Schmidt continues to hammer it home

[ailsagirl]

I know some of you don't like him because he's a repuke (albeit a pretty darn sane one, if that's not a contradition in terms), but he continues to hammer dump and the state of our contry on a continual basis

Link to tweet

[MFM008]

1. I do

I even follow him.
The enemy of my enemy is a friend or wtf...

[ailsagirl]

3. I never heard that one!

Perfect!!

The enemy of my enemy is my friend is an ancient proverb which suggests that two opposing parties can or should work together against a common enemy.

[Fred Sanders]

2. Schmidt clearly detests Shitler, all his enablers, and all their treason. A Republican? No problem!

[ailsagirl]

4. You got it!!

[Old Vet]

22. Iam with ya too ailsagirl, Steve is one smart dude......

[ailsagirl]

34. Wish he'd come to our side!!

[NewJeffCT]

45. we need every ally we can get

in the resistance against Team Trump

[RKP5637]

5. I like Schmidt, he says it the way it is! n/t

[ailsagirl]

6. He really does

And very articulately, I might add

[RKP5637]

7. Yep, and definitely articulately!!! n/t

[RestoreAmerica2020]

62. So why does he still belong to racist kkknazi hate party?

[RKP5637]

64. That, is a very interesting question. I wonder too. n/t

[dem4decades]

81. Richard Painter still belongs to the Republican Party and he's awesome.

Maybe it's still good having some fight for our country from both sides of the aisle?

[eppur_se_muova]

8. Who, Steve "Get these people out of my party!" Schmidt ?

Yes, he seems to show a certain righteous indignation at seeing his party hijacked by 45 and the Redhats. Wish more Repubs were like him.

[ailsagirl]

9. Me, too-- he's SANE

[oberliner]

28. He worked with Karl Rove on the George W Bush re-election campaign

That's the Republican Party he wishes to go back to.

[gibraltar72]

10. He and Rick Wilson are refreshing.

[yonder]

12. Rick Wilson has been on my radar for almost two years

[Faux pas]

11. I know I'm

liking him more!

[ailsagirl]

13. I'm following him now!

[Faux pas]

23. On the

twitter machine, right? Thanks

[TheDebbieDee]

14. Just remember, Steve Schmidt and Nicolle Wallace gave to the American voting public

the gift of Sarah Palin and her crackpot family...

[LittleGirl]

26. Nicole never voted for McCain and Palin

You must forgive her and Steve. They have paid their dues and I know Nicole is an independent now.

[ailsagirl]

31. I like and respect them both

[samnsara]

15. i like steve..hes making up for palin by going after trump all out

[gibraltar72]

16. Giving penance

so to speak.

[LittleGirl]

27. Yep, exactly. n/t

[HipChick]

17. Malfeasance

[calimary]

18. Man, I sure would like to see less of the reference to troubling.

Sometimes it literally makes me want to scream! How damn long are we going to hear this crap about how “troubling” it is, or hear some CON moans and groans about how they’re very “troubled” by such-n-such.

ENOUGH! I’m rather sick and tired of hearing how they’re so “troubled” by whatever it is. How long are we gonna have to put up with that? Hey CONS: You just gonna be continually “troubled” by what you’re continually seeing? Without finally getting off yet ass and DOING SOMETHING about it? You’re just gonna sit there and clutch your pearls and reach for the smelling salts, until the next time you see something ELSE trump does that you also find “troubling”, a few minutes later?

I’m sick to death of hearing how “troubling” this is. Then DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, dammit!!! Don’t just sit there day after day, week after week, month after month, since 2015 forcryingoutloud, and whine about how “troubling” this is, or how “troubled” you supposedly are over this ongoing disaster. Fuckin’ DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT if it’s so damned “troubling”!

[RandomAccess]

39. What, exactly, would you have him do?

He's a Republican strategist, an activist, a FREQUENT anti-Trump commentator on MSNBC.

How do you know he's NOT "doing something" (beyond what I've already listed)?

There are a handful of Republicans I know of who have any integrity at all, and Schmidt is right at the very top of my short list, along with former Congressman Jolly, Nicole Wallace and maybe a couple others. He not only has incredible integrity, he also has vision and wisdom.

[calimary]

52. Lots he could do. And maybe my point was missed.

I’m sick and tired of hearing about how more than just Steve Schmidt is feeling “troubled.” It goes WAY beyond Steve Schmidt. It goes through increasingly large swaths of elected representatives and other talking heads and opinion-meisters who somehow seem far more “troubled” about sticking their necks out and showing some REAL guts and leadership. Like, where the hell is Bob Kasich? Besides asleep maybe? Doesn’t wanna get his hands dirty?

Well, please forgive me, but to me we’re long past the chicken point by now. It’s time to stand up, show some spine where it really counts for keeps: for the sake of America, America’s moral high ground, our leadership among nations, the survival of our institutions and what REALLY makes us great, and has ALWAYS made us great. Heck, in increasingly terrifying ways, our entire planet and its ability to sustain ALL life is at stake! Where’s Jeff Flake, for example? I want these assholes to start showing, AND PROVING that they stand for country over party, not the other way around. I want them, all their little friends, followers, and funders

There are all kinds of things that could be done or instigated. For example...
What’s Steve Schmidt doing to turn his fellow CONS toward voting for impeachment?
Or leaning on them, hard, publicly, and by name, to sponsor and vote for the measure co-authored by Ted Lieu to protect Robert Mueller from being fired?
Or disavow the stinking republiCON Party in public and/or leave the party, change affiliation to Independent or, yes, even Democratic? And make a big public thing of it?
Or denounce trump and make it clear they DON’T support him and now think he’s a lying cheating traitor?
Encourage them flat-out to grow a pair and cast off their MAGA presidential kneepads?

I’d want to see folks like him, Nicolle Wallace, Joe Scarborough, David Jolly, and more become much louder and more aggressive about how wrong trump & comp are for America.

And I‘d want them pushing the fact-checking. Again and again. At EVERY possible turn and opportunity. To remind the ciewers. Remind. Repeat. Like GOP propaganda does without pause or let-up. I’d like to see more of those folks start weaning their friends and colleagues from Newsmax and Breitbart and Pox Noise to open their eyes and stop avoiding this. Publicly denounce. Check the facts. Correct the record. Aggressively.

Rather than just clipping on the little mic and settling back in their studio chairs and sets with the local skyline or a wall full of books behind them. And opine, so damn antiseptically.

I’d like to see some meat on their bones. Not just studio makeup on their faces.

[Hortensis]

55. He is doing it. Being a talking head is what he does.

And that requires not getting kicked off MSNBC, and CNN if he's invited there, by bringing the 2016 crimes way too close to their perpetrators.

We could blame ourselves also. Only some of us turned both CNN and MSNBC off, daytime programming at least, which should have been done very early on, and was by some. Refusing to listen to their poison would have been taking a stand that spoke much louder than just marching once or twice a year.

Not too late.

[RandomAccess]

57. Well, he's on Twitter -- go tell him

[Juliusseizure]

82. I think he's doing what he can

The GOP does what their donors and constituency tell them.

His influence is limited, but I see him maximizing it. He does call out specific politicians in commentary, but he wants the current GOP burned down and start fresh. He tweeted that last week. There's not a more outspoken anti-Trump/anti-GOP commentator.

And keep in mind, he's sacrificing work. No GOP would hire him. I admire that.

[jayschool2013]

65. Great questions

Personally, I'd like to see at least some discussion of a movement toward a new political party, if they're not willing to join the Democratic Party. Let the Trumpers, racists, know-nothings and nativists wallow in the muck of their 33 percent (or smaller) base, and then seek to, at the very least, create a coalition of Democrats and traditional conservatives who could govern by compromise.

[True Blue American]

71. Charlie Dent

I guess you could include Scarborough who became Independent. But he was at the forefront of wanting Clinton indicted. He is a hypocrite.

[moreland01]

19. Sarah Palin

Steve Schmidt will NEVER live down that whole Sarah Palin debacle. At least I will never forget what horrible judgement he has.

[ailsagirl]

32. I saw Game Change

and it gave me a completely different impression of him

I normally dismiss anyone who is a repuke but not anymore. Battle lines are being drawn.

And again,

The enemy of my enemy is my friend

[citizen blues]

20. As Malcolm Nance pointed out this week on Stephanie Millers show

There are some principled conservatives who put country before party and still defend the constitution.

[Stellar]

21. Nobody's perfect!!

I like Steve! He rocks.

[flying_wahini]

24. Yea, Schmidt is good. Key question to ask Repugs "would you want your dtr to marry him"?

And watch them crap their pants.

[Happyhippychick]

25. I love him

[oberliner]

29. He spent his life devoted to Karl Rove and George W Bush

Not to mention Sarah Palin.

[Happyhippychick]

30. He's a sane Republican. I embrace anyone who isn't pro Trump

[oberliner]

36. The rock-star ad comparing Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton? That was all Schmidt.

In GOP circles, Schmidt's nickname is "The Bullet," both for his gleaming shaved head and the way he relentlessly seeks out his target. (When he can, he lets off steam at the gym by practicing Ultimate Fighting techniques.) His specialty is message control, something McCain, a meandering speaker, has worked to master. Schmidt's signature practice is to pick a simple message and repeat it day after day until it begins to sink in with the public. In Obama's case, it's that he is an empty celebrity who lacks the gravitas to lead. The rock-star ad comparing Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton? That was all Schmidt. "He may be the best pure message consultant I've ever worked with, and I've worked with every big-deal political consultant," says Mark McKinnon, a former McCain adviser. "He can focus like a monk in a hurricane. And while he can whip up a storm of tactics to confuse and distract the opposition, he thinks very strategically." It's not tough to see why the Rove comparison keeps cropping up.

http://www.newsweek.com/steve-schmidt-man-behind-mccain-92215

[JI7]

43. That's nothing compared to birther spreading trash like leeann tweeden

[oberliner]

46. There are a plethora of right-wingers out there

Steve Schmidt is one of them.

I think with the current awfulness of Trump it becomes easy to forget the previous awfulness of Bush/Rove/Cheney.

[JI7]

47. Schmidt doesnt claim to be liberal. But at least he isn't a bigoted birther trash like leeann tweed

[oberliner]

49. Understood

Just think it's important to recognize that he is very much in the Bush-Cheney camp.

[JI7]

50. Bush and Cheney aren't in office anymore

Trump and other birther trash like leeann tweeden who support perverts like trump and toy moore are the problem.

[oberliner]

61. Point taken

[ailsagirl]

66. I didn't mean to provoke anyone with this thread!

Before posting the tweet, I wanted to acknowledge there are those who don't like Schmidt and I need to respect that. At first I did not like him simply because he's a repuke, then my opinion started changing because of how apoplectic he has become re dump and continues to be. And I appreciate that. That's all.

[Happyhippychick]

59. He's had more balls than almost any Republican in calling out Trump

We need more people like him.

[ailsagirl]

33. He hated Palin, are you kidding?

[oberliner]

35. He literally is the person who pushed for her to be the VP nominee

There is no chance that McCain would have selected her had it not been for Steve Schmidt.

[ailsagirl]

42. Perhaps not, but they were under the gun. And mistakes were made

He thought she sounded OK when she was vetted but when he found she didn't know even the most basic things about government, world history, and politics, he panicked.

Did you see Game Change? Highly recommended

Part of Roger Ebert's take on the film:

On paper, the governor of Alaska was ideal. In person, she had delightful charisma. It's made clear in the film that Schmidt and his team did only a superficial background check on her, and later Schmidt was to berate himself for not asking her a single policy question. McCain, persuaded that she might be the game changer he needed, went along. Doubts began to form before the GOP convention, but they were swept away by her triumphant speech accepting the nomination. Backstage, the McCain troops hugged themselves with delight.

...Then reality began to sink in: Palin knew virtually nothing about current events, world politics, history, geography. Wallace and Schmidt share their astonishment: She didn't know what the Fed was. She thought Korea was one country. She believed Queen Elizabeth was the British head of state.

And on it goes. The film fascinated me and I watched it only because several Dems on MSNBC reported seeing it multiple times.

Here's a more in-depth link re Schmidt and the Palin fallout

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/steve-schmidts-brutally-honest-assessment-of-sarah-palin/2011/03/04/gIQA9ewZ7R_blog.html?utm_term=.82ec874f04d1

One last link: (sorry to go on and on)

[oberliner]

48. Written by noted sexual harasser, Mark Halperin

In any case, it is true that Schmidt came to realize the reality of Sarah Palin and his opinion of her evolved.

That said, his other claim to fame is schilling for Dick Cheney.

I guess the point being that his anti-Trump stuff sounds good now, of course, but he was in league with the darkest elements of the Republican party for most of his political career.

And he has not really repented for that, as far as I can tell. He supported Jeb Bush for president this time around.

[JI7]

51. He doesn't need to repent. He isn't running for office as a democrat. His calling out the republica

It's welcome to those of us who oppose trump who is currently in office.

[oberliner]

54. Respectfully disagree

I think he owes it to the country and to humanity to repent for his dark past.

[JI7]

56. lol. You defended birther trash tweeden who was supporting perverts trump and moore

[oberliner]

63. Huh?

I don't support any such views from anyone.

[John Fante]

76. Sure did.+1

Now he/she is discrediting a vocal Trump critic. Hmmm...

[oberliner]

80. Welcome to DU

Those of us who have been posting here since 2006 appreciate your insights.

[John Fante]

84. 11 years soft-supporting Republicans?

Very impressive.

[czarjak]

70. "Calling out the republicans...

Of which he's one.

[Upthevibe]

44. Steve Schmidt could just as easily (and probably it would actually be easier) have stayed out of

this. I think he IS a patriot who HAS put country before party (as has Nicole). Game Change gives a very clear picture of what happened with Palin. He can't stand her, and choosing her was a huge mistake in which he's not (IMHO -by any means) completely responsible. There were a lot of factors that played into that whole situation. He and Nicole (who BTW didn't vote at all in the 2008 election)really seem to be reasonable and moderate. Nicole has ALWAYS detested dt. In fact, I believe (I have no facts - just my gut feeling) that her contract on the T.V. show The View probably wasn't renewed because she's TOO moderate and reasonable. They need an a-hole (like Elizabeth Hasselbeck or Meagan McCain) so the ladies can argue and drive up ratings....just my 2 cents.....

[Cha]

37. Mahalo, ailsagirl! I'll take what I can

get.. some in the M$M continue to try and normalize the perverted bully.

[vlyons]

38. I'll take wisdom wherever I can find it.

Schmidt is an honorable man. A Republican with personal honor. How rare is that?

[ailsagirl]

40. VERY

[Kirk Lover]

41. I like anyone who hammers tRUMP. n/t

[JI7]

53. Schmidt, wallace, ana navarro etc are A LOT more tougher on trump than Axelrod and Van Jones

[Happyhippychick]

58. +1

[grantcart]

60. Don't forget Frum

[Honeycombe8]

68. Yep. Frum even lost a job over it. So did Repub George Will. nt

[MrPurple]

67. Anyone who's been portrayed by Woody Harrelson can't be all bad

[zentrum]

72. Puhleeze. They have

……no loyalty to Trump. They hate him. They only have loyalty to the policies that Trump can be a useful idiot for enacting.

They want to privatize all government services, have a free hand to seize and exploit every resource of the earth. They are loyal to the people who bribe them—the Mercers, the Kochs. Their tribe is a narrow slice of the worst of the 1% who keep them in power. Their "King" is the malignant model of Capitalism they practice—not Trump.

I'm sure they'd prefer Pence, or any number of hideous right wingers, but Trump is beloved of their rabid base, so they protect him.

[JohnnyRingo]

73. I doubt he's a republican.

Just because he headed on McCain's campaign doesn't mean he shares his politics. It's just a job. Ask the Carvilles.

[JI7]

74. he is a republican but conservative like European mainstream conservatives who hate Trump

[lillypaddle]

75. I really like Steve

His commentary is always right-on, and usually biting.

[dchill]

77. I welcome Steve Schmidt to the anti-Trump campaign...

As well as, among others, Nicole Wallace, David Frum, and even William Kristol. If and when they revert to their conservative tendencies, they're off the bus. Till then, I welcome them, insofar as it's my place to do so.

[secondwind]

78. He is very liked in my house. My husband follows him.

[Mc Mike]

79. Ana Navarro is a joy to watch, too.

I'm sure I'd disagree with her stance on Nicaraguan politics, or Latin American foreign policy. But she's a real firebrand, and totally fearless. The kind of opponent I respect.

[bitterross]

83. I guess he's trying to atone for inflicting Palin on us.

Don't be too quick to forgive him. He's why we have been blessed by Sarah. The only thing good that came out of that was Tina Fey's popularity.