Althouse: "From the moment late in 2016 when Hillary Clinton’s formless, themeless, listless campaign handed the White House to Donald Trump (assisted by Comrade Putin), Democrats have been counting on..."

June 6, 2018

"From the moment late in 2016 when Hillary Clinton’s formless, themeless, listless campaign handed the White House to Donald Trump (assisted by Comrade Putin), Democrats have been counting on..."

"... the reckless, heedless, careless novice to return the favor. Rather than melt down, though, President Trump is gaining strength. After a rocky start, the president has cut himself loose from the highly unpopular Congress to create a clear account of his unusual reign, which he repeats with unflagging discipline. He’s a rulebreaker who gets results, and the enemies of change are conspiring to stop him. This is a polarizing message, indeed. But Trump appears to understand that popularity and unpopularity aren’t necessarily opposites. They can be partners...."

From "There will be no Trump collapse" by David Von Drehle (WaPo).

96 comments:

William said...: There should be a reward offered to any person who can credibly claim that his vote was changed by the machinations of Russia. I don't know whether it would be more appropriate for the DNC or the Justice Dept to offer such a reward, but such a reward should be offered.; 6/6/18, 8:21 AM
Michael K said...: What are those five steps of mourning called again ?

Is this the acceptance one ?; 6/6/18, 8:24 AM
J. Farmer said...: Assisted by Comrade Putin? What was it Goebbels said about repeating a lie often enough?; 6/6/18, 8:26 AM
Henry said...: I chuckle at the unintentional assertion that Putin assisted the Clinton campaign.

Think for a minute about what Putin didn't do. They vacuumed up Clinton's unsecured emails, which implicated Obama as well, and mostly failed to deploy them.

“Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?'

'To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.'

'The dog did nothing in the night-time.'

'That was the curious incident,' remarked Sherlock Holmes.”

― Arthur Conan Doyle, Silver Blaze; 6/6/18, 8:26 AM
Never-Biden Never-Putin said...: Assisted by Putin. How?

Please do tell us how? Facebook ads? Was that it? Wiki's release of poorly secured DNC emails?

I mean, Hillary was really a fabulous person and candidate and her Illegal Private Server for International Pay-to-Play Clinton Cash really made people trust her. So - Putin really did a number on poor poor Hillary. Is that it?; 6/6/18, 8:29 AM
rehajm said...: Despite a stalled stock market, and with the Republican agenda dead in the water

In what universe is this happening?; 6/6/18, 8:30 AM
rehajm said...: Politics, like comedy, is all about timing, and Trump’s has been exquisite

Despite his god-like brilliance Obama lacked the most important thing to a politician- timing.; 6/6/18, 8:33 AM
Never-Biden Never-Putin said...: WaPo - the house organ for the Democrat Party. LOL. Zero credibility.; 6/6/18, 8:33 AM
Wince said...: Had to say "assisted by Putin" because Comey, who is not mentioned in the piece, is currently being rehabilitated by the narrative -- until he isn't again.; 6/6/18, 8:34 AM
Wince said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/6/18, 8:34 AM
tim in vermont said...: You have to accept the speculative conclusion that Russia hacked the DNC and that the true and undisputed content of those emails was fake news. You have to accept this even though the DNC refused to let anyone in law enforcement see the server. It's an article of faith.

Donna Brazil's book laid out multiple motivations for it to have been a leak.; 6/6/18, 8:34 AM
Never-Biden Never-Putin said...: Did Putin set up Hillary's private Server? Oh that's it!; 6/6/18, 8:34 AM
RichAndSceptical said...: I've always found that it takes me about 6 months to become extremely productive in a new job. It's no surprise that it took Trump a few months to do the same.; 6/6/18, 8:34 AM
Never-Biden Never-Putin said...: Seth Rich is dead. A DNC staffer is dead. Killed. Dead. Timing.

Nobody in the hack press is curious. We are scolded to shut up because his loyal democrat parents are offended that you might come to the logical collusion that he was murdered on purpose.; 6/6/18, 8:36 AM
narciso said...: yes remember enemy of the state, and for that matter, sneakers, they are a how to manual, for these people,; 6/6/18, 8:38 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/6/18, 8:38 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: "Formless, themeless, listless" is not a bad description, but it understates the problems with the Hillary campaign.

I would describe the campaign as a "feckless, spineless, hapless, clueless, senseless, gutless operation led by a shrill, autocratic, power- hungry, ball-busting, money-grubbing, Nurse Ratched-type, repressed, angry, closeted, Lesbian."; 6/6/18, 8:40 AM
Henry said...: Mr. Von Drehle also makes a Scott Adams persuasion point:

Trump’s utter domination of the political debate...

It's an assertion, not an argument, but it rings true. Trump has managed to dominate the political debate since the moment he announced in 2015.

This is an execrable speech, filled with half-truths and bombast and insults all wrapped like bacon around the dumbed-down anti-immigration corndog message that dominated the news cycle from that point forward.

However, it's also a very funny speech:

I like China. I sell apartments for— I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike them? I own a big chunk of the Bank of America Building at 1290 Avenue of the Americas, that I got from China in a war. Very valuable.

And this:

I will stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons. And we won’t be using a man like Secretary Kerry that has absolutely no concept of negotiation, who’s making a horrible and laughable deal, who’s just being tapped along as they make weapons right now, and then goes into a bicycle race at 72 years old, and falls and breaks his leg. I won’t be doing that. And I promise I will never be in a bicycle race. That I can tell you.

"I promise I will never be in a bicycle race. That I can tell you."

Kung Fu Panda is a great movie. That bit about Secretary Kerry is pure Kung Fu Panda.; 6/6/18, 8:42 AM
tim in vermont said...: How about clueless? Running those Church Lady ads in an effort to get Bill back padding the floors of the West Wing.; 6/6/18, 8:45 AM
narciso said...: now I note, they haven't tried to copy the beginning of the first film, with Jason robards.; 6/6/18, 8:48 AM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: Every time I see a frantic Democrat invoke Putin (or Stormy Daniels) I am increasingly confident in their failure. When you’re blind to your own hysteria, it’s a safe bet that you’re headed for the rocks. I can’t think of any exceptions.; 6/6/18, 8:50 AM
Sebastian said...: OK, maybe the "trade war" is a bit "reckless," though even that, for now, looks more like hardball tactics.

Other than that, what is actually "reckless" about Trump?; 6/6/18, 8:51 AM
JPS said...: DB@H:

"Please do tell us how? Facebook ads? Was that it? Wiki's release of poorly secured DNC emails?"

I understand from General Clapper that the Satan-vs-Jesus arm-wrestling meme convinced 80,000 voters in three key blue states to switch their votes from Hillary to Trump.; 6/6/18, 8:52 AM
JPS said...: Eh - no sense analyzing or refuting "(assisted by Comrade Putin)". It's just a signal to the faithful: Now don't stop reading, I'm on your side!; 6/6/18, 8:54 AM
traditionalguy said...: The first year Trump slowly analyzed and separated the traitors from the patriots in DC and in the enemy 5th column planted in his Administration. After getting the military on his side, he dealt with the CIA State and shut down their covert operations across the world. He picked Mueller to run a fake investigation in public while Sessions arranged the real investigation and 35,000 indictments with NO LEAKS.

Now in year two, Trump is triumping over defeated foes. Tired yet?; 6/6/18, 8:55 AM
Henry said...: And give VD credit for this brutally correct assessment:

What Democrats don’t have, not yet anyway (and time is running out), is a message. The deep philosophical rifts that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) exploited in his surprisingly strong challenge to Clinton’s coronation two years ago have not healed. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) grip on the reins of the House Democrats is tight but lifeless.

Tight but lifeless describes the Obama administration and the Republican elites that Trump routed. This is an idea worth a deep dive of its own. It's opposite -- sloppy but vital, messy but audacious -- has nothing to do with the depressing sorting of people into categories and preferences. It points to a change in the zeitgeist.; 6/6/18, 8:56 AM
tim in vermont said...: It just occurred to me that the Wapo took exactly opposite positions on whether the president was an "officer" in the emoluments clause thing against Trump as they did when they argued that were Clinton convicted of crimes she clearly committed, it would not prevent her from holding office.

One of you bloggers could run with that, maybe get you a link from Ed Driscoll.; 6/6/18, 8:59 AM
Fernandinande said...: What was it Goebbels said about repeating a lie often enough?

That it risks making one look ridiculous.

"The English follow the principle that when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it. They keep up their lies, even at the risk of looking ridiculous." -- Goebbels; 6/6/18, 9:00 AM
Never-Biden Never-Putin said...: "I understand from General Clapper that the Satan-vs-Jesus arm-wrestling meme convinced 80,000 voters in three key blue states to switch their votes from Hillary to Trump."

This week's new hack-press/Democrat operative media narrative. I wonder what it will be next week? It just so happens that 80,000 brains were hacked by Poot. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Never mind that clapper and Brennen are in bed with Clinton corruption.; 6/6/18, 9:05 AM
Never-Biden Never-Putin said...: It's always the "The voters were tricked last minute to switch their votes..." meme.

Right. Because all along Hillary was so fabulous. The voters were tricked!; 6/6/18, 9:10 AM
narciso said...: the latest boomlet about manafort is patently ridiculous, if anything the witnesses were lying,; 6/6/18, 9:10 AM
chickelit said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/6/18, 9:11 AM
Michael K said...: I'm now reading Conrad Black's book on Trump. Pretty interesting. He describes a lot of Trump's business foibles and laughs about some of it. It's a very good discussion of where Trump is really coming from.

The lefties have no idea.; 6/6/18, 9:11 AM
chickelit said...: The continuing insistence that “comrade Putin” assisted Trump is necessary because it discredits Trump for his election victory. It’s the very same spirit which drives them to discredit Trump for any positive aspect of the state of the union. What’s new here is that more and more Dems are publicly distancing themselves away from the Clintons. By fall, any candidate once firmly stuck in the Hillary camp will be trying to hide that fact.; 6/6/18, 9:12 AM
Francisco D said...: What is the most important thing for the Russian economy and Comrade Putin? OIL!

What were Democrats doing in regards to domestic production? Blocking ANWAR, the Keystone pipeline and fracking.

What is Trump doing re the above?

Can someone explain why Putin would want Trump in the White House?

We don't even need to get into the bribes received by the Clinton Crime Family from the Russians.; 6/6/18, 9:16 AM
DanTheMan said...: All truth passes through three stages:

First, it is ridiculed.
Second, it is violently opposed.
Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.

-Arthur Schopenhauer

Welcome to step 3, Dems.; 6/6/18, 9:17 AM
robother said...: "(assisted by Comrade Putin)" is literally in parentheticals. That David von Drehle really knows how to bury a lede. Here he's got the smoking gun proof Mueller's been looking for these last 14 months, and he just casually mentions it parenthetically.; 6/6/18, 9:17 AM
narciso said...: Conrad was perhaps the most pro western publisher on the planet, but through some managerial legerdemain, he was ousted from the board, pursued by fitz, his empire was fenced by breeden, to the aspers and the Barclay bros.

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2007/08/02/hollinger-inc-seeks-bankruptcy-shelter-asserts-control-over-sun-times-media; 6/6/18, 9:18 AM
Robert Cook said...: "Assisted by Comrade Putin? What was it Goebbels said about repeating a lie often enough?"

Are you sure the writer isn't being ironic?; 6/6/18, 9:18 AM
Never-Biden Never-Putin said...: I confess that my brain was hacked by Poot. I was all in for Hillary, and then Poot downloaded a facebook ad and tricked me into thinking Hillary was a satan.; 6/6/18, 9:18 AM
Hagar said...: Putin is a swashbuckler, not a communist.; 6/6/18, 9:26 AM
Amadeus 48 said...: The whole Putin Did It idea is so empty of content but so undying--it is the mantra of the Undead. The Democrats have turned into zombies. They lurch around the landscape, insensate, rotting, unable to do or say anything that makes sense. They can choke out a few phrases, their voices hollow and their eyes vacant. They are in thrall to ideas that are dead, to dreams that are dead, to people that are dead: Pelosi, Schumer, both Clintons, Sanders, Obama--their ideas have failed, the bodies are wrecked, but they won't leave the stage. They are ZOMBIES!

Putin Did It.; 6/6/18, 9:26 AM
narciso said...: fitz of course, played favorites, not going after any of the other heavy hitters on the Hollinger board, and coddling david radler, many of the charges were reversed on appeal,; 6/6/18, 9:26 AM
Robert Cook said...: "The first year Trump slowly analyzed and separated the traitors from the patriots in DC and in the enemy 5th column planted in his Administration."

Trump doesn't "slowly analyze" anything; he acts in fits of pique.; 6/6/18, 9:28 AM
narciso said...: the reality is there is a dynamic, even if Theresa may is too ignorant or compromised to take advantage of, the Neapolitan coalition, in Italy, advances in Slovenia, in other places,; 6/6/18, 9:31 AM
narciso said...: the push for full sanctuary, wasn't really that popular in the hinterlands, who'd of thought,; 6/6/18, 9:34 AM
JPS said...: Robert Cook:

"Trump doesn't 'slowly analyze' anything; he acts in fits of pique."

I'm not so sure. He does seem to have those - but when I look at how he got the Republican nomination, I think there was either considerable analysis beforehand, or the man has remarkable instincts. (Maybe he had the instinct, paid for analyses, and chose the successful one.)

Ditto for the diplomatic movement on North Korea, which of course could all end in tears, but does look promising.

He can only be so lucky for so long before I think maybe he's making his luck in large part.; 6/6/18, 9:35 AM
langford peel said...: Luck is the residue of design.; 6/6/18, 9:38 AM
narciso said...: so the dems are using an excuse, that seemed ridiculous in that episode of star trek, the next generation, and the movie, 'Josie and the pussycats' with tara reid' which of course is extra ridiculous,; 6/6/18, 9:41 AM
M Jordan said...: Trump is action. Trump is energy. Trump is never looking back, never apologizing, never lamenting yesterday’s decision. Trump’s cure for a bad news day is to create more news. Those who criticize Trump for inconsistency, lying, outrageousness, whatever, miss the essential element of Trump which is pushing ahead.

Hillary and virtually all of Congress live in a boggy theater where “action” is nothing more than moving lips delivered by mannequins mired three feet deep in the mud. Trump is a breath of fresh air in America because he touches an archetypal nerve in our nation’s psychological makeup. America is action. America is tomorrow. America is dynamism, not stasis.

That’s why he won and that’s why he’ll be overwhelmingly re-elected.; 6/6/18, 9:41 AM
langford peel said...: Famous words of that noted philosopher Ricky Branch.; 6/6/18, 9:41 AM
narciso said...: I wouldn't go that far, but his instincts have been on balance solid, he knows who he has to side with in the final analysis, even though they are feints of reasonableness,; 6/6/18, 9:50 AM
narciso said...: in other news, from the past,

http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/236531/israeli-security-cabinet-secret-transcripts-part-2; 6/6/18, 9:53 AM
Original Mike said...: ”Despite a stalled stock market, ...”

Sounds like this guy was a seller on Nov 9.

“Trump’s has been exquisite. Years of unprecedented pump-priming by the Federal Reserve have finally produced optimism about a (relative) gusher of economic growth,...”

Riiiight.; 6/6/18, 9:55 AM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Trump is showing being president is not that hard if you can multi-task, have common sense and good economic sense which includes understanding the fundamentals of human nature [i.e why and how people behave in response to various incentives] Obama had no clue about that- he assumed many of us are all innocent victims esp the groups the Dems typically target for votes.; 6/6/18, 9:58 AM
narciso said...: what do we have here:

https://audioboom.com/posts/6885764-the-mystery-of-russian-born-rinat-akhmetshin-2-of-2-friend-of-the-clintons-turning-up-at-critical-russiagate-events-aaronkleinshow; 6/6/18, 10:02 AM
Mike Sylwester said...: Putin did not merely buy ads on Facebook and Twitter.

He also had RT television broadcast criticism of fracking.

And don't get me started on how Putin used MySpace.; 6/6/18, 10:04 AM
wwww said...: "This is a polarizing message, indeed. But Trump appears to understand that popularity and unpopularity aren’t necessarily opposites. They can be partners...."

Popularity/ Unpopularity.

It was bold to disinvite the Eagles. it'll be interesting to see if swing-state Pennsylvanians get annoyed for the diss, or if they don't care.; 6/6/18, 10:06 AM
narciso said...: lesin, made sure rt was a very polished operation, now in echoes of the krivitsky affair, it's odd how little is made of his dispatching,; 6/6/18, 10:11 AM
narciso said...: it is striking how the murder of a probable defector in the middle of dc, got so little ink, in the supposed 'hair on fire' Obama administration,; 6/6/18, 10:13 AM
David Begley said...: Howard Schultz of Starbucks is running. He will be a tough opponent for Trump.

Check out his interview on CNBC yesterday.

Mark this comment.; 6/6/18, 10:15 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: Trump doesn't "slowly analyze" anything; he acts in fits of pique.

And, yet, his actions almost always produce positive results.

Your genocidal Marxist ideology is endlessly debated and analyzed, and it's causing starvation in Venezuela.

Wrong people in charge again!; 6/6/18, 10:18 AM
narciso said...: like stiglitz, who certified the Venezuelan central bank, which prints new hues of monopoly money,; 6/6/18, 10:19 AM
narciso said...: he also said fannie and Freddie were sound, and the check is in the mail,; 6/6/18, 10:21 AM
Michael K said...: I'm still figuring out Trump. The Conrad book may explain a lot. The FitzGerald operation was another of his Inspector Javert missions to punish the wrong person but divert attention.

As an absolute outsider but with a lot of business experience, especially with crooks like New York City politicians, he is well equipped to drain the swamp.

Of course, the Swamp is filled with creatures that like it there and will fight to defend their rice bowls.

Black discusses the Fannie/Freddie bubble and suggests that i had a lot to do with Trump's decision to run.; 6/6/18, 10:33 AM
mockturtle said...: Meanwhile, where's that IG report???; 6/6/18, 10:39 AM
narciso said...: you have to peel back the layers, Conrad was subject to the vengeance first visited on warren hasting in the late 18th century, for successfully managing the east india company, the impeachment attempt was not one of Edmund burke's finest hours sadly,; 6/6/18, 10:40 AM
langford peel said...: Pennsylvania fans are Steeler fans.

The Eagles are a Philly thing. Everybody hates the Eagles.

Their fans are almost as bad as the Raider fans who are the worst.; 6/6/18, 10:43 AM
langford peel said...: You never go wrong insulting baby mama beating drug taking felons.

That is why it is so wonderful to see the Democrats defending MS-13.

Same thing actually.; 6/6/18, 10:45 AM
Fred Drinkwater said...: My 12 year old once said, when asked about the importance of luck in golf: "The more you practice, the more luck you have."; 6/6/18, 11:01 AM
Larry J said...: Every Republican candidate since Dewey has been described by Democrats as literally Hitler, stupid, and unfit for any office. Perhaps it's time they stopped drinking their own Koolaid and questioned their assumptions. That would require them to engage in self-reflection on how the things they believe just might not be true.

Nah. It'll never happen. They'll just keep on being stupid and surprised.; 6/6/18, 11:03 AM
gilbar said...: My 12 year old once said, when asked about the importance of luck in golf: "The more you practice, the more luck you have."

well put, Branch rickey said: Luck is the residue of design.

I like your 12 year old's better; 6/6/18, 11:28 AM
AustinRoth said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/6/18, 11:47 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: “Howard Schultz of Starbucks is running. He will be a tough opponent for Trump.

Check out his interview on CNBC yesterday.”

His problem is that he would be running as an outsider in the party of insiders. If the Dems retake the House, some of the new committees chairs will be the same as the last time the Dems had the House, and maybe the time before. Best thing that they could do to win the House would be to fire Pelosi as minority leader and prospective Speaker. But they don’t. How did a charisma impaired grifter in poor health and no real positive, and several real negative accomplishments, and well known track record for corruption, get their nomination in 2016? That nomination was bought and paid for with political favors. The Dem party has long been the insider party. Even a century and a half ago, we were starting to see the power of big city Dem political machines, and esp in the last half century, they, with their armies of govt employees, and welfare recipients, have become the real power within that party. Schultz hasn’t waited for his turn, while Biden and Bernie have. I doubt that a true outsider has really had that much chance at the Dem nomination, and then election, since maybe 1968.

Which is why, I think that the Dems have such a leadership problem right now. Sure, there are plenty of Dems, like Schultz, who would make better candidates than the establishment candidates. But they need the party behind them to win, and they don’t have the political debits and credits to be trusted with the nomination. Obama was vouched for by the Chicago machine. The national Dems knew that he would take care of them, if they took care of him. And the Clintons had been around for a quarter century, so everyone knew that they would rub their backs, if they rubbed hers. These outsiders? As likely to actually believe in good (and clean) govt, cutting off the gravy train for all those Democratic constituencies, as to play ball, once in office.

I think that it is indicative that the party that enforces term limits to leadership posts in the House is the same one that allowed an outsider to win its nomination and then the Presidency. And that party is not the Democratic one.; 6/6/18, 11:47 AM
AustinRoth said...: What is the endgame for the rabid Democrats? Their delusion of impeachment?

Two major roadblocks stand in their way.

First, the 2/3 Senate vote to convict. Never going to happen.

But more importantly and rarely mentioned is that the House ruled in 1874 that impeachment cannot be based on actions prior to being elected, only while in office!; 6/6/18, 11:49 AM
Seeing Red said...: The same thing it’s slways been.

We win you lose and you open your pocketbooks because WE CARE with OPM.; 6/6/18, 12:04 PM
Greg P said...: JPS said...
Eh - no sense analyzing or refuting "(assisted by Comrade Putin)". It's just a signal to the faithful: Now don't stop reading, I'm on your side!

Yep. It's what I most despise about the Left, their need for, and embrace of, signaling to define "the good".

Actually being good? Unimportant and irrelevant. What matters is that you send out the "appropriate" class / political signals; 6/6/18, 12:05 PM
Seeing Red said...: Or perfecting the Soviet Man.

Or Feudalism.; 6/6/18, 12:05 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: “But more importantly and rarely mentioned is that the House ruled in 1874 that impeachment cannot be based on actions prior to being elected, only while in office!”

I don’t think that means diddly squat. What one Session of one House of Congress can do, another can do, just as easily. We have seen that with the rise, and now falling, filibuster rules in the Senate. Discipline is tight enough on the Dem side of the House, that Pelosi could force swing district moderates to vote for Obamacare, and against the Tax Reform legislation that is one of the drivers behind the current boom in our economy. Not a single Democrat was allowed to vote for the latter, and few were allowed to vote against the former. If Speaker Pelosi and her House leadership want impeachment, they will get it. If it needs a change in House rules, they will get that too.

I still contend that the big block against removal is the Senate. The Dems would need to essentially have to run the table in Senate seat elections this November, to even have a chance. I am not talking just saving their 10 or so Trump State Dem seats, but also picking up seats in states where they have never, ever, won statewide election. We are probably talking winning upwards of a dozen seats that were Trump+20 or more in 2016. Ain’t gonna happen. They would be exceedingly lucky to keep what they have and pick up a seat or two for the majority.; 6/6/18, 12:05 PM
M Jordan said...: Didn’t watch the Shultz interview but I’m sure the reason it’s being praised here is because he was lucid, articulate, and non-bombastic. Nice traits to have in a CNBC interview. But what happens when he faces the madman in a debate? Let’s ask Li’l Marco, Ted Cruz, and Jeb!

Shultz is going nowhere, just like any other Dem they stick up against the Madman.; 6/6/18, 12:16 PM
tcrosse said...: Shultz is going nowhere, just like any other Dem they stick up against the Madman.

Never mind the Madman. First he has to get past a collection of Madwomen, i.e. Harris, Gillebrand, Warren, even Clinton. Nowhere is exactly where he's headed.; 6/6/18, 12:32 PM
Fabi said...: "Trump doesn't "slowly analyze" anything; he acts in fits of pique."

Feel free to keep believing that, Cookie. Feel free to understand that you can't beat the enemy until you understand the enemy. You don't understand Trump at all -- and that's okay with me.; 6/6/18, 12:37 PM
Jim at said...: Of course, the author fails to account for the left going completely batshit insane since Trump won.; 6/6/18, 12:40 PM
Big Mike said...: In related news, portions of the long-awaited OIG seem to be leaking out, and include a scathing review of Loretta Lynch, not to mention James Comey. And Andrew McCabe won't talk to Congress without a grant of immunity.

Pass. The. Pop. Corn.; 6/6/18, 12:42 PM
rehajm said...: Howard Schultz of Starbucks is running. He will be a tough opponent for Trump.

He's left of center while Democrats are now left of left of left of center. Also he's a white male. Also he's a capitalist pig.; 6/6/18, 12:42 PM
Vance said...: Howard Schultz? Didn't he just proclaim that Starbucks was a veritable patron of racist and racism under his watch, until he got caught?

That's his legacy, right now. Racist enabler.

Good luck, man, in the Democrat Primary. Perhaps you'd better convert to Islam... then you can be as racist and sexist as you want and the left will vote for you in droves!; 6/6/18, 1:46 PM
Bob Loblaw said...: Howard Schultz represents everything that turned voters out for Trump - the identity politics over practicality, the holier than thou virtue signalling, the White Man's Burden complex... plus, he's got Hillary Clinton's likability. Trump would leave him a smoking hole in the ground. That's why the Democrats won't run him. The insider politics are irrelevant.; 6/6/18, 2:00 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: "In related news, portions of the long-awaited OIG seem to be leaking out, and include a scathing review of Loretta Lynch, not to mention James Comey. And Andrew McCabe won't talk to Congress without a grant of immunity."

Plus, the timeline on spying, etc, is continually getting pushed back, into 2015 now. A lot of hanky pansy going on in spring of 2016, much seemingly by the CIA.

I seriously don't expect use immunity for McCabe. The example of Oliver North was brought up, pointing out that his convictions were reversed because of the immunity deal he got to testify. They don't really need McCabe's testimony anyway - they have Strzok by the balls right now, and very likely making him sing. And that very well probably means that they already have enough dirt on McCabe to sentence him to a nice long stay in federal prison. Strzok's boss, Bill Priestap, this week essentially testified to Congress that Strzok repeatedly went around him to McCabe (and I think maybe Comey). Interestingly, these are the two people closest to the FBI side of the scandal who are still employed there. Priestap is still in place as Dir of Counterintelligence, which makes him the white hat, and Strzok has been demoted, and reassigned to HR, which makes him the black hat who was the most involved in their illegal machinations, and isn't being allowed to resign until they are done with his testimony.; 6/6/18, 2:19 PM
AustinRoth said...: @Bruce Hayden:

We are in agreement about the Senate, but I think you underestimate the importance of the House precedence.

Not all the Democrats in the House (likely not even a majority after the mid-terms) really want to go through the face of an unwinnable impeachment proceeding, unless of course the non-existent smoking gun is miraculously found. This provides additional cover for those who want a way out without directly opposing the mob and their pitchforks.

And if Pelosi is indeed Speaker again (it sends chills up my spine just typing those words), she and her team will play both sides - appear to be supporting impeachment proceedings, but actually killing them. She may be crazy (literally, I mean - dementia), but she is an experienced and wiley politician. She and her team knows a farcical, obviously politically motivated failed impeachment of Trump will pretty much guarantee his re-election in 2020.

It is better to let the lies and innuendos keep dominating the headlines than to have them proven false.; 6/6/18, 2:37 PM
AustinRoth said...: p.s. - is everyone else having to re-verify their account for every single post?; 6/6/18, 2:38 PM
Larry J said...: rehajm said...

Howard Schultz of Starbucks is running. He will be a tough opponent for Trump.

He's left of center while Democrats are now left of left of left of center. Also he's a white male. Also he's a capitalist pig.

The Democrats are so far left of center (and accelerating) that the light from the political center is red-shifted. That's why anything to the right of Pol Pot, Mao, or Stalin is considered "right wing extremist", "white nationalist", "alt-right", and of course, "racist".; 6/6/18, 3:18 PM
Roy Lofquist said...: Michael K said...

"As an absolute outsider but with a lot of business experience, especially with crooks like New York City politicians, he is well equipped to drain the swamp."

My late wife was "Gal Friday" to the president of a labor union in NYC for almost 30 years. It isn't only the politicians. NYC is run by an unholy alliance of the Democratic Party, organized labor, and organized crime. The politicians control the permitting, labor the workers, and the mob has fingers in the sub contractors and suppliers.

Swamp? More like Jurassic Park.; 6/6/18, 3:51 PM
Seeing Red said...: Howard Schultz turned Starbucks into a toilet.

He’ll turn the country into a toilet and lecture us why its good.; 6/6/18, 5:09 PM
eddie willers said...: I would describe the campaign as a "feckless

I will never again see that word without immediately thinking "cunt".; 6/6/18, 7:12 PM
madAsHell said...: This is the scene in "Mars Attacks" where they discover that country music causes the heads of the aliens to explode.; 6/6/18, 7:18 PM
madAsHell said...: is everyone else having to re-verify their account for every single post?

No.; 6/6/18, 7:21 PM