Trump has never been seriously thwarted in his impulses till now. Trump is simply unable to process that he is not in control of the situation that he himself initiated. Impeachment is a reality that cannot be wished away or dismissed away. Trump's supporters will have a rude awakening as well.
Jaime Harrison for U.S. Senate Lindsey Graham knows that our movement is growing stronger every single day. South Carolina is ready to elect a Senator who works to help the people -- not to help their own political ambitions.
But the more scared Lindsey gets, the more his right-wing allies rally around him and dump money into his re-election campaign. He already has MILLIONS in the bank.
I don’t want to have any regrets about this campaign. I want to do everything we can to DEFEAT Lindsey Graham and bring hope back to the people.
Justme
15 hours ago
By undermining the impeachment investigation, not trial yet, they are undermining the American constitution. They can scream from the rooftops that questioning your government's actions is the most American thing possible, and that is exactly what is going on. Our elected officials, the people's house, is investigating allegations against a president that continually tries to hide what he is doing. Just as all of the "law and order" conservatives that think it is ok for the government to have access to my phone in the name of national security, we have the right to know that our president is making us a more secure nation. The argument by conservatives has been that if there is nothing to hide, you should have no problem if someone is listening in. Well, if he has nothing to hide, he should have no problem with inquires into his actions.
the democrats need a steve bannon
Soon Trump will be staying: 'I don't know Steve Bannon, never met him. He worked for me for a very brief period of time. Many people have said he was a low level, volunteer coffee guy. We're going to build the wall in Colorado and Nebraska is going to pay for it'. We should insist Trump has a mental health evaluation, something is just not right there.
“There is a serious lack of Trump allies jumping out there and defending the president.”
No surprise there. Maybe his allies have finally figured out that trying to defend the indefensible makes them look dull.
Surely Bannon knows that his former boss doesn’t take advice from anyone.
Too much time on their hands and an overly high self-opinion—the genesis of many a podcast, I’m sure.
I really didn’t understand exactly what his advice was to Trump—a lot of “do not’s” but no “do’s.” As ridiculous as the current witch hunt, just-trying-to-overturn-the-election propaganda is to any informed, thinking person, I think it’s actually pretty effective for the Fox News masses. And so that will sway the Senate because the Fox News masses are their constituents and they want to keep their seats. And that’s how he’ll be impeached but wind up staying in office. The bottom line is, there is no good advice Bannon can give Trump because the merit of the impeachment case is just too clear. These Senators know in their hearts they’ve been saddled with a lawless, impulsive maniac but they’re hanging in there with their deal with the devil. Trump’s only hope is to scare the Senate majority out of voting their consciences.
Do you believe that Bannon really is a populist who wants a fairer deal for average (white) working people?
Or is Bannon a cynical user--just like like Manafort, Roger Stone, Trump and Giuliani--who is merely taking advantage of the sentiments of the Brietbart voting block to self-promote and do the bidding of his billionaire patrons?
Bannon is pretty smart, but my question is a no-brainer.
2
Bannon put Trump in the WH for the purpose of "dismantling the administrative state" AND starting the global religious war he dreams of between Catholics and Muslims. We all know about the first agenda; if you think the second is an exaggeration go dig up his speech at the Vatican online or some of his other more intimate "talks" which have leaked.
Please do not be lulled into considering anything this man says on merits. He is a voice that does not deserve an ear. There is nothing so brilliant and unique coming from his mouth that cannot be said by someone else. He needs to be shunned from the public square. He
1
Bannon and his ilk have no soul. They don't care about the country, they care about the win, the process. He's clever and correct in strategic ways, but to no good end.
2
Let’s have a National Amnesty Day and throw open the jails and prisons. Let’s assume everyone was the the victim of a “witch hunt” or “fake news.”
1
Trump has been signaling that he has the power to walk his base away from the GOP and start a third party — leaving the GOP to wilt on the vine.
So members of the GOP have been responding by creating meaningless spectacles of opposition to impeachment if their constituents are largely Trump’s base—- or retreating into total silence if predominantly conventional conservatives.
As before, Bannon only needs to leverage the unconventional faction to coerce the rest of the Republican Party to follow. But his current motives are unclear. Does he really care about Trump — or is he merely playing the moment to revive his own power.
Im guessing the latter.
1
Keep Giuliani singing....please. Oh Mr. President, savoir and such...Parnas, Fruman and Vlad.
3
Why does Steve Bannon merit an article in the NYT ?
7
Isn't free speech great? Steve Bannon can take full advantage of it, and his funding from all the rich fascists who back him, to get coverage in the New York Times for his latest effort at promoting criminal oligarchy, which would of course end free speech in a hot second. Steve should be grateful to us, and the Constitution, for not dragging him through the streets.
7
Where is the other side? The liberal radio show countering the misinformation spewing by Bannon & team? Hello?? Checks & Balances or not?
3
For once I feel comforted by what Steve Bannon says.
1
Bannon is not wrong. I think Trump's problem is he sees the WH as one of his companies, and he's the CEO. He then has total control and can mitigate any missteps people like Rudy take, and can brush off any negative news. Just like a CEO of a privately held company can do. But, of course, that's not what the WH is and he's not in a CEO role. I think he's learning...the hard way. Thru it all, he's done a hellava job with the economy and he's de-regulated for the good. Am I better off then 4 years ago? YES. Will I think about that when I vote? YES
13
@J. G. Smith It appears to me, after looking at economic data such as unemployment trends that current unemployment is a continuation of a trend started in January 2010 (see chart). How do you interpret this statement? Also, which regulations have been removed or weakened that have directly affected you, in your business or personal life, and led to your current improvement in lifestyle?
Thanks.
https://www.macrotrends.net/1316/us-national-unemployment-rate
42
@J. G. Smith
How exactly are you personally better off than you were 4 years ago? Only the multi-millionaires and billionaires are better off under Trump. Even that is selfishly short-sighted since it comes at the expense of America's cohesiveness, fiscal solvency, environment, and standing with the rest of the world.
53
Oh, and as for Trump deregulating "for the good," as you put it, is that why our air pollution has increased dramatically since he took office? I guess we have different definitions of "for the good."
63
Does Steve Bannon only own one brown coat?
6
@gregolio
Yes. And why does he always look like he slept in it?
What if it looks like Trump will be convicted in the Senate, he issues all of the pardons he's been planning, but the Senate falls short of removing him by one or two votes after he issues all of his pardons?
What if it looks like Trump will not be convicted in the Senate, he doesn't issue any pardons, but the Senate convicts him before he has a chance to issue any of the pardons he's planning?
Here's hoping he's removed, but the other scenario would be disastrous for Republicans in 2020 as well.
Hey Republicans, you would be better off with the first scenario than the second one.
1
@S Butler I intended to say that Republicans would be better off with the second scenario than the first scenario.
It would be sweet if he could be removed before he can issue any pardons.
@S Butler
I'm wondering if he's become too toxic for the Rs, so they'll have another nominee to run. Yesterday, McConnell seemed to turn on him. Trump said that McConnell had told him the call was "perfect". McConnell said he didn't remember the call or saying that. The R's will turn on him when the public does. He won't be the nominee if he loses the confidence of his party.
Today I read that a major league baseball umpire was about to buy an AR-15 so he will be ready for a civil war if Trump is impeached. If the republicans continue to prop up this president
knowing he would love nothing more that a fight in the streets in his name, then they are as craven as Trump is.
Your country is teetering on the brink and we know Bannon, Miller and Giuliani have Trump's attention. They are willing to take America off the cliff to satisfy their own egos, especially knowing Trump doesn’t care about anything than himself. This
is truly a perfect storm.
6
This effort will end up much like Bannon singing the praises of Roy Moore. Trump is beyond help. Making sense of it all only makes sense for the intellectually curious...not Trump.
3
Bannon's advice to the Trumpster: Find a country with no extradition treaty.
6
Why "Republicans" want to save Donald Trump is beyond me. Except that, come to think of it, the major players are as reprehensible as he is. There has never been a public servant more deserving of removal from office as Trump. If the Senate can't "git er done", believe me! The American people will, come 2020.
11
Bannon desperately wants to be a “player” again. He’s way past his sell-by date.
9
I think Bannon displays his greatest weaknesses here. For him, this is merely an academic chess game; there are no lives at stake, and any outcome is acceptable.
Never bet on the correctness or success of anyone who is not vested in an outcome.
6
They committed the crimes, no amount of messaging is going to change it. The law is lhe law plain and simple.
5
Based just on his deranged appearance and bombastic approach, this guy would not get through the initial HR screening at any company in America.
Why is anyone listening to him? There is something horribly wrong with him.
7
Bannon as usual has a flair for the dramatic. He refuses to call his bunker a "war room" but is presiding before his lieutenants in a cozy basement wearing a combat jacket. What is missing is a General Patton style steel helmet.
I can't wait until he starts quoting SunTzu (The Art of War) as an early defender of Trump.
6
Zero Tolerance on PBS Frontline aired this week and is a must see as it relates to this very subject; Miller and Bannon found in Trump their perfect "blunt instrument for us" according to Bannon who was interviewed.
6
Trump has an instinct for manipulating people and finding loyalists to accumulate power, but he lacks ideology, strategy, and tactics. Bannon is a genius at playing the system. While Trump did “build the wall” and “lock her up,” Bannon used Cambridge Analytica to accumulate data to engage rural white Christians to blame immigrants and the liberal elite for their problems. Trump counts on his 85% support from Republican voters to bludgeon Republican politicians into backing him, while Bannon sees the need to throw them arguments to support him so they can get re-elected. Bannon is Master riding on Blaster’s shoulders; let’s hope Trump’s ego won’t let him reunite with Bannon.
4
Poor Steve Bannon, just looking for a job. He went to Europe to "save them" and no one wanted him there. He lived in a monastery, but apparently came out from under his rock to try to work his way back into Trump's inner circle. I don't think Jared will let him back in, ha ha!!
4
Please spare us the pseudo-intellectual twaddle falling out of Bannon’s brain.
6
Bannon's right. Will Trump listen? Probably not because he is narcissistic and undisciplined. He is all about lashing out at everything and everyone. He is scorched earth policy incarnate. What a giant Achilles' heel this man has. I think it will be his undoing.
Well, good.
2
Bannon doesn't have anything new in his pocket anymore, so he also become reasonable in many aspects compared to Trump himself.
Far Right wing idea surge has completing its course, folks enjoyed the ride and unchecked and reckless relaxation.
They also see clearly the way to keep going in this trajectory is passing destruction of the system what we are living in.
There they have a problem, and they split, There is a group of people they want destruction, some of them are extremely uneasy to take that risk.
Let see what happens to Far right, but for me they are end of their breath.
3
The Dems should have public hearings where Taylor is called. He states his recollection and shows the extensive contemporaneous notes that inform his recollections. Counsel elicits his background as a West Point graduate, where the motto is Duty, Honor, Country. A combat veteran in Vietnam and a lifetime of service of country. His having been ambassador to Ukraine in a prior Republican administration and his having been appointed by Pompeo. Thereafter Sundland testifies restating that just as his mouthpiece said earlier " he has no recollection" of the facts that Taylor has a recollection informed by contemporaneous notes. Sundland has slippery albeit "innocent" participation in the shakedown. Sundland then specifies that he as ambassador to the EU because he gave Trumps a million bucks. Let the country watch that. Over and over again.
2
Typical Republican playbook. Cant win elections fairly? Gerrymander. Cant defend their president’s unlawful conduct? Attack the constitution and process.
9
I listened to all three of Bannon's War Room podcasts. The counter-strategies they propose reveal them to be blinded by their hyper-partisan zeal:
1. They call for Republican Reps in the deposition hearings to leak testimony to the press that helps Trump and don't understand why this hasn't been happening. It doesn't occur to them that there might not be anything positive to be leaked.
2. They are exasperated and furious that administration officials are disobeying "direct orders" and testifying to the inquiry. They don't understand why the White House is not seeking court injunctions to block these officials. It doesn't occur to them that, since the House has the Constitution on its side, an injunction is unlikely to be issued. Also, losing an injunction request would open the floodgates to still more officials coming forward. There's a reason the White House is not trying this.
3. They call for more Republicans to forcefully defend Trump and don't understand why this isn't happening. It doesn't occur to them that Trump's habit of using fear and intimidation to enforce his one-way loyalty has not resulted in a lot of true friends.
So basically, these War Room podcasters spew a bunch of loopy nonsense and are in the process of experiencing an overdue encounter with reality.
9
@Steven
Thank you. Great synopsis. Now I won’t have to subject my ears to Bannon’s blather.
3
The Best advice he could give is to have Trump resign. Then conservatives can find someone to replace him that is a more just and christian man. And not a sociopath.
2
Maybe it should be from the sub, sub basement. How low can they go?
2
“I don’t care if you hate Nancy Pelosi. This is a master, and she is teaching a master class.” I mean, it helps if you have the facts on your side. Notice that she didn't call for impeachment after the conclusion of the Mueller investigation...
3
Steve Barron is just brown nosing Trump to get in on some of the criminal deals Trump will be making with Russia after and before he leaves office. He may be surprised to find himself sharing a cell next to Rudy in the future.
4
Off the subject...
Can someone please explain to me why the Mueller team interviewed Steve Bannon outside a grand jury room & apparently did not ask him one thing - that's been reported - about the corruption & Russian connections in his affiliated company Cambridge Analytica, a story that was exploding all over at the time.
And, then, there's this: https://www.politico.com/news/2019/09/25/steve-bannon-ftc-subpoena-cambridge-analytica-001022
I guess we just need to remember that Robert Mueller's a Republican and was, along with Louis Freeh & James Comey, FBI director as the NYC FBI was going outlaw.
2
Bannon is desperately seeking relevance since being evicted by Italy.
https://www.thelocal.it/20191011/italy-evicts-bannon-backed-far-right-boot-camp-from-monastery
3
Make no mistake. Donald Trump now has his Brown Shirts. Wikipedia has this short, appropriate sentence about their role for Hitler.
"Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi rallies and assemblies, disrupting the meetings of opposing parties..."
What happened yesterday with Republicans illegally entering a SCIF room amounts to nothing less and its time to call a spade a spade.
Michelle Obama has claimed for years that she is not political. So, why did she set the tone for the entire Democratic Party saying, "when they go low, we go high"?
Did the Founding Fathers achieve independence by coming to the NYT comments and proclaiming, "Shame on the British!"? No, they had to get down and ugly and fight for their freedom. In fact, they fought below the belt.
Time to take the gloves off. Time to start conspiracy theories of our own and watch the right deal with it.
Steve Bannon and Milo Yiannopoulos have been lovers for many years which is why they worked together at Brietbart and why they left at around the same time. This is common knowledge in the gay community.
See how easy it is?
Or, listen to Michelle Obama who has never run for office in her entire life.
4
Based on Trump's lawyers yesterday, he could appoint his own army of 2nd amendment vigilantes, arm them with machine gollum’s that were banned decades ago, storm the Capitol and mow down all the democrats with bullets — and no one could stop, arrest, investigate, charge or indict him — and by then, he could not be impeached either, because Trump would have murdered all the Democrats in Congress too— and the Supreme Court would say “that’s OK.”
I really don’t know what it means to be American anymore.
If Trump is the paragon of virtue and justice, we might as well call it hell on earth.
That’s what Bannon really wants: Armageddon.
10
Why, oh why is NYT amplifying proto fascist Steve Brannon? This man is a threat to democracy the world over. Other far less savory outfits already lean on his word. Why does NYT choose to do the same?
19
@Johnathan,
Right on. There is no reason to amplify this nonsense. You’ve given them free advertising to extend their fact free propaganda.
You all in the media made the same mistake in 2015 / 2016 when you gave this “President” round the clock coverage during the campaign.
This is not newsworthy. A couple of ethnic-nationalists giving their opinion as fact on a few ham radio channels in the South.
5
The right become more Orwellian every day. The truth is what they say it is, facts be damned! At best they exaggerate or misrepresent, but for the most part they deal in flat out lies. Lies that their constituency buy into wholeheartedly. Frightening.
7
Notice that these folks don't deny the arm-twisting which the President used in trying to get the Ukrainian government to do it his political dirty work. - In fact they seem to be implicitly accepting that the quid pro quo allegations are true and focus only on how to respond to them. Because -- apparently -- this kind of conduct is OK when their guy is doing it.
And yet Banner et al felt it appropriate to go ballistic on Hilary Clinton for allegations that -- when compared to the President's conduct -- amount to nothing more than shaving a few years off your age on a social web site.
I'm sensing some pretty screw-up priorities.
1
My fellow Americans, S. Bannon is a white nationalist, a fascist, a racist, a person who is a serious danger to the well-being of our democratic nation.
(I continually wonder if Bannon continues to be advising Trump behind the scene ? )
Please : Love thy neighbor whether or not you love your self, or whether or not your neighbor loves her or his self .
23
Steve Bannon is one of the smartest people in politics. Don't underestimate him. He will succeed in defending Mr. Trump. And rightfully so.
7
@Bob K
Bannon's "War Room" situation looks strikingly like the scenes from Homeland episodes with the erratic right-wing character who is finally pinned down with the rural anti-government group. This guy also has his own underground radio show, which resembles a poor man's Rush Limbaugh. Add to this the scene of the Republican buffoon-lemmings rushing down the staircase to crash a legal congressional hearing. It all doesn't seem real.
.
15
The President is NOT above the law.
20
@Bob K
There is no defense against being guilty 100%
It’s all there laid out in the testimony of people hired by Trump.
History will not judge any of these people kindly.
16
If Steve Bannon simply wanted a populist president who would stand up for the "forgotten men and women" and "put America first" but otherwise be conventionally presidential in terms of his respect of the Constitution, he chose a wrong man in Donald Trump. Trump and criminal scandals are inseparable - they just take a whole new dimension now that he is in the White House.
2
Steve Bannon - still trying to destroy our democracy!
10
Bannon is trying to back in the good graces of his master, nothing more, nothing less.
What happened to the institute "monastery" of white supremacy he was building in Italy.
6
I'd like to know who gave Bannon the financing to get this show up and running and on the air.
Bannon seems to be a true nihilist. Breaking things is his credo. He does not have an ideology to replace what he's
breaking.
This makes him both dangerous and personally irresponsible, and anyone who enables him is guilty of anything Bannon succeeds at.
7
I have some impeachment advice for Trump. Go on TV, apologize for lying to the American public, promise to never do it again and hand over your tax returns. Admonish the people who lied for you, instruct them to tell the truth. Then beg for another chance.
5
@Tom - You had me up until the last sentence. Let's replace it with "resign."
2
Let’s be clear here. Brannon and his ilk hate democracy and long for an autocracy. They won’t be satisfied until all vestiges of opposing views are extinguished. Their hatred of anyone left of far right is truly disturbing. They are not nice people.
15
Bannon is Machiavellian, and obviously more intelligent than Miller. But they are both despicable, and will be regarded as such in the dustbins of history - along with Trump.
15
Thank god Bannon is no longer in the WH. He is evil but extremely intelligent and strategic.
7
So, Bannon just can't get over his break up with trump. How stalker-y. Bannon and company think they know better and can do better than trump, which isn't tough. My daughter's new golden doodle could do better than trump. And how frightening that this crew doesn't give a rip about the United States and its integrity.
8
The article doesn't say what Bannon is advising Trump to say, only what he she not be saying. I really am not going to spend time listening to War Room, so please, if you are being paid to listen to that garbage, summarize it properly and completely.
Or are we to imply that Bannon's advice is to accept the impeachment charges as true, but argue that Trump's actions were legal? John Yoo of "torture is legal" infamy advanced an argument in a NYT column a couple of weeks ago that Trump has an absolute right to do whatever he wants in the realm of foreign policy. Is Bannon proposing the same "get over it" argument? Does the U.S. President's power to shoot anyone on Fifth Avenue with no consequences extend to other countries—is that Trump's best defense?
9
The future is, indeed, threatened, when there are too many who see yesterdays "crashing" of the Capitol Hill depositions as something brave, exemplary and honorable.
Yesterday's demonstration reinforces the errant belief, held by too many, that the dignity of our country's Constitutional processes, were meant to be orchestrated and conducted like the worst of reality tv.
Some think that yesterday's shameful demonstration was no different than the Boston Tea Party and reflects a spirit of well-placed and just rebellion. To me, it seems closer in spirit to Kristallnacht.
10
Miller - ? Not another one to add to Steve Miller. Bannon - the proverbial loose cannon/provocateur - always has been. Talks on the phone with Cadet "Sharpie" Bone Spurs every evening. Thus, the Hearing Room invasion by the Republican "representatives". All pre-planned - a disastrous mistake. Constituents of those invaders take note -- time for a change. Register, contribute, do your homework, no apathy, ignore the polls, vote. Your ballot is your bullet. Use it. Flip the Senate, Dump Trump, Ditch Mitch, bar Barr, emasculate Lyndsey Graham. Take our country back -- we need to get to work to "Make America Great Again".
8
We are way past the stage of this is to defend Trump. Trump rallies are reminiscent of the pro-Nazi rallies in the US in the 30's.
Bannon is a pro-nazi fascist. Trump has actually claimed his father, born in the Bronx was born in Germany.
Bannon and the far right conspiracy cabal are using the playbook of the German American Bund and Friends of Germany.
It was very typical pre-WW2 for german to come to the US as unregistered lobbyists in order to build an alliance with Nazi fascism. The US Congress shut much of it down through investigations not that dissimilar to what we are seeing now with the President.
Today we don't call the Congressional committee investigating the President The House Un-American Activities Committee. Perhaps we should.
These people are at war with the USA and we should call it what it is, fascism.
9
Just by publishing this article, NYT is providing free advertising for War Room by informing a lot of people, who wouldn’t otherwise know, that this show even exists.
6
@Citizen...you think anyone who reads the NYT would be swayed by Bannon? C'mon bro, find somewhere else to share your fear of information. If you can't tell the difference between truth and horse doo...NMP
1
I never could figure out why anyone gave this guy any attention. No one knew who he was before Trump candidacy and he was ousted shortly after. I consider his words of wisdom as much as I do my dog on our walks.
6
Please don’t give the horrible Bannon more visibility. The sooner we are permanently rid of Steve bannon and Stephen Miller the better the world will be. Add them to a long list...
16
Looks like Bannon's jacket has "evolved" (devolved?) from the worn green barbour to something more military-inspired (militaristic?)
5
I must say, none of what this reporting says was what I expected. Sounds like no defense at all.
6
If there is any justice in the world, it’s the fact that Bannon has to record from his . . . basement.
Does he think that some expensive headphones and mics are all that he needs to legitimize his War Room? No. He also needs a stack of newspapers, a couple of cell phones, Starbucks, Red Bull, and a random map (where are the thumbtacked strings?).
I enjoy my Podcasts, and there are 750k of them to pick from. I just hope that America can start tuning out the ones that sell swampland in Florida.
10
Bannon appears to be preparing disbelieving Republicans for Trump's likely impeachment. It's hard to understand why he has to explain the obvious to these GOP people who had lashed out at him when he made the heretical prediction on another radio show. These fools really believe Trump can walk on water. He's about to drawn in it as a deluge of facts come pouring in.
6
Bannon Nationalists/Racists in a basement trying to advise the President on strategy, through a rogue radio show, while Republican Senators weigh their options. Are we proud of our party yet?
From this point forward, everything is about convincing Republican Senators to choose country over party. Bannon is just trying to make a lot of noise pressure them to betray us.
7
Sounds like Steve Bannon doubts the president's gut instincts.
5
Bannon and his like have turned spewing conservative conspiracy trash talk into an industry. He and those like him are totally in it for the money. Just because he served doesn't make him a patriot. Just because he can talk doesn't mean he is saying anything important or true.
9
Slightly off topic but get this.
CNBC just announced that Trump asked his entire administration
to cancel subscriptions to the New York Times and
The Washington Post.
He’s declared war on the free press again.
We had a saying in the old country
Never start a fight with someone who orders ink by the barrel full
7
Ugly man inside & out! I thought we had heard the last of him. How depressing.
9
And I have advice for Steve Bannon. There is a rock that misses you, and you should crawl back under it.
14
Just a few days ago every Republican in the House voted in favor of censuring Adam Schiff for his conduct during this impeachment inquiry, even though the resolution was not founded in fact.
Today, Senator Graham is announcing a resolution condemning the House for how they are conducting the inquiry with McConnell’s. The members of the Senate are the jury if there is an impeachment trial.
Imagine a case of murder where members of the police department lie about the conduct of the lead investigator in an attempt to get that person removed AND a majority of potential jury members condemn the investigation process even though it is following the law. And imagine all of this criticism was being orchestrated by the person who is under investigation for murder. And imagine it was allowed to happen with no recourse.
If that was our legal system, we would have no legal system. But that is what is happening here. In other words, Trump can do and say whatever he wants and he will still be president.
So why the War Room?
It is for the publicity.
7
What's horrifically chilling about the Bannon / Miller 'defense' strategy is the complete and absolute lack of any concern for the United States of America - their sole concern is helping Donald somehow slip past a legal catastrophe of his own making.
It's straight out of the Trump playbook: it's all about winning. Nothing else matters. Not his oath to defend the Constitution. Not his responsibility to serve the interests of the two thirds of the nation's population who do not support him. Not the obligations of his office.
It's no surprise that a man who serially cheats on his wives, and has a business career paved with lawsuits, bankruptcies and stiffed vendors would care less about commitments as President. But it's still unnerving that his supporters are hard at work crafting and selling fictional scenarios where that's ok. As if America could not do any better, regardless of party.
231
@Neander It is chilling. And it's never going to be about doing what is good or right or moral. Or protecting democracy or the Constitution. It's about winning. That is ALL these "people" care about.
26
@RoguBannon is a nihilist. He values destruction.e 1303
5
@Neander It's the only way that Steve Bannon can pretend he's still relevant. He tried tapping the EU populists and struck out. He's a total fraud, but the media keeps him in the spotlight. It's a money thing for them. His name draws clicks...still.
3
BANNON aiming all talking points to influence the uneducated.
Trump supporters don’t want to leave a country for their child that is 50%brown. That is the root of their discontent. The only way we keep
50 state union together is to address immigration . As the world population of poor people steadily increases this problem will continue. We need to adopt a rational policy that addressed the concerns of both sides of this issue.
3
Sounds to me as if Mr. Bannon and his accomplices are (inadvertently, perhaps) giving the president very good advice. Good for the president, and good for the Democrats, and good for the American people. I'm dumbfounded.
How did this happen? Am I hallucinating?
1
Steve Bannon ran out of his fifteen minutes of fame. He now runs on the fumes but in this current world of politics there is plenty of kindling for a guy like Bannon to play with. He imagines himself as the great disrupter in the cause of no cause.
3
There’s zero surprise that Bannon is at the epicenter of a campaign to spread misinformation concerning Trump. He and Mr. Miller, Special Advisor, are the central characters that fomented such unconscionable behavior during the campaign that ultimately got Trump elected. They needed a “stooge” to carry a concerted message of hate and division to a core constituency of the Republican Party and are still at it now. Mr. Miller was AG Session’s chief of staff and is one of the few staffers to withstand the whimsy of Mr. Trump’s psychopathic tirades. Trump is a puppet of these two misanthropes and he will follow whatever directives they scheme up. Bannon and Miller weren’t elected but control everything this president says and does. And they are unaccountable to anyone!
If the Dems are wise they’ll discover how to marginalize these two miscreants.
4
You know you are losing the Presidency when Steve Bannon sounds smart. Republicans are not forcefully defending Trump anymore, because there is no defense to be made. Trump’s minders were not there to prevent him from committing high crimes and misdemeanors, he did so in plain sight with dozens of witnesses, and he will be impeached for it. He will be tried, and all the weeping and gnashing of teeth from Trump supporters will not prevent the Senate from having to vote that the President is guilty and is hereby removed from office.
Bannon and his band of white supremacists are plotting their next moves after Trump, because he was never an end in himself, only a tool to be used.
Therein lies the shame. His voters believe his rhetoric, they are mesmerized by it. And they will be again.
4
What has Bannon ever run, or built? Lighting the world on fire is easy. Empathy, equity, inclusivity, and wisdom are hard. That’s why we argue and have politics. We need understanding, human connection, and all represented at the table not scorched earth built on some racist misread of Eurocentric domination. Sorry, but he sounds more crackpot than brilliant to me.
5
Someone in these comment sections once described Steve Bannon as looking like he was wearing a piece of mortadella on his face; and I confess, I have never been able to think of him otherwise since.
Still, I never underestimate his malevolence or his desire to spread it far and wide.
4
Republicans, Bannon, and Breitbart are still on the same page. Let’s get this straight. Trump is conducting a shadow foreign policy in Ukraine and somehow they’re all out to convince a big share of the American public that THAT is okay. No big deal.
And if anyone thinks that Trump and Kushner are conducting a shadow foreign policy with Saudi Arabia - evidenced by the meh reaction to Khashoggi’s murder, and the silence about sending troops to Saudi Arabia - and that’s okay, you must be a Republican bootlicker. Or Steve Bannon. And if anyone believes that it’s also okay that Trump is doing a very shadowy series of deals with Putin - well then. You must be Steve Bannon.
Our entire foreign policy has gone rogue under Trump, and the GOP is defending him. Make America Ashamed. Make America into a second rate country.
4
Just double-checking — making the world a better place is no longer a thing?
2
Wow, master of misinformation is back. Can’t fault his commitment to white nationalist movement. My be to little to late. Bannon and posse created a Frankenstein and the irony is they lost control of their creation .
2
I look forward to the post Trump days when these "geniuses" will be doing a podcast on the government plot to hide evidence of Bigfoot from us.
Reading the article, intrigued by a muslim sounding name, Raheem Kassam who is working with Mr. Bannon. Started to wonder why a Muslim and apparently of foreign origin working with Mr. Bannon? What are the common grounds between them? Looked him up and all became clear quickly: Much is common between them. Anti Semitism, Anti-Muslim and anti-immigration. While in UK, he was part of very Hard Left and was denied entry in Australia because of his hate speech.
5
I can't find a single bio of Kassam than says anything about "hard left". He admires Margaret Thatcher, was a member of the Brexit party, attempted to set-up a British version of the Tea Party, and was involved in the UK version of Breitbart. That's a hard-right pedigree. Australia denied him entry because his presence would "normalise the extreme right wing". So, hard left? Nah. Never.
7
@Pete I am sorry, I meant to say Hard Right
3
Now broadcasting from under their rock...Bannon et al, still trying not to appear like the treasonous wretches they are. Trying to “undermine” a legitimate, legal constitutionally mandated process...for what patriotic purpose, exactly? Right, it’s only to ensure their own power. How...Republican.
7
Just reading Bannon’s name in a headline gives me the shivers.
7
Ban on needs to crawl back under the rock from whence he slithered.
9
In the early days of the Trump administration, I recall Steve Bannon stating that its goal or master project was, and I quote, the “deconstruction of the administrative state”. Initially, I thought,
“What in the world can such gobbledygook mean?” and then I turned, as I often do, to George Orwell, who wrote, “Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable [5th Avenue, anyone?], and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” Bannon’s euphemistic doublespeak, against which Orwell also warned, was jerryrigged to put lipstick on the pig that is Trump—an anti-democratic, illiterate, unconstitutional, know-nothing, whose only goal is to tear over 240 years of American principles, ideals and values asunder. As is often the case with a windbag like Steve Bannon, his “deconstruction of the administrative state” is merely rhetorical cover for the destruction of America, his radio-station bunker cover for his reap-the-whirlwind apocalyptic nonsense. Trump needed to “deconstruct the administrative state,” as it were, because neither he nor his henchman would know how to administer, much less govern, our beloved nation were it to bite them in their proverbial backsides—which it is currently, thankfully, and none too soon, in the process of doing.
13
We need to keep in mind that Trump and Bannon are for nationalism, not democracy. All ideologies emerge from the individual experience and history shows us that, in countries where elections are held, nationalists enrich themselves at the expense of the people when they gain power.
On the individual level, nationalism is an extension of narcissism and the USA is a nation of narcissists, thanks to the PR and advertising industries. Bannon, et al., are simply trying to capitalize on this reality and directing their appeal to gullible narcissists. They know that your average individual relies principally upon their emotions to make decisions and are especially vulnerable to political rhetoric and theatrical dialogue. In the South, many feel they are still "at war" and so war metaphors are the most common.
As to how to counter these little evils, speaking truth to power is perhaps the only way. Having another civil war is also possible, but maybe this time, "civil" can mean polite, disciplined, progressive, inclusive, intelligent and fair.
10
Note that the agenda of this group is not to support the Constitution and rule of law but to support Trump and Trump alone while trying to derail a legitimate investigation of crimes against the US. They are about "winning", not justice and truth.
6
Never never never do the Bannons and the Scalises etc. call for the simplest idea: MAKE Donald Trump change his behavior! Confront him every hour of every day. And if "he can't", then all the focus and Bannon obfuscation will not change a thing - Trump is incapable of doing a job we Americans contracted him for. Until he can prove otherwise. And he promised (sort of...) to do it. So contract/deal is irreparably broken. By Donald Trump, all his doing (or not doing )his job. What's the mystery here, in the end? Words can be twisted, obviously. Behavior cannot. It is plain to see.
2
Excellent news.
The more good people standing up to support the President in defense of the lefts attacks and lies the better.
It is a tough fight when the left has the fake news msm shilling for them but thankfully their are still patriotic and loyal Americans who will fight and get the real news out to the people.
1
@John Gilday
Very funny, John. I'm guessing many who read your comment will miss the fact that you could only be joking.
4
@John Gilday This is the New York Times reporting on your hero. Is this article also fake? Is it only fake when you don't like it?
6
Big surprise that Bannon is running the show...again, or still.
He promised that that there would be hellfire and brimstone from the Trump administration and he was right. What exactly is his endgame? I'm not sure, but it involves destruction of our form government (democracy isn't his thing; white men dictators seems to be the goal.), and government's care of people who are in need, including immigrants. I have no doubt he's still pulling the Trump strings.
5
I question the value of amplifying voices like Bannon's to a general audience, but especially without some significant context-building about his racist history.
5
Republicans deluding themselves. Truth is not truth is there motto.
4
Mr. Miller added that with the exception of a handful of Trump loyalists, “There is a serious lack of Trump allies jumping out there and defending the president.” Yes, and for very good cause, Mr. Miller. When Steve Bannon is your last resort for strategy, you have gone below rock bottom. I hope you both fail spectacularly, and take this whole Trump nightmare down with you.
8
This is actually great news. Whatever the suggestion is, Trump will do the opposite. I do wonder if people are huddled around their big radio cabinets frantically spinning the dial hunting for Bannon's 'How to Beat Impeachment' station.
3
The basement, eh? Bannon is now the "Buffalo Bill" of alt-right radio. Skinning and dismembering our democracy. Thank you for drawing attention to this, lest we become complacent. Please John Oliver, give him the Alex Jones treatment.
6
I don't know who is worse: Bannon or Trump.
3
The best Steve Bannon will do is preach to a choir already strapped for stomach space after all the Trump Kool-Aid.
Yeah, go ahead, Steve. Just remember, the world is watching and history is writing down the names of Trump henchmen, minions and lickspittles.
Rest assured, sir, your name will be near the top of the alphabetized version of the list, but Lindsay Graham, as Toady First Class, will own the top spot reserved for 5-star hypocrites, shills and lackeys.
7
The “deep state” is in fact the canal of people like Bannon and the misinformation disseminators like Breitbart and Fox.
5
Just in time for Halloween....
3
Go home Bannon and stop licking your wounds in public.
6
This photo is loaded with cues about Bannon's war. I shows us, what, who and how.
There a map of Washington DC on the wall. He is wearing a fascist black shirt under an American military jacket. There's a book titled WARFARE stuffed with notes on the table. Two men looking to him for guidance, one with a flag patch on his sweater and the open collars of working men. These man are saving America!
Bannon is more dangerous than any of Trump's yes men because has a philosophy. Trump mimicking Roy Cohn is preschool next to him. He thinks the Witch Hunt approach is too weak. He is calling for naked war on this America. Bannon wants to be the General in his war on Democracy.
3
Who would've thought Bannon would be against the rule of Law And Order. Putin must be so happy to have American Fascists working against his sworn enemy.
8
Steve Bannon is a known abuser of women.
He has zero street cred in this house.
5
Besides the president, this is just more obstruction of justice tactics by a a person that has much responsibility to the current state of this administration. This was tried during the Nixon Administration and we know how this played out.
This is the end of trump and pence.
Facts are Facts!
"Shall any man be above justice" George Mason 1787
Mason meant " those entrusted with great power - those atop of the law, were not just subjected to it's reach, but additionally responsible for the rule of law itself.
"Injustice that undermines our ability to pursue fair and respectable justice weakens the very fabric of our democracy"
"Those entrusted with the American people's fate, therefore, should never rank their personal well-being higher."
This is a Constitutional test.
2
And if Trump were to somehow survive all of this and get re-elected he'd throw these people under the bus in a heart-beat.
There is no quo.
Trump is as likely to listen to Bannon's advice as he is to admit any wrongdoing. It just won't happen.
1
So why does Bannon think he is still relevant in the Republican Party?
And how did Bannon view the little "SCIF Pizza Party" hosted by GOP freshman go-getter, Gaetz?
And finally, might Bannon be "Anonymous"?
3
Well now that impeachment is eminent, it is time for the The Dark State to slime through the core of the underbelly of our country. And guess who "creeps" out with other creatures of the night in time for Halloween ready to spew more disinformation and hate? None other than Steve K. Bannon. Very apropo wouldn't you say?
3
Finally some folks who understand the difference between true facts and Trumpian lies.
I applaud their honesty.
But Trump has it right - once you tell the sheep that Truth is on the other side in this case, you may have the more intelligent ones asking about other instances. Like porn stars and Playboy bunnies. Were those Trumpian lies too? What about Russia? What about the beautiful healthcare plan that is mysteriously invisible even after 3 full years? And of course the Wall that Mexico is paying for or the Chinese tariffs that is driving bankruptcies in farm country?
If one lie is admitted, will the beautiful wall of lies come tumbling down?
1
Steve Bannon still trying to make Steve Bannon happen.
5
Make no mistake, radio broadcasting is the primary medium responsible for the rise and empowerment of the delusional right.
It is cheap and highly effective and reaches everybody very easily.
Brainwashed listeners keep it on in the background, during work, while driving, at home, etc.
(The Nazis used it very effectively in the 1930s and throughout WWII).
Progressives need to offer radio broadcasts with alternative (and factual) narrative in every market as well. I don't hear any where I am.
5
You betcha. This was a play Trump orchestrated to divert attention from the substance and weight of secret testimony and rile up his ignorant base, many of whom can’t name the three branches of government and don’t much care for all these niceities; they just want a strong daddylike leader who will protect their gun ownership, somebody else’s unborn baby, free them from taxes, and support their God-given right to freedom to do whatever they want, unconstrained by thinking of anyone else. And Bannon, yet! Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!
1
Just another 5th column effort.
The first problem is that Trump has confined his closest fans to Fox and Friends, and Bannon Fantasy Express messaging. The rest of the people read a variety of sources. This would have worked if he could behave himself. But it does not when you are using taxpayer money to boost your campaign.
In spite of all of his anti-constitutional activity(emoluments violations and bribery), he could win another term, if the stock market and economy holds. However, people need to be held accountable for the America they choose. Which future do they want? Constitution or no constitution. Then the little people who are not reaping wind falls from the tax cuts and stock markets need to force them to live that choice.
1
Bannon wants Trump et al. to take this seriously and be more focused. That surprised me. I read a little more and was much less surprised. They are still the same immoral dishonest bunch. They are still threatening to burn society to the ground if they cannot have everything they want. And what they want is still the eternal preservation of the unearned entitlements and dominance of Trumpy white people. The truth may be found in the details. Pelosi isn't a PR master. She's a master legislator and a master speaker. and a master patriot. This isn't serious because they don't have an elevator pitch, or because Trump and Giuliani are being themselves. It's serious because there is now overwhelming evidence that tells us that Trump and others have broken the law, violated the Constitution, etc. Bannon and his bunch still value our democracy and the rule of law and the Constitution about as much as they value honesty.
168
@Robert Pelosi is corrupt. Is Dems truly want to investigate foreign interference in elections, then they should have let Mueller investigate Hillary paying fusion GPS and fisa abuse by obama.
Dems know promising unachievable green new deal and promising healthcare for illegals wont help then in winning elections, hence they are desperate.
@TC , at some point you're going to have to look at Trump and see what he is and what he wants. It will be a hard day for you but a necessary one.
3
@Robert And additionally, they are exactly the "elites" that they rail against on behalf of the gullible.
2
The ability of American voters to disbelieve facts has always been around...Trump & Fox News just figured out a way to exploit it. Trump is a symptom, not a cause.
5
In true Bannon form, the job he’s set for himself is to identify the facts and assault them.
It’s either Truth or Trump.
5
In this age of podcasts, a couple of old white guys start up a radio show. Radio is the Boomer Internet and the Republican Party is the party of the past.
3
The French extreme right writer and TV show star polemist Eric Zemmour who has similar philosophical inspirations as Steve Bannon ( The theory of Le Grand Remplacement is of French origin ) just got condemned for apology of racism and public incitation to hate.
He was the subject of an investigation by the CSA (Conseil Superieur de l'Audiovisuel ) a French public institution who regulates the audio and TV medias .
Is there such an institution in the US ?
In 2018 the NYT had published an article about him in Paris.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/06/magazine/eric-zemmour-france-far-right.html
4
So, instead of "it's fake news" what message exactly is this "War Room" putting out?
The NY Times editorial article said it best: "As more testimony is disclosed it becomes clearer that the president's only defense against impeachment is to distract from the facts and complain about how unfairly he's being treated".
Bannon & his weasels said one thing right: Nancy is teaching a master class.
5
Donnie won’t listen to anyone!
1
Doubtless Bannon is grateful for this kind of publicity
6
Most Americans are incapable of critical thinking and are therefore easily fooled by the likes of Trump and Bannon. They know this and count on it.
7
Bannon is using the oldest journalistic slogan in the book --- I mean newspaper. KISS means Keep It Simple and Stupid. Trump had been doing great at the STUPID part, but he is a rookie at politics.
This stuff is real and he is letting it get to him finally. Good too see Bannon give props to Nancy Pelosi but it ain't enough to stop the train wreck. Impeachment is inevitable and it does NOT help Trump get reelected. Thank God.
4
Stop giving this guy free publicity.
8
There are just so many times you can tell fire in a restaurant and people will believe you. Meanwhile these clowns, who were kicked out of the president’s inner circle are trying to give the president pointers. I will remind everyone that Mr. Miller was a spokesman on CNN and was let go because he put The abortion pill in his girlfriend’s drink and caused her to end up in the hospital due to drug interaction. He was married at the time. Bannon was trying to cause problems in Europe. I guess they got tired of him. Now they want to scream about this investigation because the truth about the con man is finally coming out.
4
“All of these people,” he said, were “hired by Donald J. Trump or hired by people Donald J. Trump hired,” he said.
As was Bannon, early among the dozens of Trump administration players whose record number of ungraceful exits are enduring evidence of a globally discredited administration.
The fact is that Bannon's alt-right philosophy was made fully dependent on a keystone called trump. With bricks falling from the wall, especially by way of the honorable testimonies of the foreign service players, the entire edifice is in danger of collapsing. The desperation behind knowing the entirety of their weak wall is majority-unpopular stems from knowing they pinned it all on a serviceable, lone carnival barker. Bad business plan, that.
71
@Mark "The fact is that Bannon's alt-right philosophy was made fully dependent on a keystone called trump."
Spot on. The great hubris of the GOP and alt-right goons like Bannon is that they just don't get that they're riding the coattails of a cult of personality. Americans didn't vote for their nationalist ideology--they voted for a crazy celebrity, an unpredictable sideshow. They wanted entertainment, not ideology.
As soon as Trump is gone, this pseudo "movement" goes with him. They don't realize that the foundation they built all of this upon is hollow, crumbling, and unsustainable.
10
Why are Bannon, et al wasting their time on this ridiculous podcast? Obviously, there’s still money to be made - ads to be sold, paid appearances to make, maybe a book deal. That’s how the social media-industrial complex works.
3
The problem with trying to have an elevator pitch for the right wing is that they are so far off the reasoned spectrum, nothing can get too them, even if it is even pro Trump.
They are hopeless people. I have one in my family.
He is so beyond reasoned discourse it is pathetic.
2
Steve Bannon is brilliant, but sees the world through a bizarre, Machiavellian perspective. There does not seem to be much light shining in his life.
Nonetheless, while in the White House, he did provide some wisdom to Trump, such as treading cautiously around North Korea. Perhaps that’s why he’s no longer there.
Likewise, these guys’ words are probably going no further than the thin air into which they’re being broadcast.
In the end, all the talk, including by the Democrats in Congress, is in some ways ultimately going nowhere because the Senate will never remove Trump. In other ways, it’s vital because the issues and loyalties will have been raised in full view and voters can make their choices accordingly.
A thought on that: Trump will run again, and perhaps that’s best. He won’t win. (Admittedly, I said that in 2016 and we know how that ended, but he’s been his own worst enemy since then.) With Trump out of the picture, a relatively sane Republican might win and help others down the ticket as well, an outcome perhaps as dark as Steve Bannon’s psyche.
31
@Fred I'm not so sure the Senate will not remove Trump. Most of them despise and are embarrassed by him. I can hear them around the table now, "Let's tell our constituents that we all love President Trump but he broke the law and we must convict him and remove him from office to protect our democracy." Weirder things have happened.
13
Bannon, brilliant? Perhaps compared with the average beagle. I wouldn't bet too heavily on the Senate. All depends on which way the wind is blowing.
21
@Fred
"Steve Bannon is brilliant, ..."
Not so sure. It's easy to burn society to the ground. But governing is hard. Peace-at-any-cost isolationism is easy. Engaging constructively with the world, and actually making war and genocide less likely, is hard. Regurgitating this or that radical book is easy. Formulating a set of policies and guidelines that would provide for a better future for humans here and around the world is hard.
226
I want to know why Bannon and his ilk prefer disarray, why they contribute to confusion and fracture. What's in it for them? is is it money being paid, is it money to be made? I do not admire Bannon, but he is an intelligent man; so much so that there have to be cards he'll never show. He helped Trump become president, then seemed to be fine with falling back into the shadows for years. Suddenly he's back, at Trump's most vulnerable hour, trying to help again. Why?
3
“Republicans have to get tougher and fight,” - Donald Trump
“There is a serious lack of Trump allies jumping out there and defending the president.” - Steven Miller
Who says words don't matter? Trump speaks and people do as he asks.
I'd never say that I think Bannon sounds smart, however he sounds smarter than the average Republican. But here is the thing. Bannon, Miller, et. al. are fighting, all-out defending the president against what? They don't are what, or what he has or has not done, they are going to defend him tooth and nail in a classic "don't confuse me with facts, my mind is made up" way.
At the moment there is only testimony and information gathering. Although it looks bad right now no one knows whether Trump actually needs a defense since not all the evidence is gathered yet.
This is simply a preemptive strike meant to distract and disrupt the process. Whether or not he needs to be defended in a Senate trial is not even known, all the facts are know, but there they are striking out in defense.
This entire effort has one objective, since they have declared that they are defending Trump regardless and with no knowledge of his level of maleficence, comes down the purpose of obstructing justice.
2
Looks familiar...watch Season #7 of the TV series "Homeland" and it becomes clear what's going on...
Trump and serious thinking are like oil and water...you may think they are together, but mostly they separate.
News flash from Brannon I would like to hear him say.......“There is a serious lack of Trump detractors jumping out there and criticizing the president. Too few Republicans, he said, are questioning the process of the the Trump Presidency.”
The worst of the worst, living in a parallel reality, but planting mines in the real world.
5
I don't understand? How is TheWarRoom helping Trump? By trying to tell Trump voters they've been gaslit the whole time?
Good luck. Thinking people have been trying that since 2016.
SB - there at the beginning and not-soon-enough end.
2
Steve Bannon, as much as I detest him, I have to admit he has been the smartest political operative in Trump’s Whitehouse. He is speaking the truth, and hopefully Trump et al, will consider his words wacko, unfaithful to DT and not listen to what Bannon is trying to impart.
At what point does the country have to admit that the King has no clothes?
2
I am very much looking forward to saying, “President Pelosi.”
2
The Democratic leadership in the House needs to push back aggressively against all of these false narratives seeking to undercut the impeachment process.
They need to cite the Constitution.
Most importantly, they need to dispel the false narrative about “overturning the election.”
NO ONE is seeking to install Clinton and Kaine in the White House. We are not seeking to overturn an election.
We are seeking to remove a lawless criminal from the Oval Office.
That is the narrative I would like to hear more of.
6
There is a flip side to the GOP alternate reality. Believing your own false propaganda can create strategic weaknesses and lead to defeat.
2
Republican sycophants are now trying to sell the idea that the Mueller report amounted to nothing. They cannot be allowed to get away with this complete lie. It is an attempt to mislead the public once again, as they have done continually.
The Mueller report documented Russian interference in the 2016 election, something Trump is still trying to discredit through his Ukraine debacle.
The Mueller Report documented ten clear examples of obstruction of justice on the part of Trump.
This is not "nothing."
Citizens! Don't let the Republican toadies gaslight you. The Mueller Report was a damning condemnation of Trump, and the current Ukraine scandal is even more evidence of Trump's impeachable offenses. There is a huge dossier of Trump's crimes. Impeachment is now inevitable.
2
Bannon knows from experience there's nothing like fact-free "messaging " to jeopardize the republic. "It worked before, let's do it again."
1
Can someone please explain what exactly Steve Brannon has ever said or done to provoke such horror and hatred amongst the Left?
Maybe his ideology and tactics. I think that would be a good starting point.
3
Dude, just off the top of my head? I got a couple for ya: B R E I T B A R T; Cambridge Analytica.
4
Isn’t Steve Bannon one of those shadowy “unelected” people that Trumpers love to complain about? Oh, wait, he’s not officially part of the government, so I suppose he can’t be part of the so-called “deep state.” I guess he’s just a freelance malignancy on the Constitution and the rule of law. Oh, wait, he’s pro-Trump, so his anti-government rhetoric, his involvement in highly confidential White House deliberations, and his unaccountable yet outsized influence on the POTUS is just fine and dandy with the GOP.
3
Bannon and his crew seem to be admitting that the Democratic inquiry is producing results that are damning to Trump. They don’t seem to have the slightest clue on how to fight the facts that are coming out and point to impeachable offenses.
Trump and the boys in the house don’t have a clue either.
Meanwhile the baby GOP tots threw a tantrum yesterday, hoping for... what exactly? Did they really think that the visuals would paint a pretty picture? Did they think they could stop the depositions? Were they unaware that there were 45 Republicans on the committees taking the depositions?
Could they possibly be unaware that the Republican Benghazi inquiry used the exact same techniques?
327
@William Feldman
You are correct on all points but it won't matter. They don't mind hypocrisy as a tactic when their stance is a take-no-prisoners. We will see worse before the end and we can rely on Steve Bannon to exacerbate any situation.
33
@William Feldman
Nice post.
But to clarify, The gop milling about in the secure room
was a photo op for Fox and the folks back home in the Red State's.
And yes they are aware of the Benghazi technique's and don't care. That was then, this is now, anything to keep their slow motion, white power coup rolling along.
32
@William Feldman
and unlike Clinton or Nixon cases, this one involves foreign policy -- also it's not an impeachment trial -- hearings are to determine whether to have one
12
Bannon's problem is he wants to throw bricks instead of using them to build housing, schools, health care, battle climate change, maintain treaty agreements, support allies, and project a sane thoughtful approach to government.
Steve needs to log some serious time in the dugout and do a stint in the minors before trying his hand again in the big leagues.
16
Sounds like they are saying: They can't or shouldn't call this process a witch hunt or a coup. Giuliani just needs to shut up. The polls showing support for the impeachment are true, not fake. The people testifying against Trump, far from being Never-Trump traitors, are HIS OWN guys. Nancy Pelosi is someone to be admired and the facts are damning.
So...what, exactly, is the case for Trump that they are supposedly going to make?
25
@Elizabeth I read the whole article looking for it. Alas.
2
@Elizabeth,
.
Newer Dirty Tricks.
.
2
These guys can give the president all the advice they want on how he might fine-tune his message. Except he's not likely to take their advice—if he was good at taking advice he wouldn’t be in the jam he's in. But more importantly, no message no matter how clever can save him now. He's done some clearly illegal things, and the wheels of justice are turning.
Well, maybe one message that might work for some is that he's being treated oh-so-unfairly. That was what yesterday's tantrum by a couple dozen Republican congressmen* within their own halls seemed to be about. But such a message would only work on those from that decreasing 40% of Americans who still believe Trump is their guy, and whatever he chooses to do no matter how evil is OK with them.
But how about the remaining 60% + of all Americans? Sorry guys, just ain't gonna work. And, we're hardly going to glue our ears for an hour a day to your goofy podcast.
The best case scenario at this point for Trump is that when he does get impeached, which now seems inevitable, the Senate fails to vote him out of office. But even then it’s hard to believe the people of this country would reelect this buffoon. I’m a Democrat, but if I was a senator I would NOT vote to remove him, because he would then likely still be the Republican candidate, and he would be absolutely unelectable.
* I'm always careful to avoid using terms like congressmen, but this gang did seem to be 100% men, as of course are the three podcasters.
9
Inside this chilling “guilt doesn’t matter; messaging matters” profile of Bannon’s “War Room” is the still-adamant insistence by the consumers of right-wing news programs that the president did nothing wrong, and the impeachment investigation going on right now is just a political stunt.
The brainwashing has been so deft and complete that they have accepted the Trump “don’t believe what you see and hear” instruction.
They desperately want Bannon’s easily-digestible bullet points in order to stop the cognitive dissonance. The truth is only coming through in a slow drip to them, past the bottleneck of mouthpieces like Murdoch’s grievance-du-jour outlets and the lying FaceBook ads. Even that slow drip is agonizing.
It will be painful. It physically hurts when we realize we’ve been lied to and betrayed, doesn’t it? It will cause anguish. But hopefully the many, many people who have bought the con-men’s lies about the “deep state” and “witch hunt” and “the swamp is all the people who hate the president & therefore hate you” will at some point be jolted into seeing/listening to what is right in front of them.
If that happens, all the war-room messaging that Bannon and his minions come up with will be worthless and the spineless GOP who knew better but rode the lies will be reviled. As they should be.
It may take a long time, though. That’s the worry.
132
.
@Fleming ,
.
Lets do the express version
.
The Three Stooges open a War Room to help the Honorable Donald J. Trump, Man of the People who has nothing to hide, but has an army of lawyers hiding it. In a comedic twist, the benefactor of stooge assistance DOES KNOW what they are up to.
Larry, Moe, and Curly, keep your tendency toward inciting physical intervention off the air. Pokes, slaps, and punches at each other? Not even, keep your War Room peaceful.
--signed The People
6
Here's their elevator pitch:
Going down !
They are wise to acknowledge that demonizing all critics is idiotic when well-documented & admitted facts must be addressed.
The only argument they have is that cozying up to Putin ios Trump's agenda because he really really believes this is in US national interest. He would need to convince America that Putin is Churchill.
Otherwise- 99% of Trump policies and propaganda efforts have served to enhance Russian expansionism and weakened Western democracies.
Bannon has always argued that nationalist/nativist strongman isolationism is the 4th Turning. I suspect he will seize this moment to insist that Trump come out of the fascist closet and declare this intent.
9
Huh - I thought Bannon was in jail.
9
@JD:
Bannon hasnt even been accused of a crime, let alone be imprisoned for one.
.
Was the #1 @ Breitbart b4 Trump
.
How tidy. Giuliani and his associates work on behalf of their Ukrainian clients, the Ukrainian Government, and Trump's re-election bid. And Bannon and associates help Fox News and the White House get on the same page.
Conspiracies hitting a little too close to home for you, Steve?
7
Why call it a war room. Call it a propaganda machine in his moms basement.
16
@Mathias,
.
They like to play war games --
Trump vs the Kurds.
.
Bannon should join Trump in jail.
10
Garbage in garbage out.
10
Steve Bannon has a basement? I didn't think he could sink any lower.
13
Mr. Bannon is not stupid. He's heartless and vicious, but not stupid. He can't find anything better to do with is time than defend the most corrupt president who ever held that office? What a waste. Especially since, if he had the chance, Trump would turn on him in a heartbeat and throw Bannon to the wolves. Well, maybe Mr. Bannon is stupid.
8
Someone is paying serious money to have Mr. B’s views broadcast. I’m sure that it all comes down to a big paycheck. It would be interesting to discover who writes the checks.
1
Gee, Wohl & Co. stand on the front porch, gaslighting as fast as they can; Bannon is in the basement, trying to fight Impeachment. The reality show we are caught in is being written by idiots.
5
"Bannon is in the basement, trying to fight Impeachment."
sounds like a line from a Bob Dylan song
5
@SLEESTAK
“Bannon’s in the basement
Trying to fight impeachment
Claiming that the president’s
A victim of mistreatment...”
3
Curious how Bannon's show is monetized? Ad revenue? Licensing?
Because this is clearly nothing but a way to capitalize on impeachment - whether it's by making money off this show or as a way to stay relevant (Bannon's relevance dwindles by the day, which probably grates on him).
Everyone knows that there is a slim-to-none chance that the president is going to be removed from office - or does anyone seriously think 22 - twenty-two! - GOP senators are going to break ranks and vote to remove the president from office?
This is little more than an attempt to use current events as entertainment for political junkies. I mean, it works for cable news.
If there were any doubt that this is all an act, this quote from Jason Miller is a giveaway:
"Mr. Miller added that with the exception of a handful of Trump loyalists, “There is a serious lack of Trump allies jumping out there and defending the president.”"
Imagine saying such a thing on a day in which a mob of Congressional Republicans bum rushed a closed House hearing on impeachment. Imagine saying such a thing as if there weren't an extensive and pervasive right-wing media apparatus that spends all its hours defending and making excuses for the president?
6
It’s way too complex for “the right” to understand.
To keep it simple - Trump is compromised by the Russians, and is the most corrupt, criminal who has ever occupied the Presidency.
15
Given that he is a cynical master of doublespeak, it is alarming to me that Bannon's acknowledgment of the White House's false messaging is something I am in partial agreement. Partial agreement only, because it is certainly a haphazard strategy and bad joke of an approach as far as Dems are concerned. however, I do not believe the President has lost any of his base; the folks over at Fox Nation eat up his every tweet; rabidly cheer on the legally challenged Matt Gaetz's violating the SCIF; and are praying that any day now, Durham will descend from the Mount with the tablets that will result in the indictment of Obama, Clapper and Brennan; or at least Comey, McCabe and Mueller's team. The upcoming election will still boil down to the small percentage of independents and fence sitters. The Rs are all in with this President. The Senate will not vote to impeach unless the real truth of Trump's financial dealings with Russian money laundering is presented in convincing detail. Even then, I am not sure it would alter the votes of Senate Republicans. The GOP which would have convicted Nixon in the Senate, and the Party of Reagan is part of a history book now. The R Senators have become beholden to the rapid mob of the No Nothing Party.
4
Senators do not vote to impeach.
The House votes to impeach.
Language matters.
1
@Max I am aware of the difference. In my haste I wrote impeach rather than convict.
1
Steven Bannon craves publicity. He craves the spot light and hanging on Trump's coat tails is the only way he can achieve his goal. Bannon has no moral center - just like Trump. They're two peas in a pod.
What is the war room for? Are they literally fighting for Trump to continue to spread his lies, deceit, hatred and malice? To strong arm and hold world leaders hostage to Trump's "brilliant negotiations" of black mail? The White House is corrupt, as is every individual who is enabling Trump. That includes the entire Republican Party.
It's time Americans vote every Republican out of office. Send Republicans the only message they will understand. "Unemployment".
Enough is enough.
9
Bannon returns, after spending a year, or so, encouraging rightwing agendas, wherever possible, in Europe.
Now, Trump has his “Rasputin” back.
So, as often Trump speaks, “We’ll just have to wait to see what happens.”
And, many of us know what happened to the Tsar.
7
These REPUBLICANS are inside the SCIF at every hearing:
Devin Nunes, ]22nd District of California; Mike Conaway, 11th District of Texas;vMichael Turner, 10th District of Ohio; ]Brad Wenstrup, 2nd District of Ohio; Chris Stewart, 2nd District of Utah; Rick Crawford, 1st District of Arkansas; Elise Stefanik,
21st District of New York; Will Hurd, 23rd District of Texas; and John Ratcliffe, 4th District of Texas.
Seems to me, if the GOP wants to know what's going on, they could ask these members instead of making utter fools of themselves in a ridiculous stunt.
I hope they appreciate that they have destroyed whatever is left of the Republican party in favor of what? Vladimir Putin's domestic and international agenda?
11
Thanks for that list.
3
That is not at all how Trump was thinking when organizing this stunt. He was obviously thinking, what would the Kardashians do?
1
I never believed the storyline that they fell out, nor the preposterous idea that Roger Stone and Trump ever fell out. All a clown and pony show for the rubes, plausible deniability for when they inevitably get photographed yukking it up with European neo-Nazis or drug-addled “Proud Boys” on their way to a street fight. Can’t wait to see all three of them in prison, and I won’t settle for less. No pardons, no purple America baloney. Prison.
8
Get a job Steve!
5
you gotta hand it to him, Bannon is like the undead, he just keeps on bouncing back no matter how many times someone puts a stake through him.
5
O, how the pompous and ridiculous have fallen! The man who last year promised to unite the fascist-right in a crusade to save Western civilization, is now operating as an internet podcaster. From a basement studio! Hey Stevie. Podcasting. That's nearly the bottom of the media universe, only one step above handing out free newspapers.
6
Bannon at least has it right about Giuliani, who puts on a clown show in front of the cameras and has become toxic. Steve sounds like he won't be happy until Civil War II.
5
Bannon clearly isnt dumb. Thats why I just cant help but wonder why he is fighting a fight he cant win.
Does he think Trump couldnt deal with people who are smarter than him and therefore fired friend and foe until hardly anyone was left?
Does he now see his chance to jump back in the White House?
No matter what his motivations, he better be kept far away from gullible Trump, because one smart person with no morals is way more dangerous than 10 stupid people.
4
Steve Bannon's idol is Julius Evola, the theoretician of Italian fascism in the 1930's .
Julius Evola's idol was Heinrich Himmler .
5
Will Bannon smear Amb. Taylor from the cover of his bunker?
2
Bannon was kicked out of an Italian town last year for his facist practices. We should learn from the Italians.
9
Why give him and his "radio show" any coverage at all? Why? Especially top of the home page on NYT today? Let him languish in the dark with the other rats in his basement. If he gets no attention, he will eventually fade away.
8
Squeezing every last bit of attention, and Money, from the Rubes.
Sad.
11
Good luck defending the indefensible, Bannon et al. The problem you have, as ever, is that the facts are against you. Trump will be impeached. Shameless GOP Senators will inevitably let him off though.
6
Bannon can say all this, but those key details he says Pelosi is directing so well just happen to be hard facts. Closed door hearings do allow Dems to lead the story and keep it from being mucked up by more lies. Dems should be using every weapon in their arsenal at this point. At least our long MIA Sergeant at Arms finally saw his shadow.
5
Bannon is an annoying person. He is educated and served as a Naval officer in the Pentagon for years before making a fortune as a Wall Street financial professional. Now he’s an independently wealthy nihilistic, anarchistic, anti-liberal, reactionary seeking to replace our entire system of laws and respect for individual rights with one where if one is not wealthy and powerful personally one has no rights at all. He really is a strange fellow.
9
Bannon, for all his crockpot ideas, is no dummy. If he is digging into all the fine points of this investigation, then it is clear to him that Trump committed impeachable offenses. What he is doing is flagrantly unethical.
That being said, the dems should listen closely to his advice to Trump - he is identifying Trump's missteps and vulnerabilities, which can be used to dig deeper. If Trump's musings about Never Trumpers and Deep State make him look off his rocker, they should bait him into more of those talking points. If Trump's tweeting makes him look guilty, they should highlight more of those tweets and lure him into deeper twitterstorms.
3
Bannon is pointing out what happens as a result of impairment to critical thinking as a result of our biases.
Donald Trump, his enablers and supporters don't like diversity, in any regard, including diversity of thought. Religious liberty/freedom is about having the legal right to self-segregate.
Groupthink is the tendency for groups of people to adhere to the same viewpoint and disregard information that contradicts that view.
Daniel Goleman, the psychologist and author of international bestseller, Emotional Intelligence, describes one way of avoiding groupthink as follows:
“One way a leader can avoid groupthink is by honing your triple focus: yourself, others, and your larger situation…. First, a leader needs to develop self-awareness…. Often, that means looking for a coach or support group outside of your organization. Such resources can help you see where your biases limit your ability to take in information that contradicts your opinions…. Along with knowing yourself, you need to really understand the people around you. I call it other focus…. Sometimes, the best way for a leader to focus on others in a group, to truly hear what they have to say, is to silence yourself…. Beyond being aware of yourself and listening closely to the people around you, you need to be able to see the big picture…. One way to do that is to surround yourself with very diverse people, people whose expertise, experience, and worldview complements your own.”
3
What is about Bannon and the Republicans hating our country? Why? Our nation gave them what they have.
9
History will record Bannon and McConnell as the two persons most responsible for inflicting on the country the worst president ever. Bannon imagines himself a genius. But he is no friend of democracy.
4
‘In a broadcast earlier this week, Mr. Bannon warned Mr. Trump’s supporters not to be blinded by their animosity toward the speaker. “I don’t care if you hate Nancy Pelosi,” he said. “This is a master, and she is teaching a master class.”
OMG -- the earth must've shifted on its axis -- I actually agree with Steve Bannon for once! (First and only time, I'm sure.)
4
@Lisa Simeone You probably agree with Bannon on a lot of stuff. Where you disagree with him are the importance of ethics and integrity, and your goals for this country, both long- and short-term
@Laura:
No, Laura, I don't agree with Bannon on a lot of stuff.
Haven't we had enough of Bannon's antics arleady?
Also, it's amazing how such a strong president needs so much help and propping up from his supporters.....hmmmm.
5
The irony is that a Trump can be impeached for his illegal foray into Ukraine with its despicable use of Rudy Giuliani’s stealth diplomacy. As bad as this was, his retreat, surrender and appeasement in Syria is considerably worse, yet it’s a policy decision that he can defend and not be impeached for. Overall, Trump and his men have honed an expertise at promoting a false narrative and large lies that exhaust the truth-finder.
5
Horrid. A high profile anarchist, Bannon, ensconced in a "War Room" broadcasting top fellow travelers the message
essentially that the USA is at war with internal 'forces of evil' .
IF the government he and his followers advocate for were to come about, they would be the first to be lead away in shackles by the autocrat whom they put in place who would be far worse than Trump-Pence.
7
Impeachment is the Dems doing chest compressions on their prospects for a victory in 2020. As with most out-of-hospital CPR, the prognosis is grim.
1
@Hugo Furst
still don't get it?
the right has elevated trump, bannon and people like them at the cost of civility, humanity, individual rights and in return for global mistrust and hate of the USA.
Before trump, bannon and the right's base of hate we had the respect of the world, respect of our own Military, and our own government had a level of respect from the American people that is now destroyed.
Wake up - think for yourself!
3
I wonder what you would call a sitting presidents fear of a rival that causes him to use government resources to sabotage that rival? Maybe we all watch too much Game Of Thrones to think this isn’t a serious paranoia on the part of a President not witnessed since Watergate, no CPR needed.
2
If anyone has a burning desire to be relevant look no further then Steve Bannon. Everybody knows who he is but the problem is not many embrace him. Is it because everybody knows who he is?
5
Steve Bannon is a bipartisan threat to our laws and society.
Surely there are laws and just pain common sense methods of constraining his evil.
5
Ultimately, Bannon will sputter out , dry up, and blow away. All by himself.
He has nothing to offer humanity/society, but please don't try to censure him. That will just give his poison more attention.
1
Bannon misses the spotlight. Bannon thinks he knows better how to run things. I think we can assume that's why he was 86'd a mere seven months into Trump's term.
But Trump's chaotic "fly by the seat of my pants" approach has worked, so far. But he's never faced Pelosi.
And these two: "He (Bannon) lost his mind." ~ Trump
"The Trump Tower meeting was treasonous." And, Trump and his family are unpatriotic and treasonous." ~ Bannon
Now he's backing Trump again? Of Bannon, Trump said, "He's in it for himself." (Narcissists must be able to recognize their own kind)
This is about Bannon glorifying himself and his great analytical powers and grabbing the spotlight.
122
@mercedes Yes, Bannon is just trying to stay relevant.
14
@mercedes I don't think Bannon ever stopped backing Trump. I don't think he thinks treason is a deal breaker.
7
@mercedes This is just an extension of Bannon's primary goal -- to tear down government altogether.
11
Apparently, remaining relevant is a full time job.
3
Bannon is an arrogant elitist. In his own small skull sized world, he is the center of the universe and only what he believes matters. The rest of us are just peons. His insidious elitist mentality is shared by most Washington, and some State, politicians. They stubbornly believe they know what's best for the rest of us. Somewhere politicians lost sight of working for what's best for the people and now only work for what's best for their small size elitist egos.
4
At least he's not in his mother's basement :)
3
Stop giving this guy media time.
5
As Mulvaney said “Get over it!”
3
No one that matters cares about what Bannon has to say. Nothing burger.
3
Brannon et al are very odd Americans. They want to replace liberal democracy with some kind of populist system with a ruling elite that includes themselves. These are educated people who know how our system of laws is designed to work but they want something that amounts to a system that ends their individual liberties.
Societies are communal endeavors and power is not something that can be considered belonging to anyone. It’s common for rich and powerful people to see fortunes lost as well as gained and power to shift to others as well as to settle with oneself. Any system that seeks to maintain a hierarchy of power and influence does so by eliminating personal liberty and equality before the law. Losing wealth and power means not having a fair chance to recover them.
6
Worst case scenario: the Democrats win the White House by less than 100 electoral college votes, the Republicans retain a 51-49 majority in the Senate, and voter suppression is halted but not reversed. The results in 2020 will be better than that in all ways.
Bannon’s deep state is just a civil service system that executes policies and enforced laws independent of political forces. It’s bureaucratic and bound by endless rules to satisfy the demands of the laws and the policies of the government.
The alternative is systematic political corruption whereby the current politicians in office control the government to serve their partisan interests and personal interests. This is the patronage system of the 19th century were political interests came before the public’s interest.
Basically, Bannon seems to want a government that is bought by elections and used to enrich politicians in office, not the public which gives them power and money.
4
Republicans are struggling to defend the indefensible. By the way, this is a continuation issues outlined in the Mueller report. Same cast of characters, same themes, new election. We failed to stop it the first time around, thanks to Barr and Fox news spin machine. We can not fail this time. Too much at stake.
8
I just listened to a couple of their broadcast (God help me).
I found it generally rambling and disconnected, but that Bannon tried to connect with a couple of key messages (You can generally tell this from the fact that he and his co-hosts repeat these themes over and over and over.)
(i) This is all about teams - Republican and Democrat - and absolutely not about whether or not Trump did anything wrong. If Trump gets removed, it will be a loss for our team regardless of whether he did anything illegal.
(ii) The other team (the Democrats) are really good at communicating. Any unfavorable impressions that the public may have is not a product of people being turned off by wrongdoing, but rather a product of effective dissembling and media manipulation.
(iii) The process is the problem. It doesn't matter whether or not Trump did anything wrong because the process that is being used to investigate it is partisan and secretive and one-sided.
(iv) The Democrats are looking to overturn the election. The Democrats' only motive is to overturn an election in whihc their philosophy was repudiated, not to discover the truth.
(v) Call to action. You, the listener, need to do something about this right now.
The common theme with these messages is that it doesn't matter whether or not Trump did anything wrong. Bannon doesn't even seem to deny that he did. The messages are, whether or not Trump did anything wrong, Republicans should fight tooth and nail against his removal.
8
@JSD Thanks. Good information.
1
It will be the same genre as the old "Coast to Coast A.M." all night radio program that focused on ghosts and aliens.
2
@Don Feferman You hit the alien on the head.
1
“There is a serious lack of Trump allies jumping out there and defending the president.”
How do you defend someone who's caught red-handed? It's one thing to like and admire someone, even to think they're getting a raw deal -- but when the evidence is there, the witnesses are there, the Constitution says what the Constitution says, how are "allies" supposed to put up a defense? Bannon and his little crew don't appear to have offered anything that amounts to a defense, they're just kids playing around in the basement pretending to be meaningful.
4
New from Americas Far Right, They give us Basement Bannon, or perhaps 'Bargain Basement Bannon '. Still selling the same old snake oil though in more fancy packaging than what Trump's and his minions put out.
Bannon is correct though about Nanc Pelosi she is a Rock Star who has done a remarkable job in keeping her troops inline ,while at the same time spearheading an Impeachment Inquiry that is both articulate, to the point and easy to follow.
It is by no accident that the polls keep showing an uptick in support for impeaching 'The Grifter' currently residing in the White House.
Chairman Schiff, Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats in Congress are all doing an excellent job in keeping the American public engaged and informed on the Presidents crimes and misdemeanors.,
Republican Senators wanted nothing to do with Impeaching Nixon, but as the evidence against him grew and the Senate chambers got hotter with support from their constituents waning , they had no choice. Trump will see a similar fate. Despite the best efforts of the likes of Mr Bannon.
5
It is in the behaviorist ideology to want the bad express itself, hoping that confrontation and check and balances ( as they call them... ) will resolve the conflict .
But the problem of the behaviorist ideology is that it comes from the puritan religion, and it wants to suppress the expression of progress because it is a sexual threat .
The conflict then cannot be resolved by lack of open confrontation
and it lingers into the basement of the inconscious . Not the "Unconscious " but the " Inconscious " . What is not conscious of the conscience . Which means that there is conscience of it .It is just hidden . If you say Unconscious . there is no conscience.
Then there is the return of the forclusion into the Real.
And that can be very dangerous.
The Real is in the War Room. The signifiant .
Are politics a war ? What are we talking about ?
Is it an apology of war ? Is that constitutionaly legal ?
I am trying to figure out what exactly Mr. Bannon's point is. As is always the case when I read about him, I cannot find the there there. What is his fundamental belief? Why is he doing this? Does he think the president was right to try to manipulate the president of Ukraine? Or does Mr. Bannon think it's just about winning a messaging war? And to what end and at what cost?
3
So weird. Bannon is correct that opposition to Trump should be taken seriously. However, to take the case against Trump seriously would require some measure of objective observation – and that would lead to actually acknowledging what Trump has done, who he is, and why he’s in such a terrible mess. Unless, of course, you’re Steve Bannon or Jason Miller – then you’d still believe that it is all so terribly unfair. It’s like a Mobius strip of cognitive dissonance.
1
Not surprised but we cannot let people normalize or justify lying and breaking the law. I don't care if they are on TV, radio or rich. We must maintain law and order. Trump must leave.
4
A key question is who is funding the guy? He is smart enough not to self-fund this operation. Mercer? Koch? RNC? Who?
The Democrats better be prepared to counter the disinformation campaigns coming from inside our country. We have an enemy within. Don’t fall for the bait, people.
4
Steve Bannon's support would be like the kiss of death. The books Bannon read to develop his theory of government are like chaos theory and will sew further distrust, disruption and disgust as he attempts to reinforce the idea of eliminating institutions which help the vast majority of our citizens in this rapacious society.
4
I was waiting for the punch line. I read a lot of "stop doings" but what did Stevie suggest they do instead, other than attack the process, which they have also been doing ad nauseum. ? Did I miss something? Hot air and crickets? When you have nothing to say, maybe is it best to say nothing at all?
5
It is ethically questionnable that Steven Bannon is presented here as a political strategist in the midst of hard times for the Trump administration . Photographed in his house in Washington, clean and well shaved .
It is as if Le Monde was to go to Jean Marie Le Pen's house in St Cloud and photographing him or Marine organizing their campaign as dignified as possible in the intimacy of their home.
Le Monde will never do that .
1
Oh, great! He’s back - to muddy the waters even more!
2
Monitor their contacts with the Pentagon.
3
Who is funding this campaign? My guess is once again those working class billionaires, Mercer/Breitbart.
America, wake up!
(Wait a minute, wasn’t that slogan used before?)
6
Bannon, while arguably evil, is smart. He knows, probably firsthand, that 45 is much more likely to watch a TV show or listen to a radio show than read even the most dumbed down briefing that crosses his desk.
2
The recent silence of Pelosi and Schiff speak volumes; they have quietly built an airtight case for impeachment. When the details we are still not privy to become public, all but the staunchest of sycophants will be able to defend trump. By the time Pelosi has made her case, Bannon's 'War Room' efforts will be moot.
5
Reasonable advice from Bannon.
With 300 million dollar in the election budget of the Republicans, chaotic group of 19+ Democratic candidates , each vying for a place int the sun, with much less funding than the Republicans have I do not see much hope for Dems defeating Trump in 2020.
1
The real problem for Bannon et al is that they’re talking to the “poorly educated” who can’t grasp the nuances they see and are articulating. These GOPers in Trump Country are people of sound bites. They don’t read, and they aren’t going to process the messages. Trump’s team knows that.
6
Why are these guys doing freelance defense for the indefensible? Who’s paying for this? And they have anything better to do with their money?
6
Lol I know! Also, why do they think the Acting President wants their advice? Doesn’t he still have Bannon’s number?
2
@Theo Baker
Bannon bankrolls himself.
Trump still receives and follows Bannons advise , it shows in how he destroys everything that we stand for .
and this is so they can start everything again their way ?
How they can ignore the work of past government is unbelievable .leaders of the past with education, morals , loyal to our Country . these attributes this group are devoid of .
vote and pray that the election is not corrupt again .we must all vote to save our Country .
7
Bannon is a brilliant-but-evil strategist telling Trump supporters what they need to hear but they are too far gone in their paranoid bliss of conspiracies to listen.
Talking-points are all over the proverbial Deep-State map. The most recent has talking-heads lamenting the charge that Democrats are trying to remove-by impeachment- a "duly elected" (won by a majority of electoral votes) president. (Failing or not caring to know that's how all presidents are elected and/ or removed.) No. They won't be listening and that's a good thing for the rest of us.
2
Trump isn't facing impeachment because Nancy Pelosi has figured out some communications secret sauce. He is being held to account, hopefully, for violations of law. High crimes, skip the misdemeanors. Banon's "War Room" doesn't talk about that, or about beneficial policy. Grousing about failures of Trump's spin machine are like throwing your Big Gulp of a forest fire, Steve. Trump's gonna burn the way Trump burns.
A better focus for conservatives, IMHO, would be to develop some policy ideas to deal with big problems, like climate change, job automation, homelessness, and reasonable immigration reform. Conservatives used to believe in innovative economic approaches for social problems (remember Freakanomics?). Throw in some foreign policy thinking for a little spice; you know, do conservatives believe in allies anymore or not.
Until then, Banon's War Room is the same old war on America that I've seen to much of out of Trumpublicans. Putin might like it; I'm sick of it.
194
@Some Dude
The GOP would have to recognize those issues as problems.
16
@Some Dude
Tax cuts. They are really falling down on the job.
Addressing climate change??? Hard to address something you have been denying for decades due to corporate donations demanding that denial.
3
What a waste. If this guy was an actual patriot, he'd be helping impeach Trump. So what is he getting out of this that makes him want to destroy the Constitution?
30
@R A Go bucks
He's just a bomb-throwing coat-tail rider who wants to see his name in print. All hat, no cattle. Pick your maxim and stereotype, he deserves them all. Hard to believe he ever took a military oath.
6
@R A Go bucks
Bannon is simply another moral nihilist who is good at picking things apart and then leaving the room so everyone else can argue about how to put things back together, and when they accomplish that, he's back to "deconstruct" things again.
134
Thanks for the spoilers. Now I don’t need to go see Joker.
4
Could it be that the Democrats took their cue from Barr? He discredited the Mueller Report by his holding back the report and only giving out his "summary". Turn around is fair play, unless you are trump or Republican, then it's a threat.
10
When Trump is finally out of office - hopefully impeached and yes, even imprisoned - these guys are still going to be around, spewing their collective bile. Since it's clear that they care not a whit for real facts or genuine decency, how do we go about countering their acidic tripe that leaves nothing standing?
25
@Larry
Feed them hot pockets and soda....
2
This guy is back in America? He should be in Vatican. Working for Pope. He is an Irish Catholic. This is his Divine Duty to work for Holy See.
4
Uh, actually, consistent with his dream of destroying America, Proto fascist Bannon advocates for a church schism and wants to get rid of the “commie” Pope. Like Father Douhat.
3
Interesting that Bannon is willing to publicly acknowledge that the "polls are fake" line is a bad tactic. It has become the standard for right-wingers. I wish the article had been more clear about the grounds Bannon is claiming for defending Trump.
5
Why is Bannon doing this? Easy answer he wants to dismantle the Administrative State. He wants to wreck our democracy and rebuild it in along some kind of alt-right dream.
21
Golly, wasn't Steve Bannon toast in August, 2017? Didn't he try to set up a business in France? Pursuing his terrifying nationalistic agenda with the likes of Marine Le Pen and Victor Orban? And now he's back home with his radio in his basement "war room" in Capitol Hill? Give us a break from Trump's 'great guy' fashion-plate. Haven't we had enough tsurris with Trump still in the White House?
16
“Stevie, mommy says turn-off your computer and that danged crystal radio set and come upstairs! I’ve told you three times to take out the garbage. And your oatmeal is ready. Oh, if only your father was still here...”
11
We all know that anyone who is reduced to "pitching" their spiel in an "elevator", is a person who is desperate, has no base, and won't be remembered 4 seconds after the doors go "ding".
Steve: He's going down. Now it is simply the case of who he takes with him. It won't be you because you're already small potatoes. You'll forever be the guy in the elevator trying to sell insurance or how to sell your patent (what WAS his name?) or bad art forgeries.
Be smart, Steve: Take what money you have left and buy the finest, hard-duty tent that you can find.
You'll need it for when you get evicted from your present digs.
And, someday, you'll look back on this week as your finest --- and last ---- hour.
In fact, ask the Republicans where they intend to pitch their tents. In the Mercer's back yard...?
11
From Bannon's mouth to Trump's and Steve Scalise's ears. "Too few Republicans, he said, are questioning the process of the House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry, which he said was being run in a clandestine fashion from “Schiff’s secret Capitol basement bunker.”
So they did question the process, using political theater, as Scalise led his band of Republican colleagues to storm the hearing room ("basement bunker") of a Republican and Democratic committee working in the preliminary investigative phase, ordinarily confidential.
Scalise and his cohorts know better. They know the bipartisan committee structure. By acting to please Trump, they were irresponsibly inflaming the more unbalanced among their base, who are facts-starved.
As reported today in WaPo, disinformation leads to anger and fear of a dangerous sort:
"A tweet posted by Major League Baseball umpire Rob Drake caught the attention of an ESPN reporter.
“I will be buying an AR-15 tomorrow, because if you impeach MY PRESIDENT this way, YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER CIVAL WAR!!! #MAGA2020,” the ump tweeted late Tuesday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported. Drake deleted the tweet so quickly that a screen shot had not surfaced by early Thursday. It had accompanied another tweet that said: “You can’t do an impeachment inquiry from the basement of Capital Hill without even a vote! What is going on in this country?”
Members of congress, more civics, less posturing, please. America needs you now.
9
@Sally
Sorry, but you seem to be angry about a process about which you are ill-informed. This stage of the inquiry is much akin to that of a Grand Jury-- which is indeed done behind closed doors (on whatever floor an appropriate room is located) to gather information to determine if there is sufficient evidentiary support to proceed to the next stage. The need for closed door proceedings is to prevent witnesses from altering testimony based upon what has already been said and to make sure there is enough evidence to support charges of conduct justifying impeachment. The Congressional Committees that are currently gathering evidence and testimony are BI-PARTISAN-- that is, there are Republicans on these committees as well as Democrats, and as members of the committee these Republican members have the right to question/challenge witnesses and their evidence, and indeed are doing so right now!. The misrepresentations in some media outlets of this being a "witchhunt", "lynching" or "undemocratic" because Trump is "denied" his right to cross-examine-- is simply untrue and you, as many others, have fallen for this ruse. Potential defendants do not have the right to cross-examine during this preliminary (grand jury-like) phase. They will later if it gets there.
BEFORE YOU THREATEN ACQUIRING DANGEROUS WEAPONS AND VIOLENCE, you would do well to familiarize yourself with the process carefully. YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL THAT THESE LEGISLATORS ARE PROCEEDING SO CAUTIOUSLY!
1
So, we finally discovered who the "four hundred pound guy in his basement" is. Bannon,if you're listening, get Hilary's emails, servers, and Burisma dirt on the Bidens from Vladimir,will you?
12
Steve Bannon really is like some creature in a dark place spinning webs of deceit. He's pale, scary, malevolent... It's like something out of a Tolkien story, yet it is real!
15
Between House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committees there are plenty of relevant elected congressional representatives managing reviews of actual pertinent data, including just on Republican side:
Nunes (CA), Conaway (TX),Turner (OH), Wenstrup (OH), Stewart (UT), Crawford (AK), Stefanik (NY), Hurd (TX), Ratcliffe (TX), McCaul (TX), Smith (NJ), Chabot (OH), Wilson (SC), Perry (PA), Yoho (FL), Kinsinger (IL), Zeldin (NY), Sensenbrenner (WI), Wagner (MS), Mast (FL), Rooney (FL), Fitzpatrick (PA), Curtis (UT), Buck (CO), Wright (TX), Reschenthaler (PA), Burchett (TN), Pence (IN), Watkins (KS), Guest (MI)
Thanks anyway Mr. Bannon, but given your predilection for self-promotion at the expense of all else, I will wait for our elected representatives guidance on impeachment.
3
Jill Lepore has a good piece in the Oct. 28 issue of The New Yorker magazine on the history of impeachment, here:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/10/28/the-invention-and-reinvention-of-impeachment
Bannon and his oddball tribe of angry white men have nothing positive to bring to the country or to the lives of the Americans they claim to support. They are malignant and deserve infamy in the dustbin of history, which they will get.
Trump will be impeached and removed by the Senate.
The US Constitution names directly only two crimes for which the President "...shall be removed..." They are Treason and Bribery. (There is also "high crimes and misdemeanors" which is not defined.) [Art. II, Sec. 4] Treason can only be charged during a declared war.
Bribery is the impeachable offense Trump will be removed for.
The testimony of Amb. William Taylor, with corroboration provided by others, proves that Trump and his team solicited a bribe from Pres. Zelensky of Ukraine. Specifically:
quid: You announce a formal investigation into my political
rival, and conduct one
pro: and
quo: I will release the $ 391MM in military aid we are
currently withholding from you.
Conviction in the Senate requires two-thirds of the Members present [Art. I, Sec. 3], not 67 votes. Members can fail to be present; that reduces the total number needed. On the day of the vote, look for Senators to be absent to avoid voting against Trump (yes, they are cowards).
8
Steve Bannon is a son of the Confederate States of America, Ku Klux Klan, White Citizens Council and Aryan Nation aka the ruling white European American Judeo-Christian majority trying to reverse and/or delay as long as possible the outcomes of the Civil War and Civil Rights eras once and for all.
Bannon fancies himself a clever cynical master manipulator of white European American Judeo-Christian majority fears, hopes, dreams and grievances. Raising their caste warfare over class warfare as the prime directive and direction.
Gandhi once defined leadership as the ability to see where the people were going and running out in front of them.
In America neither condescending paternalistic liberal white pity nor condescending paternalistic conservative white contempt accepts the diverse individual accountable humanity of black Africans in America.
Black lives don't really matter to either white side.
Blacks living in America are expected to be grateful, invisible and silent by white liberals and conservatives.
7
@Blackmamba
I disagree with your statement. White "liberals" may struggle to tune empathy for black life to the right channel, "conservative" contempt is clear and entrenched. Lumping the two into the same bag is not only inaccurate, it's retrogressive.
Put it this way; one side will work on it, the other wants black people to step into line. Which to you prefer?
2
@Some Dude
I also prefer U.S. Grant, Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
1
@Some Dude
The lesser of two evils is still evil.
One side wants to be forgiven. The other side wants us to get over it.
It has been 400 years since the British landed their first enslaved Africans in North America .
I prefer John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, William L. Garrison, Viola Liuzzo, James Reeb, Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and Lyndon B. Johnson.
See 'Letter from a Birmingham Jail' Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
1
What really is bothersome is that all the defender's of POTUS believe it is not illegal if you don't get caught. This goes back to Nixon's line 'if the President does it, it isn't illegal'. Bannon is referring to the messaging, as if the crime didn't matter as long as it is messaged in a specific frame. I am tired of the lies and deceit, the problem with this Admin is that the large volume of misleading information coming out has now brought the American people to the point of not knowing if anything they say is true.
300
@Russell Smith Putin has trained Trump well since the Russian people never know if anything he says is true .
17
@Russell Smith I don't think you will go wrong if you assume everything Trump says is baloney aimed at magnifying his idea of himself as a genius. Bannon also has a very inflated view of himself, considering the damage he has done with his white nationalist, America first nonsense.
19
@Russell Smith The Trump Admin has been in an extralegal state of insurrection against constitutional authority ever since the Ukraine affair first emerged. They know exactly what the issue is, and know they've been on the wrong side of it from the beginning.
We are dealing with high crimes here, aided and abetted by an extreme right terrorist network that is easily triggered by stunts like that led by Mr Gaetz. That stunt was really a signal to this "base" to take "direct action" against Congress. The conclusions to be arrived at should be clear.
10
And while you're at it Steve why not try to teach a pig to fly. I can't wait to see how both things work out.
5
I can’t wait to hear Steve’s interview with the pizza delivery guy.
7
I thought this charlatan was in an abandoned monastery in Italy planning the next Crusade as the new Pope. I guess even the Italians had no stomach for his demagoguery. Now we all need to wear garlic again.
12
This is strange. The fact that people are defending Trump shows how illegitimate their goals are. This is mania posing as some new normal.
5
“Here’s our fundamental problem: We don’t have an elevator pitch to easily describe this to the right,” Mr. Miller said.
Uh, HERE's the problem: Unless dozens of people, including Trump supporters, people that he himself appointed, are lying, then Trump is guilty of impeachable crimes many times over. And why would these people lie?
Perhaps a better question would be: why are Bannon and the others jumping through fiery hoops to construct another lie for Trump with the ever more distant hope of getting him out of the mess that his constant, life-long habit of cutting corners then lying about it has gotten him into?
14
To begin with, anything that has Steve Bannon's name associated with it should be rigorously avoided -- and hopefully the majority of Americans have figure that much out by now.
There's no doubt this deviant Svengali-like figure has no interest in this country other than to see its complete destruction, and any influence his whisperings might have in Donald Trump's ear is sure to have a negative effect.
And while Republicans may have the cunning, guile and digital superiority on the airwaves ans websites, they still lack the most important thing.
A positive message.
196
@N. Smith Republicans don't need a positive message to win a 2nd term and they just might pull it off.
4
@N. Smith
Bannon praised Putin and Russian state ideology so his attempts to destroy the trust in US values fit well. He should be closely examined by counterintelligence.
15
@N. Smith: or workable policies or the ability to govern effectively.
4
PBS "Frontline" ran an excellent story on how Bannon, Jeff Sessions, and Steve Miller came together to bring down the Republican Party and put Donald Trump into the White House.
8
Sessions respects law but not democratic governance, Miller is a simple minded product of an affluent community who thinks he’s an aristocrat, and Bannon wants to be Robespierre and Louis XIV simultaneously. Trump is a hedonist who craves being a famous celebrity.
1
The Trump administration's shadow cabinet?
The Trump whisperers?
The Basement Tapes?
Bannon's Salo Republic?
Rupert Pupkin's Fox and Friends?
Any numbers on their listeners? Mid two digits?
The whole thing recalls "My Talk Show", the syndicated comedy about a suburban housewife who did a talk show in her living room, with her neighbors as guests.
Except that Cynthia Stevenson is much easier on the eyes than Steve Bannon, who has a mien made for radio.
1
Knowing that Bannon also "advised" Orban in Hungary which turned Budapest to the left there could be hope that his own "fake news" machine can have unpredictable results. Or maybe this is what he wants?
4
Thank you NYT for providing the widest platform imaginable to Mr. Bannon's enterprise and its main message points, free of charge.
2
@justyna kostkowska I think the outcome may actually be the opposite. You strip people of power when they are exposed.
1
As soon as I read “In Steve Bannon’s Basement,” my nose caught a noxious mix of flop sweat, feet and Funyuns.
Man I love words.
2
“They want to nudge the White House, its allies and the president himself into taking a more focused and aggressive posture to undermine the inquiry currently underway in the House of Representatives.”
Bannon concedes…..don’t call the impeachment a “witch hunt” or “fake news” ….really? That’s because Bannon knows it is neither. Bannon, Trump, the GOP & Trump supporters can nudge until their faces turn blue but there is one thing they cannot do and that is twist the facts and the truth from credible witnesses and the outcome of this impeachment proceeding drama when it is all said and done. I am hoping more and more courageous and patriot individuals step forward.
2
Steven Bannon was run out of Europe when he tried to “unify” people against “immigrants”. At home, people can do the same. Let’s hope Congress demands his deposition soon. This guy is bad news to democracy every where.
5
Gotta hand it to Steve Bannon. Our preppy faux revolutionary provocateur has serious ability to insert himself in the latest scandal around the globe. And now he's back home after trying to ravage European nationalism from an old abbey in Italy.
The main question for any Bannon endeavor is WHO is paying him? Robert Mercer? The RNC? Bannon loves his elite lifestyle with a soupçon of anti-elite thrill mixed in. That LL Bean jacket just screams burn it all down!
It's hard to remain relevant when you have nothing to sell for yourself except self preserving nonsense. And yet apparently people are still willing to pay him. Let them waste their money as they wish but please do not validate their stupidity.
6
Is it really the case of, we need something simple to explain it to the base, or is it that the base is so simple they can't understand anything but an elevator pitch? None of the defense offered up by Trump's minions or Bannon's team addresses the actual fact that impeachable offenses have taken place. The idea that the Democrats are moving forward, following the rules laid down by the founding fathers and looking at all the facts is something Republicans won't tolerate.
Republicans have made up their minds that they are going to try and sell the idea that anyone who disagrees with or disparages Trump can't get over the fact that he was elected and they need to "just get over it". There is no room with the Republicans for EVER accepting that any Republican could be mistaken or wrong, even as the evidence piles up in front of their very eyes.
162
@Magan
I think that they have lost control of the conversation. Their message is being trampled upon by people in on Fox News who are not accepting anything that the Republicans are trying to peddle. Look to see them double downing everywhere in the next few days while The House takes the appropriate time to honor congressmen Elijah Cummings. Of course it does not matter what anybody says because the truth will prevail; all they got is Trump et al
8
@Magan: The base is so simple, they can't understand anything but an elevator pitch. To quote Robert James Waller from The Bridges of Madison County "They would Iive with those attitudes all of their lives. That's what discouraged her, knowing that, and she felt compromised and all alone, in spite of the outward friendliness of the community. Poets are not welcome here. The people of Madison County liked to say, compensating for their own self-imposed sense of cultural inferiority, 'This is a good place to raise kids.' And she always felt like responding, 'But is it a good place to raise adults?'"
12
@Mag Bannon is actually one of the "elites" that condescend to Trump's voter base. Nothing he has done has been in the interest of anyone but himself and his bizarre view of the world.
12
How do over two dozen Republican Congressmen get to barge into a closed committee session and disrupt the proceedings without being arrested straight away? How is it they were able to do that for five (5) hours? Congress is not above the law.
7
I would like to know why spreading false information, fabricated victimization narratives, and curated redefinition of words designed to incite violence against people of integrity (House Dems) is still legal, but if an auto company modifies its emissions data it can be fined and forced to stop erroneous communications. Seems to me our country has a double standard regarding truth in advertising, or honesty in broadcasting in general.
2
Trumps takeaway from the Mueller investigation should have been that he was somewhat fortunate to have been conditionally exonerated and modified his behavior appropriately. Instead he seems to have taken it as a green light to push well beyond the grey area into outright impeachable activity.
His fatal flaw is that shared by many who end up on the wrong side of the law: they keep getting away with it, right up until they don’t. Trump has been getting away with it far too long; in his business life and personal life. He thinks this is just another situation his fixer mindset and henchmen can extract him from. He’s just not well equipped to fight this.
4
It’s easy to criticize Steve Bannon, as wrong headed as he is about where we should go as a country, but reading this article I was pretty surprised by his clear-eyed understanding of this political moment, leagues ahead of anything coming from other Republicans. Go ahead and make fun of him but I really hope the Trump defenders ignore his advice because he’s a much better strategist than any of them (Matt Gaetz? Mark Meadows? Jim Jordan? Really??)
It truly is beyond the pale the ability of much of the right to conceive that NO matter what the means...it justifies the ends. As a psych student the Nixon White House was often used as an example of group think. A rewrite of these texts is in order. Throw in the The Milgram Shock Experiment and the Stanford Prison Experiment for good measure!!
2
Between this article and the one about the deep state, I am sick to my stomach about the future of this country. Where are the adults that simply want a functioning fair country? Where are the politicians who eschew big donations and actually think about their positions? I must be most naive to belief in country before self for public servants.
188
@Brains McGee, who wrote: "Where are the politicians who eschew big donations and actually think about their positions?"
Pretty simple; the answer has been out there for years: Bernie Sanders.
11
Look to Sanders and Warren.
3
Send all Thank You cards to Citizens United courtesy Kennedy, Scalia et al
The NYT is right to cover this piece of news re Steve Bannon. It is, however, entirely wrong to invite him to "democracy fora" chaired by the newspaper's own columnists (Roger Cohen, in the case I know). Bannon is a rich white supremacist masquerading as a defender of the people. He is the instigator of the 'Muslim ban' policy of Trump's first months. He does not belong in any conversation about democracy. Let him spew his bile in his own shows. Logic cannot reach the unconvicibles anyway.
97
@S North Who is able to acknowledge here in the NYT the theories and the people who inspire Bannon by his own claim ?
Again, Americans are philosophically blind and historically ignorant .
3
@S North
I totally agree. He will roll over Cohen and any other logical person. There's no reason to give him a forum and maybe recruit others.
After all, this is akin to normalizing N Korea. Just what Bannon and his ilk crave.
3
Ah, the decline.
Forgive the off-topic comment here, but "everyday" is an adjective. If you mean "every day," put the space in there.
29
@Michael Jacques
I'm hoping it turns out that that's what's been keeping me up at night . . .
1
Underrated post.
Oh great. This guy is practically an anarchist. Why is he doing this, really?? Why is he even invested in protecting an obviously corrupt and incompetent president? Have we ever had so many despicable people with large platforms to spread their poison??
29
@VWalters Bannon an anarchist ?
He is inspired by the French and Italian fascists of the 1930's who dreamt of being accepted by the nazis ?
Hitler and Himmler anarchists ???
Julius Evola and Mussolini admired L'Action Francaise .
Bannon has not been a player in awhile and wishes he had Rudy’s job. So the NYT’s gives us a story about station he is going to run in his basement next to snowblower and quests what? Bannon is back. Please let’s try to ignore the fashion plate Bannon and maybe he will go away. We have a big enough clown show going on now in TrumpGate.
29
The "War Room" is actually Bannon waging war to remain relevant.
Like the aging, burned-out, booze-scarred rock star he resembles, Bannon's life is empty without the roar of adoring hate-fired crowds who jubilantly turn over to him their "thought" processes.
Kind of pathetic, really.
Also; “Here’s our fundamental problem: We don’t have an elevator pitch to easily describe this to the right,” Mr. Miller said.
Among those of us who believe in the rule of law, we have this elevator pitch: The U.S. Constitution.
131
@James J Nice.
6
@James J ".....aging booze-scarred rock star he resembles....." Thank you. My laugh for the day. Truly, truly, truly. I needed that. I did. I do.
5
His basement? Or his mom's basement?
61
The world would be a much better place without the likes of Bannon, Hannity, Limbaugh, and the rest of the Rightwing Media Cabal.
They have done more to destroy our country than even Joseph McCarthy did.
86
@Paul-A Just add Mitch McConnell to the lineup and y
our list is complete.
14
My god. Treated like a piece of garbage by “trump” and still pushing this criminal regime. What an awful, disturbed man.
72
@Matthew
Of course he's supporting Trump. Bannon's game is to end our civilization. Trump is doing a darn good job, starting with, to quote Bannon, "deconstructing the administrative state," ie weakening the people's government; now Trump is flat out lawless; language doesn't mean anything anymore - war is peace and peace is war.
We're bombing our own military bases.
6
@Sophia
Plus: while middle-class home owners in blue States got an extra tax burden of 1 trillion, already superrich freeloaders off shady deals and market power abuse like Bannon received well over a trillion in fresh new cuts while getting to keep all the previous outrageous cuts and loopholes and exemptions, and that reverse Robin Hood heist on the piggy bank of the 99% is too good for him to not help defend. Wait till the debt ceiling is going to be weaponized like never before to force a Democratic admin to slash the budget with the education department, social security, and healthcare as sole inevitable options. It's also the reason why Republican campaign war chests are a blast while Democratic campaigns see theirs depressed by an invisible hand of poverty, and why the folk rotten to the core like him got media outlets hosting him while we only got comment sections.
The usual suspects cranking up the agitprop machine. Really stomach turning.
16
I suggest you inform yourself better regarding this subject. This will assist you in the critical thinking process.
4
Yesterday, while Trump's lawyers were in Federal court in New York arguing that he is immune from prosecution and from investigation of any kind, even murder, because Congress has impeachment power, his lawyers in Washington were arguing that Congress does not have the authority to impeach him and therefore they will not comply with the impeachment investigation.
How many Judges do you think are going to go along with that?
34
@rich Um, one? Chief Justice Roberts? And don't think he won't.
5
@rich everyone that was appointed by a Republican
4
@Jills
So you are saying that King Donald the 1st will be proclaimed by SCOTUS?
“Here’s our fundamental problem: We don’t have an elevator pitch to easily describe this to the right,”
NO!! The fundamental problem is that Republicans are trying to defend the indefensible!
Those of us that didn't drink Trump's kool-aide have eyes, ears and functioning brains. We are fully aware that Trump, Guilliani, Pence, Pompeo, Perry, Sondland, Barr, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman are ALL co-conspirators in the bribery and extortion of Ukraine!
There is NO defense for the indefensible!
49
Bannons new venture is sort of a cross between Tokyo Rose and Lord Haw Haw. If you are not old enough to remember either - google them.
21
Without the limelight, without the oratory, Bannon is a U.S. Oswald Mosely. Neofascist to his core, the reason he supports Trump has to do with Trump's most impulsive prejudices, going back to Trump's vilification of the teenagers falsely accused in the Centra Park jogger case.
At day's end, warped ideologues such as Bannon need a power broker who will carry out the agenda of such an eminence grise. This is equally true of reptiles such as Stephen Miller.
Frontline demonstrated this position with their presentation of the extreme right's immigration policies, spearheaded by Bannon and Miller. They well understand that Trump's brashness and lack of self-awareness--his charisma--are the qualities that can help them advance their despicably agenda.
36
Steve Bannon and the anarchy show! Not seen, but not gone. Are the 12 Congressmen who disrupted the deposition yesterday camping at his home; in their jammies, have s’mores and single malt scotch by the fireplace-talking about what kind of nonsense is next? All the while Uncle Steve smiles from his wing chair near the flames? Seems very likely to me.
It was inevitable he would be deeply involved in Trumps re-election. He may have even anticipated impeachment at this point. He is not here to create a better America. His plan is to eliminate America as most of us know it. Mr Trump is his Ace in the Hole; his willing collaborator.
362
@Janet He has a following among Republicans who also want to eliminate the American democracy.
17
@Janet
Bannon referred to trump as an "very imperfect instrument" when describing the far right's strategy to use trump as the tool to kill immigration reform in 2017. Imperfect, immoral and imbecilic is a more complete description of trump.
In any case, it is instructive to see that the far right considers trump as merely an empty vessel that they can use to accomplish their goals.
31
I still miss Philip Seymour Hoffman, he would have been too perfect to play Bannon in the movie Trump.
44
@RH
I am thinking Steve Buscemi!
@RH
John Goodman would tear it up.
The US Constitution vs “an elevator pitch” slogan for Trump’s people who don’t care that it is a legal issue for Trump to invite meddlers into a US election. Unreal.
Bannon encouraged Trump’s abandonment of facts and now wants to work out a “Clue”-like game for supporters who can’t keep track of the Ukrainian names. How about “Trump did it with a phone in the WH” ?
23
@Kay Johnson Perhaps, The Constitution, The rule of law, No man is above the law.
I pray for the day when Steve Bannon is but a dark historical footnote, sitting in that same basement and drinking Bud Lights as an old man, regaling anyone who comes down to his man cave about how he used to be important and helped support a long-discredited President in one of the worst periods of American history.
No one will care about Steve Bannon. His opinions will be utterly irrelevant. He will be just another spittle-spewing angry white man, remembered only by historians who study American paranoia and political authoritarianism.
42
When will a "liberal" start a media company, radio station, a "Faux News" to go head to head with these folks? Why do the conservatives believe that all the "fake news" is liberal? Why do the liberals think that this way as well? I, like others, are tired of reading and or hearing about these news reports. You can be a conservative. You can believe in ideals that are not supported by 100% of the population. But I am tired of folks like Steve Bannon, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Drug arrest Rush Limbaugh and the like. The NYTimes, CNN, ABC, CBS, MSNBC are not "liberal fake news". I want a real liberal propaganda machine!
26
@TFPLD That's difficult as most liberals do not lead with LIES
1
Bannon and his employers, the Mercers, want to undermine democracy in Britain and the US as well as other countries so as to create a fascist state that benefits the ultra rich. They see Putin as a model of how a fascist state should run . These people have no use for co-equal power vested in Congress and could care less what the Constitution says.They have along with Trump infiltrated the entire executive branch with fascist enablers.
Fascist rallies is how democracy operates for them.
43
Oh goodness! The mighty Steve Bannon has re-surfaced. The world trembles!! (Not)
12
If you're listening to Steve Bannon, you're listening to the worst
part of yourself. Go higher.
21
It is somehow fitting that Bannon is marketing his pathology from the basement broadcasting headquarters. That's about as low as you can go.
277
Another sign of desperation on behalf of those invested in the attempt to prop up the faltering multinational corporate deep state represented in Trump. It's attempt to use other nations for its' campaign is about to become impeachable evidence.
12
It is amazing that he owns the rights to Seinfeld.
4
@Keith Dow
Good luck for him, bad luck for us.
Like Andy Biggs, the GOP rep from Arizona, whose political career was born after he won $10 mil in the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes.
@Keith Dow He's a very smart man.
Bannon's goal: bring the Republican talking points down to one syllables. But we already have that with Trump's hyperbole and swear words. Trump's language gets nastier the more anxious he gets. He needs to start paying attention to what else is going on in the world. That's what his advisors should be helping him with.
5
I dub this "war room" the Falsehood Factory. Nothing resembling the truth will emanate from it.
9
Bannon is a poison man, who seemingly exists for no other reason than to spread his particular brand of poison. And he is not content to do it just in the US, but takes pains to try to do it worldwide. Good riddance to him.
15
So please Mr. Bannon tell me. How to you defend the indefensible? And more importantly, why?
11
@Chuck Burton, Money. He is unemployed and broke.
2
All this spin is just going to confuse the base. Bannon is desperate to be relevant again. Maybe he should go to South America and see if he can destabilize some countries there.
10
Why bother giving this guy free publicity? He is just poison. He should be relegated to his basement and be disconnected from the rest of the world.
7
@SKK Yep, he’s down there gurgling with the sump pump, raising spiders and centipedes. Put the lotion on the skin, Stevie...
1
I agree that Bannon personifies evil.
A question -- who are his patrons? Billionaires like the Mercers? Uncle Vlad?
I'd like more investigators to follow the money . . .
18
Bannon being Trump on Trump: “I don’t know this guy. There may be a picture or two with me and him. You will have to ask Rudy”.
7
Bannon is so on the outs with Trump he has to resort to the airwaves to try to manipulate him.
4
Just think what they could accomplish if Bannon and others like him would, instead, put their heads together to accomplish something positive for mankind, instead of this constant attention-seeking vitriol.
5
What’s in this for Bannon? His “war room” is there because of Trump’s lack of leadership and bizarre shifts without regard for outcomes, without strategy. Kind of like hitching a ride on a kite in a hurricane.
5
Among all the amazing facts about homo sapiens, perhaps one of the more startling is that a certain, small percentage actually cares about what Bannon has to say.
4
Would Bannon have had the money for all this destruction if Jim Simons had not hired Robert Mercer, who funded Bannon? It took 24 years for Jim Simons, who has acknowledged knowing Mercer’s politics to stop posing as a heroic Democrat and tell Bannon to resign.
3
Well, he's back--back from stirring up fascists in Europe and dissent against Pope Francis. With Brexit on the ropes, he's come home to lick his wounds.
He's poison. I hope his venom against immigrants and encouraging dangerous white racists goes down to defeat here as it did in Europe. As for defending Trump and by definition Putin, even the Trumpsters are having second thoughts.
14
@betty durso Pope Francis stirs enough trouble on his own. Don't blame Bannon for a bad Pope.
A few weeks ago one Times columnist after another was quoting Bannon for some reason or another. His name also appeared in news stories. Not highlighting him but somehow slipping him in to make a point. As further testimony to the arid life I live it occurred to me that maybe they collectively somehow got him out of their system. One day later here he is again. Not just a sentence but a whole article.
8
This just reeks of desperation....
8
So trump's hard core base will become more hard core. They are still a minority, and getting smaller.
America can deal with them; we've done it before. Donnie Dearleader is much worse than Nixon, for example, and he's so in-your-face that it shocks. But now that the shock has worn off, we're busy getting this guy out of office. Odious opportunists like Bannon et al are making a fortune off fascist playbooks, but America is better than this. Way better.
8
"“Here’s our fundamental problem: We don’t have an elevator pitch to easily describe this to the right,” Mr. Miller said.""
Let me offer a clearcut elevator pitch for you: "DJT has committed impeachable offenses, admitted to them, and had his own appointees confirm them."
Stevie B - from an office in the White House to yammering in his own basement, speaking only to other aggrieved snowflakes who still want to believe in the con man because he's their last gasp. A delicious decline to witness.
11
@AJT
Your "Paragraph 3" is the best "elevator pitch" I've read.
Thanks!
2
@AJT Why not use the all time hit of Republicans:
FEAR_ "they " are coming to ..... fill in you darkest thoughts
1
They are so ready to defend a man when they have no idea about the facts. Party (the Trumpian one, not the GOP) over country. Pathetic.
2
Can't wait to hear on Free America Radio "WDNC" !
The Only Voice of Democracy
Brought to you by the Washington Democratic National Committee!
Truth to Power! To the core.
3
I think we ought to take up a collection for poor Stevie, so he can buy a new jacket...maybe a Soviet styled military jacket, as he wont wear his Navy jacket...He is so brilliant as to be very dangerous to the United States.
3
So Steve Bannon is the only one who actually worked in the White House. The others are all media guys basically. They are all concerned about the messaging rather than the facts, and the facts are becoming the bigger problem with each passing day. It seems like they're wrestling with stages of grief and they're still in denial about the facts which to this point, are not lining up in their favor. Bannon is right about Pelosi, but he didn't mention her comments about Donald impeaching himself. She was right about that too and no special messaging can control that.
11
Steve Brannon is a very intelligent guy. I just wish he would use it wisely to convince Trump to walk away. Maybe then we can get back to talking about more important matters such as infrastructure funding, education and free trade (a republican mantra?). The rest is a waste of time, money and in some cases, human lives.
7
This person should not be encouraged to continue his malevolence. Please stop giving him so much coverage. Like Trump, he grows in power every time you mention his name. So, stop.
16
Good luck with that, Bannon. Somehow I don't think Trump is going to like this approach to defending him. Getting him to believe the polls, respect Nervous Nancy's mastery, and stop calling the impeachment process a deep state witch hunt coup by do-nothing democrats and fake news media would be as easy as getting him to stop tweeting tantrums or holding rallies and reliving the Lock Her Up election. As long as he continues to fight the investigation with disordered narcissistic defense mechanisms, Trump's loyal staffers aren't going to contradict his rhetoric.
5
I have this funny vision of a strip of fly paper hanging down from the ceiling—close to a trash can, probably. If you're a fly, the smell is irresistible, so you buzz in and get stuck. Some of the early arrivals think they’re still alive and are passing the time talking to each other—fantasying that the rest of the world is listening.
6
"They want to nudge the...president himself into taking a more focused and aggressive posture..."
Perhaps he can be more aggressive, but, "focused"? Really?
10
Democrats in the House: Listen to what Steve Bannon is saying about the wisdom of keeping the impeachment testimony behind closed doors and don't fall for the specious "due process" arguments that Republicans are making. No matter how "open" you make the House impeachment inquiry (which you are not required to to do) Republicans will claim that it is a witch hunt and a denial of due process because: (a) Democrats allegedly have been trying to impeach Trump since day one; and (b) Rep. Schiff allegedly is a liar and corrupt. Press your advantage and let the Republicans continue to act out of desperation.
15
@Jay Orchard
First of all. Republicans deserve total contempt and rejection at this point. They run around claiming they are going to start a race war over Trump and defend the indefensible. They defend the rebel flag and hang out around statues of the worst of our worst in American history and defend it.
Reject them and fight them. Honest republicans have everything they need to do the right thing at this point. Defending Trump is indefensible and reveals their total corruption to their very core.
No more handshakes, no more deals. Reject them as a party and a philosophy. They offer us nothing of value because anything they said they offered was a lie to cover for their power grab and bigotry against everyone outside their corrupt party.
1
Talk about someone who's fallen off the map, the classic "footnote" to history...Steve Bannon.
He's now operating out of his basement with a show that's carried by a half dozen looney radio stations in Virginia and Florida and streaming to a handful of equally looney listeners.
This is the best news of the day and another example of how quickly the Trump phenomenon is petering out.
4
So far Bannon like Trump has not succeeded at much...including continuing to work in the most Dysfunctional Chaotic Administration for the Worst President in American History ! He keeps using other people's money to start these political ventures that slowly evaporate and lead no where! I'm convinced that the those on Fox News... know they are peddling Alternative Fact Fake News but they slyly understand that they can appeal to a minority of American Voters who will pay them handsomely for their deceptive efforts. These are educated intelligent people who know exactly what they are doing and are making a darned good living at it. When the Trump Presidency is over ...their limited audience will continue to contribute to their lavish lifestyles and fat paychecks. Hannity,Tucker ,Laura and Bannon and well as the GOP etc. are making a healthy living enabling Trump's consistent and obvious abuse of power! They are appearing to be Patriotic when in fact they have done our Democracy and standing in the world great harm. No one with an ounce of sense could possibly describe any of Trump's failed policies..from the Mexico,NK,Gov't Shutdown failures.. to China etc. and now the abandonment of the Kurds to be slaughtered.. as MAGA. These are all failed policies from an Administration with an 80% turnover rate! At this point we must thank the Dems...without them we'd be in a Deeper State...of despair! Worst President in American History ! Bannon and his cohorts are...UNAMERICAN!
9
How could Bannon possibly still support Trump? Trump fired Bannon and called him “Sloppy Steve” and yet Bannon comes back for more? Maybe if we understand that we can understand Trump supporters generally.
7
@Jennifer in Greenville - Mr. “Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and that's my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment” Bannon is not so much a supporter as someone who sees Trump as a means to an end.
5
@TLG "I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today's establishment"
The real establishment is the fossil fuel corporation$ and billionaire$ like Trump, Mercer, Koch and Murdoch. Who are you kidding? Yourselves. All you are doing is riding on their coattail$. Sad.
1
The sweaty, slimy, scruffy Mr. Bannon — I’m describing his opinions, not his appearance — should be consigned to the dung heap of history. Anyone who finds it possible to justify the actions of Mr. Trump, whether as businessman or politician, carries a fundamental misunderstanding (best scenario) or visceral hatred (worst scenario) for the American Constitution. This disdain hides behind the old and discredited arguments of nationalism, mercantilism, racism, isolationism and nativism. These are wholly at odds with American principles and have only been allowed to re-fester and re-emerge first because of Republican conviction that their ends justify any mean, but now because cowardice and hypocrisy in the face of hard evidence of impeachable and at least near treasonous acts. I know not from where Mr. Bannon comes, but he needs to be sent packing back to wherever that is.
10
Bannon and other Trump defenders can talk about deep state conspiracies, Schiff’s bunker, and what they see as an improper process. But they are conspicuously ignoring the increasingly damning facts that have come out, facts that will undoubtedly be supported and expanded on by additional witnesses. What Trump did is indefensible and is grounds for removal from office. And once the testimony, including full transcripts of these interviews, is in the open, and once a trial - with all the rights a defense has - happens in the Senate, how will these people continue to defend Trump? Complaints about process, particularly when the process is legitimate, are pretty flimsy when looking at what has actually happened.
5
@LHW
They can’t defend it. Reject the Republican Party and understand they are the single greatest threat to our democratic republic. This is indefensible and their actions are aiding and abetting a tyrant to take over our government.
There is a word for it republicans. Drink deep of your poisoned propaganda republicans as many of us are sick of your lying scaremongering civil war drum banging corruption. You have nothing to stand on so if your going to start your civil war you claim you want for Trump get GET ON IT. Many of us are tired of hearing the constant threats.
Moderation with this crowd is a suicide pact. They are an absolute threat to humanity.
Is Bannon's townhouse zoned for allowing this kind of operation?
4
This is entirely self serving. Bannon has been running around on foreign land trying to find a place to land where he is significant again, no one listens to him anymore. So now he found an issue or a way to have his voice, be praised, be amplified, get attention. It's all pretty pathetic and sadly will work on some level, he will find some who listen.
3
And Democrats need to keep hammering home the truth that there does not need to be quid pro quo for there to be high crimes and misdemeanors. It's just the icing on the cake.
9
As Trump is finally forced to exit from politics white nationalists everywhere will be heard muttering Bannon's mantra that Trump was treated so badly. So ends the farce.
3
Steve Bannon - promotes the dissolution of world order - from Brexit to break up the EU to China. Russia, and the Middle East. Another Putin Man? In a recent BBC with border wall behind him - Bannon says his mission is to get Trump the-elected. More dangerous that Cheney.
4
I realize that it is the job of the New York Times to report the news, and the paper does outstanding job of doing so. But this story is a perfect example of a development that nobody in the world would even know about, were it not for your coverage. I know that that is beside the point, but you may have added a few more thousand converts to the side of Mr. Trump.
4
"Steve Bannon's Basement." Sounds like an excellent title for a horror movie
11
Like or loathe him Mr Bannon is a smart political strategist. The White House clearly is in disarray with no clear plan of action to defend Trump. Other than whining about witches, and a deep state.
Bannon however understands how to utilize a Soviet style misinformation playbook that will employ the use of spokespeople who can clearly articulate a defense of Trump that can be sold to more than Trumps base. By defending and downplaying Trumps actions. Perhaps most importantly taking Rudy out of the equation .
So Steve , How is the weather in Moscow in late October ?.
26
@Britl
Not very smart. The Europeans saw right through him when he went to Italy, Austria, Germany and France to campaign on behalf of the anti-immigrant fascists he so admires. He failed miserably and came home with his head between his legs begging forgiveness for more Mercer cash.
8
@Christy Point taken, perhaps though the Europeans are better educated, more politically savvy than their their American cousins who seem to lap up Bannon's creed like there is no tomorrow.
1
They don't have an elevator pitch, and the "strategy" from the White House isn't working, because he is guilty. Period. The only argument they have left is that his guilt doesn't rise to the level of removal from office. And when it is time for the Senate to vote on that we will all see who actually is a patriot. And who is not.
54
@Mb Steve Bannon is the downfall of Donald Trump , like Steven Miller was with the wall of Mexico .
They are the people who catalize energy in the spiking of ridiculous expressions that will make the masks fall.
Masks always fall.
The closer Bannon comes to Trump, the more Trump looks like Bannon. And that is very dangerous to Trump's image.
1
Bannon is not to be underestimated -- a brilliant thinker, but someone whose big ideas can be both dangerous and whimsical misfires.
I'm more concerned about "brilliant" donors -- those whose names we don't see any articles about, the ones who are spending immense dollars on making sure Trump, McConnell and other Republicans remain in office to protect their interests: wealth and power.
The "little people" that Trump rouses every day need to see who Trump really kowtows to -- both here and abroad.
36
@SGK Bannon must be so proud to have an article about him in the NYT . With beautiful pictures of him in his house . He must have rushed to the kiosk to buy the NYT .
And all his acolytes .
1
I am thankful for Patriots like these gentlemen who will carry the fight started by us American citizens against the elite political class.
3
Well I’m an American citizen too. And I don’t see this as a fight against me. In fact, I see Mr. Trump as a profoundly unpatriotic man who thinks he’s an elected king.
22
Nothing patriotic about a fellow who avowed to destroy the country. His supporters are very naive.
7
@Brewster Millions
Bill Taylor is a West Point graduate and served in the infantry for six years, including tours of duty in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, and the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam during the War. He commanded a company in the 101st Division, and received a Bronze Star and Air Medal V for heroism.
Are you saying Mr. Taylor doesn’t care about the Constitution or serving America?
8
The recent episode of PBS’s Frontline did a great piece called Zero-Tolerance which explains how Bannon, along with Jeff Sessions and Steven Miller used immigration as the key issue in getting Trump elected. We were actually on the cusp of getting meaningful immigration reform from Trump until Bannon, Miller, Sessions and alt-right media killed it.
I don’t agree with many, if any, of Bannon’s policies but I do understand he is not to be underestimated.
25
What is so clear and evident in all this is that these people don't care at all about the truth. It is all just a game where keeping Trump and the Republicans in power is all that matters. So what if the Constitution is violated numerous times and Trump is allowed to be our king - it's all fine as long as they win!
What is wrong with these people? What is wrong with this country that we have come to this place? I wish the mainstream media could expose the difference between truth and game. I know the game creates better story lines but it's been too damaging to our nation. In this article alone they have represented Nancy Pelosi as just another player in this game instead of maybe doing her job in upholding the Constitution. We have all become jaded and tainted by this concerted effort to confuse us and it's beyond time they are called out for the destroyers of democracy that they are.
65
While it may be true that an impeachment inquiry (or an actual impeachment proceeding in the House) may not be required to provide the sitting president with due process rights provided by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution as Kim Wehle argues in Bulwark, but has anyone thought how just plain unfair and underhanded what is happening now with the impeachment inquiry must look to President Trump's supporters? Democratic congressman Schiff holding secret hearings with witnesses, hearings that Republican congresspersons and Trump's attorneys are barred from attending? And while it may be argued that this inquiry is not an attempt by the government to take property without due process of law, it most certainly is a process, the goal of which is to remove a duly elected president from office, to take his office from him and all his millions of supporters! Shouldn't Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff be thinking about this as they proceed in what appears to so many to be an innately unfair process, indeed a witch hunt? Do they want to lay the groundwork for a civil war? Why not have a vote on impeachment? Up or down. Right now - since this backdoor process does not appear to meet the smell test.
The only problem with your analysis is thAt your conclusions about the process are wrong. Depositions are standard operating procedure in any litigation.
The secure room is used because there is undoubtedly classified material involved. Trump has representatives there. They are GOP committee members. The next phase will be open hearings.
Finally, Trump has the ultimate jury pool. He is nearly assured of acquittal. I’d love to go into a trial with that advantage. So what is his gripe? Other than the facts getting out?
20
@bigbill there are no secret hearings without Republicans. There are secret hearing that include some Democrats and some Republicans but exclude the majority of Congress for now in order to keep things orderly and confidential while evidence is gathered.
5
@bigbill Republican congressmen are in attendance at these hearings...as long as they are members of the investigating committees. Not so secret...
4
Very good news. I support Bannon. Too bad he left the administration. He and Steven Miller provide the intellectual foundation of the Trump Era, the intellectual foundation for a new America. There has never been a better time than now to be an American. Thank you.
2
@Southern Boy
Agreed. For the the last 3 presidential elections, more Americans voted for the Democrat than the Republican. Proud to be an American.
4
@Southern Boy
This sounds more like an intellectual foundation of a new Russia 2.0
4
@Southern Boy, would you please summarize the main tenets of this "intellectual foundation"? I can't seem to find them in Trump's rambling speeches and tweets.
Thank you.
5
We are to the lowest point of our democracy. Criminals defending other criminals by using their position in the government. Demagogues inflaming and abusing gullibility of people having no critical thinking or education.
This happens when, after a coup, the dictatorship is crumbling and the remaining option is to use whatever is possible, violence included.
20
@Armandol, Agree! I was especially floored when I heard about the NY lawyer, defending why Trump shouldn't disclose his taxes, explained that a sitting president should not be investigated, charged, or convicted even if he went on a shooting streak on Fifth Avenue in front of police. Trump lawyer's view was it was okay for a president to kill someone while he's a sitting president. (Guess that's why Trump admires Putin and Kim so much; they already get away with it.)
7
@Armandol
Armandol, there doesn't have to be a "coup", or a "dictatorship", for "gullible" individuals with "no critical thinking or education" to be taken advantage of on a regular basis.
Compulsory education is our way to avoid much of that happening; it is the duty of the individual states though.
Do you support more spending on education in your locality? If the system in Chicago fails to accomplish that goal, do you support alternative schools?
A democracy works better with an educated population, the bottom rung of the ladder to success is an education (whether blue collar, or white collar).
3
@Actual Science, and the Saudis, obviously and tragically.
1
It's beyond ironic that the republicans who were gleeful at blocking Obama's SCOTUS appointment are now so concerned about respecting process as it relates to the inquiry. I have some advice from Mick Mulvaney -- "get over it"
32
Brannon is definitely one smart guy. And dedicated to disruption. His advice is excellent but since when has Trump ever listened to anyone's advice? It's old news: Ditch the Twitter nonsense, don't underestimate your opponent, don't call names, don't call everything fake news.
And has he done any if these obvious things? If course not. He and only he knows what to do. He's president and nobody else is. Therefore all advice is bad. Case closed.
This will be his rationale all the way to the end, then he'll drape the martyrs mantle over himself and hopefully disappear.
10
“Here’s our fundamental problem: We don’t have an elevator pitch to easily describe this to the right,”
The Trump supporters want everything made simple. They want talking points - true or not - that they can understand and repeat. Bannon et.al want to give them their simple explanation, tied up in a neat bow. Although it won't be easy, he will find a way. That is what makes Bannon and his kind so dangerous to our society.
13
Bannon's catacomb campaign is needed to bring needed reality to management of impeachment communication by the White House.
When you are in a war with no rules of engagement it is best to intensify the surveillance and lighten up on the hype.
1
Confusing. As I get it, Bannon wants a more “focused and aggressive posture to undermine the current inquiry” by the House. References to the secretive process, the (debatable) brilliance of Speaker Pelosi, the ineffectiveness of White House responses (ie, witch hunt, deep state).
As has been pointed out about the ...Republican storming of the hearing room yesterday...its now supposed to be about challenging process over content. Strategy. Its about being counted as a Trump supporter.
I agree that secrecy is at the bottom of all this; the now-routine refusal of this administration to hand over documents, allow witnesses to testify without ‘minders’, and all the lies, defunct excuses. The latest- Giuliani clients attempting to invoke executive privilege for their wheeling dealing would be laughable if not one more attempt to string out court proceedings.
Good luck with questioning what the House is hiding; more and more are asking what this president is hiding.
And as for being counted as an ever-Trumper, tap that tattoo, call the faithful, project the image of The Dark Lord in the sky. Much more effective than a basement radio show.
4
Good luck with that Stevie boy. You've been as helpful to Trump as you have been to the Italian fascists you tried to promote. As for another in the cast of clowns, this week's Economist has a wonderful article by Lexington on "The unravelling of Rudy Giuliani." The magazine notes that "it has been pretty much downhill for Mr.Giuliani" since his 2007 presidential campaign, "culminating in the worst crisis of his scandal-plagued career." It ends by predicting that Trump and the GOP will "flatly disown him...the inevitable next stage in his disgrace."
13
Defending the Indefensible who needs no defense. Good luck.
2
It's very fitting this is all taking place in a basement, given the level to which political discourse has devolved under this administration.
23
Pelosi's "fact sheet" released a few days ago was excellent. She should do more - at least once a week.
11
These guys need something to kill time. Impeachment remains a messy uncertainty regardless of these “defenders”. The timing with regard to party conventions and the elections are much more important than Bannon’s latest. Really, who is he(?) and who cares?
4
Ok, so I read the article twice. Bannon's only advice is to not call the process a "witch hunt" or "fake news" he only describes what he would not do. The only concern I would have is this notion being brought forward that the inquiry is some how not constitutional. The Democratic party better start countering this propaganda with commercials showing how it is constitutional. Why the head of the DNC is not fighting this narrative is inconceivable to me. They are pulling a Hillary by just expecting the populace to understand. They seem to not have learned there lessons from 2016.
249
@oscar jr I have been feeling all along that the Dems are too afraid of "talking down" to people---I say tell it like it is, and give the populace some detailed information that they will understand better than they think. Sometimes I get so frustrated at the candidate's restrain at mapping it all out in "aha" moment ways.
The republicans flooded the air-waves with anti-ACA propaganda, which then prevented the ACA from becoming what it could have been due to he the 2010 election results. Yes, the DNC needs to step up their strategy, and get on the same road, only ours will lead to making the world better, not crummier.
27
@oscar jr
Here's why: impeachment is not a partisan process. I understand what you're saying. But if the DNC takes out pro-impeachment ads or even tries to explain the issues it 100% reads as a Democratic Party attempt to unseat the President, when in fact CONGRESS is doing its Constitutional duty because the President has apparently committed many crimes and misdemeanors.
Congress' job isn't to produce propaganda, it's to find the truth. And hopefully it will engender a bipartisan response.
20
@duvcu
The DNC has donors that are the same for the republicans.
It is up to us to fight the battles. Best way to deal with republicans is to inflame them and let this fire burn them out. They are defending the indefensible. I grew up with this hate filled nonsense. There is no rational way to counter them. The best we can do is tick them off right now. They will grab their beers and make fools of themselves as they defend their baby tyrant and all his bigotry.
6
I cannot fathom the brain of Mr. Bannon. Smart, passionate, apparently patriotic, sort of an independent thinker, but somehow he sees his job as defending a president who may be guilty of “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Just seems like someone who loves the constitution would say, “Enough already,” So it is all about judges? Loyalty to Trump? Unable to accept his role in this disastrous election? Hard to figure the guy.
The last point of course, regarding the appointment of all these people is a great one. Side by side reporting of what Trump or Trump appointees said about the individuals before their appointment and after their testimony might be instructive.
25
@Jk
It's hard to understand him if you have ethics toward your job, respect for the people around you, love for your neighbors, hope for the future.
He likely has few of these concerns, but gets paid to be who he is. Some people just enjoy the paycheck.
8
@Jk - Patriotic? Wherever did you get that idea?
2
I’m glad you covered this. Please keep and eye on this man. I sat down and really listened to bannon last year. He’s brilliant and remarkable at seeing trends, but I do not trust him. This article highlights why. If you look into him deeper he’s heavily tied to Cambridge analytica. Just that alone should give everyone massive pause as to the great lengths he will go to get what he wants and he doesn’t care about the bloodbath afterwards. The messaging the strategy you can see he really brings his A game. He’s now predicting Bloomberg or Clinton will last minute get in the race and potentially beat trump. Can someone please call Bloomberg now and let him know he’s going to be the next potus.
45
@Location01
If the democratic establishment enters the race at this point they will be wholly rejected. They won’t be able to blame Bernie or anyone else either. At your own risk moderates who represent the rich. The water is warm, jump on in by all means.
It’s possible they may try it but it will totally be rejected by democrats in the extreme. By all means jump in.
The Republicans showed up to crash the deposition like a chanting frat, pizza and everything. They clearly do not know what to do on behalf of the President they support, or the people they represent. Their desperation showed just how serious this is becoming, and how quickly.
I don’t like what Steve Bannon represents. His ideology and beliefs are strange, if you haven’t looked him up please do. Also pretty sure his idea of success has something to do with white supremists. Not today’s America.
76
@Dan G I wish I understood what Bannon and his ilk do represent. If conservatives were supporting a Machiavellian, William Buckley type - wickedly intelligent with clear goals/philosophical beliefs - I could almost understand a battle between conservatism and liberalism. But why do they rally around an illiterate vulgarian? What is Trump's agenda besides keeping Mexican rapists out of this country? He is a stupid little man who doesn't know where Colorado is, and calls the Constitution phony. What in the name of God - as my mother used to say - are they actually supporting?
4
@Dan G
"Republicans show up to crash the deposition"
It was a Beer Hall Putsch without the beer.
Since his fall from grace in 2017, Bannon has hilariously failed at everything he has tried, trying to build a phoney European populist "Movement" to the construction of an alt-right academy in Italy, plus doomsday anti-China movies. This new radio show is likely to flop as well. Why does the mainstream media continue to cover this man as if he has any influence or poses any threat?
(Also, where is Bannon getting all this money to waste?)
110
@Alina Starkov The answer is in your last line. Where is the money coming from? I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss the past two years Bannon has spent couch surfing across Europe. He is a busy man and much of what we see, carefully orchestrated stories and actions bear his mark.
4
@Alina Starkov
Alt-right is rebranded white supremacy for those unaware.
3
@Alina Starkov
Steve Bannon made a deal long ago he would be paid in residuals from "Seinfeld" which is always being broadcast someplace. He gets money anytime an episode of "Seinfeld" is broadcast.
1
If trump paid gulliani nothing then he isn’t trumps lawyer. No lawyer client confidentiality.
13
@Paulie Sorry, but that's not how it works. A fee is not required for an attorney-client relationship.
20
@Paulie I'm the author of the principle legal treatise on attorneys' fees. A fee is not a requirement for an attorney-client relationship.
22
@Paulie - The better argument would be that attorney client privilege doesn't extend to the attorney engaging in criminal activity.
13
Clearly Steve Bannon has been slipping the everclear into the trump punch bowl because not only is his nose unusually red but his mind is anything but clear. Clear on the facts of law and of the oath of office. To protect and defend the constitution of the United States so help me god. NOT so help me Fox. NOT so help me Bannon. Or Giuliani or any of the other members of team obstruction which is what the republicans seem to be doing en masse. Bannon,s war room is just another crackpot conspiracy media outlet for those whose infantile egos need constant reassurance that, Hey! Look at me! I’m still viable and important. I couda ben a contenda.
55
@Will: "Clearly Steve Bannon has been slipping the everclear into the trump punch bowl" Hilarious! My first belly laugh of the day :-D
2
So let me summarize: so long the facts couldn't be proven, for the conservative voter it was enough to say "witch hunt."
As soon as the facts have become undeniable, it worth pointing out that the President could actually be impeached if people don't "defend" him enough.
Waitaminute, waitaminute: so mr. Bannon thought that the moment came to ask from the American public to defend the President as an act of pure love? Wow.
Well, here is some bad news for him: no matter how conservative, the American public might not defend anyone out of love alone - if it's not about Marilyn Monroe we are talking about, of course - not if that person is proven guilty.
However, Bannon's rhetoric looks more and more uplifting.
10
@Nora
Don't ever discount the power of tribal emotion - especially if under attack. Love alone is more than enough for Trump supporters to remain Trump supporters.
3
Well, one might consider calling impeachment a coup. After all, it is a form of takeover. Just without bloodshed. As for the re-emergence of Steve Bannon? So what? He is just another wolf in sheep's clothing, like most Republicans these days. I will say though that in a way he is right. Republicans really do need to change their messaging if they are to be taken seriously at this point. Just not in defense of their worn out and disproven policies.
6
@Christopher Colt
Yes; a coup is a form of overthrowing an entire system of govt., and, typically, violently. As in a citizenry storms the judiciary and then the executive seat, then sends all the legislators and beureaucrats, packing. Or the military sends in the tanks, and the generals take over the press and start issuing proclamations.
No; following a lawful, constitutional, impeachment process is not "a form of takeover". The lawful successor(s) are stipulated to come from within that same govt., utself, as stipulated by the Constitution.
This IS bad, scary, disruptive. Which is what B. has wanted all along. He's always wanted to kick the cart off the road, he's a postcard anarchist.
And anarchy is something the founders very much wanted to avoid. Anarchy is the enemy of peace, prosperity, and all other outcomes of good governance.
6
@Christopher Colt nothing like a coup. There is a clear and methodical process that culminates in votes from Congress. How can that be compared to a 'coup'?
5
It’s not a coup d’état. A coup is an overthrow of a government by illegal force. Impeachment, by contrast, is totally legal because it’s a process for political indictment and removal of a President specifically authorized in our Constitution, the fundamental law of our Republic. It’s not a law enforcement or court procedure, and Congress controls the standards for investigation, impeachment, and the trial that could result in removal and disqualification of Trump from public office. This gives a lot of leeway for the Senate to set standards for Trump’s due process rights, if the House sends up Articles of Impeachment. Bannon probably cannot hope to influence the impeachment, but he can hope to encourage GOP Senators to set an impossibly high bar for the trial, saving Trump from the embarrassment of being the first President to be convicted after impeachment.
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This is plain and simple gaslighting or propaganda, however you want to call it. They are twisting the truth to get out the message they want people to believe and in today's world they are not the only ones doing it.
There used to be a government agency called the FCC that in the past might have shut something like this down but the current administration would rather shut down the truthful ones and leave these operating.
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Perhaps there is something Bannon can explain to me and to his listeners: Giuliani says he was working as Trump's attorney so everything is privileged, but Trump wasn't paying Giuliani anything; the Ukrainians say they were working for Giuliani and so for Trump and so everything is also privileged, but Giuliani wasn't paying them anything, they paid Giuliani 500K to work for him and for Trump. Should we assume the entire operation was being funded by the Russians? that the Russians were paying for Trump's legal bills?
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@PNBlanco
I think it's safe to assume that Russia is behind more than that. The demand for Trump to pull out of Syria for example. The speed and force with which Russia has involved itself in the war on the Kurds in Syria is a tell tale that it was all planned well in advance.
The big question still is.....what does Putin have on Trump that makes him dance like a puppet?
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Ultimately, what Putin has on Trump is the most interesting question. And there are A LOT of interesting questions.
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He’s likely only dangled money, and prestige. Trump is an easy mark.
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Bannon is trying to educate and moderate those who refuse to listen to fact and reason. Now, he wants to unring the bell. It's more likely that we'll end up with a border wall in Colorado than Trump supporters will appreciate democratic institutions and processes.
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Bannon is the reason Trump was elected and if not for the fact Trump's insatiable ego was threatened by him he might still be in the fold. He is nothing but a self-serving, nefarious (albeit brilliant strategist)creep cut out of the same cloth as Roger Stone. Caveat emptor Ms. Pelosi his reemergence is to taken very seriously - don't fall for his bait.
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He’s not brilliant, he just wants us to think he is.
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@Horseshoe Crab , when he's standing next to Trump, he might appear brilliant.
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A homemade radio station pumping out hard right propaganda from someone’s basement and inflaming emotions in gun owning conservatives - this was a recent storyline on Homeland and it didn’t end well.
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@Patricia Sears ...I know that the rules have been flagrantly broken for some time now...but is Bannon allowed to have a radio station broadcasting from his basement in a residential neighborhood? Has his local building department approved this? Is that area zoned for business ?? What do his neighbors think about all this? As Paul Harvey would say...Stand By For ….News !!! Now that was a legit broadcaster and a true American Patriot !!
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There is a reason Speaker Pelosi is effective, there is a reason Republicans cannot find their "elevator pitch". The reason is that Trump's actions, his contempt for the legislative process and his oath of office, his brazen arrogance and craven greed, is a perfect representation of why impeachment exists. He has to go, and nobody can dispute that.
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@Patriot The Three famous words describing the American Dream. "I got mine". Trump exemplifies this,
someone to aspire to be for many. Poor boy makes good, right out of a professional wrestling script.
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@Ernest Wolfe But he was never ever poor. He was given great wealth, starting in childhood.
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Except, Mr. Wolfe, that Trump was not ever a poor boy and he’s never made “good”. Except for all that, your comment is right on.
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He is so smooth and engaging. A moderate or democrat seeing him on Bill Maher one on one would have thought he was a reasonable opposition party member. He is not. he is pure evil and is likely advising trump on all kinds of ways to disrupt and disband our democracy. Do not be fooled by his brilliance.
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@richard g
The biggest myth about this guy is that he's brilliant.
I've yet to see one sustained course of action or utterance from the man that demonstrates that that is true.
Rather, a charlatan, in the manner of his former boss.
It's all illusion.
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@richard g Agreed. He's analogous to a KKK member who has learned to take off the hood and put on a tie.
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@richard g
I am not fooled by his brilliance, as I don’t think he possesses it, but I truly appreciate your comment warning people of Bannon’s evilness, as far too many interviewers, including the popular, mainstream media, give him a pass because they think he is so congenial otherwise.
He is evil.
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