No Smoking Gun
In his Op-Ed rant, Trump and His Corrupt Old Party Paul Krugman goes on his typical party rant.
He asks “How much corruption, how much collusion with foreign powers and betrayal of the national interest will that party’s elected representatives stand for?“
Moment of Temporary Sanity
For a second, I thought Krugman had a moment of “temporary sanity”.
Krugman accurately stated “The inquiry hasn’t found a smoking gun;”
Alas, that snip is out of context.
Here is Krugman’s complete thought: “The inquiry hasn’t found a smoking gun; it has found what amounts to a smoking battery of artillery. Yet almost no partisan Republicans have turned on Trump and his high-crimes-and-misdemeanors collaborators.”
Convictable Proof
I ask where’s the convictable proof?
I can easily see why people believe Trump is guilty. But Democrats have made a mockery of the process.
Their witnesses look like fools under Republican questioning. I wrote about it the other day in Democrat Impeachment Star Witnesses Useful as Dust.
And we have seen more of these exchanges all end the same way.
The fact remains that believing someone is guilty, and actually having convictable evidence are two different things.
So far, this is just the typical nonsense that one would expect from Krugman.
It’s hardly worth the time to comment. A reply to his own post is what caught my attention.
If the Republic Survives
Can the US Survive Trump?
Krugman actually questions whether or not the republic can survive Trump.
Then he proposes that “if” the US survives, Schiff will be viewed as “one of our great political heros“.
Mercy!
Yet, I have a friend who believes a similar thing, that Trump will not stand down if he loses the next election and the US will morph into some sort of dictatorship.
Krugman’s comments will no doubt play on such fears.
But the idea is absurd. Trump would not do that, and he would not get away with it if he tried.
Why Read Krugman?
People ask why I read Krugman. Actually, on occasion, Krugman is right about something.
For example, Krugman wrote a post mocking hyperinflationists. I took his side to the great consternation of “inflationistas” who thought I too was wrong.
Well here we are with interest rates at near record lows.
Also, you learn more from those you disagree with than those who agree.
Finally, you get pure nonsense like this that is worthy of serious rebuttal.
Good Presidents and Bad Presidents
The US has had good presidents and bad presidents.We survived them all.
We survived a civil war and unconstitutional theft of gold and burning of crops by president Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Roosevelt belonged in prison. Instead, he is revered.
The US survived LBJ and his asinine war in Vietnam. It survived George Bush and his asinine war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
One Toke Over the Line
It is beyond idiotic to propose the US may not survive Trump.
I offer this musical tribute.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
omg…spot on. I don’t support DJT…but Krugman is beyond the pale… The 1930s are calling, and they want their policy back. Good luck with that mr. Ivory tower.
Mr. Shedlock you are correct about the New York Times “Expert on all things Economic” Paul Krugman’s wishful thinking concerning Pres. Trump. The NYT has made fools of themselves so many times with their Hyper-Partisan-Negative reporting on anything Trump-World that a good rule-of-thumb is to take whatever they’re asserting go in the opposite direction and you will be closer to the Truth.
If we could arrange a sequence to change only one variable in this impeachment inquiry, one would only need substitute the word “Obama” for “Trump” in these examples to see if Democrats still feel the “proof” of high crimes and misdemeanors actually exists.
Leave office if he loses? Given his penchant for autocracy and proposing unconstitutional measures, he will scream fraud, illegal voting from bused-in illegal immigrants, all the usual tropes — and refuse to leave office until the fraud is “investigated” by a commission of his choosing. Even, if after the election, Trump says he will accede to the will of the majority, he will be lying. He has already proven he is incapable of thinking about anything but himself. He has told more than 12,000 documented lies in the course of his presidency. How naïve to believe otherwise now. He will retreat to his Twitterverse and go absolutely bonkers engaging in massive conspiracy nonsense, excoriating the “lamestream media” and hobnobbing with his toadies at Fox News, casting blame everywhere but himself. Trump will also have to contend with the imminent prospect of living in an orange jump suit for the rest of his life along with his children and supporters. Just before January 20, 2021, he will issue a call to arms to his supporters to descend on Washington to protect him from being physically ousted from the White House. Imagine a rag-tag army of his white supremacist base converging on Washington, armed with assault weapons (think Proud Boys in Oregon on steroids) glutting the streets and parks around 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He will invite them to surround the White House and camp out on the Ellipse, the National Mall and Lafayette Park. He will invite the leaders of his most ardent support groups into Blair House. It would ultimately cause a horrific massacre, making Tiananmen Square look like a picnic. Just what Trump would want – a very public spectacle of his “base” being carted off to jail. Does anyone seriously think Trump will go “quietly?”
I agree with everything you said, but Paul Kugman and the people that are proppjng him up are dangerous. They are the powerful, unelected, undemocratic and dictatorial forces that are destroying this country. Kugman is just a mouth piece, I’m not even sure he believes everything he writes.
Apparently, unless you’re Donald J. Trump, your prior bragged about (and video taped!) interference in another country’s criminal investigation is off-limits once you run for President.
Absolutely no one is looking for “dirt” on Biden. They are looking at a specific situation that this idiot bragged about on videotape. Biden clearly brags about threatening a foreign country with withholding aid unless they fired a prosecutor investigating a company where his son was a Board member. “And son-of-a-bit*h, they did…”
The only politician who had “dirt” (fake dirt) dug up on him was Donald Trump by theses same Democrats.
The democratic hypocrisy is nauseating….Fake Russian Dossier, fraudulent FISA warrants, Numerous unmasked telephone calls, threatening foreign officials…and you’re complaining about Trump and Barr trying to get to the bottom of it…
Fox News has fried whatever brain you had.
Still doesn’t address the central question:
Joe Biden bragged (on tape!) that he – personally – got a Ukrainian prosecutor fired. Did he not?
Why did he do that? For what reason? What business was it of Biden’s? Why was Biden even involved?
So it’s O.K. for Biden to withhold foreign aid to get a prosecutor from another country fired, but it’s an impeachable offense to ask why…
If there’s no dirt to be dug up, what’s the issue?
Your repeating bs is just more bs. Obviously you have trouble with reality.
Insults are not analysis. Sad that you’ve lost any power to reason…
Why did Biden get the Ukrainian prosecutor fired???
What’s It to him? Why?
He bragged about it on tape.
Those are facts….
Used taxpayer money to interfere in a foreign government’s internal affairs – he applied a (wait for it) “quid pro quo”…
And the corrupt democratic party leadership thinks Trump is a crook for digging into it.
And what the dems are doing is engaging in obstruction of justice, aided and abetted by the MSM.
Don’t insult – give facts…
Amazing TDS here. Interesting.
What happened to the buck stops here? If you are in charge and you set in motion a criminal act through your employees even if you do it in code you are guilty of the act. Trump must be thinking he is dealing with 5 year olds if he thinks he can convince the people that he is not guilty because of his claim that he did not actually say in one complete sentence that is he is ordering the bribe. The buck stops with him. In fact all of his cabinet that participated in the scheme are guilty. The circumstantial evidence is sufficient to convict Trump, and his cabinet, and that does not even include the actual evidence of the “phone call” where he is caught advancing the bribe. It is a shame that his cabinet members that participated in the bribe are now not going to be able to further their political careers because they have been supporting this meglomaniac’s nightmare. Same should be said for the Senators and House members that support his depraved and intellectually insulting defense. I don’t know whats worse, what he did, or the line of bs these congressional supporters have been plugging. Not only is it insulting and likely bad for the country, the promoters of such bs and those of you that repeat it should be ashamed.
This is only going to get worse for the Republican Senators if they have to conduct a trial. How intellectually and hypocritcally corrupt will they become over the course of a trial? People are not going to like to see the legal system at the highest levels scammed by Trump and its Senators with an intellectually dishonest and insulting defense. I think that is why Trump ought to apologize and promise not to do “it” again and hope that he only gets censured. That is probably the only and best result for the Republican Senators. Trump may well be toast in the upcoming election even if he keeps the economy going unless he can get a deal with China that is really “huuuge”. Selling farm goods to China and empty promises on everything else is not going to cut it.
I think it is too late to apologize. Trump pissing on virtually everyone doesn’t build friendships. Be nice to see everyone in his cabinet in jail.
Now, if in the face of all the evidence, the Republican Senators refuse to vote to convict, then I submit that the voters in their districts are going to kick back and not vote for them when they come up for reelection. In the end, just as blood is thicker than water, Americans will stand up for what is write and anyone who is associated with Trump will be marked for life.
Hopefully, all the Pub Senators who will support Trump are set for life, because the only jobs they are going to be able to get afterwards will be 7-11 manager.
Ha ha ha Trumpamzee’s. The fat lady has not yet sang. More impeachment articles against Trump are brewing.
Impeachment is about to get a Robert Mueller reprise
Now that the Ukraine hearings are over, Democrats want to hold at least one Mueller-related impeachment hearing on Trump’s possible obstruction and perjury.
By DARREN SAMUELSOHN
11/22/2019
Right now, impeachment is all about Ukraine. But after Thanksgiving, prepare for a Robert Mueller reprise.
Now that House Democrats have wrapped up public hearings on President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign to get Ukraine to launch politically advantageous investigations, there are plans to hold at least one public impeachment hearing on Trump’s misdeeds as alleged in the special counsel’s report.
It’s a gathering that could fuel articles of impeachment beyond those tied to the Ukraine controversy. Democrats say they have new Mueller-related fodder after Roger Stone’s recent trial raised questions about whether Trump provided false statements to the special counsel’s team. And the hearing could even feature a star witness — former White House counsel Don McGahn. A judge is set to rule in the coming days on whether McGahn must comply with a House subpoena.
….
https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/22/impeachment-robert-mueller-072698
Don’t forget to set your DVR’s for CNN at 9:00pm Sunday to watch this terrific sounding program!
Jake Tapper: Trump is trying to ‘gaslight the country’
CNN’s special on the pervasive effects of president’s lying represents a new benchmark in the media’s coverage of Trump.
By MICHAEL CALDERONE
11/22/2019 11:10 AM EST
CNN’s Jake Tapper thinks fact-checking Donald Trump is no longer enough — and he’s created an hourlong special exploring the effects on foreign policy, business and the national culture of the president’s compulsive lying.
….
https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/22/jake-tapper-trump-gaslight-country-072888
The Republicans can turn this situation around if they nominate someone other than Trump for President.
Don’t you wish! Then the dummycrat socialist candidates might have a chance. The best candidate they have is anti-war Tulsi, but she’s still a socialist.
Adam Schiff is the worst sort of political party hack, right up there with Nunes.
I have heard Shifty Schitt tell lies many times; so many that he is obviously a pathological liar. What lies have you heard Nunes say?
Read and learn, Trumpanzees!
The Case for Impeaching Trump Over Ukraine Is Already Complete
By Ben Mathis-Lilley
Nov 21, 2019
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/11/trump-impeachment-ukraine-guide-evidence.html?via=rss
I read that pack of lies and propaganda Jojo, and I feel sorry for anyone who falls for that crap.
Donald did NOT withhold the military aid that OBAMA WITHHELD. Ukraine did not even know it was being withheld (they said so so). Ukraine did NOT do the desired corruption investigation and Ukraine got the aid anyway.
You’re just mad because the Democrat Party of Corruption is being exposed.
Jojo do you smoke crack?
Consider this: if the issue is that this is a problem because seeking an investigation is only intended to benefit Trump personally, not say the nation because the nation wouldn’t care about Biden’s corruption, then can we conclude that the investigation into Trump is intended to benefit the democrats personally? What’s the difference?
Seriously Mish – stick to economics. You are in WAY over your head when you try to write about politics.
Or maybe you are hoping to get recruited by Fox News. That might explain this shambles of a column. Whew.
Too bad there is no downvote button here. Jojo do not ever watch Fox News, your head might explode if exposed to the truth. Keep up with CNN and MSNBC fake news propaganda.
He won’t find much truth on any of those networks, including Fox News. The MSM red/blue media is terrible.
Actually I pretty much only watch Tucker Carlson on FN. When he makes a mistake he admits it and apologizes. Do you have a problem with Tucker (other than him being a conservative)?
Don’t forget Carlson’s apparent low IQ.
Do I have a problem with Tucker? Not really, he’s much better than he used to be and he has good moments like grilling Bolton. However, as a rule, I’d rather be waterboarded than watch cable news. On the rare occasions something good happens I hear about it online anyway.
‘Experts’ have cited disasters coming to kill us for decades, centuries, and millennia. Logic dictates that as we age and survive these ‘disasters’, maybe we should stop listening to certain ‘experts’.
Check out this “bombshell”
Yes, Trump has managed to normalize near daily corruption and numb the public do his astounding behavior. Congratulations.
The only people numb to Trump’s crimes are his declining supporters. He lost the popular vote in 2016 and barely won the electoral college because so many Dem and Independent voters sat home. Trust me, that is not going to happen in 2020, IF Trump manages to not get convicted in the Senate for his crimes in office.
I wasn’t sure about Trump – though clearly he was a far more interesting politician than all the ‘approved’ and ‘experienced’ hacks (including HRC). But when I saw how he was being demonized and then betrayed after his election by both Press, Congress and Administrative State – including a considerable percentage of people in his own Party, then I started to think that maybe he wasn’t half bad. I mean: all the people gunning for him were terrible!
And then watching him survive the past few years and still manage to get quite a bit done, and single-handedly run rings around the Pressitutes and most of Congress, to remain standing after being attacked by the CIA et alia, well that is even more impressive than his having won in the first place.
So although he is worthy of criticism, he is far, far better, and far more capable, than nearly all the people who get such pleasure belittling and insulting him. Moreover, it’s bad for the country to mistreat a President so because it cheapens the entire country by not respecting the huge burden that holding such an Office necessarily entails, a burden on behalf of each and every citizen. If we disrespect that burden, we disrespect ourselves and our connections with each other as fellow citizens.
One of the founders rightly said that the US constitutional system is designed to work with the assumption that there is goodwill on the part of all involved, especially those in leadership. We have lost that good will. Trump did not create this loss of good will, rather his detractors who have demonstrated no respect whatsoever for him, the office or the country. And moreover have mounted criminal, indeed treasonous, initiatives against him which, if they are allowed to go unpunished as looks increasingly likely, will further erode what binds the country together.
Trump may indeed have many shortcomings, but those who have been leading the charge against him are deranged, dangerous and causing far more harm to the Republic in real-time and in fact, than any of the fantasies about him they keep pushing.
Hopefully his long-awaited counterpunch will get some serious convictions and shut up the chattering classes and coup plotters for a while. But I doubt it: they’ll nail a couple of small fry and call it a day. And since Trump went against some powerful lobbies in the military and intelligence sectors by pulling back in Syria and other things, he’s not well backed any more and may well find the impeachment trial in the Senate doesn’t go the way he thinks it should.
I feel like Krugman had more game twenty years ago. Am I wrong about that?
The expression LMAO was invented for Krugman.
When everyone says that Ukraine interference in the DNC server debacle is a debunked conspiracy it is clear to me that it needs further investigation.
“But the idea is absurd. Trump would not do that, and he would not get away with it if he tried.”
Exactly! I know people who believe the same nonsense. Heck, it was obvious on election night in 2016 Trump didn’t expect to win and would have stepped aside after some inane tweeting. He didn’t even have a victory speech prepared. It raises a question though: how do you reason with someone so delusional they believe Trump will try to be president for life?
Is it less likely that the Bidens were involved in illegal affairs in the Ukraine than Trump was working with the Russians? If not, then investigate the Bidens until they bleed. Probe every orifice. The Democrats set the bar. Trump ought to ram it home.
As the President is in charge of foreign affairs, exactly what law has he broken?
Extortion, bribery and obstruction of justice are all impeachable crimes. A president is not immune from justice.
No evidence has been forthcoming against Trump for any of the crimes you mention.
Meanwhile, there is solid evidence that all of those things happened, just that democrats did those things.
Trump has admitted asking a foreign power to collaborate with guiliani and barr to dig up dirt on the bidens. This literally occured as a 2 year investigation into him collaborating with the Russians was winding up. What more proof is needed?
Are you being serious?
One of the duties of our president is to root out corruption in our government and politicians. Unless, like most of the democrats, you think corruption by democrats should be ignored.
Is Biden part of the government?
The corruption occurred while Biden was still a part of the government, when he sought to remove a prosecutor to ensure his failson would get a hefty cut of the foreign aid we were sending to Ukraine.
Let me ask you this question: Do Democrats really believe Trump wanted to dig up dirt on Biden because he is afraid of running against him? IMO Trump will tear Biden to shreds if Biden is the nominee so I doubt this was any political calculation on Trump’s part. More likely he was looking for the truth about Ukraine’s involvement in Russiagate.
Biden (representing the USA and Europe countries wanted that Ukraine prosecutor fired because he was corrupt. Republicans should have gone after Biden in 2016/17 when they controlled both houses of Congress. Why didn’t they? Bet you can’t provide a cogent answer!
I’ll bet I can provide your answer: Repubs are a useless incompetent party. They cannot get it together, it’s like herding cats. There is very little difference between the stupid party and the evil party. What a great 2 party system we have.
Duh, gee, was Biden VP when this crap was happening? Is that a serious question?
How about corruption in his own administration? That’s a lot closer to home.
and that would be: what corruption? Please don’t embarrass yourself with Little Adam Schitt fantasy replies.
Hunter Biden is a like Pigpen (not the Grateful Dead one). A cloud of dirt surrounds him. Perhaps Trump should be impeached for being stupid enough to want Ukraine to dig when the dirt is everywhere. Hunter has put his dad in a very tough spot and Trump could have easily let that happen without intervention.
Three points here: (1) The Biden Ukraine deal and Trump wanting to@Shamrock here.
investigate show both are unqualified for president.
(2) Agree with
(3) Shady deals happen more than I like, but I think what Trump did here is worse. What would Trump say if someone wanted to investigate, his son and son-in-law’s business in Russia.
You did not actually say what Trump did that is worse, because you can’t. As for your #1, that is one of the president’s jobs, to root out corruption. Unless it is democrat corruption, of course. Then we are supposed to ignore it, even when it is perfectly obvious.
This is a subtle difference, although I did state this unqualified Biden as well.
Perfect musical tribute. I haven’t been following the hearings too much as I’m sure it is about as valid as Gingrich’s impeachment of Clinton. Lots of sound and fury!
However, there’s a thing called “hearsay” and another thing called “speculation” and it seems that’s all we’re seeing here. It will get interesting to see if the dems can actually point to a law that they believe the President has broken. That’s when it will get interesting.
The more hysterical the Krugman’s of the world get is a sign of the lack of real evidence.
I say all this and I really despise Trump. But the one thing I despise even more is the farcical political use of constitutional procedure.
Clinton was impeachable after Whitewater, except most Americans could not understand the complexities of the deals. They could understand sex in the Oval Office and where Bill liked to put cigars–not in his mouth.
Clinton’s impeachment was valid because the charges against him were serious and provable. To think otherwise would be a symptom of severe TDS and confirmation bias.
Hearsay doesn’t apply to Congress. This isn’t a trial. And I believe that hearsay is still valid, as long as it can be corroborated, as has been done. And yes, this is what happens when you don’t pay attention.
The charges that will be brought against Trump include extortion, bribery, possible perjury, obstruction of justice and maybe a couple others.
The hearsay was NOT corroborated, in fact it was shown to be a lot of BS. But excuse me for disturbing your TDS fantasy.
You need to watch something other than Fox! You are not getting the real news.