Month: July 2016

Bernie Sanders Live Tweeted ‘Dictator’ Trump’s Horror Show Speech – And It Was Awesome

Posted by on July 22, 2016 at 11:06 am. 1 Comments :

In a marathon 74 minute harangue, Donald Trump accepted the nomination of the Republican Party for President of the United States. The speech recounted a vision of America as a dystopian hellhole where every citizen should be shivering under their beds. And when he wasn’t trying scare the bejeebus out of everyone, he was enumerating the reasons they should all hate each other, and especially Hillary Clinton.

Bernie Sanders

In the opening of his speech Trump promised that “there will be no lies,” a bold claim from someone with a long record of pathological lying (see the Trump Bullshitopedia). And this Trump speech didn’t fare well with the fact checkers either. He also made promises to bring back jobs from overseas (presumably his own clothing manufacturing), destroy ISIS, repeal ObamaCare, and end violence and crime in America (not reduce it, end it). Of course, he never proposed a single policy that would achieve any of those goals in his speech, nor in the prior twelve monts of his campaign.

Watching all of this from his lair in Vermont was Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sanders was privileged to have been mentioned in Trump’s speech in a particularly delusional passage wherein Trump insisted that “His supporters will join our movement.” Because what self-respecting Democratic Socialist wouldn’t rush to support a wealthy, racist, right-wing, wannabe dictator? Not surprisingly, Sanders had a few things to say about Trump’s fear mongering tirade. So he took to Twitter (#RNCwithBernie) to engage in a running commentary. Here is his contemporaneous response to Trump’s lecture on how awful america is:


FYI: Sanders tweet about Trump’s dictatorial tendencies was the most retweeted tweet during Donald Trump’s acceptance speech.

Bernie Sanders, of course, has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. But his movement continues along with his positive vision to reform the nation so that everyone can benefit from its vast riches. He wants all Americans to be represented by politicians who take seriously their pledge to serve the people. He is a strong advocate of voting rights and opposes the GOP’s efforts to disenfranchise minority and low-income citizens. And he has fought for decades on behalf of the working class that is a trickle-down afterthought of Republicans like Trump.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

The vast majority of Sanders’ supporters would never consider backing an elite, narcissistic, throwback to an era of 1930’s Aryan supremacy. Trump’s exceedingly dark outlook on both the present and future of America is anathema to the progressive mindset. Trump’s speech revealed to the nation that he is just pitching a warmed-over version of Pat Buchanan’s rightist populism. That isn’t going to sell to Sanders’ supporters, or to most of the country’s voters.

Fox ‘News’ Boss Roger Ailes Is FIRED As His Creation Donald Trump Takes GOP Nomination

Posted by on July 21, 2016 at 6:45 pm. 2 Comments :

Tonight Donald Trump will be making his HUGE speech to accept the Republican Party’s nomination for president of the United States. It’s ironic, therefore, that the man most responsible for his victory over seventeen other Republican hopefuls just got his ass booted out the door.

Ailes Trump

Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO of Fox News, has accepted a separation agreement that is effective today. It was only three days ago that the strange saga of Ailes was first reported. The unusually rapid progress of events that resulted in Ailes’ surprise termination followed the filing of a lawsuit by former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson alleging that Ailes sexually harassed her and then retaliated after she reported prior incidents of harassment and gender discrimination. The suit alleges that Ailes told her “I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago.” Shortly after Carslson’s lawsuit hit the press several other women came forward with similar complaints.

Ailes released a statement saying in part, “I am proud of our accomplishments and look forward to continuing to work with you as a consultant in building 21st Century Fox.” Fox sources, however, say that he will not be an official consultant, but will be available to informally advise his old pal Rupert Murdoch, CEO of the Fox News parent corporation 21st Century Fox.

Ailes’ long history of exploiting sex in the workplace has been well documented. The environment at Fox is known for making inappropriate demands on female staff, including wearing revealing clothes and engaging in other provocative behavior on-air. Gabriel Sherman wrote in his biography of Ailes, “The Loudest Voice In The Room,” that Ailes has repeatedly given direction to his staff regarding the display of female body parts.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

As Donald Trump takes the stage tonight at the Republican National Convention, the propaganda machine that made it possible is undergoing a severe upheaval. There is no clear line of succession in the executive ranks. Rupert Murdoch will be temporarily assuming the role of interim CEO. And as the dust settles it will be Murdoch’s kids who will be calling the shots and filling the vacancies. There are likely to be other shoes dropping in coming weeks, so stay tuned for further developments.

Donald Trump Has A Frightening Plan To ‘Reform’ Government That He Won’t Tell You Tonight

Posted by on July 21, 2016 at 5:00 pm. 2 Comments :

One of the most persistent criticisms of Donald Trump is that he’s been running for president for over a year and has failed to articulate a single policy in any detail. His platform is made up entirely of vapid slogans (“Make America Great Again”), simplistic one-liners (“Build a Wall”), and childish insults (“Crooked Hillary”). Rest assured that as he accepts the Republican Party’s nomination for president tonight he won’t be any more forthcoming about how he intends to achieve his vaguely stated goals.

RNC Trump

Consequently, we should be grateful that his surrogate, Gov. Chris Christie, is shooting his mouth off in private meetings with GOP donors. It is in these settings that Republicans often reveal their true intentions as they seek to squeeze funds from their wealthy benefactors. Yahoo news is reporting that:

“If he wins the presidency, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump would seek to purge the federal government of officials appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama and could ask Congress to pass legislation making it easier to fire public workers, Trump ally, Chris Christie, said on Tuesday.

Christie, who is governor of New Jersey and leads Trump’s White House transition team, said the campaign was drawing up a list of federal government employees to fire if Trump defeats Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 presidential election.

“As you know from his other career, Donald likes to fire people,” Christie told a closed-door meeting with dozens of donors at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

Chris Christie is in a position to know what he’s talking about. He is a leading candidate to assume a prominent role in a Trump administration, i.e. Attorney General or Chief of Staff. And he shares Trump’s visceral hatred of President Obama, so he would be anxious to erase any remnants of his historic presidency.

Government purges are a tactic that has been popular with fascist regimes for decades. It is a means of consolidating power, imposing ideological conformity, and insuring loyalty. But it is grossly undemocratic and contrary to the principles of a free society. In the United States the concept of “career” employees has been valued because it results in decisions being made on merit rather than political partisanship. Even the threat of political purges can sway agency staffers to adopt positions that are overtly harmful in order to please their current bosses rather than the public whom they serve.

The last notable example of this type purge occurred during the administration of George W. Bush. He took the wholly unprecedented and unethical action of firing staff attorneys at the Justice Department and replacing them with lackeys who would do his bidding. That led in part to an email scandal that dwarfs anything Hillary Clinton has been accused of.

The purge that Christie spoke of goes far beyond what Bush did at the Justice Department. Under a President Trump every agency of government would be at risk. The Environmental Protection Agency could be stuffed with pro-coal and oil shills who would obliterate regulations that have proven to be effective in cleaning the air and water in America. Health and Human Services could become the headquarters for dismantling ObamaCare. The Department of Labor could be restructured to serve corporations and diminish the influence of unions. The Department of Education could begin to kill off public schooling in favor of vouchers and faith-based alternatives. And just imagine the harm that could be done with extreme hawks populating the Homeland Security and Defense departments.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

This is just another of Trump’s secret agendas that make him an existential threat to the nation – and the world. Some of what he is plotting isn’t known because he refuses to disclose anything significant about policy, or even personally (such as his ultra-secret tax returns). Some of it isn’t known because he has no idea what he believes to begin with. What we do know about his governing philosophy we’ve learned by his inadvertent slips of the tongue to the press. For instance, yesterday he said that he would not necessarily honor our mutual defense agreements under the terms of the NATO treaty. Revelations like the one Christie has provided helped to torpedo Mitt Romney’s campaign in 2012. And that’s why the press needs to aggressively seek out information that the candidates strive to conceal. Democracy depends on it.

Speechwriter Exposes Trump Camp’s Lies About Melania’s Plagiarized Speech

Posted by on July 20, 2016 at 1:23 pm. 2 Comments :

The controversy over Melania Trump’s plagiarized speech at the Republican National Convention stubbornly refuses to go away. Following the initial revelation that several passages were blatantly lifted from a 2008 speech by Michelle Obama, Donald Trump’s defenders mobilized to deny reality and try to convince America that they could not believe their own eyes and ears.

Michelle Obama/Melania Trump

The Trump campaign manager, Paul Manafort, dismissed it as being a coincidental collection of commonly used words. That was after he baselessly blamed it all on Hillary Clinton. Chris Christie excused it because only part of it was plagiarized. Trump spokesperson Katrina Pierson complained that Michelle Obama thinks she “invented the English language.” RNC Spokesman Sean Spicer turned it back on Michelle Obama saying that she plagiarized My Little Pony. Trump Communications Director Jason Miller reduced it to “included fragments that reflected her own thinking.” The Trump people simultaneously said that Melania wrote the speech herself (which she told NBC’s Matt Laurer), but that any problems were the fault of her team of writers.

Today the speechwriter came forward with a totally new account of what happened. She released a letter on Trump Organization stationary (image below) taking the fall for the whole affair:

“My name is Meredith McIver and I’m an in-house staff writer at the Trump Organization. I am also a longtime friend and admirer of the Trump family.”

“In working with Melania Trump on her recent First Lady speech, we discussed many people who inspired her and messages she wanted to share with the American people. A person she has always liked is Michelle Obama. Over the phone, she read me some passages from Mrs. Obama’s speech as examples. I wrote them down and later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final speech. I did not check Mrs. Obama’s speeches. This was my mistake, and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps, as well as to Mrs. Obama. No harm was meant.”

So it turns out that the lines were indeed lifted from Obama’s speech after all. And it was Melania who did it. McIver is taking responsibility for not checking Melania’s work. However, everyone on the Trump team who vociferously denied any remote possibility of plagiarism, even ridiculing the notion, are now exposed as either liars or fools.

McIver went on to say that she offered Trump her resignation, but that he refused to accept it saying that “people make innocent mistakes.” This was an “innocent mistake” that made Melania look awful in her national coming out, and resulted in two days of distractions from the whatever messages Trump was hoping to convey at the convention. (That may be a blessing in disguise considering the fright-fest that Trump put on yesterday). And in the end, Trump thinks it was all a positive development:

Almost as significant as the admission that the speech was plagiarized is the discovery that Michelle Obama is “A person [Melania] has always liked.” That may not sit well with a crowd that regards the Obamas as foreign interlopers bent on destroying America. For the record, Donald Trump was also a big fan of Obama at one time, as he wrote in his book “Think Like A Champion.”

Apparently Melania et al couldn’t find any Republican women who expressed the same values that Michelle did. But stealing lines from a historic speech is a funny way of showing your admiration. And that’s why this episode remains significant. It demonstrates that Trump’s fabled management skills are just another fraudulent PR scam. This speech would have to have been reviewed by numerous people before allowing the candidate’s wife to take it out onto the stage. But they couldn’t handle something as simple as sourcing a speech. And Trump’s want’s us to trust him with the nuclear codes?

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

McIver Letter

Hurricanes, Riots, And Viruses, Oh My. Is God Trying To Tell Republicans Something?

Posted by on July 19, 2016 at 5:52 pm. NO Comments :

In the past Republicans, and their evangelical emissaries, have been quick to declare that natural disasters and other civil disturbances were indications of God’s disapproval for sinful behavior. They believe that the calamities that wreaked havoc on Haiti, New Orleans, the Jersey shore, and even acts of terrorism like the massacre in Orlando, were divine messages conveying God’s anger and were intended as punishment for sinners.

God's Pissed

Today there is a report that the Republican National Convention may be suffering from an outbreak of biblical-style pestilence. Several delegates have come down with symptoms consistent with the norovirus which, according to the Centers for Disease Control, is:

“…a very contagious virus that can infect anyone. You can get it from an infected person, contaminated food or water, or by touching contaminated surfaces. The virus causes your stomach or intestines or both to get inflamed. This leads you to have stomach pain, nausea, and diarrhea and to throw up. These symptoms can be serious for some people, especially young children and older adults”

The good news is that treatment for the norovirus is covered by ObamaCare. However, this potential health crisis could still threaten to upend a convention that has already been roiled by human-made catastrophes like Melania Trump’s blatant plagiarism of a 2008 speech by Michelle Obama. But this is just one symptom of a much larger problem for the the GOP.

Civil unrest has been a constant threat for the RNC since back in March when Donald Trump raised the specter of violence at the convention if he wasn’t crowned king of the Republican Party. He literally warned that “I think you’d have riots.” Having set that tone, Trump’s followers began planning to attend the convention fully armed and prepared for a righteous battle. The city of Cleveland has had to take extraordinary steps to try to prevent bloodshed.

And that’s not all. The last GOP convention in Tampa, Florida, in 2012 was also beset by tribulations. They were forced to cancel the first day due to the approach of Hurricane Isaac. That was actually the second consecutive Republican convention that was interrupted by a hurricane. The 2008 affair in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota was cursed by Hurricane Gustav.

So with this virus outbreak this is the third Republican convention that appears to have stirred God’s wrath. After hurricanes, riots, and viruses, what’s next? A plague of frogs? At some point you need to ask the question: Is God trying tell Republicans something? Is their aversion to many of the principles espoused in the bible causing these divine adversities?

After all, Jesus was a proponent of the poor; of feeding the hungry (food stamps) and healing the sick (ObamaCare). The bible commands believers to welcome immigrants in Exodus 22:21 saying “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” And even the environment is sacred as noted in Genesis 2:15 which says that God’s orders for humans with regard to his creation were “to cultivate and care for it.”

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

In reviewing these sins of the Republican Party it is easy to draw conclusions. Anyone with an open mind can clearly see that God is pissed. It may be wise to stay away from GOP conventions, or vote for their candidates, until these issues are resolved and Republicans change their evil ways. And at the top of the list is dispensing with Donald Trump who says that he has never asked God for forgiveness despite having already committed all seven of the deadly sins.

Melania Trump’s RNC Speech Was Blatantly Plagiarized From Michelle Obama’s 2008 DNC Speech (Video)

Posted by on July 18, 2016 at 10:49 pm. 5 Comments :

On the first day of the Republican National Convention there was plenty of drama and controversy to roil the Trump campaign. A vote on the convention rules blew up with many delegates disgusted by the Trump team’s bullying tactics. Some early speakers took harsh and negative tones that were contrary to the theme of unity and inclusion.

Melania Trump

But the most striking misstep came when Donald Trump’s wife Melania delivered a speech that contained several passages that were obviously plagiarized from the speech that Michelle Obama gave at the Democratic National Convention in 2008. This rhetorical larceny was first noticed by by Jarrett Hill on Twitter. Here are some of the nearly identical phrases that appeared in both speeches:

Michelle Obama, 2008 Melania Trump, 2016

Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you’re going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don’t know them, and even if you don’t agree with them. And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation.

From a young age, my parents impressed on me the values that you work hard for what you want in life: that your word is your bond and you do what you say and keep your promise; that you treat people with respect. They taught and showed me values and morals in their daily life. That is a lesson that I continue to pass along to our son, and we need to pass those lessons on to the many generation to follow.

The similarities here are too close and too numerous not to be recognized as deliberate theft. And the fact that Melania was allowed to go out on stage to deliver that speech is an indictment of the entire Trump operation. Surely she did not write the speech. But it was written by people on Trump’s staff who were trusted enough to put his wife’s fate in their hands. And it had to have been reviewed by by everyone from Trump’s communications managers to Trump himself.

This is going to be tough to explain away. And it will be an indelible stain at the worst possible time for a convention – on the opening night. It’s just downhill from here.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Update: The Trump campaign responded with this statement from Trump communications director Jason Miller:

“In writing her beautiful speech, Melania’s team of writers took notes on her life’s inspirations, and in some instances included fragments that reflected her own thinking. Melania’s immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her speech, which made it such a success.”

It’s hard to tell what part of that statement is a response to this matter. I think it’s the part where they say that “some instances included fragments that reflected her own thinking,” in effect, blaming Melania.

YOU’RE FIRED: Fox News CEO Roger Ailes To Be Canned For Alleged Sexual Harassment, Sources Say

Posted by on July 18, 2016 at 12:23 pm. 7 Comments :

The continuing saga of Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes just took a leap off a cliff. Longtime Ailes watcher and biographer, Gabriel Sherman of New York Magazine is reporting that:

“Roger Ailes’s tenure as the head of Fox News may be coming to an end. Rupert Murdoch and sons Lachlan and James — co-chairmen and CEO, respectively, of parent company 21st Century Fox — have settled on removing the 76-year-old executive, say two sources briefed on a sexual-harassment investigation of Ailes being conducted by New York law firm Paul, Weiss.”

Roger Ailes Fox News

Sherman’s sources say that the Murdochs are torn between waiting to pull the trigger until after the Republican National Convention, or giving Ailes a choice to quit now or face being fired.

Ailes was recently named in a lawsuit by former Fox host Gretchen Carlson for sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and retaliation for reporting those abuses. The suit alleges that Ailes told her “I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago.” And shortly after Carlson’s suit was filed numerous other women came forward with similar accounts of improper conduct by Ailes.

Roger Ailes long history of exploiting sex in the workplace has been well documented. The environment at Fox is known for making inappropriate demands on female staff, including wearing revealing clothes and engaging in other provocative behavior on-air. Sherman wrote in his biography of Ailes, “The Loudest Voice In The Room,” that Ailes has repeatedly given direction to his staff regarding the display of female body parts. For instance:

  • When the view of reporter Kiran Chetry was obstructed, Ailes called the control booth to demand that they “Move that damn laptop, I can’t see her legs!”
  • Ailes complained about host Catherine Crier’s attire saying that “I did not spend x-number of dollars on a glass desk for her to wear pant suits.”
  • The casting of The Five included one particular co-host because “I Need The Leg. That’s Andrea Tantaros.”

In addition to Gabriel’s reporting, NPR’s media correspondent David Folkenflik was told that Fox News, on Ailes instructions, made use of a “Leg Cam” that “goes directly for the legs.” And when host Megyn Kelly was interviewed by GQ (with an accompanying, and revealing, pictorial), she was asked about her own “glass table that shows off your legs.” She responded that “Well, It’s a visual business. People want to see the anchor.” That must be why Bill O’Reilly wears those low-cut blouses.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

If these reports are correct then Ailes’ days at Fox are numbered. His role in creating the network, and serving as its chief executive for twenty years, could end in disgrace and humiliation. And for that to happen just as Fox News is covering their biggest GOP event of the year, it could have serious political ramifications for Donald Trump’s campaign as well. The Murdoch kids who are assuming control of the company are not likely to be as supportive of Trump as Ailes. This story is still unfolding, so stay tuned.

And the plot thickens: “Kelly has told investigators that Ailes made unwanted sexual advances toward her about ten years ago when she was a young correspondent at Fox.”

How Not To News: Fox Resorts To Knee-Jerk Obama Blaming After Baton Rouge Shooting

Posted by on July 18, 2016 at 4:25 am. 4 Comments :

Today brings a new incident of senseless violence that rips at the heart of the nation’s conscience. Six police officers were shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana this morning, three of whom were killed. As usual in these circumstances, words are insufficient to convey the sour combination of sorrow, sympathy, and fury.

Fox News Alert

The motivation of the shooter(s) has yet to be determined as investigators are still trying to piece together the slowly unfolding evidence. President Obama spoke with passion and grace as he condemned the shootings and called on all Americans to be united in offering condolences and determination to end the cycle of violence. At times like these the least helpful contribution to the painful drama is irresponsible speculation and self-serving assignment of blame. So naturally, that’s what Fox News devoted itself to for most of the day. And it didn’t take them more than a few minutes to launch into a tirade of offensive and baseless allegations.

Long before any verifiable information was available, Fox was on the air condemning the shooting as a deliberate attack on law enforcement. Never mind that there was no evidence from either the police department, witnesses, suspects, or any other source affirming that conclusion. At Fox “News” facts just get in the way of the right-wing sensationalism that is the core of their narrative. Particularly when they are determined to cast blame for the crimes on their ideological foes.

Within minutes of the first reports, Fox News had drawn a conclusion about the shooter’s motives without having any proof. Host Harris Faulkner stated as fact that “This is an ambush of epic proportions.” Then she reached out to Fox’s trusty roster of knee-jerk conservatives for analysis. They included Steve Loomis, a police union official who embarked on a feverish rant about President Obama’s culpability for the shootings saying “the president of the United States has blood on his hands that will not be able to come washed off.” Then former FBI agent Steven Rogers asserted without foundation that the White House “added flames or fuel to the flame of racism.”

Fox’s own host Jeanine Pirro agreed with the Obama-blamers saying that “the killing of cops is now becoming normalized. It’s now becoming legitimized.” That’s a nearly delusional comment that defies reason. She went on to say that “I agree with your other guests to say that it starts at the top.” So Pirro believes that the President is legitimizing the killing of cops and, of course, no one on Fox asked her to validate that deranged and unsupported point of view.

Not to be left out, Donald Trump posted his reaction on Facebook and characteristically turned it into a self-serving political comment that also took aim at Obama: “We grieve for the officers killed in Baton Rouge today. How many law enforcement and people have to die because of a lack of leadership in our country? We demand law and order.” He followed that up with several alarmist tweets that focused on negativity and division. Contrast that with the statements by Obama and Hillary Clinton who called for unity in the face of adversity.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

The blatant manner with which Fox endeavors to malign the President, and more generally the #BlackLivesMatter movement, despite the absence of any evidence, is a testament to their innate prejudices. But worse, it is a perversion of the most basic tenets of ethical journalism. Rather than waiting for confirmation of what occurred, Fox jumped straight to spinning their favorite fables of an exploding anti-cop epidemic and the total breakdown of civil society. It’s a stance that conveniently fits with their hatred of all things Obama and their advocacy of Donald Trump. But it is not how professional journalists conduct themselves, not that Fox cares about that.

Donald Trump Horribly Botched His VP Announcment – And Wants To Do The Same To America

Posted by on July 16, 2016 at 5:14 pm. 3 Comments :

Donald Trump’s pathetic rollout for his vice-president nominee, Mike Pence, could not have gone worse. It included uncontrollable leaks to the media, a canceled news conference that exhibited his weakness and indecision, an awkward announcement by tweet, and reports that he wanted to back out of the selection of Pence, but was told it was too late. Then there was a coup attempt in Turkey that totally shut #TrumpPence out of the news cycle. So how long before he says it was all a plot by Obama and/or Clinton to rig the system against him?

Trump/Pence

This morning Trump finally got around to making it official that Mike Pence would be his running mate. He ambled out onto the stage and took his place behind the podium. Then he spoke for nearly half an hour about – himself (surprise). When he eventually got around to Pence he confessed that “the primary reason” he chose Pence was because “he looks very good,” later switching to “party unity.” Neither of which are good reasons to put someone a heartbeat away from the presidency. He then assured his audience that “Mike Pence was my first choice.” Unfortunately, as noted above, Pence may not have been his last choice, but he was stuck with him.

The press was not particularly kind to Trump either. The general consensus was that he flopped in an epic fashion. His unfettered ego consumed the entire affair. Here are some examples of the reactions:

And all of this failure was focused on introducing a man who Trump would have eviscerated in any other circumstance. After all, Pence called Trump’s Muslim ban “offensive and unconstitutional.” He supported both NAFTA and TPP. He favored intervention in Libya to depose Gaddafi and praised Hillary Clinton for her efforts. He signed legislation to expand Medicaid in Indiana as part of ObamaCare. To Trump, all of these things were supposed to be evidence of the evils of the Obama administration and Clinton’s bad judgment. So either Clinton’s judgment wasn’t bad after all, or Trump just tapped someone whose judgment he despises as his running mate.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Donald Trump is doing us all a favor by demonstrating so clearly why he should never be president. The selection of a VP is often referred to as the first important decision an aspiring president will make. If he can’t handle this competently, God help us if he had control over the nuclear codes (or the economy or the environment or foreign affairs or the Constitution). Donald is an existential threat to America and the world.

The Company You Keep: 13 Extreme Right-Wing Nuts Who Love Trump’s New VP Mike Pence

Posted by on July 15, 2016 at 2:22 pm. 4 Comments :

When Donald Trump canceled his news conference to announce Mike Pence as his VP pick he effectively handed the terrorists a victory by demonstrating with his cowardice that, under his “leadership,” they can have a profound impact on our democratic processes. Although it may have been more ego than cowardice as he didn’t want to compete with the tragedy in Nice for attention from the press.

Trump/Pence

However, now that his selection of a running mate is official it is revealing to observe the throngs of conservatives who regard Pence as a brilliant choice and the salvation for a candidate that many on the far-right never trusted. The rush to praise Pence was immediate, celebratory, and nearly unanimous. Here are just a few of the accolades that have been pouring in since the choice was confirmed:

Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House: “Mike Pence comes from the heart of the conservative movement — and the heart of America. I can think of no better choice for our vice-presidential candidate.”

Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union: “This is a great day for conservatism and great news for conservatives.”

David Macintosh of the Club for Growth: “Mike Pence would be an outstanding Vice-President.”

Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund Chairman Jenny Beth Martin: “Governor Mike Pence provides the opportunity to give GOP voters still undecided about Donald Trump a reason to unite and to vote for a more principled ticket.”

Brent Bozell, of the ultra-rightist Media Research Center: “Naming of Governor Mike Pence as his running mate is a homerun for Donald Trump.”

Penny Nance, president and CEO, Concerned Women for America: “This is an excellent choice by Donald Trump … will be a unifying factor and conservatives will be very supportive.”

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List: “An affirmation of the pro-life commitments he has made and will rally the pro-life grassroots.”

Mark Meckler co-founder of Tea Party Patriots: “An excellent selection”

Ken Blackwell, former Ohio Secretary of State and Senior Fellow of the Family Research Council: Trump “gets an A-plus for his first presidential decision.”

Michael Reagan, son of President Reagan: “Pence is a good choice for VP.”

Laura Ingraham, Fox News contributor and right-wing radio talk show host: “Trump/Pence does have a nice ring to it!”

Mark R. Levin, Right-wing radio talk show host: “Pence is an excellent choice”

Dana Loesch, host at Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze and Special Advisor on Women’s Policy for the NRA: “IMO Pence as a VP pick is the best choice among the listed.”

If anyone thought that Mike Pence was a mainstream Republican who would be a moderating influence on the mercurial, hotheaded Trump, this parade of wingnut rapture should put an end to that delusion. Pence is an ultra-rightist who has a long record of supporting the most extreme conservative positions. He is a favorite of evangelicals and other social conservatives who oppose LGBT equality and a woman’s right to choose. He is among the science deniers who believe that climate change is a hoax. And he is a proponent of the hoax that cutting taxes for the wealthy will benefit the poor and middle-class.

There is, though, at least one notable skeptic of the Pence selection: Donald Trump. CNN’s Dana Bash is reporting today that Trump spent last night beseeching his aides for ways to get out of naming Pence. Apparently they couldn’t come up with a plausible escape route.

Perhaps Trump’s reticence stemmed from some of the serious disagreements on core policies that are certain to be brought up as the Trump/Pence campaign leaves the launching pad. For instance:

And:

It’s too late now, Donnie. You are stuck with each other. At least you have some consolation knowing that you have the approval of the Neanderthal wing of the Republican Party. The Trump/Pence ticket will likely have all the success of the group that shares its “TP” acronym: Tea Party. Good luck with that.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.