kpete
kpete's JournalUnfortunately for US - Trump is NOT completely wrong about-THIS
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/us/politics/trump-interview-mueller-russia-china-north-korea.html
"Modus operandi of Susan Collins: partisan when it matters--Principled when it couldn't matter less"
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Herein lies the modus operandi of Susan Collins: partisan when it matters, and principled when it couldn’t matter less. And though she has become adept at picking moments here and there to demonstrate that she is capable of standing up for the people she serves — her short-lived healthcare heroism being the most notable example — her inability to imagine public service as a skin you wear rather than a costume you put on for the cameras has left her incapable of carrying on the legacy of her childhood hero. Once thought of as the center of our national politics, she has revealed herself to be little more than the vestigial tail of a Republican caucus bolting away from that center — well-distanced from its foaming mouth, but never really far behind.
It’s possible that an 18-year-old Susan Collins went home to Caribou dreaming that she would one day help transfer mountains of money from her friends and neighbors to the wealthiest heirs of the nation, but I doubt it. More likely, she aspired to be the guardian not only of an endangered strain of Republican ideology, but of Republican dignity in the face of sheer madness as well. She probably hoped to lead as much from the pure center of our civic morality as she did from the center of our politics. And she almost certainly longed to uphold the wisdom of the Declaration of Conscience, which warned us so presciently: I don’t want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny — Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry, and Smear… Surely we Republicans aren’t that desperate for victory.
Susan Collins is a Republican. No one is asking her to be anything else. But the least we can ask — the least we must insist — is that she not actively abet the GOP in extinguishing what’s left of Smith’s flame. The choice to stand with Donald Trump 50 percent of the time (to say nothing of 81.5 percent) is no more the choice of a principled moderate than the choice to jump halfway off of a bridge. And that is precisely where Susan Collins finds herself today, flailing wildly to justify brazen middle fingers to the middle class at a moment that calls for declarations of conscience more than any in recent memory.
As Maine voters turn on her — and it has already begun — Collins will come to regret her swan dive into the depths of partisan depravity. Presented with a fresh McCarthy, she cowered where Smith stood tall. And as Democrats win elections and Trumpists tighten their grip on the GOP, the only one facing extinction now is her: the voice of the once-proud moderate, trembling into irrelevance.
MORE:
https://medium.com/@danielcluchey/the-tragedy-of-susan-collins-39ff30a32ecd
"No collusion. No collusion. You're the collusion."
https://twitter.com/ianbremmer/status/946748486392864768
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/12/29/trumps-no-collusion-cry-is-getting-increasingly-desperate/?utm_term=.cb0311e87c0b
Damn, I miss President Obama.
@JoyceWhiteVance
The first time President Obama met with his US Attorneys, he told us, “I appointed you but you don’t serve me. You serve the American people. And I expect you to act with independence & integrity.” None of us ever forgot that.
Trump:
“I have absolute right to do what I want to do with the Justice Department,” Trump tells @nytimes. “But for purposes of hopefully thinking I’m going to be treated fairly, I’ve stayed uninvolved with this particular matter.”
https://twitter.com/JoyceWhiteVance/status/946591501789941761
https://twitter.com/peterbakernyt/status/946558862391328768
The REAL picture on first year Trump vs. Obama approval ratings:
Here’s the real picture on first year Trump vs. Obama approval ratings from 538.
The difference in net approval is about 24.5.
It’s not even as Trump claimed.
Trump gets much of his news and information from the network/show that just happens to tell him the lies he craves hearing about his record unpopularity.
That's normal.
Reality: Trump's approval is 38-56
MORE:
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/?ex_cid=rrpromo
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/946740119876272128
https://twitter.com/ThePlumLineGS/status/946727949121843206
NY Times to Trunp: Uh huh uh huh uh huh go on...
@owillis
MSM to Hillary: prove you didn't have anyone murdered
MSM to Obama: Explain this policy in detail. Explain how you'll do it and how you'll pay for it and what happens in 10 years
NY Times to Trunp: Uh huh uh huh uh huh go on...
https://twitter.com/owillis/status/946581416434913280
Sure he's perfectly normal. Nothing in the least bit weird about this:
https://twitter.com/digby56/status/946586863451512832
Rachel Maddow closes 2017 by beating the pants off Sean Hannity
MSNBC’s unabashed liberal primetime lineup produced a stunning ratings success for the network in 2017, boosting its viewership by nearly 50 percent compared to the 2016 campaign cycle. MSNBC finishes the year with its largest daily audience since the network debuted in 1996.
The primetime home of Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow, and Lawrence O’Donnell posted the biggest ratings gain in 2017 of any of the all-news cable channels.
Heading into 2018, MSNBC’s Maddow is riding a ratings momentum wave. Pitted against Sean Hannity in the 9 p.m. time slot, Maddow in recent weeks has moved ahead of Trump’s favorite cheerleader and has been regularly beating Hannity among viewers 25-54, the demographic most sought after by advertisers.
During the first three weeks of December, Maddow bested Hannity on 10 of the 15 weekday broadcasts.
https://shareblue.com/rachel-maddow-closes-2017-by-beating-the-pants-off-sean-hannity/#.WkVkjHsM_Hc.twitter
John Dean: Too many Republicans are way beyond vicious they are evil.
@JohnWDeanThe GOP’s idea of a war on poverty is putting poor people in prison. Too many Republicans are way beyond vicious they are evil. Most annoying are those who call themselves Christians.
the sad part is that this is part of a generally disdainful attitude toward the poor that I see in my mentions all the time: the "I got mine, let them take care of themselves and stop taking my money" ethos that feels much broader than just Republican leadership.
https://twitter.com/JohnWDean/status/946470027984650240
https://twitter.com/JoyAnnReid/status/946476369889947649
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
Judge rejects Roy Moore’s suit in Alabama Senate race
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Democrat Doug Jones on Thursday will be officially declared the winner of a U.S. Senate race after a judge rejected Republican Roy Moore’s last-ditch effort to stop the certification of Jones’ historic upset in a deep-red state.
Montgomery Circuit Judge Johnny Hardwick denied Moore’s request for a restraining order to stop Alabama’s canvassing board from certifying Jones’ victory on Thursday.
Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said Jones will be certified as the winner of the Dec. 12 election on Thursday afternoon. He will be sworn in on Jan. 3.
https://twitter.com/AdamParkhomenko/status/946450561993494528
https://apnews.com/7c23d09eb6d4446a95c14e38ddaf2c65
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Member since: Fri Sep 17, 2004, 03:59 PMNumber of posts: 71,986
