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Thread: Life in the Trump Era, Part 2

  1. #151
    Quote Originally Posted by Ma'ake View Post
    .....If Kamala Harris were elected in 2020, there would be a convoy of pickups and shotguns headed to DC, from the red states, getting instruction from Hannity and Rush, on their AM radios.......
    What exactly are you trying to say here?
    “Children and dogs are as necessary to the welfare of the country as Wall Street and the railroads.” -- Harry S. Truman

    "You never soar so high as when you stoop down to help a child or an animal." -- Jewish Proverb

    "Three-time Pro Bowler Eric Weddle the most versatile, and maybe most intelligent, safety in the game." -- SI, 9/7/15, p. 107.

  2. #152
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by NorthwestUteFan View Post
    But the coinflip states were exactly coinflips. The margin was on the order of two votes per precinct.
    These types of analyses always miss the point. Trump won narrowly in states that Democrats usually carry by wide margins. That is why it was a debacle for Clinton and the Democrats, and that is why it is politically and historically significant. I don’t like him, but there is no denying the phenomenon that occurred in 2016. Democrats who want to claim that this was all a matter of Trump stealing the election somehow are whistling past the graveyard, in my opinion.


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    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  3. #153
    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    These types of analyses always miss the point. Trump won narrowly in states that Democrats usually carry by wide margins. That is why it was a debacle for Clinton and the Democrats, and that is why it is politically and historically significant. I don’t like him, but there is no denying the phenomenon that occurred in 2016. Democrats who want to claim that this was all a matter of Trump stealing the election somehow are whistling past the graveyard, in my opinion.

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    I agree to a point. Trump won those states because Hillary was unable to get the voters who previously voted for Obama to the polls not because those people switched allegiance to the GOP.

  4. #154
    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    These types of analyses always miss the point. Trump won narrowly in states that Democrats usually carry by wide margins. That is why it was a debacle for Clinton and the Democrats, and that is why it is politically and historically significant. I don’t like him, but there is no denying the phenomenon that occurred in 2016. Democrats who want to claim that this was all a matter of Trump stealing the election somehow are whistling past the graveyard, in my opinion.


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    Hillary literally ignored the local Dem leaders on the ground who were begging her to make an appearance, send materials and people, assist with GOTV and voter registration, etc. Not only did she ignore the call, but her campaign also swept locally-raised funds into the national campaign coffers. And because she ignored the grassroots leadership and disregarded their statements and instead listened to her own polling, tens of thousands of Obama voters couldn't or wouldn't vote and she lost a slam-dunk election to the worst major-party candidate in modern history. By two votes per precinct, many of those precincts in districts who were begging for assistance.

    What the DNC did was an egregious waste of a billion dollars, and everyone at the DNC above the level of janitors and secretaries should be fired and never allowed to control the party again.

  5. #155
    NUF and Uteopia are both right, IMHO. The Obama coalition didn't have the same enthusiasm for Hillary, and didn't turn out, especially in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, etc. (No surprise; she was a horrible candidate in her own right.) Hillary suffered from running against the worst candidate ever by underestimating him. Instead of shoring up support in those states, she spent a lot of time, money, and energy trying to expand the map into Georgia, Texas, Utah, and Arizona, because she wanted a historic mandate. She didn't take Trump seriously, and then the Comey letter tipped the scales (Yes, i think it made a difference, so dont bother castigating me about it LA Ute.)
    Last edited by concerned; 12-14-2017 at 02:17 PM.

  6. #156
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Life in the Trump Era, Part 2

    I think the explanation for the loss of the “blue wall” states is complex. But I think Democrats are trying to explain it in a very self-flattering way. Something significant happened there, and it was more than Obama voters simply staying home. Those same states voted decisively for Democrats in the last seven or eight elections, not just when Obama was running.

    I’m not trying to make a case for Trump‘s special appeal, just trying to understand it. This is the political science major in me talking.

    Concerned, there is no doubt that Comey made a difference in the election. I think his behavior was erratic to say the least, and his explanations for his strange behavior, both during the Clinton email investigation and his exoneration of her, and then in his last-minute release of information, are tortured. I can’t understand the way the guy thinks. Personally I believe he over-thinks matters. He will not be remembered as a great FBI director.


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    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  7. #157
    Administrator U-Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    I think the explanation for the loss of the “blue wall” states is complex. But I think Democrats are trying to explain it in a very self-flattering way. Something significant happened there, and it was more than Obama voters simply staying home. Those same states voted decisively for Democrats in the last seven or eight elections, not just when Obama was running.

    I’m not trying to make a case for Trump‘s special appeal, just trying to understand it. This is the political science major in me talking.

    Concerned, there is no doubt that Comey made a difference in the election. I think his behavior was erratic to say the least, and his explanations for his strange behavior, both during the Clinton email investigation and his exoneration of her, and then in his last-minute release of information, are tortured. I can’t understand the way the guy thinks. Personally I believe he over-thinks matters. He will not be remembered as a great FBI director.


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    http://www.slate.com/articles/news_a...lt_revolt.html

    Compared with 2012, three times as many voters in the Rust Belt who made under $100,000 voted for third parties. Twice as many voted for alternative or write-in candidates. Similarly, compared with 2012, some 500,000 more voters chose to sit out this presidential election. If there was a Rust Belt revolt this year, it was the voters’ flight from both parties.

    In short, the story of a white working-class revolt in the Rust Belt just doesn't hold up, according to the numbers. In the Rust Belt, Democrats lost 1.35 million voters. Trump picked up less than half, at 590,000. The rest stayed home or voted for someone other than the major party candidates.

    This data suggests that if the Democratic Party wants to win the Rust Belt, it should not go chasing after the white working-class men who voted for Trump. The party should spend its energy figuring out why Democrats lost millions of voters to some other candidate or to abstention. Exit polls do not collect information about why voters stay home. Perhaps it’s time someone asked them.

  8. #158
    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    I think the explanation for the loss of the “blue wall” states is complex. But I think Democrats are trying to explain it in a very self-flattering way. Something significant happened there, and it was more than Obama voters simply staying home. Those same states voted decisively for Democrats in the last seven or eight elections, not just when Obama was running.

    I’m not trying to make a case for Trump‘s special appeal, just trying to understand it. This is the political science major in me talking.

    Concerned, there is no doubt that Comey made a difference in the election. I think his behavior was erratic to say the least, and his explanations for his strange behavior, both during the Clinton email investigation and his exoneration of her, and then in his last-minute release of information, are tortured. I can’t understand the way the guy thinks. Personally I believe he over-thinks matters. He will not be remembered as a great FBI director.


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    The old DNC leadership should all get shitcanned. While a president is in office, the typical (and smart) plan is to shrink the staff at the federal level and to focus as much money and effort at the local level as possible.

    When BHO was in office, the DNC kept top policy consultant groups on staff, and they spent on the order of a billion dollars. So the consultants now have fifth houses on the Maryland Shore (thanks to large corporations and to people who donated to their local Dem party fundraisers) while urban Dem leaders have been forgotten and neglected. As a result, a huge percentage of the local elections have swung sharply toward Republicans during that time frame.

    As for Comey, he was bullied by Congress to show that he was investigating Emailgate. And never forget that Jason Chaffetz was the person who leaked Comey's letter.

  9. #159
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    It’s interesting. It seems to me that when Republicans lose, they worry that their message was wrong. When Democrats lose, they worry that their tactics were wrong. Maybe each side could learn a little from the other, because it’s rarely just one or the other of those two factors.


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    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  10. #160
    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    It’s interesting. It seems to me that when Republicans lose, they worry that their message was wrong. When Democrats lose, they worry that their tactics were wrong. Maybe each side could learn a little from the other, because it’s rarely just one or the other of those two factors.


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    Disagree. Bernie, biden, obama to a lesser degree, and reportedly bill clinton in private, repeatedly said the message was wrong--the hillary did not speak enough to the economic concerns of white middle class blue collar voters.

  11. #161
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Life in the Trump Era, Part 2

    Quote Originally Posted by concerned View Post
    Disagree. Bernie, biden, obama to a lesser degree, and reportedly bill clinton in private, repeatedly said the message was wrong--the hillary did not speak enough to the economic concerns of white middle class blue collar voters.
    I was speaking generally. Northwest Ute Fan is blaming tactics, and I was responding to that — with love, of course. He knows that. 😄 And I maintain that the party elders you mention are the exception. The young bucks still think they just need to double down, and emphasize the left-leaning messages that focus identity politics, for example. Just look at what Pérez, the party chairman, is saying.

    SIEGEL: But the implication of that is that those states were lost for lack of effort last year, not for serious reasons of substance or opinions of the candidate. Is that what happened, that you just didn't try hard enough to win in those states?

    PEREZ: Well, I think what Democrats stopped doing enough of was organizing everywhere. And we were good at mobilizing, Robert. Mobilizing is that sprint up to the election. But we weren't good at organizing. Organizing is the marathon. It's talking to people 12 months a year. It's building relationships with people. And we used to be the best at that.
    https://www.npr.org/2017/11/08/56290...-for-the-party

    That said, I must also note that lots of hard-core conservatives think that the only reason the GOP hasn’t been more dominant is that it’s not conservative enough. To that crowd, that’s why McCain and Romney both lost.
    Last edited by LA Ute; 12-15-2017 at 08:29 AM.

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  12. #162
    Putin definitely knows how to play Trump. Whether or not one gives any credence to the Steele dossier, the behavior of Trump & Putin reinforce the theory that Putin "recruited" Trump. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-meddling.html

    You have to think that with the Russian "elections" coming up soon, Trump is itching to make a visit and campaign for Putin. (Putin praised him, therefore they're friends for life.)

  13. #163
    Now there are reports that Biden is positioning himself for a presidential run in 2020, indicating that the combination of Trump plus the leadership vacuum in the Democratic Party is going to embolden unqualified characters just like in the Republican Party in 2016. Joe Biden as president would be a disaster (not on the scale of Trump by any means, but I really believe this country needs a solid leader to help us recover and unify).


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  14. #164
    Quote Originally Posted by Rocker Ute View Post
    Now there are reports that Biden is positioning himself for a presidential run in 2020, indicating that the combination of Trump plus the leadership vacuum in the Democratic Party is going to embolden unqualified characters just like in the Republican Party in 2016. Joe Biden as president would be a disaster (not on the scale of Trump by any means, but I really believe this country needs a solid leader to help us recover and unify).


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    No way I'm casting a vote for Biden. Although if the Dems could push through one of the Joe's (Donnelly, Manchin or Lieberman) I could get onboard. Cory Booker is interesting. Although too liberal for my tastes, he occasionally flirts with libertarianism. I can embrace that. I think Kirsten Gillibrand deserves a look too. Sanders & Warren are way too looney left for me.

    On the Republican side, I could never vote for Trump. Therefore, if its Trump vs Biden/Sanders/Warren I guess I'll have to write in a candidate......again. I'm hoping Thune or Kasich takes a run at Trump in 2020. Kasich vs Manchin would be ideal.
    “Children and dogs are as necessary to the welfare of the country as Wall Street and the railroads.” -- Harry S. Truman

    "You never soar so high as when you stoop down to help a child or an animal." -- Jewish Proverb

    "Three-time Pro Bowler Eric Weddle the most versatile, and maybe most intelligent, safety in the game." -- SI, 9/7/15, p. 107.

  15. #165
    Quote Originally Posted by Rocker Ute View Post
    Now there are reports that Biden is positioning himself for a presidential run in 2020, indicating that the combination of Trump plus the leadership vacuum in the Democratic Party is going to embolden unqualified characters just like in the Republican Party in 2016. Joe Biden as president would be a disaster (not on the scale of Trump by any means, but I really believe this country needs a solid leader to help us recover and unify).
    I like Joe, he has a soul. But hopefully this is more of a motivational gimmick to get other candidates to step up.

    I have no idea if they have baggage that precludes a serious run, but the governor of Washington state Jay Inslee looks impressive, the ex-governor of Michigan Jennifer Granholm is sharp and might be the one to break the last glass ceiling. Senator Amy Klobuchar (sp?) of Wisconsin is likewise very bright.

    I've cooled on the idea of Kamala Harris, because she's thrown her weight behind single payer healthcare (which is still premature, at best), and also I'm not sure the nation is ready for another non-white president... but Harris unquestionably has the mettle to succeed at that level. If Harris ran and picked up momentum, she could win. She would get a better turnout among Democrats, and by 2020 the economic expansion will have (or will be) run out of steam, and many of the folks who voted for Trump will be ready for a change of direction.

  16. #166
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ma'ake View Post
    I like Joe, he has a soul. But hopefully this is more of a motivational gimmick to get other candidates to step up.

    I have no idea if they have baggage that precludes a serious run, but the governor of Washington state Jay Inslee looks impressive, the ex-governor of Michigan Jennifer Granholm is sharp and might be the one to break the last glass ceiling. Senator Amy Klobuchar (sp?) of Wisconsin is likewise very bright.

    I've cooled on the idea of Kamala Harris, because she's thrown her weight behind single payer healthcare (which is still premature, at best), and also I'm not sure the nation is ready for another non-white president... but Harris unquestionably has the mettle to succeed at that level. If Harris ran and picked up momentum, she could win. She would get a better turnout among Democrats, and by 2020 the economic expansion will have (or will be) run out of steam, and many of the folks who voted for Trump will be ready for a change of direction.
    The Kamala Harris we have seen in California has been quite far left. I have stories. Not sure that would work at a national level. But she could probably pretend to be more of a centrist and get away with it. The news media would not challenge her on that, except for FOX News, and their audience is already going to be convinced that she’s evil.
    Last edited by LA Ute; 12-16-2017 at 01:09 PM.

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  17. #167
    (I know we have a healthcare thread, but this involves the tax law set to be effective in 2 weeks, it appears)

    Obamacare signups are surging. But the small businessman in this article probably doesn't know the subsidies that got him to $100 a month in premiums are evaporating, effective January 1.

    "People need health care, that is plain and simple," said Kevin Watkins of Florence, Alabama. A self-employed consultant helping small businesses sell online, Watkins re-enrolled for 2018. He'll pay under $100 a month after subsidies.


    https://www.deseretnews.com/article/...trump-era.html

  18. #168
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Life in the Trump Era, Part 2

    Ruh-roh.

    Suffolk University and USA Today released a poll this week, which found that among people who trust Fox News the most, the president’s approval rating has been sinking. His favorability among Fox devotees in June was 90 percent. In October, it was 74 percent. This week? Fifty-eight percent. If that trend continues, he will be underwater with the Fox audience long before the 2018 midterms.

    You can cry “fake polls,” as Trump often does. But was the same poll fake in June? Or are the same trends that led to Trump’s historically abysmal approval ratings now reaching even the Fox faithful?

    From Virginia to Oklahoma to Alabama, establishment and anti-establishment GOP candidates alike have lost in large part because Democrats, Independents and a significant number of Republicans disapprove of Trump more than they approve of him. His pander-to-the-base approach still does wonders for Hannity & Co.’s ratings, but ratings aren’t votes.
    http://www.nationalreview.com/articl...R5PM%20Actives

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  19. #169
    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    Ruh-roh.
    Just watching Malcolm Nance, a former CIA analyst, explaining that the media is a fundamental opponent of autocrats, and totalitarian regimes. Putin took deliberate steps to bring the Russian media to heel, resulting in his yearly press conference this week (complete with the little signs journalists hold up with their question on them so Putin can choose the questions / topics he wants to discuss).

    The rumors in DC is Trump may fire Mueller on or around Dec 22nds (ie, after Congress recesses) either via Rod Rosenstein, or by repealing an obscure rule that prevents him from doing it directly, and then firing him outright. Certainly the signs are lining up that way. We'll see. (Even if he doesn't, the messaging helps create the situation where it is expected, if/when it eventually happens).

    If Trump is going to make the transition to becoming a Putin style autocrat, he needs to control overall messaging much better, like exists in Russia. Trump is no Putin, intellectually, or in terms of discipline, but he's always been jealous of Putin's 80+% approval rating, now at risk even among Fox viewers. Dramatic action is needed to end the existential threat Mueller's investigation poses.

    Is Congress divided enough to not be able to stand up to a Trump firing of Mueller? From the Right, FBI leadership is under direct attack. A bi-partisan bill is being circulated to inoculate Mueller from a firing, but supposedly it's not generating much enthusiasm from Republicans. (I have no idea - since Mueller was appointed by the Executive Branch, how does Congress inoculate Mueller?)

    What I want to know is that now that Bannon has been gone, who is pulling the strings? (A Utah-specific example - who decided to name one of the parts of Bears Ears using the Navajo word, after the Navajos changed their proposed monument to be "Bears Ears" to get support from other tribes? Divide and Conquer is a repetitive theme, both in behavior we're seeing, also in how autocrats rise to power.)
    Last edited by Ma'ake; 12-17-2017 at 09:18 AM.

  20. #170
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    I think this is a must-read. As usual, David points out the problems on both right and left.

    Constant Hysterics Damage Our Democracy

    http://www.nationalreview.com/articl...mage-democracy

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  21. #171
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    I don’t think it is as bad as he says it is, but this is interesting food for thought:

    America’s authoritarian shift did not start with Trump’s election, but has been brewing for years. In the Obama years, we lived under “pen and phone” rule by decree that largely disempowered both Congress and local control. The former president’s legacy to the progressive coalition — paused briefly when power unexpectedly went to the GOP — means continued Democratic support for agglomeration of power in the executive.

    This form of executive dictatorship is now more likely to return to the White House in 2020. The notion of enlightened rule from above may have even been further justified by the very fact that what Time’s Joe Klein has called “a nation of dodos” voted for Trump in the first place. The hoi polloi can be appealed to and cajoled, it appears, but not really trusted.

    Unlike Trump, whose political methods are both offensive and self-defeating, the mandarins can count on support from most of the media, the non-profit world and the ascendant techie wing of the tech/media oligarchy, what Daniel Bell called “the priests of the machine.” Unlike the factionalized Republicans, the new mandarinate — entertainment, news media, law, software — share a strong commitment to a common progressive ideology.

    More important still, the mandarins control most of the means of communication, particularly those that attract younger people. This will assist, as our secular pontiff, Jerry Brown, put it, efforts to successfully “brainwash” the masses. China’s recently anointed emperor, Xi Jinping, admired by Brown and many other American mandarins, may emerge as the new role model. That is, after Xi has shown how control of education and media can work on getting the masses to embrace “right thinking.”
    http://www.ocregister.com/2017/12/16...he-deep-state/

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  22. #172
    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    I don’t think it is as bad as he says it is, but this is interesting food for thought:
    The David French piece from National Review was robust on highlighting leftwing hysteria and doomsday-ism on Trump. This OCRegister piece tries to match the left wing hysterics, and raises the ante.

    Interesting to know Jerry Brown worships China's Xi. Trump unquestionably admires Putin. That's just it - our inter-tribal warfare has the two main sides looking outside the nation for answers, our appetite and confidence in working together has eroded.

    The column nailed one thing - this has been a long time in the making (though I point to economics as the primary driver, the author cites the growing power of the executive).

  23. #173
    Listened to Bob Corker this morning defending himself on his not knowing about the real estate provision of the tax bill. I tend to believe him, I think Orrin Hatch was right - nobody "air dropped" that provision into the final bill to buy off Corker's vote. Corker just was convinced of the overall merits of the bill by other Republicans and businessmen in Tennessee.

    From the other tribe, what Adam Schiff is saying about (some) Republicans being fearful of what Mueller may find being the primary thrust of their criticisms of Mueller also seems true.

  24. #174
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    "2017, the year of living splenetically." Nice turn of phrase.

    Politics has become the survival of the shrillest

    http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commen...the-shrillest/



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  25. #175
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    This might be behind a paywall but it’s an interesting and seemingly unbiased breakdown of the tax bill's impact on various industries.

    http://www.wsj.com/graphics/taxes-co...tors/?mod=e2fb

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  26. #176
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    A log on the fire. I’m posting this not because I like Trump but because I dislike Clinton and her minions.

    Was the Steele Dossier the FBI’s ‘Insurance Policy’?

    http://amp.nationalreview.com/articl...inton-campaign

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  27. #177
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    McCabe about to retire from FBI at age 49.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...=.e175731646d2

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  28. #178
    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    McCabe about to retire from FBI at age 49.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...=.e175731646d2
    Republicans are behaving badly with the heat they are putting on the FBI. From my vantage point it is just an attempt to undermine the investigation, which is just about as despicable if Trump were to fire Mueller.

  29. #179
    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    A log on the fire. I’m posting this not because I like Trump but because I dislike Clinton and her minions.

    Was the Steele Dossier the FBI’s ‘Insurance Policy’?

    http://amp.nationalreview.com/articl...inton-campaign

    The question these types of articles never seem to answer is why James Comey was apparently so firmly in Hillary Clinton's court as a life-long Republican and who served as Deputy AG to GWB? Further, if he was so firmly in favor of HRC as the next president, why in the world would he announce they were re-opening the investigation when it appeared there may be additional emails on Anthony Weiner's computer?

  30. #180
    Quote Originally Posted by Rocker Ute View Post
    Republicans are behaving badly with the heat they are putting on the FBI. From my vantage point it is just an attempt to undermine the investigation, which is just about as despicable if Trump were to fire Mueller.
    It's high stakes maneuvering toward "high noon". McCabe is a specific threat because he could corroborate Comey's claim that Trump asked him to "let the Flynn thing go", from an obstruction of justice angle.

    Maybe tit-for-tat, a political counter punch, but 2 senior aides (apparently) are claiming Trump said "all Haitians have AIDS" - take that, Mia Love! - and once Nigerians saw America, they wouldn't want to go back to their huts. The two leakers to the NYT reportedly thought the June 2017 diatribe was notable enough to convey the remarks to others, at the time. (John Kelly is probably on the mother of all mole hunts, right now.) http://www.businessinsider.com/trump...tburst-2017-12

    Hopefully these 2 accounts become public and corroborated, ie, this isn't fake news. But politically, the claims are credible, in the eyes of the 60+% of Americans who disapprove of Trump.

    How many other punches / counter-punches does Trump - or rather his team, because DJT is now doubting that he said the remarks on the Access Hollywood tape - need to worry about coming out, as they try to inoculate themselves against McCabe and whatever Mueller is going to reveal?

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