[Winstonm]

Al_U_Card, on 2018-December-06, 19:49, said:

Winston, wasn't Hilbilly a lock for 2016? Were all those in the CNN/MSM bubble so insulated from reality as well? Politics, like climate, appears to be a non-linear, chaotic and coupled (2-party) system that cannot be predicted long term (bubble-wise).

The best prognosticators gave Dennison a much better chance - especially in the last 2 weeks after Comey's faux pas. It was still an upset, but not a repudiation. Dennison won by minus 3 million votes.

The midterms have raised that number to minus 10 million. That is what repudiation looks like.

[Winstonm]

ggwhiz, on 2018-December-06, 17:09, said:

Is that not in the realm of stealability, 2020 general wise.

No doubt there will be more repudiation to come in 2020.

[y66]

From The Wisconsin power grab is part of a bigger Republican attack on democracy by Zack Beauchamp at Vox:

Quote

The GOP’s turn against democracy may be a greater threat to the American experiment than President Trump.

May be?

[johnu]

Winstonm, on 2018-December-06, 21:01, said:

The best prognosticators gave Dennison a much better chance - especially in the last 2 weeks after Comey's faux pas. It was still an upset, but not a repudiation. Dennison won by minus 3 million votes.

Yep, Dennison's primary campaign theme the last couple of weeks was "Lock her up" and Clinton's poll lead was severely eroded by the terrible publicity.

[johnu]

Dennison on Coming Debt Crisis: ‘I Won’t Be Here’ When It Blows Up

Quote

The friction came to a head in early 2017 when senior officials offered Trump charts and graphics laying out the numbers and showing a “hockey stick” spike in the national debt in the not-too-distant future. In response, Trump noted that the data suggested the debt would reach a critical mass only after his possible second term in office.

“Yeah, but I won’t be here,” the president bluntly said, according to a source who was in the room when Trump made this comment during discussions on the debt.

Wow, long term strategic planning by Dennison Individual-1. I didn't see that one coming Could that be a blueprint for his Mueller report strategy?

[Al_U_Card]

Winstonm, on 2018-December-06, 21:01, said:

The best prognosticators gave Dennison a much better chance - especially in the last 2 weeks after Comey's faux pas. It was still an upset, but not a repudiation. Dennison won by minus 3 million votes.

The midterms have raised that number to minus 10 million. That is what repudiation looks like.

No doubt that the result was "surprising" to many that felt Hil to be the only choice. That was their bubble I suppose. The game, such as it is, is played by the rules, such as they are. Hil lost, fair and square, if not numerically but popular vote for president was not part of the rules that ensure that each of the states gets their relatively proportional say. As you know, perhaps the Dems will win 2020 by a Johnsonian/Goldwater type landslide. One of those longer term or even last minute shifts in public sentiment that affect those things. Rallying behind a popular movement is getting more common (Arab spring, gilets jaune etc.) but oppression and suppression are most often the causes. Disgruntlement, not so much. Trump has certainly flipped the script on US politics as usual so at least there is that. Will it result in a rethink or even refinement of the US system? A return to classic norms? A new paradigm? Interesting times are for the brave, so they say, but who are "they"?

[Winstonm]

Winstonm, on 2018-December-06, 21:01, said:

The best prognosticators gave Dennison a much better chance - especially in the last 2 weeks after Comey's faux pas. It was still an upset, but not a repudiation. Dennison won by minus 3 million votes.

The midterms have raised that number to minus 10 million. That is what repudiation looks like.

Just saw this and it is pertinent to this discussion. From WaPo:

Quote

And departing members report that the most active Republican partisans in their state believe there is nothing — absolutely nothing — wrong with a political party that lost 40 House seats in a time of relative peace and unprecedented prosperity. If anything, one soon-to-be-former member told me, the Republican base believes its party lost ground because it wasn’t true enough to Trump’s agenda. In this parallel political reality, building the border wall would have stopped the Democratic wave.

[Winstonm]

y66, on 2018-December-06, 23:03, said:

From The Wisconsin power grab is part of a bigger Republican attack on democracy by Zack Beauchamp at Vox:


May be?

Any time any group chooses self-interests over country, democracy is eroded - sometimes dramatically so.

[y66]

The next step is to cement control of the news media.

[hrothgar]

Life is getting interesting:

https://twitter.com/...170811145404416

Note that this is being filed by SDNY

[Winstonm]

Also this from Special Counsel's sentencing memo:

Quote

Cohen told prosecutors that in November 2015, he “received the contact information for, and spoke with, a Russian national” who called himself a “trusted person” in Russia and offered “political synergy” for the Trump campaign.

In 2015, the offer was made by Russia to "collude" (synergy) yet the Trump Dennison Individual-1 caravan continually stayed in contact with Russians right up to the day of the inauguration.

And Daily Beast is reporting this:

Quote

Another bombshell lobbed by Michael Cohen exploded late Friday night: He says he told Donald Trump about a phone call to the Kremlin asking for the Russian government’s help to build a Trump Tower in Moscow in 2016.

And Cohen also claims he was talking to Trump’s lawyers and White House staff in 2017 while he crafted a misleading statement to Congress seeking to cover up the truth about the Moscow project and the level of Trump’s involvement.

Wow. WH invovled in crafting false statements to Congress.

[hrothgar]

Winstonm, on 2018-December-07, 16:48, said:

Wow. WH invovled in crafting false statements to Congress.

Perhaps, however, the real story is that State and Federal prosecutors are charging that "Individual 1" has committed felonies...

[jjbrr]

In chronological order:

Twitter

Quote

Whether I choose him or not for "State"- Rex Tillerson, the Chairman & CEO of ExxonMobil, is a world class player and dealmaker. Stay tuned!

Twitter

Quote

I have chosen one of the truly great business leaders of the world, Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, to be Secretary of State.

Twitter

Quote

The thing I like best about Rex Tillerson is that he has vast experience at dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments.

Twitter

Quote

Congratulations to Rex Tillerson on being sworn in as our new Secretary of State. He will be a star!

Twitter

Quote

The media has been speculating that I fired Rex Tillerson or that he would be leaving soon - FAKE NEWS! He’s not leaving and while we disagree on certain subjects, (I call the final shots) we work well together and America is highly respected again!

Twitter

Quote

Mike Pompeo is doing a great job, I am very proud of him. His predecessor, Rex Tillerson, didn’t have the mental capacity needed. He was dumb as a rock and I couldn’t get rid of him fast enough. He was lazy as hell. Now it is a whole new ballgame, great spirit at State!

[jjbrr]

It's almost as if ***** for brains like ldrews are being lied to, and, being ***** for brains, they believe it!

[hrothgar]

jjbrr, on 2018-December-07, 20:32, said:

It's almost as if ***** for brains like ldrews are being lied to, and, being ***** for brains, they believe it!

Best to avoid mentioning certain individuals by name, least they consider this an invitation to return

[Winstonm]

hrothgar, on 2018-December-07, 19:35, said:

Perhaps, however, the real story is that State and Federal prosecutors are charging that "Individual 1" has committed felonies...

However, I think it will take more than that to get enough of the Republican party to turn against Donald Trump David Dennison Individual-1 for a Senate conviction. There is no doubt criminality has occurred. We need criminality that makes Joe Sixpack sit up and say, Holy Cow!

We will find out a lot more in the first 6 months of the new Congress as witnesses are recalled to explain their deceptions and faux executive privilege claims.

[Winstonm]

This is encouraging.

Quote

For nearly two years, since the U.S. intelligence community released its report on the Russian campaign to assist Donald Trump in the 2016 election, the American people have been seeking an answer as to whether the Trump campaign colluded with its Russian counterpart. In the endless speculation about the direction of the investigation, a common view was that maybe the investigation would never implicate President Trump or find any collusion.

But a flurry of recent activity this past week all points in the same direction: Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation will likely implicate the president, his campaign, and his close associates in aiding and abetting a Russian conspiracy against the United States to undermine the 2016 election.

[ggwhiz]

Winstonm, on 2018-December-07, 21:44, said:

Donald Trump David Dennison Individual-1

Individual-1 Inmate-1 coming soon?

[hrothgar]

Winstonm, on 2018-December-07, 21:44, said:

We will find out a lot more in the first 6 months of the new Congress as witnesses are recalled to explain their deceptions and faux executive privilege claims.

I was just listening to an interview with Adam Schiff in which he said that the House Special Intelligence Committee's top priority was going to be investigating Russian money laundering and the Trump org, with illegal Russian campaign contributions and the NRA being not too far behind...

[Winstonm]

ggwhiz, on 2018-December-08, 09:38, said:

Individual-1 Inmate-1 coming soon?

The full circle:

2016: Donald Trump
2017: David Dennison
2018: Individual-1
2019: Unindicted co-conspirator
2021: Defendent Donald Trump

2022: Look down, look down, don't look them in the eye! 24601

Note: the statute of limitations on Cohen's and any co-conspirator's campaign finance violations will be up in 2022. How convenient. That makes the midterms look like an insignificant election from the POV of Individual-1.