What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[CountDeMoney]

Jeffery Loira is getting Ambassador to France. Coincidentally, Jared Kushner's dad is buying the Marlins.

  I just read that.  This is so over the top, it's cartoony over-the-top. 

[jimmy olsen]

I skimmed an Atlantic article on this NC special session, and it seems that this particular Slate! article is not overly Huffed up.

The North Carolina Supreme Court to the rescue!

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article132516604.html

NC Supreme Court reinstates block of elections board revamp

By Anne Blythe
[email protected]

RALEIGH  —

The state Supreme Court has restored a block on the legislature's overhaul of the state elections board and ethics commission while Gov. Roy Cooper's lawsuit awaits resolution.

The court sided with Cooper in an order released Monday. It did not explain its reasoning. The decision is the latest legal twist in a power struggle between Cooper, a Democrat, and the Republicans at the helm of both General Assembly chambers.

Cooper sued Phil Berger, the leader of the state Senate, and Tim Moore, the state House speaker, earlier this year over a December law that called for the merger of the five-member elections board and the state Ethics Commission, which administers ethics laws governing lobbyists, elected officials and government employees.

At issue is whether the General Assembly overstepped its state constitutional authority when it adopted a law that establishes an eight-member board to oversee elections and consider ethics complaints and issues. The governor would appoint four members and legislative leaders would appoint the other four, with the board split evenly between Democrats and Republicans.

That changed the setup that had been in place before Cooper unseated former Gov. Pat McCrory, a Republican who signed off on the new law in the waning days of his administration.

Previously, the governor had the power to appoint all five members to the state elections board – three from his party and two from the other major political party based on recommendations from that party.

The General Assembly adopted the law in a special session held weeks after Cooper was victorious at the polls. Cooper filed a lawsuit in December, several days before taking the oath of office.

Attorneys for Cooper have argued that the special session law violates the separation of powers provided for in the state Constitution and gives legislators more control over the executive-branch function of administering elections. Cooper's attorneys also have argued that having an eight-member board that cannot act without a supermajority would paralyze decision making.

The state Supreme Court order reverses a state Court of Appeals decision last week that temporarily lifted a decision by three Superior Court judges to halt the revamp before the governor's lawsuit is decided.

The Court of Appeals is majority Republican; the Supreme Court is majority Democrat.

North Carolina remains in a state of ambiguity about elections this year while several lawsuits await resolution.

The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to issue a decision on whether it will review a federal court ruling last year that found state legislative districts to be racial gerrymanders. The three federal judges that issued that ruling ordered the redrawing of state House and Senate district maps by March and elections held in any new districts in 2017.

But the country's highest court put a hold on that order weeks ago while considering whether to schedule the appeal by state lawmakers dissatisfied with the federal panel's decision.

[Ed Anger]

I voted for plenty of Republicans.  None of them were named Donald Trump.

NOT GOOD ENOUGH. GUILTY!

[Eddie Teach]

I proudly voted for Rob Portman, in all his inoffensive blandness, to be my Senator. 

jeff sessions - Yeah.
Devos - Yeah.
Tillerson - Yeah.


If we look at other issues:
To use Federal and State expertise to mitigate fish and wildlife impacts at Corps of Engineers projects.  Nay.

To withhold certain funds for the construction of environmental infrastructure.  Nay.

But I bet he's gonna vote for the wall though


Imho, he's just as complicit of Trump's clusterfuck as Trump himself.  I would expect Republicans, if they really are the champion of America they claim, to at least try to oppose Trump's worst idea and help improve the situation of the middle class in the USA.

What is Trump's worst idea?

[viper37]

I proudly voted for Rob Portman, in all his inoffensive blandness, to be my Senator. 

jeff sessions - Yeah.
Devos - Yeah.
Tillerson - Yeah.


If we look at other issues:
To use Federal and State expertise to mitigate fish and wildlife impacts at Corps of Engineers projects.  Nay.

To withhold certain funds for the construction of environmental infrastructure.  Nay.

But I bet he's gonna vote for the wall though


Imho, he's just as complicit of Trump's clusterfuck as Trump himself.  I would expect Republicans, if they really are the champion of America they claim, to at least try to oppose Trump's worst ideas and help improve the situation of the middle class in the USA.

What is Trump's worst idea?

The Wall, imho.  But I really meant ideas.
Republicans aren't too critical of the idea and don't seem to have a problem with the amount of money required.  But 600M$ for Michigan to deal with its water issues was too much...

[Eddie Teach]

Not as bad as nuking Isis, imo. Not even sure it's in the top ten. 

[Valmy]

The rank and file Republican Reps and Senators are waiting to see where the wind is blowing. They will jump off the USS Trump as soon as they are sure it is sinking.

[Ed Anger]

Kasich is beating his meat right now.

[Grey Fox]

Jeffery Loira is getting Ambassador to France. Coincidentally, Jared Kushner's dad is buying the Marlins.

  I just read that.  This is so over the top, it's cartoony over-the-top. 

Better than Canada. That would have been ground for us leaving NATO.

[CountDeMoney]

What a square.

The Associated Press
Trump declines ESPN invite to fill out NCAA bracket on-air

President Donald Trump won't be filling out an NCAA Tournament bracket on ESPN this March, unlike his predecessor, Barack Obama.

ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz says the network expressed its "interest to the White House in continuing the presidential bracket. They have respectfully declined."

Obama, a basketball fan, would join the network on-camera and make his March Madness picks for both the men's and women's brackets. Last year, he nailed a number of upsets — most notably Hawaii knocking off fourth-seeded California in the opening round — but he had Villanova, the eventual national champion, losing in the Elite Eight.

Trump did make a prediction on the Super Bowl, picking New England to win by eight points. He wasn't far off, as the Patriots rallied to beat the Falcons 34-28 in overtime.

White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks tells The Washington Post in an email, "We look forward to working with ESPN on another opportunity in the near future."

[Ed Anger]

Thank god. ESPN sucks.

[viper37]

Not as bad as nuking Isis, imo. Not even sure it's in the top ten. 

well, I doubt nuking ISIS would see the light of the day, but I believe the wall can realistically happen.

[viper37]

Thank god. ESPN bastketball sucks.

there, I fixed it for you.

[viper37]

The rank and file Republican Reps and Senators are waiting to see where the wind is blowing. They will jump off the USS Trump as soon as they are sure it is sinking.

I know.  Spineless cowards, at best.

Admittedly, this is hoping for a lot from a Republican leadership whose natural inclination is to protect the president. This week, for instance, congressional Republicans closed off one avenue to forcing the release of Mr. Trump's tax returns, which he has refused to divulge and which could help prove to Americans that he is not indebted to Russian financial entities.
Editorial: Time for Congress to investigate

[Syt]

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/rand-paul-accidentally-speaks-his-mind-about-investigating-trump

Rand Paul accidentally speaks his mind about investigating Trump

About a month ago, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) was reminded that he seemed to be applying easier standards for Donald Trump's cabinet nominees than previous presidents' nominees. The Republican Oklahoman didn't make much of an effort to deny the allegation.

"So it's different now because it's Trump?" a reporter the Huffington Post asked. "That's just right," Inhofe replied.

It was an interesting moment because of the GOP senator's unexpected candor. Politicians routinely apply different standards to their allies, but they generally don't admit it, preferring instead to claim to be fair and even-handed. Inhofe simply abandoned the pretense.

Yesterday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) did something similar, explaining why he's inclined to ignore the Russia scandal surrounding the Republican White House.

Paul said that Republicans will "never even get started" with major policy changes like repealing Obamacare if they are focused on investigating their colleagues.

"I just don't think it's useful to be doing investigation after investigation, particularly of your own party. We'll never even get started with doing the things we need to do, like repealing Obamacare, if we're spending our whole time having Republicans investigate Republicans. I think it makes no sense," Paul said.

It's a great example of what some call a Michael Kinsley Moment: a politician making a mistake by accidentally telling the truth.

The Kentucky Republican is supposed to have some kind of half-way credible excuse for ignoring potentially illegal behavior from senior White House officials, but instead Rand Paul simply spoke his mind: Trump is a Republican, Congress is run by Republicans, so GOP officials should simply get to work taking Americans' health care benefits away and stop worrying about our system of checks and balances.

It's not uncommon for politicians to put party above country. It's amazing, however, when a politician publicly endorses such a posture – brazenly, and without shame – as if it were perfectly normal.

The Atlantic's Adam Serwer added that senators "swear to defend the Constitution, not their own political parties." It's a genuine shame that some on Capitol Hill need to be reminded of this.