The Donald Trump Score Card

I was watching the movie The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008) when a quote by Gretel the 12 year old daughter of the Kommandant finally brought some clarity to the Trump MAGA campaign slogan.

Gretel told her 8-year old brother Bruno “He’s Making the Country Great Again” referring to their father the Kommandant being tasked to exterminate of the Jews.

WOW!

 

As I’ve said before much of the modern right in the US wouldn’t mind if America had an authoritarian regime as long as that state fitting in with their viewpoint.

I think even those right wing gun owners that claim they would protect people’s rights and the Constitution wouldn’t mind if those losing their right in violation of the Constitution were people they thought of as ‘enemies of the people’.

To become a authoritarian regime, you need to remove checks and balances, by either removing them or subverting them, fill the system with cronies, take over the judiciary, cower those that speak out, before moving against your enemies.

Remember in Niemoller’s famous poem the German authoritarian regime didn’t come for the hated Jews at the beginning they went after their political enemies first the left wingers - the socialist, the communists, the trade unionists.

Many people gave warnings when the system was still working and even tried to stop what was happening such as Josef Hartinger and Hans Litten who subpoenaed Adolf Hitler, to appear as a witness in a trial and cross-examined him for three hours.

In May 1931, Litten summoned Adolf Hitler to testify in the Tanzpalast Eden Trial, a court case involving two workers stabbed by four SA men. Litten cross examined Hitler for three hours, finding many points of contradiction and proving that Hitler had exhorted the SA to embark on a systematic campaign of violence against the Nazis' enemies. This was crucial because Hitler was meanwhile trying to pose as a conventional politician to middle class voters and maintained that the Nazi Party was "strictly legal". Though a judge halted Litten's questioning, thus saving Hitler from further damning exposure, newspapers at the time reported on the trial in detail and Hitler was investigated for perjury that summer. He survived the investigation intact, but was rattled by the experience. Wiki

(Litten ended his life in Dachau)

Here is the longer version of Martin Niemoller’s poem put out by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, a charity established by the UK government -

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

Now there will be those that say this is fanciful scaremongering but what is happening to the US political system is the first steps along the path

 

Check.... They just did all that.

 

Saddam Hussain did exactly the same thing during the 1960s and 1970s in Iraq.

 

MABA make america beautiful again

 

Trump is highly agitated about Kelly, who Trump once said was a great guy.


Trump says John Kelly must 'keep his mouth shut' after ex-chief of staff said Vindman did the right thing
Trump said Kelly has a "military and legal obligation" to "keep his mouth shut."
By Allan Smith
Feb. 13, 2020, 4:45 PM UTC / Updated Feb. 13, 2020, 5:05 PM UTC

Trump says John Kelly must 'keep his mouth shut' after ex-chief of staff said Vindman did the right thing

excerpt:

"When I terminated John Kelly, which I couldn’t do fast enough, he knew full well that he was way over his head," Trump tweeted. "Being Chief of Staff just wasn’t for him. He came in with a bang, went out with a whimper, but like so many X’s, he misses the action & just can’t keep his mouth shut, which he actually has a military and legal obligation to do."

"His incredible wife, Karen, who I have a lot of respect for, once pulled me aside & said strongly that 'John respects you greatly. When we are no longer here, he will only speak well of you,'' Trump continued. "Wrong!"


"I’m an optimist most of the time, but I’m also a realist, and I never did think Kim would do anything other than play us for a while, and he did that fairly effectively," Kelly said.

In announcing Kelly's impending departure in 2018, Trump told reporters: "John Kelly will be leaving — I don’t know if I can say 'retiring.'''

"But, he’s a great guy," Trump continued.

 

The Trump administration's highest ranks are riddled with officials in 'acting' roles
Marc Rod
Published Sat, Jul 13 2019 9:15 AM EDT

The Trump administration's highest ranks are riddled with officials in 'acting' roles

excerpt:

"All of these positions require Senate confirmation, except for White House chief of staff. Acting officials can serve for no more than 210 days under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998.

Trump has expressed a preference for acting officials.

"It's easier to make moves when they're acting," Trump said on CBS' Face The Nation in February. " I like 'acting' because I can move so quickly. It gives me more flexibility."

Within Trump's cabinet, the Pentagon's Mark Esper, Homeland Security's Kevin McAleenan, and now, Labor's Patrick Pizzella serve in an acting capacity. So do Trump's U.N. Ambassador, and Small Business administrator.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment."

 

An Acting Government For The Trump Administration
Brian Naylor
April 9, 20195:01 AM ET

An Acting Government For The Trump Administration

excerpt:

"Trump sees an advantage in their status.

"I like 'acting' because I can move so quickly," he told CBS' Face The Nation in February, adding, "It gives me more flexibility."
Kirstjen Nielsen Leaving Homeland Security Post As Border Crossings Surge
Politics
Kirstjen Nielsen Leaving Homeland Security Post As Border Crossings Surge

The lack of permanence at the top of these departments means "we don't have established leaders in really important places in our government," says Max Stier, CEO of the Partnership for Public Service.

Stier compares the acting directors to substitute teachers.

"They might be amazing educators or amazing leaders in their own right," Stier says, "but they're not set out for success. They're not going to be perceived as having complete and full authority by those that are around them."

And it's a crucial issue, he says, because "these are jobs that are fundamental to keeping us all safe.""

 

Bloomberg calls Trump a 'carnival barking clown' after president labels him a 'tiny version' of Jeb Bush
"Behind your back they laugh at you ..." the former NYC mayor tweeted.
By Allan Smith
Feb. 13, 2020, 2:30 PM UTC / Updated Feb. 13, 2020, 6:28 PM UTC

Bloomberg calls Trump a 'carnival barking clown' after president labels him a 'tiny version' of Jeb Bush

excerpt:

"Bloomberg mentioned Trump's remarks during a campaign event in North Carolina on Thursday.

"Somebody said, you know, that he's tall and he calls me little Mike, and the answer is, Donald, where I come from we measure your height from your neck up," he said, adding, "I am not afraid of Donald Trump. Donald Trump is afraid of us, and that's why he keeps tweeting all the time."

"If he doesn't mention you, you got a big problem," he continued. "But the president attacked me again this morning on Twitter. Thank you very much, Donald. He sees our poll numbers, and I think it's fair to say he is scared because he knows I have the record and the resources to defeat him, and with you, with you together, we can get it done."

Trump has repeatedly mocked Bloomberg's height and refers to him as "Mini Mike.""

 

cartoon image:

 

For his own safety, Parnas should testify officially and promptly before anything happens to him.

 

Maybe Hillary will get him whacked to further conspiracy theories even though Parnas had nothing

 

MAGA = Make America Graft Again

Graft (politics) - Wikipedia

 

Trump diverts $3.8 billion for his wall.



Overnight Defense: Senate votes to rein in Trump war powers on Iran | Pentagon shifting $3.8B to border wall | US, Taliban negotiate seven-day 'reduction in violence'
By Ellen Mitchell
02/13/20 07:04 PM EST

Overnight Defense: Senate votes to rein in Trump war powers on Iran | Pentagon shifting $3.8B to border wall | US, Taliban negotiate seven-day 'reduction in violence'

excerpt:

"Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the top Senate appropriator, said that Trump "has stolen from the men and women of our military, their families, and the American taxpayers all to pay for a failed campaign promise and endanger our national security."

Republicans also push back: The top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Mac Thornberry (Texas), called for Congress to take action over the latest funding transfer.

"The re-programming announced today is contrary to Congress's constitutional authority, and I believe that it requires Congress to take action," Thornberry, who is retiring at the end of his term, said in a statement. "I will be working with my colleagues to determine the appropriate steps to take.

Last year: Congress twice voted to overturn Trump's emergency declaration, which allowed him to reprogram defense funds for the wall, but were unable to override his vetoes.

What programs are taking a hit: The money being reprogrammed Thursday is being taken under a different executive authority that allows counter-drug funds to be used on the wall.

The notice says that $2.2 billion from the Pentagon's base fiscal 2020 budget and $1.6 billion from a war fund known as the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account will be transferred to the Pentagon's counter-drug fund, which will then be used on the wall."

 

Well so much for the theories Barr is Trumps puppet

William Barr's stunning Trump rebuke sparks debate over his true motives - CNNPolitics

 

It is interesting I said something similar a few years back and there were many post saying I was wrong and outrage from the right for suggesting it.

It was back in the Bush era and there were a few right wingers constantly pointing out that the US was a Republic not a democracy and besides pointing out that the two were not mutually exclusive that what these people seemed to be suggesting was that they wouldn’t mind having an undemocratic Republic as long as the authoritarian regime in place was right wing.

I got some abuse and told I was paranoid but many from differing political persuasions told me that the check and balance in the US wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen and then there were many right wingers that told me in no uncertain terms that they were outraged by the suggstion and that ‘in fact’ most right wingers were much more likely to defend American democracy, its peoples rights and the constitution than lefties would.

Now years later none of that

It seems it isn’t paranoid to think that anymore, people do not defend the checks and balances and above all no right wingers seem outraged by the idea.

 

you believe and hear only what you want to believe and hear.

 

the common conservative fallback.

 

That's the inevitable conclusion to it all though. If Barr just says no, what can Trump do, sack him and replace him with someone else that will do the same

And if Barr did really have any dirt on him, so easy to use that as leverage

And Barr's going to think of his career post DoJ and post Trump

Another set of reasons the conspiracy theories here don't make sense

 

The Never Trump Republicans are extinct. In a twitter post during his impeachment inquiry, Trump referred to them as human scum.

Some of those who Trump refers to as scum have converted to Always Trump Republicans, like Lindsey Graham.



Never Trump movement
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Never Trump movement - Wikipedia

excerpt:

"Senator Lindsey Graham shifted from opposing both Ted Cruz and Donald Trump to eventually supporting Cruz as a better alternative to Trump. Commenting about Trump, Graham said: "I don't think he's a Republican, I don't think he's a conservative, I think his campaign's built on xenophobia, race-baiting and religious bigotry. I think he'd be a disaster for our party and as Senator Cruz would not be my first choice, I think he is a Republican conservative who I could support".[44][45] After Trump became the presumptive nominee in May, Graham announced he would not be supporting Trump in the general election, stating: " cannot, in good conscience, support Donald Trump because I do not believe he is a reliable Republican conservative nor has he displayed the judgment and temperament to serve as Commander in Chief".[46] Over the course of the Trump presidency, however, Graham became one of Trump's most ardent supporters in the Senate."