Distractor in Chief
While the media was obsessing this weekend over Trump’s latest foul-mouthed tirade, his staff extended the Muslim travel ban and Republicans in the Senate wrote in more payoffs to hold out Senators to get them to vote for gutting the US healthcare system. This has become a common occurrence since Cheeto Jesus infested the WH, and I don’t believe it’s a strategy put in place by him; I believe it’s a strategy developed by very evil and very smart people who are exploiting his proclivity for attention-getting bombast.
Trump’s childish tirades and embarrassing behavior are well known. They’re also predictably unpredictable. Almost every time he engages in outrageous behavior, his staff slips something out to the public – unwinding environmental protections, rounding up immigrants, issuing some other cringe-inducing executive order.
This weekend, Trump attacked NFL and NBA players for various fake affronts. Steph Curry declined to come to the WH with his NBA team, so Trump rescinded the invitation in a Twitter based insult. Later, in one of his silly campaign rallies, this time in Alabama in support of appropriately named Luther Strange, Trump started his war on NFL players who refuse to stand for the national anthem as a form of protest against violence against racial minorities by police.
During the ensuing firestorm, his staff issued a new travel ban, adding countries to the existing ban that has been blocked by the courts. Also, under the cover of this circus, Senate Republicans added payoffs for Arizona, Kentucky, and Alaska to the latest effort to destroy healthcare for millions of Americans in an effort to get yes votes from John McCain, Rand Paul, and Lisa Murkowski.
Stayed outraged. But pay attention.
It seems that prior to 2009 NFL teams stayed inside during the National Anthem. That changed when the Dept. of Defense started paying the NFL to have the players on the field in an effort to boost patriotism and enlistment in the armed forces. More that $15 million dollars was paid by the DOD and the National Guard.
1Not to be lost in this skerfuffel is little know fact that the owners of the Patriots and the Jaguars and the Cowboys gave the Donald about a million dollars apiece in order to carry on his stark raving madness.
2Cannot place all that bad stuff at the feet of his staff. He is the captain of the ship and he is responsible for this staff and their own decisions. Of course, he is doing a very bad job of ham acting in order to distract everyone from such things as the investigation by Robert Mueller and the fact that the repeal job on the Health Care is a loss, miners aren’t getting their jobs back at the mines, etc. etc. Seriously this waste of DNA cannot even mimic humanity.
3I’m certain that 90% of all athletes are sick of having sports being hijacked by politics. And about the Mafia Don:
4“I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes
And just for that one moment I could be you
Yes, I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes
You’d know what a drag it is to see you”
ITMFA NOW.
Time for the 25th Amendment to be activated.
5WA, be careful what you wish for.
“There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers.” – Saint Teresa of Avila
Trump is an idiot. Mike Pence most assuredly is not.
6I am deeply concerned and troubled, of course, by the narcissist in the White House, but more so by the the millions that support him despite reams of horrendous behavior. I realize we outnumber these hoards, but their fanatical behavior with a complete disregard for the historical implications are truly frightening. I have lived through Vietnam, the Cuban missile crisis and the civil rights wars of the sixties and seventies. Nothing has truly disturbed me to the degree this vile man’s agenda has foisted on our country. How you fight simple minded reasoning and abject ignorance?
7What? The sponsors are adding payoffs for senators reluctant to vote for this turkey? I’m shocked! SHOCKED, I tell you! How could this be?!
There’s a small problem with this strategy that its authors haven’t thought about, though. It encourages senators to hold out for goodies they want, knowing that legislation the leadership desperately wants, but is being thinly supported, can be used as a leverage to pry support out of a reluctant leadership, for projects that they would otherwise never support. Can we say “Pork Barrel,” boys and girls?
8Scott, you think Senators and Reps don’t already hold out for goodies?
I saw a depressing article of short profiles of people hurt by the flooding in TX and FL. Nearly all who mentioned it said they still don’t “believe in” climate change, and all but one still support Donnie. One cited “his million dollar donation from his own pocket,” which I’d bet a thousand will never be seen unless he’s publicly shamed into it. One said that there’s “nothing he can do” that would make them not support him. At that point it’s a religion, folks, and he’s your deity. I know who I support and what I believe and what science I accept, and I know what it would take to change my mind.
9Folks have forgotten – or never even noticed – that the original disclosures about Russian interference were followed very quickly by the “grab ’em” tape.
I always thought that was intentional and worked a charm too.
Russian psyops style.
10I don’t think McCain will bite. He’s facing what could be his own demise and wants to go out as an honorable man. God bless him in this battle. If Lisa Murkowski survived the threats last time, don’t think she’ll fold for 30 pieces of silver.
11Susan Collins has just said she won’t vote for RepubliCare so that makes 3 snacilbupeR Nos- Paul and McCain. Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You rat bastards!
12But we can’t let our guard down, because they are, indeed, rat bastards. So keep up the opposition.
Not until the 9/30 deadline has passed will this latest iteration of Kill Obamacare be dead.
I want to see it REALLY dead. We need to drive a stake through its heart, cut off its head, burn it, and scatter the ashes in the sea.
13Sen Collins was not amused at the blatant attempt at bribery. There are a couple of rethugs who still have a conscious. Perhaps the trend will spread. After all, the outrage of seeing traitor trump forgetting to send aid to Puerto Rico is sufficient to outrage any decent human. And there are a couple of those in republicanland. Although must admit traitor trump and his sycophants are equal opportunity haters.
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