Democratic Primary Thread: The Deuce

[Clyde_Style]

Yet again, Vanity Fair provides some of the best reportage of the inner workings of this WH and the investigations surrounding it.

“I Am Disgusted”: Behind the Scenes of Trump’s Increasingly Scrutinized $107 Million Inauguration
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff was the mastermind event producer behind Trump’s inaugural celebration, which has since come under S.D.N.Y. investigation. Now, taped conversations reveal Wolkoff’s concerns with how money was being spent, the general chaos of the process, the involvement of the Trump family, and the people in charge, namely Rick Gates and Tom Barrack.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/02/behind-the-scenes-of-trumps-107-million-inauguration

One of the key items in there is Wolkoff was fairly close to Michael Cohen. They live in the same neighborhood and she served a similar role for Melania as her version of a consigliere.

The WH let Wolkoff take the heat for public reports of $40M missing from the inauguration funds. She was the event planner and took in $26M so they threw her under the bus. Turns out she has the receipts for over $24M going to vendors for services and that she collected $500,000. Still a good pay day, but not the scammer she was portrayed as.

So her and Michael Cohen had lots of conversations after they were both ditched by the Trumps. And Cohen recorded every phone call he ever had. And the feds have all of those tapes. So the probe into the inauguration funds appears to be live and a hot wire still waiting for further investigation and maybe indictments.

She's publishing her own FY book soon too. Everyone's doing it! so hey why not?

[Stannis]

Why is CNN, MSNBC and others so focused on Trump during the DeJoy hearing? I believe CSPAN is the only one airing the hearing?

Wouldn't be surprised if RNC Convention TV Ratings are through the roof.

[Oscirus]

trump 4 days, yea ratings are gonna kill and we'll never hear the end of it

[HarthorneWingo]

Why is CNN, MSNBC and others so focused on Trump during the DeJoy hearing? I believe CSPAN is the only one airing the hearing?

Wouldn't be surprised if RNC Convention TV Ratings are through the roof.

Crazy is always fun to watch.

But not covering the DeJoy hearing is frustrating.

[omerome]

Why is CNN, MSNBC and others so focused on Trump during the DeJoy hearing? I believe CSPAN is the only one airing the hearing?

Wouldn't be surprised if RNC Convention TV Ratings are through the roof.

Crazy is always fun to watch.

But not covering the DeJoy hearing is frustrating.

What's even more frustrating is when the Democrats are on the clock, instead of asking the important questions with their limited amount of time, they spend most of their time ranting.

Ask the questions the constituents want about why the USPS has been a failure since he took over and what he will do to rectify the problems he caused. Then if they want to rant and vent, that's what Twitter and interviews with CNN/MSNBC/etc. are for.

[Stannis]

Did they ask him about the Options trades he had on Amazon?

I know Elizabeth Warren wanted to bring that up.

[HarthorneWingo]

Why is CNN, MSNBC and others so focused on Trump during the DeJoy hearing? I believe CSPAN is the only one airing the hearing?

Wouldn't be surprised if RNC Convention TV Ratings are through the roof.

Crazy is always fun to watch.

But not covering the DeJoy hearing is frustrating.

What's even more frustrating is when the Democrats are on the clock, instead of asking the important questions with their limited amount of time, they spend most of their time ranting.

Ask the questions the constituents want about why the USPS has been a failure since he took over and what he will do to rectify the problems he caused. Then if they want to rant and vent, that's what Twitter and interviews with CNN/MSNBC/etc. are for.

This has how they’ve done it since TV cameras were in the room from what I recall. Katie Porter is great at this. She she be the designated questioner. AOC is great at it too. There are others too, I'm sure.

[HarthorneWingo]

Did they ask him about the Options trades he had on Amazon?

I know Elizabeth Warren wanted to bring that up.

Or the stock he owns in FedEx and UPS and other private sector alternatives?

[Stannis]

Did they ask him about the Options trades he had on Amazon?

I know Elizabeth Warren wanted to bring that up.

Or the stock he owns in FedEx and UPS and other private sector alternatives?

So shady. How is this not a conflict in interest?

If I'm the postmaster, and a big shareholder in FedEx, UPS, Amazon, it makes sense to try to burn USPS to the ground.

[HarthorneWingo]

Did they ask him about the Options trades he had on Amazon?

I know Elizabeth Warren wanted to bring that up.

Or the stock he owns in FedEx and UPS and other private sector alternatives?

So shady. How is this not a conflict in interest?

If I'm the postmaster, and a big shareholder in FedEx, UPS, Amazon, it makes sense to try to burn USPS to the ground.

It is a C/I. It appears that, like Trump, he said he would produce the financial disclosures and then didn't. In the meantime, the Republican lead Senate pushed him through like all of the POS federal judges they approved.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/08/13/fact-check-postmaster-general-louis-dejoy-invested-competitors/5550480002/

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/12/politics/postal-service-dejoy-conflicts-amazon-trades-xpo-stake/index.html

[Clyde_Style]

Tish James is getting into the act with Cyrus Vance, Jr. so I think we can expect indictments from both NYC and NY State in the future.

Eric Trump Summoned to Testify in Trump Org Probe

https://www.courthousenews.com/new-york-ag-letitia-james-sues-the-trump-organization/

ARTICLE:

Spoiler:

Accusing the Trump Organization of stonewalling an investigation that remained confidential for months, New York Attorney General Letitia James sued the president’s business, his son Eric Trump and their associates on Monday to force compliance.

“Nothing will stop us from following the facts and the law, wherever they may lead. For months, the Trump Organization has made baseless claims in an effort to shield evidence from a lawful investigation into its financial dealings,” James said in a statement. “They have stalled, withheld documents, and instructed witnesses, including Eric Trump, to refuse to answer questions under oath.”

Revealed on the eve of the Republican National Convention, the attorney general’s monthslong probe has been investigating whether Trump and his business improperly inflated the president’s assets on annual financial statements to secure loans and obtain economic and tax benefits. She says that Eric Trump refused to show up for a scheduled, subpoenaed interview.

“That’s why we’ve filed a motion to compel the Trump Organization to comply with our office’s lawful subpoenas for documents and testimony,” James added. “These questions will be answered, and the truth will be uncovered, because no one is above the law.”

Larry Rosen, a partner with the law firm LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg, represents the Trump Organization, Eric Trump and others. He did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

New York’s attorney general has been looking into four Trump properties: Seven Springs Estate, a 212-acre mansion in Westchester; 40 Wall Street, the lower Manhattan building that Trump incorrectly boasted was downtown Manhattan’s largest after the 9/11 attacks felled the World Trade Center; Trump International Hotel; and Tower Chicago and Trump National Golf Club – Los Angeles.

In a 68-page memorandum, James provides an early glimpse of what her investigation found.

“Valuations of Seven Springs were used to claim an apparent $21.1 million tax deduction for donating a conservation easement on the property in tax year 2015, and in submissions to financial institutions as a component of Mr. Trump’s net worth,” the memo states.

Eric Trump, in addition to being the president’s son, serves as the Trump Organization’s executive vice president and Seven Springs LLC’s president.

Earlier this month, James sought to disband the National Rifle Association in a lawsuit that accuses the gun group of fraud, and her office previously shuttered the Trump Foundation, securing a $2 million settlement with the president’s former charity.

Along with the Trump Organization, the proceeding James initiated Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court names as defendants the president’s son Eric Trump, DJT Holdings LLC, DJT Holdings Managing Member LLC, Seven Springs LLC, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, land-use attorney Charles Martabano, and Morgan Lewis partner Sheri Dillon.

[Clyde_Style]

https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/08/24/usps-louis-dejoy-stephen-lynch-mail-sorting-machines-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/this-week-in-politics/

Watch this dressing down of DeJoy

And watch DeJoys eyes

"Blink rate tends to increase when people are thinking more or are feeling stressed. This can be an indication of lying as the liar has to keep thinking about what they are saying."

DeJoy says he will not put the sorting machines back. Guy is a liar. If he keeps this up he's going to jail when this is over and done.

[j4remi]

That is not something I've worried about. I do think third party candidates that capture 1% of the vote have altered presidential elections though. Nader clearly was the difference for Gore and it is even possible Jill Stein was the difference for Clinton since the margins were razor thin though I admit I'm not sure since I never broke down Stein's state totals.

The outlier for Gore and Clinton was how tight the margins were. Not the third party votes being cast. As is a common refrain from lefties; Clinton primary voters turned on Obama by a higher margin than Bernie's turned on Clinton...the difference is the margins in those general elections, but not the third party voter behavior.

For Gore specifically, you don't even need a single extra vote for him to win. You just need the Supreme Court to allow for that recount in Florida.

Basing the results on third party voters requires also an assumption that they would have definitely voted Democrat. I'd guess that many would abstain or seek a different alternative rather than vote Blue or Red to be fully clear here, a lot of third party votes are specifically protest votes.

To swing that into today's elections; I also don't think the DNC or RNC are even trying to market to these voters. The convention last week didn't include anyone that would appeal to someone that voted for Jill Stein last time. That's completely fine, it's not like the RNC is about to peel off the green party voters with a week of casting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as radicals. These voters are getting a "take it or leave it" from most of the messaging and not much more.

Did you know Kushner has been on the phone everyday with Kanye West? Bizarre how weird and desperate this Trump clan is, but it is their bizarro version of fielding a candidate that can capture some kind of whatever, bird flipping voter that may have otherwise voted for Biden. Like many things coming out of that WH it is ill-conceived, but that appears to be their reasoning.

Oh for sure, but again, I'd refocus on questions that can impact forward moving strategies...

How do we prevent spoiler effects from non-viable candidates? I'd say electoral reform is the necessary first step. It's too late for that this time around but I'd like to set up for a voting rights push that I think the Dems will embrace with a win (Voting Rights Act is already written).

How many voters is Kanye going to peel off really? I'm not really sure because I talk and argue politics everywhere I go and I haven't met a single Kanye West voter that wasn't gassing him to be contrarian. I don't think it'll have a meaningful impact but maybe we'll get some data as the election approaches to make more concrete assertions.

Why is Kanye able to peel off ANY would be Biden voters at all? If I find Biden to Kanye voters, I'm gonna try to figure out what the appeal is and then figure out a recruiting frame from there.

Is it really fair to compare Kanye to third party candidates like Jill Stein or Gary Johnson? Honestly, I could see that being a fun debate because I don't like Stein, Johnson or Kanye...so it'd just be a fun thought exercise to me.

[Clyde_Style]

That is not something I've worried about. I do think third party candidates that capture 1% of the vote have altered presidential elections though. Nader clearly was the difference for Gore and it is even possible Jill Stein was the difference for Clinton since the margins were razor thin though I admit I'm not sure since I never broke down Stein's state totals.

The outlier for Gore and Clinton was how tight the margins were. Not the third party votes being cast. As is a common refrain from lefties; Clinton primary voters turned on Obama by a higher margin than Bernie's turned on Clinton...the difference is the margins in those general elections, but not the third party voter behavior.

For Gore specifically, you don't even need a single extra vote for him to win. You just need the Supreme Court to allow for that recount in Florida.

Well, if Nader had not taken Gore's votes, and he certainly did, there would never have been a hanging chad event to deal with and having to bring SCOTUS into it. You can slice it both ways with these arguments, really.

Basing the results on third party voters requires also an assumption that they would have definitely voted Democrat. I'd guess that many would abstain or seek a different alternative rather than vote Blue or Red to be fully clear here, a lot of third party votes are specifically protest votes.

To swing that into today's elections; I also don't think the DNC or RNC are even trying to market to these voters. The convention last week didn't include anyone that would appeal to someone that voted for Jill Stein last time. That's completely fine, it's not like the RNC is about to peel off the green party voters with a week of casting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as radicals. These voters are getting a "take it or leave it" from most of the messaging and not much more.

I agree. I think the DNC is trying put back together an umbrella coalition which they consider to start from the center and work towards the margins over time. I understand the left may have issue with that, but I don't see how it is debatable how many conservatively inclined voters there are in America so this was about winning this election where those margins overlap with Trump. By necessity. It makes sense strategically.

So what I would look for is whether or not the DNC adopts a more supportive tone towards the hard left for the following mid-terms. Because they literally have to do what they are doing now, but not in the mid-terms as I think they can consolidate power and extend it with liberal and leftist candidates in the mid-terms. I understand suspicions, but I counsel guarded patience, because what is happening now is not necessarily prologue to what's next.

Did you know Kushner has been on the phone everyday with Kanye West? Bizarre how weird and desperate this Trump clan is, but it is their bizarro version of fielding a candidate that can capture some kind of whatever, bird flipping voter that may have otherwise voted for Biden. Like many things coming out of that WH it is ill-conceived, but that appears to be their reasoning.

Oh for sure, but again, I'd refocus on questions that can impact forward moving strategies...

How do we prevent spoiler effects from non-viable candidates? I'd say electoral reform is the necessary first step. It's too late for that this time around but I'd like to set up for a voting rights push that I think the Dems will embrace with a win (Voting Rights Act is already written).

Federal reforms: Electoral College and Campaign Financing. Fix those and you have basically a liberal federal government organized for democratic participation which would bode well for any left wing. Voter Rights Act enforced.

State reforms: Gerrymandering. This is a state by state effort so it will be patchy, but can be accomplished at some scale during the next term. Voting friendly regulations.

How many voters is Kanye going to peel off really? I'm not really sure because I talk and argue politics everywhere I go and I haven't met a single Kanye West voter that wasn't gassing him to be contrarian. I don't think it'll have a meaningful impact but maybe we'll get some data as the election approaches to make more concrete assertions.

I don't think Kanye factors at all. I was just mentioning it as a related news item as evidence of the bizarro Trump world. It was really just a factoid, not a concern. Just another tidbit that shows how fugging evil Kushner is while being simultaneously incompetent. It's a bad plan, states are throwing Kanye off the ballot with fake signatures like "Batman" and Kushner is manipulating a mentally ill man. It's gross.

Why is Kanye able to peel off ANY would be Biden voters at all? If I find Biden to Kanye voters, I'm gonna try to figure out what the appeal is and then figure out a recruiting frame from there.

Is it really fair to compare Kanye to third party candidates like Jill Stein or Gary Johnson? Honestly, I could see that being a fun debate because I don't like Stein, Johnson or Kanye...so it'd just be a fun thought exercise to me.

Sorry about the Christopher Nolan post, but once people starting quoting inside quotes I spiral into another dimension.

I'll never argue against the validity of third party candidates.

Jill Stein is a chaos agent though. I don't consider her legit at all. So there's that.

Nader was legit. Even Ross Perot was legit, though he was fairly demented and not someone who should be president.

But as far as strategy goes, anything can be a factor when margins are thin enough. We've seen it multiple times in our lifetimes. So I'm glad there is nobody viable running now as it does matter that the Democrats win and validating a third party at the cost of re-electing Trump is definitely not what is needed this election cycle.

[BKlutch]

I see why deep rural America likes Trump:

Is that girl over 14?

[Stannis]

I see why deep rural America likes Trump:

Is that girl over 14?

Ivanka @ 15

[BKlutch]

I see why deep rural America likes Trump:

Is that girl over 14?

Ivanka @ 15

Holy ****! When Kamala Harris said, "I know a predator when I see one," I think this is what we're seeing right here. Look where his hands are and how she's sitting on him. I never knew anyone who treated their own child that way.

I was upset because the girl looked so young and it looked like he was hitting on her. But his own daughter... the hits just keep on coming.

[BKlutch]

Well, after that pedophilia shock, now I know where the roots of the Q-anon child cannibalism delusion might have come from. I genuinely feel sick looking at that photo.

Apparently a number of former Republican Senators and Representatives are also disgusted with him. They made their names public. There are only 27 of them, so does that mean most other Repubs are ok with what Trump does? These are the names, for what it's worth:

Senator Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.
Senator Gordon Humphrey, R-N.H.
Senator John Warner, R-Va.
Congressman Steve Bartlett, R-Texas
Congressman Bill Clinger, R-Pa.
Congressman Tom Coleman, R-Mo.
Congressman Charlie Dent, R-Pa.
Congressman Charles Djou, R-Hawaii
Congressman Mickey Edwards, R-Okla.
Congressman Wayne Gilchrest, R-Md.
Congressman Jim Greenwood, R-Penn.
Congressman Bob Inglis, R-S.C.
Congressman Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz.
Congressman Steve Kuykendall, R-Calif.
Congressman Ray LaHood, R-Illinois
Congressman Jim Leach, R-Iowa
Congresswoman Susan Molinari, R-N.Y.
Congresswoman Connie Morella, R-Md.
Congressman Mike Parker, R-Miss.
Congressman Jack Quinn, R-N.Y.
Congresswoman Claudine Schneider, R-R.I.
Congressman Christopher Shays, R-Conn.
Congressman Peter Smith, R-Vt.
Congressman Alan Steelman, R-Texas
Congressman Jim Walsh, R-N.Y.
Congressman Bill Whitehurst, R-Va.
Congressman Dick Zimmer, R-N.J.

[Clyde_Style]

That picture has been circulating forever. It is pretty disturbing, but as a believer in fair play it certainly isn't proof of anything. I feel sick when I see it, because it sure feels like they have been keeping "Our Little Secret" since then, but it is always possible Trump limited his pedophilia to sex slaves and not incest.

Again, we don't have proof yet, but the affidavit and the Epstein connection and Trump Model Management supplying underage girls to Epstein hosted parties says there is a very low probability that Trump's sexual predation does not include underage kids.

The rumored million dollar plus payments hidden in his taxes went to the families of 12 year olds. Boys too, not just girls. If proven true, it is highly unlikely those are payments are for girl scout cookies.

[Oscirus]

Yall never seen this?

Watch on YouTube

I dont think he's a pedo, just legit weird when it comes to such things sometimes