American Politics Thread: Orange is the new POTUS

[Itse]

Originally Posted by transplant99

What i mean by that is before this whole house of cards comes tumbling down, Trump and his circus will throw anyone and everyone under the bus. There will be an attempt to make certain people patsies is my guess. None of them will have deserved it, but it will happen. Lots who do deserve whats coming will get caught in it as well, but there's always innocents caught in the crossfire of these things.

This is such a classic case of the old saying,

"those who don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it" or however it went.

Nixon was a different situation, since it would have been unfair to say the Republicans or the voters should have known what was coming. That made it politically not just possible but prudent to get rid of Nixon. The Republicans could say "we didn't know Nixon is like this".

For the GOP, the problem with Trump is he's terrible in exactly the ways their political opposition said he is, just even less competent than anyone thought. That doesn't leave them a way to retreat. They have defended his horrible incompetency and terrible politics so many times that they're now stuck in his camp.

Most people don't realize there's something truly unusual going on with the Trump administration. I also think they're so jaded by the extremely partisan US discussion culture that not much the media can say could make them realize that. Except if a president suddenly changes, because you can't not notice that.

If the Republicans get rid of Trump, it would be one of the biggest political stories of most people's lifetimes, and the story would essentially be the Republicans admitting that everything the Democrats have recently been saying was right, that they really have been defending a dangerous incompetent crook.

Trump has also turned a large part of their party into essentially a cult of personality for him. There's no knowing how those people would react. I'm afraid the safest political option for the GOP is to push the Overton window so far that Trump becomes the new normal.

(Of course the US political atmosphere is so insanely partisan, that we might be at a point where essentially nothing can seriously shake the rough 50/50 split of the voters.)

[DuffMan]

Can Comey spill the beans on everything he knows now?

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

Can Comey spill the beans on everything he knows now?

I was just thinking the exact same thing. Queue media outlets for interview requests........

[missdpuck]

There's not much I could add to this discussion; you guys are beyond brilliant and awesome.

You're not supposed to call Trump supporters "racists". I'm sure some are not.

But the ones I see and hear, mostly at work, are obsessed with "the blacks". It's constant.

The blacks get away with everything . If a white person did whatever, "x" would result. The only news that is reporting "x" is Fox. The fact that the incidents they speak of have actually gone viral doesn't matter to them.

I don't know what to say anymore. To discount racism is completely insane in my experience.

Trump just wants to destroy everything without his name on it. He's like a maniacal animal who wants to territorially piss on everything, and that's an insult to animals and I apologize to the animals.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

Can Comey spill the beans on everything he knows now?

Not if what he knows is classified or would compromise the investigation.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Comey would only be justifying Trump's decision by doing anything petty, so I suspect he lays low. He'll just wait for the book that will come down the line, he'll get paid nicely for that one.

[DuffMan]

What a freaking mess America is, Thanks Trump voters.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

There have been protests in GOP districts from constituents, many of them Republican, that have bordered on open revolt. Many GOP congressmen have cancelled public appearances as a result. This has been going on for months and was a direct response to their attempts to reduce health care coverage. Now they've done precisely that, and apparently were applauded by Democrats (in a rather cynical and tone-deaf gesture) for taking that politically inexpedient step, as if to say "thanks for giving us your seats". How did you miss all of this?

Almost all of the protests, certainly the town halls, have been from Democrats. The town halls especially have been a protest of choice for Democrat citizens in Republican districts

[photon]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

How is there not one smoking gun yet to impeach this turd? Why has no one at the IRS leaked his tax returns? Surly there are people who have access to them, and if they found Russian connections it would be worth bringing to the DOJ or FBI? What in sam hell is going on here? How is Trump still in power?

I think it's because there is no smoking gun. The level of collusion that maybe some expect I don't think Trump is guilty of. He's not driven by an ideology and must amass power at any cost to do it. He's a man baby who tries to fill his massive need for validation and attention by winning and collecting people to affirm him. Be good to him and he'll be good to you, regardless of how noble or base you are.

Which I think means he's got a lot of associations with lots of people (his standards aren't very high) of questionable repute and shady doings. Which is probably bad enough.

But I don't think they'll find a smoking gun of Trump colluding with Putin to sabotage Clinton's campaign, because there isn't one. Just lots of shady customers doing shady things, and Trump being corrupt and self interested.

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Because they would go to prison. Anyone who wrote the story about them would also go to prison. Their editor would also go to prison. Full stop. The penalties for publishing any part of a federal tax return, no matter how you happened to come upon it, are severe.

Didn't the NYT and MSNBC both print portions of Trump's tax returns?

[dino7c]

Obviously it's ridiculous of Trump to do this now but this is what Comey gets for helping Trump get elected

[FlameOn]

Grand Jury subpeonas are being issued against Flynn associates as part of the FBI's Trump Russia investigation. While Comey is now fired, he is still going to be testifying at all the hearings in the coming weeks just as Yates did.

Federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas to associates of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn seeking business records, as part of the ongoing probe of Russian meddling in last year's election, according to people familiar with the matter. CNN learned of the subpoenas hours before President Donald Trump fired FBI director James Comey.

The subpoenas represent the first sign of a significant escalation of activity in the FBI's broader investigation begun last July into possible ties between Trump campaign associates and Russia.
The subpoenas issued in recent weeks by the US Attorney's Office in Alexandria, Virginia, were received by associates who worked with Flynn on contracts after he was forced out as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014, according to the people familiar with the investigation.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/09/politi...sia/index.html

Also which additional 5 people voted yes to Trump doing a good job especially after all the news broke? TFF?

[FlameOn]

Government employees fired:

• Sally Yates
• Preet Bharara
• James Comey

Totally just coincidence the government employees investigating Trump:

• Sally Yates
• Preet Bharara
• James Comey

I for one welcome Trump's nomination of Alex Jones as the new head of the FBI /s

[flylock shox]

Originally Posted by missdpuck

There's not much I could add to this discussion; you guys are beyond brilliant and awesome.

You're not supposed to call Trump supporters "racists". I'm sure some are not.

But the ones I see and hear, mostly at work, are obsessed with "the blacks". It's constant.

The blacks get away with everything . If a white person did whatever, "x" would result. The only news that is reporting "x" is Fox. The fact that the incidents they speak of have actually gone viral doesn't matter to them.

I don't know what to say anymore. To discount racism is completely insane in my experience.

Trump just wants to destroy everything without his name on it. He's like a maniacal animal who wants to territorially piss on everything, and that's an insult to animals and I apologize to the animals.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There was an interesting Hidden Brain podcast recently that disclosed some of the data patterns Google collected over the course of the last little while, essentially confirming both the prevalence of white vs. black racism in the States, and the higher likelihood of racism among Trump voters.

But it wasn't always (or just) the states you might expect (I'm looking at you, Pennsylvania).

I wonder what else Google could tell us if we could only get access.

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Originally Posted by missdpuck

There's not much I could add to this discussion; you guys are beyond brilliant and awesome.

You're not supposed to call Trump supporters "racists". I'm sure some are not.

But the ones I see and hear, mostly at work, are obsessed with "the blacks". It's constant.

The blacks get away with everything . If a white person did whatever, "x" would result. The only news that is reporting "x" is Fox. The fact that the incidents they speak of have actually gone viral doesn't matter to them.

I don't know what to say anymore. To discount racism is completely insane in my experience.

Trump just wants to destroy everything without his name on it. He's like a maniacal animal who wants to territorially piss on everything, and that's an insult to animals and I apologize to the animals.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What is crappy is that even post-Trump this racism will linger and may spiral out of control.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

What a freaking mess America is, Thanks Trump voters.

Or thank Clinton for making it hard for voters to show up for her.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by photon

Didn't the NYT and MSNBC both print portions of Trump's tax returns?

State tax returns in the case of the NYT. Maddow's publication of the 2005 return was illegal, and she could have gone to prison for it, but they chose not to prosecute her. There would have been a big first amendment fight, no doubt, had they done so. But given what was in them she did them a favour, so. Anyway, that's still the biggest reason why no one is leaking these things: there's jail time in it.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Any time you read a story about the inner workings of the Trump administration, best to put on the Benny Hill theme in the background.

President Donald Trump weighed firing his FBI director for more than a week. When he finally pulled the trigger Tuesday afternoon, he didn't call James Comey. He sent his longtime private security guard to deliver the termination letter in a manila folder to FBI headquarters.

He had grown enraged by the Russia investigation, two advisers said, frustrated by his inability to control the mushrooming narrative around Russia. He repeatedly asked aides why the Russia investigation wouldn’t disappear and demanded they speak out for him. He would sometimes scream at television clips about the probe, one adviser said.

Trump's firing of the high-profile FBI director on the 110th day since taking office marked another sudden turn for an administration that has fired its acting attorney general, national security adviser and now its FBI director, who Trump had praised until recent weeks and even blew a kiss to during a January appearance.

The news stunned Comey, who saw his dismissal on TV while speaking inside the FBI office in Los Angeles. It startled all but the uppermost ring of White House advisers, who said grumbling about Comey hadn't dominated their own morning senior staff meetings. Other top officials learned just before it happened and were unaware he was considering firing Comey. "Nobody really knew," one senior White House official said. "Our phones all buzzed and people said, What?

But the fallout seemed to take the White House by surprise. Trump made a round of calls around 5 p.m., asking for support from senators. White House officials believed it would be a "win-win" because Republicans and Democrats alike have problems with the FBI director, one person briefed on their deliberations said.

Instead, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told him he was making a big mistake — and Trump seemed "taken aback," according to a person familiar with the call.

By Tuesday evening, the president was watching the coverage of his decision and frustrated no one was on TV defending him, a White House official said. He wanted surrogates out there beating the drum.

Instead, advisers were attacking each other for not realizing the gravity of the situation as events blew up. "How are you not defending your position for three solid hours on TV?" the White House aide said.

Two White House officials said there was little communications strategy in handling the firing, and that staffers were given talking points late Tuesday for hastily arranged media appearances. Aides soon circulated previous quotes from Schumer hitting Comey. After Schumer called for a special prosecutor, the White House huddled in press secretary Sean Spicer's office to devise a strategy and sent "fresh faces" to TV, one White House official said.

By Tuesday night, aides were using TV appearances to spin the firing as a simple bureaucratic matter and call for an end to the investigation. "It's time to move on," Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the deputy press secretary, said on Fox News.

Trump received letters from Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, and Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, calling for Comey's dismissal, on Tuesday, a spokesman said. The president then decided to fire him based on the recommendations and moved quickly. The spokesman said Trump did not ask for the letters in advance, and that White House officials had no idea they were coming.

But several other people familiar with the events said Trump had talked about the firing for over a week, and the letters were written to give him rationale to fire Comey.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/0...-russia-238192

[Senator Clay Davis]

Speaking of hilarious, Spicer literally hiding in the bushes lol




https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.199a6c74a223

[DuffMan]

KAC is back on TV, did not miss her at all. What a dbag.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

Almost all of the protests, certainly the town halls, have been from Democrats. The town halls especially have been a protest of choice for Democrat citizens in Republican districts

This is bull####. It's a great narrative, but not accurate in any shape or form. These townhalls have been a great target for activists from all walks of life and affiliation. Republicans are just as pissed with some of the decisions the Trump administration has made, especially on healthcare. There is plenty of angst, especially from older voters, about what is going on. I know the townhalls in my state are mostly Republicans, because that's what the majority of people are and that's who got invited to the events. These events are becoming so tightly controlled it is very difficult for organized groups or even Democrats to attend. A lot of screening goes on to make the room a safe space for the Representative, yet things still spin out of control. Yup, its only those wily Democrats causing all of this dissent!