Monday, November 28, 2016

PAYBACK?


Kellyanne Conway unleashes hell against Mitt Romney as a candidate for Sect'y of State. Now, unless you think she's a rogue agent (which she has never been before), that means Trump and his people WANT this message out there

 http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/11/27/kellyanne-conway-escalates-war-on-mitt-romney.html

 http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/11/trump-inner-circle-really-really-doesnt-mitt-romney

 More: http://nypost.com/2016/11/26/trump-spent-thanksgiving-asking-mitt-or-rudy/
On Friday it was reported that Trump wants Romney to publicly apologize for criticizing him during the campaign in order to be considered for secretary of state. . . .

 [NB: Here's what I think. They want the apology, and they want him to efface himself -- and then they'll go ahead and pick someone else anyway. I think they never had a serious intention to add him, but they want to play their dominance games. It gratifies them to show Romney currying their favor. Payback's a bitch, ain't it Mitt?] 

 Here's a draft "apology" for Mitt to use

 http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/11/an-apology-to-donald-trump-from-mitt-romney.html

 Hey, Ted: you do know what the word "pathological" means, don't you?

 http://crooksandliars.com/2016/11/watch-ted-cruzsuffer-trump-pathological

 K.T. McFarland is one of the BETTER received nominees Trump has put forward -- or so we thought

 http://crooksandliars.com/2016/11/new-trump-adviser-homophobe-paranoid

 The Cabinet so far

 http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/11/trump-inner-circle-really-really-doesnt-mitt-romney
Trump's cabinet-level appointees so far include a guy who created a platform for the alt-right; an ex-general with delusions of persecution; a deputy who thinks Hillary Clinton sent black helicopters after her; an attorney general who's basically opposed to all laws protecting minorities; a governor with no background for her job; a CIA director who supports more torture and more black sites; a billionaire who wants to destroy public education; and Reince Priebus.

 One Trump surrogate hits the Sunday talk circuit to say Trump is being "incredibly gracious and magnanimous" not to prosecute Clinton (as he vowed to do). Another goes out to say he might still do it. (I guess magnanimity only goes so far.)

 http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/11/conway-calls-trump-gracious-for-not-prosecuting-clinton.html

Trump claims he WON the popular vote "when you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally." (Which tells you EXACTLY what he would have done if he had lost.) But still he attacks Stein and Clinton for calling for a recount

 http://crooksandliars.com/2016/11/cenk-uygur-why-trump-camp-so-jittery-about
 
Here's how incoherent his argument is: http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/27/13758538/donald-trump-vote-illegally-tweet 

 Media watch: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/11/trump-lies-yet-again-claims-millions-illegal-votes
I have generally good news. With the notable exception of the Wall Street Journal, most outlets said right in their headlines that Donald Trump's allegation of illegal voting this afternoon was false. That's pretty good. . . [read on]

 He. Just. Can't. Help. Himself

 http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/28/1604639/-Now-Trump-s-claiming-anti-Trump-voter-fraud-in-three-states-Our-president-elect-is-unhinged


 [NB: Have you ever seen the WINNING CANDIDATE complain about voter irregularities?]

Let me pause here to point out what we've just seen. Trump invites Mitt Romney to be considered for a Cabinet position, and trumpets his willingness to reach out to former adversaries. Then he sends out his proxies to savage this same candidate . . . because he won't apologize for things said during the campaign???

 He sends out his proxies to brag about how gracious he is for not trying to prosecute Hillary Clinton (even though it's not in his power to decide such things, and it would be a political disaster if he actually went through on this threat). At the same time he sends out OTHER proxies to say he's keeping his options open and may still decide to go through with it.

 His people attack Stein and Clinton for calling for a recount that they have every right to request, because it's sour grapes to complain about a vote that you lost. Then HE HIMSELF goes out and casts doubt on the legitimacy of the results showing that he lost the popular vote by a huge margin.

Buckle your seat belts, this is going to be a wild four years. Trump is an erratic individual with an astonishingly thin skin. What all these examples have in common is that when his ego is bruised, he must attack. He's frighteningly undisciplined.

Well, we can hope

 http://crooksandliars.com/2016/11/wsj-white-house-reporter-trump-business
WSJ White House Reporter: Trump Business Conflicts 'Will Be A Narrative That Dogs His Presidency' 

 More from the Cesspool: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/11/trump-targets.html 

The FOIA deluge coming Trump's way

 http://www.salon.com/2016/11/27/foia-superhero-launches-campaign-to-make-donald-trumps-administration-transparent/

 The long-term damage Trump can do

 http://www.salon.com/2016/11/27/now-trump-gets-the-supreme-court-and-the-damage-may-be-irreversible/

 More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/27/1602524/-Behind-the-outrage-the-long-term-damage-of-a-Trump-term

 I get this point: no Democrat should work with Trump to help him succeed. But there's a subtle difference with Democrats SAYING they're willing to work with Trump (when they know that's never going to happen)

 http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/11/27/no-mercy/

Following up on a theme from yesterday, it's very important that the Democrats take advantage of every Trump mistake, broken promise, lie, corrupt bargain, and boneheaded flop. They have to lay the inevitable failures and crises of the next few years at HIS feet, and those of the Republicans who chose him and enabled him. They can't change the results of this nightmarish election, but they can make Trump an object lesson of what happens when you let the GOP take control

 http://prospect.org/article/why-trump-era-could-be-opportunity-democrats
Why the Trump Era Could Be an Opportunity for Democrats

A prediction from Joy Reid that the media will cave to Trump. I see it a little differently. They will give him a grace period, and some segments will always be tilted toward soft news and the chaff Trump's savvy media people throw them. But we saw it with Reagan, we saw it with the Bushes -- an extended period of fawning and suddenly something that puts blood in the water. Then the feeding frenzy starts. I'm sure Trump will get his turn

 http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/11/27/already-happening-media-normalization-of-trumpism.html

 More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/27/1602471/-Why-traditional-media-failed-so-badly-in-2016-election-and-why-they-re-still-failing

A little indication that the media may be willing to stand up for itself

 http://crooksandliars.com/2016/11/chuck-todd-rips-conway-dodging-questions
NBC host Chuck Todd called out Kellyanne Conway on Sunday for attacking the media as a tactic to avoid answering ethical questions about Donald Trump's business empire. . . [read on]

An inside look: where fake news comes from (thanks to JT for the link)

 http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/11/23/503146770/npr-finds-the-head-of-a-covert-fake-news-operation-in-the-suburbs

 On confirmation bias. One of the most discouraging areas of contemporary research is evidence that ALL of us, left and right, more educated or less, are highly susceptible to evidence that supports our prejudgments and resistant to evidence that challenges us

 http://www.salon.com/2016/11/27/why-the-pundits-got-the-election-wrong-how-confirmation-bias-shaped-our-view-of-facts/

 In other news . . . .

 A Texas judge. A JUDGE

 http://crooksandliars.com/2016/11/texas-judge-apologizes-time-tree-and-rope
'Time For A Tree And A Rope'

 Is the Senate filibuster safe?

 http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/11/gop-senators-are-anxious-about-nuking-the-fillibuster.html

Bonus item: Trump devolution of our political discourse, in one video

 http://www.salon.com/2016/11/27/511-days-the-slow-collapse-of-discourse/

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Sunday, November 27, 2016

ANGER AND HOPE


Like everyone, I am stunned and demoralized that this unqualified buffoon somehow blundered his way into the presidency. I can't imagine four years of his ignorance, laziness, and promotion of racist, nativist policies. The media's rapid accommodation to him is appalling, and the Democrats at this point seem to have no plan for dealing with him. But here is what I tell myself in the dark hours of night:
  • I'm Greek. I believe that hubris is inevitably brought low. And there's never been a more hubristic character elected to this office.
  • He is inevitably going to disappoint his cultish followers. He can't, and won't, do most of the things he said he would do during the campaign. They are not forgiving types.
  • He really doesn't want to do the hard work of being president. He's a part-timer in a more-than-full-time job. That will become apparent soon enough.
  • He doesn't accept the premise that he will be constantly, and often unfavorably, covered in the news and popular media. He doesn't take criticism well, and people don't like that in a president.
  • His attempt to control the narrative through his tweets worked during the campaign; it won't work in the hands of someone who -- in the most powerful position in the world -- will have every word nuanced and overinterpreted. We saw this already in his stupid attempt to dictate who Britain should choose for their ambassadorship.
  • His utter disregard for conflict of interest rules and his open promotion of his businesses and his children's careers will inevitably produce a scandal that can't be spun away.
  • One or more of his appointments -- starting with Michael Flynn, I'd guess -- will flame out and crash. The lack of qualifications and temperament for some of these loyalists will produce chaos in government departments where management skills and a grasp of political compromise are needed. You can talk about bringing in "outsiders," but experience matters. 
  • The Republicans in Congress have shamefully embraced him, knowing full well what kind of person he is, because they see him as an instrument of their power and agenda.  But their loyalty to him is skin-deep, and when trouble comes they will cut him loose in an instant to preserve themselves.
  • Most of all, there simply isn't majority support for the Trump agenda. To the extent that he manages to force some of his policies through, he lays the groundwork for a backlash, if the Democrats are smart enough to take advantage of it. 
But, hey, I've been wrong before

 Our future?

 http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/25/world/europe/donald-trump-scotland-wall.html
As many Americans are trying to figure out what kind of president they have just elected, the people of Balmedie, a small village outside the once oil-rich city of Aberdeen, say they have a pretty good idea. In the 10 years since Mr. Trump first visited, vowing to build “the world’s greatest golf course” on an environmentally protected site featuring 4,000-year-old sand dunes, they have seen him lash out at anyone standing in his way. They say they watched him win public support for his golf course with grand promises, then watched him break them one by one. . .  [read on]

 More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/11/i-wonder-what-he-thinks-of-his-voters.html

Now that Castro's dead, Trump is talking tough about Cuba. But he's given mixed messages about it all along, and must be salivating at the prospect of building a hotel there. Another area where diplomacy and commercial self-interest will conflict

 http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/world/americas/cuba-donald-trump.html

 More: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/273815-trump-id-open-a-hotel-in-cuba 

 Looks like Ben Carson is going to take the HUD job, qualifications be damned. Trump wants to be able to sit in a Cabinet meeting and say

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/11/dr-ben-carson-running-hud-would-be-cinch 

 Have we ever seen someone lobby so publicly, and aggressively, for a Cabinet position? Doesn't that make you wonder about his motives?

 http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/26/1604330/-Rudy-G-touts-himself-for-secretary-of-state-Opportunities-for-conflicts-of-interest-abound
[Rudy Giuliani] “My knowledge of foreign policy is as good, or better, than anybody they’re talking to.”  

 David Petraeus for Sect'y of State? PETRAEUS?

 http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/11/quote-day-guy-who-passed-classified-information-his-mistress-would-be-spectacular

 A tale of two Thanksgivings: the Obamas and the Trumps

 http://crooksandliars.com/2016/11/america-never-deserved-obamas-trumps

This is not a trade-off I am willing to make

 http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/11/in-the-age-of-trump-should-protest-be-angry-or-optimistic.html
In the Age of Trump, Should Protest Be Angry or Optimistic?

 More: http://www.salon.com/2016/11/26/learning-from-grief-learning-from-rage-progressive-survival-under-donald-trump-will-require-both/

The overuse of the accusation of "white supremacy"

 http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/11/lets-please-kill-white-supremacy-fad

 You get thrown off flights for doing a lot less than this -- especially if you're black, or Muslim, or have a foreign accent

 http://crooksandliars.com/2016/11/trumpista-yells-we-got-some-hillary

 Tough spot for Clinton. If she too aggressively supports the recount, she confirms the narrative that she's a ruthless, ambitious bitch. Of course, no one remembers Trump's endless threats to fight any results that had him losing

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/26/1604298/-Clinton-campaign-will-participate-in-Wisconsin-recount-effort
The Clinton campaign has joined the Green Party’s initiative to obtain a recount of the vote in Wisconsin. If the Green Party’s Jill Stein carries out plans to do the same in Pennsylvania and Michigan, Clinton campaign attorney Marc Elias wrote at Medium that it will join efforts there as well . . .

 More: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/11/clinton-campaign-will-take-part-in-election-recounts.html
However, Saturday’s announcement from the Clinton campaign came with a considerable amount of cold water for anyone who believes that the election results were indeed rigged or hacked, or that the Clinton campaign has not already been doing its due diligence regarding such concerns. Clinton campaign counsel Marc Elias, in a Medium post explaining the campaign’s response, references the Stein campaign’s efforts, but adds that the Clinton team did not find enough evidence to merit taking such action themselves, though they will participate now that Stein’s campaign is proceeding . . .

Trump goes ballistic over the recount

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-goes-on-stein-recount-rager

The many no-wins confronting Clinton during the campaign

http://www.salon.com/2016/11/26/it-wasnt-just-fake-news-presenting-a-fake-hillary-clinton-she-was-held-to-impossible-standards_partner/

Bonus item: The weird ways we tried to kill Castro

http://www.vox.com/2016/11/26/13752514/us-fidel-castro-assassination

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Saturday, November 26, 2016

PLAY BALL!


There's a huge fight, apparently, among Trump's staff over whether to appoint Romney or Giuliani for Sect'y of State (and Kellyanne is in the middle of it). Because I assume that loyalty trumps competence with Trump, I will be very surprised if he goes for Romney. (Though apparently Giuliani doesn't want to travel so much.) Frankly, it would impress me if Trump stood up to the resistance and picked the better choice

 http://www.salon.com/2016/11/25/donald-trumps-allies-dont-want-him-to-pick-mitt-romney-to-be-secretary-of-state/

 http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-loyalists-romney-verses-giuliani

 More: http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/24/politics/kellyanne-conway-romney-tweets/?sr=google_news
[Kellyanne Conway]  Kissinger & Schultz as Secs of State flew around the world less, counseled POTUS close to home more. And were loyal. Good checklist.

 http://crooksandliars.com/2016/11/trump-surrogates-want-romney-apologize
Trump Surrogates Want Romney To Apologize To Trump

 Two new staff appointments

 http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/11/heres-some-more-trump-transition-news.html

 Of course he is

 http://www.salon.com/2016/11/25/donald-trump-is-going-to-make-money-off-the-secret-service-detail-assigned-to-protect-him/
Donald Trump is going to make money off the Secret Service detail assigned to protect him 

 More from the Cesspool

 http://www.salon.com/2016/11/25/this-week-in-donald-trumps-conflicts-of-interest-what-was-the-president-elect-doing-this-week-to-possibly-make-himself-rich/
What was the president-elect doing this week to possibly make himself rich? 

 http://www.vox.com/world/2016/11/25/13729548/controversy-trump-tower-project-argentina-macri-ivanka
The controversy over Trump's tower project in Argentina: what we know

 Don't hold your breath, but. . . .

 http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/25/1604105/-Obama-s-Bush-s-top-ethics-lawyers-Trump-must-sell-businesses-or-Electoral-College-must-reject-him
Richard Painter, Chief Ethics Counsel for George W. Bush, and Norman Eisen, Chief Ethics Counsel for Barack Obama, believe that if Trump continues to retain ownership over his sprawling business interests by the time the electors meet on December 19, they should reject Trump. . . .  

The very serious problem with Russian interference in American politics

 http://www.salon.com/2016/11/25/russian-propaganda-is-using-facebook-other-social-media-sites-to-manipulate-american-voters/

 More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-russians-are-coming-by-bloggersrus.html

 Trump doesn't have time for his national security briefings: but he has time to talk to his BFF Putin

 http://www.salon.com/2016/11/25/donald-trump-has-spoken-to-vladimir-putin-as-often-as-hes-talked-to-his-intelligence-briefers/

 The more we know about Michael Flynn, the worse his selection looks

 http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/11/25/the-real-reason-michael-flynns-appointment-is-ominous-islam-is-not-a-religion/

 http://www.salon.com/2016/11/25/5-things-we-learned-from-the-new-yorkers-profile-of-michael-flynn/ 

Trump claims to have kept a Ford plant in Kentucky from moving out of the county. Well, not exactly. Now he's trying to do the same with a Carrier air conditioner plant in Indiana

 http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/under-the-hood--2

 What's he offering? http://crooksandliars.com/2016/11/trumps-outreach-carrier-smoke-and-mirrors

 As we start to look at the issues that will drive voters back to the Democrats next time, keep an eye on Medicare

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/11/voucherizing-medicare-death-ride-republicans
 
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/25/1602513/-For-the-first-time-in-over-two-decades-seniors-moved-toward-Democrats

Looking ahead: the coming fights for governorships

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/11/25/can-the-democratic-party-rise-again-yes-and-heres-the-first-big-thing-to-watch/?utm_source=rss_plum-line&utm_term=.981aab5c67b2

 Why right wingers are more susceptible to fake news than left wingers

 http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/25/1603978/-Fake-news-network-tried-to-write-fake-news-for-liberals-but-they-just-never-take-the-bait
“We've tried to do similar things to liberals. It just has never worked, it never takes off. You'll get debunked within the first two comments and then the whole thing just kind of fizzles out.”

 More: http://www.salon.com/2016/11/25/a-short-history-of-fake-news-conservatives-believed-all-sorts-of-crap-long-before-facebook/
A short history of fake news: Conservatives believed all sorts of crap long before Facebook
You all have seen the creepy clip of Trump saying he'd like to date his own daughter, Ivanka. But you haven't seen her reply, which was reportedly edited from the video

 http://www.salon.com/2016/11/25/ivanka-trump-allegedly-responded-to-donalds-creepy-comments-in-2006-if-he-wasnt-my-father-i-would-spray-him-with-mace/
“If he wasn’t my father, I would spray him with Mace”

 Continuing the debate over "identity politics"

 http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/11/25/what-sanders-doesnt-understand-about-identity-politics/

 Sometimes the simple answer is the right one

 http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/25/13699146/clinton-campaign-strategy-win-polls
The radically simple reason Hillary Clinton didn’t run a different campaign: she thought she was winning

 A few media comparisons: how much the media covered the Clinton Foundation "scandals" versus the documented lawbreaking of the Trump Foundation; how much they covered Clinton's emails (turned over for review) versus Trump's tax returns ("bite me")

 https://www.quora.com/Is-there-more-media-coverage-on-Clintons-emails-compared-to-Trumps-tax-returns-If-so-why

 http://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/11/02/how-media-s-email-obsession-obliterated-clinton-policy-coverage/214242

 http://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/09/13/study-cable-news-devotes-13-times-much-coverage-clinton-health-trump-foundation/213041

 More: http://shorensteincenter.org/pre-primary-news-coverage-2016-trump-clinton-sanders/
Trump’s coverage in the eight news outlets in our study was worth roughly $55 million. Trump reaped $16 million in ad-equivalent space in The New York Times alone, which was more than he spent on actual ad buys in all media during all of 2015. . . .

 http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/06/media-more-negative-of-clinton-than-trump.html
The coverage on Clinton’s issue positions from January 1 through December 31, 2015 was particularly bad compared to other candidates: 28 percent of overall coverage on her revolved around her stance on key issues, and 84 percent of it was negative. Compare that to 12 percent issue coverage for Trump, with 43 percent of it negative . . .

 Bring on the recounts!

 http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/11/stein-raises-usd5-million-to-file-for-recounts-in-3-states.html

Bonus item: Fidel Castro, dead at 90

 http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fidel-castro-dead-at-90

 More: http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/11/26/fidel-castro-1926-2016

***If you enjoy PBD 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!

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