American political right -spectacular self-harm

Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, July 29th, 2017 - 42 comments
Categories: us politics - Tags: , , , ,

I know that insane news out of America has become predictably ho-hum, but really, this week has been stunning. For an overview see: Donald Trump’s manic, fantastical and utterly disastrous week, and White House week of chaos ends in open warfare.

The antics new White House communications director are a standout train wreck. Must read: Anthony Scaramucci Called Me to Unload About White House Leakers, Reince Priebus, and Steve Bannon, and dishonourable mention: The 35 most eye-popping quotes from Anthony Scaramucci’s CNN interview.

Of more practical significance, last night saw the final implosion of the Republican’s insane hatred of “Obamacare”. They couldn’t replace it. They couldn’t replace it again (and again). Then they couldn’t repeal it. Then they couldn’t even “skinny” repeal bits of it. Seven years of political posturing shown up for the madness that it was. There is now a real risk that the Republican administration will break healthcare deliberately and burn their own people out of spite. That’s the level of right-wing politics in America.

How much worse will it get?

https://twitter.com/EconomistOnce/status/891020224987885569

42 comments on “American political right -spectacular self-harm ”

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  1. Andre 1
    29 July 2017 at 10:02 am

    Gee, you didn’t even mention that Priebus has been dumped. Guess it’s all moving so fast…

    http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/28/politics/john-kelly-chief-of-staff/index.html

    As for the Obamacare repeal debacle, as usual it’s women quietly doing the work behind the scenes and taking the heat to do the right thing, then a showboating male waltzes in at the last second and takes the credit.

    https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/7/28/16055132/murkowski-collins-mccain

    • joe90 1.1
      29 July 2017 at 7:28 pm

      The new guy.

      As head of SOUTHCOM, Trump’s pick for Homeland Security secretary facilitated atrocities across the Americas.

      […]

      This will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with US involvement in Latin America, but I’ll say it anyway: SOUTHCOM does some really bad things.

      From 2011 until last February, the man who will soon sit in the “war on terror’s” front office oversaw a command whose recent misdeeds range from buying overseas sex with military money and circulating slur-filled emails about the commander in chief to sheltering a Chilean war criminal, plotting the Honduran coup, and putting guns in the hands of Colombian death squads.

      https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/12/trump-kelly-homeland-security-southcom-colombia-honduras/

      • Andre 1.1.1
        29 July 2017 at 7:37 pm

        I can’t think of a nicer bunch of people for him to exercise his talents on than Trump staffers.

      • joe90 1.1.2
        30 July 2017 at 5:58 am

        Oh dear.

        ( paywalled with no cache available / private window did the trick)

        IDENTIFYING THE WORST member of Donald Trump’s Cabinet is no easy task. From Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently mocking the state of Hawaii to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson being completely over his head to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and HUD Secretary Ben Carson being, well, Betsy DeVos and Ben Carson, the competition is fierce.

        This week, however, a new strong contender emerged: Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.

        Trump abruptly replaces chief of staff, naming John Kelly

        When Kelly, a former decorated Marine general, was nominated to be head of Homeland Security many hailed the pick and said Kelly would bring competence and sanity to an administration lacking in both qualities.

        Not so much.

        https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/04/25/homeland-security-john-kelly-unhinged/viy0TgjP0p54ovFHDWO8KJ/story.html

  2. Sanctuary 2
    29 July 2017 at 10:19 am

    The Preibus move could be the beginning of the end for Trump. Preibus is extremely powerful in the GOP establishment. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell described the attacks on Priebus as “beyond stupid” and condemned a super PAC aligned with Mr. Trump that started an ad campaign against Senator Dean Heller, Republican of Nevada, after he said last week that he opposed the health care bill (in this case, they will probably allow the democrats to win the seat in the mid-terms).

    All up, the crazy wing of the GOP – as in, so crazy it makes the Tea Party faction look sane – has declared open war on the GOP establishment by sacking Preibus. The GOP has no one but itself to blame for this melt down, it is like any extremist ideological organisation that breaks into factions, you know, Peoples Front for the liberation of Judea, the Judean Peoples Front, the Front for the Liberation of Judea, etc etc etc.

    Ultimately though what sacking Preibus does is open the door for a bi-partisan majority to impeach Trump in the senate. Up till now, I didn’t think that was possible – but if the GOP establishment decides Trump has crossed a political Rubicon, then the Russia investigation will do just nicely for them.

    • Andre 2.1
      29 July 2017 at 10:44 am

      There’s still the factor that there’s still hard-core Trumpkins that will continue to worship the malignant orange homunculus no matter what he does. Any Republican that votes to impeach or convict will earn their eternal wrath.

      So the only Republicans that will dare to do that are the ones that don’t want to run again, or the few from states where Trump is very unpopular but antipathy to Dems is stronger, such as Utah. There’s only maybe half a dozen Repug senators that fit that description, well short of the 19 that would be needed to get to the 2/3 majority needed to convict in the Senate.

      Even firing Sessions, a former member of the chummy senate club, is unlikely to rile senators enough that they’ll put their political future at risk to do the right thing.

      • Johan 2.1.1
        30 July 2017 at 11:21 am

        To Andre,

        “There’s only maybe half a dozen Repug senators that fit that description, well short of the 19 that would be needed to get to the 2/3 majority needed to convict in the Senate.” Flawed!
        The real problem in your analysis is that in 2018 the US has their mid-term elections with some 33 seats in the Senate up for grabs, not to mention seats available in the House of Representatives. Thus impeachment can very well be on the cards.
        Under Trump the Republicans are on a very slippery downward slope. We saw it with Senator John McCain, in a highly significant move, casting the deciding vote not to ditch ObamaCare. For the Republicans, having a majority in the House of Reps and Senate, while not to support Trump legislation is most significant. The lack of support for Trump is due to a possible backlash by voters in individual states against Trump’s unpopular proposed policies.

        • Andre 2.1.1.1
          31 July 2017 at 4:48 pm

          In 2018, the Democrats are defending 25 of those senate seats and the Repugs are only defending 8.

          Of those 25 the Dems are defending, 10 are in states the Chump won. Only one of the seats the Repugs are defending is in a state Clinton won (Dean Heller in Nevada). In Arizona, Jeff Flake (and possibly a second vacant seat if McCain makes an early vacancy) are vulnerable. Then the next most vulnerable seats are the likes of Ted Cruz in Texas , Bob Corker in Tennessee.

          So let’s imagine the Dems get really lucky and do outstandingly well in 2018 and successfully defend all their seats, and pick up 4 more (Nevada, Arizona x 2, plus one more). That only gets them to 52 senators, so 15 Repug senators would still be needed to flip for conviction to remove the Chump. That still looks very very unlikely. What’s more likely is the senate Dems are still the minority after 2018 with at best 50 seats.

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_elections,_2018

  3. marty mars 3
    29 July 2017 at 10:27 am

    Trump sitting back smirking. I think it will work out for the don – time for another rally. The mooch has been unleashed for a reason – fear, purge, acquiescence.

    • Johan 3.1
      30 July 2017 at 11:29 am

      That is the problem for Trump, he runs the presidency like he would his multi times bankrupt business empire. For this reason Trump will continue to become unstuck, as he keeps rearranging the chairs on the Titanic. The Founding Fathers of the United States have installed a system of checks and balances, specific for the people that characterizes the Trumps and Nixons.

  4. Ad 4
    29 July 2017 at 10:34 am

    Hang in there Trump.
    The Dems have still got another year minimum before they sort their own shit out.

    Still, fun to watch.

  5. RedLogix 5
    29 July 2017 at 11:11 am

    I keep wondering exactly what it will take for some grown-ups to stride firmly into the Oval Office, grasp him by both elbows and say “OK you’ve had your fun, time for beddy bys”.

    Everyone keeps saying the military won’t do it and I can see why. But at what point will they have no other option?

    • lprent 5.1
      29 July 2017 at 11:16 am

      Probably about the time that he orders a military action that the military cannot stomach and can’t see any rationale for. To date it appears that hasn’t happened.

    • Ad 5.2
      29 July 2017 at 3:57 pm

      The American people will start to react properly when they lose something they feel they deserve.

      If the Republican healthcare proposals go through and Obamacare dies, that would be a significant moment.

      American citizens will become the right kind of conservative if such a major loss occurs.

  6. bwaghorn 6
    29 July 2017 at 12:49 pm

    that scaramuci is straight out of The Sopranos, it just keeps getting better , crazy times .

  8. greywarshark 8
    29 July 2017 at 7:54 pm

    Here is a story about Trump – always interesting and it may enhance our understanding of him and USA politics, or not.

    https://newrepublic.com/article/143586/trumps-russian-laundromat-trump-tower-luxury-high-rises-dirty-money-international-crime-syndicate
    Trump’s Russian Laundromat
    How to use Trump Tower and other luxury high-rises to clean dirty money,
    run an international crime syndicate,
    and propel a failed real estate developer into the White House.

    • Mrs Brillo 8.1
      29 July 2017 at 10:57 pm

      Thanks for that link. Wondered how the US Mafia and the Russian Mafia intersected. Looks like Trump is the smoking gun. Shocking stuff.

      • greywarshark 8.1.1
        31 July 2017 at 10:56 am

        It seems that we are being run by the mafia. We have been told that private enterprise is more efficient than government.

        The mafia are good at what they do – impose taxes on citizens calling it ‘protection money’ – which is what we thought we had a government for.

        Maybe the mafia can do it better than the government – private enterprise slips onto the seat that government has kindly vacated. Sad how dumb we are.

  9. WILD KATIPO 9
    30 July 2017 at 2:07 am

    So we would rather have Obama, then,…OK, ….

    Has Trump done this sort of thing as of yet?

    Obama Orders Children Murdered! RED ALERT URGENT … – YouTube
    Video for Obama Orders Children Murdered you tube▶ 13:31

    • marty mars 9.1
      30 July 2017 at 7:24 am

      You illustrate why the 2am postings are never a great idea.

    • rhinocrates 9.2
      30 July 2017 at 12:49 pm

      They’re not murdered, they’re sent to slave labour camps on Mars!

      (Infowars? Oh jeez)

      • WILD KATIPO 9.2.1
        30 July 2017 at 5:32 pm

        And so ,… the very same news sources you get your data from are the same ‘ trusted ‘ news outlets that you rail against and criticize ?

        Make up your mind, please. Its either one or the other.

        And if the facts are the facts ?

        Why try and deny em ?

        Point is ,- is Trump a kid killer as opposed to Obama and Killary ( Libya) …?

        No.

        Got a problem with that?

  10. WILD KATIPO 10
    30 July 2017 at 2:25 am

    HYPOCRITE’S !!!

    Let you who are without sin , – cast the first stone !!!

    – JESUS of NAZARETH.

    ……………………………………….

    John 8:7

    King James Bible

    So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

    • WILD KATIPO 10.1
      30 July 2017 at 2:52 am

      This was in the context of the legalistic and misogynistic religious beliefs of the middle east in ancient Judea.

      It was recorded that first the scribes, then the Sadducee’s , then the Pharisee’s left silently one by one until that blood thirsty crowd dispersed as they realized they were nothing but hypocrites in demanding the letter of the law without the compassion of the law . It was revolutionary and it was a contributing factor in Christs brutal execution because he spoke truth to power and challenged corrupt authority.

      A lot like Metiria Turei has.

      You deride Trump continually but deny Obama and his potential successor Hilary Clinton were not murderers. Yet it was in Clinton’s own words that ” we came , we saw , he died” regarding Muammar Gaddafi.

      Clinton,- the cowardly murderer by stealth. The murderer from afar and by subterfuge and by stealth. The same who channeled arms to ISIS via the Clinton foundation for Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain.

      And all for the sake of destabilizing Europe for a One World Government.

      Whose side are you really on ?

      Luke 3:7

      And he said to the crowds who were coming to him to be baptized, “Offspring of Vipers! Who has instructed you to flee from the wrath that is coming?”

      – John the Baptist .

  11. WILD KATIPO 11
    30 July 2017 at 4:08 am

    And btw ?

    I would agree with some,… Bernie would have been the best bet. By far.

    But the American public voted Trump. Partially because he spoke the language of the Pittsburgh workers. He knew his target audience.

    But you have got to admit,… Trump has not followed in the smarmy , hypocrisy of the warmonger Bush or Obama , or the Dems hopeful ,.. Clinton.

    All of them bloodthirsty warmongers . So he is there whether we like it or not. And no matter the constant barrage of derogatory MSM emanating from the USA – and in so many , many cases , – almost in child like churlishness and petty titivation , … the fact is , he is surrounded by deep state vested interests who can only but dream of his removal.

    And one would have to be a simpleton to not at least start to question the most basic reasons of WHY … is Trump such a threat… and just WHO stands to gain by his removal , and therefore WHAT could be the possible motives of his opponents… I would hope you would at least try to placate your assumptions by understanding that this current world system is not ruled by the President of America or the Leader of Russia or China or India … but by the financiers of Europe.

    And even more specifically , – by the financiers of the London square mile , – the ‘ City of London ‘ square mile to be more precise. And even then , … your research should not just reach a simple conclusion with the mere original ‘ Bauer’ / ‘ Rothschild’s ‘ family of Bavaria,… but should reach back into history far beyond that…

    If you cannot even do that ,…

    You are mere babes .

    Here is a hint:

    The Masonic Conference of Wilhelmsbad 1782

    The 1782 Congress of Wilhelmsbad: The Illuminati Takeover
    https://www.biblebelievers.org.au/wilhelms.htm

    Or even try Gary Wayne :

    Genesis 6 Conspiracy: Nephilm (Giants) Plan to enslave … – YouTube
    Video for gary wayne genesis 6 you tube▶ 1:17:11

    • jcuknz 11.1
      30 July 2017 at 11:20 am

      Long before Trump won out [or perhaps ‘lost’ ] I foresaw an impossible situation with his own party wildly against him, it would have been the same for Clinton too.
      Then my son, who is in the American medical scene, commented “Republicans have had eight years to work out an alternative to Obamacare and haven’t settled on anything”

      • WILD KATIPO 11.1.1
        30 July 2017 at 5:40 pm

        Did Obamacare extend to the mutilated children in the middle east caused by Obama’s drone strikes signed off on every Tuesday , though ?

  12. LivinInTheBay 12
    30 July 2017 at 8:02 am

    Why would talented people want to be potus? They’d be paid a fraction of their worth on the open market, and then if they did be open to abuse 24/7.

    Not only that but whichever side of the political divide you sit, US politics is broken. It costs so much just to run for office that you end up beholden to those that got you there. And that’s not even starting in the awful partisanship that goes on into account.

  13. Sanctuary 13
    30 July 2017 at 8:49 am

    Like I remarked to a friend of mine who actually holds an office within the GOP in Washington, there is nothing that is wrong in US politics that can’t be traced back to corruption, followed closely by racism.

    Destroying the public educations system? Corrupt officials taking money from private educational corporations.

    Prison population explosion? The corruption and racism of the prison-industrial complex is legendary.

    The massive defense budget? The titanic corruption of the US defense companies.

    She agreed with me, but the problem is that culture wars come first. So in the USA, both sides agree on the problem, but they hate each other to much to do anything concrete about it.

    • WILD KATIPO 13.1
      30 July 2017 at 5:43 pm

      … ” Destroying the public educations system? Corrupt officials taking money from private educational corporations.

      The massive defense budget? The titanic corruption of the US defense companies ” …
      ………………………………………………..

      Which is interesting because those were two of the issues Eisenhower warned about way back in the early 1960’s in his farewell speech. Over 50 years ago.

  14. Stuart Munro 14
    30 July 2017 at 4:18 pm

    It should’ve been McCain – he’s still the non-nutbar conservative right – killing the bill was more presidential than anything we’ve seen from Trump.

  15. popexplosion 15
    31 July 2017 at 12:24 pm

    Republicans control congress, and so passed Obama care broken, now voters like healthcare Republicans have to fix it and as Trump promised make it better, well that was until his breaking a election promise over transexualsin the military…

    Do we really want an old my way or the highway grand dictator running nz?