The need to out the whistleblower as a partisan hit job could also stem from trying to deal with the cognitive dissonance of simultaneously thinking that you're as ethical as the next guy, and that you would only do what the whistleblower did to a political enemy.
Therefore, if you prove that the whistleblower did it for partisan reasons, they don't have an ethical high ground on you.
We're so far past the identity of the whistleblower mattering in proceedings or the court of public opinion, that it's got to just be a dumb psychological drive at this point.
So one of devin nunes's aid's who had been previously fired from an NSC job is leaking the name of the whistleblower to conservative media. Yep always fucking projection from these clowns.
It's amazing how laser focused they are on the whistleblower when we're like 12 steps removed from them now; we have numerous other witnesses, the white house memo stating they did the thing, Trump doing the thing in front of a camera on the white house lawn, Mulvany admitting they did the thing and saying "Get over it.", and the whole kit and caboodle allegedly stored on a secured server somewhere.
The whistleblower is almost a non-issue at this point. It's the Steel Dossier all over again. "Doesn't matter if we commit crimes so long as we can discredit the first person to state we committed a crime."
Authoritarians' faith is in strongmen, not facts or evidence. If the person in charge says a thing, then it is true. Supporting evidence is nice, but not necessary. Conversely, if you can discredit or unseat that person, everything they ever said becomes invalid. It's the same reason Evangelical creationists are still so fixated on Charles Darwin: they think the theory of evolution is a cult of personality, because that's how they operate.
They're attacking the whistleblower because they think that person is the root and cornerstone of the impeachment inquiry, not the first crack in the dam.
Ironically, they're also attacking because of the whistleblower's anonymity (which they claim to hate so much). He's a liberal. She's a feminist. He's a spy. She's a never-Trumper. All of these things can be true because the whistleblower is a convenient blob that can morph into whatever bogeyman they want.
They're going to try to discredit the whistleblower and then claim that means the whole investigation should never have happened.
That's their strategy. I don't understand how that works in the media environment that Trump is always able to take advantage of. If you're talking about something that happened two months ago, you're losing.
"I'm increasingly worried that President Trump will want to shut down the government again because of impeachment," Schumer told reporters. "He always likes to create diversions. I hope and pray he won’t want to cause another government shutdown because it might be a diversion away from impeachment."
This is just an offhand quote from Schumer but I could definitely see Trump making this play.
I figured Trump's dipping approval rating & lack of any policy wins during the last shutdown would prevent him from trying it again, but if anyone tells him he can delay impeachment and get it out of the news with a shutdown, we might be beating the 35-day record.
The closer he pushes impeachment toward the 2020 election, the more traction he'll have in claiming it's a political hit job. And he can easily buy himself a month or two vetoing a CR.
"Oh please Mr Trump, don't fling us into the brier-patch."
This is good work by Schumer defining the narrative ahead of time.
Good Lord I am glad I wasn't the only one thinking of this analogy.
Yeah, Schumer is definitely taunting Trump.
Pelosi controls the House and it’s an election year. There won’t be too many House GOP that will want to vote against a continuing resolution to support a shutdown, so she could easily get a bipartisan CR passed.
This means it will be either Trump or McConnell holding up a CR, with the real reason being Trump wanting the impeachment stopped. McConnell will go with Trump in front of the cameras, but be apoplectic behind the scenes if a shutdown occurs.
I don’t think the Dems want a shutdown because it hurts actual people, but if Trump does it will be another one of his unforced errors and Schumer is already setting up the narrative.
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I'm really hoping Bolton is feeling real spiteful because they didn't let him bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran.
I'd love for a rabid right wing ideologue like Bolton to just nail the Trump admin for being a uhhh well rabid right wing government. But I just doubt he'll do that. I imagine he'll say some token bad trump stuff, and then merrily trumpet the party line and say the real issue are whistle blowers.
Why bother show up if that's the case?
I think it's more likely that he has an axe to grind with Trump. Along with everything else, I doubt Bolton is pleased with the State Department getting gutted.
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Johnny ChopsockyScootaloo! We have to cook!Grillin' HaysenburgersRegistered Userregular
The GOP trying to figure out the whistleblower's identity is definitely for illegitimate purposes like leaking it, right.
Leaking after they've managed to dig up enough dirt for a character assassination, yes. But think at this stage it's very much the latter rather than the former.
Plus so they can fire them.
I'd wager they're trying to figure out the identity of the whistleblower because Trump wants to know, and they want to suck up to Trump. Basically the part of the mob movie where the mob boss says "BRING ME THE HEAD OF THAT DIRTY RAT" and everyone scrambles trying to be the hero.
I'd say Trump in particular wants him so he can get retribution, probably thinking that if he can fuck the whistleblower hard enough, it'll dissuade others from following suit. That we already have a lot of whistleblowers, including apparently Rudy Giuliani's left buttcheek, this is a stupid plan. So it's DEFINITELY what Trump is thinking.
It's super duper unlikely, but oh god let Bolton reveal himself as the whistleblower at the deposition. Having the whistleblower be the biggest right-wing chickenhawk would generate such a delicious reaction from the admin and the GOP.
I'm really hoping Bolton is feeling real spiteful because they didn't let him bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran.
I'd love for a rabid right wing ideologue like Bolton to just nail the Trump admin for being a uhhh well rabid right wing government. But I just doubt he'll do that. I imagine he'll say some token bad trump stuff, and then merrily trumpet the party line and say the real issue are whistle blowers.
Why bother show up if that's the case?
I think it's more likely that he has an axe to grind with Trump. Along with everything else, I doubt Bolton is pleased with the State Department getting gutted.
He shows up in the hope to find more right wing jobs. But again we'll see, I just don't trust a snake like Bolton to do anything good for merica. He hasn't yet.
I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
The GOP trying to figure out the whistleblower's identity is definitely for illegitimate purposes like leaking it, right.
Leaking after they've managed to dig up enough dirt for a character assassination, yes. But think at this stage it's very much the latter rather than the former.
Plus so they can fire them.
I'd wager they're trying to figure out the identity of the whistleblower because Trump wants to know, and they want to suck up to Trump. Basically the part of the mob movie where the mob boss says "BRING ME THE HEAD OF THAT DIRTY RAT" and everyone scrambles trying to be the hero.
I'd say Trump in particular wants him so he can get retribution, probably thinking that if he can fuck the whistleblower hard enough, it'll dissuade others from following suit. That we already have a lot of whistleblowers, including apparently Rudy Giuliani's left buttcheek, this is a stupid plan. So it's DEFINITELY what Trump is thinking.
It's super duper unlikely, but oh god let Bolton reveal himself as the whistleblower at the deposition. Having the whistleblower be the biggest right-wing chickenhawk would generate such a delicious reaction from the admin and the GOP.
I've had Bolton as my dark horse candidate for whistleblower for a while, but I really doubt it's him. They said the whistleblower is CIA.
The GOP trying to figure out the whistleblower's identity is definitely for illegitimate purposes like leaking it, right.
Leaking after they've managed to dig up enough dirt for a character assassination, yes. But think at this stage it's very much the latter rather than the former.
Plus so they can fire them.
I'd wager they're trying to figure out the identity of the whistleblower because Trump wants to know, and they want to suck up to Trump. Basically the part of the mob movie where the mob boss says "BRING ME THE HEAD OF THAT DIRTY RAT" and everyone scrambles trying to be the hero.
I'd say Trump in particular wants him so he can get retribution, probably thinking that if he can fuck the whistleblower hard enough, it'll dissuade others from following suit. That we already have a lot of whistleblowers, including apparently Rudy Giuliani's left buttcheek, this is a stupid plan. So it's DEFINITELY what Trump is thinking.
It's super duper unlikely, but oh god let Bolton reveal himself as the whistleblower at the deposition. Having the whistleblower be the biggest right-wing chickenhawk would generate such a delicious reaction from the admin and the GOP.
I've had Bolton as my dark horse candidate for whistleblower for a while, but I really doubt it's him. They said the whistleblower is CIA.
And also not on the call, which I'm pretty sure Bolton was.
Now that they're going to do this in public all I care about is all of these people coming back for round 2 in front of the camera, because if it's not on camera it didn't happen.
aide at the NSC involved in trump's ukraine strategy
Top NSC advisor for Europe and Russia. Bolton pick, replaced Fiona Hill when she left in July.
Was on the "no quid pro quo" phone call between Trump and Sondland, and was the guy Vindman sent his corrections to regarding the Zelensky call summary.
I’d prefer if Bolton wasn’t the whistleblower, because it would be too easy to say it’s sour grapes after getting fired.
Not to drift too far afield, but my sister's husband's parents are in town, and offered a glimpse into the realm of people who basically do not follow politics at all. They were aghast at watching John Oliver's weekly recitation of a fraction of Trump's shit, and upon being told about Vindman submitting corrections that were rejected, their initial response was "Oh, so it sounds like Vindman is doing this as revenge for them throwing his work out." And all I could do is gawk. They're liberal leaning somewhat dumb/nonsense-libertarian, but they're both doctors, so they're technically smart people, but a terrifying reminder to me of how disconnected from all news the general populace is.
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valhalla13013 Dark Shield Perceives the GodsRegistered Userregular
Considering what their judgment decided to edit out, I have to go with Spool on this one. The things they left out were specifically about investigating the Bidens.
Considering what their judgment decided to edit out, I have to go with Spool on this one. The things they left out were specifically about investigating the Bidens.
They knew that extorting Ukraine to investigate the Biden’s was super-illegal but because that was so illegal they didn’t notice that withholding the aid at all was still pretty illegal.
Considering what their judgment decided to edit out, I have to go with Spool on this one. The things they left out were specifically about investigating the Bidens.
They knew that extorting Ukraine to investigate the Biden’s was super-illegal but because that was so illegal they didn’t notice that withholding the aid at all was still pretty illegal.
Or to put it another way, the crossed the line so fucking long ago they can no longer remember when they crossed it.
They have just not stopped committing crimes since the inauguration from before the inauguration.
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valhalla13013 Dark Shield Perceives the GodsRegistered Userregular
As I read more and more about how politicians, staffers, lobbyists and assorted hangers-on on the GOP side all seemed to have a raging need to destroy any kind of relations the US had with Ukraine, I have to ask why? Why were all these people so dead set on giving the Ukraine back to Russia? Surely Russia hasn't completely compromised the Republican party, had it?
Somebody give me a reasonable reason why they all decided the Ukraine out of all things happened to be their biggest problem at the same time Russia was busy invading it and annexing its territory?
As I read more and more about how politicians, staffers, lobbyists and assorted hangers-on on the GOP side all seemed to have a raging need to destroy any kind of relations the US had with Ukraine, I have to ask why? Why were all these people so dead set on giving the Ukraine back to Russia? Surely Russia hasn't completely compromised the Republican party, had it?
Somebody give me a reasonable reason why they all decided the Ukraine out of all things happened to be their biggest problem at the same time Russia was busy invading it and annexing its territory?
Ukraine would be desperate for their help basically because of the russian stuff. And then in the meeting at the white house Trump gave them the ultimate fuck you. "You need to work things out with putin".
I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
As I read more and more about how politicians, staffers, lobbyists and assorted hangers-on on the GOP side all seemed to have a raging need to destroy any kind of relations the US had with Ukraine, I have to ask why? Why were all these people so dead set on giving the Ukraine back to Russia? Surely Russia hasn't completely compromised the Republican party, had it?
Somebody give me a reasonable reason why they all decided the Ukraine out of all things happened to be their biggest problem at the same time Russia was busy invading it and annexing its territory?
My guess is that Putin wants Ukraine back as part of Russia and through plundering Russia’s wealth he has sneakily maybe made himself the richest man on Earth, and he’s willing to use that money to achieve his goals because most people are hella greedy. Especially when the guy bribing you can send hundreds of millions your way.
"I'm increasingly worried that President Trump will want to shut down the government again because of impeachment," Schumer told reporters. "He always likes to create diversions. I hope and pray he won’t want to cause another government shutdown because it might be a diversion away from impeachment."
This is just an offhand quote from Schumer but I could definitely see Trump making this play.
I figured Trump's dipping approval rating & lack of any policy wins during the last shutdown would prevent him from trying it again, but if anyone tells him he can delay impeachment and get it out of the news with a shutdown, we might be beating the 35-day record.
The closer he pushes impeachment toward the 2020 election, the more traction he'll have in claiming it's a political hit job. And he can easily buy himself a month or two vetoing a CR.
"Oh please Mr Trump, don't fling us into the brier-patch."
This is good work by Schumer defining the narrative ahead of time.
Good Lord I am glad I wasn't the only one thinking of this analogy.
Yeah, Schumer is definitely taunting Trump.
Pelosi controls the House and it’s an election year. There won’t be too many House GOP that will want to vote against a continuing resolution to support a shutdown, so she could easily get a bipartisan CR passed.
This means it will be either Trump or McConnell holding up a CR, with the real reason being Trump wanting the impeachment stopped. McConnell will go with Trump in front of the cameras, but be apoplectic behind the scenes if a shutdown occurs.
I don’t think the Dems want a shutdown because it hurts actual people, but if Trump does it will be another one of his unforced errors and Schumer is already setting up the narrative.
I also also thought the exact same brier patch thing, lol
Yup, Trump got SPANKED in the public opinion the last time he shut down the government for basically no good reason and Pelosi came out of it looking like she dominated him when he gave up. You know it's a serious loss for him because Trump very rarely ever gives up, consequences be damned.
If he were to pull that shit again? Not learning from the last time? And also for the obvious reason of him being afraid of impeachment and trying to obstruct it? I do honestly think his public opinion would drop far enough to convince the Senate to finally turn on him. He's pretty teflon with a lot of things, but government shutdowns are massively unpopular.
I just don't get the whole focus on the whistleblower anyway. The administration already released the complaint! The facts are right there, we don't need the whistleblower's account of it any more
I just don't get the whole focus on the whistleblower anyway. The administration already released the complaint! The facts are right there, we don't need the whistleblower's account of it any more
Because they don't have any substantive defenses of what happened so they have to fall back on process and ad hominem.
I just don't get the whole focus on the whistleblower anyway. The administration already released the complaint! The facts are right there, we don't need the whistleblower's account of it any more
Trump only has two defenses against any given line of investigation:
* Everybody does it! It's not fair to pick on me!
* The investigation is based on <a lie | partially incorrect information | anything involving a Democrat> so the whole thing doesn't count!
It makes no logical sense much less legal sense but he keeps doing it and I guess it keeps working for him, so far.
As I read more and more about how politicians, staffers, lobbyists and assorted hangers-on on the GOP side all seemed to have a raging need to destroy any kind of relations the US had with Ukraine, I have to ask why? Why were all these people so dead set on giving the Ukraine back to Russia? Surely Russia hasn't completely compromised the Republican party, had it?
Why not? The Republican party respects strength and cruelty. Ukraine is weak. Russia is strong and cruel. Same as Kurds vs Turkey. Weak and poor vs strong and rich and cruel.
Also, Trump is obsessed with loyalty (which, of course, only flows one way - to him). He wants to know who betrayed him - and thus the party and the country, because he is both, now - so he can have them punished.
I just don't get the whole focus on the whistleblower anyway. The administration already released the complaint! The facts are right there, we don't need the whistleblower's account of it any more
Because they don't have any substantive defenses of what happened so they have to fall back on process and ad hominem.
As others have said before, it's the Steele Dossier all over again. They want to point and shout at the whistle-blower as being some sort of Never-Trumper liberal secret Democrat, thereby trying to paint the entire narrative of the impeachment inquiry as illegitimate and a purely partisan hit job.
Just like how the GOP jumped on those two FBI investigators as being Never-Trumpers/pro Hillary supporters during the start of the Mueller investigation, for making Trump jokes via smart phone text messages.
When you're trying to defend the indefensible, fall back on the tried and true Soviet tactics of whataboutism and ad hominen attacks to deflect, distract, and obfuscate the real crimes that took place.
It's exactly why they're trying to attack the integrity of a 20-year U.S. Army officer and Purple Heart recipient combat veteran for doing what he is supposed to do (report illegality to his superiors and make a record of it), by going after his immigrant status and questioning his suppossed loyalty to his birthplace Ukraine over his adopted country of America. The GOP has nothing else left to defend Trump's actions with except low down and dirty character assassinations.
As I read more and more about how politicians, staffers, lobbyists and assorted hangers-on on the GOP side all seemed to have a raging need to destroy any kind of relations the US had with Ukraine, I have to ask why? Why were all these people so dead set on giving the Ukraine back to Russia? Surely Russia hasn't completely compromised the Republican party, had it?
Somebody give me a reasonable reason why they all decided the Ukraine out of all things happened to be their biggest problem at the same time Russia was busy invading it and annexing its territory?
My guess is that Putin wants Ukraine back as part of Russia and through plundering Russia’s wealth he has sneakily maybe made himself the richest man on Earth, and he’s willing to use that money to achieve his goals because most people are hella greedy. Especially when the guy bribing you can send hundreds of millions your way.
Yup. Ask the NRA where they're getting their money these days and using it to influence the GOP.
A shutdown in November would be catastrophic for the GOP. I think civil disobedience is possible. Maybe Trump's approval rating going below 30%. Possibly civil war in the GOP between the moneyed interest and the true believers. Likely a tipping point for a deep recession. That would kill the 2020 elections for the GOP across the board, possibly handing Dems the White House and Congress. It might trigger a political realignment on a scale not seen since, I don't know, at least 60s, maybe even pre-WW2.
So even odds Trump tries it, I figure.
Edit: can a shutdown happen in November? Can it only happen at certain times? I've had a very long day and I may have types up a bunch of nonsense.
EDIT2: I guess a shutdown depends on the timing of the House submitting articles. Is there any inkling of when Pelosi expects to complete her part in this?
Nobeard on
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Munkus BeaverYou don't have to attend every argument you are invited to.Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPAregular
A shutdown in November would be catastrophic for the GOP. I think civil disobedience is possible. Maybe Trump's approval rating going below 30%. Possibly civil war in the GOP between the moneyed interest and the true believers. Likely a tipping point for a deep recession. That would kill the 2020 elections for the GOP across the board, possibly handing Dems the White House and Congress. It might trigger a political realignment on a scale not seen since, I don't know, at least 60s, maybe even pre-WW2.
So even odds Trump tries it, I figure.
Edit: can a shutdown happen in November? Can it only happen at certain times? I've had a very long day and I may have types up a bunch of nonsense.
Shutdowns can only happen when Congress needs to pass a new budget.
Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
A shutdown in November would be catastrophic for the GOP. I think civil disobedience is possible. Maybe Trump's approval rating going below 30%. Possibly civil war in the GOP between the moneyed interest and the true believers. Likely a tipping point for a deep recession. That would kill the 2020 elections for the GOP across the board, possibly handing Dems the White House and Congress. It might trigger a political realignment on a scale not seen since, I don't know, at least 60s, maybe even pre-WW2.
So even odds Trump tries it, I figure.
Edit: can a shutdown happen in November? Can it only happen at certain times? I've had a very long day and I may have types up a bunch of nonsense.
Shutdowns can only happen when Congress needs to pass a new budget.
The new budget year starts Oct 1, but as per usual they punted and did a temporary extension...to three days before Thanksgiving.
+7
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Munkus BeaverYou don't have to attend every argument you are invited to.Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPAregular
A shutdown in November would be catastrophic for the GOP. I think civil disobedience is possible. Maybe Trump's approval rating going below 30%. Possibly civil war in the GOP between the moneyed interest and the true believers. Likely a tipping point for a deep recession. That would kill the 2020 elections for the GOP across the board, possibly handing Dems the White House and Congress. It might trigger a political realignment on a scale not seen since, I don't know, at least 60s, maybe even pre-WW2.
So even odds Trump tries it, I figure.
Edit: can a shutdown happen in November? Can it only happen at certain times? I've had a very long day and I may have types up a bunch of nonsense.
Shutdowns can only happen when Congress needs to pass a new budget.
The new budget year starts Oct 1, but as per usual they punted and did a temporary extension...to three days before Thanksgiving.
Oh hey fancy that.
Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
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Therefore, if you prove that the whistleblower did it for partisan reasons, they don't have an ethical high ground on you.
We're so far past the identity of the whistleblower mattering in proceedings or the court of public opinion, that it's got to just be a dumb psychological drive at this point.
Ironically, they're also attacking because of the whistleblower's anonymity (which they claim to hate so much). He's a liberal. She's a feminist. He's a spy. She's a never-Trumper. All of these things can be true because the whistleblower is a convenient blob that can morph into whatever bogeyman they want.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
That's their strategy. I don't understand how that works in the media environment that Trump is always able to take advantage of. If you're talking about something that happened two months ago, you're losing.
Yup, on top of, "We do it all the time*," in an attempt to normalize this shit.
*No, normal administrations don't do this all the time.
Wow makes me wonder what he's going to say.
pleasepaypreacher.net
They spent months arguing that the Mueller investigation was invalid because the provenance of the Steele Dossier was "suspect".
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Yeah, Schumer is definitely taunting Trump.
Pelosi controls the House and it’s an election year. There won’t be too many House GOP that will want to vote against a continuing resolution to support a shutdown, so she could easily get a bipartisan CR passed.
This means it will be either Trump or McConnell holding up a CR, with the real reason being Trump wanting the impeachment stopped. McConnell will go with Trump in front of the cameras, but be apoplectic behind the scenes if a shutdown occurs.
I don’t think the Dems want a shutdown because it hurts actual people, but if Trump does it will be another one of his unforced errors and Schumer is already setting up the narrative.
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aide at the NSC involved in trump's ukraine strategy
Why bother show up if that's the case?
I think it's more likely that he has an axe to grind with Trump. Along with everything else, I doubt Bolton is pleased with the State Department getting gutted.
It's super duper unlikely, but oh god let Bolton reveal himself as the whistleblower at the deposition. Having the whistleblower be the biggest right-wing chickenhawk would generate such a delicious reaction from the admin and the GOP.
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He shows up in the hope to find more right wing jobs. But again we'll see, I just don't trust a snake like Bolton to do anything good for merica. He hasn't yet.
pleasepaypreacher.net
I've had Bolton as my dark horse candidate for whistleblower for a while, but I really doubt it's him. They said the whistleblower is CIA.
And also not on the call, which I'm pretty sure Bolton was.
Battlenet ID: MildC#11186 - If I'm in the game, send me an invite at anytime and I'll play.
Top NSC advisor for Europe and Russia. Bolton pick, replaced Fiona Hill when she left in July.
Was on the "no quid pro quo" phone call between Trump and Sondland, and was the guy Vindman sent his corrections to regarding the Zelensky call summary.
He can probably corroborate quite a lot.
Not to drift too far afield, but my sister's husband's parents are in town, and offered a glimpse into the realm of people who basically do not follow politics at all. They were aghast at watching John Oliver's weekly recitation of a fraction of Trump's shit, and upon being told about Vindman submitting corrections that were rejected, their initial response was "Oh, so it sounds like Vindman is doing this as revenge for them throwing his work out." And all I could do is gawk. They're liberal leaning somewhat dumb/nonsense-libertarian, but they're both doctors, so they're technically smart people, but a terrifying reminder to me of how disconnected from all news the general populace is.
I double apologize.
Considering what their judgment decided to edit out, I have to go with Spool on this one. The things they left out were specifically about investigating the Bidens.
They knew that extorting Ukraine to investigate the Biden’s was super-illegal but because that was so illegal they didn’t notice that withholding the aid at all was still pretty illegal.
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Or to put it another way, the crossed the line so fucking long ago they can no longer remember when they crossed it.
They have just not stopped committing crimes since the inauguration from before the inauguration.
Somebody give me a reasonable reason why they all decided the Ukraine out of all things happened to be their biggest problem at the same time Russia was busy invading it and annexing its territory?
Ukraine would be desperate for their help basically because of the russian stuff. And then in the meeting at the white house Trump gave them the ultimate fuck you. "You need to work things out with putin".
pleasepaypreacher.net
My guess is that Putin wants Ukraine back as part of Russia and through plundering Russia’s wealth he has sneakily maybe made himself the richest man on Earth, and he’s willing to use that money to achieve his goals because most people are hella greedy. Especially when the guy bribing you can send hundreds of millions your way.
I also also thought the exact same brier patch thing, lol
Yup, Trump got SPANKED in the public opinion the last time he shut down the government for basically no good reason and Pelosi came out of it looking like she dominated him when he gave up. You know it's a serious loss for him because Trump very rarely ever gives up, consequences be damned.
If he were to pull that shit again? Not learning from the last time? And also for the obvious reason of him being afraid of impeachment and trying to obstruct it? I do honestly think his public opinion would drop far enough to convince the Senate to finally turn on him. He's pretty teflon with a lot of things, but government shutdowns are massively unpopular.
Because they don't have any substantive defenses of what happened so they have to fall back on process and ad hominem.
Trump only has two defenses against any given line of investigation:
* Everybody does it! It's not fair to pick on me!
* The investigation is based on <a lie | partially incorrect information | anything involving a Democrat> so the whole thing doesn't count!
It makes no logical sense much less legal sense but he keeps doing it and I guess it keeps working for him, so far.
Why not? The Republican party respects strength and cruelty. Ukraine is weak. Russia is strong and cruel. Same as Kurds vs Turkey. Weak and poor vs strong and rich and cruel.
As others have said before, it's the Steele Dossier all over again. They want to point and shout at the whistle-blower as being some sort of Never-Trumper liberal secret Democrat, thereby trying to paint the entire narrative of the impeachment inquiry as illegitimate and a purely partisan hit job.
Just like how the GOP jumped on those two FBI investigators as being Never-Trumpers/pro Hillary supporters during the start of the Mueller investigation, for making Trump jokes via smart phone text messages.
When you're trying to defend the indefensible, fall back on the tried and true Soviet tactics of whataboutism and ad hominen attacks to deflect, distract, and obfuscate the real crimes that took place.
It's exactly why they're trying to attack the integrity of a 20-year U.S. Army officer and Purple Heart recipient combat veteran for doing what he is supposed to do (report illegality to his superiors and make a record of it), by going after his immigrant status and questioning his suppossed loyalty to his birthplace Ukraine over his adopted country of America. The GOP has nothing else left to defend Trump's actions with except low down and dirty character assassinations.
Yup. Ask the NRA where they're getting their money these days and using it to influence the GOP.
So even odds Trump tries it, I figure.
Edit: can a shutdown happen in November? Can it only happen at certain times? I've had a very long day and I may have types up a bunch of nonsense.
EDIT2: I guess a shutdown depends on the timing of the House submitting articles. Is there any inkling of when Pelosi expects to complete her part in this?
Shutdowns can only happen when Congress needs to pass a new budget.
The new budget year starts Oct 1, but as per usual they punted and did a temporary extension...to three days before Thanksgiving.
Oh hey fancy that.