Denis Smith introduces you to “Profiles in Cowardice.”
This is the Republican leadership who grovel before Trump.
Smith lists those like Senator Lindsey Graham who voted to impeach Clinton because he lied about having an affair. Trump had an affair, multiple affairs, lied about them, made illicit payments, violated campaign finance laws, etc. But that’s ok.
Why?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
We are in big trouble in this country. One party, the GOP, has gone off the rails into fascism and white supremacy. Trump associates with people like Alex Jones, Michael Savage and Lionel (Michael Lebron) a QANON guy and crazed conspiracy theorist, as if Alex Jones isn’t bad enough. Savage and Lionel have been invited to the WH and had photo ops with Trump and Pence (in the case of Savage). Trump has praised all 3 of these vicious right wing/libertarian/ conspiracy nutters. This is really bad, dangerous. We need to vote Democratic, even a moderate Democrat is better than these GOP ghouls.
From Paul Krugman: “The point is that we’re suffering from the same disease — white nationalism run wild — that has already effectively killed democracy in some other Western nations. And we’re very, very close to the point of no return.”
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Obama was roasted over the coals non stop by the right wing media for his associations with Reverend Wright and Bill Ayers. Trump invites Savage and Lionel to the WH for photo ops and lavish praise and all we hear is the sound of crickets. I think that Trump did get some mild blowback for his laudatory comments of Alex Jones. These are dangerous people, they are lethal to sanity, logic and common sense.
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Marital fidelity is not prerequisite to public office. Pres Clinton was not impeached and tried for adultery. He was impeached and tried for allegedly committing felony perjury. (He was acquitted).
If there is credible evidence that Pres Trump has committed an impeachable offense ( Treason, Bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors), then the House will draft articles of impeachment.
There will be no double standard.
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Clinton was impeached. Trump should be.
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What impeachable offense has he committed? If there is credible evidence, then the House judiciary committee should draft a bill of impeachment.
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Really, Charles, if you think the House judiciary committee will draft a bill of impeachment while the GOP holds the majority of seats I have several view-acres on the Moon I can sell you for a bargain of $1 billion dollars and if that price is too high, I’ll sell you an invisible bridge in New York City for $1k. If you can walk on water, you will be the only person that can use this bridge.
Wait for the 2018 midterms to see if the House switches majorities and the Democratic Majority draft a bill of impeachment.
But if that happens, and the odds are it will, the Democratic probably won’t have enough votes in the Senate to kick the crook out of the White House and send him the prison for life where he belongs.
The House Judiciary Committee had 40 members. It takes 21 to bring the articles of impeachment to the floor for a vote and then it takes 218 votes.
In the Senate trial, it takes 67 votes, a two-thirds majority, to kick Trump out of the White House.
According to Vox, the Democrats might, possibly win SIX Senate seats from Republicans but the Democrats are defending 10 seats in state that Donald Trump won.
“At this point, Democrats need more or less a straight flush to win the Senate: They have to hold those 10 seats, some of which are in very hostile territory, and then pick off two states from Republicans. The two obvious candidates are Nevada, where Dean Heller is already in clear trouble, and Arizona, where Jeff Flake is retiring and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema already has a strong showing in the early polls.”
The odds are against the Democrats ending up with 67 seats in the US Senate since they have to hold on to all their current seats and win 8 from Republicans.
As long as the Republican party holds enough seats in the Senate, Trump is probably safe and the country is stuck with this moldy orange turd until the 2020 election.
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I do not get this vitriol. Although impeachment is a political process, it must be a non-partisan process. If you go back to 1974, when the House was considering impeaching Pres Nixon, it was the Republicans who met with Nixon and demanded his resignation.
I believe sincerely, that if an impeachable offense has been committed then a bill of impeachment should be drafted.
If the evidence is there, then the Senate will convict. The senators have an oath to the constitution, that supersedes party loyalty.
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1974 was not 2018.
Nixon was not a Trump.
The Republican Party in 1974 was nothing like the GOP is today.
There is no comparison.
The GOP of 1974 was more like the Democratic Party of today.
In the early 1980s when President Ray-Gun lured all the racists in the old Democratic Party to switch to the GOP, the GOP become the party of racists and haters and that is when the Democrats started to become more like the Republican Party before Ray-Gun gave birth to the vampire the GOP has become.
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Charles: “… if an impeachable offense has been committed then a bill of impeachment should be drafted.”
Bill Clinton was impeached for having an affair and lying about it. Trump has had multiple affairs and paid off two women so that his affairs would not be known before the election. Where is the House on impeachment? Nowhere.
There aren’t enough Dems in the Senate to proceed with throwing the bum out. Trump would be roaring about this horrible injustice to the greatest president in the history of this country. Some people would believe that nonsense. I’m sure Fox would be proclaiming the horrors of what has been done. Trump would become more ‘invincible’. This teflon Orange monster would survive.
I’m waiting to hear what Trump’s flipped friend at the National Inquirer has buried. Trump tried to buy out all of that hidden garbage. It will be fun to see and hear that mess. Mueller is proceeding and will come out when the time is right.
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@ Carolmalaysia: Politicians cheat on their wives. Stop the presses.
Clinton was impeached and tried by the Senate, for allegedly committing felony perjury. (NOT for adultery, nor infidelity). Clinton was accused of lying UNDER OATH.
Pres Trump has the morals of a rabbit. Who cares? There is no accusation of felony perjury. It is not the same thing.
I support a full and complete investigation. If an impeachable offense is discovered, then full speed ahead.
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Well, his son-in-Law and campaign staff met with agents of the Russian government to “get dirt” on his political opponent. That’s called conspiracy. That’s a felony. That’s a start. Also, he paid off two women not to talk; that was an unreported corporate gift to his campaign. That’s a campaign finance felony.
Cohen is singing. David Pecker if the National Enquirer is singing. So is the CFO of the Trump Organization.
Let’s see if the Orange Menace let’s Mueller complete his investigation. Mueller is a Republican, despite the ranting from the golf course.
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I read “Conservatives Without Conscience” years ago, after Watergate.
John Dean (yes THAT john Dean) nailed the hypocrisy in that book,.
Actually, I listened to the audio version… and loved it.
He goes into a n analysis of the psychology of hypocrisy, and how it enables them to do this. Psychological research is typically dismissed for its lack of causal relationships between two variables. Unlike hard sciences, psychologists cannot put a cause and effect label on an individual’s behavior like Newton did with the apple.
However, make no mistake, there is an importance to psychological research, and that importance is underscored in this book by John Dean.
Dean uses the work of political/social psychologist Bob Altemeyer and others in the field to outline the four tenets of behavioral study: 1) describe; 2) explain; 3) predict; and 4) influence.
Dean believes the Bush administration has run the United States with an autocratic hand. Conservatism has become a dangerous movement led by what Altemeyer describes as authoritarian leaders and authoritarian followers. Modern conservatism is a movement that has morphed into a black-and-white world of beliefs about human nature. Dean uses the objective data of Altemeyer to stress that the personalities, which unlike moods do not change very easily, have led to this administration’s indifference to principles of liberty and eqaulity set forth in the Constitution.
This description of authoritarianism explains why individuals like Bush, Cheney, Abramoff, Pat Robertson and Tom DeLay push their moral and intellecutal superiority onto the world and expect everyone to step in line. They rarely admit mistakes because that would show supposed weakness in their minds. And since they are conservatives, the answers to any problem have already been established.
Many buy into this thinking, according to Dean, because the tendency of most in society is to follow someone lock step who gives the impression of having all the answers. This is why the Republican Congress and 25 percent of the electorate would follow George Bush no matter what, according to Dean. They are simply weak-minded and fearful of losing their position in society. Fear-mongering is how authoritarians govern.
Finally, Dean’s purpose is to influence those moderates and conservatives with a conscience to rise up against the Bush regime and take back our government. Whether he was successful may depend on the 2006 midterm elections.
Of course, this is a political work and its very thesis carries with it an outright dismissal from those who reject the author based on his history in the public eye. Ironically, Dean understands this because he knows the tendencies of those in power and those who blindly follow those in the executive branch.
But Dean’s work should not be dimissed. It is an accessible and very readable account of how personality influences politics. This book is partisan, sure, but it is intellectual and rational, unlike recent book’s like FUBAR from Sam Sedar or Godless by Ann Coulter.
The bottom line is that personalities create political power. Dean’s point is that democracies lose when the autocrats run the show.
AND THIS WAS WRITTEN YEARS AGO. GOOD READS SAYS THIS:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62629.Conservatives_Without_Conscience
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We have no clue about al that that traitorous liar tRump is into. We cannot imagine his depths of depravity and immorality.
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sorry, meant “what” that ….
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Maybe because Clinton did it in the White House with an intern (workplace violation)? To the partisan mind this might not make a difference, but could you at least admit that your boy lowered the bar generally?
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Richard Zeile,
Clinton was impeached for lying.
I assume you agree that Trump should also be impeached for lying.
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Why?
Double standard.
Democrats are not allowed to do anything wrong. Jaywalk and you have to resign.
Republicans can worship the devil, threaten to slaughter people, rape women, …That’s all okay.
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Was it not Kenneth Star who had to resign from the presidency of Baylor University for covering up a sex scandal? Irony is not a thing that smooths cloth. So now the Republicans are trying to split hairs to justify their support of Trump’s immorality, and thereby justify their previous condemnation of Bill Clinton’s famous immorality. Meanwhile, we continue to learn that support for outlawing abortions was forthcoming from some of those who molested kids at the very orphanages where those who were thrust into this world were summarily ignored.
For all humans who wish to pontificate about the sins of others, let us get a good dose of collective guilt.
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In the Clinton impeachment, Republicans condmed Him for lying. They don’t object to Trump lying or to his liaison with a porn star.
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I think you can shorten that last sentence and still over all bases with
“They don’t object to his lie-aison with a porn star”
More than one level of lying involved in this case.
“Layson with a porn star” also works, though it no longer conveys the double meaning and “with” should probably be dropped to make it simply “Layson a porn star”
Hope that helps.
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Or should it be “lies-on a porn star”?
I never could get that lay and lie stuff straight.
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Maybe the Grammar Girl can help with ‘lay’ and ‘lie’ and more
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Maybe there are some English teachers reading who can help me out?
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“Pornstar Lies-on”
Laying and lying
Secrecy buying
Trump is denying
But Stormy’s defying
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Thanks, Lloyd
Grammar girl really helped:
You lie on the sofa
But you lay a pornstar on the sofa.
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I’ll bet Trump does both at the same time — lie and lay on the sofa, that is.
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Of course, where it gets confusing is when you lie about laying a pornstar on the sofa.
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Lloyd, you should prolly send that Grammar girl vid to Bob Dylan cuz his song “Lay lady lay” is wrong.
It should be “Lie lady lie, lie across my big brass bed”
And the Nobel literature committee should prolly revoked his Nobel prize too.
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Bob Dylan Updates “The Times They Are A-Changin'” for 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=55&v=wZ9drv78dCQ
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“The Constitution matters more than a tax cut.”
I may have to reassess my opinion of Stephens if he continues to write as clearly as this. See how your proverbial “crazy uncle” at Thanksgiving dinner responds to that one. It should reveal core motivations.
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Trump has only one god…money for himself. A person who exudes decadence and hedonism is supposed to save American culture from total decadence and hedonism? Great thinking.
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Christian Theologian Warns Evangelicals: Trump Will Turn On You ‘In A Moment’
…“They regard [Trump] as a person who is not one of God’s own people (Jewish or Christian), but an instrument of God to deliver Israel and American evangelical Christianity from persecution,” Olson wrote.
Trump, they believe, was “raised up by God to reverse the trend in American culture toward total decadence and hedonism.” But, Olson warned, that might not turn out to be the case at all:
“Personally, speaking only for myself, I believe President Trump only cares about power. I have not seen any real principles ― other than ‘Make America great again’ (with an implied ‘and me, too’). I strongly suspect that he is manipulating his conservative Christian ‘base’ and would turn on them in a moment if it suited his agenda to be powerful.”…
Article: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/roger-olson-christian-theologian-donald-trump_us_5b8752aee4b0511db3d48fb3
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Trump has only one god that he worships — him.
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Not sure how this “Theologian” thinks Trump is going to “turn on Evangelicals”, unless he thinks Trump is going to suddenly become a “Godless liberal”, which seems to be the only thing these folks worry about — and which is about as likely as the Earth getting hit by an asteroid today.
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The Orange Dictator is stepping on the Justice Department and the FBI for not doing what he wants. “I will get involved.” Good grief, he still has people in Indiana shouting “Lock her up” after Trump says, “Look at what she’s getting away with it. But lets’s see if she gets away with it. Let’s see”.
Let’s see if the Orange one gets away with it. Hillary testified for 11 hours and nothing was found. Trump’s lawyers are trying to keep him from testifying because they know he would incriminate himself. Looks like there are people in Indiana who believe that trump’s tax package is benefitting them. Braun is a wealthy Republican who bragged about being a very staunch supporter of Trump. That’s how he won the Republican primary.
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Trump attacks Justice Department and FBI: ‘I want them to do their jobs’
(CNN)President Donald Trump attacked his own Justice Department and FBI leadership and implied Hillary Clinton could face criminal charges during a campaign rally Thursday night in Indiana.
“Our Justice Department and our FBI have to start doing their jobs and doing it right and doing it now, because people are angry. People are angry,” Trump said at a rally in Evansville, where he was campaigning for Republican Senate nominee Mike Braun.
Trump also suggested he could take a heavier role in the Justice Department — comments that came hours after he told Bloomberg that Attorney General Jeff Sessions would remain in his job until after November’s midterm elections.
“What’s happening is a disgrace, and at some point — I wanted to stay out, but at some point, if it doesn’t straighten out properly — I want them to do their jobs — I will get involved,” Trump said.
Trump also attacked his 2016 opponent, Clinton. “Look at what she’s getting away with it,” Trump said. “But let’s see if she gets away with it. Let’s see.” The crowd responded with chants of “Lock her up!”…
Braun has attacked Donnelly for voting against Trump’s tax package late last year, as well as backing moderate immigration proposals. He has sought to latch Donnelly to more progressive Democrats’ positions, such as calls to abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Check out this story on CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/30/politics/trump-evansville-rally/index.html
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Trump’s water-boy is doing his job.
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Speaking to the American Legion in Minneapolis, Pence praised the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) for his “lifetime of service,” calling him “one of the most unwavering advocates of our Armed Forces to ever serve.”
The veterans group had criticized Trump over the delay in issuing a directive to lower flags in honor of McCain (The Washington Post).
“I can assure you, America will always remember and honor the lifetime of service of United States Senator John McCain. By honoring him, we also honor all of you.” – Pence
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Today we celebrate workers. Here’s how well workers are doing under the Orange IDIOT. Trump, a wealthy self-serving narcissist has no real interest in working class people. He just spouts about all the wonderful things he is doing. The tax break for the wealthy and corporations show where his interests lie.
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E.J. Dionne: What has happened to the working class?
…One reason class is receding in our public debates: The Trump years have, so far at least, done little for wage earners. Indeed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, real hourly wages overall dropped between July 2017 and July 2018, and they dropped for mid-wage workers, too. This is not at all the “winning” Trump promised.
Nor have the policies of the Trump Administration been focused on the welfare of workers. On the contrary, one of the scammiest parts of Trump’s politics is that he talks like a labor leader but governs like a corporate lobbyist. His tax cut showered benefits on the wealthiest segments of society and produced deficits so massive that Republicans are now proffering cuts in social benefits that go in significant part to — yes, the working class….
Yes, attention must be paid to white workers whose living standards have stagnated or worsened. But attention must also be paid to the country’s racial wage gap. As David Cooper noted earlier this summer in an analysis for the Economic Policy Institute, while 8.6 percent of white workers were paid poverty wages in 2017, the figures were 19.2 percent for Hispanic workers and 14.3 percent for African-American workers….
https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2018/09/03/ej-dionne-what-has
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Trump’s Rants Are Escalating in Dangerous Ways
By Robert Reich, Robert Reich’s Facebook Page
02 September 18
Trump’s rants are escalating in dangerous ways. At his rally last night in Indiana Trump said: “Today’s Democrat Party is held hostage by left-wing haters, angry mobs, deep-state radicals, establishment cronies and their fake-news allies,” and that “our biggest obstacle and their greatest ally actually is the media.” He also lashed out at the FBI and the Justice Department, claiming that “people are angry” and threatening to personally “get involved.”
Why is the president of the United States claiming a huge conspiracy against him?
(a) He’s now truly paranoid and totally unhinged.
(b) He wants to fire Sessions (and Mueller), stir up his base so they’ll go to the polls Election Day, and threaten the nation with civil unrest if he’s ever impeached.
I say (b). What do you think?
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This is something that really bothers me. The air in NW Indiana was declared 16th most polluted in the nation by the American Lung Association in 2013. I’ve had hospice patients with COPD, one of the diseases caused by air pollution. Even Trump has to breath air. I think stupid has already hit him.
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Donald Trump’s Environmental Policies Will Actually Make Us Stupider…Mother Jones
More than 40 percent of Americans live in counties with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to the American Lung Association. The health effects of inhaling contaminants such as ozone and particles from exhaust are well documented. The World Health Organization says air pollution causes about 1 in 9 deaths worldwide, mostly from lung and heart disease.
In 2008, Suglia and her colleagues published a study linking cognitive problems in a group of Boston children to high pollution exposure. And communities with poor air pollution, she notes, tend to be unhealthy in other ways: less access to food, fewer recreation facilities, and more crime, for example. “It just kind of compounds everything,” she says.
Chen says his group’s findings underscore the need for strong regulations around air quality—which a recent analysis by University of California researchers found have been highly effective in the United States: “Public policies should respond to the increasing concerns on air pollution, in particular the hidden cost on intellect, which has not been well recognized before.”
The news on that front, though, is grim. Earlier this month, President Trump announced plans to dramatically relax fuel efficiency standards, a move that would flood American communities with more dangerous airborne particulates from vehicles. Just last week, the Environmental Protection Agency determined that Trump’s new regulations for emissions at coal-burning power plants will cause an additional 1,400 deaths a year…
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/08/donald-trump-environmental-policies-making-us-stupider-air-pollution-cognitive-decline/
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