US Politics January 2018: "You All Just Got A Lot Richer"

the legislature really boxed in the president with the sanctions legislation it passed last year.

But he never did what they compelled him to do, did he?

it blocked his quid to Putin's pro quo

a fine example of congressional quidblock, if you will

ha

The first few weeks of the Trump administration raised the question of the degree to which Trump’s malevolence would be tempered by his incompetence. In the first year of the Trump presidency, the answer to that question was that incompetence did a lot of tempering.

TAX BILL: Trump’s legislation includes provision that makes it harder for all future presidents to eliminate a multibillion-dollar tax loophole that enriches Trump’s top adviser & the former Wall St firms of Trump’s top aides https://t.co/X3zVlBmJhj

— David Sirota (@davidsirota) January 1, 2018

a little New Year cheer

In private meetings:

Trump keeps asking for tariffs — on steel and aluminum, in particular. He wants a trade war, and has for many years. His economic and diplomatic advisers persuaded him to delay trade actions in 2017.

Those advisers recognize that the day of reckoning will come in 2018, regardless of whether economic adviser Gary Cohn and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson — who advocated restraint — stay or go.

Cohn and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin successfully persuaded Trump not to do anything rash while tax reform was being negotiated.
Trump also saw the advantage of trying to use that as leverage with China to get help on North Korea. He said yesterday in an interview with the N.Y Times: "China's hurting us very badly on trade, but I have been soft on China because the only thing more important to me than trade is war. O.K.?"

And he tweeted yesterday, in response to Chinese ships secretly delivering oil to North Korea: "Caught RED HANDED - very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea. There will never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem if this continues to happen!"

NEW: Look for Trump to take action on trade in the next month. It probably won't be next week, so as not to disrupt the afterglow of the tax cut. But nothing is final.

Trump still wants his wall, and tighter restrictions on legal immigration. He's a true believer on this stuff, and knows intuitively that it keeps his base stoked.

Trump seems most interested in discussing military options on North Korea in these meetings. He is surrounded by advisers who share his concern about the rogue state, but not his fixation on a military strike.

https://www.axios.com/trump-unchained-2520671086.html

He would save so much time money and energy yet still reap the benefits if he just tweeted that the wall has already been built and immigration and violent crime are dropping at record rates.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/01/us/politics/trump-businesses-regulation-economic-growth.html

Some businesses will essentially be able to get away with shortcuts that they could not have under a continuation of Obama-era policies. The coal industry, for instance, will not have to worry about a regulation, overturned by Congress and Mr. Trump, that would have protected streams from mining runoff.

cool

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/resolution-not-conflict/201603/can-you-spot-10-signs-childish-adult

Democrats are doing nothing for DACA - just interested in politics. DACA activists and Hispanics will go hard against Dems, will start “falling in love” with Republicans and their President! We are about RESULTS.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018

He just...says whatever he wants, huh. I will be completely unsurprised when he finally gets around to tweeting 'I am literally a phone. Sad!' or somesuch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shTC8VcsmNQ

oh those wacky hispanics

democrats in ‘interested in politics’ shocker

it's so sad the Democrats won't sell out all of their ideals in their entirety for a compromised deal that helps a few thousand people who have been unfairly put at risk by the GOP and their idiot president by agreeing to a set of ridiculous ideas, including a border wall and stricter immigration laws, that hurt many times more people, for some ephemeral symbolic gain even though the bulk of the political benefits go to the GOP. Not that the GOP is being political, because they are not. Not at all.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/01/02/donald-trump-foreign-policy-analysis-dangerous-216202

"Caught RED HANDED - very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea. There will never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem if this continues to happen!"

"a friendly solution"??? fwiw, when the United States threatened an oil embargo on Japan in the 1930s, the Japanese government saw that as no different than threatening them with war, which prompted them to plan and execute the Pearl Harbor attack.

president biff is just mad china wont do his homework for him anymore so its time to fite

He gets all his negotiating advice from The Sopranos

DACA activists and Hispanics will go hard against Dems, will start “falling in love” with Republicans and their President!

Fairly accurate, considering Trump's understanding of "falling in love" is "grudgingly allowing Trump to fuck you repeatedly, having no better viable option for the time being"

in the year....two thous^aaaaaaaand^

sorry, can't stop reading that quote in the Conan O'Brien "Year 2000" style, with the addition of ridiculously overemphasized finger square quotes for "falling in love"

Thank you @realDonaldTrump for preventing US commercial airlines from crashing in 2017. Your active participation monitoring the flight patterns and safety regulations was greatly appreciated. In 2018 could you please turn your efforts toward preventing wildfires and hurricanes? https://t.co/yYq49PzZpX

— Bryan Cranston (@BryanCranston) January 2, 2018

orrin hatch out

thank you for that excellent news

Franken resignation official

deets, NYT

Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, the longest-serving Senate Republican, plans to announce on Tuesday he will retire at the end of the year, rebuffing the pleas of President Trump to seek an eighth term and paving the way for Mitt Romney to run for the seat. Mr. Hatch intends to announce his decision Tuesday afternoon via a video announcement, according to two Republican officials briefed on the plans.

Mr. Hatch, 83, was under heavy pressure from Mr. Trump to seek re-election and block Mr. Romney, who has been harshly critical of the president. But Mr. Hatch, who emerged as one of the president’s most avid loyalists in the Senate, decided to retire after discussing the matter with his family over the holidays. The veteran senator was also facing harsh poll numbers in Utah, where 75 percent of voters indicated in a survey last fall that they did not want him to run again.

Revenge of The Romney!

escape, hatch

https://media.vanityfair.com/photos/583edb39ca6f7ee00ec2921d/master/pass/mitt%20romney%20donald%20trump%20dinner.jpg

Orrin should do nothing but post about weed for the rest of the year.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/resolution-not-conflict/201603/can-you-spot-10-signs-childish-adult🕸

that trump/romney pic is iconic

You misspelled 'nightmarish' but that's okay and here's why.

https://punditfromanotherplanet.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/twin-peaks-trump-romney.jpg?w=590&h=393

trump's face in that pic has always reminded me of

http://www.mtv.com/shared/promoimages/bands/p/primus/video_stills/wynonas_big_brown_beaver/640x480.jpg

The prospect of Senator Mitt Romney is a big blow to Trump. It'll be yet another Republican senator who will say mean things about him, while still voting for everything on his agenda

— Robert Maguire (@RobertMaguire_) January 2, 2018

xp -- I was thinking nightmare Aphex Twin

EXCLUSIVE: GOP Rep. Bill Shuster to retire, spend final year working with Trump on massive infrastructure bill https://t.co/XlYyXha5jh pic.twitter.com/bmWWXwEV2f

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) January 2, 2018

what does a Utah Democrat look like, anyway?

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/resolution-not-conflict/201603/can-you-spot-10-signs-childish-adult🕸

POLL

― El Tomboto, Tuesday, January 2, 2018 2:35 PM (twenty minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Please do

what does a Utah Democrat look like, anyway?

Kinda like Mo Udall I'd think -- Mormon, pro-environment, wholesome family, that kinda thing

Or like a lesbian private detective.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Biskupski

escape, hatch

― Newb Sybok (Doctor Casino)

This needs to be the bottom right caption of an Onion Kelley cartoon.

orrin hatch, welcome to the resistance

someone get that man a safety pin stat

but Hatch loves Trump – he's better than Reagan.

Reporter: “Can you tell me the biggest single thing the president has accomplished for the American people during his time on the golf course?”

Sarah Sanders: “Developing deeper and better relationships with members of Congress” pic.twitter.com/iNPitqut3x

— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) January 2, 2018

In the American Embassy in Paris this morning, I noticed that they still haven’t put up a picture of Tillerson in the usual SOS spot, where the Kerry portrait had been in the better old days. As ever the staff remains courteous and efficient, showing that Trump’s effects haven’t spread this far yet.

Well, we survived January at least.

Shhh, someone will notice that there are still a few hours left in the month and take that as a challenge.

finished reading the transcript of the Nunes hearing.

want to hurt many many people. Nunes isn't actually doing much more than being a chairman in the meeting, but most of the talking (from Democrats) falls on deaf ears. it's obvious what this is - we'll watch it play out like the Iraq War narrative did.

memo dropping tomorrow per reuters

fuck this place

better still, fuck those cretins and leave this place a better place

https://projects.propublica.org/graphics/trump-job-promises

Hey, what has the Kush been up to lately?

xp - yeah, except the great majority of trump supporters are like Americans in general, to whom "millions of new jobs" has approximately the same meaning as "more than a few new jobs". innumeracy is ascendant.

the unwillingness of editors - because let’s be honest, that’s who is ultimately assigning these angles - to see the phenomenon klion outlines is especially odd given that long and staten island are both not far from manhattan!!!!

better still, fuck those cretins and leave this place a better place
― A is for (Aimless), Wednesday, January 31, 2018 8:44 PM (eighteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

true enough, feeling defeated and hopeless today though, and mad at myself about that, too

the state of the uniom is not strnen

MR. QUIGLEY: [...]When you, as the majority, conceived of doing this memo for release to the body and to the public, the preparation, the thought of doing it, the consultation of it, was any of this done after/during conversations or consultations with anyone in the White House? Did they have any idea you were doing this? Did they talk about doing this with you? Did they suggest it? Did you suggest it to them? Did you consult in deciding how to go forward with this before, during, and after this point right now? I yield.

THE CHAIRMAN: I would just answer, as far as I know, no. [...]

MR. QUIGLEY: Mr. Chairman, does that mean that none of the staff members that worked for the majority had any consultation, communication at all with the White House?

THE CHAIRMAN: The chair is not going to entertain --

MR. QUIGLEY: I yield.

THE CHAIRMAN: -- a question by another member. Do any other members wish to be heard? Your time has expired.

MR. QUIGLEY: Does that mean just questions you don't like or questions in general, sir?

the balls on these people

BREAKING: Discovered late tonight that Chairman Nunes made material changes to the memo he sent to White House – changes not approved by the Committee. White House therefore reviewing a document the Committee has not approved for release. pic.twitter.com/llhQK9L7l6

— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) February 1, 2018

Seems pretty illegal

I don't know how big a revelation this is, but I kind of feel like his tweet could have been "BREAKING: I wrote a letter."

god, things keep unraveling. wtf

nu thred plz

it's still January for 90 more minutes here

The Hill are the first I've seen run anything about the Schiff tweet, so peruse for updates: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/371756-schiff-accuses-nunes-of-sending-trump-edited-memo

parting shot:

http://i64.tinypic.com/2mww3o9.png

http://is2.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Video/v4/ef/c3/25/efc32551-778b-79bb-0500-d5dee6138873/source/1200x630bb.jpg

haha whoa

FWIW rumor mill on Twitter is hitting some interesting overdrives. Guess we'll see.

Go on...

Eh. No way to predict anything so better to just wait on word.

i mean just link it

Devin Nunes' pee tape edit now features HRC.

he made it on jibjab

Meantime, useful Mariotti thread

1/ Today the @nytimes published this piece discussing Mueller’s interest in the highly misleading statement crafted by Trump and his aides about the Trump Tower meeting. https://t.co/47MXCVjBmp

— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) February 1, 2018

Go on...

Keep in mind, no one knows anything and nothing matters anymore anyway, but I've come across everything from rumors of Wray resigning in protest to accusations that Nunes forged Schiff's signature (?) to unnamed sources in the intelligence community ominously if enigmatically predicting that "shit is about to get real."

Not to mention that in the afore linked Times story you've got that former Trump cat Corallo explicitly stating he thought Hope Hicks was obstructing justice.

tbf, shit hasn't been real for over a year now...

Seriously, I could go for a little reality.

actually it's been extremely real

It's been ... something.

Why do I get the impression that the Mueller investigation has the WH staff as jumpy and upset as a sackful of cats?

Trump likes to grab cats.

they'll be fine i think

to be continued...

US Politics, February 2018: Our country was founded by geniuses, but it’s being run by idiots