Jump to content

US Politics: A Mickey Mouse Operation


DMC

Recommended Posts

3 hours ago, DanteGabriel said:

If loving this burn is wrong, I don't want to be right.

https://mobile.twitter.com/briantylercohen/status/1187526107878133760

Lol, for whatever reason this takes my mind immediately to Jordan Peele's Obama:

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Paladin of Ice said:

Gabbard is claiming that she’s going to give up running for re-election in her district to focus on the presidential campaign.

Now that’s what I call good news! Might even be worth popping champagne over if it meant she was going away forever, but sadly I’m sure she has a lucrative career ahead of her going on right wing media and being their pet ex-Democrat who spends all her time talking and writing books about how terrible Democrats and liberals are.

When I heard that news, I wondered for a bit if that hinted at a third party run.  I agree that there's a very good chance she is angling for a media gig, like Fox News, where she can join Donna Brazile as the resident Democrat sellouts.  Running for the Democratic nomination has helped raise her national profile, and running as a third party candidate could help even more, which could be helpful to her when negotiating a contract with Fox.

Maybe Clinton was right about Gabbard.  Not sure yet, but we should know by the middle of next year.  I can see Gabbard refusing to drop out until the convention and then announce a third party run, if her goal is to raise her profile in advance of a job at Fox.  But a third party run would likely end her political career, and her support is so low right now anyway I'm not sure she can drum up enough support for a third party run, so maybe she just ends her campaign at the convention, or maybe earlier when she can't qualify for the debates.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

41 minutes ago, Mudguard said:

When I heard that news, I wondered for a bit if that hinted at a third party run.  I agree that there's a very good chance she is angling for a media gig, like Fox News, where she can join Donna Brazile as the resident Democrat sellouts.  Running for the Democratic nomination has helped raise her national profile, and running as a third party candidate could help even more, which could be helpful to her when negotiating a contract with Fox.

Maybe Clinton was right about Gabbard.  Not sure yet, but we should know by the middle of next year.  I can see Gabbard refusing to drop out until the convention and then announce a third party run, if her goal is to raise her profile in advance of a job at Fox.  But a third party run would likely end her political career, and her support is so low right now anyway I'm not sure she can drum up enough support for a third party run, so maybe she just ends her campaign at the convention, or maybe earlier when she can't qualify for the debates.

It seems the real reason she's not running again is it looks like she'll have a tough primary and has made lots of enemies among Hawaii Democrats:

Quote

But her path to winning a fifth term in 2020 was complicated by a formidable primary challenge from state Sen. Kai Kahele, as well as her thorny relationships with other Aloha State politicians.

A trio of former Hawaii governors have backed Kahele’s bid to unseat Gabbard, and she ignited a feud with Sen. Mazie Hirono after authoring an op-ed in January accusing Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee of “religious bigotry” in their questioning of a nominee for a district judgeship.

Hirono, a member of that panel who previously held Gabbard’s House seat, criticized the congresswoman and called her assertions “totally unfounded” during an interview in March.

Gabbard’s decision is also likely to stoke speculation that she is considering mounting a third-party presidential campaign, especially amid her high-profile clash over the past week with 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

But, clearly her timing of the announcement is not a coincidence - this definitely will stoke speculation of a 3rd party run which helps her whether she's planning to or not.  And while Clinton may end up being right (and prescient) about a third party run, I still think it was baseless speculation rooted in resentment.

25 minutes ago, larrytheimp said:

Gabbard/Lieberman 2020!

Joe Lieberman?  Those two have, like, diametrically opposed foreign policy views (although I guess that's part of your joke).

In other news, looks like Bolton may agree to be deposed.  That should be really interesting - could be the most damaging testimony yet.  But, I retain healthy skepticism - not gonna get too excited by relying on the likes of John Bolton.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I was reading an article about how Republicans in Congress just wish Trump would shut the fuck up (paraphrased), and realized that Trump has really gotten himself into a pickle. The people who are going to decide his fate in the Senate want him to shut up so they can focus defending on just a few fronts and staying on message, but the people who are ensuring that Senate Republicans don't turn on Trump, his base, want him to lash out and fight back, so even if he could shut his mouth, he can't because they'd start losing faith in him if he stopped being the person they voted for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/betsy-devos-held-in-contempt-for-violating-order-on-student-loans_n_5db2ffc2e4b0a8937403a6f8

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was held in contempt of court by a federal judge on Thursday and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine after wrongly trying to collect on student loans taken out to attend a chain of now-shuttered for-profit colleges.

 

Quote

U.S. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim wrote in her order that there was “no question” that DeVos’ Education Department “harmed individual borrowers who were forced to repay loans either through voluntary actions or involuntary methods.”
department’s continued efforts to collect on the loans, even after the judge ordered it to stop. Of those, 1,808 faced wage garnishment or offsets from their tax refunds, and 847 saw their credit scores negatively impacted. The borrowers have since been reimbursed, according to the department.

Kim wrote that “the evidence shows” the department made “only minimal efforts to comply with the preliminary injunction.”

The judge had ordered DeVos’ Education Department to stop collecting on the loans in May 2018. After discovering her order had not been followed, Kim issued a sharp rebuke of the department earlier this month.

“I’m not sending anyone to jail yet, but it’s good to know I have that ability,” the judge said at the time, Politico reported.

It is extremely rare for a court to hold a Cabinet secretary in contempt of court, and DeVos is facing fresh calls for her resignation over the issue.

Because DeVos is named in the lawsuit in her official capacity as education secretary, the billionaire school-choice activist will not be personally responsible for paying the fine. The $100,000 will go toward debt relief promised to former students of Corinthian Colleges, who former President Barack Obama’s administration found were defrauded by the company.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bolton lawyers in talks about possible impeachment deposition

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/25/politics/john-bolton-lawyers-impeachment-inquiry/index.html

Quote

 

Lawyers for former national security adviser John Bolton have had talks with the three House committees leading the impeachment inquiry about a possible deposition, according to a source familiar.

If he does give a deposition, Bolton would join a handful of current and former Trump administration members who have been interviewed this month as part of the Democratic-led inquiry into President Donald Trump's dealings with Ukraine.
As House members who serve on the Intelligence, Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees have been interviewing witnesses in private, some of the committees' Democrats have said they believe there's a need for Bolton to testify.
Fiona Hill, Trump's former top Russia adviser, told lawmakers last week that she saw "wrongdoing" in American foreign policy and that Bolton had encouraged her to report her concerns to the National Security Council's attorney, sources had told CNN.
A source told CNN that Hill testified that Bolton referred to Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who was working to dig up dirt on the Bidens, as a "hand grenade," who was "going to blow everybody up."

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

Have we talked about the real news bit.

DOJ ordered to hand over the unredacted Mueller report. This should be fun. I think/hope as soon as the unredacted version is out, it's pretty much curtains.

Really?  Why?  The redacted one and multiple corroborating accounts of aid for dirt haven't flipped the GOP, why would the release of the unredacted report?  The redacted one was damning enough and no one gave a shit.  Oh and the emoluments have been a thing from day 1 and no one cares. 

The truth is irrelevant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, The Great Unwashed said:

So I was reading an article about how Republicans in Congress just wish Trump would shut the fuck up (paraphrased), and realized that Trump has really gotten himself into a pickle. The people who are going to decide his fate in the Senate want him to shut up so they can focus defending on just a few fronts and staying on message, but the people who are ensuring that Senate Republicans don't turn on Trump, his base, want him to lash out and fight back, so even if he could shut his mouth, he can't because they'd start losing faith in him if he stopped being the person they voted for.

Although the Senate resolution that Graham proposed had 50 Republican co-sponsors, so for now most of them are ready to hold the line. The 3 senators who didnt co-sign were Romney, Collins and Murkowski, aka the usual suspects. Collins will eventually disappoint, and who knows about the other two. For now, there are cracks but the Senate appears to be mostly in line.

Of course, all this is a matter of patience and waiting for things to play out. Public hearings may change things, and Trump's approval may slide further. The only thing that gives me a little bit of pause is that in swing states the public isnt quite in favor of removing Trump yet (although they favor the impeachment proceedings). We are now in a very extended inflection point IMO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Martell Spy said:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/betsy-devos-held-in-contempt-for-violating-order-on-student-loans_n_5db2ffc2e4b0a8937403a6f8

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was held in contempt of court by a federal judge on Thursday and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine after wrongly trying to collect on student loans taken out to attend a chain of now-shuttered for-profit colleges.

 

 

She's a monster, and I hope she faces some real consequences she can't buy her way out of.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

Have we talked about the real news bit.

DOJ ordered to hand over the unredacted Mueller report. This should be fun. I think/hope as soon as the unredacted version is out, it's pretty much curtains.

There are those who believe that the gops howling about 'public testimony' are deeply miscalculating.  There is going to be public hearings, testimonies and all the rest fairly soon, after these preliminary processes have been fulfilled*. The idea being once all of this content hits out loud and in front of cameras, it's going to be even more damning than if only in print.  Shrugs, as I dunno no more than Jon Snow.

_________

* Though it seems one of the biggest reasons for closed door procedures at first, to ensure the witnesses don't collude to dovetail their testimonies, has failed.  Evidently several of the witnesses have shown they discussed together what to say about certain actions and events before testifying.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, larrytheimp said:

Really?  Why?  The redacted one and multiple corroborating accounts of aid for dirt haven't flipped the GOP, why would the release of the unredacted report?  The redacted one was damning enough and no one gave a shit.  Oh and the emoluments have been a thing from day 1 and no one cares. 

The truth is irrelevant.

Well, for once we have not seen the full picture, yet. I hope once the full report goes public, with all the dirty little details and not just the juicy soundbites, that it becomes way more difficult, if not impossible (morally it already is) to defend Twitler. And I think there will be one or two more bodies buried in there.

5 hours ago, IheartIheartTesla said:

The 3 senators who didnt co-sign were Romney, Collins and Murkowski, aka the usual suspects. Collins will eventually disappoint, and who knows about the other two. For now, there are cracks but the Senate appears to be mostly in line.

I think Romney will stand his ground on this. His base differs sufficiently from the other GOP lackwits, so he can freely give in to his dislike for the orange one. As for Murkowski no idea, will probably fall in line with Collins.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ISIS leader al-Baghdadi believed to have been killed in a US military raid

Quote

ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is believed to have been killed in a raid conducted by the US military in northwest Syria on Saturday, according to a senior US defense official and a source with knowledge. The final confirmation is pending while DNA and biometric testing is conducted, both sources tell CNN.

The defense official said it appears that Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest during the raid.

The raid was carried out by special operations commandos, a source familiar with the operation told CNN.

The CIA assisted in locating the ISIS leader, the defense official said.

Newsweek first reported that Baghdadi was believed to have been killed.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to make a major announcement Sunday at 9 a.m., White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley announced. An administration official tells CNN that the announcement is foreign policy related.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WSJ:  Sondland's lawyer says Sondland told House panel Trump's Ukraine pressure was a quid pro quo

Quote

A top U.S. diplomat told House committees last week that efforts by President Trump and his allies to press Kyiv to open investigations in exchange for a White House meeting with Ukraine’s president amounted to a quid pro quo, his lawyer said.

Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, told House committees that he believed Ukraine agreeing to open investigations into Burisma Group—a gas company where Democrat Joe Biden’s son once served on the board—and into alleged 2016 election interference was a condition for a White House meeting between Mr. Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr. Sondland’s lawyer Robert Luskin said.

Asked by a lawmaker whether that arrangement was a quid pro quo, Mr. Sondland cautioned that he wasn’t a lawyer but said he believed the answer was yes, Mr. Luskin said.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess everyone is asleep this morning.  I thought the thread would be buzzing with the Trump's "incredible" press briefing about the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. I hope people don't start giving him passes on his other actions because of this.

I've been looking at sites about "rapid DNA test" to see how fast they are and every site has said about 2 hours, yet Trump said it took 15 minutes. I found that very interesting.  Any scientific types know if there is a DNA field test that only takes 15 minutes?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I turned on the tv this morning because I like to watch a bit of the CNN politics program before heading off to church, and caught the story about the raid. The program was pre-empted for Trump, of course. The CNN folks were a bit pissed off, rightly so, because the news has been out since late last night and the press conference got scheduled for 9:00 am, but did it start at 9:00 am? No, of course not, Trump the showman had to keep everyone waiting for 20 minutes because he’s such a drama queen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...