You could question the wisdom of David Davis’ resignation, but there is no doubt, given his continuing support for the PM, that it was a principled, very British kind of act. Given Bo Jo’s history of rank opportunism, however, his resignation should be viewed as an attempt to bring down a crumbling government and create a path to power for himself.
Will it work? The one area in which Theresa May excels is in keeping power, so don’t bet the ranch on it.
Other than tax cuts, there’s nothing that unites the GOP factions like a Supreme Court nomination. The Reactionaries and CDs look forward to having a culture warrior on their side; the CLs and PBPs anticipate further deregulation of business.
Trump’s nominee will be announced in his usual “Apprentice” fashion this evening. Whoever it is will undoubtedly be of great help during the campaign, and thereafter, to a GOP that agrees internally on very little else.
He grew up in a rich and powerful family that was viewed as slightly less than respectable in the highest circles. As a result, he had a chip on his shoulder his entire life.
He swaggered and loved displays of military might. Contemptuous of rules, he put his faith completely in power. He took on his country’s political establishment and destroyed traditional foreign alliances shortly after taking power. His bluster alienated almost every nation in the neighborhood. His subordinates viewed him as a loose cannon who was incapable of being restrained; on more than one occasion, that turned out to be true.
In the end, he wrote a blank check to the one remaining ally his country had, and the result was disastrous. He lost his job, and his country lost the war.
Is it Trump or Kaiser Wilhelm II? Time will tell.
Pruitt made the moral and legal connection between unprincipled deregulation and grifting clear to everyone. Now he’s gone, and Trump will undoubtedly replace him with a blander version of the same thing. That’s not much of an improvement.
The GOP is divided on virtually everything except tax cuts and the Supreme Court, so it is no surprise that Hamilton gets mixed reviews, as well:
CLs: Ugh! We hate big government! Jefferson rocks!
PBPs: Yeah, baby! The patron saint of American capitalism!
Reactionaries: We don’t like the immigrant part, but at least he made America great with his focus on economic and military power.
CDs: Not keen on his personal morality, but we approve of his stance on slavery.
CLs: The Revolution was about freedom from big, oppressive government.
PBPs: It’s about capitalism and the biggest economy on the planet. Damn right we’re proud of it.
CDs: Freedom from established religion.
Reactionaries: God, guns, and guts made America free. We celebrate military victories, Christianity, and good old-fashioned Anglo-Saxon culture. Down with foreigners!
Would You Sell Your Soul For A Tax Cut?
Would you sell your soul for a tax cut?
If you’re Ryan, you certainly would.
Help the rich when you can.
Cause you follow Ayn Rand.
You would do it again if you could.
Would you sell your soul for Neil Gorsuch?
For McConnell, it wasn’t in doubt.
Cause Gorsuch unites
Every part of the right
And he kept a big liberal out.
Would you trade your soul for your ego?
For Trump, that’s barely a choice.
The one is so small
You can’t see it at all
While the other’s as loud as his voice.
The laundry list of grievances in the Declaration notwithstanding, the American colonists were hardly an oppressed people in the 1770s. The Revolution came about primarily because the colonists started thinking of themselves as a nation apart from the UK, not because their lives were so miserable.
I think the First Continental Congress was a vastly underappreciated turning point in the conflict. It would have been the easiest thing in the world for the other colonies to leave Massachusetts holding the bag after the Boston Tea Party, but they didn’t, because, in spite of their cultural and economic differences, they saw the people of Massachusetts as fellow travelers.
Food for thought on July 4, 2018.
Putin is basically a cold-blooded gangster, so it makes sense to apply the Johnny Rocco question to him. Here is what he could ask of Trump:
Trump can’t do all of this on his own, but he will probably do what he can on the first three. And what can Putin offer in exchange? A free hand with Iran? Help with the election???
Any deal they can make will be awful.
If you believe Steve Bannon, western populist leaders will unite to support their common interests and values.
Right.
Here is what will really happen: AMLO won’t be able to deliver on his promises, the Mexican markets and the peso will tank, and AMLO will use Trump as a convenient whipping boy. US/Mexican relations will deteriorate dramatically.
Sounds great, doesn’t it?
On the 45th president Trump.
Which deal is the next to be dumped?
The WTO
Is a good bet to go
’Cause it makes him a terrible grump.
On the 45th president Don.
All semblance of reason is gone.
He’s meeting with Vlad.
All the omens are bad,
’Cause on dictators he loves to fawn.
I will be on vacation starting tomorrow. Regular postings will resume on 7/9.
Well, of course Trump wants to meet with Putin. He obviously admires the man and enjoys his company. Who wouldn’t rather hang out with the bad boy of Europe than with Merkel the schoolmarm?
Since Trump has endless belief in his ability to get things done with his bottomless negotiating skills and endless charm, there is no line for him between business and personal. Actually knowing what he is talking about is far less important than what is in his golden gut.
Somehow, I don’t think Putin sees the world the same way.
As the story goes, Stalin was told by Churchill that a German invasion was imminent in 1940, but he refused to take any action to prepare for it, because if there was one leader he could trust, it was his fellow dictator–not some weenie democratic head of state. This sort of reminds me of that episode.
It’s a given that our new Supreme Court justice is going to be a vote to reduce abortion rights. It may be done in one fell swoop or brick-by-brick, but it’s going to happen. The public and the Democratic Party need to be prepared to deal with that on a state-by-state basis.
What’s effectively up in the air, and probably more important, is whether the new justice will be a principled conservative with a healthy respect for traditional liberties, or a stooge for Trump and his complete lack of respect for traditional liberties. In my opinion, the most critical question the Senate can ask the nominee will be about the Trump v. Hawaii case, and in particular, about Kennedy’s pathetic concurring opinion.
Historically, professional football has been a predominantly red sport. Trump nonetheless decided to attack the NFL and make it part of the culture wars for his own purposes. He succeeded; red America followed him, and ratings dropped.
Harley-Davidson is, as Trump has said, an American icon, particularly among red Americans. As a result of Trump’s tariffs and EU retaliation, they have decided to move some production overseas. Trump, naturally, has complained about the company’s lack of patience and loyalty in his tweets, and H-D’s stock price has fallen. Will red America follow him again and refuse to buy H-D motorcycles? That would be a tough sell, but if what happened to the NFL is any guide, it could happen.
What’s next? Will he go after American pig farmers for complaining about tariffs and Chinese retaliation? At least they can’t move their production out of the country.