The Politics Thread

[dragonflies]

 

[DRW50]

I'm not sorry it's been postponed but I do worry what will pass that will be even worse (either that or they will just let ACA die and have nothing as a replacement as they also gut Medicare and Medicaid). I'm also dreading the inevitable pud pulling from many over the "principled" far right Congress hacks.

 

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/trump-freedom-caucus-health-care-236418

[Wales2004]

The obtuse working on healthcare saying such things as "I wouldn't want to lose my mammogram."

 

I don't know how to embed tweets but Sally Field has one about Trump Truckster that made me laugh.

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Edited March 23, 2017 by Wales2004
added screencap

[Roman]

 

she would know who the Bandits really are....

IMO, the postponement of this vote not only hurst rump tremendously it hurts Ryan just as bad....it also puts the GOP behind the 8 ball and makes them look horrible because, after 7 years of trying to gut the ACA, this proves they never had anything ready as an alternative and what they just tried to get passed seems to go back to the healthcare system we had BEFORE the ACA. all they had to do was work on the bill across the row and work with Dems...but that made way too much sense. now, they are stuck with a God awful piece of legislation that has badly damaged the GOP, cause (among other things) Trump's numbers plummet and have even started to turn republican voters against them...because these people were so ignorant about their own self interests they woke up (slightly) to find out "HEY!!!!......they're screwing us like porn stars!!!"

[DramatistDreamer]

Trump made it an enormous deal when he threatened other Republicans as well as telling them that if he didn't get the votes, it would be a big blow for his agenda going forward, yet he still couldn't cull the votes.

For now, this will register as a big failure and also a knock against his ability to make the big deal (aka grand bargain) which he is supposed to be good at since he always boasts about his closing skills. 

Also in the context of governing, he's only put out a bunch of highly unpopular executive orders, most of which have been successfully challenged and have already flopped.

All this combined with never-ending scandals. I don't care who you talked to, there's no way to spin this so that it's a good look for him.

Oh, and his approval ratings, which we know are important to him (because, ratings) are in the dumps.

Again, not a good look.

Articles being written daily about how much he lies and him responding incoherently, giving the impression that he is totally unhinged.

Just how long do people suppose he can go on like this?

Honestly, even if you're optimistic (or pessimistic,depending on which side is up), how sustainable is this administration?

Edited March 23, 2017 by DramatistDreamer

[DRW50]

It's blame Obama time...and many in the press will lap it up.

 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/mo-brooks-blame-obama-health-care

[DramatistDreamer]

 

I guess it's a common 'go to' because various people on social media have already been predicting that the GOP would do this. All day, in fact.

[Vee]

Trump doubts himself!

[Wendy]

 

Good. He deserves to. What a terrible manchild politician.

[sivad40]

“This election, I saw members of my party marginalizing and condemning minorities, ethnic or otherwise, and making demeaning comments towards women,” Rep. Beth Fukumoto wrote in a letter announcing her resignation on Wednesday. “So, when I listened as our now top office holder refused to condemn the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, speaking out didn’t seem like a choice.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/hawaii-gop-leader-resigns-blasts-racism-sexism-joins-dems-article-1.3006415

 

[DRW50]

 

That's quite an article. At first you think it's sympathetic but as time passes it paints him as a sad, lost child. I imagine he will love it. 

 

So it looks like the adviser with half a brain (Kushner) wanted him to steer clear. Not surprised he didn't listen. 

 

This made me laugh:

 

In the midafternoon, a beaming Mr. Trump climbed into the rig of a black tractor-trailer, which had been driven to the White House for an event with trucking industry executives, honking the horn and posing for a series of tough-guy photos — one with his fists held aloft, another staring straight ahead, hands gripping the large wheel, his face compressed into an excited scream.

[Wales2004]

Eastbound and demented.

 

This seems like a perfect assessment of how to handle serious legislation:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/24/opinion/the-trump-elite-like-the-old-elite-but-worse.html

 

Trump can blame anyone he wants but he fails on this either way. He supported a horrendous bill and if it passes, he can't run away from that. If it fails then his image as the greatest deal maker ever takes a hit. Since he's already claimed that he wanted to let Obamacare fail then that happening won't insulate him either.

 

They're now trying to slow down travel visas (probably for select countries) as a backdoor way of carrying out a ban. Ultimately this may adversely affect tourism so America's CEO is not doing as well as he pretends he is.

 

[DRW50]

Unless he's afraid of losing the big activist support (that never bothers to show up at polls anyway), I'm not sure why Schumer is trying to force a filibuster of Gorscuh that will just cost Democrats any ability to block nominees from now on (and for a long time, as I doubt they'll win the Senate back in 2018). Maybe he figures they're going to take it away anyway. I don't know. Generally I find Schumer to mostly be good at talking to a camera.

 

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/chuck-schumer-neil-gorsuch-filibuster-scotus-nomination-236441

[marceline]

 

IMO, it's theatre to try and bring the lefty purity ponies back into the fold. They are all about big shows. Of course, they'll find another excuse to sit home and sabotage us.

[DramatistDreamer]

The TV media tries to push cases like this out of the spotlight but let's face facts, if this perpetrator were Muslim, there would be wall to wall coverage everywhere day in and day out.  The perp is a lone wolf terrorist, in the same mold as the profile of a lone wolf terrorist who is loosely connected with a group like ISIS. I see multiple similarities between the two.

 

The victim, Timothy Caughman has been painted as a transient (seemingly to engender less sympathy and be easier to ignore/bypass), even though he is not and this article actually corrects this misrepresentation.

 

For those of you who are fans of All My Children, Coming To America or The Haves and Have Nots, Shari Headley has a few moving words about Mr. Caughman in this article.

 

A Man Who Hated Black Men Found a Victim Who Cared for Others