Trump Thread

[Seamus Fermanagh]

The more I see the demonstrated political skills of this administration and its campaign team...some now officially criminal...the more I think the ONLY Hillary could have managed a defeat against this crew.

[Hooahguy]

The more I see the demonstrated political skills of this administration and its campaign team...some now officially criminal...the more I think the ONLY Hillary could have managed a defeat against this crew.

That and the political immaturity of the left. The reason Republicans win is because their supporters fall in line no matter what because of the R by the name of the candidate.

[Montmorency]

Beyond the presidential race, there's something to be said of ideological clarity and consistency.

The Democratic Party offers wishy-washy incrementalism that coddles moneyed interests.

The Republican Party offers a truly RADICAL platform.

Revolution, no matter its contents or injustices, is inherently sexier than incrementalism.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Beyond the presidential race, there's something to be said of ideological clarity and consistency.

The Democratic Party offers wishy-washy incrementalism that coddles moneyed interests.

The Republican Party offers a truly RADICAL platform.

Revolution, no matter its contents or injustices, is inherently sexier than incrementalism.

With the electorate's mood over the last decade or so, I have to agree with you completely. I was sorta stunned by how many Trump supporters second choice, when polled, was Sanders. Business as usual was not their...pardon me...cup of tea.

[Kralizec]

With the electorate's mood over the last decade or so, I have to agree with you completely. I was sorta stunned by how many Trump supporters second choice, when polled, was Sanders. Business as usual was not their...pardon me...cup of tea.

It's baffling how those people look to Trump as a champion of the downtrodden, and keep doing so. Trump blasted the ACA, praised the healthcare system of Australia and possibly others, yet he has only supported initiatives that would be a huge step back from that perspective.

Republican congressmen may think of him as a burden, but my guess is that the 'swamp' is actually pleased with him. He could dismantle ACA, demolish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, pass sweeping tax cuts that largely benefit the rich and scores of other things that the Republican establishment likes. Meanwhile, his base keeps supporting him because they can always be distracted by tweets about black athletes or Crooked Hillary

[Seamus Fermanagh]

It's baffling how those people look to Trump as a champion of the downtrodden, and keep doing so. Trump blasted the ACA, praised the healthcare system of Australia and possibly others, yet he has only supported initiatives that would be a huge step back from that perspective.

Republican congressmen may think of him as a burden, but my guess is that the 'swamp' is actually pleased with him. He could dismantle ACA, demolish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, pass sweeping tax cuts that largely benefit the rich and scores of other things that the Republican establishment likes. Meanwhile, his base keeps supporting him because they can always be distracted by tweets about black athletes or Crooked Hillary

The GOP base, most of whom are NOT rich but advocate/adhere to "country mouse" values were staunchly against the ACA. The Tax Reform bill is likely to be popular as well, at least among the GOP base.

The GOP establishment Pols have trouble with Trump because of his asshat behaviors. They are deeply worried that, while picking up points with Trump base for supporting some of the policies on immigration and the like, Trump will undercut all their support with an asinine tweet just before the vote is taken -- Trump loves inflammatory messages and none of the GOP establishment want to pay the price for Trump's outrage de jour.

[Kralizec]

The GOP base, most of whom are NOT rich but advocate/adhere to "country mouse" values were staunchly against the ACA. The Tax Reform bill is likely to be popular as well, at least among the GOP base.

The GOP establishment Pols have trouble with Trump because of his asshat behaviors. They are deeply worried that, while picking up points with Trump base for supporting some of the policies on immigration and the like, Trump will undercut all their support with an asinine tweet just before the vote is taken -- Trump loves inflammatory messages and none of the GOP establishment want to pay the price for Trump's outrage de jour.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'country mouse'. No argument on the popularity of tax cuts, although personally the one currently proposed seems like a terrible idea and not fiscally conservative by any stretch of definition. Repealing the individual mandate while keeping the protection against prior conditions is just a recipe for disaster and might just cause the implosion of Obamacare that some conservatives have been rooting for.

The GOP told their voters that Obamacare sucked for years, and then Trump came along with the promise of replacing it with something entirely better. 'Better' is subjective, but he clarified repeatedly that he would deliver tremendous quality and excellent coverage. Every proposal he has backed so far would have led to lesser coverage.

Point being, Trump has promised things that no conventional Republican would have. You noted that there are a good amount of people who would have backed Bernie instead of Trump if given the chance. But in my impression he's governing in a pretty mainstream Republican way, his populist rants and doubtful competence notwithstanding. Hence, the rants and the tweets serve as a useful distraction for people who'd gladly have supported someone like Bernie on issues of policy.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

And what an amateur hour this administration is with Trump as tweeter in chief.

After a numbing list of "didn't quite get it done" legislative efforts, Trump's administration finally gets a success on a piece of legislation that was part of Trump's stated agenda, following which the Stock Market stays above 24k for the first time in history and revised growth figures top 3% for the third straight quarter and unemployment drops another tenth of a point....

Does the administration make a concerted effort to show off this economic success? To let the GOP enjoy the achievement and reinforce that things are getting better under their leadership?

Not at all. Instead they bury their own success in a furor over acknowledging the Israeli capital is Jerusalem.

AMATEUR HOUR in DC

[Montmorency]

And what an amateur hour this administration is with Trump as tweeter in chief.

After a numbing list of "didn't quite get it done" legislative efforts, Trump's administration finally gets a success on a piece of legislation that was part of Trump's stated agenda, following which the Stock Market stays above 24k for the first time in history and revised growth figures top 3% for the third straight quarter and unemployment drops another tenth of a point....

Does the administration make a concerted effort to show off this economic success? To let the GOP enjoy the achievement and reinforce that things are getting better under their leadership?

Not at all. Instead they bury their own success in a furor over acknowledging the Israeli capital is Jerusalem.

AMATEUR HOUR in DC

The Tax Bill isn't done yet.

This is a big problem. The Senate bill brings the normal corporate rate down to 20 percent — while leaving the alternative minimum rate at … 20 percent. The legislation would still allow corporations to claim a wide variety of tax credits and deductions — it just renders all them completely worthless. Companies can either take no deductions, and pay a 20 percent rate — or take lots of deductions … and pay a 20 percent rate.

I'd prefer to discuss it once it either fails or is signed into law.

[rory_20_uk]

That and the political immaturity of the left. The reason Republicans win is because their supporters fall in line no matter what because of the R by the name of the candidate.

The terms Left and Right are so muddied to be nonsensical.

It is however true many people would rather vote for a Republican who is a 30-something man who screwed a 14 year old than contemplate voting for a Democrat.

It is not "immature" to engage one's brain when voting - it is one facet that democracy pre-supposes.

[Hooahguy]

The terms Left and Right are so muddied to be nonsensical.

It is however true many people would rather vote for a Republican who is a 30-something man who screwed a 14 year old than contemplate voting for a Democrat.

It is not "immature" to engage one's brain when voting - it is one facet that democracy pre-supposes.

True, the terms left and right are very generalized but as a whole the left shows much more of a "I'm going to take my ball and go home" mentality if they don't like everything about the candidate, even if the opposing candidate would be much worse. I heard so many people who identify as liberal/left railing about how they wouldnt vote for Hillary since she was so horrible. And yet now are complaining about the changes Trump is making. She might not have been the preferred candidate for many, but after seeing everything done over the past year I would be shocked if most of those wouldnt prefer Hillary elected over Trump. Engage your brain all you want when you vote, but if your vote isnt advancing your agenda in some way, did you really engage your brain at all?

The election between Roy Moore and Doug Jones in Alabama is a perfect example of this. Alabama is one of the most pro-life states in the country. Doug Jones, the Democrat, is pro-choice. I would be shocked if he won, as I have heard people are going to hold their nose and vote for Moore just because he is pro-life. But Jones couldnt be pro-life, as that would put him at odds with the Democrats as a whole. If Democrats want to start winning locally again they need to drop the purity tests and run candidates who would win in their area depending on their values, not the ones who would win in already heavily blue areas.

[Montmorency]

Engage your brain all you want when you vote, but if your vote isnt advancing your agenda in some way, did you really engage your brain at all?

This is important. Voting is not a civic duty - civic participation is a civic duty. There should be no such thing as a "symbolic" vote.

[Hooahguy]

Robert Mueller has given a subpoena Deutsche Bank for Trump's financial records.
Link

The new revelation makes it clear that Mueller and his team are investigating the president’s financial transactions. It is not clear whether Mueller is interested in the bank accounts because they are connected to the Russia probe or if he is investigating another matter.

Considering that the bank has already been fined for a Russian money laundering scheme earlier this year, I am intrigued

Wonder what Donny is going to say about this. Didnt he say something a while back how looking into his finances was a red line or something?

[CrossLOPER]

Wonder what Donny is going to say about this.

"Fake news."

[Montmorency]

Erik Prince, Oliver North, and the private security/intelligence operations thing again.

“Pompeo can’t trust the CIA bureaucracy, so we need to create this thing that reports just directly to him,” said a former senior U.S. intelligence official with firsthand knowledge of the proposals, in describing White House discussions. “It is a direct-action arm, totally off the books,” this person said, meaning the intelligence collected would not be shared with the rest of the CIA or the larger intelligence community. “The whole point is this is supposed to report to the president and Pompeo directly.”

According to two former senior intelligence officials, Pompeo has embraced the plan and has lobbied the White House to approve the contract. Asked for comment, a CIA spokesperson said, “You have been provided wildly inaccurate information by people peddling an agenda.”

Michael Barry, who was recently named the National Security Council’s Senior Director for Intelligence Programs, worked closely with Erik Prince on a CIA assassination program during the Bush administration.
[...]
According to two people who have worked extensively with Prince in recent years, Prince has been contacting former Blackwater personnel who worked on a post-9/11 era CIA assassination program targeting Al Qaeda operatives. That program, which the Bush White House prohibited the CIA from disclosing to congressional intelligence committees, was revealed to Congress in 2009 by CIA Director Leon Panetta. The CIA says the program did not result in any assassinations.

In some ways, these plans mirror operations Prince led during the Bush-Cheney administration. When Prince was running Blackwater, he and a former CIA paramilitary officer, Enrique Prado, set up a global network of foreign operatives, offering their “deniability” as a “big plus” for potential Blackwater customers, according to internal company communications obtained by The Intercept.

Prince has long admired Oliver North and viewed his role in Iran-Contra as heroic, said the Prince associate. In 2007, Prince testified defiantly before Congress following the Nisour Square massacre in Baghdad, in which Blackwater operatives gunned down 17 Iraqi civilians, including women and children. Shortly after his testimony, Prince’s longtime friend, the conservative California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, praised the Blackwater chief. “Prince,” Rohrabacher said, “is on his way to being an American hero just like Ollie North was.”

[Rohrabacher? Mark that.]

North, a Marine lieutenant colonel on the Reagan National Security Council, oversaw a scheme to divert proceeds from illicit arms sales to Iran to Contra death squads in Nicaragua. The resulting scandal became known as the Iran-Contra affair, and North was convicted of three felonies, though these convictions were later thrown out.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

On November 30, Prince testified behind closed doors before the House Intelligence Committee about his January trip to the Seychelles to meet with Mohammad bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, and a Russian fund manager close to Vladimir Putin. According to the Washington Post, Prince presented himself as an unofficial envoy of President-elect Trump. The Intercept reported last week that the fund manager was Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund. Prince repeatedly said that he did not remember the identity of the Russian, but on Thursday, in testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, Prince admitted that he did in fact meet with Dmitriev.

Come the on, this should never even be up for discussion.

The aspiring dictator always seeks to subsume the instruments of state, and finally replace them as instruments of the party (or the household). Slap it down.

I feel like there must be some Roman aphorism applicable here.