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

it would take *a lot* (as in a whole lot of damning evidence of explicit wrongdoing, presented in a convincing, straightforward manner) to get people marching in the streets en masse on this for more than a couple of days imo

Best timing for a Mueller report would be about Labor Day, may be late August, in time for it to become the only issue of the 2018 election. This election will mostly be a referendum on Trump anyway, but Mueller dropping his report would superheat the issue and frame it in terms of "is our country run by criminals? the evidence says yes."

People didn’t go to the streets after he repeatedly threatened to use nukes.

Exactly.

assuming the democrats take the house in november

I don't see this as assumable or even >50% probable

(though definitely plausible in a way it wasn't 6 months ago)

the DNC is convinced elections are won by going for sensible moderates with policies that no one likes. if the mueller investigation wraps up this summer they will find a way to avoid saying "we're running on an impeachment ticket" in the same way they avoid saying "single payer".

at the local level there are probably places where that makes electoral sense, tbf.

xps. right. republican collusion in the obstruction of justice would not anger the people enough to take to the streets, so the criminality will have to be so undeniable that open collusion would be political suicide for most republicans.

caek otm

i could not wish I was more wrong but i think america is past the protest peak. a vast majority of americans will never take to the streets even if their livelihoods were directly threatened. anything but to “go down to the level of those troublemakers that delay my drive to work”

right in line with that:

Just remember: rich people would happily throw you into a volcano if it meant that their dog would get to doggy daycare on time pic.twitter.com/OtJuTNWWuJ

— Willful Nice Hound (@inthesedeserts) January 23, 2018

who watches the foxmen?

https://campaignforaccountability.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/CfA-Ethics-Complaint-Devin-Nunes-1-25-18.pdf

this is an enjoyable read about another state (along with NY and CA) where the GOP senate candidate may cost them at the state level, but in this case it may cost them a winnable senate seat too.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/pennsylvania-republicans-vent-frustration-with-lou-barlettas-senate-campaign/article/2647231

it would take *a lot* (as in a whole lot of damning evidence of explicit wrongdoing, presented in a convincing, straightforward manner) to get people marching in the streets en masse on this for more than a couple of days imo

On the flip side, if Trump were seriously threatened with impeachment, how many people would march in his defense? I honestly think a huge percentage of the population hates him but are just mentally buckled in to wait this shit out.

Hmm

NEW: Mueller's team has interviewed Facebook staff associated with the Trump campaign as part of the Russia investigation. (plus your daily reminder that an interview is not an implication of guilt) https://t.co/qkypIeWAeg

— issie lapowsky (@issielapowsky) January 26, 2018

"So, would you characterize your memes as 'dank,' or 'amazeballs'?"

My fave (not silly) conspiracy theory is that the Russians colluded with Jared and the data firm (remember when that super sketchy looking bearded tech dude was interviewed?) on how and where to target those handfuls of states that turned the election. Like, if the Trump people told the Russians exactly where to spread their Facebook propaganda, that's some collusion right there.

http://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/170616133602-brad-parscale-exlarge-169.jpg

This dude, been laying low, counting his Trump money.

how has everyone been enjoying being a lot richer? been p cool

McGahn sure seems to be wanting to paint himself as a hero more and more

White House counsel was 'fed up' with Trump: source https://t.co/HKu8pCov2h

— Reuters Politics (@ReutersPolitics) January 26, 2018

Or he sees the writing on the wall and is asking for a little push out the door.

He is actually about to make a run for it in that picture

Eh, this is all shit that happened in June. These idiots are in it for the long haul, unless they're cooperating.

Of course it's stuff that happened in June. The fact that it's being more openly talked about now means someone wants daylight.

Ned otm.

The leaks are timed. These stories about McGhan are coming out now for a reason—whomever's behind them. Another scenario is McGahan leaks it to protect the President from himself, in the hope that breaking the story might help keep him hemmed in. Trump is a nightmare for these guys.

history’s biggest ‘aw diddums’ for these assholes

It will be fun when all of this reporting is autopsied a year (or god forbid seven) from now and none of the sources are Mark Felt institution-types motivated to keep mum. Every one of these clowns Trump let into the oval office is gonna be looking for a book deal.

The leaks are likely coming from Bannon as always. Or maybe Reince. But probably Bannon, who has been leaking from the start, may be cooperating, and actually has an ax to grind.

I think I read McGahan Priebus and Bannon have the same lawyer, so yeah its probably that guy

Just think, we had never heard of any of these people, except Trump who was a sideshow celebrity

*three years ago

three million years ago

three million trees ago. if you are clamoring for more books on these pricks you are part of the problem. maybe NYT just knows their audience too well. the hunger for Trump content is insatiable.

Is this bad?

EXCLUSIVE: President Donald Trump pressed senior aides last June to devise and carry out a campaign to discredit senior FBI officials after learning that those specific officials were likely to be witnesses against him. https://t.co/U7Qk3uTpGW

— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) January 26, 2018

I have to admit, it takes a certain amount of bravery to fuck with the FBI. Maybe bravery isn’t the word.

This sounds like it could be obstruction of justice though but I’m not a lawyer

https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/dragon-inn-2016/hero_Dragon-Inn-2016.jpg

i'm not really sure where to post this but i just got back from the movies and i submit that trump could and should be replaced by the blonde, pink-faced, asthmatic eunuch usurper villain of king hu's dragon inn (1967). he does a lot of squinting into the sun and yelling at people which seems in-character and also at the end he gets his head chopped off by an underling he'd tried to manipulate and exploit through clumsy, bullying manipulation. all in all this is basically how i prefer to imagine things going from here on out.

i'm with u

I’ve not checked rotten tomatoes nor am I fluent in cantonese but I’m willing to bet that is the best blurb/review ever written about that movie I’ve never seen

https://p1.pstatp.com/large/26eb00033ed5c6af1e73?123.jpg

"I've been treated very, very unfairly, and we're going to look into that"

The likeness is uncanny.

three million trees ago. if you are clamoring for more books on these pricks you are part of the problem. maybe NYT just knows their audience too well. the hunger for Trump content is insatiable.
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Friday, January 26, 2018 8:23 PM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I don't think anyone said they were "clamoring for more books on these pricks." What does this mean? What does it have to do with NYT?

adam is doing his own thing

slate once again states the obvious like it's some new revelation

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/01/the-obstruction-case-is-getting-solid.html

That story about Dutch intelligence stumbling on the Russian hacking operation is crazy:

https://www.volkskrant.nl/tech/dutch-agencies-provide-crucial-intel-about-russia-s-interference-in-us-elections%7Ea4561913

The Cozy Bear hackers are in a space in a university building near the Red Square. The group's composition varies, usually about ten people are active. The entrance is in a curved hallway. A security camera records who enters and who exits the room. The AIVD hackers manage to gain access to that camera. Not only can the intelligence service now see what the Russians are doing, they can also see who's doing it. Pictures are taken of every visitor. In Zoetermeer, these pictures are analyzed and compared to known Russian spies. Again, they've acquired information that will later prove to be vital.

Jimmy Kimmel is interviewing Stormy Daniels after the SOTU

and Maxine Waters is delivering her response on BET

options 4u

LBI shared the AIVD / Cozy Bear story earlier but he totally buried the lede imo

Shared it in the Trump-Russia collusion thread iirc

Oh that’s right. Amazing this shit is all public already. SIGINT bidness is supposed to stay out of the news for 25 years at least, clearly the world has moved on

The first head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) slammed President Trump and Republicans in a new interview, saying their environmental policies and denials of the threat posted by climate change are dangerous for the U.S.

“It’s a threat to the country,” William Ruckelshaus, the first head of the EPA who was appointed under former President Richard Nixon, told Huffington Post. “If you don’t step up and take care of real problems, and don’t do anything about it, lives will be sacrificed.”

“They certainly are killing everything,” he continued.

Ruckelshaus compared Trump’s EPA chief, Scott Pruitt, to Anne Gorsuch, the former EPA administrator under former President Ronald Reagan who was held in contempt of Congress after refusing to turn over records related to the mishandling of toxic waste.

“They don’t believe in the mission of the agency,” Ruckelshaus told Huffington Posy. “Neither one of them did. Anne Gorsuch did not, and I don’t think Pruitt does either. They think we’re over-regulating.”

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/371053-first-epa-chief-gop-climate-change-denial-a-threat-to-the-country

Ruckelshaus with the sick burns