Trump to Congresswomen: Go back to your own country!

[Guest]

It isn't mincing words to discuss Trump's behavior as political tactics. That isn't a binary, opposed position from viewing their content as racist or offensive. It's seeing the issue through multiple lenses, where the political lense is being cleaned of the emotion and outrage to view through it a bit more clearly.

People can rail about Trump all they want. But the Democrats in the House also need to provide positive leadership and governance through legislative effort. Don't imagine just because 2020 doesn't include a Clinton or Bush that it will end up any different in terms of voter vatigue and disgust with the process and candidates. There needs to be some substance to hang onto to keep afloat otherwise it will still be a race to the bottom of whose voters get the least turned off. It's how it works.

[_Some Schmo]

But the Democrats in the House also need to provide positive leadership and governance through legislative effort.

Nearly halfway through the year, Congress has only passed 17 laws

So far this year, more than 100 bills have passed the House but have not made it through the Senate or onto the president’s desk, including a voters’ rights bill, a climate bill, and the Equality Act, sweeping legislation that protects LGBTQ people from discrimination in the workplace, housing, service and public accommodations.

I believe they are doing just that, but it doesn't matter because few people talk about it. It's possible to say, "Trump is an asshole on climate. We in the House passed a climate bill. McConnell is an asshole too, because he won't bring anything to the floor."

In other words, they can tie their legislative accomplishments to how much of a disaster Trump is. And even then, I'm doubtful that many people will be moved.

I'm starting to think Bill Maher has it right when he predicts the only sure lock Democrat winner would be Oprah.

[Guest]

I thought the House was generally doing a good job. In fact, where some saw discord over the last few weeks before this incident I saw a general order coalesce around Pelosi where the voices of frustration from the more extreme element of the party is to be expected. So, I view this last week as a departure from what had been fairly steady progress in a positive direction.

ETA: I wouldn't vote for Oprah. Trump v Oprah is a nightmare scenario to me. Celebrity candidates on both sides? Good Jesus...I can't imagine.

[_Kevin Graham]

I get what you're saying about the constant distractions but I don't think our legislators are as distracted as the media is. The media covered the racist tweets for a day and they they covered the tweets again a second day because he doubled down and did a press conference. Then they covered the House Resolution to condemn the attacks. But I think you greatly overestimate the ability of his idiotic tweets to completely disrupt Congress.

What was the last meaningful substantive thread you started on the board that wasn't a reaction to something Trump said or did?

There is only so much oxygen available for public discourse. This sucked up a ton.

I'm not talking about public discourse. Your concern seemed to be that politicians were no longer working on things that matter because of Trump's Twitter rants and the media's coverage of them. I don't think Nancy and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are sitting around biting their nails trying to figure out what to do about Trump's remarks.

This is all theater for the public, not the public servants who are behind closed doors doing their jobs.

[_Kevin Graham]

It isn't mincing words to discuss Trump's behavior as political tactics.

This begs the question, are they tactics?

Trump just repeats whatever FOX news said that same day. He usually repeats it within minutes, and it is no surprise to find out FOX & Friends went off on the "squad" just 20 minutes before Trump's notorious tweet.

I'm frankly tired of watching people describe Trump's actions as some form of 4th dimensional chess playing. We're talking about a buffoon and a moron who cannot even form a strategy to look at an eclipse without frying his pupils.

[_Some Schmo]

I'm frankly tired of watching people describe Trump's actions as some form of 4th dimensional chess playing. We're talking about a buffoon and a moron who cannot even form a strategy to look at an eclipse without frying his pupils.

Can't be restated enough.

[_Some Schmo]

ETA: I wouldn't vote for Oprah. Trump v Oprah is a nightmare scenario to me. Celebrity candidates on both sides? Good Jesus...I can't imagine.

Never said she'd be a good President. I'm just saying I think she's the only really safe bet in a 2020 election against Trump.

Trump is a constant distraction. The Democrats need a bigger distraction to capture this nation's bereft attention span.

[_honorentheos]

It's an overstatement to describe it as 4 dimensional chess. He reacted to stuff in a way that got a reaction to shake things up. One doesn't have to be good at chess to knock the board over.

[_EAllusion]

Trump sometimes deliberately trolls the media in an effort to put a thumb on the coverage scale, but most of the time his nonsense on Twitter is just his stream of consciousness reactions to the news of the day primarily as he hears it on Fox News. Describing him as playing a game at all gives it too much credit. He might benefit from the consequences of that from time to time, but it seems silly to ascribe brilliant intent to President Gorilla beating his chest.

To the idea that his racist tweets somehow are brilliant tactics, intentionally or unintentionally, I think you need to remember that Trump is actually very unpopular. Presidents with the conditions he's lucked into normally have approval ratings in the upper 50's to low 60's and would be cruising to reelection. Trump is not doing that. He might win reelection, but the fact that it's even in doubt is a testimony to his unique awfulness at this. It seems if you were a brilliant manipulator of public opinion, it would be wise to use that superpower to make people actually like you and make elections for yourself and your fellow Republicans much easier than they are.

Finally, while it is true that things like Trump's relationship with Russia are objectively more important stories, it does not follow that this impacts public opinion negatively towards him more. There's really no evidence that is the case. National attention on the fact that Trump is making super-racist comments might very well be more politically damaging to him than stories you rightly think are more serious. People aren't rational.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

Following the uproar surrounding Trump’s comment, support for the president among Republicans rose by 5 percentage points to 72 percent

That's from Rasmussen. Or Reuters. Or whatever. It doesn't matter.

- Doc