The Swamp

Conversation at the white house at some point: "Get Mitch on the phone and let's figure out how to blame the democrats"

The Sybian wrote: ↑Mon Feb 05, 2018 12:16 pm

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Mon Feb 05, 2018 10:30 am

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 02, 2018 3:25 pm I wouldn't put it past Fredo to attempt a false flag attack if he's trailing in October 2020.

I'm too lazy to pull up my posts about how Putin rose to absolute power in Russia based on what are pretty clearly false flag bombings of apartment buildings in Moscow.

I absolutely worry we'll see something like this occur at some point in this presidency.

I'll reverse roles with you on this one. I can't imagine Trump could get anyone in the FBI, CIA or any other agency or military unit to pull off that kind of attack. He has proven he won't protect anyone and has no loyalty or respect for any agency. Despite how horrendous and awful it is to see the President and Party controlling both Houses attack the FBI, I think it's much better than the alternative of having an FBI completely working to support Trump and his interests.

Fair points. And when I originally started talking about this scenario, Trump hadn't gone in with two feet attacking the intelligence community.

It's good to tamp this stuff down, because it's nightmare fuel, so thanks.

Rex wrote: ↑Mon Feb 05, 2018 3:22 pm It's gone back up a bit now. Trump must have taken it over.

Trump's stock market set a record!!

Rex wrote: ↑Mon Feb 05, 2018 4:42 pm

That is great. I handled Investor Relations for a couple different companies over a couple decades. In the old days, a visit to the trading floor of the NYSE was always a big deal and great fun. As the tweet notes, it's not the same any more. In recent years, the same trip was a bit of a letdown, because computers have taken over, and you usually don't have the crazy block traders on the floor yelling at specialists anymore. Just drones executing the computer orders.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2018/02/06/sen-tammy-duckworth-i-swore-an-oath-to-the-constitution-not-to-clap-when-trump-demands/?hpid=hp_no-name_hp-in-the-news%3Apage%2Fin-the-news&utm_term=.b5d1f717aa60 wrote:Senator Duckworth VS. "Cadet Bone Spurs."

This woman is the best.

“We don’t live in a dictatorship or monarchy. I swore an oath — in the military and in the Senate — to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap,”

Especially since Cadet Bone Spurs hates women so you know that stuff REALLY bothers him. He's one of the easiest people in the world to troll -- up there with Pats fans.

brian wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 11:08 am Especially since Cadet Bone Spurs hates women so you know that stuff REALLY bothers him. He's one of the easiest people in the world to troll -- up there with Pats fans.

Woman, Asian-American, "Disabled" - a trifecta of things he hates right there.

The headline is a accurate, though misleading, distillation of what we need a lot of free-thinking Americans to do for the next three+ years.

Boycott the GOP.

Seriously, make sure to read the article. It's really good.

brian wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 11:24 am The headline is a accurate, though misleading, distillation of what we need a lot of free-thinking Americans to do for the next three+ years.

Boycott the GOP.

Seriously, make sure to read the article. It's really good.

Interesting but I'm not sure strongly voting against something is as strong as voting for something. Democrats need both.

degenerasian wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 11:48 am

brian wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 11:24 am The headline is a accurate, though misleading, distillation of what we need a lot of free-thinking Americans to do for the next three+ years.

Boycott the GOP.

Seriously, make sure to read the article. It's really good.

Interesting but I'm not sure strongly voting against something is as strong as voting for something. Democrats need both.

The very thesis of the article would argue the complete opposite. Your theory is what got us into this mess* and it's not how we're going to get out of it.

* - I'm obviously not blaming you. You can't even vote here. I'm saying that the idea that there needs to be some theoretical bar for Democrats to get over to earn their vote, no matter how low, is not going to help defeat Trumpism. It just makes it easier for the Republicans and Trump to continue to erode the rule of law.

Never Trumpism didn't work/isn't working. Love for third party candidates or candidates not on the ballot like Bernie isn't helping. The only way to fix things is to punish the GOP over and over and over again until their behavior is changed.

brian wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 11:53 am

degenerasian wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 11:48 am

brian wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 11:24 am The headline is a accurate, though misleading, distillation of what we need a lot of free-thinking Americans to do for the next three+ years.

Boycott the GOP.

Seriously, make sure to read the article. It's really good.

Interesting but I'm not sure strongly voting against something is as strong as voting for something. Democrats need both.

The very thesis of the article would argue the complete opposite. Your theory is what got us into this mess* and it's not how we're going to get out of it.

* - I'm obviously not blaming you. You can't even vote here. I'm saying that the idea that there needs to be some theoretical bar for Democrats to get over to earn their vote, no matter how low, is not going to help defeat Trumpism. It just makes it easier for the Republicans and Trump to continue to erode the rule of law.

Never Trumpism didn't work/isn't working. Love for third party candidates or candidates not on the ballot like Bernie isn't helping. The only way to fix things is to punish the GOP over and over and over again until their behavior is changed.

What the article is arguing is not enough. Republicans are entrenched because of the 4 pillars they believe in.

Abortion/Religion
Guns
Taxes
Race

Why do the GOP voters vote? Because by not doing so, something sacred may be taken away.
Liberalism means freedom to explore and to choose and by definition it is the tougher position to defend. Conservatives just have to say 'no' or 'those guys want to change your way of life" and they can win the debate. It's always easier to defend the status quo, however wrong that status quo may be.

Take the abortion issue. The article states that even Democrats who are pro-life will vote Republican because they can't compromise that. Pro-Lifers absolutely 100% will not accept a fetus being killed (their words). Whereas pro-choicers give a choice. You can choose to keep the baby or abort it. But if you don't abort it, it's not the end of the world, it's your choice you see. But pro-lifers, killing is killing. It is the end of the world. They actually will kill someone else to protect the killing of a fetus. It that insane or what?

This is the uphill battle the democrats (and liberals in general) face. What are the Democrats' pillars?

Oh for fuck's sake. You're arguing about policy details when the fucking house is burning down. When there's a fire you call the fucking fire department. You don't get online to look up how much coverage you have on the structure and oh, where did I put that hoagie I was saving for a snack later...

degenerasian wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 12:16 pmWhat the article is arguing is not enough. Republicans are entrenched because of the 4 pillars they believe in.

$
$
$
Race

fixed

brian wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 12:20 pm Oh for fuck's sake. You're arguing about policy details when the fucking house is burning down. When there's a fire you call the fucking fire department. You don't get online to look up how much coverage you have on the structure and oh, where did I put that hoagie I was saving for a snack later...

Do enough people think the house is burning down? PDX just said, the GOP is still raking in money from interest groups and broadcast their propaganda on Fox News.

I'm with you, the government is a disgrace. But is that enough. How will the Democrats fuck this up by November?

degenerasian wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 12:33 pm

brian wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 12:20 pm Oh for fuck's sake. You're arguing about policy details when the fucking house is burning down. When there's a fire you call the fucking fire department. You don't get online to look up how much coverage you have on the structure and oh, where did I put that hoagie I was saving for a snack later...

Do enough people think the house is burning down? PDX just said, the GOP is still raking in money from interest groups and broadcast their propaganda on Fox News.

A lot of people here too.



Point is - as we are seeing now - you can always get a significant portion of the electorate to support you if you wave certain flags in their face.

degenerasian wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 12:33 pm

brian wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 12:20 pm Oh for fuck's sake. You're arguing about policy details when the fucking house is burning down. When there's a fire you call the fucking fire department. You don't get online to look up how much coverage you have on the structure and oh, where did I put that hoagie I was saving for a snack later...

Do enough people think the house is burning down? PDX just said, the GOP is still raking in money from interest groups and broadcast their propaganda on Fox News.

I'm with you, the government is a disgrace. But is that enough. How will the Democrats fuck this up by November?

Your premise is deeply flawed. The Dems literally CAN'T fuck up the midterms. As I've been saying for months, the die is already cast for next November. Decades of data back up that where the President sits after a year in dictate how the midterms will go. It's a referendum on the president, period. All this other shit you keep posting about is immaterial.

Once you get to 2020 when it's one person squaring off against another, I will entertain the notion that internal struggle and historical trend of fucking up a 2 car parade kick in.

Actually, the way I see the Dems fucking up is not contesting across the board. The recent waxing on a national scale in the special elections should have them dramatically expanding what they consider "competitive" races, not consolidating their funds on a limited number of safe bets.

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 1:26 pm

degenerasian wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 12:33 pm

brian wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 12:20 pm Oh for fuck's sake. You're arguing about policy details when the fucking house is burning down. When there's a fire you call the fucking fire department. You don't get online to look up how much coverage you have on the structure and oh, where did I put that hoagie I was saving for a snack later...

Do enough people think the house is burning down? PDX just said, the GOP is still raking in money from interest groups and broadcast their propaganda on Fox News.

I'm with you, the government is a disgrace. But is that enough. How will the Democrats fuck this up by November?

Your premise is deeply flawed. The Dems literally CAN'T fuck up the midterms. As I've been saying for months, the die is already cast for next November. Decades of data back up that where the President sits after a year in dictate how the midterms will go. It's a referendum on the president, period. All this other shit you keep posting about is immaterial.

Once you get to 2020 when it's one person squaring off against another, I will entertain the notion that internal struggle and historical trend of fucking up a 2 car parade kick in.

Actually, the way I see the Dems fucking up is not contesting across the board. The recent waxing on a national scale in the special elections should have them dramatically expanding what they consider "competitive" races, not consolidating their funds on a limited number of safe bets.

At one point recently they were one or two away from having a candidate in every CD, which is a start.

Morning Joe was hilarious this morning, clearly hoping Trump was watching as they kept baiting him saying "The lawyers are saying the president is a coward and could never match wits with Muler"

They literally said this over and over for 2 hours, it was awesome.

degenerasian wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 3:15 pm Morning Joe was hilarious this morning, clearly hoping Trump was watching as they kept baiting him saying "The lawyers are saying the president is a coward and could never match wits with Muler"

They literally said this over and over for 2 hours, it was awesome.

Jesus, that is bordering on being a skit. Coffee Joe Morning has been doing this for awhile, directly speaking to Trump. He prefaces with, "Mr. Trump, I know you love to say you don't watch my show, but..." And, Trump has responded with Tweets directly responding. So as much as Joe's skit is funny, it actually reaches the audience of one and gets a response. Sad.

"Your lawyers think you are dumb and that you are a liar!"

That is a remarkable piece of tape.

Well, his lawyers through the years have established a precedence when dealing with him:

Never met him one on one. Always have another attorney present when discussing matters pertaining to whatever the case may be.

Think about that. Nobody trusts him.

brian wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 6:29 pm There's just no bottom to Trump's vanity and narcissism.

Just like a real dictator!!

The GOP, and Trump in particular, are infuriating. We can all agree on that.

While you guys poked holes in Degenerasian's thesis upthread, I do believe he understands the Republican base in this regard:

degen wrote: Republicans are entrenched because of the 4 pillars they believe in.

Abortion/Religion
Guns
Taxes
Race

Why do the GOP voters vote? Because by not doing so, (their perception is that) something sacred (to them) may be taken away.

That segment is very unlikely to be swayed by the other huge negatives of the GOP (corruption not least among them). So, imho, to win, the Dems should just write off the GOP core base, and gear their efforts toward
A) getting out the vote - especially Blacks and other minorities, and
B) hammering Trump and the GOP for their lies, malfeasance and lack of public benefit, in a way designed to sway the "soft" portion of the 2016 GOP electorate. They don't even need to do any "positive" campaigning - reciting the drum line of GOP bullshit activity would work better.

Pruitt wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 6:30 pm

brian wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 6:29 pm There's just no bottom to Trump's vanity and narcissism.

Just like a real dictator!!

LOL to the poor bastards that will have to actually march in that shit. Plus all the practice and wasted time on their off duty time getting right for months in advance.

I'm glad I'm stationed in a sleepy hollow base in the mountain time zone. That fucking rent-a-crowd will come from all over DC and probably stretch up and down the eastern seaboard.

And if it takes place in DC in November to coincide with Veteran's Day and there's bad weather, some of you may need to visit me in the hospital because I'll be laughing myself to death.

brian wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 6:29 pm There's just no bottom to Trump's vanity and narcissism.

No the least bit surprising. He was reportedly furious when the military refused to roll out the heavy artillery for his inauguration because the streets weren't capable of supporting the weight [but he is only 239 pounds!]. When he attended a military parade in France, he kept commenting on how he needs to hold a similar parade. He desperately wants to be a military despot.

Just last night, I was talking to a British friend, who was trying to understand why the schools are closed Feb 19th. He jokingly asked if we have to honor Trump on President's Day, and it made me realize, how shocking is it that Trump didn't make President's Day all about him last year? I wonder if he asked about making his birthday a holiday.

sancarlos wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 6:45 pm The GOP, and Trump in particular, are infuriating. We can all agree on that.

While you guys poked holes in Degenerasian's thesis upthread, I do believe he understands the Republican base in this regard:

degen wrote: Republicans are entrenched because of the 4 pillars they believe in.

Abortion/Religion
Guns
Taxes
Race

Why do the GOP voters vote? Because by not doing so, (their perception is that) something sacred (to them) may be taken away.

That segment is very unlikely to be swayed by the other huge negatives of the GOP (corruption not least among them). So, imho, to win, the Dems should just write off the GOP core base, and gear their efforts toward
A) getting out the vote - especially Blacks and other minorities, and
B) hammering Trump and the GOP for their lies, malfeasance and lack of public benefit, in a way designed to sway the "soft" portion of the 2016 GOP electorate. They don't even need to do any "positive" campaigning - reciting the drum line of GOP bullshit activity would work better.

I don't think the intention is necessarily to chip into the GOP core base, but instead to avoid mobilizing it.

Parade is off, Trump's chief policy advisors at Fox and Friends think its a waste of money. It's a very sad day when Brian Kilmeade is the voice of reason.

sancarlos wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2018 6:45 pm The GOP, and Trump in particular, are infuriating. We can all agree on that.

While you guys poked holes in Degenerasian's thesis upthread, I do believe he understands the Republican base in this regard:

degen wrote: Republicans are entrenched because of the 4 pillars they believe in.

Abortion/Religion
Guns
Taxes
Race

Why do the GOP voters vote? Because by not doing so, (their perception is that) something sacred (to them) may be taken away.

That segment is very unlikely to be swayed by the other huge negatives of the GOP (corruption not least among them). So, imho, to win, the Dems should just write off the GOP core base, and gear their efforts toward
A) getting out the vote - especially Blacks and other minorities, and
B) hammering Trump and the GOP for their lies, malfeasance and lack of public benefit, in a way designed to sway the "soft" portion of the 2016 GOP electorate. They don't even need to do any "positive" campaigning - reciting the drum line of GOP bullshit activity would work better.

They need some positive campaigning on new issues. Things the GOP doesn't even consider.
A) is tricky due to voter suppression, minorities not voting, and minorities being conservative too. I would say not to campaign (get out the vote) based on race but on age. Make it an old geezers vs millennials election. What can the Democrats offer young people (regardless of race). Bernie got young people out right? Then they stayed home when he lost.

B) absolutely hammer all these points.

The Sybian wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2018 10:26 am Parade is off, Trump's chief policy advisors at Fox and Friends think its a waste of money. It's a very sad day when Brian Kilmeade is the voice of reason.

But all the other dictators get one.

As reported moments before on Fox News.

From "The Hill"

Trump latest tweet came 10 minutes after his daily intelligence briefing was set to begin, suggesting the president was running behind schedule.

Trump's Dream Team...

Who can forget Reservoir Derps!

All five are gone.

Why do we need a phony, made-for-TV demonstration of the worst elements of American executive ambitions when we already have the State of the Union address?

I thought this was fake. It's not fake.

Johnnie wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2018 11:14 pm I thought this was fake. It's not fake.

That's why he always has the hat on coming off planes usually.

Johnnie wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2018 11:14 pm I thought this was fake. It's not fake.

Of all the criticism and hatred thrown his way, this will be the thing that stings him the most.