Trump Tracker Too (2 Trump 2 Tracker) (10 Viewers)

[EmBeeFiveOhFour]

The football board had the very useful Daily Trump Tracker thread, which was a good place to briefly discuss the latest ridiculous thing that might have ended 97% of prior Presidential administrations even if it didn't necessarily justify an entire thread devoted to it in 2017-2019 (because of the sheer volume of these things). Since I don't see anything like that here already, I'll add one myself.

 

[Saintamaniac]

I would argue that it was disrespectful to RBG if it weren't for the fact that his presence at the funeral for a photo op is more disrespectful.

I would argue that RBG would more than approve of the people showing their disapproval for a president that has routinely violated the law and established normals.

 

[Optimus Prime]

I'm getting the feeling that Nov 3rd 2020 and the following days will be one of those dates people tell their grandkids about decades later

And not in a good way but more in a Pearl Harbor, MLK, 9-11 kind of way

And that is depressing and terrifying
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Journalist Bob Woodward on Thursday said that President Trump declining to engage in a peaceful transition of power if he loses the election would be "putting a dagger in the Constitution," adding that he thinks that the president is "almost wishing for a quadruple trainwreck on Nov. 3" in regards to mail-in voting.

"We have a president who has forsaken his basic duty to protect the country, to tell the truth and organize and plan, have some theory of the case what is he going to do as president," Woodward said in an appearance on MSNBC's "Deadline: White House."

"Time and time again we know, and I've got more endless examples of this, of him making decisions on impulse, tweeting, driving people crazy who work for him and then they leave or he fires them by tweet and he says the cruelest things."

"I think the president in all of the things he's doing here has forsaken a larger duty which is a moral duty to do what's best for the country," he added. "This is a moral failure and a leadership failure. This idea about the election he's predicting and almost wishing for a quadruple trainwreck on November 3rd."..............

MSN

 

[brandon]

I would argue that RBG would more than approve of the people showing their disapproval for a president that has routinely violated the law and established normals.

I agree.

 

[SaulGoodmanEsq]

How is packing the Senate okay, but packing the Supreme Court isn't? How is that not going to set off a vicious, tribal cycle of retaliation?

What's the harm of an ever expanding Supreme Court?

I see inconsistencies in values and logic from suggesting this as a long game solution to undo the corrupt packing of the Supreme Court by McConnell and the Republicans that supported them.

It was very important to them to pack the Supreme Court, so it should be very important to us to unpack it ASAP, not generations from now.

It's not a matter of being okay, it's a matter of what is most effective for lasting results. Changing the composition of the Senate gives you lasting results without as big a hit in public perception. Adding Justices to the Court gives you a temporary victory that could easily result in a Republican hegemony in 2024 and beyond. Sometimes the scalpel is a more effective tool than the hammer.

What one might call apathy or appeasement, I call a winning strategy.

 

[Saintamaniac]

It's not a matter of being okay, it's a matter of what is most effective for lasting results. Changing the composition of the Senate gives you lasting results without as big a hit in public perception. Adding Justices to the Court gives you a temporary victory that could easily result in a Republican hegemony in 2024 and beyond. Sometimes the scalpel is a more effective tool than the hammer.

What you might call appeasement, I call a winning strategy.

Wasn't there rumblings about California possibly being split into 3 states? That in itself would result in 4 new senators with at least 2 of them possibly being republicans if they still refer to themselves that way. Splitting California and granting DC and Puerto Rico statehood would drastically alter the senate for generations.

 

[SaulGoodmanEsq]

Wasn't there rumblings about California possibly being split into 3 states? That in itself would result in 4 new senators with at least 2 of them possibly being republicans if they still refer to themselves that way. Splitting California and granting DC and Puerto Rico statehood would drastically alter the senate for generations.

As I mentioned, splitting a state would require approval via state ballot initiative similar to a statehood initiative. And not knowing California law offhand, any ballot initiative might have to come through the state legislature which would make such an initiative even harder.

Even if you put statehood aside, the 2022 Senate Elections very much favor a couple of Democrat gains. Nearly all of the Democrat Senate seats up in 2022 are safe: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. The only one that might be contested is Maggie Hassan in New Hamsphire.

On a related note, something that has also been kicked around for awhile is the splitting of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. If that were ever to happen it might include the appointment of a few more judges to shore up the new circuits after a split.

 

[Booker]

Of course he did -- you can't criticize "Dear Leader" and expect to get away with it!

Trump Administration Revoked Award for Female Journalist Who Criticized Him, Says Watchdog

The Trump administration revoked an International Women of Courage Award for Finnish journalist Jessikka Aro after she criticized the president, according to a new report from the Office of the Inspector General.The report also says State Department officials gave a false explanation for why it...

www.yahoo.com

US rescinded prize to Finnish journalist for tweeting on Trump: watchdog

The State Department rescinded an award for a Finnish journalist who reported on Russian disinformation after spotting her social media postings critical of President Donald Trump, an internal review said Friday.

www.yahoo.com

Watchdog: State Dept lied about rescinding woman's award

The State Department’s internal watchdog has determined that the agency lied about the reasons it rescinded a prestigious award to a Finnish journalist, finding she was denied the honor because of her criticism of President Donald Trump. The department said it made a mistake in notifying...

www.yahoo.com

 

[CoolBrees]

To me there is no reasonable argument that could be made to keep PR and DC from becoming states. Only well it gives Dems more states.

Only conservative Californians want to split. In other words, ain’t happening. West coast would separate completely before that happens.


I would be for throwing the baby out with the bath water and keeping 100 senators, but they are regionally based on population, not state based. So like Montana, Idaho and Wyoming would get two. Southern California would get two etc. Dirt has way too much political power in our country.

 

[SaulGoodmanEsq]

To me there is no reasonable argument that could be made to keep PR and DC from becoming states. Only well it gives Dems more states.

Pragmatically speaking, there are none. I love Tom Cotton's sad defense against D.C. statehood wherein he said: “Yes, Wyoming is smaller than Washington by population, but it has three times as many workers in mining, logging and construction, and 10 times as many workers in manufacturing,” Cotton said. “In other words, Wyoming is a well-rounded working-class state.”

I think most people know that 'working-class' is a euphemism for the obvious. That said, there are some possible Constitutional/legal arguments against D.C. being a state so any attempt to do that would most likely be challenged in Court. Puerto Rico, on the other hand, absolutely no legal argument against that is the many states were territories before they became states.

 

[Farb]

Or you guys could win elections? Yall did it in the past with a lot of success so we know the 'system is not rigged'.
I think it would help also to try and find policies and narratives that don't alienate half the population of the country and split your party in two.
All that, in my opinion, would be a lot easier than adding states, adding judges, splitting states, dissolving the electoral college and whatever else the radicals can come up with.

 

[SaulGoodmanEsq]

Or you guys could win elections? Yall did it in the past with a lot of success so we know the 'system is not rigged'.
I think it would help also to try and find policies and narratives that don't alienate half the population of the country and split your party in two.
All that, in my opinion, would be a lot easier than adding states, adding judges, splitting states, dissolving the electoral college and whatever else the radicals can come up with.

That's not really an argument as to why D.C. and/or Puerto Rico shouldn't be states. And I don't disagree with your suggestion that the Democrats need to focus their message on working/middle class voters and the economy. But, to quote the old internet meme: "Why not both?"

 

[Complex Kid]

Or you guys could win elections? Yall did it in the past with a lot of success so we know the 'system is not rigged'.
I think it would help also to try and find policies and narratives that don't alienate half the population of the country and split your party in two.
All that, in my opinion, would be a lot easier than adding states, adding judges, splitting states, dissolving the electoral college and whatever else the radicals can come up with.

Democratic Presidential nominees have only won the popular vote 6 out of the last 8 elections but sure, they are the ones that can't find policies or narratives that appeal to the majority.

 

[Optimus Prime]

If DC and Puerto Rico were majority Republican they would have been made states long ago

 

[Farb]

Democratic Presidential nominees have only won the popular vote 6 out of the last 8 elections but sure, they are the ones that can't find policies or narratives that appeal to the majority.

Too bad that is not how you actually win an presidential election in this country.

 

[Complex Kid]

Too bad that is not how you actually win an presidential election in this country.

You're the one that said they need to appeal to the majority. And 6 times out of the 8 they have done so.

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

Democratic Presidential nominees have only won the popular vote 6 out of the last 8 elections but sure, they are the ones that can't find policies or narratives that appeal to the majority.

This is true despite Republican efforts to suppress and deny voting across the nation by shutting down voting locations, instituting voting taxes, purging registered voters, etc., etc...

 

[Farb]

If DC and Puerto Rico were majority Republican they would have been made states long ago

If a vote for PR, goes forward, do you think you guys will follow the precedence of the past of if you bring in a state for purely vote harvesting, which is obviously the reason this it is being brought up, a 2nd state brought in as well to balance it?
Of course not because this is just under the disguise of fairness and justice. It is really just a temper tantrum because the Democrats can't put out a candidate or message that can win without violence and political hostage negotiations.
All this does in my opinion is really put out the message that the Democrats really don't think they have a chance of winning very much in the future with their divisive talking points.

 

[EmBeeFiveOhFour]

Given that Congress has not approved a new Covid-aid package, this is clearly the president using the federal fisc as a campaign resource. He's planning on sending out $200 drug discount cards to seniors from a funding source that doesn't exist.

I can't express enough how illegal and inappropriate this is.

I'm old enough to remember when he used disaster funds appropriated to FEMA to extend unemployment benefits for a couple of weeks before it turned out FEMA actually needed the money for, you know, disaster relief.