POTUS Donald Trump

[D. Hocking]

 

Boy Scouts apologized for Trump's speech.  http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/27/politics/boy-scouts-trump-apology/index.html

 

Now we just need whatever divine or cosmic source that created him to apologize and fix its mistake.

 

 

[nicksaviking]

 

Boy Scouts apologized for Trump's speech.  http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/27/politics/boy-scouts-trump-apology/index.html

 

Such a timely apology. Good thing they made the apology so very immediately or it might look like they were simply trying to manage the backlash.

[Craig Arko]

This is your new White House Communications Director. Definitely NSFW language, for those who are sensitive to such things.

 

https://www.newyorker.com/news/ryan-lizza/anthony-scaramucci-called-me-to-unload-about-white-house-leakers-reince-priebus-and-steve-bannon

[DaveW]

Bahahahahahahahahahaha

 

Comedy gold.

[D. Hocking]

This would be comedy gold if it were not real life - the Senate is just seeing the skinny repeal now - it was largely written over lunch today - and are going to vote on it tonight.  Sounds like it might pass, largely ushering out the pre-existing condition protection etc.  

 

People like Lindsey Graham are trying to get guarantees from Ryan that it won't pass the conciliation process with the house, because they don't really want it to become law, because they know how bad it is, but do not have enough of a spine to vote against it. 

 

So this horrible bill might go to the next step, because no one can admit they never came up with an alternative and want to keep the ruse going because they have been talking about repealing this law for 7 years, while not really doing anything about it but posture and bluster.

 

This entire week has been some sort of comedy of errors of a rather tragic nature.

[Badsmerf]

This is the biggest **** show I've ever seen. And it's taking place in the white house. Do the people whom voted for him feel good about this? Holy **** man (and a few women). It's like the twilight zone. It's only a matter of time before something really really bad happens, then what the **** is going to happen? When Lindsey Graham is threatening the presidency publicly.... there are more issues than we're aware of.

[Badsmerf]

The chickens are coming home to roost. The republicans made this mess by feeding the crazy animal that it's the alt right. Now, they have to deal with the consequences. I read a great article by vox today campaigning for a proportional democracy. It was interesting.

[jimmer]

And John McCain crushes the bill with the deciding 'no' vote.

 

Suck it, tweeter in chief!

[nicksaviking]

 

 

I've long had an on-again, off-again love affair with John McCain. Just a month ago it seemed like he was ready to help oust Trump and then today it sounded like he thought Trump should be exonerated and he thought dog-piling on Clinton was a good decision. This guy has never been able to maintain a consistent personae ever since Bush pulled some of the dirtiest campaign tricks against him in the 2000 primaries.

 

Affair back on. 

 

If only every other senator could also start to consider how they will be viewed in the history books instead of only thinking about getting re-elected.

[Craig Arko]

In your eagerness to honor Sen. McCain, please do not overlook Senators Murkowski and Collins.

[Badsmerf]

No kidding. Murkowski is tough AF. She seriously won an election by write in in 2010, and had to deal with threats against her by Trump for this vote. This lady is a force! I wish more senators stood up for what they believe is right and not what their donors want them to.

 

I think McCain is going to be interesting to watch for the rest of his time in the Senate. He has nothing to lose anymore. From the articles I've read, he was disgusted by how McConnell handled this process.

 

In the local climate we live in, having guts to do the right thing is nice to see. I'm not convinced Heller and a few others would have voted yes had McCain not gone out on a limb for them. First vote I've ever watched live.

[Mike Sixel]

I don't know, but the Democratic unity and fight against this has also been under reported, imo.

 

Not sure why a few Senators haven's switched parties, actually. The modern Democrats are more conservative than 80s MN Republicans.

[drjim]

I don't know, but the Democratic unity and fight against this has also been under reported, imo.

 

Not sure why a few Senators haven's switched parties, actually. The modern Democrats are more conservative than 80s MN Republicans.

Which ones? Collins is only one close and she's going to run for governor as a Republican in 2018.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Which ones? Collins is only one close and she's going to run for governor as a Republican in 2018.

 

Not sure, really. But there must be some moderates left who look at this party and wonder why they are still in it. But maybe not, maybe people have identity tied up in party a lot...

[Willihammer]

Meh, don't be fooled, this is just politics. McCain had no problem voting to repeal when Obama was prez, now he's talking about bipartisanship. In both cases, there were political points to score without actually risking anything.

 

This is a little gossipy, but kinda interesting viewpoint from a former Senate staffer on McCain.

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2017/07/a-long-time-senate-staffer-on-john-mccain/535050/

 

[Willihammer]

How man R's were right there with Graham? Could be all of them. But they let McCain take the spotlight because he's already a "maverick." Even re-ordered the vote to climax with McCain's deciding vote.

McConnell etc  planned out well in advance in caucus.

[Badsmerf]

538 has done multiple pieces on McCain this year. It is pretty interesting how they broke down his voting record. He does tend to stand on the soap box with Lindsy Graham, but they both seem to vote with the party when needed. This is an exception, a rather big one imo.

[Badsmerf]

How man R's were right there with Graham? Could be all of them. But they let McCain take the spotlight because he's already a "maverick." Even re-ordered the vote to climax with McCain's deciding vote.

McConnell etc planned out well in advance in caucus.

I think he took the fall and allowed others to hide with a yes vote. Graham, Heller, Capito.... I'm sure there are more that didn't want this to pass. Joni Ernst had a poll which showed how unpopular the original bill was, and the likelihood of her being re-elected if she voted yes. It wasn't good, and was deleted quickly. The senators on the bubble could definitely suffer from this vote. The donors will still be there, but if their base is paying attention it only takes a few percentages to swing the other way.

[drjim]

Not sure, really. But there must be some moderates left who look at this party and wonder why they are still in it. But maybe not, maybe people have identity tied up in party a lot...

Not really in the Senate. A big reason is that Collins is the only Senator left from a consistently blue state, and Maine isn't even *that* blue.

[stringer bell]

Add Flake of Arizona and Portmann of Ohio as somewhat "moderate" Republicans, but that is about all. There are some true conservatives in the Senate who I can respect, not the leadership though. They have sold out to corporatism and opportunism. Reality and the good of the country is secondary to winning elections.

 

I said that if Hillary had beaten Obama for the nomination that I would have voted for McCain. Not sure the way the campaign played out that I would have stuck with that (Sarah Palin). There certainly are qualities in McCain that are positive. I believe his cancer diagnosis was the final straw in standing up to McConnell (and Trump).

[D. Hocking]

I agree about Murkowski - red state and had some implied threats of losing Federal funding, but she held her own.  Then there was Lindsey, who admitted the bill was bad and only voted for it on hopes it would fail down the line.

 

It will be interesting in a lord of the flies sort of way how Trump reacts as he does not seem to care who the person is when he is slighted.

 

The more things go against him the more violet his rhetoric seems to get and the less he seems to care.  He is really going to keep trying to amp up the fear.

 

From a speech to Long Island police today:

 

“And when you see these towns, and when you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon—you just see them thrown in, rough,” he said. “I said, ‘Please don’t be too nice.’ Like when you guys put somebody in the car and you’re protecting their head—the way you put the hand over, like don’t hit their head, and they’ve just killed somebody. Don’t hit their head. I said, ‘You can take the hand away, okay?'”

 

The police probably did not win PR points when they roared with laughter and approval.  I am guessing Trump was not thinking about Freddie Gray when he made the statement.

[Mike Sixel]

I am appalled police officers approved of using violence openly and publicly. Privately, not surprised at all. Publicly? Surprised and appalled. 

[Badsmerf]

I am appalled police officers approved of using violence openly and publicly. Privately, not surprised at all. Publicly? Surprised and appalled.

You're surprised at this point? It's pretty obvious they can get away with just about anything at this point isn't it? I mean, we hear about these blatantly egregious deaths with no justice.... Imagine the borderline deaths we are not hearing about. While overall violence in the US is in decline, police killings are rising.

[Mike Sixel]

Scaramucci fired.....wow.

[Craig Arko]

 

Scaramucci fired.....wow.

Kelly not messing around.

[ashbury]

Scaramucci fired.....wow.

[ashbury]

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/08/505709/

 

The latest, direct from the horse's mouth. At least, I think that's the orifice involved.

 

 

[PseudoSABR]

 

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/08/505709/

 

The latest, direct from the horse's mouth. At least, I think that's the orifice involved.

Corrupt or not, the man is a joke.  I cringe at reading this, although I should be desensitized to his idiocy by now.

[nicksaviking]

 

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/08/505709/

 

The latest, direct from the horse's mouth. At least, I think that's the orifice involved.

 

Man that is hilariously incompetent.

 

Strange that this quote wasn't called out though:

 

"We have – nobody knows what the number is. I mean, it used to be, when we talked during the debate, 2 ½ trillion (dollars), right, when the most elegant person – right? I call him Mr. Elegant. I mean, that was a great debate. We did such a great job. But at that time I was talking $2 ½ trillion. I guess it’s 5 trillion (dollars) now."

 

Soooooo, it sounds to me like he thinks that the national debt has doubled in the short time since he's taken office? Or does he think that's a good thing and he's bragging about it?

[twinsnorth49]

The awesomeness of this interview cannot be understated.