The realities of the Trump administration

[Sandy Shanks]

Chad Wolf, the acting US homeland security secretary, has become the third cabinet secretary to quit following the storming of the US Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

His departure follows the resignation of Elaine Chao at transport and Betsy DeVos at education, as well as a string of departures by administration staffers.

The White House has been virtually silent for weeks with the singular exception of Alex Azar, the HHS secretary, because of his involvement with Covid-19 pandemic. Trump has become a recluse, and his social media tools have been removed.

For all intents and purposes the Trump government no longer exists.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

On Jan. 21, Trump can be indicted for any number of crimes. Let the courts decide the legal ramifications of Trump's actions, not politicians, roughly half of whom are Trump loyalists. Conviction in the Senate requires a two-thirds vote.

A Senate impeachment trial will cause serious harm to Biden's agenda. He wants to get his cabinet confirmed ASAP, combat the raging pandemic, help the unemployed, jump start the economy, and get the kids back in school where they belong. He will need the help of Republicans to achieve those goals. An impeachment trial is absolutely the worst scenario from that viewpoint.

If the Democratic President does not want impeachment, the Democratic House should not impeach.

I still think Pelosi is bluffing, hoping Trump will resign (not going to happen) or Pence will play along and invoke the 25th Amendment.

There are two problems with the latter. One, Pence is not likely to play along because, two, it requires Trump admitting he is indisposed. That won't happen, either.

Pelosi will give up the ghost. It didn't work.

 

[G.T.]

This thread is so bizarre. No right wing nutters challenge Sandy at all like all the other threads. How to you keep it clean in here, Sandy?

Thanks for the thread.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The BBC reports, "There are reports of armed groups planning to gather at all 50 state capitols and in Washington DC in the run-up to his 20 January inauguration.

"Security will be tight for the event after a pro-Trump mob stormed Congress."

The media is going nuts over this warning from the FBI.

I don't believe it for a minute.

There is little doubt that one or more far right groups consisting of Trump's friends like Boogaloo, QAnon, and the Proud Boys are responsible for the threat.

Why do I not believe it? They want to drive the media nuts. They love publicity. Issuing threats is what they do. They have issued countless threats in support of Trump for the past four years.

And lastly, you don't start an insurrection by telling the target where and when the strike is coming.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

I have said that impeachment is a bad idea. Because of new developments, that opinion needs to be qualified.

There is a suggestion that the House will impeach Trump, but not transmit the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate, thereby avoiding a trial. This would mean Trump would be the only President impeached twice.

That's a good idea. He can be indicted by a prosecutor on numerous charges after Jan. 20.

The assertion that impeachment is a bad idea was based on an assumption, and the assumption was in turn based on the four-year history of the Trump administration. I assumed that the impeachment and Senate trial would cause bitter divisiveness in that Republicans in Congress would defend the Republican President, and that a two-thirds vote to convict was impossible, making the whole process an exercise in futility.

Due to today's events, that may not be the case.

CNBC reports, "Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking House Republican, said Tuesday she will vote to impeach President Donald Trump, as at least three GOP lawmakers will move to charge the president from their own party with high crimes and misdemeanors."

It is quite likely that list will grow larger. A number of Republicans did not like being threatened by Trump's mob within their own offices and the House and Senate chambers.

Than there is this stunning development from the Times. "Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, has told associates that he believes President Trump committed impeachable offenses and that he is pleased that Democrats are moving to impeach him, believing that it will make it easier to purge him from the party."

Wow!

In addition, McConnell blames Trump for the loss of the Senate, and he losing an enormous amount of power in our government.

Many Republican Senators are extremely concerned about Trump leading the charge on the building they work in. Is it possible that McConnell would vote to convict Trump? If so, an untold number of Republican Senators would follow suit.

Is it possible that a considerable number of Republicans in Congress want to ditch Trump to save their party?

The reader can decide.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

I watched the impeachment debate for much of today. It was quite amusing. I was interested in how Republicans in the House would defend Trump.

They did so the way all of Trump's followers defend Trump. They ignored what he said and did. The House Republican largely defended him by ignoring him.

House Republicans urged unity. They argued that this was the time to unify the country.

How ridiculous can you get!

They completely ignored how Trump caused dissension the entire four years of his term. He made no attempt to unify the country. He made no attempt to broaden his base. When he spoke, he spoke only to his base because they believed his outrageous lies and praised him for them.

House Republicans completely ignored what Trump said and did on January 6 and went directly to the consequences of what Trump said and did, his impeachment seven days later. Why? Because any reasonable person would conclude that Trump incited an insurrection. He told them where to go, what to do, and urged them to fight to restore his Presidency.

House Republicans had to ignore what Trump did to defend him.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Because any reasonable person would conclude that Trump incited an insurrection. He told them where to go, what to do, and urged them to fight to restore his Presidency.

Trump urged his supporters to come to Washington for a “Save America March” on Wednesday, January 6, when Congress would ceremonially count President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s win, telling them to “be there, will be wild!”

“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them, because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”

“When you catch somebody in a fraud, you are allowed to go by very different rules."

“We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

"Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy. And after this, we’re going to walk down, and I’ll be there with you. We are going to try — give our Republicans, the weak ones, because the strong ones don’t need any of our help, we’re try — going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.”
**********************************************************************President Donald J. Trump
Every Republican in the House was threatened by the President-led insurgency. Ten voted to impeach Trump. 197 Republicans defended Trump and voted against impeachment.

Metaphorically speaking, I guess it's true what Trump said during the 2016 campaign. "I could murder someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose a single vote."


Incitement to Riot? What Trump Told Supporters Before Mob Stormed Capitol helped with this report.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The Times reports, "The House impeached President Trump for inciting an insurrection against the government, and 10 Republicans joined Democrats to do so. Senator Mitch McConnell said he would not agree to use emergency powers to bring the Senate back into session for a trial before Jan. 19."

That means the Senate trial will take place during the Biden Presidency.

Trump becomes the only President to be impeached twice. Will Senate Republicans once again ignore what Trump did and exonerate him? Probably.

Biden has to work with the Senate and its 50 Republicans to get his cabinet confirmed, fight the raging pandemic that is at its worst point right now, deal with an economy in ruins, get the kids back in school, deal with any number of issues on the foreign policy front while inheriting a group of very angry allies, restore the fight against global warming, plus countless other issues.

How much will an impeachment trial -- and the animosity it will create -- interfere with Biden's agenda?

Even after Trump is gone, he will still interfere with the business of government!

 

[Sandy Shanks]

With Trump, the more outrageous the lie, the better.

In the five-minute video, Trump says things like “I want to be very clear: I unequivocally condemn the violence that we saw” when a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol last week while Congress was in the process of certifying his Electoral College loss to Joe Biden, leaving at least five people dead. Alluding to threats of violence against state capitols and the presidential inauguration, Trump said “there must be no violence, no lawbreaking, and no vandalism of any kind.”

During the morning of January 6, he said something quite different.

“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them, because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”

“When you catch somebody in a fraud, you are allowed to go by very different rules."

“We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

"Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy. And after this, we’re going to walk down, and I’ll be there with you. We are going to try — give our Republicans, the weak ones, because the strong ones don’t need any of our help, we’re try — going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.”

Little wonder why his supporters are silent on this thread. How do you defend a guy like him.

You can't!

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Biden has to work with the Senate and its 50 Republicans to get his cabinet confirmed, fight the raging pandemic that is at its worst point right now, deal with an economy in ruins, get the kids back in school, deal with any number of issues on the foreign policy front while inheriting a group of very angry allies, restore the fight against global warming, plus countless other issues.

How much will an impeachment trial -- and the animosity it will create -- interfere with Biden's agenda?

The Post writes, "Amid the fallout from President Trump’s second impeachment, President-elect Joe Biden will try to maintain a focus Thursday on his priorities with a speech in Wilmington, Del., outlining additional steps to combat the coronavirus and address the economic havoc it has caused."

Did the Democrats hinder attempts to alleviate far more important issues than Trump's fate?

Trump will never run for political office again. He faces multiple charges as a soon-to-be civilian, and his silent base is afraid to talk. They are not a political force, and neither is Trump.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Did the Democrats hinder attempts to alleviate far more important issues than Trump's fate?

President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is set to collide directly with President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. And there may be little anyone can do about it.

Absent the consent of all 100 senators, Trump’s trial for “incitement of insurrection” will start at 1 p.m. on Jan. 20 — just an hour after Biden is sworn into office and Trump becomes a former president. And only the same consent from the entire Senate will allow the chamber to create two tracks: One to confirm Biden’s Cabinet and pass his legislative agenda, and another for Trump’s impeachment trial.

Given that many Republicans oppose impeachment or think it’s not even constitutional once Trump has left office, it could be tough to get the cooperation Biden needs to handle a trial alongside Cabinet confirmations and begin work on a new coronavirus stimulus bill. Biden and Democrats say it’s critical to cut a deal that does both, but one single senator can disrupt any effort to multitask.

All that makes for an even higher degree of difficulty for Biden’s Cabinet and early legislative priorities to pass the Senate in his critical first few days in office.

Trump impeachment trial crashes Biden’s first 100 days

The Senate’s procedural hurdles raise the difficulty for Joe Biden’s Cabinet and early legislative priorities to be approved quickly.

www.politico.com

A record number of Americans are dying every day from the coronavirus. Over 4,100 died yesterday.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

All that makes for an even higher degree of difficulty for Biden’s Cabinet and early legislative priorities to pass the Senate in his critical first few days in office.

Why hold an impeachment trial for Trump after he leaves office? Some argue to teach a lesson to future Presidents. That argument is spurious at best as well as illogical if for no other reason than Trump is an aberration.

There is only one reason to try Trump in the Senate after Jan. 20. Upon conviction, the Senate in a separate vote can bar Trump from running for office. Many deem that unnecessary. Trump has already done that to himself.

However, in this case that purpose may be based on a false premise.

Allow me to explain. In politics, as well as in life, one encounters the future by weighing the odds. In a Senate trial of a Republican President it is extremely unlikely that there will be a conviction since 17 Republicans would have to vote with the Democrats. It is extremely likely that a Senate trial lasting for weeks will be a complete waste of time.

Biden needs to get his cabinet certified ASAP. Another 965,000 Americans filed for unemployment for the first time last week. The pandemic is setting records for new deaths, cases, and hospitalizations. The pandemic and the economy is at its worst right now.

The Senate is split right down the middle, 50/50. Biden needs the cooperation of those 50 Republicans to accomplish his tasks.

What are the odds of Republicans cooperating with a Democratic President while the Democrats are trying to convict Trump of "Incitement of Insurrection?"

The answer: slim and none.

In all likelihood Trump will be indicted for any number of crimes ranging from sedition to tax fraud.

What would it cost for the House to hold onto the Articles of Impeachment for a hundred days or forget the trial entirely and be satisfied the incompetent President was impeached twice?

What are the odds of that happening? Slim and none, common sense and politicians are terms that don't belong in the same paragraph.

 

[G.T.]

Someoneeeee explain this thread to meeeee

mdk how does she get no obsessive arguers up in here??

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Someoneeeee explain this thread to meeeee

@mdk how does she get no obsessive arguers up in here??

"She" is a he. Never assume.

 

[Whodatsaywhodat.]

What a anti American lunatic. You should be investigated.

 

[G.T.]

Someoneeeee explain this thread to meeeee

@mdk how does she get no obsessive arguers up in here??

"She" is a he. Never assume.

Ok, I'm more-so interested in how this thread goes on for so long without the right wing lunatics coming in here to jibber-jabber

 

[Sandy Shanks]

You’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”

“When you catch somebody in a fraud, you are allowed to go by very different rules."

“We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

A mob incited by the President ransacked the Capitol, killing one policeman, pummeling others, and caused considerable damage including theft of valuable items and documents. They also interrupted the session of Congress that was about to certify the Biden election victory.

Michelle Goldberg writes, "Suddenly, all but the most fanatical partisans admitted that Trump was exactly who his fiercest critics have always said he was."

Trump now becomes the first President in American history to be impeached twice. Half of all Presidential impeachments since the Republic began have been impeachments of Trump.

Goldberg continued, "Banks promised to stop lending to him. Major social media companies banned him. One of the Trump Organization’s law firms dropped it as a client. The coach of the New England Patriots rejected the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the P.G.A. pulled its namesake tournament from a Trump golf course. Universities revoked honorary degrees. Some of the country’s biggest corporations, along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, pledged to withhold donations from congressional enablers of his voter fraud fantasy. Bill de Blasio announced that New York City would end contracts with the Trump Organization to run two ice rinks and other concessions worth millions annually."

This is what happens when a sociopathic, narcissistic President really thinks he is above the law.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

A mob incited by the President ransacked the Capitol, killing one policeman, pummeling others, and caused considerable damage including theft of valuable items and documents. They also interrupted the session of Congress that was about to certify the Biden election victory.

Trump's insurgency targeted the vice-president of the United States after Trump threatened him.

Trump lives in a fantasy world all his own. In it, he makes up his own personal reality which has no relationship to the reality we all know. He refuses to accept that he has become the most despised man in the free world.

His approval rating amoung his supporters has hit bottom at 29%. The only people supporting him now are white supremacists, anarchists, and neo-Nazis, similar to the group of Trump-led insurgents on January 6. We have all seen pictures of Trump supporters.

All that aside, Trump plans to leave office on the morning of Biden's inauguration with ruffles and flourishes.

ABC News reports, "He hopes to depart to the blare of a military band, with a red carpet and military honors, according to sources briefed on the plans. Even some sort of military flyover has been suggested, they said."

Trump, the comedian.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

He hopes to depart to the blare of a military band, with a red carpet and military honors, according to sources briefed on the plans. Even some sort of military flyover has been suggested, they said.

As Pence assumes the duties of our President, with less than six days remaining in his Presidency, Trump’s inner circle is shrinking, offices in his White House are emptying, and Trump is lashing out at some of those who remain. He is angry that his allies have not mounted a more forceful defense of his incitement of the mob that stormed the Capitol last week.

Nothing has changed in four years. Trump has never been able to accept responsibility for what he has done. He committed sedition, but he blames others for not defending him.

The Post reports, "As he watched impeachment quickly gain steam, Trump was upset generally that virtually nobody is defending him — including press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, economic adviser Larry Kudlow, national security adviser Robert C. O’Brien and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

"Though Trump has been exceptionally furious with Vice President Pence, his relationship with lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani, one of his most steadfast defenders, is also fracturing."

I almost feel sorry for Trump.

Almost!

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Biden needs to get his cabinet certified ASAP. Another 965,000 Americans filed for unemployment for the first time last week. The pandemic is setting records for new deaths, cases, and hospitalizations. The pandemic and the economy is at its worst right now.

The Senate is split right down the middle, 50/50. Biden needs the cooperation of those 50 Republicans to accomplish his tasks.

The Times reports, " A day after the [Democratic] House impeached President Trump for inciting a violent insurrection at the Capitol, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate were developing plans on Thursday to try the departing president at the same time as they begin considering the agenda of the incoming one."

“It’s far from ideal, no question,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut. But, he said, “a dual track is perfectly doable if there is a will to make it happen.”

The Democrats want to convict a Republican President of inciting an insurrection. Someone tell me why in the world would Republican Senators would cooperate with the Democrats in an impeachment trial?

Someone tell why they think Trump will be convicted in the Senate so that the trial isn't a complete waste of extremely valuable time. Americans are dying at the rate of over 4,000 per day and the economy is going in the tank.

Are House Democrats screwing over the Democratic President?

I have scoured hundreds of news stories. I have not found adequate answers to those questions. The media does wish to cover that aspect of the dilemma. So they avoid it entirely.