SPEAK UP!

This is, if you think about it, utterly shameful. Really, truly, irresponsible

https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/29/ex-gop-lawmaker-says-republicans-are-disgusted/

Former Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA) told CNN that Republicans are in public “standing with the president for the moment”  . . . “But there’s no question, having spoken to many of them privately, they’re absolutely disgusted and exhausted by the president’s behavior. They resent being put in this position all the time.”

In investigation news . . .

Gordon Sondland is lying: read the whole thread

https://twitter.com/TheViewFromLL2/status/1197947172622413824

More: https://www.emptywheel.net/2019/11/29/the-origin-of-the-sharpie-denial-an-effort-to-craft-a-cover-story-on-the-pages-of-the-wsj/

In other news . . .

Kim Jong Un got everything he wanted from Trump (without giving up a damn thing that matters in return) -- recognition as a legitimate world leader, on a global stage. Now Trump can go suck eggs

https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/29/how-north-korea-soured-on-donald-trump/ 

Trump wants $300 million to fix a Wall™ that was badly designed in the first place

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/11/29/1899744/-Trump-wants-to-waste-another-300-million-after-border-fencing-breached-with-100-saws 

Count the ironies

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/boris-johnson-donald-trump-election_n_5de0feaee4b0913e6f7d1177 
UK PM Boris Johnson To Donald Trump: Don’t Interfere In Our Election

A 2020 economic train wreck for Trump?

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/29/2-big-things-that-could-save-or-sink-trump-in-2020-074366 

The gender gap will bring down Trump. You wait and see

https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2019/11/suburban-women-do-not-like-him-one.html

More: https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/29/trump-has-turned-the-suburbs-into-a-gop-disaster-zone/

The "Do-Nothing Dems" have passed 400 bills. Don't blame them

https://www.vox.com/2019/11/29/20977735/how-many-bills-passed-house-democrats-trump

You know what I don't like? When Democrats attack other Democrats who honestly disagree with them by calling them "Republicans"

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/11/aoc-slams-buttigieg-adopting-gop-talking-point-criticizing-tuition-free-college.html

I like Kamala Harris. I want to see her debate Trump one-on-one. Looks like that won't happen

https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/29/how-kamala-harriss-campaign-unraveled/

Barack Obama is getting more and more involved in the Democratic primary

https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/26/advice-from-obama/

https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/11/21/20976733/barack-obama-dnc-fundraiser-silicon-valley

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019/11/29/the-search-to-understand-barack-obama-continues

More: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/472090-obama-privately-said-he-would-speak-up-to-stop-sanders-report
Obama privately said he would speak up to stop Sanders: report

Bonus item: Conan the hero dog's gender. . . maybe. Or not. Who knows? Who cares? (thanks to JT for the link)

https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/conan-the-gender-fluid-hero-dog

***If you enjoy Progressive Blog Digest and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media. Thanks for helping to spread the word!

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

THE COLLAPSE OF A SCHEME

There is no record of the Sept 9 phone call in which Trump supposedly told Gordon Sondland, "No quid pro quo"

https://www.thedailybeast.com/no-record-found-of-trumps-no-quid-pro-quo-call-with-sondland-wapo

If you had a serious interest in asking the justice officials in another country to investigate evildoers that you had evidence were dirty, here's what you would do. Justice officials in your country would contact their counterparts and offer to share the evidence that they had and to cooperate in bringing the evildoers to justice. With Ukraine and the Bidens that never happened

https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/28/barr-never-asked-ukraine-for-investigation/
Barr Never Asked Ukraine for Investigation

[NB: Here's what you wouldn't do: dispatch the president's personal attorney, along with an assorted group of thugs and political hangers-on, to suggest that if the country would do said investigation good things would happen to them -- or, alternatively, that bad things would happen to them if they didn't. And you wouldn't have the president call and say "do me a favor." Think about it: in what way would it be a favor? There's really only one answer to that, and it's obvious.]

It's a crazy old world: Trump alienates China, cuddles up with the Taliban

https://www.axios.com/trump-hong-kong-bill-china-summons-us-ambassador-5fecb577-1c26-40b9-b048-98c872dce18b.html

https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/28/trump-restarts-negotiations-with-taliban/

Trump makes a surprise trip to Afghanistan to visit the troops and . . . talk about himself

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/11/trump-surprise-afghanistan-visit-peech-filled-praise-himself.html
And he made some news by saying that he had restarted peace negotiations with the Taliban. “The Taliban wants to make a deal, and we’re meeting with them,” Trump said three months after after he ended talks. Trump insisted the Taliban is eager to make a deal but he suggested that it could go other way. “The Taliban wants to make a deal — we’ll see if they make a deal. If they do, they do, and if they don’t they don’t. That’s fine,” Mr. Trump said. . . .
 

In other investigation news . . .

Eric Trump tries to market a new "Leave Our President Alone" hat. (I love that "Our")

https://flipboard.com/@huffingtonpost/twitter-wits-skewer-eric-trump-over-lame-o-lopa-hat-leave-our-president-alo/f-d13535823d%2Fhuffpost.com

In other news . . .

President Bone Spurs

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/11/ex-navy-secretary-richard-spencer-trump-doesnt-understand-military.html
Former Navy Secretary Richard Spencer, who was fired last weekend, harshly criticized President Donald Trump in an op-ed piece, blasting the commander in chief for getting involved in a case involving a Navy SEAL who had been accused of war crimes . . . Spencer detailed just how much Trump tried to get involved in the review of Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher “almost from the start” and then at every stage of the process, which was highly unusual. “This was a shocking and unprecedented intervention in a low-level review,” Spencer wrote. “It was also a reminder that the president has very little understanding of what it means to be in the military, to fight ethically or to be governed by a uniform set of rules and practices.” 

[NB: None of those three, I would say: it should be "and" not "or."]

Lincoln's Thanksgiving massage, and Trump's

https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2019/11/lincolns-thanksgiving-tweet.html
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW_HEqEZfGE

Yesterday we had the photoshopped "Trump as Rocky Balboa" picture that he posted about himself. Twitter had a field day

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-rocky-meme-twitter_n_5ddf7c8ee4b0d50f329ca02d

[NB: You will never, ever see a real photo of Trump shirtless. Here's why]

Bonus item: Seth Meyers on the "War on Thanksgiving"

https://www.thedailybeast.com/seth-meyers-destroys-trumps-war-on-thanksgiving-nonsense-what-the-fuck-are-you-talking-about

I hadn't realized how all-in Fox World was on this idiocy: https://twitter.com/JohnnyHeatWave/status/1199705209620107272

***If you enjoy Progressive Blog Digest and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media. Thanks for helping to spread the word!

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

THE BUDDY SYSTEM

It has come to this. Trump now wants us to believe that he had nothing to do with anything Rudy Giuliani was doing in Ukraine. This is laughably absurd

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trumps-latest-line-giuliani-should-probably-make-him-nervous
First, this probably wasn’t the answer Giuliani was hoping to hear from his client. Second, the president’s line is literally unbelievable. As Jon Chait explained last night, listening to Trump’s claim is “a vertigo-inducing experience. The notion that an unpaid attorney holding no government job or foreign policy experience took control of American policy in a crucial region to the extent that diplomats in two countries spent months attempting to placate him – and did this all on his own – is so preposterous that merely to describe the scenario is to debunk it. Obviously, obviously, Giuliani was acting on Trump’s behalf.” Chait went on to note some of the instances in which Giuliani boasted about his efforts on Trump’s behalf, and the sworn testimony of a variety of officials who confirmed that Giuliani was acting on Trump’s behalf . . .  [T]he White House released a call summary of Trump’s July 25 phone meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump talked about coordination between Kyiv and Giuliani on Trump’s behalf.  The Republican told his Ukrainian counterpart, “I will have Mr. Giuliani give you a call.”

We have always suspected that Giuliani's intervention to get an investigation into Biden was all wrapped up with other financial scams he (and others) were pulling in Ukraine. Now we know

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/giuliani-was-in-talks-to-represent-ukrainian-ministry-while-digging-for-trump-dirt-there
Rudy Giuliani almost represented Ukraine, the country, as a client while he searched for dirt there on President Donald Trump’s behalf. In January and February, at the same time he was looking around for political dirt for Trump in Ukraine, Giuliani was also in talks to represent the country’s Ministry of Justice in its top prosecutor’s attempt to recover assets he considered to be Ukrainian property. Another proposed arrangement had Giuliani representing the prosecutor himself, Yuriy Lutsenko. In February, Giuliani’s company even sent signed retainer paperwork to the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice, seeking $300,000 for Giuliani’s representation. The Ukrainian justice minister did not sign the document . . . The proposal was one of several floated between Giuliani and his associates and the Ukrainians at the time . . .

https://www.vox.com/2019/11/27/20985915/impeachment-giuliani-ukraine-payments
Rudy Giuliani tried to score big bucks in Ukraine as scandal unfolded

More: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/11/26/1902116/-Giuliani-linked-to-another-legally-challenged-energy-exec-in-his-Ukraine-pursuits-lobbied-DOJ

https://www.thedailybeast.com/rudy-giuilani-targeted-ukranian-president-volodymyr-zelenskys-top-aide

https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/27/giuliani-gives-shifting-answers-on-ukrainian-oligarch/ 

Giuliani's "insurance"

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/giulianis-lawyer-forced-him-to-call-trump-to-tell-him-he-was-just-kidding-about-insurance

Trump now calls the U.S. military part of the "Deep State"

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/deep-state-rhetoric-trump-takes-aim-the-us-militarys-values

Putin is laughing his ass off

https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/27/trump-to-cut-financial-contribution-to-nato/
Trump to Cut Financial Contribution to NATO 

Here comes the DOJ IG report

https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/27/justice-department-will-undercut-trump-claim/
“The Justice Department’s inspector general found no evidence that the FBI attempted to place undercover agents or informants inside Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016 as agents investigated whether his associates conspired with Russia’s election interference operation . . . . The finding also contradicts some of the most inflammatory accusations hurled by Mr. Trump and his supporters, who alleged not only that F.B.I. officials spied on the Trump campaign but also at one point that former President Barack Obama had ordered Mr. Trump’s phones tapped.” “He also found that FBI leaders did not take politically motivated actions in pursuing a secret wiretap on a former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page — eavesdropping that Mr. Trump’s allies have long decried as politically motivated.”

In other investigation news . . .

Trump's denials of a "quid pro quo" were clearly part of a cover-up once he knew about the whistleblower complaint

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/11/trump-no-quid-pro-quo-cover-story-not-truth.html

In other news . . .

Your president thought it was a good idea to tweet out this image

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1199718185865535490

Trump, again, fabricates a crisis, which is not a crisis, which he says he will stop, which he then claims credit for stopping

https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2019/11/heres-where-trump-got-the-idea-that-some-people-want-to-change-the-name-of-thanksgiving/
“Some People” Want to Change the Name of Thanksgiving

More: https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-backs-trumps-war-on-thanksgiving-bs-he-got-from-fox

Cult watch

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/11/trump-goes-fantasyland-claims-he-beat

Good

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-signs-hong-kong-bill_n_5ddf0824e4b0d50f329c122c
Trump Signs Bill Supporting Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Protesters

Bonus item: If a tree falls in the forest . . .

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/11/26/1901969/-Cartoon-Impeachment-riddles

***If you enjoy Progressive Blog Digest and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media. Thanks for helping to spread the word!

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

NON-BINARY

There are countless examples of enablers backfilling facts to fit Trump's lies or misstatements, because he can never be wrong, ever, about anything. (When he was on The Apprentice they would routinely re-edit the "reality" show to fit him.) But this, THIS, is the most absurd example of all

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/11/white-house-stands-behind-its-story-conan 
Apparently, because nothing is real anymore and reality is whatever you claim it to be, the White House has pushed back on whether Conan, the Belgian Malinois that helped take down al-Baghdadi was in fact not a female dog, as originally reported, but a male one . . .Trump referred to the dog with male pronouns several times . . . . 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/boy-oh-boy-pentagon-says-conan-male-final-answer-n1091836
The "tough cookie" — as President Trump called him — was initially identified as female, but administration officials later reversed course and said the dog is male. That was followed by a defense official telling ABC News that Conan is female, which was later corrected. . . . 

Veterinarians weigh in

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/11/conan-the-dogs-sex-according-to-veterinarians.html

[NB: Probably a male, okay. But why the constant switching back and forth? Isn't this easily ascertained? The whole way it has been handled -- like his hospital trip -- invites suspicion.]

New impeachment revelations: Trump knew about the whistleblower complaint when he released the Ukraine aid

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/11/26/1902149/-Trump-knew-about-the-whistleblower-complaint-when-he-finally-unfroze-the-aid-to-Ukraine

Trump is now saying he had no idea what Giuliani was doing in Ukraine 

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/under-the-bus-you-go-rudy-trump-claims-he-didnt-tell-giuliani-to-go-to-ukraine

More: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/giuliani-suggests-he-was-mission-the-state-department
[Sept 24] Over the weekend, however, the Washington Post asked Giuliani whether Trump had given the lawyer’s efforts his presidential blessing. Giuliani replied, “I don’t do anything that involves my client without speaking with my client.”

Sect'y of State Pompeo says we have a "duty" to look into the debunked Ukraine/2016 conspiracy theory

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/pompeo-gives-trump-cover-on-his-bogus-ukraine-conspiracy-theory-floats-potential-probe
“Any time there is information that indicates that any country has messed with American elections, we not only have a right but a duty to make sure we chase that down,” Pompeo said when asked if the U.S. would pursue an investigation into the conspiracy theory. . . . 

The other Trump corruption scandal: Turkey

https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2019/11/there-is-yet-another-trump-corruption.html

Here's what happened with the Gallagher deal

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/spencer-navy-seal-gallagher
Richard Spencer, the ousted Secretary of the Navy, said Monday that he was compelled to try to counteract President Donald Trump’s intervention in the case of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher to “preserve the resiliency of the naval institution.” . . . [H]e spoke with White House counsel Pat Cipollone on November 15 to strike a bargain . . .Spencer proposed that Gallagher be allowed to retire as a SEAL in exchange for Trump butting out of the military review process. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that he lost confidence in Spencer for forging the deal behind his back. “I will take the bad on me, for not letting him know I did that,” Spencer said . . . Cipollone rejected the deal, saying that Trump was certainly going to be involved. Spencer blasted Trump in his outgoing letter. “I no longer share the same understanding as the Commander in Chief who appointed me, in regards to the key principle of good order and discipline . . . .” [read on]

More: https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2019/11/he-doesnt-know-what-war-fighter-is.html
“What message does that send to the troops?” Spencer said. “That you can get away with things.” You can get away with things. That might sound deeply troubling to many, but is there any doubt that this is Trump’s intended message? If Trump decides you’re one of his people, you can get away with things. . . . In every conceivable way, Trump has proclaimed that he and his loyalists will not be held to any standards of any kind in public service — and will not hold themselves to any such standards, either.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-i-stood-up-against-the-deep-state-to-pardon-accused-war-criminals
President Trump boasted at his Florida rally on Tuesday night of taking a stand against the “Deep State” by pardoning accused and convicted war criminals, apparently taking a thinly veiled jab at the military leadership he overruled to issue the pardons. “Just this week, I stuck up for three great warriors against the Deep State,” the president exclaimed in Sunrise, Florida. “You know what I’m talking about. I had so many people say, ‘Sir, I don’t think you should do that.’” . . .

In other investigation news . . .

The House Judiciary committee will hold an impeachment hearing on Dec. 4.  Trump and his attorneys are invited

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/house-judiciary-impeachment-hearing-trump-letter 
“The Impeachment Inquiry into President Donald J. Trump: Constitutional Grounds for Presidential Impeachment.” 

After howling that the process is unfair because his lawyers can't participate, when Trump and his lawyers ARE invited to participate, they say. . . . No

https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/27/trump-wont-send-lawyer-to-judiciary-hearings/  

The case for impeachment is overwhelming

https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/26/the-case-against-donald-trump-3/

More: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/11/26/1902026/-Democrats-need-to-use-the-embarrassment-of-riches-they-have-in-articles-of-impeachment-against-Trump 

Trump claims that polls show impeachment is increasingly unpopular. Trump is lying 

https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/26/support-for-removing-trump-ticks-up/
Support for Removing Trump Ticks Up . . .

https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/26/most-think-trump-abused-his-office/
A new CNN poll finds 53% of Americans think that President Trump had used his office improperly, up from 49% in October, and 56% said Trump’s attempts to persuade Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter was more for personal benefit than to root out corruption. . . . 

A huge gender gap: https://www.vox.com/2019/11/26/20983690/trump-impeachment-hearings-women-poll-2020-democrats

What a Senate trial will look like

https://www.vox.com/2019/11/26/20976650/senate-impeachment-trial-donald-trump-conviction-acquittal

Just a coincidence, I'm sure

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/wh-froze-ukraine-money-within-hours-of-trump-zelensky-call
WH Froze Ukraine Money Within Hours Of Trump-Zelensky Call

Two more witness transcripts

https://www.axios.com/mark-sandy-philip-reeker-deposition-transcripts-9c28dd92-9f76-493c-b981-85644fcbd775.html 
Mark Sandy, a career official in the White House Office of Management and Budget, testified that he was told in a July 12 email that President Trump "is directing a hold on military support funding for Ukraine," but that he was not given a reason for the hold until it was lifted in September. . . . He said that despite numerous requests, he did not receive a reason for withholding Ukraine's aid until the freeze was lifted in September, at which point he was told Trump had concerns that other countries gave insufficient aid compared to the U.S.  Sandy testified that he had raised concerns about whether the freeze violated the Impoundment Control Act, and was later removed from the process by a political appointee, Mike Duffey. . . Sandy also claimed that a staffer in OMB's legal division resigned at least in part over the hold on Ukraine security assistance.

https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/26/two-budget-officials-resigned-over-ukraine-aid-hold/
Two Budget Officials Resigned Over Ukraine Aid Hold  

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/read-top-state-official-testifies-about-smear-campaign-against-ambassador
Top State Official Testifies About Smear Campaign Against Ambassador 

How many lawsuits are there over Trump stonewalling with witnesses or documents that have been subpoenaed?

https://www.axios.com/house-sues-bill-barr-wilbur-ross-citizenship-question-97a5a60f-70a4-473f-b2af-02b4bd4dcf17.html

I call B.S. on this: https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/26/trump-claims-he-would-like-his-aides-to-testify/
Trump Claims He Would Like His Aides to Testify 

And I call B.S. on this: https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/26/pompeo-gives-vague-answer-on-testifying/
Pompeo Gives Vague Answer on Testifying

And I call B.S. on this: https://www.axios.com/national-security-officials-mcgahn-ruling-john-bolton-5719a0c9-572b-4906-8be5-e2d1d98b145c.html
Bolton's lawyer says McGahn ruling does not apply to national security officials

The investigation of the Trump Org moves forward

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/11/ny-prosecutors-now-focused-trump-cfo-allen

More: https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/27/trump-tax-records-reveal-new-inconsistencies/
Trump Tax Records Reveal New Inconsistencies

Rudy Giuliani is in trouble

https://www.vox.com/2019/11/26/20982629/rudy-giuliani-investigation-sdny-ukraine

In other news . . .

Trump's tariffs are costing U.S. consumers $40 billion

https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/26/american-consumers-bearing-full-costs-of-trade-war/ 

The Cesspool: Trump goes on an official (taxpayer funded) trip to London for NATO. But he'll do some fundraising for his campaign while he's there

https://www.axios.com/trump-campaign-fundraiser-nato-london-82e8ef23-5f97-4280-bb7b-4d746bdd0d5d.html 
Trump's ambassador to the United Kingdom, the billionaire New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, was previously a major Republican fundraiser . . .

Trump keeps complaining that the Dems won't pass NAFTA 2.0. It's called a "negotiation," and a deal is close. Will he give them any credit when they do?

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/25/pelosi-usmca-compromise-within-range-073790

Why Trump needs a calendar

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/centennial-coins-trump-struggles-how-time-works

Cruel and unusual punishment

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/11/26/1902025/-Letter-reveals-border-officials-rejected-CDC-recommendation-to-give-detained-families-flu-shots
Two detained children died in part from the flu in the months after Customs and Border Protection officials rejected a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control last year to vaccinate kids and families in their custody . . . 

What's going on in Hong Kong?

https://www.vox.com/world/2019/8/22/20804294/hong-kong-protests-9-questions 

More: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/11/26/1902067/-Trump-still-hasn-t-signed-the-Hong-Kong-democracy-bill-Republicans-have-challenged-him-over
Trump still hasn't signed the Hong Kong democracy bill Republicans have challenged him over  

We often ask here why Christians support Trump -- as unChristian a man as has ever occupied the White House. The conventional wisdom is, it's just hypocritical opportunism: he gave them Mike Pence and he gives them judges. But here's a different take

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/11/26/20978613/donald-trump-christians-william-barr-impeachment
Republicans control the White House, the Senate, and the Supreme Court. They have 27 governorships and governing trifectas in 21 states. But many conservatives — particularly Christian conservatives — believe they’re being routed in the war that matters most: the post-Christian culture war. They see a diverse, secular left winning the future and preparing to eviscerate both Christian practice and traditional mores. And they see themselves as woefully unprepared to respond with the ruthlessness that the moment requires. Enter Donald Trump. Whatever Trump’s moral failings, he’s a street fighter suited for an era of political combat. Christian conservatives believe — rightly or wrongly — that they’ve been held back by their sense of righteousness, grace, and gentility, with disastrous results. Trump operates without restraint. He is the enemy they believe the secular deserve, and perhaps unfortunately, the champion they need . . . [read on] 

Former Republican David Joley is VERY "former"

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/11/former-gop-rep-slams-republicans-they-want
"There is no part of the Republican Party prior to 2015 that would knowingly be part of spreading Russian disinformation about having hacked in the U.S. election . . . It's not something that would have happened. Lindsey Graham wouldn't have tolerated it. John McCain wouldn't have tolerated it. People like you wouldn't have tolerated it." . . .

"It's gravely dangerous through their ignorance, negligence, they are being used by Russia . . . We're seeing this party embracing Donald Trump because they have a quest for power, proximity for power and they want within their reach the ability to self-deal," Jolly said. "This is a party today without conviction and they are willing to be used by Russians." [read on]

Many more angry former Republicans: https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/26/follow-the-facts/ 

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/11/former-gop-rep-scolds-republicans-double

https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/26/the-gop-should-be-voted-out-of-existence/

https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/26/bonus-quote-of-the-day-1238/

Trump is trying to personally pick candidates for state races because they have been nice to him

https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/26/trump-and-kemp-at-odds-over-georgia-senate-seat/
“President Trump quietly met Sunday in the White House with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and the governor’s preferred pick to fill the state’s Senate seat, Atlanta businesswoman Kelly Loeffler . . . But the private huddle turned tense and ended quickly . . . Mr. Trump has preferred Rep. Doug Collins, a Republican who has vocally defended the president during the impeachment process . . .”

In Texas, Republicans are worried

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/texas-republicans-game-plan-democrats

Elizabeth Warren's poll numbers are dropping nationally. Why?

https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/26/warren-fades-nationally-as-buttigieg-surges/

Bonus item: Andy! (thanks to AG for the link)

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/rudy-giuliani-claims-he-has-evidence-linking-joe-biden-to-barack-obama
Giuliani Claims He Has Evidence Linking Biden to Obama

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