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[shinra-bansho]

Maureen Dowd is a wackadoo, anyway.

 

[BlastProcessing]

Wait, how did I miss this?

From the NYT article on Epshteyn getting canned

Mr. Epshteyn, known for his argumentative, badgering style on TV, was a spokesman for the presidential inaugural committee. He grew up in Moscow, and met Eric Trump at Georgetown University.

 

[Surfinn]

I'm on one flight and Trump passively aggressively calls for Paul Ryan's resignation.

https://mobile.twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/845811348789432320?p=v

He tells it like it is.

 

[sc0la]

Best Maureen column since she had a bad trip on THC edibles.

 

[pigeon]

I'm happy about the dysfunction because it puts the entire republican agenda at risk but the debt ceiling fight is going to be a disaster. Democrats will likely have to bail the country out

Incidentally, one underdiscussed aspect of having two reconciliation windows is that the Republicans have to pass a budget or a CR by April 28th to avoid a government shutdown.

Soooooo

 

[jtb]

There is no such thing as a good Maureen Dowd column.

 

[BlastProcessing]

Incidentally, one underdiscussed aspect of having two reconciliation windows is that the Republicans have to pass a budget or a CR by April 28th to avoid a government shutdown.

Soooooo

We are so fucked.

Here is a wild coincidence I just saw on Matt Yglesias' twitter.

Trump’s Longtime Lawyer Is Defending Russia’s Biggest Bank

 

[sazzy]

Maureen Dowd is a wackadoo, anyway.

but I like her


anyway, this week is going to be a bigger clusterfuck than last week. hold on to your butts!

 

[shem935]

but I like her


anyway, this week is going to be a bigger clusterfuck than last week. hold on to your butts!

What's this week? No way it can top last week.

 

[Ether_Snake]

Oh god the debt ceiling is going to be a fucking disaster. God help us al.

Serious, if the FC managed to take down the AHCA, there is no way in hell they're letting Trump go forward with his massive infrastructure spending bill.

Wouldn't surprise me if the government was shut down again lol.

 

[Infinite Stars]

Serious, if the FC managed to take down the AHCA, there is no way in hell they're letting Trump go forward with his massive infrastructure spending bill.

Exactly. If they couldn't get them behind removing "the Socialist Overreaching Government Health Bill that Ruins Freedom", There's no way in fucking hell they'll agree with anything Trump/Ryan Propose.

Hold onto your butts, because this is going to get bumpy.

Spoiler

Trump, being Trump, will place the Bill failing in the House as the fault of Democrats. Just you wait.

 

[mo60]

Serious, if the FC managed to take down the AHCA, there is no way in hell they're letting Trump go forward with his massive infrastructure spending bill.

Wouldn't surprise me if the government was shut down again lol.

The government wll probably be shut down a few months from now at this rate.Trump is the worst deal maker. I wonder how he is going to handle the question of raising or not raising the debt ceiling a few months from now if they need to do that.

 

[Zolo]

Spoiler

Trump, being Trump, will place the Bill failing in the House as the fault of Democrats. Just you wait.

Spoiler

And then have Breitbart and a tweet to a show blaming Ryan.

 

[XMonkey]

Serious, if the FC managed to take down the AHCA, there is no way in hell they're letting Trump go forward with his massive infrastructure spending bill.

Wouldn't surprise me if the government was shut down again lol.

The infrastructure bill, if it happens, is going to be interesting. Enough moderate Republicans could get on board to work with Democrats. If the bill actually had positive impacts on infrastructure I would hope Dems might entertain the idea because we still desperately need infrastructure spending.

 

[Dan]

Wait, how did I miss this?

From the NYT article on Epshteyn getting canned

He moved to NJ before he was a teenager.

I had missed this fun tidbit:

Epshteyn, according to multiple sources familiar with the exchange, got in a yelling match with a Fox News booker after Hemmer pressed him for details of President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order cracking down on immigration from Muslim-majority countries — a topic he was not expecting to be grilled on.

“Am I someone you want to make angry?” Epshteyn told the booker, the sources said. When he threatened to pull White House officials from the network, the fed-up booker had had enough.

“Go right ahead,” the booker fired back, the sources said, aware that Epshteyn had no power to follow through on a threat that would have upended the administration’s relationship with a sympathetic news network.

 

[RustyNails]

The government wll probably be shut down a few months from now at this rate.Trump is the worst deal maker. I wonder how he is going tphandle the question of raising or not raising the debt ceiling a few months from now.

He probably does not even know any of those things. He's just a really dumb person. That's why he delegated all the hard work of crafting a bill to his buddies. Obama on the other hand rolled up his sleeves and stuck his hands into the mud. This mofucka thinks he's still a CEO.

 

[Dan]

The infrastructure bill, if it happens, is going to be interesting. Enough moderate Republicans could get on board to work with Democrats. If the bill actually had positive impacts on infrastructure I would hope Dems might entertain the idea because we still desperately need infrastructure spending.

Do toll roads and bridges qualify as "positive impacts on infrastructure?" Because that's all it's going to be.

 

[AntraxSuicide]

Do toll roads and bridges qualify as "positive impacts on infrastructure?" Because that's all it's going to be.

Well, that and a bunch of tax cuts to businesses that were already going to do infrastructure projects (i.e. straight-up handouts to rich people).

 

[sangreal]

Serious, if the FC managed to take down the AHCA, there is no way in hell they're letting Trump go forward with his massive infrastructure spending bill.

Wouldn't surprise me if the government was shut down again lol.

They're counting on democratic votes for that, which isn't impossible. If they, you know, actually work with democrats

 

[RustyNails]

.

 

[shawnbuddy]

Bill Maher had interesting things to say about Trump tonight, but he always seems to undercut himself with his Islamaphobia.

 

[IggyChooChoo]

Incidentally, one underdiscussed aspect of having two reconciliation windows is that the Republicans have to pass a budget or a CR by April 28th to avoid a government shutdown.

Soooooo

I don't get the two reconciliation windows thing. There's one in the fall? Does that mean they'll be debating the budget in the fall, too?

 

[sazzy]

What's this week? No way it can top last week.

The full might of the media punditry is going to drop starting Monday morning shows.

Donald is going to be tweeting.

Classified Intel briefings; unlikely for anything to leak but so far the house intel folks have been pretty leaky.

maybe more megatons?

 

[mo60]

.

Like nothing distracted you from getting the AHCA passed trump?

 

[RustyNails]

The full might of the media punditry is going to drop starting Monday morning shows.

Donald is going to be tweeting.

Classified Intel briefings; unlikely for anything to leak but so far the house intel folks have been pretty leaky.

maybe more megatons?

The NYT guy on CNN seemed pretty confident that some "soft collusion" story was going to be coming out next week, and his sources have confirmed such.

 

[pigeon]

I don't get the two reconciliation windows thing. There's one in the fall? Does that mean they'll be debating the budget in the fall, too?

Yes. As I understand it, they're writing a short budget bill that covers only the rest of this year, then writing another bill for the next year.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

Like nothing distracted you from getting the AHCA passed trump?

That was the joke. (Or at least the first one.)

 

[B-Dubs]

The NYT guy on CNN seemed pretty confident that some "soft collusion" story was going to be coming out next week, and his sources have confirmed such.

So you mean Trump's going to be like:

 

[Chumley]

I have a theory that this week is going to be fucking nuts.

That tweet chain saying April is the end of the line for Trump sounds more plausible by the day.

 

[Infinite Stars]

I have a theory that this week is going to be fucking nuts.

That tweet chain saying April is the end of the line for Trump sounds more plausible by the day.

Wait, what tweet chain is this?

I know it's not going to happen, but I still ponder about the outcome. If this extends from Trump to Ryan/Freedom Caucus/Pence/Nunes, then at what point is the entire current Government a Sham? At what point does the idea of "Fuck it, we're holding a special election" stop being a joke? Because implicated right now, even by virtue of being near the Trump Campaign, is every fucking Person in line for the Presidency. Pence has ties to Manafort, Ryan advised Nunes, McConnell.. might be safe, but Trump's Cabinet? Anyone who's touched his campaign in a positive way? It's all going down.

 

[Nelo Ice]

I have a theory that this week is going to be fucking nuts.

That tweet chain saying April is the end of the line for Trump sounds more plausible by the day.

I'm in shock at how quickly this is all happening. The first month felt hopeless since every day became a nightmare. Then now every day it's starting to feel like dreams will come true and the Trump and the GOP may actually collapse.

 

[A Serious Man]

Look, you know that story is fake news. Soft collusion? I don't do anything soft, okay? When I collude, it's the biggest, best collusion. Tremendous collusion. Everybody knows I'm a great colluder, nobody can collude like me.

 

[Chumley]

Wait, what tweet chain is this?

I know it's not going to happen, but I still ponder about the outcome. If this extends from Trump to Ryan/Freedom Caucus/Pence/Nunes, then at what point is the entire current Government a Sham? At what point does the idea of "Fuck it, we're holding a special election" stop being a joke? Because implicated right now, even by virtue of being near the Trump Campaign, is every fucking Person in line for the Presidency. Pence has ties to Manafort, Ryan advised Nunes, McConnell.. might be safe, but Trump's Cabinet? Anyone who's touched his campaign in a positive way? It's all going down.

Something I found among the Seth Abramson tweets, I'll link it if I find it again but I've been reading through so much shit that it all blends together at this point.

A hunch by Reddit poster WaltChamberlin makes a lot of sense to me:

We know Flynn was working as a lobbyist for pro-Erdogan policies and has retroactively registered as a foreign agent after being ousted. He was doing this on behest of his lawyers before (or possibly after) he spoke with the FBI to save as much face and legal capital as possible.
The story from James Woolsey about Flynn's plan to illegally "extradite" Gulen was the smoking gun for the FBI, which they used to turn him, on top of him perjuring himself to the FBI over Russia contacts. They used the threat of charges for these 2 actions to "flip" him.
@SethAbramson has sources that Devin Nunes was with Flynn in at least one meeting with Turkish ambassadors. Here is source for this : https://www.dailysabah.com/diplomac...lu-meets-trumps-top-national-security-advisor I CANNOT COMMENT ON THE CREDIBILITY, BUT THERE IT IS.
Nunes received the news that Flynn was picked up in incidental collection about the Gulen story. Possibly also heard he was talking to the FBI. He jumped out of his Uber and panicked.He knew he would also be implicated if that story was blown open since he was WITH FLYNN.
He took the story to Trump/WH to give them a heads up, and Trump told him to shut down the hearings.
Why? Sally Yates was set to testify in the March 28th public hearing. Remember, she was the one who ousted Flynn, and was then fired immediately by the Trump administration. If she knew information about Flynn, she likely knew information about Nunes as well, and was going to oust him at his own public hearing.
This completely jives with Nunes's statement that the information he received had "nothing" to do with the Russia hearings. Because technically, it didn't. The information he was passing to the WH was incidental collection of Flynn speaking with his Turkish contacts, and he knew he was involved in that scandal.

 

[AntraxSuicide]

Wait, what tweet chain is this?

I know it's not going to happen, but I still ponder about the outcome. If this extends from Trump to Ryan/Freedom Caucus/Pence/Nunes, then at what point is the entire current Government a Sham? At what point does the idea of "Fuck it, we're holding a special election" stop being a joke? Because implicated right now, even by virtue of being near the Trump Campaign, is every fucking Person in line for the Presidency. Pence has ties to Manafort, Ryan advised Nunes, McConnell.. might be safe, but Trump's Cabinet? Anyone who's touched his campaign in a positive way? It's all going down.

Well, essentially this is how the midterms function as a special election. If they really are doing some super shady shit, and Trump and Pence have to be removed (or should be), then in theory the Dems take Congress, impeach them both, and boom, we've got D/D/D government (since the Speaker is 3rd in line for the White House, and that can reasonably flip in 2018).

Say it with me; President Pelosi!

 

[Teggy]

So Trump's tweet about judge Jeanine probably was not nefarious. On fox and friends this morning there was a banner about "stunning new details" about wiretapping to be revealed on the show.

Trump's Razor strikes again.

 

[Nelo Ice]

Well, essentially this is how the midterms function as a special election. If they really are doing some super shady shit, and Trump and Pence have to be removed (or should be), then in theory the Dems take Congress, impeach them both, and boom, we've got D/D/D government (since the Speaker is 3rd in line for the White House, and that can reasonably flip in 2018).

Say it with me; President Pelosi!

That has been my pipe dream scenario ever since the traitor won.

 

[shem935]

So Trump's tweet about judge Jeanine probably was not nefarious. On fox and friends this morning there was a banner about "stunning new details" about wiretapping to be revealed on the show.

Trump's Razor strikes again.

I wouldn't feel that way if I were Paul Ryan

 

[sazzy]

twist: Flynn was a CIA agent all along, tasked with infiltrating the Trump-Russia network

 

[broz0rs]

That's the first time I've ever seen Judge Janine. Wish I didn't

 

[Chumley]

So Trump's tweet about judge Jeanine probably was not nefarious. On fox and friends this morning there was a banner about "stunning new details" about wiretapping to be revealed on the show.

Trump's Razor strikes again.

I don't believe that for a second, and if Trump goofed he could easily tweet out something in support of Ryan or whatever.

 

[Teggy]

I don't believe that for a second, and if Trump goofed he could easily tweet out something in support of Ryan or whatever.

Jeanine claims there was no contact. Based on the way Trump watches fox and friends and how much he cares about the wiretap stuff (probably more than healthcare) it makes perfect sense. (And if anyone is unaware what Trump's Razor is, it was coined by Josh Marshall during the campaign - All other things equal, the most likely explanation for anything that Trump does is the stupidest one. It works almost every time.)

 

[BlastProcessing]

So Trump's tweet about judge Jeanine probably was not nefarious. On fox and friends this morning there was a banner about "stunning new details" about wiretapping to be revealed on the show.

Trump's Razor strikes again.

She played Trump. Once he told people to watch her show he gave her free reign to say what ever the hell she wanted with his implied blessing.

 

[Surfinn]

She played Trump. Once he told people to watch her show he gave her free reign to say what ever the hell she wanted with his implied blessing.

Played him by kissing his ass for 6 minutes, removing blame ENTIRELY from Trump, and shifting all associations with failure to Ryan? Yeah I don't buy this. There was already grumbling behind the scenes that they wanted to scapegoat Ryan.

Her I DIDN'T TALK TO HIM disclaimer seemed painfully forced.

 

[jtb]

Anyone read that Julia Ioffe piece on Manafort and Putin? Was a good read, I thought. A lot more informative (if tempered) than speculating on Seth Abramson tweets.

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/03/much-ado-about-manafort/520743/

That's the first time I've ever seen Judge Janine. Wish I didn't

yeah, no kidding. every time I turn on Fox, it's like the volume gets turned up x2 and everyone starts shouting at me. which is really an accomplishment considering how shrill normal cable news is.

 

[NobleXenon]

Would it be possible to have an interstate single payer system? Like if California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington created a West Coast UHC system using their ACA expansion money and higher taxes?

 

[davepoobond]

Would it be possible to have an interstate single payer system? Like if California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington created a West Coast UHC system using their ACA expansion money and higher taxes?

its possible, but the lower pop states might not like subsidizing the higher population state (CA) or vice versa.

its usually why when the Federal gov is involved they have tax credits and stuff

 

[Electric Eye]

I'm thinking in the end the targets of russiagate will be everyone around Trump but Trump including Bannon. In other words leaving him without anyone he knows or trusts and in turn making him a puppet of the GOP the way they have always wanted and essentially making him part of the machine his stupid voters hate so much. He wont resist because ultimately he will continue to sign BS he wont bother to read and spend weekends in Florida until he gets the boot in 2020.

 

[Chumley]

I'm thinking in the end the targets of russiagate will be everyone around Trump but Trump including Bannon. In other words leaving him without anyone he knows or trusts and in turn making him a puppet of the GOP the way they have always wanted and essentially making him part of the machine his stupid voters hate so much. He wont resist because ultimately he will continue to sign BS he wont bother to read and spend weekends in Florida until he gets the boot in 2020.

Pence would be just as useful a puppet, and as soon as Flynn starts talking it would be untenable to keep Trump on. Wouldn't be surprised at all to see impeachment proceedings happening next month or outright resignation with how fast everything is moving. Ryan has been trying to cram everything through before the investigation reaches a conclusion but he provably realizes that even without all of this smoke, Trump is still a dangerous and incompetent leader.

 

[neurosisxeno]

Wait, what tweet chain is this?

I know it's not going to happen, but I still ponder about the outcome. If this extends from Trump to Ryan/Freedom Caucus/Pence/Nunes, then at what point is the entire current Government a Sham? At what point does the idea of "Fuck it, we're holding a special election" stop being a joke? Because implicated right now, even by virtue of being near the Trump Campaign, is every fucking Person in line for the Presidency. Pence has ties to Manafort, Ryan advised Nunes, McConnell.. might be safe, but Trump's Cabinet? Anyone who's touched his campaign in a positive way? It's all going down.

President Mattis incoming. I would actually be okay with that. But wouldn't the President Pro Tempor take over, unless there's some connection to Orrin Hatch I don't know about I think he would be the first person we don't have any solid connections to Trump/Russia with. Following him I believe it's Mattis since Mnuchin has a lot of Trump connections and Tillerson is like Captain Russia.

Would it be possible to have an interstate single payer system? Like if California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington created a West Coast UHC system using their ACA expansion money and higher taxes?

As an Idea it's sound. But it would require several states to approve, and I imagine it would work like a trade deal where it would require each state to approve the admission/addition of a new state into it which would be difficult to co-ordinate. Also consider that some of these reliable Blue States end up with Republican Governors or Legislatures occasionally--I say that as a Vermonter, granted Phil Scott isn't too bad.

 

[B-Dubs]

I'm thinking in the end the targets of russiagate will be everyone around Trump but Trump including Bannon. In other words leaving him without anyone he knows or trusts and in turn making him a puppet of the GOP the way they have always wanted and essentially making him part of the machine his stupid voters hate so much. He wont resist because ultimately he will continue to sign BS he wont bother to read and spend weekends in Florida until he gets the boot in 2020.

Trump could still massively fuck up international relations. Any plan that doesn't end with him being ousted takes a huge risk on that front.