There appears to be a new shared sentiment among the "I hate Trump and the Deplorables" wing of the Democratic Party and the "I hate Russia, er, the USSR, er foreign devils" wing of the Republican Party.
This shared sentiment is continuously voiced with vehemence and certitude on the basis of an evident belief among the intelligentsia/ignorami that anyone who wishes to improve relations with Russia has demonstrated prima facie evidence of treason in the service of a foreign and malevolent power. Perhaps Vladimir Putin is actually Dr. Moriarty returned with new and improved air guns at his disposal.
IMO the present media campaign against Trump is intended to de-legitimize him as a legally elected chief executive. If that can be accomplished then a bill of impeachment against him for something like "failure to defend the country," or "failure to execute legally binding sanctions" is likely.
Would the insurgents have the needed votes in the senate to convict and expel him from office? Only the event would demonstrate that.
The Deplorables are watching and waiting. pl
Trump is his own worst enemy. If he could just quit twittering and act a little more presidential he would be in a better place. As a Democrat and a liberal one at that, I definitely do not want to see Trump impeached. I truly hope he can get it together and make this country greater, not great again as it is already great. The last thing I want to see is Pence as president.
As Gingrich said, Trump has not been initiated into the borg club, apparently he refused. Perhaps he lacks a certain kind of passion for infants. Every president since Reagan, if not earlier, has gone through the initiation. Now they have been preparing mine fields for over a month.
Ross Perot bailed in similar circumstances. Trump must have powerful backers who he trusts. Even so, if Trump doesn’t play the game he is likely to be dismembered if not eliminated.
The math isn’t about the House and Senate.
The math is did more people vote for Trump in the districts of the Republicans than voted for the local Republican. What percentage of the votes for the GOP congressman can even name their congressman? The President is Caesar incarnate. Trump isn’t as powerful as Obama could have been in 2009, but Mrs. McCain in South Carolina couldn’t deliver his state to Jeb in the primary. Trump will stomp him for at least the next two years. Stories of corruption? Trump ran a casino. If that wasn’t a problem, nothing is.
All Trump has to do is go to a GOP congressman’s district, invite a state senator on stage, and ask the crowd to make sure they send the state senator to Congress in 2018. The other GOP congressmen will be terrified Trump will do that to them, they will be his lap dogs if they aren’t already.
The only problem is that Pence is worse.
“Would the insurgents have the needed votes in the senate to convict and expel him from office?”
Assuming his enemies have the sense to pick issues on which the Democrats will be united and enough Republican establishment types can be relied upon to betray their party’s President, that seems possible. Impeachment itself seems easy almost regardless of the issue – there are surely more than enough cynically dishonest RINOs in the House of Representatives to get a vote for impeachment through almost regardless of its merits, once a sufficiently protective popular idea of Trump as illegitimate has been established. Conviction in the Senate seems less clearcut. Are there enough John McCain types amongst the Senate Republicans to get a two thirds majority? Probably depends upon the merits of the case.
Related to the present absurd furore about supposed Russian interference in US governance, here’s a recent story about interference by a foreign power in the UK’s government which seems strangely low profile given its seriousness. Any guesses as to why nobody seems to want to make a big fuss about it?
Israel’s ambassador sorry over ‘take down’ Sir Alan Duncan comment
Trump will not be impeached. The GOP, prioritizes power over ideology and principle. (The Dems also do this at times.) Just one example out of a nearly endless number of examples, the GOP supports smaller government. Then they passed the largest unfunded (the GOP supposedly doesn’t like debt either) spending bill in our history with the Medicare bill they passed under W. When push comes to shove the GOP will not impeach. If the GOP loses the House and Senate in 2020, unlikely given Dems ineptitude, that could change.
Steve
Alas even impeachment will not restore the mental health of some who have been too badly traumatised:
https://twitter.com/Thomasismyuncle/status/818117574466699264
The plumber coming to fix your tap MIGHT have voted for Trump!
Can you imagine the dread of that?
On 10/3/16 I wrote here:
I expect Impeachment proceedings to being about 6 months into his term. He will be assimilated or discarded
I was a Nixon supporter but recognized that Watergate was not going away and bet a colleague $100 that Nixon would not complete his second term. I sadly collected 6 months later.
I hope I’m wrong but to me it looks more likely than it did earlier with Nixon when I made a little bet.
One difference with Trump is that his ability to get across his point of view without the MSM filter is far greater from both an access POV and his very good, intuitive, skills of persuasion. The counter to this is that he is palpably detested by a larger segment of the DC, and Coastal establishment.
It will be interesting.
You are being provocative?
The Russian influence matter is just not that big a deal to Americans in these times – the folk have moved on from the Cold War while the Soviet Union industry thrashes onward. There’s nowhere near the level of popular support needed to pull off an impeacment, absent a smoking gun of clear treason. The borg-complex (I’m beginning to think some correspondents think there’s an actual Board of Directors, a membership roll, secret decoder ring, regularly scheduled mtgs) is playing traditional politics – preparing the politcal battleground, firing for effect, softening up the adversary – yes, perhaps for the almost inevitable counter-revolution to come. He runs a high risk of alienating his base(s) so throughly that his ratings fall to nil – his show becomes ripe for cancellation. That’s when his commission of “high crimes & misdemeanors” is most likely to trigger a bonafide impeachment movement. That won’t happen right away … It could take months.
ked
The anti-Trump movement is all among the bi-coastal elites, the people who disdain the flyover proles (Deplorables). You know, people like you. Neither Andrew Johnson, nor Bill Clinton could be convicted in the senate, but, take heart, maybe this time. BTW I like your suggestion of a Board of Directors for the Borg. Do correspondents have suggestion for who might be members? pl
There is some of the most outrageous insanity going on I have ever seen in my 73 years.
It’s sickening and shows no sign of letting up soon.
I have long time solid Republican friends, who I maintain email chats with, one a county chairman in the midwest, who are praying that Trump will get tired of the political charades on both sides, conjure up a reason to resign, and turn the Prez over to Pence.
Jon Rapport reports : —ABC News reports:
“Citing increasingly sophisticated cyber bad actors and an election infrastructure that’s ‘vital to our national interests’, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced Friday that he’s designating U.S. election systems critical infrastructure…”
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/state-election-systems-federal-aid-security-44615737
https://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/2017/01/08/this-is-a-coup-the-homeland-security-takeover-of-us-elections/
raven
You have been banned here for a long time because of your vile nastiness during the election. This is actually a cogent thought. I admit to having doubts over Pence, a man who evidently thinks humans and dinosaurs walked the earth at the same time. pl
“The last thing I want to see is Pence as president.”
Then that puts you at odds with your own party. The DNC would much rather have a traditional Republican like Pence as president, since they already have a tried-and-tested playbook for such a thing. Trump, on the other hand, has completely upended all their strategies.
This morning on Jake Tapper’s show on CNN television, they were of course talking about Russia. When the camera shifted to Michele Flournoy (with an accent on the first ‘e’), her face displayed some disappointment, possibly because since Hillary Clinton lost the election, she was not going to be appointed Secretary of Defense, and, instead, is stuck on CNN reciting talking points and trying to defend the status quo.
They also put up the message Trump sent yesterday, that: “Having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. Only ‘stupid’ people, or fools, would think that it is bad!”–
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/817748207694467072
http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2017/01/08/sotu-intel-panel-full.cnn
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2017/01/israeli-spy-shai-masot-not-expelled/
Interesting that Craig Murray says the notorious Matthew Gould might have originated the hacking story.
Worse for whom? I think the establishment would strongly prefer Pence over Trump. In fact, I feel that Trump may have picked Pence for VP mainly as a peace offering to the RNC.
As I understand it the next slate of elections you have in 2018 are all in Trump friendly territories.
I also note what has just happened in Ohio. Trump’s supporters just took over from John Kasich, defeating his Chairman. The highly successful popular sitting governor LOST control of his own party apparatus because he would not support Trump. I think Trump has enough buy in from the GOP, business and the military that he is secure. His Cabinet picks in this regard were very good, and his favourables are up and economic confidence has surged since his election win.
Chairman of the Board: George Soros.
ked,
The intelligentsia do not agree with your view. It is they who are out of touch with the popular support – of the “old demographic” Americans as a University of Michigan trained historian recently put it to one of his fellow professors – for Trump. They do not accept that it was those supporters and their votes that elected him. This class of people do believe that Trump is Putin’s tool and that Hilary was denied her rightful due by the crafty old Russians. They are going to oppose Trump and more importantly his supporters, at every level of government and industry. The “#BLMKidnapping” this weekend in Chicago is only one example of such, along with all the hate hoaxes that started on November 9th.
They will be very easily manipulated by social media campaigns – take a look at what the fake Rolling Stone rape story managed to do on college campuses and state legislatures. What will be even worse is what the Chinese are going to be able to do in recruitment and blackmail of government employees given the OPM data they stole two years ago and the easily accessible social media data to identify individuals who have a deep seated emotional need to “defeat Trump” at any cost. Needless to say the FBI can be fully trusted to defend the Republic from such espionage. Just ask some college professors and Democratic party leaders.
Sir
The media assault on Trump during the campaign and now after his electoral victory will likely rise in intensity as TPTB can’t countenance that their influence operations aka disinformation operations are not having the desired effect. Trump is smart to keep the direct communication with The Deplorables open. He’s gonna need it.
The comments to John Harwood’s twitter poll are very instructive. The Deplorables only have contempt for the Borgists and they are using mockery to note the utter corruption and duplicity of these status quo players. I got a chuckle reading some of the comments as they show what a bootlicker Harwood was in his emails to Podesta.
I feel certain we’re heading to a political crisis. Schumer’s “six ways to Sunday” comments on what the IC could do to get back at Trump sounded ominous. And the Kushners may be that weak spot. The question is will the Borg go as far as to attempt a coup through impeachment? And if Trump makes a call for armed insurrection will the Deplorables including the grunts in the armed forces heed it?
Col. Lang:
I cannot credit the Republican Party bringing articles of impeachment against their own party’s President.
They are already scared of his popularity; as indicated by their hasty retreat on the “Ethic Office” – they are suicidal (politically speaking) in my opinion.
Trump is the only political leader in US, save Bernie Sanders, who has been willing to articulate some of the issues that the United States is facing domestically – issues such as decent-paying work (above $ 45,000 a year).
Your interlocutor in Mid-West, what does he have to offer to the people who inhabit that place called Ohio?
What does his party have to offer?
Woolsey’s statement of estrangement with Trump made my hair stand on end a few days ago:
“He wishes the President-elect and his Administration great success in their time in office.”
This, it seems to me is carefully worded. Too carefully.
Nancy, I think Trump will continue to “tweet” and will bypass the traditional media for the foreseeable future. After all, he was treated with mostly disdain by the media during the election process. I don’t think think he’ll forgive and forget. And, it is a new age now, the youngsters will be the future, Trump knows that and I believe he’s going to get them to come around to his point of view, sooner rather than later, they’ve gotten the shaft with crappy jobs and too much student debt, thought Hillary or Bernie would save them, Bernie might have, very doubtful Hillary would have, Trump may just do so, let’s hope.
I do not think Trump will be impeached for anything that we know/ are hearing about currently (to include this retarded Russian hacking meme).
Fox News has begun eliminating any “reporters” – like Megyn Kelly – who are not fully on the Trump train. Fox is the go to MSM source for “Deplorables” and it has the largest viewership of any of the MSM. So that is a good sign for Trump. Fox would paint any Republicans involved in the plot to impeach in a bad light and the Deplorables they supposedly represent would slaughter them at the ballot box at first opportunity. The level of appreciation and loyalty to Trump by Deplorable is severely under-estimated by the lite in the loafers coastal crowd. Ditto the popular Breitbart network.
I hate to be rude or hyperbolically bellicose, but no one outside of lite-in-the-loafers la la land gives a flying funk of a fat rat’s ass what the Nancy Ks of the country think or feel; beyond the fact that her consternation is delicious to them (er…us). The more upset her ilk is, the more we like Trump.
Plus, the Deplorables have all the guns. Lots and lots of guns and ammo. LEOs support Trump. Many military support Trump. If there is not a damn good reason for impeachment with ample evidence beyond a shadow of a doubt, those guns just might come out and the oath takers are unlikely to act to stop it; maybe even join in. The case for impeachment would have to be made by outlets like Fox and Breitbart. If it’s Anderson Cooper’s girly face spouting the story, that won’t cut it.
The coastals are playing with fire here. I suspect they don’t realize how dangerous their scheming is because they are such p***ies that they can’t imagine reacting how Deplorables just might react.
Trump’s going to build the wall if recent media reports are be believed. Even liberal media outlets like Vox now admit this, having switched from their ‘Trump Betrays His Base’ narrative. He’s also making an effort to bring jobs back.
So if Trump attempts to do what his base wants, and then faces impeachment, the level of rage among the deplorables will increase by an order of magnitude. The awful realization will dawn on these people that no matter what they do, no matter what the constitution says, no matter what boons lady luck throws them in the form of candidates who actually have the will and capacity to fight for them; the managerial uniparty in DC will veto their representatives. Their hopes are high for Trump. What happens when rising expectations intersect with rising suppression? A chastened Pence would not do.
My prediction is that Trump’s base would turn to their state governments to freeze cooperation with the Federal Government. Washington will respond by suspending Federal assistance but then the economic cost to the rebellious states will be outweighed by political considerations. Multiple states pursuing such a policy may even render assistance to one another.
At the very least, removing Trump would result in systemic political crisis.
NancyK,
Some of us like the tweets. It avoids the filter of the hateful elitist saboteurs at CNN and it feels like direct participation by We The People. Trump is talking straight to us.
I guess you prefer anointed elites that scheme behind closed doors. That would be what you consider “presidential”.
Now you will probably spew forth talking points about how dummies like me are being “conned” by Trump’s populace charade.
re: “There appears to be a new shared sentiment among the “I hate Trump and the Deplorables” wing of the Democratic Party and the “I hate Russia, er, the USSR, er foreign devils” wing of the Republican Party.”
Col. Lang;
From afar it looks like both of these groups truly hate the “Deplorables”, and the feeling seems to be reciprocated in spades (RINO?). Neither Trump nor his deplorable supporters seem like the types to go gently into the good night as you seem to intimate.
It is only 11 days and change to the hand-over. Then the party begins.
https://countingdownto.com/countdown/obama-out-of-office-20-january-2017-countdown-clock
Ishmael Zechariah
P.s: Things are warmish in Turkey. One brave traffic cop prevented a big massacre in Izmir and died honorablyin the line of duty. Two PKK scum out for mass murder were also eliminated in the exchange. We expect it to become warmer.
Ishmael Zechariah
Seamus Padraig,
Are you kidding? Trump’s multi-billion infrastructure rebuilding plan is the crux of his plan to help American workers. Pence and the Republican Congress are death on that idea. They always have been. The Democrats will hold their oh-so offended noses and help Trump pass that infrastructure plan. They will never get that opportunity under Pence. The Congressional Republicans would get everything they want under Pence.
“IMO the present media campaign against Trump is intended to de-legitimize him as a legally elected chief executive.”
Hasn’t de-legitimizing a President been the norm for a while now? Questions about Reagan’s intelligence and mental faculties, repeated investigations of Clinton on trivial matters culminating in his ultimate impeachment, the continued questions about the Bush 43 victory, the whole birther thing with Obama (led, amusingly enough, by Trump) and McConnell’s obstruction…
This sort of de-legitimizing is red meat for the partisans, but not good for the country. Saner heads will take a step back and oppose on actual policies rather than biases, and accept outcomes that result from the election and legislative processes.
America is ‘great’ only if you’re a liberal post-historical human entity, or a victim client the Democratic Party has imported to ensure the ‘right side of history’ prevails.
In every other respect, American civilization peaked in the three decades after WWII. Existential “self-realization” on the part of bi-coastal cosmopolitans is no substitute for what actually drives the course of history. The price of indulging these conceits is burning through social, economic,and cultural capital painstakingly acquired under the purview of a prior zeitgeist.
http://akarlin.com/2009/09/americas-liberty-cycles/
http://pavelpodolyak.blogspot.co.nz/2009/06/twin-causes-of-us-decline-culturally.html
As for Trump tweeting, I find it funny when people want to give advice to a guy who won an election against all odds specifically by rejecting conventional wisdom. Trump’s adept social media discombobulate arguably the most powerful wing of the establishment – the media. As Michael Tracey put it, the chattering classes have been driven to psychological breakdown by the Trump campaign. Liberal Jews (see commentors below) are wondering out loud if their white male gentile plumber is planning to fix their sink or pop them in an oven. Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.
I wonder whether Pence is Trump’s Spiro Agnew. The Republicans might prefer Pence over Trump but would the Democrats, particularly with the Republicans controlling both houses. It could be the Democrats who save Trump from impeachment.
Impreachment? You know that undercurrent everyone didn’t expect on Nov 8th? Impreach Trump and you’ll see a Tital Wave.
For what it’s worth, in the 2000 elections, following the 1998 impeachment of Clinton and its aftermath, Democrats gained a couple seats in the Senate and 4 in the house. They could have won the presidential election, on a razor’s edge, with a very uninspiring candidate, if not for some very suspicious judicial actions. Impeachment’s a bad strategy unless you know you’re going to win, and win decisively.
Seamus Padraig,
The DLC Clintobamacrats would also prefer Pence because Pence is a Clintonite on Free Trade Agreements, a Clintonite on “Assad must go”, and a Clintonite on “we must stand up to Putin”.
Neither the colonel in the post nor any of the comments so far has mentioned the fact that makes an impeachment highly unlikely, at least for the next two years: the House of Representatives is the body that passes a bill of impeachment, which is analogous to an indictment in a legal proceeding, and it has a sizable Republican majority. The Senate will then sit in judgment of the president. He is evicted from office only if a majority of the senators so vote.
The House Republican caucus has a 47 seat majority. Thus for an impeachment bill to pass at least 28 Republican congress critters would have to vote for it, assuming no Democrats voted against it. (These figures assume all members would be present for the vote.) Unless Trump manages to seriously piss off the House Republican leadership, it’s highly unlikely than more than a handful of its caucus members would vote against it. That’s assuming that the bill makes it out of committee and to the floor.
If an impeachment bill does get to the Senate, in which the Republican and Democratic caucuses have 52 and 48 members respectively, president Trump is vulnerable. Only three Republican senators would have to vote for it for it to pass, assuming the Democrats hold all their members and that the two independents (King of ME & Sanders of VT) vote with them.
The big hurdle, then, is getting the House to pass a bill of impeachment. Considering the iron discipline the caucuses of the House hold over most of their members success here is unlikely unless, as I mentioned, Trump seriously alienates the chamber’s GOP leaders. If it does get to the senate, however, it’s easy to envision banshees like McCain and Graham cajoling someone else to join them. Then VP Pence wouldn’t be the tie breaker.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/115th_United_States_Congress
I don’t mind being at odds with my own party. I disagree with both parties on many issues.
PL ..Pence, a man who evidently thinks humans and dinosaurs walked the earth at the same time.
He’s correct. You just have to look at the life forms occupying Congress
Yea, Trump so concerned about “decent paying work” he opposes even small hikes in minimum wages. And, now continues to not pay small biz contractors for work on his buildings (this time the DC hotel)!
How does Shep Smith hold on to his fox job, goes off “reservation” quite a bit!
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/12/fox-news-host-shep-smith-slams-trumps-lies-about-russian-hacks-in-bid-to-halt-election-investigation/
thanks for that breakdown. As you point out, impeachment is improbable (though not impossible), but the lugenpress will soon start saying he SHOULD be impeached and that he CAN be. So reminding everyone the GOP House will tow the Trump line is vital counter propaganda.
It’s also worth mentioning basic bitch Republicans now live in fear of Trump’s twitter, and #TrumpTwitter in general. Those latest Trump Tweets about ‘stupid’ people who want tensions with Russia are already an implicit rebuke of Graham and McCain.
“No no no …. It ain’t me you’re looking for, Col…”
My flyover forefathers from Wales, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama & Oklahoma would kick my redneck ass if I didn’t defend my Deep South populist roots (& now, branches & homestead). I am a contrarian by nature, unsuited to stand in line with lemmings at the cliff’s edge. I will state it again… it is the industrialization / monetization of our political system, magnified with advanced market techniques & media technologies that have brought us to where we are – the self-devouring stage of Empire. My analysis (& hope) was that Trump’s loss would fatally damage the GOP while Hillary’s victory would be the Dem’s last gasp. Rather, Trump will now damage the GOP as a 2nd order consequence of what he will be doing to the Nation – the Nation will survive him but the cure will be a great deal harsher than it could have been. I have grandchildren who deserve far better than what the Borg & the extreme right have in store for the future. Of course, I also hope I’m wrong, yet we still face the problem of Empire and an unhappy (& made fearful!) populace. Trump is not going to fix that – he’s no Jeffersonian. And we ain’t yeomen farmers no more, either.
From Bloomberg, about America’s largest flyover country industry;
“Already, manufacturers are complaining that under Trump, the future isn’t predictable,” said Eric Noble, president of The CarLab consulting firm in Orange, California.
Impeachment requires a majority vote in the House but a two thirds vote in the Senate for conviction. Less than that is an acquittal.
Quite right, and who would the democrats run? The old WASP-y leadership is dying out/retiring (Harry Reid/Biden) or facing demands to move over by erstwhile pet identity groups who alienate non cosmopolitan America. A three way civil war is in progress between the old school Social Democrats (the Sanders Wing), establishment Democrats (the Clinton Wing), and the hard cultural left contingent (the Warren Wing).
Tulsi Gabbard is the only possibility assuming she could overcome the establishment dems, and move toward the right on social and immigration issues to improve her swing state performance.
Meanwhile, when push comes to shove, the GOP will unify behind Trump. Funny thing about cucks is they submit to whatever the strongest proximate force is – and today that’s Trump.
ex-PFC Chuck,
In a trial of the charging document, the articles of impeachment, two-thirds of the Senators must vote in favor of convicting the president. Article 1, section 3 of the constitution says–
“The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.
Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.”
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript
I’m open to correction on this, but it is my understanding that the intell briefing provided info that BOTH the Dem and Repub orgs were hacked. But only the Dem hack passed on to Wikileaks. If so, be interesting what hack material the Russians (if indeed the Russians) are holding. Also, does Trump need to walk “softly” with the Russians due to their knowledge of biz deals he has done with various Russian oligarchs ?
gowithit
These “contractors” do not know how to negotiate contracts. You get all the money put in escrow up front and have it paid out to you in slices subject to arbitration. pl
gowithit
Tokenism. I wonder if he and Anderson Cooper know each other. pl
Col.,
Given that the process starts in the House, I very much doubt that Trump will be impeached over his Russia views. It’ll take something truly awful to make that happen. Given how undisciplined he appears to, I’d say that’s within the realm of the possible.
JM
I am the same age. I agree 100%.
David Habakkuk has eloquently posted here that mankind is, once again, replaying the 1930s. Except this time, USA, France, UK and Russia are armed with nuclear weapons. The willy-nilly destruction of sovereign states and the regime change campaign against the Kremlin are insane. Support of neo-Nazis and Islamist proxy forces to accomplish this is evil.
The good news is that the derail Trump Campaign has failed miserably so far. Eric Cantor could be the last losing Congressperson to jump to the top of Wall Street. A corporate toady vote to impeach Donald Trump could be enough to start the bi-costal Big One that splits apart the USA.
Matthew Gould didn’t originate the video we all saw. It was clear.
In view of the borgist campaign to undermine and hobble Trump’s presidency, I would expect him to launch a wide-ranging counter-offensive in his first 100 days. As already noted, it might well be a matter of survival.
He would no doubt purge the CIA as predicted by Col. Lang, but wouldn’t he also try to have the NSA and the FBI investigate the “Russian hacking” meme to refute the allegations and thereby damage the borgists? Couldn’t the new FBI Director launch investigations into potential Democratic vulnerabilities such as “Pizzagate”? As for Hilary Clinton’s e-mail shenanigans, that would probably have to wait.
By fighting Trump as massively and relentlessly as they have, to a degree which this European observer finds without precedent in my post WWII memory, his opponents have made sure he’ll fight back in equal measure.
The Russians Did Not “Hack” the US Election – a Few Facts from a Former CIA Spy
By Robert David Steele
http://www.etterretningen.no/2016/12/31/the-russians-did-not-hack-the-us-election-a-few-facts-from-a-former-cia-spy/
Who is Robert David Steele:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_David_Steele
I doubt seriously if there will be an attempt at impeachment. Trump has given Ryan everything he wants.
But if there is I stand against it with Nancy K and Raven. Pence is a thousand times worse.
NotTimothyGeithner
While Trump is more popular than most of the local GOPs, he doesn’t need to be to prevent impeachment. All what he needs to have is a large base of ardent supporters, and I think there’s no question that he has such a base.
If the GOP Senate majority would impeach Trump with 67 votes, all hell would break lose. I think Trump’s base of ardent supporters would tear down each and every Senator who impeached Trump whatever the cost. What is especially difficult to overcome for those trying to impeach Trump is that Trump’s base is not Repupublican by nature, but an angry insurgent movement that can go with any party. The GOP could dissolve itself after an impeachment of Trump, because they would have no chance ever to win any election again with Trump’s base against them.
The other thing is that Trump is obviously part of a larger political network, well established and powerful like the Koch Bros net, so I highly doubt impeachment proceedings against Trump would go anywhere in the Congress except that those trying would soon be out in the cold.
The only thing the Borg can hope to get rid of Trump is that he suddenly dies. But that shouldn’t be understood as an encouragement for creating mischief – if Trump wouldn’t die from natural causes, I’ld expect Trump jr to easily get the Presidency soon after. He’d just to declare then: I’m here to announce my candidacy for the Presidency to do what my father, the martyr, was prevented to do by the murderers of the criminal establishment.
I’m sure he’ld be elected under such circumstances with a huge majority.
gowithit,
Like Colonel Lang says, tokenism. Got to have something to demonstrate that they are “fair and balanced”.
Who knows? Maybe also some sticky contractual situation interfering with the immediate transitioning of Shep’s reporting to getting on message. I suspect Shep will get in step soon enough; or go join another network.
“Trump’s victory reportedly threatens mental health of young Californians” reads a headline at today’s San Jose Mercury. You can’t make this stuff up.
Eric Newhill,
What if Trump were to start calling them ” Fireside Tweets”? He would be symbolically picking up the mantle of FDR . . . up from the mud into which the DLC Third Way Clintonite Obamacrats have so disdainfully cast it.
If he were to start sending “Fireside Tweets” . . . the DLC Clintobamacrats would go crazy with rage.
Ghostship,
The only Democrats who would NOT prefer Pence over Trump . . . might be a few old Legacy New Dealers like perhaps Mrs. Dingell in Michigan and Marcy Kaptur in Ohio and certainly Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. (Sanders might prefer Trump over Pence, but all the Clintonites will tell you what a not-Democrat they all believe Sanders to be.) All the rest would prefer Pence and would vote to impeach and remove Trump in order to get Pence if they feel they could get away with it. What we the people . . . Deplorables and Bitter Berners alike . . . would have to be to terrorize and extort the mainstream Repuglanz and the Democrabbz so totally and effectively that just enough would be too scared to “vote to convict” in order to actually get Trump removed.
If Articles of Impeachment reach the Senate, Sanders is too old to care about being scared. He might vote NOT to convict if he could be convinced that doing so might kick off a Coalition-of-Convenience between the Deplorables and the Bitter Berners for future political combat against the Mainstream Depublicrats. If enough Bitter Berners begin reaching Bernie’s offices with notes and letters and calls about that, Bernie and his staff might begin giving it some long-range strategic thought.
This is connected, but I’ll be danged if I can get it.
The past couple of posts here at SST and this link makes me tend to think that maybe something is up.
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2017/01/inquiry-points-toward-pentagon-plot-subvert-obamas-syria-policy.html#more-64853
If the Democrats were smart they wouldn’t go within a 1000 miles of an impeachment vote because they would end up owning the blame for Trump going down and the Republicans would make damn sure it looked like they did it because their hearts are filled with hate over the loss of Hillary.
The smart move is let Trump be Trump and then make the Republicans wear it in the following elections. But alas I have seen nothing since the election to show me the Democrats are smart.
Probably the best point made here. This really isn’t especially unusual behavior.
The other things they are afraid of is an impeached Trump offering to campaign for a third party candidate from the Tea Party side of the Republican party. After an impeachment he would be a god for standing up against the establishment. That could spit the Republican party and and leave them in limbo till the end of eternity.
The other thing they will be afraid of is an impeached and resentful DJT with a twitter account and no filter at all.
————————
The Donald:
I’ve seen that party from the inside. They are all thieves, liers and rapists. #Republicans #Loosers #DTS
The doyenne of neocons, Kathleen Parker, is one step ahead here, already alleging treason — one of the specific grounds for impeachment in the Constitution — against The Donald.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/if-obama-is-a-muslim-is-trump-a-russian-spy/2017/01/06/26fe7128-d45c-11e6-a783-cd3fa950f2fd_story.html?utm_term=.967ecbc20ffc
Different Clue,
I like it! I can see it happening too.
I didn’t think about the tweet aspect, but I’ve saying all along that Trump is going to reinstitute the fire side chat and they’re going to great. If some congress critter is messing with a Trump initiative, Trump will tell us all about it and the congress critter will be very very sorry.
Trump’s got this. The sooner people come to accept that fact, the better. Then we can start enjoying a sane FP and a domestic economic boom and start uniting as country.
There is a large contingent of folks who deride trump and his politics because of his Twitter use and comments. Twitter is what gave him the win and will continue to keep him alive, politically. He has millions of followers that are willing to jump on any congressman, person, or company that trump directs them too. There hasn’t been anybody who has had direct access to such a tool in history and the incumbents don’t know how to deal with it. They won’t impeach him unless it’s something grossly negligent out of fear.
The Washington Post is firmly in the Obama camp, the article gives Obama a “deniability factor”. My guess is that the Russians were poking fun at Obama and, as the Russians themselves say, “we’ll wait till the adults are in charge”.
It continually amazes me how pols from both parties continue to underestimate DJT. The man pulled off a political upset the likes of which has not been seen for years, maybe never. The opposition to his candidacy was nothing short of high octane, full frontal poison squared. He handed the hostile GOP a gift wrapped miracle, and poured withering fire down on The Clinton Machine, reducing it to a gutted ruin. Have people forgotten the second debate? No one else in political life could have survived that onslaught, it should have been a guaranteed take-down. Now, they still repeat over and over, “oh Trump will do himself in… fracture the GOP etc etc. This guy is going to continue to befuddle everyone. He actually is going to do a good job, partly by coming to bare knuckle grips with the entrenched failure that is D.C. and dealing with it. In 8 years Pence will have learned enough to take the conservative renaissance forward. What I see mostly, is an electorate that wants real change, knows they need it, and are Scared To Death that it might actually be delivered. It’s going to hurt at times (a lot), it’s going to shock, it’s going to rustle mad jimmies, but DJT will survive. He is a tough, tough fighter, and smart. Take it to the bank. BTW you could have had Trump at 100/1 in London ca. Oct 15.
If you like tweets fine, I just prefer more than 160 letters or whatever the number is. Did you enjoy the Readers Digest condensed novels?
Don’t lemurs jump off cliffs to gather?
Degringolade,
That’s one hell of a story. And it’s certainly possible. They’re talking insubordination to the point of subverting national policy. I don’t know if that constitutes treason or not. I wondered if anything like this occurred in our modern military and found this article about how the premise of “Dr. Strangelove” wasn’t as farcical as most believe. If we have generals and admirals who are worried about the Ruskies sapping their “precious bodily fluids,” we are in deep shit when Trump moves to thaw relations with Putin. I would recommend Mattis begin rooting out any such thinkers within the DOD and removing them on Inauguration day.
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/almost-everything-in-dr-strangelove-was-true
Sorry lemurs I was thinking of lemmings.
The Washington Post ran a story dated 6 January claiming that there are disagreements between James Mattis, appointed to be the Secretary of Defense, and Trump’s transition team over some of the other appointments to the Defense Department. Considering that it is the Washington Post running the story, one does not know if it is actual reporting or an attempt to stir up trouble–
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/josh-rogin/wp/2017/01/06/mattis-clashing-with-trump-transition-team-over-pentagon-staffing/?utm_term=.b6ecac6e8222
Ed,
I heard a version of this on NPR news. Homeland Security would now be “securing” our voting machines against ” Russian hacking” and any other remote-source hacking too, I suppose.
The thing is . . . is that voting machines are not connected to any internet. They are free-standing stand-alone machines air-gapped from any tendril of the internet. So they don’t need any protection from remote hackers. So this announcement is strictly performative security theater designed to deepen the fear and heighten it. It is one little part of a rolling brainwar campaign being waged by and for the Borgo-Subversiondustrial Complex.
The Borg Establishment was able to coup-hack the nomination for Clinton. But they weren’t able to coup-hack the election for Clinton. And they weren’t able to coup-hack the Electoralection for Clinton. Now they are trying to coup-hack the Transition at least against Trump. And if that doesn’t work, they will keep shaping the brainwar battlespace to coup-hack the Trump Administration with a made-to-order Impeachment.
IMO the “hacking” kerfuffle is quite unlikely to result in impeachment proceedings for a number of reasons. First, I seriously doubt that Congress will pass anything legally binding based on the hacking claims. It’s one thing to repeat speculation from Obama’s political appointees. It’s another thing to vote on legislation that could be embarrassing if its faulty premise is exposed. If Congress and the current administration did place legal sanctions within the next 10 days, the next administration would have some serious countermoves at their disposal. The IC under the new administration could blast the hacking claims out of the water with a transparent, factually and technically based review of them. That would leave anyone who voted for sanctions looking really, really bad. There would be momentum in Congress to rescind the sanctions, legislators outraged at how they’d been deceived by the Obama administration, etc. I suppose Congress could convene hearings under such circumstances, but that would carry the risk of being embarrassed by the professionals within the IC. Then there’s the recent experience with politically motivated impeachment, which turned out to be a real loser when used against Bill Clinton. And Trump has a great impeachment insurance policy in Mike Pence.
Col.,
Laws vary State by State and regulate the Construction Industry on what is legal in a Contract.
Here, a deposit cannot exceed 60% of the contracts value, no more than 25% can be demanded on completion, and 15% is held back for final issues.
Changes during the process can easily exceed the deposit and sometimes more than double the project cost.
In some jourisdictions, you need a court judgement to file a lien, in others, you don’t.
Lien’s give you a preferred position in a sale, but give you no protections in a bankruptcy, other than being ahead on the list over employees and pensioners.
Here, where I can for $150, file a lien against title as soon as the contract is signed, for the full value of the contract, and charge 36% interest a year, and add in change costs for $25, and you would think I would be very well protected,
I have still been stiffed on contracts and have learned that there are some people you just have to avoid doing business with.
In some cases, my Company will get paid when the ex-client dies, in some cases, ( underwater mortgages) I’ll never get paid, and in some cases, ( bankruptcies), I’ll get paid pennies on the dollar.
It doesn’t help that I have to pay my suppliers in full every 30/60/90 days, my employee’s every two weeks and the State, every month.
Given Trump’s history going back to his early days in New York, I’m surprised anybody does business with him.
“…a liberal post-historical human entity…”
Would it amp up the power of your label if you incorporated “socialist” in there somewhere?
I can’t decide. Maybe “socialist” is too much a part of the prior zeitgeist.
I stand corrected. I should have checked the Constitution before shooting from the hip on that.
Article I, Section 3, fifth paragraph: “The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.”
One of those life forms:
Congressman Hank Johnson fears Guam will tip over, March 25, 2010 –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7XXVLKWd3Q
I hear that was the fear in UK which led to Brexit: “all those Poles and Lithuanians causing Britain to tip over into the North Sea…”
I thought it a very wise position by Trump to state his willingness to work with Russia; that is the most sensible position to be taken by any responsible leader of any country; viz. work with foreign powers to advance one’s country’s position.
Nixon said: “We and the Russians can never be friends but we cannot afford to be enemies either.”
I confess that I do not seem to be able to understand Americans; why they object to having good relations with Russia.
And your Republican interlocutor, and indeed his entire party, has any answer for the absence of jobs in the United States.
Take a trip to Costa Rica and find for yourself were some of those entry-level clerical white-collar jobs are gone.
Take it from me (active duty USMIL), there is no chance that the Pentagon has tried to subvert the President’s policy, in Syria or anywhere else.
DOL,
JMG
Brunswick
My mistake. I always wrote contracts in an international setting under Swiss commercial law. pl
Very interestng your comment. It strikes me that what you wrote about fly-over country and its relationship with the coastal elites could have been written about the relationship of Russia with the coastal elites. Some how they don´t understand that other people have agendas as well. They also don´t seem to grasp that there is a limit of how many times you can step on somebody´s toes before he reacts. Me thinks that Russia and fly over country do have a lot in common.
I agree with you. I also think it is a matter of timing and relevance to the overall agenda of extending power. If, they impeach him immediately it might work. But, as he has appointed Mattis as Secretary of Defense and the position of Director of the NSA is recommended by SecDef to the President then we should see a new Director (assuming there is non-compliance with the current Director) some time in February. I am assuming the NSA has a treasure trove of information on every politician in the US and all of that will become available to Trump for use as leverage. So, unless it happens fast it likely will never happen at all. Maybe I am wrong about the character of our politicians but I suspect there are an enormous amount of skeletons available for use perhaps on every politician in the US. Only a few in particular are necessary though to avoid any impeachment or internal rebellion. I believe Trump understands well the use of intelligence and the use of political leverage.
Pat Lang
Regarding the “Board of Directors for the Borg” I think that’s for the most part an easy one. I think it’s almost all listed on the Open Secrets website.
Most of the board should be listed at top positions of these three name lists – of course, if only the company name is listed, the name of the guy is that who’s running the company:
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres16/contributors?cycle=2016&id=N00000019&type=f
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres16/contributors?id=N00037006
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres16/contributors?id=N00030612
It’s not perfect in the sense that they are all board members of the Borg or that these three lists compile a complete set of the Borg’s Board of Directors. But then, most of the missing names are likely to be found here in this list:
http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/topindivs.php?view=fc&cycle=2016
I think when sensibly compined, these four name lists would make up a nearly perfect Board of Directors of the Borg.
And then, when it’s clear that this is the board of the Borg, I think one could go easily one level down and have a look at the top employees working for the Borg in political organizations, media, security institutions etc.
Impeachment for “high crimes and misdemeanors” is one avenue to remove Trump. The 25th Amendment’s “incapacity” is another.
If the first few Trump nominees to take office are pro-establishment, VP Pence and a majority of the cabinet could say that Trump’s pro-Putin views and his continued business interests constitute an incapacity to execute the Office.
Waiting for a Trump misstep that justifies “high crimes and misdemeanors” action against him means that Trump is in office for months (at least). And he would remain in office during the weeks-long process. The 25th Amendment is a much quicker and surer way to remove Trump – as long as Pence and a few members of the first-approved cabinet agree.
How to effect a 25th Amendment removal? Easy. Increase tensions with Russia and let the media create a frenzy.
Removal for inability to execute the office is faster, but quickly reversible since, to make it stick, 2/3 of both houses of Congress would have to vote to remove given Trump would dispute. And the VP with a majority of the Cabinet to initiate. That’s a very steep hill.
Aw shucks Col, I was just trying to keep up with Tyler.
To a large extent all this hoopla about impeaching Trump is just a fantasy of liberals still in shock and denial over his election. As Republicans control both Houses of Congress the impetus for his impeachment must come from their side of the aisle so Trump would have to take actions that completely alienate his party’s establishment for this to occur. All Democrats will not automatically be on board as many will see Pence as a worse alternative and there has to be some “high crime” to justify his removal from office. Unless Trump self destructs this is not going to happen.
Jackrabbit, doug,
The operative phrase is, “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office”. It of course does not cover the situation in which people in and out of the government do not like the way and direction in which he is discharging the powers and duties, or the legal interpretations by and through which he is discharging the powers and duties. Or the president’s policies through which the powers and duties are discharged. Sections 3 and 4 of the 25th amendment are–
“Section 3.
Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
Section 4.
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.”
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/amendments-11-27
If the president is violating the law in discharging the powers and duties, as was done by Bush jr. and Obama, impeachment is the route and remedy.
Electrical company has now filed a lien of $2.7mill on Trump’s DC Hotel. Two construction companies report that have been stiffed so far for $2mill and $750,000. After the Trump “half and less pays” at his Atlantic City places, why would contractors still do biz with him?
Trump will just pardon himself and make himself more popular. Worst case, he has to take impeachment to the Supreme Court:
“If the Senate were to act in a manner seriously threatening the integrity of its results…judicial interference might well be appropriate.” Walter Nixon v. United States, 506 U.S. at 253.
Perhaps the positive aspect of the surveillance state will help the new President. Using the mechanisms inherited, but with new upper echelons installed in the various agencies, it ought to be possible for him to enjoy the best of both worlds: executing his plans and living well (the best revenge) while being able to delegate to the new appointees in the IC the task of keeping tabs on disgruntled Borgists, their contacts and business associates. Those levers of power may have Archimedean properties in the correct circumstances.
oth
“Trump will just pardon himself and make himself more popular” You don’t know that a president cannot “pardon himself” from a bill of impeachment? Are you an American? pl
A U.S. President cannot pardon himself in cases of impeachment. All other cases, a President can pardon himself. In other words the President could walk up to George Soros and put two behind Soros’s ear, and the next minute pardon his Presidential self for it.
The President carries their own get out jail free card, that’s non-expiring except in cases of impeachment.
U.S. Constitution Article II, section 2
Degringolade,
I first read this article over at Naked Capitalism. The article itself didn’t describe a “Pentagon” plot, though. It described a plot initiated by Borgist SecDef Ashton Carter working through and with other Borgist embeds in the “Pentagon”. I didn’t read it with enough close attention after that to see how the Ashton Borgists got which forces to carry out the bombing of the Syrian soldiers among other things. But I read enough to realize that it was the Borgist Ashton and his Borgist embeds and sympathisers who organized this plot . . . NOT the “Pentagon”.
DC
“I read enough to realize that it was the Borgist Ashton and his Borgist embeds and sympathisers who organized this plot . . . NOT the “Pentagon” I hear that you are correct. Carter is an arch-neocon and has brought some in with him. pl
“Trump will just pardon himself”
You do realize the Constitution prohibits that. Pardons are limited to Federal Criminal Offences and the President specifically has no power to pardon impeached officials. The POTUS can pardon anyone subsequently convicted, or even potentially facing, Federal charges subsequent to impeachment.
And, BTW, Walter lost in the Supremes. Unanimously.
Thank you for your comments.
So, if all of this anti-Russian sentiment is rooted in the experiences of US Labor Movement as well as the Cold War, then one should expect it to whither away – the US Labor Movement is much weaker now than any time since 1948 and USSR is no more.
Do you expect this to happen; as those who experienced the Cold War to age and die?
Or do you expect the “Liberty Crusaders” to continue to drown other voices?
All,
Of popularity and impeachment: http://www.gallup.com/poll/4609/presidential-job-approval-bill-clintons-high-ratings-midst.aspx
Public job approval apparently has no bearing on whether or not a president is impeached.
My cleaning lady did. Doesn’t bother me; she does a good job.