Trump Disgraces America Every Day

[Chicks]

Heather Cox Richardson
8 hrs ·
February 8, 2020 (Saturday)

On Monday, Trump will release his 2021 budget. It contains $800 billion worth of cuts in Medicaid over the next decade. On January 22, in an interview on CNBC when he was at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, when pressed on the enormous budget deficits his policies have created—he has added almost $3 trillion to the national debt-- he suggested that he is considering cutting Social Security and Medicare in his second term. “That’s actually the easiest of all things, if you look,” he said. And despite his pledge at the State of the Union to protect health insurance coverage for people with preexisting conditions, his administration is currently asking the courts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) entirely, a decision the Supreme Court has put off until after the 2020 election.

One of the reasons the nation’s deficit and debt is soaring is that Trump’s 2017 tax cut slashed tax revenues. And rather than helping regular Americans, “the plumbers, the carpenters, the cops, the teachers, the truck drivers, the pipe-fitters, the people that like me best,” as Trump put it, 60% of the tax savings went to people whose incomes were in the top 20%.

These cuts to both social programs and taxes are the end game of a movement that started in the 1930s. It is designed to take American government back to the 1920s, when Republicans led by Herbert Hoover and Calvin Coolidge turned the government over to businessmen in the belief that they alone truly knew what was best for the country. For eight years, it seemed like this system was the best ever designed as the economy appeared to boom and some men became very rich indeed.

But the Roaring Twenties came to a crashing end in 1929, and in the introspection that followed, Americans discovered that some businessmen and financiers had been cheating, while even those who were trying to live within the law were gambling with customers’ money or taking advantage of risky schemes. Meanwhile, the economic growth of the era had not translated to higher wages for workers or better pay for farmers; all the profits from the booming businesses had gone to those at the top of economy.

Republican President Hoover assured Americans that the economy simply needed a self-correction. He refused any large-scale government programs to steady the nation, insisting that such government activism would destroy the “rugged individualism” that lay at the heart of the national character.

His Democratic opponent in the 1932 election disagreed. Franklin Delano Roosevelt offered a “New Deal” to the American people, who had had their world yanked out from under them through no fault of their own. FDR maintained that the government must step in to regulate the economy to keep businessmen from cheating and to protect workers. It must provide a basic social safety net so that Americans did not starve, and it should promote infrastructure both to develop resources and to enable all Americans to share access to the modern world. In the long Depression that followed the Great Crash, Americans embraced the New Deal programs that helped them find work, offered new Social Security for the elderly and disabled, and built new roads, schools, airports, libraries, roads, and bridges all over the country. When this newly active government went on to fight and win against the Axis Powers in WWII, popular support for the new government system was cemented.

So secure was it, in fact, that Republicans themselves adopted it. When Dwight Eisenhower entered the White House in 1953, he offered his own version of the New Deal, calling it the “Middle Way” and launching the largest public works project in American history: the interstate highways. Most Americans, both Democrats and Republicans, loved the active government. It had pulled the nation out of the Depression, won a world war, and presided over a booming postwar economy.

But some Hoover Republicans resented government regulation of their businesses, and insisted that the new system was simply a redistribution of wealth. The bureaucrats necessary for enforcing regulations and providing a social safety net would cost tax dollars, forcing wealthy men to pay for government programs that benefited poorer Americans. This system infringed on their liberty, they insisted. It was so************************m.

It was not so************************m, of course; so************************m is a system in which the government owns the means of production. The new US system was regulated capitalism, designed to stabilize the traditional economy so it did not self-destruct again. But, calling themselves “Movement Conservatives,” these men organized to attack the New Deal government.

They had little luck convincing voters to join them in destroying the popular system. But in 1954, the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision requiring the desegregation of public schools enabled them to harness racism to their argument. Movement Conservatives harped on the idea that an activist government was using its muscle to protect African Americans. Desegregation and the programs it required to enforce, they said, cost tax dollars. Those tax dollars would come from hardworking white taxpayers to benefit African Americans. It was a redistribution of wealth that hurt white people to help African Americans.

With this appeal to racism, Movement Conservatives broke what had become known as the “liberal consensus.” Voters began to swing behind the Republican Party, with its promises to lower taxes and cut programs that sucked money from the nation’s “makers” to give it to the “takers.” Now, two generations later, the heirs of those Movement Conservatives have taken over the Republican Party, and they are in control of the government.

Because our government has regulated business, provided a social safety net, and promoted infrastructure since the 1930s, most Americans make the mistake of thinking that this system is here to stay. The New Deal government remains enormously popular. Americans like decent wages, and clean air and water, and bridges that don’t fall down, and roads without potholes. We like Social Security, and Medicare and Medicaid. Most Americans cannot fathom that anyone really wants to get rid of these things, and think Republicans and Democrats are both simply arguing over how the system is implemented.

But the opposition to this activist government is not a question of degree; it is ideological. Those currently in control of the Republican Party believe that government regulation destroys the liberty of men to run their businesses as they wish, and that a social safety net and infrastructure investment redistributes wealth, so, they believe, it is so************************m. This system, they think, has turned Americans into “takers,” rather than “makers,” and it is destroying us.

Since he has been in office, Trump has advanced the goals of this ideological contingent, a practice that has surely helped to keep Republican leaders behind him. He has slashed business regulations and the government, leaving key positions unfilled and decimating departments. Now, his new budget takes on Medicaid, and his comments about Social Security, Medicare, and the administration’s lawsuit about the Affordable Care Act suggest they, too, might soon be on the chopping block.

At long last, it seems, the dreams of the Movement Conservatives are on the verge of coming true. Trump is already saying he will make "so************************m" the centerpiece of his reelection campaign. But our American system is not so************************m; it is the regulated capitalism that has stabilized our economy for almost a century.

[Ike Bana]

Originally Posted by donquixote99

The way to spot a truly toxic, disordered personality: you ask them sincerely to 'have a heart,' and they don't. Arthur Brooks ran that test on Trump at the prayer breakfast; Trump of course flunked, utterly.

The Lawrence O'Donnell commentary you link to is calm, civil, and in my opinion the most devastating critique of Trump yet.

Ask Trump how he feels. If he's being honest, the answer will always be the same...either one of two, but only one is actually a feeling.

1. Angry
2. Horny

It's a malignantly narcissistic/sociopathic toxicity.

[Chicks]

John Kelly Finally Lets Loose on IMPOTUS
The former chief of staff explained, in the clearest terms yet, his misgivings about Trump’s behavior regarding North Korea, immigration, and Ukraine.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics...-trump/606496/

About time, General.

[Dondilion]

Originally Posted by Chicks

John Kelly Finally Lets Loose on IMPOTUS
The former chief of staff explained, in the clearest terms yet, his misgivings about Trump’s behavior regarding North Korea, immigration, and Ukraine.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics...-trump/606496/

About time, General.

Reads like a series of headlines.
Not up to The Atlantic standards.

[Chicks]

Originally Posted by Dondilion

Reads like a series of headlines.
Not up to The Atlantic standards.

This from a moron who touts Fucker Carlson! Laughable.

[Dondilion]

Did Trump overestimate Biden?
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ar...-biden/606394/

[Ike Bana]

Feh.

Iowa and New Hampshire mean nothing. The whole premise of this story is that Iowa and NH, have made Biden an "also ran."

We shall see what the real situation is after "Super Tuesday" on March 3rd. Any fucking punditry from any attention whoring journalist before that is a steaming load of horseshit.

So Kelly finally says something. Does anybody think Republican voters give a shit what John Kelly thinks? And the MAGA hat shithead base? I'll bet a dollar to a donut that 99% of the Trump base don't have a fucking clue who John Kelly is.

[Oerets]

Know a "D" will be in front of any candidate I vote for in November.

Will not be for Donald!!!

[Chicks]

(((Rep. Nadler))) @RepJerryNadler

Dear @SenateGOP,

This is what another quid pro quo by the President of the United States looks like. ��
Quote Tweet

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
· 9h
I’m seeing Governor Cuomo today at The White House. He must understand that National Security far exceeds politics. New York must stop all of its unnecessary lawsuits & harrassment, start cleaning itself up, and lowering taxes. Build relationships, but don’t bring Fredo!

11:37 AM · Feb 13, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

[Chicks]

Heather Cox Richardson
1 hr ·
February 13, 2020 (Thursday)

Since the Senate acquitted him of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, Trump seems to feel untouchable, and he is trying to consolidate his power.

On his calendar today was that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was to meet with him at the White House, and Trump used the occasion to threaten the governor. Before the meeting, Trump tweeted that Cuomo “must understand that National Security far exceeds politics. New York must stop all of its unnecessary lawsuits & harassment, start cleaning itself up, and lowering taxes. Build relationships, but don’t bring Fredo!”

This is alarming.

Trump is referring here to two things: the fact that his administration has stopped New York’s ability to participate in the Global Entry and other programs available to international travelers on the one hand; and New York’s many lawsuits against Trump and his businesses, on the other. The New York state attorney general Letitia James has subpoenaed Trump’s financial records from Deutsche Bank, the only bank willing to lend to him after his many bankruptcies, an institution linked to money laundering. She has just won a $2 million settlement from his disbanded “charitable foundation” for misusing funds, and is also looking into Trump Organization business practices. Trump is clearly suggesting that he will retaliate against New Yorkers unless its officials back off.

This is precisely what the House impeachment managers warned of in their impeachment trial brief: “An acquittal would… provide license to President Trump and his successors to use taxpayer dollars for personal political ends ... Presidents could also hold hostage federal funds earmarked for States — such as money for natural disasters, highways, and healthcare — unless and until State officials perform personal political favors,” and the House impeachment managers called it out. Jerrold Nadler, chair of the House Judiciary Committee tweeted: “Dear @SenateGOP, This is what another quid pro quo by the President of the United States looks like.”

Also today, the fallout continued from Attorney General William Barr’s interference in the sentencing recommendations for Trump’s associate and self-proclaimed dirty trickster Roger Stone. The outcry against this politicization of the Department of Justice has increased pressure on the administration. Jessie Liu was the US attorney who oversaw Roger Stone’s prosecution. She left for the Treasury Department with the promise of a Senate-confirmed position after being replaced by one of Barr’s proteges, Timothy Shea. But the White House yanked her nomination for the position of under secretary for terrorism and financial crimes on Wednesday. Today we learned that she has resigned from the Treasury Department, effective last night.

In the wake of this crisis, Trump’s former Chief of Staff, General John Kelly, let loose on the president in a speech at Drew University in New Jersey. He defended Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who testified about the content of the July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky: “We teach them, Don’t follow an illegal order. And if you’re ever given one, you’ll raise it to whoever gives it to you that this is an illegal order, and then tell your boss,” he said, indicating that Trump’s phone call with Zelensky undercut U.S. policy and national security. In a comment reflecting that people are moving away from association with Trump, Kelly suggested that he had worked for the president only to protect the country.

Piling on, today the Senate, in a bipartisan vote, agreed to limit the president’s ability to go to war with Iran without congressional approval. Despite Trump’s tweet saying “We are doing very well with Iran and this is not the time to show weakness. If my hands were tied, Iran would have a field day. Sends a very bad signal. The Democrats are only doing this as an attempt to embarrass the Republican Party”— the vote was not even particularly close, 55-45.

Barr seems fully aware of how damaging this event has been to the credibility of both the Department of Justice and to himself. He did an interview today with ABC News, in which he appeared to lambast the president for his tweets about Stone’s sentencing. He said that Trump “has never asked me to do anything in a criminal case,” (an interesting hedge), but that his tweets made it “impossible for me to do my job.” He said “I’m not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody.”

It sounded noble, but Barr’s interview was clearly damage control.

Trump gave away the game when White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who has yet to hold a press conference, by the way, although she’s been on the job since July 1 of last year, said Trump has "full faith and confidence in Attorney General Barr to do his job and uphold the law" and he "wasn’t bothered by the comments at all and he has the right, just like any American citizen, to publicly offer his opinions."

Watch what people do, not what they say. If Barr were really interested in rebuking the president, he could’ve done so forcefully, in private. So why a sudden interview when he has been carrying water for Trump since he took office, as I outlined last night? He and the White House are clearly concerned about how much pushback this Interference into the Stone sentencing recommendation has attracted.

Trump did not stop, though, and went after the forewoman of the jury that found Stone guilty, tweeting: “Now it looks like the fore person in the jury, in the Roger Stone case, had significant bias. Add that to everything else, and this is not looking good for the 'Justice' Department." The Fox News Channel began to claim that the forewoman was an anti-Trump Democratic activist. And tonight, on his show on the Fox News Channel, personality Tucker Carlson revealed the Twitter handle of that forewoman, along with the portrait on that Twitter bio, insisting that “this was not a neutral person, this is not a person capable of judging this trial fairly.” He claimed that “Roger Stone is facing life in prison because an Obama-appointed judge allowed this woman to run the jury.”

Right-wing media personalities are ramping up calls for Trump to pardon Stone. On the Fox News Channel, Newt Gingrich complained about the prosecution of Stone when there had been “no action” against Hillary Clinton and her staff or against the FBI agents associated with the Mueller investigation. Jesse Watters insisted that Stone’s conviction was the result of a “hoax investigation” and proves that America is a “banana republic.”

The attempt to convince viewers that America is divided and collapsing is the same message Russian propaganda is spreading. And, in Kansas City, Missouri, you can hear the Russian message directly from Russian state media. There, Radio Sputnik has begun broadcasting their message of American decline on a local right-wing radio channel whose owner liked both their message and their money. “They are paying for airtime and I make a percentage,” the man who brokered the deal said in an interview.

The Russians are still attacking America, and some of us appear to be welcoming them. It is vital to remember that Stone was apparently the link between the Trump campaign and the Russians feeding hacked emails to Wikileaks. Stone has plenty of information Trump does not want made public. Trump's determination to protect Stone might be seen as… a quid pro quo.