UPDATED: US Businesses Turn on Trump
Today, the US Chamber of Commerce, who actively worked to get Donald Trump elected in 2016, turned on him after he did EXACTLY what he said he was going to do – start a trade war. So many business people, including the Chamber, hated Hillary Clinton so much that they were willing to roll the bones on Trump, and EVERYONE is losing. His erratic behavior, shooting from the hip, and idiotic neocon economic and defense policy has turned our world on its ear. When it started hitting Chamber members in the wallet, they woke up.
The business community’s support of Trump was idiotic, and everyone who was paying the slightest bit of attention knew that. But since most business people watch Trump News Network, they believed his bullshit and have now followed him right over the cliff without a second thought; that is, until they hit the ground.
The result is that the stock market is now in negative territory FOR THE YEAR, manufacturers are fleeing the US for foreign shores (taking the jobs with them), debt to GDP has now exceeded our debt level at the end of WWII, the dollar is being displaced by the Renminbi for global trading, Trump has pissed off all of our trading partners and handed our export markets over to both former allies and competitors, and all this has been done while french kissing Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un to our political and economic disadvantage.
I’m personally staggered by how much damage to our country one lunatic can do. When we finally rid ourselves of this infestation, (and have cleaned out Congress) we’ll have to develop an entire set of new statutes that will prevent this kind of tragedy from ever happening again. More on that at a future date.
There is a place for anger, and THIS is it.
UPDATE: The Cato Institute, founded and funded by the Koch Brothers, is now opposing Trump’s trade wars, calling them “incoherent, angry and misguided”. Cato is well known for its libertarian approach to policy and politics, and the Kochs often use it as a blunt force weapon to attack everything from regulations to climate change. If you’re not familiar with how global trade works, this is actually a pretty good primer; because of that, it’s a very effective argument against the irrationality of Trump’s trade policies tweets. This article explains the idiocy and inconsistency of Trump’s America First policy where he and his moronic trade staff have fabricated policy based on the “I win, you lose” myth of trade. No actual trade expert promotes this zero sum game. Win-win is the only policy that leads to economic growth and stability.
Since the beginning of this dumpster fire, I’ve been amazed how Trump’s cabinet and advisors have sold their souls for their titles. Some, like Betsy DeVos, you would expect to be incompetent. But others, like billionaire Wilbur Ross, are shocking. Ross is well known in business circles as a smart turn-around guy and shrewd businessman. As Commerce Secretary, he has backed Trump’s idiocy, defending his trade war even to rejecting a market crash as enough reason to stop it. These statements can only communicate one of two things about Ross: Either he is a dumbass and just been lucky in business all these years, or he’s pandering to Trump for some unknown reason (which could be some legal entanglement in one of his “deals”). I’ll take Door Number Two, Alex.
He’s the all time leading F*ckup-in-Chief.
1Hear, hear!
2To quote a singer-songwriter whose name I cannot drege up this afternoon: “Falling feels like flying until you hit the ground.”
3@El Jefe
RE: “When it started hitting Chamber members in the wallet, they woke up.” “It” being “His erratic behavior, shooting from the hip, and idiotic neocon economic and defense policy…”
Disagree this much: Because “So many business people, including the Chamber, hated Hillary Clinton so much…” And business people still hate Dems. Even if Drumpf AND Pence are gone by 2020 these same business people will, like lemmings, follow the nacilbupeR nominee. Into economic hell if need be. This isn’t about learning. This is about these men believing fully in their own iinerrancy.
Just like Spanky Drumpf.
4Yet our stable genius of a president warns that his opponents and critics, Democrats specifically, are damaging the country. Democrats need to “take it easy”. If there was ever a poster child for the worst effects of Dunning-Kruger, it’s him.
It still terrifies me that damn fools all over the country follow him and his idiot ideas, all the while convinced that they’re being patriotic and America-loving while Con Man Don screws over the nation and undoes decades of improvement in mere weeks.
5He said he’d Make America Great Again, and they fell asleep for a year and a half lulled by promises of vast riches and sweet dreams.
They’re finally waking up to an American Nightmare of their own creation.
6So many, so, so many of Trumps base are going to be hurt before he’s through. And most of them will not understand that it is pain of their own making.
Somebody, please draw a parallel with the common people of Germany: How long, how much destruction and pain, had to be inflicted on them, by their own hero and the armies of America, before they understood their own responsibility for the destruction of their Germany.
7Correction #1: Businesses have been voting against their interest for a long time by supporting the Tea Party before Trump. Democrats are hands down the most fiscally responsible elected officials. Just look at blue cities, counties and states.
Correction #2: Trump is not solely to blame. He has enablers in Congress, the Courts, and the media (as noted) that are making this train wreck possible. Our Founding Fathers instituted separation of powers based on the idea that one idiot can be contained by the other branches. They had no idea an entire political party full of idiots would sell out our Nation after gaining control of all three branches. Republicans own this mess, not just Trump.
8Short of constitutional amendments we can do nothing to prevent this . Congress needs term limits to get new blood in , but that will never happen. It amazes me that the Founding Fathers never considered this. James you are correct the republican controlled Congress is at fault.
9“we’ll have to develop an entire set of new statutes that will prevent this kind of tragedy from ever happening again.”
El Jefe, we had statutes to prevent autobrats like Donnie from being elected. One of those preventative measures created the Electoral College. Maybe we should revisit the protective indemnify policies that protect “public servants” from personal liability once they cross the sedition line, or even a lower standard of being feckless, lazy globs whose parentage and the marital status of their parents could be called into question. Not gratuitously questioning their birth certificates or their parents’ marriage certificates ala Donnie. Merely lamely trying to avoid a word not Mama approved. The covfefe translator says it’s a Russian word: Ублюдок.
10Me: You hate Hillary Clinton and Obama because you think they lied to you all the time.
Ex-friend: Damn right.
Me: But you’re okay with the nasty crap that Donald Trump says he wants to do, like starting a trade war with other countries.
Ex-friend: He’s just saying that. He doesn’t really mean he’d do it.
Me: So you hate Clinton for lying to you, but you’re counting on Trump lying to you?
Ex-friend: That’s not what I said.
Me: What else could it mean?
Ex-friend: $%$$^&%$
11As to the economic consequences of st00pid Donnie policy combined with every snacilbupeR trick post FDR, figures can be manipulated to lie. However, whichever direction the snacilbupeR use to move the goalposts, that tactic can be countered with percentages of reality. Ali Velshi demonstrated the value this morning of demonstrating economic parameters in irrefutable percentages. He exposed the Kudlow lies and the metrics we should be watching.
Basically when snacilbupeR complain about the cost of, for example, education and healthcare, they deserve a metaphoric roundhouse punch to their undetectable tiny gohmerts.
As for Dotard45 and his criminal band of liars who criticize NATO members for spending less than the USA does on military defense? Ask them again why 60+ percent of GDP is a ‘good’ thing. Even Putin and Kim Jong-Un are not that insane.
12“The Chamber is expected to spend millions of dollars ahead of the November elections to help candidates who back free trade, immigration and lower taxes. It has already backed candidates who share those goals in Republican primaries.”
If they want to elect a Congress that will rein in Donnie, they’d better back Democrats, because the GOP sure AF won’t do it until the ceiling caves in on them, if then.
13If we really are able to get new statutes in place, somebody needs to figure out if supreme court justices can be impeached. Because if not, amending the constitution will be an uphill battle.
14P.P. with a majority in the House to impeach and a majority in the Senate to convict, oh yeah those “life time” appointments are not worth the ink in Donnie’s pardon pen. Lying Gorsuch has already offered his grounds for impeachment; expect no less from any traitor on the list Donnie was given. Impeaching SCOTUS judges would be rare, but they too are subject to probable cause. But we need control of the House and Senate to hold SCOTUS judges accountable.
FWIW John Lying Roberts lied about his health ability to serve on that august court. He has seizure disorder, a “minor” physical disability that would prevent him from military service or a driver license in most states.
Those who would seek life time appointments to SCOTUS, Cabinet positions or a license to drive heavy machinery should met at the BARE minimum, compos mentis requirements every day “ordinary” citizens encounter in their employment circumstances.
Interesting example. Diabetic people are generally disqualified from military service due to world wide service, if their medical needs exceed readily available medical attention. Just as there should be no restrictions on transgender personnel, if their transition or lack thereof or stage of transition does not preclude them from safely serving world wide.
It follows that politicians should meet those standards, while presidents and SCOTUS judges should meet the same acceptable standards of health.
Apparently even Donnie would “agree” given his efforts to compromise Dr. Ronny and whatshisname, the guy Chicken Sanders look alike who declared that mess fit for office in the first place.
Laws are good. Exceptions to laws are equally good. But what Donnie and his regime are asking are significant transgressions of established law. Suspend precedent, suspend due process, and do it the authoritarian way.
In all due seriousness, if the Mueller Team delivers what it takes to impeach Donnie, we need a Congress prepared to impeach every man/woman joke appointed or nominated by Dotard45.
15Starting with 45 doing an impression of a weak man’s ideaof how a strong man acts, 45 doesn’t understand how the world works (or at least how it has for the last ~70 years). When your world view is shaped by TV, a TV celebrity acting out jingoistic fantasies is the ideal leader.
Business thought that nothing could be worse than the ACA and support for funding to maintain a clean environment. 45 said “Give me a tic tac”…
16@ Old Fart – Rump was tossing starburst candies at Angela Merkel.
17Sorry JJ but it aint one lone lunatic doing all this damage. PEOPLE! WAKE! UP! the rePUKEians HATE you all!!! They have since Regan!! The trumpkin was elected, supported and empowered by the rePUKEians and the deplorables, and the xtian fundies, & the 1%-ers. These people hate what most ‘mericans like and how we live. The trumpkin is just the front decorative piece at the front of the hate parade!
18VOTE the base out and the trumpkin looses!
Worked like a dog with my local Hillary committee. She had a really good ground game. But the mysogeny was everywhere! There are now more women who are capable of running for elected office than every before. Can we as a nation overcome the mysogeny in our culture in order to clean out the rethugs in both the House and Senate? Would speak with you all a lot more about this on this contribution, but I’m doing pretty good for someone with fingers CROSSED!
19So the Koch’s are p-o’d? Seriously? These guys are supposed to be smart. Evil, yes — but smart, too. [Which is why they’re so dangerous.] And THEY didn’t figure out, while they were scheming to push tRump down our throats, that all these catastrophes were bound to happen? Honey, they ain’t seen nothing yet. I wonder what they plan to do when the US is a subcontinent of Russia. Does Putin have any room left in his stable for a couple more oligarchs?
Well, it’s too late now, Dave and Charlie. You broke the US — and my only consolation is that you’ll pay more for this mess [and the cleanup if such is possible] than I will. Of course, that’s because you’ve got more to start with due to the great start you were dealt by this country in the first place.
I hope your momma taught you. when you were little, to clean up your messes.
20Geroge in Lee County: is the singer Chris Stapleton from his song, Parachute?
21El Jefe, “I am personally staggered by the damage one lunatic can do to our country…” My sentiments exactly. Dump has
destabilized the Western alliances, economies, military readiness, environmental progress and the American democracy by fueling his destructive base, partnering with Putin and enslaving the dupes in the repuglican party.
And now stands ready to cement his hold on our government by appointing another colluding conservative to the SCOTUS. All while amassing a huge fortune from the Presidency.
How can we shake free of this deadly snake?
El Jefe:
22I really don’t think the weaselheaded f**knugget-in-chief gives two s**ts one way or the other how many businesses or farms go under. If his policies somehow work, great! If, on the other hand, they fail spectacularly like we all know they will, then just think of all the opportunities for the average, all-American billionaire to scoop up failed businesses and farms for peanuts! And if said billionaires happen to have Russian surnames?
Touchdown! Slam dunk! Grand slam!
At least in the eyes of Vlad the Donnie Impaler.
TwoCrows – David and Charles Koch are putting their money bags on the balance and we are unbalanced. Their Daddy who was a Birch Society nut made his and therefore their wealth by selling technology to the Russians. Read Jane Mayer’s Dark Money – it will make you sick!!
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