The Republican Utopia

[TGHusker]

On 2/19/2020 at 7:45 PM, Danny Bateman said:

I mean my God man. The corruption is bottomless.

 

In the highly probable event Dems manage to screw up this election we may not have a democracy to try to reclaim in 2024.

 

 

They are all swamp creatures.  Protecting each other.  Trump disdains any authority figure other than himself and that appears to be true of Inspection Generals - 

 

Quote

 

Despite the troubling ethics questions surrounding the Department of Transportation, it is impossible to predict when there will be a permanent watchdog at the agency. President Trump has made little progress in addressing numerous long-standing vacancies at IG shops across the federal bureaucracy. Last year, a bipartisan group of senators wrote to President Trump urging him “to take swift action” to address the IG vacancies at multiple agencies. They noted that, “While many acting IGs have served admirably in the absence of permanent leadership, the lack of a permanent leader threatens to impede the ability of these offices to conduct the oversight and investigations necessary to ensure that taxpayer dollars are protected, public safety risks are identified, and that whistleblowers who expose waste, fraud, and abuse are protected.” Although DOT’s Acting Inspector General has nearly twenty years of experience, as the Senators explain, “the lack of a permanent IG can create the potential for conflicts of interest and diminish the essential independence of IGs.”

Throughout his presidency, Donald Trump has shown a disdain for ethics and accountability. While the President’s own misconduct generates significant public attention, his failure to fill the internal watchdog positions at federal agencies threatens to do even greater damage. One year ago, there were 12 inspector general positions left unfilled by President Trump. Despite the confirmation of three then-vacant positions, today that figure sits at 11, including 4 posts that have been vacant for the duration of Trump’s presidency. 

While we should all be concerned if the President decides to leave the DOT IG position vacant for an extended period, that’s not the worse case scenario. President Trump is notorious for filling government positions with inexperienced or conflicted individuals. Many of his Inspector General nominees have been exceptions to this trend, but the record is still mixed. Last year, for example, the President installed one of his political donors as the IG at the Social Security Administration and then as Acting Department of Interior. Even more troubling, the House Committee of Education and the Workforce reportedly uncovered evidence that the Acting Inspector General at the Department of Education was to be replaced because she refused to interfere with an investigation into Secretary DeVos. Displacing DOT Acting Inspector General Behm with a Trump or McConnell loyalist would threaten OIG’s independence even more than a prolonged vacancy.

 

 

[Danny Bateman]

 

[jsneb83]

3 hours ago, knapplc said:

Why are Republicans always looking for ways to exonerate the Russians?

 

 

Oh I don't know, Devin, maybe because they were being investigated. Smart people usually hang low while that happens and definitely don't keep doing the thing they're being investigated for

[knapplc]

 

[Decoy73]

5 hours ago, knapplc said:

Why are Republicans always looking for ways to exonerate the Russians?

 

 

Republicans lost the house because of D-bags like you, Devin.  I expect the margin to be even wider next year at this time.  

[knapplc]

Wasn't it Republicans who complained so vociferously about "incivility," and that Mitch McConnell and Sarah Huckabee Sanders were treated so poorly by the brutish mobs of the left who had the audacity to... <checks notes> "boo" them?

 

Funny story...

 

 

[BigRedBuster]

They’re actually proud of it. 
 

 

[BigRedBuster]

@Notre Dame Joe

 

care to explain?

 

 

[FrankWheeler]

1 hour ago, BigRedBuster said:

@Notre Dame Joe

 

care to explain?

 

 

 

Is this socialism?

[TGHusker]

GOP starting to get nervous that maybe the economy won't be their strong card in Nov.  The virus and its affect on trade may take a big toll on the economy.

 

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/485078-republicans-growing-nervous-about-2020-economy

 

[BigRedBuster]

47 minutes ago, FrankWheeler said:

 

Is this socialism?

No, it's a Monarchy.  

[BigRedBuster]

3 minutes ago, TGHusker said:

GOP starting to get nervous that maybe the economy won't be their strong card in Nov.  The virus and its affect on trade may take a big toll on the economy.

 

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/485078-republicans-growing-nervous-about-2020-economy

 

 

 

This is going to get really interesting.  

 

I personally think that we've gone on such a long run on the markets (10-11 years) that it we were due for a bad era.  The economy is still strong.  The virus can pull back on that some.  The big question is how much?

 

I get the same feeling with this that I had around the 9/11 attacks (as far as the economy goes).  Prior to 9/11, we were growing at a 4%+ rate.  Immediately, that was dropped to 1-2%.  We have been growing at a 2% rate, so......will this make us turn negative?  If so....hold on to your hats.

[deedsker]

I read a WSJ article about how Millennials suck and are going to ruin the economy by creating an overall drop in buying of consumer goods for the next 20-30 years. I made a connection to another article relating the closer integration of supply chains since the SARS outbreak and how our goods are much more dependent on having access to foreign markets. All in all, supply side disruptions could create a supply shortage, which America is built on, and our economy could be hosed for quite awhile. Also, most younger people have never had to deal with lack of access to markets and central banks only deal with demand side management and can't help in supply side issues.

 

Should be interesting to see how the next 6-18 months play out.

 

 

[TGHusker]

23 minutes ago, deedsker said:

I read a WSJ article about how Millennials suck and are going to ruin the economy by creating an overall drop in buying of consumer goods for the next 20-30 years. I made a connection to another article relating the closer integration of supply chains since the SARS outbreak and how our goods are much more dependent on having access to foreign markets. All in all, supply side disruptions could create a supply shortage, which America is built on, and our economy could be hosed for quite awhile. Also, most younger people have never had to deal with lack of access to markets and central banks only deal with demand side management and can't help in supply side issues.

 

Should be interesting to see how the next 6-18 months play out.

 

 

I heard an interview on NPR yesterday about that very topic - we have methods to deal wt the demand side but not the supply side. 

 

Related - the various central bank will most likely have to coordinate their efforts less we end up wt a repeat of 2007-8.  Our central bank does not have many bullets to use as they have keep interest rates artificially low for a long time. 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/28/ex-fed-governor-warsh-sees-coordinated-global-central-bank-action-soon-in-response-to-coronavirus.html

[BigRedBuster]

5 hours ago, TGHusker said:

Our central bank does not have many bullets to use as they have keep interest rates artificially low for a long time. 

I'm old enough to remember Republicans complaining about interest rates being so low.