President Obama seriously trolled the right wing yesterday with his comments to the Africa Union that if the constitution allowed it, he could win a third term. He also said he thinks he is a pretty good president, which is of course an objective fact, but it was sure to still the pot on the right nonetheless. I say he was trolling regarding the third term talk because the right wing, what with all of their fantasy talk about conspiracies and birther nonsense and Jade Helm takeovers of Texas, believes that Obama will institute martial law and install himself as Dictator for Life.
First off, yes, it is true that some on the left also believed former President Bush was going to start a war with Iran and declare martial law and install himself as President as a third off. So, touche. But at least our fears were more rational and based in reality, since Bush did start an illegal war in Iraq.
Second, I cannot image anyone who has served as President wants to stay in that job forever. Constant pressure cooker. No privacy. Government housing. Eight years in that job takes 20 years off your life. Just look at the before and after photos.
Third, yeah, the Constitution is pretty explicit about this, and if you want to start a revolution against you, staying for third term is a good way to do it.
Fourth, the President was illustrating a point to African leaders because Africa frequently deals with popularly elected leaders who then want to stay in power. The President was saying, hey, if I could, I would and I would win. But that doesn’t mean he should. He was saying respect the rule of law and get off the stage when it is your time.
Fifth, he is right. If President Obama could run for a third term, there is no doubt in my mind that he would trounce any one of the Republicans currently running.
McKay Coppins on who exactly is in Trump’s inner circle:
“Trump’s key lieutenants tend to fit the same consumer profile that his discount luxury brand targets: They are men with middle- and working-class roots; lacking in elite credentials; mesmerized by made-for-TV displays of lavish wealth. They are impressed with brashness and bored by subtlety. They are amused by dirty jokes and averse to irony. They are likely to buy a Trump-branded necktie sometime this year, and if they feel like splurging they’ll get the matching cufflinks, too.”
So far I am not impressed with the quality (The Donald likes to talk about the Quality) of his support staff. Indeed, his lawyer left a lot to be desired recently given his “as you know, you can’t rape your spouse. There’s tons of case law.”
That lawyer should be disbarred today. Yes, there is tons of case law. From the 19th Century. That’s been overturned. It’s LexisNexis. Use it. Second, yes, obviously you can rape your spouse if they say no.
Philip Bump looks at the only real specific item of substance that Donald Trump has offered as a candidate as to how he would govern as President:
Donald Trump doesn’t have many specific proposals for what he would accomplish as president, but the few things he has proposed share a common ignition: negotiations.
The problem with the Iran deal? Bad negotiation. How’s he going to get Mexico to pay for the giant wall he wants to build on the border? “The art of negotiating.” China taking our jobs? Negotiate them back. Catching El Chapo? We bet you can guess.
“I know the smartest negotiators in the world,” Trump said during his campaign kick-off. “I know the good ones. I know the bad ones. I know the overrated ones.” He later added : “Believe me, folks. We will do very, very well. Very, very well.”
When the Daily Beast called Donald Trump’s office for comment on a story they were reporting, detailing long-past allegations from ex-wife Ivana that Trump had assaulted her, [Trump attorney] Michael Cohen got on the phone. Cohen serves as counsel to Trump and is an executive vice president at the Trump Organization. Our colleague Erik Wemple outlined a slew of recent occasions when Cohen appeared on TV to make the case for his boss. If anyone is a negotiator for Trump, it’s Cohen. Given his role as special counsel, you’d figure he’s among Trump’s top negotiators.
So how did his negotiation with the Daily Beast go? Horribly.
Yes, Cohen is the same lawyer I mentioned above. Read the whole thing to see how horribly the negotiation went.
Donald Trump wants Sarah Palin in his cabinet. He says she’s special. So do I, but I don’t think we mean the same thing.
So, if we were to follow Donald Trump’s plan and the desires of all racist Republicans and simply deport all undocumented immigrants, it is going to cost the taxpayer a lot:
The center-right organization American Action Forum (AAF) found that it would cost between $400 billion and $600 billion to apprehend, detain, legally process, and transport every undocumented immigrant back to their countries of origin. Breaking down similar statistics, a Center of American Progress report found that it would cost an average of about $10,070 to deport each individual. The AAF report also found that without the 11 million undocumented immigrants, the U.S. labor force would shrink and real GDP would be reduced by $1.6 trillion.
So it will cost half a trillion to deport everyone. And then, because we deported everyone, the economy is going to collapse into a depression with our GDP losing 1.6 trillion.
Brilliant plan you racists. This is why we don’t want you running things. Because, apart from you all being evil, you’re dumb too.
So Chris Christie just lost Colorado, Oregon and Washington State. And the youth vote. Bloomberg:
“If you’re getting high in Colorado today, enjoy it,” said Christie at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire today, “As of January 2017, I will enforce the federal laws.”
“If you want to change the marijuana laws, go ahead and change the national marijuana laws,” he added.
I thought Republicans were all for states rights? I guess that is wrong.