Ruth Bader Ginsburg has passed away at 87.....

[KeithKSR]

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/18/10030..._X4z0beisKn67I

[Catonahottinroof]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/u...burg-dead.html

[CitizenBBN]

Out of respect for her I think we should wait to speculate on the obvious political implications, but they will be many.

[dan_bgblue]

According to one news report, Mitch did not wait for her to cool off before announcing that he intended to see the senate vote on a candidate offered up by the administratio0n prior to the election day

[DanISSELisdaman]

This would make the Kavanaugh hearings seem like a Sunday School class.

[Catonahottinroof]

Any blowback McConnell receives is well earned....

[UKHistory]

From a consistency standpoint I feel Obama should have had his nominee considered for the Supreme Court. And from that position I would say Trump is within his rights to nominate someone.

Some here noted Harry Reid started what McConnell carried on.

The Republican Party, the party I proudly was a member before nominating trump is about unabashed power that is willing to sacrifice our liberty and republic to remain in power.

I am not blinded to think the Democrats are better. But the GOP is working to end our liberty.

Should McConnell be successful a trump nominee is appointed to the bench regardless of the election, trump will have as significant impact on our nation like no president since FDR.

And not for the better

[CitizenBBN]

According to one news report, Mitch did not wait for her to cool off before announcing that he intended to see the senate vote on a candidate offered up by the administratio0n prior to the election day

AFAIK he was beaten by Schumer's statement saying there should be no vote.

No surprises either way.

[CitizenBBN]

Any blowback McConnell receives is well earned....

It's all just politics. Harry Reid did start this open war over appointments, and it is another sign of the growing schism in this country which is on neither of them individually.

I see no reason for blowback, other than on all of them for their absurd statements which only are meant to hide the obvious politics of their positions.

[UKHistory]

I am looking for honesty, consistency and a love of country over power and personal fortune

Good framing luck

[catmanjack]

History I agree but it seems the Americans we are proud to call home is fading and voting for the socialist is a very bad idea.

[UKHistory]

History I agree but it seems the Americans we are proud to call home is fading and voting for the socialist is a very bad idea.

Voting for the autocrat who wipes his ass with the Constitution ends our country.

Extreme left or extreme right lead to the same conclusion. End of liberty.

With Biden we have a level headed some what literate person who may desire some norms.

Trump will isolate our country from it’s allies and send us to civil war.

More people will vote for Biden then trump. McConnell’s Kobe coupled with a slim electoral college along with trills own instinct to punish political rivals will lead to the dissolution of the country.

[CitizenBBN]

History, I love ya, I really do, but your absolute conviction that Trump is an autocrat/dictator/etc. is just totally false.

I'm a Libertarian. I hate government power more than anything. So far on every level Trump has been either less so or no more so than any POTUS in my lifetime. There is simply zero evidence whatsoever of the position he is undermining the Constitution, liberty, etc.

Having positions you disagree with is not inherently undermining liberty or the Constitution, and in fact he's actually done no notable harm to our allied relationships at all. Overall they are stronger than ever under Trump.

I've been waiting 4 years for these shoes to fall, and so far nothing.

It's just not there. He's an ass, he's self absorbed, he's PT Barnum, but he's actually been far more lawful than Obama, and has done nothing to harm US standing in some way that undermines us. He's shifted policies, but only in ways he said he would when he ran for office.

"Wipes his ass with the Constitution"? Really? There's just no basis for that either in the absence of comparison or when compared with any other POTUS.

I'm fine to call out Trump, and goodness knows his shortcomings as a leader are many, but he's far less of a threat to liberty than Obama if for no other reason than he can't get away with a sneeze without being called out, which severely limits anything he does, as opposed to Obama, who can literally fly pallet loads of unmarked billions to the world's largest sponsor of terrorism and never gets questioned. Imagine if Trump did that with Russia.

[catmanjack]

Again the hatred for trump clouds ones opinions.
I do see a civil war but only because of the Omar’s and radical lefts that are pushing a socialist government.
My worse fear is an east and west America.
It’s kind of amazing America gives these individuals freedom but yet they bring their terrible beliefs with them and do their best to destroy America.

[MickintheHam]

It's all just politics. Harry Reid did start this open war over appointments, and it is another sign of the growing schism in this country which is on neither of them individually.

I see no reason for blowback, other than on all of them for their absurd statements which only are meant to hide the obvious politics of their positions.

I agree. it was appropriate for McConnell to make some comment about the future. Americans want to know, "what will happen". I remember the Kennedy assignation. There was immediate speculation about the future of the country and application of the Constutuion to events that were happening.

[MickintheHam]

......

Trump will isolate our country from it’s allies and send us to civil war. .........

I would say the relationship with Britain is strong. Same for Japan and Israel. And for the first time in decades there are meaningful peace treaties being signed in the Middle East, the first steps toward a real peace.

So, for which allies are you concerned? France? Maybe Germany? BTW they are too consumed with how to fix the EU to worry about anything else. It certainly wasn't Poland you were referencing were you? The respect for the United States in Poland is at an all time high! I guess that leaves Red China and Russia for whom you are worried. The Democrats love affair with Red China is the biggest threat to the United States in the last 75 years. The Democrats laid open the security of our nation and let us pay for the communists to destroy it. What will send this country to Civil War is defunding the police.

Seems as though you have spent too much time in the "level headed" Mr. Biden's basement.

[dan_bgblue]

Serbia and Kosovo are still located in Europe, right?

While most Western nations have recognized Kosovo’s independence, Serbia, Russia and China have not — keeping tensions high in the Balkan region.

Trump was praised for the deal, and even received another nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. Magnus Jacobsson, a member of the Swedish Parliament, said he was nominating Trump along with Serbia and Kosovo “for their joint work for peace and economic development, through the cooperation agreement signed in the White House.”

[UKHistory]

I am not sure what the basement remark means but I will skip that for now.

My concern is with NATO, forgoing maneuvers with South Korea, strained relations with the free world.

My position is based n listening to what that jackass says. When I am talking about the jackass I mean Trump. Not you.

[CitizenBBN]

I am not sure what the basement remark means but I will skip that for now.

My concern is with NATO, forgoing maneuvers with South Korea, strained relations with the free world.

My position is based n listening to what that jackass says. When I am talking about the jackass I mean Trump. Not you.

Your concerns about NATO are misplaced. Given your concern for the strength of the NATO alliance you should be THRILLED with Trump.

Trump's saber rattling worked. He has managed to get NATO members to increase spending and meet their 2% GDP requirements which for some countries hadn't been met in years, decades or ever.

https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_171458.htm


And, while he has pressed mostly Germany to increase spending, successfully, he has NOT decreased US committment. IN fact it is now about 3 times as much as Obama asked for for the Defense Initiative:

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/03/78444...itary-spending


So he's gotten NATO nations to increase their support, he's vastly increased our support, he's moved US presence into the Balkans and Poland and now with the Serbia/Kosovo deal and his support of the anti-Russian Ukranian government finally sending military aid to support them, has increased US hegemony against Russia literally from Finland to the Mediterranean and Black Sea, yet you see nothing but failure.

Meanwhile under Obama we had a large US technology transfer, the "reset with Russia", and such a milquetoast policy towards Ukraine, overseen directly by the "level headed" Biden, which limited our support to only non-military aid at a time when they desperately needed us to show resolve in the region, that Russia was able to annex the Crimea and re-establish their presence on the Black Sea.


I don't disagree with your dislike for Russia and Putin, but on a simple factual basis you are mad at the wrong President. Trump has used inflammatory language, but that language has worked to actually strengthen Western defense throughout Europe, in just 4 years.

I just do not get how you look at the facts of the last 12 years and draw the conclusion that Trump is the threat to let Russia overtake Europe. Your conclusions are the exact opposite of what the facts bear out.

You may not like HOW Trump got NATO to increase its resolve and defense spending, but you should be delighted with the fact that he did it.

[KeithKSR]

Voting for the autocrat who wipes his ass with the Constitution ends our country.

Extreme left or extreme right lead to the same conclusion. End of liberty.

With Biden we have a level headed some what literate person who may desire some norms.

Trump will isolate our country from it’s allies and send us to civil war.

More people will vote for Biden then trump. McConnell’s Kobe coupled with a slim electoral college along with trills own instinct to punish political rivals will lead to the dissolution of the country.

You’ve been brainwashed. I can name a lot more examples of the Obama administration’s autocratic efforts than Trump’s efforts.

You won’t even concede the Russian collusion mess was a hoax perpetrated on America by your new socialist party.

[CitizenBBN]

As for maneuvers with South Korea, that is a non-issue. He has done nothing to reduce our commitment in the region. Once again he will rattle his saber and threaten to reduce US troops in the peninsula, but that is b/c he is negotiating over who pays the bills with SK.

We saw this pattern with NATO and we'll see it again. He uses these things as a negotiating tactic to fulfill what he ran on as POTUS: Getting more of our allies to pay their fair share of the bills to defend the free world.

South Korea has wealth, as does Japan, Germany, etc. It's time for them to pay up, and if they do then the US doesn't have to pay quite as much and we'll have a stronger network of allies as well.

There's simply nothing he has done that warrants this kind of reaction, either domestically or internationally. Not one thing has he done to act any more like a "dictator" than any other POTUS. Not a thing.

I just see no reason for this reaction. I don't even like the guy, I'm not defending him, but the hysteria surrounding him is inexplicable to me, and frankly very dangerous. You won't, but many are running into the arms of REAL fascists in order to flee this very faux one.

[KeithKSR]

I am not sure what the basement remark means but I will skip that for now.

My concern is with NATO, forgoing maneuvers with South Korea, strained relations with the free world.

My position is based n listening to what that jackass says. When I am talking about the jackass I mean Trump. Not you.

You really need to quit listening to your communist buddies on the left. The left is going full bore toward the elimination of free speech with their stupid cancel culture movement. Basement Biden is owned by the Chinese and will do nothing to stop their further infiltration of our country. Arlington is obviously too close to DC to allow you to see the forest.

[KeithKSR]

As for maneuvers with South Korea, that is a non-issue. He has done nothing to reduce our commitment in the region. Once again he will rattle his saber and threaten to reduce US troops in the peninsula, but that is b/c he is negotiating over who pays the bills with SK.

We saw this pattern with NATO and we'll see it again. He uses these things as a negotiating tactic to fulfill what he ran on as POTUS: Getting more of our allies to pay their fair share of the bills to defend the free world.

South Korea has wealth, as does Japan, Germany, etc. It's time for them to pay up, and if they do then the US doesn't have to pay quite as much and we'll have a stronger network of allies as well.

There's simply nothing he has done that warrants this kind of reaction, either domestically or internationally. Not one thing has he done to act any more like a "dictator" than any other POTUS. Not a thing.

I just see no reason for this reaction. I don't even like the guy, I'm not defending him, but the hysteria surrounding him is inexplicable to me, and frankly very dangerous. You won't, but many are running into the arms of REAL fascists in order to flee this very faux one.

Using leverage to negotiate from a point of strength is a good thing, and certainly beats the heck out of the Obama negotiating technique of submission.

[CitizenBBN]

keith, I'm still waiting for when he's going to "separate us from our allies".

Four years we've been waiting, and nada. NATO? Stronger than ever. England? Only Pelosi has threatened no trade deals with them, Trump has welcomed them. Israel? Nuff said. The Arab world? Much improved. The Pacific Rim? We've continued to show support for Taiwan and the entire Rim in the face of Chinese expansionism.

Where are these allies we've lost in 4 years? Now, has he talked tough to them? Why yes he has. But he knows that they know they are our allies b/c it benefits them, and we don't have to give them a completely free ride to keep them. In short, he's not co-dependent, he's just acting in America's best interests.

And they've all responded positively in the end, across the board. His approach has worked, and honestly wasn't far off in some cases from Reagan's, b/c he had to talk very tough and do a lot of arm twisting in the 1980s to increase NATO's stance in the Cold war. Remember all the protests there over US nuclear presence? Neutron bombs? Cruise missiles? Reagan had to push and prod and call out a LOT in those years.

But it worked. He won the Cold War. Well, it's worked with Trump as well, as we are stronger now all along the Eastern European border with Russia than we were 4 years ago.

[KeithKSR]

keith, I'm still waiting for when he's going to "separate us from our allies".

Four years we've been waiting, and nada. NATO? Stronger than ever. England? Only Pelosi has threatened no trade deals with them, Trump has welcomed them. Israel? Nuff said. The Arab world? Much improved. The Pacific Rim? We've continued to show support for Taiwan and the entire Rim in the face of Chinese expansionism.

Where are these allies we've lost in 4 years? Now, has he talked tough to them? Why yes he has. But he knows that they know they are our allies b/c it benefits them, and we don't have to give them a completely free ride to keep them. In short, he's not co-dependent, he's just acting in America's best interests.

And they've all responded positively in the end, across the board. His approach has worked, and honestly wasn't far off in some cases from Reagan's, b/c he had to talk very tough and do a lot of arm twisting in the 1980s to increase NATO's stance in the Cold war. Remember all the protests there over US nuclear presence? Neutron bombs? Cruise missiles? Reagan had to push and prod and call out a LOT in those years.

But it worked. He won the Cold War. Well, it's worked with Trump as well, as we are stronger now all along the Eastern European border with Russia than we were 4 years ago.

After four years of hyperbole from the left about nonexistent Constitutional crises that never come to fruition it looks like they would learn a new song. I cringe at some of the stuff Trump says and Tweets, but when I look at what he has accomplished I see a guy trying to fulfill his campaign promises.

[CitizenBBN]

After four years of hyperbole from the left about nonexistent Constitutional crises that never come to fruition it looks like they would learn a new song. I cringe at some of the stuff Trump says and Tweets, but when I look at what he has accomplished I see a guy trying to fulfill his campaign promises.

His statements are often absurd. But he's trolling, and he's PT Barnum, saying ridiculous things to get attention.

His actual actions are far more mainstream, and have yet to cross any Constitutional or other lines. He's gone to court in pursuit of things, won some and lost some, like every other POTUS, but he has yet to ignore any decree or do anything else that's a real threat.

Unlike Obama on several subjects like Fast and Furious, and certainly unlike this Russia conspiracy that appears to have been utterly concocted.

I'd be the first to howl if he were a threat, but I haven't seen it. Pomposity isn't unconstitutional.

[KeithKSR]

His statements are often absurd. But he's trolling, and he's PT Barnum, saying ridiculous things to get attention.

His actual actions are far more mainstream, and have yet to cross any Constitutional or other lines. He's gone to court in pursuit of things, won some and lost some, like every other POTUS, but he has yet to ignore any decree or do anything else that's a real threat.

Unlike Obama on several subjects like Fast and Furious, and certainly unlike this Russia conspiracy that appears to have been utterly concocted.

I'd be the first to howl if he were a threat, but I haven't seen it. Pomposity isn't unconstitutional.

I think the pomposity is just a trait the people from New York share. Both Cuomos and DeBlasio share the same trait with Trump.

[Doc]

With Biden we have a level headed some what literate person who may desire some norms.

[CitizenBBN]

I think the pomposity is just a trait the people from New York share. Both Cuomos and DeBlasio share the same trait with Trump.

Very much so. Add Bloomberg to that list.

They all act that way, full of bluster and exaggeration and more than ready to throw personal insults at anyone who dares question them.

It's definitely a New York thing.

[bigsky]

RIP and thanks for her service. She could have retired halfway into the Obama 2nd term and been replaced by President Obama. But she played out the string. I get it. It's hard to retire.