The base doesn’t pay the bills
Robert Reich’s friend thinks the end is near.
This morning I phoned my friend, the former Republican member of Congress.
ME: So, what are you hearing?
HE: Trump is in deep shit.
ME: Tell me more.
HE: When it looked like he was backing down on the wall, Rush and the crazies on Fox went ballistic. So he has to do the shutdown to keep the base happy. They’re his insurance policy. They stand between him and impeachment.
ME: Impeachment? No chance. Senate Republicans would never go along.
HE (laughing): Don’t be so sure. Corporate and Wall Street are up in arms. Trade war was bad enough. Now, you’ve got Mattis resigning in protest. Trump pulling out of Syria, giving Putin a huge win. This dumbass shutdown. The stock market in free-fall. The economy heading for recession.
ME: But the base loves him.
HE: Yeah, but the base doesn’t pay the bills.
“Follow the money.”
HE: So they’ll wait until Mueller’s report, which will skewer Trump. Pelosi will wait, too. Then after the Mueller bombshell, she’ll get 20, 30, maybe even 40 Republicans to join in an impeachment resolution.
ME: And then?
HE: Senate Republicans hope that’ll be enough – that Trump will pull a Nixon.
ME: So you think he’ll resign?
HE (laughing): No chance. He’s fucking out of his mind. He’ll rile up his base into a fever. Rallies around the country. Tweet storms. Hannity. Oh, it’s gonna be ugly. He’ll convince himself he’ll survive.
ME: And then?
HE: That’s when Senate Republicans pull the trigger.
ME: Really? Two-thirds of the Senate?
HE: Do the math. 47 Dems will be on board, so you need 19 Republicans. I can name almost that many who are already there. Won’t be hard to find the votes.
But it will be slow, and while it’s being slow, bad things will happen.
ME: I mean, we could have civil war.
HE: Hell, no. That’s what he wants, but no chance. His approvals will be in the cellar. America will be glad to get rid of him.
ME: I hope you’re right.
HE: He’s a dangerous menace. He’ll be gone. And then he’ll be indicted, and Pence will pardon him. But the state investigations may put him in the clinker. Good riddance.
I’m still afraid of the bad things that will happen before he’s gone.
Robert Reich’s imaginary friend seems like a cool dude.
Like Fox Mulder, I want to believe.
Funny, neither does their Orange Idol.
Someone else pointed out that the Democrats missed a great opportunity when they didn’t say to Trump “You said Mexico would pay for the wall. Talk to them.” I’d love to have him eat at least some of his words, to be fiorced to admit that his stupid rhetoric was no more than stupid rhetoric.
I’m glad that there are limits to the crimes for which Trump could be pardoned. I would love to see his perp walk and his mugshot with him in an orange jumpsuit. Either of those on the cover of Time would be a lovely sight to behold.
As for the rest of his criminal brood, there are these words of wisdom from Eddie Murphy’s character Billy Ray Valentine from the movie Trading Places: You know, it occurs to me that the best way you hurt rich people is by turning them into poor people. A boy can dream…
Could be that it’s a sign. Could be that we’re in the End Times.
Could also be that Trump’s in his own end times.
http://www.signs-of-end-times.com/
Trump is also without a doubt the best asset the Islamists have got. I dunno: maybe he is one.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-always-said-he-wouldnt-be-predictable-the-consequences-are-on-display-this-week/2018/12/20/66c98f14-049c-11e9-b5df-5d3874f1ac36_story.html?utm_term=.dfcd2c9c01aa
I’m with Seth on this one; isn’t this the same dude who was insisting that they’d be booting him ASAP ‘cuz “Pence is our guy”?
Sadly, once Orange Man is gone, there is still Pale Man. Ironically, while Orange Man is a threat because he doesn’t know what he is doing, Pale Man is a threat because he knows what he’s doing.