;)
The Commentariat -- July 31, 2016
I did not intend to do an Afternoon Update today, but Patrick posted a link that was too much to ignore:
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
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
Have you even read the Constitution? -- Khizr Kahn, at the Democratic convention
... Mr. Khan who has never met me, has no right to stand in front of millions of people and claim I have never read the Constitution, (which is false) and say many other inaccurate things. -- Donald Trump, in a statement
I read all the way to Article 12, and it doesn't say anything about freedom of speech or freedom of religion, okay? But I personally have a god-given right to misquote Mr. Kahn and say many other inaccurate things. -- Donald Trump, in his twisted little mind (no link)
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
*****
Presidential Race
Matt Flegenheimer of the New York Times: "On the second day of a three-day bus tour through Pennsylvania and Ohio, Hillary Clinton continued a balancing act: painting a relatively rosy picture of national progress under President Obama -- in contrast to Donald J. Trump's grim appraisal of the country's state -- while insisting there is much more to be done.... Winding westward through Pennsylvania, with plans to cross into Ohio late Saturday, Mrs. Clinton has emerged from the party's four-day showcase to pitch herself, at least in part, to voters with a history of antipathy toward Democrats." ...
... CW: Sorry, Hillary, if you want to draw the top headlines, you have to insult more people, whine more & make up more lies. P.S. Quit rigging the system & being so unfaaaair to Donald, who has been sacrificing for his country all his life by donating jobs to people (especially foreigners, and except maybe for that little part where he doesn't pay his workers and contractors and investors but skims off the top for himself). ...
Houston Chronicle Editors endorse Hillary Clinton. "The Chronicle editorial page does not typically endorse early in an election cycle.... We make an exception in the 2016 presidential race, because the choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is not merely political.... Any one of Trump's less-than-sterling qualities - his erratic temperament, his dodgy business practices, his racism, his Putin-like strongman inclinations and faux-populist demagoguery, his contempt for the rule of law, his ignorance - is enough to be disqualifying. His convention-speech comment, 'I alone can fix it,' should make every American shudder. He is, we believe, a danger to the Republic." -- CW ...
... Chris Megerian of the Los Angeles Times: On the campaign trail with Hillary Clinton Tim Kaine has proved to be an effective surrogate. "With an 'aw, shucks' demeanor, he skewered Republican nominee Donald Trump and never failed to tell the audience how much he likes and trusts Clinton, a candidate who has struggled with voters in both of those crucial departments." -- CW
Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump suggested in an interview with ABC News that the Muslim mother of a United States soldier killed in Iraq had let her husband do all the talking at the Democratic National Convention because she was not 'allowed' to speak.... When Stephanopoulos said that [Khizr] Khan had pointed out that his family would not have been allowed into the United States under Mr. Trump's proposed ban on Muslim immigrants, the candidate replied, 'He doesn't know that.' And when asked what he would say to the grieving father, Mr. Trump replied, 'I'd say, "We've had a lot of problem with radical Islamic terrorism."' Mr. Stephanopoulos also noted that Mr. Khan said that Mr. Trump had 'sacrificed nothing,' and had lost no one. 'Who wrote that? Did Hillary's scriptwriters?' Mr. Trump replied. 'I think I've made a lot of sacrifices. I've worked very, very hard. I've created thousands and thousands of jobs[, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures. I've had tremendous success. I think I've done a lot].'" -- CW ...
... New Lede (with additional reporting by Richard Oppel): "Donald J. Trump belittled the parents of a slain Muslim soldier who had strongly denounced Mr. Trump during the Democratic National Convention, saying that the soldier's father had delivered the entire speech because his mother was not 'allowed' to speak. Mr. Trump's comments, in an interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News that will air on Sunday, drew quick and widespread condemnation and amplified calls for Republican leaders to distance themselves from their presidential nominee." ...
... Jose DelReal & Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "Republican Donald Trump lashed out Saturday at two Muslim American parents who lost their son while he served in the U.S. military in Iraq and who appeared at the Democratic National Convention last week, stirring outrage among critics who said the episode proves that Trump lacks the compassion and temperament to be president.... [Trump's] remarks drew strong rebukes Saturday -- but only silence from several senior GOP leaders, including House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the vice-presidential nominee, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence." CW: Don't tell me Donald Trump hasn't served our country. Not only did he go to military school, not only did he evade sexually-transmitted diseases (which is just like serving in a war zone), he's now the leader of a whole brigade of chickenshits. ...
... NEW. Ghazala Kahn responds to Donald Trump in a Washington Post op-ed. -- CW ...
... Mary Bruce of ABC News: Khizr & Ghazala Kahn respond to Donald Trump's smearing them. Includes video. -- CW ...
... AND contributor Gloria adds: "... on the subject of silenced women, we would like to hear your wives speak, comrade trump. They are gagged by you and your lawyers." -- CW ...
... Ezra Klein: "Trump listened to a speech by the bereaved father of a fallen Muslim soldier and used it to slander the fallen soldier's family. That was his response. That is his character.... This is what I mean when I write that the 2016 election isn't simply Democrat vs. Republican, but normal vs. abnormal.... I honestly do not understand how a human being can respond to a family that lost their son for this country by saying that he has sacrificed too, he's worked really hard, he's built 'great structures,' he's had 'tremendous success.' -- CW ...
... Joe Cunningham of the right-wing Red State: "Just so we're clear, that is Donald Trump saying his years spent as a business man means he has made sacrifices like the type Khan was referring to. A man gave his life for his country while serving overseas, and Donald Trump believes that his efforts to make himself rich are comparable. One soldier made the ultimate sacrifice and one egomaniac gained money and influence. That's his argument." -- CW ...
... Nick Eilerson of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump complained Friday that Hillary Clinton and her fellow Democratic cronies were rigging this fall's presidential debates by scheduling them alongside NFL games. That claim was easy to disprove -- the debate schedule was determined almost a year ago by a private group made up of both Democrats and Republicans. On Saturday, Trump doubled down on his bogus grievance.... 'I'll tell you what I don't like,' Trump told George Stephanopoulos. 'It's against two NFL games. I got a letter from the NFL saying, "This is ridiculous.'"... The NFL says it never sent him a letter." -- CW ...
... Josh Marshall of TPM: "Donald Trump gave his first hint [Friday] night that he might try to get out of the Fall presidential debates. I have thought for months that he'd likely try to get out of them.... I suspect Trump will start claiming that that the process is 'rigged' because Gary Johnson and Jill Stein aren't included.... Trump didn't so much debate in the Republican primaries as use them with some skill to enact a series of dominance rituals at the expense of his opponents.... He can't help picking fights.... Even if he eventually agrees to participate in one or more of the debates, he will try mightily to force some change or break some dishes in order to assert dominance over the process." -- CW
Marc Fisher of the Washington Post: "... scholars of the presidency say that Barack Obama, George W. Bush and their predecessors have added so many powers to the White House toolbox that a President Trump could fulfill many of his promises legally -- and virtually unchecked by a Congress that has proven incapable of mustering much pushback for decade.... Presidents already have the power to do much of what Trump has proposed.... A president who might act unilaterally was one of the chief fears expressed in the original debates about the Constitution." -- CW
Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker: "... after almost two weeks of Conventions, there is one area of Republican foreign policy that Trump has completely reinvented in his image: the Party's posture toward Russia. There is almost no issue on which Trump has been more consistent than his interest in strengthening ties with Vladimir Putin and clearing away the obstacles that have hindered the U.S.-Russia relationship.... If he is President, there will be little that a Republican Congress can do to stop Trump’s embrace of Russia." -- CW ...
... Alan Yuhas of the Guardian recounts at least some of "the lies Trump told this week." Yuhas explores Trump's various comments about his Russian Connection, which is worth a read as he includes some background that isn't commonly reported. -- CW ...
... (CW: Remember during the last presidential race when Steve Benen kept a running tally of Mitt Romney's lies & contradictions? Ha! He'd have to hire a staff of 17 to keep up with Trump's lies.)
Ezra Klein contrasts the Democratic & Republican conventions:
CW: Yesterday I mentioned that Charles Koch, who reportedly refused a meeting with Donald Trump, appeared to be more principled than McConnell & Ryan. But that doesn't mean he & his brother have been embarrassed into becoming decent human beings, using their vast wealth for the common good. ...
Matea Gold of the Washington Post: "The Koch political network, which has steadfastly refused to engage in the 2016 presidential contest, plans to invoke ... Hillary Clinton in paid messages to voters as part of its campaigns supporting GOP Senate candidates, top officials said Saturday.... But [Mark] Holden[, who chairs the funding arm of Kochs' political network] said the network has no plans to run an explicit campaign opposing Clinton's efforts to reach the White House, saying: 'We are going to differentiate on policies alone. It's not going to be anti-Hillary.'" ...
... CW P.S. Holden denies knowledge of any discussions about meeting with Trump. As for Trump, well, he's Trump. Gold reports, "Moments before Holden addressed reporters, Trump -- who had been in Colorado Springs for a rally Friday -- tweeted ... 'I turned down a meeting with Charles and David Koch.... Much better for them to meet with the puppets of politics, they will do much better!"
Other News & Views
How to Succeed in Business: Vote in Democrats. Jacob Hacker & Paul Pierson in a New York Times op-ed: "Red states dominated by Republicans embrace cut and extract. Blue states dominated by Democrats do much more to maintain their investments in education, infrastructure, urban quality of life and human services.... Blue states are generally doing better [economically].... This red-blue divergence is all the more striking because red states still receive much more in federal spending relative to the federal taxes their residents pay. In other words, blue states are generally outperforming red states even while heavily subsidizing them.... We should remember that the key drivers of growth are science, education and innovation, not low taxes, lax regulations or greater exploitation of natural resources." -- CW
Christopher Ingraham of the Washington Post: In their decision to strike down North Carolina's voter suppression law, the judges "point to a 'smoking gun' in North Carolina's justification for the law, proving discriminatory intent. The state argued in court that 'counties with Sunday voting in 2014 were disproportionately black' and 'disproportionately Democratic,' and said it did away with Sunday voting as a result." (CW: Read that twice; it's hard to believe lawyers for the state would argue the state wasn't discriminating by asserting the state's intent was to discriminate against black voters.) And there's more: legislators requested data to find out what kinds of IDs blacks were unlikely to have, so they made sure "that the only acceptable forms of voter identification were the ones disproportionately used by white people." They also learned from the research that black voters disproportionately took advantage of the first days of early voting, so they eliminated those days. Gov. Pat McCrory (R[eprihensible]) said the state would appeal the court's ruling. ...
... CW: I wonder if any of this is making it through the steel trap door that guards Chief Justice John Roberts' mind.
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Reader Comments (19)
Perhaps it's not surprising that Donaldo has no idea what the word sacrifice means: giving up something of great value for something considered more important. Everyone knows about what DJT considers more (most) important: himself. But what things of value did he give up? He created jobs? What, out of the goodness of his heart? Fuck no. Job creation, as far as it went , didn't cost him anything. Those workers made him wealthy. Where's the sacrifice, Donnie-Do?
Any jobs his projects and cons created were all for his benefit. And most of those jobs were short-lived and poorly paid anyway. Oh, except for the workers who were laid off of which there were hordes, judging by all the lawsuits brought a against him over many years.
Clearly this idiot doesn't have the thinking power of an average 4th grader who understands that working a deal that makes you millions of dollars while investors, vendors, and employees are left holding the bag can in no way be called a "sacrifice".
What little Donnie is referring to is known by another S word: greedy scam.
And let's not overlook the vile self-centered nature of this asshole who deems the sacrifice of a human life by a family he and his thugs revile, a sacrifice of blood for the United States, a country he has never given up a thing for, not even tax money, not even equal to his "sacrifice" of making himself wealthy off the backs of others.
Couldn't possibly be more reprehensible, this evil rat bastard. You know, I really disliked Romney, as many of you no doubt recall, but I never thought the guy was evil.
Trump is.
Thanks, Maureen.
I might tune into Meet The Press tomorrow. Mr. Khan will be a guest.
....... on the subject of silenced women, we would like to hear your wives speak, comrade trump. They are gagged by you and your lawyers. What else are you hiding, comrade?
@Gloria: Brilliant!
Marie
In one day:
He insults the family of an AMERICAN hero
He says that the NFL game is more important than the Presidential debates
He says that Hillary is rigging the debates because he has no clue that the events are handled by a BIPARTISAN group.
He says that the NFL sent him a letter. The NFL says NO.
He says making money (fraudulently) is 'sacrifice'.
I just can't believe this is real!
And BTW, I think it's clear. There will be no debates. The coward is on the run.
Any decent human being wouldn't need to have their family, ex-wives
and employees sign confidentiality agreements. That would only be
necessary if one were a lying, cheating, harassing, backstabbing,
womanizing, homophobic son-of-a-(female dog). How can so many
voters not understand that simple fact?
Let me evaluate my comment in another way:
He has no idea what the word 'insult' means because there is only one person worth anything.
He does not need to know about the debates because he already knows everything.
The NFL must have sent him a letter because he is the most important person on earth.
He has no clue what the word 'sacrifice' means because his existence is proof of all that matters.
Again, seriously, dangerously mentally ill.
If I were Trump's campaign strategist I would announce well in advance of election day:
1. In open carry swing states voters approaching the polls will have to pass phalanxes of men armed with assault weapons and other firearms.
2. Trump poll watchers will challenge to the very limits of the law any and every voter whose knuckles do not drag the floor.
"Do you feel lucky, punk."
...Hillary's got PA ties, will it help?! Maybe not.
Article over on CNBC by Finance Editor Jeff Cox who hails from the (Hazelton) area writes a discomforting take on " Here's why Trump can win Pennsylvania " The demographic changes in recent years have created lots of resentment to go with job loss.
Though this was obvious years ago, when no one put it better than James Carville who said: "...Pennsylvania is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between. "
@David Feldman: You present a likely and frightening scenario. You may remember all the hoohah over two New Black Panthers who intimidated voters at a Philadelphia polling place in 2008. One of them was carrying -- or brandishing, depending on who tells the story -- a billy club. The right went batshit for years over this isolated incident.
But now. What you have envisioned is that incident on steroids, with lines of "patriots" exercising their First and Second Amendment "rights" to speak their minds & sport their weapons. I think most states limit electioneering to, say, 100 or 200 feet away from polling places, but especially people who have to walk to the polls might not "feel lucky," as you put it.
I'd love to know what plans open-carry states have for protecting voters. I'd guess none.
Marie
Marie,
Open carry states don't care about protecting voters from intimidation of violence or the promise of death should they cause thugs to feel their lives were at risk from the wrong kind (or color) of voter.
They care about making doubly sure heavily armed goon squads are free to terrorize the populace. Especially members of the populace whose understanding of the true intent of the 2nd Amendment doesn't jibe with the gun knobbers' highly selective interpretation which completely elides its first qualifying phrase.
And Trumpskyev, as befits any narcissistic demagogue and despot (are there any other kinds?), is intent only on ensuring his personal power and control.
Got a problem? As Republicans are wont to suggest, guns will answer nicely.
Comme d'habitude.
Like a kid just busted for some wrongdoing (throwing rocks at the neighbor's baby's playpen? trying to push a roommate out a second story window?), Trump does what comes naturally to him. He deflects. In this case, he knew there was no defense for what he had said, so he tried to throw it back on his victims, questioning their behavior.
Donald Trump is a sadistic sociopath who takes pleasure in the pain of others. Unlike Ezra Klein, I'm not horrified at anything Trump says. What horrifies me is that he's allowed to keep getting away with it.
There's a question I'd love to hear the media moderators ask Mr Trump over and over, on every Sunday talking heads shoe; "Sir, can we please get back to the subject?"
WaPo article: Colorado Fire Dept rescues DJT&Co. from a stuck elevator. At subsequent rally, DJT criticizes same FD for not letting more people in rally hall (fire code enforcement), sez they don't get it, maybe FD is "for Hillary."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/07/30/trumps-burn-of-the-colorado-springs-fire-dept-came-right-after-they-rescued-him/?hpid=hp_special-topic-chain_fix-firedept-727am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
You cannot make this stuff up.
I recommend you read this with a good stiff drink in your hand:
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/07/backing-donald-trump/493619/
@AK; Love your Trumpskyev, but then I spotted this over on HuffPost: Trumpelthinskin Think we found another winner!
The morally bankrupt twins, Ryan and McConnell, both issued statements, neither repudiating Trump, perfectly proving Mr. Kahn's point.
"All Americans should value the patriotic service of the patriots who volunteer to selflessly defend us in the armed services. And as I have long made clear, I agree with the Khans and families across the country that a travel ban on all members of a religion is simply contrary to American values." (McConnell )
America's greatness is built on the principles of liberty and preserved by the men and women who wear the uniform to defend it. As I have said on numerous occasions, a religious test for entering our country is not reflective of these fundamental values. I reject it.
Many Muslim Americans have served valiantly in our military, and made the ultimate sacrifice," Ryan continued. "Captain Khan was one such brave example. His sacrifice -- and that of Khizr and Ghazala Khan -- should always be honored. Period.” (Ryan)
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mitch-mcconnell-paul-ryan-defend-khizr-khans-sons/story?id=41031777