;)
The Commentariat -- October 13, 2020
Afternoon Update:
Jan Wolfe of Reuters: "The Supreme Court on Tuesday put an end to a lawsuit brought by congressional Democrats that accused ... Donald Trump of violating anti-corruption provisions in the U.S. Constitution with his business dealings. The justices refused to hear an appeal by 215 Senate and House of Representatives Democrats of a lower court ruling that found that the lawmakers lacked the necessary legal standing to bring the case that focused on the Republican president's ownership of the Trump International Hotel in Washington. The lawmakers accused Trump of violating the Constitution's rarely tested 'emoluments' clauses that bar presidents from taking gifts or payments from foreign and state governments without congressional approval. The lead plaintiff in the case is U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut."
David Eggert & Kathleen Foody of the AP: "Members of anti-government paramilitary groups discussed kidnapping Virginia's governor [Ralph Northam (D)] during a June meeting in Ohio, an FBI agent testified Tuesday during a court hearing for a group of men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan's governor. Special Agent Richard Trask also revealed new details about investigators' use of confidential informants, undercover agents and encrypted communication to arrest and charge six men last week in the plot aimed at Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer [Michigan]." A Washington Post story is here.
Allan Smith of NBC News: "Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said Tuesday he's fed up with how 'vile' and 'vituperative' American politics have become, placing the blame largely on ... Donald Trump. 'I have stayed quiet with the approach of the election,' Romney said in a statement posted to Twitter. 'But I'm troubled by our politics, as it has moved away from spirited debate to a vile, vituperative, hate-filled morass that is unbecoming of any free nation -- let alone the birthplace of modern democracy.... The president calls the Democratic vice presidential candidate "a monster;" he repeatedly labels the speaker of the House "crazy;" he calls for the Justice Department to put the prior president in jail; he attacks the governor of Michigan on the very day a plot is discovered to kidnap her,' Romney said of comments Trump has made within the last week in Fox News interviews and on Twitter. Romney then lamented commentary and actions on the left side of the aisle, saying Democrats 'launch blistering attacks of their own -- though their presidential nominee refuses to stoop as low as others.'"
Jeff Stein & Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced on Tuesday that the Senate will take up a narrow economic relief bill when it comes back in session next week. President Trump immediately undermined the move, writing on Twitter: 'STIMULUS! Go big or go home!!!' The clashing messages were a stark display of GOP disunity just three weeks before the November election, as Senate Republicans balk at a $1.8 trillion relief package Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has offered to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Trump, though, has suggested Republicans should agree to an even bigger deal than what Democrats have offered."
Mark Sherman, et al., of the AP: "Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett ... declined to commit to recusing herself from any cases arising from [the presidential] election. 'I can't offer an opinion on recusal without short-circuiting that entire process,' she said." Mrs. McC: Looks as if Judge Amy is signaling she plans to join the massive right-wing conspiracy (and, no, I'm not kidding) to steal the election. These people truly believe they have a right to "win" by any means necessary, the will of the voters be damned. ~~~
~~~ Tom Hamburger of the Washington Post: "When asked at last month's presidential debate by moderator Chris Wallace if he was counting on the Supreme Court, including a potential Justice Barrett, to settle an election dispute, Trump responded: 'Yeah. I think I'm counting on them to look at the ballots, definitely.' Democrats and ethics experts point to a federal statute that requires judges to recuse themselves from any proceeding in which their 'impartiality might reasonably be questioned' by the public. 'In light of Trump's public statements, it will reasonably appear to the public that Trump offered her the job with the implicit understanding that just weeks later she would help him keep his,' said Stephen Gillers, an expert on judicial ethics at New York University Law School."
Summer Concepcion of TPM: "... Rudy Giuliani went all in on President Trump's efforts to portray himself as an all-powerful strongman who has beat COVID-19 (he has not) during an indoors Italians for Trump rally in Philadelphia Monday night. Speaking to a crowd of about 75 Trump supporters at the campaign's Northeast Philadelphia office space -- which was originally scheduled to be held at the 15,000-square-foot 2300 Arena, but was forced to relocate when the arena's owners canceled the night before after finding out the event was a Trump rally -- Giuliani falsely declared victory over COVID-19 as the country tops more than 215,000 fatalities amid the pandemic. 'People don't die of this disease anymore,' Giuliani said, before baselessly insisting that 'young people don't die at all' and that 'middle age people die very little[.]... And even elderly people have only 1 percent chance of dying,' Giuliani said, without evidence." Mrs. McC: According to the lede of a Philadelphia Inquirer story (which I can't link), people at the event were "squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder" & many wore "Save Colombus" masks.
~~~~~~~~~~
Senate Confirmation Hearings
The New York Times' live updates of Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Tuesday are here. The Guardian's live updates are here.
Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Republicans and Democrats offered sharply divergent arguments on Monday in a Supreme Court confirmation fight whose outcome is likely to steer the court to the right for years, vying to define Judge Amy Coney Barrett and frame the political stakes of President Trump's rush to install her before he faces voters. In a marathon day of opening statements, Democrats assailed Judge Barrett as a conservative ideologue who would overturn the Affordable Care Act and abortion rights, and whose nomination amounted to an illegitimate power grab by a president in the last days before the election. Republicans steered clear of addressing Judge Barrett's anticipated effect on the court, instead promoting her sterling qualifications and accusing Democrats of unjustly attacking her because of her Catholic faith, despite the fact that [Democrats] made no mention of it on Monday." ~~~
~~~ Mark Leibovich of the New York Times: "Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, who attended the super spreader event -- the Rose Garden announcement of President Trump's nomination of Judge Barrett to the Supreme Court -- and tested positive soon after, delivered his opening statement sans mask. He had previously assured everyone that he had been 'cleared' by his doctor." Mrs. McC: The committee's chair, Lindsey Graham, has refused to be tested despite also attending the Rose Garden superspreader. And good news: Leibovich learned from talking to protesters that one can purchase a hazmat suit at Walgreens. Seems like an appropriate Halloween costume. ~~~
~~~ Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "On Sept. 29, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) attended a party together to watch the first presidential debate. Two days later, feeling sick, Lee took a test for the novel coronavirus, receiving a positive diagnosis, the first of three GOP senators to announce in a 24-hour span that they contracted the virus. Less than 11 full days later, Lee participated in Monday's Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, delivering an opening statement in person -- with no mask -- and periodically whispering to his GOP colleagues. Yet Cruz, who tested negative and has never had any symptoms, remained in quarantine at his Washington apartment and delivered his statement via videoconference technology.... Also in the room were the Senate's two oldest members -- Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), both 87.... Cruz is expected to attend Tuesday's question-and-answer session in person." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Frankly, it makes me feel sick just thinking of going to a party & finding Ted Cruz & Mike Lee there.
The New York Times' live updates of Monday's confirmation hearing for Judge Amy Coney Barrett are here. The Washington Post's live updates are here. CNN's live updates are here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: So here's the only part of the hearing I watched. Judge Amy looks very mean:
~~~ Marissa Lang of the Washington Post: "More than a dozen protesters calling on senators to reject the confirmation of ... Judge Amy Coney Barrett were arrested Monday moments before the first day of Senate Judiciary Committee hearings began. Unlike in past years, the public was not allowed to watch the hearings in person because of the coronavirus pandemic. Demonstrators instead took their dissent to the entrances of Senate office buildings and the marble steps of the Supreme Court. About 8:45 a.m., anti-Barrett protesters were handcuffed and removed from the doorway of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, where a sit-in was underway. They carried signs and wore cloth face masks bearing the likeness of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.... Across the street, conservative women cheered as they held up signs that said 'confirm Amy' and 'women for Amy.' The group, dotted with maskless students and women holding their children, chanted 'law and order' from behind a police line as officers lifted protesters to their feet, one at a time. For hours, competing chants of 'let the people decide' and 'fill that seat' filled the cold, wet air outside government buildings. Tense debates broke out among members of the two groups as others resorted to shouting." (Also linked yesterday.)
Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "Republicans once insisted that Merrick Garland, Obama's final Supreme Court nominee, didn't deserve a hearing because the election was only 11 months away.... In October 2016, Senator Ted Cruz suggested that the Senate ... wouldn't move on a Clinton nominee either, essentially reducing the court to eight judges.... Throughout Obama's administration, Republicans went to extraordinary lengths to stop the president from appointing federal judges, describing his ordinary attempts to fill vacant seats as 'court packing.' Senator Tom Cotton, then in the House, even sponsored a bill, the Stop Court-Packing Act, that would have shrunk the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 11 judges to eight.... Now, facing another presidential election that they expect to lose, Republicans are caterwauling about Democratic calls to expand the court. As they prepare to jam through ... Amy Coney Barrett, Republicans are shocked -- shocked! -- that Democrats would contemplate playing constitutional hardball just as Republicans do."
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Confidence in the Supreme Court has fallen dramatically since Justice Clarence Thomas's confirmation. Fifty-six percent of Americans had high confidence in the high court back in 1985, according to Gallup. That figure has averaged in the high 30s lately. Views are overwhelmingly partisan: Fifty-three percent of Republicans have confidence, compared with 33 percent of Democrats. And that was before President Trump proposed, as Ruth Bader Ginsburg lay in state, to replace the liberal icon with her jurisprudential opposite, forming the most right-wing court in 70 years. On top of this is the rank hypocrisy of Republicans breaking their promises not to hold confirmation hearings so close to an election.... This confirmation is indefensible. Republicans shut down the Senate floor because of a covid-19 outbreak that apparently began at Barrett's nomination ceremony at the White House. But they are still pushing through, mere days before an election that Trump appears likely to lose, a nominee who Trump hopes, by his own account, will help him delegitimize the election result."
Presidential Race, Etc.
Scott Wartman & Sharon Coolidge of the Cincinnati Enquirer: "The path to the White House could begin in Cincinnati, former Vice President Joe Biden said Monday during a campaign stop at Union Terminal. Biden called Cincinnati the 'starting gate' to winning Ohio.... 'You here in Cincinnati can make all the difference and all the difference in Ohio,' Biden said.... Biden spoke for about 35 minutes to about 20 local Democrats and union leaders in the massive rotunda of Cincinnati's Union Terminal.... It was the second of two campaign events in Ohio on Monday, the first being at a union hall in Toledo. Biden's speech [in Cincinnati] was invitation-only to keep crowds small and protect against the spread of COVID-19. All 20 attendees wore masks and had their temperatures checked before entering.... Biden portrayed a message of unity, which he contrasted with Trump.... Biden raised his voice at the end for the first time urging people to vote. 'It's time to stand up, take back our democracy and unite,' Biden said. 'Let's for the first time in awhile reflect the values a vast majority hold.'"
Wall Street Welcomes Democrats. Mark Phillips of the New York Times: Wall Street "investors and analysts have begun to take into account the possibility that Mr. Trump's time in the White House may soon be over, as Democratic presidential candidate Joseph R. Biden Jr. continues to pull ahead in polls just weeks before the election. And that is producing some optimism on Wall Street, because many investors believe that the higher Mr. Biden climbs in polls, the lower the chance of a contested presidential election.... Largely, investors are of the view that a 'blue wave' victory -- in which Democrats retain the House of Representatives and retake the Senate as well as the presidency -- represents the best chance to get another large injection of federal money into an economy that continues to struggle. Economists and policymakers, including the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome H. Powell, say such assistance is sorely needed...."
David Jackson of USA Today: "Faced with a daunting new political environment..., Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail Monday as he proclaimed himself healthy and took the podium maskless at a Florida rally just a week-and-a-half after testing positive for COVID-19.... While claiming himself cured of COVID, Trump also asserted he is 'immune' from the virus moving forward, though some medical professionals said there is no guarantee of that. 'Now they say I'm immune. I just feel so powerful,' Trump said. 'I'll kiss everyone in that audience. I'll kiss the guys and the beautiful women and the... I'll just give you a big, fat kiss.' Trump also returned to familiar themes, attacking Biden and the 'Washington establishment,' talking up the stock market and Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, and savaging the media for reporting on his illness. He pledged to have new COVID-19 vaccines soon, though doctors said that are still months away.... Trump said the new polls showing Biden expanding his lead are 'fake,' and he continued to attack mail-in voting as potential 'fraud.'... Trump's comeback rally lasted a little more than an hour...." ~~~
~~~ Maggie Haberman & Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump, whose voice sounded hoarse and strained as he began to speak onstage at a hangar at Orlando Sanford International Airport, claimed he was fully recovered and therefore immune to the coronavirus -- a claim for which there is no conclusive scientific backing.... Mr. Trump arrived in Florida only hours after the White House physician, Dr. Sean P. Conley, said that the president had tested negative 'on consecutive days' using a rapid antigen coronavirus test not intended for that purpose. Experts cautioned that the test's accuracy had not been investigated enough to be sure that the president was virus-free or, as his doctor claimed, 'not infectious to others.'" Also, see Bobby Lee's comment below. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: An infectious disease expert appearing on MSNBC called Dr. Conley's memo a "campaign document" rather than a medical report. She said she regarded it as proof that Trump had failed recent PCR tests. Although Conley has previously written, without providing the results, that Trump took a recent PCR test, he did not release those results in yesterday's memo, either. Instead, he released only the rapid antigen test results, a test which gives false negatives in as many of 30% of cases.
Trump's Final Appeal Is to Racism & Sexism. Kathleen Ronayne of the AP: "Grasping for a comeback..., Donald Trump and his Republican allies are intensifying their focus ... on Sen. Kamala Harris -- arguing without evidence that it's Harris, the first Black woman on a major party ticket, who would really be in charge if Democrats win the White House. The effort is laced with sexist and racist undertones, and one that is aimed at winning back Republicans and independents who are comfortable with Biden's more moderate record, but may associate Harris with Democrats' left flank, despite her own more centrist positions on some major issues. During the past week, Trump told Sean Hannity of Fox News that Harris would assume the presidency within 'three months' of Biden's inauguration. During a conversation with Rush Limbaugh, he warned that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would 'replace' Biden with Harris.... Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich ... call[ed] Biden 'docile' and Harris 'aggressive.'"
Erin Banco & Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast: "... Dr. Anthony Fauci demanded that the Trump campaign refrain from using him in future campaign ads, saying Monday that it would be 'outrageous' and 'terrible' if he was featured in another commercial and it could 'come back to backfire' on Team Trump.... 'By doing this against my will they are, in effect, harassing me,' Fauci said. [CNN's Jake] Tapper..., [in an interview of Fauci], suggested that the Trump campaign was already planning on using Fauci again, without his permission, in another political commercial." ~~~
~~~ Lara Seligman of Politico: "... Donald Trump's campaign is running an online political ad that uses an image of his vice president, his Pentagon chief and his most senior military adviser watching the raid on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi from the Situation Room on Oct. 29, 2019.... But the campaign didn't seek approval from Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley to use his image in the ad, a defense official said. 'This photo, like many others, was not used with [Milley's] knowledge or consent,' said the official, who requested anonymity.... The military has strict rules against uniformed service members participating in political campaigns, and the ad is just the latest example of the president or those around him pulling the nation's highest-ranking officer and other Defense Department officials into the political realm."
SN.AFU. WDIV Detroit: "Eric Trump has canceled a Michigan based campaign event scheduled to take place Tuesday at Huron Valley Guns in New Hudson after one of its former employees was linked to the domestic terror plot against the state's governor [and others]. Just last week 13 men were charged in a domestic terror plot to kidnap [Michigan Gov. Gretchen] Whitmer and overthrow the government." Mrs. McC: So Eric & the Trump campaign thought it was a good idea to hold a campaign event at a gun shop, but backed out when they found out the shop previously employed a terrorist, who according to the shop, "would show up for work in a LOT of tactical gear." See, the Trumpies do have standards.
Trump Bribes Farmers (With Your Money, Of Course). Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "For the American farmers President Trump counts on for support, the government money is flowing faster than ever. Federal payments to farmers are projected to hit a record $46 billion this year as the White House funnels money to Mr. Trump's rural base in the South and Midwest ahead of Election Day. The gush of funds has accelerated in recent weeks as the president looks to help his core supporters who have been hit hard by the double whammy of his combative trade practices and the coronavirus pandemic. According to the American Farm Bureau, debt in the farm sector is projected to increase by 4 percent to a record $434 billion this year and farm bankruptcies have continued to rise across the country.... Government support will account for about 40 percent of total farm income this year.... Last week, the Office of Special Counsel determined that Mr. Trump's Agriculture secretary, Sonny Perdue, had improperly used his position to push the president's re-election by promising more help for farmers." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Nice to know that you've paid 40 percent more for much of what you eat.
Today in GOP Vote-Stealing & Voter-Suppression
** California. IOKIYAR. Glenn Thrush & Jennifer Medina of the New York Times: "The California Republican Party has admitted responsibility for placing more than 50 deceptively labeled 'official' drop boxes for mail-in ballots in Los Angeles, Fresno and Orange Counties -- an action that state officials said was illegal and could lead to voter fraud. The dark gray metal boxes have been popping up over the past two weeks near churches, gun shops and Republican Party offices, mostly in conservative areas of a deep-blue state, affixed with a white paper label identifying them as either an 'Official Ballot Drop off Box' or a 'Ballot Drop Box.' To the average voter, they are virtually indistinguishable from drop-off sites sanctioned by the state, which are governed by strict regulations intended to prevent the partisan manipulation of ballots.... California Attorney General Xavier Becerra ... called the boxes 'fake.'... He warned that anyone 'engaging in this activity' could be subject to criminal prosecution or civil action. Hector Barajas, a spokesman for the California Republican Party, said the party would continue to distribute the boxes, without adding any label identifying them explicitly as Republican ballot drops.... [He] said the party's actions were legal because state law did not restrict 'ballot harvesting,' a practice that allows a third party to collect voters' completed ballots. Mr. Trump and his supporters have decried the practice as corrupt when Democrats have been accused of collecting bundles of ballots...." ~~~
~~~ Georgia. Sam Levine of the Guardian & Agencies: "Voters in Georgia faced hours-long lines on Monday as people flocked to the polls for the first day of early voting in the state, which has developed a national reputation in recent years for voting issues.... In Atlanta, some voters reported waiting more than 10 hours for their chance to cast an early ballot." Mrs. McC: In all of the photos & videoclips I've seen, the majority of voters standing in line appear to be black. I wonder why that is.
Michigan Senate Race. Jaclyn Peiser of the Washington Post: "In the late 1980s, Sen. Gary Peters's wife at the time, Heidi, was four months pregnant when her water broke. leaving the baby with no chance of survival. The hospital in Detroit wouldn't allow Heidi's doctor to perform an abortion, so the physician told them to go home and wait for a miscarriage. 'The mental anguish someone goes through is intense,' Peters, a Michigan Democrat, said in an interview with Elle magazine published on Monday, 'trying to have a miscarriage for a child that was wanted.' But the situation became more critical when Heidi's health deteriorated, so the couple found a doctor at another hospital who agreed to do the procedure.... Peters joins a small group of members of Congress who have spoken about their personal experiences with abortion.... Peters [is fighting] to retain his seat in the Senate in a battleground state that President Trump narrowly won in 2016. Peters faces John James, a well-funded Republican businessman...."
The Trumpidemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live Covid-19 updates for Tuesday are here.
Matthew Herper of STAT: "The study of Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine has been paused due to an unexplained illness in a study participant. A document sent to outside researchers running the 60,000-patient clinical trial states that a 'pausing rule' has been met, that the online system used to enroll patients in the study has been closed, and that the data and safety monitoring board -- an independent committee that watches over the safety of patients in the clinical trial -- would be convened."
India. Hannah Ellis-Peterson & Manoj Chaurasia of the Guardian: "While the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked devastation on India, no one has suffered worse than its children. In the space of seven months, the country has been set back decades in the fight against child labour, child trafficking and child marriage, with the lockdown and the economic collapse that followed creating a perfect storm of poverty and exploitation. Schools, which are not only vital for education but act as an essential surveillance mechanism to ensure that children are kept out of the hands of child traffickers and not pushed into arranged underage marriages, have been closed since March." --s
The Trump Kids Are Bilking You Twice. David Fahrenthold, et al., of the Washington Post: "Eric Trump took his Secret Service agents to Trump golf courses in Scotland, as he led transatlantic tours for paying customers. Donald Trump Jr. took his protectors to the Trump hotel in Vancouver, stopping over on hunting trips to Canada. And Ivanka Trump took her Secret Service detail to the Trump golf club in Bedminster, N.J., again and again -- even after she asked other Americans to 'please, please' stay home during the coronavirus pandemic. On trips like these, Secret Service agents were there to protect Trump's children.... When Trump's adult children visited Trump properties, Trump's company charged the Secret Service for agents to come along. The president's company billed the U.S. government hundreds, or thousands, of dollars for rooms agents used on each trip, as the agency sometimes booked multiple rooms or a multiroom rental cottage on the property[.]" So not only do we pay Secret Service agents to protect Trump's children while they galavant around the world promoting Trump businesses, in many cases we're also paying directly into Trump's pockets. ~~~
~~~ You're Paying Trump to Wine, Dine & Entertain a Billionaire Aide. Martyn McLaughlin of The Scotsman (Oct. 7): "US federal government receipts show that Woody Johnson enjoyed a £426 dinner with his wife during a visit to the US president's Turnberry property, and spent several hundred pounds on its golf offerings. One leading ethics watchdog said it was 'simply embarrassing' that the 'multi-billionaire' diplomat, who is from one of the wealthiest families in America, would play golf at Mr Trump's course and leave the US public to pay for the privilege.... The new receipts [totalling £1,143] ... detail the extent of Mr Johnson's spending during his stay at the property, which coincided with Mr Trump's own two-night stay there in the summer of 2018.... The bill includes nearly £600 spent on 'golf retail', as well as green fees for Turnberry's Arran golf course, and a series of payments listed as 'refreshment centre'." --s
Patrick Wintour of the Guardian: "China, Russia, Cuba, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are expected to be elected to the board of the UN human rights council on Tuesday, leaving human rights campaigners in the countries aghast and pleading with EU states to commit to withholding their support. The Geneva-based monitoring NGO UN Watch described the situation as the equivalent of allowing five convicted arsonists to join the fire brigade.... Donald Trump withdrew the US from the council two years ago, which campaigners say has strengthened the authoritarian view that human rights should be measured through the prism of economics as opposed to individual freedom." --s
News Lede
New York Times: "Roberta McCain, whose son, Senator John McCain of Arizona, said she had inspired his will to survive as a prisoner of war in Vietnam -- and who at 96 campaigned spiritedly in his losing bid for the presidency against in 2008 -- died on Monday at her home in Washington. She was 108."
Share Article
Reader Comments (19)
Call me crazy, but I think the media stories of "Eric Trump forced to cancel event with white terrorist..." are actually a clear ploy at mobilizing the exact same demographic (Drumpf's base) while temporarily feigning some air of respectability.
The same exact thing happened with mike pence in Sept. when he abruptly cancelled a campaign event with Qanon looney tunes.
https://www.motherjones.com/2020-elections/2020/09/pence-cancelled-qanon-fundraiser/
Given that the white nationalist ammosexuals and Qanon nuts are motivated by grievance ("they just don't understand us!") and have been trained to hate "political correctness" and especially the "mainstream media", this strategy of booking events with these deplorables and then pulling out at the last second is a clear attempt by the campaign to say "I support you and want your vote, but Washington swamp monsters will vilify us".
If the campaign actually displayed a minimum of respectability, they would have researched these people beforehand (they did, and you know it) and said "Whoa, too crazy for us." Instead, they said "Yeah, book it, cancel at the last minute, take their money and contact lists, then let the media feed their grievance complex."
Safari,
Three points.
1. You’re not crazy.
2. Your suggestion sounds eminently plausible.
3. Nothing is out of bounds for these monsters.
There’s always a scam, always a scheme, always a hustle, misdirection, and flimflam. These crooks couldn’t play it straight if you gave them a mile long ruler and step by step instructions on how to be honest.
And this is a standard trick from Fatty’s playbook. Call on the Proud Boys to help you jimmy the election, then try to weasel out of directly inviting violence by claiming to never have heard of a group you just named specifically. It’s the usual heads I win, tails you use gimmick that Republicans have perfected. See Barrett, Amy Coney.
Did anyone notice that Dear Leader boarded AF-1 for his trip to the swamp srate through the lower cargo door and not the passenger level door? There's a difference of about 15 stseps there to climb and he took the easy way.
@safari & @Akhilleus: Yeah but. Youse guys are assuming that the Trump campaign can PLAN AHEad.
I watched the hearing yesterday. After seeing what the Dem's playbook was and the Gopee's response to it I could busy myself with other things while letting my ears catch the good stuff. Klobuchar and Whitehouse get my 'best ziggers" award. The desperate and sad display from those on the other side––although I thought Ben Sasse tried the best with his "Civic Lesson"––was almost pathetic yet to use that word to describe their attempt at convincing they weren't a pack of lying sons of bitches is much too mild.
The news that people in Georgia had to wait five to ten hours in line to vote and in other places wait in long, long lines makes me crazy! This is democracy in action??????
@Bobby: thanks for the info–-"he took the easy way"–––doesn't he always?
OK boys and girls, who wants to be first in line for that big, wet kiss from the spreader-in-chief. I'm gagging just thinking about that scenario.
By the way––just read that at Fatty's last rally he not only told multiple lies about Biden's plans –-but touted the old favorite–-THE WALL-- which according to him is almost finished and " Yes, folks, Mexico IS going to pay for it" and the people shout "yea" and wave their banners and truly believe him. In ordinary times––whatever that means anymore––he'd be hauled off in a figurative paddy wagon. Come-on Lincoln Project–-cover this and then in large red letters plastered over Fatty's face ––HE'S LYING TO YOU–-HE THINKS YOU ARE SUCKERS AND LOSERS. On second thought I keep remembering what John Gleese said about stupid people––they don't know they are stupid!
PD,
I heard Sasse reprise some of his “civics lesson” bullshit this morning on NPR. If there were an award for the most slippery casuistries combined with outright insults and cynical, unctuous, dare-you-to-call-me-a-hypocrite proclamations in under five minutes, he would win going away.
I want to find a baseball bat and start smacking things when R’s don their holier than thou mantle and begin lecturing anyone calling them on their unprecedented and unconstitutional power grabs about comity and the need to find a more “civil” way to behave. It’s like listening to career pickpockets sniffing that shoppers should keep a close watch on their belongings as they lift their fiftieth wallet in a row.
His inference that Merrick Garland had no idea what it means to “put on the black robe” (as opposed to the frighteningly qualified Amy the ACA Killer) and therefore was unworthy of elevation to the Supreme Court, had me pondering some of the more creative medieval consequences for willfully reprehensible acts.
Yesterday, I wondered what was up with this Blexit thing. It’s seems to be a call for African-Americans to rally for da massa who’s being unfairly treated for his racist attitudes and actions that serially attack the black community.
Now I know: Blexit attendees at the massa’s latest Covid event at the Whitey-White-White House were paid to be there.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/candace-owens-blexit-group-pays-attendees-travel-trumps/story?id=73531036
In the midst of seeming complexity, there are simple explanations.
Krugman provides this one:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/12/opinion/mitch-mcconnell-covid-stimulus.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
My comment on his:
"Just as to a hammer everything is a nail, to a plutocrat everything presents an opportunity for profit.
Capitalism is fundamentally an extractive industry. It moves resources upwards, always. That's its point and purpose.
Putting plutocrats in charge of government can have only one consequence, and we're seeing it. They funnel the treasury and the nation's resources directly into their pockets by making cozy contractual deals with their supporters, and indirectly by shaping laws that will accomplish the same result.
In either case, private profit is their only policy, and it is precisely this exclusive pursuit of profit at any social cost that corrupts democracy.
Against it, the naive ideals of democracy don't stand a chance."
A further comment on plutocratic government:
(See the NYTime piece above)
The largesse showered on midwest farmers goes primarily to large agri-corps, but those corporations and their acolytes are vastly outnumbered by the people who know a scam when they see one and will vote accordingly.
That's my hope anyway.
Unbelievable. Here is Amy McGrath, D candidate to send McConnell to the turtle soup factory, reaming him for his lack of leadership during a once in a century health crisis affecting millions of Americans. His answer? He laughs through the whole thing. He thinks laughing as McGrath recited the litany of his failures as Americans are dying is an appropriate response. What he’s hoping is that Trump zombies in Kentucky will interpret his insulting stance as a demonstration of his male superiority, that he won’t even bother responding to some stupid Democrat bitch, because he’s important and she’s not.
This is what passes on the right as moral leadership.
https://mobile.twitter.com/rmayemsinger/status/1315830220549615616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1315830220549615616%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcrooksandliars.com%2F2020%2F10%2Fturtle-soup-amy-mcgrath-kicks-moscowmitchs
I'm no longer concerned with that 0300 phone call to the presidential bedroom. At 0300 Trump will be awake and as lucid as he'll be all day, twittering with the cuckoos.
I'm more concerned about an aide walking out onto a rally stage at 2100 to whisper to the president that Israel just parked 10 megatons in downtown Tehran or that the Chinese are flooding across the Taiwan strait. "You've got to get to the plane, Mr President".
What the hell does he do then?
He orders a Big Mac and calls Sean Hannity.
Every time I read another accounting of the money pouring into the Dump machine, I get crazy. He gets everything: money, adoration by morons and Covid. And goes on, using his power to keep secrets from all the people. He has lied through this whole episode of Covid, and trained his docs, since he is CinC, to lie also. I managed to watch ONE clip this morning of his meaningless, yet smarmy/whiney/lying drivel from last night, and did manage to keep my breakfast down. We then went downtown to the board of elections office, which was very busy, and dumped our ballots into the guarded lockbox. We were greeted by people holding Biden-Harris signs, asking if we had the "privacy " envelope enclosed in the outer envelope-- PA is ridiculous, and it has been avowed by the lege that if the two envelopes are not there, ballots will be discarded. Just another Grand Old Lying Party rule for all of us...
Last night I had a comment fight with someone on Esquire, who said Biden was accountable to the voters to break his silence on whether Dems would court-pack the SC...I said that the questions constantly asked are asked by idiot media and trumpies and he has no obligation to answer any question by trumpies. They are not HIS voters. I hope he doesn't get drawn into that. I wish that Dems would constantly cite the fact that Mitch SOB has packed all the lower courts for years but especially the last four years, leaving no time or inclination to actually do the work of the country, since they are only occasionally in session. Useless creep. Among many.
The Supreme Court has signaled its clear intention not to hold Donald Trump accountable to the United States Constitution. The message here is that they will side with a traitor and against the rule of law, and should the decision as to the outcome of the election be left in their hands, Trump will win no matter what the voters decide, just as it happened when Bush lost the 2000 election and was made president by the Republicans on the court. We are a banana republic in which the courts owe allegiance to the dictator.
Trump, In His Own Words
@Jeanne: Biden should remind all those reporters that it is the Congress that determines the number of Supreme Court justices who sit on the court, not the president.
Kavanaugh:Barrett::Trump:Cotton (perhaps)
I was a day off from Barrett's perjury. It was today when she said she had no preconceived positions on any potential cases that could come before the Supreme Court, such as the overturning of Roe and/or the evisceration of the ACA, both of which she has a lengthy resume of opposition toward. So much for no preconceptions.
But her lies are slick and insufferably smug.
Unlike Rape Boy Bart O'Kavanaugh, Barrett is smooth, sharp, slippery, well coached, not easily triggered unlike Kavanaugh, whining, crying, attacking, protesting too much, very like his Dear Leader, the Orange Menace.
We've all dreaded the very real possibility that when Fatty falls into the dumpster he has ignited, a Trump 2.0 will appear, someone just as evil, just as vicious, just as anti-democratic (perhaps even more), but without the baggage, the idiocy, the clownishness.
We're getting a ringside seat to what that might look like right now.
Barrett is O'Kavanaugh without the rape allegations, the stridency, the poor-poor-pitiful me-isms.
She will be on the court within weeks and her current lies will be considered "good tactics" by wingers. If they lose the White House and the Senate, and should Democrats maintain control of the House, confederate traitors will have firm control of the best meta-legislative body in the world. The US Supreme Court.
And after Trump, in direct line with the way Barrett has slithered onto the Court, there will rise some new rough beast, Trumpian in spirit, but without the strippers, the Russians, and the stupidity, slouching toward Bethlehem to fuck us all royally.
The analogy of fascism and hatred obtains.
@Akhilleus: Thanks for that. I knew Judge Amy reminded me of someone I knew well, and I couldn't think who. Your description of her brought to mind someone I've known most of my life, and that someone is meaner than a junkyard dog, but most people never figure that out. I didn't, for a long time. I think most people like this person. She is very clever & very manipulative. I didn't understand just how integral that was to who she is until she needed to take advantage of me. It was only then that I realized that she had been unfairly & sneakily undermining other people our whole lives.
I think you pegged Amy. In a murder mystery, it turns out Amy is the person whodunit. And you could kick yourself if you didn't figure it out by page 20.
@RAS: good point about Congress setting the number of justices. Of course president can veto a bill that would change the number, up or down. Biden would be wise, as you suggest, to come up with a non-answer answer that makes the point that Congress is the decider, and if asked about the veto power, well, folks, that's a hypothetical.