Dems did indeed put a ton of judges on the bench whom the GOP senators otherwise could and would have filibustered.

    But even if the Dems took both the Senate and House in Nov. 2018, and even if Trump were impeached, there would still be a Republican in the WH through January 2021. So that’s the earliest time we could expect the Dems to nuke the legislative filibuster too.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  263. Dave reminds me of when Ralphie gets his decoder ring in A Christmas Story.

    Pinandpuller (ea25a3)

  264. “[O]nly the Senate has an advice & consent role …,” I meant to write in #284.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  265. McConnell probably would’ve wanted to make sure the USS Arizona was well and truly sunk before he’d have been willing to recognize that we were at war with Japan. After all, those bombs might have missed!

    Beldar (fa637a)

  266. And the Democrats obstructed FDR as he tried to send relief to Churchills struggles against Tory Nazis.

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  267. Re #284: It wasn’t only circuit and district judges whom the Dems loaded up on after Reid nuked the nominations filibuster in December 2013. It was also Administrative Branch appointees. Loretta Lynch, to pick just one example, only had 56 votes to confirm her as AG, and could never have gotten past a legislative filibuster.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  268. Bah, in #289, I should’ve written: “Loretta Lynch, to pick just one example, only had 56 votes to confirm her as AG, and could never have gotten past a nomination filibuster.”

    My passion is making my proofreading sloppy, which is a shame. I’m right about this, my passion and intellect both tell me. But my intellect also tells me that even if Trump uses his Twitter feed and the POTUS’ bully pulpit to war on the filibuster, there are too many fuddy-duddies like McConnell in the Senate who will join him in giving Dems the grounds for mocking us and proving us suckers the very next time they have unified government.

    Our host isn’t a fuddy-duddy, though, nor are all of his readers, and I hope I might convince some of y’all.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  269. When a republican filibusters democrat initiatives they care about the democrat majority breaks out the cots, orders pizza and makes the republican talk until his bladder overflows or 3/5’s have had enough to limit debate and move on.

    When a democrat even hints at a willingness to filibuster major initiatives McConnell pulls the bill and heads to the steakhouse. Political cowardice by the acclaimed master of parliamentary procedure is the problem. McConnell knows how to use the rules to get what he wants and how to shift blame and avoid accountability for what he doesn’t want, regardless of what he says.

    I share the frustration of those who’ve had enough of the filibuster follies but I don’t see how killing the legislative filibuster would be any different under McConnell than the reconciliation follies we just went through this week. I continue to believe more debate in committee through regular order and a willingness to bring out the cots and pizza to limit debate is the answer to ending this feckless era of blame-shifting and take-it-or-leave-it-itis.

    crazy (11d38b)

  270. Suddenly, comity and bipartisanship are in vogue again. Pray tell us why?

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  271. Beldar would have some credibility if he hadn’t waited for the FAIL to arrive before opening his FILIBUSTER pie-hole.

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  272. The Dems didn’t follow through on Reid’s thread and expressed desire only because the Dems lost united control of the government near the end of the first half of Obama’s first term. You’ll recall that they’d gotten united control from the 2008 election wipeout that had given the Dems both chambers of Congress, with a filibuster-proof 60 Senate seats, plus the White House. That changed when Scott Brown filled Ted Kennedy’s seat, though, and the Dems never regained unified control during the rest of Obama’s tenure in office.

    When one’s opponent already holds either chamber of Congress or the WH, then abolishing the legislative filibuster in the Senate wouldn’t get a single bill passed into law for one’s side. One therefore has zero self-incentive to abolish it.

    Even if the Dems retook the Senate in 2018 — which could only happen, given who’s up this year, if the GOP screws up massively, but that’s exactly what Trump+Congress are indeed doing) — the Dems will likewise have zero incentive to abolish it while the GOP holds either the WH or the House. So we’re talking 2020 at the earliest, worst case for the GOP, right?

    But the instant the Dems have even a tiny Senate majority, the House, and the WH — as the GOP does now — the Dems will behead the filibuster zombie and put in its grave. We’ll be on the receiving end of bare-majority rule, and Mitch McConnell can have the moral satisfaction of saying, “Well, at least we didn’t do that first, did we?” as the nation gets screwed. I will not be sympathetic to that excuse.

    Tell me why that’s wrong, please? Tell me what part of it you doubt, and then give me some evidence to support that doubt, so that we consider whether it’s a reasonable doubt. I’m entirely willing to have this important question resolved by that high standard — “beyond a reasonable doubt” — because I’m confident it’s met here, given the Dems’ historic behavior and our common appraisal of their current lack of integrity.

    Bonus questions:

    Q: Which party instituted the two-thirds-voting cloture rule, ending the practice of unlimited filibustering in the Senate, in the first place?

    A: The Dems, at Woodrow Wilson’s urging, in 1917, when the Dems held the WH and both chambers of Congress. They used WW1 and national security as their justification.

    Q: Which party instituted the reduction of the filibuster rule from two-thirds-voting to sixty (which is 3/5ths if everyone’s voting)?

    A: The Dems, in 1975, when the Dems had massive majorities in both chambers of Congress and were confident of beating unelected Gerald Ford in 1976 (as they in fact did).

    Am I the only one who can see the pattern here? Why can’t McConnell, Cruz, and Lee?

    Beldar (fa637a) — 7/30/2017 @ 11:23 am

    100% right and deserved to be quoted in full.

    We also have the left’s word that they were going to nuke the filibuster when they had retaken Congress and the Presidency in 2016. They said they were going to. Is anyone calling them a liar?

    NJRob (7f4bec)

  273. Ben burn, I was arguing in this blog’s comments and elsewhere that the GOP should nuke the legislative filibuster since shortly after election day, when it became clear that this was one of the rare opportunities of united government in which that issue is squarely presented. I resent you misrepresenting me, obviously out of ignorance.

    If you go back further, to 2013 when Reid nuked the appointments filibuster, I pointed out the Dems’ obvious hypocrisy in purporting to restrict their nuke to everything but SCOTUS appointees. Since there were no vacancies on the SCOTUS, they hoped they could trick the GOP into still recognizing a filibuster right against SCOTUS appointees. And I commented here on this blog and elsewhere when, upon the occasion of the Gorsuch nomination, the GOP surprisingly but commendably fell in line, including McConnell and the leadership, in nuking the filibuster for SCOTUS appointees as well.

    Your mischaracterization is offensive, sir, and I ask that you stop pretending to know what my positions are or have been, when obviously you do not.

    Otherwise, this will end our discussions here, and I’ll consign you to the ranks of the fools whom I ignore as a matter of routine and principle.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  274. yeah this shtick never gets old

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  275. @ crazy: The federal government’s involvement in healthcare has been a subject of continuous, non-stop, formal and informal debate in Congress and outside it, during election season and otherwise, since at least 2009.

    Committee hearings and regular order — which are fine in general — are a complete waste of time and a transparent attempt to kick the IED down the road on this issue, though, IMHO.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  276. Beldar: No need for thin skin. I’ll take your word for bipartisanship, but I doubt anyone on insertions researches past comments and first impressions are important. Cheers.

    Ben burn (77b6c4)

  277. @ pin, who asked: “If Cabinet members switch seats does The Senate have to reconfirmed?”

    Yes, they do. But the WH Chief of Staff position doesn’t require Senate confirmation. Gen. Kelly’s successor at Homeland Security will have to be confirmed anew, even if it’s someone like his principal deputy (who’s also a political appointee subject to Senate confirmation and was just recently confirmed by this same Senate).

    Beldar (fa637a)

  278. From Patterico.com in September 2016: Harry Reid: Once Hillary Is Elected and We Have the Senate, It’s Bye Bye Filibuster. At a time when it looked like the Dems would likely retake the WH and Senate at a minimum in the November 2016 elections, our host wrote (ellipses his):

    Trump’s presence on the ticket is killing down-ticket races to the point where a Democrat majority in the Senate is a distinct possibility. If that happens, you can bet they will play every card they have.

    They have the right to do it. And it was always … hopeful, let’s call it … for Republicans to exercise restraint on the hope that Democrats would do the same. This is who they are and what they do.

    I’d still bet that the Dems will play every card they have when next it advantages them. I agree that is who they are and what they do. What confuses me is why our host now entertains the contrary expectation.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  279. Beldar, believe it or not I generally agree with the argument you’re making. Where I believe we disagree is whether legislation written behind closed doors and pushed to the floor for party-line votes is an improvement over the traditional legislative process. As ugly as the old ways were by the time a bill made to a floor vote members, the press and the public knew everything there was to know about it save the last minute sweeteners slipped in we all hate but are often necessary for passage. Pelosi and Reid moved Congress away from that and to this new godawful parliamentary style of continuing resolutions and must-pass floor votes that everybody hates but nobody will stop because it allows them all to complain and shirk responsibility for what they did at the same time. They like it like this. I’m fine with killing the legislative filibuster but there will always be another John Quixote McCain to kill the bill with nothing more than a thumbs down to the clerk. I would rather make them talk to delay the bill rather than kill it like McCain did.

    Thank you for considering another POV.

    crazy (11d38b)

  280. Congress must be very proud of Putin’s prompt response before the ink is dry.

    crazy (11d38b)

  281. The Bew York Post rprinted a Wall Street Journal column by Kimberly Strassel and ran an editorial”

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/who-paid-for-the-trump-dossier-1501193386

    It has been 10 days since Democrats received the glorious news that Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley would require Donald Trump Jr. and Paul Manafort to explain their meeting with Russian operators at Trump Tower last year. The left was salivating at the prospect of watching two Trump insiders being grilled about Russian “collusion” under the klieg lights.

    Yet Democrats now have meekly and noiselessly retreated, agreeing to let both men speak to the committee in private. Why would they so suddenly be willing to let go of this moment of political opportunity?

    Fusion GPS. That’s the oppo-research outfit behind the infamous and discredited “Trump dossier,” ginned up by a former British spook. Fusion co-founder Glenn Simpson also was supposed to testify at the Grassley hearing, where he might have been asked in public to reveal who hired him to put together the hit job on Mr. Trump, which was based largely on anonymous Russian sources. Turns out Democrats are willing to give up just about anything—including their Manafort moment—to protect Mr. Simpson from having to answer that question.

    http://nypost.com/2017/07/28/will-democrats-block-probe-of-a-russian-op-against-trump/

    I think they are misintrepreting a little bitkt though what happened.

    Russia did not know that Christopher Steele was working for U.S. Democrats!

    They thought he was working for people in the UK

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  282. united government

    It’s hardly that; the party ‘in power’ is ‘in the midst’ of a long overdue ‘Buckley-styled Purge’ of rigid, zealous ideologues as pragmatism ascends. Trump is a mere transient; a means to a long overdue end.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  283. If I were to bet, I’d bet that George Conway (KelliAnne’s hubby, a lawyer with longtime GOP connections) was the ghost-author of Trump’s continuing series of Tweets on this topic. This is part of someone in the WH’s sustained campaign, and I don’t think it’s the sort of thing which would have originated with Trump himself (nor his mini-me, Mooch).

    Beldar (fa637a)

  284. I’ve been thinking there’s a ghost writer, but I see you’ve developed the idea into a pretty good thesis.

    I’m one who thinks Presidential tweets could be a great tool if used with a bit of strategy and greater acumen, though you don’t want Trump tweets to sound anything like a Cruz tweets.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  285. Perhaps it’s a reflection of conversation with Kelly. Note that what Trump’s threatening is simply following the law as written, just as Kelly did on the border. If Congress doesn’t like the law they should do something about it just as Gen/Secy Kelly told them when they were complaining about his “heartless crackdown” on illegals. I think it’s a sound strategy for dealing with a recalcitrant Congress.

    crazy (11d38b)

  286. A longstanding peeve is that elected bodies pass laws they never intend nor expect to see enforced. It’s done as a form of electioneering and virtue signalling. For some reason the executive – mayor, governor or president – accommodates. Why the accommodation? The real problem with these rarely enforced rules is that when they are enforced, it is done in grotesquely selective ways: more for show or vengeance than anything else.

    If executives would just enforce those stupid laws, we might see some movement toward repeal.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  287. I guess the next question is, who’s next to go?

    Anthony Scaramucci.

    Trump Removes Anthony Scaramucci From Communications Director Role

    This surprised me. I didn’t think Trump had it in him.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  288. This is because of John Kelly.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)


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