NEW: Republican officials are flocking to Mar-a-Lago this weekend, allowing Trump to continue his lucrative business of renting rooms to party leaders who want his blessing. https://t.co/uDrowqlvS7
— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) April 9, 2021
Take heart, fellow Democrats! If not for human decency, basic intelligence, and a rudimentary sense of self-preservation, you too could be spending your time and money kissing up to a senile criminal at his subtropical lair…
… Since Trump left office, at least six Republican candidates have held fundraisers at the former president’s Florida properties. This weekend, at least six more events will be put on by GOP-allied groups.
The events show that Trump has maintained his status as the party’s central figure, even after the violent effort by supporters to overthrow the election results on his behalf, and a post-presidency exile in which he has rarely left his own property.
That control has allowed Trump to continue his unprecedented and lucrative business relationship with his own party. Republicans will pay Trump just to be where he is — or even, in some cases, where they hope he might be…
And what do the hopeful donors get for their money?
Trump said everyone should be calling it the “Trumpcine” (instead of vaccine) and deemed Mitch McConnell a “dumb son of a bitch” during his RNC remarks at Mar-a-Lago tonight, per person in the room.
— Kevin Liptak (@Kevinliptakcnn) April 11, 2021
Per CNN:
Former President Donald Trump repeated familiar lies about the 2020 election and insulted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Saturday when speaking to Republican National Committee donors gathered for the first time since Trump’s defeat, a person in the room told CNN…
Trump went through an extensive recounting of debunked claims the election was stolen from him, including detailed complaints about individual states, and insisted the results were rigged, the person in the room said. In addition to insulting the Republican Senate leader — which received huge applause — the former President was highly critical of Dr. Anthony Fauci and once again took aim at former Vice President Mike Pence, whom he said had failed him in certifying the Electoral College results, according to the same person in the room.
The former President spoke generally about party unity, lamenting that Republicans don’t stick together as well as Democrats, the person said…
With the party completely out of power in Washington for the first time in four years, GOP donors have been eager to hear from leaders about how Republicans can win back the House and Senate in 2022 and the White House in 2024. But the question of how big a role Trump will and should play in the GOP future looms…
While the Palm Beach location was a concession of convenience to Trump, the presence of other Republican White House hopefuls is meant to signal the RNC’s official policy of neutrality toward the 2024 primary.
The potential candidates include three of Florida’s top elected officials: Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, both of whom may also run for president, spoke at the retreat too.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has been making moves that suggest a White House run, was scheduled to appear but did not.
Most of the donors attending the retreat were both staunch Trump backers — one was spotted on Friday walking out to the Four Seasons pool deck donning a blue “Make America Great Again” ballcap — and faithful Republicans looking to build the party back.
That endeavor is more complicated for the sizable number of GOP donors who are not so enamored with Trump but want to help the party regain power in Washington…
TFG’s no tiger, but he is a big, mean, stupid, potentially poisonous predator. Maybe the new RNC motto should be You can ride the Komodo dragon, but can you dismount?
The invitation-only event is taking place at the Four Seasons Resort, and the RNC reserved the entire hotel.
While Timken, former Ohio GOP chair, was invited to the event “because she is a major donor” — Mandel was not, so he was asked to leave
— Alayna Treene (@alaynatreene) April 10, 2021
Comrade Colette
Wait, that’s Josh Mandel? I’ve seen photos of that little weasel before, but I always assumed he was just some smarmy Young Republicans intern who got in the way of
his bettersthe camera.laura
If you’re going to pay to listen to the fatuous gasbag continuing to deny the reality that he’s a loser you deserve to stand in the buffet line between Neom and Cotton.
Yutsano
Hey now! Komodo dragons don’t deserve to be tarred with such slanderous associations!
Redshift
I’m still chortling that they booked the Four Seasons…
pablo
The pisser is, he’s going to run in 2024 because being President is the only way to stay out of jail, and he will bring down with mighty vengeance anyone who dares run against him.
JWR
The “Trumpcine”. My, how… clever?
The Pale Scot
Respite
Bootsy Collins
The Power of The One
Ft. George Benson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoGoKe8z7Ok
Shalimar
Republicans want an abusive asshole for their leader. Can we please start the 2024 primaries by acknowledging that none of the 18 candidates Trump humiliated in 2016 is going to be it? Rubio in particular has no chance.
Mallard Filmore
@pablo:
I wonder if Biden’s DOJ will honor the “90 days before an election” tradition.
HumboldtBlue
The Iceberg’s perspective of a sinking Titanic.
It takes a minute, but there’s a good laugh.
HumboldtBlue
@The Pale Scot:
The true essence of the funk is the power of the one
Cameron
The idea that owning/having means you don’t need building/making is going to sink this country to the bottom of the Marianas Trench. Private equity is piracy.
The Pale Scot
@HumboldtBlue:
Hey Yo
Get up on the Downstroke
Bass Rigged System
The Pale Scot
@The Pale Scot:
There’s a utube from ’76 of Bootsy talking about JB teaching him about the one. Can’t find it at the moment
NotMax
Once got ’em hooked up and working, really enjoying the major upgrade in computer speakers which, contrary to the USPS site, did arrive today. Yay! Box a little banged up, contents unaffected.
Gonna have to trim the budget for the rest of the month and into the beginning of May to balance out the modest extra expense, but worth it.
The Pale Scot
@NotMax:
Hmm.. Got some stuff to test out the low range
Thera-P
NotMax
@The Pale Scot
The addition of a subwoofer (plus acoustically better upright left and right channels) rocks.
Bonus: They’re quite attractive to look at. Discontinued model, but there’s still some out there at various vendors. Slightly higher priced though Amazon. Finding a pl;ace which would ship to Hawaii was the bugaboo; finally, after months and months of checking and rechecking, that option opened up. Only real design negative is that the power switch is on the back of the subwoofer.
Felanius Kootea
@HumboldtBlue: Oh I love Bowen!
NotMax
@The Pale Scot
Handled it without coming close to breaking a sweat. My test for range and bass response, Funeral of Amenhotep III.
NotMax
@NotMax
Secondary test for clarity, overall sound quality and spectrum.
;)
Steeplejack (phone)
@HumboldtBlue:
That was pretty funny. Not always a given with SNL these days.
JWR
@NotMax: How’s about this one for bass response? ;)
Chris T.
@NotMax: Shipping (or lack thereof) to Hawaii was a factor in our deciding to move to Washington instead. Not the main one, which was climate related (HI is too hot for my partner … maybe even too hot for me).
(We figured we can always visit, once we can travel again without threat of dying from some stupid virus)
HumboldtBlue
@Steeplejack (phone):
Yeah, I gave it a minute and got a good laugh.
Sebastian
@NotMax:
That rotary volume control puck is the best thing since sliced bread. I have one from a different vendor and it’s my most favorite gadget ever.
Good speakers transform and upgrade a space. Good call, glad that worked out!
The Moar You Know
I bet the place stinks. Literally.
Blowout city for Dems in the next two election cycles. Betting against this tub of rancid oleomargarine has won me a lot of money over the last few years.
JWR
Short, sweet and to the point.
Amir Khalid
@pablo:
I have a feeling TFG won’t run in 2024: he’ll be in prison by then.
This TFG-ist Republican party looks more and more like a political suicide cult to me. Its base and its leaders are clinging to a man who led them to failure in 2018 and 2020, to disgrace in 2021, and is now sowing division by threatening to purge it of those disloyal to him.
When he goes to jail, and I’m all but certain he will, the party will need to free itself from his thrall and find itself a new path. It will entail some time as a minority party. It is going to require the sort of moral self-appraisal that a lot of people don’t have the stomach to take on, especially if they’ve been encouraged over the past few years to indulge their worst impulses.
satby
@Amir Khalid: Inshallah
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
Dump won’t run. He can’t even walk down a ramp.
SFAW
There used to be a RI Mafia don* who, in his later years, often wandered outside in his bathrobe. I’m not sure if it was ever determined if he was demented, or just putting on a “hey, look, I ain’t competent to stand trial” performance. In That Fecking Guy’s case, I know the answer.
* I think it was Gennaro “Jerry” Angiulo, but Gin & Tonic probably remembers better than I. Pretty sure the much-missed efgoldman would also remember.
SFAW
@Amir Khalid:
My, aren’t you an optimistic chap? This is Cy Vance Jr. we’re talking about — the same Cy Vance Jr. who declined to go after That Other Junior when he had the chance (years ago). I seem to recall reading something about a timely contribution to his re-election campaign.
beef
@SFAW:
That sounds like Vincent Gigante of Greenwich Village.
2liberal
Not an RI mafia guy, rather NYC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Gigante
dr. bloor
Never mind–missed 2liberal’s comment.
Chin was quite a sight.
prostratedragon
Sing it with young Michael
debbie
Josh Mandel too nuts for even Trump! ? ? ? ? ?
SFAW
@beef: @2liberal:
I remembered it as someone other than Gigante, but I guess my memory was, once again, worng.
Thanks for the help/correction!
debbie
@beef:
Not Matty the Horse?
artem1s
@Amir Khalid:
I think Joe was right. There may not be a functioning Republican party by 2024. The GQP has been completely failing to free itself from authoritarianism and facistism since Nixon at least. Each and everytime, instead of deciding to not ‘be the party of stupid’ they doubled down and say ‘hold my beer’. I’m at least a couple of decades over thinking they can be saved or that they will decide to save themselves. They are addicted to the chaos. Some addicts hit bottom and decide to admit they have a problem and start the process of recovery. The GQP just digs down so establish a new bottom and anyone who doesn’t start digging with them (see Graham, Lindsey) gets thrown out of the club (LP Project). I think there will be a long period where the various factions claiming to be the Lincoln Party, TeaParty, @REALGQP, @REALGOP, @REALTrumpublicans, etc, will fight over what remains of the party donor lists. But for now it looks like WinRed has control of the fundraising apparatus and they are fleecing TFG’s rubes for all they are worth. Perhaps if TFG becomes too toxic or his base runs out of money, WinRed will move on to another mark. This is where the party is going to rip itself to bits. In order to keep current donors and attract new ones, they are going to have to discredit the other factions. Me, I’m not interested in reconcilation, I’m rooting for injuries.
Uncle Cosmo
@Yutsano: You can squat on the Dragon Kommode, but can you evacuate?
Villago Delenda Est
All these motherfuckers are accomplices to treason.
No quarter for them.
D
Chuck sliced and diced Dems on MTP with “Why can’t Biden…?”, then moved on to his true guest of honor, Asa Hutchinson, then moved on to “domestic extremism”…
h
WaterGirl
@D: If they dems weren’t able to push back, then we need better Dems on those shows. Who were the dems on the show?
rikyrah
????
David Beard (@dabeard) Tweeted:
25 years ago, the Boston Police Department had evidence on an alleged child molester.
They let it go. He kept his badge, in fact he rose to become the head of the police union.
Now 5 more people have come forward—and say he molested them as kids, too. https://t.co/DjmV6M2orc https://twitter.com/dabeard/status/1381056383362207751?s=20
cain
I hope Trump runs it will deflate the shit out of the rest of those candidates. They also if Trump gets defeated in the primaries that people will stay home and the GOP vote will be depressed.
cain
They seem pretty dedicated to nationalism and fascism. I mean I think it’s only going to get worse – fueled by right wing evangelicals.
I hope we have the strength to hold it off because otherwise it’s going to turn into a blood bath.
J R in WV
I agree with Amir, wise political observer that he is. Even if The Former Guy doesn’t wind up in jail, a long shot by itself, he won’t be in any kind of shape to run a campaign for elected office.
TFG could barely walk by the end of the 2020 campaign; he couldn’t both walk and talk at all. Even after being in recovery at “home” for months he still appears to have trouble talking.
And Cyrus Vance Jr is not the only court case TFG will face — he’s vulnerable in GA and DC at least, as well as potential Federal charges regarding to the Jan6 insurrection~!!~
So Many Questions for TFG and his minions:
I suspect if those people were interviewed by stone faced counter intelligence agents AND criminal agents working in tandem, and were offered a few days to decide if they were going to cooperate for a lighter plea and less jail time, some of them would rat out TFG and spell out their promises to support a planned insurrection in the heart of our nation.
Particularly if they were already indicted and being held to await trial in the distant future.
Those who don’t turn state’s evidence should face life in Florence CO with the other traitors and terrorists.
ETA: If I could guarantee TFG’s imprisonment I would let a whole lot (not all, some were serious instigators) of the small fry traitors walk with minimal punishment, a felony with a little jail time to prevent them from owning a firearm would do it for me. Trump needs to go down, and hard!
Kathleen
@The Pale Scot: I follow Bootsy on Twitter and every day he tweets some very cool inspirational messages.
What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?
So calling Moscow Mitch a dumb son of a bitch gets massive applause? Do they realize they could, like choose a different majority leader if they hate the guy so much?
J R in WV
@WaterGirl:
Chuckles Toad doesn’t need to have a Democrat on when he’s going to punish the Democratic party — that might spoil his fun!
Seriously, Todd is an active RussoRepublican tool, and should face the same hard time all the other insurrectionists face. His finances should be poured over by expert forensic accountants until he turns on his manipulators.
Aziz, light!
@artem1s: I think the Make Rich People Richer Party may well retake Congress 18 months from now, with the White House to follow. They gained ground in the last election, which was alarmingly close. If HR1 cannot be passed, they will keep ramping up suppression in states we need. Four hundred years of white supremacy in America isn’t going to end overnight. The era of disinformation will still be in full swing, and as always, voters can and will be persuaded to vote against their interests. I’ll be sanguine about our future when the GQP is formally dissolved and not a moment before.
Geminid
@artem1s: I am definitely rooting for some injuries in next year’s Georgia Republican primaries. In Virginia, the Chamber of Commerce types who used to call the shots in the party have spent the past ten years in a debilitating power struggle with a coalition of “populist” tea party cranks and bible thumpers. I see early signs of this dynamic among Georgia Republicans, who need a unified party to stave off the surging Democrats.
Kathleen
@J R in WV: Amen.
Mike in NC
@J R in WV: Tune in on Tuesday evening for the PBS Frontline special on the “American Insurrection”. Hope to hear names being named.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: Appalling and disgusting, but not surprising.
We need police accountability now.
The Pale Scot
@Kathleen:
I never thought to look for that, I’m so 20th century
Thnx
NotMax, Still Funky?
Another Scott
@Amir Khalid: Being in prison is no guarantee he won’t run, of course.
LaRouche:
History certainly rhymes again, doesn’t it??
The grift and the cult will continue no matter where he is, until he is gone. And even then, there will attempts to animate his corpse.
Follow the money, and watch the Russians.
Cheers,
Scott.
Parfigliano
@Amir Khalid: TFG will never spend a day in prison. America doesnt have the political courage to jail a President. He wont even be charged.
Anything out of NY will magically turn into a civil fine which he wont pay. He looted a charity and wasnt charged.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Supposedly the Trump name is so toxic with the normal folks Trump is changing his brand to “45”
https://youtu.be/eXgvXywF4nk
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@rikyrah: While is this outrageous, but it doesn’t surprise me one bit. After all the pedo scandals lately it seems a big drive to get into power for a lot folks is just to fuck kids.
Another Scott
@JWR: A selection of Entwistle isolated bass is fun:
Jambase
Cheers,
Scott.
J R in WV
@Mike in NC:
I certainly would, but we no longer receive any PBS stations over the air. Sad! Perhaps we can get it online later on? Hope they name names also too.
But PBS, right? “We don’t know who could have done such a horrible thing!! Wasn’t it horrible??”
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
@J R in WV:
@J R in WV:
Frontline has all their films online (link). Their Jan 19 film on Biden overcoming a debilitating stutter, deemed “retarded” in the 40s and his affinity with minorities in the very early 60s is tear jerking.
Boris Rasputin (the evil twin)
@SFAW: In New York it was Vinny “the Chin” Gigante who pulled that act. They caught him out eventually