U.S. public impeachment hearings

I generally try to be bigger than this, but I cannot help but LOL (a lot!) at George Conway's nickname for Trump.

Are you ready for this?




It's IMPOTUS!! Bwahahahah!

(I'm probably going straight to hell for enjoying that one so much)

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry...impotus_n_5dfc6f05e4b0b2520d089ab1?ri18n=true

pareidolia-- seeing the face of Jesus in scorched toast. I always knew I was going to use that word!

seeing the face of Jesus in Donald Trump? --plain butthole stupid.

Trump retweeted an AP story about Putin calling impeachment a "hoax." He is doing it all out in the open. This should cause alarm, should be a scandal. I think we should treat it as such. Shrugging these off is normalizing. I don't mean get distracted, but we cannot be apathetic. Hillary Rodham Clinton called him Putin's Puppet and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "All roads lead to Putin." How can so many Americans be foolish enough not to care that every day, he proves them right. This is a national security issue.

What's the GOP end game for the USA? Dismantling the Constitution and becoming a vassal state...to own the Libs?

Helix said:

What's the GOP end game for the USA? Dismantling the Constitution and becoming a vassal state...to own the Libs?

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They all expect to be rich, with us working for them. They don't much care who they're a vassal to, as long as they have money.

Some of them would also like to not have to deal with non-white folks, women with rights or opinions, or anyone not super-Hollywood-stereotypically straight.

TL;DR: They don't care about the country, and they don't think they'll get caught in the fallout.

Lyv said:

Trump retweeted an AP story about Putin calling impeachment a "hoax." He is doing it all out in the open. This should cause alarm, should be a scandal. I think we should treat it as such. Shrugging these off is normalizing. I don't mean get distracted, but we cannot be apathetic. Hillary Rodham Clinton called him Putin's Puppet and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "All roads lead to Putin." How can so many Americans be foolish enough not to care that every day, he proves them right. This is a national security issue.

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This is another instance of the Democrats needing to effectively and aggressively get the message out - not just to the echo chamber (they already know), not just to the red-cap base (they won't listen), but to the large number of people who have tuned out, who don't know, or don't understand why this should matter to them personally. The fact that this isn't producing mass uproar and protest is disturbing evidence that the firehose tactics and propaganda of the regime are working, at least on enough of the people to keep them in power.

Brightdreamer said:

This is another instance of the Democrats needing to effectively and aggressively get the message out - not just to the echo chamber (they already know), not just to the red-cap base (they won't listen), but to the large number of people who have tuned out, who don't know, or don't understand why this should matter to them personally. The fact that this isn't producing mass uproar and protest is disturbing evidence that the firehose tactics and propaganda of the regime are working, at least on enough of the people to keep them in power.

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But that's the root of this whole breakdown, isn't it? People in their bubbles or silos or whatever are at least still paying attention to something. As ensconced in the liberal wing as I am, I still try to read bits of the opposition, as much I can stomach, anyway. (Admittedly not much, but more than zero.) But the people who boast "I don't pay attention to politics" ...how do the Dems reach them if they pay...well, zero attention? How do you push a message out to people who are actively not listening?

ElaineA said:

But that's the root of this whole breakdown, isn't it? People in their bubbles or silos or whatever are at least still paying attention to something. As ensconced in the liberal wing as I am, I still try to read bits of the opposition, as much I can stomach, anyway. (Admittedly not much, but more than zero.) But the people who boast "I don't pay attention to politics" ...how do the Dems reach them if they pay...well, zero attention? How do you push a message out to people who are actively not listening?

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As I understand it, how to reach people (and general crowd psychology) is a well-studied field. Advertising does it daily, or it wouldn't work. The TeaOP clearly has people focused on this very thing, and it shows in everything they do. The Democrats seem to be lagging significantly. (And I would argue that even training people to tune out as they have been, that it doesn't affect them and things will autocorrect if it does, even that "both sides" are equally bad so what's the point of paying attention oh hey look a kitty, is part of an active campaign to normalize what's going on, one that's been going on for years.)

Brightdreamer said:

As I understand it, how to reach people (and general crowd psychology) is a well-studied field. Advertising does it daily, or it wouldn't work. The TeaOP clearly has people focused on this very thing, and it shows in everything they do. The Democrats seem to be lagging significantly. (And I would argue that even training people to tune out as they have been, that it doesn't affect them and things will autocorrect if it does, even that "both sides" are equally bad so what's the point of paying attention oh hey look a kitty, is part of an active campaign to normalize what's going on, one that's been going on for years.)

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Agree with all of this (especially the bit in bold) and Brightdreamer's previous post (although I think the right approach could result in a few of the red cap brigade actually listening). And it's true in the UK too, about all the lefty parties, not just Labour. The lefties need to get a grip on a lot of things, including how to communicate more effectively and including not blaming individuals like Corbyn and Clinton for election defeats when those people have been faced with an orchestrated smear campaign combined with the Republicans and Tories being a lot better at getting a message out to the masses in an easily digestible format. There are a lot of things that need to be tackled, not just this. There's all the misinformation, and there's online (and sometimes offline too) harrassment of left wing candidates that disproportionately affects women and minorities. All of that is having an impact and unless lefty parties see the bigger picture of everything that's going on and have a viable strategy for how to deal with it, nothing is going to change.

Looks like the next media outlet to be called a lefty rag by Trump will be conservative publication National Review!

Four Tests for Impeachment

The subtitle is "and how the president meets them."

If you have read this far, you know my answer to these questions. The Constitution provides for impeachment and removal to protect us from officials, including presidents, who are unable or unwilling to distinguish between the common good that government is supposed to serve and their own narrow interests. Though he has done some good things in office, Trump is just such a president. Congress should act accordingly.

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The shape of things to come in 2020.

Our view: GOP decision on primary ballot is regrettable
https://www.postbulletin.com/opinio...cle_fc1728da-fe59-11e9-ba31-77f85748ae38.html

This is the first presidential primary election in Minnesota since 1992. Under the rules of the primary, the political parties have the sole authority over which candidates will appear on the ballot. In the case of Minnesota's Republican Party, it has chosen to list only President Trump on the ballot, even though three other respectable candidates are running.

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In other words - expect a series or firsts in the coming months.


Minnesota's first presidential primary in decades faces legal challenge over Trump-only ballot
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/23/politics/minnesota-primary-ballot-challenge/index.html

Minnesota GOP to Leave Trump Challengers Off Primary Ballot
https://www.usnews.com/news/electio...to-leave-trump-challengers-off-primary-ballot

The Republican Party of Minnesota told the state on Oct. 24 that Trump will be the only candidate to appear on the March 3, 2020, Republican primary ballot, The Star Tribune first reported. Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and former Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois – all of whom are running against Trump – will not be listed. The party has also not requested space on the ballot for write-in candidates, according to The Star Tribune.
{...}
Minnesota GOP Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan said in a statement that it was her job as the party's leader to "make sure we deliver our 10 electoral votes to the President on Nov. 3, 2020."

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"I was just doing my job / following orders."

Sounds familiar?

-cb

Good for you, Murkowski, reacting to Moscow Mitch's statement he'll be totally coordinating the Impeachment trial with the White House lawyers.

Guardian: Trump impeachment: Lisa Murkowski 'disturbed' by Mitch McConnell's stance

Republican US Senator Lisa Murkowski has said she was “disturbed” by the Senate leader’s approach to working with White House counsel on the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, saying there should be distance between the two.

The comments by the Alaska lawmaker come after Mitch McConnell, majority leader of the Republican-led Senate, said during a Fox News interview earlier this month that he was working in “total coordination” with the White House on the upcoming trial.

“To me it means that we have to take that step back from being hand-in-glove with the defense,” Murkowski said in comments aired late on Tuesday during an interview with Alaska-based NBC news affiliate KTUU-TV. “I heard what leader McConnell had said. I happened to think that has further confused the process.”

Murkowski, who says she remains undecided on how she will vote in the upcoming impeachment proceedings, cited the need for distance between the White House and the Senate on how the trial should be conducted.

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Moscow Mitch also said he wanted to hear the 'opening statements' and then he'd decide whether or not to call witnesses.

Of course. If he's coordinating with White House lawyers, lying is what they would be advising him to do.

cbenoi1 said:

The shape of things to come in 2020.

Our view: GOP decision on primary ballot is regrettable
https://www.postbulletin.com/opinio...cle_fc1728da-fe59-11e9-ba31-77f85748ae38.html

In other words - expect a series or firsts in the coming months.

Minnesota's first presidential primary in decades faces legal challenge over Trump-only ballot
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/23/politics/minnesota-primary-ballot-challenge/index.html

Minnesota GOP to Leave Trump Challengers Off Primary Ballot
https://www.usnews.com/news/electio...to-leave-trump-challengers-off-primary-ballot

"I was just doing my job / following orders."

Sounds familiar?

-cb

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Why are they bothering with this? Are they worried Trump could lose the Primary? Or do they want to put out some BS statement that Trump won the MN Primary with 100% of the vote?

MaeZe said:

Why are they bothering with this? Are they worried Trump could lose the Primary? Or do they want to put out some BS statement that Trump won the MN Primary with 100% of the vote?

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Is it wrong of me to suspect that at least part of the reason is the total, unadulterated thrill of wallowing in an incontestable power trip and shoving it in the public's face, like the bully forcing the nerd's head into the toilet for a swirly?