Trump/Putin disaster summit. And also overseas visit w/ NATO & UK.

[ProudModerate2]

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What the hell will this be about?
Is the Orange Traitor going to scream at those Pubs who verbally chastised him today?
Is it just a Pub meeting or both parties?
Interesting.

Probably just GOP; he'll begin by 'clarifying' his remarks at Helsinki and end w/bragging about winning WI/MI/OH/FL

Isn't funny how he is still hung-up about always wanting to talk about "winning" the election.
"Winning over Hillary," "winning more counties," winning more this and that and here and there.
Enough already.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

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What the hell will this be about?
Is the Orange Traitor going to scream at those Pubs who verbally chastised him today?
Is it just a Pub meeting or both parties?
Interesting.

Probably just GOP; he'll begin by 'clarifying' his remarks at Helsinki and end w/bragging about winning WI/MI/OH/FL

Isn't funny how he is still hung-up about always wanting to talk about "winning" the election.
"Winning over Hillary," "winning more counties," winning more this and that and here and there.
Enough already.

We must be sure that he never discovers this URL.

https://decisiondeskhq.com/data-dives/creating-a-national-precinct-map/

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

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What the hell will this be about?
Is the Orange Traitor going to scream at those Pubs who verbally chastised him today?
Is it just a Pub meeting or both parties?
Interesting.

That’s how you know it’s bad.

Prediction. Trump will walk back some of his statements, say some nice things about his confidence in the American intelligence Services which no one but his cultists think he really believes, until the next time he criticizes them in which case the intelligence Services had it coming. Republican Congress leaders will Express their concern over the president's Hasty remarks blah blah blah but we are supporting it all behind NATO.

In other words, it is 8 Band-Aid for the biggest cell phone the president has inflicted since Charlottesville. They'll give him some scripted lines to read until the next time he f**** up. The Republican Congressional leadership won't like it, but they understand that actually going full-bore on investigations into Russian collusion and Trump's finances will only slow down there top priority of fellating the uber wealthy.

After all, why investigate High crimes and disloyalty by the president of the United States when it might interfere in knocking bat environmental regulations and appointing more right-wing federal judges? Are you crazy?!?

You really need to stop depending so much on that speech to text app you use.

[ProudModerate2]

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[GeorgiaModerate]

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[GeorgiaModerate]

Colbert: “We know where the server is. He’s standing right next to the master"

Now that's a burn.

[mvd10]

http://buchanan.org/blog/pjb-who-lost-russia-255

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Trump's not wrong about our nation making many mistakes in our relationship with Russia.  This article was written in 2007 and appears prophetic.

Having said this, I certainly pray that Trump actually knows he's not wrong.  I'm still digesting today's events.

Those nations wanted to join NATO themselves though. They're sovereign nations, not Russian puppets. They looked at what the West could offer them and at what Russia could offer them and they chose for the West. Many of these nations are among the most pro-American nations in the world. Western Europe has some annoying anti-American tendencies at times, but most of Eastern Europe will always back America.

Sure, most European countries (the Netherlands included) neglect their army but there also are European countries who do spend a lot on their army (Eastern Europe, UK, France). Meanwhile Russia is a crumbling and aging country with delusions of grandeur. Seriously, the Italian economy is bigger than the Russian economy and Russia actually has only 150 million citizens. The Russians know they only can have influence if they manage to divide the West (against American interests) so that's exactly what they are doing. An united West relegates Russia to a regional power with serious economic problems, so obviously they want to play the US and the EU apart.

Meanwhile the EU has its problems, but none of them are really existential. The EU is closer to the US culturally, the EU is richer than Russia, the EU is bigger than Rusia, etc. Like it or not, the EU has so much more to offer to the US than Russia. Especially if we start taking the NATO pledge seriously (one of Trump's rare redeeming qualities is that he gets us to finally spend money on our armies, I'll admit it). There literally is no reason to start appeasing Russia. And there isn't really a reason to be afraid of them either, they're not that relevant if we don't make them relevant. China is much more of a threat.

[KingSweden]

It is time for Trump's GOP critics to put up or shut up.

If it's really THAT bad, they need to call for his resignation, or resign themselves.

If it's not, they need to make a coherent case that it's not that people can understand.  After all, Al Capone denied wrongdoing  rather strenuously.

They'll stand up to Trump (and the erosion of American values they supposedly care about) when voters like YOU stand up to THEM and hold them accountable for not doing so.

Your argument is a half-assed way of avoiding responsibility for propping up and supporting a man who cares more about his Electoral College margin than he does about upholding the Constitution. Any post I see from you feigning concern about this situation without a denouncement of Trump and his enablers is concern trolling.

Right. They’re responding to political realities. If they were rewarded for bravery rather than cowardice, they’d be brave

[Inmate Trump]

It is time for Trump's GOP critics to put up or shut up.

If it's really THAT bad, they need to call for his resignation, or resign themselves.

If it's not, they need to make a coherent case that it's not that people can understand.  After all, Al Capone denied wrongdoing  rather strenuously.

They'll stand up to Trump (and the erosion of American values they supposedly care about) when voters like YOU stand up to THEM and hold them accountable for not doing so.

Your argument is a half-assed way of avoiding responsibility for propping up and supporting a man who cares more about his Electoral College margin than he does about upholding the Constitution. Any post I see from you feigning concern about this situation without a denouncement of Trump and his enablers is concern trolling.

THANK YOU.

The GOP in Congress won't do a thing until voters start acting concerned and showing that concern through their votes.

[RINO Tom]

https://twitter.com/Liz_Cheney/status/1018908769969934336

"Deeply troubled" Republican releases meaningless statement and continues to do absolutely nothing to actually fix the problem, part 9750.

True, she should abandon her beliefs on taxes!!

I get why you're saying that, but I don't really think you understand where most people are coming from on this. Voting against Trump's priorities is one of the only ways Congress can put pressure on Trump. By refusing to do this, they are essentially ceding the fight, if they ever intended to fight with him to begin with. I don't think any of them have even tried to pressure Trump by withholding votes on policy or executive/judicial confirmations.

Maybe if Republicans actually give a crap, they could use everything at their disposal to pressure not only Trump but Paul Ryan as well - to end Republican obstruction of Mueller's investigation via useless document requests, impeachment threats, and a completely botched (on purpose) House Intel. Cmte. investigation, where Ryan allowed Nunes & friends to run wild defending Trump no matter what he had to say or do.

So at the end of the day, all these statements by "concerned" Republicans are as worthless as used toilet paper. They could try and do something, but they won't, because they value party over country and their job over everything else.

I was mostly just making a joke, but I definitely do think it is incredibly dumb when Democrats expect Republicans to pretty much act like Democrats or "shut up" when it comes to some of their disgust with the current GOP President.  If they feel he is an embarrassing ambassador for American interests abroad and their party's interests at home, they're going to speak out ... but blindly opposing him on everything requires as little thought as blindly supporting him, regardless of which you think is a better course of action.  I would agree that holding things up would be a good idea, but Congresspeople are going to vote on initiatives as they seem them, by and large.  Jeff Flake got elected in 2010 promising tax cuts and less regulation; I doubt it'd sit too well with him to let Trump ruin that goal in the round about way of his other actions forcing Flake to *oppose* him and not vote on tax reform...

As for Trump's comments, they were completely unacceptable, embarrassing and borderline treason.  Goes without saying, or at least it should.

[KingSweden]

Weekly standard has the right take:

https://www.weeklystandard.com/the-editors/editorial-a-punishable-disgrace?_amp=true&__twitter_impression=true

[Santander]

Weekly standard has the right take:

https://www.weeklystandard.com/the-editors/editorial-a-punishable-disgrace?_amp=true&__twitter_impression=true

Weekly standard. lol.

[Inmate Trump]

Weekly standard has the right take:

https://www.weeklystandard.com/the-editors/editorial-a-punishable-disgrace?_amp=true&__twitter_impression=true

Weekly standard. lol.

I think anytime there’s a conservative who puts country before party you do your best to revile them.

[Santander]

Weekly standard has the right take:

https://www.weeklystandard.com/the-editors/editorial-a-punishable-disgrace?_amp=true&__twitter_impression=true

Weekly standard. lol.

I think anytime there’s a conservative who puts country before party you do your best to revile them.

Um... I hate the Republican Party.

[WMS]

Perhaps we can finally put to bed the notion of the Republican Party as the party this nation most entrusts with our national security, now that it's no longer true.  This is the moment the Democratic Party can finally step up to the plate after fifty years, and reclaim our rightful place as the guarantors of this nation's national security.        

I certainly hope the Democratic Party does so. But as one of the O.G. Neocons on this forum, I haven't forgotten how utterly opposed the Dems were for over a decade to the things that Dems are now saying about foreign policy, especially Russia. There's a reason I'm so snarky about THE OUTRAGE over Russia given all the crap with reset buttons and 20th-century foreign policy and how damn muted the reaction was from the Obama camp to the Russian invasion of Georgia - they sounded then about Georgia how Trumpists sound now about Crimea! - and then there were the bits where Angela Merkel de facto exercised a veto over American foreign policy, where Obama wanted to send weapons to the Ukrainians and bomb the Syrian government over its use of chemical weapons, but backed off when Merkel wouldn't support it. Great way to tear international norms to pieces, when there isn't even enforcement of "don't invade and annex pieces of other countries" and "don't use chemical weapons", two of the few things that the international community actually used to do something about. While Trump is a despicable self-centered borderline traitor who should be impeached as soon as possible (only a borderline traitor because I don't think he's doing this out of any type of ideological conviction, instead just out of naked self-interest), he didn't start the process of letting the Russians run rampant. YOU lot did.

Given how utterly the Republican Party is going into the abyss, all of you Dems are going to get your chance to be in power. But you're going to have to be better than the Obama administration to "step up to the plate" and "reclaim our rightful place as the guarantors of this nation's national security". Because otherwise you're going to screw everything up through inaction and weakness and general lack of competence and oh, yes, arrogance, and then we're all going to be in an even worse crisis than what we have already.

Please, Dems, find your backbone and your brains on foreign policy again. The Reps have managed to lose both of those in a shockingly short amount of time. Be more than the one mob that wants war with Eastasia and alliance with Eurasia just because the other mob wants war with Eurasia and alliance with Eastasia.

/rant

[Inmate Trump]

Weekly standard has the right take:

https://www.weeklystandard.com/the-editors/editorial-a-punishable-disgrace?_amp=true&__twitter_impression=true

Weekly standard. lol.

I think anytime there’s a conservative who puts country before party you do your best to revile them.

Um... I hate the Republican Party.

Sorry.  Guess I should rephrase it to....anytime a conservative puts country before Trump you do your best to revile them.

[BlueSwan]

So how many days before people have forgotten about this like with every other Trump scandal? I predict at best a 1-2 point slide in the polls until it rebounds a couple of weeks from now. If even that.

[Illiniwek]

I guess I'm glad Obama said something. But in today's day and age Obama's last concern should be breaking an unwritten rule about criticizing his successor. Say his name man. There aren't many, if any, voices that can be as strong as yours is right now.

[ProudModerate2]

Are you guys swallowing this "would" versus "wouldn't" bulls**t line?

[KingSweden]

Are you guys swallowing this "would" versus "wouldn't" bulls**t line?

No of course not

[Torie]

Well Trump walked it back. Shocking, not. The problem has all gone away!

[BudgieForce]

Well Trump walked it back. Shocking, not. The problem has all gone away!

Expect a walk back bump. /s

[ProudModerate2]

Here is an interesting website article that shows how newspapers around the world reacted to Trump-Putin meeting.
See the front-page headlines here: https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/17/europe/trump-putin-summit-newspaper-reaction-intl/index.html

[Progressive Pessimist]

I’ve been holding my tongue so, so well for the last 2 years, but that’s it - everyone has to go, down to the local Republican Dog-Catcher.

Seconded! Though I have not been holding my tongue at all. In fact my tongue is pretty exhausted.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

I’ve been holding my tongue so, so well for the last 2 years, but that’s it - everyone has to go, down to the local Republican Dog-Catcher.

Seconded! Though I have not been holding my tongue at all. In fact my tongue is pretty exhausted.

These last few days, it hasn't seemed necessary for me to post at all.

Trump,, the American right, and the GOP are publicly demonstrating that all my harshest criticisms  of them are completely true.