;)
The Commentariat -- August 1, 2016
Missy Ryan of the Washington Post: "The United States has conducted airstrikes on the Islamic State stronghold in Sirte, Libya, the Pentagon said on Monday, the first direct U.S. military involvement in Libyan forces' battle against militants there. In a statement, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said that Libya's Western-backed unity government had requested air support as forces under its command battle to reclaim the coastal city of Sirte, which has become an Islamic State stronghold since militants seized it last year." -- CW
Michael Wines of the New York Times: "...since the Supreme Court's 5-to-4 ruling in the voting-rights case, Shelby County v. Holder, critics argue, the blatant efforts to keep minorities from voting have been supplanted by a blizzard of more subtle changes. Most conspicuous have been state efforts like voter ID laws or cutbacks in early voting periods, which critics say disproportionately affect minorities and the poor. Less apparent, but often just as contentious, have been numerous voting changes enacted in counties and towns across the South and elsewhere around the country. They appear as Republican legislatures and election officials in the South and elsewhere have imposed statewide restrictions on voting that could depress turnout by minorities and other Democrat-leaning groups in a crucial presidential election year." ...
... CW: Wines couches his report in the "critics say" caveat, the go-to evasion of both-sides "journalism." He goes on to report instance after instance of actual voter suppression. So once again, the New York Times features journalistic malpractice on its front page. ...
... Oh, P.S. Driftglass highlights Chuck Todd's Luminous Contribution to Both-siderism. -- CW
Michael Rosenwald of the Washington Post: "The modern era of mass shootings began [in Austin, Texas,] on a searing summer day in 1966. Just before noon, from high atop the University of Texas Tower, an ex-Marine sharpshooter named Charles Whitman leveled his rifle over the railing ... and fired at will for 20 minutes -- the time it took for students and residents to fetch their own high-powered rifles and shoot back, helping an unprepared and outgunned police force.... On Monday, survivors will attend the unveiling of a memorial on the 50th anniversary of Whitman's rampage, which left 17 dead and more than 30 wounded. That same day, Texas becomes the nation's eighth state to allow students to brings guns onto university campuses and, in some cases, into classrooms and dorms.... Gun rights advocates are delighted." -- CW ...
... Rebecca Onion of Slate: "A graduate class at the University of Texas at Austin has put together a new website about the mass shooting at the [University of Texas].... The result is an intriguing suite of essays, accompanied by archival documents, biographies of the shooting victims, and a timeline of mass shootings." -- CW
Presidential Race
Alicia Parlapiano & Adam Pearce of the New York Times: "... half of the primary voters chose ... candidates [other than Clinton or Trump]. Just 14 percent of eligible adults -- 9 percent of the whole nation -- voted for either Mr. Trump or Mrs. Clinton." -- CW
Steve Coll of the New Yorker: "American Presidential elections reduce the country's complexity to a binary choice. This year's is admittedly not the happiest one. The revival, on the big screens at the Convention hall, of the Clinton family's political 'narrative' was at times exhausting, evocative of Argentina. Still, there can be no doubt that Hillary Clinton is deeply qualified to serve as President, whereas Donald Trump has proved himself a transparently serious threat to the Constitution. Attached to Clinton's candidacy are the futures of Supreme Court jurisprudence, European and Asian security, the health of American pluralism, and the rule of law. 'It truly is up to us,' Clinton observed. The worry is whether, in this hot summer of disequilibrium, her country is adequate to the task." -- CW ...
... Jill LePore of the New Yorker attended both conventions & talked to the people there, including, or especially, the protesters. -- CW
John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Hillary Clinton is heading to heavily Republican Nebraska on Monday in search of a single electoral vote. In a move that suggests the Democratic presidential nominee is taking nothing for granted against Republican Donald Trump, Clinton has scheduled a late afternoon rally in Omaha, a moderate pocket of an otherwise conservative state. Here's why: Nebraska is one of only two states that awards part of its electoral votes based on outcomes in congressional districts.... In 2008, then-Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) edged out GOP nominee John McCain in the 2nd Congressional District, which includes Omaha, picking up exactly one of the 270 electoral votes needed to secure the presidency." -- CW ...
... Abby Phillip of the Washington Post: "As Hillary Clinton closed out her three-day bus tour with a stop in Columbus, Ohio, she had a dire warning for voters: ..."I don't want folks to be misled, to listen to the rhetoric and the demagoguery. I think Donald Trump poses a serious threat to our democracy, and it's going to be up to all of us to repudiate the hatefulness.'... The comments came at the tail end of her journey through two battleground states -- Ohio and Pennsylvania -- with stops focused on swing or Republican voters. Clinton traveled with her running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.), and his wife, Anne Holton. Former president Bill Clinton joined the group for several stops on the tour." -- CW
Director Comey said my answers were truthful, and what I've said is consistent with what I have told the American people, that there were decisions discussed and made to classify retroactively certain of the emails. -- Hillary Clinton, interview on "Fox News Sunday," July 31, 2016
As we have seen repeatedly in Clinton's explanations of the email controversy, she relies on excessively technical and legalistic answers to explain her actions. While Comey did say there was no evidence she lied to the FBI, that is not the same as saying she told the truth to the American public -- which was the point of [Chris] Wallace's question.... Although Comey did say many emails were retroactively classified, he also said that there were some emails that were already classified that should not have been sent on an unclassified, private server. That's the uncomfortable truth that Clinton has trouble admitting. -- Glenn Kessler, Washington Post
Jonathan Mahler of the New York Times: "During Tim Kaine's six years in Richmond's local government, he became known for his commitment to the city's African-Americans. But there were also stumbles as he began to fashion himself as the centrist conciliator that he is known as today, trying to steer a middle path in a majority-black city drenched in Confederate history." -- CW
Matea Gold of the Washington Post: "Charles Koch on Sunday forcefully shot down the possibility that he would support ... Hillary Clinton in this year's White House race, calling such an idea 'blood libel...,' comparing the notion to false accusations throughout history that Jews killed Christian children for ritualistic purposes. 'At this point, I can't support either candidate,' Koch said...." -- CW
Steve Benen: "On Monday, Sept. 26, the major-party candidates -- and any third-party candidate with more than 15% support in national polls -- will meet for the first of three ... [debates]. What's unclear is whether or not Donald Trump will agree to participate.... On 'Face the Nation' yesterday, Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort [said]..., '... He [Trump] said he wants to participate in it.... So, we're going to sit down with the commission in the next week or so and we're going to start talking to them.' In other words, it sounds as if Team Trump sees the existing schedule as the starting point for negotiations.... Hillary Clinton has already agreed to participate in the three scheduled debates." -- CW
She's a very dishonest person. I have one of the great temperaments. I have a winning temperament. She has a bad temperament. She's weak. -- Donald Trump, contrasting his "temperament" with Hillary Clinton's
David Sanger & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump on Sunday offered a muddled explanation of his views about the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia and its continued efforts to undermine Ukraine's control of other parts of the country, and he amplified his earlier suggestion that, if elected president, he might recognize Russia's claim and end sanctions against it.... Not since 1976, when President Gerald Ford committed a major gaffe in one of his debates with Jimmy Carter, declaring that 'there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe,' has the issue of American support of Eastern European states, both those in NATO and those outside it, emerged as a major presidential campaign issue." -- CW ...
... Atlantic: ": Speaking to ABC's George Stephanopoulos, Trump said of Russian President Vladimir Putin, 'He's not going into Ukraine, OK? Just so you understand. He's not going to go into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down and you can put it down, you can take it anywhere you want.' Stephanopoulos pointed out that Russia had already annexed Crimea. The response was classic Trump: This is all proof of how terrible Obama is, but also it's not really so bad. He confirmed that he would consider recognizing the annexation: 'But, you know, the people of Crimea, from what I've heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were.'... At first glance, this looks like a classic example of Trump just not really knowing what he's talking about.... But on closer glance..., in his worldview, Russia seizing sovereign territory in violation of international law is acceptable. He even parrots the Kremlin line that Crimeans have a right to self-determination -- further evidence of a close alignment between Putin and Trump." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Aaron Rupar of Think Progress: "Trump's line on Crimea is essentially the same one being pushed by Russian media. The New York Times reported that the referendum [on whether to annex Crimea to Russia] took place while the peninsula was being occupied by 'heavily armed Russian troops.' Western leaders denounced the vote as illegal." -- CW
#Trumpelthinskin, Ctd. Rebecca Savransky of the Hill: "... Donald Trump on Monday said the country needs to focus on radical Islamic terrorism following the candidate's attacks on Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim U.S. soldier killed in Iraq. 'Mr. Khan, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC and is now all over T.V. doing the same - Nice!' Trump tweeted Monday. 'This story is not about Mr. Khan, who is all over the place doing interviews, but rather RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM and the U.S. Get smart!'" -- CW ...
... Rebecca Savransky: "Families of fallen service U.S. members are demanding ... Donald Trump apologize for his 'offensive' and 'anti-American' comments. The group of Gold Star families on Monday wrote a letter to the billionaire condemning his treatment of the family of U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed in Iraq. 'Ours is a sacrifice you will never know...,' the group said in a letter published Monday on VoteVets.org." -- CW ...
... Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: "In a remarkable and lengthy rebuke of his party's nominee, Senator sharply criticized Donald J. Trump's comments about the family of a fallen Muslim Army captain, saying, 'While our party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us.'... 'In recent days, Donald Trump disparaged a fallen soldier's parents,' he wrote of the parents, Khizr and Ghazala Khan. 'He has suggested that the likes of their son should not be allowed in the United States -- to say nothing of entering its service. I cannot emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Mr. Trump's statement.'" -- CW ...
... Katie Zezima of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump faced mounting criticism from leaders of his own party Sunday, as a confrontation between the Republican nominee and the Muslim American parents of a soldier killed in Iraq continued to consume the presidential race." -- CW ...
I've had a flawless campaign. -- Donald Trump, on ABC News
... Alexander Burns, et al., of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump reeled on Sunday amid a sustained campaign of criticism by the parents of a Muslim American soldier killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq and a rising outcry within his own party over his rough and racially charged dismissal of the couple. The confrontation between the parents, Khizr and Ghazala Khan, and Mr. Trump has emerged as an unexpected and potentially pivotal flash point in the general election. Mr. Trump ... has repeatedly answered the Khan family's criticism with harsh and defensive rhetoric.... He earned no reprieve with his complaints that Mr. Khan had been unfair to him or with his repeated attempts to change the subject to Islamic terrorism.... Mr. Trump on Sunday morning made a third attempt to deflect Mr. Khan's criticism, writing on Twitter that the real issue at stake in the election was terrorism. And he continued to complain that Mr. Khan had been unfair to him." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Noah Bierman of the Los Angeles Times: "Trump could have let the moment pass, or simply praised [the Kahn family's] sacrifice without confronting them, as other politicians have done when met by military families ... [as did Hillary Clinton on Fox "News" Sunday when asked about parents who faulted her for their sons' deaths in Benghazi, Libya]. On Sunday, as the controversy festered, Trump complained on Twitter that 'I was viciously attacked by Mr. Khan at the Democratic Convention. Am I not allowed to respond? Hillary voted for the Iraq war, not me!'" -- CW ...
... David Graham of the Atlantic: "In late 1953, Senator Joe McCarthy turned his red-baiting crusade toward the Army, accusing it of being stocked with Communists. McCarthy and his chief counsel, Roy Cohn, had miscalculated, and the reaction doomed McCarthy's crusade and career. Decades later, Cohn became a close friend of a young real-estate developer named Donald Trump. If Cohn's protégé learned anything about from him about why it's unwise for a politician to go to war with the U.S. Army, it isn't showing today." -- CW ...
... Wait, Wait! There's More. Ben Mathis-Lilley of Slate: "Trump adviser and friend Roger Stone escalated things way, way further than all but the most cynical/drug-addled among us could have imagined: [In a tweet, Stone writes,] 'Mr. Khan more than an aggrieved father of a Muslim son- he's Muslim Brotherhood agent helping Hillary'. The link [Stone provides] goes to an article on a low-budget conspiracy site.... Roger Stone ... appears to have been Donald Trump's primary political adviser for decades." -- CW ...
... Huh. A Muslim Brotherhood infiltrator? Not according to winger Charles Hurt, writing in the Hill. He says Hillary Clinton "duped" nice-guy Khizr Khan into "smearing Donald Trump," which was a neat trick because "it was was her vote that sent Capt. Khan to his death." (CW: See also my thanks to mike pence, below.) ...
... CW BTW: If you are looking for some context on Clinton's Iraq War vote, Fred Kaplan has it (Feb. 4, 2016). It wasn't exactly Bloody Hillary waving a sword & calling for Saddam's head. ...
... Greg Sargent: "Donald Trump's continuing war with the Khan family -- which Trump inexplicably continued to keep in the news this morning with a series of new tweets -- raises the specter of a brutal trap for Republicans.... If Republicans don't break off their support for Trump's candidacy now, they run the risk of having no choice but to do so after Trump sinks even further into wretchedness and depravity, to a point of true no return.... As Peter Wehner, a former speechwriter for George W. Bush, put it: 'Trump is a man of sadistic cruelty. With him there's no bottom.' If ... Republicans such as [Paul] Ryan will have [to cut Trump loose] not in defense of their own principles, but because events forced them to." -- CW ...
... Kim Soffen of the Washington Post: After Khizr Khan raised his pocket-copy of the Constitution, "sales of the little book are skyrocketing. A $1 edition of the pocket Constitution printed by the nonpartisan National Center for Constitutional Studies became the second-bestselling book on Amazon. It remains there today. It's not just sales; Google searches for the document increased more than tenfold on Friday compared to the daily average of the previous month." -- CW
Another Trump Conspiracy Theory. Connor O'Brien of Politico: "Donald Trump is slamming Michael Bloomberg's endorsement of Hillary Clinton, speculating that the former New York mayor cut a deal with the former secretary of state to get a job in any new Clinton administration. 'Personally, I think he made a deal with Hillary, where ... he gets a job,'... [Trump] said in an interview airing Sunday on ABC News' "This Week." CW: Dark, evil forces are conspiring against the noble mogul; there's no other possible explanation. Except paranoia.
Matthew Nussbaum of Politico: "With an imaginary letter, a disputed invitation and controversial comments about a fallen soldier's parents, Donald Trump's weekend was not going well even before he seemed to endorse the Russian annexation of Crimea, in opposition to U.S. policy and international law. This was a weekend ... [that] seemed to demonstrate all of the flaws -- trouble with the truth, an inability to let criticism go unanswered and a lack of knowledge of world affairs -- that Republicans fear Trump will be unable to put behind him and that Democrats hope will be the billionaire's undoing come November." CW: So being a lying, thin-skinned, ignorant bully is maybe not so presidential?
Rebecca Sinderbrand of the Washington Post: "... after [Donald Trump] and nine others were trapped in an elevator at the Mining Exchange Hotel [in Colorado springs,] 'The firefighters were able to secure the elevator, open the top elevator hatch, lower a ladder into the elevator, which allowed all individuals to self-evacuate, including Mr. Trump, onto the second-floor lobby area,' fire spokesman Steven Wilch told Colorado station KRDO in a Saturday report.... If you think that's the sort of thing that might prompt him to mention the fire department in his remarks at that event..., you're right! 'We have a fire marshal that said we can't allow more people,' Trump said, as the crowd booed. '... The reason they can't let them in is because they don't know what they're doing.' [He].. said that Fire Marshal Brett Lacey was "probably a Democrat, probably a guy that doesn't get it.'" -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Cyra Master of the Hill: "Indiana Gov. Mike Pence defended his running mate in a statement Sunday night, blaming President Obama and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton for the 'disastrous decisions' that led to the death of Capt. Humayun Khan in Iraq.... 'Captain Khan gave his life to defend our country in the global war on terror. Due to the disastrous decisions of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, a once stable Middle East has now been overrun by ISIS...,' Pence said." ...
... CW: Thanks for putting everything in perspective, mike. When Kahn was killed in Iraq in 2004, Barack Obama was an Illinois state senator & Hillary Clinton was a U.S. senator. It's true Clinton voted to allow President Bush to go to war against Iraq, if necessary, but so did you, mike. Clinton has repeatedly called the vote a mistake; you have not. (Note: Clinton was also among the majority of Democratic senators who voted to fund the Iraq War; John Kerry, John Edwards & Teddy Kennedy were among the 12 [including one then-Independent] who voted nay.) In addition, David Graham of the Atlantic reminds us, "Trump supported the war in Iraq, though he has repeatedly claimed he did not." One thing I wish you would clear up: exactly when was the Middle East "stable"? As far as I know, war, unrest, & shifting borders have characterized the region since prehistoric times.
Steven Myers & Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: Trump campaign manager Paul "Manafort's influence in [Ukraine] was significant, and his political expertise deeply valued, according to Ukrainian politicians and officials who worked with him. He also had a voice in decisions about major American investments in Ukraine, said a former spokesman for Ukraine's foreign ministry, Oleg Voloshyn, who also ran as a candidate in the new bloc Mr. Manafort helped form.... It is not clear that Mr. Manafort's work in Ukraine ended with his work with Mr. Trump's campaign." -- CW
Show Us the Returns! New York Times Editors: No issue "is more important for voters to keep in mind than the failure of Mr. Trump to disclose his full income tax returns, something he is not likely to do by Election Day. He is the first major party candidate since 1976 -- since Watergate, essentially -- to deny voters that vital measure of credibility.... Mr. Trump has not hesitated to attack the I.R.S. as 'very unfair,' but now he stands before the voters using the agency as a shield against disclosure.... Mr. Trump's contention that there's nothing to learn from his tax returns should be a red alert to voters." -- CW
Driftglass codes Trump. -- CW
Paul Krugman: "... the great majority of ... not-crazy Republicans are still supporting Mr. Trump for president.... No non-crazy person, even on the right, thinks that this president is acting like a dictator, or that the woman he wants to succeed him would threaten basic liberty. On the other side, anyone watching her opponent has to be very, very worried about his authoritarian streak." ...
... CW: I hope Krugman is just pretending he has no idea what's going on. Congressional Republicans have been all about power & showed almost no interest in governance at least since Newt Gingrich rose to power within the GOP Congressional ranks.
The Stupid Party. Conservative Max Boot, in a New York Times op-ed: "The Republican embrace of anti-intellectualism was, to a large extent, a put-on. At least until now.... The trend has now culminated in the nomination of Donald J. Trump, a presidential candidate who truly is the know-nothing his Republican predecessors only pretended to be.... In a way, the joke's on the Republican Party: After decades of masquerading as the 'stupid party,' that's what it has become. But if an unapologetic ignoramus wins the presidency, the consequences will be no laughing matter." -- CW
Dave Weigel & John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator who became one of Bernie Sanders's most passionate surrogates, confirmed Sunday night that she has been offered a spot on the Green Party's 2016 ticket. She hasn't decided whether to accept it.... Turner attended the Democratic National Convention as a Sanders surrogate, expecting to second his nomination for president. She was blocked by Clinton's campaign. That, and the roiling controversy over the Democratic National Committee's hacked emails, may have made Turner more receptive to the Green Party pitch." CW: Nice work, Clintonistas!
Way Beyond the Beltway
Yesim Dikmen & David Dolan of Reuters: "Turkey dismissed nearly 1,400 more members of its armed forces and stacked the top military council with government ministers on Sunday, moves designed by President Tayyip Erdogan to put him in full control of the military after a failed coup. The scale of Erdogan's crackdown - more than 60,000 people in the military, judiciary, civil service and schools have been either detained, suspended or placed under investigation since the July 15-16 coup - has unnerved Turkey's NATO allies, fuelling tension between Ankara and the West." ...
... CW: Not to dismiss the importance of Erdogan's takeover, but it's useful to view it in the context of U.S. politics. If you watch the video accompanying the Reuters story, you'll see that Erdogan & Donald Trump share not only the same autocratic bent but also the same interior decorator. Isn't Trump's preference for what contributor Patrick called the "Louis Farouk" style all the proof you need that Trump would become a repressive dictator?
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Reader Comments (28)
Lest we forget:
-65% think President Obama is a Muslim, only 13% think he’s a Christian.
-59% think President Obama was not born in the United States, only 23% think that he was.
-24% think Antonin Scalia was murdered, just 42% think he died naturally, another 34% are unsure.
And we wonder why Donaldo seems to have a "fighting chance" in this Fall's election. My view is that a corporate, bought off media--who are more concerned with false equivalencies than "truth," are culpable--as are bought off politicians (both parties, but mostly Repubs). And the Republican do-nothing Congress has been a disgrace to Democracy! Add to that our popular national policy of dissing intellectual curiosity and critical thinking. I'd say: "I think you've got it!" (Apologies to Rex Harrison)
CW Note: See my comment below. I don't know that the stats Kate cites are accurate.
The forces of the Dark Side (aka the Donaldavich Trumpskyev campaign for dictator) have gone completely around the bend in their attack on the family of a US army captain killed during The Decider's Made Up War, a war supported by His Soiled Trumpiness.
Toxic pathogen and Donaldavich adviser, Roger Stone is now calling Khizr Khan a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in the employ of Hillary Clinton. And as vile as that sounds, he goes further. The "source" for Stone's outrageous attack, some febrile fuckwad, claims that his son, Captain Khan was a Muslim spy and traitor working against the United States.
Several things. First, Trumpskyev must have approved this Stalinesque bullshit. If he didn't, and his feral animals can leave the Trump kennel and clamp their teeth onto passersby at will , then this campaign is more out of control than Trump himself after the kid next door tells him his mother wears army boots.
And NOW let's see if the moral midget tag team of Turtle Man and Lyin' Ryan can work up the guts to say anything about it.
My guess is more pablum on the way.
Finally, if the Trumpsters don't see this as incontrovertible evidence of the essential vileness and disqualification of this pig for the office of President of the United States, we are in big trouble. This is another Donaldo test balloon. If it flys high and is not shot down, he knows he can say whatever he wants.
Next look for claims that Hillary tortured small animals as a kid and therefore no party should have nominated her .
Oh, wait. That was the Decider who did that. And the Republicans nominated him anyway.
https://www.rawstory.com/2016/07/longtime-trump-confidant-smears-khan-family-as-members-of-islamic-brotherhood/
So this is day 4 of the 100 day Presidential campaign.
Krugman's article today raises a major point about democracy. To a large extent it is for the majority of people a serious part of tribalism.
Your a Republican and that's it. A similar example of this part of human behavior is sports. Your a Giants fan. Why? If they win the game what does that do for you? Because it is your tribe. End of story.
Also, the first reader pick comment on the Krugman piece excellently claims that my NPD assessment may not tell it all. The comment provides evidence that Trump also has frontal lobe dementia (frontotemporal dementia). He might be right.
Seriously, dangerously mentally ill.
@Kate Madison: I'm not sure where you got your figures, but you must be referring to some survey of Republicans, not of American voters in general.
The most recent polling I could find on the Internets (September 2015) had the Obama-is-a-Muslim figure at 54 percent of Republicans, not 65. I didn't look into the other stats you cited.
Especially if you're going to cite statistics, give us your source. I'm not saying the numbers are wrong, but I'm pretty sure they apply only to self-described Republicans.
Marie
Perhaps its time to admit to ourselves what we already know in our heart of hearts and get on with our lives -- Donald Trump will be the next President of The United States. Why? Enough of our fellow citizens are douchebags. We've always known that, too. The nude pictures of Melania sealed the deal. Now the hoards of evangelical maggots slithering out of the steaming pile of manure called The Heartland will have something to stroke their teeny weenies over while they play with their guns for at least the next 4 years.
What @David Feldman is referring to are New York Post "stories," linked here and here. I've avoided linking to them till now because I think they're dirty tricks, even tho Trump's campaign said he "isn’t upset by their publication in The Post." No word from Melania Trump, but maybe that's because she "isn't allowed to speak."
Marie
Re: the Melania spread in the Post.
As a friend texted me moments ago, although these pictures have nothing to do with the fitness of one DJT to be president, you can bet right-wing media will term their republication a dirty trick coordinated by the Clinton campaign. If, however, this was the wife of a Democrat, Fox would be on them 24/7 for a couple of weeks, caterwauling about degraded morals, questionable judgment, and a rather louche temperament on the part of the Democratic politician who saw fit to marry this woman, especially one doing a lesbian scenario:
"I'm not sure about what those two girls are doing, Sean, but it looks like some kind of lesbo sex party. Could we run through those photos a couple more times? Oh, disgusting, just disgusting. Wait. Can you zoom in on that one? Yeah, right there. Oh, that's just terrible. Next one, please. Friends, we'll all have to pray to Jesus for this woman to remember that her body belongs to men, and not to other women. The idea. Whoa. Look at that one! Yow."
The Trumpotheosis turns Trumpathetic.
So, insulting a Gold Star mother, personal long time political advisor calls her dead son, a decorated US Army captain, a traitor, Trump claims it's all unfair to him and that his making billions off the backs of others is too a sacrifice, just as big a one as that Mooslim traitor family's kid. Stoopid kid. Dying for Hillary! And he has too read the Constitushun, all twelve articles. And not only that, that Khan guy has no right to criticize The Donald. The First Amendment does not say he can do that. Not The Great Donaldo. Oh yeah, and the NFL hates the debate schedule and thinks it's ridiculous just like he does. And there will probably be unfair questions from a panel biased against his greatness. They can't do that to him! And, as Marie suggests, dark forces are at work trying to bring down his greatness.
So now he has to do a couple of things. First, he can't, no way, no how, back down from sticking it to that Mooslim Gold Star mother (want a bet that if the son's name had been Billy Bob Jackson from Gun Knob, TN, there'd be nothing said about it?), so she and her husband are Clinton plants, Sharia Law says she can't open her stoopid mouth, and her husband is in the Muslim Brotherhood. Not only that, her son was a traitor. So no backing down. And McConnell and Ryan will keep their traps shut. They're both weaselly cowards, anyway. Next have to find a way to get out of the debates. And finally, if worst comes to worst and the election goes south, some good excuses will be needed that blame everyone but Donaldo.
But that probably won't be necessary...
Unfortunately, I'm inclining toward David Feldman's thinking. None of this matters to Trumpsters. The more lies, the better. And because that captain's name is NOT Billy Bob Jackson, from Gun Knob, TN, they don't care about his insulting his parents and smearing his name because Dirty Mooslims.
Pandora's Box is wide open, kids. This is some evil shit. And plenty of evil lovers (as long as it's directed at the right people, know whatamean, Earl?) will join the pack of running-dog, boot-licking lackeys for Trump.
The Republican Party and their media shills have so weakened the nation that a cheap, lying, disgusting shithead, mob-connected, racist condo developer is getting ready to turn the country into his own personal vacation wonderland.
I can already hear the first words of his inaugural: "L'etat c'est moi, bitches."
Louis Farouk, indeed.
One of the major problems we have in our democratic system is the undemocratic system of redistricting. Back in 2008 , Bill Bishop wrote a book called "the Big Sort." The nub of Bishop’s argument is "that people are increasingly choosing to live among the like-minded and this has contributed to increased partisanship and paralysis."
Now along comes David Daley whose "Ratf##ked: The True Story Behind the Secret plan to Steal America's Democracy. "
Daley essentially dismisses Bishop's thesis and makes what seem more convincing arguments about what has caused these developments:
"The problem with our politics is not that all of us are more partisan, or the Big Sort. It’s that we have been sorted—ratfucked—into districts where the middle does not matter, where the contest only comes down to the most ideological and rancorous on either side. Because the Republicans drew the majority of these lines, there are more rancorous Republicans than Democrats."
@Marie: "No word from Melania Trump, but maybe she wasn't allowed to speak"–––that and your "the noble Mogul" are top dollar in my book–-(money metaphors very topical these days). And the one from our pal gemli from yesterday's NYT's Dowd comments:
"Trump brags about what he has below the belt because he has nothing above the neck"–––how perfect is that?
One more thing to gripe about: Before Hillary's convention speech some the talking heads were saying she needs to spell out her solutions, give us a laundry list of things she is prepared to do–-certainly in contrast to Trump who never gives any plans on how he is going to "Make America Great" again except to build that damn wall. So–––Hillary does just that––she does indeed have plans and she lays them out. Talking heads then say, such a boring speech with all those laundry lists–-shouldn't have done that ––she doesn't soar like Obama––blah, blah blah. We have too many heads whose mouths need to be shut–-stop filling air time with nonsense.
@Akhilleus: Republicans will have a fairly tough time blaming Hillary Clinton for getting the Clinton-hating, Murdoch-owned New York Post to feature nude pix of Melania Trump.
Then again, that didn't stop some wingnut commenter on the over-the-top Twitchy site writing, "I see you've [meaning the NYP] made a deal with Clinton."
Marie
Meanwhile, down another Confederate rat hole:
The Bundys (remember those morons?) are at it again. So let's talk for a moment to Moron number two (Ryan Bundy) who along with Moron number one (Ammon Bundy), offspring of Moron Père, Cliven Bundy, decided they could steal government land and shoot people who disagreed, because, well, morons, has filed a brief in his defense of all that crazy right-wing bullshit. As his own attorney (and you remember that old saw about the man who acts as his own lawyer), he has decided that no laws apply to him, so there, and the government now owes him a shitload of money for the inconvenience of not having any guns to fondle and being in jail and all with no pictures of Melania Trump to jack off to, he being a sovereign citizen and not a US citizen.
Oh, and because he is not subject to any laws except his own (oh, and God's, natch, but never mind about all that threatnin' to kill people 'n shit, Lord, he was just horsin' around, he's really a good boy, Lord...) he will be happy to serve as the defendant as long as he is paid a cool million, US. Also, he'll be the judge for the same amount. Hey, maybe he can be the bailiff and the court stenographer too! A couple more mil right there, hot dog! No word on how the logic works here. If he is not bound by any laws, why, in his own mind, should he be the defendant? Or the judge? Must be all that good Confederate home schoolin'.
And not for nothin' but this Sovereign Citizen movement has paid real dividends in Right-Wing World, hasn't it? You recall the murders of those police officers in Baton Rouge? The perpetrator was a member of the Sovereign Citizen movement, a right-wing group with a penchant for shooting cops. Sometimes you do get what you want. Rat hole, and all.
Morons.
So John McCain "cannot emphasize how strongly he disagrees" with Trump in the Khan fiasco, but does not disavow his endorsement of Trump for president. I remember once having a high opinion of McCain, but now.....meh.
Marie,
There is no knot Gordian enough for Confederate "logic". Their most common argument (a "winnah" everytime in those circles) is "You're fuckin' wrong, asshole". Foucault couldn't have devised a more disconcerting dialectic.
But then again, considering the source (Murdoch), it's really just a little more T&A for the rubes. And Trump T&A gives it that "Oh, man, whaddaguy, that Trump, hey?" cachet with the draggers of the knuckles and the breathers through the mouths.
A novel of the Donaldo campaign thus far would be tossed at first scan by all but the most desperate and debauched publishers (although Regnery would love it) as the most preposterous, ludicrous grotesquerie.
At this point, we're all like that frog in the pot of water; the temperature rises by the hour and yet here we sit, open mouthed, waiting for the inevitable.
Bobby Lee,
This has been, and continues to be, a moral test for Republican "leaders". Thus far, they have failed miserably. It's party before country, expedience before ethics, and domination before decency.
These people are moral midgets. They are clowns and pretenders. I have no doubt that there are those, like Chuck Todd, who think the McConnells and Ryans are not the same as the Louie Gohmerts, but as usual, his thinking is about as tight as a blown gasket. They are ALL assholes. Every one. Not a single one of them is worth the powder to blow them to hell, as my mother used to say, although I'd happily spring for a big bag of it.
What was that statement someone in DC once made? "...something, something, but I know pornography when I see it."
Might I paraphrase, "I may not know much about ARTful photography, but I knows when it ain't ART."
Akhilleus: Definitely agree. My mother used to say "none of them has a plot of ground to stand on." The old line about "The Moral Majority is neither" is as true today as it has ever been.
My daughter sent me a Facebook post from "Living Blue in a Red State". Ad ad outside a restaurant:
TRUMP SANDWICH
White bread
Full of Boloney
Russian Dressing
$11.95
Payment and tip collected up front.
I have a new term for half the populace: Stormtrumpers. Feel free to use it any way you see fit.
Apropos of some comments here today, Bill Moyers and Neal Gabler have a good article over at Salon.
Jennifer Rubin in WaPo benens DJTs lies. I think this is the 2nd time Rubin has been allowed in this room.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2016/08/01/lies-lies-and-more-lies/?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-c%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
Bobby Lee,
Our moms were a lot smarter than many kids gave them credit for.
The week I moved to the south, some ten years ago, I was sitting in a Baptist church listening to a hellfire and brimstone sermon about the dangers of liberal gay loving commie atheists from the north. Then I heard this idiot describe, in contrast to people like myself, George W. Bush as "a good Christian man", after which everyone in the congregation was required to stand and acknowledge his greatness (I refused--plenty of sidelong glances) and all I could think was that this asshole is none of the above, not good, not Christian, and most certainly not a man.
Still isn't.
And neither is Trump.
I'm waiting for the potential responses from the GOP morality czars in response to photos of Melania Trump. Shhhhh. If we ignore it, maybe it will go away.
Real classy 1st lady stuff. But then, the GOP IS laser focused on women's genitalia....... Melania is no victim. Donald isn't upset, likely because he's showing his wife off to other men, like an especially racy car.
If she weren't a potential 1st lady, I'd advise folks to move along, nothing to see. However, she is a potential 1st lady and her judgement and actions should matter. A couple aspiring to the highest office in America should absolutely strive to be positive role models to the country. Photographed, standing nude with your hand over your crotch, widely circulating the photos and getting paid to do so, isn't really very aspirational.
Ryan and McConnell et al are going to need a barnacle scrapper to remove the shitstorm of slime post Trump. Keep it coming!
MAG,
That was Potter Stewart you were thinking of as regards the recognition of porn.
Stewart later regretted, somewhat, the phrase "I'll know it when I see it" thinking that those words, out of all the thoughts he had inscribed, would be the ones likely to decorate his tombstone.
Stewart was a Republican. Maybe not the rock-ribbed Republican of that era, but a Republican he was. Nonetheless, he changed his mind about the privacy issue in Roe v Waade and sided with the majority. He also staunchly defended the rights of citizens to bring their civil rights grievances before federal courts, believing that justice was not the sole province of the rich and mighty as today's Republicans believe. Contemporary Republicans would despise Potter Stewart and he, in turn, would instantly recognize their hatred and anti-Americanism--even more obscene and indecent as anything you could see on the most degraded online porn site--as soon as he saw it.
Diane,
Your reference to barnacles reminds me of one the all time best kiss off lines from the great S.J. Perelman, which neither the venal Ryan nor the unscrupulous and cowardly McConnell would ever dare utter to their new Russkie loving, racist, gaping rectal orifice of a boss, Trumpskeyev:
"A ship can't sail with barnacles on its hull, so baby I'm scraping you off."
The Trumpacle will stay firmly--and permanently--attached to their aft quarters. With luck and a good turn of the tide, they'll all drown together.
Fuckers.
I am ashamed to say, I watched C. Todd yesterday. I wanted to see Manafort. Todd, using his pathetic gotcha voice asked all the right questions. Unfortunately, he quickly fizzled and was unable to throw a 2nd, 3rd or 4th punch and did not even manage a draw. Manafort has this tell when he's lying real hard, he blinks fast and nonstop as if he's sending an SOS from a bunker to someone who's n-o-t getting it.
Manafort's lying tell is that he is talking or writing.
@Ak Blub....blub....blub.....