The Senate Trial of Donald J Trump 2020

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

Just now, deech said:

Now a group of Russian oligarchs have their banking restrictions removed the day before a huge vote in the Senate by the Treasury.   Wonder how much of that money is going to make it in into GOP coffers in the next year?

All of it.

[Tom 2960]

1 hour ago, Enchubben said:

 

I mean, yeah, we're all aware propaganda from the most watched news network has been effective.

[Tom 2960]

1 hour ago, Enchubben said:

 

 

Also, I love how much Trump and the GOP base are in sync.

"Polls are proven to be inaccurate and useless!"

Also....

"Hey, check out this poll that supports my views!!"

[Chad Fuck 18166]

Islay > Speyside

No fighting on the lanai! You might cause a spill.

Why not both?

[DDD Dad 14663]

Both is good but he is still wrong.

[High Plains Drifter 11193]

On 1/30/2020 at 7:49 AM, Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand said:

 

Anything any candidate does to get elected is legal if they believe it's in the country's interest. 

Goddamn fucking insane.

 

 

This is it right here. The justification for stealing elections, abandoning the rule of law, allowing foreign interference. etc etc etc. The justification for despotism.

[ChickenSandwich 9980]

Wrong. Apparently you just need to pay for it and it’s kosher 

[Brisketexan 107028]

We all knew how this would end. It’s all over but the crying (and again, most folks here knew that this would be the outcome of any impeachment 3 years ago - it’s inevitable when a criminal organization controls the White House and senate).
Let’s wait for the vote to acquit, which will establish a new rule that the king literally can do no wrong, and if the president does it, it’s legal. And then we can pronounce the exact time of death of the Republic.
Yeah, we’ve been keeping it alive on machines and shit, but today, we pull the plug....flatline.

[Red Five 41787]

I enjoyed the argument yesterday that they couldn’t hear witnesses because of the terrible precedent it would set.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11860]

20 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Wrong. Apparently you just need to pay for it and it’s kosher 

What is this in reply to?  So we can decide whether to care.

[Biff Tannen 46203]

So when does the vote happen?

[Pasken 1312]

4 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

So when does the vote happen?

I think there is 4 hours of debate before witness vote so prob not until later this afternoon.

[heso 2863]

I didn’t realize Rand Paul read his question naming the whistleblower to reporters after Roberts refused to read it in the trial. 

[Biff Tannen 46203]

3 minutes ago, Pasken said:

I think there is 4 hours of debate before witness vote so prob not until later this afternoon.

Thanks Kiefer.

[The Royal We 3102]

Not gonna lie, I'm feeling pretty despondent today.  I was under no illusions that the senate would vote to remove the president, but I thought there would be a few senators that could manage to grab a little sack and vote for witnesses.  Lamar's justification and Dersh's argument set such a terrible precedent that it's hard for me to understand how this many senators are willingly going along with it. 

More damaging information is going to continue to come out, but Bolton's book is not going to have the same impact as if he would have testified to that same information under oath in the senate. 

Here's to bottomless Caucasians on the ledge.

[SquishMitten 10497]

7 hours ago, horncyclist said:

You remember those Russian intelligence guys you had helping us out in 2016. Can they fire up their operation again? No quid pro quo! Thanks, Vlad!" This is a dark day and a majority of the country is clueless. 

That operation never stopped. A few posters on this board are evidence of that.

[Gap03 3395]

55 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

We all knew how this would end. It’s all over but the crying (and again, most folks here knew that this would be the outcome of any impeachment 3 years ago - it’s inevitable when a criminal organization controls the White House and senate).
Let’s wait for the vote to acquit, which will establish a new rule that the king literally can do no wrong, and if the president does it, it’s legal. And then we can pronounce the exact time of death of the Republic.
Yeah, we’ve been keeping it alive on machines and shit, but today, we pull the plug....flatline.

Is it too early for an in-depth post-mortem here?  I'd be curious on people's thoughts about the individuals most responsible for the death of the Republic.  I'll start, in no particular order:

• Rush Limbaugh / Rupert Murdoch - as leaders of the fear-mongering movement that led to the creation and solidification of "The Base" (you know ... morons)
• Koch brothers / Robert Mercer / Sheldon Adelson - for funding the modern GOP's efforts to undermine the principal tenets of democracy over the last several decades 
• Justices Kennedy and Roberts (along with assists from Alito, Thomas and Scalia) - for their decisions in Citizens United (allowing the flood of dark money into US politics) and Shelby County v. Holder (killing the VRA because "there wasn't enough racism to justify it" (ha!))
• Bill Barr - for his cover-up of the GOP's blatant criminality 
• Mitch McConnell - for his tactics in packing the judiciary, covering up GOP criminality and generally taking partisan politics in Congress "up to 11"
• Donald Trump - for pushing the country into a post-truth dystopia (with an assist from Fox News / Murdoch)

Who else shares the blame with where we are?

 

[Biff Tannen 46203]

3 minutes ago, The Royal We said:

it's hard for me to understand how this many senators are willingly going along with it. 

Russian money -> NRA -> R congresspeople

Simple equation.

[Biff Tannen 46203]

2 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

Who else shares the blame with where we are?

Every complicit R congressperson who isn't standing up for the country.  So all of them.  Save Justin Amash.

[DDD Dad 14663]

4 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

Is it too early for an in-depth post-mortem here?  I'd be curious on people's thoughts about the individuals most responsible for the death of the Republic.  I'll start, in no particular order:

• Rush Limbaugh / Rupert Murdoch - as leaders of the fear-mongering movement that led to the creation and solidification of "The Base" (you know ... morons)
• Koch brothers / Robert Mercer / Sheldon Adelson - for funding the modern GOP's efforts to undermine the principal tenets of democracy over the last several decades 
• Justices Kennedy and Roberts (along with assists from Alito, Thomas and Scalia) - for their decisions in Citizens United (allowing the flood of dark money into US politics) and Shelby County v. Holder (killing the VRA because "there wasn't enough racism to justify it" (ha!))
• Bill Barr - for his cover-up of the GOP's blatant criminality 
• Mitch McConnell - for his tactics in packing the judiciary, covering up GOP criminality and generally taking partisan politics in Congress "up to 11"
• Donald Trump - for pushing the country into a post-truth dystopia (with an assist from Fox News / Murdoch)

Who else shares the blame with where we are?

 

All of us.  

[Chad Fuck 18166]

2 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

Is it too early for an in-depth post-mortem here?  I'd be curious on people's thoughts about the individuals most responsible for the death of the Republic.  I'll start, in no particular order:

• Rush Limbaugh / Rupert Murdoch - as leaders of the fear-mongering movement that led to the creation and solidification of "The Base" (you know ... morons)
• Koch brothers / Robert Mercer / Sheldon Adelson - for funding the modern GOP's efforts to undermine the principal tenets of democracy over the last several decades 
• Justices Kennedy and Roberts (along with assists from Alito, Thomas and Scalia) - for their decisions in Citizens United (allowing the flood of dark money into US politics) and Shelby County v. Holder (killing the VRA because "there wasn't enough racism to justify it" (ha!))
• Bill Barr - for his cover-up of the GOP's blatant criminality 
• Mitch McConnell - for his tactics in packing the judiciary, covering up GOP criminality and generally taking partisan politics in Congress "up to 11"
• Donald Trump - for pushing the country into a post-truth dystopia (with an assist from Fox News / Murdoch)

Who else shares the blame with where we are?

 

Newt Gingrich.  

Ronald Reagan for the end of the Fairness Doctrine.

[tantric superman 4668]

I blame uneducated and lackadaisical voters who tend to vote on the Dems side.

Control the controllables.  That is the only way to keep out the vermin like the vermin you have described above.

Blame Ted Cruz or people who vote for Ted Cruz?  That's not the way it works.

It's the people who should know better who allow the Ted Cruz' to win, and to the extent the good guys are outnumbered?  They have to work harder.

[tantric superman 4668]

11 minutes ago, The Royal We said:

Not gonna lie, I'm feeling pretty despondent today. 

It is certainly dispiriting.  But the election cycle at the local levels is gearing up.

You get in the saddle and keep going.

[The Royal We 3102]

Rush and Fox are responsible for a lot of this.  Nixon is never impeached/resigns if he had those two brainwashing a significant portion of the country for him.  I've seen if first hand with my own dad, when I think back to some of the shit that he used to say when I was a young kid - during the Clinton impeachment for example - I can only conclude that his whole belief system became warped by Rush.  Fox then took the ball and ran with it from there.

[triplehorn 2664]

Senate GOP have chosen to yoke themselves to the sham trial coverup.  This is the message to hammer as more evidence and testimony flows forth in coming months.

 

[David Dennison 19569]

I blame our outdated, thoroughly flawed, and nearly impossible to amend Constitution. The Senate and its two members for every state, regardless of size, is the problem. The Electoral College is the problem. Article I. Article II is the problem. Article III is the problem.

The Constitution is the problem.

 

[BurntOrange&White 42011]

I blame uneducated and lackadaisical voters who tend to vote on the Dems side.
Control the controllables.  That is the only way to keep out the vermin like the vermin you have described above.
Blame Ted Cruz or people who vote for Ted Cruz?  That's not the way it works.
It's the people who should know better who allow the Ted Cruz' to win, and to the extent the good guys are outnumbered?  They have to work harder.

One could argue the uneducated and lackadaisical voters are the ones who vote for the likes of Ted Cruz.

[wildcat09 29600]

14 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

Is it too early for an in-depth post-mortem here?  I'd be curious on people's thoughts about the individuals most responsible for the death of the Republic.  I'll start, in no particular order:

• Rush Limbaugh / Rupert Murdoch - as leaders of the fear-mongering movement that led to the creation and solidification of "The Base" (you know ... morons)
• Koch brothers / Robert Mercer / Sheldon Adelson - for funding the modern GOP's efforts to undermine the principal tenets of democracy over the last several decades 
• Justices Kennedy and Roberts (along with assists from Alito, Thomas and Scalia) - for their decisions in Citizens United (allowing the flood of dark money into US politics) and Shelby County v. Holder (killing the VRA because "there wasn't enough racism to justify it" (ha!))
• Bill Barr - for his cover-up of the GOP's blatant criminality 
• Mitch McConnell - for his tactics in packing the judiciary, covering up GOP criminality and generally taking partisan politics in Congress "up to 11"
• Donald Trump - for pushing the country into a post-truth dystopia (with an assist from Fox News / Murdoch)

Who else shares the blame with where we are?

 

This list is pretty good for the most obviously responsible. You could throw in some more of the Republican billionaire donors.

We really shouldn't absolve everyone who had the power to stop it though. The Clintons and Obama bear some responsibility (and plenty of others on the center-left), because they had an opportunity to fight back against this nascent fascism and the forces that supported it and refused to do so because they were worried about appearing too partisan. The sickness that infected the Democratic party and terrified them into refusing to do anything that might actually look political is what really killed the republic.

Edited January 31, 2020 by wildcat09

[Bozo_Casanova 26910]

I blame Jackie Sherrill

[The Royal We 3102]

3 minutes ago, tantric superman said:

It is certainly dispiriting.  But the election cycle at the local levels is gearing up.

You get in the saddle and keep going.

I live in deep East Texas - Louie f'n Gohmert is my Rep and the letters to the editor I read regarding Trump in my local paper are contributing to me feeling despondent.  My boss, my coworkers, some of my friends and my parents are probably all beating their bean gleefully this morning at the prospect of no witness and the quick end to this "witch hunt."  They all inject FoxNews into their veins. 

[Brisketexan 107028]

I blame our outdated, thoroughly flawed, and nearly impossible to amend Constitution. The Senate and its two members for every state, regardless of size, is the problem. The Electoral College is the problem. Article I. Article II is the problem. Article III is the problem.
The Constitution is the problem.
 

It is, ultimately, a suicide pact. It took around 230 years for it to come to completion, but there it is. It had an Achilles heel to be exploited, and that has happened.
We won’t have a free and fair election again. We won’t have a federal government that represents the people ever again. You’ll get what the GOP decides to give you. And that won’t be very much....unless you’re a billion dollar donor.
It’s going to get worse. Much worse. For a long time.

[Brisketexan 107028]

I blame Jackie Sherrill

We’d be better off if sherrill was POTUS.

[burntorangebongos 10826]

Fuck mmmmyyy ggggeneration. We lost our republic. I do not welcome my new overlords. Revolution, I am for you.

[tantric superman 4668]

10 minutes ago, The Royal We said:

I live in deep East Texas - Louie f'n Gohmert is my Rep and the letters to the editor I read regarding Trump in my local paper are contributing to me feeling despondent.  My boss, my coworkers, some of my friends and my parents are probably all beating their bean gleefully this morning at the prospect of no witness and the quick end to this "witch hunt."  They all inject FoxNews into their veins. 

What about the state reps?  I assume they are Republicans too, but any Dem have a shot at that level?

I don't even know if the other statewide state offices are up for reelection. I certainly tried to help oust Dan Patrick.

I guess even if your county is red, any blue votes would help if the Dem lineup for Pres/Vice Pres looks to make a closer showing in Texas.

 

* I'll admit I'm probably more optimistic than some just because I live in the NE Dallas suburbs and we threw out three Trumpistas in 2018.

Edited January 31, 2020 by tantric superman

[tantric superman 4668]

13 minutes ago, Bevo VIII said:

One could argue the uneducated and lackadaisical voters are the ones who vote for the likes of Ted Cruz.

Our uneducated and lackadaisical voters are better than their uneducated and lackadaisical voters.

[Anastasis 23718]

28 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

I'd be curious on people's thoughts about the individuals most responsible for the death of the Republic. 

After all, it was you and me.

 

[Burt 4142]

7 minutes ago, The Royal We said:

I live in deep East Texas - Louie f'n Gohmert is my Rep and the letters to the editor I read regarding Trump in my local paper are contributing to me feeling despondent.  My boss, my coworkers, some of my friends and my parents are probably all beating their bean gleefully this morning at the prospect of no witness and the quick end to this "witch hunt."  They all inject FoxNews into their veins. 

Our circles must intertwine because that is the exact way I'd describe my pineywoods family and friends.

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

Bold as brass, there they are. Day has just begun but they have opened their mouths and let the trash spew forth. Human scum, you call us? This is human scum:

Love the typo, very on point for them.

Edited January 31, 2020 by Mrs Whiggins
Addition

[wildcat09 29600]

I can't believe I forgot to include Roger Ailes and Anastasis.

[TXSG8R 3362]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7949727/Trump-lawyer-blurs-lines-charity-profit.html

But the Bidens...  

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

Gah, I made the mistake of turning to C-Span and the House GOP are giving interviews and they are smiles and grins and it’s shameful. 
I just can’t. 

 

Edited January 31, 2020 by Mrs Whiggins
Grammar

[Cairn Horn88 8502]

43 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

Is it too early for an in-depth post-mortem here?  I'd be curious on people's thoughts about the individuals most responsible for the death of the Republic.  I'll start, in no particular order:

• Rush Limbaugh / Rupert Murdoch - as leaders of the fear-mongering movement that led to the creation and solidification of "The Base" (you know ... morons)
• Koch brothers / Robert Mercer / Sheldon Adelson - for funding the modern GOP's efforts to undermine the principal tenets of democracy over the last several decades 
• Justices Kennedy and Roberts (along with assists from Alito, Thomas and Scalia) - for their decisions in Citizens United (allowing the flood of dark money into US politics) and Shelby County v. Holder (killing the VRA because "there wasn't enough racism to justify it" (ha!))
• Bill Barr - for his cover-up of the GOP's blatant criminality 
• Mitch McConnell - for his tactics in packing the judiciary, covering up GOP criminality and generally taking partisan politics in Congress "up to 11"
• Donald Trump - for pushing the country into a post-truth dystopia (with an assist from Fox News / Murdoch)

Who else shares the blame with where we are?

 

51 or so Repub senators who absolutely have no balls and broke their oaths to be impartial and uphold the Constitution.

[BrazilHorn 6857]

It’s all theatre. The Democratic Party knew there was no shot. They just wanted it on record. 
 

Now it will be and the sham of senate trial may help flip some seats. 
 

Challenge is the Rs don’t think Trump did anything wrong or outside the pale of day to day politics. 
 

November isn’t that long away, if the Democratic Party can rally around a candidate vs poisoning their own well there is a good chance at knocking Trump out. Especially if economic growth slows due to China virus etc. 

[SmokeyTheBear 5569]

The American people (including myself) for being so apathetic to the goals and intent of government, that we collectively abdicated our responsibilities in the involvement of it. We allowed bad actors to inject themselves in the system and grow the corruption without standing up and putting a stop to it. Citizens United, Patriot Act, Fairness Doctrine, etc should have been giant warning signs and caused mass revolts but we are all too comfortable watching it happen on TV like it is a reality TV show. 

 

*In response to Gap

Edited January 31, 2020 by SmokeyTheBear

[Cairn Horn88 8502]

Citizens United opened the door for unlimited $$$ pumped into the elections.  We may never see another Democratic president.

Russia will be pouring $$$ and misinformation in so that Trump and other Republican stay in power.

Edited January 31, 2020 by Cairn Horn88

[jimmyjazz 47331]

46 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:

All of us.  

I don't buy that.  It's too close to the "she was dressed like she wanted it" argument.

I'm not saying Democrats or moderate Republicans (of old) or independents are master politicians.  The shift by the Republican Party towards the far right, as orchestrated by Gingrich et al and trumpeted by Rush and the new right media was a far more politically adept move than anything the center or left has tried to pull off.  They organized and controlled the message, and it paid off, but to say "everyone" is at fault is an equivocation too far.  

[Biff Tannen 46203]

Most of Gen Z is not at fault.  Most of them haven't been able to vote yet.  And they will bear the brunt of most of this.  If we are talking generations, it obviously has to be the baby boomers.

[DDD Dad 14663]

6 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I don't buy that.  It's too close to the "she was dressed like she wanted it" argument.

I'm not saying Democrats or moderate Republicans (of old) or independents are master politicians.  The shift by the Republican Party towards the far right, as orchestrated by Gingrich et al and trumpeted by Rush and the new right media was a far more politically adept move than anything the center or left has tried to pull off.  They organized and controlled the message, and it paid off, but to say "everyone" is at fault is an equivocation too far.  

I'm not equivocating.  Obviously, some are more at fault than others, but some introspection here is justified.  

Edited January 31, 2020 by DDD Dad

[heso 2863]

16 minutes ago, BrazilHorn said:

Challenge is the Rs don’t think Trump did anything wrong or outside the pale of day to day politics. 

Yes they do. They know what he’s done is terrible for the country. But they care about their re-election above all else because doing so allows them to swindle the country to line their pockets. 

The rural poor, the racists, the evangelicals have made Trump their fat, orange, god-king. So the republicans have no choice in the matter but to bow to the king or face his wrath and get outed for someone who will stay in line. 

if their polling numbers told them that it was the right move with their voters they would be campaigning to crucify him in front of the Lincoln memorial.

Trump is not the politicians god, money is their god. Trump is the idiots’ god so the politicians have no choice but to pander. 

Edited January 31, 2020 by heso

[NWBuck 8630]

2 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Most of Gen Z is not at fault.  Most of them haven't been able to vote yet.  And they will bear the brunt of most of this.  If we are talking generations, it obviously has to be the baby boomers.

As a Z, I'm just hoping that the Millinieals will start working soon enough and with enough magnitude to allow me to experience the universal tax-subsidized goodies that they're all going to be voting for.