Even if she does formalize an impeachment process, over 50% of registered voters current support impeachment and removal. Its hard to imagine any of those voters would ever move to voting for Trump. He's probably looking to stop them from voting in general.
Over 50% of voters didn’t vote for Trump either.
@WarChiefZeke is right, it’s about select battleground districts who want to know that impeaching trump isn’t the only thing the government is working on, and IMO, they are right to think that way.
Yeah, because it's crazy to be concerned about a guy who will literally reward the G7 Summit to his own resort, where every drink, appetizer and room rental will go straight into the pockets of his family in DIRECT violation of an entire clause of the Constitution. And if anyone is buying the line being served up that Trump "won't make dime" off this event, I will bet anyone right now $1000 straight-up that within 90 days of that event taking place it will turn out to be total bullshit and that the family pocketed every penny. But hey, only pinko-commie hippies care about what is essentially a royal family literally robbing taxpayers and sticking the money in their own pocket. Real Americans only care about such things when money is being spent on healthcare or poor people.
It isn’t, and you’d expect their to be enforceable checks and balances in the laws already to prevent this.
If there isn’t, then Congress (who controls the budget and expenses) just has to hold a RFP on this event and choose a winning bid off of that. I doubt a Florida business during hurricane season would win on a proposal such as this.
But the US has known for awhile that it’d be hosting the next G7 summit. Everyone and their monkey would have predicted Trump would have said it’d be housed at one of his resorts. Congress should have premeditated such a scenario and prevented it from happening with legislations.
Even if she does formalize an impeachment process, over 50% of registered voters current support impeachment and removal. Its hard to imagine any of those voters would ever move to voting for Trump. He's probably looking to stop them from voting in general.
Over 50% of voters didn’t vote for Trump either.
@WarChiefZeke is right, it’s about select battleground districts who want to know that impeaching trump isn’t the only thing the government is working on, and IMO, they are right to think that way.
Yeah, because it's crazy to be concerned about a guy who will literally reward the G7 Summit to his own resort, where every drink, appetizer and room rental will go straight into the pockets of his family in DIRECT violation of an entire clause of the Constitution. And if anyone is buying the line being served up that Trump "won't make dime" off this event, I will bet anyone right now $1000 straight-up that within 90 days of that event taking place it will turn out to be total bullshit and that the family pocketed every penny. But hey, only pinko-commie hippies care about what is essentially a royal family literally robbing taxpayers and sticking the money in their own pocket. Real Americans only care about such things when money is being spent on healthcare or poor people.
The Brits put up with their Royals. So do many countries. I don't find it strange at all that at a time when many Americans are doing pretty well, they're not too concerned about how many cocktails the French President buys at Trump's resort.
Even if she does formalize an impeachment process, over 50% of registered voters current support impeachment and removal. Its hard to imagine any of those voters would ever move to voting for Trump. He's probably looking to stop them from voting in general.
Over 50% of voters didn’t vote for Trump either.
@WarChiefZeke is right, it’s about select battleground districts who want to know that impeaching trump isn’t the only thing the government is working on, and IMO, they are right to think that way.
Yeah, because it's crazy to be concerned about a guy who will literally reward the G7 Summit to his own resort, where every drink, appetizer and room rental will go straight into the pockets of his family in DIRECT violation of an entire clause of the Constitution. And if anyone is buying the line being served up that Trump "won't make dime" off this event, I will bet anyone right now $1000 straight-up that within 90 days of that event taking place it will turn out to be total bullshit and that the family pocketed every penny. But hey, only pinko-commie hippies care about what is essentially a royal family literally robbing taxpayers and sticking the money in their own pocket. Real Americans only care about such things when money is being spent on healthcare or poor people.
The Brits put up with their Royals. So do many countries. I don't find it strange at all that at a time when many Americans are doing pretty well, they're not too concerned about how many cocktails the French President buys at Trump's resort.
647 rooms (and I've looked this up) that run at a BARE MINIMUM of $350 a night, many more double that, many more in the THOUSANDS of dollars a night. All of which will be filled during the length of this conference (it just so happens this is taking place during the time of year when tourist traffic at the resort is at it's absolute lowest, go figure). We are talking an absolute minimum of $250,000-$1,000,000 per day, just on lodging. Don't pretend this is about Emmanuel Macron buying a 3 or 4 mimosas.
Here is the emoluments clause of the constitution. The last sentence is EXACTLY what this is, in spades. Moreover, it's happening everyday all across the world:
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
Here is the definition of emolument: a salary, fee, or profit from employment or office.
Foreign officials staying at a resort Trump owns is a an open and shut case of this. It is profit taking place strictly because of his office, while in office, that in this case he is awarding to HIMSELF. Seriously, spare me. This is so cut and dry it's not even worth debating.
Also, not for nothing, but blaming Congress for not preemptively stopping this is like saying a battered spouse has 50/50 culpability in her own injuries. How about, like every other damn person to hold the office, he just DOESN'T DO IT. The "that's just how Trump is" card is played out. Many hands ago. It's in the discard pile.
Somehow every other President in history has managed to divest and avoid these conflicts, or at least went to GREAT lengths to do so from a legal perspective, even the heinous monsters like Dick Cheney. Jimmy Carter sold his goddamn peanut farm. There is a solar system of difference between giving speeches and writing books after you are out of office and personally routing money to your businesses while you are IN office. How is this not patently obvious??
And if people don't care because their retirement portfolio is looking shiny?? Well they damn well should, and screw them for not caring, since the vast majority of them would have lost their goddamn minds if Obama had done 1/1000th of the self-dealing Trump has engaged in. Obama wouldn't even refinance his mortgage while in office, not should he have. The only income he would have possibly been receiving from outside sources was money from books he had written years before he took office.
It appears Trump's strategy (well, it doesn't appear that way, it IS that way) is to commit so much blatant corruption out in the open at such a quantity and speed that it just numbs a certain section of the public. Fine. While we're at it, let's throw out the rules for the other 300 million of us as well. Anything goes.
The Brits put up with their Royals. So do many countries. I don't find it strange at all that at a time when many Americans are doing pretty well, they're not too concerned about how many cocktails the French President buys at Trump's resort.
I think the point of ethics is that someone doesnt "look the other way" when they're doing "pretty well".
The Brits put up with their Royals. So do many countries. I don't find it strange at all that at a time when many Americans are doing pretty well, they're not too concerned about how many cocktails the French President buys at Trump's resort.
I think the point of ethics is that someone doesnt "look the other way" when they're doing "pretty well".
I wrote my Congresswoman and gave her my full support to vote for impeachment. I can't make the House impeach. Nor do I have any control over the consequences of what happens if they do. Self-righteousness and virtue-signalling are worthless in this fight. Write your congressmen/women and tell them to shit or get off the pot. I won't predict how it all plays out though. It may even end with 4 more years of this dipshit. Don't doubt me...
Really? Because it’s right there in that bolded part, you copy pasted;
“without the Consent of the Congress“
Congress needs to take away that perceived consent right now. They need to bring it to a vote that it will not be held at any Trump property, and the White House should give a list of places they’d like to hold it and Congress will approve of one, or, if none are suitable (because that’s what Trump will do) a default location (Such as Camp David) will be used.
Really? Because it’s right there in that bolded part, you copy pasted;
“without the Consent of the Congress“
Congress needs to take away that perceived consent right now. They need to bring it to a vote that it will not be held at any Trump property, and the White House should give a list of places they’d like to hold it and Congress will approve of one, or, if none are suitable (because that’s what Trump will do) a default location (Such as Camp David) will be used.
What in the world makes you think he wouldn't just ignore such a vote if it were passed?? Would McConnell even bring it for a vote in the Senate?? Should they?? Yeah, of course. Should they HAVE to?? No, they shouldn't have to do this. Will they?? Who knows?? Trump floods the zone with so much bullshit on a daily basis that it's impossible to keep up.
Really? Because it’s right there in that bolded part, you copy pasted;
“without the Consent of the Congress“
Congress needs to take away that perceived consent right now. They need to bring it to a vote that it will not be held at any Trump property, and the White House should give a list of places they’d like to hold it and Congress will approve of one, or, if none are suitable (because that’s what Trump will do) a default location (Such as Camp David) will be used.
Nah, they'd rather thump their chests, sprinkle ashes on their heads and declare how righteous they are than to actually do anything to stop this guy. Words mean nothing to Trump (and quite frankly, to me either). Action is the only thing that matters.
Really? Because it’s right there in that bolded part, you copy pasted;
“without the Consent of the Congress“
Congress needs to take away that perceived consent right now. They need to bring it to a vote that it will not be held at any Trump property, and the White House should give a list of places they’d like to hold it and Congress will approve of one, or, if none are suitable (because that’s what Trump will do) a default location (Such as Camp David) will be used.
What in the world makes you think he wouldn't just ignore such a vote if it were passed?? Would McConnell even bring it for a vote in the Senate??
Simple. The United States would not pay a penny if it is held in any unapproved location. All security and other costs associated with the event would be charged to the business. That business can recoup those costs however they see fit, but let’s see Trump expect the likes of Trudeau to pay for their own lodging at such a summit.
Really? Because it’s right there in that bolded part, you copy pasted;
“without the Consent of the Congress“
Congress needs to take away that perceived consent right now. They need to bring it to a vote that it will not be held at any Trump property, and the White House should give a list of places they’d like to hold it and Congress will approve of one, or, if none are suitable (because that’s what Trump will do) a default location (Such as Camp David) will be used.
What in the world makes you think he wouldn't just ignore such a vote if it were passed?? Would McConnell even bring it for a vote in the Senate?? Should they?? Yeah, of course. Should they HAVE to?? No, they shouldn't have to do this. Will they?? Who knows?? Trump floods the zone with so much bullshit on a daily basis that it's impossible to keep up.
If you think Congress can't do anything then seriously, wtf do you think you or I can do about it?
Also, do you honestly think the Republicans are the least bit worried about ramifications? It doesn't seem like it to me. Why is that? There's something fishy going that I'm not seeing...
Trump has ignored Congress on at least half a dozen NOTABLE occasions. A major part of the impeachment itself is because appropriated money was held up by the Executive Branch for personal political benefit. Congress has no mechanism of force to make these things bind. They have no army. They have no police force. The entire thing rests on everyone involved adhering to a system and set of rules that Trump simply doesn't recognize. The courts can take YEARS to resolve the disputes, and even then, they will probably ignore the courts as well. I've been saying this for a year, there is nothing in our system that can STOP someone like Trump from running roughshod over it. The rules aren't actually enforceable. They rely on some (any) measure of good faith.
Trump has ignored Congress on at least half a dozen NOTABLE occasions. A major part of the impeachment itself is because appropriated money was held up by the Executive Branch for personal political benefit. Congress has no mechanism of force to make these things bind. They have no army. They have no police force. The entire thing rests on everyone involved adhering to a system and set of rules that Trump simply doesn't recognize. The courts can take YEARS to resolve the disputes, and even then, they will probably ignore the courts as well. I've been saying this for a year, there is nothing in our system that can STOP someone like Trump from running roughshod over it. The rules aren't actually enforceable. They rely on some (any) measure of good faith.
Then they were never rules to begin with. They were guidelines. Welcome to democracy where we have the right to vote dipshits into the highest office of the land.
Trump has ignored Congress on at least half a dozen NOTABLE occasions. A major part of the impeachment itself is because appropriated money was held up by the Executive Branch for personal political benefit. Congress has no mechanism of force to make these things bind. They have no army. They have no police force. The entire thing rests on everyone involved adhering to a system and set of rules that Trump simply doesn't recognize. The courts can take YEARS to resolve the disputes, and even then, they will probably ignore the courts as well. I've been saying this for a year, there is nothing in our system that can STOP someone like Trump from running roughshod over it. The rules aren't actually enforceable. They rely on some (any) measure of good faith.
Great, it will take years. Awesome. The United States government does not pay the establishment of where this place is being hosted if it is not approved by Congress. It also will charge the establishment any associated fees that it had to incur while this event is being hosted.
Congress holds the purse strings. You can even write it in the budget for that year.
If Trump wants to try to get this money for this event, he’ll need to go through the courts to get it, costing him more money, and as you pointed out, it is clear in the constitution that he needs Congress’s consent. His stacked SCOTUS would even rule against him.
Feed the raging toddler some of his own medicine for once.
I wrote my Congresswoman and gave her my full support to vote for impeachment. I can't make the House impeach. Nor do I have any control over the consequences of what happens if they do. Self-righteousness and virtue-signalling are worthless in this fight. Write your congressmen/women and tell them to shit or get off the pot. I won't predict how it all plays out though. It may even end with 4 more years of this dipshit. Don't doubt me...
Just to be clear, I am being neither self-righteous nor am I virtue signaling. I vote. I march. I donate.
One can be ethically consistent even if they didnt vote, march, donate or discuss things politically. It wouldnt be "virtue signaling".
Trump has ignored Congress on at least half a dozen NOTABLE occasions. A major part of the impeachment itself is because appropriated money was held up by the Executive Branch for personal political benefit. Congress has no mechanism of force to make these things bind. They have no army. They have no police force. The entire thing rests on everyone involved adhering to a system and set of rules that Trump simply doesn't recognize. The courts can take YEARS to resolve the disputes, and even then, they will probably ignore the courts as well. I've been saying this for a year, there is nothing in our system that can STOP someone like Trump from running roughshod over it. The rules aren't actually enforceable. They rely on some (any) measure of good faith.
Then they were never rules to begin with. They were guidelines. Welcome to democracy where we have the right to vote dipshits into the highest office of the land.
George W. Bush was a dipshit. The Iraq War was, on it's own, far, far worse than any single thing Trump has done. But Bush wasn't trying it obliterate checks and balances. He wasn't trying to dismantle the American system of government. Again, the impeachment ALSO hinges on the fact that Trump was attempting to manipulate the ONE thing that could remove him from power, which is the 2020 election.
So let's run this down: 1.) he doesn't recognize the power of Congress now that it is controlled by Democrats 2.) he has ruled impeachment "illegitimate", even though it is written plain as day into the Constitution and 3.) the reason he is being impeached in the first place is because he was holding up taxpayer funds approved by Congress to attempt to damage a potential opponent in the 2020 election. So you tell me what the remaining options are. Because he believes he is above checks and balances AND he is essentially trying to cheat to get another victory. And then we rail on the Democrats, when they are stuck in nothing but a Catch-22 where people like yourself are on one hand saying "this is going to backfire" and on the other saying "get off your ass and do something". I mean, I've read that book, and it was the same kind of exhausting experience this is.
Trump has ignored Congress on at least half a dozen NOTABLE occasions. A major part of the impeachment itself is because appropriated money was held up by the Executive Branch for personal political benefit. Congress has no mechanism of force to make these things bind. They have no army. They have no police force. The entire thing rests on everyone involved adhering to a system and set of rules that Trump simply doesn't recognize. The courts can take YEARS to resolve the disputes, and even then, they will probably ignore the courts as well. I've been saying this for a year, there is nothing in our system that can STOP someone like Trump from running roughshod over it. The rules aren't actually enforceable. They rely on some (any) measure of good faith.
Then they were never rules to begin with. They were guidelines. Welcome to democracy where we have the right to vote dipshits into the highest office of the land.
George W. Bush was a dipshit. The Iraq War was, on it's own, far, far worse than any single thing Trump has done. But Bush wasn't trying it obliterate checks and balances. He wasn't trying to dismantle the American system of government. Again, the impeachment ALSO hinges on the fact that Trump was attempting to manipulate the ONE thing that could remove him from power, which is the 2020 election.
So let's run this down: 1.) he doesn't recognize the power of Congress now that it is controlled by Democrats 2.) he has ruled impeachment "illegitimate", even though it is written plain as day into the Constitution and 3.) the reason he is being impeached in the first place is because he was holding up taxpayer funds approved by Congress to attempt to damage a potential opponent in the 2020 election. So you tell me what the remaining options are. Because he believes he is above checks and balances AND he is essentially trying to cheat to get another victory. And then we rail on the Democrats, when they are stuck in nothing but a Catch-22 where people like yourself are on one hand saying "this is going to backfire" and on the other saying "get off your ass and do something". I mean, I've read that book, and it was the same kind of exhausting experience this is.
And I'm still not hearing your solution to this. Which is, buy popcorn?
I wrote my Congresswoman and gave her my full support to vote for impeachment. I can't make the House impeach. Nor do I have any control over the consequences of what happens if they do. Self-righteousness and virtue-signalling are worthless in this fight. Write your congressmen/women and tell them to shit or get off the pot. I won't predict how it all plays out though. It may even end with 4 more years of this dipshit. Don't doubt me...
Just to be clear, I am being neither self-righteous nor am I virtue signaling. I vote. I march. I donate.
One can be ethically consistent even if they didnt vote, march, donate or discuss things politically. It wouldnt be "virtue signaling".
I'm not talking about you. You're a nobody (no offense meant if you're a US congressman or Senator using a clever alias). I'm talking about the worthless virtue-signalling in the media and especially Congress. They're all flailing around and crying like infants who've had their bottles stolen. They're throwing dart after dart after dart hoping one will stick instead of growing a spine and saying enough is enough. Congress CAN stop this if they really want to. Start doing their jobs and stop playing politics. If the Democrats think their policies are so popular, start writing laws and publicly proclaim every time a Republican Senator or Trump puts the kibosh on them. Start squeezing the purse-strings that the Constitution gives them control of. Trump is making them look like a bunch of ineffective clowns right now. He's also making himself look like a clown, but he obviously doesn't care about that.
I'm not talking about you. You're a nobody (no offense meant if you're a US congressman or Senator using a clever alias). I'm talking about the worthless virtue-signalling in the media and especially Congress. They're all flailing around and crying like infants who've had their bottles stolen. They're throwing dart after dart after dart hoping one will stick instead of growing a spine and saying enough is enough. Congress CAN stop this if they really want to. Start doing their jobs and stop playing politics. If the Democrats think their policies are so popular, start writing laws and publicly proclaim every time a Republican Senator or Trump puts the kibosh on them. Start squeezing the purse-strings that the Constitution gives them control of. Trump is making them look like a bunch of ineffective clowns right now. He's also making himself look like a clown, but he obviously doesn't care about that.
I utterly reject this worldview. Honestly, I dont understand why you bother spending your time talking about it if we're all so damn insignificant.
It's also a total misread on the political situation. @jjstraka34 's very point is that the Democrats cannot do these things. They're trying. They're writing bills, passing them in the house. They go on news networks 18 hours a day to talk about them. They're doing it all. McConnell doesnt bring them up for a vote in the Senate. So the bills die there.
They're investigating the president, and he isnt cooperating. So they investigate him on that and (shock) - he doesnt cooperate there either.
Squeeze the purse-strings? They tried it. Trump illegally took money from defense contracts to pay for his wall. If they completely shut down the government, that hurts everyone - How is that a good idea? It's not.
You castigate others for not having answers, but you have none yourself.
I'm not talking about you. You're a nobody (no offense meant if you're a US congressman or Senator using a clever alias). I'm talking about the worthless virtue-signalling in the media and especially Congress. They're all flailing around and crying like infants who've had their bottles stolen. They're throwing dart after dart after dart hoping one will stick instead of growing a spine and saying enough is enough. Congress CAN stop this if they really want to. Start doing their jobs and stop playing politics. If the Democrats think their policies are so popular, start writing laws and publicly proclaim every time a Republican Senator or Trump puts the kibosh on them. Start squeezing the purse-strings that the Constitution gives them control of. Trump is making them look like a bunch of ineffective clowns right now. He's also making himself look like a clown, but he obviously doesn't care about that.
I utterly reject this worldview. Honestly, I dont understand why you bother spending your time talking about it if we're all so damn insignificant.
It's also a total misread on the political situation. @jjstraka34 's very point is that the Democrats cannot do these things. They're trying. They're writing bills, passing them in the house. They go on news networks 18 hours a day to talk about them. They're doing it all. McConnell doesnt bring them up for a vote in the Senate. So the bills die there.
They're investigating the president, and he isnt cooperating. So they investigate him on that and (shock) - he doesnt cooperate there either.
Squeeze the purse-strings? They tried it. Trump illegally took money from defense contracts to pay for his wall. If they completely shut down the government, that hurts everyone - How is that a good idea? It's not.
You castigate others for not having answers, but you have none yourself.
I never claimed to have an answer. I'm hearing no answers from anybody, including my congresswoman. Shutting down the government might not be as bad an idea as you think in this situation. Desperate times call for desperate measures. If this is really the Hitler moment a lot of Democrats seem to think it is, then what's holding them back? Decorum?
Trump has ignored Congress on at least half a dozen NOTABLE occasions. A major part of the impeachment itself is because appropriated money was held up by the Executive Branch for personal political benefit. Congress has no mechanism of force to make these things bind. They have no army. They have no police force. The entire thing rests on everyone involved adhering to a system and set of rules that Trump simply doesn't recognize. The courts can take YEARS to resolve the disputes, and even then, they will probably ignore the courts as well. I've been saying this for a year, there is nothing in our system that can STOP someone like Trump from running roughshod over it. The rules aren't actually enforceable. They rely on some (any) measure of good faith.
Then they were never rules to begin with. They were guidelines. Welcome to democracy where we have the right to vote dipshits into the highest office of the land.
George W. Bush was a dipshit. The Iraq War was, on it's own, far, far worse than any single thing Trump has done. But Bush wasn't trying it obliterate checks and balances. He wasn't trying to dismantle the American system of government. Again, the impeachment ALSO hinges on the fact that Trump was attempting to manipulate the ONE thing that could remove him from power, which is the 2020 election.
So let's run this down: 1.) he doesn't recognize the power of Congress now that it is controlled by Democrats 2.) he has ruled impeachment "illegitimate", even though it is written plain as day into the Constitution and 3.) the reason he is being impeached in the first place is because he was holding up taxpayer funds approved by Congress to attempt to damage a potential opponent in the 2020 election. So you tell me what the remaining options are. Because he believes he is above checks and balances AND he is essentially trying to cheat to get another victory. And then we rail on the Democrats, when they are stuck in nothing but a Catch-22 where people like yourself are on one hand saying "this is going to backfire" and on the other saying "get off your ass and do something". I mean, I've read that book, and it was the same kind of exhausting experience this is.
And I'm still not hearing your solution to this. Which is, buy popcorn?
Trust me my friend, I have spent countless hours lamenting what I view as the fecklessness of Democrats. But then I realized something that is of far greater importance, which is that our system may simply not be designed to withstand an autocratic demagogue like Trump who is willing to push and obliterate every every single barrier in his way.
Trump has ignored Congress on at least half a dozen NOTABLE occasions. A major part of the impeachment itself is because appropriated money was held up by the Executive Branch for personal political benefit. Congress has no mechanism of force to make these things bind. They have no army. They have no police force. The entire thing rests on everyone involved adhering to a system and set of rules that Trump simply doesn't recognize. The courts can take YEARS to resolve the disputes, and even then, they will probably ignore the courts as well. I've been saying this for a year, there is nothing in our system that can STOP someone like Trump from running roughshod over it. The rules aren't actually enforceable. They rely on some (any) measure of good faith.
Then they were never rules to begin with. They were guidelines. Welcome to democracy where we have the right to vote dipshits into the highest office of the land.
George W. Bush was a dipshit. The Iraq War was, on it's own, far, far worse than any single thing Trump has done. But Bush wasn't trying it obliterate checks and balances. He wasn't trying to dismantle the American system of government. Again, the impeachment ALSO hinges on the fact that Trump was attempting to manipulate the ONE thing that could remove him from power, which is the 2020 election.
So let's run this down: 1.) he doesn't recognize the power of Congress now that it is controlled by Democrats 2.) he has ruled impeachment "illegitimate", even though it is written plain as day into the Constitution and 3.) the reason he is being impeached in the first place is because he was holding up taxpayer funds approved by Congress to attempt to damage a potential opponent in the 2020 election. So you tell me what the remaining options are. Because he believes he is above checks and balances AND he is essentially trying to cheat to get another victory. And then we rail on the Democrats, when they are stuck in nothing but a Catch-22 where people like yourself are on one hand saying "this is going to backfire" and on the other saying "get off your ass and do something". I mean, I've read that book, and it was the same kind of exhausting experience this is.
And I'm still not hearing your solution to this. Which is, buy popcorn?
Trust me my friend, I have spent countless hours lamenting what I view as the fecklessness of Democrats. But then I realized something that is of far greater importance, which is that our system may simply not be designed to withstand an autocratic demagogue like Trump who is willing to push and obliterate every every single barrier in his way.
Well if that's the case we really are screwed because the genie's out of the bottle now. I actually got a response from Debbie Dingell btw. She's still not committing to an impeachment vote. She's a Democratic Party representative in a 65-35 blue district. I don't understand the reluctance. That's why I keep thinking there's something going on that I'm just not seeing...
Trump has ignored Congress on at least half a dozen NOTABLE occasions. A major part of the impeachment itself is because appropriated money was held up by the Executive Branch for personal political benefit. Congress has no mechanism of force to make these things bind. They have no army. They have no police force. The entire thing rests on everyone involved adhering to a system and set of rules that Trump simply doesn't recognize. The courts can take YEARS to resolve the disputes, and even then, they will probably ignore the courts as well. I've been saying this for a year, there is nothing in our system that can STOP someone like Trump from running roughshod over it. The rules aren't actually enforceable. They rely on some (any) measure of good faith.
Then they were never rules to begin with. They were guidelines. Welcome to democracy where we have the right to vote dipshits into the highest office of the land.
George W. Bush was a dipshit. The Iraq War was, on it's own, far, far worse than any single thing Trump has done. But Bush wasn't trying it obliterate checks and balances. He wasn't trying to dismantle the American system of government. Again, the impeachment ALSO hinges on the fact that Trump was attempting to manipulate the ONE thing that could remove him from power, which is the 2020 election.
So let's run this down: 1.) he doesn't recognize the power of Congress now that it is controlled by Democrats 2.) he has ruled impeachment "illegitimate", even though it is written plain as day into the Constitution and 3.) the reason he is being impeached in the first place is because he was holding up taxpayer funds approved by Congress to attempt to damage a potential opponent in the 2020 election. So you tell me what the remaining options are. Because he believes he is above checks and balances AND he is essentially trying to cheat to get another victory. And then we rail on the Democrats, when they are stuck in nothing but a Catch-22 where people like yourself are on one hand saying "this is going to backfire" and on the other saying "get off your ass and do something". I mean, I've read that book, and it was the same kind of exhausting experience this is.
And I'm still not hearing your solution to this. Which is, buy popcorn?
Trust me my friend, I have spent countless hours lamenting what I view as the fecklessness of Democrats. But then I realized something that is of far greater importance, which is that our system may simply not be designed to withstand an autocratic demagogue like Trump who is willing to push and obliterate every every single barrier in his way.
Well if that's the case we really are screwed because the genie's out of the bottle now. I actually got a response from Debbie Dingell btw. She's still not committing to an impeachment vote. She's a Democratic Party representative in a 65-35 blue district. I don't understand the reluctance. That's why I keep thinking there's something going on that I'm just not seeing...
Even the president of the united states is allowed a fair trial.
She is waiting for all the evidence to present itself from the inquiry before letting her vote be known. No one should be tried through the media alone.
Saying she'll vote to impeach before the process runs its proper course is playing political games. She is refusing to do that and probably focusing her attention on other matters.
Trump has ignored Congress on at least half a dozen NOTABLE occasions. A major part of the impeachment itself is because appropriated money was held up by the Executive Branch for personal political benefit. Congress has no mechanism of force to make these things bind. They have no army. They have no police force. The entire thing rests on everyone involved adhering to a system and set of rules that Trump simply doesn't recognize. The courts can take YEARS to resolve the disputes, and even then, they will probably ignore the courts as well. I've been saying this for a year, there is nothing in our system that can STOP someone like Trump from running roughshod over it. The rules aren't actually enforceable. They rely on some (any) measure of good faith.
Then they were never rules to begin with. They were guidelines. Welcome to democracy where we have the right to vote dipshits into the highest office of the land.
George W. Bush was a dipshit. The Iraq War was, on it's own, far, far worse than any single thing Trump has done. But Bush wasn't trying it obliterate checks and balances. He wasn't trying to dismantle the American system of government. Again, the impeachment ALSO hinges on the fact that Trump was attempting to manipulate the ONE thing that could remove him from power, which is the 2020 election.
So let's run this down: 1.) he doesn't recognize the power of Congress now that it is controlled by Democrats 2.) he has ruled impeachment "illegitimate", even though it is written plain as day into the Constitution and 3.) the reason he is being impeached in the first place is because he was holding up taxpayer funds approved by Congress to attempt to damage a potential opponent in the 2020 election. So you tell me what the remaining options are. Because he believes he is above checks and balances AND he is essentially trying to cheat to get another victory. And then we rail on the Democrats, when they are stuck in nothing but a Catch-22 where people like yourself are on one hand saying "this is going to backfire" and on the other saying "get off your ass and do something". I mean, I've read that book, and it was the same kind of exhausting experience this is.
And I'm still not hearing your solution to this. Which is, buy popcorn?
Trust me my friend, I have spent countless hours lamenting what I view as the fecklessness of Democrats. But then I realized something that is of far greater importance, which is that our system may simply not be designed to withstand an autocratic demagogue like Trump who is willing to push and obliterate every every single barrier in his way.
Well if that's the case we really are screwed because the genie's out of the bottle now. I actually got a response from Debbie Dingell btw. She's still not committing to an impeachment vote. She's a Democratic Party representative in a 65-35 blue district. I don't understand the reluctance. That's why I keep thinking there's something going on that I'm just not seeing...
Even the president of the united states is allowed a fair trial.
She is waiting for all the evidence to present itself from the inquiry before letting her vote be known. No one should be tried through the media alone.
Saying she'll vote to impeach before the process runs its proper course is playing political games. She is refusing to do that and probably focusing her attention on other matters.
Yeah, yeah I know. I need to stop watching CNN for awhile I think. I'm really sick of all of this bullshit day after day. I feel like a took a big ol' full swing at the tarbaby when I voted for this idiot...
I'm really sick of all of this bullshit day after day. I feel like a took a big ol' full swing at the tarbaby when I voted for this idiot...
It does get tiresome. Much moreso because the overwhelming majority of it is sound and fury, signifying nothing, mostly motivated by the fact that he gets under the skin of a great many people.
We were arguing about the extrajudicial murder of citizens by the executive branch during the Obama years with a tenth of the anger and hostility of every minor political move of this era that gets sensationalized far beyond it's relevance.
Honestly reading the media reports of this time will make you laugh when you compare them to the political articles of now. Even when reporting on this event in particular the NYT had to throw in a mention of Obama's "striking self confidence". Just overt propaganda lol. But I disgress.
The kind of political events of this era are actually far more boring and tame than the issues we were dealing with from 2001 onward. The level of polarization and hostility really shouldn't be necessary.
I'm not talking about you. You're a nobody (no offense meant if you're a US congressman or Senator using a clever alias). I'm talking about the worthless virtue-signalling in the media and especially Congress. They're all flailing around and crying like infants who've had their bottles stolen. They're throwing dart after dart after dart hoping one will stick instead of growing a spine and saying enough is enough. Congress CAN stop this if they really want to. Start doing their jobs and stop playing politics. If the Democrats think their policies are so popular, start writing laws and publicly proclaim every time a Republican Senator or Trump puts the kibosh on them. Start squeezing the purse-strings that the Constitution gives them control of. Trump is making them look like a bunch of ineffective clowns right now. He's also making himself look like a clown, but he obviously doesn't care about that.
I utterly reject this worldview. Honestly, I dont understand why you bother spending your time talking about it if we're all so damn insignificant.
It's also a total misread on the political situation. @jjstraka34 's very point is that the Democrats cannot do these things. They're trying. They're writing bills, passing them in the house. They go on news networks 18 hours a day to talk about them. They're doing it all. McConnell doesnt bring them up for a vote in the Senate. So the bills die there.
They're investigating the president, and he isnt cooperating. So they investigate him on that and (shock) - he doesnt cooperate there either.
Squeeze the purse-strings? They tried it. Trump illegally took money from defense contracts to pay for his wall. If they completely shut down the government, that hurts everyone - How is that a good idea? It's not.
You castigate others for not having answers, but you have none yourself.
I never claimed to have an answer. I'm hearing no answers from anybody, including my congresswoman. Shutting down the government might not be as bad an idea as you think in this situation. Desperate times call for desperate measures. If this is really the Hitler moment a lot of Democrats seem to think it is, then what's holding them back? Decorum?
Democrats have a limited toolbox.
The executive, the Senate, the Supreme Court are packed with party over country Republicans. A corrupt loyalist runs the DOJ. Shutting down the government is not the answer and may give orange Mussolini the excuse he needs to declare yet another emergency and bypass Congress and empower himself or a proxy with "temporary" emergency powers ala Hitler and the Reichstag fire incident.
What they are doing is working albeit terrible;y slowly.
Using the name "Mussolini" is an Antifa tactic that does not go well in the rest of the world. If you don't know what Mussolini did or need a History lesson on Fascists I would be more than happy to educate you on the topic. Until then I would advise you to stop using Antifa talk so that you can be taken much more seriously by the rest of the people on this planet.
Using the name "Mussolini" is an Antifa tactic that does not go well in the rest of the world. If you don't know what Mussolini did or need a History lesson on Fascists I would be more than happy to educate you on the topic. Until then I would advise you to stop using Antifa talk so that you can be taken much more seriously by the rest of the people on this planet.
Lol what. Antifa talk? Nobody is worried about 'antifascist talk' except triggered fascists. I happen to think Mango Mussolini quite nicely fits as a nickname. But I do feel bad that I did screw up the punchline and just say "orange Mussolini". The President uses nicknames all the time and also uses "fascist talk" so it totally fits.
Anyway, it seems like you are trying to get everyone to ignore my whole point by focusing a on one random word. I didn't know the word Mussolini was a trigger word that people, apparently the entire planet according to you, needed a safe space from.
Look. Here's a big reveal - your views from alt-right sources do not represent the entire planet.
On rhe plus side of things, it looks like the UAW strike against GM is finally going to end. Seems that the union did a pretty good job of negotiating. A few plant closures were non-negotiable apparently but GM has pledged to invest $7 billion in the US, leave the workers' "gold standard" healthcare alone, raise their wages and pay each UAW worker an $11k 'signing bonus'. Labor really needed a victory and, for the most part, got it. Hopefully this means that the strike won't have hurt Michigan's economy as much as was feared...
Comments
It isn’t, and you’d expect their to be enforceable checks and balances in the laws already to prevent this.
If there isn’t, then Congress (who controls the budget and expenses) just has to hold a RFP on this event and choose a winning bid off of that. I doubt a Florida business during hurricane season would win on a proposal such as this.
But the US has known for awhile that it’d be hosting the next G7 summit. Everyone and their monkey would have predicted Trump would have said it’d be housed at one of his resorts. Congress should have premeditated such a scenario and prevented it from happening with legislations.
The Brits put up with their Royals. So do many countries. I don't find it strange at all that at a time when many Americans are doing pretty well, they're not too concerned about how many cocktails the French President buys at Trump's resort.
647 rooms (and I've looked this up) that run at a BARE MINIMUM of $350 a night, many more double that, many more in the THOUSANDS of dollars a night. All of which will be filled during the length of this conference (it just so happens this is taking place during the time of year when tourist traffic at the resort is at it's absolute lowest, go figure). We are talking an absolute minimum of $250,000-$1,000,000 per day, just on lodging. Don't pretend this is about Emmanuel Macron buying a 3 or 4 mimosas.
Here is the emoluments clause of the constitution. The last sentence is EXACTLY what this is, in spades. Moreover, it's happening everyday all across the world:
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
Here is the definition of emolument: a salary, fee, or profit from employment or office.
Foreign officials staying at a resort Trump owns is a an open and shut case of this. It is profit taking place strictly because of his office, while in office, that in this case he is awarding to HIMSELF. Seriously, spare me. This is so cut and dry it's not even worth debating.
Also, not for nothing, but blaming Congress for not preemptively stopping this is like saying a battered spouse has 50/50 culpability in her own injuries. How about, like every other damn person to hold the office, he just DOESN'T DO IT. The "that's just how Trump is" card is played out. Many hands ago. It's in the discard pile.
Somehow every other President in history has managed to divest and avoid these conflicts, or at least went to GREAT lengths to do so from a legal perspective, even the heinous monsters like Dick Cheney. Jimmy Carter sold his goddamn peanut farm. There is a solar system of difference between giving speeches and writing books after you are out of office and personally routing money to your businesses while you are IN office. How is this not patently obvious??
And if people don't care because their retirement portfolio is looking shiny?? Well they damn well should, and screw them for not caring, since the vast majority of them would have lost their goddamn minds if Obama had done 1/1000th of the self-dealing Trump has engaged in. Obama wouldn't even refinance his mortgage while in office, not should he have. The only income he would have possibly been receiving from outside sources was money from books he had written years before he took office.
It appears Trump's strategy (well, it doesn't appear that way, it IS that way) is to commit so much blatant corruption out in the open at such a quantity and speed that it just numbs a certain section of the public. Fine. While we're at it, let's throw out the rules for the other 300 million of us as well. Anything goes.
I think the point of ethics is that someone doesnt "look the other way" when they're doing "pretty well".
I wrote my Congresswoman and gave her my full support to vote for impeachment. I can't make the House impeach. Nor do I have any control over the consequences of what happens if they do. Self-righteousness and virtue-signalling are worthless in this fight. Write your congressmen/women and tell them to shit or get off the pot. I won't predict how it all plays out though. It may even end with 4 more years of this dipshit. Don't doubt me...
“without the Consent of the Congress“
Congress needs to take away that perceived consent right now. They need to bring it to a vote that it will not be held at any Trump property, and the White House should give a list of places they’d like to hold it and Congress will approve of one, or, if none are suitable (because that’s what Trump will do) a default location (Such as Camp David) will be used.
What in the world makes you think he wouldn't just ignore such a vote if it were passed?? Would McConnell even bring it for a vote in the Senate?? Should they?? Yeah, of course. Should they HAVE to?? No, they shouldn't have to do this. Will they?? Who knows?? Trump floods the zone with so much bullshit on a daily basis that it's impossible to keep up.
Nah, they'd rather thump their chests, sprinkle ashes on their heads and declare how righteous they are than to actually do anything to stop this guy. Words mean nothing to Trump (and quite frankly, to me either). Action is the only thing that matters.
Simple. The United States would not pay a penny if it is held in any unapproved location. All security and other costs associated with the event would be charged to the business. That business can recoup those costs however they see fit, but let’s see Trump expect the likes of Trudeau to pay for their own lodging at such a summit.
If you think Congress can't do anything then seriously, wtf do you think you or I can do about it?
Also, do you honestly think the Republicans are the least bit worried about ramifications? It doesn't seem like it to me. Why is that? There's something fishy going that I'm not seeing...
Then they were never rules to begin with. They were guidelines. Welcome to democracy where we have the right to vote dipshits into the highest office of the land.
Great, it will take years. Awesome. The United States government does not pay the establishment of where this place is being hosted if it is not approved by Congress. It also will charge the establishment any associated fees that it had to incur while this event is being hosted.
Congress holds the purse strings. You can even write it in the budget for that year.
If Trump wants to try to get this money for this event, he’ll need to go through the courts to get it, costing him more money, and as you pointed out, it is clear in the constitution that he needs Congress’s consent. His stacked SCOTUS would even rule against him.
Feed the raging toddler some of his own medicine for once.
Just to be clear, I am being neither self-righteous nor am I virtue signaling. I vote. I march. I donate.
One can be ethically consistent even if they didnt vote, march, donate or discuss things politically. It wouldnt be "virtue signaling".
George W. Bush was a dipshit. The Iraq War was, on it's own, far, far worse than any single thing Trump has done. But Bush wasn't trying it obliterate checks and balances. He wasn't trying to dismantle the American system of government. Again, the impeachment ALSO hinges on the fact that Trump was attempting to manipulate the ONE thing that could remove him from power, which is the 2020 election.
So let's run this down: 1.) he doesn't recognize the power of Congress now that it is controlled by Democrats 2.) he has ruled impeachment "illegitimate", even though it is written plain as day into the Constitution and 3.) the reason he is being impeached in the first place is because he was holding up taxpayer funds approved by Congress to attempt to damage a potential opponent in the 2020 election. So you tell me what the remaining options are. Because he believes he is above checks and balances AND he is essentially trying to cheat to get another victory. And then we rail on the Democrats, when they are stuck in nothing but a Catch-22 where people like yourself are on one hand saying "this is going to backfire" and on the other saying "get off your ass and do something". I mean, I've read that book, and it was the same kind of exhausting experience this is.
And I'm still not hearing your solution to this. Which is, buy popcorn?
I'm not talking about you. You're a nobody (no offense meant if you're a US congressman or Senator using a clever alias). I'm talking about the worthless virtue-signalling in the media and especially Congress. They're all flailing around and crying like infants who've had their bottles stolen. They're throwing dart after dart after dart hoping one will stick instead of growing a spine and saying enough is enough. Congress CAN stop this if they really want to. Start doing their jobs and stop playing politics. If the Democrats think their policies are so popular, start writing laws and publicly proclaim every time a Republican Senator or Trump puts the kibosh on them. Start squeezing the purse-strings that the Constitution gives them control of. Trump is making them look like a bunch of ineffective clowns right now. He's also making himself look like a clown, but he obviously doesn't care about that.
I utterly reject this worldview. Honestly, I dont understand why you bother spending your time talking about it if we're all so damn insignificant.
It's also a total misread on the political situation. @jjstraka34 's very point is that the Democrats cannot do these things. They're trying. They're writing bills, passing them in the house. They go on news networks 18 hours a day to talk about them. They're doing it all. McConnell doesnt bring them up for a vote in the Senate. So the bills die there.
They're investigating the president, and he isnt cooperating. So they investigate him on that and (shock) - he doesnt cooperate there either.
Squeeze the purse-strings? They tried it. Trump illegally took money from defense contracts to pay for his wall. If they completely shut down the government, that hurts everyone - How is that a good idea? It's not.
You castigate others for not having answers, but you have none yourself.
I never claimed to have an answer. I'm hearing no answers from anybody, including my congresswoman. Shutting down the government might not be as bad an idea as you think in this situation. Desperate times call for desperate measures. If this is really the Hitler moment a lot of Democrats seem to think it is, then what's holding them back? Decorum?
Trust me my friend, I have spent countless hours lamenting what I view as the fecklessness of Democrats. But then I realized something that is of far greater importance, which is that our system may simply not be designed to withstand an autocratic demagogue like Trump who is willing to push and obliterate every every single barrier in his way.
Well if that's the case we really are screwed because the genie's out of the bottle now. I actually got a response from Debbie Dingell btw. She's still not committing to an impeachment vote. She's a Democratic Party representative in a 65-35 blue district. I don't understand the reluctance. That's why I keep thinking there's something going on that I'm just not seeing...
Even the president of the united states is allowed a fair trial.
She is waiting for all the evidence to present itself from the inquiry before letting her vote be known. No one should be tried through the media alone.
Saying she'll vote to impeach before the process runs its proper course is playing political games. She is refusing to do that and probably focusing her attention on other matters.
Yeah, yeah I know. I need to stop watching CNN for awhile I think. I'm really sick of all of this bullshit day after day. I feel like a took a big ol' full swing at the tarbaby when I voted for this idiot...
It does get tiresome. Much moreso because the overwhelming majority of it is sound and fury, signifying nothing, mostly motivated by the fact that he gets under the skin of a great many people.
We were arguing about the extrajudicial murder of citizens by the executive branch during the Obama years with a tenth of the anger and hostility of every minor political move of this era that gets sensationalized far beyond it's relevance.
Honestly reading the media reports of this time will make you laugh when you compare them to the political articles of now. Even when reporting on this event in particular the NYT had to throw in a mention of Obama's "striking self confidence". Just overt propaganda lol. But I disgress.
The kind of political events of this era are actually far more boring and tame than the issues we were dealing with from 2001 onward. The level of polarization and hostility really shouldn't be necessary.
Sources say that a source from a source, sourced a source about sources being unsourced from the source.
Democrats have a limited toolbox.
The executive, the Senate, the Supreme Court are packed with party over country Republicans. A corrupt loyalist runs the DOJ. Shutting down the government is not the answer and may give orange Mussolini the excuse he needs to declare yet another emergency and bypass Congress and empower himself or a proxy with "temporary" emergency powers ala Hitler and the Reichstag fire incident.
What they are doing is working albeit terrible;y slowly.
Using the name "Mussolini" is an Antifa tactic that does not go well in the rest of the world. If you don't know what Mussolini did or need a History lesson on Fascists I would be more than happy to educate you on the topic. Until then I would advise you to stop using Antifa talk so that you can be taken much more seriously by the rest of the people on this planet.
Part 2
Lol what. Antifa talk? Nobody is worried about 'antifascist talk' except triggered fascists. I happen to think Mango Mussolini quite nicely fits as a nickname. But I do feel bad that I did screw up the punchline and just say "orange Mussolini". The President uses nicknames all the time and also uses "fascist talk" so it totally fits.
Anyway, it seems like you are trying to get everyone to ignore my whole point by focusing a on one random word. I didn't know the word Mussolini was a trigger word that people, apparently the entire planet according to you, needed a safe space from.
Look. Here's a big reveal - your views from alt-right sources do not represent the entire planet.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/10/17/gm-deal-with-uaw-includes-closing-three-us-plants-11000-ratification-bonuses.html