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@Crucial Yeah, he's been laying into two of his colleagues, Priebus and Bannon in a big way. Odd that as Director of Communications he has admitted to a mistake in trusting a reporter - you'd think that he would have been a bit more savvy than that.
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I've avoided this thread for a bit but I'm being sucked back in ...
Que? Can someone please explain rationale?
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@Catogrande said in US Politics:
@booboo Blood on the carpet alright. Possible that Scaramouche was brought in just to lay the groundwork.
Not surprising really. I imagine he has been on thin ice for ahile with all the leaks etc. Not big news really.
What is masssively significant is the humiliating failure on healthcare last night. 3 republican senators have fucked the whole healthcare agenda for the GOP. -
Yeah he's one dodgy looking mofo.
McCain voted against didn't he? Makes the whole party look pathetic. They've been screaming about Obama Care for years, yet with the presidency and control of both the house and senate they don't get rid of it.
If the press want blood this is what they should focus on not that Russia crap.
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What the hell? Scaramucci's wife is divorcing him because she doesn't like Trump
http://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/344395-scaramuccis-wife-files-for-divorce
If true that is a pretty bitchy move.
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Priebus getting sacked for possible leaking isn't surprising, there have been leaks this was about to happen..
The more interesting internal WH conflict is against Bannon/Sessions. Bannon wrote some of Trumps major foreign policy/America first speeches and Sessions has been the personification of the tougher immigration stance.
Trump attacking Sessions this week was a big deal. This was followed by the trial balloon about replacing Sessions in a recess appointment (another leak that wasn't frowned upon)
Then Scaramucci goes after Bannon: “I'm not Steve Bannon, I'm not trying to suck my own cock. I’m not trying to build my own brand off the fucking strength of the President. I’m here to serve the country"
Trump supporters should be a little concerned this signals a policy shift. If Bannon and Sessions go the Democrat wing of the WH (Ivanka and Kushner) have more influence.
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I think the health care thing really sheds a lot of light on how terriblly the GOP has become a divided party, which has seemingly rejected governing in a democracy - reflecting a wider attitude which rejects compromise as 'flip flopping' or whatever.
In opposition they fought everything and that's come back to hurt them now, where individual members won't toe the line anymore, after (seeming) to realize that hold-outs don't get punished. Trump is betting now that he can distance himself from the GOP and try to hold on to his support.
It's pretty fucking scandalous that they can't get something done. I wonder if there is an opportunity for some one to open a proper debate about what good healthcare looks like. Obamacare is a dog, but all the other ideas are equally bad or worse. It's time to look at working systems from other places and make bold action. I'm wondering whether Trump will now go that way if he is free from GOP influence.
Surprisingly, one of the best things I read this week was a piece suggesting that Bannon wants a higher tax rate on the very rich (income over 5 million) - with apparently some support from Trump. If Trump goes full populist and starts talking that plus expanding medicaid - he's going to be very hard to stop. That looks like the center of US politics to me, and it's an empty space right now.
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On health care - the 'skinny repeal' was not the right way forward. No one should be upset it failed.
It's worth noting that there is agreement between Dems and Reps that they want a managed private insurance system that is used in several countries.
In particular they seem to agree that Switzerland might be a model that fits the US needsThat model relies on penalties and politicians are cowards
There were other issues with Obamacare, but the fundamental one was not having tough penalties. It got worse than that.. the implementation of some penalties/taxes was delayed until well after the 2016 election. Cowards.
What the Reps have proposed so far is fixing less important side issues. They have been too scared to fix the penalty issue. Cowards.
One way forward is a bipartisan bill. Incredibly unlikely, because both parties have legitimate disagreements on other parts of the bill... and they want the other side to be responsible for increasing the penalties.
The other way forward is if Trump stops being disengaged on this.
The President using the bully pulpit can push people into line and provide cover for those who are in agreement.However he has shown no willingness to get his hands dirty. Compare his effort with Obamas (lying) effort.
He's running out of time though. The mid terms aren't that far away and politicians get even more scared with an approaching vote.
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@Rembrandt said in US Politics:
What the hell? Scaramucci's wife is divorcing him because she doesn't like Trump
http://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/344395-scaramuccis-wife-files-for-divorce
If true that is a pretty bitchy move.
That's a fairly long bow...
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So as the more invested Fern members of this thread will know, Hillary Clinton has a book coming out which will tell all; What Happened
This is her seventh book with Simon & Schuster since 1996, and the publisher in a news release said Clinton’s latest work is a “cautionary tale” of forces that might have worked against her during the election.
“She speaks about the challenges of being a strong woman in the public eye,” according to the AP, which obtained the release. “The criticism over her voice, age and appearance, and the double standard confronting women in politics.” -
Not really. Pew research says that 47% of leftie Dems can't even handle being friends with a Trump supporter. The white, educated cohort within that are even more partisan.
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@Tregaskis said in US Politics:
Not really. Pew research says that 47% of leftie Dems can't even handle being friends with a Trump supporter. The white, educated cohort within that are even more partisan.
I read some of the comments section. The USA is fucked.
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@Tregaskis said in US Politics:
Not really. Pew research says that 47% of leftie Dems can't even handle being friends with a Trump supporter. The white, educated cohort within that are even more partisan.
You mean "love trumps hate" was just bullshit virtue signalling?
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@Baron-Silas-Greenback said in US Politics:
@Catogrande said in US Politics:
@booboo Blood on the carpet alright. Possible that Scaramouche was brought in just to lay the groundwork.
Not surprising really. I imagine he has been on thin ice for ahile with all the leaks etc. Not big news really.
What is masssively significant is the humiliating failure on healthcare last night. 3 republican senators have fucked the whole healthcare agenda for the GOP.I agree, not too surprising on Preibus after all the recent noise and particularly Scaramucci's tirade. More evidence of a confused administration though, deciding one of you major picks is wrong for the job. In re the leaks I think there are a few interesting questions which are unlikely to get answered.
Is Preibus guilty and if so why did he leak?
Is he innocent (ash) and this is a convenient hook to get rid without actually saying I picked a wrong'un?
Have some leaks been manufactured to provide an excuse for blood letting? -
US Politics