Monday, April 02, 2018

Robert Reich asks "Is Donald Trump the Worst President in American History?" Is this a trick question?

Courtesy of Common Dreams:  

When he threatens to loosen federal libel laws so he can sue news organizations that are critical of him and revoke licenses of networks critical of him, he isn’t just bullying the media. He’s threatening the constitutionally guaranteed freedom and integrity of the press. 

When he equated Neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members with counter-demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia, by blaming “both sides” for the violence, he wasn’t being neutral. He was condoning white supremacists, thereby undermining the constitution’s guarantee of equal rights. 

When he pardoned Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, for a criminal contempt conviction, he wasn’t just signaling it’s okay for the police to engage in violations of civil rights. He was also subverting the rule of law by impairing the judiciary’s power to force public officials to abide by court decisions. 

When he criticized NFL players for kneeling during the national anthem, he wasn’t just demanding they demonstrate their patriotism. He was disrespecting their – and, indirectly, everyone’s – freedom of speech. 

When he berates the intelligence agencies and the federal bureau of investigation, he isn’t just questioning their competence. He’s suggesting they’re engaged in a giant conspiracy to remove him from office – potentially inviting his most ardent supporters to engage in a new civil war. 

When he boasts that he made up information in a meeting with the prime minister of Canada, he isn’t just undermining his own credibility. He’s undermining the credibility of the united states in the eyes of the world. 

Donald Trump is degrading the core institutions and values of our democracy. 

Spoiler alert: So that answer appears to be "YES!"

Which means we are likely living through the worst presidency this country has ever endured. 

There are lessons which need to be learned here, and steps that should be taken to prevent something like this from happening again.

However I do not know exactly how those changes to our democratic process would be implemented, or even what they would look like.

All I know is that if we do not figure something out, our democracy will not be stolen from us by outside forces, but rather we will run it off a cliff all on our own.

41 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:25 AM

    Historically we never appear to learn from our mistakes? Maybe this time,only if we have not
    Completely lost control of our integrity and intelligence.
    Besides being bad president, he is a scrum sucking disgusting sewer rat!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous1:29 PM

      not to forget child rapist.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous3:59 PM

      How is this our mistake, the russians elected him.

      If McConnell hadn't threaten Obama before the election maybe our democracy could have been saved from the sociopath in the WH.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous6:36 AM

    There was an interesting commetnary -on yesterday's radio show (David Frum? NPR) that talks about not going after a signle person (T.Rump) but that the left aka Democrats need to unitedly put forth positive policy suggestions.

    I get a bit pissed when I hear this - have we not noticed the ACA, DACA? Have we not noticed marriage equality? But, I do agree to an extent, that we need to stop tiptoeing around "things that might piss off moderates" and go full positive on universal health care, education, right to unionize, living minimum wage, paid overtime/realistic floor for salaried workers, common sense gun control, Planned Parenthood support, and women's reproductive health here and across the world - hey, want fewer immigrants? Support policies that help women in the developign wolrd have fewer children so those kids don't grow up in a place that can't doesn't have the resources to feed them, etc. All of these are also something that minorities care about too, perhaps more so.

    Like Hillary said, we'll never change the basket of deplorables - so forget them; they are irrational hypocrites - see Talibangelicals still supporting T.RUmp - his adultery doesn't matter, just yours. For the most part, they are old and dying off. And someone living the Duggar lifestyle is never going to care about education anyway - no matter what Democrats do.

    GO after the moderates and give them something to get excited about. Roll back all the damage The Rump has done - back to clean air and water and protecting public lands and kids.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous8:14 AM

      Sit down and shut up. Stop mudding the waters. The Newbees (kids) got this! Take a laxative. Or two!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:09 AM

      Moderates like Trump a lot more than the left realizes (or wants to admit), they just keep quiet about it because the liberals are too annoying and bullying with their positions. Trump will likely serve two terms.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous4:00 PM

      Trump will likely serve two terms.
      ====================
      I have never heard of prison sentences referred to as terms.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous6:39 AM

    Go Fuckabee Sarah: winning NOT

    https://www.rawstory.com/2018/04/sarah-sanders-democrats-tired-winning-trump-killed-daca-hurting-people/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:30 AM

      That disgusting horse-faced Sara Suckabee Sanders can even ruin and Easter Egg Roll with her belligerance.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous4:04 PM

      Can you believe these sadists, there is trump sitting at a table with children threaten another group of children with deportation.

      Not only does he not understand anything about DACA, but he is the one that ended it.

      The children at the Easter roll could probable explained it to him, but he only listens to the wacko's at Fox "News".

      Delete
  4. Anonymous6:45 AM

    https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5ac19c9ae4b0f112dc9d47a2

    Lamb pOOn

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous7:08 AM

    NO joke...
    ‘You haven’t realized that you’re the joke yet?’

    https://www.rawstory.com/2018/04/trump-gets-brutally-blistered-twitter-tantrum-havent-realized-youre-joke-yet/

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous7:22 AM

    Never have the American people witness such a obvious criminal and disgusting human illegally occupying the peoples house. He will forever be labeled a liar and crook that committed treason and collusion with the Russian mob and the global underworld. It is beyond the worst.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous7:47 AM

    https://www.rawstory.com/2018/04/watch-trump-baffles-children-bizarre-rant-military-strength-white-house-easter-egg-roll/

    '“this house or building or whatever you want to call it because there is no name for it, it is special.”'
    'rump then said that HE and his staff keep the White House

    “in tip-top shape, we call it sometimes tiPPy-toP shaPe, and it’s a great, GREAT place.” " “just THINK of $700 Billion, because that’s what’s going into our military this year.”"<tinydjt baby talk SAID THAT!^

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous8:28 AM

      Sure it isn't gold from Russia? Here we go again.
      Not this time boys. Grin.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous9:31 AM

      https://www.politicususa.com/2018/04/02/first-family-going-through-the-motions-of-easter-with-little-joy.html

      are in bleak times these days, and this reality is reflected in the faces of the First Family at Easter.

      Perhaps this is comforting, as it tells everyone they are not alone. But to think some Americans are so swept up in superficial aspirations that they find this family to be role models for evangelical Christians is further fodder for discouragement.

      Easter at the White House, 2018: take a lOOk^

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:08 AM

      https://www.politicususa.com/2018/04/02/trump-screams-at-children-about-military-spending-at-easter-egg-roll.html

      thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you <PUKE!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:10 AM

      Now this:
      https://www.rawstory.com/2018/04/trumps-2020-campaign-manager-calls-punish-reporter-asked-president-tough-question-easter-event/

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:32 AM

      OT?
      "WHAT’S THE BUZZ?
      The ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ Live Concert Was Absolutely Incredible" aka PRO·di·gious

      https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-jesus-christ-superstar-live-concert-was-absolutely-incredible?ref=home

      http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/secrets-jesus-christ-superstar-live-nbc-1202741209/

      'The show was broadcast live from an armory in Brooklyn.
      NBC telecast the show from the
      Marcy Avenue Armory in Williamsburg,
      right at the junction of hipster Brooklyn and Hasidic Brooklyn — which made for an amusing juxtaposition for an audience arriving for a performance of
      “Jesus Christ Superstar” on Easter.'

      Delete
    6. Anonymous4:15 PM

      Is he having mini strokes again?

      Can't remember the name of the White House and terrorized children with his speech about the military and deporting children.

      Good job, fake president, he is truly a sick person.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous8:23 AM

    "Fooling the faithful.

    TWEET ME
    "As an atheist, I'm finding Easter on April Fool's Day to be a fucking hoot...

    -Doug in Oakland"

    I couldn't resist that comment which accompanied my last post from a regular in the fields.

    Anyway, today is the holiest of days for white evangelical Christians in America, and on this day, their leader, rather than tweet an inspirational message of peace, or of God's grace, chose to tweet a hateful and divisive screed about illegal immigration.

    He even went to church with his wife. You know, the one he cheated on--- soon after she gave birth to his youngest child-- with a playboy bunny and a porn star.

    POLLs show that most white American evangelicals support this president. The FACT that he is a bigot, a thief, an alleged rapist, and a conman, means nothing.
    Throw in the FACT that he makes fun of the disabled and of poor people in Third World countries, and you have to wonder if these people who support him understand irony, or if they even consider doing a little self-reflection every now and then.

    White American evangelicals claim that they support this current president because THEY FELT that their religion was under siege under former president Obama. NOW, with trump, they believe that they have a friend in Washington, and that he will protect their religion and American way of life by stacking the courts with like minded people, and pushing for laws that will do harm to those other people; not them.
    So even if they know that HE RAPED someone, as Jerry Falwell, Jr. recently suggested, they are still not sure if they would pull their support for him.

    Michael Gerson nailed the dilemma facing white evangelical trump supporters in his excellent essay for the Atlantic magazine:

    "Trump supporters tend to dismiss MORAL scruples about his behavior as squeamishness over the president’s “$TYLE.” But the problem is the distinctly non-Christian substance of his VALUE$. Trump’s unapologetic materialism—his equation of financial and social success with human achievement and worth—is a negation of Christian teaching. His tribalism and HATRED for “the other” stand in direct opposition to Jesus’s radical ethic of neighbor love. Trump’s strength-worship and contempt for “losers” smack more of Nietzsche than of Christ."

    Today is the day Christians believe that Jesus rose from the dead. I dare say that if he were to wake up today he would wonder why he even bothered." <F.N.

    https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/04/the-last-temptation/554066/

    "Democracy is not merely a set of procedures.
    It has a MORAL structure."

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous8:30 AM

    The law is broken = Hillary won the popular vote but he was sworn in. That's screwed up. I fully understand we are a republic, but voting for the prez must be popular vote. Representation of the republic is set up for congress. Popular vote for prez.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:50 PM

      we need to go back to paper ballots. kind of hard to screw with that.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous9:02 AM

    I Thought it would happen on 'GOOD FRIDAY'...Down 500

    http://money.cnn.com/2018/04/02/investing/dow-jones-nasdaq-stocks-amazon/index.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:16 AM

      A few YEAR$? RiiiggghhttT “iDEAListic”

      https://www.rawstory.com/2018/04/facebook-needs-years-fix-problems-mark-zuckerberg/

      https://www.rawstory.com/2018/04/trump-unveil-china-tariff-list-week-targeting-tech-goods/

      Mind over Matter$

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:59 PM

      -460

      https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5abd595ae4b0f112dc9aefa5

      Delete
    3. Anonymous4:17 PM

      The stock exchange was closed on Good Friday, so trump crashed the market today.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous9:17 AM

    OT?
    https://www.politicususa.com/2018/04/02/jared-kushners-father-claims-family-hasnt-done-anything-wrong.html

    daddy deare$T> "Kushner Companies is guilty of nothing.

    “Go knock yourselves out for the next 10 years,”<BAM!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous9:54 AM

    FB"If this country is to continue to thrive and progress, it must be led by its educators, particularly its public school teachers. They are the all-too-often unheralded, neglected and underpaid backbone of this nation. I would not be where I am today without dedicated teachers who believed in me and opened my eyes to new horizons. And I know millions of my fellow citizens feel the same way.
    And that is why I am so inspired and encouraged by what is one of the more underreported stories of recent weeks. Something is stirring in traditionally red states - teachers are fighting back after being pushed to desperation by years of shrinking education budgets from state capitals bent on shortsighted tax-cut frenzied economic policies. In West Virginia, a teacher strike led to a pay increase. And similar movements are fomenting in Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Arizona.
    Because here's the reality - most parents no matter their party affiliation want good schools for their kids. Communities understand the importance of good school districts. And businesses need well trained workers. Sadly, public education has become a political battleground but I believe these efforts will be successful, and others will likely follow.
    We need to break our cycle of cynicism. We need to recognize the importance of education and those who dedicate themselves to these lives of service to our future generations. Public schools must be part of #WhatUnitesUs."
    Dan the Man Rather^

    ReplyDelete
  13. We could demand that our presidential candidates all pass a competency test (No not that kind, Constitutional laws, knowledge of foreign policy, basic economics, how the government works, etc.) and also be examined by a qualified physician for mental problems.

    In other words, if you want to run for president, you need to prove you are sane and have the education and mindset to properly serve.

    What we have is the equivalent of a mad king.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:49 PM

      you will notice that he doesn't get his own way when it comes to media. he would like all networks to be Fox and they are not doing it. NBC cuts his "speeches" not. rants about how wonderful he is and every thing he has done for us.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous4:18 PM

      CBS has been corrected all his lies with the truth.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous4:21 PM

      Competency test, I don't think trump can even read and write beyond a kindergarten level and you want him to read the Constitution.

      LOL he doesn't even remember it is called the WHITE HOUSE, hint donnie, the color gives it away.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous10:43 AM

    TEACH OUR CHILDREN WELL:

    https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/oklahoma-teachers-begin-massive-walkout-over-school-funding_us_5ac23999e4b055e50acf3ac6

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous12:46 PM

    YESYESYESYESYESYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EVEN W.Bush is a human being. trump is some kind of alien-like the Queen, who is a reptile and eats small children. he's chances of ever meeting her are nil. even welcomed in England-won't happen. i get to spend my entire vacation telling people I DIDN'T VOTE FOR HIM!! what a braindead piece of shit! i would like to know what Putin has on him. raping little Russian girls?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous5:34 PM

      God $arah. Go take a nap!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous5:13 AM

      NOT SARAH.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous7:13 PM

      ^ same ramblings there of. :/

      Delete
  16. Anonymous12:57 PM

    Rolling BullShit...EPA

    https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5abd595ae4b0f112dc9aefa5

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous3:57 PM

    Not only does he "win" for being the worst president ever, he wins for being the most mentally ill president ever.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous10:17 PM

    His morning tweets should be starting in an hour or so.

    ReplyDelete

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