Trump is insisting on delivering the State of the Union speech before a joint session of Congress as scheduled; Possum Queen just released the self-referential and self-serving letter SCROTUS dictated into his Speak ‘n Spell:
President Trump’s letter to Speaker Pelosi on the State of the Union pic.twitter.com/B4QN9hDJnv
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 23, 2019
I’m not sure how this works technically or politically. The invitation is Pelosi’s to extend — isn’t it also hers to withdraw? Assuming the Trump shutdown drags on for another week, can Pelosi say, “Sorry, no dice,” and shut the door in the heinous prick’s face?
If not, should she and the Democrats simply not show up? Or show up with baskets of rotting produce? (My guess is the Secret Service wouldn’t allow the latter, although they might be inclined to not see a spoiled parsnip or two after missing two paychecks…)
I am not a politician for many very good reasons, chief among them my temperament. But my feeling is that now is not the time to honor norms. It’s way past time to stop treating this malignant fraud like a president. Of course, if the Democrats did make such a statement, the legs of fainting couches throughout the capital would groan under the insensate weight of Beltway media figures.
I don’t know. What do you think?
dmsilev
She can simply declare the House to be not in session, lock the doors, and spend a relaxing evening at home watching Netflix or something.
gwangung
My instinct is not to show up and show Trump at the front of locked doors. If Reps are not at home, maybe in small committees doing other work.
But I’m open to other ideas.
Scotian
Doesn’t she need to pass a bill in the House, not just extend invitation, for this to happen? In which case Trump can claim he was invited all he wants, until the actual PROCESS is followed (a concept foreign to most GOPers and especially Agent Orange there) the Speaker has all the power here, as I am given to understand in how your system of government actually works, as opposed to how media creatures keep ignorantly representing on so many fronts.
There are times where being a process geek is your friend politicos…..regardless of your political persuasion.
Mnemosyne
As I understand it, there needs to be a joint resolution by Congress to invite the president. No joint resolution, no speech.
Now, I think we all know that Trump is going to show up with a bunch of news crews, try to open the door, and denounce Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats from the steps of Congress.
And IMO the response from the Democrats should be, “So what? We’re a co-equal branch of the government. He’s not our king.”
chopper
SOTU in the house requires a joint resolution passing both houses. trump can’t invite himself over to the house chambers.
trump’s letter, as is typical, reads like it was written by a self-absorbed middle schooler.
Kelly
Open Thread:
Turbotax and H&R Block are evil. Don’t give them your money.
https://www.vox.com/2016/3/29/11320386/turbotax-boycott-lobbying-tax-filing-season-tax-day-april-15
comrade scotts agenda of rage
If Nancy Smash and the Dems follow thru on this, lock the doors, not show up, whatever, I can just see our feckless, corporate media ramp the Both Siderism Narrative up to 11.
I get the sense that Nancy Smash wouldn’t give a crap about what the feckless, corporate media would do.
VeniceRiley
My inclination is to dial it to 11 and go up from there. “Open the government – and then we will open the doors.”
Kay
I don’t know either and Pelosi is a pro so I’m deferring to her. It doesn’t mean she’s infallible. It just means she has handled Trump better than anyone else I’ve seen so she’s the best :)
No one knows how to do this and nearly everyone else has failed – I’m not even gonna second guess her. Godspeed, Nancy. I’m pulling for you. For the first time since he was elected I feel like we have someone who may be up to the challenge.
Yutsano
No one can enter the House without the explicit permission of the Speaker. If Pelosi decides not to let him in, he won’t get in. She could simply dismiss the House for the evening and not think a thing of it until she gets called uncivil for daring to lock the President out. But she told him not to come. He’ll make a big show of the whole affair but again he’s trying to make side shows. I don’t even think I’m interested in it all anymore.
Tokyokie
The Speaker of the House must extend the invitation. Speaker Pelosi has chosen to do otherwise. If no bill has been signed by late afternoon, Speaker Pelosi should adjourn and lock the doors to the chamber.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
he’s coming head up against the separation of powers out of sheer, childish ego.
I WANT TO BE ON TEEVEE!
eclare
No way should he be allowed to bellow in House while Nancy sits behind him how Democrats want MS-13 members to murder people in their sleep. No fucking way.
waspuppet
For nearly four years now we’ve heard “Trump tape into Real Americans’ anger by breaking the norms! Everything’s on the table!” Now it’s “how DARE you DISRESPECT the PRESIDENT!” It’s as predictable as it is depressing.
While we’re at it, this is a result of having lost the popular vote (by a lot). For two years I’ve been hearing Trumpites going “neener neener Electoral College the popular vote doesn’t mean anything!” Well, if they knew anything about America and/or didn’t actively hate it, they’d have known that the popular vote DOES mean something. And this is why. But they don’t get that. They never will. They’d rather be victims.
Eljai
Nancy should tell him to post it on Facebook.
feebog
Pelosi should make a joint resolution contingent on re-opening the government. You want to run your big mouth in front of a joint session of congress? Put people back to work.
rikyrah
LOCK THAT MUTHAPHUCKA OUT!!!
chloe
Can he be busted for trespassing if he shows up without an invitation and refuses to leave?
catclub
I thought that the latest proposed CR deal, that only opens the Government until Feb 8 – even though a month has passed now,
would be his excuse, with the government open again. I thought this month later CR should open the government at least until march 8.
maybe no one was available to edit the changes into the new bill.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Just heard Willard Romney doing that breathy, almost-stammering thing he does, explaining that “Republicans”, not ‘we’, probably won’t go against the president. I want some reporter to ask him if he thinks his father would have kowtowed to someone like tump.
JMG
Here’s the killer for Trump. If the House is not in session (Pelosi could just call a recess for January 29) C-Span cannot broadcast from the chamber, and it’s the feed for all the networks. Trump could break in, fill the chamber with Republicans and give his speech but it couldn’t be on TV. For Trump, that’s a fate too horrible to contemplate.
Daniel Almont
Every time he speaks his numbers go down. Let him deliver his sure-to-be-moronic speech.
Punchy
In normal times, yes. But what, honestly, would happen if the guards unlocked it anyways? Fired, probably. But almost certainly feted with wingnut welfare for the foreseeable future, so what’s the downside?
IMO, all y’all thinking “What Nancy says, goes” haven’t been paying attention to the sheer lawlessness of the Orange Menace.
dr. bloor
Let him come over, and have every Democrat in the House decline to be seated behind him in order of seniority until they get to AOC.
lurker dean
nancy’s response :D
https://twitter.com/ChuckWendig/status/1088131716814901248
Elizabelle
NPR was surprisingly good with reporting on this. Reported Sarah Sanders told Fox that the president liked to have a Plan B or something to that effect — ie. they seem to be aware he may not get what he wants by stamping his tiny feet.
Tie this to reopening the government. I think Nancy holds all the cards.
Yutsano
@Kelly: Oh man that article has a serious error in it. Well a few but I’m going to address the big one.
When an employer fills out a W-2, it has an explicit instruction on it. W-2s are filed to Social Security first. NOT the IRS. So yes SSA gets all your information by January 31st (when W-2s are due) but they aren’t dumped on the IRS en masse after that. We can’t guarantee the accuracy of our income information until at least May and sometimes as late as July. Now if the W-2 was required to be filed with the IRS at the same time then yes the auto filing would work. But until then it’s a crapshoot.
Betty Cracker
@Kay: That makes sense to me.
Ruviana
It’s sort of a derail but indirectly related–I thought the vivacious Ms. Sanders was departing her gig as presidential spokesbot at the end of last year. Why is she still issuing press releases and talking to reporters in the rain? I keep waiting for her to disappear.
schrodingers_cat
What are the punditubbies suggesting? I would do the exact opposite.
DCrefugee
The radio is blasting,
Someone’s beating on the door
I’m looking at my girlfriend
She’s passed out on the floor
I seen so many things
I ain’t never seen before
I don’t know what it is
But I don’t wanna see no more
Mama told me not to come
Mama told me not to come
Bill Arnold
N. Pelosi has something Donald J. Trump wants. That’s the bottom line; she has leverage.
Elizabelle
@Kay:
I feel this way too.
And they need to get the government reopening way beyond February 8. Otherwise, we will just be in the same mess again. Teach TrumpFucker he cannot hold the federal government employees hostage.
Chris Fisher
No. Lock the doors. Have the Capitol police escort the president out.
--bd
@Yutsano: I’ll address the next one: “Mortgage lenders already send out 1098 tax forms listing interest paid over the year, and the IRS could mandate that charities do the same for tax-exempt contributions.” Nope. The backlash in response to the amount of paperwork that would generate for Our Sisters of Perpetual Misery or your local Scout Troop would shoot that down immediately.
Yutsano
@Elizabelle: Kan I haz normal budget process naow plz? Kthxbai!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Holy God. Chris Jansen on MSNBC drank like seven red bulls while reading old Ron Fournier columns preparing to browbeat Ben Ray Lujan about how the Democrats need to be reasonable.
RinaX
Call a recess and let him go through the circus of demanding the guard open the door. The Dems don’t need to play along with this.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Yutsano:
I guess I can’t blame you. Hope that doesn’t mean you won’t still participate in the high-minded political debates here at BJ! How are you doing since you were furloughed, btw?
Ruckus
Never back down to a bully if you have the upper hand. And NP has the upper hand. Congress is an equal branch of the government, there are norms and actual laws involved here, if the speaker is going to be a position of power (which it obviously is) she can not give in to this man/child without destroying the functionality of the government.
SFAW
Not sure I follow. As far as I can tell, you’re always sweetness and light, honeychild.
Am I missing something?
Eljai
@lurker dean: Perfection!
David Margolies
Let him in, let him make the speech. But no television, no cell phones, no cameras. Release a written transcript afterwards.
SFAW
@Chris Fisher:
Accompanied by the Marshal of the Supreme Court, I hope?
Yutsano
@–bd: Pfft. Even big lenders like Bank of America fall short of the 1098 requirement. And they have electronic processes for filling them! I couldn’t even imagine a charity having to comply with that. But that’s why it only works for simple returns. There are many more complicated tax situations out there.
PaulWartenberg
If trump tries to go to Congress I hope every furloughed DC worker stands between him and the doorway. No pay for our workers, no f-cking speech from the Shitgibbon responsible.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
I second what some others have said: make delivering the SOTU contingent on reopening the government. Otherwise, call a recess for 1/29 and lock the doors.
I’m not sure if Trump would settle for delivering it in some ad hoc manner, like as a rally or even in the Oval Office. I have no special insight, but I wonder if he would need to have it in the House, to get the same effect?
rikyrah
@Kelly:
no lie told
Uncle Cosmo
No joint resolution until & unless the Senate passes the clean CR that originated in the House (NOT the obscenity that Tangerine Twitler wants) & POTUS signs it (or his veto is overridden by both houses of Congress). Otherwise the Speaker declares the House in recess as of, oh, 4 PM on January 29, to reconvene at, oh, 10 AM on January 30, & directs the doors to the House chambers to be closed & locked at that time & no one to be admitted other than officers of the Speaker’s office – specifically NOT including C-SPAN personnel or hardware.
Tell the mofo to go back to his sandbox & pound sand.
rp
By sending that letter Trump has essentially announced that the SOTU is really, really, really important to him. I’m not an expert negotiator or poker player, so I assume that showing your cards is the key to success.
Uncle Omar
Fuck him if he can’t take a joke.
rikyrah
@Elizabelle:
ICAM.
Keep it open through January 2021, and we can talk.
JanieM
@Eljai: Or Twitter.
MisterForkbeard
I think this has always been the danger of Pelosi phrasing her refusal as a “request”. It puts Trump in the position to just say “Nope, I’m doing it anyway and you invited me so WAAH” and then show up, daring Pelosi to let him in.
I trust her on all this, but there should be a flat “Given the security of the situation and that Trump has introduced significant issues by not paying our security staff, having the entire government in a single room is not a good idea and I’m using my authority as Speaker to halt this for the good of the American people. If Trump wants to speak, he can do it elsewhere without the security issues he’s introduced through his shutdown tantrum.”
Mandalay
@Elizabelle:
This. Either Trump will refuse, or accept. If he refuses he automatically loses the debate, and his televised SOTU in the House is gone. If he accepts then either the government reopens, or he breaks his word very publicly. Unless I’m missing something it’s a win-win-win for Pelosi.
rikyrah
Lock those damn doors, Nancy Smash.
Lock them.
banditqueen
Dump needs to know that NO means NO.
Yutsano
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: LOL I am still very much a jackal! I will definitely still be speaking my piece hereabouts on this top 10,000 blog. No shutdown blues will take that away.
I’m surviving. I am getting just enough from unemployment to make bills and keep my head above water. And I can FINALLY afford to cut my hair!
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Mnemosyne:
That’s how the English Civil War began. Charles 1st forced his way into Parliament.
Sasha
I dunno. There’s something appealing about Trump delivering the SOTU inside while furloughed/unpaid federal employees loudly protest outside.
schrodingers_cat
@banditqueen: Phoolan Devi, is that you?
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Fasten your seatbelts, we’re definitely in the endgame now. You thought he was off the rails the last two years, he’s going to show you what “off the rails” really looks like. Probably invite the senior class of Covington Catholic (or whatever they were called) to storm the doors of Congress in their MAGA hats.
I love that he’s only got 7% support for the wall-based shutdown in that poll somebody quoted earlier. He’s done what no Republican has ever done, cracked the seemingly-unbreakable 27% crazification factor. New record!
Bill Arnold
@rikyrah:
Pretty much. Make it clear he can have his MAGA rally in the HR chamber, if he gives up shutdowns as negotiation leverage, including debt ceiling BS.
As law, not worthless DJT promises.
(Couched in appropriate decorum, which I lack.)
schrodingers_cat
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Is he the one that lost his head?
Kelly
@Yutsano: ” Now if the W-2 was required to be filed with the IRS at the same time then yes the auto filing would work. ”
That seems like a small task to complete while setting up IRS auto filing. Also I don’t expect auto file would be universal maybe just 80% of taxpayers. Me for instance. I’m mainly basing my evaluation the several times I’ve submitted my taxes with errors, received a polite, automated looking correction letter that clearly explains my error and a reduced refund.
Yutsano
@Mandalay: She has pretty much already said this, but I wouldn’t be surprised if his addled brain already forgot and he insisted upon this letter being sent. Sigh. Can I request just one massive myocardial infarction please? Make it quick then we impeach Pence before he can appoint and get approved a VP.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Oh crap, we’ve lost edit capability. Did we get something in return?
Jeffro
@rp:
(snort)
I am loving me some NP here. She’s going to twist his nuts So. Hard.
Whenever you’re ready, Trumpublicans…37% and dropping…
Jeffro
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: he actually did do that (invite Covington Catholic)…brace yourselves, America, it’s about to be REALLY red-meat-base time in Trumplandia…
Mandalay
@Mnemosyne:
I really can’t see that happening. Trump would be oozing loser stink if he did that. And the media would just cut to Pelosi saying “All he has to do is end the Trump Shutdown that the American people have rejected…“.
LongHairedWeirdo
A suggested response:
“Dear Donald,
“I know that you say there are no security concerns, but you also said Mexico would pay for the wall – that they would, in fact, write a big check for it! So we can hardly take your stated beliefs as meaningfully tainted with factual information. As I stated in my original letter, rescinding my invitation, these high security events demand the full functioning of all relevant government offices, and as such, can’t be held during a
Trump Tantrumgovernment shutdown.“Perhaps one of your aides can read this letter to you, and explain the big words; like “rescinding,” or “tainted;” or phrases like “full functioning of all relevant government offices”.
Betty Cracker
@rp: Ha! Well said. And when she replies to his stupid letter, I hope Pelosi notes that what’s actually “so very sad” is that 800k feds and who knows how many contractors are getting stiffed. Fuck his speech.
West of the Cascades
Liked this explainer about Pelosi’s power to prevent the SOTU: https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/white-house/article224681770.html
trollhattan
@Yutsano:
“Sorry Donny, we’ve all seen the shows, a vampire cannot enter your home unless invited. And you’re not invited.”
Yutsano
@Kelly: Honestly it would save a lot of workers in the processing centers who are getting phased out because of electronic filing. If they had to process W-2 information as it was mailed to them (there is a process for doing it electronically but it’s a royal pain to set up) then at least some of them would have work. Won’t pass this Congress but we could look at 2020 and beyond.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Yutsano: Did you ever see the film Dave? President has massive stroke and is replaced by an impersonator. I think if we put Alec Baldwin in the actual Oval Office it would be wonderful.
Really funny movie and I love the whole cast. Highly recommend.
Of course impeaching Pence and installing Pelosi would be nice too. As would holding a Presidential Special Election and electing Hillary. I’m easy, I’m open to any of those.
(Yay, edit is back! Weird that only on that one comment I never had it. I also occasionally get an edit button on whoever’s comment is newest.)
trollhattan
@West of the Cascades:
Nice find. I love this bit.
hells littlest angel
Pelosi should have a wall built in front of the entrance to the House. And it should be concrete, and beautiful.
Mary G
I think Nancy SMASH has had two years of watching the baby, plus 30 years of dealing with asshole men and coming out on top, and she now has his balls in a vise and will just keep squeezing until he cries uncle, and accepts some amount of additional appropriations for border security, but not a wall, by Friday. That way he gets a bone to throw to his base and to give his horrible speech.
Of course, I may be fooling myself with wishful thinking, but it looks like the turtle has refused to bring up the bill opening the government that he said he would, and that’s going to be bad press even Chris Chinchilla can’t both sides.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
ETA: Nancy Pelosi and Schiff et al know what they’re doing and I’m a nobody on the internet, but I would hold hearings on this starting tomorrow. Law professors, Constitutional historians… I don’t know. Also, subpoena his tax returns now.
Fair Economist
@VeniceRiley:
That’s a killer slogan!
Peale
@Mnemosyne:
Which is what is SoU would consist of anyway, only from behind a dias. So why bother with it?
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Yutsano:
Glad to hear you’re doing ok. It’s nice to have a safety net catch you. I’m so angry at Trump and the GOP for putting hardworking people like you out of work.
Also, as selfish as this may sound, I want my fucking tax return. It’ll be big enough to play around and invest with.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@schrodingers_cat: Yes, that king.
mad citizen
@Ruckus: I like NP showing us all that Congress is one of the 3 branches. On a nice CBS Sunday Morning piece a couple weeks back, I believe she said that the House/Congress (forget which) is the FIRST branch of government. It made me take notice.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@trollhattan: Sooner or later it’s going to occur to him to start traveling with his own video crew that follows him everywhere and streams on whitehouse.gov. And maybe a minstrel, like Sir Robin.
FlipYrWhig
And now the greater issue around the statement:
FOR FUCK’S SAKE THAT’S NOT HOW TO PUNCTUATE AROUND “HOWEVER” FUCK YOU SARAH FUCKABEE SANDERS
Doug Gardner
@Elizabelle: Trump doesn’t even have a Plan A most of the time, so the notion that he has thought through what could happen here is risible.
Jackie
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Just saw that announced on CNN.
MisterForkbeard
@Mandalay: Nah. I think this would get spun as Pelosi throwing a temper tantrum and getting drunk on power. “She blocked the SOTU! No one has ever done that before! Why are Democrats not compromising with the reasonable republicans – look, Trump just supported a compromise last week!”
If you assume the media are lazy and will go with a dumb narrative, you’ll probably be right.
trollhattan
More Brexit fun:
Sony pulling their Europe HQ from London and moving to the Netherlands.
Dyson HQ decamping from UK for Singapore, a move they swear has nothing to do with Brexit, which Mr. Dyson himself supported.
Interesting to have a close ally who is also suffering badly from an own-goal.
Fair Economist
@dr. bloor:
Imagine AOC upstaging Trump! That could be the viral hit of the year.
schrodingers_cat
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Sauron’s mouthpiece says what?
Elizabelle
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
That ended so well for Charles I. Oh, wait …
Kelly
@Yutsano: Discovering the IRS handles hundreds of millions W2s manually is a bit of a stunner. Securing an universally available online tax process strikes me as the most daunting task.
MisterForkbeard
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Hopefully Pelosi and others can start moving the ball on “Trump is a violent, dangerous crazy person” narrative. Between this, (he’s literally publicly threatening the family of people who might dish on him in front of congress), his blowing up the government because he’s not getting his way on something he couldn’t even get through a republican congress, and his inability to keep a single goddamn person on staff that’s not related to him…
Dems should just start saying it. Trump is unstable, dangerous, and should be removed by his own cabinet. In the meantime, Democrats will be investigating the scandals that Republicans covered up and standing up for the american people and the law by getting the government to actually function.
Brachiator
From the Guardian
I wish that we could declare Trump and Pence illegitimate and elevate Pelosi to the presidency.
However,
It doesn’t work that way. Treating the president as though he is a fraud does not limit or remove his power. Congress could check him, but the Republicans are never going to do that.
We got impeachment or the election to deal with him. That’s what we should focus on.
catclub
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
I think GWBush was at 23-24% at the worst point. Cheney was at 11-13% approval. Not a popular guy.
guachi
The US Coast Guard Commandant has been doing a great job on twitter supporting his Coasties who aren’t getting paid.
I responded to one of his tweets – and I think I was an early respondent to this particular tweet – that I was a Sailor (might not have been perfectly clear I am Navy and not Coast Guard…) who was making sure to call Senators and Congressmen and release the hostages, open government, and then discuss immigration.
It is by far my most liked and retweeted tweet. It’s in the tens of likes! TENS, I tell you!!
Sometimes reasonable responses of support can be helpful, right? Next time I’ll make sure to add the phone number of the Capitol switchboard and ask people to call and be polite and succinct in their desire to open the government.
banditqueen
@schrodingers_cat: Non-violent revenge on the Dump Crew is my goal.
trollhattan
@Fair Economist:
That’s the stuff of dreams.
With the Harris announcement I was pondering him conducting himself debating her like he did Hillary. Wander the stage and loom behind her? Just try it, Mack.
Aleta
Tell him he has to walk over there.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@MisterForkbeard: Or just turn every TV interview into, Why is the president so frightened of Michael Cohen’s testimony before the American people that he feels the need to threaten his family members, private citizens (and I believe a former business partner)?
also, can’t the Dems change their (I assume) invitation to Cohen into a subpoena?
Luthe
@trollhattan: Is it an own goal when one of the other players is guilty of pass interference?
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: Please say he will run away like Sir Robin.
@MisterForkbeard: As there has been no security walk-through, I would think there would be security issues. Also, Nancy knows the security of her House better than he does.
trollhattan
The Pelosi letter we await.
https://twitter.com/ChuckWendig/status/1088131716814901248/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1088131716814901248&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdisqus.com%2Fembed%2Fcomments%2F%3Fbase%3Ddefault%26f%3Dlawyersgunsmoneyblog-com%26t_i%3D102296%2520http%253A%252F%252Fwww.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com%252F%253Fp%253D102296%26t_u%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com%252F2019%252F01%252Fworker-activism-end-government-shutdown%26t_e%3DCould%2520Worker%2520Activism%2520End%2520the%2520Government%2520Shutdown%253F%26t_d%3DCould%2520Worker%2520Activism%2520End%2520the%2520Government%2520Shutdown%253F%26t_t%3DCould%2520Worker%2520Activism%2520End%2520the%2520Government%2520Shutdown%253F%26s_o%3Ddefault%26l%3D%23version%3Db22ee4a180de5555d0c0d2b7d69dd13f
Eric U.
My wife wants to talk about politics nowadays. Trump got her interested because he’s so awful. But she doesn’t allow me to use profanity, so I just have to leave the room. If I get too engaged in this political climate, it really destroys my mood. When Bush the lesser was Preznit, I really didn’t cope well. Having Pelosi as Speaker really makes me feel better about the future of the country.
jeffreyw
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
I would follow him and clap coconut halves together in a nice catchy rhythm.
trollhattan
@Luthe:
If the refs don’t call it it’s not interference!
–Every Rams fan everywhere.
(For U.S. non-sideline soccer parents “own-goal” is scoring on your own team. Instant popularity.)
danielx
What do I think? Fuck Trump, and fuck the Beltway media types as well. Let the miserable sonofabitch proclaim whatever he wants.
PaulWartenberg
the last guy who invited himself unwelcomed to a building of representative legislature, it was Charles I bullying his way into Parliament.
didn’t exactly end well for Charles I.
The Midnight Lurker
If Trump wants to give the SOTU in the house, and the media is behind him, then he should give his speech in the house.
Alex Jones’ house.
trollhattan
@Eric U.:
My spouse is similar but instead of a no-profanity approach she’s taken to swearing like a union plumber, which our kid hates and lets her know. It’s not helping.
Fair Economist
@trollhattan: I sure wouldn’t want to hand-type that link!
JPL
@Eric U.: Well if EFG were here, I know what he’d say.. f.kem
Kofuu
On this Day in Royal History: January 4, 1642, King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland (1625-1649) marches into the House of Commons with troops intending to arrest five Members of Parliament for disobeying his orders. This historic and brazen action was the catalyst for the English Civil War 1642-1649.
This act greatly angered the MPs who saw this behavior as a breach of parliamentary privilege. Members of the House slammed the doors of the chamber in the faces of the King’s men. When King Charles finally entered the House of Commons, the Speaker, William Lenthall, refused to reveal the location of the wanted men, famously saying: “May it please your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here.”
https://europeanroyalhistory.wordpress.com/2018/01/04/charles-i-enters-the-house-of-commons/
Brachiator
@Fair Economist:
Love it!
banditqueen
Furloughed Federal workers were at the Hart Building today–they held empty paper plates with “Do Your Job” and other messages that the country needs to see & hear–like the Dump et al. are listening. But we are.
JPL
@trollhattan: She’s not alone, since my son corrected me. The name of trump can’t even be mentioned in front of the other son.
Suzanne
No government, no speech. Go Nancy Smash.
He can tweet it out if it’s that important to him, 280 characters at a time.
Of course, that assumes literacy.
randy khan
That letter is awful on every level, but honestly what’s most offensive is how badly it’s written. Any other President would have competent writers on staff who’d draft it for him to edit. As Betty suggests, this one sounds like it was dictated by Trump, and if it wasn’t, whoever wrote it wouldn’t get past a freshman comp course in college. Ugh.
khead
I, for one, encourage POTUS to take advantage of Jim Justice’s offer and give the SOTU speech to the United State of WV.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
looks like a good size crowd
dimmsdale
I too await Nancy Smash’s response, but in my favorite fantasy, the R and D senators and congressmen assemble in the House chamber, and just as the crowd-jostling and mumble fade to silence, just as our so-called president is about to speak, the entire Democratic contingent, Senators and Congresspeople both, get up and silently leave. With our SCP addressing many, many empty seats and not knowing WTF to do or say next.
But that’s just rage-induced fantasy, and frankly his juvenile bullyragging needs to be responded to with something that de-fuses, rather than inflames, the situation. I’m sure Speaker Pelosi will handle the situation much more judiciously than I would.
Rommie
I’d be wary of the House going into recess on the 29th to deny him entrance, because the wanna-be Bozo would declare he’s showing up as soon as they return from recess – trying to force the House to stay out of session for spite’s sake. Just tell Squidward to get lost, and deal with it if he tries to bully his way in.
jimmiraybob
@chopper:
….named Stephen Miller.
Mandalay
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
What would be the point? He could simply not turn up, or turn up and take the Fifth. Cohen’s entire life is in freefall and he is on his way to the slammer. He has pissed off a lot of bad people, and a bunch of goody two shoes Democrats writing sternly worded letters would barely register on his list of concerns.
Mike in NC
Tell Fat Bastard to die in a fire if he won’t pay federal workers.
Bostonian
So many things Nancy Smash could do, now that Trumpski gave her the when.
-Issue a request for Trumpski to appear before the House Intelligence Committee on January 29, and if he shows up, swear him in
-Pack the entire House with furloughed federal workers
-Let him go to the podium, but give the mike to a succession of comedians to roast him
banditqueen
@Suzanne: No SOTU for me no matter what. Don’t want hear about the ‘Russian Hoax’ or ‘Build the wall crime will fall’ insanity. Or more bs about ‘M13 caravans’. Or just his incessant self-worship about the ‘best economy & trade with China they’re on their knees’. The gross disgusting blob. But if he still finds a way to keep the gov shut, I hope he’s screaming into the wind and rain.
germy
Associated Press:
I love how the A.P.’s style guide doesn’t permit them to reveal who is making the threats (it’s the president).
trollhattan
@Fair Economist:
Me poor, poor formattin’ buttons done gone missin’. I’ve issued an a.p.b.
John Revolta
@DCrefugee: Classic Randy. I’ll see you and raise:
We’ve taken all you’ve given
It’s gettin’ hard to make a livin’
Mr. President, have pity on the working man
We ain’t asking you to love us
You may place yourself high above us
Mr. President, have pity on the working man
I know it may sound funny
But people ev’ry where are runnin’ out of money
We just can’t make it by ourself
It is cold and the wind is blowing
We need something to keep us gong
Mr. President, have pity on the working man
Maybe you’re cheatin’
Maybe you’re lyin’
Maybe you have lost your mind
Maybe you only think about yourself
Too late to run, too late to cry now
The time has come for us to say good-bye now
Mr. President, have pity on the working man
Mr. President, have pity on the working man
Richard Grant
I know it’s been 20 years since The Sopranos debuted, but Paulie Wallnuts wants to give the State of the Union?
FlipYrWhig
@chopper: It’s like the note Homer Simpson writes to Mr. Burns in the episode where a transfusion from Bart saves Mr. Burns’s life.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Brachiator:
We could try what Gavin Newsom has been doing in California. Simply pass good laws, like Net neutrality, no matter what Trump or his corrupt DOJ say
Immanentize
@rikyrah: I love this — new chant:
LOCK HIM OUT
LOCK HIM OUT
LOCK HIM OUT!
Mandalay
@Suzanne:
I like it. Democrats should adopt that ASAP. It explains everything in four words.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
ah, the sternly worded letters line. Shit sandwich veal pen under the bus to you, too.
what solution do you propose? Telling trump to look out his window?
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
ETA: I disabled my phone’s autofill somehow. So I momentarily lost my info.
MisterForkbeard
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: There are definitely potential security issues. Everyone affected by the shutdown has a motive to cause trouble now, whether at Trump or in a misguided attempt at Congress.
Hell, one of the big things that gets screened for in Security is increased or extensive credit card debt, because that makes you vulnerable to extortion or bribery – guess who has increased debt over the past month? Everyone affected by the shutdown!
There’s potential issues all over the place. Definitely not a good idea to have everyone in place except for the Designated Survivor. The chances of this happening are super low, but it’s also something responsible leaders wouldn’t allow.
trollhattan
@Richard Grant:
Trump would kill to have Paulie Walnuts’ hair. They do both get around in Cadillacs. Paulie probably has the better vocabulary.
chopper
it’s crazy how trump is so divorced from reality that he thinks delivering the big SOTU with all the pomp and standing ovations and shit is gonna make him look good when it’s delivered during week six of a government shutdown he fucking caused.
all these people missing another paycheck, missing their mortgage and rent and bills over this bullshit and he thinks the Donald Trump Show is going to go over like gangbusters.
Cheryl Rofer
banditqueen
Meanwhile, at Davos, here are our billionaires, when asked about AOC’s 70% tax on the rich:
The scummy takers.
Duane
@trollhattan: There’s a lot of people here who curse in comments that never did before Trumpov.
I completely understand.
kindness
I like the idea of inviting Obama to speak during that time.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Cheryl Rofer:
Boom! There it is. The correct decision imo.
JPL
Pelosi said no according to CNN
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@trollhattan: Paulie Walnuts’ speaks.
Immanentize
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: I’ve never been anti-Cromwell.
sukabi
@Ruviana: because she can’t get another job. Seems no one wants to hire a horrible liar.
babditqueen
@Cheryl Rofer: When Nancy Smash says NO, NO means NO, Dump–no government, no SOTU. Do your job.
Immanentize
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
FTFY
JPL
@JPL: Or what Cheryl said.
Later today trump will use Pelosi’s reply to fund raise.
geg6
Glad to see Nancy told him to go pound sand. Fucking arrogant asshole.
sukabi
@Cheryl Rofer: nice. The official more polite version of “I will dog walk you.” linked above.
banditqueen
@Cheryl Rofer: When Nancy SMASH says NO, NO means NO, Dump: No government, no SOTU, Do. Your. Job.
patrick II
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
It is not just being on TV. Trump has to prove he is the boss of her
Mary G
I’m shocked, I tell ya: Billionaires in Davos hate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 70 percent tax on the rich (WaPo):
I’m starting to like her a lot.
One of Tom’s colleagues spoke up to disagree that higher taxes won’t work:
Of course, nobody listens to him, because he probably doesn’t have billions of dollars.
Martin
The House has a Sergeant at Arms, and he has a mace.
Stand your ground, sir.
Elizabelle
@Cheryl Rofer:
Great to see that letter from Nancy Pelosi.
And keep that government open through 2021, if at all possible. No more Trump Shutdowns. Hold him to it.
(Of course, I am greatly hopeful that we have President Pelosi by year’s end and her excellent caretaker government until our next elections.) Either way, no more hostage-taking of federal employees.
rikyrah
Birtherism and Black-Enough-ism Start Early Against Kamala Harris
rikyrah
@rikyrah:
I’m going to say this, without hesitation..
IF you have been alive and have seen what the GOP has done since 2016…
And, you purse your lips to say that you won’t vote for Kamala because of who she married..
You were never serious in the first place. You’re one of those stupid muthaphuckas that did this same shyt in 2016, and nobody is playing with you.
Phuck you and your Mama, cause these are serious times, and they call for serious people…of which one you are not.
Martin
@Mary G: Yeah. This isn’t really that complicated. We still have about $5T in negative yield bonds. None of that money is being used productively, so this statement “start allocating capital in a way that is less efficient and will bring down productivity” is utter bullshit.
The whole point of taxation in the manner that we typically do it is to take money from unproductive sources and put it into more productive uses. Now, I’d much rather that be based on wealth than income, but that’s an even bigger hill to die on.
joel hanes
@catclub:
I think GWBush was at 23-24% at the worst point.
data
https://web.archive.org/web/20070720003724/http://www.pollkatz.homestead.com/files/approval-data_files/zzzmainGRAPHICS_14808_image001.gif
smoothed curve
https://web.archive.org/web/20070711113550/http://www.pollkatz.homestead.com/files/approval-long_files/zzzBUSHINDEX_21801_image001.gif
Brachiator
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
Newsom is the governor, the chief executive of the state. And he is working with a strong Democratic majority in the state legislature.
Not quite the situation we have with Trump.
Raoul
John Stoher has had some good commentary on all this. He thinks Trump blundered by letting Nancy know just how badly he wants this TeeVee audience.
“…he’s affirming Pelosi’s gambit of withholding SOTU to force him to choose: delivering a national address or delivering a campaign promise.”
Gravenstone
@Cheryl Rofer: Pelosi with the forehand smash!
Mnemosyne
OT, but G found this satirical version of what Marie Kondo is thinking about the books “controversy” and it made me LOL at work.
I’m Marie Fucking Kondo and You Can Keep All Your Fucking Books, You Ingrates
bemused
@Cheryl Rofer:
Pelosi rocks!
Ryan
Can’t the Sargent at Arms bar trespassers?
Gravenstone
@Mary G: All because the right wing media has been trying to defame, vilify and marginalize her. Instead, they’ve given her rent free occupancy in so many “conservative” heads.
Brachiator
@rikyrah:
Wait. What?
Someone should sit these people down and have a quiet conversation with them. They should be … encouraged to STFU and stay away from social media until after the 2020 election.
Mnemosyne
@rikyrah:
Kamala Harris went to goddamned HOWARD UNIVERSITY. If attending a HBCU doesn’t make someone “Black enough,” what the fuck does?!?
(I realize the answer is “only Black Republicans are ‘Black enough,’” but FFS I’m already sick of this bullshit and I’m white!)
jl
” What do you think? ”
This kind of toxic nonsense is what happens when a completely unfit person with severe psychological and cognitive problems that are disqualifying for office ends up as official president of the United States.
I hope some respectable deal can be cut before next week. Maybe Congressional leadership will present something acceptable in a few days and the prospect of a smooth SOTU address will outweigh squawks from Coulter and Limbaugh.
Clyburn is floating a ‘smart wall’ funding that matches what Trump wants, $5.7 billion. Maybe the Dem leadership is floating the idea I typed in comments a few days ago, that the Dems pass what they want to fund that matches Trump’s number, call it ‘Wall’ and see if Trump will sign it. He might.
chopper
@trollhattan:
that’s a fuck of a link there, son.
Kay
@Eric U.:
Me too. I like her because she values her own work and her branch of government. Congress has a lot of power and it’s legitimate- it’s designed that way. People won’t respect them as an institution unless they themselves do. Trump has his thing. This is her thing, and she doesn’t take orders from the executive branch, nor is she supposed to.
This is my own theory but I think the increasingly president-centric focus in US politics comes directly from the “run government like a business” fetish. They WANT a CEO and a worthless, captured, rubber stamp “board. That’s the model they prefer.
But that’s not the model we have. Pelosi is…proper. This is how it’s supposed to work.
Martin
@rikyrah: Agreed. Harris’s strength, IMO, is that she cannot be pigeonholed, nor does she seek to be. Her mom is Indian, she went to Howard, her husband is Jewish. Like Obama she has juggled a complicated identity and made it her own. Honestly, what more could you ask of a person? She doesn’t exist to validate your idea of blackness or feminism or anything else. Neither did Obama. That just means they are going to be far more open to where people came from. All those Trump supporters who didn’t like Obama because he was black, but he understood the white working class infinitely more than Trump did. Kamala is the same way.
Marcopolo
@banditqueen: The thing about Davos is the old saw: if you don’t have a seat at the table, you are probably on the menu. All these rich folks & tech magnates & their enablers head to this small village in Switzerland saying they will work really really hard to solve the world’s problems (you know, like saving Africa—from what & for whom?). All the while they take this virtue signaling cache & then turn around & use this unearned credibility to deride things that might threaten their wealth & power. And the media that covers the event either wind up being complacent or complicent in amplifying their message.
We have a lot of problems that need to be resolved & the recent report that the 26 wealthiest people on the planet have a larger net worth that the poorest 3.8 billion is a pretty good indication of one place we can start.
rikyrah
@Immanentize:
LOVE IT!!!
Immanentize
@Ryan: Yes, and LOCK THEM UP!
Captain C
@sukabi: Certainly not one as blatant and ham-handed about it.
trollhattan
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
God, I loved those characters. And the Pine Barrens episode was probably the best evah.
japa21
I wonder what the GOP senators thought process will be given Pelosi’s response. They, of course, want to hear from their hero, the Dumpster. If they pass the CR tomorrow put forward by the Dems, they can get it so the SOTU speech can go forward, possibly thinking they can bring it all to a halt again February 8. But I don’t think they would bring it to a halt again. The backlash has been beyond what they expected.
trollhattan
@Mnemosyne:
Ooh, thanks, I needed that!
Highway Rob
How ’bout a sign on the door that says, in type big enough to be picked up by TV cameras, “Because of the Trump-McConnell shutdown, 800,000 federal employees are currently being denied their paychecks.”
Gex
@Ruviana: It’s gotten harder and harder for them to fill positions. As the Mueller report approaches, no one wants to take the hot potato.
rikyrah
@Mnemosyne:
Not only Howard, but she’s also an AKA…..
If being pink and green doesn’t mean she’s Black (and bougie :)..then, what does..
rsginsf
I’m for chain & padlock, with one key, around Nancy’s neck.
Make SCROTUS bring his own bolt-cutters.
I mean, we’re almost there. Let’s go all the way.
Richard Grant
@trollhattan: Wallnuts. Wall and Nuts.
Ladyraxterinok
@schrodingers_cat: Believe so!
matt
I guess Miller is on this, that’s a really passive-aggressive response that’s also stupid and thinks it’s clever.