From the Fiona Hill testimony:
Rep. Adam Schiff tells Matt Gaetz to "absent yourself."
I think that's going to be my NEW way of telling someone GTFOH.
"Absent yourself" is 🔥.
Was he removed, though (willingly or otherwise)?
Yes, Schiff states later that the record shall reflect Gaetz is no longer present
I wonder if Gaetz was literally no longer present, or if Schiff as head, declares him no longer present and the other members and stenographer and such just kinda pretend he isn’t there like a Congressional version of the Pretend They’re Invisible game that children play and carry on until he actually leaves?
Probably the former but the latter makes me chuckle more.
Battlenet ID: MildC#11186 - If I'm in the game, send me an invite at anytime and I'll play.
+35
knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
I think my favorite part of that exchange is Jim Jordan trying to dictate that Gaetz can stay and Schiff just ignoring him.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
1. A political career spurred on by ... impeachment
His congressional district, California's 28th, includes Hollywood. It's heavily liberal — Hillary Clinton won 72% here in 2016. But it wasn't always so pro-Democratic. In fact, Schiff got into Congress, ironically, by defeating a Republican, Jim Rogan, who was a staunch critic of Bill Clinton and spoke out against Clinton during his impeachment.
Schiff was able to leverage Clinton's impeachment for his gain, as Clinton friend and entertainment mogul David Geffen promised to help raise millions to unseat Rogan. He got help from movie director Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, former chairman of Disney Studios. At the same time, Disney Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner took Rogan's side. The result? The 2000 race became the most expensive in history, at that time, with more than $10 million raised between the two. Schiff won 53%-44%, and has since not gotten less than 63% of the vote.
3. He prosecuted an FBI agent for taking bribes from Russians
Before running for elected office, Schiff worked in the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His most famous case was the first-ever conviction of an FBI agent for espionage. The agent had been taking bribes from Russians. It took three trials over six years to secure the conviction.
"I do feel like in some ways my life has come full circle," Schiff told the Los Angeles Daily News with a laugh last week, thinking about his work today on the Intelligence Committee.
Schiff then ran for office, but lost three times for state Assembly before eventually winning a state Senate seat and then Congress.
I'm wondering who these clowns are going to kick off the committee in order to sit new people. Pretty sure Schiff is going to tell them to get bent, if they try sitting new members without removing someone. Also wonder how many more times these clowns will whine about BS, while not actually attending or paying attending to what's going on. I do hope they end up eating a ton of shit for that; especially, since they aren't going to be able to claim they were doing anything productive.
I'm wondering who these clowns are going to kick off the committee in order to sit new people. Pretty sure Schiff is going to tell them to get bent, if they try sitting new members without removing someone. Also wonder how many more times these clowns will whine about BS, while not actually attending or paying attending to what's going on. I do hope they end up eating a ton of shit for that; especially, since they aren't going to be able to claim they were doing anything productive.
I wouldn't be surprised if you actually had the opposite situation, where there were members who didn't want to be on that committee anymore since it puts more pressure on them to defend Trump.
The Democrats should just subpoena one of the people who was there during the Mulvaney press conference where he bragged about quid quo pro and simply ask him what he heard Mulvaney said that day, as a super trollish way to get Mulvaney's words on the record.
I'm wondering who these clowns are going to kick off the committee in order to sit new people. Pretty sure Schiff is going to tell them to get bent, if they try sitting new members without removing someone. Also wonder how many more times these clowns will whine about BS, while not actually attending or paying attending to what's going on. I do hope they end up eating a ton of shit for that; especially, since they aren't going to be able to claim they were doing anything productive.
I wouldn't be surprised if you actually had the opposite situation, where there were members who didn't want to be on that committee anymore since it puts more pressure on them to defend Trump.
Pretty sure the minority party cannot just add people without removing anybody.
I'm wondering who these clowns are going to kick off the committee in order to sit new people. Pretty sure Schiff is going to tell them to get bent, if they try sitting new members without removing someone. Also wonder how many more times these clowns will whine about BS, while not actually attending or paying attending to what's going on. I do hope they end up eating a ton of shit for that; especially, since they aren't going to be able to claim they were doing anything productive.
I wouldn't be surprised if you actually had the opposite situation, where there were members who didn't want to be on that committee anymore since it puts more pressure on them to defend Trump.
Pretty sure the minority party cannot just add people without removing anybody.
And I don't think that's going to be an issue, because being a republican on the committee right now is basically the equivalent of serving as Trump's legal team. Which people willingly quit all the time.
There's a reason most of the GOP on the committee didn't bother to show.
I'm wondering who these clowns are going to kick off the committee in order to sit new people. Pretty sure Schiff is going to tell them to get bent, if they try sitting new members without removing someone. Also wonder how many more times these clowns will whine about BS, while not actually attending or paying attending to what's going on. I do hope they end up eating a ton of shit for that; especially, since they aren't going to be able to claim they were doing anything productive.
I wouldn't be surprised if you actually had the opposite situation, where there were members who didn't want to be on that committee anymore since it puts more pressure on them to defend Trump.
Pretty sure the minority party cannot just add people without removing anybody.
that's correct, the committee size is set by the the House majority.
"Former Obama staffer R. David Edelman woke up Thursday to a bizarre new reality: Many on the pro-Trump internet were convinced — wrongly — he was the anonymous whistleblower at the heart of the impeachment probe.
And then the death threats started."
- Tim O'Brien is a Bloomberg editor, and well credentialed, tweeting a story by Will Sommer, a reporter for the Daily Beast.
And people are surprised the whistleblower doesn't want their identity revealed, when this, a fake revelation, had the exact response from the MAGAts that anyone and everyone expected. It's the least surprising outcome to an event I could have ever fucking imagined. Sun rises in the east is less unlikely than red hats threaten someone outed as whistleblower to their "dear leader".
The whistleblower is the least of Trump’s problems now.
Yes, but he is absolutely fixated on them as "the person who did this to me."
And that means his rabid fanbase are as well, and as has been shown in the past, he at best has no concern for his words and actions, and at worst, is actively engaging in "meddlesome priest" to it's conclusion.
+25
Johnny ChopsockyScootaloo! We have to cook!Grillin' HaysenburgersRegistered Userregular
"Former Obama staffer R. David Edelman woke up Thursday to a bizarre new reality: Many on the pro-Trump internet were convinced — wrongly — he was the anonymous whistleblower at the heart of the impeachment probe.
And then the death threats started."
- Tim O'Brien is a Bloomberg editor, and well credentialed, tweeting a story by Will Sommer, a reporter for the Daily Beast.
And people are surprised the whistleblower doesn't want their identity revealed, when this, a fake revelation, had the exact response from the MAGAts that anyone and everyone expected. It's the least surprising outcome to an event I could have ever fucking imagined. Sun rises in the east is less unlikely than red hats threaten someone outed as whistleblower to their "dear leader".
Why, oh fucking why, is Dean Cain aka Worst Superman somehow a part of trying to get a whistleblower murdered?
"Former Obama staffer R. David Edelman woke up Thursday to a bizarre new reality: Many on the pro-Trump internet were convinced — wrongly — he was the anonymous whistleblower at the heart of the impeachment probe.
And then the death threats started."
- Tim O'Brien is a Bloomberg editor, and well credentialed, tweeting a story by Will Sommer, a reporter for the Daily Beast.
And people are surprised the whistleblower doesn't want their identity revealed, when this, a fake revelation, had the exact response from the MAGAts that anyone and everyone expected. It's the least surprising outcome to an event I could have ever fucking imagined. Sun rises in the east is less unlikely than red hats threaten someone outed as whistleblower to their "dear leader".
Why, oh fucking why, is Dean Cain aka Worst Superman somehow a part of trying to get a whistleblower murdered?
"Former Obama staffer R. David Edelman woke up Thursday to a bizarre new reality: Many on the pro-Trump internet were convinced — wrongly — he was the anonymous whistleblower at the heart of the impeachment probe.
And then the death threats started."
- Tim O'Brien is a Bloomberg editor, and well credentialed, tweeting a story by Will Sommer, a reporter for the Daily Beast.
And people are surprised the whistleblower doesn't want their identity revealed, when this, a fake revelation, had the exact response from the MAGAts that anyone and everyone expected. It's the least surprising outcome to an event I could have ever fucking imagined. Sun rises in the east is less unlikely than red hats threaten someone outed as whistleblower to their "dear leader".
Why, oh fucking why, is Dean Cain aka Worst Superman somehow a part of trying to get a whistleblower murdered?
God this fucking stupid-ass year
You'd think he of all people would understand the need for a secret identity to protect yourself and loved ones from reprisals just for doing the right thing standing for Truth, Justice and The American Way.
"Former Obama staffer R. David Edelman woke up Thursday to a bizarre new reality: Many on the pro-Trump internet were convinced — wrongly — he was the anonymous whistleblower at the heart of the impeachment probe.
And then the death threats started."
- Tim O'Brien is a Bloomberg editor, and well credentialed, tweeting a story by Will Sommer, a reporter for the Daily Beast.
And people are surprised the whistleblower doesn't want their identity revealed, when this, a fake revelation, had the exact response from the MAGAts that anyone and everyone expected. It's the least surprising outcome to an event I could have ever fucking imagined. Sun rises in the east is less unlikely than red hats threaten someone outed as whistleblower to their "dear leader".
Why, oh fucking why, is Dean Cain aka Worst Superman somehow a part of trying to get a whistleblower murdered?
God this fucking stupid-ass year
Because he's a total wing nut maga guy
to be fair, he has since deleted that tweet and tried to stop what he started. Of course that's not really possible, given the internet.
"Former Obama staffer R. David Edelman woke up Thursday to a bizarre new reality: Many on the pro-Trump internet were convinced — wrongly — he was the anonymous whistleblower at the heart of the impeachment probe.
And then the death threats started."
- Tim O'Brien is a Bloomberg editor, and well credentialed, tweeting a story by Will Sommer, a reporter for the Daily Beast.
And people are surprised the whistleblower doesn't want their identity revealed, when this, a fake revelation, had the exact response from the MAGAts that anyone and everyone expected. It's the least surprising outcome to an event I could have ever fucking imagined. Sun rises in the east is less unlikely than red hats threaten someone outed as whistleblower to their "dear leader".
Why, oh fucking why, is Dean Cain aka Worst Superman somehow a part of trying to get a whistleblower murdered?
God this fucking stupid-ass year
You'd think he of all people would understand the need for a secret identity to protect yourself and loved ones from reprisals just for doing the right thing standing for Truth, Justice and The American Way.
It's only okay when the strong do it.
On a more serious note, I'm starting to be concerned about what the MAGA guntoters will do if Trump loses the election. This is one of those life lessons I've learned in the past decade or so. People are usually honest about what they are and you should probably take them at their word.
Heather Heyer was hit by a car. Maybe it'll be small baby steps. Insofar as extrajudicial killings can ever be baby steps.
And then I'm worried about the precedent that will set.
The reaction of Trump supporters if he loses the election is not on topic.
ElJeffe on
I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
President Donald Trump says he lifted his freeze on aid to Ukraine on Sept. 11, but the State Department had quietly authorized releasing $141 million of the money several days earlier, according to five people familiar with the matter.
The State Department decision, which hasn’t been reported previously, stemmed from a legal finding made earlier in the year, and conveyed in a classified memorandum to Secretary of State Michael Pompeo. State Department lawyers found the White House Office of Management and Budget, and thus the president, had no legal standing to block spending of the Ukraine aid.
So the State Department agrees that just withholding the aid was illegal.
I recommend that Nervous Nancy Pelosi (who backed up Schiff’s lie), Shifty Adam Schiff, Sleepy Joe Biden, the Whistleblower (who miraculously disappeared after I released the transcript of the call), the 2nd Whistleblower (who also disappeared), & the I.G., be part of the list!
God the 4th grade fucking namecalling of his opponents is driving me insane.
If only our mods could apply the nickname rule to him
+30
I ZimbraWorst song, played on ugliest guitarRegistered Userregular
The list Trump is referring to is the Republicans list of requested witnesses for the hearings. You may or may not be surprised to learn that their choices are mostly bullshit:v
I mean FFS. “Let’s do approximately what the president did that is getting him impeached now!”
Idiots.
I mean, it's no surprise. They know there's absolutely no way they can argue that Trump didn't do the crime, so they're attempting a Chewbacca defense where they muddy the waters by trying to turn it into an investigation of Hunter Biden. They're playing to voters who already want to believe it anyways.
That the republicans use the “democrat party” bullshit in formal documents shows how fucking stupid they’ve become. These idiots 100% drank the koolaid
That the republicans use the “democrat party” bullshit in formal documents shows how fucking stupid they’ve become. These idiots 100% drank the koolaid
I uhh. I'm afraid I don't catch the implication of using that term versus the other.
That the republicans use the “democrat party” bullshit in formal documents shows how fucking stupid they’ve become. These idiots 100% drank the koolaid
Everyone calls them the Democrats. It's how every party with that name uses it as a noun (Lib Dems are the Liberal Democrats). Probably just in the style guide now rather than being a knowing diss.
That the republicans use the “democrat party” bullshit in formal documents shows how fucking stupid they’ve become. These idiots 100% drank the koolaid
I uhh. I'm afraid I don't catch the implication of using that term versus the other.
The "Democrat Party" is a Limbaugh slur. The name is the "Democratic Party" because that is how English works. It's meant to convey the word "rat."
The plural is in fact "Democrats." But the adjective is Democratic.
Self-righteousness is incompatible with coalition building.
That the republicans use the “democrat party” bullshit in formal documents shows how fucking stupid they’ve become. These idiots 100% drank the koolaid
We may find it frustratingly anti-intellectual, and I know I do, but the underlying truth to this and Lindsey Graham's performance on Fox news over Sondland show that there's a different process going on.
Fascist ideology requires boogeymen. Often longstanding, sometimes convenient, and in many cases foreign. This is an aspect this board has analyzed in the past. However, I feel that in the face of the impeachment hearings in the house we have turned an important corner. At least the GOP as a group has turned an important corner. We've couched it before in mockery of how Trump turns anyone who has become a turncoat into a coffee-boy. Or the lowering of importance of that person like a line from an algebra equation. This is to be expected in any such criminal enterprise and has been seen plenty of times before in politics. Such as how former LCol. Oliver North went from a highly trusted person to a scummy lackey in the course of the Tower Commission investigation. The difference we're seeing here is that Sondland isn't getting that same projected reduction in placement but being actively turned out. Graham's language betrays him in this. It also provide the reason why the Senate has held firm thus far. We can discuss who might have compromising information about certain people in the Senate, but the present issue isn't one of political corruption. We are facing a different sort of political crisis.
As has been pointed out before in this and previous threads about Trump and the GOP, they've collectively taken off the mask of political respectability and of ideological consistency. They are full on playing calvinball with the law and government. The long and short of the reason behind this is as simple as avarice and lust for power. The people who are backing them are the money makers & power players in several spheres; Tech, Wall Street, Media, and so forth. Robber barons of the 20th and 21st centuries. Trump himself imagines to be among their kind or their betters despite being turned out by their sort his entire life. And here we have the four players in our formal game, each occupying one corner in the dilemma, and each holding certain cards that can either frustrate the other or can exalt them. What has happened is that Trump or someone near Trump has called for a rule that requires everyone to play with their cards face up for the group to see.
In Trump's corner he holds cards which can destroy any defector with the bully pulpit he occupies. That same place allows him to pass gifts of money and fortune to those who perform his kabuki well. In the Media/Tech/Wall Street corner. It's sometimes occupied by Fox News, sometimes occupied by CNN, or Facebook, or Twitter. And always, always occupied by Wall Street. These entities holds cards which can win voters over but only if you cooperate with Trump. In another are the Senators such as Graham who hold the ability to defect and leave the game or if they want the money and power which comes with office, they must keep cooperating. In the fourth and final place are us, the public. We have no cards but the vote. We can't leave the game, we can't win through defect or cooperation. We can only keep playing the one card granted to us.
So what must Graham do to survive? Defect or cooperate? There are no guarantees in Defection, only the fight from further right and the lack of riches to use to get votes. To cooperate is to keep playing, to remain in the game.
Which is what he does. He wants to keep playing calvinball with the rest of the GOP because he feels there's not another choice. I don't feel that even if one or two senators were to defect that the rest would go with them. It would require a large enough group, say ten or twelve of them, to make a real impact on the game being played against Trump. They all see he has the most powerful of cards. The ones which unlock the wealth needed to win the voters over. As long as he holds that *ahem* trump card, they won't move.
I'm not suggesting that all is lost or any such dire forecast. This is an analysis of the situation that's been going through my head for a few days now. It feels good to get it out.
All opinions are my own and in no way reflect that of my employer.
That the republicans use the “democrat party” bullshit in formal documents shows how fucking stupid they’ve become. These idiots 100% drank the koolaid
We may find it frustratingly anti-intellectual, and I know I do, but the underlying truth to this and Lindsey Graham's performance on Fox news over Sondland show that there's a different process going on.
Fascist ideology requires boogeymen. Often longstanding, sometimes convenient, and in many cases foreign. This is an aspect this board has analyzed in the past. However, I feel that in the face of the impeachment hearings in the house we have turned an important corner. At least the GOP as a group has turned an important corner. We've couched it before in mockery of how Trump turns anyone who has become a turncoat into a coffee-boy. Or the lowering of importance of that person like a line from an algebra equation. This is to be expected in any such criminal enterprise and has been seen plenty of times before in politics. Such as how former LCol. Oliver North went from a highly trusted person to a scummy lackey in the course of the Tower Commission investigation. The difference we're seeing here is that Sondland isn't getting that same projected reduction in placement but being actively turned out. Graham's language betrays him in this. It also provide the reason why the Senate has held firm thus far. We can discuss who might have compromising information about certain people in the Senate, but the present issue isn't one of political corruption. We are facing a different sort of political crisis.
As has been pointed out before in this and previous threads about Trump and the GOP, they've collectively taken off the mask of political respectability and of ideological consistency. They are full on playing calvinball with the law and government. The long and short of the reason behind this is as simple as avarice and lust for power. The people who are backing them are the money makers & power players in several spheres; Tech, Wall Street, Media, and so forth. Robber barons of the 20th and 21st centuries. Trump himself imagines to be among their kind or their betters despite being turned out by their sort his entire life. And here we have the four players in our formal game, each occupying one corner in the dilemma, and each holding certain cards that can either frustrate the other or can exalt them. What has happened is that Trump or someone near Trump has called for a rule that requires everyone to play with their cards face up for the group to see.
In Trump's corner he holds cards which can destroy any defector with the bully pulpit he occupies. That same place allows him to pass gifts of money and fortune to those who perform his kabuki well. In the Media/Tech/Wall Street corner. It's sometimes occupied by Fox News, sometimes occupied by CNN, or Facebook, or Twitter. And always, always occupied by Wall Street. These entities holds cards which can win voters over but only if you cooperate with Trump. In another are the Senators such as Graham who hold the ability to defect and leave the game or if they want the money and power which comes with office, they must keep cooperating. In the fourth and final place are us, the public. We have no cards but the vote. We can't leave the game, we can't win through defect or cooperation. We can only keep playing the one card granted to us.
So what must Graham do to survive? Defect or cooperate? There are no guarantees in Defection, only the fight from further right and the lack of riches to use to get votes. To cooperate is to keep playing, to remain in the game.
Which is what he does. He wants to keep playing calvinball with the rest of the GOP because he feels there's not another choice. I don't feel that even if one or two senators were to defect that the rest would go with them. It would require a large enough group, say ten or twelve of them, to make a real impact on the game being played against Trump. They all see he has the most powerful of cards. The ones which unlock the wealth needed to win the voters over. As long as he holds that *ahem* trump card, they won't move.
I'm not suggesting that all is lost or any such dire forecast. This is an analysis of the situation that's been going through my head for a few days now. It feels good to get it out.
Time in politics moves fast and slow, and not in that order.
Just like with Nixon, no Republican publicly plans on switching their vote until suddenly they all (or at least a sufficient number) do. That may never happen, but if it does we won't really know ahead of time either.
Posts
I wonder if Gaetz was literally no longer present, or if Schiff as head, declares him no longer present and the other members and stenographer and such just kinda pretend he isn’t there like a Congressional version of the Pretend They’re Invisible game that children play and carry on until he actually leaves?
Probably the former but the latter makes me chuckle more.
Battlenet ID: MildC#11186 - If I'm in the game, send me an invite at anytime and I'll play.
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
https://www.npr.org/2019/10/10/768048653/adam-schiff-the-surprising-face-of-the-impeachment-inquiry-of-president-trump
battletag: Millin#1360
Nice chart to figure out how honest a news source is.
I wouldn't be surprised if you actually had the opposite situation, where there were members who didn't want to be on that committee anymore since it puts more pressure on them to defend Trump.
Pretty sure the minority party cannot just add people without removing anybody.
And I don't think that's going to be an issue, because being a republican on the committee right now is basically the equivalent of serving as Trump's legal team. Which people willingly quit all the time.
There's a reason most of the GOP on the committee didn't bother to show.
that's correct, the committee size is set by the the House majority.
Only no, it was the wrong guy. How do we know it was the wrong guy? Because he was an Obama staffer that left the White House when Obama did.
Has he been receiving death threats, and threats of bodily harm? Of course he has.
"Former Obama staffer R. David Edelman woke up Thursday to a bizarre new reality: Many on the pro-Trump internet were convinced — wrongly — he was the anonymous whistleblower at the heart of the impeachment probe.
And then the death threats started."
- Tim O'Brien is a Bloomberg editor, and well credentialed, tweeting a story by Will Sommer, a reporter for the Daily Beast.
And people are surprised the whistleblower doesn't want their identity revealed, when this, a fake revelation, had the exact response from the MAGAts that anyone and everyone expected. It's the least surprising outcome to an event I could have ever fucking imagined. Sun rises in the east is less unlikely than red hats threaten someone outed as whistleblower to their "dear leader".
Yes, but he is absolutely fixated on them as "the person who did this to me."
And that means his rabid fanbase are as well, and as has been shown in the past, he at best has no concern for his words and actions, and at worst, is actively engaging in "meddlesome priest" to it's conclusion.
Why, oh fucking why, is Dean Cain aka Worst Superman somehow a part of trying to get a whistleblower murdered?
God this fucking stupid-ass year
Steam ID XBL: JohnnyChopsocky PSN:Stud_Beefpile WiiU:JohnnyChopsocky
Because he's a total wing nut maga guy
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
You'd think he of all people would understand the need for a secret identity to protect yourself and loved ones from reprisals just for doing the right thing standing for Truth, Justice and The American Way.
to be fair, he has since deleted that tweet and tried to stop what he started. Of course that's not really possible, given the internet.
It's only okay when the strong do it.
On a more serious note, I'm starting to be concerned about what the MAGA guntoters will do if Trump loses the election. This is one of those life lessons I've learned in the past decade or so. People are usually honest about what they are and you should probably take them at their word.
Heather Heyer was hit by a car. Maybe it'll be small baby steps. Insofar as extrajudicial killings can ever be baby steps.
And then I'm worried about the precedent that will set.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-09/state-department-freed-ukraine-money-before-trump-says-he-did So the State Department agrees that just withholding the aid was illegal.
Edit: actually no, none of them are relevant
If only our mods could apply the nickname rule to him
Politico Reporter. And Schiff's "cut the bullshit" response:
Idiots.
At the point where he's trying to jam 3 of them into a single tweet the effect is kind of lost.
I mean, it's no surprise. They know there's absolutely no way they can argue that Trump didn't do the crime, so they're attempting a Chewbacca defense where they muddy the waters by trying to turn it into an investigation of Hunter Biden. They're playing to voters who already want to believe it anyways.
I think that's how he remembers them. It's a mnemonic device.
I uhh. I'm afraid I don't catch the implication of using that term versus the other.
Everyone calls them the Democrats. It's how every party with that name uses it as a noun (Lib Dems are the Liberal Democrats). Probably just in the style guide now rather than being a knowing diss.
The "Democrat Party" is a Limbaugh slur. The name is the "Democratic Party" because that is how English works. It's meant to convey the word "rat."
The plural is in fact "Democrats." But the adjective is Democratic.
Anyone who calls them the Democrat party is an idiot not worth listening to
We may find it frustratingly anti-intellectual, and I know I do, but the underlying truth to this and Lindsey Graham's performance on Fox news over Sondland show that there's a different process going on.
Fascist ideology requires boogeymen. Often longstanding, sometimes convenient, and in many cases foreign. This is an aspect this board has analyzed in the past. However, I feel that in the face of the impeachment hearings in the house we have turned an important corner. At least the GOP as a group has turned an important corner. We've couched it before in mockery of how Trump turns anyone who has become a turncoat into a coffee-boy. Or the lowering of importance of that person like a line from an algebra equation. This is to be expected in any such criminal enterprise and has been seen plenty of times before in politics. Such as how former LCol. Oliver North went from a highly trusted person to a scummy lackey in the course of the Tower Commission investigation. The difference we're seeing here is that Sondland isn't getting that same projected reduction in placement but being actively turned out. Graham's language betrays him in this. It also provide the reason why the Senate has held firm thus far. We can discuss who might have compromising information about certain people in the Senate, but the present issue isn't one of political corruption. We are facing a different sort of political crisis.
As has been pointed out before in this and previous threads about Trump and the GOP, they've collectively taken off the mask of political respectability and of ideological consistency. They are full on playing calvinball with the law and government. The long and short of the reason behind this is as simple as avarice and lust for power. The people who are backing them are the money makers & power players in several spheres; Tech, Wall Street, Media, and so forth. Robber barons of the 20th and 21st centuries. Trump himself imagines to be among their kind or their betters despite being turned out by their sort his entire life. And here we have the four players in our formal game, each occupying one corner in the dilemma, and each holding certain cards that can either frustrate the other or can exalt them. What has happened is that Trump or someone near Trump has called for a rule that requires everyone to play with their cards face up for the group to see.
In Trump's corner he holds cards which can destroy any defector with the bully pulpit he occupies. That same place allows him to pass gifts of money and fortune to those who perform his kabuki well. In the Media/Tech/Wall Street corner. It's sometimes occupied by Fox News, sometimes occupied by CNN, or Facebook, or Twitter. And always, always occupied by Wall Street. These entities holds cards which can win voters over but only if you cooperate with Trump. In another are the Senators such as Graham who hold the ability to defect and leave the game or if they want the money and power which comes with office, they must keep cooperating. In the fourth and final place are us, the public. We have no cards but the vote. We can't leave the game, we can't win through defect or cooperation. We can only keep playing the one card granted to us.
So what must Graham do to survive? Defect or cooperate? There are no guarantees in Defection, only the fight from further right and the lack of riches to use to get votes. To cooperate is to keep playing, to remain in the game.
Which is what he does. He wants to keep playing calvinball with the rest of the GOP because he feels there's not another choice. I don't feel that even if one or two senators were to defect that the rest would go with them. It would require a large enough group, say ten or twelve of them, to make a real impact on the game being played against Trump. They all see he has the most powerful of cards. The ones which unlock the wealth needed to win the voters over. As long as he holds that *ahem* trump card, they won't move.
I'm not suggesting that all is lost or any such dire forecast. This is an analysis of the situation that's been going through my head for a few days now. It feels good to get it out.
Time in politics moves fast and slow, and not in that order.
Just like with Nixon, no Republican publicly plans on switching their vote until suddenly they all (or at least a sufficient number) do. That may never happen, but if it does we won't really know ahead of time either.