As much as they might love Blimpy for being a Democrat-slayer, many of his most ardent supporters must sense now that something is very, very wrong about Trump’s relationship with Putin and Russia. #helsinkisummit
1/ It isn’t just that right wing commentators on Fox News and elsewhere are, without exception, criticizing Trump’s performance at Helsinki. I expect it will cut much deeper than that, to Trump’s deplorable base itself.
2/ The more this sinks in, the more convinced I am that the Helsinki summit was not just a disaster for the US: it will also prove to be a big political setback for Trump--even with his base. Not all of them, of course, but a LOT of them.
3/ If I’m right, it should show up shortly in the post-summit polling that is probably ongoing even now.
Another prediction: it will go some way toward strengthening support in the public for the Mueller probe.
All this may prove to be wishful thinking, but I don’t think so.
4/ In politics, it's not a good idea to put yourself out there somewhere all alone.
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I posted this to Twitter a long time ago. It’s from Yuri Felshtinsky and Vladimir Pribylovsky, The Corporation: Russia and the KGB in the Age of President Putin. Encounter Books. 2008, pp. 40-41 (not available online):
(THREAD) Collins votes YES, so Kavanaugh’s confirmed.
This is the finale of the confirmation VOTE, but it is NOT the end of the #Kavanaugh ISSUE. 1/14
The FBI “investigation” was a sham, and that makes Collins’ special pleading for her YES vote a sham. It was a sickening performance. 2/14
The fatal weakness of her defense of her vote is that there was no meaningful investigation. Merely seeking corroboration in the form of direct, eyewitness testimony from the participants of the 1 Jul 1982 meeting does not constitute a meaningful investigation. 3/14
A subjective impression, admittedly, but in the pics and videos I have seen, Senate Rs look grim and worried--even, on occasion, angry.
D claim that this was a cover-up (20+ witnesses not called) is getting traction. No adequate push back from Rs yet.
McConnell saying on the floor that the Senate must vote to confirm b/c “in this country you’re not guilty until proven innocent” has this whole matter so wrong (it’s a job interview, Mitch, not a trial) that he must be feeling a little desperate.
(THREAD) The predicted early conclusion of the FBI background check on #Kavanaugh that has been reported by Politico and the WSJ is surprising and cause for anxiety and concern, but let’s look try hard to look on the (possibly) bright side. 1/8
We must keep in mind that this investigation is essentially a background check on #Kavanaugh, in light of newly surfaced allegations of belligerent drunkenness and sexual violence alleged against him by Ford and others. 2/8
So this investigation is more about Kavanaugh and his nomination than it is about Ford or any other accusers, and while the FBI does not reach conclusions, it does uncovers facts, and presents those facts to others so they can better reach their own conclusions. 3/8