Political Theatre category archive
Idiocracy 0
Josh Marshall, in a long and thoughtful article, wonders what recourse is available when the President of the United States is clearly incapable. A snippet:
Do please read the rest.
“Coal Rollers” 0
Psychology Today Blogs, Richard Maxwell and Toby Miller delve into the right-wing’s opposition to the Paris Climate Accords. A snippet:
Follow the link to find out what exactly “coal rollers” are and how they relate to this topic.
Trumpling D-Day 0
Dick Polman imagines Donald Trump’s D-Day tweetstorm, had he and Twitter existed 73 years ago.
Just read it.
Twits on Twitter 0
My local rag tries to make sense of Donald Trump’s “ill-considered” (to use their term–“unconsidered” would likely be a more accurate phrasing) tweets, a Quixotic endeavor in the best of times. A snippet:
It is an excellent editorial. As you read it, remember the target audience is Virginians and that Virginia gave us “massive resistance“; it is consequently worded rather charitably, but read between the lines.
I look forward to the coming letters to the editor from our local Trumpsters.
Afterthought:
Referring to Trump’s hand-held device as a “smartphone” is a gross misnomer. After all, look at the company it keeps.
______________
*Trump. Design. It is to laugh.
That Was the Weekend That Was 0
In an article tangentially related to the previous post, Josh Marshall reflects on Donald Trump’s weekend of twittery and reaches a conclusion:
Follow the link for his reasoning.
“. . . a Fool for a Client” 0
Elie Mystal explains how Donald Trump is undercutting his own lawyers. A snippet:
The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court – & seek much tougher version!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017
(snip)
Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey B. Wall has pushed back hard against the charge, denying before the courts that the executive order at issue is a “travel ban.” The government says that you shouldn’t use the president’s campaign statements to divine the intent of his executive orders. Wall told the Ninth Circuit: “We shouldn’t start down the road of psychoanalyzing what people meant on the campaign trail.”
Conservative judges have been, more or less, sympathetic to this argument. They’re not saying that a president’s words don’t matter. They’re not saying that intent doesn’t matter. They’re saying that Trump’s campaign rhetoric is not a good metric by which to judge the intent of his policy.
When Trump, now not as a campaigner but as President of the United States, then says that the Travel Ban is a “BAN,” it kind of blows apart the whole argument..
Follow the link for his full explanation.
A Pictoral History of Bothsiderism 0
In related developments, The Charlotte Observer’s Issac J. Bailey explains that a difference in degree can indeed be a difference in kind.
Image via Job’s Anger.
All the News that Fits 0
Farron and Sam wonder whether Donald Trump is taking down Fox News.
Let’s hope they are correct. Me, I’m not optimistic.
Tales of the Trumpling: Snapshots of Trickle-Down Trumpery 0
This is clearly terrorism, but you will not see it so described because, in the Trumpled States of America, right-wing white people ipso facto can’t be terrorists.
In a Facebook post published Saturday night, Kim Weaver wrote, “Over the last several weeks, I have been evaluating personal circumstances along with the political climate regarding this campaign. After much deliberation, I have determined that the best decision for me is to withdraw my candidacy for the US House race in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.”
She explained that beginning during her 2016 campaign, she has been receiving threats of physical violence and murder, and said that “recent events at my home” were forcing her to re-evaluate her decision to run against King.