They didn’t hurt clinton, so it was important to keep them under wraps.
I am sure if they had hurt clinton, Comey would’ve been more than happy to leak them himself.
I’m not sure it’s that simple. I doubt that the British intelligence services are pro-Trump or anti-Clinton.
I hope it’s not that simple.
But I do not doubt that our intelligence agencies were aware of these allegations before the election. They were very likely aware of this when Comey wrote the letter about clinton’s emails.
To their “credit” I think that the intelligence agencies decided not to publicize the findings of either candidate, for fear of influencing the election with what could well be unverified gossip, and ending up making themselves and their agencies look like a tool of the helped candidate. (Well, except the FBI, for whatever reason, Comey had no problem making himself look like a tool in the pocket of trump.)
Now the election is over, so there is no concern about swaying it, and the intel may be getting more believable as well.
It is in our interests to know these things about our leaders. It may have been nice to know about these allegations before people went to the ballot box, but better late than never, right?
Thing about Trump and the hookers. Not doubting it because its too fantastic, though kinda. Nor because it is too evil, nor too corrupt. Its too* human* for Trump!
What would you expect? Cannibalism?
I’m not saying it’s true. We simply don’t know. But, given his public persona and behavior, it’s pretty much exactly the kind of perverted childish thing I’d expect.
I kinda doubt the hooker thing too.
In Russia, hookers charge in advance.
Well, more simply, Trump is clearly a bully, liar and con-artist and always will be but that might be acceptable if his performance as president leaves the country better off economically and socially. I’m willing to entertain the notion that once we put aside his stupider campaign ideas like a wall along the Mexican border, he might be a decent caretaker president with a few bold successes to his credit. Possibly (heck, probably) he manipulates the system to enrich himself and his buddies by a few billion. That could be acceptable if the process enriches the country by several trillion.
I still would have preferred Hillary Clinton, as she strikes me as far less likely to be as destructive as Trump.
I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a GD thread about “Trump success benchmarks”, i.e. goals which, if achieved, will cause me to consider his presidency a success (indeed, achievements that I think any president could reasonably consider successful). Put aside vague bullshit like “Make American Great Again” and set a measurable goal - i.e. GDP up by 5% per year. I’d invite current Trump detractors and current Trump supporters to weigh in with specific benchmarks and hopefully a minimum of bullshit. Trump will get his chance, but he has to deliver.
If you’re inviting both supporters and detractors, there might be a lot of disagreement as to what constitutes success.
I posted before that the group that benefits the most from this revelation is the Republican party. The election’s over (including the administrative details) so any backlash against Trump won’t help Clinton of the Democrats. The Republicans have won control of Congress and have a vacant seat on the Supreme Court to fill.
The only thing they’ve got to worry about is the loose cannon in the White House. Trump may be a Republican President but he’s never been a favorite of the party. And his antics might end up working against mainstream Republicans.
The solution? Force Trump out with a scandal and replace him with Pence.
Again I’m not claiming that the Republicans are orchestrating this scandal. But the timing of it works for them.
It would be strangely hysterical to watch the Republicans try to impeach Trump, and the Democrats trying to keep him.
I am glad it does not allow pictures as well. BigAppleBucky, please don’t spam with links to images without any content.
[/moderating]
Let’s go by the things Trump promised to do during his campaign. Regardless of whether we agree or disagree, we have to acknowledge his effectiveness as a political leader if he gets his agenda enacted into law.
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Job creation: The unemployment rate was 4.9% in October 2016. Trump can claim credit for creating jobs if it’s lower in October 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.
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Illegal immigrants: There’s approximately 11,500,000 illegal immigrants in the United States. Trump gets credit if he reduces that number. We can check back on that once per year.
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Tax plan: Trump wants to institute new income tax rates. He wants to create a three-rate plan where everyone will pay either twelve, twenty-five, or thirty-three percent. He wants to eliminate the head of household category and raise the standard deduction for married couples and singles. We’ll call this one a success if it’s enacted within two years.
The Democrats might not like Pence but I think they prefer him to Trump. If the Republicans decide to bail on Trump, he has no base of support. That’s why the Republicans can credibly threaten him with impeachment.
No matter what happens, Trump supporters will see it as a success because they’ll assume Clinton would have been worse somehow.
Alternatively, the Democrats may see Trump as such a clueless, directionless buffoon who will continually disagree with his own advisers and scuttle his own proposals, that they may consider Pence the more objectionable because his odd beliefs are more in line with the extreme Right of the GOP, thus making his agenda more likely to be pursued if he hot into the White House.
The thought has crossed MY mind. Congress and his advisers may prevent the buffoon from doing as much damage as he might if left to his own devices. Also, through incompetence and lack of interest/attention, he may fail to push the right-wing agenda as effectively as Pence would.
Impeachment? Be careful what you wish for.
OR, Something could happened to Trump, and Pence and his boys take advantage of the resulting dancing in the streets to pass some heinous shit.
Yeah, I’m not sure what. I haven’t thought this through obviously,
That’s a good start. I would also include the federal deficit; whether it gets bigger, smaller, or stays the same (as a percent of GDP). I don’t recall what promises Trump made about the federal budget, but it’s worth keeping track of what effect his administration has on it.
I think we need a few restrictions as to method. Just a thought.
No moving the goalposts. He finally got the trebuchet aimed.