BigSqwert Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 (edited) QUOTE (Tony @ May 16, 2017 -> 03:42 PM) Take a step back for a second. Think about how far away we are from the White House even coming close to being able to talk about the real issues, passing legislation, healthcare, etc. They play cleanup 24/7 now. It's really incredible. Not true. Plenty of time in the day to get in 18 holes. Edited May 16, 2017 by BigSqwert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 (edited) Congress/McConnell have recently speculated about going it alone and basically ignoring Trump...but that won't work very effectively in today's media environment. During the days of Warren Harding or US Grant, sure. Got a chuckle out of this one from NY Times comments section. Memo states: "“I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” Mr. Trump told Mr. Comey, according to the memo. “He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”" I'm sorry where is there a request to Comey to stop the investigation? http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/201...ublicans-215145 When will GOP Dump Trump? (Written before Comey/Flynn) And yet the stakes on the trail were different. Back then you only had to grit your teeth through the last few months of the election, hold on tight and hope for the best. Flash forward and Republicans actually hold all the levers of power. If it was hard to cross the party’s underdog nominee, the thought of breaking with the president of the United States with three and a half years left on the clock is exponentially more daunting. Moreover, the current trifecta may be a once-a-generation legislative opportunity, suggesting a heightened tolerance for Trump’s foibles. When you find yourself in the red zone on a decade’s worth of political goals, it takes a lot of lost yardage to force you to punt. There still may be more fallout from the Russia meeting, to be sure. For now it feels like a political bomb that didn’t quite go off, even if the audible ticks sent the smarter pols scrambling. But it’s nonetheless an instructive moment when it comes to discerning the pain threshold for the elected GOP. The criticisms may grow louder with each unforced error by the White House, but as long as the legislative dream is still alive it’s hard to imagine any sort of full-scale break. If that dream dies, however, it’s every man for himself. Edited May 16, 2017 by caulfield12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 Wapo, NBC, AP and WSJ all have confirmed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quin Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 So, how many people go down in this if Comey blows it all open? Trump and Sessions at the very least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Middle Buffalo Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Good thing he's only the President. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Hurtin Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Hmmm https://mobile.twitter.com/th3j35t3r/status...640351428108288 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 And, in the worst-case scenario, Pence is somehow tied to all the lies and cover-ups, making Paul Ryan the president. Talk about lesser of two evils. But yeah, Sessions...he gotta go. Just like William Sessions two+ decades ago as Director of the FBI. Not the luckiest name in politics these days. Supposedly the Dems are also closely looking into the option of recall votes/elections in 18 states to tip the balance of the US Senate back to the left, at least until the 2018 mid-terms, but that seems pretty far-fetched. It would, however, be pretty hilarious to see McConnell and Paul having to sweat it out in KY and many of the red Trump states that currently have the highest percentage of ObamaCare and Medicaid recipients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 QUOTE (Big Hurtin @ May 16, 2017 -> 06:41 PM) Hmmm https://mobile.twitter.com/th3j35t3r/status...640351428108288 That goes right along with the Seth Rich was murdered to prevent from providing even more damaging information to WIKILEAKS and then Pizza Gate. Too many "-Gates" recently. Just in the span of a single week, ComeyFired-Gate, ClassifiedIsraeliInfo-Gate and Flynn'sAGoodGuy-Gate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9347 Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 (edited) QUOTE (Big Hurtin @ May 16, 2017 -> 07:41 PM) Hmmm https://mobile.twitter.com/th3j35t3r/status...640351428108288 It's unbelievable that this is what's happened to the Presidency in the United States. Our whole system is a joke filled lie. Somehow, the one guy crooked enough to play ball with the fake news of Russia ran when they decided to f*** our election. It's the perfect storm. We're doomed by the very Constitution meant to protect us. So many norms were not law. It's just crazy that Russia, Trump, and an entire party that was previously on its heels are colliding to destroy our company. Obama's presidency changed so much for the better while spurning the other side because they refused to play ball. Trump happened because we wounded the GOP. They will not survive this just as the Joker did not win in The Dark Knight. Think of the GOP as the mafia in the film and Trump as the Joker. Oh and of course Obama is Batman. But this Batman can't come back. Who will be our boy wonder??? Alfred Pennyworth: You crossed the line first, sir. You squeezed them, you hammered them to the point of desperation. And in their desperation, they turned to a man they didn't fully understand. Bruce Wayne: Criminals aren't complicated, Alfred. Just have to figure out what he's after. Alfred Pennyworth: With respect Master Wayne, perhaps this is a man that *you* don't fully understand, either. A long time ago, I was in Burma. My friends and I were working for the local government. They were trying to buy the loyalty of tribal leaders by bribing them with precious stones. But their caravans were being raided in a forest north of Rangoon by a bandit. So, we went looking for the stones. But in six months, we never met anybody who traded with him. One day, I saw a child playing with a ruby the size of a tangerine. The bandit had been throwing them away. Bruce Wayne: So why steal them? Alfred Pennyworth: Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn. Edited May 17, 2017 by Steve9347 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 https://twitter.com/JesseLehrich/status/864...9068032/photo/1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Even if that informant was executed/caught, there's no way the information comes out of Mossad because of how much Netanyahu hated Obama and desperately wants to work with a Republican administration on military/foreign policy and Palestinian issues. It's going to take the international media digging to the bottom of the story, which will be extremely dangerous in and of itself. Guess we'll have to wait and see this next week what, IF ANYTHING, Israel will say in public on the matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Sally Yates said Russians had "real leverage" over Flynn. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sally-yates...ory?id=47442212 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 (edited) https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-wrong-...-010845580.html Trump is the wrong kind of businessman (private vs. public company leader) to be president Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of Exxon Mobil who’s now Secretary of State, seems to be learning quickly on the job, and performing competently so far. Former Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn, head of Trump’s National Economic Council, seems to be rolling with the punches and mustering an economic agenda for Trump, even as crisis swirls. Both men have learned to thrive amid the glare of critics. Trump hasn’t, and may never. There’s speculation that other business leaders may follow Trump’s lead in 2020, and run for the White House, including Disney CEO Bob Iger and Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz. Both earned their spurs in public companies that are also consumer brands, answerable to unpredictable trends, the ever-present threat of boycotts and the merciless trolls on social media. It would be interesting to see how a public-company CEO fares in the White House. Compared with one not accustomed to such accountability. Many would at least be willing to listen to at least listen to Howard Schultz, who was raised the direct opposite of Trump. Not sure about Iger. Whenever this discussion arises, Marcus Lemonis' name comes up as well as Mark Cuban (no) and Mark Zuckerberg (big no). Edited May 17, 2017 by caulfield12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSqwert Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 @joncoopertweets White House sources say Trump is cursing up a storm - ranting and raving. Yelling at staffers & using the "F" word. He's losing it tonight. via Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quin Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 16, 2017 -> 09:03 PM) @joncoopertweets White House sources say Trump is cursing up a storm - ranting and raving. Yelling at staffers & using the "F" word. He's losing it tonight. via Donny probably really wants a drink Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Trump transition team mishandled classified information. https://twitter.com/AP_Politics/status/864648912375881729 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Subpoena for manafort, former Trump campaign manager and Kremlin stooge. Federal investigators have subpoenaed records related to a $3.5 million mortgage that former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort took out on his Hamptons home just after leaving the campaign, according to a source familiar with the matter. The mortgage document that explains how Manafort would pay back the loan was never filed with Suffolk County, New York — and Manafort's company never paid up to $36,000 in taxes that would be due on the loan. In addition, despite telling NBC News previously that all his real estate transactions are transparent and include his name and signature, Manafort's name and signature do not appear on any of the loan documents that are publicly available. A Manafort spokesperson said the $3.5 million loan, which was taken out through a shell company, was repaid in December, but also said that paperwork showing the repayment was not filed until he was asked about the loan by NBC News . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 (edited) Manafort, Stone, Page and Flynn better be lawyered up. Ironic that so many lawyers like Sessions will need to hire more lawyers to defend them, but what can you do? This is going to make the Clinton Administration look squeaky clean by the end of it. And, for the first time since January 20th, more Americans support impeachment (48%) than oppose it (41%). https://www.yahoo.com/news/majority-america...-142000416.html If all else fails, let's try a former lingerie model/Fox reporter as WH Press Secretary. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/k...2525252527sxhby At least SNL will have a new character to do...I'm sure Melania will be absolutely thrilled by this!!! A Fox News host is waiting in the bushes to pounce on Sean Spicer’s job. Kimberly Guilfoyle, a controversial co-host of “The Five,” told Bay Area News Group on Monday she’s in talks with Team Trump to become the administration’s next press secretary. “I’m a patriot, and it would be an honor to serve the country,” Guilfoyle told the outlet. “I think it’d be a fascinating job, it’s a challenging job, and you need someone really determined and focused, a great communicator in there with deep knowledge to be able to handle that position.” The 48-year-old cable news personality — who says she has known President Trump over a decade — declined to delve into specifics. But “a number of people” at the White House have raised her potential hiring, she said. Guilfoyle, who’d emerged as a rumored contender for the job in December, gave her interview after several reports indicated Trump was considering axing the beleaguered Spicer as part of a broad staffing shakeup. She reportedly also appeared to dole out advice on the flack job during one of her shows last week. “If you want to be successful and do communications with President Trump, you have to be someone who he actually wants to spend a little bit of time with,” she said. “You’ve got to insist on getting in front of POTUS, talk to him, and have like five, six minutes with him before you go out there and take the podium, and otherwise you’re driving blind.” Edited May 17, 2017 by caulfield12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 (edited) https://twitter.com/jasoninthehouse/status/...bi%2Findex.html NOW/FINALLY....Jason Chaffetz actually wants to get involved in the Trump investigation, lol. Must be trying to add to his bonafides for his upcoming FOX NEWS gig. Should definitely be a PROFILES IN COURAGE AWARD in 2018. Independent Maine Senator Angus King says this meets his standard for impeachment http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/16/politics/tru...-fbi/index.html If true, that is almost the textbook definition of obstruction of justice, a charge that could well lead to impeachment proceedings. "Reluctantly I have to say yes," independent Maine Sen. Angus King told CNN's Wolf Blitzer Tuesday night about the prospect of impeachment if the claims in the Comey memo are true. But there's nothing to worry about, we should ACTUALLY BE PROSECUTING JAMES COMEY FOR DERELICTION OF DUTY (and QUITE clearly, the Honorable Jeff Sessions would have done something about it) Addressing the Comey memo, GOP Rep. Blake Farenthold of Texas said: "If Comey felt like the president was trying to obstruct justice, Comey would have been duty-bound to report it to the DOJ and act on it. And we're not hearing that happened. I think this is another example of whatever Trump does gets the worst possible spin." THE BEST POSSIBLE ARGUMENT REPUBLICANS CAN MAKE TO DEFEND TRUMP But, you know, can I say one more thing about the '90s that connect it with what's going on today? In 1991, we had George Herbert Walker Bush in the White House. It was still the Soviet Union, Gorbachev was still in power for the rest of the year, and a warning came from our ambassador in Moscow, Jack Matlock, which was passed on to the White House. He had inside information from sources, from confidential sources, that a coup attempt was being planned. And, by the way, of course it happened in August of that year. That information came from our Ambassador Matlock, from his sources in Moscow, to the White House. George Bush had been instructed that this was highly sensitive, do not reveal the source of the information, keep it confidential. Bush fouled up, and within hours, he got on the phone to Moscow, a line that was open, monitored by the KGB, trying to reach Gorbachev, and he revealed the information, and he revealed the source, which went straight to the KGB. This was an unbelievable breach of confidentiality, dangerous, potentially deadly results, and the greatest irony is that George Herbert Walker Bush had been Director of the CIA before. Now, why am I telling this story? Obviously, my first point is, presidents have fouled up, and have declassified unwittingly, or sometimes for political purposes, highly sensitive information all the time. I'm not excusing what Trump did — it looks like he was very sloppy — but the first thing to note is it's not unusual, this happens a lot. The second thing, and let's talk about this, is sharing information intelligence with the Russians. Guys, we've been doing this for nearly 20 years. After 9/11, the Russians offered us valuable intelligence on the Taliban, on Afghanistan, to help us fight back against bin Laden, and we've been exchanging intelligence on terrorists ever since. A lot of people wish we'd exchange more information; we might have prevented the Boston bombing. So this hysteria about sharing intelligence with our adversary, no, we are cooperating with Russia because we have a common enemy. http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option...p;jumival=19110 Edited May 17, 2017 by caulfield12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Putin offering Congress their notes on the meeting. How nice. I guess it will score him points with Trump, and probably the only reason why he bothered. Trump will think he is his buddy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 profiles in cowardice NEW: @SpeakerRyan just told rank-and-file Rs that Congress needs to stick with ongoing committee process and use it to get facts on Russia— Scott Wong (@scottwongDC) May 17, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Trump's camp doesn't have recordings or detailed notes of his meetings with Comey. "Take good notes and send out emails documenting who said what and when" is something I learned like 2 years into my career after getting burned once by an asshole project manager. How does nobody in the White House know this? Comey also has a history of doing this, and he used to to burn the W. Bush White House twice when they were trying to lie about things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trum...p-idUSKCN18D0C7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Marianna Sotomayor @MariannaNBCNews A senior WH official tells @PeterAlexander that POTUS wasn't telling Comey to end Flynn investigation and suggest this is the way he speaks "Listen, the President is a dumb child, you can't take him at his word!" is an interesting spin they're trying to put on both the Russia intel and Comey stories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts