Omnibus Stupid MFers in the news thread (Part 1)

The BBQ Pit
8151

How desperately unfair to punish that peaceful tourist.

Likewise, what of the tragic circumstances of this peaceful young man who was just caught in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Reality is just a wee bit different. John Strand gained notoriety as an “international underwear model” and bodyguard/boyfriend of Simone Gold, leader of “America’s Frontline Doctors” (also convicted of illegally being in the Capitol during the riot, taking advantage of the situation by giving speeches there). Strand was found to have fundraised for his legal fees, despite having his legal representation provided for free by taxpayers. The activities of these two make semi-hilarious reading.

8152

I’ll give you at least 51% correct. But 100%…?

8153

It’s either 0 or 100% whether he’d be able to do anything he wanted. He couldn’t. The sky did not fall.

He fucked things up pretty bad, but within the bounds of how much a POTUS can do, which is fortunately not unlimited in the US.

8154

Within the bounds? Really?

He stepped over the line more than a few times. He did get impeached twice over it. But got away with it both times.

I guess technically, not being convicted in an impeachment trial counts as “within the bounds”, but c’mon. That’s pretty much the definition of technicality. While holding office, he showed he could act if not with impunity then a hair’s breadth from it.

We have clearly seen that the bounds of what he could get away with were not unlimited but certainly outside the legal bounds of what we grant the POTUS. Being held somewhat to account but only well after the fact is frozen comfort.

8155

Trump was constantly stopped from doing things.

Remember how he promised to ban Muslims from entering the country?

Repeatedly blocked.

Over and over he ran against a wall when he found that he was limited in his role. It’s no wonder he idolizes Putin and Kim Jong Un. They wouldn’t have faced the roadblocks he constantly ran into.

He literally couldn’t do the things that panicked people feared he would do. What he did was awful, but he wasn’t omnipotent. And as terrible as it would be if he was somehow elected again, no, democracy will not end.

It will take a lot of damage and I think it would be a really, really bad sign for this country. But it will continue to be a democratic country, even if it’s a democratic country in big trouble.

8156

Ok, so ‘some’ people feared he would be an absolute autocrat.

Pretty sure most people did not, though. He went further than most thought he would, at that. Sure, if you look at the extreme cases, they were wrong. But that wasn’t exactly a predominant sentiment. Just going through some of the still-going threads shows that.

8157

Absolutely, just as “some” people are currently at this very moment saying that democracy will end if he’s elected again. And I’m pushing back against those people as I did the other hyperbolic people back then. My point is that history is just repeating itself.

Note that when I said the board was filled with hyperbole, it was from a pretty vocal minority if memory serves.

Hopefully we will never know who is right and he never holds office ever again.

8158

This could probably go in a number of different threads. Kenosha, WI (and few other places) host a large, multi-day, country music festival. The headliner tonight is Jason Aldean. A local (black) reporter went down there to cover it and had racist slurs shouted at her.

Then (also mentioned in the article) Kenosha’s local newspaper had a headline reading “Setting up to have a really great time” along with this picture.

Not knowing anything about the Kenosha News, I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that they simply didn’t notice the Confederate flag…which, upon closer inspection, is a combination of the Confederate and Gadsden flag. I’ve never seen that one before. I didn’t know you could tell me who you are and double down all in one flag.

I’ve been hearing about him for the last few weeks, but never heard the song. I’ve read a few lyrics and heard him defend it, but that’s about it. However, this is one of those cases where, even if he honestly didn’t intend for the song to have any racist connotations at all…it’s very clear that’s how his fans are interpreting it.

8159

You mean, like the Supreme Court?

8160

Yes, like the Supreme Court which ruled against Trump repeatedly. You don’t think they have any particular allegiance to him, do you?

However much they are in the bag for the Republicans, that clearly does not include Trump.

Remember, SCOTUS does not have to face reelection. They don’t have to pander to a MAGA base to stay in power. They can say “fuck off” to Trump with no worries. They are going to be around a hell of a lot longer than him.

8161

If Trump is elected, the current Supreme Court members may find themselves outnumbered by the new additional members: Sydney Powell, Rudy Guiliani, Boebert, Lindell, etc., etc. These new judges will know how to rule “properly”

8162

Is Trump going to start assassinating Supreme Court Justices?

8163

Packing the court. He can’t do that you say?

Sure. But what if he did?

8164

I don’t know. Go try to have an abortion, and report back.

8165

That’s not loyalty to Trump, that’s loyalty to regressive Republican “values”.

8166

Bingo.

The Supreme Court has no allegiance to Trump. Never have. IIRC, he didn’t even appoint “his” people; he was fed names from a conservative think tank.

8167

In my opinion, this is not the thread for this debate. I wish folks would take this somewhere else. This is personal preference only.

8168

Yeah, given that we have an entire separate thread for “Stupid Republicans” (and another, though little-used, for “Stupid Liberals”), it’d make more sense to keep this thread for non-partisan stupidity.

8169

I think it would be good, though, to look at those things that won’t be the same the second time around.

When elected, Donald Trump was hideously unprepared for the task of staffing the executive. In 2016, he had to rely on the Republican establishment to do so, and they saddled him with people like Jeff Sessions, Rex Tillerson, John Kelly, Elaine Chao, Rick Perry - people who weren’t going to just automatically do anything Donald Trump tells them to do.

I suggest that things will be different the next time around, because Donald Trump now knows the importance of getting his yes-men into those positions. And given the 2024 Senate map, if Donald Trump wins election he will almost certainly have a solid Senate majority to work with - possibly even one that could override filibusters with defections from a Democrat or two. It would require a whole lot of Republican Senators suddenly growing spines that they haven’t exhibited any propensity for over the past seven years to keep the executive branch law-abiding rather than Trump-abiding. They had a chance to stick a fork in him in 2021 and came up wanting - they’re not going to dare try it again against a victorious Trump in 2025.

And even if a Republican senate organized some degree of resistance against the worst of Trump’s appointments, I would contemplate the likelihood of him “firing his way” through one Acting Secretary after another until he gets someone he wants in the key position. He might have to go through a lot of Jeffrey Rosens to get to the Jeffrey Clark he wants, but I don’t think he really cares about the collateral damage he would be doing to the executive departments.

Would the judiciary stand up to him? I think that in many cases it would; but, again, a Donald Trump win probably means the House stays (or becomes more) Republican, which means that the number of judges on any federal court is up for revision. Kacsmaryk and Cannon get promotions to the Courts of Appeals, plenty of other judges competing to see who can be the Trumpiest move up, and hey - there are six more appeals courts than there are Supreme Court justices, what if we expanded the Supreme Court to conform to the historical practice of one justice per appeals court, no assassinations needed?

And if Congress (somehow, for some reason) defies the president, what then? A “Stop the (Deep) State” rally on the Ellipse, and another Capitol siege? Congress has shown it won’t act against Trump when he did it before. Will he take another bite at the apple if offered? Will the Freedom Caucus convene a rump House of Representatives to do the President’s wishes after the bulk of the congresscritters have been chased away?

Donald Trump had four years for practice, and he made some rookie mistakes early on that made it hard for him to recover later. I’m afraid he won’t make them this time around, and we dismiss that possibility at our peril.

Amen to that.

ETA: Sorry to those who want this somewhere else. I got a little wound up. Atamasama, happy to discuss more in a different venue of your choice.

8170

Our children are being murdered in school, we had to sell the house to pay our medical bills and live in a van in various locations near the waterfront, working 60 hours a week to pay for food while having to negotiate Proud Boys’ check points to go just about anywhere and the church we do not go to sends strongmen out to take the 20% tithe they keep saying we are behind on. But, at least America is a Democracy, dammit!