Trump's America

[Fru]

[zoogs]

She's working hard to help her father's agenda by soliciting sympathy.

 

Complicit is far too friendly a term.

[BigRedBuster]

Here it is in full.

 

https://www.c-span.org/video/?429863-1/president-touts-accomplishments-cabinet-meeting

This guy is such full of sh#t.

 

Listing to this, he was bragging that there have been over 700,000 jobs created since the election and he said...."If anyone would have said that would happen on election day, nobody would believe it possible".

 

Well dip wad......that's only 100,000 jobs per month. almost every month the prior 4 years beat that.

 

And people believe this crap.

[BigRedBuster]

Oh...and our secretary of energy proclaimed we will continue to lead the world in fighting climate change.

[Danny Bateman]

I think zoogs is right in #1709.

 

Trump craves all the attention that comes along with being president. He obviously relies on bombast and histrionics to artificially create more of it than an ordinary president would have. He's got to the be the center of attention, all the time.

 

But don't forget about the craven underlings with their own agenda merely floating in the periphery and using Trump as cover. There's a very dangerous agenda they'd just love to unfurl, and they'll take any opportunity to do so. Whether that means hiding behind (and thus condoning) Trump's behavior, a domestic panic, an international crisis.... none of it is a bridge too far for such people.

[knapplc]

https://twitter.com/ReformedBroker/status/874584819883266052

[zoogs]

https://www.vox.com/first-person/2017/4/12/15210732/putin-russia-protests

A summary of Putin’s rise through the eyes of a minister who opposed him. Worth reading because of Trump’s barely-concealed admiration for Putin’s style.

 

It became clear that things weren’t going to be peaceful and quiet anymore in 2003. That was the year that Putin arrested Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a powerful oil company CEO who spoke out against the current government in favor of democratization. That, combined with an opportune parliamentary election win for Putin’s political party, put him in solid control of the government. Russia became a one-party state.

After that, conditions rapidly worsened. Most Putin critics were wiped out of TV and mainstream media. The only ones who were allowed to speak out were unpopular figures from elderly generations who just didn't connect with young Russians.

https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/6/13/15791684/oliver-stone-colbert-interview-putin-documentary

Oliver Stone.

 

“Putin is an oppressive leader of his country who suppresses the free press and arrests his enemies,” Colbert said. “That is not something that I as an American or a member of the press can respect. And I am surprised that you respect that.”

Stone’s reaction? “No question, he’s a social conservative in that way.”

 

To put it mildly.

[Pedro Guerrero]

https://twitter.com/ReformedBroker/status/874584819883266052

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/19625464/golden-state-warriors-say-no-decision-made-white-house-visit

[zoogs]

#NeverTrump Republicans, tonight's your chance in Georgia!

 

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/6/20/15832590/never-trump-republicans-ossoff

 

I hope Jon Ossoff can pull this off in GA-6. For me, there's no clearer microcosm than this: http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2017/06/16/karen_handel_jon_ossoff_s_opponent_opposes_same_sex_adoption_again.html

 

On Thursday, Handel told a reporter that in her view, allowing same-sex couples to adopt is not in “the best interest of the child.” […] “I have to be honest, my faith calls me to a different place on that issue.” […]

 

(Ossoff:) “You will be able to count on me to stand up for you every day. I will never shy away from standing with the LGBT community publicly, forcefully, with everything I’ve got. … There can be no compromise on civil rights; there can be no compromise on human rights.”

Georgia's 6th district comprises the northern suburbs of Atlanta. Georgia's 4th, 5th, and 13th districts (Atlanta) are heavy Democratic leans (+24D, +34D, and +20D, respectively in Cook PVI). Atlanta's southern suburbs (GA-3) is even more strongly Republican (+18R) than GA-6 (+6R). Ossoff has been leading at times and nearly pulled off an outright win in April (which would have precluded this one from happening). He's got a real shot here.

[RedDenver]

#NeverTrump Republicans, tonight's your chance in Georgia!

 

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/6/20/15832590/never-trump-republicans-ossoff

 

I hope Jon Ossoff can pull this off in GA-6. For me, there's no clearer microcosm than this: http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2017/06/16/karen_handel_jon_ossoff_s_opponent_opposes_same_sex_adoption_again.html

 

On Thursday, Handel told a reporter that in her view, allowing same-sex couples to adopt is not in “the best interest of the child.” […] “I have to be honest, my faith calls me to a different place on that issue.” […]

 

(Ossoff:) “You will be able to count on me to stand up for you every day. I will never shy away from standing with the LGBT community publicly, forcefully, with everything I’ve got. … There can be no compromise on civil rights; there can be no compromise on human rights.”

Georgia's 6th district comprises the northern suburbs of Atlanta. Georgia's 4th, 5th, and 13th districts (Atlanta) are heavy Democratic leans (+24D, +34D, and +20D, respectively in Cook PVI). Atlanta's southern suburbs (GA-3) is even more strongly Republican (+18R) than GA-6 (+6R). Ossoff has been leading at times and nearly pulled off an outright win in April (which would have precluded this one from happening). He's got a real shot here.

 

538 has a good article about it as well.

 

And an article about the special election in South Carolina.

[zoogs]

This is a great (and very generally applicable) quote from 538:

 

The “takes” you’ll read about the special election in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District on Tuesday night are probably going to be dumb. A close outcome in either direction would be consistent with what we know about the political environment. (...)

 

Here’s the thing, though: Sometimes dumb things matter if everyone agrees that they matter.

They also argue persuasively later on that a loss is going to be important to rattle some number of existing Republicans out of their comfort with the status quo. At first I figured what difference does one seat make in the current House. But this is convincing. The ACA, potentially, is at stake and the stronger the signal the better.

[Landlord]

AP reporting that Handel won.

 

 

 

[Danny Bateman]

I don't know, man. Disappointing. I thought Handel ran a pretty poor, bland campaign. But GA-06 wasn't ready to take the plunge.

This will probably embolden the GOP in their healthcare push. I'm guessing we're going to have to live through another W administration, but slightly more embarrassing, for certain people to realize they don't win under GOP policies.

[zoogs]

[knapplc]

So...

 

Democrats challenged Republicans in heavily Republican areas, in districts that Democrats haven' won in years, if not decades, and lost four times.

 

 

And this is cause for Democrats to go into a tailspin, and for Republicans to beat their chest?

 

 

 

Meh. The Democrats have plenty of building to do. They're still a party of vanilla without a central, unifying message or a strong, followable leader. But Republicans didn't impress or "win" these elections. Party momentum kept rolling.