I’m hoping that someone close to Trump that has a bone to pick with Mike - Giuliani, for example - plants the seed in Trump’s head that Mike is angling against him. Trump suspects everyone’s motives because he knows his own and thinks everyone is just like him. Expect a purge.
3 Likes
Watch, but also point and laugh.
It’s why God invented campaign commercials.
2 Likes
Too bad tRump hasn’t followed the lead of President Henry Harrison:
William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773 – April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States in 1841. He died of typhoid, pneumonia or paratyphoid fever 31 days into his term (the shortest tenure), becoming the first president to die in office.
Too bad as Americans we haven’t been so fortunate. Imagine a world without tRump infecting the country with his hatred, his prejudice and his ignorance. I do every fucking day.
3 Likes
Any room left on the TPM fainting couch?
4 Likes
Lying comes so naturally to him - and effortlessly -
seriously doubt that he should be trusted with anything - no matter how inconsequential
About 15 years ago, I went to spend two days in a hotspring resort in Hakone Japan. Very interesting place, east of Tokyo, near Mt. Fuji. Anyway, we arrived at our Onsen which advertised itself as established in 1715. Long fun story about getting there, which involved getting off a bus at a little rural bus stop in the woods, with snow on the ground, and saying “this had better be it, or we are so fucked”, to find the place about a block down this little snow covered lane.
Anyway, few people there in the winter, and we were given this wonderful room, with very old furnishings, and in the room was a plaque saying “President Ulysses S. Grant stayed here” with a date. I asked, and they had a more detailed plaque downstairs, and it turned out that Grant had stayed their when he visited Japan after he left office, and the Japanese had preserved the room he had stayed in, and rebuilting it in inn when they modernized the rest of the building.
Anyway, this set me off to find the whole story, which is very interesting. A short version of it is here and worth a read:
https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2014/mayjune/feature/the-odyssey-ulysses-s-grant
P.s. place we stayed is here: https://hakone-japan.com/plan-your-trip/accommodations/historic-ryokan/kinokuniya-ryokan/
7 Likes
That would certainly explain the smirk.
5 Likes
That’s exactly the vicious cycle I see happening which is why most Pukes are still holding back and not trying to cross him. They were already literally running in the other direction (before social distancing was happening) when the press approached them on Capitol Hill to avoid responding to anything related to tRump. A lot of them are in a no win situation of their own making. Especially the ones from purple districts and states. Its why Cory Gardner and Susan Collins are in such bad shape heading into the election. All they can do is run and hide or “be concerned”.
4 Likes
Trashing Grant’s legacy was the flip side of the lost cause/confederate monuments coin.
4 Likes
Bingo. Until civil service act (something Trump is also trying to undermine) was passed in 1882, the “spoils system” was just how things were done.
It had been a limited issue before the civil war, when supporters got jobs as customs agents or post masters, but that was about it. But after the civil war as the Federal Government became much larger, the number of possitions to be filled got much bigger and no president was capable even if he wanted to see that those being appointed were of high caliber.
Trump’s problem is that he is back to the spoils system, but his only interest is loyality, which disallows the few honorable republicans, leaving him with the dregs who just fluff trump. And these people are only there to advance themselves.
Part of this was just Pompeo being corrupt (using his aids to walk the dog, security to pick up food, dry cleaning, etc) the big grift was the dinners and then use of his office to build political connections to run for president down the road.
And that - running for president, not the senate in Kansas - is what is going on here.
8 Likes
Gardner is a dead man running
His support has collapsed, and continues to get even worse.
Likewise, McSally is also collapsing.
Collins isn’t as bad off as both of these, but its not looking good for her, either.
Once Gideon gets out of the primary, watch for Collins free fall to really start kicking in.
Both our Senate candidates in GA have also moved ahead of their republican opponents in recent polls, too.
And keep an eye on SC, too.
Iowa is rapidly falling apart for Ernst as well.
And this one, where the DSCC just committed a boatload of money
A definite pattern is emerging
13 Likes
As I’ve said before the post mortem on this administration is going to be truly horrifying. I’m no longer shocked or surprised by any of this just in abject despair at how much work it will be post trump to put things back together. The fact that many are completely unaware of the massive corruption drives me nuts.
9 Likes
I would view it as a “virtuous cycle” 
But yes, exactly what is going to happen.
And this is why my guess is that this ends badly for Pompeo. He is a big fat target, and is not Trump. Assuming this story has legs - and the NYT does not try to bury it like they do stories that hurt Trump in a wave of “bothsiderism” stories, which NPR and others than pick up - what actually is a vicious cycle - This may put enough heat on Pompro that Trump cuts him lose, particularly if FOX is forced to cover the story.
But people around Trump need to point at some polling and say “your excellency, Pompeo’s problems are hurting you in Wisconsin and Arizona, he is a drag on your poll numbers, this is a great opportunity to flight the swamp, and he always was a never trumper”
3 Likes
Well, there is and will continue to be plenty of bad polling to point at. And Trump does love a scapegoat to heap his grievances upon.
Firing Pompeo won’t help him, however…and could very likely hurt him. Not that he is looking at it in that light, because it requires strategic analytic skills well beyond him.
3 Likes
Please make it after June 1 so he can’t run for Senate from Kansas.
4 Likes
I would add North Carolina to the mix. Great candiate in Cunningham, and Tillis is very, very vulnerable.
And a few sleeper races.
If Hager gets the nod in Texas, and Biden and the democratic groups put real effort into turn out, Coryn is vulnerable in Texas assuming Trump slides a few more points (to the high 30s in favorably).
Same issue in KS, assuming that Kris Kobach gets the nomination for the Fascist Party. Barbara Bollier is a good candidate and can win against Kobach. Her politics are not mine, but happy to have her vote in the senate…
And don’t count out Amy McGrath in KY. One to watch. Moscow Mitch is very unpopular, and if the republican band can be tarred in the right way (and McGrath will have all the $$$ she needs, she has raised $29.8M so far ;))
It is a seat that can be filpped.
7 Likes
And we only need four but I’d like to see a much better cushion than that. Personally, I’d like to see an all out national campaign and political assault against McTurtle on the level of corruption, anti-democratic activity and self-dealing he’s engaged in since becoming Senate Majority leader. Dems need to fund a serious effort in this regard because if he remains in the Senate its guaranteed he’ll still try to muck things up with procedural bullshit and manage to get away with it.
7 Likes
Tillis and Cunningham have stayed pretty much neck and neck for a few months now. Not seeing a lot of movement just yet.
Coryn has held a comfortable lead over both Dem candidates so far. I’d love to see him go, but I am skeptical its going to happen this year.
I think Kansas is very much in play, at least the Senate race. Not much polling there, but Kobach is so spectacularly bad that the state GOP is working to defeat him. That, btw, is part of Pompeo’s problem. Remember, he was making all sorts of noise…and as we are know seeing with this article, raising lots of money…to be the Senate candidate in KS. Then his numbers started tanking because of Ukraine and everyone got cold feet. But from McConnell’s and the RSCC view…they will lay the blame for losing/having to fight for that seat squarely at Pompeo’s feet.
McGrath is basically tied with McConnell currently, and has been raising a lot of money. I am honestly surprised, as I have stated previously, that McConnell didn’t announce his retirement. Its going to be the hardest race of his life, and I just assumed he would prefer retiring to being ousted by the voters.
3 Likes
I am seeing 10-12 races that are competitive/we have the upper hand. 1 seat of ours in jeopardy (AL). So roughly a 10 seat flip.
And McConnell’s seat is one of the ones on the table.
Probably just as important, the early signs from the Biden campaign seems to indicate they are prioritizing states where we can pick up Senate seats.
3 Likes
If only the Dems controlled some part of the government which allowed them to investigate all of these crimes and keep them front and center in the national spotlight. Oh well.
2 Likes