Sunday, August 06, 2017

Top Republicans launch shadow campaign to replace Donald Trump on the ticket in 2020.

Courtesy of the New York Times: 

President Trump’s first term is ostensibly just warming up, but luminaries in his own party have begun what amounts to a shadow campaign for 2020 — as if the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue weren’t involved. 

The would-be candidates are cultivating some of the party’s most prominent donors, courting conservative interest groups and carefully enhancing their profiles. Mr. Trump has given no indication that he will decline to seek a second term. 

But the sheer disarray surrounding this presidency— the intensifying investigation by the special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and the plain uncertainty about what Mr. Trump will do in the next week, let alone in the next election—have prompted Republican officeholders to take political steps that are unheard-of so soon into a new administration. 

Asked about those Republicans who seem to be eyeing 2020, a White House spokeswoman, Lindsay Walters, fired a warning shot: “The president is as strong as he’s ever been in Iowa, and every potentially ambitious Republican knows that.” 

But in interviews with more than 75 Republicans at every level of the party, elected officials, donors and strategists expressed widespread uncertainty about whether Mr. Trump would be on the ballot in 2020 and little doubt that others in the party are engaged in barely veiled contingency planning. 

“They see weakness in this president,” said Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona. “Look, it’s not a nice business we’re in.”

Some of the Republicans identified as conducting these "shadow campaigns" are Senators Tom Cotton and Ben Sasse, Ohio Governor John Kasich, and least surprising of all, Mike Pence.

This should not be surprising in the wake of sanctions bill the Senate Republicans forced Trump to sign, and the fact that they are making it impossible for him to make any recess appointments. 

Clearly the Republicans see the writing on the wall, and are becoming convinced that Trump will not be a viable candidate in 2020.

Considering of course that he even lasts that long.

78 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:18 AM

    I definitely think John Kasich and even Jeb Bush will run. Hopefully, they will be running against Pence and Trump will ne long gone, in prison or six feet under.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous6:28 AM

      I'm not sure Kasich will run. As reported two stories down, he got Russian money during the 2016-17 campaign. His opponents will bring that up at every opportunity.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:35 AM

      Bush is done in politics. Trying to buy the Florida Marlins

      Delete
    3. Anonymous9:17 AM

      Voters are over Kasich and Bush. Christie is a mental case, isn't he going to run?

      Poor New Jersey. There should be an out cry.

      A sight we never want to see. Two deadly beached whales. Haven't we suffered enough?
      http://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/whiteboard/2017/08/06/christie-says-he-would-welcome-trump-with-open-arms-at-beach-house-113806

      Delete
  2. Anonymous6:21 AM

    What a slam to Trump if he is one term or less. Hell, the GOP tried and failed with Obama.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous7:04 AM

    Pence is another Republican that would never get my vote! He'd be a horrid potus too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:07 AM

      AS a refugee of Hoosier-stan (with all due apologies to the peoples of the middle eastern -stans) it was a horrible place to live underPence. Putting his buddies in power posts (see Daniels, Mitch now illegitimate president of Purdue University - confirmed at secret meeting of Purdue BoD at O'hare Airport.

      Ignoring infrastructure and the entire NW corner of the state, such a wuss he can't trust himself to share food with a woman. How sexist, how... radical Islamic of him.

      And, he signed that ridiculous bury the remains of miscarriage and pregnancy termination bill. THink he got a bit dismayed when women started sending him their "used" tampons to be absolutely certain they weren't in violation.

      By signing on with the traitor, sexual predator, pussy grabber T.Rump, Pence has shown just what a hypocrite he is. Untrustworthy. Fake Christian.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:54 AM

      7:04AM

      +10000. Pence is a intolerant religious nut case.

      Delete
    3. That's why I anticipate that if Mueller doesn't take Trump out, the Republicans will take him out in 2019. Probably after the 2018 elections where, if they lose they can place all of the blame at Trump's feet.

      If they put Pence in office then in 2020 he'd be running as an incumbent, a much stronger position but with so short a time in office people won't really know what they're getting. And the dumb shit for brains fools will vote for him because he has an (R) after his name and they've always voted the straight party ticket, no matter how much damage it will do to them personally. "Against our own best interests" should be their motto.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous7:14 AM


    White House Tries To Shut Down Speculation That Mike Pence Is Preparing For 2020 Run
    You know, just in case Donald Trump isn’t.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mike-pence-2020-run_us_59860fdae4b041356ec0356a?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous7:14 AM

    Trump is not a real Repub, but he prizes loyalty above all and undoubtedly feels that HE is the only reason the GOP has the White House, etc. This behind the scenes/behind his back drama will drive him even further "insane". LOL.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous9:49 AM

      Yeh, we know how well the GOP tried to "shut him down" in 2016 -- they can't do it: remember Don's default rules: blackmail, bribe, threaten their families. Impeachment? maybe the Republican Congress members will grow spines if they think they can cheat their way to the Presidency themselves.

      Delete
    2. He isn't anything, except a capitalist. He does dance with the one that brung him. Since he sees it in his own personal interests to side with the Republicans, he's doing whatever they say. He appoints from the list they give him, he repeats their talking points and he signs whatever they put in front of him. Even that sanctions bill. He could have put it in a drawer but he didn't.

      As long as he gets weekends off to play golf and can have an ego-stroking rally everyone once in a while, he's fine. Just keep that tax-payer money flowing into his business coffers and he's a happy camper. He's making millions off of the Secret Service budget alone.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous7:32 AM

    Ask Indianans what they think of Pence.
    NO THANK YOU.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous7:35 AM

    The latest headline from the Fox News website is an astonishing one, even by its standards: “Would you even care if he was guilty?” It makes the argument that, because things are supposedly going so wonderfully in America under Donald Trump, perhaps no one should care if it turns out that Trump is guilty of conspiring with Russia to rig the election (link). There’s only one reason for Trump’s allies at Fox to begin pushing the ‘it’s not a big deal if Trump is a traitor’ narrative, which is that proof is about to surface that Trump is in fact a traitor.

    We’ve seen this before. A couple months back, Trump’s allies at Fox News began pushing the notion that collusion wasn’t such a bad thing. This was at the same time that Trump himself began tweeting about collusion, using that word for the first time. It was clear that Trump and Fox both knew evidence of collusion was about to surface. Sure enough, within a week or two, the story broke about Donald Trump Jr.’s collusion meeting with Russia.

    Now we’re seeing the same thing play out again.

    http://www.palmerreport.com/opinion/fox-news-guilty-donald-trump-russia/4202/

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous7:38 AM

    As a nation, if we allow pence anywhere near the white house. Then we have not learned anything from the trump election!
    We need to somehow get all eligible voters to get out and vote. I will be helping .
    As for trumps only term. It's needs to be very abbreviated! Let's get him out now! Resist at every turn.
    Remove pence,trump,McConnell, Ryan,zinke,banannon,Betsy devos,kellyann,just to name a few bad hombres!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous7:52 AM

    The alternative could be a generation of rule by billionaires and Republican ayatollahs. Both groups would be thrilled if Trump were to leave office prematurely and give way to Vice President Mike Pence. Pence would be just as abject a servant of corporate power as Trump has turned out to be, but with the patina of respectability. Even his form of misogyny is more socially acceptable: Instead of boasting about grabbing women, Pence refuses to dine alone with any woman other than his wife. Trump personifies the vulgarity of his assault on democracy. Pence is smooth enough to hide it.

    https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/06/25/why-we-need-four-years-trump

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:52 AM

      Trump is ginning up right-wing anger to a fever pitch. His most stolid supporters believe that Mueller's work is a left-wing conspiracy brought about by Obama and Clinton. I'm not kidding. And, there are lots of those folks who have, seemingly, lost touch with reality.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous9:54 AM

      From where I sit, it smells like trump has laundered Russian money through real estate deals when no reputable banks would lend to him. The Russians didn't particularly want him as president. They were orchestrating events to weaken Hillary when she got elected, which they assumed was inevitable just as most of us did.

      One factor that perhaps was underestimated was the strength of white nationalism in his appeal. Everything he does is like candy to those who think that white is right and minorities should know their place and stay in it. Or else.

      There is an undeniable core of racism that is deeply entrenched in this country. It has become muted over the last 60 yrs, but in trump it has found a voice and is shaking off its covers.

      This is dangerous and regressive, and why it is incredibly important for Robert Mueller to complete his investigation and lay bare the rot that is at trump's core for all to see and judge.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous9:56 AM

      There is a very tight connection between Trump's complete inability to manage his inherited wealth and Russiagate. After multiple bankruptcies, no US bank would lend him a dime. Then in stepped the Russian investors linked to Putin.

      Mueller must demand Trump's full and detailed financial disclosure. The only way to know what is going on is to follow the money. Tax returns are high likely to be revealing, thus the secrecy. He must continue to investigate Trump's financial ties to the Russian's and Putin via the Bank of Cyprus, Deutsche Bank, Russian investors in his property. Perhaps Trump will need to cut a deal with the Special Counsel.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:49 AM

      9:52 AM YES. I actually started checking out the Sarah Palin BS Facebook to try and see what on earth that small group could be saying and thinking about Trump/Pence. How do they interpret Russia et al investigations.

      How do they ignore the news about their friends like at Fox?

      Sarah has the brain dead image and can only manage to say things like
      "Wow"
      "Breaking news"
      "Awesome"
      "So cool"
      "Uh-oh..."
      "Ohhh??"

      Not saying her writing skills are that incisive, she must have hired someone with more skills to run Facebook. Next they just link to a millennial site where they go on with more inane babble.

      When you can read what they say it gets into extreme fantasy (Breitbart, alt-right, Alex Jones mimics).

      Sarah seems determined to convince anyone in the universe that still believes she graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications, an emphasis in journalism... anyone believing that will within seconds of seeing her Facebook, know she did not earn a degree and probably the same with a high school diploma. If she has either, she did not get them by doing the work and now she is proving she is not legit with her sad Facebook. Not that she is aware of what happens at a sub-conscience level, but something inside of her is desperate to purge the liar.

      She has nothing else but that Facebook. She can't even get a job in Trump's hall of infamous lunatics.

      Like why is she not the Mooch replacement? She is the religious charlatan Trump likes to use. She claims the credentials for the job.
      Also all her experience working at Fox and with the den of perverts and top grade falsifiers and mythomaniacs.

      Best of all is her great record with the military. As governor and commander in chief in the great state of Alaska, protecting the USA from Russia. Her son being so important to her love and care of veteran matters and so much more.

      It is suspicious she has not been hired by Trump, he really needs her. The generals would approve of Sarah Palin. What is holding them back from hiring her?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous2:25 PM

      SP Facebook
      Marty McCullough "I can't even finish this article too many pop up ads"

      Delete
  10. Anonymous7:52 AM

    What happens when you try to take down a megalomaniac? Either he takes you down to survive or he takes you down with him. Those are the outcomes ahead for rethugs. They sold out their country so they deserve all the destruction coming to them. I would say they sold out their soul too but I'm not sure how many of them have one.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous9:57 AM

      It's sad that such a large swath of the American public like "words" and breezy promises and can't ground themselves enough to think for themselves. As long as they continue to feed themselves on too much unhealthy food, too much TV, and empty unfulfilled dreams based on the delusion that the rich pariah in the sky will deliver, we will continue to have political hacks that cater to the men behind the curtain, and ridiculous campaign seasons like we just had to endure where the bar was dropped so low as to what was passable and plausible to be called debate and discussion. It was utterly appalling. Embarrassing. Reality TV. We got what we deserved with this one. A reality TV star. Who has no sense of reality, and more tragically does not care. We have a participatory gov't and what we got was people not showing up to vote because it wasn't ideal or voting based on venom and anger. A recipe for disaster.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous9:58 AM

      We need to stop writing intellectual curiosity articles about him and hold him to account for doing everything from obstructing investigations to enriching himself by refusing to divest interests. The GOP dominated congress will obviously not do anything which makes them culpable. The people themselves need to rise up vigorously to oppose this evil clown and the GOP which through blantant gerrymandering and tampering with voting rights and mechanisms to colluding with Russian meddling have become quite adept at stealing elections.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous9:59 AM

      It is demoralizing on a frightening level that those voters who "...didn't like Hillary...", or those who thought "...Trump would bring back coal...", or, worse, those who found Trump's political irreverence seductive - which really translated into crass mud slinging racism, name calling and a scornful disregard for facts - could not have anticipated the total ineptitude and mendacity of this so-called administration. Would these same citizens also choose to board a flight where the pilot is one with no training and no experience, placed in the left seat and told to fly the plane, fueled only by an enormous ego and not much else? Guess what? They did exactly that and the crash landing is imminent and will be painful. Perhaps the only plus will be the American people finally appreciating the utter lack of integrity of too many members of the Republican Congress eager to sit at Trump's table for political expedience, selling their souls in the process.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:32 AM

      Each Trump rally is a slickly choreographed cavalcade of God, the military, patriotism, politics, baby boomer rock and the magic trick in which a New York billionaire sells himself as a working class hero.

      https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/05/donald-trump-rallies-supporters-west-virginia

      sick and terrifying coolaid drinkers

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:01 AM

      TGI Friday and Buffalo Wild Wings are just some of the buildings reporting damages.

      http://www.news9.com/story/36071847/thunderstorms-possible-tornado-reported-in-tulsa-overnight

      The Almighty is warning fast fooders, stay away from that poison before He is real mad. Pat Robertson will tell you all about God's Wrath. You've been warned. Trump and Pence you've been warned.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous8:12 AM

    Republicans are quietly positioning themselves to challenge Trump in 2020

    http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article165690462.html

    Mike Pence Preparing 2020 Election Run Against ‘Weak’ Trump? Vice-President’s Team Denies Explosive Claim

    http://www.newsweek.com/mike-pence-2020-election-trump-646994

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous8:13 AM

    Pence under scrutiny for using campaign lawyers to hide emails in Indiana

    http://shareblue.com/pence-under-scrutiny-for-using-campaign-lawyers-to-hide-emails-in-indiana/

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous8:21 AM

    Maybe Jared or Ivanka will run? After all, they HAVE been in charge so far, haven;t they? According to one politician, "Ivanka is the whole package. Beautiful, smart, well read"She is a "package: all right, but of what? Botox, plastic surgery, underhanded business practices? "Smart kid" Jared had to have his daddy's financial boost to get into Harvard, so obviously he is not too bright. Tehran Tom Cotton is one of the ones who sent that letter behind President Obama's back, undermining his policies.He is not a good candidate. I am not too sure Kasich is in charge of his mental capabilities any more than tRump is. I get a bad vibe from Kasich, that whispers "dementia". Jeb!'s time of riding daddy's coat tails has long passed. None of the gop contenders look promising. Maybe Gingrich and Santorum will try again?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous9:13 AM

      Kasich is Ohio's term limited gov. One of the saner Republicans with the exception of the anti-choice bones he throws to the Talibangelists of southern Ohio.

      Almost any Progressive Dem is better than Kasich, but among ReThug, he'd be one of the saner choices. I do respect his absolute refusal to be part of the Deplorable Rump Train.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous8:23 AM

    Trump Caught on Video Playing Golf When He Claimed He Was Working and Stuff

    Vacationer in Chief Donald Trump has a real problem owning his laziness. As he slinked away from the blazing inferno of the Russia scandal for a 17-day vacation at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, he insistently tweeted that this was “not a vacation”:

    http://ijr.com/the-response/2017/08/940658-trump-caught-video-playing-golf-claimed-working-stuff/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous8:43 AM

      I hear he has been terrorizing sheep. Not a pretty sight for the overweight dope.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous8:55 AM

      He looks like he is having trouble breathing. Obviously he can't walk and play golf. Sad.

      He should be doing something about his obvious poor body image.

      Also the huge suits are doing a poor job of trying to cover up how dreadful his self destructive habits are showing now. All he and his family, staff and aides have now is denial.

      In that golf attire he screams look at me and how sick I am, contradicting his lying words.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous9:07 AM

      Kasich tried to expose the Trump lie but he is not that dynamic and not a front runner personality. He should put his energy behind someone with brilliance, strength and possibility. Jeb is just done, so over. May be 10 people in Florida will give him a shout out. If the GOP doesn't have any new meat they are just the same old farce. Can they get another clown elected?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous9:18 AM

      Even putting aside the abnormally short arms and microscopic hands, I see:
      narrow shoulders
      sunken chest
      old man, high rise pants to avoid slippage below ballooning gut
      fat thighs unsuccessfully camoflaged in baggy, ill-fitting khakis.
      No wonder we never see him in anything well-tailored. You could tell President Obama had great guns, even under the suit.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous9:51 AM

      What happened to his family? Were they able to escape this 'working vacation' GOLFING FUN TIME FOR PREZZY? I feel so sorry for Little Donnie, his mom calls him that? He is old enough to get much of what goes on. That is if he is as intelligent as they claim. Others are concerned about other problems he may have.

      If his parents aren't making up chit about him, that he will have to live up to one day, he is bright. If he is on the junk food diet and he is taught to look up to Donald and the other sons, what a shame.

      How could Melania tolerate that for her child? He is innocent but will have no life skills to do anything but be a Trump.

      Maples had the advantage of keeping Tiffany at a distance from being exposed to all the Trump habits and games.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous4:52 PM

      @ 9:18 you forgot the hunch back.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous8:24 AM

    White supremacy week at the White House: Even by Trump standards, the racism was dialed to 11

    Trump's overt racism isn't aimed at liberals — it's about distracting his base away from the Russia scandal

    http://www.salon.com/2017/08/06/white-supremacy-week-at-the-white-house-even-by-trump-standards-the-racism-was-dialed-to-11/

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous8:26 AM

    Liar

    http://ijr.com/the-response/2017/08/940511-trump-sends-anonymous-official-defend-vacation-hide-golf-games/

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous8:27 AM

    McCain: Republicans 'see weakness' in Trump

    "They see weakness in this president," McCain told The New York Times for a story on Republicans potentially eyeing 2020. "Look, it's not a nice business we're in."

    http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/345462-mccain-republicans-see-weakness-in-trump

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous8:30 AM

    Pence is no better.
    Pence, the current governor of Indiana and Republican nominee for vice president, made his airborne fried chicken debut yesterday with this tweet: http://i1.wp.com/www.foodrepublic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/KFC.jpg?fit=1115%2C629

    With Trump base, he can shoot someone in time square and no comrade will care if he is guilty. Pence doesn't have that.

    The Big Don: "I'm a very clean person. I like cleanliness, and I think it's better to go there than maybe somewhere I have no idea where the food comes from" "The Big Mac I love, the pound quarter burger is great," said Donald Trump, according to the New York Times.
    The president of the United States suffers from germophobia, a disorder that makes him escape from germs, both in humans and in objects or food. This excessive fear led Trump to, for example, not give hand to certain people or choose carefully the food that incorporates in his diet. What is striking is that he himself acknowledged that McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken - two fast food chains - are trusted and consumed every day.
    http://miamidespierta.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/dieta-Donald-Trump.jpg


    The other Republicans can spend money but their efforts are useless. Republican brand sucks.
    Thank you Donald Trump and Trump/Pence.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous8:30 AM

    Vice President Mike Pence to Headline Koch Summit

    After trying to go-it-alone on a failed health care repeal, the White House is cozying up to the outside conservative groups that many in the Administration distrust or feel were insufficiently supportive during the 2016 campaign. If President Trump is going to prevail on his other goals, like tax reform, he will need this kind of boost from potential allies.

    On Friday, the White House plans to announce it is sending Vice President Mike Pence to a major gathering of tea party-minded activists in Richmond, Va., on Aug. 19. Organized by Americans for Prosperity, the Defending the American Dream confab is one of the largest public-facing events linked to the political and policy network convened by billionaires Charles and David Koch. The conference tends to set the tone for the year among the more than 2 million grassroot activists who push for lower taxes, less regulation and fewer subsidies.

    The announcement comes on the heels of this week’s summit that brought together Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, White House legislative affairs chief Marc Short and Americans for Prosperity president Tim Phillips to talk about rewriting the tax code. With that looming on the fall’s legislative agenda, the White House is trying to do a better job of listening to conservatives’ ideas than it did on health care, as well as to give the very voters who helped Trump a legislative victory.

    As it was, the health care debacle split the White House from conservative organizations. Leaders at places like Americans for Prosperity, FreedomWorks and the Heritage Foundation all thought the plans being considered in Congress—and cheered by the President—were insufficient at rolling back the law they call Obamacare. Instead, they wanted an absolute repeal. In the case of the Koch network, officials said they would provide television ads defending lawmakers who voted against the scaled-back repeal measure.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/vice-president-mike-pence-headline-090002872.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:52 AM

      tRump does not care about health. How can he do anything positive for health care?

      He needs to start with the man in the mirror. He won't go there. He is not going to own it.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous9:01 AM

    Pence is an Xtian Dominionist, AND he is #Complicit in #Russiagate.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:23 AM

      He is one to keep our eyes on. He is clearly a worm.
      Pence was on his way out until trump plucked him out as one of his hateful 8.
      He clearly fits the mold with the likes of his cabinet appointees! They are all deplorable.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous9:37 AM

      Creepy Xtian Dominionist. I am looking forward to Pence #Complicit in #Russiagate
      is exposed.

      Where's the lettuce?
      http://www.telemundo.com/sites/nbcutelemundo/files/styles/promotional_content_4_3/public/images/promo/article/2016/05/05/donald-trump-taco-bowl.jpg?itok=RuSh1BGo

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:10 AM

      The xtian dominionist beliefs of Pence completely disqualifies him from public office at any level in my mind. To bad the superstitious fool can't be deported to some type of medieval theocracy.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous1:42 PM

      I've never seen a lettuce free taco bowl. That would be New York. Great food for the most part but the worst Mexican food.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous7:06 PM

      No lettuce, no tomatoes, no guacamole.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous9:08 AM

    In that same letter, Bornstein admitted The Rump was on statins - healthy people don't take liver damaging statins.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous9:44 AM

    Who the fuck is surprised? All these people do is start running for the next election even before they take office.

    "Politicians were not born, they were excreted." Cicero

    GeorgiaPeach

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous9:45 AM

    What’s the Deal, Mr. Trump?

    President Trump promised he’d make so many great deals that we’d all get “tired of winning.” He’s certainly left Americans feeling worn out, but not because of any transactional whirlwind.

    In reluctantly signing a bill last week imposing sanctions on Russia that he cannot lift without congressional review, Mr. Trump complained that it “makes it harder for the United States to strike good deals for the American people” and that “Congress could not even negotiate a health care bill after seven years of talking.”

    The legislation is actually proof that Congress has learned not to trust Mr. Trump to strike good deals and has seen quite enough of his negotiating skills.

    Six months in, Mr. Trump can’t get legislation passed on anything much bigger than naming a post office. Indifferent to negotiating with Democrats and ham-handed in dealing with Republicans, he’s getting rolled on the major promises of his campaign — health care, infrastructure, taxes and jobs.

    The president’s preferred image of himself as a shrewd, hard-nosed negotiator took a hit last week...

    This is the man who opened his 1987 book, “The Art of the Deal,” by boasting: “Other people paint beautifully on canvas or write wonderful poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals. That’s how I get my kicks.”

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/05/opinion/sunday/whats-the-deal-mr-trump.html

    ...We are in for an epic clash between two septuagenarians who both came from wealthy New York families and attended Ivy League schools but couldn’t be more different — the flamboyant flimflam man and the buttoned-down, buttoned-up boy scout. (And we know the president has no idea how to talk to scouts appropriately.)

    One has been called America’s straightest arrow. One disdains self-promotion and avoids the press. One married his sweetheart from school days. One was a decorated Marine in Vietnam. One counts patience, humility and honesty as the virtues he lives by and likes to say “You’re only as good as your word.”

    And one’s president.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/05/opinion/sunday/dowd-trump-mueller-russia.html

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous9:48 AM

    Trump is not a naif. He is skilled in the art of double-dealing, creating hysteria, stiffing people or vendors who work for him, and getting what he wants. He manages the last by filing lawsuit after lawsuit until his "problems" go away. What he and his group of insiders don't realize is that the federal government will pursue them to find the truth particularly since there is ample proof that they've lied. They lied for no reason. It wasn't a matter of national security that sent them to meet with a Russian lawyer. It was an interest in political dirt on Clinton. The same goes for any other contacts they had before Trump was sworn into office.

    What is quite clear and transparent by now is that Trump and every person close to him is a liar or actively deceitful. Trump can't keep his lies straight. Sessions is not suited to be the Attorney General. Nor is anyone else that has been nominated and approved to head other government agencies. DeVos is not an educator: she's from a rich family that doesn't need to concern itself with public education. And we have a Secretary of HHS who seems to have vanished amid the debate on health care in America.

    The most useful thing Trump could do is step down along with his entire cabinet and save us money. Failing that I hope Mueller keeps on going until he finds the truth.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous9:50 AM

    Report: Donald Trump wanted USSR post in the Reagan years

    "He said to me, 'I hear you met with Gorbachev, and you had a long interview with him, and you're a doctor, so you have a good assessment of who he is.' So I asked, 'Why would you want to know?' And he responded, 'I intend to call my good friend Ronnie,' meaning Reagan, 'to make me a plenipotentiary ambassador for the United States with Gorbachev.' Those are the words he used. And he said he would got o Moscow and he'd sit down with Gorbachev, and then he took his thumb and hit the desk and he said, 'And within one hour, the Cold War would be over!' I sat there dumbfounded. 'Who is this self-inflated individual? Is he sane or what?'"

    http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/donald-trump-angled-soviet-posting-1980s-says-nobel-prize-winner-1006312

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous10:00 AM

    Trump really only has the negotiation arsenal of a mafia don--he bullies ahead of the agreement, and reneges after the deal is made. I'm not at all surprised that he has no major successes in the legislative realm: it's really only his way or the highway. When you are the head of a family-owned and run enterprise that can work (especially with a huge war chest behind you), but not when you are 1/3 of a US government, and also at odds with 4th estate.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous10:07 AM

    Occidental College professor comes forward as victim of sexual harassment by Eric Bolling

    ...Dr. Caroline Heldman — an associate professor of politics at Occidental University — said that Bolling referred to her as “Dr. McHottie” on the air and contacted her repeatedly via phone and text with vulgar and sexually explicit messages.

    “Bolling referred to me as ‘Dr. McHottie’ on air on four different occasions, and called me ‘smart, beautiful, and wrong’ on air twice,” Heldman wrote on Facebook. “I pushed back with ‘Mr. McSexist,’ but I shouldn’t have had to. This on-air behavior was perfectly acceptable to Fox executives at the time.”

    The Fox host reportedly tried to entice Heldman to visit him in New York City for dates, but Heldman said she “found excuses not to go.”

    “Once, he took me up to his office in New York, showed me his baseball jerseys, and in the brief time I was there, let me know that his office was his favorite place to have sex,” she revealed. “I know other women have had similar experiences with Bolling, which means that lots of folks at Fox knew about his behavior well before 2017.”

    Two other men at Fox News made unwanted advances toward her, Heldman said, “creepy” Bill O’Reilly and Woody Fraser.

    Bolling has been suspended from Fox News pending further investigation. The allegations are just the latest in a series that have ended the careers of former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes and disgraced prime time host Bill O’Reilly.

    http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/occidental-college-professor-comes-forward-as-victim-of-sexual-harassment-by-eric-bolling/

    Utter slime.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous10:20 AM

    White House as crime scene: how Robert Mueller is closing in on Trump

    The legal net around Donald Trump’s beleaguered presidency tightened dramatically this week with news that a grand jury has been established a few hundred yards from the White House, to pursue evidence of collusion with the Kremlin.

    It is a troubling development for the president, for several reasons. In the US legal system, a grand jury has broad powers to issue subpoenas, and ultimately indictments, at the request of prosecutors.

    ...“The Mueller dream-team now has the top 14 financial crimes prosecutors in America,” said Malcolm Nance, a former US intelligence officer and the author of a book on Moscow’s role in the 2016 US election, The Plot to Hack America. Nance predicted that the Mueller investigation would look into every corner of Trump and Kushner’s past business dealings.

    “The wheels of justice grind finely and slow but this is a wood chipper, and all these various items and going to get fed into it – Flynn, [Jared] Kushner, Trump, Manafort and anyone who has been assigned to the White House over this period,” Nance said. “Their entire lives are going to be subjected to scrutiny. No one is getting out unscathed. That’s why Trump is so terrified.”

    https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/05/robert-mueller-donald-trump-russia

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous10:22 AM

    When a Candidate Conspired With a Foreign Power to Win An Election

    It took decades to unravel Nixon’s sabotage of Vietnam peace talks. Now, the full story can be told.

    http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/08/06/nixon-vietnam-candidate-conspired-with-foreign-power-win-election-215461

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous10:47 AM

    Statins have been found to reduce cardiovascular disease and mortality in those who are at high risk.

    I wonder what else Bornstein forgot.

    https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MM-YNvypPFc/maxresdefault.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous11:07 AM

    Liar #2

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/06/mike-pence-denounces-nyt-story-about-2020-presidential-run-media-trump-administration

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:00 PM

      What else could he say? He is not going to suddenly start telling the truth.

      Delete
  32. Anonymous11:10 AM

    Donald Trump has a sickening fetish for cruelty

    Trump is basically a 71-year old kid delightedly melting ants under his magnifying glass.

    It isn't very often that the public gets to see a man's soul die inside his body. To see his dignity immolated. His manhood ripped from his bones.

    And to have it captured all in one picture. Oh, the picture.

    ...These are not the actions of a well-adjusted person. Trump clearly has a maudlin fetish for cruelty – given his pattern of humiliating both friend and foe, the president's brain is occupied with little else than Electoral College results and revenge fantasies. Trump is basically a 71-year old kid cackling in delight as he melts ants under his magnifying glass. Only these ants are attorneys general, senators, FBI directors and governors.

    Naturally, Trump's supporters think toying with peoples' dignity is a show of strength – but it is the exact opposite. He's a weak leader who wastes what little political capital he has settling personal scores. With apologies to Winston Churchill, Trump remains an immodest man with much to be modest about.

    And it's just a matter of time before he's under Vladimir Putin's magnifying glass.

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/08/05/trump-has-fetish-cruelty-christian-schneider-column/537483001/

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous12:42 PM

    Mike Pence Flips Out After He Gets Busted Plotting A 2020 Campaign To Replace Trump

    ...Ignore that super PAC that he’s been funding and the personal power base that Pence has been building. Forget all of those stops to key early Republican primary states that the Vice President has been making.

    Pence knows that if Trump thinks that he is out to replace him, the President could very well knock him off of the ticket or even pressure him to resign from the vice presidency, which is why there was lots of sucking up to Trump in the statement.

    The reality is that Pence has been getting an operation together for a potential 2020 run if Trump is not around. There is no honor among thieves, and the Trump White House does not run on loyalty.

    No one has to try to divide this administration. It is already a mess.

    http://www.politicususa.com/2017/08/06/mike-pence-flips-busted-plotting-2020-campaign-replace-trump.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:11 PM

      Yeah, according to pence it's "laughable" and absurd!
      That's partly what Zinke said in order to deflect his real threat!
      Kellyanne must be teaching alternative fact ways to deflect lies!
      Pence has many Hitler Characteristics! He is not an imbecile like trump , he is a serious threat to Americans!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous2:28 PM

      I've always thought Pence looked like a Nazi - all you'd have to do is put the uniform on him! He has that look!

      Delete
  34. Anonymous2:43 PM

    Mike Pence Isn't Running For President In 2020, He Swears (Wink, Wink) http://crooksandliars.com/2017/08/mike-pence-isnt-running-president-2020-he

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous3:26 PM

    Pence is shopping for drapes for the oval office.
    I swear that I saw him in walmart talking to a heavy set chtistian woman in a bikini in the drapes section.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous3:27 PM

    Trump's Oddly Specific White House Eating Habits Have Been Revealed

    https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/53n5dd/trumps-oddly-specific-white-house-eating-habits-have-been-revealed

    From ordering well-done steak slathered in ketchup, to de-crusting pizza and eating it with a knife and fork, to indulging in fast food because it is "clean," Donald Trump is known for his Howard Hughes-level picky opinions when it comes to food.
    From where the 45th President works, eats and sleeps, everything is going just great. Now if only everyone else would see it that way.

    http://time.com/donald-trump-after-hours/

    Trump, with Pence, watches a replay of Senate hearings from a private dining room near the Oval Office

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:57 PM

      to indulging in fast food because it is "clean,"
      ================
      He would know about filthy kitchens with health code violations, his “resorts” have been cited numerous times.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:52 PM

      How can he be a man of the people when he eats his fast food with cutlery? Trump was pictured in 2011 eating pizza with a fork and knife next to Sarah Palin

      http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/08/02/05/36CACF2800000578-3719237-image-a-94_1470112175836.jpg

      Have you watched the movie Contagion?

      http://www.msnbc.com/sites/msnbc/files/styles/ratio--1_91-1--1200x630/public/articles/gettyimages-115000650.jpg?itok=XYzNYpFh

      Delete
  37. Statins increase the likelihood of type II diabetes in menopausal women by over 60%.

    They have not been proven to lessen the likelihood of cardiovascular disease. They reduce cholesterol but that is all. Reducing cholesterol doesn't necessarily prevent heart disease.

    I won't take them because I consider the danger of type II diabetes to be worse than that of high cholesterol.

    My doctor has been told I will not take statins. If they have something that is not a statin that will do the job, then I'll try it. Otherwise, forget it. I do my best to eat healthy but I have high cholesterol on both sides of my family so diet and exercise can only do so much.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anonymous4:41 PM

    Why in the hell are they worried about 2020?

    We haven’t even gotten through 2017 with their nutcase party leader.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous4:58 PM

    Why in the hell are they worried about 2020?

    We haven’t gotten through 2017 with their nutcase party leader.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Anonymous5:52 PM

    The oldest president to assume office is Donald Trump, who was 70 years, 220 days old when he assumed office. Ronald Reagan was the oldest in office, at the age of 77 years, 349 days when he left office.


    If anyone is serious about Trump running for President again they need to focus on his age and health. It may not seem important but it will come back to bite them. Rich men raising money is the easy part.

    Don and Melania don't have a relationship that is anywhere close to one that can help him when he is in more declining years. I doubt that is too far away. The cover ups and protections will go on for a while. It is already visible that he has mental health issues and his shape tells plenty of other problems. He is an emotional mess. It will snowball.

    When Ronnie Reagan was getting sick and sicker he had Nancy to watch him like a hawk. She didn't let the wrong people get to him. She made sure they were served good food. Don has a family that he controls. He may act like he listens at times but he doesn't give up power or independence. He has to be Donald and do what he wants. His diet will not change, there will be consequences.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Kellyanus Conjob says that there is now shadow campaign for Pence to take the 2020 nomination over Trump.

    Now you know it's true.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Anonymous12:09 AM

    Trump Launches His Own Propaganda News Network
    http://crooksandliars.com/2017/08/trump-launches-his-own-propaganda-news

    ReplyDelete

Don't feed the trolls!
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