https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/won
Admittedly, it's buried on Page A14 of today's Post, but Steven Pearlstein, a solid op-ed columnist, sees this past week as Trumpsky's Waterloo. Congress is turning against him, albeit ever so reluctantly. His West Wing is at swords' points with each other. Even the Pentagon isn't accepting a fucking Tweet as official policy against transgenders in the military. No "yes, sir" to the megalomaniac!
And the same day's Post carried an editorial cartoon, Trumpsky being told "...[the press] is focusing more on the transgender ban than the Russia investigation" And the Prez replies, "mission accomplished." Suggesting pointedly that throwing the LGBT community under the bus was no big deal for the Asshole in Chief.
If we gays justifiably retaliate, where will it end?
Admittedly, it's buried on Page A14 of today's Post, but Steven Pearlstein, a solid op-ed columnist, sees this past week as Trumpsky's Waterloo. Congress is turning against him, albeit ever so reluctantly. His West Wing is at swords' points with each other. Even the Pentagon isn't accepting a fucking Tweet as official policy against transgenders in the military. No "yes, sir" to the megalomaniac!
And the same day's Post carried an editorial cartoon, Trumpsky being told "...[the press] is focusing more on the transgender ban than the Russia investigation" And the Prez replies, "mission accomplished." Suggesting pointedly that throwing the LGBT community under the bus was no big deal for the Asshole in Chief.
If we gays justifiably retaliate, where will it end?
Maybe I don't need to worry much and a solid rebuke to the Republican pary is imminent in 2018 no matter what, but I'm leery of counting on that.
The notion of Pence in power frightens me.
I've often wondered if I'd rather have a competent Prez with hideous politics in power, like Nixon, or an incompetent idiot Prez with hideous politics instead, like George W Bush. Now I'm leaning heavily towards preferring that my deplorable-in-chief be utterly incompetent.
I suspect you are right that the Trumpies will continue for some time, shooting themselves in their collective feet -- but I worry a LOT that his damned charades are pissing away American credibility worldwide. Just heard on Tumblr from a lovely girlfriend in Eastern Europe -- they are succumbing to panic there, seeing only the madness, not understanding how our cumbersome institutions cannot quickly rid the world of this evident menace. Impeachment needs to come sooner rather than later. It will be an ugly process, but at least it is pro-active. And the East Europeans (and, fuck it, the WEST Europeans, too) need to see us as DOING SOMETHING.
The Russia sanctions are an unexpectedly good response to Trumpsky's playing footsie with Vladimir. Early results from the Special Counsel (and maybe even the House and Senate Intel Committees) will build momentum against Russia. We need to defeat the Trump-Lavrov cabal on Syria policy -- THAT is the biggest threat at the moment.
The purported transgender ban seems to have been an attempt to get his wall. Seriously. The bill to fund the wall is held up in the House over a dispute over whether to bar the military health plan from covering gender reassignment surgery. He decided not letting transgender people into the military at all would make the issue go away.
Of course, he forgot that there are already transgender people in the military, so barring them from enlisting wouldn't eliminate the issue. And the 9 minute gap between the first and second Tweets left people in the military thinking we were about to bomb North Korea. And he pissed off even the right wing. (Seriously, how do you manage to be so right wing you piss of Orrin Hatch!) But that's what happens when you govern by Tweet, and ate willing to throw anyone under the bus to prove you're a "winner."
Edited at 2017-07-29 07:52 pm (UTC)
I too am intrigued by the 9-minute gap in his tweet-stream, as well as by his weird formal tone in it. And I agree with my Brit pal Gary (below) that the Pentagon is telling the world they will ignore as best they can Trumpsky's more egregious posturings. (A useful "test" of their collective ability to resist an unlawful order from the Clown in Chief).
Congressional Republicans, a cowardly lot, must increasingly see from the sanctions bill, the Obamacare fiasco, and other such contratemps how easy it is to thwart the bastard. And find new, even BRAVE legislative efforts. Mostly, I trust momentum for impeachment must begin building on the Hill...
Edited at 2017-07-30 04:51 am (UTC)
Will he actually reach the end of his term? He's fine when things are going his way, but when he finds that he is essentially hemmed in on all sides, unable to do anything, he might just resign. I'll bet that the lecture circuit/TV interview side of being an ex-President is already beginning to look much more inviting than actually being acting President. It would probably leave Pence in charge, which is hardly win-win, but at least he gives the impression of being vaguely competent, and that may be the best that can be hoped for at the moment.
Trumpsky is now royally fucked with Russia; this reducing of our diplomatic establishment in Russia, provoked by the new sanctions law he MUST sign, will create further bad blood. And, while getting Putin "carefully" estranged is risky, it's going to be necessary. The results from the Special Counsel investigations will deepen the rift with them. Moreover, SecDef Mattis will resist caving to Putin in Syria