Political Theatre category archive
Russian Impulses 0
Shaun Mullen has the latest. A snippet:
Aside:
As I’ve mentioned before, the most distressing thing about this whole shebang is the gullibility of a large portion of the American populace.
Spin City 0
Joe Patrice skewers the Tumpists’ argument that there is such a thing as a “perjury trap.” A snippet (follow the link for the rest):
But for Dershowitz, when Flynn made false statements to federal investigators, those statements could not be material because investigators knew they were false. In his mind, apparently, materiality requires investigators to rely upon the false statement.
Obamascare 0
Dick Polman takes a long and penetrating look at the ruling from a Texas Federal District court that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional, even you the Supreme Court ruled otherwise six years ago. If you want to know what’s going on, his analysis is a good place to start.
Here’s a bit (italics in the original):
Repealing the law by fiat…True that. Conservatives always complain about “judicial overreach,” about liberal judges “legislating from the bench.” Yet here we have a classic example. The broad sweep of this ruling – if allowed to stand – would wipe out everything in the law, from the popular protection of people with preexisting medical conditions, to the popular coverage for young people until age 26, to the expansion of Obamacare via Medicaid – which has become so popular that it’s now a feature in 36 states, including Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, and West Virginia. Those I’ve listed are all red states.
Blusterer-in-Chief, Fools Rush In Dept. 0
Jay Bookman theorizes that Donald Trump thought his “caravan” scare campaign would tip the midterm election to the Republicans. It didn’t.
Now Trump is threatening to shut down the federal government. (If you recall, that didn’t work out very well the last time Republicans tried it.)
So of course, Trump chooses this moment to threaten a high-stakes partial shutdown of the federal government, and to do so over his precious border wall. You know … the one that Mexico was going to pay to build?
(snip)
It’s clear by now that Trump came into office with an exaggerated sense of both the extent of presidential power and of his own personal ability to make the world treat him with love, fear and respect. Foreign governments, CEOs and congressional leaders aren’t contestants on “Celebrity Apprentice,” nor are they Trump Org. lackeys eager to do the boss’s bidding. After almost two years in office, they have taken his measure and aren’t impressed. Nonetheless, choosing this fight, at this time, makes almost no sense even for a blunderer of Trump’s scale.
Follow the link for Bookman’s theory as to why Donald Trump keeps on Trumpling.
The End of an Era? 0
Shaun Mullen, ever the optimist, thinks that the Congressional Republicans’ Hillary witch hunts might be drawing to a close.
The Art of the Con, Undealt Dept. 0
Thom and Scott Ritter discusses Donald Trump’s un-dealing the Iran Nuclear Peace Deal.
I would add that tension between the U. S. and Iran goes much farther back than 1979.
Russian Impulses 0
Elie Mystal considers the Maria Butina plea deal and concludes that it doesn’t take much to stir up those Russian impulses. A snippet:
Follow the link to read how he came to that conclusion.
Temper, Temper 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Roberta Satow considers Donald Trump’s tantrums and their implications for the polity. A snippet:
Much more at the link.
