US Politics, June 2018: This is a total goat rodeo.

There is also likely an extent to which the GOP recognizes that formally recognizing Trump's illegitimacy calls into question their own complicity/legitimacy/judgment. If your brain only recognizes the short-term consequences of your decisions, I guess doubling down on a dumb play makes sense.

It's not that they all like him, but the Republicans who dislike Trump are afraid of facing the anger of Trump voters, if they allow him to be removed from office. Besides, working with people you loathe is an integral part of politics.

Yeah I agree with Aimless re:

I can't see how any republican would want Trump to stay where he is instead of mild mannered Pence

They don't love Trump as much as they fear the thousands of froth-beflecked redhatters in their districts, who will call for their heads if they fail to bow down to the EmperOrange.

conspiracy nerds a-frothin'

There was an American witness.

Melania. https://t.co/wQOrGHGjL3

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) June 4, 2018

It's no surprise yet totally surreal to see liberals attacking Trump on North Korea **from the right**. The significance of the summit is not that it might restrain Kim Jong Un, but that it might restrain Trump from starting a catastrophic war.

— Jon Schwarz (@schwarz) June 4, 2018

There was that Pelosi comment (which was admittedly terrible and counter productive) about Trump’s cancellation letter and some pundits speculating that he’s “getting played” but is this honestly something lots of liberals are doing? I feel like people are more just worried he’s going to cancel it again.

I don't know is it actually beneficial that he goes through with it . Isn't it a kudos getting operation from North Korea.
Only benefit I can see coming from this is that Trump looks even more absurd tahn he does already when it doesn't go the way he want sit to.

Moon may go to the summit, in which case it will be a SK-NK affair

if you didn't read the Schwarz thread:

And if Trump is being duped by anyone, it's not Kim Jong-un, but Moon Jae-in. Everyone everywhere should support that duping, which could be incredibly good for Koreans and the world.

— Jon Schwarz (@schwarz) June 4, 2018

Who cares about the world, I'll bet they don't even have an America.

I agree w Schwartz re: support the duping, any semblance of an agreement that avoids returning to the rhetoric from 2017 should be supported. Hopeful that Trump is not talking about it in terms of it being a “long process” etc. problem is Schwarz endorses Tim Shorrock’s reporting in that thread and that guy has been overly optimistic.

on the lighter side

The Hill reports:

The Pentagon’s inspector general has officially launched an investigation into allegations of misconduct by former physician to the president Ronny Jackson, a spokesman confirmed Monday.

“What I can tell you is that the DoD Office of Inspector General has initiated an investigation into allegations related to Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Ronny L. Jackson,” inspector general spokeswoman Dwrena K. Allen said in a one-sentence email.

Jackson faces a slew of allegations that he drank on the job, overprescribed medications and created a hostile work environment. The unconfirmed accusations came to light after President Trump nominated Jackson to become secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Ronny L. Jackson

heh heh heh

Rear Admiral (Lower Half)

so he was a proctologist huh

Hey, the surgeon general would HAVE to be a proctologist to ensure that all the BS from this administration keeps flowing freely! (plays shitty political song on the piano while wearing a star-spangled porkpie hat and an expression of weary desperation)

Only benefit I can see coming from this is that Trump looks even more absurd tahn he does already when it doesn't go the way he want sit to.

Doesn't this just set him up to play the card of how victimized he is, how undermined by the deep state, how unfairly treated by the media? He and his crowd will never admit to having been played.

For people who do not read the canadian politics thread, some federal govt. actions that might be encouraging!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/steel-tariff-maple-syrup-toilet-paper-1.4686833

In retaliating against U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, Canada crafted a list of quirky, mismatched targets for its own tariffs that may look more like MacGyver's shopping list than a strategic plan to bring about a change to U.S. policy.

From pizza and quiche to strawberry jam, ketchup and mustard, the tariff target list Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland released today seems completely remote from steel and aluminum. (What does hair lacquer have in common with a steel girder?)

"This list was clearly drawn strategically to exert maximum pain politically for the president," said Maryscott Greenwood of the Canadian American Business Council.

"The idea is, you look at a map of the congressional districts of the United States, you look at which members of Congress are in leadership positions and then you look at the big industries in those districts and then you draw up your list accordingly," she said. "And this list was clearly drawn up with this in mind."

heh

those clever bastards

My Trump Home Mattress Collection by Serta is setting records--they are really phenomenal. You can order them at http://t.co/oeCVxEGZ

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 18, 2012

^^^ a real tweet

So sad.

Fox ad execs are having difficulty selling ads for Hannity and Laura Ingraham. “The pro-Trump thing isn’t working,” one staffer says. “We can’t monetize DACA and the wall and that right-wing shit.”https://t.co/4BfIq9Efxy

— Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) June 4, 2018

Ad revenue is not the only way to monetize supporting the Trump admin though...

good lede!

Hahah!

JUST IN: U.S. Special Counsel Mueller says ex-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort has attempted to tamper with potential witness - court filing pic.twitter.com/9Dcxi9YGyw

— Reuters Politics (@ReutersPolitics) June 5, 2018

New filing: Mueller's team says there's "probable cause to believe that Manafort has violated 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b) by attempting to tamper with potential witnesses while on pretrial release and, accordingly, has violated the conditions of his release."https://t.co/qKYaCdarwO

— Ellis Kim (@elliskkim) June 5, 2018

Well, there goes any chance of getting him to cooperate, probably.

Good thing he wasn't deeply involved in the Trump campaign or anything.

I mean, I heard he just brought them coffee or something.

Love too hear about manaforts upcoming pardon

meanwhile, only a 148 or so of the nearly 290,000 documents seized from Michael Cohen are considered privileged.

Well, there goes any chance of getting him to cooperate, probably.

On the contrary, I think this concentrates the mind wonderfully.

witness tampering was manafort's plan D. now maybe he'll move on to plan E, flight to avoid prosecution.

I'd love to see him try it.

my guess is it's that, or else seek asylum in the Ukrainian embassy. the Russian embassy would just be too embarrassing.

Oh for dumb.

Rudy on Trump Dictating Statement: We didn't lie. It was a mistake! "It was a mistake. I swear to god, it was a mistake. The guy made a mistake." pic.twitter.com/2cAIl6vHKF

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) June 5, 2018

First time for everything, I guess.

Giuliani's position clarified: when I take an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, then I don't really need to bother about thinking carefully about what I say, because I can always "correct" it later on when someone notices my sworn testimony wasn't truthful. No big deal. I tell all my clients not to sweat about telling the truth under oath. Say whatever comes to mind. It's not like it matters.

It's increasingly difficult to argue convincingly that it does.

Hey, even Mister Rogers made mistakes, am I right?

This is something.

Amazing. CNN reporting Pompeo told Trump it would be "counterproductive" to allow Bolton to attend the Oval Office meeting with visiting North Korean official Kim Yong Chol. Non trivial probability Bolton doesn't last much longer. https://t.co/Ri5MCb9LMp

— Tom Wright (@thomaswright08) June 5, 2018

Cadet Bone Spurs cancels Philadelphia Eagles visit: http://wnep.com/2018/06/04/president-trump-cancels-philadelphia-eagles-visit-to-white-house/amp/

In response to Trump’s announcement, former Eagles receiver Torrey Smith, who was a member of the championship team and was traded during the off-season, called the move “a cowardly act.”

“So many lies smh Here are some facts 1. Not many people were going to go 2. No one refused to go simply because Trump ‘insists’ folks stand for the anthem 3. The President continues to spread the false narrative that players are anti military,” he said in one tweet.

Smith continued: “There are a lot of people on the team that have plenty of different views. The men and women that wanted to go should’ve been able to go. It’s a cowardly act to cancel the celebration because the majority of the people don’t want to see you. To make it about the anthem is foolish.”

This kind of validates that Jon Schwarz tweet Morbious shared upthread. Very dangerous for the Dems to demand that our insane president achieve an impossible and hawkish result out of the summit.

Democratic Senators to Trump: Any deal with N. Korea must completely dismantle Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs permanently—oh, and please keep us in the loop on plans before negotiations ­begin.https://t.co/SZD11H4wgY

— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) June 5, 2018

Some hilarity here as one Ted Cruz attempts to explain himself in a Twitter thread:

On the question of whether a president can pardon himself, we're seeing an abundance of knee-jerk partisanship and dishonest journalism.

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 5, 2018

wonder how this Eagles thing is playing out in the swing state of Philadelphia

lmaooo

We have had many Championship teams recently at the White House including the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Penguins, New England Patriots, Alabama and Clemson National Champions, and many others. National Anthem & more great music today at 3:00 P.M.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2018

....@NASCAR and Champion @MartinTruex_Jr were recently at the White House. It was a great day for a great sport!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2018

Featuring such hits as the National Anthem and more!

by Radiohead!

greeeat

A “pro-white” marcher in the Unite the Right Charlottesville rally was just elected to a Republican Party post in Washington state https://t.co/dNBg49HLbs

Via @KELLYWEILL

— Sam Stein (@samstein) June 5, 2018

The piece of paper certified that Allsup was now a precinct committee officer for the Whitman County, Washington Republican Party.

whit(e)man count(r)y morelike