What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]

[Admin]

Special Counsel.

Long term (emphasis on long) this should be very revealing.  But, we aren't going to see any action on this until that determination is reached and that will be largely/entirely out of sight.  Sheesh, Special Counsel has 60 days to come up with the budget for this investigation.  This thing will be measured in years.  On the upside, you have a Whitehouse living with a Scope in its fundament and an investigation that is only loosely guided.  Who doesn't believe that this Russia stuff is actually the frosting on a tripe cake.

[Weasels wake]

And would the Dem's even want to push that?  An embattled Trump in office gives them hope for midterm change-ups but how does that look with Pence at the helm?

I think the dems try to foce Ryan to make a choice. Either support Trump by refusing the impeachment for a guy that couldn't possibly do anything but make shit worse....or allow the vote, which forces every single republican to make a choice. If it goes through then they have lost the rest of their time in charge of congress. At that point they will get crunched in the mid-terms unless a war "happens"...then we're all fubared.

...and we still do not know the docs that MI6 is sitting on.

Look, here is my kind-of speculation. I think Ryan is trying / hoping for a twofer. There is NO WAY that Pence did not know about Flynn. If he didn't it would be a severe derelict of duty (I think Pence is a control freak)...if he did he has lied to congress. If Pence assumes the role, Ryan will have to wait it out, because Pence will have strong evangelical support.

At this point there are just too many ties to Russia for this to be a coincidence. The question then is...can it be proven. I'd say yes...just by looking at public speeches that should be pretty clear.

Just watch this video. Shitshow.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/house-majority-leader-to-colleagues-in-2016-i-think-putin-pays-trump/2017/05/17/515f6f8a-3aff-11e7-8854-21f359183e8c_story.html?pushid=591cc76bfdd5491d00000055&tid=notifi_push_breaking-news&utm_term=.614a09e70634

...this is worse than house of cards.

That's because we elected a RUSSIAN SPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just look at the cover of the latest Time Magazine, that's all the proof you need.

[Area 10]

No, you elected a buffoon. The Russians wouldn't be so foolish as to recruit someone as plainly limited as Trump.

[Weasels wake]

The Russians wouldn't be so foolish as to recruit someone as plainly limited as Trump.

Try telling that to our main stream media.

[all~wet]

Uhhhhh... Trump's limitations..... namely his lack of intellectual depth, desire to even minimally investigate facts, his ginormous ego / insatiable desire for ratings/approval..... and his being beholden/saved from financial ruin.... coupled with the publics infatuation over image/celebrity made him the  absolute  p e r f e c t,  easily malleable "recruit.

Enough with this scapegoating of the media (of which I am no fan) for this mess.  Trump has a loooong history of dirt baggery. Long before the media was privy, the FBI saw enough to investigate this guy.  In the end, obstruction will likely be the least of his worries.  For those who were drawn to Trump by the some of the issues he paid lip service to- he has done enormous damage to them and "his" party. Will be far more difficult to champion things like fair trade, immigration reform... etc etc. 

[tautologies]

No, you elected a buffoon. The Russians wouldn't be so foolish as to recruit someone as plainly limited as Trump.

Putin doesn't recruit..just use...Russia just wants to disrupt western democracies. Internally in Russia, the high living standards and relative peace in the west is seen as a threat to Putins reign (no longer free elections). His need to have large external enemies is his way of having his population focus on other things than him. Also I bet he is dreaming of creating a new USSR.

[Area 10]

No, you elected a buffoon. The Russians wouldn't be so foolish as to recruit someone as plainly limited as Trump.

Putin doesn't recruit..just use...Russia just wants to disrupt western democracies. Internally in Russia, the high living standards and relative peace in the west is seen as a threat to Putins reign (no longer free elections). His need to have large external enemies is his way of having his population focus on other things than him. Also I bet he is dreaming of creating a new USSR.

Yeah but you could say much the same about Trump in respect of enemies and dreams for the US. Oldest trick in the demagogue's handbook, and Trump plays the US public like a fiddle.

[PonoBill]

Actually no, Trump's approval rating is headed for 40%. At 42% in the most recent polling and falling.

[southwesterly]

Special Counsel.

No. According to Trump's tweet it's called a Special Councel.

[tautologies]

Yeah but you could say much the same about Trump in respect of enemies and dreams for the US. Oldest trick in the demagogue's handbook, and Trump plays the US public like a fiddle.

Do you assume it is on purpose? I don't. He just responds.

He has a malignant narcissistic personality disorder. No empathy for anyone...he only thinks about himself, and it leads to these weird responses that journalists still can't fathom. He will literally never understand another person point of view and will rarely listen to input...and will definitely not change. He is preoccupied with being the most famous and adored...not with making good policy.
I doubt he can plan even a dinner. But yeah sure he is a demagogue..but skills is not a pre-requisite for demagoguery.

Also good point Pono. Trumps approval rating should be an indicator that smart like a fox isn't exactly where it's at.

[LaPerouseBay]

https://youtu.be/fG1LqU8Nq1A?t=4m20s

[Area 10]

Ok so there's a drop in his approval ratings of around 4% since February? Big deal. The ludicrous thing is that FOUR out of TEN people in the US approve of him in the first place. He's achieved virtually nothing he said he would do - and that was totally predictable from the outset. His aims were nuts and there was nothing about his past that suggested he had the skills or knowledge to make them happen. You elected a man with no political experience - a total newbie - and he's been learning on the job. At the age of 70.

So please don't point to an approval rating of 42% as evidence of some new awakening of consciousness in the US public. His approval ratings are far higher than anyone else who might have done what he has done, and hasn't done what he hasn't done. If the penny is finally dropping, it took a ridiculous amount of time to do so.

And no, I don't think Trump is a smart demagogue at all. He just likes it when people cheer and whoop, so he says the things that make them cheer and whoop. If people cheered and whooped when he read a recipe for fried chicken, he'd do that. But that doesn't mean he isn't playing the crowd - quite the opposite. You don't have to be smart to play the crowd. Just do what a reality TV star would do: go for the reaction, keep people talking about you, say what they want to hear.

40%? Sheesh. What on earth are you guys thinking? How long is this freak show going to go on? This thread was well named.

[Admin]

Gallup has him at 38% which is historically very low.  http://www.gallup.com/poll/203198/presidential-approval-ratings-donald-trump.aspx

Noteworthy that 84% of Republicans are still on board. 

The poll period was from May 8th to 14th so factor that in as you will.  He has been this low before (March).

[Area 10]

There are plenty of people arguing that his core vote is essentially holding up:

http://news.sky.com/story/sky-views-trump-and-supporters-standing-firm-10883542

[PonoBill]

Sad. But somehow people cling to whacky notions regardless of evidence to the contrary. Look at all the people who believe the universe is 10,000 years old--like VP Pence for example.