Trump 37: Tweeting instead of Leading

[onekidanddone]

1 hour ago, GreyhoundFan said:

"Trump threatens government shutdown ‘will last for a very long time’ if Democrats oppose House bill that includes border wall money"

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President Trump on Friday threatened that a partial government shutdown would last “for a very long time” if Congress does not meet his demand Friday for billions in funding for his long-promised border wall in a stopgap spending measure.

In a spate of morning tweets, Trump sought to pin blame on Democrats for a potential shutdown even though he said last week that he would proudly own one if lawmakers did not provide at least $5 billion toward his marquee campaign promise.

And he suggested that Senate rules should be changed if necessary so that Republicans could pass the bill without any Democratic support.

“The Democrats, whose votes we need in the Senate, will probably vote against Border Security and the Wall even though they know it is DESPERATELY NEEDED,” Trump wrote. “If the Dems vote no, there will be a shutdown that will last for a very long time. People don’t want Open Borders and Crime!”

Trump’s warning came ahead of a midnight deadline for the president and Congress to come to terms on a spending bill to avert a partial government shutdown that would affect funding for roughly 25 percent of the federal agencies whose budgets rely on Congress.

After Trump threatened Thursday to veto a Senate measure that did not contain the border funding he sought, the House hurried to appease the president, pulling together a bill that would keep the government funded through Feb. 8 while also allocating $5.7 billion for the border wall. The House bill also included nearly $8 billion for disaster relief for hurricanes and wildfires.

Democrats, however, have enough votes in the Senate to keep that bill from advancing and have showed no signs of relenting.

“The bottom line is simple: the Trump temper tantrum will shut down the government, but it will not get him his wall,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters Thursday night.

In a contentious Oval Office meeting last week with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Schumer (D-N.Y.), Trump said he would be “proud to shut down the government for border security.”

“So I will take the mantle,” he said. “I will be the one to shut it down. I won’t blame you for it.”

In other tweets Friday, Trump urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to fight hard to pass a bill with he border-wall funding he is seeking.

“Senator Mitch McConnell should fight for the Wall and Border Security as hard as he fought for anything,” Trump wrote. “He will need Democrat votes, but as shown in the House, good things happen. If enough Dems don’t vote, it will be a Democrat Shutdown! House Republicans were great yesterday!”

Trump also urged McConnell to “use the Nuclear Option and get it done!”

That is a reference a Senate rule that requires 60 votes to advance most legislation. Trump was advocating that McConnell change the rule so that only 50 votes are required. By doing that, Republicans would be able to pass a bill without Democratic cooperation in a chamber in which Republicans hold 51 seats.

For more than a year, Trump has tried to pressure McConnell to change Senate rules in a way that would allow the chamber to pass legislation with a simple majority.

During the Obama administration, when the Senate was controlled by Democrats, Democrats changed the rules to allow most presidential nominees to advance with a simple majority of votes. During the beginning of the Trump administration, McConnell extended this practice to the nomination of Supreme Court justices, which proved crucial because both of Trump’s nominees to the nation’s highest court won approval by a narrow margin.

But McConnell has resisted such a change for legislation, as have a number of other Republicans, worried about the precedent it would set.

Last year, more than 60 senators from both parties signed a letter to McConnell and Schumer, saying they were opposed to changing the rules in the way Trump has demanded. The letter was signed, among others by Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Roy Blunt of Missouri, and John Thune of South Dakota.

In his tweets, Trump also sought to counter Democratic arguments that a border wall is an antiquated strategy for curbing illegal border crossings.

“The Democrats are trying to belittle the concept of a Wall, calling it old fashioned,” Trump wrote. “The fact is there is nothing else’s that will work, and that has been true for thousands of years. It’s like the wheel, there is nothing better.“

“Properly designed and built Walls work, and the Democrats are lying when they say they don’t,” the president added.

Trump’s attacks on Twitter came as a number of federal agencies were in the final stages of implementing their shutdown plans.

A number of federal parks and monuments are slated to close, some as soon as Saturday morning. The Securities and Exchange Commission posted a list of the services it will soon suspend, including the processing of certain business records. The Justice Department, Commerce Department and Internal Revenue Service are preparing to send thousands of people home without pay.

And Trump’s prediction that a shutdown would last for a very long time means that more than 100,000 federal employees risk missing at least one paycheck, and possibly more. Even the Border Patrol agents and Transportation Security Agency officials who are directed to continue working during the shutdown will not be paid until Congress funds their agencies.

About 480,000 federal workers would be furloughed, according to a Washington Post projection.

 

All of the county will be hurting if the shutdown continues for a long time, and here in the DMV we are going to be taking a huge it. A real domino effect will be felt by business when their main customers don’t have the money to shop, go out to eat or even get groceries.  The unemployment offices in two states and The District won’t have the resources 

 

[AmazonGrace]

ISIS by that name began in 2014 so yeah, Bush didn't do shit.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

1 hour ago, onekidanddone said:

All of the county will be hurting if the shutdown continues for a long time, and here in the DMV we are going to be taking a huge it. A real domino effect will be felt by business when their main customers don’t have the money to shop, go out to eat or even get groceries.  The unemployment offices in two states and The District won’t have the resources

My BFF's husband works for a defense contractor. They've already been told not to come in if the government shuts down. Unlike federal employees, who may get back pay, he won't get anything. That happened the last time too.

 

1 hour ago, AmazonGrace said:

 

I wonder if Mulvaney will make it to two Scaramuccis.

[formergothardite]

Will Mulvaney even make it to his starting date? If Trump can find someone else I can see him being replaced. 

[AmazonGrace]

RBG has lung cancer.

[AnywhereButHere]

4 minutes ago, AmazonGrace said:

RBG has lung cancer.

And the hits just keep on coming.

 

(Edited to add that I do feel horribly for her that she has had surgery for lung cancer - I don't just feel bad because I'm scared that may give fuckface another chance at a SC seat.)

[Destiny]

43 minutes ago, AmazonGrace said:

RBG has lung cancer.

It sounds like they got it all, but I just can't with the idea of losing her. The thought of the Orange Menace putting another shitbag on the court makes me want to be sick. 

[Audrey2]

5 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

 Narrator: Trump is unable to close an umbrella

But...but...but China has a bigliest beautiful wall... East Germany had one in Berlin, until the mean old NAFTA made them tear it down (misinformation intentional)... I want the bigliest most beautiful wall ever! Could we paint my MAGA logo on every other panel? Putin doesn't have a wall, and this is a way I can have a shiny new toy that he doesn't have.

Also, Mexico, you might want to think about this. Trump is trying to screw up the United States so badly that people will want to flee in droves. The wall might be needed to keep U.S. citizens from fleeing to Mexico.

 

 

[Audrey2]

4 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

"Trump threatens government shutdown ‘will last for a very long time’ if Democrats oppose House bill that includes border wall money"

  Hide contents

Trump also urged McConnell to “use the Nuclear Option and get it done!”

 

That is a reference a Senate rule that requires 60 votes to advance most legislation. Trump was advocating that McConnell change the rule so that only 50 votes are required. By doing that, Republicans would be able to pass a bill without Democratic cooperation in a chamber in which Republicans hold 51 seats.

For more than a year, Trump has tried to pressure McConnell to change Senate rules in a way that would allow the chamber to pass legislation with a simple majority.

During the Obama administration, when the Senate was controlled by Democrats, Democrats changed the rules to allow most presidential nominees to advance with a simple majority of votes. During the beginning of the Trump administration, McConnell extended this practice to the nomination of Supreme Court justices, which proved crucial because both of Trump’s nominees to the nation’s highest court won approval by a narrow margin.

But McConnell has resisted such a change for legislation, as have a number of other Republicans, worried about the precedent it would set.

Last year, more than 60 senators from both parties signed a letter to McConnell and Schumer, saying they were opposed to changing the rules in the way Trump has demanded. The letter was signed, among others by Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Roy Blunt of Missouri, and John Thune of South Dakota.

 

 

Our founding fathers got this part right. They intended that political parties would have to work together to govern the United States. They did not want unilateral rule by one party or group. Remember, they created the Senate, with equal number of representatives from both small and large states, as well as the House, with representation based on population. We already have states with supermajorities in their legislature which, in my opinion, doesn't truly serve the true needs of the people in those states. It should not be changed. Although I understand why they did it, I was equally against the Democrats changing this rule when Obama was President. Unfortunately, no one truly knows how to work together any more, and sadly, many constituents also believe there should be no cooperation.

 

Quote

In his tweets, Trump also sought to counter Democratic arguments that a border wall is an antiquated strategy for curbing illegal border crossings.

“The Democrats are trying to belittle the concept of a Wall, calling it old fashioned,” Trump wrote. “The fact is there is nothing else’s that will work, and that has been true for thousands of years. It’s like the wheel, there is nothing better.“

“Properly designed and built Walls work, and the Democrats are lying when they say they don’t,” the president added.

I think it's time to do a redesign for Air Force One. Zepplins are a more classic technology than jet airplanes.

[smittykins]

40 minutes ago, Audrey2 said:

But...but...but China has a bigliest beautiful wall... East Germany had one in Berlin, until the mean old NAFTA made them tear it down (misinformation intentional)... I want the bigliest most beautiful wall ever! Could we paint my MAGA logo on every other panel? Putin doesn't have a wall, and this is a way I can have a shiny new toy that he doesn't have.

Also, Mexico, you might want to think about this. Trump is trying to screw up the United States so badly that people will want to flee in droves. The wall might be needed to keep U.S. citizens from fleeing to Mexico.

 

 

And we could paint "Hillary lost" on the other panels to trigger the libs.

[AmazonGrace]

 

[Howl]

Erdogan is an authoritarian who is rapidly becoming a dictator in Turkey.  Maybe that's his appeal to Trump?  Really, it's incomprehensible. 

I fear for the future of Fethullah Gülen, who may very well be turned over to Turkey under Trump's direction. 

[GreyhoundFan]

 

[fraurosena]

This just makes me sad and angry. What a betrayal. Appalling and shameful.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

"If Trump’s actions aren’t impeachable, then what is?"

Spoiler

As Mueller time approaches, it is likely that President Trump’s defense will consist of two phrases: “But that is not illegal” and “But that is not impeachable.”

It is a strategy that prevails by the lowering of standards. Because Trump did not plot election fraud directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin by Skype, and because Trump’s various crimes and misdemeanors do not constitute high crimes and misdemeanors, we should consider the president vindicated. Unable to make the case for his own virtues, Trump must aver that his vices are commonplace and inconsequential.

Will this work? If the only standard of success is keeping enough Republican votes in the Senate to avoid Trump’s removal from office, it may.

It has been fully demonstrated that the Russian attack on the 2016 election was broad, ambitious and designed to give Trump practical aid. Russian intelligence fed ideological and racial tensions in a sophisticated attempt to arouse enthusiasm in Trump’s base and dampen enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton among minority voters. Did this tilt the election toward Trump? Given that Trump prevailed by 107,000 votes in three states — out of 120 million cast — I think it is both likely and unprovable.

Consider this outcome from two other perspectives. If you were the head of Russian intelligence, I suspect you would have a chest full of medals. And if the political circumstances were reversed — if Clinton had received Russian help to become president — every elected Republican would diagnose a conspiracy that undermined her legitimacy. Every. Single. One.

But the Russians did not succeed by hacking voting machines in the upper Midwest. They saw an opportunity in the rise of social media and the strength of nativism and racism on the American right. They seem to have exploited a national weakness without invalidating the election itself. The Russians really didn’t need to go very far to find a template. In inciting racial and ethnic tensions through obvious propaganda for the benefit of Trump, Russian intelligence was simply following the Fox News business model.

Does it make a difference if special counsel Robert S. Mueller III describes extensive contacts between Russian officials and the Trump campaign? Or that senior campaign officials systematically lied about those contacts? We have known of such cooperation and such lying for years. Campaign officials such as Donald Trump Jr. were eager for collusion with shady Russians. The president publicly invited Russian hacking of Clinton’s emails. His attorneys will continue to argue that, however unseemly these things may be, they are not illegal.

Will it make a difference if Mueller reveals corrupt business dealings between Trump-owned companies and Russian oligarchs? It certainly helps explain why Trump was an obvious politician to favor. He holds the oligarch’s view of business integrity. He supports the oligarch’s view of economics, in which outcomes are determined by family-run cartels that have taken over the levers of government. But unless Russian intelligence is actually blackmailing Trump, I’m not sure that suspicious, or even corrupt, dealings with the oligarchs are unexpected. Trump has bragged about buying American politicians. He has bragged about using bankruptcy laws to exploit his investors. He has often argued: I played by the rules as I found them. Elected Republicans may place money laundering through real estate in the same category.

There is the problem for Trump. When all this evidence is stitched together in a narrative — as Mueller’s report will certainly do — the sum will be greater than the sleaze of its parts. Russian intelligence officials invested in an innovative strategy to support the election of a corrupt U.S. businessman with suspicious ties to Russian oligarchs. The candidate and his campaign welcomed that intervention in public and private. And the whole scheme seems to have paid off for both sides.

For the rest of us, the deal hasn’t worked out so well. A deeply compromised American administration has been unable to effectively counter a direct attack on our democratic institutions by a hostile foreign government — responding to a digital Pearl Harbor with a wink and a nod. “This is an existential constitutional crisis,” says historian Jon Meacham, “because it’s quite possible that the president of the United States right now is a witting or at least partially witting agent of a foreign power.”

Some of us are still too shocked to process this. The United States seems to have gone from zero to banana republic in no seconds flat. But whether this transformation has been illegal, it must be impeachable — or else impeachment has no meaning.

 

[Howl]

Trump won't be going to Mar-a-Loco if the government is shut down.  Melania's already on the way, though.  It's a sort of an "adios, mutherfucker!" move on her part. 

tick tock, I think the Trump shut down begins 7 pm Eastern. 

[formergothardite]

So he can't leave if he shuts down the government?

[GreyhoundFan]

29 minutes ago, Howl said:

tick tock, I think the Trump shut down begins 7 pm Eastern. 

It starts at 11:59:59 PM Eastern.

[Howl]

He'll be shitter twitter torching like mad if the shut down is ongoing. 

 

[JenniferJuniper]

That British blimp was so perfect.  He's a massive orange toddler throwing a tantrum.  Whaaaaa!  Give me a wall!  A giant, beautiful First century wall!  I want it now!!!

It feels like it's all coming down fast now.  Helter skelter.

I'm so angry.  I want to spit in the face of every fucking moron who voted for a reality show phony and real-life gangster to be the leader of the free world. Actually, I want to do worse but it's Friday night, so I'll just have a glass of wine now.   

 

 

[Dandruff]

46 minutes ago, JenniferJuniper said:

It feels like it's all coming down fast now.  Helter skelter.

It does, yet at the same time it feels bottomless.  And truly desperate.

[Ozlsn]

17 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Trump is, by his own words, a dealmaker without peer,

Quoting from the article - I agree with him. Can't think of any other leader in a position of power who is this damn bad at it. In terms of utterly failing at dealmaking on a global stage he is peerless.

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AmazonGrace]