Trump approval down to 33%, Republican Support is starting to crumble.

[cubby]

I'm sure he'll outsource his job, again. He's already done so with most of his Commander-in-Chief duties. At least he's surrounded by generals, so they might have a good plan.

Trump, naturally, has none. He's offered nothing new since he got here except bombing Syria to personally destroy Russian relations and the raid in Yemen that killed a little girl.

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For the record, I don't agree with the conclusions, and while the NYTimes is a giant in the industry they might not be 100% unbiased (snicker). But the headline is just too good to pass up.

Sorry, Mike Pence, You're Doomed



Bolded for masterful metaphor.

Few things of note.

One, we've had light discussion before about Pence running in 2020 after Trump steps down. Not everyone agrees that's likely. But, if Pence really has a PAC, maybe Pence thinks it's likely. And that's telling.

Second, apparently Kasich is already running his 2020 campaign. Huh. Expect to see more of that next year, I guess, as moderates attempt to flee before the coming storm.

But most importantly, this was published August 8th, and man, hasn't a lot changed since then?

And Romney is already stepping back into the limelight. Someone has to be Pence's VP, right?

[Skroe]

The eclipse is an omen of Trump's downfall. Deus vult!

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The public has proven it doesn't really give a crap about this. I mean.. we like to moan about it and call the deniers morons, but it's not like everyone's making any real effort to change anything. To be honest, if everyone did as much as possible in the US to help, its' pretty clear it would have minimal effect anyway.

Survey says.... you're blowing hot air out of your mouth.








And the coup de grace...




And shockingly (not really) the least educated Americans and the most conservatives... the deplorables in other words, are the most skeptical...


This is the problem with faux-conservatives such as yourself. You can't win on the science, which is beyond dispute, so you legitimately just make stuff up.

I'm going to be blunt. Address Climate Change is no different than the decision the US had to make about its role in the world after World War II. We can pay some, on a recurring basis, to mitigate smaller catastrophes to prevent an enormous one. Or we can pay nothing now and pay and arm, a leg, and everything in between, when "the big one" comes.

Hell the Romans had the same kinds of debates about their chronic issues. We have better technology but people are just as throughly stupid and unwilling to make the regularized investments to mitigate greater future hardship.

The only REAL climate change debate worth having is the debate regarding what, if any international institutions should be involved in addressing it (i.e. United Nations, or ad-hoc multilateral) and the role, if any, of wealth transfers from developed to developing countries to offset the cost of decarbonization.

[Acidbaron]

Don't worry he's still winning on major issues like, allowing people to sell and purchase plastic bottled water and refreshments in national parks.

People cheering this on, not knowing that it will be the tax payer that is paying the check to clean it up eventually while the industry reaps the benefits, aka you got fucked over.

[Breccia]

Don't worry he's still winning on major issues like, allowing people to sell and purchase plastic bottled water and refreshments in national parks.

Well yeah, that's all he can do, executive orders. Most of which have been either "review and get back to me" or little gestures like this one, or dumping coal sludge into drinking water. Yes, that's a regulation he cut, but it won't magically make coal economically viable.

[Gestopft]

Susan Collins says it's "too difficult to say" if Trump will be the party's 2020 nominee.

This is what Trump should really be paying attention to. 7 months in, and they're unsure about his future. I know it's Susan Collins and not Mike Lee, but if she can say this openly, what must GoP Reps be saying behind closed doors? Were any Dems openly questioning in 2009 whether or not Obama should get the nomination in 2012? Was the GoP overtly wondering in 2001 whether or not Dubya was going to be their candidate for 2004? Between yesterday's Afghanistan speech and tonight's Phoenix rally, this will get lost in the shuffle, but Collins' comment is a LOT more damning than I think people realize.

[Breccia]

I know it's Susan Collins and not Mike Lee

Yeah, that's the problem. Not exactly the friendliest person to Trump, which of course is Trump's own fault.

Still, like you said, just because it starts small doesn't mean it didn't start. Remember, Paul Ryan agreed to go on CNN to defend Trump's statements about American Nazis and the KKK. That's how bad it was: Paul Ryan got on CNN. And he was smiling when he did it. Even when the crowd cheered every tough question he tried to dodge.

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McConnell and Trump haven't spoken in weeks: report

President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have not spoken in weeks, The New York Times reported Tuesday, a sign of the deteriorating relationship between the two men.

McConnell has also said privately that he is unsure if Trump can recover from a long series of controversies and crises that have rocked his administration over the summer, according to the Times.

Trump and McConnell have feuded openly in recent weeks after the Kentucky Republican said during a speech in his home state that the president may have "excessive expectations" about pushing his agenda through Congress.

Those remarks came after Senate Republicans failed to pass legislation repealing and replacing ObamaCare.

In response, Trump publicly questioned McConnell's leadership, suggesting to reporters earlier this month that McConnell might want to consider stepping down if he's unable to pass the president's legislative agenda.

The feud, according to Tuesday's report, also heated up outside the public eye. The president berated McConnell in an Aug. 9 phone call over the Senate's narrow rejection of an ObamaCare repeal bill, according to the Times. The report says the call descended into shouting and profanity.

Brief interlude: Negotiator-in-Chief, everyone. Let's give him a big ol' hand.

In that call, Trump also accused McConnell of refusing to protect him from ongoing investigations into Russia's interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow.

For his part, McConnell has voiced frustration over Trump's willingness to attack fellow Republicans, and, in private, has said that the president appears unwilling to learn how to govern.

Second interlude: can't help but notice that "Trump is new at this" is no loner being fielded as a defense.

The rocky relationship between Trump and McConnell comes at a critical time for Republican lawmakers, who must vote to raise the debt ceiling and pass new spending bills by the end of September.

At the same time, congressional Republicans are hoping to overhaul the nation's tax code and have faced renewed calls from Trump to revive efforts to repeal ObamaCare.

McConnell has also expressed concern about Trump's ability to shepherd his party through the 2018 midterm elections as Democrats prepare to challenge a slew of potentially vulnerable Republican incumbents in the House, according to the Times.

[Edge-]

Hey, those two don't need to talk, directly. They can always just go through the McConnell's wife Elaine Chao, who just so happens to be the Secretary of Transportation. I'm sure she can pass messages between the two like it's primary school again, at least until they decide to act like grown ups.

I mean, why would you want to be on speaking terms with your own parties Senate majority leader? /snark

[Breccia]

Extension.

McConnell unsure if Trump can save presidency

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is expressing doubts that President Trump can succeed in office after a summer of controversies and crises, according to a bombshell report from The New York Times.

The Times reported Tuesday that McConnell has privately questioned Trump’s willingness to learn how to govern and the president’s ability to lead the GOP into the 2018 midterm elections, according to people who have spoken to him.

The report that McConnell has expressed reservations about Trump's ability to salvage his presidency follows a week in which the president was put on the defensive after blaming both sides for the violence in Charlottesville, Va., after a white supremacist rally.

McConnell was reportedly troubled by Trump's remarks that placed equal blame on hate groups and counterprotesters.

The Senate GOP leader also signaled his unease with Trump’s comments to business leaders who quit their posts on presidential advisory councils in recent days, according to the report.

The report comes after McConnell and Trump publicly feuded after Senate Republicans narrowly failed to pass an ObamaCare repeal bill.

McConnell said in a speech earlier this month that Trump had "excessive expectations" about moving his legislative agenda through Congress.

That led Trump to lash out at the majority leader on Twitter, questioning why McConnell has not been able to accomplish longtime GOP campaign promises.

He later suggested to reporters at his Bedminster, N.J. golf club that, if McConnell is unable to shepherd healthcare reform, tax reform and an infrastructure bill through the Senate, he should consider stepping aside from his leadership role.

In a phone call on Aug. 9, Trump blamed McConnell for the Senate's troubled efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The Times said the call descended into shouting and profanity.

The president also accused the Kentucky Republican of failing to defend him against the ongoing congressional investigations into Russian election interference and his potential ties between his campaign and Moscow.

[Edge-]

What is he just coming to this realization? I mean, we all know turtles are slow but I figured he'd have picked up on this a bit sooner than 8 months into Trump's administration.

[Resurgo]

What is he just coming to this realization? I mean, we all know turtles are slow but I figured he'd have picked up on this a bit sooner than 8 months into Trump's administration.

I don't believe it's "slow"... I believe @Skroe was the one that mentioned some time ago that McConnell is likely one of the most (if not the) powerful men in Washington. He did it by being an opportunist. He likely played the opportunist game to see if he could get something of value from Trump.

With Trump washing any political capital he had down the toilet, it'll be the slow march towards McConnell castrating his own party head's ability to accomplish anything in Washington.

[Edge-]

With Trump washing any political capital he had down the toilet, it'll be the slow march towards McConnell castrating his own party head's ability to accomplish anything in Washington.

I mean, so far he's 1:1 on that with Trumpcare or even a repeal, thanks to its failure in the Senate. So not quite as slow as a turtle on that one, though we'll see if he and Ryan can get anything meaningful (at least to the GOP) through when it comes to budgets/tax reform in the coming months.

[Xeones]

I mean, so far he's 1:1 on that with Trumpcare or even a repeal, thanks to its failure in the Senate. So not quite as slow as a turtle on that one, though we'll see if he and Ryan can get anything meaningful (at least to the GOP) through when it comes to budgets/tax reform in the coming months.

The general belief that I have seen is Republicans will end up just agreeing to budgets similar to what were passed under Obama. They won't get leadership from Trump and he has done things to drag the republicans through the mud recently. Unless they change the voting rules, which I find unlikely after stealing a supreme court appointment after democrats changed rules before, they are going to have to give ground on the budget.

[Mormolyce]

Extension.

McConnell unsure if Trump can save presidency

I love this:

McConnell has privately questioned Trump’s willingness to learn how to govern

Could you possibly fail to reach a lower bar?

Perhaps Trump could tell McConnell that he's considering entertaining the idea of becoming willing to learn how to govern.

In the fullness of time, of course.

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What is he just coming to this realization? I mean, we all know turtles are slow but I figured he'd have picked up on this a bit sooner than 8 months into Trump's administration.

I believe this is a man who has spent a lifetime manipulating idiots finally realising that he has found one idiot too stupid to be manipulated.

[Breccia]

Oh, and in case you thought it was Fake News...there we go, good ol' Breitbart hammering nails into Trump's cross.

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The New York Times reports that Trump tried to pressure Mitch McConnell to end the Russia investigation.

Maddow can read the story and Vox covers it in print if you don't subscribe.

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James Clapper calls Trump speech 'downright scary and disturbing'

James Clapper, former director of National Intelligence, said Wednesday morning he questioned President Donald Trump's fitness for office.

"I really question his ability to be -- his fitness to be -- in this office, and I also am beginning to wonder about his motivation for it," Clapper told CNN's Don Lemon on "CNN Tonight."

Hours after Trump delivered a defiant speech in Phoenix, Arizona, Clapper said he found the President's rally "downright scary and disturbing."
Clapper denounced Trump's "behavior and divisiveness and complete intellectual, moral and ethical void."

"How much longer does the country have to, to borrow a phrase, endure this nightmare?"

"He should have quit while he was ahead after last night," Clapper referring to Trump's announcement on US strategy in Afghanistan. "Again, I think the real Trump came through."

Clapper also said he is worried about the President's access to the nuclear codes.

"In a fit of pique he decides to do something about Kim Jong Un, there's actually very little to stop him," Clapper said. "The whole system is built to ensure rapid response if necessary. So there's very little in the way of controls over exercising a nuclear option, which is pretty damn scary."

[Cthulhu 2020]

Looks like Trump's approval took a small spike upwards when he made that speech where he condemned Nazis... off of a piece of paper.

Then they dipped again after his third speech where he threw the script away and more or less fed the Nazis what they wanted.

He's hanging right around 33-34, so it appears as if the remaining base that still supports Trump even after all the lies, outright revoked campaign promises, and fucks ups, are the people who 1) think the president is doing a good job so long as it's a Republican 2) are Trump cultists. Everyone else has bailed ship.

[Deleted]

Oh, and in case you thought it was Fake News...there we go, good ol' Breitbart hammering nails into Trump's cross.

I opened the link and the first thing that appeared was a Breitbart ad selling a figdet spinner with Bannon's face on it and #WAR. Seriously, what the actual fuck?

[Pannonian]

Oh, and in case you thought it was Fake News...there we go, good ol' Breitbart hammering nails into Trump's cross.

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The New York Times reports that Trump tried to pressure Mitch McConnell to end the Russia investigation.

Maddow can read the story and Vox covers it in print if you don't subscribe.

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James Clapper calls Trump speech 'downright scary and disturbing'

The comment section is as always... interesting:

"The power of the pardon is absolute. For instance, Trump could
pardon James Alex Fields at a White House ceremony in front
of the press core. Trump can announce that James Alex Fields
will also be entered into the Federal Witness Protection Program
giving him a new identity protecting him from both ANTIFA
psychos and communist judges, prosecutors and governors.

Pardoning James Alex Fields would have a dramatic effect.
Trump could immediately take to Twitter to attack any and all
senators and congressmen who oppose him as traitors and
call for a patriot to step forward and make use of his 2nd Amendment rights with the sign off "Don't worry, I've got your
back!"

There is no future for Trump governing through the congress
and judicial branch. Those two branches of government are
completely owned by the globalist traitors."

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I opened the link and the first thing that appeared was a Breitbart ad selling a figdet spinner with Bannon's face on it and #WAR. Seriously, what the actual fuck?

Didn't you hear Bannon? He declared war the night he was fired. They'll devour each other now.

[Deleted]

Didn't you hear Bannon? He declared war the night he was fired. They'll devour each other now.

But selling fidget spinners with it? How corny a website can go?

[Pannonian]

But selling fidget spinners with it? How corny a website can go?

Look at the comment i quoted from Breitbart. In my opinion there are 2 possibilities:

1. A radicalized civil war enthusiast waiting with all his weapons and ammo for the big boom.
2. A 20-something edgelord living in his mothers basement.

Now combine this with a fidget spinner ad. It tells you a lot about internet warriors.

[Belize]

But selling fidget spinners with it? How corny a website can go?

Have you seen infowars?

They sell tactical granola bars