Orange is the new President

[Pham Nuwen]

Oil? You cookin' bitch?

[Mo]

Sessions is a shitstain in his own right, given his congressional record. But he had a constituency within the GOP and was always a likely cabinet nominee. I think another GOP POTUS would have reined him in on this issue. [I concede I am playing 'alternate history' here and your estimate is as possible as mine.]

I don't think any other GOP pres would nominate Sessions. He's too much of a true believer and gets high on his own supply (he was Miller's former employer). Better to leave him as a nutjob in the Senate.

The other reason why I don't think a more conventional president wouldn't have done the separations, even if they wanted to, is that someone would have convinced them that the logistics are a shitshow and you own any abused or dead kids.

[lunchstealer]

OTOH, we're getting a Space Force. SPACE FORCE!!!

[Eric the .5b]

*Nice classical reference

Hey, know your audience.

But, also quoting you:

Oh, fuck. The GOP really has sold it's soul:

I think those numbers would be different if a Blue president were in charge and doing this (see the reactions to Chelsea Manning's treatment, etc.), but

1) We don't have a Blue president in charge and
2) The numbers would not be so fucking different to have a solid majority of Blues supporting it. They'd just do fuck-all about it (for fear that might help Team Red, libertarians, or the Green Party) while being terribly indignant.

That is the beast Trump came riding here on, and it's what any winning Red president would have rode in on.

[Jennifer]

Diplomacy between the president of the United States and a close ally:

WATCH: @IanBremmer describes exchange between Chancellor Merkel and Pres. Trump at #G7 summit: "He stood up, he put his hand in his pocket... and he took two Starbursts candies out, threw them on the table and said to Merkel, 'Here, Angela. Don't say I never give you anything.'"

[Warren]

At least it wasn't SweeTarts.

[Pham Nuwen]

Secret footage from MAGAFORCE training facility! MAGAFORCE!

https://i.gifer.com/1p6M.mp4

https://i.gifer.com/6tGi.mp4

https://i.gifer.com/87NF.mp4

[JD]

At least it wasn't SweeTarts.

I feel like Merkel is more of a Mentos person.

[lunchstealer]

At least it wasn't SweeTarts.

I feel like Merkel is more of a Mentos person.

DER FREISCHEMACHT!

[Fin Fang Foom]

[Aresen]

When you've REALLY been godwinned.

[dhex]

[Mo]

You need to find a microscope for the tiny violin this guy gets.

In the 2016 presidential election, George Skarich, the vice president of sales for the Missouri-based Mid Continent Nail Corporation, voted for Mr. Trump and hoped that he would use his business acumen to supercharge the economy.

The economy is booming, but Mr. Skarich said he was not reaping the benefits. Instead, as a result of Mr. Trump’s trade policies, Mr. Skarich said his nail company may soon be out of business.
...
Mr. Skarich, a Republican, has lobbied Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, for help.

I do feel bad for the employees that are losing their jobs because of this.

[Aresen]

That is worthy of a Monty Python sketch.

[Hugh Akston]

I imagine that Trumplings will be either quiet or politely supportive of the restaurant that asked Sarah Huckabee-Sanders to leave because she works for Trump.

I mean if a bakery shouldn't have to violate their christian principles by serving gays, then certainly a restaurant shouldn't have to violate their liberal principles by serving whatever Trump is.

[nicole]

This shit is why I fucking hate Trump



Also fuck you SMOD

[Ellie]

I imagine that Trumplings will be either quiet or politely supportive of the restaurant that asked Sarah Huckabee-Sanders to leave because she works for Trump.

I mean if a bakery shouldn't have to violate their christian principles by serving gays, then certainly a restaurant shouldn't have to violate their liberal principles by serving whatever Trump is.

I've picked up a fair amount of the arguing via my Trump-supporting MIL's Facebook posts. I had assumed more of it would focus on, "But that was the baker's RELIGION!!!11!!jesus" but most of it is some weird logic about how the bakery would have sold them some cakes but not all cakes so it's different than the restaurant refusing to sell her any food at all.

Edited to add: with a soupçon of "Democrats are racists because this is just like refusing to serve blacks at a lunch counter."

[Jennifer]

I imagine that Trumplings will be either quiet or politely supportive of the restaurant that asked Sarah Huckabee-Sanders to leave because she works for Trump.

I mean if a bakery shouldn't have to violate their christian principles by serving gays, then certainly a restaurant shouldn't have to violate their liberal principles by serving whatever Trump is.

I've picked up a fair amount of the arguing via my Trump-supporting MIL's Facebook posts. I had assumed more of it would focus on, "But that was the baker's RELIGION!!!11!!jesus" but most of it is some weird logic about how the bakery would have sold them some cakes but not all cakes so it's different than the restaurant refusing to sell her any food at all.

Edited to add: with a soupçon of "Democrats are racists because this is just like refusing to serve blacks at a lunch counter."

I'm mostly seeing "all hatreds are created equal" false equivalence: hating people because of what they are (gay, black, non-Christian, whatever) is no better and no worse than hating people because of what they do (trying to take equal rights from people who are gay, black, non-Christian or whatever.) I asked one guy how far he takes that idea -- so if you're a Nazi who hates certain people just because they're Jewish, that's no better and no worse than being a Jew who hates certain people just because they're Nazis? -- but rather than answer, he piously repeated "I've said my opinion."

So, yeah: hating people because they build concentration camps so awful they won't even let the Red Cross see what's going on is no better than hating people enough to put them into concentration camps so awful they won't even let the Red Cross see what's going on.

[fyodor]

I'm going to go against the grain here somewhat and say the moral implications of harassing government officials engaged in private affairs over their involvement in reprehensible government policies are dubious at best, regardless of the whataboutisms raised about the people doing the most overt denouncing, and even more importantly the practical effects I think are likely to be counter-productive, a good enough reason to say these folks should quit pulling these stunts.

[Aresen]

I'm going to go against the grain here somewhat and say the moral implications of harassing government officials engaged in private affairs over their involvement in reprehensible government policies are dubious at best, regardless of the whataboutisms raised about the people doing the most overt denouncing, and even more importantly the practical effects I think are likely to be counter-productive, a good enough reason to say these folks should quit pulling these stunts.

Team fyodor

[JasonL]

Also team Fyodor. It’s an escalation that will not help.

[dhex]

It's kinda weird how so many of them were going to Mexican restaurants.

[Mo]

The demonstrating thing is potentially counterproductive. The not serving admin officials is perfectly kosher. The most morally dubious things is leveraging official position to harass the Red Hen. Also, I missed the fainting couch over this.

ETA: I also think the counter-productiveness thing is way overblown. I remember when the redneck with the Confederate flag terrorize brown kids ad was going to thrust Ed Gillespie into the governor's mansion last year.

[thoreau]

Yeah, the complaints about "incivility" are pretty lop-sided. Trump calls NFL players "sons of bitches", calls the media the true enemy, etc. People don't like it but they're resigned to it. Restaurant owner decides not to serve his mouthpiece? National freakout over degraded discourse.

[Kolohe]

It's kinda weird how so many of them were going to Mexican restaurants.

There's a longstanding tradition in American ethnic/racial relations of treating 'The Help' as a category different from either 'Fellow Human Beings' or 'People That Annoy You'