American Politics Thread: Orange is the new POTUS (Archive)

[HockeyIlliterate]

Originally Posted by Machiavelli

Vicente Fox with another gem:

https://twitter.com/VicenteFoxQue/st...50044530556929

Shame that he can't run for the US Presidency.

Originally Posted by Drak

The weasel Chaffetz got his butt handed to him tonight at a town hall

http://www.mediaite.com/online/do-yo...town-hall/amp/

Originally Posted by Cameron Swift

Good to see citizens standing up and making their feelings known to their congressman. That's the right way to do it. Some genuine anger there.

And yet many of these same citizens were (likely) the ones who re-elected him into office just 4 months ago....

[Senator Clay Davis]

If I am reading that Flynn story right, it could lead to President Paul Ryan. Which would explain why Ryan has had such a #### eating grin on his face the last couple weeks, and why he keeps saying and doing nothing about Trump. He knows they're ####ed, so he's just waiting. Granted, the Trump cultists meltdown if Ryan does ascend to President will be insane, but it's certainly setting up for the potential to happen. For Pence's sake I hope he got duped by Flynn and wasn't actively lying for him.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

If I am reading that Flynn story right, it could lead to President Paul Ryan. Which would explain why Ryan has had such a #### eating grin on his face the last couple weeks, and why he keeps saying and doing nothing about Trump. He knows they're ####ed, so he's just waiting. Granted, the Trump cultists meltdown if Ryan does ascend to President will be insane, but it's certainly setting up for the potential to happen. For Pence's sake I hope he got duped by Flynn and wasn't actively lying for him.

I'm less troubled by the fact Flynn had that conversation (even if a breach of protocol, it pales in comparison to the #### Nixon and Reagan pulled) than I am by the fact that the US National Security Advisor is apparently too dumb to realize that we'd be monitoring a Russian diplomat's conversations.

[bigtmac19]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

I'm less troubled by the fact Flynn had that conversation (even if a breach of protocol, it pales in comparison to the #### Nixon and Reagan pulled) than I am by the fact that the US National Security Advisor is apparently too dumb to realize that we'd be monitoring a Russian diplomat's conversations.

That is absolutely the problem with everyone in that administration right now, they are all complete morons.

[Senator Clay Davis]

I'm not sure it's being a moron in this instance. I think this is more arrogance than anything. I'm guessing he surely knew any communication would be monitored, I just think he believed it wouldn't matter once Trump took over, that it would all be buried.

[Senator Clay Davis]

So again just taking TV talking points and rehashing them.Please hackers find a way to lock every TV in the White House on the Discovery Channel. From on Morning Joe at 8:05, to Trump's tweet at 8:15




Best part of course is Trump didn't, you know, actually read the blog in question. Cause if he did...

[direwolf]

Interesting article on the inner workings of this dumpster fire of an administration.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/0...sidency-234879

Trump often asks simple questions about policies, proposals and personnel. And, when discussions get bogged down in details, the president has been known to quickly change the subject — to "seem in control at all times," one senior government official said — or direct questions about details to his chief strategist Steve Bannon, his son-in-law Jared Kushner or House Speaker Paul Ryan. Trump has privately expressed disbelief over the ability of judges, bureaucrats or lawmakers to delay — or even stop — him from filling positions and implementing policies.

He also became aggravated after learning about complications surrounding his appointment of one of his top fundraisers, Anthony Scaramucci, to a plum White House job, which Trump blamed on internal jockeying between aides, according to one person with knowledge of the situation. Trump “was furious,” this person said. “He doesn’t like this ####.”

Most of those interviewed for this story requested anonymity to describe the inner workings of a White House where they say the tension has been intensified by the president’s propensity for knee-jerk micromanaging when faced with disappointment, and jockeying among aides to avoid blame or claim credit when possible.

The interviews paint a picture of a powder-keg of a workplace where job duties are unclear, morale among some is low, factionalism is rampant and exhaustion is running high. Two visitors to the White House last week said they were struck by how tired the staff looks.

After Spicer’s press briefings, the president has told his spokesman that he’s unhappy about specific answers or his demeanor.

The president, who is obsessive about looks and appearance, even was unhappy with a Saturday Night Live parody of a Spicer briefing, partly because the combative press secretary was depicted by a female comedian, Melissa McCarthy. After it aired, Spicer had proposed cracking a joke about the send-up during his next briefing, or even firing a squirt gun, as McCarthy had done in the sketch. Trump vetoed the idea, according to one person briefed on the matter.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by New Era

That's the problem with American politics. People don't vote on issues that matter, they vote on culture war garbage that will never affect them unless they go out of their way to let those issues affect their lives. They make dumb decisions because they are conditioned to respond to the culture war issues and respond in predictable ways. It's fascinating to watch.

this is true..

the racist right against the regressive left? (neither is which is really true but dominates the airwaves)

[wittynickname]

Originally Posted by Biff

Oh please oh please oh please let congressmen and senators start to feel the grassroots heat because of what an idiotic administration this is and what its consequences will be come next election. The one thing stronger than party affiliation in Congress is self-preservation.

Many reps and senators are responding to this grassroots effort by not clearing their full voicemail inboxes and refusing to do town hall events, calling protestors outside of their office crazy or implying they're being paid to protest and they don't actually care, and the white house shut down their public phone line.

I think these guys need a reminder of what their job is--listening to and representing their constituents.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by wittynickname

Many reps and senators are responding to this grassroots effort by not clearing their full voicemail inboxes and refusing to do town hall events, calling protestors outside of their office crazy or implying they're being paid to protest and they don't actually care, and the white house shut down their public phone line.

I think these guys need a reminder of what their job is--listening to and representing their constituents.

yup but in 2018 people really need to throw these reps and senators out if they are unhappy. I heard somewhere (maybe here) that house and senate incumbents win 90% of the time?

[HotHotHeat]

I can't get the reddit photo site to embed...

https://i.reddituploads.com/8bb1d2d7...h=1536&w=1536&

[Senator Clay Davis]

To be honest I'm actually surprised it's only 51% (link also shows a dead split at 46-46 to impeach)



http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/p...onal_21017.pdf

[ernie]

Well you have to hand it to Trump...he did say he was going to act like a CEO running a company if he became president. Which is what he's doing. He asks a few people he trusts for opinion and then ultimately just make a decision and issues and Edict. CEOs are ultimately the person who DICTATES what the company will do and the direction it will go. And they will often put the broad strokes in place for it to get done like in some executive order. They are never ones for detail...you have people for that boring stuff.

Problem is:

1) the country isn't a business. As much as people want to believe it is it quite simply isn't. One has to not just consider what makes your balance sheet look good but the balance sheet of 300+ million unique individuals and companies. Overall good for the populace is why government exists.

2) the guys he has surrounded himself are not the kind of guys who are going to fill in the details properly for him. They are narcissistic, racist egomaniacs just like him that don't care about the details unless the details are what allow them to get exactly what they want.

[direwolf]

Looks like the official number of children killed in the disastrous Yemen raid is 9. One was a 3-month old baby. Sounds like a pregnant woman was also killed.

http://www.newsweek.com/trumps-yemen...t-wrong-554611

Working with journalist on the ground who visited the site of the raid five days later, the BIJ (Bureau of Investigative Journalism) has collected the names and ages of all civilians killed, as well as photos of homes wrecked by helicopter gunship fire.

Villagers said that 25 civilians killed were not members of AQAP. Beside the nine children killed, U.S. forces killed eight women, including one who was pregnant, they said.

Villagers reported the victims as three-month-old Asma Fahad Ali al Ameri; Aisha Mohammed Abdallah al Ameri, 4; Halima Hussein al Aifa al Emeri, Hussein Mohammed Abdallah Mabkhout al Ameri, both 5; Mursil Abedraboh Masad al Ameri, 6; Khajija Abdallah Mabkhout al Ameri, 7; Nawar Anwar al Awlaqi, 8; Ahmed Abdelilah Ahmed al Dahab, 11; Nasser Abdallah Ahmed al Dahab, 12.

[sureLoss]

DeVos blocked by protesters from entering DC school:

https://twitter.com/ABC7News/status/830078974889959429

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

DeVos blocked by protesters from entering DC school:

https://twitter.com/ABC7News/status/830078974889959429

Maybe she should have pulled out a wad of $100s and paid them to move aside.

[wwkayaker]

Originally Posted by New Era

That's the problem with American politics. People don't vote on issues that matter, they vote on culture war garbage that will never affect them unless they go out of their way to let those issues affect their lives. They make dumb decisions because they are conditioned to respond to the culture war issues and respond in predictable ways. It's fascinating to watch.

A few years ago, I was paddling with some buddies and we started talking about politics. A couple were blue and one was a devout red. I asked if they ever looked at the individual issues and changed their vote based on preferences. The facial expressions were pretty amusing and it was like 'what a strange concept'. The reasons they gave were everything from my family has always voted this way to that person is corrupt.

[photon]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

DeVos blocked by protesters from entering DC school:

https://twitter.com/ABC7News/status/830078974889959429

They were protecting her from the bears inside.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by photon

They were protecting her from the bears inside.

I totally missed this bear reference.

Please fill me in.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by direwolf

Looks like the official number of children killed in the disastrous Yemen raid is 9. One was a 3-month old baby. Sounds like a pregnant woman was also killed.

http://www.newsweek.com/trumps-yemen...t-wrong-554611

They hate us because of our freedom.

Reading that makes me feel sick