Donald Trump 2018

[Nice Guy Eddie 13509]

2 hours ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

Sad that diamond and silk have more power in our country than many intelligent leaders who have worked/fought hard for our country.  But given our pop culture obsessed country, I guess it’s what we deserve.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

29 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

2012

Steve Schmidt’s brutally honest assessment of Sarah Palin

 

Rare is it that a political operative owns up to mistakes. But Steve Schmidt did just that a few hours ago on “Morning Joe.” The chief strategist for Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign is a plain-spoken and direct man. And he was ever thus when asked for his thoughts on HBO’s movie “Game Change.”

Schmidt’s blunt and unblinking honesty in talking about the selection of Sarah Palin as McCain’s vice presidential nominee and his role in that decision is to be commended. Others who would follow in his footsteps must learn from the mistakes he willingly admits he made.  

“For me and the experience I had on this campaign is that there are worse things than losing,” Schmidt said. When he was asked to spell that out, he said, “When a result happens that puts someone who’s not prepared to be president on the ticket, that’s a bad result. I think the notion of Sarah Palin being president of the United States is something that frightens me, frankly. And I played a part in that. And I played a part in that because we were fueled by ambition to win.”

“I think there are important lessons to learn. The reality is is that both parties have nominated people in the last decade who are not prepared to be anywhere near the Oval Office. John Edwards in the Democratic Party. Sarah Palin in the Republican Party. And we ought to take a pause and understand how that happened, why it happened and hopefully it’ll never happen again in our lifetimes.”

“I hope not”

Andrea Mitchell asked Schmidt whether he thought Palin had a future as a national leader in the GOP. He was unsparing.  

“I hope not,” he said. “And the reason I say that is because if you look at, over the last four years, all of the deficiencies in knowledge, all the deficiencies in preparedness, she’s done not one thing to rectify them, to correct them. She has become a person who I think is filled with grievance, filled with anger who has a divisive message for the national stage when we need leaders in both parties to have a unifying message. . . . The lack of preparedness was a bad thing and the total disinterest in being more prepared and rectifying that is something that disqualifies.” 

And with that, Schmidt articulated better than I ever could — and with great authority — why Palin is a destructive presence on the national political stage.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/steve-schmidts-brutally-honest-assessment-of-sarah-palin/2011/03/04/gIQA9ewZ7R_blog.html?utm_term=.a9fb94fe6343

Edited May 11, 2018 by Hugo Stiglitz

[SaucyJack 3488]

12 hours ago, JimmyJames said:

Well that’s all true unless they get what they want and trump blows up the current world and they march arm in arm with trump to meet Jesus and take over what remains of the world and they send you, me and everyone else, including 99 percent of the blacks, yellows, and browns straight to eternal damnation in a fiery hell. 

You may think I’m exaggerating. I’m not. 

Sounds like one "hell" of a party.  See you there.  Plus , my God isn't short of cash , mister.

[sidis 9825]

1 hour ago, Sawbonz said:

So if you redefine “conservative” as someone who votes for the republican nominee for president and exclude the number one charity most conservatives give to (their local church), there is no difference in charitable giving? Fascinating 

charity!

 

and for the non-anecdotal version...

https://www.economist.com/node/21560536

[sidis 9825]

1 hour ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

Cool Sarah Palin whataboutism/character assassination.

I give credit to any conservative voice exploiting a platform to speak out against the overt hypocrisy of the current Republican Party.

We need more Steve Schmidts and George Wills unabashedly speaking truth to power right now.  I don’t really care for George Will either but he’s making the most of his platform to call out the frauds on his team.

Without those voices of sanity, the conservative movement is truly lost.

wut?

i am glad that they are so courageous that they are willing to stand up to criticize donald trump's administration including mike pence.  it takes quite a spine and a real dedication to one's values to do so...

however, that does not alleviate the part he played in injecting stupid steroids into the vapidity of the process.  he should not have had to endure a campaign with sarah palin as a vice presidential nominee to know that facilitating and working hard to ensure she became the vice president was a horrible fucking idea.  sorry.

[Sawbonz 27542]

So the Catholic Church’s well known problems and mega church excesses completely discount local giving?  

[Brisketexan 105082]

1 minute ago, sidis said:

wut?

i am glad that they are so courageous that they are willing to stand up to criticize donald trump's administration including mike pence.  it takes quite a spine and a real dedication to one's values to do so...

however, that does not alleviate the part he played in injecting stupid steroids into the vapidity of the process.  he should not have had to endure a campaign with sarah palin as a vice presidential nominee to know that facilitating and working hard to ensure she became the vice president was a horrible fucking idea.  sorry.

And, umm, he admits that.

I have no problem with folks who genuinely get right with the lord.  The problem is, there are almost none of them, because tribalism, and because the greatest sin is to admit you were once wrong.

[sidis 9825]

Just now, Sawbonz said:

So the Catholic Church’s well known problems and mega church excesses completely discount local giving?  

about as much as making a retarded statement that one political ideology is has an overwhelmingly greater amount of charitable giving than another.

[sidis 9825]

4 minutes ago, sidis said:

wut?

i am glad that they are so courageous that they are willing to stand up to criticize donald trump's administration including mike pence.  it takes quite a spine and a real dedication to one's values to do so...

however, that does not alleviate the part he played in injecting stupid steroids into the vapidity of the process.  he should not have had to endure a campaign with sarah palin as a vice presidential nominee to know that facilitating and working hard to ensure she became the vice president was a horrible fucking idea.  sorry. 

it occurs to me that someone could read the sentence starting with "i am glad" above as sincere and not laced with sarcasm.  to do so would be folly.

 

2 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

And, umm, he admits that.



no he didn't.  he admitted he made a mistake but he said that he only learned it from going through the process (and, of course, once he found lucrative employment with msnbc).  it should take a sane and virtuous/principled person about 13 seconds with sarah palin to understand that facilitating her meteoric rise into the national conversation was a horrible outcome for this country's well-being.  he did not.  he chose to throw a hail mary and subtly stoke very dark instincts to try and stem an overwhelming cultural wave. 

[Brisketexan 105082]

Just now, sidis said:

 

no he didn't.  he admitted he made a mistake but he said that he only learned it from going through the process (and, of course, once he found lucrative employment with msnbc).  it should take a sane and virtuous/principled person about 13 seconds with sarah palin to understand that facilitating her meteoric rise into the national conversation was a horrible outcome for this country's well-being.  he did not.  he chose to throw a hail mary and subtly stoke very dark instincts to try and stem an overwhelming cultural wave. 

I don't care how he learned it.  Some folks watch someone else touch the hot stove.  Others have to touch it and burn themselves.  At the end, they both learned the same lesson.

For as dark and pessimistic as I am, I believe in redemption.  And I know with certainty that some folks require being burned, badly, before they learn things that come easily to the rest of us.  Hubris, greed, and ambition can blind people to a LOT of good evidence.  But once their eyes are open, they are open, and that's good for all of us.

I want MORE people like him -- people who at long last realize "holy fuck, what have I DONE?"  Prodigal son and such.

[High Plains Drifter 11034]

10 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

And, umm, he admits that.

I have no problem with folks who genuinely get right with the lord.  The problem is, there are almost none of them, because tribalism, and because the greatest sin is to admit you were once wrong.

 

That is the point. Is he genuinely right with the lord, or is he just saying what gets him viewers on MSNBC.

Actions speak louder than words. He worked to get Palin national attention. Now he talks about it being a bad idea. Well, no shit Sherlock. What are you going to actually do about it? Other than collect a paycheck.

[Brisketexan 105082]

9 minutes ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

That is the point. Is he genuinely right with the lord, or is he just saying what gets him viewers on MSNBC.

Actions speak louder than words. He worked to get Palin national attention. Now he talks about it being a bad idea. Well, no shit Sherlock. What are you going to actually do about it? Other than collect a paycheck.

Well, he's speaking truth to power on a national platform.  That's a good start.  Sure, I want to see more, and consistency.  But I like what he has done TODAY.

[jimmyjazz 45893]

6 hours ago, RPM said:

Gotta hand it to George Will. He is eloquent.

Dennis Miller thinks he's George Will.  

[GopherRock 1765]

$20 says that John McCain drags himself to Washington to vote no on the confirmation of Haspel.

[SizzleChest 8283]

2 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Dennis Miller thinks he's George Will.  

Cha Cha Cha.

[Buzzrock 14903]

about as much as making a retarded statement that one political ideology is has an overwhelmingly greater amount of charitable giving than another.

Who said that?

[High Plains Drifter 11034]

13 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Well, he's speaking truth to power on a national platform.  That's a good start.  Sure, I want to see more, and consistency.  But I like what he has done TODAY.

Fair enough.

[Mdhorn 5947]

2 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Sad that diamond and silk have more power in our country than many intelligent leaders who have worked/fought hard for our country.  But given our pop culture obsessed country, I guess it’s what we deserve.

Are they a regional thing/market?  I don't recall hearing their names even once before the flareup over Facebook videos.

[Jack Burton 35]

Diamond and Silk need to turn heel and re-create the Obamaphone video

[relapse98 634]

8 minutes ago, Mdhorn said:

Are they a regional thing/market?  I don't recall hearing their names even once before the flareup over Facebook videos.

I don't believe they were a thing until the election. They had a BLM video and then on July 5, 2015, released a video promoting Trump and then sort of took off as the trumpians found a black friend.

[Tuco 5076]

1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

Well, he's speaking truth to power on a national platform.  That's a good start.  Sure, I want to see more, and consistency.  But I like what he has done TODAY.

I know Tahoe gets a lot of shit on this board.  Much of it is deserved. But he is absolutely correct in stating that it takes a coalition to win elections.  Trump was able to destabilize the Democrats' traditional coalition by appealing to "working class whites." If the Democrats wish to make progress in attacking Trump's populism, they will absolutely need to pull in people who have not traditionally voted Democrat. I'm not going to agree with many McCain Republican on several policies, but I'm also not going to reject them because of past battles. If they are willing to prioritize competent government and oppose Trump, I'm going to hand them a beer and say welcome to the party.  Yeah, maybe once Trump and his movement have run its unsustainable course, he and I may be on opposite sides again, but for now we have pretty important battle to fight. And I need his help. 

[SameSame 1704]

1 hour ago, Sawbonz said:

So the Catholic Church’s well known problems and mega church excesses completely discount local giving?  

There is no reasoning with the majority of religious folk.  You can be as disingenuous and hypocritical as you want and you always have the trump card..The invisible man in the sky who likes my kind more than yours.

Whether we like it or not, this country is run by the christian church.  That can be overwhelming at times, and it pretty much sucks.

[Brian Fantana 6681]

2 hours ago, Sawbonz said:

So the Catholic Church’s well known problems and mega church excesses completely discount local giving?  

I think child rape and massive self enrichment probably offset feeding a few poor people.

[jimmyjazz 45893]

6 minutes ago, SameSame said:

There is no reasoning with the majority of religious folk.  You can be as disingenuous and hypocritical as you want and you always have the trump card..T

Yeah, I think you're a little out over your skis there.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

4 minutes ago, Tuco said:

I know Tahoe gets a lot of shit on this board.  Much of it is deserved. But he is absolutely correct in stating that it takes a coalition to win elections.  Trump was able to destabilize the Democrats' traditional coalition by appealing to "working class whites." If the Democrats wish to make progress in attacking Trump's populism, they will absolutely need to pull in people who have not traditionally voted Democrat. I'm not going to agree with many McCain Republican on several policies, but I'm also not going to reject them because of past battles. If they are willing to prioritize competent government and oppose Trump, I'm going to hand them a beer and say welcome to the party.  Yeah, maybe once Trump and his movement have run its unsustainable course, he and I may be on opposite sides again, but for now we have pretty important battle to fight. And I need his help. 

So much this.  

There is a much bigger picture that can't be ignored.

If Nancy Pelosi or Tim Kaine said the exact same things as George Will and Steve Schimdt, it would have been dismissed immediately as partisan political rhetoric.  The conservatives speaking up carry so much more weight than any traditional democrat when it comes to calling out the phonies in the Republican Party.  

[Sawbonz 27542]

8 minutes ago, Brian Fantana said:

I think child rape and massive self enrichment probably offset feeding a few poor people.

That encapsulates the totality of charitable giving. Did you actually graduate from tech?

[retread 2951]

Those beautiful lib tears

 

[Brian Fantana 6681]

Of course it doesn't encapsulate all the church does, but there is no amount of charitable giving that offsets or compels the forgiveness of the horrors that the church has created for so many children.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13509]

1 hour ago, GopherRock said:

$20 says that John McCain drags himself to Washington to vote no on the confirmation of Haspel.

Haspel may have been right or did what was right for the country at that time, but that doesn't mean there aren't consequences for it.  

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

5 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Haspel may have been right or did what was right for the country at that time, but that doesn't mean there aren't consequences for it.  

McCain has it right on Haspel.

Her failure to outright declare the previous interrogation techniques as immoral when directly asked the question is disqualifying. 

 

 

Edited May 11, 2018 by Hugo Stiglitz

[Longhorn_Fan68 33867]

19 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

I mean, sure, why not.  Our country has turned into a fucking telenovela, why NOT add a plot twist involving a rapper, his personal basketball league, and Qatari bribes?  Truth.  Fiction.  I freely admit that I can't possible tell you the difference anymore.

Ay Dios Mio!

right, but with much uglier chicks.

[WhatTheBuck 28775]

2 hours ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

That is the point. Is he genuinely right with the lord, or is he just saying what gets him viewers on MSNBC.

Actions speak louder than words. He worked to get Palin national attention. Now he talks about it being a bad idea. Well, no shit Sherlock. What are you going to actually do about it? Other than collect a paycheck.

He had a boss who could've blocked the selection of Palin. McCain was the guy in charge and he admitted recently that Palin was a mistake and he should've gone with Lieberman like he wanted. Schmidt's job was to get him elected and in the modern Republican Party you have to appeal to the nutjobs on the Christian Right if you want to get elected. (Thanks, Ronnie!) Palin was an unqualified bimbo but man, the base ate her up! Schmidt was hired to do a job and at the time he showed that he had his finger on the pulse of the base.

Maybe he didn't realize that in the future the party was going to become a lot less like McCain and a lot more like Palin. Hindsight is 20/20. He seems to get it now. 

[Aqua Buddha 14582]

26 minutes ago, retread said:

Those beautiful lib tears

 

It's just like DACA.  Repeal it just because.  Say you want it fixed.  Reject all offers to fix it.  Offer no alternative.

[SubliminalHorn 6786]

20 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

McCain has it right on Haspel.

Her failure to outright declare the previous interrogation techniques as immoral when directly asked the question is disqualifying. 

 

 

Kamala for prez!

[WhatTheBuck 28775]

15 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Haspel may have been right or did what was right for the country at that time, but that doesn't mean there aren't consequences for it.  

The right thing to do at the time was to do what she said in her confirmation hearing that she would do now if presented with the same circumstances that she faced back then. 

She said she doesn't think the president will order torture. He's said on multiple occasions that he believes torture works and we should be doing it. I have no more reason to believe that she wouldn't follow orders again than I do that he won't order torture. She doesn't deserve our trust. 

[JimmyJames 12271]

37 minutes ago, retread said:

Those beautiful lib tears

 

The only way they could have gotten trump to even think about not backing out of the Iran deal would have been to tell him Obama wants him to do it. 

Trump has no idea what’s in the deal. He only knows Obama signed it so it’s gots to goes. All hail the toddler in chief! 

[simplicity 9]

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/may/9/oliver-north-readies-nra-counterpunch-against-gun-/

If the Parkland students were terrorists, North would have funneled them guns.

 

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

 

[BurntOrange&White 39930]

Kamala for prez!

She’s been very impressive in all these hearings but I don’t know if she’s ready for that stage just yet.

[Eskimohorn 5630]

Kamala for prez!

Would

vote for her

[Fozzz 152]

42 minutes ago, simplicity said:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/may/9/oliver-north-readies-nra-counterpunch-against-gun-/

If the Parkland students were terrorists, North would have funneled them guns.

 

It's amazing how differently Watergate and the Iran-Contra scandals have been treated.  It's like the latter never even happened.  

Edited May 11, 2018 by Fozzz

[David Dennison 18851]

2 minutes ago, Fozzz said:

It's amazing how differently Watergate and the Iran-Contra scandals have been treated.  It's like the latter never even happened.  

Iran-Contra is a bad look for Saint Ronald. The story taints his image. Takes the shine off of all that Morning in America crap. 

Everyone knew Nixon was a scumbag.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

8 minutes ago, Bevo VIII said:

She’s been very impressive in all these hearings but I don’t know if she’s ready for that stage just yet.

Here’s the thing, no one is ready to be president of the United States and the responsibility that comes with it.  No one.  

There are only those that are more ready than others.  I couldn’t vote for Obama in 2008 because I felt he wasn’t ready to be POTUS and McCain was a more pragmatic choice at the time.  Yeah yeah, Sarah Palin but no one votes for Vice President so she factored very little in my decision.

Kamala Harris might not be the most prepared when compared to Joe Biden but she certainly has as tremendous opportunity to make the most of her ascending career and inspire real positive change.

[Fozzz 152]

It's like after Watergate, Vietnam, Pentagon Papers, etc., we decided it's simply better to ignore malfeasance by our political/military leaders than actually even attempt to hold them accountable unless there's some obvious political motivation at play.  

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

2 minutes ago, Fozzz said:

It's like after Watergate, Vietnam, Pentagon Papers, etc., we decided it's simply better to ignore malfeasance by our political/military leaders than actually even attempt to hold them accountable unless there's some obvious political motivation at play.  

Iran-Contra doesn’t get enough air play but there are reasons for it, as stupid as they might be. 

1. It’s a complicated scandal.

Involving Iran, Israel, Hezbollah, hostages, weapons, Honduras, and Nicaragua.  It’s not easy for the average American to digest the enormity of the scandal and it’s implications.  Unfortunately, it’s a scandal that left many Americans asking, “why should I give a shit about this?”  

2. It didn’t bring down or even really threaten the administration, although it probably should have.

 

 

[simplicity 9]

4 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

Iran-Contra doesn’t get enough air play but there are reasons for it, as stupid as they might be. 

1. It’s a complicated scandal.

Involving Iran, Israel, Hezbollah, hostages, weapons, Honduras, and Nicaragua.  It’s not easy for the average American to digest the enormity of the scandal and it’s implications.  Unfortunately, it’s a scandal that left many Americans asking, “why should I give a shit about this?”  

2. It didn’t bring down or even really threaten the administration, although it probably should have.

 

 

It should have at least ended North's career, but of course it didn't.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

2 minutes ago, simplicity said:

It should have at least ended North's career, but of course it didn't.

And Michael Flynn will walk in Oliver North’s footsteps.  The military uniform is a great shield for these criminals to hide behind when they get exposed for being treacherous douchebags.

[wildcat09 29347]

44 minutes ago, Bevo VIII said:

She’s been very impressive in all these hearings but I don’t know if she’s ready for that stage just yet.

Trump is President. Literally anyone is more ready than him.

[NWBuck 8552]

13 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

Iran-Contra doesn’t get enough air play but there are reasons for it, as stupid as they might be. 

1. It’s a complicated scandal.

Involving Iran, Israel, Hezbollah, hostages, weapons, Honduras, and Nicaragua.  It’s not easy for the average American to digest the enormity of the scandal and it’s implications.  Unfortunately, it’s a scandal that left many Americans asking, “why should I give a shit about this?”  

 

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

^One of my favorite SNL skits of all time.