Sorry to break it to you, folks, but we're screwed.

[kpete]

Here is why:



https://twitter.com/ThePlumLineGS/status/819531791530917889


****************

By abandoning even the pretense of congressional oversight, Republicans are leaving it almost entirely to reporters to scrutinize Trump’s ethical and legal conduct. But as he demonstrated on Wednesday, he has no misgivings about slandering news outlets (or any institutions really) that reveal unflattering things about him.

And the same polarization that makes him broadly unpopular, but enduringly popular with GOP voters, will insulate him from the political consequences of scandal. The result is that Trump will be able to operate with impunity for the foreseeable future. If he becomes so reviled that Republicans are no longer scared of him, they might finally arrest the damage—but we’ll have to wait until then to know the full toll.

https://newrepublic.com/article/139813/trump-exactly-monster-feared-republicans-enabling

[JHan]

1. yeah, but her emails though..

[True Dough]

2. Like his sons really aren't going to talk Trump business with him

Really!

[greatauntoftriplets]

6. I ROFL at that line at yesterday's press conference.

Anyone who bought that will fall for anything.

[Arkansas Granny]

3. I'm sure most of us here have known this for some time and those who haven't realized it yet

will find out about it very soon.

[zipplewrath]

5. I'm a bit more optimistic

Optimistic might be the wrong word, but you have a press under attack and a man that has no moderation to his behavior. The Washington Post along with Woodward and Bernstein took a lot of heat for a long time for the ground laying work on Watergate. But the drip, drip, drip gets hard to ignore after a while and it starts to add up. And in this case what you'll have is a lot of drips that get ignored, right up until something finally breaks, and then they'll all be important. Combine that with a content hungry press and you have the chance for something big.

Trump may end up being the Jimmy Carter of the GOP. A president that neither party likes, is on the outside of most think tanks and lobbies in DC, and actually has as much conflict with his own party as the opposition. We may actually see him get a primary challenger, and it may start sooner than later.

[Blanks]

8. Rubio sees the blood in the water.

So does Rand Paul, Tom Cotton and John McCain, being the cranky old man that he is, isn't gonna back off.

Rubio will probably start running after the mid-terms. He's separating himself from the herd early on.

[Blanks]

7. Nixon thought he was above the law too...

I remember how that ended up. Reagan, though he didn't get into trouble himself, had the Iran Contra scandal.

Even Bush and Cheney went to visit congress (off the record) for some reason (the WMD debacle, I believe).

These were experienced politicians and had experienced handlers. Trump is a rank amateur at this. He's gonna be hounded by investigations.

They keep cornering KellyAnne asking her if anyone in the campaign coordinated with the Russians. She won't answer. She says that she didn't, but she won't commit to 'nobody in the campaign did'.

This thing is gonna blow up in their face at some point.

[colsohlibgal]

11. That Was Pre Fox News

And before the constant whining about liberal bias in news reporters.

[Blanks]

12. Then they'll go down with him...

The longer they cover for him, the farther they will fall.

[delisen]

9. Do Not Despair

We are in the stage of the deliberate destruction of our institutions and norms so that evil can take over. Millions of people are taking this very seriously.

Look at the United States as regions. I see great strength in New England, Middle Atlantic (with some weakness in the rural areas) entire Pacific Coast with some reach into the southwest and even Kansas. Let's not forget how close the election was in the Great Lakes area. Many influential people have been alarmed for a year and are still working behind the scenes.

[yurbud]

10. even Republicans eventually realized Baby Bush was a con. Way too late, but still

I think Trump's going to have a very short shelf life if he can't deliver in those areas where he differs with the GOP.