DJY will have a fallout with the republicans and then seek to become a democrat -- the democrats will save his presidency by voting against the impeachment.
Pence and the other pee need to be kept as far from authority as possible,
Pence and the other pee need to be kept as far from authority as possible,
36
Read the 25th Amendment, Part 4 you will understand how powerful Ornce and the Cabinet he picked actually are.
21
I believe you may be on to something, Gail. Your colleague Mr. Blow correctly stated Chap and his administration just wants pats on the back. He is a 6th grade cartoon who is looking for both glory and escape from this position. That area is ripe for an ultra conservative who wants to set back every domestic policy and Make America 50s White Again
77
Pence may well have been behind Trump's recent executive orders on abortion, but I have the impression that Steve Bannon and Chris Flynn were behind the ones about immigration, the wall, etc.. I'm not sure what role Jared Kushner plays, but maybe decision-making looks something like this:
Domestic policy (must get a finer breakdown here) -- Pence
Policy on immigration and refugees -- Bannon, Flynn, Trump
Foreign policy -- Putin, Flynn
Intelligence -- Putin, Flynn
Energy policy -- Putin, Exxon, Trump
Authoritarian control -- Bannon, Trump
Domestic policy (must get a finer breakdown here) -- Pence
Policy on immigration and refugees -- Bannon, Flynn, Trump
Foreign policy -- Putin, Flynn
Intelligence -- Putin, Flynn
Energy policy -- Putin, Exxon, Trump
Authoritarian control -- Bannon, Trump
144
You are only too correct. It's time to lay off the Trump-bashing, no matter how well-deserved. Right behind his antics is a deadly serious implementation of a completely dangerous agenda that Republicans have been drooling over for years. Now they are perfectly positioned, with a President who can't be bothered with boring stuff, but will sign anything they put in front of him. By the way, there is nobody to stop them, especially with a newly reconfigured Supreme Court.
115
The ONLY reason I hope Trump isn't impeached is the possibility of a Pence Presidency. Pence is a truly reprehensible individual.
169
Gail, I agree with you 100%. t-rump is simply the maladjusted blather. Pence and the others hanging around him are pulling the strings. I doubt t-rump has much of an opinion on anything. After all, he is so well informed....
62
This piece, along with the comments on it, as well as comments on other recent pieces, spend great effort trying to delve into Trump's psychology. I don't want to say that is a fool's errand, but I think it mostly misses the point. Certainly on scientific issues such as climate change and environment, and increasingly on everything else, one need only identify the most willfully ignorant, irresponsible, damaging, and irreparable course of action, and one can be certain that will be the course the new administration chooses. Whether it originates with Trump, Pence, Bannon, or whomever matters less than substantive disasters in the making. Explaining is not excusing, of course, but care must be taken that the former not encourage the latter.
48
It is not that Trump can't or won't stand up to Pence, it is the fact that he has no interest in doing so. Trump is a deeply troubled person, a crackpot. He has no real interest in policy. He only cares about himself and how he is perceived.
Bannon and Pence will run things and Trump will settle in to a routine of watching TV and ranting about slights. For the country, it is the worst of all possibilities.
Bannon and Pence will run things and Trump will settle in to a routine of watching TV and ranting about slights. For the country, it is the worst of all possibilities.
129
Turn the clock back to 1955 and Pence is your guy. And you thought Cheney was dangerous?
83
I've been wondering who is Trump's Dick Cheney, the man behind the man. Not sure Pence has fully taken on that role, but clearly Trump listened to him on this one. Now the question-- and the concern-- is will he similarly listen to Bannon, Flynn, Sessions, DeVos (if she is somehow confirmed), etc. Or will he defer to Barron, who can do anything with a computer.
28
I love the idea of a whisper campaign! Given The Trump's ego and need to show that he's The Man, he'd be unable to resist the idea of (wait for it...) resisting and rejecting Pence's policy ideas! Let's do it!
51
What Im wondering is if Trump/Pence is about to make voting harder, what Americans are prepared to do to ensure this doesnt devolve into a dictatorship.
It already seems with voter suppression that the Democrats have it stacked against them, yet they still win many more votes, which suggests there are more democrats than republicans.
I hope they remember that and act to protect their liberties in the face of this...wierdo/travesty/fool/creeping tom etc
It already seems with voter suppression that the Democrats have it stacked against them, yet they still win many more votes, which suggests there are more democrats than republicans.
I hope they remember that and act to protect their liberties in the face of this...wierdo/travesty/fool/creeping tom etc
32
Great column, Gail. I love it. Trump is Pence's lap dog! This just might flush Trump into something really wild causing even the Reps to be aghast. The sooner we get going on lawsuits and impeachment, the quicker we can do the same for Pence. Let's all needle the orange one to the limit of our ability and prepare for the battle of the uterus to follow. Arise ye women of the march! To the barricades!
51
Just like Obama wasn't able to follow through on all the good things he intended to do, Trump will far short on many of the bad things. He'll waste some money on extending the border fence in a couple of states, federal support for climate change and healthcare will languish, he'll appoint a conservative Supreme Court judge, fail at curbing a free press, attempt some screwy tax laws, and we'll see how international trade is affected by his meddling. The real wild card is American military involvement; it's the most profound power of an American president, and by far the most dangerous. That's the scary part when it comes to Trump.
33
At this point, there are so many puppets in the room that it's increasingly difficult to tell who's the puppet, and who's the pupprt-master.
The only thing for certain is that this country is tied up in the strings.
But here, I must agree with Ms. Collins. Without a doubt, it was a nothing short of a stroke of genius to put Mike Pence in the jump-seat -- that way, the Republicans could have their roll-back-to-the-50s-agenda intact, if their man-child nominee went too off the skids.
Anybody outside of Indiana who was familiar with Mike Pence before now saw this coming. This is the one-note politician your mother warned you about. But what makes him even more of a threat, is the amount of massive support he boasts in his crusade to take Women's Rights and Civil Rights back into the Dark Ages.....In that right, he hardly differs from Donald Trump.
And that's hardly a comfort.
The only thing for certain is that this country is tied up in the strings.
But here, I must agree with Ms. Collins. Without a doubt, it was a nothing short of a stroke of genius to put Mike Pence in the jump-seat -- that way, the Republicans could have their roll-back-to-the-50s-agenda intact, if their man-child nominee went too off the skids.
Anybody outside of Indiana who was familiar with Mike Pence before now saw this coming. This is the one-note politician your mother warned you about. But what makes him even more of a threat, is the amount of massive support he boasts in his crusade to take Women's Rights and Civil Rights back into the Dark Ages.....In that right, he hardly differs from Donald Trump.
And that's hardly a comfort.
42
The coterie of ne-er-do-wells, both seen and unseen, that now skulks thru the hallowed halls of the White House, are almost, if not all, white men giddy with the warm goo of the mantle of power. Democracy, pluralism, equal rights mean equally nothing to these men. They worship the god of mammon and control. But they don't want to control themselves, they want to control YOU. Expose them any and every way possible. With the light of day shining on them, they eventually will melt, and they too, along with Not-My-President Trump, will find their true place-in the dustbin of history.
37
I do think Trump should be impeached, but I feel that Mike Pence would be equally as bad, in different ways. As long as I'm indulging in vain hope, I think the Trump impeachment should follow the course of the Nixon impeachment. Agnew had to resign because of some unsavory behavior, and we got Gerald Ford as President - not terrible. Mike Pence probably didn't do anything quasi-criminal, although his politics are criminal as far as I am concerned. He would have to resign for some other reason. I haven't figured out what that would be, but maybe David Farenthold can find something. Or a Times investigative reporter. Getting rid of both of them without turning over the office to Paul Ryan is key. How could this have happened to us, Gail?
33
Pence thinks he is the Evangelical Pope anxious to convert us all. he is smarter than Don the Con...very scary.
30
I agree there is nothing that would rile up Trump more thna calling him someone's puppet.
But lets aim big. Trump is not only the puppet of Pence but of the entire gop. Trump has not had a single idea that has not come from the conservative playbook. Trump is not a free thinkers or a leader, he is the puppet of the gop.When was the last time he had a novel idea? Probably focusing on the bigly crowd size.
But lets aim big. Trump is not only the puppet of Pence but of the entire gop. Trump has not had a single idea that has not come from the conservative playbook. Trump is not a free thinkers or a leader, he is the puppet of the gop.When was the last time he had a novel idea? Probably focusing on the bigly crowd size.
23
You could also call the White House to protest these funding restrictions. Except when I tried that today, I got a recording saying that I'd reached the White House "comments line" and the "comments line is currently closed." So I couldn't even leave a message.
In the past, live people answered the phone at the White House.
Is this a glitch, or a gag order on America? NYT, please follow up.
In the past, live people answered the phone at the White House.
Is this a glitch, or a gag order on America? NYT, please follow up.
57
" I am just mentioning this for you to remember the next time you hear people say they hope President Trump is impeached." If Pence is basically pulling the strings now, what difference would it make? In fact--I doubt Congress would be as fearful of Pence as of trump, and might even block his more extreme initiatives.
With respect to trump's comment on MSNBC that if abortion were made illegal, a woman undergoing the procedure should be punished, he really was pointing out an obvious consequence of such a law: how can you outlaw an activity and not invoke some sort of punishment for those who break the law? It really shows trump's naivete, bringing up an obvious consequence that those who advocate banning of abortions would like to ignore.
With respect to trump's comment on MSNBC that if abortion were made illegal, a woman undergoing the procedure should be punished, he really was pointing out an obvious consequence of such a law: how can you outlaw an activity and not invoke some sort of punishment for those who break the law? It really shows trump's naivete, bringing up an obvious consequence that those who advocate banning of abortions would like to ignore.
11
A flurry of executive orders were signed by the President this week. It is now time for the press to step up their game and ask Mr Trump the hard, in-depth questions regarding these executive orders, and request that he address each one separately, so that we may ascertain with a high level of confidence whether this man truly understands what he has just signed into law, or if he is just a puppet of darker forces: why is this good policy? how will it help everyday Americans? what are the pros and cons of instituting such policies? Do your homework, journalists. Come armed with the facts, and allow this man no wiggle room at the podium.
41
"this translates into billions of dollars in American aid" Please somebody tell me why I should find this assertion troubling?
3
The puppet metaphor breaks down when you imagine Trump as a marionette with Putin and Pence holding different sets of strings. But in realistic terms there is no muddle. Trump taking his international policy instructions from Putin and his social policy instructions from Pence can work because there is virtually no overlap. Meantime Trump himself can devote his energies to building walls, promoting conspiracy theories, and getting revenge on people who have offended him.
12
It is a win win for Republicans. If they find Trump disobedient, they can always have him impeached, and put Pence in his place. I am sure Trump was aware when he selected Pence his appointment was conditional on obedience. For the most part we are not seeing populism we are seeing Conservative Republican government with a thin candy coating or Trumpism.
If Trump faces impeachment I suspect their will be precious little support for the president among Republicans.
The Trump presidency is a reflection of both Trumps populism and hard core Conservative Republican policies. In the end both should be held accountable for it excesses by the American People.
If Trump faces impeachment I suspect their will be precious little support for the president among Republicans.
The Trump presidency is a reflection of both Trumps populism and hard core Conservative Republican policies. In the end both should be held accountable for it excesses by the American People.
9
Perfect. Destruction of the myth through methodology. It's not what you say but how you say it.
"How do you think he’d feel about being referred to as Lap Dog Trump? Let’s go for it."
"How do you think he’d feel about being referred to as Lap Dog Trump? Let’s go for it."
12
Why does Pence always look like an adoring puppy-dog when photographed with Trump. He's always either standing looking over Trump's shoulder or walking with him -- 5 paces behind.
16
Pence was not that popular as governor of Indiana. He had less than a 50% approval rating. And since we have a President Trump who was never really interested in governing or learning how government works - but saw the presidency as an opportunity to enrich himself - he is allowing Pence and a right-wing takeover. That is not what he promised - but what can you expect from a pathological liar.
28
I use to think Dick Chaney was the most dangerest man in the world. Now, I'm having second thoughts about that.
33
I'll guess we can thank Pence for the gag orders on the National Park Service, the EPA and other vital agencies (vital to American citizens, obviously not vital to Pence). Time for an adult lawyer well versed in constitutional law to hold up a stop sign. Either Obama will do.
42
He was never prepared for the scope of this immense job, and it is not in his nature to work hard to study up. In all fairness, the biochemical reality that manifests itself as his significantly compromised attention span, wouldn't let him. So, those surrounding him and his larger than life on-camera presence, have outsized influence. Yes, Pence is pulling all the strings re issues of social prejudice, supported by the HeritageFoundation. That includes the courts. After all, to set it in stone, you need the right judges and justices. Ryan, with Norquist influence, is pulling all the strings re issues of social finance and the dismantling of the social safety net. Shrinking the size of govt until it's so small, you can drown it in a tub; isn't that the saying? Koch is pulling all the strings re gagging the scientific community. I think trump, all by himself, has the anti-press sentiments, fueled by his need for the adulation, and their withholding of it. But, possibly the most dangerous right now, is Chris Kobach of Kansas. He's pulling the strings of voter suppression. He's the bird whispering about people registered to vote in multiple states, so we must purge and legislate. With our vote franchise increasingly suppressed, voting trump out will be increasingly hard, and that's the plan.
38
I've believed from the very beginning that if Trump were elected President he would inevitably wind up the prisoner of his more politically and policy-astute advisers. We saw it before with George W. Bush.
39
The White Haired Boys Club in DC is on target to raise the maternal death rate for the whole US, just as Texas has doubled its rate of maternal deaths by removing possibilities for women to obtain health care, which of course includes maternal health care.
Watch the numbers -- at least until collecting and publishing data is deemed unpatriotic and ungodly.
Watch the numbers -- at least until collecting and publishing data is deemed unpatriotic and ungodly.
48
Dear Gail
I think you have a good point. At the same time it is past time, to take these people serious and all get off our collective high horses and man the barricades, the proverbial Trojan Horse is with in the city walls. I believe we must stop making funny faces and start taking concrete steps to defeat these people.
I think you have a good point. At the same time it is past time, to take these people serious and all get off our collective high horses and man the barricades, the proverbial Trojan Horse is with in the city walls. I believe we must stop making funny faces and start taking concrete steps to defeat these people.
21
Where does Ivanka stand on all this? To the side? Right behind him? Definitely not out in front. Aren't she and her husband supposed to be the closet liberals who have Trump's inner ear? First comes speculation. Then comes generalized fear.
19
You are right on, Ms. Collins, about Trump being “under Mike Pence’s thumb.” So I understand your fear when “you hear people say they hope President Trump is impeached.” In this regard, the concluding verse of my entry into Mr. Kristof’s poetry contest is worth repeating:
So let’s all pray that we can get through these times
Without evidence of misdemeanors and high crimes
We don’t need to force yet another president out
Because Mike Pence is worse without any doubt!
So let’s all pray that we can get through these times
Without evidence of misdemeanors and high crimes
We don’t need to force yet another president out
Because Mike Pence is worse without any doubt!
23
Gail--your sense of humor will save us all!
But what is this fixation on DOGS? (Lap Dog Trump--I love it.)
The best bumper sticker I ever saw, was in Taos, on an old Jeep. Inspired by you, it read: "DOGS AGAINST ROMNEY. WE RIDE INSIDE!!!")
But, please, Dear Gail, do not sully humankind's best friends by associating them with Not My President.
But what is this fixation on DOGS? (Lap Dog Trump--I love it.)
The best bumper sticker I ever saw, was in Taos, on an old Jeep. Inspired by you, it read: "DOGS AGAINST ROMNEY. WE RIDE INSIDE!!!")
But, please, Dear Gail, do not sully humankind's best friends by associating them with Not My President.
17
Our current - and may the gods help us - temporary occupants of the White House TrumPutinPence can be described as Cerberus, the three-headed dog of Greek mythology. It was the guardian of the gates to the underworld to keep the dead from escaping. Only Orpheus with his beautiful soothing music and Hercules with his strength and cunning, were able to overcome the three-headed beast.
Where's our Orpheus? Where's our Hercules?
The answer is us. We must at once sooth and pacify our nation's fury, while mustering the power to take down this and other beasts.
Where's our Orpheus? Where's our Hercules?
The answer is us. We must at once sooth and pacify our nation's fury, while mustering the power to take down this and other beasts.
16
Wasn't the real president from 2000-2008 Mr. Cheney? Brilliant strategy to put the popular idiot at the top of the ticket to get votes with the real leader in the VP slot who'd have no chance to win an election.
26
According to Hindu mythology, we are currently living in the Kali Yuga, or "the age of the demon". This is the last of 5 stages that they claim the universe goes through. The Kali Yuga is the final stage where evil takes over completely (it is also the shortest cycle of the 5) and when this cycle is over, the universe is destroyed by fire, there is a period of rest, and then, the cycles of the universe start all over again.
I, for one, do not find it hard to believe that there could be more to this belief than meets the eye. It seems as if all that is going on in the world and now, the United States particularly, seems to be spiraling down the hypothetical toilet with no evident way that it will bounce back, in addition to our destruction of our own physical environment and the tearing asunder of our social and moral fabric more or less.
That being said, I can't imagine that we are the only beings in the universe that have destroyed themselves. But maybe thats how new life emerges?
Not to worry though, because nothing lasts forever and we will all go on in some other way.
but in the meantime, seriously, how did these idiots ever get in the positions of power they currently hold?
I, for one, do not find it hard to believe that there could be more to this belief than meets the eye. It seems as if all that is going on in the world and now, the United States particularly, seems to be spiraling down the hypothetical toilet with no evident way that it will bounce back, in addition to our destruction of our own physical environment and the tearing asunder of our social and moral fabric more or less.
That being said, I can't imagine that we are the only beings in the universe that have destroyed themselves. But maybe thats how new life emerges?
Not to worry though, because nothing lasts forever and we will all go on in some other way.
but in the meantime, seriously, how did these idiots ever get in the positions of power they currently hold?
16
this is the scariest column yet.
27
And the photos of Pence standing along side Trump looking subservient and submissive are just part of the act. Got it. Thanks!
20
Gail has made a good case for Trump's following others' suggestions on matters not fear to Trump's heart. Of course, the position on abortion does fit in with Pence's views. It seems to fit with the troglodyte beliefs of the Ryan-McConnell machinery as well.
The GOP elite have planned well - they put Pence in place to take over after Trump is certified insane, and will then have the entire Federal apparatus under their control (plus more than half of state legislatures), including the Supreme Court.
I conjecture that GOP elite wants mainly to advance corporate interests like less regulation, less taxation, etc. But they are not above alliance with the right-wing religious if it greases the wheels, even though abortion is not an obvious concern for the corporation.
Whoever is pulling the Pence-Ryan-McConnell strings, it's pretty clear they have no impediment in Trump as long as they don't impact his ratings.
The GOP elite have planned well - they put Pence in place to take over after Trump is certified insane, and will then have the entire Federal apparatus under their control (plus more than half of state legislatures), including the Supreme Court.
I conjecture that GOP elite wants mainly to advance corporate interests like less regulation, less taxation, etc. But they are not above alliance with the right-wing religious if it greases the wheels, even though abortion is not an obvious concern for the corporation.
Whoever is pulling the Pence-Ryan-McConnell strings, it's pretty clear they have no impediment in Trump as long as they don't impact his ratings.
19
Donald Trump is and has been the "sock puppet" for many of those money lenders he was indebted to: first, his Dad, then (in succession) Japanese, Chinese and Latin American investors, and then on to the Russian oligarchy, when the other wells dried up. But he's not "Mike Pence's puppet" in the sense that Pence is the mastermind behind Trumps actions. My feeling is that, for the sallow-faced, white-bread right wing conservatives like Mike Pence, Mitch McConnell et. al., Donald Trump serves as a convenient (if sometimes overheated) distraction, holding the public's attention while they slowly wallow through their swamp, looking bring down one hard-gained right after another - affordable care, a woman's right-to-choose, gender equality, LGBT rights, etc.
I give Donald Trump one year max before he leaves office, voluntarily or otherwise. It's a hard, demanding job that he simply doesn't have the fortitude, stamina or intelligence to handle over the long-term (and for Trump, one year is, like, forever). He'll step down, and with Pence in charge, the Republicans' long-standing pro-wealth, pro-business, anti-choice agenda will again be fully exposed. And then, in 2010 Congress will (hopefully) go Democrat, squelching the right-wing efforts while the party makes its plans to return to the White House. As I pray, so may it be.
I give Donald Trump one year max before he leaves office, voluntarily or otherwise. It's a hard, demanding job that he simply doesn't have the fortitude, stamina or intelligence to handle over the long-term (and for Trump, one year is, like, forever). He'll step down, and with Pence in charge, the Republicans' long-standing pro-wealth, pro-business, anti-choice agenda will again be fully exposed. And then, in 2010 Congress will (hopefully) go Democrat, squelching the right-wing efforts while the party makes its plans to return to the White House. As I pray, so may it be.
26
When Donald J. Trump argued that women who gat abortions should be punished, it was reported that he responded to a question about whether the man involved should also be punished, and Mr. Trump answered "No." Given his long history with women, is it unthinkable that Mr. Trump may have had to deal with the abortion issue on a personal level at some time in the past? Apart from revealing tax returns and financial entanglements, there may be many relevant facts regarding President Trump that we will never know. We do know he said "No" when asked if a man should be punished regarding the issue of abortion. We don't know why he said "No."
Doug Giebel
Big Sandy, Montana
Doug Giebel
Big Sandy, Montana
13
Maybe the posters held high in the next women's march, should be addressing "President Pence", that would definitely bruise Trump's colossal ego.
16
Trump's foreign policy comes from Putin, his approach to health and women's issues comes from Pence and Ryan, and his policy toward immigration and law enforcement come from Bannon. He doesn't have any thoughts of his own. PuppeTrump(R)!
13
It's not Pence -- it's Bannon. Which is FAR scarier.
16
The interview that Trump Jr. had with John Kasich's adviser tells it all:
Trump wanted to make Kasich an offer to be VP: Did he have any interest in being the most powerful vice president in history?
When Kasich’s adviser asked how this would be the case, Donald Jr. explained that his father’s vice president would be in charge of domestic and foreign policy.
Then what, the adviser asked, would Trump be in charge of?
“Making America great again” was the casual reply.
Trump is too preoccupied with constantly burnishing his self-image to dirty his hands with the real work of government.
Trump wanted to make Kasich an offer to be VP: Did he have any interest in being the most powerful vice president in history?
When Kasich’s adviser asked how this would be the case, Donald Jr. explained that his father’s vice president would be in charge of domestic and foreign policy.
Then what, the adviser asked, would Trump be in charge of?
“Making America great again” was the casual reply.
Trump is too preoccupied with constantly burnishing his self-image to dirty his hands with the real work of government.
25
From what I have heard from my friends in Indianapolis, Mike Pence was a terrible governor and now the country has him as vice president. Sure, Pence is getting his agenda pushed by Trump. Pence is a religious man and there is nothing wrong with religious zeal as long as it does not interfere with a citizen's rights. Pence's religion is not my religion and laws should not be passed to fit a leader's personal religious beliefs, like limitations on a woman's right to choose and the defunding of Planned Parenthood. All religions are based on myths and fairy tales that were hatched in ancient times to explain the unexplainable. This is the 21st century and this country has to be lead by reasonable men and women. The United States was built on the idea of separation of church and state which most Republicans seem to forget. Trump has no moral compass and he will do whatever is necessary to help keep his so-called base happy. Those who cling to their guns and religion. If Trump was really a religious person he would not be proposing or implementing some of his/Pence's draconian ideas.
23
Pence can't gin up a crowd like Trump can. I abhor Pence's self-righteousness, but Trump is a real danger and he has to go.
16
Maybe we should go the Nixon/Agnew route and impeach Pence before Trump.
20
Excellent analysis. You are right. I remember Trump from years ago. He was a liberal. Pence and Reince are pulling the strings. And we need to say it loudly. Trump's a puppet of the far right in both the u.s. and russia.
12
Don Quioxte and Sancho Panza...one tilting at windmills, the other trying to explain why it was necessary.
4
Maybe the Republicans think they can abide and manage a Trump presidency while he's still at a lofty 40-44 percent approval rating. But once the base finally tires of Trump's kabuki theater and realizes they've been had, the establishment will have plenty of ammunition stored up (emoluments and such) to come forward and rid us of America's second mad king.
8
Donald Trump is mentally ill and a pathological liar. He's unfit to serve as our president and needs to be removed from office. Contact your reps, post it on social media, post comments online; do it often.
22
Then who really picked Pence for VP?
8
Thanks for your article. It's a good reminder that the Creep in Chief is the lap dog of an Indiana right-wing radio host who couldn't make it as a lawyer so went into broadcast politics. Don't forget, a lot of people in Indiana were rebel sympathizers and traitors during the Civil War, and we know the South is still fighting that one, now disguised as Republicans. There's quite a distance between Honest Abe and Dishonest Don, I'd say.
13
There's merit to Gail Collins' argument. It's also plausible that Trump was quite receptive to pushing these measures to the top of the pile and making them draconian, as a way of "striking back" at what he perceived to be core issues of the Women's March. This is a very competitive and vindictive man, based on what we have observed throughout his short political career (and in some aspects of his business career and history of litigation). He could not have been happy with two to three million people turning out across the USA for the Women's Marches. Personally, I also believe that he is determined to undo the Obama legacy, not out of ideological conviction, not due to his alignment with the GOP, but out of sheer spite. It's the last act in the story of the birther lie. We'd better get used to the fact that this is who we are dealing with in the most powerful office in the world. The way to respond is not to shirk a battle, but to be sure to do everything possible to win a battle decisively and definitively.
18
I'm from Indiana and people should be very afraid of Pence. As much as I hate the Trump presidency, I am far more against Pence becoming president.
27
Pence is;
Putin's puppet
Pence's puppet
Ryan's puppet
Why do you think the GOP lets Trump get away with Russian interference?
Anything to hold their core Evangelical base.
Putin's puppet
Pence's puppet
Ryan's puppet
Why do you think the GOP lets Trump get away with Russian interference?
Anything to hold their core Evangelical base.
8
An unnecessary wall goes up along the border, while a necessary wall comes down between church and state. Pence is just as much a human wrecking ball as Trump. Be very afraid.
23
Those awful picks for Cabinet and advisor positions? Who's responsible for them?
Trump knows NYC billionaires, and maybe other billionaires who stay at Mar-a-Lago or play golf at his courses. Let's give Trump Mnuchin, Ross (noted vulture capitalist), Cohn and Scaramucci (with Mnuchin, denizens of the Goldman-Sachs vampire squid territory), and Carl Icahn, the quintessential corporate raider.
I suspect Pence is responsible for one of the worst of the worst: Betsy DeVos. She shares with Pence far-right Christian affiliations, a desire to instill religion (their variety) wherever they can, and a truly bigoted approach to dealing with people outside her concept of the norm.
Pence is one scary dude. He's focused on making America into a far-right pseudo-Christian country. Trump is a dangerous loony, but Trump is likely to implode well before the four-year term is up. Pence will be here, waiting to pick up the power. Be afraid, be very afraid, Americans.......
Trump knows NYC billionaires, and maybe other billionaires who stay at Mar-a-Lago or play golf at his courses. Let's give Trump Mnuchin, Ross (noted vulture capitalist), Cohn and Scaramucci (with Mnuchin, denizens of the Goldman-Sachs vampire squid territory), and Carl Icahn, the quintessential corporate raider.
I suspect Pence is responsible for one of the worst of the worst: Betsy DeVos. She shares with Pence far-right Christian affiliations, a desire to instill religion (their variety) wherever they can, and a truly bigoted approach to dealing with people outside her concept of the norm.
Pence is one scary dude. He's focused on making America into a far-right pseudo-Christian country. Trump is a dangerous loony, but Trump is likely to implode well before the four-year term is up. Pence will be here, waiting to pick up the power. Be afraid, be very afraid, Americans.......
26
Trump has to rely on Pence or someone because he's in way over his head. Reading the transcript of his "interview" with ABC, I couldn't escape the idea that Trump is just plain nuts. He makes Sarah Palin seem almost articulate.
28
All of those women Trump bragged about he could have because he was famous--I'm assuming were all on birth control? And he would have been one of those guys who checked first.
12
I have an answer to this ongoing blither about abortion. We should have a national referendum on the issue in which we sign our names. The voters should be fully aware that those who vote against a woman’s right to choose will be taxed to support her offspring through college. Those who vote to support her right to choose will not be participate in said tax. The moral people, those who apparently feel that it’s immoral to kill a couple of cells but have no compunctions about lives slowly bleeding away in poverty and ignorance whose only future is to fill privatized jails or seek employment in the drug trade, would desert the Right To Life cause in staggering numbers.
33
Let's not forget the mentality of the people who put this entity in power. That's where it starts.
21
Lap Dog Trump! There, I said it!
Why did Pence accept the Vice-President's position? Someone in the media, please hammer him with the question.
Why did Pence accept the Vice-President's position? Someone in the media, please hammer him with the question.
3
In the name of the Christian religion, Trump is doing many things; but that does not mean that he is Pence's lap dog. He may not identify with the religion as much as Pence does, more or less on a genuine level, but he still respects it as American heritage.
There are some issues that he cares about more so than others. Although he will order policies that are consistent with the American tradition, the main impetus will come from a voter block that has a more evangelical base.
I assure you, however, that he will not do something that he disagrees with, even if it is at a more fundamental level. Trump may be the most consistent politician we have yet.
There are some issues that he cares about more so than others. Although he will order policies that are consistent with the American tradition, the main impetus will come from a voter block that has a more evangelical base.
I assure you, however, that he will not do something that he disagrees with, even if it is at a more fundamental level. Trump may be the most consistent politician we have yet.
2
Oh Gail......"Lap Dog Trump"....perfect......now if we
can get him attached to the top of Pence's car,
the image would be complete.
I wonder what madame Pence would be allowed to do if she got
pregnant by a rapist.................That's a "Dukakis" type question if I ever heard
one.
So now I think it's time for the Press to really look into trump's Gepetto...
Squeaky clean? I doubt it.....
And if anything that will drive trump even crazier than he is...is to drive him
out of the #1 spot in the headlines and spotlight....in the conversation.
Everyone......pivot....Let's talk Pence
can get him attached to the top of Pence's car,
the image would be complete.
I wonder what madame Pence would be allowed to do if she got
pregnant by a rapist.................That's a "Dukakis" type question if I ever heard
one.
So now I think it's time for the Press to really look into trump's Gepetto...
Squeaky clean? I doubt it.....
And if anything that will drive trump even crazier than he is...is to drive him
out of the #1 spot in the headlines and spotlight....in the conversation.
Everyone......pivot....Let's talk Pence
9
Gail, just because you can't figure out what T is going to do next, doesn't mean that you should make things up. This idea you profess seems like nonsense to me.
Having watched Trump in action in the debates, it was clear from the beginning that he didn't have the bandwidth, clarity of thinking, work ethic, etc to be President. How did it take people so long to figure out that he's the Emperor with No Clothes ?
9
There were signs it would play out like this. From NYT article before the election:
"One day this past May, Donald Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., reached out to a senior adviser to Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, who left the presidential race just a few weeks before. As a candidate, Kasich declared in March that Trump was “really not prepared to be president of the United States,” and the following month he took the highly unusual step of coordinating with his rival Senator Ted Cruz in an effort to deny Trump the nomination. But according to the Kasich adviser (who spoke only under the condition that he not be named), Donald Jr. wanted to make him an offer nonetheless: Did he have any interest in being the most powerful vice president in history?
When Kasich’s adviser asked how this would be the case, Donald Jr. explained that his father’s vice president would be in charge of domestic and foreign policy.
Then what, the adviser asked, would Trump be in charge of?
“Making America great again” was the casual reply."
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/20/magazine/how-donald-trump-picked-his-r...
"One day this past May, Donald Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., reached out to a senior adviser to Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, who left the presidential race just a few weeks before. As a candidate, Kasich declared in March that Trump was “really not prepared to be president of the United States,” and the following month he took the highly unusual step of coordinating with his rival Senator Ted Cruz in an effort to deny Trump the nomination. But according to the Kasich adviser (who spoke only under the condition that he not be named), Donald Jr. wanted to make him an offer nonetheless: Did he have any interest in being the most powerful vice president in history?
When Kasich’s adviser asked how this would be the case, Donald Jr. explained that his father’s vice president would be in charge of domestic and foreign policy.
Then what, the adviser asked, would Trump be in charge of?
“Making America great again” was the casual reply."
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/20/magazine/how-donald-trump-picked-his-r...
14
seems like these days anything is possible. a wall, voter fraud, sandy oil through a (leaking) pipeline, basically whatever trump says is possible. santa claus? executive orders? truly! and mother times re-tells all those possible stories, which, well, makes them so much more plausible. why not print them at all at least until they are confirmed realities. also: could the times lessen presenting pictures of trump? i am so very tired of seeing that face. truly.
7
Totally agree, but would add that I think some of his other positions are being dictated by Steve Bannon. So, who is Trump's Dick Cheney? Bannon or Pence, or both? Will we ever see the real DJT? Not likely.... This looks like the meanist presidency to come down the pike in a long time.
6
Give it up Gail. Obama was the biggest failure as POTUS in at least a century. Feckless, lazy, and devoid of leadership skills. His biggest accomplishments was overseeing the decimation of the Democratic party at the Federal & State levels, and getting Trump into office - thanks Obama! His focus was taking luxury vacays, fundraisers, and hangin' w/ the Hollywood & Manhattan elites. The Seinfeld Presidency...a presidency about nothing. Pulling strings? Ever hear of Soros & Steyer?
1
Pence might have a little influence in some areas but the guy pulling Trump's strings is Steve Bannon.
8
Remember when the Trump family offered the vice presidency to the governor of Ohio? The deal was Kasich would handle foreign and domestic policy while Trump would run around making America great again. Mike Pence accepted.
6
Yes. There are by now (only a few days in) several video-ed examples of the Pres repeating words & phrases directly after hearing them from somebody else, then repeating them himself, even if they don't fit. I know observers sometimes use his language as material for jokes, but my sense is of someone with a severe disability, including memory problems. No, this is not, as some readers have suggested, fun or funny, not at all. I don't think he should be president, but I certainly don't think Pence should be acting as president either, not to mention Kellyanne Conway or Jared Kushner.
4
I have repeated countless times to friends and family that we DO NOT want Trump to be impeached. Pence is far, far scarier.
8
Pence famously says he is a "Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order." Interesting, his list of identities does not include American. I don't think he cares one whit about his fellow citizens who don't belong to one his self selected tribes.
7
Might as well impeach Trump, if Pence is pulling the strings. Why not? Personally, I think Tillerson's hand has been the one on the tiller. Since the beginning. Big Oil. Putin. De-regulation. It all points that way.
4
Of course Trump can be influenced by other people. And Pence will be moving Trump's strings with finesse, particularly if he is the one doing the busy work and just "informing" Trump about how things are going. Trump will also owe Pence some "rewards" for his job, but the big decision maker will be Pence. Everyone knows that and maybe Trump has not notice yet busy as he is looking at himself in the mirror. Pence will run the show. And eventually when his own party impeaches Trump, Pence will have his public chance to come out of the shadows and "shine" while Trump will watch from his Towers.
3
Judging from the other Executive Orders Trump has signed thus far, it looks like it's Bannon who is calling the shots, while giving Pence and Kushner some of what they want to keep them happy.
5
I still think impeachment of Trump is the better alternative. Nice try , Gail.
2
Reproductive rights is nothing more than a political lever to divide the country into excited voting local blocs.
What if we disrupt that?
It seems to me, the contention is about choice. No one advocates for more frequent abortions. In addition to myriad health services, Planned Parenthood already does significant work to help reduce the frequency of them.
What if we built a secular coalition of pro-choice and pro-life advocates to focus strictly on reducing the number of abortions - with the intent of disrupting the use of this issue as a political lever.
What if we disrupt that?
It seems to me, the contention is about choice. No one advocates for more frequent abortions. In addition to myriad health services, Planned Parenthood already does significant work to help reduce the frequency of them.
What if we built a secular coalition of pro-choice and pro-life advocates to focus strictly on reducing the number of abortions - with the intent of disrupting the use of this issue as a political lever.
8
I'm not a real president but I play one on TV.
11
I think it is Mr. Bannon.
2
Gail, you have absolutely hit the nail on the head here.
To get Lap Dog Trump to override Pence & his conservative cronies (Ryan), we need only appeal to Lap Dog Trump's great ego. If Lap Dog Trump thinks we think he is Pence's puppet, he'll go out of his way to prove to us that he isn't.
To get Lap Dog Trump to override Pence & his conservative cronies (Ryan), we need only appeal to Lap Dog Trump's great ego. If Lap Dog Trump thinks we think he is Pence's puppet, he'll go out of his way to prove to us that he isn't.
4
This makes a lot of sense. Thank you Gail. Lapdog indeed!
3
Lapdog? Not housebroken.
5
"Lap Dog Trump" is absolutely spot-on. Thank you Ms. Collins.
2
So far this is all about distraction, trying to keep the chumps (the public) from watching what the left hand is doing by focusing their attention on the right hand. The crowdgate nonsense was to distract the press from asking about the Womens March and their issues. This crap about the stupid wall and the social conservative threats (real as they are) like banning abortion, to keep us from focusing on the gutting of the regulatory agencies attempts to save what is left of the environment (clean air, water, wetlands, etc), by changing their agendas or preventing the professional staffs from doing their duty. Next will come massive tax redistributions in favor of the wealthy, and dismantling of the social safety net programs (Medicare, SS, etc) we all assumed were untouchable. Who knows, a new war would certainly be a great diversion, right?
5
I agree, Trump wanted to "win" but has no real policy on anything besides his long running obsessions with China and immigrants. He has been captured by the fanatical ultra right wing and is doing their bidding. He doesn't care at all about these issues, but figures if he can "win" using their talking points that's fine with him. Any effect on Americans is not his concern. Just win.
4
Trump himself is not important. Neither is Pence. Both are just hollow men, filled with the ideology that has gradually emerged among their followers. It is these followers who are driving the insanity that is the current slew of anti-choice, anti-immigration, anti-globalization executive orders. This is a dynamics that has been well studied in the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century. In "1984", which has never been more relevant than today, the Big Brother does not even exist: he is a projection of the rabid belief system of the Party. Just listen to Trump voters and you will know what is happening and why. Ignorance, religious mania, inability to think critically and to distinguish between truth and lie - these are not individual features of Trump or Pence. They are collective features of the minority who has brought them into office. And it is this minority that is driving their agenda.
8
Pick your poison autocracy or theocracy.
4
So the population of Africa has quintupled in the last 50-60 years and that of Latin America has tripled. (America's population would be over a billion if it had increased at the same rate, and, unlike Africa and Latin America, it has high levels of immigration.) Those are rates of increase that are unprecedented in human history or pre-history when an increase of 50%- 100% over 50-100 years is regarded as extraordinary. The result in underdeveloped economies is economic, social, environmental, and political stress, and uncontrolled outmigration to Europe and America that threatens to destabilize them and that is a particular concern of President Trump. So his decision seems particularly blind and self-defeating. (Mind you, the NYT hardly helps when it runs series of articles on Africa's problems focussed solely on global warming and ignoring population growth or giving it only a passing mention. )
3
This article is right on the mark, and it underscores the tensions that do exist between the old guard conservative Republican and the mercurial Mr. T. If, therefore, this president decides to cut off the strings and go his own way, and if his own way violates core Republican dogma (evil Russia, free trade, balanced budget, etc.) Impeachment will not be far behind - and if he thinks a Republican Congress will protect him he is as disillusioned as he is about voter fraud and landslide victories.
2
Gail Collins has such an excellent suggestion in this opinion piece. Trump has an incredibly weak ego which is which is why he spends so much time on ego defense. If columnists, radio and TV talk show hosts and their guests keep bringing up that Trump is the fall guy for others' far right wing agendas, all of this will keep him so off guard that he won't have the time to enact others' far right wing agendas. And his need for ego defense will keep showing the world that he is unfit for the presidency. Of course, at some point Trump's business dealings may get him impeached and possibly removed from office, thus opening the door for a President Pence, possibly far worse than President Trump.
5
"[pence] co-sponsored a bill that would allow hospitals to deny abortions to pregnant women who would die without the procedure."
this is unbelievable. anybody know where i can read that bill?
this is unbelievable. anybody know where i can read that bill?
5
No one is so vulnerable to manipulation as one who is (1) wildly egotistic, convinced he knows more than anyone about anything, (2) ignorant, uninterested in learning details or reading widely, (3) thin-skinned, easily provoked to reaction by emotional impulses, and (4) surrounded by wolves, men and women eager for power and possessing plenty of experience and natural skills at getting others to do what they want.
Lap Dog, heck... Mr. Trump is more like the beach ball of the overlapping circles of amoral sociopaths around him, flying wildly at every touch in some not entirely predictable direction, but blinded to the obvious fact that he's being controlled by others by his malformed ego and complete lack of humility.
Lap Dog, heck... Mr. Trump is more like the beach ball of the overlapping circles of amoral sociopaths around him, flying wildly at every touch in some not entirely predictable direction, but blinded to the obvious fact that he's being controlled by others by his malformed ego and complete lack of humility.
5
Trump often promised a burst of activity when he first took office.
Yet he had no staff to do the work of preparing such a burst. Those orders require research and writing. He had nobody doing that.
So they were provided to him by those who did have such staff. They came to him ready-made from people with an agenda, like ALEC has done in our state houses for years.
Will he form his own staff, or keep doing this? So far, he's made top appointments, but not the high ranking aides who do the real work of crafting these things, only the "principals" who go to meetings to bless that work.
On the level that does the work, we have not yet seen the Trump Admin, he has not chosen them.
Yet he had no staff to do the work of preparing such a burst. Those orders require research and writing. He had nobody doing that.
So they were provided to him by those who did have such staff. They came to him ready-made from people with an agenda, like ALEC has done in our state houses for years.
Will he form his own staff, or keep doing this? So far, he's made top appointments, but not the high ranking aides who do the real work of crafting these things, only the "principals" who go to meetings to bless that work.
On the level that does the work, we have not yet seen the Trump Admin, he has not chosen them.
4
Pence, like Ted Cruz, is a dangerous theocrat.
Except that Pence comes wrapped in unctuous smarm. Remember his debate with Tim Kaine?
So I wish the current POTUS good health. And things would have to get much worse before I would call for impeachment.
Because Pence is much, much worse.
Except that Pence comes wrapped in unctuous smarm. Remember his debate with Tim Kaine?
So I wish the current POTUS good health. And things would have to get much worse before I would call for impeachment.
Because Pence is much, much worse.
5
Gail has given voice to what I have felt since Pence was chosen for the VP slot. The power that this "Christian" fundamentalist bigot has been given makes him a much more frightening man than Trump could ever be. It will take decades to undo the damage that this administration, in concert with a spineless Congress, will bring about.
6
While Donald Trump does not claim to be anything other than a moral degenerate serial adulterer sexual assaulter, Mike Pence pretends to be a "Christian, a conservative and a Republican in that order."
But there is no evidence that Pence is a humble, humane and empathetic non-judgmental keeper of his brother's and sisters. Particularly the sick, the poor and the imprisoned beloved by Jesus Christ and promised a place in Heaven. See Matthew 25:31-46
From Ronald Reagan to John McCain to Donald Trump the Republican Party has confronted it's flaunting of allegedly evangelical Christian moral values. Congressman Henry Hyde's Christian values included adultery while abhorring abortion.
Trump thought that there were two Corinthians. Trump and family were brought up the under the white Protestant nationalism of Norman Vincent Peale and Billy Graham. Robert Jeffress preached to the Trump family last Friday morning. Southern Baptist Jeffress is anti-Catholic, anti-Mormon, anti-Black, anti-Mexican and anti-Muslim. The bigot Franklin Graham offered his evil.
There is no doubt that Trump and Pence believe in and sometimes practice eight of the Ten Commandments which they pick and choose from on a shifting selective basis.
But there is no evidence that Pence is a humble, humane and empathetic non-judgmental keeper of his brother's and sisters. Particularly the sick, the poor and the imprisoned beloved by Jesus Christ and promised a place in Heaven. See Matthew 25:31-46
From Ronald Reagan to John McCain to Donald Trump the Republican Party has confronted it's flaunting of allegedly evangelical Christian moral values. Congressman Henry Hyde's Christian values included adultery while abhorring abortion.
Trump thought that there were two Corinthians. Trump and family were brought up the under the white Protestant nationalism of Norman Vincent Peale and Billy Graham. Robert Jeffress preached to the Trump family last Friday morning. Southern Baptist Jeffress is anti-Catholic, anti-Mormon, anti-Black, anti-Mexican and anti-Muslim. The bigot Franklin Graham offered his evil.
There is no doubt that Trump and Pence believe in and sometimes practice eight of the Ten Commandments which they pick and choose from on a shifting selective basis.
6
Thanks for your column. I've been calling Pence "Trump's Babysitter." It seems as if the orange man is afraid to go anywhere, or do anything without him. Pence, and his views, are just as frightening, if not more than Trump's. Sad! - for all women around the world.
3
Wonderful article, and, unfortunately, probably spot on! Perhaps instead of just one impeachment we could go for a world record - how many angry, frightened, violent privileged white males can we impeach in a single administration in four years?
3
I would argue that he is Putin's Puppet, not Pence's.
1
Isn't it amazing that the very pinnacle of absurdity, @dumponus, has managed to somehow overshadow the perfidity of the Indianhiban -- not to mention the other red states' purveyors of Berserkistan?
1
Pence, Putin and Bannon fighting over their puppet doll Trump, with Kellyanne Conway crying in the corner. I would love to see an editorial cartoon drawn depicting that.
3
Let me see. We have Putin poodle Trump now lap dog Trump. Canpt we get Mitt Romney to strap him to the roof of his car in Mexico?
Sorry for that but humor besides calling your Senator and protests marches is one way to respond in order to keep your sanity. Trump only cares about a few things and it was inevitable that people like Ryan, McConnal and Mike Pence would wind up pulling the strings. And forget all your perfectly rational answers. As soon as we elected a liar as President reasonable answers no longer mean anything.
Welcome to Trump World.
Sorry for that but humor besides calling your Senator and protests marches is one way to respond in order to keep your sanity. Trump only cares about a few things and it was inevitable that people like Ryan, McConnal and Mike Pence would wind up pulling the strings. And forget all your perfectly rational answers. As soon as we elected a liar as President reasonable answers no longer mean anything.
Welcome to Trump World.
1
Lap dog? I think pussycat is more appropriate.
2
I have believed from the moment pence was picked as the ego-in-chief's running mate that this was the man who would run policy while the Orange One did the photo ops and issue proclamations which sound crazy and distract us from the real work going on behind the curtains. It's a classic con game to get us going one way while they lock the doors behind us to steal us blind. Indiana, like Kansas, is an economic and social disaster due to the VP's policies and religious beliefs, but conservative America apparently doesn't care, or maybe just too tired from all that reality tv, to actually read anything that wasn't put out by someone from Fox News. Sad state of the nation, we will pay for this for decades to come.
5
He's now the puppet of the entire right wing (republican party). I'm sure they know he's hiding a lot and they are his only protection.
5
Bravo Gail! Pence is playing the Donald and he is too ill to understand it. We are watching the realization of the Tea Party Paradise. A hellscape devoted to the holy trinity of bigotry, fear and ignorance.
8
It just might work, Gail! Trump is nothing if not contrary. Hit him in the ego, and he might do the right thing for the wrong reason.
3
Lap Dog is OK, but I prefer--after the size-of-his-hands nonsense, the attack photos on other candidates wives, and the "I just start kissing them" tapes, his characterizations of Angela Merkel based on the looks of an older woman, the incestuous leering and commenting on his own daughter, the trading of two older model wives for the latest model, the preposterous description of his daughter and son-in-law as Orthodox Jews (who would, if they were, keep their heads covered and dress modestly), the disgusting orange spray-tan with the raccoon eyes, his attack on John Lewis, his support for pipeline pollution and air pollution--the Great Slob as a nickname. Seems much more fitting, although Putin's Poodle is more euphonious.
5
Remember when the allegation arose during the campaign that one of Donnie's son's had approached Pence and said how you would like to be the most powerful vice president in history? What would I do? You would be in charge of domestic and international policy. What would Mr. Trump being doing if I was doing all that? Making America Great Again.
Donnie Jr. denied the story but admitted he and Pence had met... perhaps it IS true.
Donnie Jr. denied the story but admitted he and Pence had met... perhaps it IS true.
5
I wish I could laugh.
3
It didn't really sink in that Trump was president until his horrible inaugural address and then I was so depressed that we would have to live through four years with him in office. However, when I realize how depressed I am today only six days after he was sworn in I look back on 1/20 as a day of joy. I worry how depressed I will be six months from now.
5
Yes, Pence stands behind POTUS before the inaugaration and now like a lapdog but for the fact that a war on women and choice has begun in earnest and there is much more to Pence's religiosity in addition to the matter of women, as other writers have stated. It seems to me Bannon is the more sinister, but that fact does not make Pence less dangerous. Nor, of course, POTUS. After a week of this group in power, the future doesn't just look bleak, it IS bleak. For so many reasons.
2
Remember the scene in Casablanca where Claude Raines tells Humphrey Bogart "I have no convictions; I blow with the wind"? That's Trump: the ultimate opportunist. Very few people in public life have made as many about faces as he has. And like the Claude Raines character, Trump worries only about Number One. The trick will be getting Pence to appear so ambitious that he'll get the Chris Christie dump. Any chance Pence sent one of Kushner's relatives to the pokey?
3
My thought is that Trump could care less about abortion. Being against it is just "good business." He offers the right the antiabortion "bone" and they, in turn, don't look to hard at his obvious conflicts of interest and business dealings. For Trump it's all about power and money. These are his motivators, nothing else.
3
The Senate in 2018 has few Republicans up for reelection the Democrats must defend 25 plus get at least three from the few Republicans needing to be re elected also many Dems we need to defend are in seriously red states.
5
As much as I want Trump impeached on his financial holdings for one, I dread Mike Pence whose beliefs are evident and I dare say more dangerous than Trump s Out of the fire into the frying pan
3
Trump's anti-women, unless he's grabbing them or their money, of course.
What I wonder about is the depth of the corruption Trump knows. Moral turpitude. He's not yet invited to the beheading... but there's the hotels, hidden cameras, and prostitution. Lolitas? He's been sued by one.
Is he involved in blackmailing and/or influencing others thru coercion? And other really creepy actions? I wouldn't rule it out. Women, like construction contractors, are just tools to this guy.
People are resources to be used, abused, then fired. And Pence? He aids and abets this guy so he's as bad or worse. But Trump doesn't know how to stop so he'll go too far (if he hasn't already) so he's a sword that cuts both ways.
Roll back republican chicanery by making fun of Trump. He can't stand that. Push him to his breaking point and he'll snap, showing his true self. Trump can be manipulated and so can Pence thru Trump.
What I wonder about is the depth of the corruption Trump knows. Moral turpitude. He's not yet invited to the beheading... but there's the hotels, hidden cameras, and prostitution. Lolitas? He's been sued by one.
Is he involved in blackmailing and/or influencing others thru coercion? And other really creepy actions? I wouldn't rule it out. Women, like construction contractors, are just tools to this guy.
People are resources to be used, abused, then fired. And Pence? He aids and abets this guy so he's as bad or worse. But Trump doesn't know how to stop so he'll go too far (if he hasn't already) so he's a sword that cuts both ways.
Roll back republican chicanery by making fun of Trump. He can't stand that. Push him to his breaking point and he'll snap, showing his true self. Trump can be manipulated and so can Pence thru Trump.
1
Steve Bannon has a pretty firm grip on those strings and no one should forget it. It was evident from his inaugural address. Steve Bannon, white nationalist, is in the Oval Office, in every picture smirking in the background.
3
Much of the MSM, perhaps lead by the NYT have now shown they understand the many problems and dangers emanating from Trump in particular and the GOP in general.
Problem. The people we need convinced are not reading or watching or believing these reports if they are. Sad. Truly sad.
I don't know what you do from here, NYT, other than try to keep printing the truth and highlighting the Trump lies.
I can see an old problem happening as we write: The Russian hack and interference is being buried by an avalanche of new lies and actions. It's like the GOP and Trump are saying; 'Look anywhere but at the Russian thing."
Perhaps a daily summary page, with a quick paragraph on each of the major lies that are now fading into the past, just to keep some modicum of awareness going on these matters. Give it a standard headline, so people can go right to it.
Problem. The people we need convinced are not reading or watching or believing these reports if they are. Sad. Truly sad.
I don't know what you do from here, NYT, other than try to keep printing the truth and highlighting the Trump lies.
I can see an old problem happening as we write: The Russian hack and interference is being buried by an avalanche of new lies and actions. It's like the GOP and Trump are saying; 'Look anywhere but at the Russian thing."
Perhaps a daily summary page, with a quick paragraph on each of the major lies that are now fading into the past, just to keep some modicum of awareness going on these matters. Give it a standard headline, so people can go right to it.
According to Law.com, the definition of insanity: "n. mental illness of such a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, cannot conduct her/his affairs due to psychosis, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior."
I don't want to say you chose him, but America; the GOP and he are the manifestation of many of your mindsets. How could it be otherwise? The GOP is entrenched in your government; many of you give it legitimacy. You allowed Trump to enter your house via a Republican coup d'etat.
Are you aware that you are in deep elephant dung! Do you care that a religious zealot is pulling the strings of a man with a screw loose in his brain?
I don't want to say you chose him, but America; the GOP and he are the manifestation of many of your mindsets. How could it be otherwise? The GOP is entrenched in your government; many of you give it legitimacy. You allowed Trump to enter your house via a Republican coup d'etat.
Are you aware that you are in deep elephant dung! Do you care that a religious zealot is pulling the strings of a man with a screw loose in his brain?
6
Pence chose the cabinet -- he headed the committee who selected the people Trump chose from, which means Trump was making the choice in name only. And since Trump is definitely doing all the stuff Pence wants anyway, I don't think impeaching Trump and replacing him by a right-wing ideologue is really that big a threat. We'd be better off with a sane person.
5
I had my first heated discussion of political issues at work yesterday, with an educated 56 year old white male physician...it did not go well. He kept asking me if I wanted secure borders and was I ok with aborting a 7 month old fetus and with 3 million illegal immigrants voting. I kept pointing out that 7 month old fetuses were NOT being frequently aborted due to a whim of the mother and that there was not 3 million illegal voters nor were there hoards of Mexicans poring over our borders. When the people who should care about facts don't then where does that leave us? I asked him if is daughter was raped and found herself pregnant would he be okay with her having an abortion, of course he was because that is different. Part of the problem with GOP supporters is they have never had to worry about their rights being trampled by someone else. Affluent whites can buy their way out of any problem and can't seem to comprehend that this is a privilege not everyone has. Men have never had to ask permission from lawmakers to have control over their own bodies. And they don't get it, and I'm afraid they never will.
15
I've said from the beginning that Pence is much more dangerous than Trump.
It's not just Pence's views about separation of church and state, or about woman. it's his willingness to ignore Trumps lack of morals, his multiple wives, his flagrant trysts (even when married). He has shown he will do and be anything he has to be to gain power. Power he will then use to turn us into a theocracy.
It's not just Pence's views about separation of church and state, or about woman. it's his willingness to ignore Trumps lack of morals, his multiple wives, his flagrant trysts (even when married). He has shown he will do and be anything he has to be to gain power. Power he will then use to turn us into a theocracy.
3
Lap dog Trump!!
2
Trump isn't the president. He just plays one on TV.
4
Yes, Gail, we have thought that a long time.
With reference to tearing down hard-won abortion/choice rights and independence for women: One step forward, one step back. We will achieve our equality and equity, worldwide, just a matter of time. I have lived long enough to have seen many social changes, being on the forefront of the women's movement. Too late to turn back, and the men know this.
Sigh, we will be patient once again, because we cannot be beaten down any more.
With reference to tearing down hard-won abortion/choice rights and independence for women: One step forward, one step back. We will achieve our equality and equity, worldwide, just a matter of time. I have lived long enough to have seen many social changes, being on the forefront of the women's movement. Too late to turn back, and the men know this.
Sigh, we will be patient once again, because we cannot be beaten down any more.
2
Makes sense, except that I don't think Putin's much on sharing.
What happens to a lap dog with divided loyalties? Tweety is both Putin's lapdog and Pence's? Or should we say, one foreign and one domestic?
We don't effectively have a single president, we have a presidential council, ran by whoever can put thoughts in Trump's head. Probably Steve Bannon, Jared Kushner and Ivanka, Pence, Mike Flynn, and god knows who else.
Trump is sort of like a crazy puppet, but those who know how to talk to him can get him under control, feeding his ego is obviously the number one trick. That said, he's a very shrewd, street smart man as well. So he would consciously do things to distract the public, and appease groups of his supporters such as religious hard right, anti Muslims, and anti immigrant, nativist/racist groups.
Trump is sort of like a crazy puppet, but those who know how to talk to him can get him under control, feeding his ego is obviously the number one trick. That said, he's a very shrewd, street smart man as well. So he would consciously do things to distract the public, and appease groups of his supporters such as religious hard right, anti Muslims, and anti immigrant, nativist/racist groups.
1
I am American citizen and have the interests of the US at heart, but I find nauseating trying to force Mexico to pay for a wall that Trump wants to build for no other reason than to feed his insatiable ego.
In 1938 Hitler gave Czechoslovakia an ultimatum, deliver the Sudetes or else.
Now trump says to Mexico, pay for my beautiful Trump Wall or don´t bother coming to discuss the review of NAFTA.
In 1938 Chamberlain bowed to Hitler and we know what followed. I hope our Congress and Senate will see the unbearable arrogance of this crazy man we elected President.
In 1938 Hitler gave Czechoslovakia an ultimatum, deliver the Sudetes or else.
Now trump says to Mexico, pay for my beautiful Trump Wall or don´t bother coming to discuss the review of NAFTA.
In 1938 Chamberlain bowed to Hitler and we know what followed. I hope our Congress and Senate will see the unbearable arrogance of this crazy man we elected President.
4
t rump believes in only one thing. And I paraphrase Tim Egan here: that he is the rooster who invented the dawn.
The next 2 to 4 years should convince people that NO the two parties are not the same.
t rump won this election because of the democrats and moderates who did NOT go to the polls thinking both candidates were equally bad, both parties equally in bed with Wall St, what difference will my vote make.
With the damage republicans have done these last 35 years to the institutions of our democracy there is no guarantee we will make it through this administration.
The next 2 to 4 years should convince people that NO the two parties are not the same.
t rump won this election because of the democrats and moderates who did NOT go to the polls thinking both candidates were equally bad, both parties equally in bed with Wall St, what difference will my vote make.
With the damage republicans have done these last 35 years to the institutions of our democracy there is no guarantee we will make it through this administration.
1
Poking around the edges of what makes our 45th President tick does not get to the heart of the tragedy. The word that fits is sociopath. In Trump world only Trump and Trump's needs exist. In Trump world there are no norms of behavior or speech, so anything may be said and done. In Trump world empathy is absent. Sociopath fits you can look it up.
A debilitatingly narcissistic, vengeful President backed up by a crusading anti-woman bigot, Cotton Mather-like witch trial zealot VP. I could go on describing the pairing forever, and it only gets worse.
There are some very smart, articulate Democrats in congress and the Democratic party leadership. They seem to currently be in alarming disarray. I get frantic emails to contribute, but for what? What's the message and who's the messenger? One can only hope they're taking stock, trying to figure out how to turn this sad situation into a midterm victory. Either that or we'll be in for at least four years of a nostalgic visit to the dark ages, or worse. At the riots during Trump's swearing-in, reporters were arrested and charged with felonies. A chilling beginning.
There are some very smart, articulate Democrats in congress and the Democratic party leadership. They seem to currently be in alarming disarray. I get frantic emails to contribute, but for what? What's the message and who's the messenger? One can only hope they're taking stock, trying to figure out how to turn this sad situation into a midterm victory. Either that or we'll be in for at least four years of a nostalgic visit to the dark ages, or worse. At the riots during Trump's swearing-in, reporters were arrested and charged with felonies. A chilling beginning.
2
If any of the 17 candidates in the Republican primaries had become president. There would have been no doubt as to what Republican control of both congress and the presidency would be with regard to tax policy.
There will be a further shift in the tax burden away from the rich and onto the middle class. Since 1969, there has been a tremendous shift in the tax burdens away from the rich on onto the middle class. Corporate income tax receipts, whose incidence falls entirely on the owners of corporations, were 4% of GDP then and are now less than 2%. During that same period, payroll tax rates as a percent of GDP have increased dramatically.
What Warren Buffett has called a rout, would turn into a massacre under any Republican administration. Inheritance taxes on estates above $10 million would be eliminated, as would most of what remains of the corporate income tax. Warren Buffett said "Through the tax code, there has been class warfare waged, and my class has won," Buffett told Business Wire CEO Cathy Baron Tamraz at a luncheon in honor of the company's 50th anniversary. "It's been a rout." Shifting income to the rich by taxing dividends, capital gains and corporate profits much less than the tax rates on wages make more funds available for investment.
When capital accumulates too rapidly, the productive capacity of the business sector can outpace the ability of the household sector to absorb the increasing production.
they own. http://seekingalpha.com/article/1543642
There will be a further shift in the tax burden away from the rich and onto the middle class. Since 1969, there has been a tremendous shift in the tax burdens away from the rich on onto the middle class. Corporate income tax receipts, whose incidence falls entirely on the owners of corporations, were 4% of GDP then and are now less than 2%. During that same period, payroll tax rates as a percent of GDP have increased dramatically.
What Warren Buffett has called a rout, would turn into a massacre under any Republican administration. Inheritance taxes on estates above $10 million would be eliminated, as would most of what remains of the corporate income tax. Warren Buffett said "Through the tax code, there has been class warfare waged, and my class has won," Buffett told Business Wire CEO Cathy Baron Tamraz at a luncheon in honor of the company's 50th anniversary. "It's been a rout." Shifting income to the rich by taxing dividends, capital gains and corporate profits much less than the tax rates on wages make more funds available for investment.
When capital accumulates too rapidly, the productive capacity of the business sector can outpace the ability of the household sector to absorb the increasing production.
they own. http://seekingalpha.com/article/1543642
Pence's puppet. I like that. Pass it on.
On a more serious note, I am appalled at the immediate focus on women and their bodies from day one. Old white men deciding what women may or may not do with their bodies. Here's what happens if you restrict birth control and make abortion illegal: women will get illegal abortions. The way they used to when that was the only way. 45 years ago I marched for a woman's right to choose, last week I marched again for the same thing. We're going backwards fast and I feel despondent to say the least. This president, and his 2nd in command, are a disaster for women. And why, oh why, would any sane woman have voted for either one of them. If I live to be a hundred, I'll never get it.
On a more serious note, I am appalled at the immediate focus on women and their bodies from day one. Old white men deciding what women may or may not do with their bodies. Here's what happens if you restrict birth control and make abortion illegal: women will get illegal abortions. The way they used to when that was the only way. 45 years ago I marched for a woman's right to choose, last week I marched again for the same thing. We're going backwards fast and I feel despondent to say the least. This president, and his 2nd in command, are a disaster for women. And why, oh why, would any sane woman have voted for either one of them. If I live to be a hundred, I'll never get it.
2
It's Prince Pence all the way, Gail.
That was obvious when, after the election Trump went off on a "Thank You!" tour. Chris Cristie had just been fired and all his choices for Trump's cabinet, dumped.
That meant they were at ZERO selections - and, yet, off Trump goes! Left behind was the Puppet Master, Pence.
However, Pence is as lazy as Donnie and rather than really seeking qualified Republicans, he just crammed in his ideological buddies from Wall Street or his local fundie church.
This begs the question on whether there really ARE any "qualified Republicans". It's pretty tough to have any Cream rise to the Top if all you've ever done in your political career is bellow "NO!" Perhaps that why Christie was going so slow: "Qualified" is scarcer than hen's teeth in the Republican World.
Is Trump under Prince Pence's thumb? You betcha!
... and I've seen Pence's Thumb and boy, is it a big one!!!
That was obvious when, after the election Trump went off on a "Thank You!" tour. Chris Cristie had just been fired and all his choices for Trump's cabinet, dumped.
That meant they were at ZERO selections - and, yet, off Trump goes! Left behind was the Puppet Master, Pence.
However, Pence is as lazy as Donnie and rather than really seeking qualified Republicans, he just crammed in his ideological buddies from Wall Street or his local fundie church.
This begs the question on whether there really ARE any "qualified Republicans". It's pretty tough to have any Cream rise to the Top if all you've ever done in your political career is bellow "NO!" Perhaps that why Christie was going so slow: "Qualified" is scarcer than hen's teeth in the Republican World.
Is Trump under Prince Pence's thumb? You betcha!
... and I've seen Pence's Thumb and boy, is it a big one!!!
2
Face it. Don the Con does not want to "lead" as president. As such, we now have a "shadow president" that knows his way around Washington and how to get (nasty) things done. Trumpkins once, in an interview, suggested he would be "CEO" and let his veep run the actual office of president. That is now coming true.
2
I would like to know how many a orations Donald Trump has encouraged and/or paid for.
It has to be Pence behind all of this. Just think--of the many years of Trump's womanizing and forcing himself on women, there have to be either more of his children populating this earth, or at least a few women who terminated pregnancies courtesy of his little swimmers. I would think that access to all elements of birth control should be something he would be very seriously in favor of. But--that would require serious self-reflection, and we know that is in very short supply. And my theory about those extra kids that may be his? Either they are listed on those elusive tax returns, or they and their mothers are hidden as permanent employees among his vast resources and are just one more reason he is reluctant to let go of all control over his businesses.
5
I think we should do the opposite. Satire seems to be effective in getting under his skin, so why not do satire about the thing he craves most: praise. I can see Alec Baldwin sitting among a dozen or so beautiful, scantily clad women, the way Hef used to do, who would throwing away their "pussy hats" while fawning over him. Trump would believe it and tweet Baldwin that he was "Terrific!". Everyone else would get it. When he finally gets the joke, he would nuke 30 Rockefeller Plaza. So, maybe it isn't such a good idea.
1
Watch out, nasty women - they'll be after our right to vote next...
4
Given the fact that Trump doesn't care for much beyond aggrandizing himself, it seems a strong possibility that someone is pulling his strings. I'd pick Steve Bannon, a man thrives on chaos and to paraphrase Sir Michael Caine in the Dark Knight only wants to watch the world burn. But Pense is certainly no better. He just presents a more benevolent face to the world. Once again we are being shoved backward by smug, old men who don't care that people will die because of their heartless actions.
3
So, maybe every woman of at least moderate means volunteers through Planned Parenthood to "adopt" a younger woman without financial means by making a regular monthly contribution to pay for her contraceptives. ???
4
Planned Parenthood is not just about pregnancies. They actually save women's lives with medical care they couldn't afford otherwise. They do so much more for the healthcare of women and families of little means and they also help families with birth and child care.
4
Hey, Collins, guess what? You and Hillary lost to a reality television star. That must tell you something about the mood of the American people in relation to the federal government, which has grown increasingly liberal. I know we can expect likewise increasingly liberal and vitriolic columns from you throughout Trumps' presidency. But surely you can connect the dots. The more you, The Times and the biased media rant against Trump, the more his popularity will grow. America has caught on to your act.
1
Dear Paul, it's too soon to count your chickens. Also, explain why conservatives, like yourself, who are more compatible with the Fox state-of-mind want to hang out here, with progressives-- like Gail Collins, and most of us who comment--and then complain about our views and beliefs. Done respectfully, like in the distant past, conservatives and progressives learned from one another, the way our democracy is intended to be. Sadly, however, disrespectful comments close minds and prevent that from happening. Good day.
5
I don't know what difference it makes, who is pulling Trump's strings. I'm sitting here listening to Ryan and McConnell, both of them with happy tents in their pants because they were given this incredible gift of God-like powers over 320 million Americans. Muslims, Syrians, Latinos, the elderly, the disabled, scientists, educators....the list goes on - are all under assault, and his supporters are cheering him on. Read the blog posts. It's insane how many people actually support this bullcrap.
My question is this: Four years from now, when people are dying in the streets because they can't get or afford health care, and the once healthy people are wearing masks against pollution in the streets, and thugs with batons are hunting down Latinos and Muslims, if we should elect a new president, can he undo all this damage that is going to occur? If Medicare is dismantled, what will it take to put it back together? If ACA is dismantled, how long before it can be fixed? How long is it going to take to repair our relationships with Mexico, perhaps Canada, and China? How long? And is it even possible?
Hitler promised to put everyone back to work too. His solution was creating a huge military. The problem is, service wasn't voluntary; it was mandatory. And everyone who wasn't German was an enemy. Is this where we are headed?
My question is this: Four years from now, when people are dying in the streets because they can't get or afford health care, and the once healthy people are wearing masks against pollution in the streets, and thugs with batons are hunting down Latinos and Muslims, if we should elect a new president, can he undo all this damage that is going to occur? If Medicare is dismantled, what will it take to put it back together? If ACA is dismantled, how long before it can be fixed? How long is it going to take to repair our relationships with Mexico, perhaps Canada, and China? How long? And is it even possible?
Hitler promised to put everyone back to work too. His solution was creating a huge military. The problem is, service wasn't voluntary; it was mandatory. And everyone who wasn't German was an enemy. Is this where we are headed?
3
Has anyone else noticed that no matter where Trump is publicly, Pence is right there with him.
Was Biden always on Obama's elbow like this??
Beginning to look like Bush-Cheney all over again
Was Biden always on Obama's elbow like this??
Beginning to look like Bush-Cheney all over again
3
Hmmm. I thought Jared Kushner was the de facto decider since Trump appears to think of the US Presidency as simply one more acquisition for the family business and one more way to burnish his brand.
2
When you are in way over your head and don't have the knowledge, capacity, inner strength, or wherewithal to pull your own strings, someone will invariable come along and fill that void; do that job for you. Even someone like Mr. Pence (and the other drunk with power Repubs rubbing their crafty hands together) who philosophically are not peas in Mr. Trump's original more liberal minded pod. That said, however, most of us would prefer the puller of those fragile fraying strings be Pence not Putin. I keep asking myself; my increasingly more bewildered self, is this feeling of our county's rug being pulled out from under us for real? Excruciatingly, the answer is always yes.
1
This is how they want it: they want us to be obsessed with whatever Trump is obsessed with, e.g. crowd sizes, rather than his marching orders. Look, he's easy to hate. But he is not the one with the agenda and he's not the one with the practical knowledge of how to really hurt people. Whether it's Pence or the very shade of Nixon, the country is in the hands of the worst of the worst -- yes, there are things much worse than a disgusting jerk.
Trump is by no means a little Hitler, as fun as it may be to say. Trump is little more to the Reptilians but a chair to hide behind when they're done with his pen. Why is he so much more to us? Because he's great TV? Let's please get wise to the legerdemain -- while Trump is blowing all sound & fury, the GOP is consigning vulnerable people to death & suffering.
Trump is by no means a little Hitler, as fun as it may be to say. Trump is little more to the Reptilians but a chair to hide behind when they're done with his pen. Why is he so much more to us? Because he's great TV? Let's please get wise to the legerdemain -- while Trump is blowing all sound & fury, the GOP is consigning vulnerable people to death & suffering.
1
As much as I have disliked Trump since his campaign started and never imagined he would actually become President my dislike for Pence is much deeper! I have felt all along that the Republicans leading the House and Senate are playing along with Trump and giving him enough rope while he begins his Presidency signing executive orders but knowing that he will probably hang himself and be replaced by Pence.
I agree with Gail on Pence but also think Reince Priebus is pulling just as many strings as Pence is.
I agree with Gail on Pence but also think Reince Priebus is pulling just as many strings as Pence is.
1
vanreuter Manhattan Pending Approval
The decision to terminate a pregnancy is traumatic and made with sadness by the WOMAN (and often her partner) who is forced by circumstances to make that choice. The event, like a miscarriage, like a birth, is forever indelibly burned into her memory. It is almost always a gut wrenching decision and almost never a frivolous one.
Those who choose to insist that it is their right to impose their moral and/or religious beliefs on individuals whose lives and circumstances that they neither know nor care about fail to see both the devastating, life long effect this event has on the LIFE of the person making the decision, or that their desire to force their philosophy on every American, in complete disregard of THEIR unique individual highly personal circumstances, is immoral, frivolous, and UNAMERICAN.
Oh, and Pence is making Trump his PUPPET, PUPPET, PUPPET....hehhehe
The decision to terminate a pregnancy is traumatic and made with sadness by the WOMAN (and often her partner) who is forced by circumstances to make that choice. The event, like a miscarriage, like a birth, is forever indelibly burned into her memory. It is almost always a gut wrenching decision and almost never a frivolous one.
Those who choose to insist that it is their right to impose their moral and/or religious beliefs on individuals whose lives and circumstances that they neither know nor care about fail to see both the devastating, life long effect this event has on the LIFE of the person making the decision, or that their desire to force their philosophy on every American, in complete disregard of THEIR unique individual highly personal circumstances, is immoral, frivolous, and UNAMERICAN.
Oh, and Pence is making Trump his PUPPET, PUPPET, PUPPET....hehhehe
1
The more I read about the warped thoughts and actions of the blindly religious, the more I am grateful that I am not one of them. It's not just Muslims.
2
I'm assuming that everything - everything - mentioned in this opinion piece is of absolutely no consequence to the 53% of white women who voted for Der Fuhrer.
How does the GOP do it? The Saint picked HXYZ Bush as VP, whom some thought a little dim but basically harmless and, true enough, he only got us into a short, little war. The fact that that war lay smoldering for his spawn to fan into a conflagration is beside the point. He's a demi-hero now, not like the Saint, never, but still a hero.
When he became president, HXYZ Bush picked Quayle, and talk about dim, there's no equal, but armless, too, probably.
Then W picked the runner up to the devil hisself, Dick Cheney. Nobody was going to impeach or whack W if Cheney was veep.
Now the GOP has given us as president a mental infant with a sex-obsessed evangelical as veep. I guess that's progress, though not for women. Women will be put back in the their place as baby makers only who, if they 'want' to work, won't be paid much for it.
And when the ditz in chief stops all immigration entirely and no broads are employed, all those really angry white guys can get their jobs. You know, all those jobs that immigrants take away from us angry white guy citizens.
Won't that be good, all day working in lettuce fields, or making beds, cooking, gardening, nannying, or typing until carpal tunnel, pulling all-nighters while the man boss catches vacation? And all for minimum wage or less? How great will that be? Put on your red MAGA cap and be grateful.
Welcome to Trumneyland, theme park replica of when, in some dark, narrow minds, American was once, formerly, a long time ago, great.
When he became president, HXYZ Bush picked Quayle, and talk about dim, there's no equal, but armless, too, probably.
Then W picked the runner up to the devil hisself, Dick Cheney. Nobody was going to impeach or whack W if Cheney was veep.
Now the GOP has given us as president a mental infant with a sex-obsessed evangelical as veep. I guess that's progress, though not for women. Women will be put back in the their place as baby makers only who, if they 'want' to work, won't be paid much for it.
And when the ditz in chief stops all immigration entirely and no broads are employed, all those really angry white guys can get their jobs. You know, all those jobs that immigrants take away from us angry white guy citizens.
Won't that be good, all day working in lettuce fields, or making beds, cooking, gardening, nannying, or typing until carpal tunnel, pulling all-nighters while the man boss catches vacation? And all for minimum wage or less? How great will that be? Put on your red MAGA cap and be grateful.
Welcome to Trumneyland, theme park replica of when, in some dark, narrow minds, American was once, formerly, a long time ago, great.
4
Even liberals believe in prayer, and living in Indiana as I do, I ask all who read this to pray mightily for the health of Mango Mussolini!
1
There were reports during the campaign that one of the tidbits offered to Pence in enticing him to accept the nomination as VP was "You can run the country." As I recall it, Trump saw himself as the supervisor, leaving the day-to-day details to Pence. I feel that every time I see Trump, Pence is right beside him. It is scary. Is that Pence's job -- to follow Trump around?
1
To whom is it not obvious that our new (but 70 year-old) President is demented?
4
Jeff nesbit writes in position tea, that Pence was the koch's preference for the GOP 2016 presidential race. (180-183). The powers that be in Jane Mayer's dark money have just complete a very successful coup d'etat. Trump will remain in place until he is no longer useful to them.
2
To wish for impeachment or not to wish for impeachment… I agree it’s an awful choice. But here’s how I see it. Trump not only follows Pence’s rightwing agenda; he has his own crackpot agenda. Impeach Trump, and we’ll probably get rid of some of the craziest Trump ideas, such as the wall, the Putin bromance, and our looming trade wars with everyone else. Granted we’ll still have all the fundamental Christian dogma of Pence, but I don’t think he is as likely to nuke the world over an ego slight. (I could be wrong.)
I say, first get rid of Trump and afterward focus on getting rid of Pence. For anyone paying attention, Pence was about to lose his reelection bid for Governor of Indiana. Once he comes out of the shadows and people get a demonstration of his rightwing agenda, as happened in Indiana, his power will likely be diminished. (I hope I'm not wrong on that.)
I say, first get rid of Trump and afterward focus on getting rid of Pence. For anyone paying attention, Pence was about to lose his reelection bid for Governor of Indiana. Once he comes out of the shadows and people get a demonstration of his rightwing agenda, as happened in Indiana, his power will likely be diminished. (I hope I'm not wrong on that.)
4
I think Collins is completely right.
Here's the task, to dig back into the time Ru$$ian Agent Orange described to Howard Stern that avoiding STDs was his "personal Vietnam." I think that he was much more interested in avoiding pregnancies among his buddies in dalliances, particularly when he was encumbered by marriage. A betting man would surmise that Orange Julius Caesar has paid for at least one, if not more, abortion.
Your mission, Gail, should you decide to accept it, is to find that woman (or women).
As usual, should any of your IM force be caught, or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This comment will self destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Gail.
Here's the task, to dig back into the time Ru$$ian Agent Orange described to Howard Stern that avoiding STDs was his "personal Vietnam." I think that he was much more interested in avoiding pregnancies among his buddies in dalliances, particularly when he was encumbered by marriage. A betting man would surmise that Orange Julius Caesar has paid for at least one, if not more, abortion.
Your mission, Gail, should you decide to accept it, is to find that woman (or women).
As usual, should any of your IM force be caught, or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This comment will self destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Gail.
1
Of course Pence is in charge of policy and important matters. He along with Paul Ryan, Conley, Priebus, Bannon (and to a lesser degree McConnell) are using a clueless Trump. Like Chaney, Prince had to work behind the scenes to gain power. Neither of them had the personality to win over crowds and get elected. George W. Bush entered office as a decent man; Chaney took over and tarnished the administration and America. I think Trump INTENDED to "do good, help people", but he is easily manipulated because he really is a simple minded man.
2
i'm sure i wasn't alone in thinking that as bad as trump was going to be, that pence would not be an improvement. trump is a blowhard who needs adulation and is prone to listen to the last person he's talked to. pence is a snake oil salesman with deeply held beliefs that seem to belong in the distant past.
2
If Mr. T ever stops obsessing over how large the crowd was at the inauguration, maybe he might stop to actually read some of these executive orders he's been signing... But I wouldn't count on it.
2
The Republican establishment, everyone from the C-suites to the county commissioners and elected dog catchers, own this. They own it all.
The lap dog approach may be a dangerous ploy. Trump is still the anxious little boy who wants to hang with the cool kids. He "always wanted a purple heart" so he hires generals. He wants you to think that he is a wildly sucessful businessman so he hires billionaires. He may double down on anti women action if the syncophants convince him he's part of this crowd.
Perhaps better to agree with him. Since all voters were were registered in two states were comitting fraud and voted for someone else let's ask Steve Bannon why he voted for Hillary!
Perhaps better to agree with him. Since all voters were were registered in two states were comitting fraud and voted for someone else let's ask Steve Bannon why he voted for Hillary!
The only decision of his own that Trump seems to have taken since moving into the White House is to double the entrance fee for new members of the Winter White House, also known as Mar-a-Lago.
One solution is to keep sending contributions to Planned Parenthood in the arch-misogynist, Mike Pence's name. Pence is no more a Christian than members of ISIS are Muslims. All of these extremists are merely using religion to manipulate anyone too ignorant to know better. The problem is, there are millions of ignorant people, all over the planet who are utterly unreasonable and unwilling to even consider another viewpoint. Personally, I don't think Trump gives a rats behind about anything other than self-promotion, and a we are seeing, his administration is being run by those around him, men and women who, whenever I happen to see them on tv, make me want to take a cold shower immediately.
1
I don't know which is worse---Trump's ego at the helm, or Pence's dark soul. March on!
3
Well, I still hope that the present president will be impeached. Impeachment doesn't happen overnight, and will take a while,
After that, we'll be indeed left with our oh-so-Christian Preacher-in-Chief, one that would certainly run for president during the next general election but won't have a chance of winning.
As to being referred as Lap Dog Trump, he is already the lap dog of another man whose name start with P. How about calling him the PP lap dog?
After that, we'll be indeed left with our oh-so-Christian Preacher-in-Chief, one that would certainly run for president during the next general election but won't have a chance of winning.
As to being referred as Lap Dog Trump, he is already the lap dog of another man whose name start with P. How about calling him the PP lap dog?
1
Lap Dog Trump.
I had wondered why Donald tamed his bright orange pompadour down into a sleek silver cap. Dogs and their owners really do start to look alike.
I had wondered why Donald tamed his bright orange pompadour down into a sleek silver cap. Dogs and their owners really do start to look alike.
2
Trying to sew dissent between the Executive branch? Of course you are, Gail your real purpose is to undermine America and it always has been. Everything you choose to talk about is seditious in intent. I hope Trump ties you to the roof of AF1.
Let's not forget that Trump pygmalion Putin's religious awakening also coincided with his extant but inchoate political ambitions in 1996.
This is indeed a coalition, an extremely vile one, between religious zealots willing to turn a blind eye to kleptocracy (and, hey, maybe take some too) and a band of pirates (not Disney, think Horn of Africa).
If I absolutely had to choose; in terms of avoiding irreversible damage to my country, I'd have to go with the zealots and hope they could be voted out when they inevitably overreach.
This is indeed a coalition, an extremely vile one, between religious zealots willing to turn a blind eye to kleptocracy (and, hey, maybe take some too) and a band of pirates (not Disney, think Horn of Africa).
If I absolutely had to choose; in terms of avoiding irreversible damage to my country, I'd have to go with the zealots and hope they could be voted out when they inevitably overreach.
Ms. Colliins assertions fall into the If-It-Walks-Like-A-Duck category.
That duck is Mike Pence, whose anti-women policy predilections are well-known.
I'm hoping for the Roe v. Wade overturn happening sooner rather than later. Then the games will begin.
The number of people in the streets will make last week's Women's march look like a PTA picnic.
That duck is Mike Pence, whose anti-women policy predilections are well-known.
I'm hoping for the Roe v. Wade overturn happening sooner rather than later. Then the games will begin.
The number of people in the streets will make last week's Women's march look like a PTA picnic.
Gail I have always looked forward to your thoughts. They are informative and in many cases amusing. They most often support my own thinking.
Lately my elitism is beginning to embarrass me. Your conversation with Arthur Brooks and today's speculative column smack of the same elitism in which I've been indulging.
Please lighten up...a little less snarky...and more serious thought provoking. Help me consider ways I can begin to mend the divisiveness that's tearing our country apart. Thanks
Lately my elitism is beginning to embarrass me. Your conversation with Arthur Brooks and today's speculative column smack of the same elitism in which I've been indulging.
Please lighten up...a little less snarky...and more serious thought provoking. Help me consider ways I can begin to mend the divisiveness that's tearing our country apart. Thanks
"Pence's Poodle" rather than "Lap Dog Trump," keeping the tradition of he-who-will-not-be-named.
Republicans were angered about the marches all over the country. They kept asking what do these women want? They asked why are they marching when they already have reproductive rights? After the marches, one shop in town that sells knitting materials posted on its website that any woman coming in asking for knitting materials for anything pertaining to the marches would be refused service, because those women who participated in the march were vile, and vulgar. I am not making this up. (Not certain how the intended purpose of a pink yarn purchase was to be determined.)
The why march question was swiftly answered when the war on women began when the President signed the order pertaining to the global gag rule about abortion. It is in effect blackmail. Want funds for health care? Do not discuss abortion with a woman even if her life is at stake, even if she has contracted the Zika virus, even if she is a child and has been raped. It was smiles all around as Trump surrounded by males including Mike Pence signed the order. We all know that Mike Pence will certainly try to influence Trump's choice of a Supreme Court nominee. Pence will want a judge who will swing the court to the right and when Roe vs Wade is challenged, and it will be, women in this country will be faced with losing their right to a safe and legal abortion no matter if she will die as a result.
Continue the march. Write, phone, show up at town hall meetings wearing the reviled pussy hats. They hate the hats.
The why march question was swiftly answered when the war on women began when the President signed the order pertaining to the global gag rule about abortion. It is in effect blackmail. Want funds for health care? Do not discuss abortion with a woman even if her life is at stake, even if she has contracted the Zika virus, even if she is a child and has been raped. It was smiles all around as Trump surrounded by males including Mike Pence signed the order. We all know that Mike Pence will certainly try to influence Trump's choice of a Supreme Court nominee. Pence will want a judge who will swing the court to the right and when Roe vs Wade is challenged, and it will be, women in this country will be faced with losing their right to a safe and legal abortion no matter if she will die as a result.
Continue the march. Write, phone, show up at town hall meetings wearing the reviled pussy hats. They hate the hats.
2
Email your congressperson. Daily if necessary.
1
"Lap Dog Trump" works nicely! But when you do manage to strap him to the roof of your car, please don't drive him up here to Canada.
2
With only Pence and Trump getting the presidents daily briefings, and Trump saying he found them boring and too repetitive to bother with, that would seem to confirm Pence is acting president. Perhaps in anticipation of Trumps impeachment?
He said early on that Pence would be in charge of domestic and foreign policy. The GOP and the white supremacists have joined forces and are doing all the dirty work behind the scenes. Trump is watching TV and tweeting. He comes in to sign stuff they fixed up for him. If you think he is anything but a complete manipulator, you've been fooled. He didn't want this job. He just wanted the tiara.
3
By the way. I am not a nice woman. Being nice just got me raped and blamed for said rape. I was 11 and it was my step grandfather. I either let him rape me or he would rape my younger sister. According to him that made it consential. It wasn't incest because we didn't share blood. What 11 year old can give that kind of consent freely?
Oh wait he was further encouraged because my mother claimed that I was a product of incest. So my step grandfather was allowed to "teach" me that place of a woman who was forever tainted. This is one ugly story and it happened right here in the US of A.
Oh wait he was further encouraged because my mother claimed that I was a product of incest. So my step grandfather was allowed to "teach" me that place of a woman who was forever tainted. This is one ugly story and it happened right here in the US of A.
2
Robert Bagg Worthington, MA
Thomas Jefferson foresaw the likelihood of the political crisis caused by our faulty electoral system. He pondered whether an (armed) revolution might be needed in every generation. Clearly, Obviously, guns are not an option in 2017. But a series of impeachments that might elevate Ryan to the presidency could happen. Pence would be a far more dangerous President. Like Trump, Pence rejects historical and scientific facts of which he disapproves. (Pence believes, as he said in a speech to Congress, that human life began 6000 years ago; that willingness to reject historical and scientific fact would be devastating to our nation.) Robert Lowell once wrote:
Where was it that New England bred the men
Who quartered the Leviathan;s fat flanks
And fought the British Lion touts knees?
The USA is today a weaker nation that the once principled powerhouse that destroyed the Nazis and the Japanese in WW II.
It's clear that a rising tide of Americans now see this danger; their resistance to Trump and Pence is building nationwide. It's time to begin the fight to take our nation back from a regime opposed to the sacred values that have made ours the greatest nation on earth.
Thomas Jefferson foresaw the likelihood of the political crisis caused by our faulty electoral system. He pondered whether an (armed) revolution might be needed in every generation. Clearly, Obviously, guns are not an option in 2017. But a series of impeachments that might elevate Ryan to the presidency could happen. Pence would be a far more dangerous President. Like Trump, Pence rejects historical and scientific facts of which he disapproves. (Pence believes, as he said in a speech to Congress, that human life began 6000 years ago; that willingness to reject historical and scientific fact would be devastating to our nation.) Robert Lowell once wrote:
Where was it that New England bred the men
Who quartered the Leviathan;s fat flanks
And fought the British Lion touts knees?
The USA is today a weaker nation that the once principled powerhouse that destroyed the Nazis and the Japanese in WW II.
It's clear that a rising tide of Americans now see this danger; their resistance to Trump and Pence is building nationwide. It's time to begin the fight to take our nation back from a regime opposed to the sacred values that have made ours the greatest nation on earth.
"I am just mentioning this for you to remember the next time you hear people say they hope President Trump is impeached."
Thanks Gail. I actually was hoping for impeachment after learning yesterday that Trump ordered a full scale investigation into little green men, er, I mean the millions of fraudulent votes. So inside of a week, the President is officially as crazy as an iconic crazy man from a 1950's movie.
Captain Queeg: “Ahh, but the strawberries that's... that's where I had them. They laughed at me and made jokes but I proved beyond the shadow of a doubt and with... geometric logic...” The Cain Mutiny (1954).
Thanks Gail. I actually was hoping for impeachment after learning yesterday that Trump ordered a full scale investigation into little green men, er, I mean the millions of fraudulent votes. So inside of a week, the President is officially as crazy as an iconic crazy man from a 1950's movie.
Captain Queeg: “Ahh, but the strawberries that's... that's where I had them. They laughed at me and made jokes but I proved beyond the shadow of a doubt and with... geometric logic...” The Cain Mutiny (1954).
Duh. I knew this last year. Pence and Ryan are the faces I see in my nightmares. Trump is the useful idiot who will distract everyone while Pence and Ryan go about slowly killing, not only our democracy but quite a few American citizens. Some of us will die because of a lack of health care, some of us will die from tainted water and dirty air, others will die in wars etc.
The stupidity of literally killing off their voters doesn't seem to dawn on them, they're too busy salivating at the idea of being able to harm the poorest and most vulnerable.
The stupidity of literally killing off their voters doesn't seem to dawn on them, they're too busy salivating at the idea of being able to harm the poorest and most vulnerable.
2
How about callling Trump, "Pence's Poodle"?
i was speaking to a friend, at the New York City Women's March, about our experiences as young girls at Planned Parenthood. We had lived close to one another in Greenwich Village, and had used the Planned Parenthood Center on 14th St. to obtain birth control and ordinary medical care.
For the first time, my friend shared with me that, on one of those PP visits, she had been diagnosed with early stage cervical cancer. She went on to have surgery at Sloan-Kettering, and recovered completely. She had not told her friends, and many family members, because she had not wanted to alarm them. She was 23 years old at that time.
Planned Parenthood saved her life. Mike Pence does not care about the New York Times, Gail Collins, this post, my friend, or women's health. But we do. Please call your Congressional representative and senator today and express your determination to save PP. And wear your hat – everywhere.
i was speaking to a friend, at the New York City Women's March, about our experiences as young girls at Planned Parenthood. We had lived close to one another in Greenwich Village, and had used the Planned Parenthood Center on 14th St. to obtain birth control and ordinary medical care.
For the first time, my friend shared with me that, on one of those PP visits, she had been diagnosed with early stage cervical cancer. She went on to have surgery at Sloan-Kettering, and recovered completely. She had not told her friends, and many family members, because she had not wanted to alarm them. She was 23 years old at that time.
Planned Parenthood saved her life. Mike Pence does not care about the New York Times, Gail Collins, this post, my friend, or women's health. But we do. Please call your Congressional representative and senator today and express your determination to save PP. And wear your hat – everywhere.
3
We have to get rid of both of them, Trump and Pence!
3
That would bring us to Ryan. After that we get into the new Cabinet heads. We are truly up the creek.
3
Trump's attention span is so short he's everyone's lap dog -- Putin's, Pence's, Bannon's, Kushner's, Priebus' -- but he's too busy playing reality show president to notice.
Robert Reich recently posted the following on Facebook:
"I had breakfast recently with a friend who's a former Republican member of Congress. Here's what he said:
Him: Trump is no Republican. He’s just a big fat ego.
Me: Then why didn’t you speak out against him during the campaign?
Him: You kidding? I was surrounded by Trump voters. I’d have been shot.
Me: So what now? What are your former Republican colleagues going to do?
Him (smirking): They’ll play along for a while.
Me: A while?
Him: They’ll get as much as they want – tax cuts galore, deregulation, military buildup, slash all those poverty programs, and then get to work on Social Security and Medicare – and blame him. And he’s such a fool he’ll want to take credit for everything.
Me: And then what?
Him (laughing): They like Pence.
Me: What do you mean?
Him: Pence is their guy. They all think Trump is out of his mind.
Me: So what?
Him: So the moment Trump does something really dumb – steps over the line – violates the law in a big stupid clumsy way … and you know he will ...
Me: They impeach him?
Him: You bet. They pull the trigger."
It makes total sense and is nothing our grandmothers couln't have told us. So we'd better watch out what weask for, because things can get worse.
"I had breakfast recently with a friend who's a former Republican member of Congress. Here's what he said:
Him: Trump is no Republican. He’s just a big fat ego.
Me: Then why didn’t you speak out against him during the campaign?
Him: You kidding? I was surrounded by Trump voters. I’d have been shot.
Me: So what now? What are your former Republican colleagues going to do?
Him (smirking): They’ll play along for a while.
Me: A while?
Him: They’ll get as much as they want – tax cuts galore, deregulation, military buildup, slash all those poverty programs, and then get to work on Social Security and Medicare – and blame him. And he’s such a fool he’ll want to take credit for everything.
Me: And then what?
Him (laughing): They like Pence.
Me: What do you mean?
Him: Pence is their guy. They all think Trump is out of his mind.
Me: So what?
Him: So the moment Trump does something really dumb – steps over the line – violates the law in a big stupid clumsy way … and you know he will ...
Me: They impeach him?
Him: You bet. They pull the trigger."
It makes total sense and is nothing our grandmothers couln't have told us. So we'd better watch out what weask for, because things can get worse.
5
Trump is the rubber stamp for the laundry list of the GOP's extreme proposals. There is no way he has the attention span to even read them. Let's hope the resistance holds.
1
In order for this approach to really be effective, the claim that he is Pence's lapdog should be made by beautiful women. Like former Miss America contestants. This President really wants the approval of attractive women.
1
Yeah, and Huey Long was a lap dog, too. This joke won't play in Peoria, which is the only place that counts politically, as Trump demonstrated last fall. Hehehe.
Are you aware that Huey Long was assasinated?
2
I am so glad that you wrote this article because I couldn't agree more. A president who spends all his time comparing the "length and width" of his crowd size and who never seemed particularly politically malevolent in his business career other than groping and molesting women (which is horrible but not geared against Planned Parenthood) would not suddenly going to go after everything that is good like a rabid dog. That rabid dog is Pence. Just look at these first 6 days. Slash the National Endowment for the Arts, slash the environment. Slash Planned Parenthood. The Endowment for the Arts is most likely Pence's revenge for Hamilton. I've never seen any administration go after things with a ruthlessness like this. It's usually for financial gain but these changes are personal. This stinks of Mike Pence. My guess is that when Trump was raging about the women's march Pence said "you can get even with them, slash everything they care about." Which is why now, the GOP is our only hope (and I never ever thought I would have to say those words). The only way to defeat Mike Pence is to go after Congress with letters and calls and marches with a vengeance.
4
Gail Collins is spot on. Like Putin, the Republicans realize they have a "useful idiot" on their hands, an unwitting agent who they can easily manipulate.
Grover Norquist, (the "sign the no taxes pledge") gave a speech at one of the conservative confabs (it's on video tape) wherein he said, we don't need a President capable of thinking up policy - we already have our positions. All we need is a Republican President with five digits that can sign his name. Their wish has come true.
There is a reason Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell are grinning ear to ear.
All they have to do is stroke Trump's ego, pat him on the head, put a pen in his hand, and tell him he's the greatest POTUS that ever lived.
Grover Norquist, (the "sign the no taxes pledge") gave a speech at one of the conservative confabs (it's on video tape) wherein he said, we don't need a President capable of thinking up policy - we already have our positions. All we need is a Republican President with five digits that can sign his name. Their wish has come true.
There is a reason Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell are grinning ear to ear.
All they have to do is stroke Trump's ego, pat him on the head, put a pen in his hand, and tell him he's the greatest POTUS that ever lived.
6
Hogtie Trump to the Republican Party. The Republican Party, the Party of Trump. They own him forever. And when their ship starts to sink, and it's taking on water now, the rats will all drown, one by one.
7
That's not the way it will go down. When things get truly hairy, Republicans will disown him, call him a deranged menace, and come to the rescue by impeaching him, thus securing their lasting position as saviors of the country.
1
I don't think Trump is Pence's puppet, I KNOW he is. And I also know the Republicans in Congress also have their sweaty, eager hands on the strings. I knew it would be this way when he picked that smooth, understated, ambitious, ideologue for VP. Beware of Pence. His unctuous manner does not fool me--once he has laid the groundwork, he's in for the long haul; in particular the next election. He'll do or say anything to secure the big prize. He already sold his soul to Trump to get this stepping stone.
4
Pence's lapdog. Putin's lapdog. Lapdog of certain industrial complex masters (hint: private prisons, for profit schools). Trump doesn't think...for himself...except maybe about and of himself. That failure leaves him ready to be manipulated by others. Just wait till he finds his own voice, then we are really in trouble.
If men took any responsibility at all for their own sexual activity, perhaps we could move on from blaming women. The country now has a President that folks are saying has the emotional maturity of an eight year old. Whether that be true or not, Mr. Pence, Mr. Ryan , Mr. McConnell and the rest need to accept that white men are not the most important people in the world and we must put an end to their attempt to control those they see less fit (women, people of color, poor folk). Further, it is concerning that Mr. Pence believes in fixing gays through intervention. Being threatened by homosexuals in itself is strange in a public servant. We best be prepared to stand up for others lest all of our freedoms disappear into what is obviously a coup d'etat. Today's article on the felony arrest of journalist had better send a chill down every Americans spine.
221
When my sister got pregnant with her fourth child her(now divorced) husband did not speak to her for 4-6 weeks because SHE got pregnant. Men taking responsibility for their sexual activity? Hehehe Men report that they cannot help it and that is that.
4
Trump under Pence'a thumb? Doubtful. Trump isn't the kind of guy who is easily muscled around. And as anyone who has lived in Indiana under Governor Pence can tell you, it's doubtful that Pence has the strategic vision or interpersonal savvy to manipulate Trump very well. But given that Trump has little interest in public policy in general or more specifically in tracking issues he doesn't care about, it's easy to imagine that there would be an opportunity for Pence (and more to the point organizations like the Heritage Foundation, Family Research Council, etc.) to push their Evangelical Christian agendas as part of the new administration.
6
It's not Pence -- it's the Breitbart guy, Roger Stone, Kelly Ann and Vladimir.
I don't disagree with your characterization of Pence's obsession of women's ovarian history ( and don't leave out LGBTQ obsessions as well) , but he lacks the manipulativeness-rule the world-entitlement that fires up the Hotel Owner. Pence has no fire in the belly--fire in the uterus possibly.
I don't disagree with your characterization of Pence's obsession of women's ovarian history ( and don't leave out LGBTQ obsessions as well) , but he lacks the manipulativeness-rule the world-entitlement that fires up the Hotel Owner. Pence has no fire in the belly--fire in the uterus possibly.
2
It has always seemed probable that an "eminence grise" puts words into Trump's mouth, and given the direction of Trump's actions over the past few days, I suspect that Ayatollah Pence is one of those people. While Trump blunders about like a puffed up clown balloon, Pence is much more sinister. He is a dreaded "true believer" by Eric Hoffer's definition, and thus, unbalanced and very dangerous.
It's become hard to express the outrage I feel over the theft of funding for women's health--and when women are abused by the system, their children rarely fare very well. A pox on Pence!
It's become hard to express the outrage I feel over the theft of funding for women's health--and when women are abused by the system, their children rarely fare very well. A pox on Pence!
5
Let's call Pence and his ilk what they are: the American Taliban. Yes, Trump is just the frontman, the showman for our new reality show.
Trump is a sociopathic con artist, laughably inept and deluded. He is just a few hissy fits from a stroke and/ or resignation. I give him a year. Then the
REAL fun begins.
Trump is a sociopathic con artist, laughably inept and deluded. He is just a few hissy fits from a stroke and/ or resignation. I give him a year. Then the
REAL fun begins.
15
Pensive about Pence. Yes, the proverbial "heartbeat from the presidency" person could be even worse than The Orange Emperor.
All that silly talk about infrastructure spending would evaporate as well.
All that silly talk about infrastructure spending would evaporate as well.
3
We've seen this before. Who do you think really ran the country: W. Bush or Dick Cheney?
4
Just think. There will be lots more babies because abortion will be outlawed and birth control will be out of reach for the wives of all those white working class guys who voted Trump/Pence. But they'll be born into a world in which coal companies are free to spew CO2, methane, and mercury into the atmosphere, chemical companies newly freed of pesky EPA oversight can dump their toxins at will, and public drinking water is tainted with lead. Asthma, childhood cancer, and cognitive delays will mushroom. And to top it all off, no one will have health care unless they can afford to put lots of money into a "health savings account." And here you thought it was the 21st century.
By the way, if Mike Pence's mother stayed at home when he was growing up, it obviously did nothing for his emotional development.
By the way, if Mike Pence's mother stayed at home when he was growing up, it obviously did nothing for his emotional development.
5
Time for the internet to start up the meme machine with some Pence-Trump images that can stir up ridicule like the Putin-Trump images have done so successfully.
2
Oh, no, a puppetmaster worse than Cheney?!?!? Can it possibly be? Thanks for a new wrinkle on this nightmare of an administration, Gail. Already I wasn't sleeping at night!
2
Thank you Gail but all you've done is scratch the surface. Mike Pence, with the help of the Koch Brothers, is truly the most dangerous man in America. Donald is a distraction, pay attention to the men behind the curtain, that is where our country will be taken away from us. Resist...
5
Add Betsy DeVos to Pence's wish list. Trump gave it all away with his own Rick Perry "Oops" moment — ”Ah, Betsy. Education, right?” — when signing her official nomination papers for Secretary of Education. Scares the heck out of me.
Probably some truth to this Gail, since Trump can't be bothered to bone up on the issues--it might interrupt his nightly TV schedule. The scary part is that the more he is pushed, the more Trump will lash out, especially if he gets no credit for positions or action on legislation (aka Pence gets the credit/blame). The backlash can result in acts and decisions of cruelty as a form of defiance.
It is true that Pence himself frequently bragged that he is a "Christian" first, ahead of being an American citizen, which should terrify and appall most of us. I can attest, however, that in the Reading, PA area, where I lived until recently, many in line on election day loudly proclaimed that they despised Trump but were voting for a "good Christian, Mike Pence." I chose not to respond - but the trajectory is clearly straight back to the 1800's with Pence, Ryan, Kasich, Rubio,and the entire appalling crowd of GOTP Christian Taliban acolytes. Women's sexuality (in other words, financial security and independence) is to be feared, loathed, firmly controlled and kept under strict fiats, rendering all women around the globe, but particularly those whose with no resources, as subservient chattel for these vile and misogynist, patriarchal men. I have said previously, and reiterate that these are not "pro lifers:" they are pro forced birth, pro death penalty, and pro waging endless "Crusades" in the name of their religion - to be fought, of course, by everyone else's kids. Let us mince no words: these so called "pro lifers" are the first to gut access to contraception and abortion, deny climate change, slash SNAP and Medicaid, and totally trash public schools - it is no wonder that true Christians, such as the Nuns on the Bus, eviscerated Paul Ryan's shameless and phony sanctimonious pronouncements about his "faith informing his policy views." 1/26, 10:07 AM
4
Trump's pro-life stance always seemed politically convenient. On the other hand if he is really pro-choice, he is not strongly so. He does not care about women, at least not in the real sense, only as a useful tool for himself. His life is evidence of that. Three wives, each one younger, trailling him around at his will, dressed as his prop, disposing of them, using "beautiful women" as props in business, throwing them away as they become older, just as he does his wives. His treatenent of Hillary, the words he uses, "nasty woman", his strong visual angst as she summarily bested him at the debates with ease.
The men in America watched him do it and voted for him anyway, as well as the beneficial women in their realm. This is the dangerous America.
The men in America watched him do it and voted for him anyway, as well as the beneficial women in their realm. This is the dangerous America.
6
I favor a slightly different version of your suggestion. In the end, it's all about control of information and the Trump White House staff and advisors are doing a good job of making sure that their version of reality prevails. It's a lot like the Trump approach to facts, repeat it often enough and people begin to believe it. Just look at Putin's Russia. Information is controlled and other opinions and actual facts are suppressed to assure that most of the population believes the narrative. It's proven to be successful on a population scale and well documented to work for individuals as well.
1
Could be any of the sadistic people standing in his wings. Unfortunately there are many to choose from, Pence being just one.
2
Gail, you are totally wrong. Mike Pence can push DT on social issues like abortion because DT wants to be loved. But, the basic DT wants to be seen even more as "strong" and "directive."
In fact, the person pulling the strings is Steve Bannon, Strategist in Chief. The Wall shtick and the "let's not speak the action that must not be named" even though we know women will do it anyway and if they don't, "so what?" and the "we should just take the oil" lines are straight out of the Propagandist 101 book. They are relatively cheap lines in terms of political and dollar cost. The Wall, like other physical infrastructure can be started and stopped as needed (remember that great tunnel from NJ?. . . shut down as it got going for "cost" reasons.) The anti-abortion rule has been on and off several times and mostly affects the poorest women everywhere -- who cares?
However, the "take the oil" line is now making the rounds of Social and TV media in Iraq, generating plenty of anti-US sentiment even as the Iraqis utilize our troops to help them overcome ISIS. That negative emotion threatens the lives of our soldiers there and puts a big red bullseye on the back of each one. The first time some Iraqi soldier-clad person blows up a small group of our men, make no mistake but that Trump put the bomb in their hearts and hands.
The pathological narcissism of DT and his total inability to control his impulses is a direct danger to our troops and to our nation. Just a matter of time.
In fact, the person pulling the strings is Steve Bannon, Strategist in Chief. The Wall shtick and the "let's not speak the action that must not be named" even though we know women will do it anyway and if they don't, "so what?" and the "we should just take the oil" lines are straight out of the Propagandist 101 book. They are relatively cheap lines in terms of political and dollar cost. The Wall, like other physical infrastructure can be started and stopped as needed (remember that great tunnel from NJ?. . . shut down as it got going for "cost" reasons.) The anti-abortion rule has been on and off several times and mostly affects the poorest women everywhere -- who cares?
However, the "take the oil" line is now making the rounds of Social and TV media in Iraq, generating plenty of anti-US sentiment even as the Iraqis utilize our troops to help them overcome ISIS. That negative emotion threatens the lives of our soldiers there and puts a big red bullseye on the back of each one. The first time some Iraqi soldier-clad person blows up a small group of our men, make no mistake but that Trump put the bomb in their hearts and hands.
The pathological narcissism of DT and his total inability to control his impulses is a direct danger to our troops and to our nation. Just a matter of time.
3
Just a thought, but in some circles President T might be thought of as a "size queen". He seems to worry about how big everything is all the time
3
I think we also need to show Trump that we're not playing into his games. First and foremost, reject Kellyanne Conway as his spokesperson. Let her sit in her office and do nothing all day. She is a waste of time, only defending his policies in doublespeak (I am beginning to think she is mentally ill as well as he, because she seems blithely unaware that she constantly makes a fool of herself. Spicer at least knows that he looked ridiculous at his first press conference). Go around Trump and get leaks, which are much more likely to be the truth. Encourage undercover investigation.
1
Now, tell me again how women's health and reproductive matters are a "side issue."
1
I remember, at some point not so long ago, that the Republican Party was looking for a Presidential candidate whose main qualification was that he could sign his name when told to. Based upon the speed and content of what Trump has been signing these past few days, the Republicans got the candidate that they were looking for.
Who, pray tell, is REALLY running our country ?
Who, pray tell, is REALLY running our country ?
7
When a man calls his wife Mother, there is a problem. The Grifter and Liar in Chief will get his wall and infrastructure in exchange (The art of the deal) for an all out assault on women. You might also even get arrested in a year or two if you do not show your crucifix to a Fed religious agent. America is going Ayatolah all the way after each has gotten what it wanted from the other.
3
Perfect photo. Geppetto proudly looking on as his Pinocchio forlornly hopes one day to become a Real Boy. Photoshop the nose and you have it.
3
If Pence is already controlling the "show" aka presidency, then at the very least when Trump is impeached, the facade can be torn down. It may not help, but at the very least it could give some sense of the dismal reality that currently exists.
Maybe just maybe then Trump supporters will remove their colored glasses. I know it is a long shot, but at this point what is there to lose?
Maybe just maybe then Trump supporters will remove their colored glasses. I know it is a long shot, but at this point what is there to lose?
2
It's Pence and Bannon - mostly Bannon.
4
isn't it obvious that our "President" doesn't have the slightest idea of a policy on a whole number of issues? If it doesn't affect the number of votes he received or impact on his friendship with Putin, they he couldn't care less about it. As a result, he will take direction from whomever spoke to him last. I believe that this is the reason that the Republicans are lining up behind him. They think that they can set national policy by being the last person to speak to Trump about an issue.
The country is in for a roller coaster ride in the next four years as Trump goes one way because Senator X spoke to him but the next day he goes another way because Representative Y spoke to him. Hang on to your seats!
The country is in for a roller coaster ride in the next four years as Trump goes one way because Senator X spoke to him but the next day he goes another way because Representative Y spoke to him. Hang on to your seats!
2
Puppet or no puppet, it's starting to feel like 1950 around here.
2
I think the goal is actually 1850.
When the so-called pro-lifers sign up to adopt and be responsible for every child born rather than aborted, I will give them credibility.
If they haven't adopted, seems to me they are pro birth, complete and total hypocrites, as well as poor representatives of Christianity.
If they haven't adopted, seems to me they are pro birth, complete and total hypocrites, as well as poor representatives of Christianity.
5
By definition it would be child abuse to allow adoptions by these authoritarian freak CINOs.
The church(es) spend so much time, effort and money fighting, lobbying and advertising against abortion and birth control -- yet, how much time, effort and money does it spend on teaching men how to handle their sexual urges?
For a woman to become pregnant, a man has to be involved. It is a two-part equation. So, why is the church only focused on half of the equation?
In any "relationship", when one party refuses to do any work at all, the other party is forced to twist itself into unsustainable shapes in order to take on the work for both parties.
While my questions may seem simple and naive to you, but these are the questions that we must ask the religious movement. By using terms such as "reproductive rights" (while correct), the conversation becomes removed from ground realities.
Ask Trump and Pence, what do they use when they are having sex without the intent of producing a child?
For a woman to become pregnant, a man has to be involved. It is a two-part equation. So, why is the church only focused on half of the equation?
In any "relationship", when one party refuses to do any work at all, the other party is forced to twist itself into unsustainable shapes in order to take on the work for both parties.
While my questions may seem simple and naive to you, but these are the questions that we must ask the religious movement. By using terms such as "reproductive rights" (while correct), the conversation becomes removed from ground realities.
Ask Trump and Pence, what do they use when they are having sex without the intent of producing a child?
3
Those joking comments herein about Pence vs. Putin as string-pullers?
This afficionado of Cold War history says it's no joke.
Years ago I was reading a history of radio broadcasting. In the
chapter about post-WW II developments, I came upon a passage that
has provided food for thought ever since. In the late 1940s, as I
recall it, the Vatican summoned broadcasting executives. There
could be no peace, they were told, as long as the athiestic
communists were in power in the Soviet Union. So...was the Cold
War between Moscow and Washington? Or between Moscow and the Vatican?
This afficionado of Cold War history says it's no joke.
Years ago I was reading a history of radio broadcasting. In the
chapter about post-WW II developments, I came upon a passage that
has provided food for thought ever since. In the late 1940s, as I
recall it, the Vatican summoned broadcasting executives. There
could be no peace, they were told, as long as the athiestic
communists were in power in the Soviet Union. So...was the Cold
War between Moscow and Washington? Or between Moscow and the Vatican?
Trump is a puppet, there's absolutely no doubt about that since he has no well thought-out opinions of his won. But whose? Pence? Putin? Bannon? There is no single answer, he will listen to whichever 'advisor' speaks most simplistically. The one thing that is a non-starter is any kind of subtle or complex thought...
There will be no impeachment unless Democrats can take over the house and senate in 2018. A pipe dream. We are in for 4 years of damage to women and minorities. We might be able to undo his damage between 2020-2040, but more likely our best years just ended after 75 consecutive months of job growth (over 11 million jobs).
The American century almost ended with Bush v Gore, when the SCOTUS and electoral college removed Gore (the popular vote winner) from the Presidency. That led to an incompetent President, then 9-11, then the war on terror. We suffered 8 years of sliding backwards, ending in recession. We are now doomed to repeat that pattern.
There will be no impeachment unless Democrats can take over the house and senate in 2018. A pipe dream. We are in for 4 years of damage to women and minorities. We might be able to undo his damage between 2020-2040, but more likely our best years just ended after 75 consecutive months of job growth (over 11 million jobs).
The American century almost ended with Bush v Gore, when the SCOTUS and electoral college removed Gore (the popular vote winner) from the Presidency. That led to an incompetent President, then 9-11, then the war on terror. We suffered 8 years of sliding backwards, ending in recession. We are now doomed to repeat that pattern.
3
Smart speculation, Gail. I believe it. I also believe Trump was susceptible to it because of the "tiny" women's march. Trump's cabinet picks all have their own agendas and have sized him up. A power struggle for control of the marionette-prez is sure to ensue once they're all in place. Terrifying to think Pence will come out on top.
2
I believe that Pence is exerting his control and directing Trump's signature pen on issues of women's health, abortion, and gay rights. Trump's impending war on the environment terrifies me, as well. We have only one planet. The Trump/Pence combo is truly horrific, and I am just trying not to fall into despair.
2
I agree that Pence as president is a horrifying thought. But I maintain Drumpf is worse. Everything you discuss in this article is accurate, but at least Pence appears to respect and work within our democratic institutions. He is not an authoritarian and will not undermine our country for decades to come. He will hurt us tremendously, but I believe we can more easily come back from that, than repair the damage Drumpf is doing. And, perhaps most importantly, the nuclear codes may be safer with Pence than with Drumpf.
2
There were stories out there last Summer before Trump picked Pence that Trump's people had approached Kasich and had indicated that Trump wanted someone who would run things for him while he continued to hold rallies.
Go back and look at video of the inauguration. The two happiest people on that stage were Pence and Ryan. Ryan looked like the cat that ate the canary while Pence took his oath of office. But they need Trump, because if he can keep his base fired up for 4 years he stands a better chance of winning reelection than Pence would have running for President in 2020 if they are able to push Trump out. As long as the attention is on Trump and his crazy behavior, those who are pulling the strings can do their work out of the spotlight. So keep focused on the actual actions and executive orders rather than on the latest crazy tweet.
Go back and look at video of the inauguration. The two happiest people on that stage were Pence and Ryan. Ryan looked like the cat that ate the canary while Pence took his oath of office. But they need Trump, because if he can keep his base fired up for 4 years he stands a better chance of winning reelection than Pence would have running for President in 2020 if they are able to push Trump out. As long as the attention is on Trump and his crazy behavior, those who are pulling the strings can do their work out of the spotlight. So keep focused on the actual actions and executive orders rather than on the latest crazy tweet.
2
I agree that Pence fills his " conservative" intravenous drip bag, but I think Jared Kushner is in charge of the " better to be feared than loved" bag.
2
I had a dream last night in which I was a reporter addressing questions to Sen. McConnell and Rep. Ryan; and I said to them, “I believe President Ryan is a nutcase
who is doing great damage to this country, what do you think of him?” And they replied, “We think he is a great man who is already doing great things for the country.”
To which I replied: “Thank you for saying that. I had a bet with myself that you would say that for which I have just won a chocolate milkshake.”
who is doing great damage to this country, what do you think of him?” And they replied, “We think he is a great man who is already doing great things for the country.”
To which I replied: “Thank you for saying that. I had a bet with myself that you would say that for which I have just won a chocolate milkshake.”
4
Make that:
I believe President Trump is a nutcase
who is doing great damage to this
country ...."
I believe President Trump is a nutcase
who is doing great damage to this
country ...."
1
Grover Norquist was right. All the Republican leadership needed was a President with enough digits to hold a pen to sign their agenda. This is why and how so many Executive orders are being signed within days of the Inauguration.
Trump is their puppet all right!
Trump is their puppet all right!
7
You know Gail, Trump has already read this post by you as I understand he keeps stacks of newspapers and that what he does first thing starting with NYT in the morning after finishing his ridiculous tweets.
This is by your request I am writing that Donald Trump was a life long Democrat, always a pro choice. His political contributions previously was to Democrats like Chuck Schumer for one.
Pence must be burning inside with his squint to know the conversation between those two at the inauguration dinner.
Why this sudden change in Mr. Trump ?
Has to be listening to His master`s voice Mike Pence who is not a very smart dude of a VP.
This is by your request I am writing that Donald Trump was a life long Democrat, always a pro choice. His political contributions previously was to Democrats like Chuck Schumer for one.
Pence must be burning inside with his squint to know the conversation between those two at the inauguration dinner.
Why this sudden change in Mr. Trump ?
Has to be listening to His master`s voice Mike Pence who is not a very smart dude of a VP.
5
I hope he doesn't read our comments. He'll "send in the Feds" to shut us up.
1
After Roe v Wade, many female activists figured their job was done, and they could get on with their lives. As they disappeared from the political scene, the GOP counter-reformation became ever more powerful, so now we have the Presidential troika of Putin, Priebus and Pence, dragging us all to perdition.
2
Is Trump merely a red herring? a distraction from the real Republican agenda?
He certainly keeps people from thinking about the things that are really important for our country. The Republicans could ignore him IF they wanted to
accomplish anything substantial... just give Trump his toys while the boys do the
real deeds.
He certainly keeps people from thinking about the things that are really important for our country. The Republicans could ignore him IF they wanted to
accomplish anything substantial... just give Trump his toys while the boys do the
real deeds.
4
We will soon be in competition with the Philippines when it comes to Democracy and human rights! America welcome to your first Dark Age!
2
Maybe we should all, journalists included, start saying that "trump/pence" issued executive orders or proposed policy instead of just trump. trump did say at one point during the campaign that his vice president would be in charge of both domestic and foreign policy while he would take care of "making America great again." Maybe he was telling the truth for once.
1
Thought all through the campaign that it was an attempt to elect pence...it' ridiculous to believe the Donald could be a chief executive...the man is a loser
1
So depressing, it is 2017 and we have to listen to "Pilgrim" Mike Pence tell women what to do with their bodies.
Of course. Pence was chosen to keep Trump in the traces as much as possible. He is Trump-daddy and Trump is his naughty boy. Gag me with a spoon,
1
I distinctly heard Pence say he is against contraception as well. He is not alone in this view. Watch investigate and count up your representatives who espouse this view. Then tally up the number of children they have. You might tally up all their marriages as well.
2
Yes, it is not enough to just impeach Trump, we've got to impeach the woman hating VP, too.
There is more than one person pulling the strings. Bannon seems to be very active, too, and certainly there are some more. Anyway, it seems to be fact that America has a president who's lost his senses and is controlled by right wing extremists (and he's been extreme himself in many fields for a long time).
1
My guess is that many Republicans would welcome a Trump impeachment. After the groping exposure, there were calls for Trump to step aside in Pence's favor. There's a lot more behind that blank stare and half smile than the Donald realizes. If were him, I'd watch my back.
2
Yes, this entire set up is rotten to the core with only one solution that will in any way help. Vote Republicans out of office every two years as often as it takes to get back a sane/empathetic majority. Getting rid of Trump gets us Pence, getting rid of Pence gets us McConnell or Ryan....please everyone...vote, vote, vote to get us out of this hole so we can see daylight eventually!
2
no one is pro abortion. Abortion has been around since the beginning of time. Our body can self abort. But it cannot go back to the dark rooms with criminals performing it. Sex Education,involved parenting, easy access to birth control is a start to reduce this situation. Abortion is at an all time low. If you study the rest of the world, a woman being able to control reproduction lifts women and families out of poverty. What I never hear is an emphasis on helping women learn to control their reproduction abilities.Women are still blamed for their unplanned pregnancies; there is no involvement of the men. Mike Pence makes a mockery of my religion with his intolerance and people like him use Christianity to dictate to others how to live He has no understanding of how the rest of the world out there lives.
3
Gail your pal David Brooks wrote and chastised those of us who marched in Washington last Sat. that we were doing so for the wrong reasons. Your column examines the reality of young women who marched and carried signs saying 'hands off my body'. I stood by these women because I came of age during the time abortion was illegal and you could only get the new pill if you were married. Several young women thanked me for still standing for women's rights. I stood for every issue of concern to these varied marchers. To Lake W : making abortion illegal will not stop abortion but it will mean death for some women. No we don't need 50,000,000 unwanted children, especially since unsympathetic Republicans abandon these babies and mothers the minute they are born. These babies and mothers immediately become takers, sucking what little they can off God-fearing tax payers.
As to impeachment: I have commented to people many times that you impeach Trump you get Pence. (After writing this I will never write the words President Trump.)
Sat. was a high but upon arriving home to this new reality I fell to new lows.
As to impeachment: I have commented to people many times that you impeach Trump you get Pence. (After writing this I will never write the words President Trump.)
Sat. was a high but upon arriving home to this new reality I fell to new lows.
2
A royal twofer. Both the Kremlin & the GOP party leaders got their guy in the White House. The fellow, though, who always finds himself in court...on one side or the other of a lawsuit.
2
Republicans should stop beating about the bush and come right out and say that their goal is to stop women from having sex with anyone but them, and then only to produce babies, stay at home even if they can't afford to, and shut up.
2
OMG! A Pence puppet president - not hard to believe, right? Fanatics are not like you and me. Driven by intense ideological hate and rage (but hiding under a calm exterior) they go after the weakest egos who can hate and rage for them, you know, do the dirty work. I mean the VP is a man who forgave the disgusting feline grab! So its okay to grab a woman's genitalia without consent but not okay to save her life??? Or let her make her own life choices?? Forget about "alternative facts," this has become a dystopian alternative universe! HELP!!
3
I have begun to dislike old, white, conservative, self-called-Christian men with a very strong, passionate, unequivocal vengeance.
4
It's pretty obvious that Trump is just doing what any Republican who took office would have done, which is exactly what he said he wouldn't do. Him being not a typical Republican was part of the deal that got him elected. So it appears to be Pence behind these moves and probably a whole host of other Republican advisers.
Right now the Republicans can seem to do whatever they want, but they also are left largely unchallenged by the left. Dems like Warren, who were once lauded as the champion of the left, have succumbed to him and the Republican agenda by approving cabinet positions like Ben Carson, and are showing little opposition to the right other than a few cool soundbites that get passed around on FaceBook.
We're doomed. Not just because the Republicans are flexing their muscles but also because the Dems seem to have no real opposition going.
Right now the Republicans can seem to do whatever they want, but they also are left largely unchallenged by the left. Dems like Warren, who were once lauded as the champion of the left, have succumbed to him and the Republican agenda by approving cabinet positions like Ben Carson, and are showing little opposition to the right other than a few cool soundbites that get passed around on FaceBook.
We're doomed. Not just because the Republicans are flexing their muscles but also because the Dems seem to have no real opposition going.
163
Women should be able to have an abortion without government approval. However, many in the government find the idea of abortion abhorrent. This is what happens when government pays for health care. They have a say in how the money is spent. The solution is to get government out of health care.
2
VPOTUS Limerick #23
There was once a VP named Pence
Whom Mother Nature apparently shorted on intelligence
So to seek revenge he attacked women's rights
Thinking it was smart to pick such fights--
Doctos say such truculence often stems from secret impotence!
There was once a VP named Pence
Whom Mother Nature apparently shorted on intelligence
So to seek revenge he attacked women's rights
Thinking it was smart to pick such fights--
Doctos say such truculence often stems from secret impotence!
From what I've read, it's not Pence in the background - it's Fox News in the foreground. This president does not read. He claims to read the NYT, Washington Post, and one other - it escapes me. Beyond that, in the evening and in the morning he watches Fox News. Such a broad, balanced insightful view of the world! We are in so much trouble!
It's Pence, Bannon and the Supply Siders. Pence on social issues, Bannon on just about everything else, and the Supply Siders tell him it will all pay for itself, except the Wall. Mexico is paying for the wall.
2
I now have this image in my head of Putin and Pence with trump lying across both of their laps thanks to Ms. Collins. That goes along with my other image of Defense Secretary Mattis sleeping with the Trumps in case there is a nuclear emergency in the middle of the night, a necessary situation in order to stabilize the Commander in Chief.
Fundamentalist religious beliefs, whether Christian, Muslim, or any other variety is an absolute pox on humanity. Reactionary, absolutist, and intended to oppress and bend people to the will of a few, and historically in a direction that leads to nothing but evil.
4
I wake up in a panic each morning thinking that our very existence is threatened until we impeach and remove from office this very sick individual. Then I realize his replacement is just a wolf in sheep's clothing and I'm finding myself in even greater despair.
1
Yes, I don't know how many people realize how much trouble we're in. Impeach Trump, and we get Pence (as an Indiana resident, I have first-hand experience with that loser). Get rid of Pence, we get Ryan the charlatan. This is a no-win situation.
2
Abortion is an example of emotionality/ideology TRUMPING rationality. And a right-wing propaganda machine that inadvertently promotes more abortion. U.S. abortion rates have decreased - not due to nonsensical laws - but rather due to education and systems like Planned Parenthood that provide contraceptive services. If Republicans really wanted to reduce abortions - both in the U.S. and worldwide - they wouldn't defund such programs, but rather insist on greater emphasis that abortion is a last choice (that haunts many women). They'd accept that people make mistakes and we'll never successfully legislate universal responsibility. Viewed through the prism of logic, the puppeteer either isn't very bright or wantonly misogynistic; hopefully Trump is smart enough to figure it out.
"Safe, legal and rare" is the rational and humane approach we could/should/would have had.
"Safe, legal and rare" is the rational and humane approach we could/should/would have had.
Given the Hobson's Choice, I'll take Pence, for a few reasons. If Gail's hypothesis is correct, we already have his policies anyway, so taking out from behind the curtain won't hurt. Pence doesn't have #LapDogDonnie's knack for media manipulation, so he'll alienate all of the marginal GOP voters, leading to above average losses in the midterms. Finally, at least Pence's strings aren't being pulled by Putin.
Of course, the GOP know all of this, and are clearly willing to tolerate a President who is the advocate of a hostile foreign power as a price for executive authority. Sad.
Of course, the GOP know all of this, and are clearly willing to tolerate a President who is the advocate of a hostile foreign power as a price for executive authority. Sad.
2
Vice President Mike Pence was exposed at the VP debate when the moderator served Mr. Pence and Senator Kaine the following prompt: You are both men of faith and you hold your values dear. Describe a time when your personal faith came into conflict with your role as governor and the laws that you were sworn to protect and uphold.
Mr. Kaine spoke eloquently of both the death penalty and abortion, discussing how while he was personally opposed to both, his role as governor required he ensure the laws of VA were followed.
Mr. Pence's response was essentially that he has never had such a conflict. He has never had a problem forcing his personal views, his religion, the personal consequences of the belief of his religion on his constituents. Sure, the G.O.P. claims to want to keep the government out the lives of the people, but it is happy to interfere and dictate the most personal decisions that an individual faces.
Of course, in comparison to President Trump, Mr. Pence came out of that debate and his introduction to the nation looking presidential to many, largely because he could ignore his own record and give off the impression that he knew how to act and talk when wearing a suit.
Mr. Kaine spoke eloquently of both the death penalty and abortion, discussing how while he was personally opposed to both, his role as governor required he ensure the laws of VA were followed.
Mr. Pence's response was essentially that he has never had such a conflict. He has never had a problem forcing his personal views, his religion, the personal consequences of the belief of his religion on his constituents. Sure, the G.O.P. claims to want to keep the government out the lives of the people, but it is happy to interfere and dictate the most personal decisions that an individual faces.
Of course, in comparison to President Trump, Mr. Pence came out of that debate and his introduction to the nation looking presidential to many, largely because he could ignore his own record and give off the impression that he knew how to act and talk when wearing a suit.
3
So, I get it. Impeach Pence first!
Old white men controlling the reproductive organs of young women. Disgusting.
2
Hmmm.. When was the last time we had a vice president that had more influence than the president himself?
We can think back not so long ago when the Bush-Cheney team brought the nation to the precipice. Cheney was selected as vice president candidate to "guide" the clueless president.
After 8 years of Obama's rebuilding and fixing against unprecedented obstruction we have now been blessed with a new team consisting of a more dangerous clueless president and idealogical vice president and "advisors" who will pull his strings.
Trump is not really a puppet, but more like Pinocchio with a 12 foot nose.
We can think back not so long ago when the Bush-Cheney team brought the nation to the precipice. Cheney was selected as vice president candidate to "guide" the clueless president.
After 8 years of Obama's rebuilding and fixing against unprecedented obstruction we have now been blessed with a new team consisting of a more dangerous clueless president and idealogical vice president and "advisors" who will pull his strings.
Trump is not really a puppet, but more like Pinocchio with a 12 foot nose.
I agree that it's Pence pulling the strings. However, Trump's "yuge" ego is impelling him to be extra nasty. It's the same mentality that has him saying "Any wall you can build, I can build higher."
I suggest we name Pence's lapdog Tiny Trump. He's like a little orange terrier who who yaps and bites and isn't reliably house trained, but is happy to be dressed up and kept on a jeweled leash as long as he is given regular treats of Lay's potato chips.
I've long thought that Trump picked Mr. Pence as a protection from the prospect of being impeached; "You don't like me? Well, consider the next in line."
So your saying we should just accept Trump so as not to get Pence. Once Trump is gone, we'll work on Pence. Who better to insure a recovery of the Senate and possibly the House for the Democrats. Many independents and Republicans think Pence and Trump are all talk so their actions are very much needed to make people understand their actual danger. So yes let's get rid of Trump. Pence may be scary but he will be the trump card to getting the Senate back and in the end stopping this train wreck. Let's not be afraid.
Trump would implode if the press started exposing the fact (in my opinion) that the Republicans are playing him, using him, and will throw him under the bus when they get what they want. Everything he does is grounded in his assumption that he is the boss, and everyone else is an underling. Evidently his management style is to stir up competition among his staff so that nobody gains enough strength to challenge him. It would be completely devastating to him to see those supposed underlings are setting him up for their own purposes.
Unfortunately people we are screwed for the next four years. Trump and Pence are both scary in their own separate ways. And really what about the rest of the Republicans. Not one of them cares about their fellow Americans and what will happen to the least fortunate of us when they finish slashing and burning through programs and policies they don't like, while giving huge tax cuts to the already wealthy who don't need them. Shameful!
1
Can some psychologist explain the reasoning of Republicans who are against abortion and at the same time don't want to help women get contraception?
1
Ms. Collins, I have a suggestion: Have a conversation with your fellow journalists, media pundits, and stop giving this entity meaning DT,
all this attention. Get down to what matters, policy. No one cares about a person who is demented, child like etc... Stay away from the reality show!!!
You all have to think of a better strategy. God help us all.
all this attention. Get down to what matters, policy. No one cares about a person who is demented, child like etc... Stay away from the reality show!!!
You all have to think of a better strategy. God help us all.
If only those who opposed abortion were actually interested in what would decrease the number of women who seek abortions. Let's remove those women whose lives are in danger who must have a legal medical procedure, those women who carry a fetus which has died, those women who carry a fetus which will never be a viable "baby" from the discussion.
Let's focus on providing all women effective birth control that doesn't depend on using it without error during sexual activity. Let's focus on real sexual education for all children so none are ignorant of how human reproduction works and what their role in it means. Let's focus on treating each child born in the US as precious and deserving of a safe home, healthy food, education for a good future and a caring community to grow into an adult.
This is the moral high ground; not the dreams of old men demanding control over the bodies of women. Eliminating abortion as a legal medical procedure is not about "saving lives". It is always about the control of women's bodies.
Gov. Pence like all of Trump's personnel decisions should have been vetted more carefully. How what he believes about who should have control over women's bodies does affect the lives of millions of women in the US and the world and should have been a major part of Trump rallies before the election. Now the discussion of abortion needs to be part of the resistance to the Trump administration and the Republican control of the Senate and House.
Let's focus on providing all women effective birth control that doesn't depend on using it without error during sexual activity. Let's focus on real sexual education for all children so none are ignorant of how human reproduction works and what their role in it means. Let's focus on treating each child born in the US as precious and deserving of a safe home, healthy food, education for a good future and a caring community to grow into an adult.
This is the moral high ground; not the dreams of old men demanding control over the bodies of women. Eliminating abortion as a legal medical procedure is not about "saving lives". It is always about the control of women's bodies.
Gov. Pence like all of Trump's personnel decisions should have been vetted more carefully. How what he believes about who should have control over women's bodies does affect the lives of millions of women in the US and the world and should have been a major part of Trump rallies before the election. Now the discussion of abortion needs to be part of the resistance to the Trump administration and the Republican control of the Senate and House.
3
Trump has sold his soul to the Republican party. They own him, and he'll heel to their commands, because his personality and his intellect are weak.
Lap dog indeed.
Lap dog indeed.
1
The instant Trump picked Pence as his running mate, Pence became the happiest power-hungry person in America.
(If you were as power-hungry as Pence, wouldn't you be happy, too?)
Look at him (this fake wanna-be saint). He's working for a Windbag Bum who won't last through his first term.
Even if somehow Trump does last, Republicans will be so sick and tired of him by then, they'll practically be crawling to Pence.
Mike Pence. After Trump, America's slipperiest Snake in the Grass.
(If you were as power-hungry as Pence, wouldn't you be happy, too?)
Look at him (this fake wanna-be saint). He's working for a Windbag Bum who won't last through his first term.
Even if somehow Trump does last, Republicans will be so sick and tired of him by then, they'll practically be crawling to Pence.
Mike Pence. After Trump, America's slipperiest Snake in the Grass.
1
I disagree with Gail Collins statement. From the very beginning of his campaign for president, Donald Trump decided to pull all the strings to get the religious rights on his side, especially the Evangelicals. Southern Evangelical Seminary president Richard Land became a member of Trump’s Evangelical Advisory Board to convince Evangelicals they had no other alternative but support Donald Trump in order to preserve reproductive rights.
To make his strategy work, Donald Trump selected the Governor of Indiana, extreme conservative Mike Pence. Pence he’d signed bills to restrict abortions without any exceptions. In fact, the Governor was forced to sign an amendment to protect LGBT people. Pence had the audacity to sign the Religious Freedom Act notwithstanding the resistance of some members of his own party.
President Trump is a self-righteous person who believes he’s morally superior and will never back-down or allow anyone to overshadow or contradict his decisions. He’s made several important mistakes during his public appearances precisely because he doesn’t listen to anyone or check the facts. Should President Trump notice that Vice President Mike Pence is acting more than being a ceremonial assistant to the president, I’m certain he’ll put him on his place.
To make his strategy work, Donald Trump selected the Governor of Indiana, extreme conservative Mike Pence. Pence he’d signed bills to restrict abortions without any exceptions. In fact, the Governor was forced to sign an amendment to protect LGBT people. Pence had the audacity to sign the Religious Freedom Act notwithstanding the resistance of some members of his own party.
President Trump is a self-righteous person who believes he’s morally superior and will never back-down or allow anyone to overshadow or contradict his decisions. He’s made several important mistakes during his public appearances precisely because he doesn’t listen to anyone or check the facts. Should President Trump notice that Vice President Mike Pence is acting more than being a ceremonial assistant to the president, I’m certain he’ll put him on his place.
Gail, you've got it.
Mike Pence wants to be president. You know the old saying about the lord working in mysterious ways. Pence lives for that stuff. I bet he's encouraging Donald to run amok so he'll be removed from office sooner rather than later, and replaced by his Vice. Er, Veep.
What a nest of vipers.
Mike Pence wants to be president. You know the old saying about the lord working in mysterious ways. Pence lives for that stuff. I bet he's encouraging Donald to run amok so he'll be removed from office sooner rather than later, and replaced by his Vice. Er, Veep.
What a nest of vipers.
3
Let's not forget that when Trump was intoduced at the Inaugural Concert, they played the Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb" as the intro music
2
Extending your thought, Gail: Under the Twenty-fifth Amendment, VP Pence and a majority of the cabinet can depose their boss on grounds of mental incompetence. If they act by February 18, they will ensure that Lap Dog Trump beats the record--30 days--for shortness of a presidential tenure, hitherto held by your hero: William Henry Harrison.
2
Trump's ego will be deeply wounded by the claim that he's taking orders from Pence, that he's not strong and autonomous, that he's a puppet, that he's not smart enough to have his own ideas. Provoked with this dismissal and disrespect, he'll lash out at Pence. On the one hand, they deserve each other. On the other hand, we the people deserve far better than either.
Honestly, he's already Putin's Puppet, he's Pence's Poodle
Lap Dog Trump! Yes, it'll look great on a red hat.
It's likely that DT's made a deal with Pence and the extremists that he'll do what they tell him to if they allow him to keep his twitter account and sign meaningless directives on building walls and insulting minorities.
It's likely that DT's made a deal with Pence and the extremists that he'll do what they tell him to if they allow him to keep his twitter account and sign meaningless directives on building walls and insulting minorities.
1
Before Nixon was impeached they first replaced Spiro Agnew with Jerry Ford.
4
I always find it interesting that when it comes to women's rights, like abortion and medical issues, it is always a man who is trying to stop them from doing what is best for them.
Mr. Pence, I assume, has never gotten pregnant or born a child or has had to deal with medical issues involving a woman's health.
Yet, he thinks he knows what is best for them and is determined to enforce his religious believes that would deprive them of sound medical advise and procedures.
Mr. Pence, I assume, has never gotten pregnant or born a child or has had to deal with medical issues involving a woman's health.
Yet, he thinks he knows what is best for them and is determined to enforce his religious believes that would deprive them of sound medical advise and procedures.
6
In the Shakespearian debacle that is the Trump presidency, the simpering Pence is Iago in the flesh. The Donald is dangerous because he is hapless and a blunderer, but Pence is a mean spirited, holier than thou demagogue. I couldn't stand the guy from the get-go, with his pseudo Reagan "calm" and slick, over combed look. The camera sees right through him. If he's truly pulling the strings, and I think he is, we might as well have elected Ted Cruz. Cruz was, at least, up front with his craziness, whereas Pence is a shadowy menace.
This is a very important column by Ms. Collins......I hope people are paying attention to what she has to say about this awful politician.
This is a very important column by Ms. Collins......I hope people are paying attention to what she has to say about this awful politician.
4
Yes, much more important, in my opinion, that the countless, sputtering columns against Trump here at the NYT lately. This is the true threat.
1
You are right to be very worried about Pence and his influence on policy. At the state level, he had an ability to bring controversial policies to final legislative votes completely under the radar. He works behind the scenes in a very effective way with the kind of influences that don't represent the values held by most of us. Don't underestimate his ability to undermine all progressive efforts over the last twenty years. Let him know what you think.
4
Lil Donnie is so easily manipulated. Sad. It is exactly like a bunch of regents trying to manipulate a 12 year old king. All Pence and the others have to do is flatter the little boy, praise him and suggest a course of action that they claim "the people will love" and "the liberal elites will hate" and "will dominate the news" (they know the little boy loves the word dominate) and boom! Lil Donnie won't be able to pick up the pen fast enough. And they are clever enough to be sure to make Lil Donnie think the idea was all his own. Of course, all that takes is the barest suggestion.
If I'm right, Pence and Donnie's other puppet masters will manipulate him into Pryor for the SCOTUS. Those poor Trump advisors who bought into the Trump is a competent businessman myth and therefore assume Trump is capable of making a decision absent obsequious manipulation are going to be outplayed by the regent puppet masters.
If I'm right, Pence and Donnie's other puppet masters will manipulate him into Pryor for the SCOTUS. Those poor Trump advisors who bought into the Trump is a competent businessman myth and therefore assume Trump is capable of making a decision absent obsequious manipulation are going to be outplayed by the regent puppet masters.
1
I have been watching Pence in the background, a more neutral expression on the campaign trail appears to have given way post victory to one of fierce determination and pride; and surely for women, a grim determination. Trump's flagrantly loose super Id combines with Pence's morally rigid super Ego for a funded political one-two punch against women - we can sexually assault you and we will hold our future citizens rights above your rights by limiting your freedom and choices regarding your body. Everyone's liberty is at stake when women's liberty is abused. Everyone's liberty is at stake when anyone's liberty is abused.
3
No puppet. No puppet. You're the puppet, Gail.
2
The Cardinal and the King, wasn't there a novel written about this? Swashbuckling; or swishbuckling in Mr. Pence's case.
1
Trump's administration will be a spectacle of various Republican factions fighting each other behind his back. The far right ones are frothing at the mouth and their overreach will hopefully be their undoing.
1
I keep hearing his supporters saying "smart businessmen surround themselves with smart people to help them make decisions". My response: SCARY people surround themselves with even scarier people.
7
So, if somehow we were to get a double impeachment through, we would be left with Paul Ryan. Gail, could you address this one in another column?
Thanks for the heads-up.
Thanks for the heads-up.
1
Trump will constantly distract the media with his insane focus on stupid, irrelevant issues (Mexico paying for the wall, inaugural crowd size, voter fraud) while the republican right dismantles a humane society.
3
I loved hearing all the women (and some men) on this issue that either voted for a third party, or even voted for Trump, on the idea expressed vaguely as "well...he just says stuff, probably won't really do it right." Know what do they think? I actually think the Democrats in power should only half-heartedly fight Trump for the first 6-12 months. Let poorer Americans actually feel what's it like to be governed this way. The Democrats certainly aren't being rewarded for attempting to help blue-collars workers anyway....
2
Haha! The dog theme is back!!
Nice move!
:-)
Nice move!
:-)
4
As an Indiana resident I can share that were joyful Pence would no longer be our governor when he ran with Trump. His dogmatic approach to foisting his conservative moral code, almost always by some stealthy tactic, on our State was rejected time and time again by citizens, non-profits, and businesses. Ironically, and perhaps to no surprise to anyone who deals with people who wear their Christianity on their sleeve, he was less than Christian in his behavior toward others. As an elected official he did not use transparent and publicly engaging techniques to enact change to women, LGBT, and reproductive issues. Instead he used partisan and secretive approaches. He clearly is capable of being a puppeteer in the case of President Trump whose apparent interest in and ability to focus on policy is lacking.
More importantly, I think that not only Pence but Bannon is likely a Svengali to Trump. I cannot conceive of any president who has such a desire to be popular, taking actions that support the extreme views reflected in Alt-Right positions so enthusiastically. In turn, President Trump seems to not be able to understand why his approval is so low.
I can see both Bannon and Pence feeding our new President's need for approval with untrue compliments, stoking paranoia in Trump, and playing to his desire to be popular in order to meet their draconian purposes. Can you say 'shadow government'? I do hope that we find light and truth eventually in the leaders of our country.
More importantly, I think that not only Pence but Bannon is likely a Svengali to Trump. I cannot conceive of any president who has such a desire to be popular, taking actions that support the extreme views reflected in Alt-Right positions so enthusiastically. In turn, President Trump seems to not be able to understand why his approval is so low.
I can see both Bannon and Pence feeding our new President's need for approval with untrue compliments, stoking paranoia in Trump, and playing to his desire to be popular in order to meet their draconian purposes. Can you say 'shadow government'? I do hope that we find light and truth eventually in the leaders of our country.
401
Dream on! Bannon and Pence are evil in the true sense of the word!
1
Exactly
Was more a reason not to vote for the ticket.
Pence is pushing anti woman campaign while bannon is pushing anti immigrant. Trump not savvy enough to come up with these directives
Was more a reason not to vote for the ticket.
Pence is pushing anti woman campaign while bannon is pushing anti immigrant. Trump not savvy enough to come up with these directives
1
I have never thought Trump put much priority to the abortion issue. It looks like he's just giving out political favors to donors and friends now. This is just a favor tossed to the base, the religious right, for ignoring his unreligious behavior and speech. Never mind he's going to devistate many of the needy with his policies.
Once he finishes with this rushed agenda, he can retreat to Manhattan or Mara Lago and let other people run the "show". But he won't be able to escape the responsibility of the job. In time, everyone but the few will wonder how they expected this man to solve our complex problems.
Trouble is, the few are the 1% who see our great country as a cash register and worship money. If Trump were serious about these issues he'd try to come up with real, long term answers. Punishing employers that hire illegals is one option that comes to mind, but that would make his donors behave. Don't want that.
Once he finishes with this rushed agenda, he can retreat to Manhattan or Mara Lago and let other people run the "show". But he won't be able to escape the responsibility of the job. In time, everyone but the few will wonder how they expected this man to solve our complex problems.
Trouble is, the few are the 1% who see our great country as a cash register and worship money. If Trump were serious about these issues he'd try to come up with real, long term answers. Punishing employers that hire illegals is one option that comes to mind, but that would make his donors behave. Don't want that.
2
Good observation that the hard right political ideology doesn't come from Trump personally. He never seemed to possess any ideology of any kind. But what we have in Trump is akin to the mad emperor Caligula, who proclaimed himself a god. The only immediate routes to removing Trump from the highest office involve a President Pence. the choice between a dangerous narcissist and a hard right ideologue is not a pretty picture, but I'll take the latter as the lesser evil.
2
Considering the sheer speed and depth of topics covered in all the pronouncements Trump has signed this week I'm convinced that the Trimvirate of Bannon, Pence and Kushner are crafting policy and Trump is just signing. He doesn't pay enough attention to fine details, nor does he have the attention span to do all this. They just give him a one minute bullet point, put the papers in front of him and he signs. It's Iike Frank Langellas character in Dave when he thinks he has a puppet president under his control. Abortion is Pences thing, Israel is Kushners thing, etc...
1
If it weren't for Mike Pence, just as demagogic (remember he's one of those Right Wing Fundamentalist Loons) as Trump only with an actual brain in his skull to dispense with the evil doing, Trump would have a problem finding his way around the Oval Office.
Hey, it goes round and round. Right, Donny, thus the name.
DD
Manhattan
Hey, it goes round and round. Right, Donny, thus the name.
DD
Manhattan
2
Did you see Trump's interview on ABC? He is mentally unfit to be president.
Pence is a religious nut, but I don't think he'd mash the nuclear button in a fit of pique. It would be horrible to have Pence as president, but at least we would know what we are dealing with, and Democrats could use it to try to gain seats in Congress in 2018 and at the state level.
It's a terrible choice, Gail, but Trump is like King George III reincarnated.
Pence is a religious nut, but I don't think he'd mash the nuclear button in a fit of pique. It would be horrible to have Pence as president, but at least we would know what we are dealing with, and Democrats could use it to try to gain seats in Congress in 2018 and at the state level.
It's a terrible choice, Gail, but Trump is like King George III reincarnated.
2
Interesting thesis that Mike Pence is pulling the strings, but it's just that—a thesis. Let me suggest another.
Maybe Trump and Pence are horse trading. Says Pence, "I'll help you get the wall through congress (which I'm pretty sure could live without it) if you give me this abortion rule." To Trump, it's a great deal (for him and Pence, maybe not the rest of us). He gets to keep his campaign promise to build a wall, and at the same time, throw the ultra-conservatives in his base a bone.
Again, just a thesis. I don't pretend to know what's gong on behind closed doors. But I do believe that if Pence were pulling the strings, as the author suggests, the wall would die a slow and quiet death.
Maybe Trump and Pence are horse trading. Says Pence, "I'll help you get the wall through congress (which I'm pretty sure could live without it) if you give me this abortion rule." To Trump, it's a great deal (for him and Pence, maybe not the rest of us). He gets to keep his campaign promise to build a wall, and at the same time, throw the ultra-conservatives in his base a bone.
Again, just a thesis. I don't pretend to know what's gong on behind closed doors. But I do believe that if Pence were pulling the strings, as the author suggests, the wall would die a slow and quiet death.
2
Gov. Pence is simply the poison pill used by Rants Priebus and the other professional (R)s to ensure that Dear Leader, a jester by trade, would be the Distraction-in-Chief while Pence runs the show behind the curtain, along with McTurtle and Ayn Ryan.
"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"
"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"
3
Dear Ms, Collins,
CONGRATULATIONS! You have just moved to the top of Trump's enemies list.
CONGRATULATIONS! You have just moved to the top of Trump's enemies list.
5
Primo Levi, the holocaust survivor and scholar, made it explicit that the people in Germany looked aside and did not raise question the authoritarian genocidal behaviors going on.
Primo Levi said this looking aside and not doing what can be done to stop authoritarianism and the destructive behaviors authoritarianism employs cannot be explained away nor forgiven.
Here in America, we must, everyday, do all we can to stop Trump and his cohorts if and when they express authoritarian dictatorial attitudes, actions, policies and procedures.
When those in elected office are self-serving, greedy and cruel we need to stop them.
And, when they manipulate, using others for their own greedy and cruel satisfactions, when they manipulate the people in the white working class, people who have been subjugated and used for hundreds of years in America, compelling them to carry out acts of repression and suppression - - we must stop them.
Being authoritarian is favoring or enforcing strict obedience to authority, especially that of the government, at the expense of personal freedom.
We need to stop Trump from his ultra-dangerous words and acts against Freedom of The Press, Freedom of the Press which is one of the mainstays of American democracy.
And, at times, Trump's speech comes close to crossing the line between Freedom of Speech and calling out "fire" in a crowded theatre.
Primo Levi said this looking aside and not doing what can be done to stop authoritarianism and the destructive behaviors authoritarianism employs cannot be explained away nor forgiven.
Here in America, we must, everyday, do all we can to stop Trump and his cohorts if and when they express authoritarian dictatorial attitudes, actions, policies and procedures.
When those in elected office are self-serving, greedy and cruel we need to stop them.
And, when they manipulate, using others for their own greedy and cruel satisfactions, when they manipulate the people in the white working class, people who have been subjugated and used for hundreds of years in America, compelling them to carry out acts of repression and suppression - - we must stop them.
Being authoritarian is favoring or enforcing strict obedience to authority, especially that of the government, at the expense of personal freedom.
We need to stop Trump from his ultra-dangerous words and acts against Freedom of The Press, Freedom of the Press which is one of the mainstays of American democracy.
And, at times, Trump's speech comes close to crossing the line between Freedom of Speech and calling out "fire" in a crowded theatre.
2
Don't ever forget that Mike Pence is in charge of the transition team, and so is very much key in personnel selection. Also don't forget that he is a Koch shill
1
#LapDogDonnie #PencesPoodle
1
Impeach Pence and impeach POTUS45. We reading about a whole host of impeachable offenses that POTUS45 has committed. Is a list being compiled of impeachable offenses committed by Pence? So Paul Ryan would become POTUS46? An improvement, although I am no fan of Paul Ryan.
2
It makes perfect sense that Pence is there to guide Trump through the Washington minefield known as Congress, of which Trump hasn't a clue on how it operates. Right now a very bored looking Trump is busy putting the final touches on the policy issues he campaigned on in order to appease his supporters and his oversized ego. What happens after showtime is over is anybodies guess, but you can bet that Mike Pence will be standing directly behind Trump just as Trump himself stalked Clinton. Taking a play from the Clinton playbook, you can rightly say that we're getting two for the price of one. The question is, does it come with a money-back guarantee?
64
Perhaps even more frightening is who becomes vice-president if Pence takes over. Is it possible that this is the game Ryan is playing, his reason for going along with Trump? Is he just biding his time?
Besides cutting off funding (and I know that alone is very impactful)....what else can Pence (through Trump) do to enforce his will? Can they force (one example) CA to cease supporting PP? Can they prevent CA from requiring insurance companies doing business in their state to include prenatal care and birth control under the plans they sell? Can Pence (through Trump) prevent NY from taking a similar approach? If the tea party republicans are so big on state control, then I say the largest states (e.g. biggest economies) have an opportunity to lead the way through this storm.
1
The Trumplestilzchen obviously needs the Pence-ian approach for fly-over credibility. The evangelicals who voted for a pussy grabbing serial philanderer want to be able to justify why they voted for that. Less than 1% of federal expenditures are foreign aid and half of that goes to Israel. How much of the rest is export of surplus agricultural products/agro subsidies that destroy the markets in the Third World I don't know. I think the world will be able to do without that projection of American soft power. It's also possible that those lesser people on aid may have heard of abortion without American health workers.
This is what I'd like to know...WHY isn't the media voicing concern about the huge number of executive orders that have been issued this week? And the infringement on democracy that they represent? WHY isn't the media reporting about the fact that a think tank in the UK has determined that the USA is, in fact, no longer a democracy of any kind? WHY isn't anyone in the media reporting on the frightening parallels between what the President has done in his few days in office and the rise of the Third Reich in Germany? Don't you care or are you just focused on low hanging fruit like repeating Twitter feeds?
2
Lap-Dog Trump will label these as "alternative fact", "fake news" !
Can't quite agree. Trump is going along with Pence on starving women of health care nationally and worldwide because of the evangelical (or hypocristian) vote that is tied to their dislike of abortion for fake religious reasons. Pence delivered that vote, so he gets to reap the gag rule (and a few other male supremacist moves to render women dead), to keep the base (and are they ever base!) happy. Not that Trump is functionally capable of being President, as five days have illustrated, but he loves him his "power" and enjoys having Pence as, like, a crash dummy.
2
Pence -- our penance for a deluded "President."
1
This makes complete sense. If you ever asked yourself, which is worse - having someone who doesn't know what they're doing or someone evil who does? - you've figured out that now we have one of each. Even George W. Bush finally rebelled when he figured out that Dick Cheney was playing him.
2
Gail, I know you’re being mischievous, but I suspect you also know you’ve hit on a great truth.
DJT has the attention span of a gnat.
Everything he cares about he can see when he looks in the mirror in the morning. He’d never heard of the global gag rule when he signed that order on Monday morning. If pressed, even three days later, he couldn’t explain it or tell you where it comes from or why it’s called that.
It’s taken me two months, but I can now find it in heart to feel sorry for the people who voted for DJT. They’re in for such a letdown.
DJT has the attention span of a gnat.
Everything he cares about he can see when he looks in the mirror in the morning. He’d never heard of the global gag rule when he signed that order on Monday morning. If pressed, even three days later, he couldn’t explain it or tell you where it comes from or why it’s called that.
It’s taken me two months, but I can now find it in heart to feel sorry for the people who voted for DJT. They’re in for such a letdown.
2
Mike Pence and Paul Ryan's faces are frozen in a grin which hides giddiness. This is their chance to make their right wing dreams come true and they are going for it.
1
Two points:
1 - don't blame Pence for Trump's moves. Trump is the decider
2 - no matter your feelings about Pence and his ultra conservative motives he is a rational human being beholden to his party and hid g-d. Removing Trump will be a great improvement.
1 - don't blame Pence for Trump's moves. Trump is the decider
2 - no matter your feelings about Pence and his ultra conservative motives he is a rational human being beholden to his party and hid g-d. Removing Trump will be a great improvement.
Pence, and, Putin, will have to share their little puppet, Donald.
You really pegged it, Gail! Thanks!
You really pegged it, Gail! Thanks!
The irony of it all is that Priebus, Pence, McConnell and Ryan all believe that they are the puppet masters. What a tangled knot we will soon see...
1
Ms. Collins, you might be underestimating the new President's penchant for gratuitous mean-spiritedness. He appears to enjoy simply hurting people for the sheer joy of causing and witnessing pain. So, while the VP might strangle health care providers based on some warped vision of religiosity, Trump would simply relish on his power to inflict misery, or at least his new-found capacity to threaten people with it. The President hardly needs Mike Pence to gratify himself in such a morbidly cruel manner.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
www.endthemadnessnow.org
2
This is a great suggestion, but let's not underplay the influence that Trump's son-in-law has on our new president. It's Kushner who was the voice in Trump's ear on the campaign trail according to first hand accounts by reporters who were there. It's Kushner who stands silently smiling behind Trump during the signing of decrees. Likewise, Kushner is the only member of his family that he chose to make an adviser. And - most tellingly in my eyes - Kushner is the only male in his family that he describes with unqualified praise, calling him a "tremendous asset" and "natural talent."
Pence's puppet? I don't know - I'm just not convinced that Pence is pulling the strings.
Pence's puppet? I don't know - I'm just not convinced that Pence is pulling the strings.
Mike Pence does not reflect "conservative religious values." Mike Pence holds authoritarian religious values that he wants to impose on people, educated people, who hold their own personal values. I believe that 83% of Evangelicals voted for the Trump/Pence ticket not because they supported the thrice married, former party boy, beauty pageant owning Trump. That Pence was "the man" has been obvious to some of us from the beginning. Trump was the media savvy personality guy behind which the extreme authoritarian, male supremacists have filed into to the executive office. In the VP debate, Pence stated that Indiana was the number one adoption state and his goal was to provide women with adoption counseling to assist childless couples in their family building. The new "surrendering a child for adoption" is now replaced by religiously derived Orwellian terminology such as "making an adoption plan which is a blessing to the mother, the child and the adoptive family." Women and in particular, poorer women are still seen bodily objects up for grabs by the more powerful. Bearing a child for nine months and having that child extracted so the child can become some other family's child, is no blessing to the natural mother. The coercion and emotional blackmail involved in separating mother and child is and has always been ethically and emotionally toxic. Of course, ethics and emotional well being have rarely been the concern of authoritarians of any stripe.
2
No man, no one, has the right to determine what a woman does with an unwanted pregnancy. It was obvious to me from the beginning that Pence would be calling the shots on many issues. After all, we now have a POTUS who does not read,who believes that Fox News tells the truth,and a man who states he is in the smartest person in the world. He is lazy in body and mind. It is obvious that Ryan and McConnell et al want Pence to be president and are just biding their time until Trump hangs himself. We will go from the frying pan into the fire. The next 4 years will be a dark time in America and much harm will be done.
Finally pro lifers have friends in the White House after having a foe for eight long years. Barack Obama was the most progressive president we have seen and he was a friend of Cecile Richards and Planned Parenthood. They were often together and she donated to both his and Hillary Clinton's campaigns.
I doubt Ms. Richards will be visiting the White House any time soon. Why should see? Her politics do not gel with the Republicans and she promotes abortions at all stages of development. PP should be defunded and until it gets out of the abortion business it should not receive one dime from the government. Are you listening Ms. Richards?
I doubt Ms. Richards will be visiting the White House any time soon. Why should see? Her politics do not gel with the Republicans and she promotes abortions at all stages of development. PP should be defunded and until it gets out of the abortion business it should not receive one dime from the government. Are you listening Ms. Richards?
As reprehensible as Trump is, there are those I find more reprehensible. Pence, Ryan, McConnell come to mind immediately but give me time and I could probably fill an page. Trump is a broken man. He is one of that small percentage of people who ring the bell on the Hare test. So long as they get what they want the zealots are willing to stroke his massive ego. They disgust me.
So it will not be Seamus the dog tied with ropes on the roof of the car but Trump the lap dog tied with marionette strings held by Pence from now on. Gail you are a bright light illuminating the darkness that has befallen on our hearts.
I suspect that Trump has paid for a number of abortions. They are so much cheaper than a paternity suit or child support.
Yes, all the flurry of activity we see is the result of professional GOP operatives. They have been preparing for this opportunity for years and refining their wish list since he was elected. These policy have Koch fingerprints all over them and Pence is a Koch boys puppet.
Trump enjoys thinking he is popular with the in-crowd of the old money set who have never liked him. He is the only one who isn't in on the joke: He is their frontman throwing the bombast while they quietly dismantle the lock on the treasury door and keep the populace distracted with their endless culture wars.
America, it is over. What rises from these ashes is still a mystery.
Yes, all the flurry of activity we see is the result of professional GOP operatives. They have been preparing for this opportunity for years and refining their wish list since he was elected. These policy have Koch fingerprints all over them and Pence is a Koch boys puppet.
Trump enjoys thinking he is popular with the in-crowd of the old money set who have never liked him. He is the only one who isn't in on the joke: He is their frontman throwing the bombast while they quietly dismantle the lock on the treasury door and keep the populace distracted with their endless culture wars.
America, it is over. What rises from these ashes is still a mystery.
Unfortunately, women are going to have to start dying again before the post Roe versus Wade population really gets it. I wonder what Mike Pence would think if his wife or daughter would die if a damaged fetus were not aborted.
What a great idea to challenge Trump's ego and sense of masculinity. Probably the only thing that will get him to do anything right, even if unintended .
1
For anyone who knows anything about Indiana, non of this should surprise us. It is an intellectual backwater and the heartland of the opioid epidemic ("The growing costs of an opioid, heroin epidemic: Hoosiers pay $1.4 billion in drug-related costs"). When you pull the rug from health services and social services, disaster follows. By cutting off health and reproductive services to women world wide, we are not only killing women and children, but sowing the seeds of increased poverty and future suffering and violence. You would think that old white guys who hate immigrants would be "all in" on providing birth control for "the others". This is pure evil and we will all be paying the consequences. "The sins of the father will be delivered on the son." Glad Trump has 3 sons.
I am pro-choice and a gun owner who enjoys shooting skeet and sporting clays. It puzzles me why the people who don't want their guns regulated are so adamant that a woman's right to choice can be.
2
I agree Gail. I have been saying for a while that he is not surrounded by sycophants. He is one.
Pences fingerprints are all over this. As a greatly disliked political figure in Indiana, he has attempted to shove his anti-feminist ideas for years. Not only has he hailed Conversion Therapy, he bragged that it saved his life and his marriage, he refused to acknowledge the spread of HIV through dirty needles until HIV became a medical disaster, and only after much public displeasure and pressure, did he initiate the clean needle project. His dislike of the female population coupled with his attempts to delegitimize their needs takes one's breath away. Mike Pence is one reason impeaching trump would only leave us with someone who is far more dangerous in many ways. trump's a mental case, but Pence is insidiously sneaky. Both men are dangerous for our country in these depressing times.
1
I'm just curious about one thing. Trump has bragged about the many women he's had sex with. I wonder if Trump himself ever paid for an abortion. Anyone out there who can shed light?
Many, many articles ago I asked if anyone remembered a little song (fromEngland) called. 'Puppet on a String". trump and pence are the very worst
President and Vice President this country has ever had. Heaven help us all.
President and Vice President this country has ever had. Heaven help us all.
Moreover, has there been any effort on Trump or his team to do any feasibility studies or risk analyses to determine what the actual impact of his presidential decrees will create? The answer is "no". Trump's actual agenda is focused on undoing President Obama's legacy and vengeance. Implications of these actions won't be felt until they course down into a system and a world which none of these dunderheads have taken the time to try and understand.
In a CNN interview months ago, Paul Manafort (Trump's Campaign Manager) talked about the qualities that would be needed in a running mate: white, male, and very experienced. (I am not making this up--Manafort said that to choose a woman or minority would be "pandering".) He added that this man would need experience so that he could handle all those parts of the job that Trump does not want to do. He explained that Trump doesn't see himself as CEO, but rather as Chairman of the Board. Serious problem there: the Constitution clearly states in the very first sentence of Article II that the executive powers would reside in a president of the United States. Basically, the part of the job that Trump does not want...is the job.
And don't forget John Kasich's claim that, when offered the #2 spot on the ticket, he was promised control of domestic and foreign policy. That pretty much covers everything, unless Trump wants to manage Middle Earth policy.
And don't forget John Kasich's claim that, when offered the #2 spot on the ticket, he was promised control of domestic and foreign policy. That pretty much covers everything, unless Trump wants to manage Middle Earth policy.
1
It is true that Pence is always following the Donald. Maybe he's not the puppy Trump wants us to believe. Anyhow, divide and conquer worked for them, maybe it would work for us.
Pence is an evangelical. THIS world isn't the real one.
Pence is as dangerous as Trump.
Pence is as dangerous as Trump.
1
"No, YOU'RE the puppet, you're the puppet, you'rethepuppet," muttered Tantrump sotto voce.
I agree with you, Gail. Trump is a puppet president with Pence, Ryan and McConnell running the show. They shove a paper in front of him, "This one is about the wall", and he signs. Next--"This one is about Keystone", and he signs. I doubt that he pays any mind to the content of what he is signing, just so long as it makes him look good in the eyes of those who voted for him.
The decision to terminate a pregnancy is traumatic and made with sadness by the WOMAN (and often her partner) who is forced by circumstances to make that choice. The event, like a miscarriage, like a birth, is forever indelibly burned into her memory. It is almost always a gut wrenching decision and almost never a frivolous one.
Those who choose to insist that it is their right to impose their moral and/or religious beliefs on individuals whose lives and circumstances that they neither know nor care about fail to see both the devastating, life long effect this event has on the LIFE of the person making the decision, or that their desire to force their philosophy on every American, in complete disregard of THEIR unique individual highly personal circumstances, is immoral, frivolous, and UNAMERICAN.
Oh, and Pence is making Trump his PUPPET, PUPPET, PUPPET....hehhehe
Those who choose to insist that it is their right to impose their moral and/or religious beliefs on individuals whose lives and circumstances that they neither know nor care about fail to see both the devastating, life long effect this event has on the LIFE of the person making the decision, or that their desire to force their philosophy on every American, in complete disregard of THEIR unique individual highly personal circumstances, is immoral, frivolous, and UNAMERICAN.
Oh, and Pence is making Trump his PUPPET, PUPPET, PUPPET....hehhehe
1
I have lived under a Pence regime here in Indiana. There isn't a whole lotta difference between Pence and some of the jihadi extremists in other parts of the world except Pence hasn't gotten so frustrated that he's resorted to violence. Yet.
1
I have never doubted that the Trump administration would operate this way. I always assumed that Trump would delegate all the "stuff that bores him" to Pence, or any other of his advisors for that matter. So the Paul Ryan budget plan will get passed, less because Trump wills it so, but, rather, because he couldn't care less. Ditto the dismantling of the ACA. Ditto the rolling back of civil rights for Gay and Transgender persons. Ditto lower taxes and slashed safety-nets.
But, here's the other thing I have always suspected about Trump: having decided (for political, or even personal convenience) to adopt a political position, Trump will make it his own, and will deny ever having held an alternative point of view with fanatic vehemence. He may, at some later time, alter his stated position again (and again, and again), but at the time, the moment, he states it out loud, he will convince himself of his conviction, and its long standing in his mind.
I'd bet a weeks wages that if you asked him today, he'd tell you that this whole anti-abortion thing was all his idea, and he'd probably, honestly, believe himself to be true.
But, here's the other thing I have always suspected about Trump: having decided (for political, or even personal convenience) to adopt a political position, Trump will make it his own, and will deny ever having held an alternative point of view with fanatic vehemence. He may, at some later time, alter his stated position again (and again, and again), but at the time, the moment, he states it out loud, he will convince himself of his conviction, and its long standing in his mind.
I'd bet a weeks wages that if you asked him today, he'd tell you that this whole anti-abortion thing was all his idea, and he'd probably, honestly, believe himself to be true.
We're blaming Pence? O.K. How about some blame for the 53% of white women who voted for Trump! What about all the women who didn't bother to vote? There is enough blame to go around for the policies of this presidency.
11
Those women may be indirectly responsible. But they're not the ones making policy. I think there's a lot of truth to this. Be careful what you wish for!
I always though of Pence as the person who walks behind the elephant with a shovel and broom at the circus. However, Gail offers an interesting thought that the President can be influenced by other people.
6
After President Cheney and Vice President Charlie McCarthy, oops, I mean George W. Bush (just imagine him with the top hat and monocle), President Pence and Vice President Mortimer Snerd, oops, I mean Donald J. Trump? With all due respect and apologies to Edgard Bergen!
3
After experiencing Mike Pence as Governor, I'd say be very careful with this man. Anti-women's reproductive rights, anti-gay, anti unions, anti-EPA, anti-public schools, but "a Christian, first." Re-read Tolkien, and take a hard look at Wormtongue.
22
Pence has said "I'm a Christian first, a conservative second, and a Republican third." No word about where "American" fits into that hierarchy...
1
First of all, Trump doesn't have a "deeper heart", so there's nothing to pull from there even if wanted to.
Second of all, when Trump reads (quite at a second grade level, I might add) his little pronouncements each day, holding up the "book" like a story time librarian (sorry, librarians), watch Pence's face in the background. The look of sheer and utter disgust just can't be matched. While those are clearly his policies being read, you can see that he would prefer that it was himself (help with my grammar here, librarians!) doing the reading.
Thirdly, thank you for trying to drive a wedgie between Trump and Pence with that headline. Suave, very suave.
Second of all, when Trump reads (quite at a second grade level, I might add) his little pronouncements each day, holding up the "book" like a story time librarian (sorry, librarians), watch Pence's face in the background. The look of sheer and utter disgust just can't be matched. While those are clearly his policies being read, you can see that he would prefer that it was himself (help with my grammar here, librarians!) doing the reading.
Thirdly, thank you for trying to drive a wedgie between Trump and Pence with that headline. Suave, very suave.
8
The Collins pitchfork crew is keeping the fires hot and set to skewer the second in command, the imagined puppeteer behind the curtain, smiling politely. An eight-year lap dog press suddenly has a snarl, an incessant bark that is quickly getting annoying as its redundant pink fashion accessory exposes a lack of bite. Unwilling to expose the countless briberies in fraudulent aid, domestic and foreign, propping up agendas, but improving no one’s well being, their pitchforks threaten but miss their mark.
1
Pence is the Trojan Horse of the Evangelical Right. The Wall of Separation is at great risk.
The Times should do America a service and explain Christian Dominionism and Christian Reconstructionism, with which Mike Pence has more than a casual association. The explanation should have been before the November election.
Those who follow that school of thought are essentially theocrats who wish to push their religious view upon the nation via the law. That is not all they are about, but is the part most germane to his being in the Vice-President's Chair. If you want Evangelical Theology in your Government Policy and laws- Mike Pence is your guy.
From Remaking America As A Christian Nation by Frederick Clarkson:
"1-Dominionists celebrate Christian nationalism, in that they believe that the United States once was, and should once again be, a Christian nation. In this way, they deny the Enlightenment roots of American democracy.
2-Dominionists promote religious supremacy, insofar as they generally do not respect the equality of other religions, or even other versions of Christianity.
3-Dominionists endorse theocratic visions, insofar as they believe that the Ten Commandments, or “biblical law,” should be the foundation of American law, and that the U.S. Constitution should be seen as a vehicle for implementing Biblical principles."
To read in full here is the link:
http://www.politicalresearch.org/2005/12/05/the-rise-of-dominionismremak...
The Times should do America a service and explain Christian Dominionism and Christian Reconstructionism, with which Mike Pence has more than a casual association. The explanation should have been before the November election.
Those who follow that school of thought are essentially theocrats who wish to push their religious view upon the nation via the law. That is not all they are about, but is the part most germane to his being in the Vice-President's Chair. If you want Evangelical Theology in your Government Policy and laws- Mike Pence is your guy.
From Remaking America As A Christian Nation by Frederick Clarkson:
"1-Dominionists celebrate Christian nationalism, in that they believe that the United States once was, and should once again be, a Christian nation. In this way, they deny the Enlightenment roots of American democracy.
2-Dominionists promote religious supremacy, insofar as they generally do not respect the equality of other religions, or even other versions of Christianity.
3-Dominionists endorse theocratic visions, insofar as they believe that the Ten Commandments, or “biblical law,” should be the foundation of American law, and that the U.S. Constitution should be seen as a vehicle for implementing Biblical principles."
To read in full here is the link:
http://www.politicalresearch.org/2005/12/05/the-rise-of-dominionismremak...
8
Actually lets not go for Lap Dog Trump. It'll just make him angrier..
1
I can actually buy that Trump is a puppet. But between Putin and Pence, the hole in his back must be getting pretty crowded.
4
Thanks for reminding me of the implications involved when thinking about impeachment. Jumping from pan to fire to pan. I get so angry I often forget. The accompanying photo to your piece speaks volumes to this. The only thing missing in it is Paul Ryan and his ever present sniveling smile.
10
Remember that the Nazis in Germany looked at women only as baby factories to populate the Reich. When the bombs started falling they thought that would could make a contribution by making antiaircraft shells.
4
Any organization that wishes to skirt this gag order may do so by emphatically denying the fact that abortion exists. Then it may enumerate the people, places and organizations that do not exist where a woman may not visit for information that doesn't exist on a legal procedure that does not exist that may or may not save her life. Such is the world of the Liar Trump. Or is it?
5
Conservative Utopia here we come.......
What about the rest of us?
What about the rest of us?
2
It's all the office-holding republicans that should concern voters, not just Trump.
10
You forgot to mention the most frightening aspect of Mike Pence: his clenched-jaw delivery channels Sterling Hayden's portrayal of Gen. Jack D. Ripper beautifully. Lucky us.
5
Exactly, Gail! It's the buttons:
- Lap dog of Pence
- Lap dog if Putin
- Lost popular vote by huge margin
- Small Inauguration crowd size
- Not a billionaire as evidenced by no tax return release
- Just heir to a really rich dad whose net worth would be higher had he just put his inheritance in an index fund and been a full-time pussy grabber
There is hope, America (the half that still thinks)!
- Lap dog of Pence
- Lap dog if Putin
- Lost popular vote by huge margin
- Small Inauguration crowd size
- Not a billionaire as evidenced by no tax return release
- Just heir to a really rich dad whose net worth would be higher had he just put his inheritance in an index fund and been a full-time pussy grabber
There is hope, America (the half that still thinks)!
13
Gail, where were you when Pence took over the transition and tapped Family values nut Ken Blackwell to head up domestic transition? Out popped Betsy DeVos, Tom Price and Andy Pudzer. None of them had any connection to Trump. All of them are anti-abortion right wing zealots.
19
I cannot imagine any conservative platform that Trump has ever espoused, other than what fills his pocketbook. Throughout his business life, it has been "build the empire" any way he can. Stiffing the system and the little guy has been his theme if it makes him money. His obsession with dominance and obvious wealth shows in his tasteless LouisXVI décor; gold EVERYTHING! He wants to rule and Mike Pence was his only ticket. Had Pence not signed on, I wonder if he could have gotten anyone else. The agenda now, and the executive orders are ALL PENCE. Pence, the "Christian, first" pol who tried to turn Indiana into a white Christian heterosexual colony, would not tolerate Trump's agenda for one minute if "Christian, first" was any more than a campaign ad. Duty to protect America? And fight every attempt to limit access to guns for violent people by instituting universal background checks? Something like 30% of crime guns recovered in Chicago originate in Indiana because of more lax gun laws; there is NO background check required for private sales; only required when seller is fed. licensed dealer. Pence is an NRA 100%er; anything for a vote. And we won't even mention Bannon/Breitbart.
16
Mendex Flagrante is merely being his old transactional self. Good ol' "Lucky Penny" stood by him through the election and whatever he needs signed, he will get it it, no arguments.
2
Whether or not it is Pence in every case, the GOP is pulling his strings, and as fast as possible...before the day comes - the day they know MUST come - when they will be required to impeach him and save the country from his mentally unstable personality.
Speed is the one thing we've seen here...as fast as is humanly possible...because they know Trump is not smart enough to see them pulling his strings...AND because they know the Democratic leadership has not yet found conditions of confidence in facing down Trump (but they could face down their GOP colleagues in Congress).
And then there's Russia, or whoever else (nation or private business associate) who may also be pulling strings...and the GOP is content with allowing even that, as long as it provides a tunnel through which they may also travel to carry their agenda forward.
This is not only an enormously ignorant and unfit President, but one who is daily enabled by those who use him for their own purposes without regard for the citizens affected. Power is its own reward, and they are now savoring that power like starved dogs.
Speed is the one thing we've seen here...as fast as is humanly possible...because they know Trump is not smart enough to see them pulling his strings...AND because they know the Democratic leadership has not yet found conditions of confidence in facing down Trump (but they could face down their GOP colleagues in Congress).
And then there's Russia, or whoever else (nation or private business associate) who may also be pulling strings...and the GOP is content with allowing even that, as long as it provides a tunnel through which they may also travel to carry their agenda forward.
This is not only an enormously ignorant and unfit President, but one who is daily enabled by those who use him for their own purposes without regard for the citizens affected. Power is its own reward, and they are now savoring that power like starved dogs.
14
"Puppet Trump" makes a good deal of sense... But there would seem to be multiple pupeteers: Pence, Heritage Foundation, etc. A good cartoonist should be able to do something with this, perhaps along the lines of the original Playbill cover for My Fair Lady...
10
I hope many reporters at his press conferences start asking questions like "Mr Trump, what does Mr. Pence think about X" or "What will Mr Pence be doing about Y" Wouldn't that be fun to watch.
42
I'm not sure lap dog, puppet, peon, whatever quite hits the nail when it comes to Donald Trump. We know Trump suffers from acute attention deficit disorder. As you mentioned, he clearly doesn't feel strongly about abortion one way or the other. I imagine he delegated women's rights to Pence after little thought and minimal persuasion. If Mike Pence cares so much, he can have the issue. Throw the dog a bone every once in awhile. After all, Pence deserves something for pulling a few conservatives along for Trump's wild ride.
More alarming to me: Trump has a habit of pushing any topic he finds difficult or uninteresting onto the first person willing to take responsibility. The consequences and outcomes are largely irrelevant. You wonder who will be holding the string on any given issue. In that sense, Trump is more like a parade balloon than a puppet. His presidency requires a lot of people to keep him from floating away while his handlers try to march him where they want. Occasionally the wind blows them all in unintended directions.
More alarming to me: Trump has a habit of pushing any topic he finds difficult or uninteresting onto the first person willing to take responsibility. The consequences and outcomes are largely irrelevant. You wonder who will be holding the string on any given issue. In that sense, Trump is more like a parade balloon than a puppet. His presidency requires a lot of people to keep him from floating away while his handlers try to march him where they want. Occasionally the wind blows them all in unintended directions.
278
Occasionally the wind blows them in all directions, just like his hair.
Great analogy!
Spot on, but unfortunately, there are no thanks in this particular Thanksgiving Day parade.
Every time I think longingly of seeing our new president impeached, the specter of a president Pence jumps into my consciousness and I cringe.
7
Curiously, Gov. Pence voluntarily implemented Obamacare in Indiana, expanding the state's Medicaid program (called Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0). He also gave in on lifting his ban on a sterile needle exchange program to combat an infectious disease epidemic.
The nuts-and-bolts benefits of good policy are always good talking points.
The nuts-and-bolts benefits of good policy are always good talking points.
2
Pence and Ryan are the true leaders , not Trump whose purpose is to Create te distractions. He will sign anything pence and trump bring him. The media needs to focus on these two and more or less ignore Trump who is intellectually irrelavent to the formation of policy and regulation.
3
It's Trumplicated. Trump believes nothing but must hear and see his name name everywhere all the time. He has a licensing agreement withe radical right. They build the tower of hate and he gets his gleaming badge at the top. But who wants Pence?
5
Meh. Trump's morals are what worked for him, a rich New Yorker who dated a lot. So he's okay with abortions, but also okay with punishing women in red states (or overseas) and making it harder for poor women to get abortions. I think most of the anti abortion sentiment is for laws that keep the option open for oneself for the cost of a long weekend in a jurisdiction that allows it.
Trump's the puppet , Steve Bannon is playing the strings .
4
Perhaps a media conspiracy to refer to nothing except for tiny hands -- certain to implode the small moth with yellowish coif ...
Ms. Collins,
Pence is likely inflicting this horrible policy that takes women's power over their own bodies away from them. Trump is clearly nuts - and so is Pence - in a different, self righteous, handily religious way.
More importantly in your piece is the correct notion that Trump's ego is very fragile. This is a gigantic vulnerability that needs to exploited on a daily basis, to be overloaded, pressed on relentlessly to push him over the edge - wherein even his most fervent supporters will be driven off. If this sounds Macheavellian or Sun Tzu on steroids, you're reading it right. It's us versus him and the stakes could not be higher - our democracy hangs in the balance; we either take it back from him, or let it devolve into fascism. It's clear the Republican Party has thrown over their country to stay in power to continue to line their pockets and indulge their racist revenge for 8 years of a black man being president. We have to count on the press to keep pressuring trump until he leaves. The beauty of this strategy is that the media will only be doing their job, telling he truth over and over and over again.
Pence is likely inflicting this horrible policy that takes women's power over their own bodies away from them. Trump is clearly nuts - and so is Pence - in a different, self righteous, handily religious way.
More importantly in your piece is the correct notion that Trump's ego is very fragile. This is a gigantic vulnerability that needs to exploited on a daily basis, to be overloaded, pressed on relentlessly to push him over the edge - wherein even his most fervent supporters will be driven off. If this sounds Macheavellian or Sun Tzu on steroids, you're reading it right. It's us versus him and the stakes could not be higher - our democracy hangs in the balance; we either take it back from him, or let it devolve into fascism. It's clear the Republican Party has thrown over their country to stay in power to continue to line their pockets and indulge their racist revenge for 8 years of a black man being president. We have to count on the press to keep pressuring trump until he leaves. The beauty of this strategy is that the media will only be doing their job, telling he truth over and over and over again.
11
from Seinfeld " Newman's best moment"
"Hello Newman"
"Hello, Jerry...an evil wind will blow through your little play world and wipe that smug smile off your face. And I'll be there, in all my glory watching, watching! as it all comes tumbling down!"
from Bannon
"leadership are all c_nts"
"I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today's establishment"
Hello, Bannon
"Hello Newman"
"Hello, Jerry...an evil wind will blow through your little play world and wipe that smug smile off your face. And I'll be there, in all my glory watching, watching! as it all comes tumbling down!"
from Bannon
"leadership are all c_nts"
"I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today's establishment"
Hello, Bannon
2
For a very very brief moment in December, it occurred to me that we might survive the next four years because Mike Pence seemed to be, more or less, rational. Thanks for reminding me this is probably not the case.
2
I love it!!!
Hit him in his ego.
Hit him in his ego.
2
Our supposedly secular country has allowed a radical Christian minority to impose its anti-choice philosophy on us. We are going to see the fruits of that policy on our daughters, granddaughters, and future generations of American women if a new Supreme Court Justice results in Roe v Wade being over-turned which is indeed the Republican goal here. If Trump were ever to be impeached, I believe Pence in the White House would be an even greater threat to not only women's rights in particular, but American freedom in general.
5
It's not as simple as that. Trump has a brain, but doesn't choose to use it to think much. He has strongly held opinions, but they were arrived at with little thought (and certainly no reading), and are subject to sudden switches because they are built on a foundation of shifting sand. The Republicans struggle to direct him, and certainly would have preferred one of their own at the top, but nevertheless have a big advantage in influencing him. Other than family members, only Republicans have the access to influence him.
So no, he's not simply a puppet. He will frustrate the Republicans with some of his enthusiasms, like the wall and protectionism. But a man with no real intellectual foundation can be molded over time; that is what the Republicans will try to do. He's still Captain Chaos, but he's the Republican's Captain Chaos.
So no, he's not simply a puppet. He will frustrate the Republicans with some of his enthusiasms, like the wall and protectionism. But a man with no real intellectual foundation can be molded over time; that is what the Republicans will try to do. He's still Captain Chaos, but he's the Republican's Captain Chaos.
156
I think Trump was originally more moderate in many of his social/political views or, anyway, less concerned with and more scattered on these issues.
But his most basic agenda is Trump first! and I think he decided that Republicans were most likely to facilitate that. To get their support he had to adopt their views. This looks like a good deal to him, since he didn't really have strong views on many Conservative issues and so didn't have to give up anything to get their support.
Having bargained his nonexistent soul for Conservative support, he seems open to suggestion on the details.
But his most basic agenda is Trump first! and I think he decided that Republicans were most likely to facilitate that. To get their support he had to adopt their views. This looks like a good deal to him, since he didn't really have strong views on many Conservative issues and so didn't have to give up anything to get their support.
Having bargained his nonexistent soul for Conservative support, he seems open to suggestion on the details.
Given that Trump is almost certainly in the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease, he will not remember that Pence told him to do something yesterday. And the problem will get worse.
More important, we need to watch all of the Seven Dwarfs that Trump has appointed to Cabinet level positions, and find out which of them is stealing most. Incompetence and stupidity can be overcome, but smart thieves can cause real trouble. If we only face a bumbling idiot in the White House, and not organized outright theft, we will be lucky.
To see what to do go to YouTube watch Comedy Party Platform (2 min 9 sec). Invite me to speak. Thanks.
More important, we need to watch all of the Seven Dwarfs that Trump has appointed to Cabinet level positions, and find out which of them is stealing most. Incompetence and stupidity can be overcome, but smart thieves can cause real trouble. If we only face a bumbling idiot in the White House, and not organized outright theft, we will be lucky.
To see what to do go to YouTube watch Comedy Party Platform (2 min 9 sec). Invite me to speak. Thanks.
2
pence got a law in Indiana passed controlling disposal of fetuses so broad that any woman with a period taking perfectly normal sanitary measures might find herself being deemed criminal. Why? Because many miscarry in the first cycle expelling a fertilized egg that has started to divide because the law blanketly covers all fertilized eggs. The law was not vetted as other laws were and was signed after a backdoor process much like pence's Wedding Cake fiasco.
This is the nut burger that is our VP. I consider him even more dangerous than trump himself because he actually knows how to get his evil ideas into law.
This is the nut burger that is our VP. I consider him even more dangerous than trump himself because he actually knows how to get his evil ideas into law.
1
No and the idea is disrespectful. Now if I as owner want something done and leave the details to those who are best capable of achieving our goals that is smart. Like Obama doing things and being involved in everything is idiotic.
Pence and other men must realize oppressing women is futile. Women today are smart (attend college at higher rates than men), financially independent, strong, fierce, and liberated.
At least on the West Coast, not even men want the 1950s.
At least on the West Coast, not even men want the 1950s.
I've got an idea... NYT and other journalists, start working on uncovering what men in the administration etc--who have family members or partners --who are patently hypocritical regarding birth control and abortion etc.
I wouldn't want any women to get hurt in the process so maybe it can't be done using SOP but nonetheless I think Shakespeare was on target with this one: Me thinks thou doest protest too much.
Go after the most insistent congressmen and even congresswomen and govt officials like Pence who promote legislative actions that affect women's reproductive rights, especially when it comes to abortion and access to the morning after RX.
Stay on it --you will find something.
This hypocrisy needs to be exposed. No doubt Melania uses birth control so she doesn't get pregnant. I can't picture DT being the one responsible for this aspect of the partnership. However, they have money and social capital. If she ever did find herself pregnant she would have no problem "taking care of the issue " if they did not want more children. Same for other rich, connected politicians.
This is most obvious expression of "conservatives" being radical . What a joke. But really, it's a travesty.
I wouldn't want any women to get hurt in the process so maybe it can't be done using SOP but nonetheless I think Shakespeare was on target with this one: Me thinks thou doest protest too much.
Go after the most insistent congressmen and even congresswomen and govt officials like Pence who promote legislative actions that affect women's reproductive rights, especially when it comes to abortion and access to the morning after RX.
Stay on it --you will find something.
This hypocrisy needs to be exposed. No doubt Melania uses birth control so she doesn't get pregnant. I can't picture DT being the one responsible for this aspect of the partnership. However, they have money and social capital. If she ever did find herself pregnant she would have no problem "taking care of the issue " if they did not want more children. Same for other rich, connected politicians.
This is most obvious expression of "conservatives" being radical . What a joke. But really, it's a travesty.
2
We are deeply in trouble here. We have a hydra of people that want to limit women's health care, give tax cuts to the 1%, destroy the environment in the service of capitalism, and limit our voice in government. Impeaching Trump leaves us with Pence and getting rid of Pence leaves another ultraconservative person. It truely will require constant resistance and courage from those who believe that this is the wrong direction of our country!
2
And this madness is why I voted for Hillary.
5
It was always clear Trump would sign anything put in front of him. Afterall, every time he signs he has his picture taken. He's on tv. He's the center of attention. The correct name for this tyrannical moron is President Auto Pen.
3
Curiously silent on this issue is Ivanka. I wonder how she can look herself in the mirror with the kind of double-talk it takes to claim to be for working women and to support this kind of White House. Guess her "feminism" was all superficial branding, after all.
2
Great piece Gail. To those who fear that an impeachment would lead to the worse situation of Pence I would say 'Get over it'. Pence is a hater reactionary to be sure but he still has some respect for the system. Our new president is already in impeachment territory over his corrupt abuse of the emolument clause. After giving the Democrats the house in 2018 lets use it to rid ourselves of this maniacal tweety bird president before he gets a lot of us killed.
2
Thank you for your brilliant insight into and clarification of the Pence-Trump dynamic.
"The only politician who would behave like that would be someone who had spent his entire career trying to impose his deeply held conservative religious values on people who had different beliefs."
Let's get this out of the way, Pence has no "deeply held conservative RELIGIOUS values." Actual religion, Christian belief, has no role in the thinking of someone like Pence. Cruelty is his game and the power to hurt people and control their lives is what he wants. In the context of "deeply held religious values" one could make the case that Hitler had them when he ordered Jews murdered -- he believed they were inferior and they were ruining the perfect 'Christian' world so his "deep values" led him to designing extermination centers. Who would ever assign Hitler's form of insanity to "deeply held religious values?"
Please -- just say what Pence is -- another form of lunatic who wants to deny other people their rights as women, as gay people, etc. He's a horror show -- and, yes, Trump and he are both dangerous buffoons -- it's a two-headed horrible monster that we are facing with a lot of smaller horrible monsters named McConnell, Cruz, Ryan, Cotton, etc. waiting in the wings and cheering them on.
Let's get this out of the way, Pence has no "deeply held conservative RELIGIOUS values." Actual religion, Christian belief, has no role in the thinking of someone like Pence. Cruelty is his game and the power to hurt people and control their lives is what he wants. In the context of "deeply held religious values" one could make the case that Hitler had them when he ordered Jews murdered -- he believed they were inferior and they were ruining the perfect 'Christian' world so his "deep values" led him to designing extermination centers. Who would ever assign Hitler's form of insanity to "deeply held religious values?"
Please -- just say what Pence is -- another form of lunatic who wants to deny other people their rights as women, as gay people, etc. He's a horror show -- and, yes, Trump and he are both dangerous buffoons -- it's a two-headed horrible monster that we are facing with a lot of smaller horrible monsters named McConnell, Cruz, Ryan, Cotton, etc. waiting in the wings and cheering them on.
2
Of course Mike "Christian first" Pence is using Trump as a tool of his own far-right agenda. There is no other reason someone so emblematic of the Christian right would run with someone so secular as Trump. There is no other reason someone who claimed that God does not want him to campaign negatively could stand by oblivious to Trump's lies and slander.
Mike Pence's highlights as Governor include fighting gay rights under the guise of religious freedom and a war on transgenders in the bathroom. Wait until he brings those 'causes' to the White House. And wait until he starts putting people with his agenda for the Supreme Court. Pence has enough Congressional connections to pull it off.
Mike Pence's highlights as Governor include fighting gay rights under the guise of religious freedom and a war on transgenders in the bathroom. Wait until he brings those 'causes' to the White House. And wait until he starts putting people with his agenda for the Supreme Court. Pence has enough Congressional connections to pull it off.
1
Pence will have blood on his hands by forcing women to follow his religion, rather than allow women the fundamental human right to decide whether to have an abortion or not, based on her own religion.
Pence's behavior flies in the face the US Constitution that recognizes Religious Freedom as cornerstone of our society. It is also a violation of Gods Words as reported in the Bible. The crime of forcing an unwanted abortion by hitting a woman is only punishable by a fine to her....husband (Exodus). Of course only third trimester pregnancies result in abortion by simply hitting a woman. Yet killing a baby according to the Bible is murder and murder is punishable by death. So the fetus is not a baby by any stretch of the imagination according to the Bible.
Doctors doing abortion are doing God's work providing healthcare to women. Interfering with healthcare that may result in death is murder. Pence is contributing to murder.
Pence's behavior flies in the face the US Constitution that recognizes Religious Freedom as cornerstone of our society. It is also a violation of Gods Words as reported in the Bible. The crime of forcing an unwanted abortion by hitting a woman is only punishable by a fine to her....husband (Exodus). Of course only third trimester pregnancies result in abortion by simply hitting a woman. Yet killing a baby according to the Bible is murder and murder is punishable by death. So the fetus is not a baby by any stretch of the imagination according to the Bible.
Doctors doing abortion are doing God's work providing healthcare to women. Interfering with healthcare that may result in death is murder. Pence is contributing to murder.
5
Does anyone seriously believe that Mike Pence would allow his wife or daughter to die rather than terminate a life-threatening pregnancy? He and those men signing "the gag order" are the worst kind of misogynist religious hypocrites. They are willing to let women die in developing countries so the can feel they are "holier than thou." If there is a heaven, they won't be going there!
7
Dick Cheney revisited? I recall a knee-slapping line delivered by President Obama during one of those White House Correspondents' Dinners, where he observed that Cheney had recently called him (Obama) "the worst president in history."
Paraphrasing from memory: "That's a remarkable coincidence, because I think Dick Cheney was the worst president in history."
Gail's postulate could well be accurate. Given Trump's obvious attention deficit coupled with his impatience for "details", the door is wide open for manipulation by people smarter than he is. Which is just about everybody.
Paraphrasing from memory: "That's a remarkable coincidence, because I think Dick Cheney was the worst president in history."
Gail's postulate could well be accurate. Given Trump's obvious attention deficit coupled with his impatience for "details", the door is wide open for manipulation by people smarter than he is. Which is just about everybody.
6
Gail it does not matter what Trump/Pence say or do.
Drain the swamp has devolved into a Goldman Sachs Billionaires Inland Sea. Not a peep from an adoring, crazed base who approve his war on the press, Muslims, Planned Parenthood, ACA with contradictory statement daily and on and on.So?
What counts is he really is going to MAKE AMERICA AGAIN. He is going to save America. They know it. They taste it. What is that food?
JOBS
What a simple solution for a nation facing a changing 21st century. Wait, it is passing through Europe also. Can we say 1930s? The wave of fear is prevalent and Trump has tapped into it. Jobs Jobs Jobs and those others who are taking them must be dealt with. Whether the job takers are foreign nations or 'OTHERS' within Trump will deal with them. Who cares about policy or Pence as long as he brings the jobs back- their jobs.
Drain the swamp has devolved into a Goldman Sachs Billionaires Inland Sea. Not a peep from an adoring, crazed base who approve his war on the press, Muslims, Planned Parenthood, ACA with contradictory statement daily and on and on.So?
What counts is he really is going to MAKE AMERICA AGAIN. He is going to save America. They know it. They taste it. What is that food?
JOBS
What a simple solution for a nation facing a changing 21st century. Wait, it is passing through Europe also. Can we say 1930s? The wave of fear is prevalent and Trump has tapped into it. Jobs Jobs Jobs and those others who are taking them must be dealt with. Whether the job takers are foreign nations or 'OTHERS' within Trump will deal with them. Who cares about policy or Pence as long as he brings the jobs back- their jobs.
1
But doesn't Pence look presidential? When I see him on TV, I turn away as that intense gaze is powerful juju - look away - look away - or you might be brought into the same obsessions he has.
I would like folks to read what was HB1335 to see how far this man's obsession with abortion and even miscarriage goes. However, it is interesting that none of the anti-choice laws proposed in Indiana (and there are 6 right now proposed in the state legislature so the saga continues) address "culling" or "reduction" in instances of fertility treatments. Apparently, that is ok and not an "abortion" because it is being called by another name and babies are still being born.
Also, it is interesting that Pence also came from entertainment. His qualifications to serve in Congress? Talk radio talk show host.
Thank you, Gail, for keeping Pence out there in the public view as his behind the scenes machinations are just as dangerous as Trump's "behind the scenes."
I would like folks to read what was HB1335 to see how far this man's obsession with abortion and even miscarriage goes. However, it is interesting that none of the anti-choice laws proposed in Indiana (and there are 6 right now proposed in the state legislature so the saga continues) address "culling" or "reduction" in instances of fertility treatments. Apparently, that is ok and not an "abortion" because it is being called by another name and babies are still being born.
Also, it is interesting that Pence also came from entertainment. His qualifications to serve in Congress? Talk radio talk show host.
Thank you, Gail, for keeping Pence out there in the public view as his behind the scenes machinations are just as dangerous as Trump's "behind the scenes."
3
I love the moniker Lap dog Trump. Nothing gets under his skin more than challenging his manhood and leadership. While I believe Lap dog Trump is dangerous, VP Pence is the most dangerous leader ever for women's health. Perhaps LD trump will be so angry he will wrestle control away from Pence.
2
I've been wondering why he always follows Mr. Trump around. He's like his nanny.
1
If Trump, whose opinions float with the wind were to be impeached, we would end up with a resolute "gaycist" who has no respect for women's rights. Where is the winning move?
1
Trump has a "deepest heart"? Who woulda thunk it! Kellyanne Conway claims he does, but that's just another of her alternative facts.
5
Trump has any number of puppeteers pulling his strings. Just depends on the time of day. We should loudly and often (on social media especially) voice that opinion. Nothing he hates more than people thinking he isn't the top dog.
On the Planned Parenthood thing, wouldn't it be wonderful if the Gates Foundation and Oprah Winfrey said they would provide free birth control to any woman who couldn't afford it once the ACA is repealed? Much better expenditure than worrying about women in 3rd world countries, since prevention of us becoming a 3rd world country would make a huge difference in the world.
On the Planned Parenthood thing, wouldn't it be wonderful if the Gates Foundation and Oprah Winfrey said they would provide free birth control to any woman who couldn't afford it once the ACA is repealed? Much better expenditure than worrying about women in 3rd world countries, since prevention of us becoming a 3rd world country would make a huge difference in the world.
4
The mistake that is made in this piece as well as many other of the more left leaning editorial opinion pieces is the implication that there is a difference between Trump and the Republican Party. That just is not so. They are one and the same.
If you persist in this thinking, you are leaving a big exist ramp for the GOP when the train goes off the track. They will disavow Trump and go on their merry way saying the disaster is Trump's doing and not theirs. The Republicans are Trump. They are on and the same. Of course Pence helps the Donald. They are friends and fellow Republicans. They have the same thoughts and policy. They want to spend money for the wall, defense, prosecuting voter fraud, looking for millions of illegally cast ballots, new nuclear weapons, tax cuts for the rich, privatization of government services, reductions of Social Security and Medicare, and the list goes on.
Trump and the Republicans have a different vision of America than you and me. That vision from them is held in common by Trump and the Republicans. It cannot be said too often. Don't give them a way out. They are united in what they are doing to America and the voter must understand this. What is coming out of the White House and Congress is a unified message of more for the rich, less for the poor and middle class, and no more legal descent by the people.
March, resist, register voters in every hamlet, vote in 2018 and right this wrong with a Democrat Congress.
If you persist in this thinking, you are leaving a big exist ramp for the GOP when the train goes off the track. They will disavow Trump and go on their merry way saying the disaster is Trump's doing and not theirs. The Republicans are Trump. They are on and the same. Of course Pence helps the Donald. They are friends and fellow Republicans. They have the same thoughts and policy. They want to spend money for the wall, defense, prosecuting voter fraud, looking for millions of illegally cast ballots, new nuclear weapons, tax cuts for the rich, privatization of government services, reductions of Social Security and Medicare, and the list goes on.
Trump and the Republicans have a different vision of America than you and me. That vision from them is held in common by Trump and the Republicans. It cannot be said too often. Don't give them a way out. They are united in what they are doing to America and the voter must understand this. What is coming out of the White House and Congress is a unified message of more for the rich, less for the poor and middle class, and no more legal descent by the people.
March, resist, register voters in every hamlet, vote in 2018 and right this wrong with a Democrat Congress.
4
Every Republican Pres, going back as far as Eisenhower (except probably Nixon and Reagan who were certainly true believers) has been a stooge for the Far Right Military Industrial Complex. Eisenhower realized it too late and could only warn us about it in his Farewell Address. Bush 1 was simply not politically powerful enough to resist, Bush 2 just didn't know what was happening around him, Ford gave Nixon a blanket pardon and otherwise had no impact on the Repub agenda. Trump however, is their best work. He is the stoogiest stooge ever. Now we'll see what their dystopian world is like. It gives me chills.
1
Karen Pence took art classes when her first-born was a wee child. She wanted to paint -- for profit. Isn't that considered "work?" How did this affect the emotional growth of the kid? Later, she founded her own company selling her ever-tasteful little tchotchkes -- "That's My Towel" -- to clip onto your beach blanket or whatever so no one dare take it. And the rest of the brood wasn't emotionally stunted either?
I, myself, am wondering if, at nearly 80, I might yet be in danger of being stunted because my own mother insisted on working her entire life. Sure, she did it because we needed the dough to eat and stuff, but I still feel I might have been emotionally shortened somehow.
But then, I remind myself that I'm still not getting equal pay for my own work, so that should make up for my mom's ignorance of what woman's place is.
I, myself, am wondering if, at nearly 80, I might yet be in danger of being stunted because my own mother insisted on working her entire life. Sure, she did it because we needed the dough to eat and stuff, but I still feel I might have been emotionally shortened somehow.
But then, I remind myself that I'm still not getting equal pay for my own work, so that should make up for my mom's ignorance of what woman's place is.
6
Trump and Pence are both Putin's lap dogs. Reminds me of a joke someone posted on another site. "What do you call 10,000 Trump fans who move to Russia..........answer - a good start."
6
Calling him a puppet would provoke him because it would challenge his ego, but I think it would lack some force because it's not really true. He's not Pence's puppet; he simply doesn't care about matters of policy (except ones that affect his image or on which he can make money). I think he would consider it delegation rather than surrender.
That said, voters' focus should indeed be on Congress. Trump himself is mostly a distraction -- the clown at the rodeo. Legislators and local issues are what matter, not the antics of a brand-obsessed incompetent.
That said, voters' focus should indeed be on Congress. Trump himself is mostly a distraction -- the clown at the rodeo. Legislators and local issues are what matter, not the antics of a brand-obsessed incompetent.
2
Often, those with the biggest egos are easily manipulated by others who've learned how to stroke those egos, the proverbial powers behind the throne. Trump has surrounded himself with these strokers who have a variety of interests but who see in Trump the perfect vehicle to bring them forward. Yes, Pence is a disturbing and extremist religious zealot who would force his minority vision on all of us. But there's also Bannon and others who have their own extremist and destructive goals. You or the NYT might consider producing a "citizen's guide" that lists each member of Trump's coterie (including Ryan and McConnell) and that person's known interests and goals. Then we, and Trump, will know who's pushing what buttons.
7
Well, this Gepetto didn't create this Pinocchio, but that certainly hasn't kept him from manipulating the strings. The two are a sort of mutual aiding and abetting admiration society. One is oblivious, the other, calculating.
And Gail, if we managed to remove Trump AND Pence, we're stuck with Paul Ryan. Trump is right: the world is a mess. And it has gotten exponentially messier in the past week.
And Gail, if we managed to remove Trump AND Pence, we're stuck with Paul Ryan. Trump is right: the world is a mess. And it has gotten exponentially messier in the past week.
4
It is an irony that Trump's war against religious extremists is being carried out with a VP who is proud to identify himself as a religious extremists.
8
Trump is striking me more and more like a restless child you reluctantly place before the TV for an hour so you can get some work done around the house.
Yes, you worry that it might stunt his intellectual growth but Fox News seems so soothing to him, and it keeps his restlessness at bay, so you just live with it.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bannon is the real threat. He will tear our Democracy apart limb-by-limb while Mr. Pence is satisfied with his lady parts obsession.
Yes, you worry that it might stunt his intellectual growth but Fox News seems so soothing to him, and it keeps his restlessness at bay, so you just live with it.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bannon is the real threat. He will tear our Democracy apart limb-by-limb while Mr. Pence is satisfied with his lady parts obsession.
11
Its going to take more than a phone call or wearing a pink hat. How far are you prepared to go? So far this is a peaceful Civil War. So far...
2
The Executive office and the Executive Cabinet are a disgrace. One could never do a better job at completely flipping everything good that's been done by the Obama administration, and they're just getting started.
It's high time we get started on a strong resistance; we as a Nation need to be ashamed of what's happening.
Not many thought he was able to win the election. That's why there was relatively little inaction(protests and such). Now we pay the price.
As Democrats, we clearly have our work cut out for us.
It's high time we get started on a strong resistance; we as a Nation need to be ashamed of what's happening.
Not many thought he was able to win the election. That's why there was relatively little inaction(protests and such). Now we pay the price.
As Democrats, we clearly have our work cut out for us.
5
Correction-Should have stated "..relatively little action" instead
Paul Ryan has never looked so good.
This story would have been better with a gif of Trump insulting the disabled reporter. Puppeteering is the best explanation so far for those movements.
This story would have been better with a gif of Trump insulting the disabled reporter. Puppeteering is the best explanation so far for those movements.
When is Pence going to call for hearings into the massive voter fraud Trump insists took place on election day? Three million illegal votes, in my mind, is certainly an issue that cries out for immediate attention.
1
From the moment I saw the executive order I had a strong feeling it was Mike Pence driving it. People, we are screwed if Trump is the President or if he's not, but I still prefer an impeachment and take our chances with the social extremist Mike Pence.
2
Oh, no you don't. Trump is a buffoon but he has made several appointments that are likely to blunt his most bellicose instincts. Pence is a far more dangerous possibility. Don't be fooled by his quiet, courtly manner. He would, in two brushes of the pen, not only dismantle every regulation that keeps corporate America from further ravaging our environment and our economy, but would push the harshest possible regulations to control how we live, who we love, how we worship (or don't), and how and what we think. Bad trade.
Republican extremists have finally achieved nirvana. They have a signing pen in the Oval Office who will sign documents supporting whatever extreme position they present as long as they praise him and play to his fragile ego. He has no clue or interest in actual policy as long as he can favorably spin what he is doing to the low information rubes in his base.
7
Have Trump Pence killed animals? Knowingly unknowingly crushed them under their feet? Destroyed eggs of animals, birds, insects? Boiled lobsters, shrimp, clams and mussels alive? Well if the answer to any one of those is yes, then in the eyes of God the creator, they are self murderers. You see God created multiverses to himself/herself experience the gore and glory, the magnificence. In God's eyes all things are equal, every creation from an ant to an elephant to a human, is precious. If pence and Trump are singling out human fetuses as objects of protection they are falling short of God's generosity in protecting all things, great and small, everywhere on the planet and beyond. Our tiny human brains (and small hands) are incapable of comprehending God's magnificence from beginingless times. People like pence and trump are only capable of comprehending human time and space dimensions from biblical times onwards, they have very very narrow view of what existed before biblical times and they are stuck in a misinterpreted judeo Christian worldview of limited possibilities. God, if only they knew the truth!!
2
Putin's puppy.
Pence's puppet.
Addelson's addled son.
Koch's joke.
It must be crowded inside Trump's head.
Pence's puppet.
Addelson's addled son.
Koch's joke.
It must be crowded inside Trump's head.
2
Only creeps attack decent men. Pence might be the most decent man in Washington.
"Only creeps attack decent men."
That explains the constant attacks on President Obama by the Republicans in congress.
That explains the constant attacks on President Obama by the Republicans in congress.
And he would take all your rights as a woman away in a heartbeat, but because you're both christians, you'll let him. After all, aren't women in the Bible told to serve their men no matter what? That is something he believes wholeheartedly.
I find it interesting that hard right conservative Christians in the US are eager to impose their religious beliefs on all of us, while simultaneously screaming about Sharia law. Any laws that impose a religion on people at the expense of their individual rights is clearly wrong, whether that religion be Christianity or Islam or any other belief.
So the war on women is almost certainly coming from Pence. The only interest in women that Trump ever exhibited in the past has been their bodies and if they happen to excite him.
So the war on women is almost certainly coming from Pence. The only interest in women that Trump ever exhibited in the past has been their bodies and if they happen to excite him.
2
The reason for the total incoherence, bumbling, stumbling, contradictory and insane positions is because the Orange Creature is attached to more strings than Pence's, whose strings are being pulled by tea party nuts and Ryan and McConell. and their strings are pulled by the Kochs. It's a world of strings.
The Orange Creature is also attached to strings being pulled by Bannon and Putin. He's a tangled mess, up is down, lies are facts and he is their perfect puppet.
Gail, all you have to do to get your own string is tell him how great he is.
The Orange Creature is also attached to strings being pulled by Bannon and Putin. He's a tangled mess, up is down, lies are facts and he is their perfect puppet.
Gail, all you have to do to get your own string is tell him how great he is.
4
"I am just mentioning this for you to remember the next time you hear people say they hope President Trump is impeached."
Trump is probably not smart enough to realize that having Pence as his VP gives pause to anyone who might considering impeachment! But it is something that crossed my mind - which would be worse for the country: a pathological narcissistic liar OR an absolute right-wing fundamentalist?
Trump is probably not smart enough to realize that having Pence as his VP gives pause to anyone who might considering impeachment! But it is something that crossed my mind - which would be worse for the country: a pathological narcissistic liar OR an absolute right-wing fundamentalist?
Trump might no like being called Lap Dog but for this narcissist, there is no such thing as bad publicity. Anything that calls attention to HIM is GOOD. Besides, he'll forget all about it in 15-20 minutes.
Pence would clearly be at home in the Spanish Inquisition. He is motivated by a fundamentalist orthodoxy; that's what pulls Pence's strings
Pence would clearly be at home in the Spanish Inquisition. He is motivated by a fundamentalist orthodoxy; that's what pulls Pence's strings
3
Hmmm.... Interesting idea--getting Trump to realize that he's not manipulating Mike Pence, but Pence is manipulating him! Trump's paranoia is legion and already surpasses even Nixon's, who had many years in politics and 4 years in the White House to grow it.
Pence WOULD be a dreadfully bad President, but I don't see him actively working to overthrow the checks and balances, nor do I see him getting re-elected. Dreadfully bad isn't catastrophic. Even a disaster isn't a catastrophe. And Trump IS a catastrophe for our democratic republic.
Pence WOULD be a dreadfully bad President, but I don't see him actively working to overthrow the checks and balances, nor do I see him getting re-elected. Dreadfully bad isn't catastrophic. Even a disaster isn't a catastrophe. And Trump IS a catastrophe for our democratic republic.
4
I never thought I would be wishing for the sanity of a Pence Presidency.
If you consider religious zealotry "sane", then you're in luck.
1
May more light continue to expose this "Pence of Darkness".
2
I believe the timing on Mr. Trump's attention to this issue is very suspect, coming as it did so closely after women marched for their rights en masse across the globe, thereby stealing additional thunder from a lackluster inauguration. I wonder whether Mr. Trump was even aware of this mandate until his ire was awakened and the papers slipped in front of him by the ideologues that stand behind him. It has Pence's fingerprints and Trump's anger written all over it.
2
Like everything else about Herr Trump - he can change things tomorrow and then say he never said it. Its not alternative facts its an alternative reality.
3
Cute idea, but TRUMP and Pence know who's who, and whose coattails were ridden. This is not to say that Pence feeds him some lines now and then and has an agenda, but I doubt that he is a threat to TRUMP's hyper-insecure-masculinity.
Of course from Pence's point of view a woman with an IUD is achieving his eugenic goal without abortion. It is the age old war on the poor. Malthus got it started and framed the argument. Spencer pushed the agenda and gave it some pseudo-scientific cred. Various robber barons established their hegemony. Harvard's own Herrnstein&Murray gave us some mathy-mumbo-jumbo with graphs to "prove" inferiority, and now TRUMP is setting in stone an American class structure. [Last laugh is at the expense of his supporters.]
March, write, attend town halls, speak to Uncle Floyd in a calm voice. Run for school board. Do good at every turn. You probably won't be rewarded, but at least you won't be part of the problem.
Of course from Pence's point of view a woman with an IUD is achieving his eugenic goal without abortion. It is the age old war on the poor. Malthus got it started and framed the argument. Spencer pushed the agenda and gave it some pseudo-scientific cred. Various robber barons established their hegemony. Harvard's own Herrnstein&Murray gave us some mathy-mumbo-jumbo with graphs to "prove" inferiority, and now TRUMP is setting in stone an American class structure. [Last laugh is at the expense of his supporters.]
March, write, attend town halls, speak to Uncle Floyd in a calm voice. Run for school board. Do good at every turn. You probably won't be rewarded, but at least you won't be part of the problem.
2
As always, a great column, Gail.
I do have one demure. If Pence is already doing the whole right wing "Christian" thing through Trump, why not impeach Trump and at least force Pence to operate in the open?
It would also have the advantage of lessening our chance of blundering into a nuclear war. My estimate: Massive destruction somewhere in the world under Trump: ^50%; in the USA ^25%. With Pence as President, 10% worldwide, tops.
So we get to see the guy behind the curtains AND have a better chance of actually surviving over the next 4 years. Let's go for it! Impeach Trump!
I do have one demure. If Pence is already doing the whole right wing "Christian" thing through Trump, why not impeach Trump and at least force Pence to operate in the open?
It would also have the advantage of lessening our chance of blundering into a nuclear war. My estimate: Massive destruction somewhere in the world under Trump: ^50%; in the USA ^25%. With Pence as President, 10% worldwide, tops.
So we get to see the guy behind the curtains AND have a better chance of actually surviving over the next 4 years. Let's go for it! Impeach Trump!
1
VP Pence and Reince Priebus have been looking duly frustrated with Pres, Trump lately. It looks like their trying to Have Donald as the puppet, but are having difficulty keeping him from causing new scandals.
In the end, I think they both are trying to have the other implement policy changes on their respective behalf.
In the end, I think they both are trying to have the other implement policy changes on their respective behalf.
While I despise most of what this reactionary "president" stands for, he has never troubled me as much as his regressive team standing in the wings, i.e., Pence, Ryan, McConnell, their congressional ilk as well as the cabinet appointments and advisors that surround him. While he spends his time watching TV, tweeting lies and signing what's pushed on his desk, it is his team that represents the clear and present danger to the health and welfare of our country.
1
"just Mike Pence’s puppet"? Careful, now you are upsetting Putin!
Seriously, though: The Republican hate-caucus, the greed-caucus, and the Christian-Sharia-caucus have learned that they can control Trumps's moves by needling him on questions that wound his ego. Like, anything that has to do with size: Hands, walls, inauguration attendance, number of votes, ... He then goes off on a twitter tantrum, the press follows, and the Republicans can push through their core issues without much attention. Brilliant game plan, actually.
Seriously, though: The Republican hate-caucus, the greed-caucus, and the Christian-Sharia-caucus have learned that they can control Trumps's moves by needling him on questions that wound his ego. Like, anything that has to do with size: Hands, walls, inauguration attendance, number of votes, ... He then goes off on a twitter tantrum, the press follows, and the Republicans can push through their core issues without much attention. Brilliant game plan, actually.
2
First, on angry women - Where were all these, if there are indeed lots of them, women on election day? How can ANY woman be a republican given the antedeluvian views of most of them?
Second, on impeachment - How can anyone think that a republican congress would impeach one of its own? If our vaunted congress can't find its voice to speak out on the recent unbalanced utterings of the president they are no more than a flock of sheep. they are totally controlled by the white house.
Second, on impeachment - How can anyone think that a republican congress would impeach one of its own? If our vaunted congress can't find its voice to speak out on the recent unbalanced utterings of the president they are no more than a flock of sheep. they are totally controlled by the white house.
1
Ok, you've made your point, Gail: We have to impeach or remove both of them. Which leaves us with Ryan. Which is not good either!
But let's back up to your most important hint. In the second paragraph. That the "resident" is "totally nuts."
Yes! Totally!
That fact must be kept front and center. A "totally nuts" sociopathic, malignant narcissist, who requires constant care and feeding of his fragile ego, is surrounded by a theocratic Pence and other lying sycophants, bent on shaping a crazy, criminal Badmiinistration.
I doubt Pence is the prime mover here. There is likely on one prime mover. But we have the equivalent of a Baby sitting in a High Chair. Having tantrums. Throwing things: our rights, his responsibilities, the Republic, the environment, the planet and its people. And a bunch of sycophants. Assisting!
"Baby" is puppet-material for any who fawn and pander and promote his fantasies, his bottomless needs. His paranoia. His sadism. His need for triumph and transgression. His insatiable desire for Positive Publicity. Puppet of Pence. Puppet of Putin. Puppet Period!
A crazy criminal sits in the White House. Surrounded by Enablers. Jockeying for position to promote their nefarious agendas.
We are fast arriving a a Constitutional Crisis. Nothing but a clean sweep will be sufficient. For as Gail rightly points out, the man behind the throne is nutty too. After all, when you elevate a needy lunatic, who gets to choose his entourage....
But let's back up to your most important hint. In the second paragraph. That the "resident" is "totally nuts."
Yes! Totally!
That fact must be kept front and center. A "totally nuts" sociopathic, malignant narcissist, who requires constant care and feeding of his fragile ego, is surrounded by a theocratic Pence and other lying sycophants, bent on shaping a crazy, criminal Badmiinistration.
I doubt Pence is the prime mover here. There is likely on one prime mover. But we have the equivalent of a Baby sitting in a High Chair. Having tantrums. Throwing things: our rights, his responsibilities, the Republic, the environment, the planet and its people. And a bunch of sycophants. Assisting!
"Baby" is puppet-material for any who fawn and pander and promote his fantasies, his bottomless needs. His paranoia. His sadism. His need for triumph and transgression. His insatiable desire for Positive Publicity. Puppet of Pence. Puppet of Putin. Puppet Period!
A crazy criminal sits in the White House. Surrounded by Enablers. Jockeying for position to promote their nefarious agendas.
We are fast arriving a a Constitutional Crisis. Nothing but a clean sweep will be sufficient. For as Gail rightly points out, the man behind the throne is nutty too. After all, when you elevate a needy lunatic, who gets to choose his entourage....
1
Pence IS the real reason the Republican Party turned a blind eye to Trump's shenanigans. As much as they vocalized their dislike for Trump - they knew Pence could be their puppeteer and Trump, putty in their hands.
What I really want to know...what is the relationship between Kushner and Pence?
What I really want to know...what is the relationship between Kushner and Pence?
1
Yes! My thoughts exactly. And Price was a Pence pick..
I also think Bannon is pulling some strings on immigration and voter 'fraud'.
Similar to when Darth Vader Cheney was pulling W's strings.
I also think Bannon is pulling some strings on immigration and voter 'fraud'.
Similar to when Darth Vader Cheney was pulling W's strings.
IDK about Pence i mean am i the only person who thinks he looks like a "stepford " wife in drag ?
What are the rest of we Americans to do when confronted by such Radical Christianity? I realize that most Christians are not bigots but we have elected a Radical Christian to be Vice President of the United States. There is a logicalness to not funding zika prevention. If you have unlimited breeding with no plans for the feeding and education of the offspring then nothing works better than a predatory virus to limit the human laziness and irresponsibility. God is taking care of his world. REH
No doubt it could be Pence feeding this stuff to Trump but there are others to suspect. Steve Bannon, Paul Ryan, Reince Prebus, all those white males who routinely are standing around as he signs the executive orders.
Oh, and speaking of executive orders, remember when Trump was pounding Obama for "governing by executive order?" Now when he could presumably get everything he'd want by sending a bill to Congress he, instead, uses the executive order pen to make his will known - and his name great.
Oh, and speaking of executive orders, remember when Trump was pounding Obama for "governing by executive order?" Now when he could presumably get everything he'd want by sending a bill to Congress he, instead, uses the executive order pen to make his will known - and his name great.
I completely agree. Trump himself is probably mostly harmless. Pence is the scary one. I think the rethuglicans are using Trump to get all of their issues passed immediately, including a right wing nut for the Supreme Court. As soon as Trump has done all of the evil they have in mind, they will impeach him and replace him with Pence. If for any reason Pence dropped dead, we would then be stuck with turtle McConnell. What a cess pool we have gotten ourselves into.
1
Pence is a dangerous man cloaked in un-Christian cruel ideology masquerading as a true Christian. Trump is equally dangerous for being his lap-dog.
1
I am waiting to hear about jobs creation. All I hear is destruction of the social fabric: incarceration, the Feds in Chicago, threats against cities and states, the wall, detention camps, cuts to foreign aid for counties that support women's rights, elimination of healthcare. Are the new jobs construction of the wall, policing jobs, and jailers? We are on the "eve of destruction" - great again - only for the Trump clan.
But he is Lap Dog Trump--to Vladimir Putin. The real story is how Pence and Putin will collaborate or conflict over manipulating their puppet.
1
Thank you, Gail. Having read your piece, I woke up from my siesta with a vision of Vice President Mike Pence driving an SUV from DC to Canada with Lapdog Trump strapped to a roof rack. And, guess what, they were not heading for Montreal, along the Mitt Romney Trail.
Vice President Pence was singing and driving gleefully along the route of the approaching Keystone XL Pipeline, heading for Alberta. And I distinctly heard President Trump say, "Another Wall, a beautiful wall, thousands of jobs, excellent jobs. Wow."
Ashis Gupta
New Delhi
Vice President Pence was singing and driving gleefully along the route of the approaching Keystone XL Pipeline, heading for Alberta. And I distinctly heard President Trump say, "Another Wall, a beautiful wall, thousands of jobs, excellent jobs. Wow."
Ashis Gupta
New Delhi
1
Tie him to the roof and have Pence drive them both to Canada ... and stay there. Sorry Canada.
1
He's a Pence-Putin puppet. Just call him President Pee-Pee.
3
This administration is enacting their form of Sharia law.
5
While I agree with very few of Pence's beliefs & consider him far from ideal for the presidency. However, I think Pence has a core integrity. Again, I oppose all of his policy choices. And, do we know that the cabinent picks didn't originate with Bannon & Kushner, et al? Pence isn't crazy, he has experience in governemt & most importantly his temperment is good.
Anything's better than having a raving lunatic in the Oval Office, Trump's holding up and turning of signed executive orders is unbearable to watch. Trump inability to spend time alone, unconnected to social media,
constant need for external stimulation and dishonesty is downright frieghtening.
Pence extreme right wing views are easier to stomach than Trumps frenetic craziness.
Anything's better than having a raving lunatic in the Oval Office, Trump's holding up and turning of signed executive orders is unbearable to watch. Trump inability to spend time alone, unconnected to social media,
constant need for external stimulation and dishonesty is downright frieghtening.
Pence extreme right wing views are easier to stomach than Trumps frenetic craziness.
129
Pence isn't anymore acceptable then Trump for different reasons.
1
You aren't a Christian white by any chance? I am (not so much on the Christian anymore--they just do too much harm), and I would also be relatively unscarred by a Pence Christian Sharia state, but there are an awful lot of people who would be hurt by him. He might keep us out of wars (but so could Trump), but the change to America would be profound and regrettable.
1
That might be so, if you don't have a uterus.
1
Isn't this all strangely familiar with the last Republican administration, the Vice President (Cheney) controlling the puppet strings of the President (Bush II)?
4
Ha, not just a lap dog and Putin's kitty, both at the same time!
2
Pence's role model is Dick Cheney.
2
I don't know. It's hard to determine who's on top and who's on bottom.
2
Pence exudes smugness and certitude. If both Trump and Pence are impeached does that leave us the SOTH, Howard Roarke? We're doomed!
2
He looks more and more like Gov. William J. Lepetomane in Blazing Saddles signing whatever is put in front of him. The only thing missing is the boxum lady in the red bikini but let's give it some time.
5
"Lap Dog Trump" doesn't convey the depths of Trumpie.
Poor Trumpie! Nobody loves him enough. He won't be happy until everybody bows down and acknowledges his grandeur, his brilliance, and grovels.
Trump needs your cowering allegiance, your sycophantic adulation. Anything less is intolerable, and must be eradicated. Every one of you out there must become Chris Christie, or Rudy Giuliani ... and then where will you be? Where are they now?
Name anybody who has worked with or for Trumpie, and come out intact.
Trumpie eats his own. There are seemingly always more toadies eager to be eaten.
Good Trumpie ... eat more. Eat them all.
Poor Trumpie! Nobody loves him enough. He won't be happy until everybody bows down and acknowledges his grandeur, his brilliance, and grovels.
Trump needs your cowering allegiance, your sycophantic adulation. Anything less is intolerable, and must be eradicated. Every one of you out there must become Chris Christie, or Rudy Giuliani ... and then where will you be? Where are they now?
Name anybody who has worked with or for Trumpie, and come out intact.
Trumpie eats his own. There are seemingly always more toadies eager to be eaten.
Good Trumpie ... eat more. Eat them all.
3
Gail - Just this week MSNBC showed those clips of Grover Norquist saying all they need is a president with enough digits to pass his tax plan. Eh hem....Trump! And all this anti-immigrant and isolationist stuff is pure Bannon.
So he is sitting on multiple laps. As much as I loathe Trump, there is a tiny part of me that is starting to feel sorry for him. The guy clearly needs to be admired and loved and he is going to take the fall for these guys while they are still standing.
So he is sitting on multiple laps. As much as I loathe Trump, there is a tiny part of me that is starting to feel sorry for him. The guy clearly needs to be admired and loved and he is going to take the fall for these guys while they are still standing.
1
Too funny, Gail. Yes, Trump throws a bunch of religious bones to his sycophant Pence. The one pulling the strings 1) knows what Trump's hiding in his taxes and 2) helped him pull off the election and 3) has some nasty dirt on him that we haven't even heard about yet. Coincidentally, pulling, puppet and Putin all start with pee yew, as in, this sure stinks.
3
Selecting Mike Pence was a stroke of genius, if you're Donald Trump. It was like buying a life insurance policy. Pence is so scary with his faux, radical Christian hooey, that most Americans would rather keep Trump than hand the keys to Pence. What a deplorable state this country is in.
1
#PresidentBannon pulls the strings, and Trump is just his mouthpiece and pen. The recent executive actions seem largely proclamations to appease their base obnoxious actions to shock and awe Democrats, and the ongoing controversies are brilliant distractions from the substantive work carried out by Bannon & Co. What is #PresidentBannon's agenda?? Wonder how long he will last when Trump realizes Bannon is considered the real President? He does serve at Trump's pleasure, after all. Make #PresidentBannon trend!
1
Whether it's Pence, Bannon, or Jerad who is pulling the strings, the person who will be the most angry about this op-ed behind trump will be Kelly Anne. All the hard works she's been doing (coining terms like alternative facts and avoiding buckets of water being thrown at her by Sean of the ill-fitting suit and dippin' dots) and she doesn't even get a mention. May they all destroy each other and take Ryan and McConnell with them.
2
Trump is wallowing in the limelight. He loves the attention, the power, the perks. He's quite willing to allow Pence and his crew to operate in his shadow.
Abortion has been very useful to the Republicans. After Roe v. Wade, they realized that it had the potential to arouse passion and it was easy to demonize the opposition.
Who knows if they all believe that life begins at conception and an IUD is an abortifacient? It allows them to raise the specter of religious people being persecuted and forced to support "killing" the unborn. It works and wins votes.
Planned Parenthood will survive being defunded. It might even thrive.
This administration may arouse a sleeping giant if it makes young women realize that those rights they took for granted are not guaranteed. It's not just about the right to make decisions about pregnancy.
Abortion has been very useful to the Republicans. After Roe v. Wade, they realized that it had the potential to arouse passion and it was easy to demonize the opposition.
Who knows if they all believe that life begins at conception and an IUD is an abortifacient? It allows them to raise the specter of religious people being persecuted and forced to support "killing" the unborn. It works and wins votes.
Planned Parenthood will survive being defunded. It might even thrive.
This administration may arouse a sleeping giant if it makes young women realize that those rights they took for granted are not guaranteed. It's not just about the right to make decisions about pregnancy.
3
Gail, I'm sorry, but I was little when women like you were making plans for women and the family --- you ruined the family and made the children bear the burden. It's time the Democrats adopt a "parent at home" platform and stop this female nonsense.
I'm sorry, why does it have to be the women? Maybe it's time for the men to step up (huge kudos to those who have already).
1
Pence appears to be more of a shadow, hovering behind Trump as if he's waiting to step in when he falls. I don't remember Joe Biden being in every frame even in the beginning. I keep wondering when Pence will start to do his own job in his own office or is this his official job!
2
Just as in the 80's and 90's, a tactic to counter the right wings homophobic agenda was to start outing the closeted hypocrites participating in this sham.
We can use these guerrilla tactics to fight their anti-choice agenda.
You can be 100% sure that there are probably quite a few, in this party of hypocrisy, who have fetuses stashed away in their closets. Maybe it's time to open the doors and let the sunshine in.
I'm sure Putin and his FSB would love to help with this operation. It would certainly serve their interests to sow more discord into our democracy and give payback to the party of Reagan. Trump would love it because there wouldn't be anything stopping his "bull in a china shop" rampage over our democracy, bringing him even closer to his puppet master.
We can use these guerrilla tactics to fight their anti-choice agenda.
You can be 100% sure that there are probably quite a few, in this party of hypocrisy, who have fetuses stashed away in their closets. Maybe it's time to open the doors and let the sunshine in.
I'm sure Putin and his FSB would love to help with this operation. It would certainly serve their interests to sow more discord into our democracy and give payback to the party of Reagan. Trump would love it because there wouldn't be anything stopping his "bull in a china shop" rampage over our democracy, bringing him even closer to his puppet master.
First of all, no surprise Trump delegates the agenda and actual work to V.P. Pence. Trump doesn't DO real work--he just plays at on television. In all these recent photos of Trump as his desk trying to act/pretend he is presidential, all the desks are spanking clean and polished. This is not a man who is a thinker or a worker.
And why do you think the GOP leadership finally agreed to then welcomed Trump as president. Trump the Deal Maker made a deal the Republicans couldn't refuse. In exchange for Trump only needing to tweet and get in front of the camera but do not actual work, the Republicans would tell him what to do to make their donors happy and Office Boy Pence would be in charge of getting the real work done.
So, like V.P. Cheney, Mike Pence will whisper the ultra conservative, spiteful to-do list to Trump, and then Pence will report to Trump when each mission is accomplished. You know Mike Pence--Mr. "I am a Christian, a Conservative, and a Republican in that order."
No mention of "I am an American" in Pence's identity politics characterization of himself. That is because Pence is a loyal Republican that puts party over country, and throws women, children, and the well-being of the nation and the planet under the bus. Trump's job is to keep the loyal base entertained with lies and chaos, while the GOP yanks away every government benefit and kindness these people had.
It's not the art of the deal; it's the art of the con.
And why do you think the GOP leadership finally agreed to then welcomed Trump as president. Trump the Deal Maker made a deal the Republicans couldn't refuse. In exchange for Trump only needing to tweet and get in front of the camera but do not actual work, the Republicans would tell him what to do to make their donors happy and Office Boy Pence would be in charge of getting the real work done.
So, like V.P. Cheney, Mike Pence will whisper the ultra conservative, spiteful to-do list to Trump, and then Pence will report to Trump when each mission is accomplished. You know Mike Pence--Mr. "I am a Christian, a Conservative, and a Republican in that order."
No mention of "I am an American" in Pence's identity politics characterization of himself. That is because Pence is a loyal Republican that puts party over country, and throws women, children, and the well-being of the nation and the planet under the bus. Trump's job is to keep the loyal base entertained with lies and chaos, while the GOP yanks away every government benefit and kindness these people had.
It's not the art of the deal; it's the art of the con.
9
I had the same thoughts on seeing all these photo ops of Trump signing things: he's playing president, like kids play doctor.
2
Well, whose idea was it to send militia to Chicago to take away peoples' guns? Do you think they were planning to 'stop the carnage' with a prayer service?
3
By all means, let's take away people's guns. Just watch the NRA go nuts over that one. Not going to happen. It's all just talk.
Dear Ms. Collins,
What, we have to have a "line" form for Trump's "handlers"?
To do this we must first identify the two categories of "Trumpistas".
The first bunch, consisting of Ms. Conway and Mr. Spicer primarily, are the "front line, take it on the chin bunch" who back the president's pronouncements no matter what (Sort of like "cheerleaders" on the Titanic). Like "protective armor" they are there to slow down the slings and arrows of "truth and science" before they can actually puncture the gas filled ego balloon known as Mr. Trump.
As far as actual "string pullers", Mr. Pence is second in line to the "Lion of Moscow", the all powerful Vlad Putin the First. Pence may be able to stomp all over women's rights, heck, that's what 62 million gullible men AND women seem to want, but he pales in comparison to this mightiest of "Moscow Mules". This guy helped Trump WIN the whole ball of wax! Pence was just "window dressing" at the time and I'm sure Trump would've loved his son Eric as a running mate but was talked out of it probably by his wife.
So Mr. Pence may appear to be running this circus but the real "ringmaster", the guy who hands out "friendship medals" to people who increase his bottom line, sits in his office in the Kremlin and cackles softly as he thinks,
"If the Soviet Union can go kaput, so can these Americans and their so-called 'democracy', ha, ha, ha..."!
Just keep the vodka cold and the English/Russian dictionary handy.
What, we have to have a "line" form for Trump's "handlers"?
To do this we must first identify the two categories of "Trumpistas".
The first bunch, consisting of Ms. Conway and Mr. Spicer primarily, are the "front line, take it on the chin bunch" who back the president's pronouncements no matter what (Sort of like "cheerleaders" on the Titanic). Like "protective armor" they are there to slow down the slings and arrows of "truth and science" before they can actually puncture the gas filled ego balloon known as Mr. Trump.
As far as actual "string pullers", Mr. Pence is second in line to the "Lion of Moscow", the all powerful Vlad Putin the First. Pence may be able to stomp all over women's rights, heck, that's what 62 million gullible men AND women seem to want, but he pales in comparison to this mightiest of "Moscow Mules". This guy helped Trump WIN the whole ball of wax! Pence was just "window dressing" at the time and I'm sure Trump would've loved his son Eric as a running mate but was talked out of it probably by his wife.
So Mr. Pence may appear to be running this circus but the real "ringmaster", the guy who hands out "friendship medals" to people who increase his bottom line, sits in his office in the Kremlin and cackles softly as he thinks,
"If the Soviet Union can go kaput, so can these Americans and their so-called 'democracy', ha, ha, ha..."!
Just keep the vodka cold and the English/Russian dictionary handy.
7
Gail Collins you are a genius and a nasty woman.
9
Collins is right and the lap dog tactic may work. In a larger approach the agenda being shoved at this country should be labeled Republican for it is. Compare to North Carolina where Republicans had an earlier start with control of both houses and the governor's office. Whatever President Trump truly believes, his many legal issues make him vulnerable to the Republican controlled Congress for only they can impeach. The next person up could serve more than two terms.
6
I have no idea who the puppet master is, there are too many candidates. But one thing I have noticed since I have been following politics is that Republicans always choose a VP that is more worrisome than the President. Who wanted Agnew? Certainly nobody was enthusiastic about Cheney (other than Cheney) and even Bush 41 was portrayed as the dark side of the CIA (amazing how calm he looks now). And I need to search for my "Keep my George Bush (41) alive" button because I Dan Quayle was too scary, although my knowledge of Latin may have come in handy when I visited his idea of Latin America.
5
Spread this: abortions are at their lowest since Roe v Wade, both in rate per population and absolute numbers. Due, at least, to 3 years of the contraception requirement in the Affordable Care Act.
.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/17/509734620/u-s-abortion-rate-falls-to-lowest-level-since-roe-v-wade#mainContent
But that's the last thing they want. Douthat warns that declining birthrates threaten growth. Right: the next generation of low-wage workers has to come from somewhere.
Stop yelling about "control of women's bodies" and start questioning the need for untrammeled growth for growth's sake.
.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/17/509734620/u-s-abortion-rate-falls-to-lowest-level-since-roe-v-wade#mainContent
But that's the last thing they want. Douthat warns that declining birthrates threaten growth. Right: the next generation of low-wage workers has to come from somewhere.
Stop yelling about "control of women's bodies" and start questioning the need for untrammeled growth for growth's sake.
16
Well, we'll need to force American women to start breeding to provide the low-wage workers we're no longer getting after the borders are closed. The more the merrier - preferably all of them lily-white. Looks better.
6
"There is a cancer growing on the president."
14
On reading Gail'so article I am reminded that, with Donald Trump, what you see and hear, is what you get. Politicians such as Mike Pence and Marco Rubio present a smooth and glossy facade that masks very scary agendas.
10
Pence, Rubio, Cruz, all in the same category.
I never thought I would miss the old good days of Christie's rantings.
I never thought I would miss the old good days of Christie's rantings.
1
For policy, Pence fits the bill.
For undermining the checks on executive power: Steven Bannon. He's the one with the eye on totalitarianism. He is far more familiar with how to manipulate the message, and silence opposition.
Bannon worries me far more. No checks on him or his puppetry.
For undermining the checks on executive power: Steven Bannon. He's the one with the eye on totalitarianism. He is far more familiar with how to manipulate the message, and silence opposition.
Bannon worries me far more. No checks on him or his puppetry.
35
No, Trump isn't Pence's puppet. Mike Pence is certainly a vile, regressive evangelical. And Trump doesn't have the intellectual ability to think up the nonsense he's been spewing on his own. But Pence isn't the one pulling Trump's strings.
Steve Bannon is. Make no mistake about it - Bannon, the alt-right tyrant, has turned Trump, eager for some kind of backbone, into the alt-truthist we see today.
Welcome to the United States of Breitbart.
Steve Bannon is. Make no mistake about it - Bannon, the alt-right tyrant, has turned Trump, eager for some kind of backbone, into the alt-truthist we see today.
Welcome to the United States of Breitbart.
31
Rasputin Bannon
1
Both Pence and Bannon pull the strings a lot, but Trump is really a 9 year old child on Meth, so,nobody can keep up. The THEOCRAT faction... has distracted and diverted the POTUS from his main quests, self glorification and corrupt greed. Conway, another Theocrat has been busy mopping up after the general crap flinging madness. I expect her role as another zealot will expand.
More dear to Trumps heart is the "worthy few" the RICH folks who give him $$ and also kiss his royal butt.Trump has no REAL "religion" but he's happy to enlist the cults into " Prosperity" Gospel or Dominionist. If " Rich" is holy...He likes that scam. If Religion is also right wing POWER GRAB politics.. that's useful. Trump's god is....Trump. he KNOWS that in those RED zones, Cultish religion delivers blocs of votes. It's really the POINT of Pence as VP. Trump is NOT a moral guy. Trump IS a opportunist and a manipulator. Pence... is FAR more subtle but Pence is a veteran politician and he KNOWS Trump enough to PLAY him. Trump really will not think 30sec about Pence's agenda but Pence can and will be the tugboat that steers him quite often.
More dear to Trumps heart is the "worthy few" the RICH folks who give him $$ and also kiss his royal butt.Trump has no REAL "religion" but he's happy to enlist the cults into " Prosperity" Gospel or Dominionist. If " Rich" is holy...He likes that scam. If Religion is also right wing POWER GRAB politics.. that's useful. Trump's god is....Trump. he KNOWS that in those RED zones, Cultish religion delivers blocs of votes. It's really the POINT of Pence as VP. Trump is NOT a moral guy. Trump IS a opportunist and a manipulator. Pence... is FAR more subtle but Pence is a veteran politician and he KNOWS Trump enough to PLAY him. Trump really will not think 30sec about Pence's agenda but Pence can and will be the tugboat that steers him quite often.
1
the only way I can describe pernicious Mike Pence is: "Still waters run Deep".
10
Lap dog trump has a great name to it. I have figured all along that pence was the handler in the room. It's like trump is a 3 year old, pence lets him rant and rave about votes and a wall while he gets him to sign thing to force us all to be evangelists.
31
I have been saying this since Trump got elected! I truly don't think, as you say, that Trump cares a wit about anything short of recognition, enriching himself, and possibly having some sort of ultra creepy relationship with his daughter Ivanka. Everything he has done so far, falls right in line with what an ultra right wing looney like Pence would do.
37
The man is 70 years old. No offense against the age cohort but, really, by that point in time most are not at their best cognitive game are they? This is just a fact. So if only from a statistical review of the potential the odds are good that the Tramp saw his best cognitive years many moons in the past. And I'd point out that period is also the same when he was battling in/out/in/out of bankruptcy court and the like. So even when he was on his game; he probably wasn't all that good at it. It can only have gone downhill from those years. So Pence play Machiavelli? Yeah...I can see it. He won't be good at it but he'll probably try....
Oh the next 4 years are gonna be fun, ain't they?
John~
American Net'Zen
Oh the next 4 years are gonna be fun, ain't they?
John~
American Net'Zen
13
Offense taken, John - this age cohort has plenty to say and do in the next four years!
1
No. More like the common cold turned into the rabies virus.