Trump was lucky to dump Manafort when he did. Kellyanne did a much better job & was much more in tune with the candidate the Russians were backing. They just were. That's undeniable. Anybody who thinks they're in it for the MAGA has shit fer brains. Sane Americans will obviously oppose anybody they support.
In some sort of perverse way, it’s horrible, but at the same time, kind of funny watching all these Republicans dance to Trump’s music/bullshit.
I was thinking of what would happen if Trump - businessman turned President, was more psychologically normal instead of a complete fucking sociopath.
He’d go on TV, turn up the charm, and talk about how he’s been a businessman a long time, and sometimes in business you play a little dirty and he realizes that government works differently but he had a lapse in judgement. Then he’d apologize to the American people and apologize to Zelensky. Then the Republicans would point out his contrition, forgive him and his opposition would rant a bit but it would die out. Then they’d keep on doing the same shit but they try harder not to get caught.
But the facts just keep getting worse and worse, and the only strategy Trump won’t push back against is unadulterated approval of everything. I bet the Establishment Republicans in Congress are all secretly missing the good old days.
I was thinking of what would happen if Trump - businessman turned President, was more psychologically normal instead of a complete fucking sociopath.
He’d go on TV, turn up the charm, and talk about how he’s been a businessman a long time, and sometimes in business you play a little dirty and he realizes that government works differently but he had a lapse in judgement. Then he’d apologize to the American people and apologize to Zelensky. Then the Republicans would point out his contrition, forgive him and his opposition would rant a bit but it would die out. Then they’d keep on doing the same shit but they try harder not to get caught.
But the facts just keep getting worse and worse, and the only strategy Trump won’t push back against is unadulterated approval of everything. I bet the Establishment Republicans in Congress are all secretly missing the good old days.
hal2kilo
Lifer
- Feb 24, 2009
- 26,618
- 12,703
- 136
Indus
Lifer
- May 11, 2002
- 16,601
- 11,410
- 136
Been thinking about that.. is there really a candidate for sane Americans because there seems to be Trump for conspiracy theorists who are too lazy to do research, Centrist Dems like Biden/ Kloubachar/ Booty for the lets keep the country on the screwed by establishment billionaires/ corporations.
The only real chance for change for sane Americans is Bernie/ Warren but even then I haven't heard of making college free and paying off student loans before they really stick to millenials.
hal2kilo
Lifer
- Feb 24, 2009
- 26,618
- 12,703
- 136
Looks like Mulvaney's was trying cleanup after the fact.
slate.com
Internal Review Reportedly Finds Mulvaney Tried to Justify Hold on Ukraine Aid After the Fact
It is unclear whether the emails could fresh legal problems for the president.
There are a lot of sane Americans who don't like Warren/Bernie because they think throwing a ton of money at recovering loans and universal coverage is also a bad idea.
It's better than tax cuts for people who are already insanely wealthy, people whose annual income is equivalent to winning the Powerball, year after year.
It's not that it's a bad idea, it's just that there's no method of getting it into law right now that won't blow up either the budget and/or a ton of insurance companies/hospitals.
Brainonska511
Lifer
- Dec 10, 2005
- 29,707
- 15,312
- 136
Most people worried about costs are two-faced. Where were they when a $2 trillion, unfunded tax cut was being pushed through?
Cheering for their own pissant tax cut, if they got one at all.
Brainonska511
Lifer
- Dec 10, 2005
- 29,707
- 15,312
- 136
I'm not saying you weren't. It's just the media narrative - always asking about how we'd pay for X program, but then never asking about how tax cuts will be paid for (and just buying the BS narrative that they pay for themselves).If it makes you feel better, I was yelling about that too.
IronWing
No Lifer
- Jul 20, 2001
- 73,699
- 35,548
- 136
I'm totally good with health insurance companies going out of business.
zzyzxroad
Diamond Member
- Jan 29, 2017
- 3,264
- 2,287
- 136
Well yes universal coverage will blow up the health insurance market. That's kind of the point. We spend more per capita on health care than any other country in the world yet somehow manage to not cover everyone and still have worse outcomes overall than countries with lower costs and broader coverage.
So something needs to change. Eliminating the middle man looking for a profit sure looks like a good place to start. Right now rural hospitals are being royally screwed by the current system in states where medicaid expansion hasn't happened so we're currently making the problem you described above worse not better.
Now I'm also pretty sure we have threads talking about the positions of the various democratic candidates where this discussion should probably be.
Losing inefficient insurance companies will certainly play a part but in the end we're going to have to cut costs on a provider level, and do so significantly.
Andrew McCarthy for the win. He has, by far, been the most intelligent and knowledgeable writer concerning this and the Mueller investigation.
The three big lies Democrats are pushing in Tuesday’s impeachment hearing
In Tuesday morning’s impeachment inquiry hearing, in the questioning of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman of the White House National Security Council and Jennifer Williams of Vice President Mike Pence’s …nypost.com
Claim 1: there was no unofficial foreign policy because the President directs foreign policy.
Response: While it is not nearly as unitary as stated, the principle does hold true. What is also true is that a great number of important people were kept out of the loop regarding the pursuit of investigations, this pursuit and actions to incentivize it worked counter to other established foreign policy which workers who were not informed of changes were still pursuing, and the flow of pursuing this policy was a highly unusual channel. The claim is that Trump's pursuit of investigations was for personal gain in the election and unconnected and at odds with national security interests. If that is true, the conduct is illegal regardless of whether he pursued the investigations with the consent and aid of the usual diplomatic apparatus or specifically apart from it.
Claim 2: just because there are debunked conspiracy theories, doesn't mean Ukraine didn't interfere in the election.
Response: no it doesn't. Also Japan could have. And Finland. Etc. There needs to be evidence to support an investigation, and not liking someone is not sufficient evidence. More pertinently, Trump's phone call specifically referred to the CrowdStrike server which is that exact debunked conspiracy theory, and I'm not aware of any other reason Trump specifically was concerned. Even more importantly, the payoff for Ukraine rested in a public CNN statement and not the underlying investigations themselves.
Claim 2: in asserting there was no evidence supporting investigations from the witnesses, they exceeded their expertise because they didn't have access to the underlying facts.
Response: I don't know if any testimony offered exceeded anyone's expertise. Stating where your impression comes from, e.g. underlying intelligence agency opinions, direct personal experience with the parties allegedly involved, etc. is totally fair game. Their testimony needs to be weighed against the testimony of those who provide support for such suspicions. And what is at issue here is what was known by Trump and his foreign policy apparatus at the time and what efforts they took to ensure credibility of such evidence before acting upon it. Thus, for example, Hunter Biden is not a useful witness. He has no awareness of what Trump knew. Problem is, no one with the proper awareness has offered any testimony supporting investigations or what Trump or Rudy or Pompeo etc. may have known that the other officials who testified clearly didn't. The reason for this is defying Congressional subpoena for both records and testimony. Overall, the argument rests on a basic logical error. Saying investigations are justified because you can't definitively prove they aren't is untenable as a defense in absence of suitable justification for which I have seen none.
dank69
Lifer
- Oct 6, 2009
- 37,628
- 33,359
- 136
I heard Parnas turned over audio and video, but this is the first time I've heard them described as "secret."Are there going to be recordings? Stupid Watergate might have tapes....
House intel has Trump recordings by Giuliani associate: report
Giuliani acted as an unofficial lobbyist for Trump in Ukraine, and was allegedly key in launching the search for an investigation into Joe Biden.amp.businessinsider.com
It is kind of amazing that the argument these people continually trot out is:
Trumpkins: You can't prove that Trump ordered people to bribe Ukraine because you don't have any testimony from direct witnesses to Trump giving that order.
Democrats: Well then can we have those people testify?
Trumpkins: No.
Also the idea that if/when you actually got those people to testify it would matter to Republicans is risible. They know the facts and they know Trump is guilty, they just think being in power is more important.
Bernie/Warren are going to lose the primary because they split the progressive vote. Free college, practically speaking, is DOA. If the dems win the senate - some sort of national health policy will be implemented. Calling centris Democrats insane is ridiculous.
zzyzxroad
Diamond Member
- Jan 29, 2017
- 3,264
- 2,287
- 136
I like Perry's move... Establish you are mentally insane in case you are called to testify.
Rick Perry says Trump (and Obama) were 'ordained by God' to be president
Like a lot of evangelical Christians, Energy Secretary Rick Perry believes in a God who gets involved in every aspect of our lives -- including the election of Donald Trump as President.
Indus
Lifer
- May 11, 2002
- 16,601
- 11,410
- 136
I wouldn't say insane but they are inattentive to the needs of millenials for sure
Brainonska511
Lifer
- Dec 10, 2005
- 29,707
- 15,312
- 136
Breaking news: McGahn must comply with House subpoena
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