US Politics Thread |OT| SAD TRUMP

[Dennis]

[agrajag]

These dumb ass media guys deserve whatever is coming their way. Trump reads one speech off a teleprompter and they all think he turned a corner. Wait till the next press conference when he will smack them all around again and name them enemies of the state. 

[zomgee]

Trump signs a bill legalizing an age-old restricted law - what is it? That along with the weather after a special two hour The Hunt with John Walsh, tonight at 10:45.

[daycru]

No one scares about policy, everything is optics. You could throw a Democrat's baby in the microwave and they'd be fine if you held a door open for them later in the day. GWB is now getting props from these distinguished mentally-challenged fellows because he didn't call people losers on Twitter. The media is just really stupid.

[Sausage]

(Image removed from quote.)

I don't want to be that guy, but this is a pretty cuck move from cnn after all the shit Trump admin has specifically slung at them.

[Nola]

You gotta love how the market has been waiting for details on a lot of these plans and they expected to get it last night.  Instead all they got what a tempered version of "the cuts will be huge.  It's gonna be great.  Everyone will have a ton of money." 

At least he spent a decent amount of timing emphasizing infrastructure spending.  God that would be nice but I'm not holding my breath.

It's gonna be exclusively in the form of a tax break. Just watch. Which means companies already investing in projects that made business sense or were in the works for them like toll roads will just get a tax break to do so and reap all the profits. Trump will then calculate and add up all the projects that every business that used the tax credit is a part of and spread that number as his doing, declaring his promise met.

Meanwhile most existing roads and bridges will not be touched unless it was already in the pipeline due to some other funding.

[Joe Molotov]

This change of tone thing has happened in the past. These motherfuckers got amnesia or some shits. He sounded presidential when he accepted the republican nomination. And on the night he won the election. And on some other occasions. Has he changed? You fucking marks. He's the same pussy grabbing piece of slime he's always been.

People are getting tired of hearing how shit Trump is, time to change the message to keep people entertained. Everyone loves a good redemption story.

[Kara]

Remember when WaPo, CNN, WSJ etc. were all the last bastions of news and we should all sign up for subscriptions to "aid the resistance" or some shit? 

I watched a talk once where an editor from The Nation said that historically their good times are times like now (or during George II's reign) so they aren't ever really "under threat" during the octennial reactionary tide.

It's OK to try and mitigate harm in the world with your consumptive habits (in an existential sense), but lol if you think you're changing the world with what you buy, especially if it's media in a media landscape that has become more and more consolidated over time.

[benjipwns]

Remember when WaPo, CNN, WSJ etc. were all the last bastions of news and we should all sign up for subscriptions to "aid the resistance" or some shit? 

THIS IS NOT NORMAL

I never do this type of this stuff but i've had it with this crap. They gonna try and shut off the media when the heat gets too hot. No access if there isn't acceptance.


http://www.nytimes.com

https://www.washingtonpost.com/


I did a 15$ a month deal at times and 9.99 at Post. Once i figure out more of the devastation next year will donate to institutions that's relevant with my reduced tax earnings, if that even still exists.

A Gaffer compiled the list of donations one should consider making mentioned in Last Week Tonight:

Women's Health - https://www.plannedparenthood.org/
Women's Reproductive Rights - https://www.reproductiverights.org/
Climate Change - https://www.nrdc.org/
Refugee Assistance - http://www.refugeerights.org/
Racial Justice - http://www.naacpldf.org/
LGBT Rights - http://www.thetrevorproject.org/
Latino Rights - http://www.maldef.org/

Washington Post - https://www.washingtonpost.com/
New York Times - http://www.nytimes.com
Pro Publica - https://www.propublica.org/

I'd consider PP and the NRDC as high priority, considering they want out of the Paris agreement and judges will probably gut Roe v. Wade.

http://www.wmagazine.com/story/after-hillary-clintons-loss-a-mothers-advice-to-her-young-daughter
http://www.wmagazine.com/story/progressive-organizations-that-need-your-support-now-more-than-ever-in-trumps-america

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rSDUsMwakI#t=19m12s

So we’re going to have to actively stand up for one another. And it can’t be just sounding off on the internet, or sharing think pieces or videos like this one that echo around your bubble. I’m talking about actual sacrifice to support people who are now under threat.

You need to support actual journalism by buying a subscription to outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, your local newspaper, or donate to groups like ProPublica, a nonprofit group which does great investigative journalism

THIS IS NOT NORMAL

[Kara]

It's like soooooooo funny people think that donating to NGOs working to advance what they believe in makes a difference. I'm Nick Gillespie's ancap substitute.

[ToxicAdam]

Consumerism will make our country great again.

[benjipwns]

I'm Nick Gillespie's ancap substitute.

pic wearing leather jacket

spoiler (click to show/hide)

and nothing else 

[close]

[FStop7]

Nothing would make me happier than to be proven wrong about Trump because that would mean we're not fucked.

But this flip in perception based on one speech is absolutely mind boggling.  How gullible can you be?

[benjipwns]

but he looked so Presidential up there doing things that only Presidents (and Israeli Prime Ministers) do

[agrajag]

I find it troubling how virtually no one is commenting on how tasteless it is that Trump is trotting out victims and widows and parading them around as tools for political leverage. Presidential.

[Boredfrom]

I find it troubling how virtually no one is commenting on how tasteless it is that Trump is trotting out victims and widows and parading them around as tools for political leverage. Presidential.

It got feels, so fuck it if the context of why he did it was vile.

[Nola]

Nothing would make me happier than to be proven wrong about Trump because that would mean we're not fucked.

But this flip in perception based on one speech is absolutely mind boggling.  How gullible can you be?

The media in general just really sucks at handling post speech/post debate analysis like this.

Leave shit like how things are likely perceived by the general public to the fucking general public lol. Assuming how the public probably by and large perceived something and then using that assumption to determine whether something is a success or not is such a reckless way of analyzing things. Worse is you get mostly reputable outlets then taking the aggregate of that ridiculous process and then concluding that there is widespread agreement about the success/failure of one of these.

I get why CNN does that shit but what is there to gain for places like WaPo etc. to jump into that ridiculous game?

[benjipwns]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/rambling-reporter/will-disneys-bob-iger-run-president-2020-hollywood-friends-are-nudging-981626

Disney CEO Bob Iger already runs the world's most successful media company. But could his impeccable mogul credentials carry him to the Oval Office?

Sources say Iger has told friends he is considering their nudges that he make a run for president in 2020 as a Democrat. There’s a hitch. Any political future would hinge on Iger, 66, finding a Disney successor, of course. (Complicating matters, in February, he told financial analysts he would be "open" to remaining as CEO after his contract ends in June 2018.)

Iger told THR in June that "a lot of people — a lot — have urged me to seek political office" but denied he would consider a run for California governor or senator, positions that historically have served as stepping stones to the White House. However, Iger didn’t specifically address the prospect of a White House run at the time.

Sources add that he has since consulted with former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg about making the leap from the board room to high office (Bloomberg served as mayor of the nation’s largest city from 2002-12 despite no prior public service).

[Dennis]

There’s a hitch. Any political future would hinge on Iger, 66, finding a Disney successor, of course.

Of course. Disney is more important than America so if Disney is gonna take a hit.....

[Kara]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-state-of-trumps-state-department/ar-AAnGJTI?li=BBnb7Kz

[FStop7]

Trump's talked up beefing up intelligence yet lets the State Dept lapse...  I am assuming that he doesn't get that the CIA and the State Department operate hand-in-hand or he's just talking out of his ass about beefing up intelligence. 

[Kara]

There's always JSOC if the CIA isn't up to the job. And it isn't overseen by as meddling a congressional committee, which is I'm sure entirely coincidental.

[benjipwns]

Why would you want Congress to have access to intelligence? It's run by Republicans, the only way to truly protect ourselves and our elections from these Russian efforts is to have a completely separate intelligence agency away from Congress and the President that has unlimited funding and access to the mass media.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

We'll call it MI7.

Because it's one better than MI6.

[close]

[FStop7]

http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2017/03/01/political-panel-discuss-trump-speech-lead-live.cnn

WH Official: Trump immigration compromise 'misdirection play'
The Lead

A White House official tells CNN that President Trump's comments to news anchors about an immigration compromise was a "misdirection play" in an effort to appease the media. Our panel weighs in.Source: CNN

...

no shit

[Joe Molotov]

lol, you're not supposed to actually say that

[curly]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-state-of-trumps-state-department/ar-AAnGJTI?li=BBnb7Kz

So much in this

[Steve Contra]

Remember that speech? Neither do I

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/sessions-spoke-twice-with-russian-ambassador-during-trumps-presidential-campaign-justice-officials-say/2017/03/01/77205eda-feac-11e6-99b4-9e613afeb09f_story.html?utm_term=.ea5745ce97fd

[Phoenix Dark]

So Sessions committed perjury 

[zomgee]

fake news

[Great Rumbler]

So...basically every member of Trump's cabinet, White House staff, and circle of influence has ties to Russia.

[agrajag]

lock them up!

[Phoenix Dark]

Almost seems like a deliberate knock down of any chance Trump can get away with allowing someone in his corner to lead an investigation that has any credibility. Nunes, CIA director, now Sessions...all struck out basically.

[zomgee]

He thought they meant bad Russians. He talked to good Russians. And I think we can all tell the difference.

[agrajag]

Bad dudes

Bad hombres

Плохие парни 

[VomKriege]

Your media are totally gonna play the Candide part to Trump 
Every year of his Presidential mandate -generally around the 14th of July national holiday- Nicolas Sarkozy (who was hotheaded, loudmouthed, aggressive and pandering to its far right) would go to the media and say "I am changed, I am a new man". And all the most respectable outlets and famed political analysts would gladly follow up on the talking point and state that this time, for real, Sarkozy would elevate himself to the dignity of the office. It never happened.

The PIVOT™

[chronovore]

Almost seems like a deliberate knock down of any chance Trump can get away with allowing someone in his corner to lead an investigation that has any credibility. Nunes, CIA director, now Sessions...all struck out basically.

Struck out, how? I'm seeing plenty of calls from Dems for Sessions to resign, but it hasn't happened yet. Something tells me it's not going to happen. 

[Phoenix Dark]

Almost seems like a deliberate knock down of any chance Trump can get away with allowing someone in his corner to lead an investigation that has any credibility. Nunes, CIA director, now Sessions...all struck out basically.

Struck out, how? I'm seeing plenty of calls from Dems for Sessions to resign, but it hasn't happened yet. Something tells me it's not going to happen. 

He doesn't need to resign, and probably has an out ("we didn't discuss the 2016 campaign"). But he's going to have to recuse himself from any future investigation on Trump's ties to Russia.

[Phoenix Dark]

Dunno. Flynn was a dumbass who was bad at his job. Sessions is smarter and worth more to the Trump admin. He's not resigning unless another shoe drops.

But getting him to recuse from the case is ultimately the story here.

[benjipwns]

At Wednesday's annual Washington Press Club Foundation congressional dinner — a fundraiser for journalism scholarships and a lighthearted gathering of Washington's media and congressional elite — Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) made a cringe-worthy joke about that now-famous photo of Kellyanne Conway kneeling on the Oval Office sofa.

Here's what he said (my emphasis to Richmond's remarks added in bold):

“You even mentioned Kellyanne and the picture on the sofa. But I really just want to know what was going on there, because, I won't tell anybody. And you can just explain to me that — that circumstance, because she really looked kind of familiar there in that position there. But don't answer. And I don't want you to refer back to the ’90s.”

[Brehvolution]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/27/wilbur-ross-is-still-another-trump-cabinet-pick-with-underexamined-russian-ties.html

A study prepared exclusively for DCReport.org by James S. Henry reveals deep financial ties between Donald Trump’s nominee for Commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, and three Russian oligarchs, whose lives and fortunes depend on staying in the good graces of Vladimir Putin.

These connections raise many new questions about Trump’s reliance on the Putin regime, which all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies say interfered in the presidential election on Trump’s behalf, but which Trump disputes.

These relationships between nominee Ross and the oligarchs involve ownership and management of a European bank with a reputation for laundering Russian money and making bad loans.

The study also compared flight records of Trump’s campaign plane and a plane used by one of the oligarchs. During the campaign, the two planes often were at the same airports at the same time.

[Steve Contra]

Sessions getting thrown under the bus like Flynn.

[T-Short]

https://twitter.com/ericallenhatch/status/836385916902076416

[zomgee]

Sessions' senate seat is already filled, no takebacks.

[FStop7]

Bannon looks like WC Fields after an especially rough weekend

[benjipwns]

How does he not need to resign when he unambiguously lied under oath?

Since when is this the standard? Let me know if he did something actually terrible like underpay his maid or smoke pot after undergrad.

[zomgee]

Remember when Jeff Sessions voted for impeachment for Bill Clinton for lying under oath?

[Kara]

How does he not need to resign when he unambiguously lied under oath?

Since when is this the standard? Let me know if he did something actually terrible like underpay his maid or smoke pot after undergrad.

Wage theft is equivalent to breaking a drug consumption law?

[Steve Contra]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/02/us/politics/kushner-flynn-sessions-russia.html

[T-Short]

[Kara]

(Image removed from quote.)

If only. :'(

[Atramental]

My god... 

[benjipwns]

https://twitter.com/Fusion/status/837129348276576256

[TakingBackSunday]

This has been a great day

[Nola]

I need a fucking timeline of all this Trump/Russian shit. It's getting out of hand.

I have completely lost track. So much odd behavior and questionable events just pile on each other.

To the point I had already forgotten about all the weird shit with Roger Stone ominously threatening Podesta and tweeting about him getting his comeuppance a week or so before the wikileaks dropped.

[bluemax]

Trump gave Sessions the vote of confidence. Sports fans know what that means.

[Oblivion]

Nice to see the Trump admin and Russia are both using the same talking points.

Side note: that Russian broad has a nice rack.

[Trent Dole]

So, like, when is he removed from office/forced to resign at this point? No way dude is making it four years.

[archie4208]

I'm sick and tired of all this winning. 

[VomKriege]

just how far up russia's ass are these people

Almost reaching Petersburg now 

[FStop7]

Pence used personal email for state business — and was hacked
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/02/mike-pence-private-email/98637782/
(Image removed from quote.)

butter emails