Post inauguration Trump:

[David]

Oh good lord. I'm not sure where the irony stops and the actual idolisation of a senile 73-year-old guy in a baseball cap begins!

[pietillidie]

For a minute there Ukraine had the potential to take both Trump and Biden out in one fell swoop. Sigh.

Trump is up against it more than you think IMO. His fan club are really counting on him winning a one-on-one ballot — as invincible father figures do. But Trump fatigue can't be far off and moderates could actually turn strongly against him in the privacy of the ballot box.

Also, when it comes, the ultimate collapse could well be very swift. Politics makes it easy to forget we are still dealing with individuals: you can't have a replacement father figure who himself is a philandering, lying, cheating, corrupt, embarrassing, irresponsible flake. Wait until that dissonance becomes too great to bear. At the moment it's being propped up by the bonds of cult at the core and the binary vote beyond that, but I'm not convinced it can hold.

[stui magpie]

^

My perception from afar, FWIW, is that 2 things are going for him.

1. The USA has a recent history of giving 2 terms.
2. The Democrats have done nothing to present a positive case for election. They spend soo much time carping about Trump first getting elected then everything else, I believe everyone except the staunchest will be getting Democarp fatigue.

Plus, take out the constant sideshow and (again ony as far as I understand it) the economic numbers are good. Jobs are up, particularly in blue collar areas which is his base.

IMHO unless the Democrats find someone who can send a strong positive message for the future, they might as well not bother.

[pietillidie]

^I get that view, but the economics are increasingly under pressure as the sugar high wears off and costs kick in (global trade instability, debt and social spending deficits), while moderates tend to care about stability and balance by definition. It would have to be a really poor candidate to impede a serious swing, which is not to say the Democrats aren't doing their best to engineer such a candidate.

Also, Trump himself is becoming more unstable and senile, so the campaign spotlight will not be as favourable and the novelty of Trump won't sway moderates this time around. He is not a normal candidate by any definition, so a single term shouldn't surprise.

Then again, corporate handouts are extremely difficult to overcome in the best of circumstances, and we are dealing here with dream corporate handouts in the country of Citizens United v. FEC. It also took two terms for the full disaster that was George W. to sink in, which does support the persistence of the two term rule.

[pietillidie]

Pinker on what quid pro quos look like to the reasonable and sane:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/opinion/pinker-trump-zelensky.html

[pietillidie]

The Onion on the Grovelling Old Poltroons: https://politics.theonion.com/gop-lawmakers-watch-silently-as-trump-strangles-each-of-1838885386

[Skids]

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/PAC-Letter-10.08.2019.pdf?utm_source=ods&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1600d

[David]

Did you actually read that? I drifted off sometime after the first paragraph.

[Skids]

[Wokko]

I didn't read it all but it seems perfectly reasonable. Why would anyone indulge a kangaroo court? Especially if they're the President of the United States.

**** Schiff and Pelosi, let them hoist themselves and their candidate with their own petard.

[3.14159]

Kangaroo courts aren't mentioned in the US Constitution but Impeachment certainly is! Legally Vacuous and totally Unconstitutional the best description of that Whitehouse letter! If the WH has nothing to hide why does it not want these witnesses to appear?
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/laurence-tribe-trump-is-not-above-the-law-and-he-will-learn-his-lesson-70890565531

Further to that, you have to wonder why Trump is so adamant the Russians didn't interfere in the last election (and is continuing to try and hack the 20-20 election) when even Republicans in the Senate see this as an urgent issue that must be dealt with rather than really on Trump's statement that the Russia couldn't have done it ("why would they?" he famously once said in-front of the world press) because Putin told Trump "he didn't!"?

http://www.msnbc.com/11th-hour/watch/senate-intel-report-russia-hacked-2016-election-and-they-re-still-at-it-70894149607

Btw, support for the impeachment inquiry has now topped 50% of all Americans in just 3 weeks. Contrast that with Nixons rating at the start of the Watergate inquiry was 17%.
Take into consideration that Trump lost the popular vote in 2016 and apart for alienating nearly everone that isn't in that 34% MAGA Base (and he has done little to gather new voters for 20-20) Trump is in big trouble!!!

[Pies4shaw]

https://www.theage.com.au/world/north-america/former-ambassador-to-ukraine-says-trump-pushed-to-oust-her-20191012-p5300b.html

Oh, dear.

[Wokko]

He can fire an ambassador because he doesn't like their tie if he wants to.

[pietillidie]

Here's a first: an Australian politician defending the Australian economy against Trump's devaluation of the globe in order to artificially turn the US into a capital safe haven and boost its leverage. It doesn't matter if you hate this person; he's in very good company and they're right:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/11/opinion/china-trade.html

Of course, what they don't say is that the deranged narcissist and his cronies are literally oppressing the globe and devaluing the wealth of billions of people through this move.

I'm sure Trump's virtual Australian fan club will find reason to praise their dear imaginary leader for devaluing their wealth and threatening their prosperity.

Perhaps the fawning Morrison can reassure everyone its all part of the lord's plan as he jostles with bin Salman and Bolsonaro for a Man of Steel medallion from Trump, following in Little Johnny's footsteps. (We all know how well that turned out for Captain Wasteful's legacy).

[Skids]