POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

[jericho]

Re: POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

In other news, at least one rumor proved to be false.

 

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

Yes, he acts like a seasoned politician.

I prefer the way Franken and Klobuchar treat me to the way Turtle Boy does.

 

[St. Clown]

Re: POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

I prefer the way Franken and Klobuchar treat me to the way Turtle Boy does.

They're not trying to get reelected in Kentucky. They're trying to get reelected by relatively well-educated electorate.

 

[Wisko McBadgerton]

Re: POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

I may be mistaken, but I believe McConnell abolished the quorum rules requiring minority party attendance.

Committees make their own rules within Senate rules and while I do believe a few have instituted a rule that after a certain period of time passes they may recommend a bill with a majority of committee members present even if the minority continues to refuse to show up, I believe most all still require minority presence for a quorum.

 

[Kepler]

Re: POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

Mitch is tossing out the standard canards that all politicians do because they know that most people don't pay attention to the details - most people don't know what the details could possibly be. So they take his word for it, and he effectively protects his party.

Empty political nonsense (EPN) is 80% of every Member's speech, and 90% of every Leader's. Their mouths aren't connected to their brains when they're doing it. They have a second political hindbrain located in the submandibular triangle. That's why they raise their chins and speak with a stirring affect when they're doing it. It's an autonomic reflex, like vomiting.

 

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Re: POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

Committees make their own rules within Senate rules and while I do believe a few have instituted a rule that after a certain period of time passes they may recommend a bill with a majority of committee members present even if the minority continues to refuse to show up, I believe most all still require minority presence for a quorum.

The question, then, is have the Democrats used the quorum procedural rules to actually stop a nominee? If the Democrats simply used the rules at the time, and then the committee just changed their rules to eliminate the procedural stop, then the Democrats can't effectively stop the nominations procedurally, and Kepler's point is still 100% valid.

 

[Kepler]

Re: POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

First Republican comes out saying the revelations against Dump are serious. He's Zeldin (NY-1: Eastern L.I.) and he ran as a Dumpy and only Monday was saying it was a "nothingburger." Evidently the email chain (1) *****ed his conscience, (2) changed his mind, (3) freaked him out because now his constituents can see what a sh-t Dump is and he wants off the sinking ship.

It's only one, but hey, somebody must have been first with Nixon, too.

 

[rufus]

Re: POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

I thought Trump got elected because of all of us racist, ignorant hicks out here in the red states hate women and anyone of color?
I thought it was because HRC was such a lousy candidate?
I thought it was because that evil Comey decided to come forward with his emails announcement just days before the election?

Just out of curiosity, is there going to come a point where you guys actually pick a narrative you like as to why Trump was elected, then stick with it?

Can't it be more than one? I mean, really, you aren't that stupid, are you?

 

[rufus]

Re: POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

What information did they get? Everything I've read said the meeting was a waste of time and nothing came out of it.

Who's telling you that? Trumpy Jr? Others aligned with Trumpy?

Yeah, those are some credible, unbiased sources right there.

But Hillary's EMAILZ!!!!!

 

[Kepler]

Re: POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

The question, then, is have the Democrats used the quorum procedural rules to actually stop a nominee? If the Democrats simply used the rules at the time, and then the committee just changed their rules to eliminate the procedural stop, then the Democrats can't effectively stop the nominations procedurally, and Kepler's point is still 100% valid.

I'm not sure the GOP was the first time this was ever used, though. Otherwise a minority party could kill a bill in committee. Majority parties often kill bills in committee for political reasons, but they certainly wouldn't want to cede that power to a minority. Also, a majority could not effectively get anything done if a minority could simply shut down a bill that way.

I believe the presence rule was one of those rules that was almost never crossed because of collegiality. Well, collegiality is dead. Regardless of who you think killed it (hint: it was Newt and Trent) the chambers are now eroding minority rights down to nothing. I can't say this is a terrible thing, as those procedural mechanisms were ordinarily used to preserve privilege against the will of the people.

We're in a weird period where the chambers are actually getting more democratic even as the GOP attempts to disenfranchise millions of voters and big money has corrupted the whole concept of democratic government. My hope is that the GOP is doomed by demography and the corporate bribery will be halted the next time there's a progressive wave, and when those things happen the chambers will now be far more streamlined and able to deliver substantive change.

The US has not led as an example of a government of, by and for the people for nearly a half century. We can still get that back using our votes and a tactical amendment here and there to put down the oligarchs. The great optimism of America is that it is at least possible, here, for the people to make their own laws. It hasn't happened since the New Deal, but it can still happen. The rot can be reversed.

 

[rufus]

Re: POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

Looks like The Family and their surrogates are going for "nothing to see here, move along."

I'm surprised they haven't come out with some sort of invented counter-punch just to muddy the waters. That's more Dump's style.

Smirconish noted this morning that Kasowitz was not included in the hours-long meeting on Air Force One that resulted in the original denial that was so incomplete it led to three more days of slow bleed out culminating in Uday being forced to release the email chain. Part of the issue is the WH does not think Kasowitz can get a security clearance, even with their sponsorship.

And why are WH staffers tasked with crafting denial responses for Trumpy Jr? I thought he was completely separated from the day to day politics in Washington, so he could run his father's businesses without conflicts of interest?

 

[jerphisch]

Re: POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

If they filibuster a nominee, a cloture motion cannot be voted on until the third session day after and the interceding time can all be used for debate on that nominee. The senate is in session 130-140 days a year. I think you can see that if you filibuster 50 nominees not much will get done. In fact Dems can prevent the administration from ever filling all openings during the entire four year term.

So you're saying that the Senate is incapable of considering a nominee for one position until they have finished considering another? Maybe your issue is that Mitch needs to learn to multi-task...

Technically they can and have. Two members of the minority party must be present to constitute a quorum in committee. Dem's have walked out to prevent a vote on several occasions. Not that it's rampant yet, but it has happened, and obviously should they so choose they could do it more.

Dems walked out on one occasion, then the rules were changed and they voted the next day with no Dems present. So no, they can't choose to do it more.

 

[Kepler]

Re: POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

And why are WH staffers tasked with crafting denial responses for Trumpy Jr? I thought he was completely separated from the day to day politics in Washington, so he could run his father's businesses without conflicts of interest?

That's actually a really good point that I had not thought of.

 

[GrinCDXX]

Re: POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

Can't it be more than one? I mean, really, you aren't that stupid, are you?

Create indefinite group of individuals in your head.
Label them "you guys".
Complain that they don't have a consistent opinion on something.
Revel in the brilliance of your flawless reasoning.

 

[French Rage]

Re: POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

First Republican comes out saying the revelations against Dump are serious. He's Zeldin (NY-1: Eastern L.I.) and he ran as a Dumpy and only Monday was saying it was a "nothingburger." Evidently the email chain (1) *****ed his conscience, (2) changed his mind, (3) freaked him out because now his constituents can see what a sh-t Dump is and he wants off the sinking ship.

It's only one, but hey, somebody must have been first with Nixon, too.

Has he done anything about it? Or is he just swallowing Trump's load with a frown on his face now?

 

[Drew S.]

Re: POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

A man who beats his wife may genuinely love her but does that mean he should be allowed to live with her if he can't stop himself from beating her up? Personally I look at Trump like I would any patient with a personality disorder. The guy can't help himself. He has a physiologic lack that makes him a narcissistic sociopath. I have dealt with any number of patients like him. The behavior is very predictable and no amount of medication or therapy helps. Listening to people say he is learning, is inexperienced? He will not change. People with this disorder have very little ability to learn from their mistakes because they do not take ownership of their missteps and do not like someone else to be smarter than they are. They have a very difficult time forming relationships other than as a way to get what they want.

I agree he wants to succeed at what he is doing but I don't agree with the motivation. It isn't love of country but because success is what gives him a sense of self worth. He wants to be successful running a country. I might want to succeed at doing a heart transplant- Neither of us has the skill set or the intellect to do it. The difference lies in how people handle when they are in over their head. A selfless person would ask for help, surround themselves with people who would assist them to do a good job. Trump is incapable of admitting he is lacking knowledge and is unwilling to take instruction.

If you look at it the guy has succeeded in surviving only because he has a crap load of money and has been able to buy his way out of anything he has done. He has more money to pursue the legal avenue than anyone who has been up against him. Have watched him since I was in college- he pretty much legally harasses people until they run out of money and go away. The list of people he has screwed and things he has sold off because they weren't doing well is pretty long. I kept waiting for someone to out it but when they did (I can't remember which big newspaper it was) he said the thing about Kelly having blood coming out of ... and the article got no traction.

His problem now is he can't buy his way out of this. He may be the biggest fish but he is in a fishbowl. People hold him accountable. He does have one brilliant skill- manipulating the media to distract off of what is happening.

As to the comment Whether he is 100% evil or not is irrelevant. What is relevant is what his actions result in. Take all the emotion out of it and look at what you think the country needs. Is that happening?
For me- I say no, it is definitely going in the wrong direction.
International relationships- Even if you aren't a Globalist the rest of the world is functioning on that model and we are not at the table. We do not have acting ambassadors, undersecretaries for some places, we have the Sec of State and the President contradicting each other and ambassadors tweeting statements contradictory to the President that the Press Sec says is their first amendment right (I actually heard him say this and choked)
Healthcare- we lag behind industrialized countries providing it. Even if it isn't a moral responsibility it costs us way more to support unhealthy people
Education- This admin is actively working against it - dismissal of scientific evidence and Sec of Ed promoting a model that has failed if research is believed
Federal agencies- people want small gov't but some is needed. Heads of agencies- unqualified or actively working against the agency's mission. (not to mention the agencies with no appointed leader and many unfilled posts)
General- lack of cohesive policies, message- every day the President says one thing and his spokespeople say a few other things- pretty much allowing people to hear what they want if they cherrypick.

(sorry- long post)

This is one of the best criticisms I've read of Trump, and its much more constructive than just calling him an idiot or making fun of his hands or whatever. To be honest, I've got a lot of mixed feelings on him. When he first signed up I wasn't a huge fan, and thought it was nothing more than a publicity stunt, but it was such a sad field of candidates I came around a bit and hoped for the best. As far as the general election, I think a lot of people were between a rock and a hard place. Despite all Trump's character flaws I strongly(maybe even irrationally) disliked Hillary and never would have wanted to see her as president.

As far as how he's done so far, its a mixed bag. I disagree completely on the health care approach, am somewhat in the middle on immigration, but am very happy with the tone of some of his speeches. His speech in Poland last week was a good one and a breath of fresh air. The west does face some huge issues right now and at some point we are going to have to front up to them. It's valid to criticize how he has done administratively, and hopefully as time goes on he improves.

Not to deflect, but I think the Obama presidency was a lot bigger disaster than we realize right now. We ran massive, massive deficits(not all his fault but he was the commander in chief, and I realize Bush was responsible for this as well), he took a bad situation in the middle east and made it much worse, and I think his decision to let the Chinese take over the South China Sea and build bases there could be his biggest blunder, which doesn't get a whole lot of attention.

I think its sad that in today's world if you're not part of the resist movement and criticize Trump at every turn you must be some sort of hardcore Trump supporter and therefore a racist or moron. We need to get away from the left-right stuff if the country is ever going to move forward.

 

[mookie1995]

Who's telling you that? Trumpy Jr? Others aligned with Trumpy?

Yeah, those are some credible, unbiased sources right there.

But Hillary's EMAILZ!!!!!

If there was anything tasty, would it not have been used

All we heard though was EMAILZ

 

[MaizeRage]

Re: POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

Whether you like Trump or not you should still want to see the country be successful.

Do you think Russia was doing whatever they could to get your candidate elected because they want to see the country be successful?


The Trump camp seems to punting on Fredo since he's beyond saveable and the new line is that Trump himself had no idea of the meeting. Four hours after Fredo confirmed the meeting, Trump said in a speech that he would hold a press conference the following week with new info on Hilary Clinton. To quote Seth Bullock, "It's poor d-mn timing at the least"

I thought Trump got elected because of all of us racist, ignorant hicks out here in the red states hate women and anyone of color?
I thought it was because HRC was such a lousy candidate?
I thought it was because that evil Comey decided to come forward with his emails announcement just days before the election?

Just out of curiosity, is there going to come a point where you guys actually pick a narrative you like as to why Trump was elected, then stick with it?

Oh don't worry, it's still the first one. The fact that you rubes were dumb enough to fall for this will never be lost on us.

 

[GrinCDXX]

Re: POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

This is one of the best criticisms I've read of Trump, and its much more constructive than just calling him an idiot or making fun of his hands or whatever. To be honest, I've got a lot of mixed feelings on him. When he first signed up I wasn't a huge fan, and thought it was nothing more than a publicity stunt, but it was such a sad field of candidates I came around a bit and hoped for the best. As far as the general election, I think a lot of people were between a rock and a hard place. Despite all Trump's character flaws I strongly(maybe even irrationally) disliked Hillary and never would have wanted to see her as president.

As far as how he's done so far, its a mixed bag. I disagree completely on the health care approach, am somewhat in the middle on immigration, but am very happy with the tone of some of his speeches. His speech in Poland last week was a good one and a breath of fresh air. The west does face some huge issues right now and at some point we are going to have to front up to them. It's valid to criticize how he has done administratively, and hopefully as time goes on he improves.

Not to deflect, but I think the Obama presidency was a lot bigger disaster than we realize right now. We ran massive, massive deficits(not all his fault but he was the commander in chief, and I realize Bush was responsible for this as well), he took a bad situation in the middle east and made it much worse, and I think his decision to let the Chinese take over the South China Sea and build bases there could be his biggest blunder, which doesn't get a whole lot of attention.

I think its sad that in today's world if you're not part of the resist movement and criticize Trump at every turn you must be some sort of hardcore Trump supporter and therefore a racist or moron. We need to get away from the left-right stuff if the country is ever going to move forward.

This shouldn't be so quickly hand-waived. You realize this was an important decision right? Maybe a bit of self reflection was in order BEFORE the election?

 

[Kepler]

Re: POTUS 45.13 - CNN is still Fake News

Has he done anything about it? Or is he just swallowing Trump's load with a frown on his face now?

So far the latter. He was in fact one of Dump's biggest cheerleaders before this.