So Much Winning: Heigh-Ho Huawei Edition

Occasionally, the consequences of demagogue and mentally unstable genius Donald "Impeached Forever" Trump's bluster and threats on trade matters don't directly impact our farmers, manufacturers and consumers. Sometimes, they express themselves as a slap in Trump's face by our closest allies, who have grown sick and tired of Trump's buffoonish, lying threats from trade to NATO to the scrapped Iran nuclear deal.

Today, there's reporting that the UK has decided to work with Chinese telecom giant Huawei in developing a European 5G network, something that Trump has vigorously opposed. Led by his erstwhile friend, UK's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, other European countries are expected to follow suit and engage with Huawei over Trump's objections:

"Trump had ordered his European allies to impose a blanket ban on Huawei's 5G involvement.

However, Johnson's decision provides cover for other European countries — many of whom are minded to allow Huawei to help build their own 5G networks — to defy Trump themselves. [snip]

Individual countries across the continent are likely to follow the UK's lead and allow Huawei a role in their future 5G networks, despite being on the end of intensive lobbying efforts from the Trump administration.

Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands are leaning toward allowing Huawei a role in future telecoms networks, while the French government confirmed in November that it was 'not following the position of the United States' and refused to exclude Huawei from bidding for its 5G network."  (our emphasis)

At the 70th anniversary celebration in London last December, several of our allies were videoed laughing at Trump, showing that they see him as a clown who's damaging our long-held and beneficial alliances. That shouldn't surprise anyone but his Red Cap Cult members, but his off-putting clownishness is giving our adversaries an edge that we may not soon recover from.

(photo: Never ask him if you can pick his brain)

Pic Of The Day: Where Is Everybody?

(click to enlarge)

Tea Party Trumper Gov. Matt Bevin (R-Kain-tuck) has the distinction of being the most unpopular governor in America, with support at roughly 32%.  So the flailing Governor thought he'd call in the cavalry to get the red cap cult out to one of his rallies, and Trump crime family underboss "Greasy" Donald Jr. answered the call. The "rally" was held today in Pikeville, KY and the sad turnout reminded one of Trump Sr.'s bigly Inauguration Day fizzle.

When it became apparent that the crowd could fit in a few minivans, organizers herded the sparse true believers closer to the stage, presumably where they could be sprayed by Greasy Don's spittle.

So much winning!

(photo: Ryland Barton, Kentucky Public Radio)

So Much Winning: TrumpCare Edition

Sociopathic loser Donald "Rump" Trump's small fingers have been busy this morning on the Twitter machine to vent his frustration over the collapse of his TrumpCare monstrosity:

We were let down by all of the Democrats and a few Republicans. Most Republicans were loyal, terrific & worked really hard. We will return!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2017

"Most Republicans were loyal..." Weren't you the one who called a similar iteration of the bill "mean," giving the shiv in the back to your lackeys in the Congress? "And worked really hard...." You did virtually nothing to advance this dumpster fire of a bill, no rallies, no speeches, only a handful of superficial tweets and a few counterproductive threats.

Now, the shitgibbon is pushing (again) a full repeal without a replacement for two years, which will guarantee chaos in the health insurance market and loss of coverage for tens of millions relying on Medicaid and policies obtained through the Federal and State marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act. TrumpCare's defeat also means that the long-held Rethuglican dream of transferring some $800 billion from Medicaid assistance for working families to the pockets of the top 1% through tax cuts (what they cynically call "tax reform") is dead, until they can find another way to rob the poor to give to the wealthy.

BONUS:  The New York Times editorial this morning says it all. Here's a snippet --

Republican legislative leaders are in a bind. While they appear to have failed for now in their goal of destroying the Affordable Care Act, their eagerness to shower tax breaks on the wealthy at the expense of health coverage for millions of Americans has crimped their ability to pass other fiscal legislation. 

This is not a lament. It’s just as well that they haven’t done anything big, given their goals. But it is a stunning demonstration of incompetence that, with control of the House, the Senate and the White House for six months, Republicans have not only failed to enact any major bills but have also created a legislative logjam that is bound to get worse. [snip]

After years spent as obstructionists, obstruction seems to be all they know. Now they’re obstructing themselves, a good thing since it may limit their ability to do harm.

A battle has been won -- temporarily -- in a war that Republicans intend to continue waging against all but the wealthiest among us.  We'll need to keep up the pressure indefinitely.

BONUS II:  Rump -- working hard, or hardly working?

Sadly, Trump's all-out push for Senate bill - including 2 days at a golf tournament & pretending to drive a fire truck - came up just short pic.twitter.com/6flQrH4W58

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 18, 2017

Trumpers Conned: NAFTA To Remain Mostly As Is

Reports indicate that the administration of pathological liar and con artist Donald "Rump" Trump are pursuing only modest changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico and Canada, a turnaround from his campaign rhetoric to "rip up" U.S. trade agreements. In a draft proposal prepared by the administration's Office of U.S. Trade Representative, Rump's proposal would retain arbitration panels to allow investors in the U.S., Canada and Mexico to circumvent local courts. It would also create major problems for U.S. businesses doing business in Mexico and Canada by pushing "Buy American" purchasing rules.

During the 2016 campaign, Rump railed against NAFTA as a destroyer of U.S. manufacturing jobs, when fact, in the case of Mexico, roughly 5 million U.S. jobs are dependent on exports to Mexico. Rump promised to walk away from the agreement and negotiate a completely new one using his now-discredited "dealmaking" skills, something that his cult followers cheered (along with "build the wall').

Along with his empty promises to immediately repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, and to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, this meek approach to NAFTA should signal to his gullible followers that they were had by a demagogic con man...bigly.

So Much Winning: Build The Wall Edition

Fresh off of his Hindenburg experience with the disastrous TrumpCare failure, neo-fascist loser Donald "Rump" Trump may be facing another humiliating setback soon for his signature campaign promise: Congress may not fund a border wall separating the U.S. from Mexico this year. Reports indicate that Rethuglican congresscritters are worried that Dems will block passage of an April 28 debt ceiling bill allowing the Government to stay open unless the requested $1.4 billion in initial funding for Rump's wall this year is stripped out. As an alternative, Rethugs may propose a separate funding bill for the wall, which would also likely face defeat in a closely-divided Senate.

Adding to Rump's political problem is that the public is cold to building a wall especially if the U.S. ends up paying for it -- which it will. Then, there are the logistical challenges to construction, including terrain, and major swaths of private land that the wall would intrude on.

Will Rump continue to bat zero as this next promise of his evaporates? We certainly hope so, but we also hope that Rump expends massive political capital in his doomed boondoggle.