We live in a topsy turvy world, where facts and truth are considered to be fluid and interchangeable. Time was a fact was a fact and you could have whatever opinion about it that you wanted, but you knew the difference between the two. If the horse was grey, it was absolutely grey. You might have an opinion about its beauty, but you never would have said the horse was green. Today you would, and particularly if there was money to be made by doing so. That’s the difference between who we were and who we have become.
Now we live in the age of Trump. That age didn’t suddenly come to an end when he left the White House. That would have been nice, but no, it didn’t work that way. Trump is still supposedly the titular head of the Republican party and their standard bearer in 2024.
The fact that he’s up to his eyeballs in legal problems is of no consequence, we are told. Trump himself says that. Mosey on over to Truth Social. There you will see predictions that the August 8 execution of search warrant at Mar-a-Lago is in fact a good thing. It will win him the election.
NBC News is reporting that even the smart money in the GOP is looking at the fact that Trump has been fundraising like mad, $1 million dollars a day on two days in the first week after Mar-a-Lago.
Trump seems to be consolidating Republican support since the unprecedented search at his home. In retrieving the records, the FBI tapped into deep-seated grievances among many Republicans that government institutions aren’t trustworthy and are persecuting their lone defender, multiple GOP operatives interviewed by NBC News said.
“I don’t think him being behind bars would stop him from winning the Republican nomination,” said Brendan Buck, a Republican consultant.
And would he govern from behind bars, as well? Or, would he be elected from behind bars and then pardon himself minutes after a Bible was brought to his cell and he was sworn in? I have to confess, these dark fantasies of Trump the Omniscient are making me nauseous.
Sarah Longwell, a GOP strategist who conducts focus groups among swing voters, said for much of the summer they seemed to be drifting away from the former president. A common concern among voters was that he carried too much baggage and was destined to lose a general election, Longwell said, but that changed on Aug. 8 when the FBI arrived at Trump’s doorstep.
“The rally-around-Trump effect is real,” she said, while adding that “whether or not it sticks” is uncertain.
Elizabeth Preate Havey, chair of the Montgomery County Republican Committee in Pennsylvania, said the past two weeks “so far have energized the party” and that “even Republicans who don’t like Trump and don’t want him to be our nominee have taken this news with alarm.”
They should take the news with alarm. Whenever a former president waltzes out of the White House with Top Secret files, that is cause for alarm. But that point seems lost and Trump as victim is what’s being played up.
Trump is pointing to these same trend lines. He has mentioned to allies a Politico/Morning Consult poll that showed him with a 10-point bounce over DeSantis. (The poll was conducted in a single day after the Mar-a-Lago search, Aug. 10.) One source said Trump has also seen other survey data that shows he went from virtually tied against DeSantis in a multi-candidate 2024 field before the FBI search, to leading DeSantis 52% to 20% afterward.
Yet as Trump savors polling that shows his support among Republicans growing, he’s having trouble with independent voters, according to a new national online YouGov poll conducted for The Economist after the Mar-a-Lago search and released Wednesday.
Supposedly he’s not worried about Ron DeSantis at all now. Wonder if they know about that over at Fox News?
Caputo, the former Trump administration official and campaign adviser, said he’s not sure if Trump will want Mar-a-Lago as an announcement spot, but he’s positive that Trump is now entirely unconcerned about a serious primary opponent if he runs in 2024.
“I know now he can raise as much money as he damn well pleases,” Caputo said. “There is no challenger.”
Two things: I think that NBC News is playing Devil’s Advocate here and that’s always a good game to play. If in fact it is true that Trump is now bulletproof and he can win the GOP nomination from behind bars, then we have gone insane as a country and we deserve to lose democracy. I don’t think we are there yet. But we’re still too close to it for my comfort, if we’re even having this conversation about the GOP willing to nominate a convicted felon.
Hopefully this POS will be in Prison by the end of the year, if not before. It absolutely blows my mind how ANYONE can want him again for President. Merick Garland, please put him in Prison!!!!
It’s a weird combination of terrifying and ridiculous to even be talking about this crap. It is however one tangled mess. Of Constitutional proportions in fact. It’s never been tested so there’s no telling how any SCOTUS, much less this one (and yes it would get there and in a hurry) would rule but it’s my understanding of Presidential pardon powers that a pardon for a corrupt purpose can be invalidated. And pardoning one’s self would be of such a personal benefit that on its face a self-pardon would be a corrupt purpose and if nothing else lead to impeachment proceedings. But the general scholarly thinking on the matter is that a Presidential self-pardon wouldn’t hold up if challenged which is why Trump wound up not trying it before he left office. Even his own folks told him it was a bad idea.
Then there is the issue of both law and the Constitution that conviction of certain crimes disqualifies an individual office or position of “public trust.” With at least one of the right crimes Trump would be disqualified. Now you ask the obvious question which is well, if he’s pardoned then how is he then disqualified?
This is where it gets into the weeds. In two separate precedents (addressing two very different sets of circumstances) all the way back in the 1800s SCOTUS ruled that acceptance of a pardon carries with it acceptance of guilt for the crime(s) for which one received a pardon! The practical effect is that one gets out of or doesn’t have to go to prison and can even recover at least some of any fines. BUT, and this is important having accepted the pardon and accompanying admission of guilt it’s on one’s record forever. (Anyone else my age having grade school flashbacks and warnings of “that could go on your PERMANENT record?”) That means if say Paul Manafort, or Roger Stone or others were to be brought up on new charges their CRIMINAL history would be admissible both in court proceedings and factor against them in evidentiary rulings, but also in sentencing if convicted!
It’s this legal fact that leads many a defendant with “juice” to pass on a pardon pre-trial or pre-sentencing if it looks like they have a decent shot on appeal. They don’t want the pardon on their record because it will work against them!
Once again, it was this aspect of the law and the full implications of a pardon that likely got through to Trump when he discussed giving himself a pardon for his various federal crimes. He knew all the civil and even eventually criminal cases percolating out there and even a federal pardon could be used against him at the state level. He’s been able to skate his whole life, but giving himself a pardon would have changed that equation – including and especially for state level crimes!
As I said it’s a tangled web to be sure. But I don’t think he can win the nomination from a jail cell. Those rallies are the oxygen both he and his campaign would rely on and without those rallies to amp up the asshat goobers I don’t think the energy and votes would be there. For damned sure he’d get his ass kicked in a general election!
Well, if Trump is put behind bars, then the real focus will be forcing states (especially GOP-controlled states) to enforce their own laws that keep CRIMINALS (ie, “folks in jail/prison”) from appearing on ANY ballot, even primary ballots.
I have a name that will change things over the next two months…Liz Cheney. When the committee gets back on TV, I suspect popular opinion will move. If Garland indicts him, even more so. The democrats need to go to war in the media. Period. The Germans weren’t stupid people but they sat on a huge grievance after the allies punished them for the war. Hitler used that just as this nazi does. This isn’t a secret & maybe the democrats need to scare this fat & materialistic population about what happened to the thousand year Reich, after Hitler promised to make Germany great again. He killed a million & a half children. Time to take the gloves off & make sure that doesn’t happen here. We need more Betos. Stop being so goddamn PC. In a war, somebody wins. Somebody loses. It isn’t a civil activity & these children killing nazis don’t deserve debate. It won’t do any good. So listen up nice people. Time to realize your choices are narrowing fast. The rich jews & Germans ran. Now there’s no place to run. The elementary children in Connecticut & Texas had no place to run, were slaughtered, and the nazi/gop were fine with it. What makes you think they will be civil if they steal the power for a second time? They won’t. Every solider, sailor, & marine knows we weren’t trained to debate. Hopefully, if the democrats grow a set and slap these fuckers down at every turn, it won’t be a real shooting affair. A war of words will work but a war needs to be waged. Civility & trying to shame these killers is useless. They need to be exposed as nazi loving child murderers at every turn of the road. I bet the FBI won’t debate these cult members. They are locked & loaded. The Maga aholes want US to be afraid. Time to make THEM afraid. They are cowards after all.
Given that a significant portion of the ‘pube party thinks Hitler was on the right track, I don’t think they will pay much heed to a history lesson about the 3rd reich. It’s a valuable lesson/education but these people shield themselves from truth, knowledge, etc. They don’t want to hear it and will ignore it if by chance it reaches their ears.
Put another way: you can’t fix this particular stupid.
He can run every 4 years…and get his clock cleaned every time!!!
😀
He may or may not be able to win the ‘pube nomination from behind bars. Only time will tell. I will say this tho’: he won’t be able to win the general election while the guest of our penal system. I’d say it’s a win-win since he would be where he has belonged for decades (in prison) and he will keep even less savory ‘pube actors (cruz, death sentence, etc.) from the W.H.
If we can’t have him die due to his dissolute lifestyle soon, we’d at least have him out of our hair.
Oh, what bullshit…folks, the aim of this one is anything but straightforward. First, consider the source: REPUBLICAN CONSULTANTS. These may have been our allies against Trump but they’ve never been our friends. And with Mango Mussolini set to spend his last years on this planet in court and/or jail, they’re angling for a job with whoever comes next.
That leads me to the second point: this performative scaremongering is basically a job application. If they can prove that they can stir us up but also (and more importantly) independents and what’s left of sane American conservatives, well, why not put them in charge of a campaign? So don’t take them that seriously. This bunch has always vastly overestimated its intelligence, strength and influence.
Actually, I’m wondering if they are trying to do a coordinated expansion of John Podhoretz strategy. Not long ago I saw him on a broadcast to provide “balance” and I was infuriated enough I almost threw my remote at the TV. His thing was and I think has been/remains is getting airtime on progressive outlets to oh so “reasonably” explain to us that we simply shouldn’t waste our energies on fighting the “inevitable” GOP wave. It is, as he softly proclaims soooooooooo inevitable we shouldn’t give another thought to politics, or if we do spend our efforts into accepting that conservatives will come to power in November and rule forever. And, since there’s nothing, NOTHING we can do about it just submit. Don’t even bother voting – because it’s useless!
I watch his ugly, fat ass (for the record I’m no better looking than he is, and to be completely honest way fatter than his fat ass) and part of me thinks it would be worth the jail time to, if I ever met the guy to go jarhead and summon up every ounce of strength and technique to put everything I can into one massive fist smash into his SMUG face.
My point though is that in addition to what’s sure to be unprecedented voter intimidation/suppression and cheating I think they have formally decided to add a coordinated campaign of instilling hopelessness among voters who would oppose them. To discourage us enough to just give up and let them take over. My response to that and them? GO FUCK YOURSELVES! With a long section of rusted through to the point of leaking sewer pipe coated with toxic waste and filled with Trum’s “hamberder” shit! Sideways!!!!!
WOW, great verbal pictures … my mind took a little vacation, I’m back now … there are so many damning facts that show the determined, AND WRONG Repugs are STILL saying things to ease the oncoming freight train of crap falling on Trump’s head …
Trump believes his own lies about his strength of unity in the Party of the GOP, however, the dorks of well known names of the GOP, seem to wander along on their own paths, the parting earth below their feet does not seem to enter into their plans … these current shows of disdain and crashing needs to not vote ARE CERTAINLY, a key to the desperation and insecurity building in the House of McTurtle … it’s getting more difficult to decide when to fire up the corn popper and melt the butter …
If they think he can run and win from behind bars let’s give them the opportunity to test their theory.
I hope he’ll be in a cell with the only available means of outside communication being a common-room pay phone with 20 inmates in line to use it, calls limited to 3 minutes for $20.00 a pop.
Interesting DOJ article Federal Statutes Imposing Collateral Consequences https://www.justice.gov%20›%20files%20›%20legacy%20›%202006/11/13 “loss of or disqualification for federal office or employment as a result of conviction or commission of a crime”. Includes convictions for: inciting, organizing, encouraging, or participating in, a riot or civil disorder; unlawfully concealing, removing, falsifying, or mutilating public documents; advocating the overthrow by force or violence of the federal government; [and, of course] conviction of treason renders the defendant incapable of holding any office under the United States.