The Trump Presidency

https://apnews.com/122ae0b5848345fa...Manafort-had-plan-to-benefit-Putin-government

An interesting report concerning work allegedly done by Manafort for "a close Putin ally" 10 years ago.

"When asked Wednesday about Manafort's work for Deripaska, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, "we do not feel it's appropriate to comment on someone who is not an employee at the White House."

Interesting that they were able to comment about Obama's alleged "bad" wiretapping even though he was not one of their employees.

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It's wrong to assume members of Congress have a certain level of competency and intelligence. But, that said, Republicans in Congress stick with Trump, because that is what they do. It's party over country with Republican leadership and that extends to the Republican entertainment industry which has become its brain trust. Republicans haven't been able to draw the line between entertainment and good government. They don't understand the difference, and that's exactly why Trumper got his weenie stuck in the "Obama wiretapped my phones" scandal.

That's the problem Republicans face now that they control all aspects of government. Right wing entertainment meets reality, and it isn't pretty. It's real easy to excite each other with chants of "locker her up" or other such nonsense. Right wingers get a real high on that crap. It's quite another to deal with reality.

But now we are seeing an interesting fracturing of the Republican Party. We have the Tea Party faction, the party's core and most radical portion of the Republican Party; then we have the Trumpers; and finally a few moderates. Trump cannot pass legislation without 2 of those three factions and that's his problem. The Tea Party is pretty damn radical, and the moderates are RINOs (Republican in Name Only) which Republicans have been trying to purge from party over the course of the last 8 years.

It's a tough place for Trump. Trump is not inherently competent, and despite his press, he isn't a great negotiator. He now has to deliver what he has promised, and he has promised the impossible.

 

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true

trump is not putting people first he is putting his ego, bigotry and personal interests first

false. its actually congress responsibility to do that in creating the laws. why does it never surprise me to find rightwingers generally ignorant of the laws of this country.

wrong again. most constitutional rights are for everybody, unless you think its ok to try foriegners for the same crime twice and what not. but given your defense of drumpfs bigotry you very well may think that.

you do realize thats who companies recruit right? so your saying its illegal for a country to incentivize immigration? your coming across as rather delusional and unhinged.

 

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File under #PutiTrump: I can't keep up with the Nunes scandal.

We are in, "Holy shit, Mr. Chairman, what have you done?" territory.

It was one thing when it was just a tweetstorm here or there↱, but even the reporters who cover politics↱ are reeling.

Ranking Member Schiff's response (yes, this is going around on Twitter↱, as well):

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Update in realtime: Following up on NBC News colleague Kasie Hunt↱ Steve Benen↱ wonders:

Um, if Nunes doesn't have the materials (a) what did he rush to the White House to show Trump; and (b) what on earth is he talking about?​

Yes, really. That's what has the Beltway freaking down the rabbit hole, today.

The implications are staggering. (14.08 PDT)

Edit: Markup cleanup, 22 Mar 2017, 15.51 PDT​

 

I think this very clearly demonstrates the need for an independent prosecutor. This is suppose to be a fair investigation. When the leader of that investigation functions as an agent of the person under investigation, it's not a fair investigation. It's not an independent investigation.

Nunes betrayed his oath of office. He betrayed his country. He isn't qualified to lead this investigation. He has betrayed this investigation. He has betrayed the trust of his office.

 

I believe the sooner he resigns his chairmanship of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the better off our nation will be.

Whatever else is going on in the #PutiTrump scandal, the Chairman's bizarre press briefing seems to make the point clearly. As the initial confusion settles and the magnitude of the event is examined, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA22) will owe everyone the resignation of his chairmanship.

 

I absolutely agree. But I doubt he will resign. Letting Nunes stay is like letting a criminal conduct his own criminal investigation. We need a special prosecutor.

 

I think the Kochs just delivered the fatal blow to Trumpcare today. The Kochs announced today that they will not fund anyone who votes for Trumpcare and they will fund those who vote against the bill. The right wing big money has spoken.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-obamacare-kochs-idUSKBN16T07D

 

One must wonder why Nunes thought it important enough to drop everything and rush to Trump and deliver the information. There wasn't any thing in his public explanation which would justify or explain his treatment of this information. It has been known for sometime now that Trump's associates have been caught conversing with Russian intelligence officers during routine counter intelligence operations, e.g. Flynn. So what was so important Nunes dropped everything and rushed to the White House to tell the Trumper?

Nunes's explanations have been inconsistent and contradictory. First he said Trump's conversations had been captured. Then he said they hadn't. Then he said he didn't know. Then he said he wasn't investigating this new information, and the he said he was investigating it. What's going on here?

 

Sounds like Nunes is a puppet of Trump... ordered to make an anouncment that in Trumps mind woud help suport his claim that his "wires were tapped" by Obama... Sad.!!!

 

No matter how one feels about the Koch brothers or how one feels about their position on this issue, I find it outrageous that they are offering to buy votes. This is horrible and beyond belief.

 

Trump eloquently defends his wild claims: "I'm President and you're not!" End of debate.

This really is the Twilight Zone.

 

Why not? They already buy elections. The Citizen's United decision was a disaster.

 

Republicans have pulled the bill. They won't vote on the bill tonight as promised. They might vote on the bill tomorrow. And remember, this is just the first step, and it's the easiest step.

Right wing rhetoric, i.e. lies, meets reality. After nearly 8 years of promising to repeal Obamacare, when Republicans can finally do so, they have failed to do so. Republican lies clash with reality, and it's an ugly show. Where is the master deal maker? If they only had that guy who wrote "The Art of the Deal" leading them, oh, that's right; they do.

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An avid Trump supporter is no longer on the Trump Trail, because he feels Trump has betrayed him. He's among the first of many to come to that conclusion. It's the waking up time America.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/21/health/opioid-trump-supporter-medicaid-health-care-reform/

 

There is no doubt that when surveying social media opinion, Trump advocates, are in serious decline.
Pro-trump used to be 1 in 4 now it is more like 1 in 10.
(casual observation)

 

"An Indiana woman who voted for President Donald Trump last year is trying to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement from deporting her husband."
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/03/tru...ting-deported-despite-being-a-model-resident/​

I know I shouldn't but I can't help it...

O Schadenfreude, o Schadenfreude
How lovely are thy branches
O Schadenfreude, o Schadenfreude
How lovely are thy branches

Let us all remember
In our gift giving and our merriment
With our family and friends and loved ones
The real and true meaning of Schadenfreude
The birth of our Fuehrer and Blowhard, Donald Trump​

(To be sung to the tune of "O Christmas Tree" - https://kidsongs.com/lyrics/o-christmas-tree.html/)

 

As the husband of a citizen, doesn't he get to stay?

Looked it up:
You had to have come here legally to get green card status. If you overstayed a visa or jumped a fence, you have to leave and apply the normal way. Sad.

 

Perhaps it's a procedural thing - in that the husband didn't follow the proper ones. Hopefully, he will ultimately be able to stay - but not before the wife is dragged through suitable hell:

““[Trump] did say the good people would not be deported, the good people would be checked,” she explained.​

But, but, but... Trump said! Waaahh!

Meanwhile, baby Trumpster is busy with bigger things:

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https://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniemcneal/trump-truck?utm_term=.nfAAd2V2dK#.uuxkJexeJQ

"Well it looks like ol' Boss Trump learned them Duke boys are slicker than a sow's underside. But that's how it goes here in Hazzard county"
https://twitter.com/ditzkoff/status/845012025164095489​

 

There's a vague slosh of something like a theory about how Trump got elected, erm, sloshing around my head.

It has to do with the documented rise in opioid use (and addiction) in the US. I recall reading something about how some of the states that saw Trump to the finish line (thanks, gerrymanderers of voting districts) have seen some of the big increases, and ('gasp') mostly amongst white males with a high school education at most. Like opiates, a promise to fix things up from a would-be leader is just like a big fix for the addicts, it will mean they can get more of what they want.

In other words, Trump was elected (marginally) by a bunch of druggies, who saw a big fix in their future--damn democracy, the Constitution, and who gives a fuck who George Washington was?

One thing I do understand about opioid addiction is, addicts have next to no patience when it comes to being promised a fix. If you happen to be in the unfortunate position of having made such a promise and can't keep it, my advice is get out of Dodge on the next stagecoach, buddy.


p.s. don't pretend to be doin' no drivin', or start singin' that: "The wheels on the truck go round and round" thing--it just look damn silly.