All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!(Part II)

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Here a shitstorm, there a shitstorm, everywhere a shitstorm:

Staff anger spills over at White House

Bottled-up hostility in President Donald Trump’s administration flowed to the surface Tuesday during a remarkable 12-hour period following an awkward midterm détente and tense trip to Paris over which the president is still seething.

“It’s like an episode of ‘Maury,’” one former Trump aide observed to POLITICO as the spectacle unfolded. “The only thing that’s missing is a paternity test.”

At the White House, Trump appeared poised to dismiss Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, a source of personal frustration for months over what Trump views as weak leadership on border security and other immigration enforcement policies he’s sought to implement.

The fresh round of backbiting and post-midterm turnover could also sweep out Trump’s chief of staff John Kelly, a close Nielsen ally, and see him replaced with Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, Nick Ayers, who is re-emerging as a leading candidate, according to several White House officials and others close to the presidential orbit.

On Tuesday, the West Wing staff morass — which had long been building but which the president personally subordinated to put up a unified front for the midterms — spilled over to the East Wing, with first lady Melania Trump openly calling for the ouster of one of the top officials on the National Security Council in a rare public rebuke.

The first lady's office said in a statement that Mira Ricardel, deputy to national security adviser John Bolton, did not belong in the White House anymore. While it didn’t elaborate, The Wall Street Journal reported that the president had decided to fire Ricardel at Melania Trump's urging after clashes regarding her recent solo trip to Africa.

And earlier in the day, Trump’s chief economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, lashed out at White House trade adviser Peter Navarro after Navarro, a trade protectionist, took aim at Wall Street and corporate influencers pushing a less aggressive stance against China. Navarro did Trump a “great disservice,” Kudlow told CNBC.

“Peter very badly misspoke,” he added. “He was freelancing.”

White House aides and advisers have long anticipated an internal staff reckoning once the uneasy truce broke and the dust settled after the elections. But some conceded that the drumbeat of exits, the threat of subpoenas from the Russia probe and anticipated investigations by a newly empowered Democratic House — along with a raft of negative media attention in recent days — were taking a heavy toll on not only the president, but also on the aides and advisers' thinning ranks.

[BeastieRunner]

Here a shitstorm, there a shitstorm, everywhere a shitstorm:

Staff anger spills over at White House

[BeastieRunner]

Also:

[BeastieRunner]

The problem, as I see it, is that the 'Nancy Pelosi' some liberals see is the fictional one created by the Republicans. If they really got to know her, they woudl realize that she isn't some kind of 'demon woman' out to destroy the world, but a true leader who places her country and the welfare of others above herself.

That's just not true.

23% of Dem voters want her.

36% of Dem voters want somebody new.

41% of Dem voters don't care.

29% approve of her.

16% disapprove.

55% are indifferent.

Of the 36% that want somebody new, 88% said she'd do a good job.

76% of Dem voters in 2018 said without Pelosi, W's Congress would've been unchecked and she was instrumental in checks.

91% of Dem voters in 2018 said without her, ACA would've failed.

That just isn't true.

I want somebody new because if you don't start grooming new leadership, you turn into the Whigs and the current GOP.

[Powerboy]

The problem, as I see it, is that the 'Nancy Pelosi' some liberals see is the fictional one created by the Republicans. If they really got to know her, they woudl realize that she isn't some kind of 'demon woman' out to destroy the world, but a true leader who places her country and the welfare of others above herself.

That sadly is true. Even I realize I know nothing about her because what I mostly see is the Republican propaganda which is out there more than the reality.

[Jack Dracula]

The problem, as I see it, is that the 'Nancy Pelosi' some liberals see is the fictional one created by the Republicans. If they really got to know her, they woudl realize that she isn't some kind of 'demon woman' out to destroy the world, but a true leader who places her country and the welfare of others above herself.

At times she's demonstrated a willingness to go against the party establishment in favor of protecting representative democracy and the average americans economic welfare.
In 2014 she joined with other Democrats and some GOP representatives in rejecting the 'Cromnibus" Spending Bill which contained legistlation increasing the amount an individual could contribute to a political campaign from $100,000 to nearly $900,000 and legistlation weakening the Dodd-Frank financial reform law which enabled banks to place accounts handling riskier trades under federal protection. IOW they are now free to risk other peoples money on risky trades and collect their profits while their losses are covered by our tax dollars.

FYI, Obama, Biden and Boehner were pushing this spending bill super hard. One of the instances where I was profoundly disapointed in Obama because he showed himself to be something of a shill for the banking industry. This and the 'no questions asked' Wall Street bailouts of 2009.

[Tami]

That's just not true.

23% of Dem voters want her.

36% of Dem voters want somebody new.

41% of Dem voters don't care.

29% approve of her.

16% disapprove.

55% are indifferent.

Of the 36% that want somebody new, 88% said she'd do a good job.

76% of Dem voters in 2018 said without Pelosi, W's Congress would've been unchecked and she was instrumental in checks.

91% of Dem voters in 2018 said without her, ACA would've failed.

That just isn't true.

I want somebody new because if you don't start grooming new leadership, you turn into the Whigs and the current GOP.

So why is it that we don't see anyone complaining about Senator Chuck Schumer they way they talk about Pelosi?

[BeastieRunner]

So why is it that we don't see anyone complaining about Senator Chuck Schumer they way they talk about Pelosi?

I think if/when the Dems take the Senate again, he'll be forced out.

For what it's worth, I want him gone, too.

I also think if you ran a poll and compared the two, it would look different. But that gets into "whataboutism."

It's a little like apples & oranges. This poll was not comparing them, just talking about what registered Dem voters thought of Pelosi.

I think the fact is Dem voters see her as a tool to help a younger generation, appreciated what she has done, and want somebody new but really don't care who gets it in the end.

[Tami]

I think if/when the Dems take the Senate again, he'll be forced out.

For what it's worth, I want him gone, too.

Have you given any thought to whom you would rather have to replace them?

[BeastieRunner]

Have you given any thought to whom you would rather have to replace them?

Senate is easy. Duckworth. I want her to run for POTUS, too.

House ... is hard for me. I just want somebody new and younger to lead the next generation.

I know in the House Hoyer, Bustos are well liked.

I guess if I had to pick right now, I'd go for Cheri.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Like it or not, sooner or later, Pelosi AND Schumer will have to go, willingly or not. As good as they've been for the Democrats, I don't want those two running the show when they're in their 70's and older, if that's ageism, fine, it's time for new blood, time for younger, stronger hands to man the wheel. Now, does that mean Pelosi and Schumer should be run out of town tomorrow? NO! I for one would insist upon a gradual transition of power to the next generation of leaders once they've been identified and groomed for leadership roles while Pelosi and Schumer remain in advisory roles, I don't want the sort of chaos that turned the GOP into the clusterfuck it is today. But, that transition has GOT to happen, there's no other way around that inevitability.

[BeastieRunner]

Team Mueller update:

Mitch is changing his tune on protecting Mueller. Collins, Graham, and others have already begun the process to move the act forward without the rest of their party.

Stone is looking at lying to the FBI, perjury of the Grand Jury, and now witness intimidation! Randy Credico is denying claims of Corsi and Stone AND apparently took a plea deal, too.

Uh oh ...

[Gray Lensman]

So why is it that we don't see anyone complaining about Senator Chuck Schumer they way they talk about Pelosi?

Slate complains about him quite often. Although he is currently less relevant than Pelosi due to the respective position the Democrats have in each of their respective chambers.

[Gray Lensman]

Senate is easy. Duckworth. I want her to run for POTUS, too.

House ... is hard for me. I just want somebody new and younger to lead the next generation.

I know in the House Hoyer, Bustos are well liked.

I guess if I had to pick right now, I'd go for Cheri.

From the outside looking in, Hoyer seems an excellent choice. Key to that is he has been trying to groom the next generation to handle leadership roles rather than insisting the old guard keep everything until they are wheeled out.

[PaulBullion]

I think if/when the Dems take the Senate again, he'll be forced out.
.

Wishful thinking.

In closed-door leadership elections, Sen. Schumer has been re-elected as Senate minority leader by acclamation.

https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1062730189610893312