The Trump Administration: A Clusterfuck in the Making

[Tatterdemalion]

@silenus

My guess: Trump declares his national emergency, which immediately gets tied up in court. That gives him a “win” on the wall. Mitch gets the Senate to pass a Republican-written bill that has some differences from the House bill. That gives him a “win” for reopening the government, because either the House Dems cave on the differences or the shutdown goes on. They won’t be big differences, just ones Mitch can brag/lie about. Everybody goes back to work, the wall stays unbuilt, and the House starts taking the Administration apart, brick by brick. Trump then flails about for another distraction.

I think that would be as close to an ideal resolution as we could expect. How likely is it?

If it looks like it is going down that way, the right wing machine (Hannity/Coulter etc.) would say the president is caving to the liberals again, he’d veto, and we’re all back where we started from.

[JohnT]

Josh Marshall of TPM thinks the “Trump” TV show linked to earlier was actually about Fred Trump.

No less a figure than Woody Guthrie, who leased one of Fred Trump’s Beach Haven apartments from 1950 to 1952, wrote or wrote new lyrics for a number of songs attacking Trump. Here’s one example.

I suppose
Old Man Trump knows
Just how much
Racial Hate
he stirred up
In the bloodpot of human hearts
When he drawed
That color line
Here at his
Eighteen hundred family project ….

Fred Trump had also figured prominently in 1954 Senate hearings into profiteering off federal subsidies designed to support affordable housing for returning World War II veterans.

[Morgyn]

@silenus

My guess: Trump declares his national emergency, which immediately gets tied up in court. That gives him a “win” on the wall. Mitch gets the Senate to pass a Republican-written bill that has some differences from the House bill. That gives him a “win” for reopening the government, because either the House Dems cave on the differences or the shutdown goes on. They won’t be big differences, just ones Mitch can brag/lie about. Everybody goes back to work, the wall stays unbuilt, and the House starts taking the Administration apart, brick by brick. Trump then flails about for another distraction.

Yeah but, the bills passed by the Democrats in the House *are *the bills passed by the Senate that were written by Republicans. They’re the same bills. They didn’t even have to go through committee hearings to try to reconcile them. The Senate voted Yes unanimously on those bills back in December. If the Senate passed them (again) and sent them on to Trump, even if he vetoes the bills, there are enough votes to override the veto. At least in the Senate and I bet Pelosi is certain of getting the votes in the House or she wouldn’t have passed them in the first place.

The only thing keeping the government shut, at this point, is McConnell’s refusal to bring the bills to a vote because he “knows the President won’t sign them.” He’s refusing to use the power granted to the legislative branch.

I wish most of these old fatheads could be immediately removed from Congress. They have to be hopelessly compromised.

[carnivorousplant]

@Morgyn

The only thing keeping the government shut, at this point, is McConnell’s refusal to bring the bills to a vote because he “knows the President won’t sign them.” He’s refusing to use the power granted to the legislative branch.

I wish most of these old fatheads could be immediately removed from Congress. They have to be hopelessly compromised.

The power to decide which bills will be voted on seems to me to be unfair. It is certainly being misused.

[Happy_Lendervedder]

@Morgyn

Yeah but, the bills passed by the Democrats in the House *are *the bills passed by the Senate that were written by Republicans. They’re the same bills. They didn’t even have to go through committee hearings to try to reconcile them. The Senate voted Yes unanimously on those bills back in December. If the Senate passed them (again) and sent them on to Trump, even if he vetoes the bills, there are enough votes to override the veto. At least in the Senate and I bet Pelosi is certain of getting the votes in the House or she wouldn’t have passed them in the first place.

The only thing keeping the government shut, at this point, is McConnell’s refusal to bring the bills to a vote because he “knows the President won’t sign them.” He’s refusing to use the power granted to the legislative branch.

I wish most of these old fatheads could be immediately removed from Congress. They have to be hopelessly compromised.

If the House has passed the exact same bill the Senate passed without any need for reconciliation, why isn’t it going to Trump’s desk? Isn’t that how legislation gets passed?

[Fear_Itself]

@Happy_Lendervedder

If the House has passed the exact same bill the Senate passed without any need for reconciliation, why isn’t it going to Trump’s desk? Isn’t that how legislation gets passed?

The bill the Senate passed was from the last session, so it is null and void, and must be passed again.

[Happy_Lendervedder]

@Fear_Itself

The bill the Senate passed was from the last session, so it is null and void, and must be passed again.

Ahh.

[Celidin]

@Happy_Lendervedder

If the House has passed the exact same bill the Senate passed without any need for reconciliation, why isn’t it going to Trump’s desk? Isn’t that how legislation gets passed?

Unfortunately, they happened in two different legislative sessions.

So technically the Senate bill that passed 100-0 and was sent to the House expired before the new House was sat and passed it.

Thus back to the Senate to let Yurtle McTurtle kill it (probably because his members are all like “OOO WE DON’T WANT TO VOTE ON THIS AND HAVE IT ACTUALLY HAPPEN!”)

[steronz]

The two bills were also materially different, the senate bill funded all remaining departments through Feb 8 at current funding levels (kicking the whole can down the road), the house bill funds all remaining departments at requested levels through the end of the FY except for DHS, which would be funded at current levels through Feb 8 (only kicking a small can down the road). Not a huge difference of course, and certainly an indication that both sides could agree on something were it not for Trump being unreasonable.

[Happy_Lendervedder]

Giuliani: Trump team should be able to “correct” final Mueller report.

“As a matter of fairness, they should show it to you — so we can correct it if they’re wrong,” said the former New York City mayor, who is a member of Trump’s personal legal team. “They’re not God, after all. They could be wrong.”

This is what happens when a man suffering from dementia hires a lawyer suffering from dementia.

[JohnT]

“Officer, before you go, I’d like to correct that ticket.”

[ThelmaLou]

@JohnT

Josh Marshall of TPM thinks the “Trump” TV show linked to earlier was actually about Fred Trump.

Certainly true, as Donnie was just a kid. But that only adds to the irony…

[Euphonious_Polemic]

@Morgyn

The only thing keeping the government shut, at this point, is McConnell’s refusal to bring the bills to a vote because he “knows the President won’t sign them.” He’s refusing to use the power granted to the legislative branch.
.

This point needs to be relentlessly hammered home. The majority party in the Senate is refusing to do the job of the Senate, and is handing over all Senate power to the Cheeto-faced ShitGiboon.

[ThelmaLou]

@Euphonious_Polemic

This point needs to be relentlessly hammered home. The majority party in the Senate is refusing to do the job of the Senate, and is handing over all Senate power to the Cheeto-faced ShitGiboon.

On that subject

** Trump rejects shutdown deal Republicans negotiated with Republicans**
01/11/19 08:41 AM

With this in mind, when there was scuttlebutt on Capitol Hill this week about [Sen. Lindsey] Graham [R.-S.C.] working behind the scenes on a possible deal, it was at least worth watching. Yesterday, however, those efforts collapsed – because of White House opposition. Politico reported:

*President Donald Trump has rejected a plan proposed by a bloc of Senate Republicans who had hoped to break an impasse over the government shutdown, leaving Congress and the White House with little obvious way out of the extended battle over Trump’s border wall.

On the 20th day of the shutdown, the GOP group tried to jump start bipartisan talks before Trump declares a national emergency to get his wall. But the president rejected their idea to allow congressional committees to sort out his border wall request while the government reopened, deeming the idea likely to leave him with nothing to show for the shutdown.*

Some of the relevant details of the plan remain elusive, but by all accounts, there was a proposal on the table. Vice President Mike Pence and acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney took it to the president, who balked.
…

What we’re left with is a dynamic in which Republicans negotiated a deal with other Republicans, only to be shot down by a Republican president.

Not surprisingly, Graham announced soon after he’d given up on trying to find a resolution to the shutdown.
…

Source: Trump rejects shutdown deal Republicans negotiated with Republicans

[Rick_Kitchen]

@k9bfriender

Speaking of Wisconsin, the make and drink beer there right? I heard a story on NPR that the agency that is responsible for approving labeling for beer is shut down. No one can come out with a new beer until the govt re-opens

The same thing is happening with wineries. They can’t label new wines.

[digs]

I’m off to do my part right now, by buying some unlabeled bottles.

[Rick_Kitchen]

What is happening at the ports? Is the “strike” affecting goods coming into the ports? How is this affecting Mitch McConnell’s wife’s family’s shipping business?

[Try2B_Comprehensive]

@Euphonious_Polemic

This point needs to be relentlessly hammered home. The majority party in the Senate is refusing to do the job of the Senate, and is handing over all Senate power to the Cheeto-faced ShitGiboon.

I nominate you to “hammer home” any rational, fact-based point to Trump’s snarling base. I also challenge and dare you, and am willing to bet $10 you can’t do it.

[Snowboarder_Bo]

@Rick_Kitchen

What is happening at the ports? Is the “strike” affecting goods coming into the ports? How is this affecting Mitch McConnell’s wife’s family’s shipping business?

Not really affecting ports yet, apparently.

https://www.portstrategy.com/news101/world/americas/us-shutdown-threatens-port-operations
https://www.joc.com/regulation-policy/import-and-export-regulations/us-importexport-regulations/us-government-shutdown-holds-little-cargo-risk-now_20190104.html

How the Government Shutdown is Affecting International Shipping - Universal...

[JohnT]

lol, Financial Times: Ivanka Trump being floated as possible head of the World Bank.