Your long national nightmare has just begun

[Razgovory]

'Knife fight' as Trump builds an unconventional national security cabinet

Said it before, I'll say it again: everything you need to know about The Donald's decision-making process you can find on The Apprentice.

That being said, I think his administration will break the record for most West Wing resignations in a single term.

He seems to be setting up the administration similar to how Reagan set up his, so I expect a lot of indictments to come down as well.

[Martinus]

The U.S. Media Is Completely Unprepared to Cover a Trump Presidency

Over-reliance on official sources is a long standing problem (going back at least to the New Deal; but probably much older than that.)  A bigger (and more recent) problem is that the media dedicates almost no resources to investigative journalism; something that will almost certainly be needed in a Trump Presidency.  The good news is that the (mainstream) media already hates Trump; so maybe they can find the money to do some muck-raking.  Also, if the Donald goes through staff as quickly as he did on his campaign the media should have no shortage of disgruntled "Highly placed" sources.

It might not make a difference.  Even in these days of demonstrations and transition the media can be every bit as trivial as ever.  Check out this story from CNN:  George W. Bush adopts a puppy

Perry White:  Clark!  Jimmy!  How does CNN keep scooping us? 

Not sure how this is good news. Lack of objectivity in reporting will mean that Trump opponents will just have their anti-Trump biases confirmed while Trump supporters will dismiss such stories outright as biased. This is unlikely to help the public discourse.

We have just seen it happen in Poland with PiS - the mainstream media were so biased against PiS that now their anti-government reporting barely makes any dent in the support PiS is enjoying - the government simply favours their own favourable media through various "leaks", exclusive interviews etc. Trump is clearly planning to do the same with Fox, Breitbart etc.

[Valmy]

He meant as far bothering with investigation and not just repeating the official story like they lazily have been doing.

The effect you are talking about happened already, decades ago in fact.

[viper37]

I'm a little confused by that statement:
called for President Obama to remove White from her job because she wasn't doing enough to prevent businesses from pouring cash into politics.
Didn't the Supreme Court judged this to be totally legitimate, as in, exercising free speech?  If so, what was White supposed to do?

Maybe Pokey wanted White to bankrupt every publicly traded company.  It wouldn't be easy, but a dedicated SEC head should at least make the effort.

You have that kind of far left nuts in US politics?  I mean, as elected official (Michael Moore types don't count)?  Colour me skeptical...

Well, come to think of it, if the right can manage to have their President Trump, nothing should really surprise me on either end of the political spectrum.

[Valmy]

We have every sort of nut. 

[The Minsky Moment]

I'm a little confused by that statement:
called for President Obama to remove White from her job because she wasn't doing enough to prevent businesses from pouring cash into politics.
Didn't the Supreme Court judged this to be totally legitimate, as in, exercising free speech?  If so, what was White supposed to do?

They wanted the SEC to adopt rules to force companies to give greater disclosure of political expenditures, etc.  Whatever the merits, it's rather outside the SEC's mission.

White was actually pretty aggressive on enforcement although a lot of it was lower profile stuff like policing the PE industry or looking into private placements.  She's a good lawyer but perhaps lacks the media nous, and thus is out of step with the present day zeitgeist where talk and hot air are king, getting things done competently is viewed as sissy stuff.

[viper37]

They wanted the SEC to adopt rules to force companies to give greater disclosure of political expenditures, etc.  Whatever the merits, it's rather outside the SEC's mission.

Thank you for the clarification.  And yes, it's a job for Congress, to pass laws forcing such disclosure, if they feel it's necessary, not the SEC.

White was actually pretty aggressive on enforcement although a lot of it was lower profile stuff like policing the PE industry or looking into private placements.  She's a good lawyer but perhaps lacks the media nous, and thus is out of step with the present day zeitgeist where talk and hot air are king, getting things done competently is viewed as sissy stuff.

That seemed to be my impression of the SEC lately, very competent, but discrete.  I guess that's why lots of people want her gone, on the right and on the left.

[Eddie Teach]

Check out this story from CNN:  George W. Bush adopts a puppy

Not sure how this is good news.

I'm sure he'll take good care of it. 

[Maladict]

Not me. I haven't logged in to FB since the election, and I'm pretty sure there are a number of relationships that won't survive this. Most of my family are GOP, but the ones who aren't are like the definition of beltway insider, ivy league, Wellesley and Smith and making a crapload of money off of those connections types. I'm like the guy both sides trust, but I know if I engage I'll only sink into the mud. I might stay off the internet for four years.

I've seen a few ugly 'discussions' and outright family feuds on facebook lately. Boggles the mind why people would choose to do that publicly on social media, but there you go.

[Savonarola]

The U.S. Media Is Completely Unprepared to Cover a Trump Presidency

Over-reliance on official sources is a long standing problem (going back at least to the New Deal; but probably much older than that.)  A bigger (and more recent) problem is that the media dedicates almost no resources to investigative journalism; something that will almost certainly be needed in a Trump Presidency.  The good news is that the (mainstream) media already hates Trump; so maybe they can find the money to do some muck-raking.  Also, if the Donald goes through staff as quickly as he did on his campaign the media should have no shortage of disgruntled "Highly placed" sources.

Well, that was a nice dream.    From CNN:

Haha guys, this bird looks like Donald Trump

I look forward to four (probably eight) years of our media providing in-depth hard hitting analysis of Donald Trump's tweets.

[jimmy olsen]

Christ this is dire.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2016/11/09/north_carolina_gov_pat_mccrory_lost_thanks_to_hb2.html

Pat McCrory Lost the North Carolina Governorship. Now He's Trying to Steal It.

By Mark Joseph Stern

North Carolina Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, champion of the country's most notorious anti-LGBTQ law, lost his bid for re-election on Nov. 8—at last count, by 7,448 votes. Yet nearly two weeks later, McCrory still refuses to concede. Instead, he and his legal team are baselessly alleging that the results were tainted by fraud, petitioning election boards to review the results and determine their validity. McCrory is not so obtuse as to think he can actually overtake his opponent, Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper, in raw votes. His strategy is more insidious: He seems intent on delaying the formal declaration of a winner—and delegitimizing the voting process—in order to let the Republican-dominated legislature ignore the true result and re-install McCrory as governor for another four years.

This chicanery will be easier to pull off than you might expect. Thus far, McCrory has questioned votes in more than half of North Carolina's counties. One attorney monitoring the proceedings called these challenges "silly, small in number, poorly researched and often defamatory," which is undeniable: Republican-controlled county election boards have forcefully rejected McCrory's challenges, concluding that there is simply no proof of widespread fraud or malfeasance as McCrory claims. Frustrated by these setbacks, McCrory petitioned the Republican-controlled State Board of Elections to take over the review process. The board refused, but it agreed to meet on Tuesday to set guidelines for how county boards should address complaints.

Despite the utter lack of evidence to support allegations of fraud, McCrory's team has launched a misinformation campaign to cast a pall of suspicion over the results. His campaign spokesman asked, "Why is Roy Cooper fighting to count the votes of dead people and felons?" McCrory's close ally and current state budget director, Andrew T. Heath, also tweeted that Durham County has 231,000 residents over the age of 18 but 232,000 registered voters, implying fraud. (In reality, Durham's 2015 voting-age population was about 235,600, and the county has only 193,659 active registered voters; its Republican-controlled election board already unanimously rejected a complaint alleging malfeasance.) Now McCrory's lawyers are targeting black American voter outreach groups for purportedly violating minor procedural rules while helping voters fill out absentee ballots. The governor has falsely accused these groups of conducting a "massive voter fraud scheme."

McCrory can, and probably will, still ask for a statewide recount. But he must know that a recount will not close such a sizable gap. His real goal appears to be to delegitimize the results to such an extent that the state legislature—which holds a Republican supermajority—can step in and select him as the winner. North Carolina state law states that when "a contest arises out of the general election," and that contest pertains "to the conduct or results of the election," the legislature "shall determine which candidate received the highest number of votes" and "declare that candidate to be elected." By alleging fraud, mishandling of ballots, and irregular vote-counting, McCrory is laying the groundwork for the legislature to proclaim that a "contest" has arisen as to "the conduct or results of the election." At that point, it can step in, assert that McCrory received "the highest number" of legitimate votes, and "declare [him] to be elected."

The best part? Under the law, the legislature's decision is "not reviewable" by the courts. Republican legislators can simply step in, overturn the decision of the voters, and grant McCrory another term. The courts have no authority even to review the legality of their actions.

Top Comment
He's just mad cause all his voter suppression didn't work.  "We rigged this fair and square, and I should have won."  More...
78 Comments


While McCrory works to reverse the results of his election, the legislature is contemplating a plan to effectively negate a state Supreme Court contest. On Election Day, voters ousted a conservative justice and replaced him with a progressive, tipping the court's balance of power toward Democrats. Republican legislators so feared this result that they attempted to bar the progressive candidate from running, passing a law that was struck down as unconstitutional. Now they are floating a plan to pack the court, expanding it from seven to nine members—and allowing McCrory to name its two new members, thereby conserving its conservative majority. The legislature passed HB2 in 12 hours. It could ram through a court-packing bill just as quickly.


This scheme, of course, would directly contravene the voters' recent decision to move the state Supreme Court in a liberal direction. But North Carolina Republicans no longer care much about the will of the voters. Instead of accepting the results of the election, Republicans are attempting to entrench their power through a series of unethical, underhanded, and constitutionally dubious maneuvers. Their corrupt disregard for basic governing norms—their blatant preference for raw power over democratic legitimacy—should alarm us all. What's happening in North Carolina is not mere politics. It is a perversion of democracy.

[DGuller]

Get used to it.  It's now or never for GOP everywhere, fuck legitimacy, go for the kill.

[jimmy olsen]

Some minor good news. Probably going to be smacked down by the Supremes though unless Roberts takes the same tack with regards to his legacy that he did with Obamacare.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/federal-court-says-wisconsin-s-gop-redistricting-maps-unconstitutional-n686991

[garbon]

Some special relationship. Guardian all abuzz that Nigel Farage would be a great UK Ambassador to the US.

[Syt]

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a50890/kris-kobach-homeland-security-plan-photo/?src=socialflowFB

Does anything strike you about this picture? That's the president-elect and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, an anti-immigration hardliner whom he is considering for the Secretary of Homeland Security post. If you squint a bit, you can see that the future defender of our homeland is unintentionally leaking his confidential plan by posing with it for a photoshoot. And if you look even closer, you can see that "PLAN FOR FIRST 365 DAYS" in all its grotesque glory: