The Trump observations thread

[Dr. Medulla]

Curious, I checked to see if Alexander Butterfield—the Nixon aide who officially revealed the existence of the White House taping system—was still alive. He is—in his mid-90s—and, if he's still got his marbles, he must be getting some deja vu.

The idea of Rudy going to jail is scrumpdilicious, especially because you know he'd bawl like the "fresh fish" prisoner at the start of Shawshank who gets clubbed to death.

[WestwayKid]

Curious, I checked to see if Alexander Butterfield—the Nixon aide who officially revealed the existence of the White House taping system—was still alive. He is—in his mid-90s—and, if he's still got his marbles, he must be getting some deja vu.

The idea of Rudy going to jail is scrumpdilicious, especially because you know he'd bawl like the "fresh fish" prisoner at the start of Shawshank who gets clubbed to death.

I'd make a poster of Rudy being taken into Federal custody and put it in my rec room!!

[matedog]

Meaning he's going to stroke out? $100 to the church of your choice if it happens asap.

He's going to resign in the next year and die of a heart attack a year or two after. I'd put good money on that.

[Dr. Medulla]

Meaning he's going to stroke out? $100 to the church of your choice if it happens asap.

He's going to resign in the next year and die of a heart attack a year or two after. I'd put good money on that.

In some former Soviet republic where there's no extradition treaty with the US. If he resigns, which I think is more than plausible (as I said on the previous page), even if he gets a Ford-like pardon, that doesn't cover the state charges. At this point, it's far from inconceivable that he goes the exiled dictator route and flees "deep state persecution" for some authoritarian regime.

[matedog]

Meaning he's going to stroke out? $100 to the church of your choice if it happens asap.

He's going to resign in the next year and die of a heart attack a year or two after. I'd put good money on that.

In some former Soviet republic where there's no extradition treaty with the US. If he resigns, which I think is more than plausible (as I said on the previous page), even if he gets a Ford-like pardon, that doesn't cover the state charges. At this point, it's far from inconceivable that he goes the exiled dictator route and flees "deep state persecution" for some authoritarian regime.

I've said this before, but I just really hope his brand becomes completely toxic before he dies. I want him to be alive to see that.

[Flex]

I think the only chances of any kind of post-office reckoning are if Warren or Sanders are elected president. You need a willingness at the top to root out this kind of malignancy on a structural level, and only those two have evinced any understanding of how all of this even works. Litigating the Trump years post-Trump is the opposite of the ReTuRn To NoRmAlCy brand the rest of the Dems are putting out (and especially Biden). Whether we reckon with Trumpism or not post-Trump will be the deciding factor in whether our country takes real strides to snuff it out or we just let it fester and remanifest in its next, even worse, mutation.

[Dr. Medulla]

I think the only chances of any kind of post-office reckoning are if Warren or Sanders are elected president. You need a willingness at the top to root out this kind of malignancy on a structural level, and only those two have evinced any understanding of how all of this even works. Litigating the Trump years post-Trump is the opposite of the ReTuRn To NoRmAlCy brand the rest of the Dems are putting out (and especially Biden). Whether we reckon with Trumpism or not post-Trump will be the deciding factor in whether our country takes real strides to snuff it out or we just let it fester and remanifest in its next, even worse, mutation.

Well put. I was going to add a few lines to that effect when I replied to you yesterday. Sanders or Warren are the only ones I trust to actually care about this, but apart from the usual policy proposals and all (health care, etc), they need to spearhead a genuine effort at civic cultural revival that has been gutted by both parties' commitment to neoliberalism. That effort has to take place within government and have an educational component with society at large. It took over a generation for the selfish rot to infect American civic cultural and will take longer to overcome, but it has to be started otherwise it's figurative deck chair moving.

[Silent Majority]

I have zero faith that justice will be done.

[Dr. Medulla]

I have zero faith that justice will be done.

What is your definition of justice in this case?

[Silent Majority]

I have zero faith that justice will be done.

What is your definition of justice in this case?

A single term Trump presidency.

[Dr. Medulla]

I have zero faith that justice will be done.

What is your definition of justice in this case?

A single term Trump presidency.

One way or another—resignation or election—I believe that quite likely. I don't need to reiterate my argument about why his re-election is so damned tough, but I will say that I haven't seen anything in the last month or so that suggests his prospects have improved. It's a weird community here where, unlike the real world, I get to be the Pollyanna.

[Dr. Medulla]

Curious what the numbers have to move to for Senate Republicans to feel comfortable politically with cutting him loose. I recall reading a piece maybe a year ago about the solidity of Trump's standing with the base. The author argued that, in fact, there are very few "to the death" supporters of any politician. He used the example of how Nixon was likewise solid with Republicans, that they saw it all as a liberal plot, etc etc, and would never leave Dick. And then in the summer of '74, shit just crumbled and fast. So we shouldn't be too confident with the idea that his base will never desert him, that that, in fact, is part of his illusion of power. Maybe. I'll believe it when I see it.

[JennyB]

Curious what the numbers have to move to for Senate Republicans to feel comfortable politically with cutting him loose. I recall reading a piece maybe a year ago about the solidity of Trump's standing with the base. The author argued that, in fact, there are very few "to the death" supporters of any politician. He used the example of how Nixon was likewise solid with Republicans, that they saw it all as a liberal plot, etc etc, and would never leave Dick. And then in the summer of '74, shit just crumbled and fast. So we shouldn't be too confident with the idea that his base will never desert him, that that, in fact, is part of his illusion of power. Maybe. I'll believe it when I see it.

I would imagine they would much rather see Pence as president. As would their evangelical base.

[Dr. Medulla]

I would imagine they would much rather see Pence as president. As would their evangelical base.

Deep down, definitely—unlike Trump, he rose thru the GOP congressional incubation chamber. But politically Pence is seriously wounded by his extreme toadying, and piety has been exposed as bullshit to the evangelical base given their devotion to Trump. Pence would be a serious lame duck if it falls into his lap.

[Mimi]

I have zero faith that justice will be done.

What is your definition of justice in this case?

A single term Trump presidency.

One way or another—resignation or election—I believe that quite likely. I don't need to reiterate my argument about why his re-election is so damned tough, but I will say that I haven't seen anything in the last month or so that suggests his prospects have improved. It's a weird community here where, unlike the real world, I get to be the Pollyanna.

Is it because you're Canadian?