Politics Thread

[X-man]

I'm not talking about the recent price drops. This was much earlier in his term. Can I quote chapter and verse? No, but I distinctly remember him getting credit for gas dropping from the $4/gallon range.


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Dude, we have the web. Find your source because I don't believe it.

[boozehound]

I think Trump's appointments have been pretty solid other than perhaps DeVos. Which is too bad, as I had high hopes for her. And I don't think his kids are going to be in the administration are they? Eric and Don will run the Trump Organization. I know Ivanka's husband will be an advisor, but I didn't think Ivanka herself got a particularly meaningful role. And even if she did, Ivanka seems pretty great, so I would not be too concerned there.

I'm not a fan of DeVos (of course), but hey, it's not like education is important. I think Flynn may be the worst pick of the group though - he is borderline dangerous and will play a key role in a department that can get us into wars. I can't say I'm a huge fan of Carson to run HUD, but he probably can't do all that much damage in that role. Mattis seems OK, Pompeo probably won't do anything too crazy, and Tillerson is seeming like a more tolerable pick after the confirmation hearings.

Regarding the nepotism - Don and Eric will be running this business, but I would argue that it seems that Kusher and Ivanka seem poised to play key roles in his administration, even if not formally named to key roles (as they cannot be due to an anti-nepotism law, otherwise I'm sure they would be cabinet level appointees). For example Trump is claiming that Kushner will broker a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine, which seems like a pretty significant task. It also gives us another frightening glimpse into Trump's psyche - the fact that he thinks is publisher and real estate investor son-in-law, with no political experience, is going to broker peace in the middle east shows just how little he knows about foreign policy.

Regarding Ivanka - her role seems to be a little less clear at this point. It sounds like she will function as a de-facto first lady, which is probably fine. I'm not sure how 'great' she is though. She is definitely pretty, but beyond that I don't know a whole lot about her qualifications. She looks pretty great compared to Donald though, I guess.

[GoMuskies]

Kushner is probably as likely as anyone to broker a peace deal between Israel and Palestine. As in, it ain't happening. Better not to waste one of your better folks on that hopeless task.

[boozehound]

Kushner is probably as likely as anyone to broker a peace deal between Israel and Palestine. As in, it ain't happening. Better not to waste one of your better folks on that hopeless task.

You don't think there is risk in injecting a political neophyte into a situation as complex as Israel / Palestine? To be fair, it's anybody's guess whether Trump was serious or whether he was just bullshitting. I guess we just have to wait to find out.

[boozehound]

I forgot about Rick Perry when I was listing my appointees that I was less than thrilled with. Not sure the level of spin on these reports, but if true they would be a little concerning.

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-env...ary-job-report

[GoMuskies]

Not big on Perry or Sessions. They can't all be winners!

[X-man]

You don't think there is risk in injecting a political neophyte into a situation as complex as Israel / Palestine? To be fair, it's anybody's guess whether Trump was serious or whether he was just bullshitting. I guess we just have to wait to find out.

Particularly someone to the right of Netanyahu on the settlements issue?

[Juice]

I forgot about Rick Perry when I was listing my appointees that I was less than thrilled with. Not sure the level of spin on these reports, but if true they would be a little concerning.

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-env...ary-job-report

That story is false and the media has run with it. The only guy "quoted" in that story has said that he was misquoted and what he really said isn't what is being reported.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/th...MBHZKE.twitter

"If you asked him on that first day he said yes, he would have said, 'I want to be an advocate for energy,'" Michael McKenna. "If you asked him now, he'd say, 'I'm serious about the challenges facing the nuclear complex.' It's been a learning curve."

That's it. That is the only piece of supposed evidence provided by the Times to back its claim that the former Texas governor apparently had no idea he'd be tasked with overseeing the U.S.' nuclear arsenal.

And now New York magazine is question the NYT's story: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer...=twitter_nymag

[boozehound]

Particularly someone to the right of Netanyahu on the settlements issue?

It's sort of funny if you think about it, but then sad and scary if you think more about about. We are going to send over some 35 year old trust fund baby who is our President's Son-in-law to fix what is arguably the most complex relationship in the middle east. Just the optics of that are staggering. It's amazing how fast we can become a laughing stock.

[Juice]

It's sort of funny if you think about it, but then sad and scary if you think more about about. We are going to send over some 35 year old trust fund baby who is our President's Son-in-law to fix what is arguably the most complex relationship in the middle east. Just the optics of that are staggering. It's amazing how fast we can become a laughing stock.

I'd say it's better than sending over Jimmy f*cking Carter