And many of those changing their status from GOP to “Independent” are doing so because they believe the GOP didn’t do enough to “Stop the Steal” and support Trump’s coup. They are just waiting for Trump to announce his new party.
Tangentially: i was curious how Fox was covering the impeachment, so I flipped over to see, twice. On Day 1: they weren’t talking about it at all; they were obsessing over a Biden gaffe. He said something that could be construed as insulting … to a nurse? I think? on a conference call, maybe?
On Day 2, Tucker Carlson was drawing parallels with the George Floyd/BLM protests, and the impeachment – because both are power grabs by liberals, taking power away from normal right-thinking Americans.
Here’s my question: Carlson described the BLM protests as “scores dead, cities in ruins”. Is there somewhere we can get definitive numbers on the protests – how many cities had marches, how many people attended at least one march, how many arrests, how many buildings were destroyed, how many people killed? I think mayhaps he was exaggerating a tad, but want the facts.
Leahy seems befuddled much of the time to me. He should probably retire before he ends up like Strom Thurmond, being wheeled in and barely able to function.
The only way I can see 17 Republicans suddenly getting serious is if they can somehow make the point that 1) Trump may well do something worse in the future and 2) they will own it, if he does.
One of the biggest problems with Trump is people keeping thinking some new low is the worst it’s going to get.
This, for certain. Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Rand Paul, Ronald DeSantis, Ken Paxton…the list goes on. And on.
I usually stop in at the Fox mobile page once or twice a day and I’d say their coverage isn’t too bad, albeit with a conservative slant. They’ve reported most of the facts, including the ones that look bad for Trump. They also report things that might cast doubt on the trial, like Hawley concluding that the impeachment is a “kangaroo trial” and Lindsey Graham insinuating that Pelosi had some prior knowledge about the riot.
I’ll occasionally brave the comments section. Yesterday I was surprised to see a lot of anti-Trump sentiment on the article about the opening video.
Could the thougth process have been to incapacitate Pence and then appoint Ivanka or someone as the new VP, so Trump could resign and have someone he trusted oversee his pardon?
Yeah - a pretty clear example of the need for age/term limits.
Appointment of a new VP would require approval by majority vote of both Houses. I doubt Nancy and Chuck would approve Vice-President Ivanka.
Wiki sez 19 dead, from various causes.
However, several deaths were due to far right groups killing a protester. I checked that list, a couple seem totally unrelated to the actual protests.
But Forbes sez 19, so I guess you could say “scores”.
I have friends who live in Portland. Some buildings were damaged. Lots of graffiti and trash. No buildings “destroyed”.
No cities are in ruins.
I disagree about the name. “Independents” should be reserved for people who don’t belong to a specific party, of which there are many millions. If “Independent” is co-opted to mean a specific political party then then not only do true, independent voters have to find another way to express that they are not beholden to a party but the new party would then have a dishonest label, as someone part of a party is NOT independent of party. Haven’t we had enough dishonesty and duplicity in politics?
Very helpful - thanks! Actually, the number would be 0.95 scores.
Tucker Carlson also said that George Floyd died of a fentanyl overdose, just to cement his standing as a complete asshole.
These Republican senators doodling and whatnot during the proceedings are being disrespectful as hell. Even if Trump were as innocent as a newborn lamb, these people need to at least give their attention and behave like adult humans. I don’t have the vocabulary to express my complete loathing for them.
Has Tucker Carlson ever responded to the claims that he raped and murdered a young woman? People are talking about it.
Ok, so maybe “infinitely better” was the wrong choice of words. 
Marginally better?
I remember back in 2016, when it was looking like the GOP nomination was going to come down to Trump or Cruz, I honestly couldn’t decide which one would be worse.
You are clearly asking too much. “Behave like adult humans”? Not a chance.
Even in retrospect, knowing how bad Trump was, it’s hard to know. However, no matter how bad Cruz’s policies are, he could never be as much of a national embarrassment as Trump.
I live in Portland and can verify this. The heart of downtown is kind of a mess at this point. A lot of businesses are boarded up, and there is a small group of roving vandals who continue to break windows and paint graffiti on buildings. The bigger problem at this point is the growing homeless population and the piles of trash everywhere they encamp.
I’m hoping that’s just the beginning. If, as it appears, Trump isn’t convicted then maybe more will leave.
Dominion is going after Giuliani, Powell, and Fox. And corporate sponsors are holding back money. The State of Georgia launched a probe about Trump’s phone call. Cyrus Vance isn’t done with him. I don’t think we’re going to get a one punch knockout.
A score is 20, so that’s not quite one score.
When the cowardly Republican senators go on record saying that everything Trump did was just peachy keen and terrific… What then?
Does this mean that they are saying that it will be perfectly OK for Biden to do anything… absolutely anything to win a future election? To lie about opponents? To call foreign leaders to pressure them to make up lies about his opponents? To call the attorney general and ask him to investigate his political opponents? To call upon a mob known to be violent, rile them up and send them in the direction of his opponents?
Are the Republican senators just fine if this all happens in the next 4 years leading up to the 2024 election?
No, of course not. They are only fine with this when a Republican does it.