# The Trump Administration: A Clusterfuck in the Making **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 7, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070 "2016-12-07T00:25:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 807
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16125 "2018-01-30T18:42:56Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > K9, any good people left in congress should not compromise on a bad bill if it only makes it a little less bad. We should keep up the rhetoric and the protests and let congress know that we are doing our best to unseat them. Hopefully, 2018 will turn over lots of republican seats to democrats. I’m talking ANY election. Mayor, county commissioner sheriff, whatever. That I think will get congress to see what’s on the horizon for them, and perhaps ACT. By definition, that is what compromise is, making things less bad. If the options are that a horrible bill goes out voted on only by republicans, vs a less bad bill that gets bipartisan support, are you saying go with the horrible one? And, that gets away from what I originally said, anyway. All I said was that, if trump does do something “good”, and in the process, claims that it was his idea all along, then letting him have that, letting him believe that it was his idea to do something good, is preferable to him not doing anything good. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16126 "2018-01-30T18:44:40Z")
> [@](#): > > First, Donald Fucking Trump is POTUS. That should be plenty of evidence that the American public, in general, is NOT searching for nuanced, reasonable approaches to problem-solving. First, more people voted for nuance than for Trump. Hillary got almost as many votes as Obama did in 2012. 2016’s Electoral Vote count doesn’t indicate that people are somehow more stupid or less “nuanced” than they were four or eight years ago. It simply means GOTV on the left sucked. > [@](#): > > And the American public eats that shit up like there’s a limited supply. Not just the standard superhero movies, either: look at the popular TV shows of the past 15 years, for instance. 24? Sopranos? Game Of Thrones? Breaking Bad? How long a list would you like to examine? You think those shows are good examples of “simplistic stories of good vs. evil?” I’d say movies and TV shows have become more complex in recent years when showing good and evil; bad guys don’t wear black cowboy hats and twirl their mustaches anymore for fuck’s sake. Anyway, can we take this discussion to another thread? It has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the clusterfuck of the Trump admin, and you’ve hijacked this long enough to the point of annoyance. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16127 "2018-01-30T18:53:05Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > And, that gets away from what I originally said, anyway. All I said was that, if trump does do something “good”, and in the process, claims that it was his idea all along, then letting him have that, letting him believe that it was his idea to do something good, is preferable to him not doing anything good. A BIG problem with that is it will only reinforce his base and they will be empowered to vote for someone worse next time. And, it makes excuses to not remove him for office. Sure, we may be able to manipulate him to do something that’s good (or at not too horrible). But to do so is covering up for him. He is a criminal and a moron, and we should not let that become the new normal. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16128 "2018-01-30T18:54:09Z")
So it’s up to Trump to decide whether the Nunes memo gets released now, huh? I know he wants it released, but Sessions doesn’t. It will be interested to see who wins. In other new, A White House staffer refers to a reporter as “Miss Piggy”. > **[Trump family confidant and HUD staffer calls reporter 'Miss Piggy'](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5312727/Trump-administration-employee-calls-reporter-Miss-Piggy.html)** > > Lynne Patton, who heads a regional office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, publicly lashed out at White House correspondent April Ryan on Wednesday. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16129 "2018-01-30T18:55:50Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > A BIG problem with that is it will only reinforce his base and they will be empowered to vote for someone worse next time. I almost hate to ask, but … who? ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16130 "2018-01-30T18:57:13Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I almost hate to ask, but … who? Imagine a Trump that actually came to work. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16131 "2018-01-30T19:31:15Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I almost hate to ask, but … who? Oh, how about Roy Moore with Joe Arpaio as VP. Or maybe Sessions and David Duke. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16132 "2018-01-30T19:31:45Z")
[Trump exploring idea of investigating, indicting Robert Mueller and his team](https://twitter.com/mmurraypolitics/status/958407948442710017) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16133 "2018-01-30T19:53:50Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > … > In other new, A White House staffer refers to a reporter as “Miss Piggy”. > [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5312727/Trump-administration-employee-calls-reporter-Miss-Piggy.html](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5312727/Trump-administration-employee-calls-reporter-Miss-Piggy.html) They’re a classy bunch, from the top down. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16134 "2018-01-30T20:44:00Z")
Superhero movies existed during Obama too. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16135 "2018-01-30T20:46:57Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Superhero movies existed during Obama too. I knew it! Thanks, Obama. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16136 "2018-01-30T22:23:23Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > First, more people voted for nuance than for Trump. Hillary got almost as many votes as Obama did in 2012. 2016’s Electoral Vote count doesn’t indicate that people are somehow more stupid or less “nuanced” than they were four or eight years ago. It simply means GOTV on the left sucked. > > You think those shows are good examples of “simplistic stories of good vs. evil?” I’d say movies and TV shows have become more complex in recent years when showing good and evil; bad guys don’t wear black cowboy hats and twirl their mustaches anymore for fuck’s sake. > > Anyway, can we take this discussion to another thread? It has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the clusterfuck of the Trump admin, and you’ve hijacked this long enough to the point of annoyance. Hey, go fuck a cactus. I said my piece; if y’all would stop talking about it I would too. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16137 "2018-01-30T22:26:48Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > The fact that you (all) are expecting the Super Hero Robert Mueller to swoop in and save the day, while at the same time, refusing to even consider other options to mitigate the damage while waiting for him to put on his cape, informs me that it is not I that is lacking the nuance to make considered, reasoned, informed choices about complex subjects. You’re not describing me here. The Mueller investigation will likely yield no sanctions for Trump, IMO, for a myriad of reasons. > [@k9bfriender](#): > > Yeah, he’s a symptom of a broken system. Breaking it further in order to temporarily alleviate the one symptom is not in the nation’s best interest. > Yeah, things like “No QUARTER”, or “He must go NOW”, or “Holy fuck NO WE DON’T HAVE TO WORK WITH WHAT WE HAVE!” > > That doesn’t show nuance. That shows unrealistic demands with no reasonable path to achieve them. Aye; the time for nuance is over, is what I’m saying. It doesn’t play well in today’s America. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16138 "2018-01-30T22:32:27Z")
[They’re chipping away at our democratic processes](https://apnews.com/f2d9824f6b3e478abb01a51ff1a81232/Senate-takes-rare-path-in-confirming-Trump-judicial-nominee): > [@](#): > > For the first time in nearly 30 years, the Senate has confirmed a judicial nominee without a seal of approval from a home state senator. > > The 56-42 vote Tuesday to confirm David Stras of Minnesota demonstrates anew Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s resolve in getting President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees confirmed. > > The Republican-led Senate went ahead with a committee hearing and a vote for Stras despite one of his home state senators, former Democratic Sen. Al Franken, declining to return what is referred to as a “blue slip.” Franken’s replacement, Sen. Tina Smith, also opposed his confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Franken had said he feared Stras would steer the already conservative court further right. Minnesota’s other senator, Democrat Amy Klobuchar, voted to confirm Stras. > > The blue slip is a 100-year tradition designed to foster consultation between a president and senators about judicial nominees from their home state. Over the years, senators could derail a vote by not returning their blue slip. The last time a judge was confirmed without two blue slips was 1989. > [@](#): > > Republicans have made it a top priority to confirm the president’s nominees, particularly those who will serve on federal appeals courts. With Democrats slow-walking many of Trump’s nominees, McConnell said last October that the blue slip process should not be used to “blackball” nominees. > > Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has said the blue slip was not supposed to serve as a unilateral veto of a nominee. He said presidents should consult with home-state senators, but he would not let senators “abuse” the blue slip to block qualified nominees. He said he was following the custom set by most of the chairmen of the Senate Judiciary Committee over the years. > > But Democrats counter that Republicans used the blue slip to block about 18 nominations from President Barack Obama. The hard-and-firm denial of a hearing for a nominee without two blue slips was fine with Republicans then. They said the policy shouldn’t change just because the person who sits in the White House is different. You cannot deal in good faith with people who will lie and change the rules mid-game. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16139 "2018-01-30T22:33:48Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Hey, go fuck a cactus. I said my piece; if y’all would stop talking about it I would too. “Go fuck a cactus?” What the fuck? For addressing something you posted, and then requesting the discussion go into its own thread instead of further hijacking this one? When did you become such a delicate douche? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16140 "2018-01-30T22:37:17Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > [Trump exploring idea of investigating, indicting Robert Mueller and his team](https://twitter.com/mmurraypolitics/status/958407948442710017) Please, someone stop the insanity! ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16141 "2018-01-30T22:44:47Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > You’re not describing me here. The Mueller investigation will likely yield no sanctions for Trump, IMO, for a myriad of reasons. > Aye; the time for nuance is over, is what I’m saying. It doesn’t play well in today’s America. What is it that you are wanting then? Stonewall obstructionism like the republicans did to Obama? I don’t think that will work. It played to the republican base, because they like it when the govt is dysfunctional, the democratic base gets nervous about shutdowns and gridlock. The republicans considered a feature that their party was preventing the govt from operating, so shutdowns and gridlock got them votes. that strategy is not going to work for the democrats, and certainly will win over no independants. The way to show voters that you are the best choice for governing is to govern well. Getting any sort of progressive issues through, or getting regressive policies blocked, would be accomplishments that the dems can show the people. The people don’t pay any attention to the sausage making, they just look at results. Results are that progressive policies are made into law. Results are not who gets credit. My personal hope is that Mueller finds enough on his family and business that he has to make a deal and resign, or watch his family go to jail and his business get liquidated. I think that is the most likely way he leaves office prior to Jan 2021. That still leaves us with a pence administration, and a republican congress. Not a huge improvement as pertains to stopping regressive legislation, and getting progressive legislation passed. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16142 "2018-01-30T22:53:03Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [They’re chipping away at our democratic processes](https://apnews.com/f2d9824f6b3e478abb01a51ff1a81232/Senate-takes-rare-path-in-confirming-Trump-judicial-nominee) > [@](#): > > You cannot deal in good faith with people who will lie and change the rules mid-game. This story . . . bothers me less than I would’ve thought possible. What, exactly, troubles you about it? Or strikes you as undemocratic? ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16143 "2018-01-30T22:56:28Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > The way to show voters that you are the best choice for governing is to govern well. Getting any sort of progressive issues through, or getting regressive policies blocked, would be accomplishments that the dems can show the people. The people don’t pay any attention to the sausage making, they just look at results. Results are that progressive policies are made into law. Results are not who gets credit. So the way to show voters who the best choice is is to govern well - and then to let your opposition get the credit for things running well? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16144 "2018-01-30T22:57:21Z")
As a side not, some Q-guys from back East tell us that [72%](https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2516) of republicans consider CFSG to be a good role model for children. The supporting-numbers from that survey are disturbingly high. Up to this point, I had thought of the Shitgibbonettes to be simply deficient in capacity for reason, but this is encouraging me to rethink that notion. Averaging the general intellectual malaise predominant in the party, it seems more than obvious that “republican” is an actual disease. What is not clear is how (or whether) this malady can be treated. Some conditions can be managed with things like SSRIs or antipsychotics, but this case looks more challenging. I believe that institutionalization is in order. These subjects are a severe danger to the public and need to be studied in a controlled environment so that we can mitigate their societal cost. Failure to address this major health problem is no more tenable than simply ignoring the spread of the Spanish Flu. While actual contagion is much lower than, say, TB, the peripheral hazards that these people pose are not at all tolerable. We must band together to help these victims, because the alternative means of dealing with them is too unsavory to entertain. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=806) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=808)