October 4, 2019

"I think the 'worst impeachment news of all' is just that Nancy Pelosi is calm."

I say out loud, after spending a couple minutes skimming "This might be the worst impeachment news of all for Trump" (a Karen Tumulty column at WaPo) looking for what it is now that's really going to finally, at long last, take down Trump. Several times a day, it's something new. You look at the headlines and this! — no, this! — is the last straw, the smoking gun, the end of the road, the opening of the floodgates, the breaking of the dam, the unraveling of the sweater, the handbasket to hell, Waterloo...



I think I'm tough, very resistant to hysterical headlines and numb to the hourly elbowings to pay attention to the newest pointy dart lobbed at the much-poked President. But "This might be the worst impeachment news of all for Trump" got me. I'm soul searching. I think it was that I wanted to increase my invulnerability to the nudgings of headlines. So this is "the worst"? Okay, hit me with your worst. Let me see if I can take it.

And look, it's a you-go-girl puff piece about Nancy Pelosi. She's "a study in serenity." She's "determined not to give in to the impulses of some Democrats" who want to make the impeachment about everything they hate about Trump. She's calm, and she's "settling in for the duration, however long it might be." And, "For a president who grows more agitated by the day, that might be the worst news of all."

Is Nancy really so calm and Trump so agitated? You could just as well say that Nancy's nervous and Trump is a happy warrior. But, okay, Nancy's emotional state might be the "worst news" for Trump. If WaPo's right, I'd say that's great news for Trump.

139 comments:

M Jordan said...

The media simply is incapable of understanding Trump. I think the Left, by becoming completely tribal and ideological, has finally lost the edge in cultural hipness. The right memes way better, trolls better (#Eatthebabies), and is the place where fun still exists. Breitbat’s dream was to take the cool factor away from the left and I actually think it’s happening.

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

It's becoming almost hypnotic. "is the last straw, the smoking gun, the end of the road, the opening of the floodgates, the breaking of the dam, the unraveling of the sweater, the handbasket to hell, Waterloo..."

You are getting sleepy ... very sleepy.

Well, maybe not exactly sleepy, but I am getting tired of it all.

Big Mike said...

Pelosi is not calm. Her face is so full of Botox she registers no emotions at all.

iowan2 said...

Dem are desparetly trying to learn from the President. They are just a couple of decades behind in their understanding. Dems think if the play this like a Reality show, they will get the fantastic results like President Trump delivers.

President Trump knows how to communicate, his big advantage vs the Dems, he is true and sincere in advancing the interests of the American People. All of them.

Dave Begley said...

The Dems are going to suffer an epic beatdown. If Nancy was so calm, why doesn't she call a vote for the entire House for an impeachment inquiry. That's always been the practice and the Constitution requires it.

Answer? She doesn't have the votes.

The impeachment TV show will fill lots of time on TV, but it will be a huge win for Trump.

hawkeyedjb said...

Good God. These people act like they are getting rid of the 7th grade class president, not undoing the election of a president in a constitutional republic. How's it gonna go? Well heck, the Most Popular Girl in the class wants to do it; what could go wrong?

jaydub said...

I just read where Pelosi's son is also hip deep with the Ukraine korruptokrats. Are there any senior Dems whose offspring have not yet had the chance to dip their beaks in the Kiev cesspool? If so, times a wasting! Impeachment revelations may soon flush that toilet.

Kevin said...

Pelosi's now tied to Schiff:

"I want the American people to know what that phone call was about. I want them to hear, it. So yeah [the parody's] fair," Pelosi told "Good Morning America" on Thursday. "It’s sad, but it's using the president’s own words."

"Those weren't the president's words, it was an interpretation of the president's words. They're saying he made this up," ABC News' George Stephanopoulos countered.

"He did not make it up," she replied.

Hagar said...

Pelosi is maneuvering to keep control of her caucus. Her problem is the revolt in her ranks, not Trump.

Kevin said...

Nancy's not holding a vote to help out the Republicans:

"We could [hold a vote]. We don't have to, but we could," she said earlier in the interview. "You know who's most afraid of that vote coming up? The Republicans -- because they’re going to have to decide ... It’s not necessary. We feel that we’re on very firm ground as we go forward and we may go to that place, just because it’s a Republican talking point. But it’s not necessary."

Freder Frederson said...

I don't know how you can continue to defend Trump, when yesterday in public, he not only doubled down on Ukraine but also instructed China to investigate Biden.

Michael K said...

I think Crowdstrike and the corruption of Democrats and their kids(bagmen) will derail the show trial.

Freder Frederson said...

I just read where Pelosi's son is also hip deep with the Ukraine korruptokrats. Are there any senior Dems whose offspring have not yet had the chance to dip their beaks in the Kiev cesspool?

You do realize that Paul Manafort is currently sitting in prison because of his dealings with Ukraine?

Michael K said...

I don't know how you can continue to defend Trump,

Not the only thing Field Marshall Freder doesn't know.

\More blogger nonsense.

CWJ said...

I know it's just a movie, and a comedy at that, but I just can't get past Napoleon dressed in red.

Rory said...

There's nothing in the Constitution that defines the role of the people in an impeachment. If he is impeached, I will go to Washington. I believe that significant portions of the left are committed to beat me up if I do that.

Jeff Brokaw said...

I chuckled at “you go girl puff piece”. Well played, prof!

These journos have no idea how insulated from reality they are, and they feel compelled to remind us of it every day. Okay... thanks for checking in... have you had your meds today?

WisRich said...

{i}Dave Begley said...
The Dems are going to suffer an epic beatdown. If Nancy was so calm, why doesn't she call a vote for the entire House for an impeachment inquiry. That's always been the practice and the Constitution requires it.

Answer? She doesn't have the votes.{/i}


Even if she does have the votes, she knows it could cost her the House so...no vote.

traditionalguy said...

Hmmm? The last of the six ways from Sunday coup d'etat planted by the Regime Change Experts at the CIA has gone nowhere.Nancy is probably glad they are over. The Dems are back to their last Banzai charge that is the FED's Great Recession and Crash by keeping our dollar so impossibly high that we cannot sell American manufacturing products overseas.

Nancy's part now is to refuse to allow a vote on the Mexican Canadian Trade treaty. She can do that in her sleep.

Ken B said...

Oh Freder, there is so much you don’t know that it’s funny when you single out one thing.

One thing you don’t know is the meaning of “instructed”.

Other words that puzzle you include misrepresentation, misinterpretation, tendentious, selective, and fabricated.

Troll though, that you understand.

JCA1 said...

I'm so confused. It seemed like just a couple months ago, the idea that someone in our government might be in cahoots with foreign nationals was the greatest sin of all that warranted mobilizing every available resource to investigate. Now, the idea of investigating whether someone in our government might be in cahoots with foreign nationals, is itself, the greatest sin of all?

DarkHelmet said...

Doubling down on Ukraine? I would, too. We know the Dems were hip deep in Ukrainian influence peddling and Biden was clever enough to broadcast how he was putting pressure on them. Triple down. Quadruple down.

The Biden corrupt relationship with China SHOULD be investigated. It's probably orders of magnitude more significant than the Ukrainian sweetheart deal. But obviously we can't trust China to investigate itself.


wendybar said...

Eat a Baby, save the Planet!!! THIS is what we are dealing with....The left has lost it.

CWJ said...

China takes instruction now? Who knew?

Kay said...

Admittedly, I haven’t followed this story very closely, and in the grand scheme of things, it probably makes zero difference. What I think is that the Democrats are not actually serious about impeachment, but want to show their base (and perhaps some of the no-Donald people on the right) that they’re actually doing something to stop The Donald. Unfortunately, that means the 2020 election will be about The Donald and not The Issues.

Nonapod said...

Is Nancy really so calm and Trump so agitated? You could just as well say that Nancy's nervous and Trump is a happy warrior

Obviously people view the same things through different filters. People who despise Trump will tend to imagine that his interior life is that of a villain or an amoral reprobate. And currently many of them will imagine (or "mind read" to use Scott Adams parlance) that Trump must be scared since they think he's finally been caught. The walls are closing in this time for sure!

Of course, what's really going on in Trump or Nancy's or anyone elses head is unknowable. We can only infer and guess what they might be feeling based on outward signs, and those can be misleading. But when doing so if we're at least trying to be objective we should probably avoid inputing or projecting our own ideas into them. We should be aware of our own biases.

Based in his activity of late, his reactions, I personally am not reading Trump as currently scared or nervous. His demeanor hasn't seemed to have changed that much since this latest event erupted. And Nancy's really hasn't either. She's always been somewhat cool when she's on camera. I can't remember if she's ever been overly emotive.

JCA1 said...

And do I have this right? By today's standard, it is an impeachable offense for someone in public office to seek out the assistance of a foreign national with the purported goal of uncovering information on his political opponent. That's what this hubbub is supposedly about, right? OK, if that's the case, wasn't that what virtually everyone from the Obama Administration, the FBI, the CIA, the DNC, and the Hillary campaign were doing in 2016?

Darrell said...

I don't know how you can continue to defend Trump, when yesterday in public, he not only doubled down on Ukraine but also instructed China to investigate Biden.

Because none of that is in the least bit illegal, immoral, or unethical. The US legal system doesn't investigate Democrats, so those jobs have to be outsourced to those that will and where the crimes occurred.

jaydub said...

Just looking at the Yahoo Finance videos in the queue "Stocks Jump Amid Jobs Report," "Unemployment Rate Plunges to 50 Year Low," "US-China Trade Gap Shrinks to 5 Month Low," and "America is Creating More Jobs than it Needs" I would opine that the Pelosi needs to get off the impeachment quest and get back to trying to tank the economy.

Quayle said...

FF is shocked - shocked!!! - that the chief law-enforcement officer of United States of America is calling for investigations and law-enforcement.

Karen of Texas said...

"I don't know how you can continue to defend Trump, when yesterday in public, he not only doubled down on Ukraine but also instructed China to investigate Biden."

Well look at that. Damn that Trump is a magnificent bastard. He now has control of China and can instruct them to follow his command!

NCMoss said...

I've heard that botox reduces the incidence of migraines; maybe there's another side effect that calms down her amygdala.

narciso said...

Turnabout is fair play the unverified ledgers proferred by leschenko, yet the biggest oligarch in the country paying off the vice presidents son

Karen of Texas said...

"I don't know how you can continue to defend Trump, when yesterday in public, he not only doubled down on Ukraine but also instructed China to investigate Biden."

Well look at that! Damn, that Trump is a magnificent bastard. He now controls China and instructs them to follow his commands.

Winning!

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

"Those weren't the president's words, it was an interpretation of the president's words. They're saying he made this up," ABC News' George Stephanopoulos countered.

"He did not make it up," she replied.


Just to repeat.

This was their strategy all along. Have the hearsay-blower make allegations and impeach on that. They never thought Trump would release the call. So now they are running the same script but haven't adjusted to the new information of the actual transcript.

I think they believed the hearsay-blower report was accurate or close and the admin would never release the transcript.

Kevin said...

If the worst impeachment news for Trump isn't something Trump did or said, it's not very bad.

Let's keep in mind that yesterday he publicly called for China to investigate Biden.

And today the media is searching for something else to be the worst impeachment news.

rhhardin said...

Getting Biden investigated is Trump's job.

Temujin said...

Heads are going to roll. Just not Trump's head.

Howard said...

so it goes

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

Look at Freder. He believes a politician cannot be investigated for corruption while running for office.

What a ridiculous standard.

Where does Feeder stand on Obama setting up stings on the Trump campaign and then run a phoney dossier to interfere in the election and his admin?

Charlie Currie said...

Impeachment is the Dems 2020 election campaign. They're using it as a bludgeon to beat Trump with for the next 13 months. They have nothing else, it's their only hope in defeating him.

A conviction in the Senate is a pipe dream, a bridge too far. But, a beat down and bloodied Trump just might get them past the goal...so they think, anyway.

It's Matt Continetti's Pelosi "bank shot" theory.

rehajm said...

The political moves are just so stale. They tried to make Watergate a verb and it didn’t work. So they’re trying it again? Lame...

What makes more sense is the farce it’s for cover for the coming indictments, or the thinner notion it’s easier to run against an impeached President. Not much data to support that second one.

Freder Frederson said...

Because none of that is in the least bit illegal, immoral, or unethical.

Soliciting assistance of a foreign power to advance your campaign is certainly illegal. Immoral and unethical are value judgements and my values say it is both.

Dave Begley said...

jaydub, "I just read where Pelosi's son is also hip deep with the Ukraine korruptokrats."

If true, Trump will play that card soon.

That must be the way corrupt Washington plays the game. The children of pols get rich. I do recall that Denny Hastert's son was a lobbyist.

narciso said...

Another tipoff where are the texts of communications between volker taylor and the gossiper.

Mike Sylwester said...

Democracy Dies in Darkness!

BJM said...

JCA1 said "OK, if that's the case, wasn't that what virtually everyone from the Obama Administration, the FBI, the CIA, the DNC, and the Hillary campaign were doing in 2016?"

It's different when they do it, besides shutup.

The look on Nancy's face when Stephanopolos pushed back was priceless. She did not see that coming.

stevew said...

Most of us see what we want to see, hear what we want to hear, and ignore the rest.

Hagar @9:12 provides the simplest and most likely state of affairs.

rehajm said...

JCA1 has an excellent understanding of things but just can’t believe it.

DarkHelmet said...

JCA1 said...
And do I have this right? By today's standard, it is an impeachable offense for someone in public office to seek out the assistance of a foreign national with the purported goal of uncovering information on his political opponent. That's what this hubbub is supposedly about, right? OK, if that's the case, wasn't that what virtually everyone from the Obama Administration, the FBI, the CIA, the DNC, and the Hillary campaign were doing in 2016?

Yes, that is what virtually everyone from the Obama administration, the FBI, the CIA, the DNC and the Hillary campaign were doing. Yes. But they're the 'good guys' so they are allowed to do it. The 'bad guys' (all Republicans and Trump especially) are not allowed to do anything. Anything Trump does is abuse of power because he's not allowed to have power, period.

DarkHelmet said...

"Because none of that is in the least bit illegal, immoral, or unethical. The US legal system doesn't investigate Democrats, so those jobs have to be outsourced to those that will and where the crimes occurred."

Doing the jobs Americans won't do . . .

stevew said...

Meanwhile, cookie-dough futures are up.

Ray - SoCal said...

Disagree, Trump is opening a can of worms with corruption and collusion by the Democrats with the Ukrainian.

Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, and Adam Schiff all have Ukranian connections.

And just as I thought this Ukrainian Debacle could not get even more stranger. If this was a political thriller, I would rate it one star due to being over the top and just not believable. Unfortunately for the American Voter, it's Real.

>Her problem is the revolt in her ranks, not Trump.

DarkHelmet said...

Can we go back to the genesis of this Ukrainian issue and determine whether Biden's son ever did anything to justify getting millions from the oligarchs' gas company? I strongly suspect the answer is 'no.'

And can we at least allow the new Ukrainian government to tell us what their Obama-cozy predecessors did to try to kneecap Trump in 2016?

Is that too much to ask before we get additional long weeks of Adam Schiff's clever parodies?

stutefish said...

Pelosi isn't calm, she's resigned.

I think her "the die has been cast" comment indicates this pretty clearly. She'd been slow-walking the impeachment process because she knew that once they reached a certain point, there was no going back. She doesn't think impeachment is a good idea, and didn't want to do anything the House Democrats couldn't back out of later on. But circumstances have forced her hand, and so now she's crossed the Rubicon.

So she's resigned. She's going to run the best damn impeachment proceeding she can manage, but in the end she doesn't expect it to pay off. So she's conscientiously going through the motions. It's the calmness that descends when your boss insists that you do something counter-productive, and you realize your best option is to just go along with it.

Freder Frederson said...

And by the way, I think what Hunter Biden did re Ukraine was unethical and immoral. Unfortunately, what he did is probably not illegal.

It is rich that you are all bent out of shape with moral outrage over Biden's and Pelosi's children, yet you apparently have no problem with Trump's children profiting off his presidency.

DarkHelmet said...

Freder Frederson said...
"Because none of that is in the least bit illegal, immoral, or unethical.

Soliciting assistance of a foreign power to advance your campaign is certainly illegal. Immoral and unethical are value judgements and my values say it is both."

Do you intend to stand on that hill? Because if you do, Hillary and her campaign need to be charged with crimes, as do about three quarters of the top dogs in the Obama administration, include the Lightbringer himself, who permitted (encouraged?) all the 2016 skullduggery against Trump.

Bring it.

TestTube said...

The puff piece portrays a Nancy Pelosi who is calm, in charge, and on top of things. That picture doesn't match reality.

All this has got to be taking a toll. The Democratic Party ranks are fractious. Then there is the upcoming election -- lots of demand for her favors and fundraising talent. Ambitious Democrats are spouting off all sorts of alienating nonsense in the hope of gaining office and power.

She has to shore up her signature accomplishment, PPACA, and they didn't even have the courtesy to name it after her!

Who are her trusted lieutenants? She seems to be alone, without support. Obama is too busy raking in the $$$ and partying with the beautiful people. Hoyer and her don't appear to get along. Hillary Clinton is on her own agenda. Biden is busy in the primary. Chuck Schumer is AWOL. Reid is out of power and sick besides. The media can still be relied on to soft-sell her BS, but it doesn't have the reach it used to.

All this is enough of a challenge for a younger person, but at 79? And who is her protege, her successor?

MountainMan said...

Sounds like things didn't go so well yesterday for Schiff trying to advance the impeachment allegations:

So it sounds like Volcker’s closed-door testimony yesterday was a disaster for the Democrats impeachment case with respect to Ukraine.

Roughcoat said...

Psalm 139:22 KJV describes my feelings for ... "those people":

"I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies."

gilbar said...

you Know what would be "the Worst Impeachment News of All"
Only being able to find 30 Senators to vote for Acquittal
Wake me up, When THAT happens; otherwise zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

Lots of funny stuff here. Trump is trying to persuade Ukrainians and Chinese to do jobs that no Americans will do.
Briefing the President: Bad news sir. What is it? Have they found a law I've broken? Credible witnesses to testify against me? Well, no, but, but, ... Nancy Pelosi is calm. Gomez Addams to the police: you have to do something about my brother, he's driving a ... [Morticia: don't say it!] ... a Buick!

Ken B said...

One thing I heard a lot about in the media was how Netanyahu was trying to stave off corruption charges by staying in office.
We saw the same thing in France. Chirac and Sarkozy.
Many countries grant office holders immunity from prosecution while in office.
Democrats here want to extend immunity from anyone holding office to anyone running for office. Or whose father is running for office. Or who once ran for office.

Meade said...

"It is rich that you are all bent out of shape with moral outrage over Biden's and Pelosi's children, yet you apparently have no problem with Trump's children profiting off his presidency."

I don't mind that Trump's children are profiting off his presidency. We are ALL profiting off Trump's presidency.

What I mind is that the Bidens, the Clintons, the Kerry's, et al., were self-dealing through the Obama administrations. They profited wildly while the rest of us suffered.

See the difference, Fred?

Meade said...

The undemocratic Democrats.

MountainMan said...

More on Volcker testimony.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/10/did_kurt_volker_mop_the_floor_with_adam_schiffs_witchhunt_committee_allegations.html

(Sorry to have to post this way but for some reason I can't get the HTML for this link to post in Blogger.

Paul said...

My standard reply to such headlines like This might be the worst impeachment news of all for Trump" is...

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

robother said...

Trump has a calming effect on women like Pelosi and Hillary. Hillary was so calm and confident that she saw no need to campaign in WI and PA. Think of it as the calm before the storm.

Gusty Winds said...

Perhaps Nancy's calmness is because has reached the 5th stage of grief and mourning......acceptance. Maybe she knows this is that last shot to cover up the corruption that got all those $175,000 per year people so rich, including her.

I'd imagine she's at peace. She's already go the money in the bank.

rehajm said...

Where’s the evidence Trump’s children are profiting off of their fathers Presidency? Ivanka closed her business and occupancy at the hotels is way down with companies avoiding them because of optics.

Did someone steal a tax return or is this just more conjecture?

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Pelosi is a cat who likes playing with her food. Maybe the mouse will get away. It’s also been fun watching the commentators who’ve spent 3 years complaining about Obama investigating Trump in 2016 extolling the virtues of Trump investigating Biden in 2019. Pelosi stole your cheese! Althouse’s initial theory, if I recall correctly, was that making an issue of Ukraine was really aimed at Biden. But no reason Pelosi can’t be playing with two mice at the same time.

stevew said...

"Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, and Adam Schiff all have Ukranian connections."

If that is true Ray then their actions on this are remarkably stupid. The smart thing to do would be expend maximum effort on keeping this Ukraine stuff quiet, not shinning a big bright light on it. They know, or should have known, that Trump fights back, hard and aggressively.

It does seem as if Schiff, at least, was duped into this by the whistleblower's overwrought description of the Trump Ukraine phone call. And miscalculating Trump's move to release the transcript and complaint, well that's Pelosi's mistake.

Browndog said...

Pelosi is using her fake impeachment, using the secrecy of Schiff's Intel committee, to find something impeachable.

The selectively edited emails leaked by Schiff last night gives the game away, as republicans cannot 'leak' the full context of the emails to show the emails say the opposite of what Schiff says the mean.

That would be 'illegal' for republicans.

Freder Frederson said...

See the difference, Fred?

No

AllenS said...

Freder Frederson said...
You do realize that Paul Manafort is currently sitting in prison

Dear Comrade Freder --

Have you ever heard of The Innocence Project? It seems like quite a few innocent people have been sent to prison.

Ken B said...

I have a friend who lived in France and hated Chirac. He had no problems with prosecuting Chirac. He is upset about the pursuit of Biden. To me this seems inconsistent. Politicians commit crimes too and cannot be exempt.

Skeptical Voter said...

Do I give a flying donut of monkey poo what Nancy Pelosi's "emotional state" is? I think the old girl is a couple of sandwiches shy of a picnic lunch in the mental department. I mean when George Snuggleupagus challenges her statement that Adam Schiff was simply repeating Trump's words verbatim--and she doubles down and says that her statement was correct, she's either a bald faced shameless liar, or her short term memory is impaired. Or I can embrace the healing power of "and".

narciso said...

Well the prosecutors among other things left out klimniks long standing state department through the international republican institute, they hired him from the gru.

Sebastian said...

"I think I'm tough"

But timid.

Bay Area Guy said...

Meade 3, Commodore Freder 1

Quayle said...

The "Impeachment" gambit appears to be the best move for the Democrats and Pelosi their de facto head. It is actually quite understandable from a game theory perspective.

1. It attempts to bring parity, obfuscation, and soften the impact to and of any charges that may be coming against the Dems from the Barr and Huber/Horowitz/Durham investigations.

2. It blunts and distracts the public from the strange self-enrichments that Biden and Kerry's kids were doing. (Honestly, out of all the competent business people in Europe and the US, not to mention India - out of all those people, Hunter Biden was the best candidate for a board seat in the Ukraine? Laughable.)

2.a. It gets rid of a centrist and possibly likely losing candidate in Biden

3. It casts a pall on any possible future supreme court nomination by Trump, were RBG to die. It makes whoever the nominee might turn out to be, an "asterisk" nomination, and gives them a footing to argue that any decision on abortion or other major issues is illegitimate.

4. It buys Nancy Pelosi some space to operate against her heel-nipping left flank.

5. It garners viewers and clicks for the left-targeting (as in targeting the left with their viewer and reader "hooks") media.

It is a perfectly reasonable and efficient move. But it is a high stakes gambit, that is extremely damaging for our country, for sure. But perhaps the left thinks there is no reason to have a country if they can't rule over it and pillage at their will.

Freder Frederson said...

Have you ever heard of The Innocence Project? It seems like quite a few innocent people have been sent to prison.

But very few, if any, innocent rich people. In fact, rich people probably get away with serious crimes a lot more frequently than innocent poor people end up in jail.

Drago said...

Noted Bundy Case Liar Freder: "It is rich that you are all bent out of shape with moral outrage over Biden's and Pelosi's children, yet you apparently have no problem with Trump's children profiting off his presidency."

LOL

The dems have nothing left.

Gk1 said...

The greatest danger for Trump is hubris. After beating the democrats and the swamp like a drum when impeachment collapses into a heap, he may appoint his dog Secretary of the Interior.

Original Mike said...

"...yet you apparently have no problem with Trump's children profiting off his presidency."

What, specifically, are you referring to, Fred?

Original Mike said...

"You do realize that Paul Manafort is currently sitting in prison"

Why isn't Tony Podesta there with him?

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Fred, I don’t care that Hunter got a job from a Ukrainian oligarch. I care that his. daddy used the power of the US government to get the Ukrainian prosecutor fired.

Freder Frederson said...

Democrats here want to extend immunity from anyone holding office to anyone running for office. Or whose father is running for office. Or who once ran for office.

You do know that if there were evidence of criminal activity, the Justice Department could open an investigation into Biden or his son.

Having the president encourage foreign countries to investigate is what is illegal, immoral and unethical.

narciso said...

Or win weber who was paid to lobby or greg craig who fixed the tymishenko case.

rcocean said...

That is one crazy hat there Napoleon. Supposedly all these Diplomats were Democrats trying to stop Gulliani from investigating Biden's corruption. More deep state at work. And the difference between Trump and his family and Biden is this. Trump made Billions in the Private Sector and has LOST Money while POTUS. And his family has LOST money as a whole.

OTOH, Biden and his family got rich while he was VP. How was that possible, on a VP salary? THe MSM are of course incurious. There's too fascinated by how many pilots and aircrew are having lunch at a Trump Golf course.

Bay Area Guy said...

I've said it before, I'll say it again: Nancy P is the hottest octogenerian on the political scene today.

rcocean said...

Strange we haven't heard about Gen. Flynn lately. No idea why his conviction/sentence has not been obviated. No one was treated more unfairly, even if he was a dummy.

hstad said...

Blogger Bill, Republic of Texas said...
".....Look at Freder. He believes a politician cannot be investigated for corruption while running for office...."

Let me fix this for you: "...Freder....believes a 'Democrat' cannot be investigate...."

Yancey Ward said...

It is difficult to explain the lack of a House vote for opening an impeachment inquiry. Seriously, if you plan to impeach Trump, why not hold the vote to give the imprimitur of a full House decision to open the inquiry? The best explanation for this is that she doesn't actually have the votes to do so, and if she doesn't have to votes to open the inquiry, then she surely doesn't have the votes to actually impeach, and without the vote to open the inquiry, she isn't going to be able to overcome executive privilege to find the evidence she actually needs to impeach.

Michael K said...

yet you apparently have no problem with Trump's children profiting off his presidency.

Any day now Freder is going to explain how they are doing this.

Mean while Trump's businesses have lost a billion dollars in value.

Tim said...

"It is rich that you are all bent out of shape with moral outrage over Biden's and Pelosi's children, yet you apparently have no problem with Trump's children profiting off his presidency."

The Trump "children" all had and have legit businesses from long before Trump ever announced for the Presidency. Hunter Biden and his ilk ONLY have businesses from the success of their elected/appointed family.

Freder Frederson said...

Why isn't Tony Podesta there with him?
See my response to AllenS re the Innocence Project

Ken B said...

Freder is reduced to arguing Hillary is poor.

Bruce Hayden said...

“'I’ve heard that botox reduces the incidence of migraines; maybe there's another side effect that calms down her amygdala.”

Wonder how much Botox Nancy Palsi has in her right now. There have been some hilarious scenes in movies about over indulging in Botox. One was Tim Allen in “Christmas with the Kranks”, with food running out of his mouth when he was trying to eat. Many of us now have seen enough over Botoxed people that we can quickly recognize its symptoms. Speaker Palsi, turning 80 in less than half a year, appears to have done more than her share. So yes, it would be interesting to determine whether her Botox has some calming effects or that her face is so deadened that she couldn’t show emotion there if she had to. Besides, we have all known people of her vintage, and mostly they are a lot mellower than they were earlier in life. At least the cognitively healthy ones, until their infirmities flare up. Throughout his 80s, about the only things that would upset my father were his sons fighting in front of him, and having to use a cane in public.

Yancey Ward said...

Left Bank of the Charles wrote:

Trump in 2016 extolling the virtues of Trump investigating Biden in 2019

The fundamental difference, of course, is that Trump hasn't used the FBI and CIA to investigate Biden at all. All Trump has done is to suggest it be done by someone. The media could have done some actual investigative journalism on, and yet all they do is endlessly repeat Biden's lies about how he had no idea what his son was doing.

Obama used the power of the federal government to investigate the Trump Campaign, and his hold overs in the DoJ launced the Mueller investigation, and all based on what turned out to be completely false information provided by the Clinton Campaign. You are comparing apples to dog turds.

n.n said...

WaPo is still coming to terms with Deep Plunger exposing their collusion in Water Closet. Baby steps.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

I've had plenty of experiences that were worse the second time around that the first. Calm just means you don't know what you're getting yourself into.

Drago said...

"...yet you apparently have no problem with Trump's children profiting off his presidency."

OM: "What, specifically, are you referring to, Fred?"

Nothing.

As always. Not a thing.

JohnAnnArbor said...

Some reporter asked Trump about a week or so ago if Pelosi was afraid of impeachment. He said "she's not afraid of anything."

He's not one to misunderstand people, even opponents.

Rocketeer said...

Democrats are constantly finding "scandals" that are supposed to be Trump's political Waterloo, but darned if the guy doesn't always end up playing Wellington.

h said...

The whistle-blower CIA employee, seconded to the White House, was working at the White House during the Obama administration and digging up evidence that Manafort had illegal or nefarious dealings with the Ukrainians.

https://www.redstate.com/elizabeth-vaughn/2019/10/04/paul-sperry-report-whistleblower-dug-dirt-ukraine-trump-manafort-2016-campaign/

Hagar said...

Trump's sons are running the family business, which dates back to their grandfather.
Ivanka runs her fashion/modeling business, which she founded and has run since she came of age.
Biden's sons have never done anything but ride their father's political coattails.

One of these things is not like the others.

Bruce Hayden said...

“But very few, if any, innocent rich people. In fact, rich people probably get away with serious crimes a lot more frequently than innocent poor people end up in jail.“

You very much over generalize. Honestly earned first generation wealth are often very moral. Second generation are more like to be dissolute. I am thinking in particular of Joe Kennedy’s grandchildren and great grandchildren (apparently no discernible relation to Dr K here). They are still apparently far above the law at least when visiting Hyannis Port.

Then there is the question of what qualifies as “rich”. A lot of very moral millionaires. Probably a majority, esp if they earned it. On the centamillionaire level you have Mitt Romney who gives insane amounts of money to charity (well beyond his Mormon required tithing) on the one hand, and the Clintons on the other, who reportedly took tax deductions for donating their used underwear. Even when their actual wealth exceeded. $100 million, and they had another billion in their private slush fund/family foundation, they still contributed less to charity than people with a fraction of their wealth.

The other aspect to this is the correlation between political orientation and party affiliation on the one hand, and charitable giving on the other. Giving is significantly higher on the right than the left, with really rich progressives often preferring buying politicians, who then enact supposedly beneficial policies through government funding instead of funding their causes themselves, as contrasted to conservatives who more likely fund their charitable works personally.

Of course, Freder very much seems to support the politicians who get filthy rich skimming off their government “service”, as opposed to Republicans who get rich first, and then enter politics for a couple terms of office, then go onto doing something else.

Amadeus 48 said...

Re: Pelosi

If you can keep your head while about are losing theirs, maybe you haven't heard the news.

Pelosi may be losing her marbles as well as her caucus. It would be consistent with the facts on the ground.

Ray - SoCal said...

Steve,

I think Pelosi, and her allies, are not used to an enemy that punches back.

And Trump is going scorched Earth and being as aggressive, or even more aggressive, than the Democrats. The Democrats are used to controlling the narrative, hiding everything damaging to their side, and Trump does not allow that.

I don't see the logic yet behind this drive on impeachment.

The latest of Trump threatening to file a lawsuit over the lies from Pelosi, and Schiff when not in Congress, is Amazing Trolling! Good luck on hiding the fact that Schiff deliberately lied, later labeled "Parody" after being called out on the Trump Ukraine Conversation.

Ray - SoCal said...

Fair Use Question

Trump did an amazing video that was devastating to Biden's Campaign, or retweeted it using Nickelback's Photograph Video. It got more than 12 Million plus views in a few hours.

It's been take down by Twitter, due to copyright violations.

This seems right:

Tom Elliott @tomselliott

This video def clears Fair Use’s four factor test:

1. Purpose (parody)
2. Nature of the work (it’s a transformative use, not just copying)
3. Amount (a few seconds)
4. Effect on market (no one will avoid buying this song b/c a few seconds are available in Trump’s video)

Is there anything the Trump campaign can do?

gilbar said...

Foolish Fred said...
In fact, people probably get away with serious crimes a lot more frequently than innocent people end up in jail.

fify!

AUTHOR: Benjamin Franklin (1706–90)
QUOTATION: That it is better 100 guilty Persons should escape than that one innocent Person should suffer, is a Maxim that has been long and generally approved.

Serious Question Fred? ARE You as STUPID as you Seem? If not, it's a Pretty Good Act

John henry said...

Why do people keep calling Biden a "political opponent"?

Biden is not a serious candidate for the presidency. Even he probably realizes this.

His vice-presidency disqualifies him.

Not constitutionally, of course. But look at all the vps who have run in the past 200 years.

Look at vps who have made it to the presidency. Except Coolidge, perhaps tr, none had successful presidencies. None were able to get re-elected to a second full term.

Biden is not an opponent. We need to stop pretending he is.

He needs to stop pretending too.

John Henry

gilbar said...

Honestly, out of all the competent business people in Europe and the US, not to mention India - out of all those people, Hunter Biden was the best candidate for a board seat in the Ukraine?

Who would you have thought was Better?
Sasha O'Bama wasn't Old Enough
Hillary Clinton was ALREADY getting paid off by NBC
Bill Clinton? There's NO WAY IN HELL they could have afforded Slick Willie (maybe Ukrainian Teens?)

The Fact of the matter, is; For only $600,000/yr, they BOUGHT the United States Government
Seems like a good choice, when you get down to brass tacks

I Callahan said...

I don't know how you can continue to defend Trump, when yesterday in public, he not only doubled down on Ukraine but also instructed China to investigate Biden.

Good. For those of you leftists in high dudgeon, those of us on the right think this is a good thing. The idea that a sitting president is not allowed to point out corruption because that corruption points to a political opponent is laughable to its core. Nothing the president has done here even approaches illegal.

Thanks, Freder, for demonstrating how utterly clueless you lefties are when it comes to this president.

DarkHelmet said...

Quayle is correct. Including, most unfortunately, this conclusion:

"It is a perfectly reasonable and efficient move. But it is a high stakes gambit, that is extremely damaging for our country, for sure. But perhaps the left thinks there is no reason to have a country if they can't rule over it and pillage at their will.

Sam L. said...

If it's in the WaPoo, I don't believe it.

cubanbob said...

Why wouldn't Pelosi not have a calm demeanor? She is 79, she is very wealthy and it appears her son may have his own Ukrainian problem. Getting hysterical at this point doesn't help her one bit. She is evil but not stupid. Biden is ultimately disposable, just ask Obama. Pelosi knows that. Aside from abortion, there really is no issue the Democrats have that will resonate with working class America. She knows that. Her hope was all this impeachment noise would do is weaken Trump and cow the Republicans in Congress but isn't going to happen and she now knows that as well. She is staying cool to protect herself and her family. This really about from her perspective making sure a Speaker Of The House Of Representatives doesn't find herself and her family members subject to a criminal prosecution. It seems to appear that Schifty also has Ukrainian doo-doo on him. This whole impeachment thing is starting to look like a Democrat effort to stay out of jail.

I Callahan said...

Soliciting assistance of a foreign power to advance your campaign is certainly illegal. Immoral and unethical are value judgements and my values say it is both.

Then you may want to recalibrate your values. Because under that standard, anyone who is running for office has complete immunity from any prosecution. Come on, Freder, you can’t be that obtuse.

Known Unknown said...

I am somewhat shocked the hostess failed to mention that this article about CALMNESS was written by a woman named TUMULTy.

Swede said...

Pelosi has been painted into a corner.

I'm going to guess she's not very happy with Schiff right now.

The rabids in her party have been chomping at the bit for impeachment.

And what has she got? The nothing burger they've built is falling apart in front of everybody's eyes.

Nothing short of impeachment from the House will satisfy the lunatics.

What happens when she won't or can't give it to them?

Let's watch and find out!

FullMoon said...

I just read where Pelosi's son is also hip deep with the Ukraine korruptokrats. Are there any senior Dems whose offspring have not yet had the chance to dip their beaks in the Kiev cesspool?

Yep, but ya gotta wonder how many republican politicians family members business partners and friends benefited from their connections. How many have been warned that they better play along or be exposed themselves?

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Nancy is relieved that Schiff bungled this and will take the heat for derailing impeachment. Now she can tell the Move-in types and The Squad that if they want to remove Trump they have to do it at the ballot box. Schiff has saved Nancy’s Speakership by overplaying their one shot at impeachment. What an idiot sleazeball he is.

Rory said...

"But perhaps the left thinks there is no reason to have a country if they can't rule over it and pillage at their will."

One of the shames here is that the left can't even go off into a crazy little country of it's own. They're concentrated here and there, separated by miles of normalcy. They need the whole thing so that the crazy bits look like a regular country.

Jim at said...

I don't know how you can continue to defend Trump, when yesterday in public, he not only doubled down on Ukraine but also instructed China to investigate Biden.

And I don't know how you can continue to ignore the blatant corruption by Biden simply because he happens to be running for political office.

Ray - SoCal said...

Stuff Trump is "Pouncing On"...

1. Schiff is on record now lying about knowing about advance notice of the notice, before it even went to the IG.
2. IG changed the form to allow hearsay
3. Schiff lied about Trump Call with Ukraine, and then called it Parody
4. Schiff has Ukrainian connection
5. So called Whistleblow was involved in Ukrainian dirt on Trump, part of Russian Gate
6. Picture of Biden with 2 Directors of Ukrainian company and his son, golfing
7. Biden on video about with holding funds if Prosecutor not fired.
8. Pelosi Son involvement with Ukrainian energy company
9. Pelosi on video with Stephanopoulostating on Schiff statement on Trump call was correct.
10. Pelosi through Rules changes excluding the Republicans from hearings from asking questions.

SeanF said...

Ray - SoCal: Fair Use Question
...
Is there anything the Trump campaign can do?


Yes. The DMCA spells out the process:

Person A, in this case Trump, posts something to an online service provider, in this case Twitter.

Person B, in this case Nickelback, files a copyright claim. The service provider is not required to try and determine if the claim is valid - they simply take down the flagged post, and notify Person A of the details.

If Person A believes the copyright claim is invalid, they can file such notice with the service provider. At that point, the service provider is legally obligated to restore the flagged post.

If Person B still believes their copyright claim is valid, their next move is to go to court and begin actual legal proceedings. The service provider should not take the post down again without a court-issued order to do so.

Ken B said...

Shorter John Henry: “Dewey defeats Truman!”

Beasts of England said...

’Having the president encourage foreign countries to investigate is what is illegal, immoral and unethical.’

It should then be easy for you to name the statute being broken, Freder.

Francisco D said...

Having the president encourage foreign countries to investigate is what is illegal, immoral and unethical.

I am going to ask you a very difficult question, Freder. Try to answer without referencing DNC talking points: Why?

In other words, what is wrong with a president trying to get help in investigating criminal behavior on the part of establishment politicians that are corrupting our nation? China and Ukraine were bribing Biden through his otherwise worthless son.

It is not as if he is asking them to make shit up, I mean make up pee-pee stories.

Unknown said...

Having the president encourage foreign countries to investigate is what is illegal, immoral and unethical.
This makes no sense. Suppose Biden were not a candidate. His son made millions holding jobs for which no one in their right mind would have hired were he not (at the time) the sitting Vice President's son, the Vice President who not coincidentally was running the Obama Administration's Ukraine policies.
It certainly looks like something that should be investigated, and asking Ukraine's help in investigating such a matter is just part of a President doing his job. So why does it change just because Joe Biden is a candidate for office.?

Original Mike said...

"China and Ukraine were bribing Biden through his otherwise worthless son."

That's a fundamental fact in all of this. They weren't bribing Hunter, they were bribing the Vice President.

daskol said...

As obvious as the influence peddling is in Biden's case, how would you prove it? The only place to make this kind of charge stick, unless the perpetrators are really stupid, is the court of public opinion. Also they all do stuff like this in high office, so Trump is going to be very lonely if he tries to prosecute this vigorously.

daskol said...

Hillary's crimes in office seemed a lot more promising, since there was all this evidence that our DOJ studiously avoided collecting. That's why that portion of Trump/Zelensky convo is probably what really freaked people out. Biden is just a chump: the Dems are willing to tank his candidacy to prep the battleground ahead of the Russia Hoax investigation, and Trump is just beating him like a drum to ensure that we all know what kind of corruption abounds in his opponents. But there's very little upside to prosecuting Biden.

daskol said...

If Joe hadn't bragged about shutting down Shokin we wouldn't even know about it. If there's legal jeopardy for Biden, it's probably Hunter Biden in some Ukranian legal shenanigan who's exposed. But he's a minnow in a pond full of gigantic fish there.

iowan2 said...

He'll say — I predict — that adherence to precedent is important and this case can't be distinguished from Hellerstedt and he'll leave the larger questions for another day. That would be the most stable outcome, the one with the least effect on 2020 electoral politics.

Just a thought. Let the people rule their own lives. Persons that know life is sacrosanct, have worked for decades, within the federalist framework, to elect representation that advances a view that protects those, least able to protect themselves.

All to be overturned, by unelected oracles in black robes, more concerned about how they are perceived, than protect the right of the people to govern themselves.

This should have never been a judicial decision. Don't like the laws? Join forces with like minded citizens and change the law.

Judges should be smart enough to allow the people to rule themselves.

Scalia, wisely counseled that the judiciary should trail societal shifts, not implement them

iowan2 said...

OOPS! that got posted on the wrong thread

Kirk Parker said...

Eh. It just means she upped her meds.

DeepRunner said...

Meh. Karen Tumulty is a Postie. I'm sure she feels important as she sips a latte (metaphorically-speaking), pondering her own brilliance.

Sad, really. I used to like The Post, a long time ago. I would always read its editorial pages back in the day, because I found them thought-provoking. The "Outlook" section, when it was a big section, was one of the first things I read on Sunday mornings.

Now, it's liberal cheerleading, whereas at least they at least feigned balance in times of yore.