Two Bone-Chilling Hallowe'en Tales For Left And Right
It's time once again to enter the Crypt, shine a flashlight up onto our face in the dark, and spin two ghastly tales of horror and mayhem for both sides of the aisle.
Gather 'round and prepare to quiver in fear, kiddies, because Hallowe'en comes but once a year. Think things are bad now? Hah! Think they couldn't possibly get any more spine-chilling or frightful? Think again!
As usual, we present these spooky bits of terror for both sides, one after the other. This year, the Republicans lost the coin toss and will go first, to be followed by a frightful experience for Democrats. Also as usual, we have carved some Jack O'Lanterns for the occasion, both of which we're happy to say came out pretty good this year. My thanks have to go to my lovely wife for lots of inspiration this year, not only for pumpkin designs but also for the stories themselves.
So, is everyone ready for a wild ride into two soul-searing possible futures? We'll begin with a fear that Republicans already surely must be having... that pretty soon now someone's going to really spill their guts....
Republican Nightmare -- Bolton Spills His Guts
The House impeachment hearings hit a whole new level when John Bolton agrees to testify. Bolton is, of course, not exactly someone who can be smeared as some sort of lefty or even a "Never Trumper," since he served as President Trump's own national security advisor. Pretty hard to make the case that he's been a closet Democrat all along, in other words.
Bolton is currently shopping a book to publishers, and he knows full well the value of appearing as the key witness in the impeachment process. Politics makes strange bedfellows indeed, as Democrats begin singing Bolton's praises in anticipation of his testimony, while Republicans make the usual attempt to trash the witness. But again, Bolton's iron-clad conservative credentials make it pretty hard for even Fox News to come up with any remotely believable smears on him.
Trump, upon hearing the news, lashes out at Bolton on Twitter. His palpable fear is exposed for the world to see (once again), as he tweets: "John Bolton is a LOOSER and lies like a Rug -- who could trust anyone with such a ridikulous Mustashe?" This tweet is later removed, and then reposted with the spelling fixed.
The White House attempts to block Bolton's testimony, but both he and his lawyers laugh loudly and state that they'll appear as scheduled. Trump, in front of his Marine Corps One chopper, yells to reporters: "I've instructed Bill Barr to arrest John Bolton for crimes against the state, by which I mean me, Donald Trump, which many people are saying is the most American president of all time. Disloyalty to me is treason, plain and simple, and we're going to put a stop to it."
Horrified Republicans in Congress insist that Trump is joking. But he's not. F.B.I. agents arrive at Bolton's house to arrest him, but he's already moved to a secure undisclosed location (later revealed to be: sleeping on Bill Taylor's couch).
Bolton arrives at the Capitol and immediately begins to spill his guts. "You think the Ukraine mess is the worst thing Trump did?" he states in his opening remarks, "Boy, have I got news for you!"
He then proceeds to corroborate everything every previous witness has said about the Ukraine quid pro quo, even admitting that he did indeed scornfully call it a "drug deal." Bolton doesn't rely on secondhand quotes, since he was in the room when Trump directed his entire team to withhold the Ukrainian military aid until, as Trump put it, "Hunter Biden is led away in Ukrainian handcuffs."
But that's not even the most stunning part of his testimony. After laying out in painful detail the ineptitude of Trump trying to pressure Ukraine for dirt on the Bidens and the non-existent D.N.C. server, Bolton shifts gears. In answer to a Democrat asking him: "Did you see the president do anything else you might consider an impeachable offense?" Bolton answers: "How much time do you have? I mean seriously... I could go on for days."
Bolton then lays out in excruciating detail how just about every contact Trump has ever had with any foreign leader has been an unmitigated disaster. "You know that ultra-secret server the Ukraine call transcript was hidden on? There are dozens if not hundreds of other transcripts on there that are far worse. Maybe you should subpoena the transcript of what Trump said to Putin in Finland -- that'd keep you guys busy for months."
Bolton then reveals a long list of Trump's foreign policy blunders and his other missteps, including:
Trump tried to get Kim Jong Un to agree to build a "Trump Tower Pyongyang," for which favor Trump would permanently remove all U.S. military personnel from South Korea. Bolton quotes Trump as saying: "You can even keep your nukes -- I don't care about nukes as long as I can see my name in big gold letters high above your capital."
Trump desperately tried to get China to sign a deal -- any deal -- on trade, and offered to nationalize the N.B.A. and then sell it to China. He also suggested that he just send in the U.S. Marines to "stamp out the Hong Kong protests once and for all." The Chinese leader, intelligently, decided that Trump couldn't deliver on any of his increasingly-bizarre promises, and rebuffed him with: "We'll wait to cut a deal with the next president, sorry."
Trump tried to get NATO to agree to paying America a flat fee each year as "protection money." He seemed unaware of the negative connotations of the term, and flatly told Angela Merkel: "Nice little continent you got here... be a shame if someone invaded it, don't you think?"
Trump, on several different occasions, has ordered the Pentagon to launch nuclear missiles at various insane targets. The first time this happened, Trump wanted to nuke "all the shithole countries" so they would never send more immigrants to America. The generals collectively decided to pretend that they just hadn't heard Trump give this order, and by the next day he had forgotten all about it. When Trump ordered them to nuke sixteen other fanciful targets over the next few years, they began calling them "loose cannon drills," and reacted by splicing together footage of old aboveground nuclear tests in Nevada, so they could report each time to Trump that the target had successfully been eliminated. Each and every time, Trump would forget all about it by the next day.
Trump offered not only to buy Greenland, but also Cuba, Hong Kong, Ireland, Scotland, Madagascar, Antarctica, the Moon, and the Taj Mahal (promising to rename it "The Trump Mahal"). In each case, Trump presented to his cabinet a slick real estate brochure outlining how he would cash in on the new American territory. He even offered to name Newt Gingrich "Mayor of the Moon," in the most outlandish one of these. Luckily, Bolton had saved all the brochures Trump passed out, and introduced them all as evidence to the House committee.
Trump told Mitch McConnell that he wanted to force New York and California to be renamed "The State of Trump" and "Ivankaland." McConnell tried to explain why that was impossible, but Trump just got annoyed and threw him out of the Oval Office in a snit.
Trump not only gets a secret document each month from the Russian ambassador, in them Putin has gone as far as suggesting the scripts for political ads for Trump's campaign to run. This is in addition to all the more serious marching orders the Russians have been giving to Trump since his first day in office.
And finally, Bolton reveals that Vice President Mike Pence is actually an animatronic robot created by Disney years ago. When asked for comment, a Disney spokesman admitted it, saying: "We never thought he'd get as far as he did. The prototype was to build a used car salesman robot to see if he could blend in to some Midwestern state -- we never imagined he'd run for office or anything!"
Bolton ends his testimony by wheeling in an enormous crate stuffed full of documents, and stating: "The White House has instructed me not to share these, but the safety of our country is at stake, so I am ignoring them. I'd like to enter all of these into the record as documents which support each and every claim I've made today in the most minute detail. I swore an oath to protect the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic, and that is precisely what I am doing right now."
Bolton's literary agent immediately bumps up the price he's asking for Bolton's memoirs by a factor of ten. A bidding war ensues between publishers, guaranteeing that Bolton will never have to work another day in his life after he writes the book.
Meanwhile, back in Washington, Adam Schiff announces that the fact-finding phase of the impeachment inquiry is now over, and passes everything he's got over to the Judiciary Committee. They waste no time in drafting an eye-popping fifty-seven articles of impeachment, which is moved to the House floor for a vote.
For the first time in his presidency, Trump's approval among his hardcore base plummets. The multiple revelations of how Trump tried to sell out the country to line his own pockets is just too much for even the "MAGA hat crowd." Trump's job approval dips below 40, below 30, and then heads into the teens.
Congressional Republicans begin falling all over themselves to denounce Trump -- in fear of losing their own re-elections. The vote to impeach Trump is 382 to 12, with dozens of Republicans not even voting. A delegation of 25 Republican senators go to the White House to instruct Trump that it's over. They present him with the choice of being removed from office or resigning.
Trump, after a long phone call with Sarah Palin, announces in a statement from the Oval Office: "I have done everything I came here to do, I have been the most successful president of all time -- even better than Washington and Lincoln -- and because there is nothing at all left for me to do, I have decided to step down. I got done in three years what nobody else could in eight, so there's no need for me to continue."
When Republicans attempt to swear in Mike Pence as president, Democrats crash the oath ceremony and demand the chief justice of the Supreme Court verify that Pence is, in fact, human. "Only a human being can be president, so Pence can't be allowed to serve!" they cry. John Roberts orders the vice president to Walter Reed Hospital so that X-rays can be taken, but when Pence hears this he begins twitching and convulsing until the sounds of metal gears grinding to a halt is heard and smoke begins pouring out of his ears. Pence's last words are an attempt to sing the song "A Bicycle Built For Two."
Republicans then watch in abject horror as the next person in line is sworn in as president. Democrats have to hold an immediate vote to elect a new speaker of the House, because for the next year America will be ruled by President Nancy Pelosi.
Democratic Nightmare -- A Tall Order
The Democratic presidential field tightens to four people, as all but Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Pete Buttigieg fail to gain much support throughout November and December. In January, Biden is caught on a live backstage microphone saying: "I got the black vote in my pocket -- all I gotta do is keep saying 'Obama' and those poor fools aren't going to vote for anyone else!" This leads to a serious drop in his polling, as African-American voters in South Carolina and elsewhere begin to shop around for someone a little more respectful.
The race becomes a four-way heat, with no true leader. At the December debate, however, Pete Buttigieg viciously attacks Biden in relentless fashion. This "wins" him the debate, but it also turns off millions of Democratic voters, who still have a soft spot for Joe.
This leaves two weakened centrists fighting two unapologetic progressives, as the primaries begin. However, eight days before the Iowa caucuses, Bernie Sanders has another heart attack and is forced to recover in a hospital bed rather than campaigning for the home stretch.
In both Iowa and New Hampshire, Elizabeth Warren emerges as the clear victor. She then very narrowly beats Biden in South Carolina, while Nevada goes for Bernie (who is still recovering, slowly). However, Warren absolutely cleans up on Super Tuesday, making her the clear favorite to win the nomination. Buttigieg, after finishing no better than third anywhere, drops out of the race.
With Warren winning more and more delegates, the corporate-loving wing of the Democratic Party begins to seriously freak out. With Biden limping along and Buttigieg out of the race, they have to consider their own future under the presidency of a true economic populist, and they don't like what they see.
In a burst of energy (and millions of dollars), the big money Democrats break away and form the "Responsible Party," and through a monumental effort they get on the ballot in all 50 states. They then successfully talk Howard Schultz into becoming their presidential nominee.
Warren cruises to the Democratic nomination, and her supporters belittle what they call "the Starbucks Party" or "those overpriced-latte-sippers."
Schultz pours millions of dollars of his own fortune into the race, and most of his money is spent on direct attacks at Warren, and at progressives in general. The theme of all of these ads is: "It'll never happen! You'd be a fool to believe her! America just can't go through big changes anymore, and the voters should be happy when they get tiny incremental improvements!" This is not exactly an inspiring campaign theme, but there are plenty of voters who begin to get worried about Warren's chances.
Schultz does eventually run some ads against Trump, but they're fairly weak: "The idea of putting a businessman in the White House is actually a good one, but this time let's put a successful businessman there, not some failure with a string of bankruptcies!" Again, this isn't all that motivational a message, but it gets plenty of airtime because Schultz and his Wall Street buddies have an almost unlimited amount of money to spend.
Trump trains all his own fire on the campaign trail on Warren, berating her in the crudest imaginable language: "You really want her to run the country? I mean, like, she's not even a three -- even at her best she was never more than maybe a four-and-a-half! If America elects a woman president, she should at least be smokin' hot!" He then leads the crowd in a chant of: "Eight... Nine... TEN!" Trump doesn't even bother taking on Schultz much, other than to note that the two agree that a businessman should be in the White House: "Even Mister Coffee himself admits that I belong in the Oval Office!" Trump tells his cheering fans, who (of course) believe him.
The single general election televised debate is nothing short of a national embarrassment. Trump refuses to let Warren talk at all, and every time she begins to speak Trump does exactly the same thing: sticks two "feather" fingers up behind his head, pats his mouth, and loudly makes "Woo woo" noises. When the moderators finally cut off Trump's microphone in despair, Trump walks off the stage. The rest of the debate consists of Warren and Schultz mercilessly ripping into each other.
When Election Day rolls around, Warren actually wins the popular vote, with 45 percent. Trump pulls in 42 percent, while Schultz grabs the remaining 13 percent. However, just like in 2016, Trump wins enough razor-thin margins in enough swing states to give him the victory in the Electoral College (Schultz doesn't win a single state, of course).
Across the land, Starbucks are vandalized and occasionally burnt to the ground throughout the night in an explosion of rage from Warren's supporters. But when the sun rises on the smoking mocha ruins, America has elected Donald J. Trump to a second term.
Have a happy Hallowe'en everyone!
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
Happy Halloween!
By about the 2nd paragaph into the Trump story I lost track of the fact thst this tale was a parody. None of narrative seemed at odds with reality - until Robo-Pence made his appearance. OK, that's unlikely. Why wpuld a major corporation introduce such a bland product? Besides Disney Inc.
The Democratic horror was equally plausible. In fact,
I worry about almost exactly the same scenario every day - with a few different celebrity characters. So, that is a twofer! Well done.
I'm going have a dram of single malt now to settle my nerves.
Happy? Halloween. I'm with the Stig. They both sound plausible - up to a point.
I'll be by myself, in the back...
I swear, the news about Bolton being asked to testify came out AFTER I wrote this!
Well, it was an obvious move, but I didn't really expect it on the same day or anything...
:-)
But whadja think of the pumpkins? Heh. That Starbucks one was a real challenge to carve...
-CW
Oh, and I stole the RoboPence idea from Isaac Asimov. I believe the final story in "I Robot" is about a politican-bot. He's a lot better than Pence, though, which is what made me think of animatronics instead...
:-)
-CW
CW - Looks to me like the Starbucks lantern required some very careful planining. Plastic peanut fill to support the fine tracery under the knife? Did you pull it off in one try?
The starbucks one is impressive, but I really like the one that's spilling his guts. Genius!
TheStig [6] -
The secret: I used a REALLY big pumpkin! That design is in a circle about 9-10" across...
Balthasar [7] -
I think this is the first-ever "special effects" photo shot I've done!
Thanks for the kind words, all.
:-)
-CW
i would like to collect my quatloos for correctly predicting the outcome of the republican nightmare. as for the democratic nightmare... well, i would say the only thing worse than what we already have would be if they suspended the 22nd amendment and declared donald emperor.
pumpkin pie!
JL
They ARE terrific pumpkins!
Well, I am 1-1..
The Democrat vote DID pass (missed that one).. But, as I predicted dead on ballz accurate, it passed with ZERO GOP support. Hell, a couple Dems even voted against it..
So, Joe Biden's quote wins the day..
"Impeachment can be legitimate if and only if it emanates from a bipartisan conviction that the president has committed high crimes and misdemeanors – when people of opposing viewpoints can come together in agreement over the seriousness of the offense and the appropriateness of the sanction."
-Joe Biden
This impeachment is NOT fair...
This impeachment is NOT legitimate...
So says Joe Biden...
The impeachment inquiry is official - we've completed Phase 1.
Phase 2 will involve Republican obstruction, dishonesty and dirty tricks turned up to eleven as the GOP does everything it can manage to protect criminal Blotus and their complicit selves. Dem job is to get the facts to the public in spite of GOP treachery.
Dem job is to get the facts to the public in spite of GOP treachery.
A job which, to date, the Dems have FAILED... Miserably failed..
Now that we know that the so-called "whistle blower" was nothing but a Democrat plant/stooge...
Things are going to go a lot tougher for Dims..
They haven't even identified an impeachable offense yet..
This is the Russia Collusion delusion all over again..
Now that we know that the so-called "whistle blower" was nothing but a Democrat plant/stooge...
A stooge with a long history of trying (and failing) to take down President Trump....
We already know that this impeachment is not legitimate..
Joe Biden has said so...
Unless someone wants to make the argument that what Joe Biden said ONLY applies when it's the GOP who is doing the impeachment and DOESN'T apply when Dims want to do an impeachment..
I double dog dare ya!! :D
We will be seeing a political party debase itself on an epic scale as the impeachment proceeds.
We will be seeing a political party debase itself on an epic scale as the impeachment proceeds.
Agreed...
But the Dumbocrats just can't seem to help themselves...
Biden’s words still hold true, but they were made when Republicans were more inclined to respect their oaths of Office.
Just because GOP representatives did not vote in favor of the impeachment procedures outline doesn’t mean they think impeachment should not occur.
Those are two very different things, and your attempt to infer one from the other is just another example of how desperate Trump supporters have gotten! Republicans in the House knew the Democrats had enough votes for it to pass, so they could vote against it to keep Trump off of their backs.
Biden’s words still hold true, but they were made when Republicans were more inclined to respect their oaths of Office.
In other words, it's your claim that it only applies when GOP are doing impeachment and NOT when Dims are doing impeachment..
Party Bigot and Slave to the last... :D
Those are two very different things,
I am sure you actually believe that..
But that's just your hate, your bigotry and your Party slavery talking..
the other is just another example of how desperate Trump supporters have gotten!
And Dumbocrats planting a stooge to fake a whistle-blower complaint is how desperate Dumbocrats have gotten..
They wanted impeachment from the DAY Trump was elected..
It just took them a while to connive a "reason" no matter how ridiculous it was...
So, please. Don't pretend like ya'all gave President Trump a chance..
You never did.. This has been ya'all's bigoted goal since 10 Nov 2016...
Any who support impeachment are traitors to the American way of life..
It's really that simple..
"Bipartisanship should not wait until the matter reaches the Senate chamber"
-Joe Biden
"The Framers of the Constitution knew that the greatest danger associated with impeachment was the presence of partisan factions that could dictate the outcome."
-Joe Biden
Notice that Biden didn't QUALIFY his claims, based on which Party was doing the impeaching..
Democrats are in the wrong..
This is an illegitimate impeachment..
It's a coup, pure and simple.. A coup that has been in the words since 10 Nov 2016....
It's really that simple..
REALITY CHECK: BLOTUS IS NOT GETTING IMPEACHED
I just wanted to bring everyone back to reality. There isn't going to be an impeachment, because Republicants can't bring themselves to do it. We (dems) knew that this was true before we started it, but feel compelled to do it all the same.
In the end, like a Thanksgiving turkey which has been meticulously prepped, the process is leading to a half-baked result.
I say this now to head off the usual crowing of Mike at the end - vindicated! There will be no vindication. What there will be is a Blotus without any morality, and an angry electorate.
Then, by this time next year, we vote.
It's THEN that the Democrats, Independants, and Republicants weigh in: ready for a REPEAT of the last four years, or are we ready to MOVE ON?
That's what this is all about.
based on the facts we've seen thus far, donald probably will be impeached, but not convicted.
The actual question is: how much unlawfullness, how many pissed of allies, and how many abused immigrants does it take to turn a republicant democrat?
Don't look at me. I think Republicants stay nasty throughout.
But I do think that there's a chance that independants rise up and say enough! Back to normalcy.
I say this now to head off the usual crowing of Mike at the end - vindicated! There will be no vindication. What there will be is a Blotus without any morality, and an angry electorate.
Oh yes, there will be vindication.. Oh yes there will be exoneration..
Just like there was vindication and exoneration after ya'all's Russia Collusion delusion...
President Trump will be completely and utterly vindicated and totally exonerated by the Democrats failure (AGAIN) to remove him from office...
If Dumbocrats didn't want to VINDICATE and EXONERATE President Trump??
They shouldn't have started these coups...
Oh yes... Vindication...
Oh yes... Exoneration...
And OH YES... Gloating... Morning, noon and night... Gloating from sun up to sun down... Gloating 7 days a week, 365 days a year.. Wall to wall NON STOP gloating..
Ya'all made yer beds... I am going to make damn sure ya'all lie in them.. :D
However... Credit where credit is due..
I just wanted to bring everyone back to reality. There isn't going to be an impeachment, because Republicants can't bring themselves to do it. We (dems) knew that this was true before we started it, but feel compelled to do it all the same.
In the end, like a Thanksgiving turkey which has been meticulously prepped, the process is leading to a half-baked result.
I am glad to see you confirm what I have been saying all along..
When all is said and done.. When the Dumbocrats have piled all of their hate and their bile and the sum of their rage upon President Trump that it will burst their chests like a mortar, bursting their hearts' hot shell upon him???
President Trump will STILL be PRESIDENT TRUMP... And STILL be in office..
And the Democrat Party will be a burning husk, a blackened shell of it's former self..
And, on that day.... I shall gloat some more..
The actual question is: how much unlawfullness, how many pissed of allies, and how many abused immigrants does it take to turn a republicant democrat?
Considering there hasn't been ANY of that.. I'll let ya know whenever we see any... :D
Hell.. DEMOCRATS aren't even united in impeaching President Trump..
But Republicans are united in supporting and protecting President Trump.. :D
Kinda sucks to be Democrats, eh? :D
based on the facts we've seen thus far, donald probably will be impeached, but not convicted.
Well... Democrats will have some kind of Anti-Joe Biden kind of faux impeachment coup...
But it won't be a real impeachment..
And it will likely result in a quick dismissal in the Senate... :D
And then let the gloating begin.. :D
CW,
ANd yes... Those are awesome pumpkins..
But ya forgot the 'stache on Bolton... :D
Make it a Minshew 'Stache :D
Gotta wonder though.. Even if Bolton IS singing (no facts to support it yet)....
Is he an Agent Provocateur?? :D
Democrats build him up and build him up and then...???
He publicly condemns the Dumbocrats and sings President Trump's praises... :D
Wouldn't THAT be the shitz, eh?? :D
Just like there was vindication and exoneration after ya'all's Russia Collusion delusion...
Don't know what you're talking about there. There was no vindication, no exoneration - only a big fat lie told by Atty General Barr.
This is how you turn vindication into an active plan to kneecap Trump - lie until the public has had it up to here with it.
Don't know what you're talking about there. There was no vindication, no exoneration - only a big fat lie told by Atty General Barr.
I know, I know..
You have to spin it that way to keep your sanity..
But the FACT is... The REALITY is...
Mueller exonerated President Trump on Russia Collusion and left it to AG Barr to exonerate President Trump on obstruction...
So, no matter HOW you need to spin it to make it thru the day...
President Trump was COMPLETELY and UTTERLY Vindicated and Exonerated...
This is how you turn vindication into an active plan to kneecap Trump - lie until the public has had it up to here with it.
And yet, ya'all have been PREDICTING that would happen since 10 Nov 2016... Almost THREE YEARS ago!!!??
And ya have ***ALWAYS*** been wrong...
There comes a point when even the most DULLARD Party Slave must accept reality eh??
Apparently, ya'all aren't at that point yet, huh? :D
Now shush... I have TVs to fix... :D
CW
Republican Nightmare -- Bolton Spills His Guts
Oh, but this is awesome! On my 4K screen, the innards literally appear as though in suspended animation as Bolton has spewed in such a fashion to transport his mustache clean off his face.
I am only three paragraphs in and find myself compelled -- nay forced -- to render both comment and query. This scary scenario seems not only plausible but entirely probable: Oh, where is thou fable?
I recommence...
Oh jeezus... Spare me the melo-drama...
The outcome is a forgone conclusion..
"I just wanted to bring everyone back to reality. There isn't going to be an impeachment, because Republicants can't bring themselves to do it. We (dems) knew that this was true before we started it, but feel compelled to do it all the same.
In the end, like a Thanksgiving turkey which has been meticulously prepped, the process is leading to a half-baked result."
-Balthasar
This ends one way and one way only...
President Trump is STILL President Trump..
THAT is the **ONLY** way this ends.. This is universally agreed on by those with more than two brain cells to rub together...
“Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path because it divides the country. And he’s just not worth it.”
-Nancy Pelosi
Even NANCY PELOSI admits that, unless impeachment is bipartisan, it is NOT legitimate...
Who has to stand up and say this is an illegitimate impeachment before ya'all admit the facts???
If it's NOT bi-partisan, it's NOT legitimate...
It's really simple....
CW
Republican Nightmare -- Bolton Spills His Guts
The vote to impeach Trump is 382 to 12, with dozens of Republicans not even voting.
Still as spineless and scared as they ever were that any opposition whatsoever to Trump will befall them with a mean tweet from the Mad Twit.
Pence's last words are an attempt to sing the song "A Bicycle Built For Two."
If not for your Disney audio-animatronic Vice President, none of this seems all that implausible. Go figure!
Very well done, sir. :)
It's funny as hell..
The **ONLY** bi-partisan part of the vote was the bi-partisan vote to OPPOSE impeachment.. :D
Funny how that is, eh?? :D
Funny how worked up Michale gets swearing that Trump has done nothing wrong, when he stated earlier that his comments do not represent his own beliefs, but are just made to attack the comments of others:
But, as usual, my comments are NOT a judgment on the actions of Odumbo OR President Trump..
My comments are on the fact that ya'all's condemnations are totally and completely one sided...
And....
Actually I have never commented or relayed my opinions on President Trump's conflict of interest..
I simply point out ya'all's hypocrisy on the issue and prove beyond any doubt that any "conflict of interest" you see in President Trump's et al dealings is SOLELY based on Party slavery rather than any REAL problem with the alleged conflict of interest..
As I have said, I have built a pretty awesome cottage industry at pointing out ya'all's hypocrisy and ya'all's enslavement (NEN) by Party dogma...
Not sure how you are pointing out our hypocrisy since no Democrat in the White House has ever held up military aid to one of our allies until they agreed to say they were investigating a Republican candidate for the presidency. But you are a master at claiming two unrelated events are identical and then making yourself say that you believe it!
CW
Democratic Nightmare -- A Tall Order
Awesome pumpkin!
Trump refuses to let Warren talk at all, and every time she begins to speak Trump does exactly the same thing: sticks two "feather" fingers up behind his head, pats his mouth, and loudly makes "Woo woo" noises.
*laughs* Trump's too fat to lift his arms that high, and even if he could, we'd barely be able to make out those wee small "feathers" behind that thing on his head with his other small hand flying repeatedly into his giant blow hole because his fingers are too tiny to reach its outer edges.
Truly terrifying scenario, though. :)
* VOTE BLUE *
No Matter Who
Funny how worked up Michale gets swearing that Trump has done nothing wrong, when he stated earlier that his comments do not represent his own beliefs, but are just made to attack the comments of others:
As usual, you spew bullshit..
But I DO find it highly amusing that you are so obsessed with my posting habits and my motivations.. :D
It's probably because you have NO FACTS to support ANY of yer spewings..
BBBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
* VOTE BLUE *
No Matter Who
Yep.. Dumbocrats would vote for HITLER or STALIN themselves..
As long as they had a -D after their name..
It's EXACTLY as I said..
Nothing but Party Slaves...
No matter WHICH Democrat ya'all want to listen to...
From Joe Biden in 1998 to Nancy Pelosi in March of 2019...
If an impeachment is NOT bi-partisan, it is NOT legitimate..
It's a coup... Nothing more... Nothing less..
Now I am sure ya'all don't CARE that it's a coup..
Ya'all could at LEAST have the integrity to admit it and quit hiding because your faux impeachment spewage..
I'm just sayin'...
Ex-White House official testifies he wasn’t concerned ‘anything illegal was discussed’ on Trump-Ukraine call
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ex-white-house-official-testifies-he-wasnt-concerned-anything-illegal-was-discussed-on-trump-ukraine-call
Once again, the FACTS come out.. From a FIRST PERSON account..
Funny that ALL Dumbocrats have is third person hearsay from a Dumbocrat Plant/Stooge/Patsy
Republican PACs are already attacking vulnerable Dems who voted for impeachment resolution
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/conservative-pac-targeting-vulnerable-democrats-who-voted-for-impeachment-rules-resolution
And so it begins..
Democrats who voted for this coup will LOSE their jobs in Nov of 2020...
Who could have POSSIBLY predicted this!??
Oh... Wait... :D
Pelosi is Blowing Smoke, But Where’s the Fire?
Despite a parade of angry civil servants and political appointees, she still doesn't have a crime.
On Thursday Nancy Pelosi is holding a vote to reaffirm her impeachment inquisitiveness. It was theater; everyone knows the hyper-politicized Democratic House will impeach. It’s a weak case, but that doesn’t matter. A partisan Senate (who will also see a weak case but that doesn’t matter) won’t convict. America will leave a steaming mound of democracy aside the road and reflect forever which side stepped in it after we’re done arguing who won in November 2020.
We’ll have forgotten by then about the evidence, so it’s worth a look while still fresh. Absent any really big surprises, we know the narrative now.
Forget the whistleblower. He had no first hand knowledge of a “high crime and misdemeanor,” just an opinion about a phone call he wasn’t party to. Yet even after DOJ ruled the whistleblower revealed no criminal act, Nancy Pelosi announced an impeachment inquiry.
Trump then released the memorandum of conversation between himself and Ukrainian president Zelensky. This is the U.S. government’s record of what was said and as such will form near 100 percent of what Dems will use to impeach. After all, it is the only primary document in the case. Yet despite its short length, some five pages, many people want to characterize what it says instead of just reading the thing. So follow along if you like.
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/nancy-pelosis-impeachment-gun-still-isnt-smoking/
When ALL is said and done, it's going to be EXACTLY as Balthasar said it would be...
"I just wanted to bring everyone back to reality. There isn't going to be an impeachment, because Republicants can't bring themselves to do it. We (dems) knew that this was true before we started it, but feel compelled to do it all the same.
In the end, like a Thanksgiving turkey which has been meticulously prepped, the process is leading to a half-baked result."
-Balthasar
President Trump will STILL be President..
And Democrats will have NOTHING but their wee-wees in their hands and NO CANDIDATE who can take on Trump because the ONE candidate that had a possible chance, Joe Biden, Democrats sacrificed him on the altar of this illegitimate impeachment coup...
Aww right people..
Time to marvel at the escapades of the AMAZING RACE with my lovely wife..
See ya'all in the AM... :D
Mike
12
Well, I am 1-1..
The Democrat vote DID pass (missed that one).. But, as I predicted dead on ballz accurate, it passed with ZERO GOP support. Hell, a couple Dems even voted against it..
You're just not content unless you rewrite history to suit yourself over and over! If I recall correctly -- and I generally do -- you whined over and over ad nauseam that the vote would fail while hedging your bets on Republican votes. Let's test that theory of mine... *be right back*
So fast forward to now, and you want to claim that your wimpy little "one or two" might but "probably not" is a dead accurate on prediction of "ZERO GOP support"! *laughs* No one is surprised, and you also need never wonder why no one takes you seriously.
So, Joe Biden's quote wins the day..
So Joe Biden's quote was about an entirely different impeachment not related to Trump and didn't include the sitting President of the United States using withheld multiple hundreds of millions as a tool to obtain a quid pro quo in bribing a foreign entity to smear his political opponent in the upcoming election in 2020... all in an attempt to clear his pals the Russians by pushing their conspiracy theory that their enemies in Ukraine were the bad actors who interfered in the 2016 prior election... and despite all evidence to the contrary.
This impeachment is NOT fair...
This impeachment is NOT legitimate...
So says Joe Biden...
Oh, sorry... entirely different impeachment.
No one gets to rewrite history at the expense of Joe Biden. No one. :)
_____
No one puts Baby in a corner! ~ Dirty Dancing
Paula
13
This! x 100
Balthasar
22
REALITY CHECK: BLOTUS IS NOT GETTING IMPEACHED
What? How does the dipshit not get impeached over this?
Will the Repubs convict him in the Senate? Hell no! But will he be impeached? Unless there is some kind of intervening event that makes it unnecessary... how does he not!?
I agree with everything else... well done! :)
JL
23
based on the facts we've seen thus far, donald probably will be impeached, but not convicted.
This!
Mike
25
It won't even matter what happens, of course. Regardless the outcome, you'll rewrite the archived history and claim victory. Same as ever.
Mike
41
Yep.. Dumbocrats would vote for HITLER or STALIN themselves..
Well, we're obviously discussing the 2020 election as witnessed by the excerpt's preceding paragraphs, and we indeed already know every single person in the running to date to become the "Blue" nominee... of which neither of the corpses of Hitler nor Stalin are eligible/viable candidates.
Furthermore, if you have to keep mining history in order to prove your point when you're admittedly not even a "history buff," then you've already lost the point before you've made it.
As long as they had a -D after their name..
Hitler and Stalin do have a "-D" after their names, but it stands for dead... so neither of them are running in 2020... or ever.
Great horror. I didn't think you'd be able to top the GOP nightmare with an equal one for the Dems, but you did.
However...
The least realistic part of the GOP horror was the idea that Trump's base would abandon him simply because Bolton documented a large number of instances of the president selling out American interests to foreign powers. I think Trump's legendary base is immune to 'testimony', 'facts', and the like - and especially when the testimony is in the area of foreign affairs rather than domestic issues.
The least realistic part of the Democratic horror was the proposition that mysterious but well-funded conservative Democratic forces would be able to collate a new "party", including ballot access in all fifty states, in less than a year with nothing but unlimited money. I think in fact a large proportion of that group would be able to work out the simple proposition that opposing a Warren nomination and presidency means actively working for a Trump second term - and on that basis, they would not actually support the ridiculous effort of creating a third party led by Mr. Starbucks to win the presidency on the platform of "nothing can be done so vote for me".
Wonderful pumpkins, Chris!
My, how that Bolton pumpkin looks eerily like, well, Bolton! Very nice.
My, how that Bolton pumpkin looks eerily like, well, Bolton! Very nice.
Not without the 'stache.. :D
@ JMCT
I think Trump's legendary base is immune to 'testimony', 'facts', and the like - and especially when the testimony is in the area of foreign affairs rather than domestic issues.
Not at all.. The Trump base is simply waiting for Democrats to HAVE some relevant facts that support criminal or impeachable offenses.
We have been waiting since ya'all's Russia Collusion delusion..
We're STILL waiting...
Democrats do not have a single relevant fact..
Funny how that ALWAYS is the case, eh? :D
I mean, our own Balthasar said it best..
"I just wanted to bring everyone back to reality. There isn't going to be an impeachment, because Republicants can't bring themselves to do it. We (dems) knew that this was true before we started it, but feel compelled to do it all the same.
In the end, like a Thanksgiving turkey which has been meticulously prepped, the process is leading to a half-baked result."
Now THERE is an undisputed fact for ya'all :D
Congrats, Democrats...
Hunter Will Dog Joe Biden
Joe Biden has a Hunter problem, and it’s not going away. We saw that during the former Vice President’s tone-deaf appearance Sunday on “60 Minutes.”
Before we get to the interview, some context: In February 2014, Ukrainians pushed out President Viktor Yanukovych, widely reviled for both tolerating corruption and delaying and then rejecting a popular agreement that tied the country closer to the European Union. Mr. Yanukovych escaped to Moscow, where Vladimir Putin gave him refuge.
The next month, Mr. Putin seized the Ukrainian Crimea and in April he invaded eastern Ukraine, taking control of a significant amount of Ukrainian territory in a war that continues today.
At about the same time, Mr. Biden’s son Hunter joined the board of Burisma, Ukraine’s largest gas company, along with Devon Archer, a longtime associate of then-Secretary of State John Kerry. The younger Mr. Biden received as much as $600,000 a year for attending a handful of company meetings, despite his complete lack of experience in the energy business or Ukraine.
https://www.rove.com/article/10-31-19-wsj
Ya'all just destroyed the campaign of the **ONE** person who **MIGHT** have had an iota of a chance of defeating President Trump..
What IS it about Democrats who are always their own worst enemy??
What ya'all don't seem to understand that the President... ANY US President.. can ask a world leader to investigate ANY American for ANY reason..
And quid pro quo has been the default setting on United States diplomacy since there WAS a United States...
Democrats have NOTHING... No crime.. No impeachable offense..
Even BALTHASAR realizes this.. And next to Victoria & Paula, Balthy is usually the most devout Democrat here...
CW,
All politics aside..
How are you and yours fairing during the fires and mandatory blackouts??
I can't imagine how bad it must be for ya'all..
Stay safe...
Days of terrifying darkness, cold and hunger amid PG&E’s sweeping power blackouts
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — For four nights, Eliana Rubin cared for her newborn son, James, by candlelight.
The baby, 11 weeks old, is her first. He’s colicky and wakes often, she said. As the latest Pacific Gas & Electric safety shut-off dragged on this week, she lit a flame by her bedside each time the child woke, but was careful to blow it out before falling asleep again. Even more than the dark, she worried about the near-freezing temperatures inside her home in this remote part of Northern California.
“The thing is the cold,” she said Tuesday. “I am, like, folding him under the blankets.”
Amid what was effectively the longest planned power shut-off in California, the toll of the blackout — both immediate and existential — took shape Wednesday for PG&E customers who have weathered back-to-back outages, lasting up to five days for nearly half a million people.
https://www.omaha.com/news/national/days-of-terrifying-darkness-cold-and-hunger-amid-pg-e/article_2bf8fd0b-94a0-52e4-9b9a-087e98dc0541.html
I can't imagine the horror and fear that Californians are going thru...
Trump will win again, easily: Liberals simply don't understand what he represents
Trump is accelerating American empire toward its doom. Democrats can't stop the historical wheel from turning
I predicted well before the 2016 presidential election that Donald Trump would be elected. I had felt that way ever since he rode down that golden escalator with his rapist invective. Ever since he was elected, I’ve also believed that he’ll be re-elected, more easily this time.
An illustrative personal anecdote, one of many over the last three years: A creative writing PhD I know with tons of debt, whose wife happens to be an undocumented Filipina, became mightily angered by the promise of student debt cancelation. What about those who have paid their dues by taking out debt, he asked? No doubt he would refuse a blanket amnesty for “illegals” too. His DACA wife, as he sees it, paid her dues.
https://www.salon.com/2019/10/26/trump-will-win-again-easily-liberals-simply-dont-understand-what-he-represents/
Here's another point from another "Right Wing Talking Point" website.. SALON.. :D
It's funny... Almost every one here, even VICTORIA of all people, has admitted and conceded that, when all is said and done with this faux impeachment coup, the one absolutely all-but-guaranteed result is that President Trump will remain POTUS..
And, the majority of Weigantians who have expressed an opinion on the subject has agreed.. President Trump will win re-election..
The funny part??
If I had quoted you these FACTS, ya'all would have fallen all over yerselves to accuse me of simply stating "right wing talking points"... :D
Ya'all just GOTS ta appreciate the irony, eh?? :D
It's YA'ALL who are stating the Right Wing Talking Points.... :D
"I just find that really funny... uh.. But ya'all ain't laughin'..."
-Will Smith, MEN IN BLACK
:D
Mike - just gotta jump in (this isn't my usual time to be on) to say that what you're spewing in [59] isn't anywhere near my opinion.
For the record: Trump stands no chance in 2020.
He hasn't picked up any voters, his rating since 2016 has hovered in the cold thirties, and his odds of "drawing to an inside straight" a second time in a row is nearly impossible.
Mike - just gotta jump in (this isn't my usual time to be on) to say that what you're spewing in [59] isn't anywhere near my opinion.
For the record: Trump stands no chance in 2020.
#61 (I don't know where you people get yer numbering system) doesn't refer to the election, it refers to impeachment..
And you and I and almost everyone else here is all of the same opinion on Democrats faux impeachment coup..
The end result is President Trump remains in office..
He hasn't picked up any voters, his rating since 2016 has hovered in the cold thirties, and his odds of "drawing to an inside straight" a second time in a row is nearly impossible.
Doesn't matter..
ANY Dem candidate who promised to give crimmigrants (illegal immigrant criminals) free and full health care.... WILL NOT BE ELECTED POTUS...
ANY Dem candidate who promises open/decriminalized borders.... WILL NOT BE ELECTED POTUS
ANY Dem candidate who promised to take away MILLIONS of Americans' health care plans that they like.... WILL NOT BE ELECTED POTUS
ANY Dem candidate who promised to end fossil fuel use and end fracking.... WILL NOT BE ELECTED POTUS...
ANY Dem candidate who promised to allow post-birth abortions.... WILL NOT BE ELECTED POTUS...
ANY Dem candidate who promised to give reparations to black Americans.... WILL NOT BE ELECTED POTUS....
The Democrat candidate, no matter WHO it is, has disqualified themselves for POTUS...
it's that simple..
Trump will continue to do what he has done all along- bluff that he has a good hand even though he has nothing.
And yet, that "nothing" has been pretty damn good for Americans, eh? :D
Trump didn't draw a inside straight to win in 2016. He won because the Democrats folded by nominating Hillary.
Can't argue with this..
Ya gotta admire the Dems..
They choose THE ONE.... THE ONLY candidate that could LOSE to Donald Trump... :D
That level of incompetence takes some real effort.. :D
Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-fi noir is set in Los Angeles in November 2019, this very month. And just like Back to the Future in 2015, the movie’s idea of the future is slightly off, but arguably predicted a few things too. Sadly, the screenwriters of the 80s hope for flying cars, just like hover boards (no, real hover boards) hasn’t come true just yet. Neither has the desolate dystopian landscape of Los Angeles depicted in Blade Runner.
Give it time... Los Angeles has a whole month to become the desolate dystopian landscape of Blade Runner...
Balthy,
To add to #66.....
Warren agrees Medicare-for-All could result in two million jobs lost: 'This is part of the cost issue'
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/warren-agrees-medicare-for-all-could-result-in-two-million-jobs-lost-part-of-the-cost-issue
ANY Dem candidate who promised that their plans will kill 2 million American jobs..... WILL NOT BE ELECTED POTUS....
President Trump doesn't **HAVE** to attract new voters..
The Democrats are driving new voters by the 10s of millions to President Trump with their un-American plans...
You know it.. I know..
..it. :D
Bluff???
October job creation comes in at 128,000, easily topping estimates even with GM auto strike
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/01/jobs-report-october-2019.html
HA!!! Hardly.... :D
Michale [68]
I'm the last person in the world to agree with Warren on political topics, but she's correct (from an economic standpoint) that it would be beneficial to the health care system and the economy as a whole, to get the insurance industry out of the health-care system. They never should have been included in the first place.
I'm the last person in the world to agree with Warren on political topics, but she's correct (from an economic standpoint) that it would be beneficial to the health care system and the economy as a whole, to get the insurance industry out of the health-care system. They never should have been included in the first place.
It's a mess, I agree...
But tell me..
When has it EVER happened that introducing government control into a MESS ever worked out well??
We have the society we have, not the society we wish we had..
95% of the Democrats' ideas are simply unworkable in the here and now...
It would be as if we took out all the US Military men and women and turned over ALL military operations to contractors..
It's simply NOT workable with the foundations we have laid for ourselves..
Incrementalism is the *ONLY* thing that is possible..
But you know kids these days..
It's always WANT!! WANT!!! WANT!!! NOW!!! NOW!!! NOW!!!
Balthasar-22
REALITY CHECK: BLOTUS IS NOT GETTING IMPEACHED
As of yesterday, BLOTUS IS IMPEACHED - there is a bill of impeachment and the process will go forward in the House o' Reps leading to two likely scenarios:
1) Senate trial leading to verdict: guilty/not guilty.
2) POTUS resignation prior to Senate verdict
I think Trump resignation is quite likely, especially if he is not confident of reelection. Two recent events make me believe Trump is pondering the necessity of resignation and how to survive it:
1) Trump's effort to sell his Washington D.C. hotel lease (the only part of his business that seems to be generating income..not counting MAGA hats.
2) Trump's moving his formal residence from NYC to low tax Florida.
Both moves imply that POTUS is cash strapped. Most of his properties are not generating income. He is going to need a lot of cash to defend himself once he is out of office. Even if he is pardoned. Pardons only apply to Federal crimes. Trump may owe NYC, NY State and Florida a lot of money. He may have committed criminal tax fraud. Legal defense would be expensive, even if he avoids conviction.
I could see Trump making another change of residence in the near-ish future. Overseas, to a foreign country with a friendly, or at least tolerant strongman and weak or non existent extradition treaties with the USA.
As of yesterday, BLOTUS IS IMPEACHED - there is a bill of impeachment and the process will go forward in the House
Not factually accurate..
Until the full House votes on actual Articles Of Impeachment, there IS no impeachment.
It's just smoke and mirrors by Dumbocrats..
It's also noteworthy that, until there are votes on actual Articles Of Impeachments, Executive Privilege will ALWAYS trump Congressional Subpoenas...
Democrats are scrooed... :D
I think Trump resignation is quite likely, especially if he is not confident of reelection.
You have been saying that for YEARS now, stiggy-boy..
You are STILL wrong.. :D
But fear not young padawan...
I am sure that the 1,895,365,261st time IS the charm..
I am SUUUURRREEEE that THIS TIME....
THIS TIME yer going to be accurate... :D
Huge October Payrolls Beat: 128K Jobs Added As Black Unemployment Rate Hits All Time Low
https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/huge-october-payrolls-beat-128k-jobs-added-black-unemployment-rate-hits-all-time-low
Remind me again how President Trump is racist??
It's hard to reconcile that bullshit claim with the FACT that President Trump has been the BEST President for black Americans since LBJ.....
@ts,
if you think donald will resign, you don't know him. he'll stick it out to the bitter end, and so will his supporters. in a game of impeachment chicken between donald and congressional republicans, they will blink first every time, and end up defending him no matter what the law and the evidence say. the only real question in my mind is whether neutral and/or conflicted voters will do the same in 2020. And that matter is FAR from settled.
JL
if you think donald will resign, you don't know him.
Exactly.. Democrats here always judge the President by a DEMOCRAT litmus test..
No wonder they are ALWAYS wrong...
the only real question in my mind is whether neutral and/or conflicted voters will do the same in 2020.
If a Warren-esque candidate is the Dem nominee, I am betting that the VAST majority of those voters will NOT be neutral.. Nor conflicted in ANY way...
Elizabeth Warren's M4A plan has been released and is stirring up lots of discussion, almost all of it favorable. The negative stuff will follow soon no doubt.
Plenty of people are working through the details - lots of analysis happening.
Part of what she's being lauded for is that, when all the pushback started, she didn't back down - instead she dug in and, with the help of a cadre of serious experts, mapped it out. You may or may not think it's the right time or that politically it can be sold - that's a different question. What she did here was deliver details on a bold position and in the next debate will be able to answer "how will you pay for it?"
When you risk big you will either lose big or win big. Her first risk was planting herself firmly in the M4A camp. Her second risk was offering this detailed plan when she knows there will be many stakeholders who will want to kill it. She could, as many have advised, remained vague, on the theory that it's all just talk at this stage of the game anyway and why open yourself up to specific attacks? But that would have been contrary to her "brand" - and I think her brand is "genuine" so she rejected that approach.
So, we'll see how things play out. But I have to say it gave me quite a lift. My favorite EW quote, which was in reference to creating the CPFB, is: "My second choice is no agency at all and plenty of blood and teeth left on the floor."
She's a fighter, bu not someone who fights other people automatically, out of tribalism, disregarding facts and principles, but someone who will fight to achieve positive goals.
Someone also noted that by putting out an ambitious plan, if she has to compromise along the way she still gets more. IOW, what she didn't do was start out by making concessions.
LOVE IT.
but
It's funny.. We're seeing a race here..
Pelosi, Schiff-head and the Democrats rushing to find ANY facts to impeach President Trump with..
VS
AG Barr and Durham pursuing CRIMINAL CHARGES against Democrats who attempted the FIRST coup...
:D
Considering that Barr and Durham has just converted their fact finding probe to a CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION....
Proves that Barr and Durham are way WAY ahead of Pelosi and Schiff-head... :D
Paul Krugman
@paulkrugman
·
5h
My sense is that while Warren's embrace of Medicare for all was a questionable political decision, she has now passed an important test: providing a plausible way it could happen without big middle-class tax hikes. 7/
https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1190257891225280512
Once again, let me re-iterate the conventional Weigantian wisdom..
"Democrats desperation to impeach is directly and inversely proportional to their confidence that they can beat President Trump at the ballot box."
Let's couple that with some quotes for the ages..
"Impeachment can be legitimate if and only if it emanates from a bipartisan conviction that the president has committed high crimes and misdemeanors – when people of opposing viewpoints can come together in agreement over the seriousness of the offense and the appropriateness of the sanction."
-Joe Biden, 1998
“Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path because it divides the country.”
-Nancy Pelosi, Mar 2019
The quotes are clear..
If an impeachment is not bi-partisan, it is not legitimate...
If an impeachment is not legitimate, it is a coup..
Logic 101... Class dismissed..
“I’m concerned that if we don’t impeach this president, he will get re-elected.”
-Rep Al Green
The proof that this is a coup is prevalent and obvious..
Pelosi Bonaparte sees her Waterloo
For months, we have listened to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insist that this whole “formal impeachment inquiry” in search of a “high crime” did not require a vote by the full House of Representatives. Until, apparently, it does.
Never mind.
It is worth noting that previously there have been three (3) votes by the full House on impeaching President Trump. Each failed miserably, losing lopsided and bipartisan votes.
Never mind again.
Now comes Mrs. Pelosi forcing a vote by the full House on a formal impeachment inquiry. It passed by brute majority, 232-196.
While technically a “win” for Democrats, Thursday’s vote falls disastrously short of Mrs. Pelosi’s insistence for the past two years that any impeachment effort be bipartisan. The only thing that was “bipartisan” out of the House vote were the “nays” to halt this impeachment nonsense, which included every House Republican along with two Democrats.
Again, never mind.
That is why Thursday’s vote on impeachment says everything about Mrs. Pelosi’s speakership and nothing about Mr. Trump’s presidency.
This is Nancy Pelosi’s Waterloo, and she knows it.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/oct/31/nancy-pelosi-loser-impeachment-inquiry-vote/
Democrats must have their great white whale...
And the results for Democrats will be JUST AS DEVASTATING as they were for Ahab...
The Pelosi quote is one ya'all just CAN'T get around..
Sure, you say.. The Biden quote was decades ago and the claim that circumstances were different MIGHT have SOME meager merit..
But PELOSI'S quote was in the here and now..
PELOSI'S quote described the CURRENT circumstances..
NO WIGGLE room is possible..
Pelosi said that this impeachment MUST BE bipartisan or it should NOT be done...
The FACTS clearly show that it's the forces that are lined up AGAINST impeachment that are bipartisan..
This impeachment is NOT legitimate..
So says Joe Biden...
So says Nancy Pelosi...
It's THAT simple...
Mike -
Why are you so concerned? This is no coup. This isn't even, you know, a district court. This is constitutional. Trump WILL be impeached, but not convicted. (I misspoke yesterday)
Durham, on the other hand, won't return any charges against anyone, cause if he did, he'd also have to charge Rudy.
Why are you so concerned?
I am not concerned.. I just love showing how wrong ya'all and how dead on ballz factually accurate I am.. :D
This is no coup.
Of course it's a coup..
Both Pelosi and Biden state that this impeachment is not legitimate.. That means it's illegal.. That means it's either a coup or an attempted assassination, as per Benjamin Franklin..
Would you prefer I refer to it as an assassination??
Trump WILL be impeached, but not convicted.
Depends... Will the full House be able to pass Articles Of Impeachment??
That's up in the air.. To date, Democrats have not put ANY facts in the court of public opinion.. Only hearsay and rumors... If the American people find the Democrats' "facts" to be wanting, Democrats will likely not be able to pass the AOI..
Durham, on the other hand, won't return any charges against anyone, cause if he did, he'd also have to charge Rudy.
Again.. NOTHING but wishful thinking...
No facts to support..
Good video with Senator Chris Murphy, about Blotus' attempts to blackmail Zelensky/Ukraine:
https://twitter.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/1190047317665177601
Well, crap...
I am way behind the times..
Billy Jack died in 2013... :(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH0eHzTKEMY
Durham, on the other hand, won't return any charges against anyone,
I know that is your fervent hope..
But if there was no crime, there was no reason to convert the "probe" to a CRIMINAL investigation..
Your Democrats are going down..
The ONLY question is how many and how far down they go..
Once again..
The **FACTS** come out..
Elizabeth Warren Wants To Pay for Medicare for All With a $9 Trillion Tax That Will Hit the Middle Class
Warren says it’s not a tax. But what else would you call a requirement that employers send money to the federal government to finance a public program?
https://reason.com/2019/11/01/elizabeth-warren-wants-to-pay-for-medicare-for-all-with-a-9-trillion-tax-that-will-hit-the-middle-class/
And Beto O'Rourke is hanging it up. Says he will not run for Senate and is not ready to endorse anyone.
I think Beto brought a good voice to the race and hope he moves onto something interesting.
NYpoet-78
Trump cultivates the image of never backing down, but that's a bit of a myth. There is a kernel of truth to it (he outlasts and outspends small fry who sue him) but during his Presidency he has often talked tough then backed down when faced with organized resistance. Remember Trump U? Tax collectors are another example. How about his many bankruptcies? Faced with a determined and powerful resistance Trump can fold faster than Superman on laundry day.
Last year the The Atlantic published an article entitled:
Trump Almost Always Folds
From trade deals to gun control and immigration to military deployments, the president has a consistent pattern: Talk a big game, then back down.
It's not pay walled, you can Google the link.
But if there was no crime, there was no reason to convert the "probe" to a CRIMINAL investigation..
All sorts of reasons for that, for one thing criminal investigations can dig deeper. The problem is, is that the criminal standard is much higher. For one thing, you need INTENT, which would be missing in this case.
Kind of amazing:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry-latest-russia-mueller-ukraine-zelensky-a9181641.html
To date, Democrats have not put ANY facts in the court of public opinion..
They have not had to since Trump put all the FACTS out there on his own!
Trump now wants to personally read the “rough transcript” in a fireside chat to the American people! That would be an incredible event to witness for multiple reasons:
1. We would finally get to see if Trump can actually read.
2. Trump would basically be reading a confession on his own accord!
The strategy behind this is of course is that Trump will tell his supporters that it couldn’t be a criminal offense or he would never have admitted to it publicly!
One problem with this is that Trump only wants to read the summary of the transcript and not the whole transcript of the phone call. Trump wants everyone to believe that the rough transcript is a complete record of the entire conversation. That is clearly not the case, and it is a lie that Trump won’t be able to maintain.
Trump has no real strategy. Jared is his chief strategist for how to deal with the impeachment — a person who has no experience in government and who has failed miserably at the two jobs he was given at the start of Trump’s presidency: create peace in the Middle East and modernize how the federal government runs.
Trump is definitely getting worried. TheStig [73] was spot on concerning how telling Trump changing his residency truly is. He is preparing to make a move, and I think he will resign to avoid being impeached by the House.
Pelosi said that this impeachment MUST BE bipartisan or it should NOT be done...
It is bipartisan. Justin Amash voted in favor of the impeachment hearings. He is not a Democrat. He is an Independent, formally a Republican. If you are going to try to base your whole argument on such weak semantics, at least you could be correct in what you are spewing as your defense!
Whoops...should have said “formerly”, not “formally”. Didn’t catch that in time.
Mike
37
It's funny as hell..
The **ONLY** bi-partisan part of the vote was the bi-partisan vote to OPPOSE impeachment.. :D
Well, it's like this Mike: Democrats aren't Party whores nor slaves to a tyrant like the modern day GOP/MAGAts.
Funny how that is, eh?? :D
No, it's actually kind of pathetic how the GOP/MAGAts are spineless subservient suckers of the wanna-be dictator.
And it’s weird that you are whining how these hearings should not be taking place because Biden and Pelosi have said that impeachment must be bipartisan to be legitimate.
Remember your own words in [74]:
Until the full House votes on actual Articles Of Impeachment, there IS no impeachment.
Republicans are terrified of the facts coming out about Trump in such a manner that even FoxNews won’t be able to spin it positively for him!
All sorts of reasons for that, for one thing criminal investigations can dig deeper. The problem is, is that the criminal standard is much higher. For one thing, you need INTENT, which would be missing in this case.
Funny how you said in your Russia Collusion delusion that INTENT doesn't matter!! :D hehehehehe
Mike
59
What ya'all don't seem to understand that the President... ANY US President.. can ask a world leader to investigate ANY American for ANY reason..
So let me get this straight: As recently as a couple days ago, you're still posting the QAnon bullshit on this reality-based website wherein the QAnon rubes are claiming to know the identity of the whistleblower... the same rubes who continue to claim that "any day now" Barack Obama is going to jail for having U.S. domestic agencies investigate Donald Trump and company in connection with their campaign's now admitted meetings with multiple Russians.
So allow me to connect the dots for you: The right-wingnuts are claiming that President Obama and multiple others are going to jail for domestic investigation of private citizens while at the same time they're insisting that "ANY US President.. can ask a world leader to investigate ANY American for ANY reason."
Well, thank you for that creepy admission that you're okay with a United States President being a dictator who is free to implicate any citizen to a foreign power for whatever reason he wants versus his actual sworn oath to "preserve, protect and defend" from that very kind of tyranny; you really should take the time to read the Constitution wherein it says the EXACT opposite of your ridiculous spew.
One would think that a guy who refers to himself as a "law enforcement officer" would have some kind of ability to connect the dots so as not to spew such unbelievably ridiculous bullshit, but here we are. *laughs*
And quid pro quo has been the default setting on United States diplomacy since there WAS a United States...
Of course, but the quid pro quo is generally something in the interests of the United States and their allies versus something done in the interests of the President in the service of his withholding taxpayers' dollars in order to bribe of a foreign power to smear a United States citizen -- and not just any citizen but his primary political rival -- all while in the service of advancing a Russian conspiracy theory that clears Russia of hacking our elections... Trump in service to Russia.
Democrats have NOTHING... No crime.. No impeachable offense..
And you call yourself a law enforcement officer. *laughs*
Mike
62
It's funny... Almost every one here, even VICTORIA of all people, has admitted and conceded that, when all is said and done with this faux impeachment coup, the one absolutely all-but-guaranteed result is that President Trump will remain POTUS..
You're again putting words in people's mouths that they never said, but lying repeatedly and making up fake shit on this forum on a repetitive basis is what you do here. This is not a "faux impeachment coup," and no one on this forum has advanced that ridiculous bullshit except the fools who can't understand definitions of simple words, even when those words are broken down and spoon-fed to them like toddlers because their demonstrable ignorance demands it.
However, having said all that, it's obvious to me that the GOP Party Whores who each swore an oath to our Constitution and to "We the People" will choose their own best interests over their sworn duty to our country. Pretty easy call, actually, when you're dealing with Party Whores and Prostitutes. :)
Mike
74
Until the full House votes on actual Articles Of Impeachment, there IS no impeachment.
You keep whining about impeachment while claiming it isn't happening. Pick a lane.
It's also noteworthy that, until there are votes on actual Articles Of Impeachments, Executive Privilege will ALWAYS trump Congressional Subpoenas...
Again, I would explain what executive privilege is if I thought it would do any good.
JL
78
if you think donald will resign, you don't know him.
There is actually a scenario whereby I think Donald might resign in exchange for an agreement of nonprosecution for his multiple crimes after he leaves office. Is it a likely scenario? Not highly likely. But is there a chance it could happen depending on "things." Yes, a small chance that I would not... as yet... rule out. The window is closing, though. :)
he'll stick it out to the bitter end, and so will his supporters. in a game of impeachment chicken between donald and congressional republicans, they will blink first every time, and end up defending him no matter what the law and the evidence say.
This is highly likely the case.
the only real question in my mind is whether neutral and/or conflicted voters will do the same in 2020. And that matter is FAR from settled.
I'd say 2018 is a nice indicator, but the Democratic nominee will make a huge difference... barring any unforeseen "things." :)
Mike
83
Pelosi, Schiff-head and the Democrats rushing to find ANY facts to impeach President Trump with..
VS
AG Barr and Durham pursuing CRIMINAL CHARGES against Democrats who attempted the FIRST coup...
What coup is that? You seem incapable of connecting easy dots. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you the poster who just claimed that the President of the U.S. has the right to request an investigation of anyone for any reason by a foreign leader? If he has that power, why wouldn't Obama and his administration have it? *laughs*
Considering that Barr and Durham has just converted their fact finding probe to a CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION....
Proves that Barr and Durham are way WAY ahead of Pelosi and Schiff-head... :D
So you appear to have bought into the ridiculous idea that Obama and company are going to jail for doing what you claim Trump and company have a right to do.
Your flailing is indeed comical to watch. :)
Mike
88
But PELOSI'S quote was in the here and now..
PELOSI'S quote described the CURRENT circumstances..
NO WIGGLE room is possible..
Pelosi said that this impeachment MUST BE bipartisan or it should NOT be done...
You seem incapable of grasping the fact that Pelosi was referring to the voters and not the GOP Party Whores and Prostitutes. *laughs*
Balthasar
89
Why are you so concerned? This is no coup. This isn't even, you know, a district court. This is constitutional. Trump WILL be impeached, but not convicted. (I misspoke yesterday)
We knew what you meant, though! :)
Durham, on the other hand, won't return any charges against anyone, cause if he did, he'd also have to charge Rudy.
I know, right!? And not just Rudy.
Another person capable of connecting the dots! Good form! :)
Mike
93
I know that is your fervent hope..
You're projecting again.
But if there was no crime, there was no reason to convert the "probe" to a CRIMINAL investigation..
It doesn't take all that much to instigate a "CRIMINAL investigation," and not every criminal investigation will lead to indictments handed down by a grand jury. I could explain it to you if I thought you had the ability to grasp simple legal concepts. :)
TS
97
You are correct, sir. :)
Paula
99
Yep!
Mike
105
Funny how you said in your Russia Collusion delusion that INTENT doesn't matter!! :D hehehehehe
Now you're just lying... again.
In fact, anyone who has read the Mueller Report can tell you it's difficult to count how many times persons weren't charged with a crime because of questions of the ability to prove their intent and the fact of their sheer dumb effing ignorance.
Michael
I'm, I think it's you Republicans who have what you call collusion delusion as no lawbook nor Democrat recognizes collusion as and actual, real crime (nor even a legal term.) We're interested in Obstruction of Justice etc al in the Mueller investigation.
You know, Mueller, The guy who wrote "If we could exonerate the President, we would, but we cannot [and are not] exonerating him." And Mueller wouldn't indict because of some extra-Constitutional DOJ memo. So I don't get why you keep crowing this nonsense.
UM, I think it's...
Damn auto correct smh