February 1, 2020

If you know in advance that whatever you give will not be enough but will only set up the next demand...

153 comments:

Clyde said...

If you give a rat a cookie...

Jersey Fled said...

True dat

Eleanor said...

It's like paying a blackmailer. It never ends well.

Amadeus 48 said...

I am not sure of the reference. Did Trump give the House anything but a wedgie? Maybe a noogie, too?

I boycotted the whole impeachment fiasco.

Sorry for your loss, suckers.

tim in vermont said...

Yep, it’s like trying to mollify a three year old with candy, or paying the geld to the Dane.

madAsHell said...

Obama never knew thiis!

Karen of Texas said...


Demands, Democrat demands

what kind of Democrats shout unending demands?

Fatuous Nadler, skivvy Schiff,

Dems that lie on cue

Democrat bullies,  Democrat blackmailers

even Dems without a clue

love demanding, endless demanding

the demands Democrats love to shout


pacwest said...

So tell us something we didn't already know.

tim in vermont said...

Once you know that it will never stop, no matter what you do, you are free.

tim in vermont said...

Bolton continues his fan dance and who cares? I see though that they are very careful to not fully characterize what Trump wanted from Ukraine. Only once did they let it slip that it had to do with documents involving election interference in 2016, which up until a short time ago, seemed to be a matter of overriding national interest...

Go figure.

Amadeus 48 said...

I read the transcript of the call. That was exactly the conversation I wanted a POTUS to have with the new, reform president of Ukraine.

Trump should not have been impeached, he should get a medal

Lucid-Ideas said...

Petulant children and Trump is grandma fittin' to get a switch!

Chuck said...

I keep wondering what the Republican Party gets, for all of the terrible costs involved in the defense of Trump. We get nothing; no policy advances; no new legislation; nothing that a President Pence couldn’t deliver for 11 months.

Hagar said...

Trump may have a minor interest in the Bidens, but what really burns him is how his White House came to be spied upon by the FBI and apparently others of the 17 "intelligence agencies," and he wants to know and publish just how the "Steele dossier came into being, how it was used by whom, and which FISA judges pretended to believe in the affidavits they were signing off on.

Wait for the "Durham Report." It should be a doozy!

tim in vermont said...

"I keep wondering what the Republican Party gets, for all of the terrible costs involved in the defense of Trump”

What do you get, Chuck? A devastated Republican Party, a complete betrayal of the base? Country looks in pretty good shape to me right now. Trump seems well able to handle this sideshow and still run the country. If Trump is removed by the Republicans, the Republican Party is dead. Right now the Democrats are undergoing a deep split. They really should be two parties, why would you give them such a victory when they are on the verge of collapse?

tim in vermont said...

Eleven months would be all you had.

tim in vermont said...

Trump is like Beowulf. cleaning out the nest of trolls and Chuck is on the side of the trolls.

I think I am going to go hit some golf balls before I get sucked into another dialog with the deaf. Sorry people for getting sucked in.

Karen of Texas said...

"I keep wondering what the Republican Party gets, for all of the terrible costs involved in the defense of Trump."

Maybe they get a backbone, the dickless wonders...

Hagar said...

"The Bidens" is politics (and I do not think Trump consider Biden to be much of a (threat"); the "Steele dossier" is personal and must have caused at least some trouble in his private life. I don't think that is a "forgive and forget" matter.

rhhardin said...

Republicans are looking for a way to acquit Trump without condoning his action.

Says some headline somewhere. I gather it's meant to discourage Trump support because look those really smart and moral Republican senators were disgusted by Trump.

I don't see who thinks that way or how it's possible. Can it be true, is reaction. Disgust with Republican senators perhaps is the intended result.

rhhardin said...

You expect treason from the dems but it's always a surprise from your own side.

Temujin said...

I'm not as pissed off at the Dems as I am at our Journalist! class. The Dems are what they have always been. They disgust me. They simply project their own diseased thinking on those around them.

But the Journalists! They carry the water for this group. They spend entire careers mocking much of the nation, talking down to everyone who might disagree, hiding facts, promoting fictions, and generally taking sides with anyone in favor of dismantling the culture of Western Civilization in general and the US in particular. And somehow manage to spout that they are doing it in the spirit of patriotism.

J schools should be cleaned out. And the only way to do it is to enroll hundreds of conservative or libertarian yoots into those schools and simply fight back. Eventually those tenure slacker professors will retire and some new blood can be inserted. One class at a time. One department at a time. One school at a time. Its the way they changed our culture. Its also the way to get it back.

Rusty said...

And judges. Lots and lots of constitution loving judges. Oh. And the interruption of the flow of graft to both parties. We got that too. Not too shabby Mr. president.

Temujin said...

I'm not as pissed off at the Dems as I am at our Journalist! class. The Dems are what they have always been. They disgust me. They simply project their own diseased thinking on those around them.

But the Journalists! They carry the water for this group. They spend entire careers mocking much of the nation, talking down to everyone who might disagree, hiding facts, promoting fictions, and generally taking sides with anyone in favor of dismantling the culture of Western Civilization in general and the US in particular. And somehow manage to spout that they are doing it in the spirit of patriotism.

J schools should be cleaned out. And the only way to do it is to enroll hundreds of conservative or libertarian yoots into those schools and simply fight back. Eventually those tenure slacker professors will retire and some new blood can be inserted. One class at a time. One department at a time. One school at a time. Its the way they changed our culture. Its also the way to get it back.

Iman said...

“ We get nothing; no policy advances; no new legislation”

Yes, Chuck, you Democrats got a nuttin’...

AllenS said...

The best thing that could happen to the Republican Party, would be the removal of the RINOs.

JML said...

...nothing that a President Pence couldn’t deliver for 11 months.

In addition to what Aunty Trump said, you also get the start of the impeachment of President Pence.

Amadeus 48 said...

Folks, this isn’t about the Republicans. This is about a bunch of Dem plants and holdovers who have been conniving to upset an election, with a few Republican soreheads who are mad that their toys have been taken away and no one tells them they are smart anymore.

No one should be under any illusions: people at the top find Donald Trump a very hard person to work with. He keeps you off balance. He doesn’t take your advice. He belittles you. He tells untruths routinely. He mocks you if you disagree with him. He makes promises that he has no intention of keeping. He showboats relentlessly.

BUT, he has provided a fresh view of the mission of the US in the world, he understands that incentives matter, he believes in a strong national defence focused on defending the US, not righting the wrongs in a world full of sinners, and he understands that the federal judiciary is not a hothouse for the latest fads in sociology.

All that is pretty good.

rhhardin said...

He should bring in the motive, which is constant accusation, not insatiable demand.

Shouting Thomas said...

I keep wondering what the Republican Party gets, for all of the terrible costs involved in the defense of Trump.

What are the "terrible costs?"

I don't see it. Seems to me the Democrats are paying. Their lawfare obsession is destroying them. They have no viable candidates. They are reduced to running communists for president.

The biggest profit for me in "defending" Trump (from what?) is his refusal to bow down to PC. He just keeps speaking his mind and doesn't give a damn.

This changes everything in terms of tone and substance in the public arena. It all looks like profit to me.

Drago said...

A certain LLR-lefty exposed himself as s complete Adam Schiff cuckholster and now asks why republicans support the most conservative President in 90 years.

Sorry Chuck. You operational leftists will never understand what conservatives and republicans want.

Kit Carson said...

Meanwhile, in the land of 2 warring tribes...Looks like the thesis presented by Julian Jaynes in his sui generis book, the Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind suddenly just got a w h o l e lot more plausible. At Inside My Mind https://ryanandrewlangdon.wordpress.com/2020/01/28/today-i-learned-that-not-everyone-has-an-internal-monologue-and-it-has-ruined-my-day/ the writer writes of his shocking discovery that some Other People do not have internal self-referential dialogue in their heads, nor mind-generated music and images.

the other people with silent minds were equally shocked to learn about the chatterbox minds. one lady in the comments with a silent mind and with a ph.d in "brain science" said when she's trying to figure something out she just sits and waits until suddenly the answer appears fully formed and she sort of gets a signal and writes it down like dictation. one lady with a silent mind wondered if people with a chatterbox mind might be more subject to mental illness.

it seems each type of mind is capable of being surprised though, which means both can be reached by humor. for example, this should work on both groups: A young female job applicant is at a job interview facing two interviewers. the first interviewer says, "tell us what is your biggest weakness". the young applicant says "Honesty." the second interviewer says, "Really, i don't think honesty is a weakness." the young applicant then says "i don't give a shit what you think."

Amadeus 48 said...

That point about the impeachment of any GOP president is important. Ever since Nixon got chased out of office, the Dems and their lickspittles in the press have been trying it on every Republican. The GOP returned the favor with Clinton, and now we have this fiasco.

pacwest said...

"no policy advances"

Really??

narciso said...

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2020/02/the-week-in-pictures-celebrexit-edition.php

Shouting Thomas said...

Trump is doing what we are were terrified to do in the workplace lest we offend the HR Gestapo.

Gay and feminist activists commandeered every corporate HR department in the 90s. They were determined to root out all opposition to their agenda of gay worship and hatred of white straight men.

Their weapon was the diversity workshop. This was the place to identify dissenters, who were then shown the door under one pretext or another.

Hearsay was a deadly weapon in the hands of the HR Gestapo. Even the hint that you weren't down with the diversity/quota gospel would doom your career. Informers trooped down to the HR department to turn in their co-workers.

Trump never had to kneel before the HR Gestapo. He's doing what we all wanted to do, but feared to do lest we lose our jobs. He's told the HR Gestapo that being productive is our job, not kissing ass. God bless him.

Heartless Aztec said...

Truth!

Kevin said...

Another storyline has played out and Chuck is left confused.

He’s swaddled in plaid, unable to discern any patterns.

Matt Sablan said...

You'd think the failures of appeasement would be a well-known political lesson by now.

narciso said...



On a more serious note

https://thehill.com/opinion/international/480158-is-south-america-where-iran-will-avenge-soleimanis-assassination

Drago said...

Matt Sablan: "You'd think the failures of appeasement would be a well-known political lesson by now."

Its not really appeasement if they are actually on the dems side.

Like LLR-lefty Chuck.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Think of the Democrats as a bunch of spoiled children who throw tantrums and trash the house if they don't get their way.

Years of giving into the demands of the children in order to get peace have only worked to make them realize that their tactics work. Years of trying to reason with the kids are wasted effort because they are like the Peanuts' kids who only hear "wah waaa wah wa waaaa"

They need to be sent to their separate rooms and placed in an extended time out. I suggest at least 10 years. Also.... Take away their cell phones and internet while we are at it!

stlcdr said...

Matt Sablan said...
You'd think the failures of appeasement would be a well-known political lesson by now.

2/1/20, 7:56 AM


This has more than one application, not just in politics. Three things:

Rule number one of negotiation: never negotiate.

The best form of negotiation I’ve seen is in the movie ‘the fifth element’ when Bruce Willis’ character, Korben, goes I. To negotiate with the group that has taken over the ship. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4Qcm24dxaA

Lastly, I recall at a young age when terrorists hijacked planes and held hostages. Forces simply went in and killed the terrorists. No more hijackings.

Lastly (ok, fourth) Somali pirates. After taking care of the pirates, bomb Somalia. That pirate problem got cleared up pretty quick.

Appeasement never works, and any agreement reached lasts only as long as it benefits each side.

Browndog said...

Every sentence Bolton would utter would become 'new evidence'. Every factual statement would be construed as evidence of a new or existing crime. Certainly more witness become paramount to "clear up the matter".

Shifty Schiff excels at this.

Bolton was just the camel's nose under the tent. All but a few republican Senators understood this.

It's like Kavanaugh/Blassy-Ford never happened.

campy said...

Look on the bright side, dems: now you get to make Trump the only POTUS ever impeached TWICE!

rehajm said...

It's like Kavanaugh/Blassy-Ford never happened.

They just recycled the script as if nobody would notice.

Bay Area Guy said...

The Dems pushed a bogus, bullshit Ukraine impeachment after pushing a bogus bullshit Russian collusion hoax by Mueller. They, not Trump, should be embarrassed by their actions.

John henry said...

Every once in a while Chick gets something right.

Suppose pdjt was removed from office and pence became caretaker for 11 months. Djt could still run things, like nehru did with mountbatten.

But that would not take a lot of time. Djt could then spend all his time campaigning for every loyal repub running anywhere reps, senators, mayors governors and so on.

As well as for himself, of course.

It could be awesome.

John Henry

Matt Sablan said...

"I keep wondering what the Republican Party gets, for all of the terrible costs involved in the defense of Trump."

-- Republicans get justices. Some on the Supreme Court. The more conservative Republicans get a president that actually cares about the pro-life movement. Do you... do you just not pay attention to Republican policy and political life?

narciso said...

Ot this wuhan strain reminds of the smallpox weaponized by the saracen in ipilgrim.

MadisonMan said...

for all of the terrible costs involved in the defense of Trump.

Perhaps you can enumerate those "terrible costs" -- for someone who is NOT a loyal Democrat or LLR (same thing IMO).

Trump became President in reaction to the dreadful corruption in both parties. Some Republicans have embraced Trump; the ones who have not are, IMO, the ones who have become rich in their public life (or who are hamstrung by Trump, such as McConnell). That is, they are corrupt.

Matt Sablan said...

"Folks, this isn’t about the Republicans. This is about a bunch of Dem plants and holdovers who have been conniving to upset an election, with a few Republican soreheads who are mad that their toys have been taken away and no one tells them they are smart anymore."

-- This is why every Republican presidency sadly needs to start with a purge of the political appointees. This is the second Republican administration in a row where hold overs have proven more political than practical. Missing an agency head for awhile will do less damage than this.

Matt Sablan said...

"What are the "terrible costs?""

-- It is a good question, since any Republican would be treated the same way Trump is being treated now. Look at how Romney was treated only a few years ago!

Beasts of England said...

Maybe Chuckles wanted to convey it as ‘terrible costs’ to democrats, but that would break character.

Breezy said...

It’s astonishing how the Dems and media ratchet each other up... Nancy actually saying the WH lawyers should lose their licenses, and no one broke out laughing at the comment. Or the “protecting the Constitution” bs while the house managers impeached the pres for protecting same. No one calls out the nonsense to shame them in real time. Media go along with and encourage it so we get more of it and it’s more and more outrageous. Basically also what Trump said.

traditionalguy said...

Giving trust to someone is also a test of a relationship. Will they be thankful the gift? That's all you want. Or will they return evil for good?

narciso said...


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/alleged-al-qaida-leader-arrested-in-phoenix/ar-BBZxbJ3?ocid=primedhp

narciso said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Drago said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
narciso said...

remember that dhs memo, that insisted no terrorist could come from Iraq,

Drago said...

Browndog: "Bolton was just the camel's nose under the tent. All but a few republican Senators understood this.

It's like Kavanaugh/Blassy-Ford never happened."

Actually, Romney understands all this very well. He's just on the democratics side.

MadisonMan said...

Bolton was just the camel's nose under the tent.
I'm not sure. I ponder whether Bolton was just the Rabbit pleading not to be thrown into the Briar Patch. He'd show up, testify to nothing having happened. But of course, then the Democrats would have latched on to something else, in their never-ending quest for the impeachable.
"And when that didn't work..." to quote VDH.

Howard said...

He's just now figuring this out? I thought he was the Grand Master of n-dimensional Vulcan mind-meld chess.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Democrat money whores are corrupt.

Hillary
Biden
the list goes on...

Not electing queen money whore HIllary put a stop to a lot of money whoring. Trump must pay. Schitt is your man.

Chuck said...

This one is an interesting story; Republicans spending campaign funds in primary season, just to curry favor with Ol’ Bone Spurs via advertising on southeast Florida cable tv (FNC of course) when Trump is at Mar a Lago:

So resources spent, not on beating Democrats in a general, but rather on out-Trumping each other in a primary:

https://www.politico.com/amp/news/2020/01/31/thomas-massie-trump-110136?__twitter_impression=true


Narayanan said...

They gave us Nuszing...

Is Trump's complaint :
Democratics do not do QUID Pro Quo!?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Chuck- Tell us about your approval of Joe Biden's family pay-to-play international money whoring. and Hillary's.

narciso said...

Bolton it appears, reassigned the good col, from the joint staff to the nsc, it was ciaramella, who apparently was put in by McMaster

oh that very stable but kind of attractive opera singer and sanders supporter, was the one that broke through the barricades at mara lago,

Narayanan said...

Thought:

Democratics could be trying out Theory :

no need for control Presidency - All power in Congress.

USA Constitution can be managed by lawfare.

Can Federalist Society put up fight resistance?

Discuss.

Drago said...

LLR-lefty Chuck: "So resources spent, not on beating Democrats in a general, but rather on out-Trumping each other in a primary:"

LOLOLOL

Chuck is very very upset that a Trump hating "republican" who will side with the dems on every issue is being called out in a republican primary!

Hey Chuck, why dont you simply get a bunch of your democrat allies to register and vote in the republican primary there and throw the election to your boy?

Drago said...

The very best Althouse threads are the ones where LLR-lefty Chuck decides he needs to try and reestablish a faux pro-republican online persona.

Its like watching an Antifa moron try to understand Burke!!

Big Mike said...

It’s important to remember that Trump tried to make nice with the New York Times just two weeks after his election. Fat lot of good that did! He also met with leading Democrats to negotiate over DACA early in 2017, but they pretended to get into a high dudgeon over whether he referred to shithole countries as “shitholes.” This is finally rebounding against the Democrats in a big way — the Hispanics know that there was a deal on the table, but it was tossed aside — by the Democrats — so they could score cheap points off of Donald Trump. Now he’s going to make them pay. Good.

The only question left to answer is how many GOP candidates for the House and Senate he can bring along with him during his re-election. I hope he makes a point of campaigning for as many Republicans as possible, because he raised a lot of money from impeachment.

Howard said...

FYI Bernie Sanders Leads all candidates including Trump raising money from active-duty troops. The Deep State attacks are backfiring.

Matt Sablan said...

Big Mike: All the Democrats needed to do was not demand everything for nothing, and Trump would have happily been a RINO for them. He would have sold out gun rights; he'd have bent to "safe, legal, and rare" on abortion. Literally, all the Democrats had to do is understand that negotiation requires some give-and-take, and they probably could have gotten another amnesty.

They chose, instead, to go all in and alienate someone who was primed to be a not-very-conservative-at-all politician into one who is more conservative than I expected.

narciso said...

funny how that works,


https://thefederalist.com/2020/01/31/tiktok-reinstates-live-action-after-backlash-citing-human-error/

Matt Sablan said...

It sort of the same thing Obama did on a broader scale. The only reason Trump ran is because he wanted to put his finger in Obama's eye for Obama and others daring him to because he'd lose. Think; if Obama had managed to not be a narcissist for just a minute and didn't poke the bear, Clinton probably would have won.

Howard said...

Matt and big Mike. Yeah maybe Trump would have been a rino. The fact of the matter is the Democrats used Trump like the turd that he is to infect the Republican punch bowl. It worked in 2018 to win back the house. We will find out if they are successful in 2020.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Rand Paul: Election 'chaos' is goal of Democrats, 'they hate the president so much'

Matt Sablan said...

Howard: You mean that the Democrats, by losing, repeated a rather historically cyclical process of the House changing after a presidential election? So... the Democrats chose to give up some Supreme Court picks, multiple other picks, to surrender on various other legislative goals... all to get exactly what they would historically have gotten anyway?

Maybe they're not as smart as I thought they were.

tim in vermont said...

"The very best Althouse threads are the ones where LLR-lefty Chuck decides he needs to try and reestablish a faux pro-republican online persona.”

Did you ever see that movie with Kevin Klein where he is a teacher at a boys school and everybody knows he’s gay except him? He denies it incredulous than anybody would think it. When he finally accepts the truth, he’s much happier. Just saying.

Chuck said...


Blogger BleachBit-and-Hammers said...
Chuck- Tell us about your approval of Joe Biden's family pay-to-play international money whoring. and Hillary's.


I’ve never written a favorable word about Biden or Hillary.

Now, understand this; I am calling you a liar for having implied that I had favored one or both of them. And to hammer that point, I am telling the rest of these readers that you can’t back up your phony comment with any quote from me.

You worthless shit head. Go ahead and try to make a liar out of me. You need to, because I just called you a liar and only one of us is right about this.

tim in vermont said...

"He's just now figuring this out? I thought he was the Grand Master of n-dimensional Vulcan mind-meld chess.”

Or maybe he is explaining it to some people who need to hear it.

tim in vermont said...

Still Chuck, you are fit to be tied that Trump would want to know what was going on in Ukraine. You have your rationalizations, etc, but when it is boiled down to the bottom line, that’s what it is. You and Bolton, who took a lot of money from Ukraine oligarchs and promised them that Trump wouldn’t be able to affect US policy there.

Drago said...

LLR-lefty Chuck: "Now, understand this; I am calling you a liar...."

This was written by our very own operational leftist Chuck who has come out in explicit approval and adoration of Schiff-ty Schiff and the entire democrat sham-peachment team.

Just sit back and savor that.....

tim in vermont said...

Trump took all of the Democrats best ideas and left them floundering in their woke circle of Hell. Let them writhe in anguish.

Drago said...

LLR-lefty Chuck is not going to rest for even a moment if any of his little democrat lovelies come under scrutiny.

When democrats are in trouble #StrongDemDefender Chuck is not slow! Its up up up and away he goes!

tim in vermont said...

Trump supporters seem happy. Those who hate him seem to be suffering, being whipped by their leaders into lather of anxiety that starts when they wake up in the morning.

Howard said...

Matt: The Democratic party is in a huge state of flux. The old guard deep state Hillary Clinton pseudo neocon masters of the DNC and the MSM would actually prefer to re-elect Trump then to allow Bernie Sanders to take over the leadership of the party that they would no longer control. So yes I'm not very confident that the Democrats will be successful this year

Shouting Thomas said...

It worked in 2018 to win back the house. We will find out if they are successful in 2020.

Trump had long coattails in the 2016 election. Remember? After all the pundits claims that having Trump at the top of the ticket would doom Republicans down the ticket?

Trump wasn't running in 2018. A bunch of Republicans who weren't Trump and have no idea how to emulate his strategies and policies were running.

Trump will be running in 2020 and I'll bet his coattails as long as in 2016.

Drago said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bruce Hayden said...

“They need to be sent to their separate rooms and placed in an extended time out. I suggest at least 10 years. Also.... Take away their cell phones and internet while we are at it!”

Andy McCabe was on CNN yesterday opining about how horrible Trump was and how he got away with this. The Andy McCabe whose wife took a $3/4M bribe from the Clintons. Who very much appears to have been the mastermind in the FBI behind pretty much every attack on Trump there, and in particular the Crossfire Hurricane investigation. Much of the coup attempt was planned around his $70k conference room table. He is the one who set Gen Flynn up. He set up the interview by lying to Flynn. He hand picked the two agents sent over there. His attorney, Lisa Page, app learns to have bee the one to direct her lover Peter Strzok to remove exonerating information fro the FD 302s, and then he personally approved the 302s that were the ones that Flynn’s attorneys saw until very recently. He had the Special Counsel investigation setup, and staff picked, just waiting until his boss (Comey) was fired, then took it to DAG (and acting AG in Russian related matters) Rosenstein the next day, who then initiated the Mueller SC investigation. Which repeatedly tried to prove that Trump had Obstructed Justice. Which, the House Democrats desperately to get into their impeachment. That Andy McCade. Who himself should have even locked up for the next several decades for pretty gross and rampant Obstruction of Justice while routinely violating the Espionage Act by leaking classified information. instead he was on CNN last night criticizing Trump as lawless. But then Bill Brennan is seen routinely on pMSNBC as a talking head, and he was the one who very likely set up and orchestrated McCabe’s Crossfire Hurricane predication through running Harper, Downer, and Misfyp against Trump associates. That started almost four years ago, we have known for better than two years. Also routinely violating Obstruction of Justice statutes, along with the Espionage Act, and very likely numerous multiple CIA laws and regulations. Like McCabe, still on TV, attacking Trump, and not in prison.

My point there is that we are approaching four years from the illegal Deep State and Obama Administration attacks starting against Trump, and none of the perps has ever bee charged for any of the dozens and dozens of felonies committed by them. Hopefully soon.... If Trump wants to stop these attacks, he needs a lot of perp walks, starting with Obama White House people, down through Clapper, Brennan, Yates, Carlin, McCord, McCabe, Strzok, Pienta (whose identity to this day, continues to be hidden by the DOJ and the courts), down through the people, like the Vindman brothers, who were involved in Schifty’s impeachment coup attempt (Schifty and Wadler are very likely protected by their Constitutional immunity but their staff likely isn’t, and definitely not people like A. Vindman who is still an active Executive Branch employee). Criminally charge and perp walk (esp with predawn FBI raids) a dozen or two of those involved against Trump, and this sort of nonsense will end fairly quickly.

Matt Sablan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Drago said...

Howard, are you feeling alright? Do you want to sit down?

I am worried about you as you seem to be making alot of sense with your democrat party analyses.

Drink plenty of fluids.

Matt Sablan said...

"Matt: The Democratic party is in a huge state of flux. The old guard deep state Hillary Clinton pseudo neocon masters of the DNC and the MSM would actually prefer to re-elect Trump then to allow Bernie Sanders to take over the leadership of the party that they would no longer control. So yes I'm not very confident that the Democrats will be successful this year"

-- That is a buzz word salad of meaninglessness.

Drago said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Drago said...

Matt: "That is a buzz word salad of meaninglessness."

Nonsense.

Its spot on though one does have to wade thru the Adjective Forest and you might not agree with the Dem Insiders Prefer Trump To Bernie conclusion.

In any event, I know we are all excited to see who the next murderous gun-totin bernie bro will be and whether or not the bernie bros will burn down Milwaukee!

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Chuck,
I'm not calling you a liar but it's funny that you are so offended. You don't have to like Trump. I certainly understand why people do not like him. but your blind hatred of him places you in camp-Schitt. Not a good look. Not a good place. I see why you're so excitable and irritated. and indeed it also places you in camp Biden-Hillary corruption-excuser. right there with Bill Kristol.

I hope Biden wins the nom so Trump can beat him like a drum.

tim in vermont said...

"-- That is a buzz word salad of meaninglessness.”

It’s a coherent theory of what is going on. You may prefer not to understand it, but that would require a higher opinion of Hillary Clinton than most people could muster.

Shouting Thomas said...

Yes, Howard doesn't seem to be drinking today.

Where's the Biggus Dickus act, Howie?

Matt Sablan said...

I guess I just don't see it; the Democrats have ALWAYS been a top down organization squelching outsiders since at least Howard Dean's primal scream, and they have always been fans of foreign interference when they were the ones in power, while pretending to be against it when it was Republicans or it was actions against their ideological allies. The current Democrat party is basically exactly like it has been my entire adult life, except a few more people actually like the pretend outsider.

pacwest said...

"So resources spent, not on beating Democrats in a general, but rather on out-Trumping each other in a primary:"

This is a very interesting point. Trump is a likely shoe in in 2020. Forget the weak Dem candidates, rising minority support, and strong economy and other factors. Look at his rally goer statistics. 10 to 25% first time voters. That's yuge. Who do you think those people are going to be voting for down ballot? It's Trump's party now. He'll invite who he wants to.

Matt Sablan said...

(And, mind you, Bernie is indeed a pretend outsider. If Clinton thought she could have won with Bernie's message, she'd have gone with it. Well, if a competent nominee had thought she could have won with it -- since she couldn't be bothered to listen to Bill or Obama -- two of the people who, in living memory, HAD won presidential elections. So, she may not have been competent enough to know what a winning message was.)

Inga said...

“The fact of the matter is the Democrats used Trump like the turd that he is to infect the Republican punch bowl. It worked in 2018 to win back the house. We will find out if they are successful in 2020.”

Yes and the turd being in the punch bowl for the entire 4 years has made the punch really tasty, if one likes that poo flavor.

Mark said...

No matter what you give to the Democrats, in the end, they will NEVER be satisfied.

Appeasement and Dem blind partisanship aside, this is the essence and definition of progressivism.

Progressivism DEMANDS always moving, always changing, always "progressing," and never being satisfied with the status quo or even what is obtained tomorrow, much less appreciating the treasures that have been handed on from the past.

Progressives, by their very nature, even after crossing the Jordan, never will say, "we've arrived at the promised land." Progressivism means never getting enough and always being aggrieved, always being in a state of agitated anger and entitlement at perceived injustices everywhere.

In every gain they have made -- and they have made HUGE gains in the culture and society -- progressives while complain that we have turned back the clock to the 19th century.

Shouting Thomas said...

Yes and the turd being in the punch bowl for the entire 4 years has made the punch really tasty, if one likes that poo flavor.

You're got another 5 years of eating shit ahead of you, Inga.

Nobody's earned it quite like you.

chickelit said...

Yes and the turd being in the punch bowl for the entire 4 years has made the punch really tasty, if one likes that poo flavor.

That poo tastes like Baby Ruth!

Inga said...

“Trump wasn't running in 2018. A bunch of Republicans who weren't Trump and have no idea how to emulate his strategies and policies were running.”

2018 was a referendum on Trump, deny it all you want. Trump appeared at rallies in the loser’s states the day or days before election. It didn’t help them win. 2020 will be an even bigger win.

Matt Sablan said...

2018 was an expected shift that normally happens during a mid-term. I can't even remember if it was significantly more or less than the usual shifting.

chickelit said...

Aunty Trump said...Trump took all of the Democrats best ideas and left them floundering in their woke circle of Hell. Let them writhe in anguish.

I like that metaphor!

Shouting Thomas said...

2018 was a referendum on Trump, deny it all you want.

The referendum on Trump is the presidential election.

You know, the one that traitors like you have spent 3 years trying to overturn?

There's one coming up in 2020. Trump will win. You'll spend another 5 years eating shit. Which you richly deserve.

Howard said...

Thanks for your concern, Drago. It must be the high fiber diet prescribed by Dr. Francisco D.

n.n said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
n.n said...

The referendum on Trump is the presidential election.

Exactly. The people are discerning, and will choose one to lead on principle, and another to mitigate progress of [catastrophic] [anthropogenic] [sociopolitical] climate change.

narciso said...


Three in a row


https://mobile.twitter.com/Rita_Katz/status/1223366109459623938

Big Mike said...

Regarding my comment at 9:15, here's what I was thinking of. If the Democrats thought that the Dreamers would exclusively blame Trump when the deportations started, they misjudged.

Again.

Trashcan O Man said...

"Passed out Interviews this morning. Had to meet Donald Trump at the office (cab $5.50). Marc Balet had set up this meeting. I keep forgetting that Marc gave up architecture to become an art director, but he still builds models at home, he told me. He’s designing a catalogue for all the stores in the atrium at the Trump Tower and he told Donald Trump that I should do a portrait of the building that would hang over the entrance to the residential part. So they came down to talk about that. Donald Trump is really good-looking. A girl named Evans was with him and another lady. It was so strange, these people are so rich. They talked about buying a building yesterday for $500 million or something. They raved about the Balducci’s lunch, but they just picked at it. I guess because they go around to so many things where there’s food. And they didn’t have drinks, they all just had Tabs. He’s a butch guy. Nothing was settled, but I’m going to do some paintings, anyway, and show them to them."

— From "The Warhol Diaries" (Friday, April 24, 1981) http://amzn.to/1Jlylga

Big Mike said...

@Matt Sablan, I fully agree with your analysis at 9:28, which puts me into a rare agreement (partial agreement, anyway) with Howard-the-educated-fool at 9:31. In 2018 the enthusiasm was entirely on the Democrats' side, and people on the Democrat's side turned out in droves, fired up by their TDS. So there really was a referendum of sorts. I think it will be different in 2020 because (1) Trump's economy is amazing, and the benefits are -- regardless of what Democrat propaganda claims -- going to workers (and I chose that word carefully) at the bottom of the economic ladder; plus (2) the Democrats have cooperated heavily in generating the impression of being losers. Not a good look if you want to win an election.

dreams said...

Trump had already learned that but some Republican politicians are obviously slow learners.

Drago said...

Admiral Inga: "2018 was a referendum on Trump, deny it all you want."

LOLOLOL

Wasnt that just before your russia collusion lies blew up in your face and before Trump's economic policies started kicking in and before the trade deals were completed and before the wall funding cleared legal barriers and before the supreme court blasted the lefty/LLR-lefty immigration barriers and on and on and on.

And now sham-peachment acquital....which is forever!!

And what else is going on? Riiiight! Democrat party civil war and all your candidates collapsing.

LOL

Drago said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Drago said...

2020 sure doesn't feel like 2018 to me!

Btw Inga, Carter Page: Russia spy or not? Kavanaugh, gang rapist or not? Democrat party, party of black face/KKK governors and infanticide...or not?

LOLOLOLOL

And democrat socialism Socialism SOCIALISM as far as the eye can see!!

Gee, "just like 2018"....if you are a complete moron.

Drago said...

The best difference between 2018 and 2020?

All those fake moderate dems winning in Trump districts have ALL been exposed as Pelosi clones.

All masks are off now, aren't they LLR-lefty Chuck?....(Ans: Yes)

Mark said...

people on the Democrat's side turned out in droves, fired up by their TDS

Most people cannot keep up that irrational rage for a long time. Come November, many of them will be worn out. Quite a few of them will be disgusted by their own party's rigging of the system that they will simply stay home.

The Sanders voters are not going to take kindly to getting effed two elections in a row.

Drago said...

Mark: "The Sanders voters are not going to take kindly to getting effed two elections in a row."

I think it just might be time to initiate Operation Chaos 2020 and have republicans cross over wherever possible to vote for Bernie.

Yancey Ward said...

The Republicans have learned from the Kavanaugh experience, and they showed that last night with the witness vote- had this exact thing had happened pre-Kavanaugh, the witness vote would have had the support of at least 4 more Republicans- especially Lindsey Graham. And if the Democrats had won a vote to get only their witnesses, it would have never ended. McConnell very smartly made it clear that it was all witnesses or no witnesses- Schumer got to make the choice, and Schumer chose no witnesses- that is why Murkowski, Alexander, Gardner, and probably a couple of others voted no on witnesses- Schummer wouldn't support the defense getting witnesses, too.

Romney just didn't care- this was his chance to take a petty revenge against Trump, and Romney will follow through and vote for conviction on at least one of the counts. Collins, I think, would have voted no if her vote were needed- it wasn't. I also think Collins will vote to acquit on both counts.

Gk1 said...

Assuming that the democrats understood they would lose the impeachment, why do they look confused and in disarray? Nadler & Schiff running to the podium to get more face time, Schumer crying like an old woman to the press, the dem media looking like they are at a state funeral.Its to to ascribe Machiavellian levels of orchestration in all of this. They don't look like they had a well planned response once Mitch shut down additional witnesses. Did they think that day would never come?

Paco Wové said...

"terrible costs involved in the defense of Trump"

"Terrible costs"? Like what? ...oh, apparently that was a Chuck™-ism. All is explained.

Paco Wové said...

"Did they think that day would never come?"

The spouse & I were discussing this recently. Given that the outcome was obvious and predictable – weeks, if not months, ago – to anyone with the slightest ability to put A and B together, what exactly is the motivation?

The cynic says they just need to crank out the daily Outrage! to keep the base angry and motivated. But sometimes I wonder if they really can't help themselves, they see Trump and it's just ATTACK! ATTACK! ATTACK! with no thought processes behind it at all. Like a moth to a flame, you know it's going to end badly but that's just how they are wired.

I can analogize it to an autoimmune reaction – the Deep State sees a threat and goes haywire cranking up the defenses. But that still doesn't explain the true-believin' behavior of our resident lefties, who I very much doubt have much connection to any circles of power.

Yancey Ward said...

Gk1,

Hard to figure out. Anyone with a body temperature IQ knew this was going to end with Trump winning. They may have convinced themselves that an acquittal won't be seen as winning, but the fact is Trump is going to declare a victory, and his supporters and a good portion of the non-partisan population are going to understand that acquittal is victory.

The Democrats are in the position, this morning, of taking solace of having only lost the Superbowl by a single point on a disputed call. That don't mean the other team didn't win the Superb Owl and that your team didn't lose.

Yancey Ward said...

The Democrats this morning remind me of some of the Atlanta Falcon fans from the 2017 Super Bowl- trying to take solace in the fact that they were up big at half time even though they lost.

Yancey Ward said...

To put a more personal note on it- I am a huge Kentucky basketball fan- have been my entire life. In the famous game of 1992 with Duke, they were big underdogs in the regional finals against Duke, but seemingly had the game won with 2 seconds left. Of course, Christian Laettner hit the most famous last microsecond jump shot to win the game. A lot of Kentucky fans tried to take solace from the fact that the Cats had almost upset the #1 ranked and defending champions. It didn't work for me- I was morose for a month.

MadTownGuy said...

Temujin said...

..."J schools should be cleaned out. And the only way to do it is to enroll hundreds of conservative or libertarian yoots into those schools and simply fight back. Eventually those tenure slacker professors will retire and some new blood can be inserted. One class at a time. One department at a time. One school at a time. Its the way they changed our culture. Its also the way to get it back."

Not gonna happen. Indoctrination starts in kindergarten (maybe even day care) and continues apace through the formative years, reinforced by infotainment. It's the rare person who detects the nonsense and breaks with the narrative.

Mark said...

sometimes I wonder if they really can't help themselves, they see Trump and it's just ATTACK! ATTACK! ATTACK! with no thought processes behind it at all. Like a moth to a flame, you know it's going to end badly but that's just how they are wired.

Demism, progressivism, leftism today are less of a set of ideologies and are more a pathology.

The question is whether those still possessing the capacity of rational thought are going to follow them down the sink hole or not. Sadly, it looks like many of them, by the refusal to stand up and say, "STOP," are going to.

Jim at said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bilwick said...

True even in the broader, historical context. I'm old enough to remember the debate on Medicare, when the "liberal" Hive, speaking through the Democrats, told us that in no way did they want socialized medicine; what they only wanted was this one modest tweak to the healthcare system. And after they got it it wasn't long before they wanted another "little: expansion of the State, and then another and another . . . .

Statists will never be satisfied until they have absolute power.

Jim at said...

I can't even remember if it was significantly more or less than the usual shifting.

It was less. A fact completely lost on a certain idiot.

Achilles said...

Aunty Trump said...

If Trump is removed by the Republicans, the Republican Party is dead.

This would be a rare case where the word literally could be appropriately applied.

Achilles said...

rhhardin said...
You expect treason from the dems but it's always a surprise from your own side.

After what happened in the 2012 republican primaries only a fool would be surprised by GOPe treason.

Since 2016 they have made it crystal clear who and what they are.

Chuck said...

Regarding the notion that Trump and Trumpism have considerable electoral “coattails”: In 2018, one after another swing-Republican district of educated, suburban voters turned over to Democrats.

Michigan was typical of that. And in two suburban Detroit districts that turned from red to blue, one Republican loser was an incumbent with good name recognition on his own who had won repeatedly in state and federal elections. But he embraced Trump after 2016.

The other Republican congressional loser was the woman who had been Trump’s 2016 Michigan campaign chairwoman. She lost the district that had been comfortably held by anti-Trump Republican Dave Trott.

Vox did a good story on the myth of Trump’s electoral “coattails”:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/policy-and-politics/2017/7/24/16017898/trump-negative-coattails


Birkel said...

Racist fopdoodles who have gotten all past predictions wrong must surely be correct at some future point.

I look forward to racist fopdoodles predicting 2025 after 8 years of Trump.

Birkel said...

Also, quoting Juice Box? I mean Vox. Have some respect for Soros' money.

walter said...

"Dude gotta go!"
Or in dear, laser-like selectively outraged, Chuck!'s words:
"I am afraid you are mistaking me for someone who has an interest in fair treatment of Donald Trump. I'm not your guy. I am interested in smearing him, hurting him and prejudicing people against him."
(But you can buy some reprieve with a donated big ass bottle of gin.)

Achilles said...

If we had elections where everyone showed up to the polls, used paper ballots, showed legal ID matching voter registration, and had their thumbs marked with 3 day ink democrats don't sniff 150 seats in the house.

Prove me wrong.

Drago said...

LLR-lefty Chuck: "Vox did a good story on the myth of Trump’s electoral “coattails”

Vox!!!

LOLOLOL

The crew that gave us the mythical 30 mile "Gaza to West Bank Bridge"!!

Anyone using the high-school-paper Vox as a source is as much of a joke as Juicebox Vox.

Drago said...

Vox by the way, is home to far left hack Mathew Iglesias who explicitly stated lying to advance the dem cause is completely justified.

A left wing hack proudly lying to advance the dem/left cause.

Might as well call him LLR-lefty Chuck!

Chuck said...

Of the great many offensive things about Trump and Trumpism, these two stand out.

First and foremost is the pervasive notion that any critic of Trump is automatically a leftist and a Democratic Party sympathizer. I submit for consideration Rep. Justin Amash. Among the handful of the most conservative, and most doctrinaire libertarian voting records in the entire Congress. And devout Trump critic.

The other obnoxious thing about any attempted discussion with a typical Trump fan is that if some other source is referenced —say, an article from Vox — the Trumpian reaction is to attack the source itself and not the particulars of the text.

Here, we see Vox being attacked because of its ownership or some other unrelated staffer.

This is much like the Trump impeachment itself. Where we never heard from Trump himself, and we never got any specifics about what Trump did or did not do in detailed response to the Articles of Impeachment. Instead, we got counterattacks on the House Managers and a whistleblower and other investigations of Trump.

Just bullshit.

walter said...

House decided against the required route to secure even MORE witnesses while excluding House R witnesses and counsel.
Because imminent danger..and claimed open and shut case on bullshit particles of impeachment. Only to have Pelosi delay for a month in attempt to leverage the Senate to direct proceedings..or who knows why else.
Only TDS enables viewing that process as anything other than bullshit.
Just bullshit.

walter said...

And we all know how hard it is to escape the deafening roar of protest by staunch libertarian Amash regarding multiple alphabet agency overreach in spygate.

Gospace said...

The talk of the 2018 election didn't mention 2 things.

First, the Senate. Republicans ousted 3 incumbents, in ND, MO, and FL. Democrats flipped one seat without an incumbent. AZ. Arguably, well, in fact, through voter fraud.

The Democrat victories and flipped seats in the House were largely a result of House RINOs listening to the MSM about how unpopular Trump was and deciding to retire. Democrats flipped mostly open seats.

And in AZ? Sinema had 1,191,100 votes from Politico. 1,192,642 voted against her.

Trump had coattails. It showed in the Senate. The Republicans didn't nationalize the House election. When they do that, they win. You'd think they'd have learned that from when Gingrich did it.

As far as compromise goes, it took a while for most second amendment supporters to realize every compromise they made was a prelude to total ban and confiscation. If Republicans run against Virginia, they'll dominate 2020.

Birkel said...

Racist fopdoodles are mad that MSM Democratic mouthpieces are recognized for their partisanship and appropriately discounted? Losses of credibility are hard to understand when you have so little, one supposes.

And Justin Amash is a bought and paid for tool of the Chamber of Commerce that was happy to sell the middle class out. Fuck those guys.

Martin said...

As usual, Trump is mostly right.

Pookie Number 2 said...

The other obnoxious thing about any attempted discussion with a typical Trump fan is that if some other source is referenced —say, an article from Vox — the Trumpian reaction is to attack the source itself and not the particulars of the text.

First, let’s put this in context. There are currently over 1.1 million lawyers in the US. There have only been 45 presidents. So when someone who claims intellectual prowess because he’s achieved something incredibly common, and criticizes the intellectual capabilities of someone that’s achieved something infinitely more difficult, it’s clear that the critic is idiotically wrong, He’s certainly lying to others, and pretty obviously to himself as well. The particular inferiority complex driving this dishonesty is unclear, but its presence is undeniable.

Second, this same dishonest and inferior critic suggests that we ignore both his and his sources’ repeated and demonstrable mendacity on all matters Trump-related, and then whines that these polluted sources’ alleged texts aren’t treated seriously, as though there was any reason to do so in the first place.

Turns out that when one’s declared purpose is to misrepresent Trump, one’s corrupted arguments are easily and appropriately ignored. That’s only a surprise to the truly stupid.

Jamie said...

Midterm elections are frequently cast as "referenda on the president," but the salient point about them is that only the true believer turn out. Yes, we SHOULD care as much or more about the legislative branch as about the executive, but we just... don't.

So yes, 2018 certainly showed the depth and breadth of anti-Trump sentiment among those who already hated the guy, but I misdoubt we learned anything new from it.

Right BEFORE that election, we learned that it is possible to stand up to the woke and survive politically - it's not guaranteed and it is location-dependent, but it is possible.