"The Shame and Disgrace Will Linger" - David Frum

[orangecrush]

On Saturday, President Trump spread a conspiracy theory accusing the Clintons of murdering Jeffrey Epstein.

DAVID FRUM
9:43 PM ET





"But cosmic joke or no cosmic joke, Donald Trump is the president of the United States. You may not like it. I don’t like it. Mike Pompeo doesn’t like it. Mitch McConnell doesn’t like it. Kevin McCarthy doesn’t like it. But it’s still a fact, and each succeeding outrage makes it no less a fact. Grinning and flashing a thumbs-up over an orphaned baby? Yes, still president. Tweeting that a third-tier dictator has threatened him with more missile tests unless he halts military exercises with a U.S. ally——and that he has surrendered to that blackmail? Shamefully, still president. Accusing a former U.S. president of murder? It’s incredible, it’s appalling, it’s humiliating … but, yes, he is the president all the same.


Trump’s circle probably expects the world to sputter for a while and then be distracted by some new despicable statement or act. That is how it has gone for nearly three years, and that is how it is likely still to go. Trump is steering the U.S. and the world into a trade war and perhaps a financial crisis and recession along with it. He is wrecking the structure of U.S. alliances in Asia and his rhetoric is inciting shooting rampages against minorities. Compared to that, mere slurs and insults perhaps weigh lighter in the crushing dumpster-load of Trump’s output of unfitness for the office he holds.


But it shouldn’t be forgotten, either, in the onrush of events. The certainty that Trump will descend ever deeper into sub-basements of “new lows” after this new low should not numb us to its newness and lowness.

Neither the practical impediments to impeachment and the Twenty-Fifth Amendment process, nor the foibles and failings of the candidates running to replace him, efface the fact that this presidency shames and disgraces the office every minute of every hour of every day. And even when it ends, however it ends, the shame will stain it still.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/595915/

[Iliyah]

1. Oh please. The GOP can stop it.

Damn.

[Blue_true]

3. Frum bailed on the GOP during the Obama Administration.

Things like constant republican lies and the birther crap proved too much for him, he bailed and has been fighting republicans ever since.

[Hortensis]

24. Iliyah, the GOP and their allies ARE it. Trump's the

current face forced on "it" by voters, but overall he's working out for the Republican leadership, billionaires, white nationalists and religious right extremists who are "it."

[babylonsister]

2. this presidency shames and disgraces the office every minute of every hour of every day.

He's got that right.

[orangecrush]

4. Agree 100%.

[bdamomma]

32. He shames us too

but we can fix that if we throw his ass out, he has caused us a lot death, mayhem and chaos.

[SunSeeker]

5. Yes, it will be a stain that lingers on our national character forever, like slavery.

The very fact that 61 million of our countrymen voted for that putrid pile of puss will be our national shame forever.

[bdamomma]

33. I thought we were growing

up when we elected President Obama. I guess we didn't.

[KPN]

6. Classic deflection. Enough said? Only if

you’re not concerned about the possibility your government is killing people who might have the ability to damage them.

[Midnight Writer]

7. I recall after the "stain" of Nixon, the Republicans lost the Presidency for exactly four years.

They will always retain their base voter. The base voter doesn't see Trump as a "stain", they see him as a flag of battle.

[Cosmocat]

8. Two years after BHO won the white house

Our brain dead, dumb as shit country gave the GOP the biggest mid term win in ages cause they threw a rage fit over him signing THEIR GOD DAMNED HEALTH CARE BILL into law.

Yeah, IF we manage to root him out, the country will indulge whatever fever dream they crank them selves into next.

[certainot]

12. a fantastic win for 1500 radio stations selling the "obama messiah" bullshit and

liberals without a clue, thinking all obama had to do was sign a healthcare bill.

1500 radio stations blasted the country from day one with the "he said he was the messiah" and would deliver unicorns and ecstasy and bring everyone together bullshit. so why couldn't dems pass anything? why didn't obama immediately give us single payer in the first month? why can't we have our candy?

while the talking points the cons were screaming in the town halls came right out of limbaugh's ass all dems had to do was recognize it for that and call it out

and the russians tried out their new social media skills and helped create the teabag turd movement

and democrats bent over without a clue, blaming democrats - for not getting over the total obstruction

[not fooled]

18. Aaaannndddd

a mere 8 years after the previously worst president failed to take any steps to protect against the worst terrorist attack in our nation's history, lied the nation into a war that became the worst foreign policy disaster in our history, began the trashing of the Constitution, and then proceeded to crash the economy.

After that, no puke should have been president for the few generations or so, yet only 8 years later here we are in even more dire straits.

[Cosmocat]

20. Yeah, and imagine if Al Gore had been POTUS

9-11-01.

We might not have seen a POTUS the rest of our lives after 2004 ( or they impeached him ).

All that "unity" for W would N E V E R have happened, Rs and the conservative media would have savaged him, and instead of the liberal media channelling their "he kept us safe" bullshit they would have babbled whatever shit rs were throwing at him.

[madinmaryland]

29. If Al Gore had been President there would never would have been a 9/11...

There would have been no Iraq or Afghanistan wars, Rudy Giuliani would have slunk away after humiliating his family, the lockbox would have remained, and America would have address global climate change full force.

Both Bill Clinton and Al Gore warned the incoming administration about Al quaida, yet the Bush administration did absolutely nothing and ignored the PDB of 08/06/2001.

[keithbvadu2]

31. "after the previously worst president" Dubya blesses Trump every day for taking the title away fr

"after the previously worst president"

Dubya blesses Trump every day for taking the title away from himself.

[certainot]

9. jeez. and all of this could have been prevented if democrats had

not been so stupid for 30 years ignoring rw talk radio

it's not a cosmic joke you dipshit frum, its the fact you rode 1500 coordinated radio stations for years and never said shit when it went off the rails and the russians started using it

[sharedvalues]

11. +1

[littlemissmartypants]

17. How much credit can we give to ALEC?

I doubt that radio broadcasts deserve all of the blame. But I understand that you are determined to drive that point home.

It would be nice if we could turn back time as ALEC has been leading us down the road to a sticky end for over forty years. And it didn't even need a radio.

ALEC EXPOSED

Through the corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council, global corporations and state politicians vote behind closed doors to try to rewrite state laws that govern your rights. These so-called "model bills" reach into almost every area of American life and often directly benefit huge corporations.

https://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Legislative_Exchange_Council

Click at your own risk:
https://www.alec.org/

[certainot]

21. alec owes a lot of its success to talk radio, and it's all been basically free for them

i can't remember the source but alec didn't really seem to have much success until the early 90s. that was also when the cons finally won congress again and hamstrung clinton.

all that coincided with the creation of the talk radio monopoly after reagan killed the fairness doctrine in 87.

i think you'll find a lot of coordination between alec and rw radio at the national and local level. and the ability to manage the local talkers at the state level is another advantage radio has over tv/fox. take whatever the ALECs top 5 legislative efforts to day and i'll bet you'll find the local and national radio stations working those issues in concert. and all for free - at $1000/hr 1200 radio stations x 15hrs x5 days /week are worth about $5BIL/year.

it's nuts democratic and progressive orgs continue to waste our donations and time ignoring talk radio, especially since artifficial intelligence makes it so easy and cheap to digitize it all and force the ad industry to actually finally apply market demand and destroy the monopoly.

you could go down the list of major alec 'successes' and find the pretext for those efforts being repeated on radio to set them up. they turn molehills into mountains all the time.

one of their all time best is all the voter suppression and the switch to electronic voting machines based on lies and exaggerations about 'illegal' immigrants voting for democrats. thanks to limbaugh and sons and the kremlin and trump that issue got away from republican establishment - which would prefer to use the immigrants for cheap labor and for keep all labor costs lower rather than the build the wall bullshit.

not recognizing the major role talk radio plays in everything, such as the immigration issue today, iss why the RW think tanks like ALEC, russia, and trump have been so successful. democrats don't factor it in so we end up losing and playing catch up and the population blames democrats for being spineless, not trying hard enough, overselling, etc. - with 1500 radio stations helping out with that scam every election.

2010 was a good eg, with total obstruction from republicans and rw media/radio selling the "obama the messiah told us he was going to do single payer, bring everyone together, save the economy, stop chicago gun violence, end global warming, but he's not trying, doesn't care etc" memes

if they want to keep transgender people out of bathrooms they get limbaugh to lead a chorus of radio assholes to yell for weeks or months about how guys are just dressing up as women so they can use the bathroom with your daughters and wives.

ALECs best tool has been talk radio - for free.

[littlemissmartypants]

23. Where is your proof?

You make claims but where is your evidence of a link between the two? Frankly, I find this entire notion absurd.

[certainot]

25. you didn't hear it? oh, that's right, no real democrat would listen to that crap.

give me a couple of major ALEC successes and i'll see what i can remember or search up in limbaugh transcripts, although those are pretty limited going back.

if you can find a timeline to ALEC's 'successes' i think you'll find the correlation

[littlemissmartypants]

27. I am not going to do your research for you. You claim facts and only present opinions.

The facts supporting ALEC are very clear. I am not impressed with your deflection argument. I left the ALEC links for you and all I get is deflection. Nemo dat quod non habet.

[certainot]

28. you're prob part of the 90% of dems who think talk radio is practically irrelevant now and

why would ALEC or Putin try to piggyback that $5BIL/yr? i'm not really concerned about convincing any particular person of anything.

[sharedvalues]

10. Republican. Frum didn't say "Republican" nearly enough.

[pangaia]

13. It's REPUBLICANS who are to blame !!!

The could stop this in NY minute of they gave a shit !!!!!

[dhill926]

19. yes...this is exactly the issue...

[Historic NY]

14. I wait for the dirge.

[Demovictory9]

15. k&r

[ProudProgressiveNow]

16. KR NT

[JHB]

22. "probably expects the world to sputter for a while and then be distracted by some new"

This has been the Republican operating system for decades now Dave.

The bit I quoted in the Subject line? That's Newt Gingrich. Say something outrageous to get your base in a lather and stampeding in the direction you want them to go, let the squawks pass by because nobody squawking is going to do more than that, and do it again.

It's what your colleagues in the Bush administration meant when they jeered at the "reality-based community". They tear things up, nobody makes them really pay for it, so they do it again.

Sure, Dave, it's important not to forget it. But you forgot all that came before it, and it's because of those previous things that Trump was even able to worm his way into office.

Please stop lecturing us who understood this long before you did. Stop squawking.

How about you gather all the NeverTrumpers and back William Weld? Prove that there are "reasonable" Republicans left, and get them to do something other than squawk.

[kimbutgar]

26. "The evil that men do lives after them"

What fat donnie has done is destroy the immigrant dream of America being a bright place where dreams can come true.

He has strained our reputation as the country other aspire to. Just as with his business that have gone bankrupt he will leave America a divided country for Putin to take over eventually unless we stop him.

[keithbvadu2]

30. Trump/Melania using a baby orphaned by one of Trump's followers for a political photo-op.

[bucolic_frolic]

34. Our political system

is inadequate to promptly deal with the current circumstances. But so were other forms of government. Eventually power becomes concentrated. There have been some despotic, authoritarian kings and queens, presidents, premiers, Royal Houses. This isn't the first oligarch period. Royalty wants to keep power or return to power. Few dynastic lines ever die out. The Revolutions of 1848 should have told us something. The peasantry is always trying to flee, the intelligentsia the same, the workers complaining and exploited.

Reverse engineering this mess politically is a gargantuan task. Expensive too. The courts are slow, sometimes hostile. I'm not hopeful, unless the oldest generation of Magazis fry in global warming. That would solve one issue.

[UTUSN]

35. K&R

[Perseus]

36. What a bunch of bull that republicans don't like their idiot

They may not like him personally, that I would not doubt, but they do like having their idiot who can handle a pen, and can distract.

And yes, he is the president, but he is illegitimate, and he needs top be removed but the criminal republicans want him there, and they are also compromised by Russia. Its a clusterfuck!

I don't know what the person who wrote the article is trying to get to by repeating "he is the president", ok, but he needs to be removed. Not much new in that article.