Trump has found a work-around to the pesky Constitution process of advise and consent from congress: he appoints “acting” members of his cabinet, who are loyal only to him, and who will ask “how low” when he tells them to debase themselves and their departments. This is how he builds his own “government” based on a mob structure, and yet democrats say it’s not worth impeaching him.
64
Even more worrisome than cabinet-level appointees who cycle in and out of jobs like temp workers (and they are individually and collectively awful) are the federal judges who will be there for a lifetime, demonstrating either extreme bias or extreme ineptitude, or both.
The Senate has failed at one of its most important duties.
305
@Bus Bozo...And the Senator who's failed most spectacularly is Mitch McConnell.
Shirking his duty, changing the rules, obstructing a SCOTUS nominee for a year, stating his first priority was to make Obama a one term POTUS, ad nauseum.
McConnell is the man behind the curtain, while the Clown in the WH does his circus act daily.
Kentucky, you're better than this. Make McConnell pay the price in 2020 and allow our Nation to move into the 21st century, not go back to the 1900's.
51
I subscribe to the theory that the present president does not really mind whether or not his nominees are confirmed as if they are rejected he will claim that it is not his fault! He will then make another temporary appointment but in reality do things himself and make a mighty mess of it. It is a downward spiral that can only end in Trump grabbing more power for himself which, I would suggest, is his ultimate aim.
184
@Allsop Why bother going through all of that confirmation nonsense when his appointees won't last for more than a couple of months (weeks?) anyway...yes, that was tongue in cheek...
7
@Allsop. t-Rump will eventually declare a national state of emergency, suspend our Constitution and declare himself president for life. Our Supreme Court (by then packed 6-3 with rightwing extremists) will support this and the GOP will cheer him on.
17
November 10, 2016 I began a letter writing campaign to GOP members of the US Senate imploring them to act with the decency and integrity due their responsibilities and to put country over party. Over 300 hand written letters. Of course I knew it was fruitless- My heart was broken and I felt like I had to do something.
I had no idea 2 and a half years later we would be so desperate we would rejoice at these tiny displays of potentially, maybe acting, or considering to act, on principle.
During my letter writing furor, I researched the biographies of these men and women. They often seemed like really decent folks. One’s true character is revealed in the crucible.
135
@JK
I wrote letters, too. Like you, I asked the republican Senators to whom I wrote to uphold their oaths of office, and protect and defend the Constitution of our country.
At the end of each letter, I asked each Senator if he or she would be remembered as a patriot who defended the rights of U.S. citizens, and the laws and values on which this country is based; or if they would be remembered as a "fellow traveler."
To a person, they have been "fellow travelers." So--yes--they have absolutely revealed their true characters in the crucible of our time.
88
@JK
Thank you for your efforts.
I once worked in the CT state government for a legislator and I know that hand written letters have more of impact than you might think. You may have done more good than you know.
20
@VB I wrote Mitch McConnell every day for a year. Not even a form letter response, not one. He is responsible for where we are today. I'm a native Kentuckian living in NY. McConnell leads the destruction of our country and my home state. Quiet erosion behind Trump's loud and obvious incompetence. No shame.
28
For now, he IS accountable to no one, at least practically speaking. He has said that he likes having acting leaders. They owe him, are often his toadies, and serve without Congressional oversight. Because of Barr, he will likely get a pass for all that work (good work) done by Mueller and his team. For legal matters, which are the background melody of Trump's life, he has a herd of lawyers. They can, it seems, tie about anything up in court for years and years. Eventually he pays a fine, which is pocket change to him, and life goes on. Teflon Don.
7
Not to worry, the spineless brainless GOP Senators will fall in line, like they always do, and will doom the nation. One can only hope that in the impending collapse those who are highest fall the farthest.
10
The GOP is working to gut our democracy, and turn it into a Fascist state. The do not like consumer financial protection, public lands, the environment, clean water and air, or healthy people.
The GOP is the enemy of the people.
14
TRUMP Has made it excruciatingly clear that he is the only that counts. For everything. Only a fool who spends his days watching Fox News while dictating tweets to an assistant, since he can't write them himself, then expects the US voting public to accept the filth he slops against to wall to be the extent of our governmental functions, would say that Trump is even remotely adequate for the duties of the office gifted to him by 70+ electors, who overruled the majority of 2.8 million votes that were the largest majority ever, for Hillary. Trump has managed to accomplish the alienation of his own party to the extent that Nixon had done after impeachment. The Senate had better get onboard with investigating Trump fully. Otherwise, they will be consigned, during the upcoming election, to rearranging chairs on the deck of the sinking Titanic. But, hey, if the GOPpers want to sink their own ship, who am I to interfere with them. After all, it's a free country! They have to right to shoot themselves in their collective foot. The scales are tipping so far away from Trump that if even right wing extremists can't stomach his nominees, he's in deep deep doo doo. Yet to the shifting of the political center of gravity, Trump continues to day that he's the only one who matters. For example in immigration. And just about everything else the US faces as a nation. His responses are worthy of both Caligula and Nero. Look at what was left of the Roman empire after them! And the US?
2
There may be a method to Trump's madness. As long as his cabinet members are "acting" he can have anyone he wants without any interference from the Senate. Mr. Trump certainly doesn't want any oversight.
7
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." Burke's comment is especially relevant now. Where are the formerly responsible Republicans?
7
Just before the economic collapse of 2008, Stephen Moore was on FOX NEWS telling everyone how sound the economy was.
2
Come on now. Mitt Romney enjoys every moment he can disagree with President Trump while still keeping his conservative bonafides intact. Remember, Trump is very much disliked in Utah. Ben McAdams' House seat was a condemnation of Trump more than a rejection of Mia Love.
As long as Romney stays hostile to Trump, he can do no wrong. Point of fact: Romney has his Senate seat until he dies or decides to retire. He'll most likely pick his successor as well. The only person in Utah dumb enough to hold hands with Trump was Orrin Hatch and he was forced into retirement. That's why Romney has a Senate seat here. He won't forget it either.
2
A quick means of ending "acting" status as a way to sidestep congressional scrutiny is for congress to freeze the spending of a department which has an "acting' head after a specified period.
11
Your analysis of these unqualified candidates put forward by the administration is correct, but are we crediting Trump with picking them? Which of his staff are so out of touch as to think these characters will or really should be confirmed, let alone whether they are capable?
I wonder where Trump is getting these names. Clearly some of his advisers are trying to break our government. Who are these folks? What are their motives? In what universe do they live? Or should we first ask in what hemisphere on Earth?
3
Donald understands nothing of the complexity of government. He neither learns nor wants to. He already knows everything he ever will.
Appointing less than stellar has-beens to government posts satisfies Donald's need not to be overshadowed.
Let it be clear to everyone when the Mueller reports comes out: Donald is the one in charge.
1
He certainly seems to have cornered the market on Swamp things. The appointments have gone from surface swamp to deep swamp muck.
Bottom feeders like to surround themselves with like beings.
3
In times past, Senates have been dissolved over long histories of ineptitude and lack of intestinal fortitude.
Don’t kid yourself Michelle. When push comes to shove the GOP will fall behind their dear leader. Sure they may block one unqualified nominee if necessary, but the Trump incompetent barn door is wide open and their not about to shut it.
2
Trump understands power is personal loyalty, appointing people willing to break the law to implement his policies. He’s acquiring control over the two law enforcement departments, Justice and Homeland Security. Sessions and Nielsen were Trumpers but reluctant to break the law—dumped by Trump. Barr and Kobach are Trump pit bulls. Miller, Bolton, and Pompeo are Trumpoid apostles. The Republican establishment whines about being sidelined, while the Democrats and main stream media dicker about the Mueller report and Trump’s taxes. Trump is not strategic like Hitler, but his instinct for power relentlessly builds an autocracy. Trump genuinely believes he’s the greatest President in history and never admits losing. What if he reject an election loss in 2020, claims fraud, defies Congressional and Supreme Court decisions against him, and inaugurates himself as President in January 2021? Maybe for the first time in his life he’ll put the law over his personal ambitions, follow the Constitution that’s ensured peaceful transitions of power since 1800, and participate in the inauguration of the Democratic President-elect. What if he doesn’t?
1
"Mr. President, I'm a Democrat Senator I'll vote for any Trump nominee for any position if even if the nominee is a drunk, a wife beater or a pedophile."
That is what you call reaching across the aisle and compromising which is what Americans want.
In the end we are going to hold someone responsible and it is going to be Trump, McConnell and McCarthy.
4
I can’t decide if their idiocy, their incompetence, their revolting ideology, or their appalling infighting is worse—or if, given that since John Kelly left none of them could find water if they fell out of a boat, their embodiment of every single one of those qualities might just save us all.
Whoops...did I forget the shameless greed?
3
So nominating these two severely unqualified people, trump manages to pick those who are dumber then him thus making him the genius in the room. uh huh
2
History will not treat kindly the grifting incompetent cabinet appointed by Trump, nor the spineless GOP senators who acquiesced to their ascension. Are you listening Collins, and Romney, and Murkowski? Do you want to follow Barr down the rathole?
2
“Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Mr. Romney of Utah have voiced concerns that the “growing leadership void” is “seriously troubling.””
That’s a real hoot coming from Trump wannabe Ron Johnson, whose every batcrap crazy utterance is truly “seriously troubling”
3
The Democratic presidential candidates could do us all a favor by tacking to the middle. Don't give the extremist Trump a target. Play rope-a-dope with him. Cave on the asylum issue. Clobber him on the health care issue. Go back to being the party of labor, like you once were.
Show us some mercy. We'll reward you on election day.
3
Trump, president of the United States, doesn't care about our country, our government, our laws or us. He believes only in himself.
He is the chink in the armor of democracy because democracy requires unconditional acceptance of the process of governance over personal inclinations. Once one person refuses to follow the process all the bad actors, idiots and political opportunists rush in to take advantage of the breakdown in convention.
McConnell played dirty but assumed he had to play within the rules until Trump came along. He won't go back to before Trump without a fight.
Like giving up any advantage that makes success easier, returning to order is going to be a struggle that requires more work than the majority of Americans may be willing to inconvenience themselves to do.
3
Hey Americans, please fight for your democracy!
If you need inspiration, visit Arlington cemetery.
When America’s democracy erodes, the rest of the World’s democracies putrify and rot!
1
Trump works for Putin. Anyone doubt that?
3
Hah! The Senate is finally realizing their game of chicken with the incompetent Trump over his handling of the US government makes them look like turkeys.
2
"These are vexing times for Senate Republicans."
Really, they're vexed? They don't seem vexed. They keep voting to confirm the people that Trump has nominated, so where's the evidence of discomfort?
Take the self-styled maverick Sen. Susan Collins. OK, she voted not to confirm Andrew Wheeler. But before that her record was almost unblemished, as she voted to confirm William Barr, Brett Kavanaugh, Robert Wilkie, Gina Haspel, Mike Pompeo, Alex Azar, Kirstjen Nielsen, Christopher Wray, Robert Lighthizer, Alexander Acosta, Sonny Perdue, Neil Gorsuch, Daniel Coats, Rick Perry, Ben Carson (!), Ryan Zinke, Wilbur L. Ross. Pause – she voted against Scott Pruitt. Back to orthodoxy – she confirmed Mick Mulvaney, Linda E. McMahon (yay, WWE?), David J. Shulkin, Steven Mnuchin, Tom Price, Jeff Sessions. Pause - voted against Betsy DeVos. Resume - for Rex Tillerson, Elaine Chao, Nikki Haley, Mike Pompeo (for CIA), John Kelly, James Mattis.
That's 29-3. And there are some real "winners" in there getting her vote. I don't think Sen. Collins is vexed at all. Couldn't be easier – the WH nominates and she just falls in line. I think you could explain the exceptions as merely bad aim when trying to hit the "yes" button.
6
Is anybody really surprised at this? That trump would chose people who are incompetent and/or stupid? When the only criteria that counts is 'loyalty to me' what else could be expected?
4
"He admits knowing next to nothing about monetary policy..."
Good Lord. This is Trump's pick for the Fed? And, to add insult, Trump puts Herman "Shucky Ducky" Cain for the same position?
Trump is single-handedly destroying 80 years of economic progress in this country. The degree of degradation to the idea of a self governing nation is breathtaking.
And behind the curtain, quietly allowing this president to ruin
the country, stands Mitch McConnell. The one man who can muzzle Trump and more importantly who knows better, allows Trump to do what he's doing.
It is government by Frick and Frack.
4
@The Flylooper And behind McConnell stands...Robert Mercer? The Koch brothers? Some nameless American or Russian oligarch? Follow the money.
1
Once ethics is lost, there is no incentive to do the right thing. This administration wouldn't know the right thing if it were the only thing. Trump's assault on our courts is abominable.
If there is a way to make America awful, Trump is right there doing it. Children in cages. Families torn asunder. Rights trampled. International treaties broken. Our Constitution ignored, abrogated, shredded. Military misused. Intelligence services lampooned. Trump is a malicious infection whose tentacles infest our government at home and our relationships abroad. We are the victims of his bullying, his big hands, his abusive language.
We must find a way to rid ourselves of this pest.
3
No one with any real intelligence or common sense wants to work for trump. To work for trump is to destroy your own reputation and have to live with the knowledge, daily, that you have debased yourself.
3
Someone once said that the worst way to look good is to surround yourself with incompetence and mediocrity. Trump does this in spades!!!
2
noticing a leadership vacuum after two years of incompetence and braggadocio 24/7???? wahooo!!!
1
My dear republican friends, you made a deal with the devil and now that he want's your soul, you're not so eager are you...well.....you voted for him, you enabled him, it's quite literally your fault. I do hope you have learned something from this exercise.
3
On Dec. 29, 2017 Trump stated, “I’m going to surround myself only with the best and most serious people. We want top of the line professionals.”
My thought is simply if you see someone driving a clown car, expect lots of clowns. Seriously, did we expect anything else?
2
Too little too late?
I've often posited that by the time the GOP politburo decides to push back and contain Trump it would be too late.
He's taken every wink, nod, and silence as affirmation and permission to chart full speed ahead.
Stopping him now will be a real tricky affair.
He's not slowing down, but speeding up. Not getting better, getting worse. Not moderating, more extreme.
More chaos, hate, anger, fear, insults, self destructive actions, self defeating statements. More political porn tossed to the GOP base.
4
No, it's not heartening to see Republicans scramble to contain Trump's erratic impulses. No, it's not enough to simply "express unease" or "voice concerns". Do your job! You profess to love the constitution and the rule of law more than liberals, put your money where your mouth is!
I do agree that they've only gotten themselves to blame. For the extremely childish goal of "owning the libs" and the short-term victory in stacking the courts and rolling back the ACA instead of fixing it, they've done more damage to us than any "radical progressive" ever could. Of course, we mustn't forget that big money from corporations have a large part to play in this, and also we cannot discount the large numbers of Republican voters who've gorged themselves silly on the Trump Kool-Aid to think clearly.
I'm still waiting for Republicans stop grovelling to Trump and start going back to the values they once stood for.
5
As long as Trump continues to treat the government as just another Trump enterprise, and Republicans let him, he will continue to fire qualified persons and try to replace them with his cronies, relatives and sycophants.
6
‘Doesn’t give us members the oversight we need to have”, are you for real here Ms. Capito? Where have you been? Y’all gave that up when Trump got elected. There isn’t a one of you republicans who can claim to care about that now, to little to late. Y’all have made a mockery of this concept of oversight by allowing your president to do what he wants, he rolled you. Little hard to claw it back now and claim your role as a congressperson. If any one of you Republicans had a spine we would not be in this position, grow one or go home.
4
It hurts my heart to read this. To say that I am “amazed”, “shocked”, “betrayed “ is like spitting in the wind.
Come on America! We can and will do better than this...America???
2
His “judges” are worse.
1
What Senate Republicans are discovering is that their historical laissez-faire approach to parenting Donald Trump is yielding a bitter harvest of continuing bad presidential behavior.
For years, they have enabled their petulant child of a president and allowed him to dumb down the decorum of America's national household with no rules and no consequences. He's not likely to pay them much if any heed at this point. Senate Republicans may well deserve that, even if the American people don't.
2
Kakocracy: Rule by the worst in society. This is the term that Donald Trump has brought to life in America. Miller and Cain are simply the latest additions to the long line of kakocrats that Trump (kakocrat in chief) has foisted upon us.
1
What profiles in courage! These Republican senators express opinions! They mutter! They whisper unhappiness to reporters! Surely Trump will tremble in fear!
1
Trump is an autocrat.
1
Only the best people.
how about Lou Dobbs and Ann Coulter?
2
just imagine spending a day with the gutter mouth know nothing narcissist. Who can work for him- not any decent human being. Throughout his life and now, he attracts the low of the lowest. In the past, US Presidents selected the best of the best minds to fill the cabinet which included noble laureate, distinguished leaders from the opponent party. Not this one- he is managing the nation like the way he managed his failed enterprises. Daddy provided him $350 million and he squandered most of it as reflected by six bankruptcies. Later his finance turned around with the help of mysterious money from highly questionable foreign sources. No surprise that he does not want to declare his taxes. One can easily guess about those sources funding his business enterprise. Same goes here- a looser since birth, he hates excellence and competence because he never had any. For the same, he fills every position with the most incompetent losers to destroy our nation.
2
As we say in our country...’Blind Freddie’ could have seen it coming 2 years ago. Blind Freddie means someone with little or no perception.
1
Trump's nominees are simply a reflection of their nominator, shallow, extreme in intent, unintelligent, blind to the compassion needy humanity, and, above all only "acting" so they don't pass congress and are able to do the will of a criminal president.
Everything Trump Touches Dies”—Rick Wilson
As so many have already learned, when Trump touches you and you touch back, your reputation is embarked on a death march.
Moore’s and Cain’s reputations were already on life-support, so when, if ever, they drag their sorry reputations into the Fed it won’t be much of a march.
A.G. Bill Barr, on the other hand, entered his current office with a reputation pretty much intact. How far will his reputation march before gurgling it’s death rattle?
When Trump touches a Trumpublican diehard, will she/he inevitably die hard?
2
Even republicans will pay a price for allowing and enabling this so-called “president “ to get away with his crimes and betrayal of his oath of office to defend and protect the Constitution.
They are as despicable as he is and I have no sympathy for them.
1
It won't be long before the government shuts down again--because Trump will have fired everyone, and Senate Republicans will continue to pander this spoiled man-baby even as the lights in the chamber turn off, one by one.
1
Spectacularly unqualified and so extreme are perfect descriptions of the person making these nominations: Donald Trump. The president, whose shallow-mindedness and impulsiveness guide his decision-making, is interested only in hiring sycophants regardless of their incompetence. To make matters worse, Trump has cashiered any voices of reason (Mattis, Tillerson, Kelly, etc.) and has reduced his administration to a state of inept entropy.
2
“If you lay down with dogs, you get up with fleas.”
The president’s desire for loyality over competence was clear long before the 2016 election (just look at his personal lawyer, err... fixer). Why should we be surprised now, especially after how much the Senate has already given him. It is typical narcissistic behavior to continue to push boundaries even farther after acquiescence to make sure the narcissist is seen as even more powerful. I might suggest the Senate Republicans look towards getting some flea collars.
2
Trump's appointments are driven by his narcissistic need to enlarge his stable of sycophants and hoover up as much of the power and authority within the beltway as he can for himself alone.
And why are we surprised? He told us this already...
"I have a very big brain."
"I know more than the generals."
"I alone can fix it."
"I love the poorly educated."
I am reminded of the most famous quote of Richard Nixon by the words above from Mr. Trump: "I am not a crook."
History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce.
3
Sycophants all. Orchestration to Trump’s Fiddle. Musical accompaniment for the destroyer of our Republic.
1
Maybe at this point:
* There is no one TO hire. They have cleaned out the ranks of everyone who possibly wants to be involved with the Trump Criminal Organization. Now they are scraping the bottom of the bottom of the barrel.
* They are hiring the incompetent and the stupid by design. They don't just want to break the government, they want to completely destroy it. They want to break The People's trust that Government can govern by proving that Republicans cannot govern.
* Mueller's indictments has scared off most of the grifters.
2
The Senate Majority Leader should grab some yellow boots and make an official visit to Three Mile White House. A toxic plume is falling upon every U.S. Senator, Mr. McConnell. It's the beginning of Year 3. Do the math.
1
Leadership voids start at the top.
One thing is certain. Trump will never nominate anyone with true talent or who is smarter than himself. Upstaging the boss or offering an opinion not Trump's is certain to put you in the dog house or out on the street. It is one of the perils of having an ultimate egotist as president. Along with lies mediocrity and worse is the norm, but with the GOP idea of quality the degradation is barely noticed except for those of us who want something better and get only Trump sycophants.
Any issue that is associated with trump I refuse to overthink. Trump is a failure as an individual who views the world on a coherent manner vs transactions of greed.
It just would make sense that trump would surround himself with very dim light bulbs because he himself has no compassion, deep thoughs . Trump lives for TV and his nominees are academically challenged and strangely anti social. Individuals who have been entitled all there lives fail to be able to communicate no more than there disdain for American democracy and her people.
All we can hope for is that the damage this administration has done can be eradicated very quickly come 20/20.because we will never allow anymore imbeciles in high positions of power we have seen how they enjoyed putting children into cages. We have listened to to lies,noise closing the border between Mexico and other grand statements that has no substance about anything other than hate.
If the Republicans in congress had any decency, the fraudster-in-chief occupying the White House would had been already impeached. They have already shown their colors.
Donald Trump makes a mockery of the normal system of appointing qualified applicants to important positions in his administration, and he can get by with it. While praising the intelligence of the American electorate, he secretly knows that they can be led around like a bulls with nose rings - only instead of bull rings, he uses their beliefs and prejudices to lead them wherever he wants.
If DJT doesn't destroy our fragile democracy, he has published the blueprint and playbook for some other demagogue to do it later. If a democracy like America's is going to exist, there will have to be a paradigm shift in human thought throughout the world.
In the near future, we will program the human mind in the computer based on a "survival" algorithm, which will provide irrefutable proof as to how we trick the mind with our ridiculous beliefs about what is supposed to survive - producing minds programmed de facto for destruction. These minds see the survival of a particular belief as more important than the survival of us all. When we understand all this, we will begin the long trek back to reason and sanity.
See RevolutionOfReason.com
1
Poison is wealth.
Great illustration!
For Moore and Cain no no no no no
or in the original German nein nein nein
No one with any honor integrity or ability will work
for him. Trump is engaging n the war on expertise
Maybe some of Trump's GOP stooges are starting to think about just what the Donald's end game is. The one where the USA is bankrupt, Trump does his usual legal magic, makes out like the bandit he is, vacuums up all the cash as the country is sold piece by piece to Saudi Arabia and China. We citizens are of course deemed second-class creditors so we get practically nothing in the bankruptcy court. Chuck Grassley realizes he's too old and out of shape to genuflect before Emperor Trump (and still get back up) and therefore cannot keep working in politics. Kansas is then sold to China and thereafter is known as New Szechuan Province. Their university basketball team is a joke, consisting mostly of Asian graduate science students and celebrity kids who bribed the sports department. How do you like Trump now, Senator Grassley?
1
OMG!!! Isn't there anyone in the Republican party he will listen to, someone who is not concerned solely with their own re-election??? He is making a mockery of every protocol in our government. I am beginning to fear for 2020 elections!!!!
I started to reply to some of the commenters--surprisingly few--on this piece who indulge in a kind of terminal what-about-ism. "They all do it and all get to do it." Not true. Most blatantly with the Supreme Court and M. Garland. But I digress.
Instead let's go in another direction. An interesting dynamic is now occurring, with Mr. T claiming that _he_ is running BHS now, and by the way it's better only to have _acting_ secretaries and other appointees: not only do they not need confirmation on the Hill, but also bend the knee far more readily.
But the more wacko these Miller-Mulvaney types act, will anyone notice come election time? With WH staff and acting this-and-that people climbing ever further out the limb on the right, what effect will it have next year? Are they just that confident in the conviction that aging somewhere voters will remain plentiful enough to put this guy over the top yet again?
1
We should resist the temptation to praise Republicans when they timidly respond to only the most offensive of Trumpian effluvia, such as his recent nominations.
President Trump is not a necessary disruptor of democracy, as they would hold.
A positive disruptor in the Oval Office would actually care about America.
Trump is merely a preening, hate-filled and nihilistic vandal.
2
It’s simple really, who would work for him? Just bottom feeders. The Republicans will rue the day they went down in their knees for this man. If the Democratic Parry does not win this kind of material then we need a new independent party with no loyalty except to We The People
This just seems to be part of Trump's campaign to damage the country however he can. In this layer of his operations, he's being true to form.
For every repulsive, grenade-tossing nominee who these Republican Senators have reflected in public discourse, there are fifty they have confirmed in lockstep. Acknowledging their occasional growth of backbone - apparently as often as not for substantive grievances as much as political ones - rather than bemoaning their routine willingness to whitewash the most rabid, repellant, undiversified, conflicted candidates' failings is appropriate, but not nearly as appropriate as calling the same Republicans out for their failures to guard the integrity of the republic and our representative democracy. (It also is a prime illustration of the fundamentally anti-democratic nature of a tremendously empowered deliberative body that gives California only two votes despite having a population that exceeds that of eight of the Confederate States of America.)
Is the current wave of merit-deficient, pinata-worthy quasi nominees being offered so that Republican senators will be able to show their detachment from Trump ahead of the Mueller report release? which might be so negative that the administration will lean hard on them to be loyal supporters?
1
Many of Trump's appointees are very good. Of course they are not so good for the left leaning elites. And, yes, some are not so good. That's the case with most presidents.
Thank you, Ms. Cottle, for bringing us up to date with what's happening in DC these days. This was as much a news article as it was an opinion column. Even for regular readers of the NYT, it's hard to keep up with the machinations of the crazy man in the WH. But to what extent the GOP Senate pushes back on Trump remains to be seen. So many of these feckless folks talk a good game, but when push comes to shove, they bend the knee. They have turned into an art form the song-and-dance routine of initially expressing their "reservations," but then after "due deliberation" and receiving "assurances" (that miraculously put their initial doubts to rest), they ultimately side with Trump and approve his horrible nominees and policies.
2
“It’s heartening to see Republicans scrambling to contain some of the president’s more erratic impulses.”
I see little evidence of that. And if you thought Kirstjen Nielsen was bad, Ken Cuccinelli (or Kris Kobach) is on the extreme right wing of every issue from immigration to gun rights, from climate change to abortion and gay rights. Cuccinelli and Kobach wold no doubt be glad to rubber stamp any of Donald Trump’s “erratic impulses.
31
The Republican Senators have not reached the point where they will value national interest more than their myopic and partisan interests
We have a long way to go. It will take some few election losses before they will see the writings on the wall. Theirs is a party walking steadily backward into extinction.
29
It's simple really. Trump is at best a 'D' player and individuals like that never select someone better than them. Best not to be shown up by someone more talented, so they'll select people that are equal or worse than themselves. You see it all the time in companies. And then you see how companies die. In this case, unfortunately, it's our country that's dying under the weight of all Trump's 'D-minus' appointees.
52
Nice to know that many in the Republican leadership "express unease. . ." about Trump's moves. But how about waking up to the terrible damage Trump, and all of those same lemmings, are doing to the United States of America. Can we ever recover?, or will we end up with pure dictatorship. That's the key question of the day. It is quite indicative when the entire Republican establishment joins up with Trump and his lawyers in defying what is completely clear law about the President's tax returns. It's very clear by now that to the Republican Party the rule of law means nothing at all.
7
How awful a human being does Trump have to be before he loses support?
Currently, the answer is not known.
Which is frightening.
10
It's Party before country for Republicans, and the Constitution is now,considered merely a set of suggestions. Once they conquer the Supreme Court and start trashing our laws, their goal of ruining the country will be nearly compete. That is, unless we bury them in the next election. Vote in 2020 like your country depends on it!
7
If Republican angst over Trump’s nominees didn’t portend such terrible consequence for the country, it would be nice to think they’re getting what they deserve for enabling a maniac. But it’s us, as citizens, who will face the lasting fallout from this most toxic of regimes.
Disinfecting our government, once this nightmare is over, will be job 1 for the next administration and Congress. If there is any justice, Republicans will pay a terrible price for their complicity in propping up Trump and his minions. Judas got 30 pieces of silver. Arguably, Republicans are better negotiators, receiving judges, deregulation and a tax hike for their betrayal.
2
How sad to see that Mitch is still in power. It would delicious irony for him to be Primaried by the Tea Party.
People seem to ignore that Mitch, more than any other Senator, is the architect of the ultra-conservative judiciary we are now under the thumb of and the continued success of the Trumpian plan of Chaos above all else.
Get rid of Mitch ASAP
8
I plead for Ms Cottle to follow up this excellent report with coverage of the horrendous appointment of an infamous oil and gas lobbyist David Bernhardt , a man whose public record tells the world that he is driven by greed and power. Ms Cottle, shine your klieg light on this greedy big oil and gas corporate lapdog as the Fox in the Henhouse power wonk America's Federal Public Lands.
NYT reporter Coral Davenport, April 15, tells more of the nefarious ways of Mr Bernhardt to enrich himself (still lobbying after his confirmation!) at the high cost to the resources of the Federal Public Lands.
The goal of the Trump Regime with Bernhardt at the wheel of the control of the future of our Federal Public Lands, managed under the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management, will be to exchange pristine and resource rich Federal Lands for State lands, which then enables State governments (greey for corporate kickacks) to exchange pristine lands to private land owners in exchange of resource depleted lands. The newly acquired former Federal Lands, designed for recreation, wildlife, wild and scenic rivers conservation, camping and hiking, can then be sold or leased by the State to the oil and gas monopolies.
Teddy Roosevelt created The Department of the Interior and the designation of Federal Public Lands to preserve the vast range of spectacular Federal lands for the good of all citizens. Under the thumb of the Trump Reign of Terror we see the trashing of our People's Lands.
5
So, let's examine this.
Mr. Moore and Mr. Cain are both spectacularly unqualified and huge Trump supporters.
There's a certain logic, one might even say symmetry, to that, isn't there?
2
This is all very curious and I can come up with only two theories. Guess that's enough but I love to hear others.
First, given that Trump views immigration as the core issue holding his core together (with abortion second and rising), his appointees need only be extreem on one of these two.
Second, Trump's desire to be viewed as "unorthodox" leads him to these people as nominees.
Of course, these two theories are not mutually exclusive. Sadly, his "core" does not understand how they will be affected by his capricious and silly conduct.
3
It’s not like the right lacks qualified economist. Nominating Moore is sad. He’s only marginally (pun) an economist
39
I am not holding my breath. No honor among thieves.
1
Both Republicans and Democrats have abused the confirmation process. They will continue to "abuse" the process. Find another topic to discuss. Suggestion: self abuse.
Reckless choices to cabinet posts are simply the norm for the Republican Party. They pass out posts to this nation's highest offices with the same regard as passing out party favors. Remember that "brownie" guy, W's pick to head FEMA during Hurricane Katrina? W and his Republican enablers in congress didn't really care so much that the guy had ZERO emergency management experience. And their penchant for selecting folks to posts that they advocated against only makes sense in a Republican mind. It's merely a silly little game to Republicans. Look who's making the selections. Would you expect any better?
3
At this point in Donald Trump's make-it-up-as-you-go-along presidency, what competent man or woman with a good reputation and a desire to keep it and serve honorably would want to work for Trump? Almost all of his cabinet secretaries and other appointees have left the administration compromised by their complicity in his cruel policies, serial lying, greed, ignorance and dishonesty, his vicious name-calling, racism, and utter contempt for the Constitution. Now we are watching Attorney General William Barr debase himself by doing the bidding of a criminal president and parroting Trump's false accusations. Barr once had a reputation as a man of honor; now he's willing to be just another Trump apparatchik -- and for what?
4
It is mind boggling that Republican members of Congress refuse to engage in more oversight because they are so fearful of vicious tweet attacks from Trump.
Why are so many departments now staffed by “acting directors” who lack the full authority of a true director?
Why are we so short of immigration judges?
Why are Republicans themselves not insisting that Trump stop bullying opponents? And why are they not insisting that he reveal his tax returns?
72
Trump is accountable to no one. Just watch what he does in November 2020 or before.
1
The qualifications for a nominee put forth by the President seem to be:
1) The President has some kind of personal connection to the person.
2) The nominee will back up the President without question.
3) The nominee is able to swear loyalty to the President.
4) Viable credentials and experience are nice but not necessary.
Forward said nominee on to the Senate and dare them to oppose his choice. Done.
2
Trump wants a government without checks and balances or the rule of law. The people who were supposed to restrain or thwart him are gone, so he is getting what he wants. Acting heads cannot stand up to him, and heads that have not been appointed also cannot stand up to him.
Many of his supporters do not want checks and balances on him, and do not mind that he skirts or violates some laws. As long as his party in the Senate stands by him, what is in effect a coup will stand.
3
Mr. Trump, in his bombastic speeches and tweets promised he would hire only the best, better people than "Crooked Hillary", among other unfilled promises.
In time we were able to see the caliber of "best people" he would hire. And we saw the fetid swamp where Trump found those "best people".
The ethics investigations, the resignations, the self-dealing all began to surface to the top of the Trump cess pool. Yet McConnell and Graham championed these nominees and ignored the warning signs that Trump is selecting those just like him-charlatans, grifters and self-dealers.
Now, two years into this "administration" with many "temps" in cabinet level positions do the Republican Senators begin to take notice that their oversight, their "advice and consent" role has been usurped by the very charlatan they championed and enabled.
Indeed, as the piece states, he acts as if he is unaccountable, I offer he is unaccountable so long as McConnell and Graham continue to grovel at Trump's feet.
And the nation and our form of government suffers as we watch Trump form a government in his own fashion-third rate despotism.
So, either the Senate and the Republicans can either "man up" or just continue to be submissive to Trump.
3
Justin Wolfers is quoted as calling Moore an economist with a unique talent for being wrong every time on big issues in economics. Moore has played an economist on television, but he isn't one. Anybody, no matter how ignorant and wrong, can comment on economics on Fox or in the Wall Street Journal. But to be an economist you must at minimum have one of the following (some would say you need to have two, or all three): a Ph. D. in economics, published peer-reviewed articles, or a good understanding of the subject. Nope, none, and his predictions are more often wrong than those of any economist I have ever heard of.
66
Trump is not making senators' lives more difficult.
The senators are making their lives more difficult.
If they were moral people they would not be supporting this president in any way. They would say enough is enough.
For them it is all about power and greed and selfishness.
5
For two and a half years I have appreciated the Times’ wishful thinking (Trump is discouraged! Ivanka is a moderating influence! Senate Republicans have principles!) but this time I can’t get there. There is no stopping this train of worst possible nominees. The iconoclasm is simply delightful to the deplorable base, and that’s really the entire point.
2
For the Republican lawmakers to "express unease" rather than outrage at this president who has no idea of what a democracy is, or how it's supposed to work, is beyond irresponsible.
6
GOP senators have made their bed with Trump and have been slow to learn that with Trump loyalty goes only one way. People unwilling to kiss Trump's ring will not be nominated by him to any position in his administration and thus the circle of incompetent sycophants in the executive gets larger day by day. GOP senators are now confronting the price of their spinelessness and unable to stop the oncoming disaster. One cannot expect that incompetence at the highest levels will simply slide by without serious consequences. Given that the Senate has abdicated its oversight responsibility the only thing standing in the way of a meltdown are professional civil servants unwilling to break the law. That is not the way the Federal government was supposed to work.
75
As we again learned yesterday, the SCP can do anything, even give fire fighting advice to the Paris Fire Brigade, (needless to say the advice was wrong).
Putting incompetent, sycophants in charge of various departments is only his way of making sure that he is in charge of everything. Remember his statement that "only he" can do everything.
3
Trump is not only scraping the bottom of the barrel for his nominees, he reaching for the scraps that didn't even make it into the barrel.
1
It's been pretty obvious for years that the GOP's main goal has been to wreck the federal government. And the main attraction to their core supporters has been "stickin' it to the libs." Beyond that they have nothing to offer and no concrete solutions for anything. Were it not for the remarkable ignorance of the average voter, they would have been history long ago.
2
Perhaps Trump nominates the ultra extremely unqualified so that those only extremely unqualified will look good by comparison.
1
These aren't vexing times for Republicans, as they acquiesce to DJT's every whim. These are, unfortunately, vexing times for the majority of Americans, our allies, and our trading partners throughout the world. DJT's focus, if it can be called that, on disruption and chaos, his utter incompetence in filling cabinet posts with anyone with the actual skills to do the job, his continual denigrating actions towards longstanding allies, his confounding embrace of strong men and dictators, his complete lack of understanding of the rule of law - or the Constitution for that matter, and his in plain sight embrace of white nationalism, is abhorrent and frightening. DJT stands for everything that we as Americans have fought AGAINST since our founding. And he is our President.
1
After all they’ve seen Trump do to Republicans who’ve gone to work for him, why would any competent Republican do so? That’s why he nominates people who are incompetent but loyal or whose reputations are already shot so they have nothing to lose.
Moore? Cain? Kobach? Who’s next—Ebenezer Scrooge for the Fed? Bernie Madoff for Budget Director? Ted Nugent to run the Defense Department?
2
One can only consider that, with the appointment of unqualified apparatchiks, Trump is out to cause maximum harm to the United States. He might alternatively believe that he’s doing a spectacular job as president without any prior experience of politics or elected office, therefore others can perform just as admirably, previous experience hardly requisite, even a disqualification. However, when he installs individuals like Scott Pruitt, Wilbur Ross, Betsy DeVos, and the like, it’s obvious his brand is chaos. These people have demonstrated the antithesis in performance and knowledge their offices demand.
Trump embraces incompetence as a form of fealty. It makes him feel superior to those around him as a manifestation of his narcissism. Look how he mercilessly berated Jeff Sessions whom he regarded as inferior in every respect.
1
We liberals have been complaining for two years. I’m yet to hear many solutions other than wait for 2020. Are we collectively done feeling sorry for ourselves? How about a NYT feature on constructive solutions to the damage Trump is causing, especially ones readers can take part in (e.g, by demanding specific actions from our representatives).
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@Very We need to hear more of what you stated
4
@Very
It has been obvious from the beginning of this administration that Trump is not "all there." I can't figure out why he is still in the White House. What's wrong with our system?
20
Republicans, who thought they could control and steer the president to achieve their own ends, are now seeing that this imperial president is engineering a legislative and judicial coup with an aim of concentrating the power of government into one place, the oval office.
Trump's instincts are those of a businessman and sole proprietor. He doesn't need any help in pursuing his own interests, which he has predetermined to be in the best interests of nation as well.
Republican legislators would be well advised to stop pandering to their bully on the bully pulpit, but, like deer caught in the headlights, they are paralyzed by the prospect of losing their precious employment to the wrath of the "base".
9
This whole administration is nothing more than a tragedy of errors. That Senate Republicans are fretting over the latest round of unqualified cabinet picks is like trying to bail water from a ship that sunk two years ago.
15
I do not doubt that most in elected office began as committed patriots who wanted to "preserve, protect, and defend" the country. After winning, however, they soon realize and begin to enjoy the amazing perks and power of their positions which often lead to a cushy job and benefits for life when they retire. If keeping that job becomes the most important goal for them, they become motivated by self-interest and will compromise their values to the detriment of the country.
As long as Trump continues to play to his uninformed base, he will win elections and help to elect those who will support him. We are suffering from an education system that promotes not examining ideas and learning to think but wants young people to memorize and regurgitate "facts." Trump's base is apparently composed of those who learned what they were told to learn if they expected to graduate from high school. So we are producing generations of sheep who do not recognize that they are being used and led to support a petty tyrant whose ONLY interest is SELF.
7
I don't think Trump behaves as though he's "accountable to no one" because Republicans have let him. True, they have, and true, he acts that way. But he has *always* acted that way.
He showed us exactly who he was before getting himself elected, and most of these self-same Republicans abhorred him (talking to you, Lindsey Graham.)
Their turnaround over the last two years is going to end up costing them… I hope. It certainly should cost them. But remember, they won't do anything in service to the country. They will only act when the heat of the kitchen starts to get to hot for them.
16
History has usually sanctioned the idea that erratic leaders and the dynamics they enfold can be contained (so did i.e. the economic establishment in NaziGermany), the idea one could benefit from deregulation and had not to suffer the consequences of it. Usually the point where everything went of the rails sometimes is even in retrospect hard to tell.
3
The Trump kakistocracy is alive, well and, well, growing while the
complacent, complicit members of the Trump part (formerly known as the GOP) have no one to blame but themselves, yet you'll find them in lockstep behind their leader in 2020 since they'll never know when to say when until it's too late for themselves as it already has become for their country.
Unfortunately, their loyal opposition has a good chance of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory if they continue to inflict their cannibalistic behavior upon their own.
7
if the republicans are concerned about nominees they have only themselves to blame since they have been doing trumps bidding all along. We have gotten so many unqualified or dishnest folks in government that they should recognize their role in this. And that includes our new attorney general who seems to be more in place to do trumps bidding than look after the needs of the USA.
22
I have heard or read many left leaning pundits and writers denounce republicans for not standing up to Trump. Yet in these nominees, we see that republicans do stand up to him. However, instead of celebrating that, articles and comments use it to denounce Trump for picking cronies. Ugh.
@Joseph
Heartening as it is to see some of the GOP leadership push back against these vermin, it is not exactly a ground-swell. The fact that the four moderate voices of the GOP can nix confirmation only makes the leadership more anxious to deploy the nuclear option, cut off debate, and get on with the pandering to the base.
@Joseph
Picking cronies is a good thing ? your point is...?
Standing against trump means voting against him, not talking! For example: "Shall "does not mean shall; it means..................fill in the "Alternate facts"
If Trump chose a nominee for any position who was highly qualified and had a sterling reputation for integrity, then that nominee could not be counted on to be absolutely beholden and loyal to Trump. What's more, I believe that highly respected, intelligent, experienced nominees would intimidate Trump.
Therefore, the single greatest qualification is to be unqualified.
34
More to the point:
Having failed to uphold their duty under the Constitution, they are surprised that trump continues to act as if he is accountable to no one.
Failed utterly.
48
Republicans can complain all they want about Mr. Trump's selections for various posts, but when the time comes for a vote they will dutifully give the president what he wants.
31
@Dr. OutreAmour. We don’t have Republicans and Democrats anymore. We have Autocrats and Democrats.
1
“As Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia recently noted, this trend is “problematic because it doesn’t give us as members the oversight that we need to have.” So now Senate Republicans want oversight of the Executive Branch. They did not do much to stop the pillorying of Jeff Sessions, James Comey, Rod Rosenstein and Robert Mueller, all Republicans, as they pursued their duties. What did they do to help with family separation that resulted in incarceration of children and separation from their parents? The list of abdication is too long for 1500 words. They are stuck with their Frankenstein and now wish to tame him. They have opportunities to do so via legislation yet they only focus on executive staff confirmations for their friends and their upcoming primaries. Well at least they are transparent about their motivations.
47
At this point in Donald Trump's make-it-up-as-you-go-along presidency, what qualified veteran public servant with a good record and a good reputation would want to work in his administration? Few, if any of Trump's departed cabinet secretaries and aides left with their reputations unsullied. Now we're watching Attorney General William Barr, who previously enjoyed considerable respect, destroy a lifetime of achievement by doing the president's bidding, arguably attempting to obstruct justice and meantime parroting Trump's false accusations of spying against the FBI -- and for what?
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@Mark Hugh Miller
"and for what?" is the question isn't it? Why are they doing it? Politics? Fame? Power? Money? Do you think people like Jeff Sessions regrets his trump time?
6
@Mark Hugh Miller
Because I live in spitting distance of DC, and do a lot of work for VA, I know many dedicated, qualified public servants who are champing at the bit to retire in order to be able to join 'the resistance'. One of the things that has not been widely publicized is that government employees are effectively muzzled - they may not express their (negative) opinions of the administration in public (think social media - even liking memes) without risking their jobs and livelihoods.
6
@Mark Hugh Miller this is what I have trouble figuring out...what does someone like Barr have to gain? Is it just keeping his job? Or does he figure that if he keeps his head down (sort of) as he has been doing for years, he can ride out the bad press like he did before, and if he hangs in there, he will gain higher office/duties and so on? How do these people reconcile what they are doing in their hearts? I don't get it.
46
If I lived in a building that Trump had anything to do with during the design and construction phase, I would start to worry.
69
Just another step in Trump's campaign to destroy the US. He wants to so divide us internally that we will be ungovernable. He wants to so destroy institutions so they won't function, hence his love of acting heads. He wants to polarize the public to prevent agreement on any program.
Abroad, he wants to betray demean and insult long term allies, forcing them to believe the US is no longer a reliable allie.
Things are proceeding to plan.
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@John Goudge
Unfortunately he will be instrumental in driving the endangered species along the border to extinction. And more than that ... accelerating the extinction rate of all who live on our one and only earth. All 'cause his gut.
At least his family will become extinct along with the rest of us.
2
@John Goudge
This has been the conservative republican agenda for a long time- at least since Reagan. Which tea-partyer was it who said something to the effect of "we'll shrink the government so small it will fit in a teacup" or something like that- Grover Norquist?
Anyway, that is why all the "establishment" conservatives and Koch-like donors stick by Trump, even though he is such a horror- he is carrying out their agenda by taking a wrecking ball to the Federal government.
Many on the Fed board and local fed presidents are not trained economists. How about adding 2 folks who have real life experience and who have in fact pretty similar backgrounds to
Mr. Powell. They have indicated they are independent thinkers and they should be heard in full at a senate committee meeting.
3
@Unhappy JD
That's the same thinking that has gotten us to this point.
A man with 6 bankruptcies, can't get a loan from an American bank, likes debt, would be a great leader and can run this country effectively.
8
Sure, Unhappy JD - and while you're at it, get lots of folks with 'real life experience' into, say, clinics and hospitals. After all, formal medical training is overrated.
You've already got a president with 'real life experience' (or so you were told) - how's that working out?
p.
@Unhappy JD They have indicated they are independent thinkers.
Wink, wink. Nod, nod.
No problem! The swamp is only half empty. As trump keeps draining, more slimy candidates will emerge-and he'll be quick to nominate them.
33
As long as Trump keeps giving the GOP tax cuts, conservative Supreme Court Justices and wants to overturn Obamacare, the GOP will never stop supporting him!
92
Critical departments are being steered by advisers like Mr. Miller and by “acting” officials, whose temporary status lets them skip the inconvenient step of being confirmed by Congress.
Not to mention with so many acting department heads Trump&Co may be working to preempt an Article 25 showdown, i.e. "Whenever the Vice President and a majority of the principal officers of the executive departments (declare) that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President."
38
Yeah, every time I look at an old Brooks Brothers ad and see suits advertised for $45, I look at their website today, see the same suit for $998 and think "gee, I'm so glad we don't have a gold standard".
The purchasing power of the minimum wage peaked in 1968, just after silver was taken out of quarters and dimes, and just before the "Nixon Shock" that delinked the dollar from gold.
Money should be a tangible asset, not a debt instrument whose purchasing power diminishes every year.
11
@Charles I seem to recall that the US Government made a law back in the 1930's that possession of gold by by US citizens was illegal. Turn it in to the treasury at the government determined rate/ounce or be prosecuted.
3
@Charles
The world economic system is more complex than the gold standard.
27
@Charles
Yeah, that's because those "old Brooks Brothers ads" you're talking about are from a time when $45 was an amount of money that could take a low-income or minimum-wage worker weeks or even months to put aside.
Inflation exists. That's not necessarily a bad thing. We are earning more than in the past because the dollar is worth more, but the trade off is that the things we buy are also more expensive. Finding the balance between those two facts is the reason why the Fed exists in the first place. When the economy is strong, our dollar buys more than it did when suits cost $45.
16
How is it that Trump's "acting" appointees to various departments, all of whom lack Senate approval, are nevertheless granted the legal authority to serve as head of the department. I would think that their decisions, opinions, and statements would lack the full force of the law, given their "acting" status!
I can understand granting "acting" personnel authority in an emergency situation, but these are not emergencies. They instead are a failure of the Administration to advance qualified candidates for the positions.
141
@Rev. Jim Bridges
Rev Jim,
Please direct this comment to leader Schumer in the Senate who requires 30 hrs of debate to a get a candidate out of committee for then another harangue with the senate rules to get the candidates to the floor for a full vote. The senate is hardly ever in session which makes it very hard to approve many people needed to fill open job slots. The is democrats thwarting and obstructing our democratic process. But this shoe will fit in the other foot somewhere down the road.
'' so extreme as to alienate the president’s most conservative enablers.''
No such thing. Those facing a primary challenge will have to salute it after carefully considering their previous reservations. So they will tell us. See Susan Collins if you need be reminded, or Spineless Flake when it counted.
They fear the more Trump than Trump wing more than the Democrats. If they can't get through the primaries they are toast.
The most reasonable of Republicans are still Trumpeters when it counts. Federal Judge confirmation and environmental rollbacks.
62
Some things are just so to the point and well said that the best thing a person can do is repeat them. So I am.
Michelle Cottle writes:
"It’s heartening to see Republicans scrambling to contain some of the president’s more erratic impulses. (An unfavorable election outcome tends to focus the mind.) But they have only themselves to blame. Having let Mr. Trump have his way for so long, they can hardly be surprised that he continues to act as if he is accountable to no one."
Perfect. It makes me smile just to repeat it.
163
In the early 1900s a German horse named Clever Hans took the world by storm. Hans was able to correctly calculate any math answer that resulted in a whole number solution, clomping his hoof to yield the correct result. It was amazing to see, and it took years before someone figured out how he did it. It turns out Hans wasn't a math genius, but what he did have was a well developed ability to read personalities, specifically that of his trainer, who through a subtle tell, enabled Hans to know when he should stop clomping. How subtle? His trainer didn't know he was the key to Hans' math career.
Because Caine and Moore would have a hard time clomping out the right answer, fortunately being empathetic isn't really necessary, since their trainer in the White House will tell them the right answer.
77
Cottle, Republicans and the media may miss a big story about the economy in dismissing Trump nominees: Taken at his word, Chairman Powell stated "political pressure" did not affect the Fed's decision to stay rate hikes. If Trump didn't cause it, what did? Calling Cain 'spectacularly unqualified' ignores his prior service as a chairman and vice chairman of
a Federal Reserve bank and his hard won business experience and reputation as an effective motivator and communicator. Like Alan Greenspan, he has waxed nostalgic about the gold standard, but so what? If anything, the FED IS insulated from politics and does indeed base policy on data analysis. As for sexual harassment allegations, those remain unproven just like the one's against the Supreme Court nominee.
The turn at the Fed was not politically inspired; what it means is up for debate, and the story seems lost in the hubris surrounding the President.
1
@Scott No it takes note of what he has done and hence the problem
@Scott being an effective motivator, does not mean he can hit a curve ball!
Most disturbing are the the federal judges approved by the GOP senate who get lifetime appointments. Many of these positions were held open by McConnell and the GOP Senate to vex President Obama. Most, if not all of Trump's nominees are hard right partisans who will be influencing the legal system long after Trump is gone. Cabinet members come and go but federal judges are the gift that keeps on giving.
333
Once again, we see how shallow Mr. Trump’s talent pool is. Candidates with expertise are not wanted by the self assured expert on all matters. So, what we have is talentless leftovers from a political gong show.
294
@priscus I truly have moments when I feel like Trump thinks he really IS producing a reality show. How else do you explain his blatant choices of filling positions with the WORST possible man or, occasionally woman, for the job? He’s creating “drama” to get bigger “ratings”.
14
@priscus And any potential appointees who have a shred of decency, or an appreciation of history (how anyone who serves this President is headed for infamy), are saying no. They know that everything T-rump touches dies, as the title of a profoundly disturbing book avers.
8
@priscus
And they need to be on TV. Television is reality to Trump, while reality to him is fake news.
11
The Republican senators bought tickets on the Titanic. Right now people (like the columnist) are calling for them to jump into the lifeboats, and they're responding that it's much more dangerous to be in the turbulent North Atlantic, than stay in comfort on the ship. What will it take? Believing that the ship is actually sinking, and we're not there yet.
203
That analogy might be true if the Trump republicans were actually on the ship but they are not. Instead they are sitting pretty in their offices betting against the ship ever making it to shore.
22
@TimD great analogy
2
@TimD Very aptly put. Thanks for posting.
1
What's becoming more evident as the days go by is, Trump is nominating individuals who are even more extreme than the ones that voluntarily left or were forced out as replacements.
So what happens if the Senate doesn't confirm Trumps choices? Two things, one, he offers up an even more extreme candidate, and/or two, he finds someone who is heads above the others in his/her darkened view of a department and names them as "acting" department head until someone is confirmed.
Either way Trump wins.
93
@cherrylog754 So much winning.....we just didn't realise what kind it would be.....
3
I'm sure even the most publicly principled GOP senators are sad to see themselves whittle away their own personal principles .
28
@Mark No, they are not. That is why we are where we are in this country.
162
@lynn
Publicly principled. Where have you been?
5
As 2020 approaches, the Republican Senators up for re-election will have a clear choice; go all in for Trump by supporting every nominee he sends up or become very selective and vote for only those nominees who have a minimum set of qualifications and have no baggage. Everyone of these senators witnessed what happened in 2018 and that bloodbath is fresh on their minds.
For Trump, he will keep nominating only those he wants with no consideration for the senators up for re-election. He will expect loyalty and back only those who back him.
In the end I believe we may witness a more fractured GOP than we will witness with the Democrats and their multiple candidates racing around the country attempting to gain the nomination.
105
@Bryan
Oh please. How soon you forgot the 16 Republicans from 2016 who one by one folded under Trump's ridicule by name calling.
The GOP should be fractured. Then thrown away as the trash they are.
It's quite comical. Those senators are facing their downfall. If they don't back Trump he makes it his business to destroy them. If they back him the voters dismiss them.
Hobson' choice? Or damed if the do and damed if they don't.
Either way - toast.
7
the facts are correct but like most liberal opinionating its conclusions are just wishful thinking. even trumps vocal critics in the senate like McCain and Sasser almost always voted with their republican brethren. when Mccain was alive it would have taken only two votes to get rid of the sycophantic republican leadership headed up by the trump enabler McConnell. Where were they then. No, there is nothing to indicate that republicans have awakened to the threat to democracy world wide and national security at home that trump embodies.
339