The September 2019 US Politics Thread is great Great GREAT GR8

I see the STATES' RIGHTS!!!! people are at it again with Trump wanting to take away California's ability to set mileage standards. Such a principled group of people.

i thought the consensus on bolton was that he'd be ostracized from the republican world a la Bannon? seems to be doing just fine

California's waiver is literally written into the Clean Air Act, there's no way this holds up in court.

xp

starting to think the “states rights” people really only cared about segregation, abortion and something something health insurance aCrOsS sTaTe LiNeS

This is not a states' rights argument! The Clean Air Act is a federal law, there's 40 years of precedent, the auto industry *wants* CA's standards, etc.

haha yeah it's not appease the auto industry it's all about the oil companies

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/16/oil-industry-electric-car-1729429

yeah this battle is essentially between utilities and the oil industry over that sweet, sweet car $$$$

so apparently Trump is floating a memo supporting the Toomey-Manchin gun background check bill (which is pretty good tbh) w Senate GOP to test the waters. NRA already banging on against it, of course.

The proposal, which Trump himself has yet to endorse, was received coolly among Senate Republicans on Wednesday as the administration circulated it on Capitol Hill.

Similar to the stalled proposal from Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), it would expand background checks to all advertised commercial sales, including gun shows, closing what gun control advocates have deemed the “gun show loophole.”

Many Republicans have said they want to see what Trump is willing to endorse before saying what they would consider backing.

It's kind of amazing that this is happening at all, and Senate GOP is obviously looking for cover from Trump. If he bucked the NRA (which, tbh, I don't expect at all) how many of them would follow? That would be a crazy political test, lead to possible major schism in the party: those who will follow Trump wherever, and those who would see him as a traitor and a political liability.

looks like a classic "wedge issue" scenario tbh

That would be a crazy political test, lead to possible major schism in the party

all over fucking BACKGROUND CHECKS. unbelievable. i mean, i believe it. but you know what i mean. pathetic.

well, yeah

And McConnell def won't bring this to the floor unless the large majority of GOP Senators support it which, let's face it, is not at all likely.

The Manchin Toomey "commercial sale" thing doesn't make any sense to me - the entire deal with being able to sell as an individual at gun shows or on whatever the gun Craigslist is is that you're not doing it commercially, which requires a federal firearms license. (The ATF prosecuted some people in the past for running gun dealerships in all but name at gun shows.) It reads like a loophole you could drive a tank through.

It's the dumbest hill to die on for the NRA anyway, it's free money for gun dealers (who can collect $25 for doing the paperwork and phone call) and a boon to the gun manufacturers who fund the NRA-ILA (who don't make any money off trading in used guns).

haha yeah it's not appease the auto industry it's all about the oil companies

and hey if you can own the libs while you're at it

The proposal, which Trump himself has yet to endorse, was received coolly among Senate Republicans on Wednesday as the administration circulated it on Capitol Hill. . . . Many Republicans have said they want to see what Trump is willing to endorse before saying what they would consider backing.

wow, lead from behind much

Trump’s communications with foreign leader are part of whistleblower complaint that spurred standoff between spy chief and Congress, former officials say

The whistleblower complaint that has triggered a tense showdown between the U.S. intelligence community and Congress involves President Trump’s communications with a foreign leader, according to two former U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

Trump’s interaction with the foreign leader included a “promise” that was regarded as so troubling that it prompted an official in the U.S. intelligence community to file a formal whistleblower complaint with the inspector general for the intelligence community, said the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

It was not immediately clear which foreign leader Trump was speaking with or what he pledged to deliver, but his direct involvement in the matter has not been previously disclosed. It raises new questions about the president’s handling of sensitive information and may further strain his relationship with U.S. spy agencies. One former official said the communication was a phone call.

Gap continues to widen between Trump and intelligence community on key issues

The White House did not respond to requests for comment. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and a lawyer representing the whistleblower declined to comment.

Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson determined that the complaint was credible and troubling enough to be considered a matter of “urgent concern,” a legal threshold that requires notification of congressional oversight committees.

But acting director of national intelligence Joseph Maguire has refused to share details about Trump’s alleged transgression with lawmakers, touching off a legal and political dispute that has spilled into public and prompted speculation that the spy chief is improperly protecting the president.

The dispute is expected to escalate Thursday when Atkinson is scheduled to appear before the House Intelligence Committee in a classified session closed to the public. The hearing is the latest move by committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) to compel U.S. intelligence officials to disclose the full details of the whistleblower complaint to Congress.

so disturbing

acting director of national intelligence Joseph Maguire

Anyone surprised that this man was a political appointee of Trump?

Kinda disturbing there haven’t been more whistleblowers - I’m sure he’s said compromising shit a hundred times by now

Pretty amusing and-what-universe-is-this? tweet:

Thank you! pic.twitter.com/hScbURTzMJ

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 19, 2019

raises new questions about the president’s handling

ah, the raising of questions

he's in Area 51% already? xp

One final point. The Post article is sourced to “two former U.S. officials familiar with the matter.” That’s odd. This only happened about a month ago. Former officials shouldn’t really know anything about this unless somehow they were in the loop and retired like last week or something. That’s not totally implausible as people seem to be being pushed out of the ODNI in the wake of Coats’ departure. But it sounds (and this is just speculation based on news experience) that this information is being pushed out into the public realm using ex-officials as intermediaries. In other words, people on the inside think something is wrong and they’re using go-betweens with high level clearances to get the information public. Again, this last point is speculation. But I think it’s a logical surmise.

It sounds like something pretty serious is up here.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-whistleblower-complaint-is-about-trump

it sounds like he's increasingly isolated and some people are worried

Neil Stephenson on Mike Pompeo in NYT

The Ed McMahon of American foreign policy

not worth the link really but lol

That was at one of his rallies. xxxxxp

The Ed McMahon of American foreign policy

Yessssss!!!

the only thing we know for sure about this whistleblower thing is that it will not matter in the slightest

don't think we should look at it as something to be dismissed though, it seems important

Trump’s communications with a foreign leader

Let's see. Bibi? Putin? The Saudi Crown Prince? Kim Jong Il? These seem to me the likeliest suspects, but there's a whole world of dictators and sleeze bags out there who Trump admires, so it's quite a grab bag of possibilities.

maybe he promised iran we won't invade

the only reassuring part of this is the knowledge that Trump's promises are worthless

you know it's bad when someone else is writing the tweets

Another Fake News story out there - It never ends! Virtually anytime I speak on the phone to a foreign leader, I understand that there may be many people listening from various U.S. agencies, not to mention those from the other country itself. No problem!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 19, 2019

....Knowing all of this, is anybody dumb enough to believe that I would say something inappropriate with a foreign leader while on such a potentially “heavily populated” call. I would only do what is right anyway, and only do good for the USA!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 19, 2019

he's right, his track record on observing the norms of everyday politics is impeccable

you know it's bad when someone else is writing the tweets

Nah, those feel like his own "thoughts" - wrong use of "anytime" vs. "any time," ending a question with a period. It's his usual confession-as-denial, pure Trump.

Is anybody dumb enough to believe that I would say something inappropriate?

it could also be something about turkey and gulen.

The House Judiciary Committee is preparing to take initial steps to potentially hold former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski in contempt over his refusal to answer questions at this week's hearing before the panel, multiple sources tell CNN. cnn.it/2At4aJz

lol

an ashen-faced Lewandowski lets the phone drop from his hand, using his other hand to steady himself against the table, as this news reaches him.

he ponders the thought of what might happen, effortlessly matching the progress of his rivals in the process

oh cool

The White House has suspended the practice of publishing public summaries of President Donald Trump's phone calls with world leaders, two sources with knowledge of the situation tell CNN, bringing an end to a common exercise from Republican and Democratic administrations.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/24/politics/foreign-leaders-call-white-house/index.html

Nothing to hide.

Note the date on that.

“This wall can’t be climbed,” Trump says. pic.twitter.com/SFtkZbKvCG

— Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) September 18, 2019

Trump’s fancy border fence. LMAO! pic.twitter.com/qdawK1oyKI

— Max Howroute▫️ (@howroute) September 19, 2019

I guess those Moscow Mitch cracks really got under his blobfishskin

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-turnaround-mcconnell-backs-250-million-in-election-security-funding/2019/09/19/b9f64462-daec-11e9-ac63-3016711543fe_story.html

It’s gonna be ICE at every polling station

Bikers For Trump probably.