Donald Trump 2018

[Longhorn94 2456]

9 minutes ago, Lagunamadre said:

All of this. And in the current iteration of the Republican party he is absolutely correct in his decision. Just look at McCain, Flake and Corker becoming persona non grata in the GOP as soon as they show backbone and stood up for our Country. If Graham stood up to Trump and became principled and didn't hide his intellectualism, his base would disown him. He prefers power to respect and dignity. It's a corrupting force. 

Is he? Anyone with half a brain can see that Trump is on his way out. He is going to get punished severely at the ballot box in November. And then what? Graham will have staked everything on this guy? Why in the hell would you do that now? It is clear Trump will be impeached. He wont be able to push any of his policies. Everything that is a Republican issue right now will grind to a halt. Trump will most likely be forced to resign. The Repubs will most likely lose the Senate and WH in 2020. So why now? Why do this when everything looks worse than it did 2 years ago? Why do this now when everyone else in the Senate is bailing? I am not saying that he is compromised. I just dont understand his play. He sees a sinking ship and is doing everything he can to fight his way onboard. This is a guy I respected before his turn to Trump. 

[Gardner Barnes 1562]

 

you aren’t following the rules

SPACE FORCE!!!

[lemonlime 5503]

He's compromised.  He is completely obsequious to Trump.  If he just wanted power he'd keep his mouth shut for whenever he's up for reelection.  Instead he's sycophantic.  

And I don't buy that he wants a cabinet position.  No one with two working brain cells at this point would angle to work for Trump with the criminal exposure and the backstabbing, as opposed to being in the Senate.

[4th&Five 41565]

Of course. 

 

[SuingToGetAMessageBoard? 3861]

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/06/politics/trump-officials-denials-nyt-op-ed/index.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45436243

Denials for the Op-Ed.

 

Bolton

Wray

Huntsman

Zinke

McMahon

DeVos

Lighthizer

Ross

Perry

Chao

Haspel

Azar

Wheeler

Mulvaney

Wilkie

Acosta

Purdue

Haley

Carson

Nielson

Coats

Mnuchin

Sessions

Mattis

Pence

Pompeo

Conway

 

By my count, that's all Cabinet members.  Notable absence:

John Kelly, but did deny the Woodward quote that he called Trump an idiot, calls it BS.  

 

[SuingToGetAMessageBoard? 3861]

8 minutes ago, Longhorn94 said:

Is he? Anyone with half a brain can see that Trump is on his way out. He is going to get punished severely at the ballot box in November. And then what? Graham will have staked everything on this guy? Why in the hell would you do that now? It is clear Trump will be impeached. He wont be able to push any of his policies. Everything that is a Republican issue right now will grind to a halt. Trump will most likely be forced to resign. The Repubs will most likely lose the Senate and WH in 2020. So why now? Why do this when everything looks worse than it did 2 years ago? Why do this now when everyone else in the Senate is bailing? I am not saying that he is compromised. I just dont understand his play. He sees a sinking ship and is doing everything he can to fight his way onboard. This is a guy I respected before his turn to Trump. 

This is fantasy.  Senators are answerable to their state.  If they are in a green state, they will be punished by the voters.  https://morningconsult.com/tracking-trump/

[Lagunamadre 1975]

10 minutes ago, Longhorn94 said:

Is he? Anyone with half a brain can see that Trump is on his way out. He is going to get punished severely at the ballot box in November. And then what? Graham will have staked everything on this guy? Why in the hell would you do that now? It is clear Trump will be impeached. He wont be able to push any of his policies. Everything that is a Republican issue right now will grind to a halt. Trump will most likely be forced to resign. The Repubs will most likely lose the Senate and WH in 2020. And then the Longhorns will win 11 games and Ehlinger will win the Heisman. 

FIFY 

[GSU&UT 1798]

Hahhaa, Trump going to be rage tweeting about this in a few hours.

 

[Chad Fuck 17687]

26 minutes ago, Longhorn94 said:

Is he? Anyone with half a brain can see that Trump is on his way out. He is going to get punished severely at the ballot box in November. And then what? Graham will have staked everything on this guy? Why in the hell would you do that now? It is clear Trump will be impeached. He wont be able to push any of his policies. Everything that is a Republican issue right now will grind to a halt. Trump will most likely be forced to resign. The Repubs will most likely lose the Senate and WH in 2020. So why now? Why do this when everything looks worse than it did 2 years ago? Why do this now when everyone else in the Senate is bailing? I am not saying that he is compromised. I just dont understand his play. He sees a sinking ship and is doing everything he can to fight his way onboard. This is a guy I respected before his turn to Trump. 

All of this.  Don't make no damn sense.

[Gardner Barnes 1562]

Just now, Chuckie Finster said:
The New York Times publishes a piece written by an anonymous author.
The Trump administration reacts as if the piece is legitimate.
Some random twitter user says it's faked.
The fact that you seemingly instinctively believe the third over the first two says so much about you.

 ^ That last sentence is why we are doomed to go down w the Trumpers.



See here is the thing. I don’t necessarily think that is true. I just finished a trip to Vegas for a FF draft for a league I have been in since college. Most of us are in our mid 40s and are all generally productive members of society.

Out of 12, one is extremely liberal, 2 or 3 (myself included) skew left center, 6 skew right center, and 2 are hard core trumpkins.

Well long story short, I had a very productive discussion with one of the Trumpkins who is also a long time friend. While it is true that he goes off the deep end a bit because he is convinced that the FBI and CIA decide who is going to be president and in his words “trump upset the apple cart”, he can also carry on a respectful conversation about what is inportant and what isn’t.

To him what is important - the Supreme Court and Tax Cuts. Also he is a protectionist.

What isn’t - social programs, China, global hegemony.

No matter what I do or say, I’m not going to adjust those core beliefs. As such we will never agree. But we CAN talk about it - and I’m convinced most Trumpkins can as well.


TL/DR - we aren’t screwed.

[Chuckie Finster 22702]

34 minutes ago, Longhorn94 said:

Is he? Anyone with half a brain can see that Trump is on his way out. He is going to get punished severely at the ballot box in November. And then what? Graham will have staked everything on this guy? Why in the hell would you do that now? It is clear Trump will be impeached. He wont be able to push any of his policies. Everything that is a Republican issue right now will grind to a halt. Trump will most likely be forced to resign. The Repubs will most likely lose the Senate and WH in 2020. So why now? Why do this when everything looks worse than it did 2 years ago? Why do this now when everyone else in the Senate is bailing? I am not saying that he is compromised. I just dont understand his play. He sees a sinking ship and is doing everything he can to fight his way onboard. This is a guy I respected before his turn to Trump. 

He gave a really weird answer when asked about this the other day on CNN.  He basically said, "he won, I lost, so I owe it to him to support him."  If Graham immediately pivoted to supporting Trump after the election, then I could potentially buy this, but it makes absolutely no sense why suddenly he has turned into a Trumpkin 18 months into the presidency.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

19 minutes ago, Longhorn94 said:

Is he? Anyone with half a brain can see that Trump is on his way out. He is going to get punished severely at the ballot box in November. And then what? Graham will have staked everything on this guy? Why in the hell would you do that now? It is clear Trump will be impeached. He wont be able to push any of his policies. Everything that is a Republican issue right now will grind to a halt. Trump will most likely be forced to resign. The Repubs will most likely lose the Senate and WH in 2020. So why now? Why do this when everything looks worse than it did 2 years ago? Why do this now when everyone else in the Senate is bailing? I am not saying that he is compromised. I just dont understand his play. He sees a sinking ship and is doing everything he can to fight his way onboard. This is a guy I respected before his turn to Trump. 

There is also a significant counter-intelligence investigation underway at the highest levels of our government. 

Graham had one of the most anti-Kremlin foreign policy ideologies in the Senate prior to buttering up to Trump. 

Graham was very close to McCain.

In the early months of the Trump administration, Graham made a lot of effort to get as close as possible to Kushner and Ivanka. 

I'm just saying, things are not always what they appear. 

However, until proven otherwise, Lindsey is doing more harm than good right now. 

[Gardner Barnes 1562]

I’ll be shocked if this clip and he clip of the guy going “wat” aren’t a lead on John Oliver when he comes back next week.

[NIUHuskies 504]

Man i miss having a president with coherency. Obama going to town on Trump right now in Champaign.

[Gardner Barnes 1562]

He gave a really weird answer when asked about this the other day on CNN.  He basically said, "he won, I lost, so I owe it to him to support him."  If Graham immediately pivoted to supporting Trump after the election, then I could potentially buy this, but it makes absolutely no sense why suddenly he has turned into a Trumpkin 18 months into the presidency.

 

 

I was watching that as well. My take is that “he won I lost” response was just a way to avoid saying “I was wrong”. Which is what Blitzer (I think) was trying to get him to say.

 

Graham is a smart politician. He isn’t going to put himself in a box of absolutes.

[kevwun 15806]

I don't think a smart politician would go out of his way to support Trump at this point in time.  The smart move is to keep your head down because Trump is in the middle of a shitstorm that's been getting worse for the last couple of weeks.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

5/4/2014

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Sunday the U.S. should aim to "drive the Russian economy into the ground."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/05/04/us-lawmakers-warn-ukraine-civil-war.html

[F250 28788]

3 hours ago, Js1 said:

Oh hai

 

[SameSame 1705]

1 hour ago, Lurch said:

 

And the Nike burning dipshits will say nothing.  I mean come on, she had a booger what was she supposed to do, not stick the flag in her nose?

[Brisketexan 105161]

1 minute ago, kevwun said:

I don't think a smart politician would go out of his way to support Trump at this point in time.  The smart move is to keep your head down because Trump is in the middle of a shitstorm that's been getting worse for the last couple of weeks.

That IS the puzzling part.  It seems that the smart thing is to avoid the fray altogether -- you can't be accused by the base of attacking Trump, and you haven't tainted yourself to the rest of the world by being a Trump sycophant.

But maybe Graham has info that tells him he needs to suck up to the base.

I know, maybe there's some real sinister "beholden to a foreign power" shit going on, and these guys are circling wagons to protect themselves. But I just keep coming back to the Occam's Razor conclusion of them seeing their current move as advantageous to them holding onto power/their seat, and that's it.

[Horndog 2228]

1 hour ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

 

“new narrative” that Trump is crazy because there’s no evidence of Russia collusion.

Why not both?

[Brisketexan 105161]

1 minute ago, F250 said:

You know what?  I'm gonna say it....I love Diamond and Silk.

Think about it.  What would they be doing if they WEREN'T Trump-lebrities?  They don't strike me as ladies who are putting off med school so they can be Youtube stars.  They found a way to make a fortune on a simple con, and they're taking it all the way to the bank.  That's just American free enterprise right there, that's what it is.  GET YOURS, DIAMOND AND SILK!

[Homercles 10206]

You can try, but you won't find him. You know what the Op-ed writer did the first seventeen of his twenty-six years in the Corps?   Counterintelligence.  Op-ed writer is gone.
There is no Op-ed writer.

He speaks a dozen languages and knows every local custom. He'll blend in, disappear and you'll never see him again

[SaucyJack 3495]

2 hours ago, Zavala said:

 

So, you aren't curious enough to see if she's lying about Plagiarism machine results because her twitter profile? I don't do twitter, is her profile a russian bot or something?

What are the red Xs? what does that mean?

User name and avatar do not check out. 

[AbeFroman 2196]

8 minutes ago, SameSame said:

And the Nike burning dipshits will say nothing.  I mean come on, she had a booger what was she supposed to do, not stick the flag in her nose?

Only the best boogers

[Horn Dog 9875]

1 hour ago, Lurch said:

 

But but but... the troops!  The troops!

[conVINCEd 21469]

Obama just went in balls deep with no lube.

[Fozzz 152]

conservative intellectual par excellence

 

 

Edited September 7, 2018 by Fozzz

[chainsaw 9872]

Ben Shapiro owes everything to Ann Coulter

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

16 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

That IS the puzzling part.  It seems that the smart thing is to avoid the fray altogether -- you can't be accused by the base of attacking Trump, and you haven't tainted yourself to the rest of the world by being a Trump sycophant.

But maybe Graham has info that tells him he needs to suck up to the base.

I know, maybe there's some real sinister "beholden to a foreign power" shit going on, and these guys are circling wagons to protect themselves. But I just keep coming back to the Occam's Razor conclusion of them seeing their current move as advantageous to them holding onto power/their seat, and that's it.

Graham isn't up for re-election until 2020 and he has a history to consider:

"Of all the Republican Senators up for re-election in the 2014 cycle, Graham was considered one of the most vulnerable to a primary challenge, largely due to his low approval ratings and reputation for working with and compromising with Democrats.[46][47] He expected a primary challenge from conservative activists, including the Tea Party movement,[48] and Chris Chocola, President of the Club for Growth, indicated that his organization would support a primary challenge if an acceptable standard-bearer emerged.[49]

However, a serious challenger to Graham failed to emerge and he was widely viewed as likely to win,[5][12][46] which has been ascribed to his "deft maneuvering" and "aggressive" response to the challenge. He befriended potential opponents from the state's congressional delegation and helped them with fundraising and securing their preferred committee assignments; he assembled a "daunting multimillion-dollar political operation" dubbed the "Graham machine" that built six regional offices across the state and enlisted the support of thousands of paid staffers and volunteers, including over 5,000 precinct captains; he assembled a "staggering" campaign warchest and "blanketed" the state with positive ads; he focused on constituent services and local issues; and he refused to "pander" to the Tea Party supporters, instead confronting them head-on, arguing that the Republican party needs to be more inclusive.[9][10][11][12][50]

In the run-up to the Republican primary, Graham's approval rating improved. According to a Winthrop poll from February 2013, he held a 59% positive rating among Republican likely voters.[51] In the primary, held on June 10, 2014, Graham won with 178,833 votes (56.42%). His nearest challenger, State Senator Lee Bright, received 48,904 votes (15.53%). In the general election, he defeated Democratic State Senator Brad Hutto and Independent Thomas Ravenel, a former Republican State Treasurer.[52]"

 

Like I said, he's a master at playing the game but I don't know what his objective with Trump is.

He would be a likely suspect for the NYT op-ed too. 

[jimmyjazz 45989]

I'll take a lecture by an erudite, thoughtful man of experience over a bumbling narcissist who fucks up everything he touches, every day of the week.

Unfortunately, 40% of the population just can't stand uppity blacks.

[David Dennison 18934]

4 minutes ago, Fozzz said:

conservative intellectual par excellence

 

 

This is the closest you're going to get to the right admitting flat out that it is made up of racist white people.

[SubliminalHorn 6808]

5 minutes ago, Fozzz said:

conservative intellectual par excellence

 

 

I like how he capitalized LITERALLY like that makes his incorrect use of the word even more meaningful

[Brisketexan 105161]

5 minutes ago, Fozzz said:

conservative intellectual par excellence

 

 

Well, he's right.  Because....

2 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I'll take a lecture by an erudite, thoughtful man of experience over a bumbling narcissist who fucks up everything he touches, every day of the week.

Unfortunately, 40% of the population just can't stand uppity blacks.

Y'all best get that uppity negro to shut up, or else we'll give ya Trump agin!

[Chuckie Finster 22702]

6 minutes ago, Fozzz said:

conservative intellectual par excellence

 

 

Imagine watching Trump speak last night and Obama speak today and deciding that Obama's speech today is the one to complain about.  

[F250 28788]

4 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

You know what?  I'm gonna say it....I love Diamond and Silk.

Think about it.  What would they be doing if they WEREN'T Trump-lebrities?  They don't strike me as ladies who are putting off med school so they can be Youtube stars.  They found a way to make a fortune on a simple con, and they're taking it all the way to the bank.  That's just American free enterprise right there, that's what it is.  GET YOURS, DIAMOND AND SILK!

That video was so cringeworthy that it appeared they were mocking their MAGA audience. It was like an interpretation of what the Duggar family thinks a clap back is supposed to look like. Kudos to them for finding a way to monetize some really bad performance art.

 

[Brisketexan 105161]

2 minutes ago, F250 said:

That video was so cringeworthy that it appeared they were mocking their MAGA audience. It was like an interpretation of what the Duggar family thinks a clap back is supposed to look like. Kudos to them for finding a way to monetize some really bad performance art.

 

Well, ummm....their audience ain't exactly the most sophisticated.  All they gotta do is find different ways to package "see, black folks support Trump!  Therefore, I can continue to claim I'm not a racist for supporting Trump, even though the big reasons I support Trump are racist!"  The packaging is not particularly clever, nor does it need to be.  Because it's mostly to help folks who desperately want to fool themselves.

[Fozzz 152]

3 minutes ago, Chuckie Finster said:

Imagine watching Trump speak last night and Obama speak today and deciding that Obama's speech today is the one to complain about.  

People like Shapiro really hate it when you point out that Trump is (obviously) a creation of the right.  

[Fozzz 152]

Obama endorsing M4A is a big deal.  Hillary and her ilk are now far to the right of the center of the party.  

[Incredulity 11677]

I am surprised that O has not waded into the fray sooner.

I don't think any past President should be giving the kind of speech he did today, but that is where we are.

Assuming he isn't in jail, or stroked out post presidency Trump should be REAL interesting.

[Post Oak 20251]

Just now, Incredulity said:

I am surprised that O has not waded into the fray sooner.

I don't think any past President should be giving the kind of speech he did today, but that is where we are.

Assuming he isn't in jail, or stroked out post presidency Trump should be REAL interesting.

I tend to agree with this. But these are desperate times imo  

[David Dennison 18934]

The mid-terms just became a popularity contest between Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

That is not good news for the Republican Party.

[Chad Fuck 17687]

7 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

I am surprised that O has not waded into the fray sooner.

I don't think any past President should be giving the kind of speech he did today, but that is where we are.

Assuming he isn't in jail, or stroked out post presidency Trump should be REAL interesting.

And typically in the past, current presidents didn't blast former presidents once they had left office.  But these aren't those times.  If Trump wants to break norms, then Trumpkins shouldn't be surprised if his foes bust them as well.  

 

 

Edited September 7, 2018 by Chad Fuck

[SmokeyTheBear 5562]

2 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

The mid-terms just became a popularity contest between Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

That is not good news for the Republican Party.

Why? Didn't you see how much bigger Trump's inauguration was over Obama's?! Checkmate Lib!

[Gap03 3308]

51 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

That IS the puzzling part.  It seems that the smart thing is to avoid the fray altogether -- you can't be accused by the base of attacking Trump, and you haven't tainted yourself to the rest of the world by being a Trump sycophant.

But maybe Graham has info that tells him he needs to suck up to the base.

I know, maybe there's some real sinister "beholden to a foreign power" shit going on, and these guys are circling wagons to protect themselves. But I just keep coming back to the Occam's Razor conclusion of them seeing their current move as advantageous to them holding onto power/their seat, and that's it.

I think you mean "Slocum's Razor" ...

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Gardner Barnes said:

 ^ That last sentence is why we are doomed to go down w the Trumpers.



See here is the thing. I don’t necessarily think that is true. I just finished a trip to Vegas for a FF draft for a league I have been in since college. Most of us are in our mid 40s and are all generally productive members of society.

Out of 12, one is extremely liberal, 2 or 3 (myself included) skew left center, 6 skew right center, and 2 are hard core trumpkins.

Well long story short, I had a very productive discussion with one of the Trumpkins who is also a long time friend. While it is true that he goes off the deep end a bit because he is convinced that the FBI and CIA decide who is going to be president and in his words “trump upset the apple cart”, he can also carry on a respectful conversation about what is inportant and what isn’t.

To him what is important - the Supreme Court and Tax Cuts. Also he is a protectionist.

What isn’t - social programs, China, global hegemony.

No matter what I do or say, I’m not going to adjust those core beliefs. As such we will never agree. But we CAN talk about it - and I’m convinced most Trumpkins can as well.


TL/DR - we aren’t screwed.
 

Good post, and Brisket had a good post about how he was dove hunting with some rural/trump supporting friends and sharing beer and good times and he could be civil and friends.

The right needs to stop emasculating the left for having empathy and idealism and being dreamers. Essentially, both sides need to stop triggering and trolling each other for lulz, and stop putting each other down in this viscous cycle, and understand that philosophically and psychologically and foundationally there are differences that you aren't just going to change people's minds by writing a persuasive paper or engaging in loud debate.

It boils down to intolerance, and it doesn't help when you have people who says "DAMN RIGHT IM INTOLERANT OF NAZIs and if YOU vote TRUMP you are a NAZI!". The world is more than a 2D, binary, black and white place no matter how simple we want to make it because we can't make sense of the complexity.

[SuingToGetAMessageBoard? 3861]

2 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:

And typically in the past, current presidents didn't blast former presidents once they had left office.  But these aren't those times.  If Trump wants to break norms, then Trumpkins shouldn't be surprised if his foes bust them as well.  

 

 

Excellent point.  Crazy event number one for me was him accusing Ibama of tapping his lines. 

[Incredulity 11677]

1 minute ago, Chad Fuck said:

And typically in the past, current presidents didn't blast former presidents once they had left office.  But these aren't those times.  If Trump wants to break norms, then Trumpkins shouldn't be surprised if his foes bust them as well.  

 

 

Totally agree.

Obviously it is going to get worse before it gets better, when he is out of office the shit show will not stop.  We are going to have a Current and 2 former Presidents sniping at each other.  

[HenryJames 66133]

 

[Chad Fuck 17687]

7 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

Totally agree.

Obviously it is going to get worse before it gets better, when he is out of office the shit show will not stop.  We are going to have a Current and 2 former Presidents sniping at each other.  

Trump will snipe until he dies.  Literally.  That ship has sailed.