By Mudcat, a Trail Mix Contributor
If Trump is elected, I’m putting the odds at 3-1 that Christie is our new AG. I would put the odds at 100-1, but Trump could easily screw him. I can’t think of any other political reason for the proud ex-prosecutor to endorse anybody at this stage.
82 thoughts on “The Art of the Deal”
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I always thought Christie did a murder suicide on Rubio in that debate where he tore Marco’s head off and simultaneously turned voters against himself, dropping out days later. Just didn’t know who he did the deal for. Maybe now we know.
Agreed, Christie is in it for himself.. Trump and Christie are perfect for one another. Both are angry privileged white men.. Fortunately, Hillary i believe will win, Bernie too if he’s the nominee..
Ah, AG makes sense. I watched him standing behind Trump and thought he couldn’t possibly be veep, so what’s up? Thanks to Mud, I think we know.
Blonde Wino – Have you done other charts besides Trump’s? I’m guessing Rubio isn’t a water sign. ?
The clips from the Trump rally in Ft. Worth: Folks like him because he’s not a politician and they’re tired of Washington DC.
Last weekend, Ira Glass interviewed a young, black, gay man fro SC who supports Trump.
The more the media tries to figure out what the attraction is, the more attention Trump gets.
Ha! The Rubio ad on TV..,OMG! It’s hilarious. He’s the one Democrats fear most. He’s got the national security experience. He’s the one who “outsmarted” them on Obamacare? Huh???
If you overheard a kid who was alone in a tree fort narrating as he played superhero…Rubio.
A police chase involving a “unicorn” and mosquitos that can ruin you sex life. What a world.
Well, if by some unfortunate turn of luck Trump does win and Mudcat is right about Christie, I expect to see a very aggressive turn for DoJ. OK, now I won’t be able to sleep.
“Last weekend, Ira Glass interviewed a young, black, gay man fro SC who supports Trump.”
Unfortunately every group has low info ill informed people that vote against their own interest.. Log Cabin Republicans come to mind..
Trump is an anti gay, misogynist, racist and anyone who votes for him is endorsing that in my opinion..
Its yet another reason i support Hillary as she has my back.. Trump will steal my right to marry and be treated equally..
Donald Trump Vows To Appoint Far-Right Supreme Court Justices Like Clarence Thomas – See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/donald-trump-vows-appoint-far-right-supreme-court-justices-clarence-thomas#sthash.UPAo8yei.dpuf
By Brian Tashman
“One of the many myths surrounding Donald Trump is that he is a moderate on social issues. While he has certainly not made issues like abortion or gay marriage a central part of his campaign, the notion that he is simply ignoring them or is covering up his real opinion belies the fact that a Trump presidency could do real damage to gay rights and reproductive freedom where it matters the most: the courts.
If elected president, Trump would likely get the chance to nominate at least one Supreme Court justice and dozens if not hundreds of federal judges.
He has vowed that he would appoint judges who would “unpass” Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion rights decision, and disagree with what he lambasted as a “shocking” marriage equality ruling, Obergefell.
While speaking today with televangelist Pat Robertson at Robertson’s Regent University, Trump specifically praised Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, the two most conservative justices on the Supreme Court. “Justice Thomas doesn’t get enough credit,” Trump said. “He’s a wonderful man, he’s a wonderful guy.”
– See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/donald-trump-vows-appoint-far-right-supreme-court-justices-clarence-thomas#sthash.UPAo8yei.dpuf“
tony, I hate to hear that about Melissa H-P. I don’t watch her show all the time but do enjoy it when I catch it. It appears that the genius behind programming decisions at NBC has made its way to the MSNBC management.
Pogo, i agree.. I listen online, very good.. MSNBC doesn’t want to be the liberal channel, lol….
TX Governor, Wheels Abbott, had an ad endorsing the “fearless” Turd Crude. I tell ya, this new Gov makes me miss old, Helmet Hair Perry. Oh, in case you didn’t hear, the case against Perry have been dropped.
My only difficulty with MH-P is that her guests are always singing to the choir. She’s a very smart woman; but, I want to see more diversity in her guests–different backgrounds, people working in industry, youngsters talking with fogies, etc. All those would increase the show’s appeal to me–or am I not within her audience of audiences?
Also don’t discount Christie delivering New Jersey in November. And wouldn’t rule out Trump appeal in New York state. If that happens, it’s over.
I’m glad Tony posted that link to The Economist. Here is another link to a special report published two weeks ago on Turkey. It is absolutely marvelous. Fifteen pages (in the print edition) of required reading if one wants to understand ‘the rest of the story’ about that part of our World:
http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21689871-under-recep-tayip-erdogan-and-his-ak-party-turkey-has-become-richer-and-more-confident
I don’t think Christie an deliver anything but pizza and even that would already have pieces missing
Tony
he has begun to steer MSNBC away from its liberal identity and move it toward harder news
He hasn’t steered it toward harder news, he has steered it towards a slightly saner Faux Spews light. There is no more actual news on MSNBC; it is still opinion just more right wing slant but not obviously meme talking point driven unlike the Ailes “you will say this in this manner” drivel recited by the latest polished toothed, long-legged bleached blond.
Flatus
My reaction to MHP is about the same. Most of her guests come to worship at the shrine. Her subjects are fascinating, the guests quite brilliant, and there is often a great deal of art, music and children involved. Unfortunately, this is all delivered by the professor from on high and you will be graded on agreeing with her because all of the guests usually do.
Still and all, I miss her on the weekends almost as much as I miss Up With Steve Kornacki and the the Uppers community on Twitter. All of which has been replaced with repetitive political nonsense.
There are several memes running on Twitter, i.e. #whichhillary #whichbernie where something said or done conflicts with an opposite action or reaction. Among these hashtags is #vettingBernie. This is one of the latest examples
One would almost think they thought the fix was in and now it’s not
Dow Chemical Settles Anti-Trust Case with Scalia death
I take it back, spoke too soon: Christie approval in NJ at all time low, 29 percent
Excellent topic. I had the “what’s-in-it-for-him” thought a couple days ago when my Congressional neighbor, Chris Collins, endorsed Mr Trump. Ambassador to Malta sounds nice 😉
Serious (or seriously whacked) question: Mr Trump speaks highly of Scarborough, Howard Stern & Anderson Cooper. Anyone want to guess his Press Secretary if elected? Round out his Cabinet, if you dare. It’ll be yuuuge, everyone a winner.
Nothing says more about a person than the company they keep.
Rubio/Romney, think a Ford Edsel with a Nixon bumper sticker.
Trump/Christi, think of just another in a long line of failed republican governors. Last in war, last in peace and last in the hearts of his constituents. Can Brownback and Snyder be far behind?
Patd,
Loved the 3/5 post. I guess Mitch couldn’t make Obama a one term president, He’ll have to settle for making him a 3/5th president. My god what a pathetic excuse for a senator he is!
Christi as AG? An interesting proposition. Quite a step up for a guy who “worked the cones” during a New Jersey traffic study. I guess that falls under the heading of ‘ Required Experience and Education.’
One need only look at the state of Atlantic City today, to arrive at the conclusion that neither Trump or Christi are going to do well in New Jersey.
Got a very nice compliment from, shall we say, a rather important person, for the quality and intelligence of the comments on this site. Of course that doesn’t surprise me, just wanted to pass that along.
How many SUVs?
flatus, many thanks for a wonderful saturday morning treat
that must have been one of those rare chills and tingles times. wow. and the acoustics in that place. beautiful.
mud and craig, you both nailed it. huuuuge hitman. and very well-timed in both instances. media = pavlov’s dog
the rube better be watching his back if he does well in texas. 3 hits and your out in this case.
from pbs newshour last night:
JUDY WOODRUFF: …But, Mark, I have to start with the Donald Trump endorsement by Chris Christie today. What did you make of this, the timing of it, the fact of it?
MARK SHIELDS: Judy, the old line of Speaker Tip O’Neill, who said all politics is local, all politics is personal.
Chris Christie, who was going to be the “tell it like it is” candidate in 2016, was eclipsed totally by Donald Trump, and blames his defeat, where he concentrated all his effort, energy, attention and resources in New Hampshire, where he finished sixth, he blames it on Marco Rubio’s super PAC, which ran a negative ad on Christie as Christie was just starting to get some traction in that state which highlighted Chris Christie’s physical embrace of the president of the United States, Barack Obama, who was bringing aid to the devastated state of New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy, just prior to the election of 2012, and mentioned the nine credit lowering rating — the times that the state’s credit rating had been lowered in Chris Christie’s administration.
And he — it was really quite personal why he endorsed Donald Trump. He said he’s known him and all the rest of it. I think that’s essentially the reason.
JUDY WOODRUFF: You’re saying payback.
RAMESH PONNURU: Well, Christie spoke about Rubio negatively almost as much as he spoke positively about Donald Trump today.
MARK SHIELDS: That’s exactly right.
RAMESH PONNURU: I think that the endorsement helps Chris — excuse me — helps Trump in two ways. It also helps Christie.
But it helps Trump in two ways. One is, it signals that it’s OK for elected Republican officials to support him. And, in fact, right after he did, Maine’s Governor Paul LePage, who had endorsed Christie, went ahead and endorsed Trump too.
And the second thing it does is, it takes the coverage away from questions about his university defrauding people, away from his hiring illegal immigrants, and puts it onto his momentum, which is where he needs it to be.
When I heard that Christie endorsed Trump, my first thought was he’s hoping for a job in Trump’s administration. And AG would make sense. But Trump doesn’t care about toadyism… he rewards those who he thinks are winners. With Christie’s low approval ratings in New Jersey, I’m not sure he qualifies.
But it’s still an interesting speculation.
Craig
I appreciate you sharing that.. It’s good to be reminded how really wonderful it is here.. You’re respectful nature sets the tone here and keeps things smart and civil..
I hear you are still not ready for Hillary:
Why Electing Hillary in ’16 Is More Important Than Electing Obama in ’08
Craig
Pass along our gratitude for the compliment. You have created a very special place in this corner of the InterTubes. There just aren’t that many places with room for not only political commentary but great music, references to every genre of books and film, and human beings who can actually write intelligently without resorting personal insult.
Thank You.
Jamie
That piece is one of the best i’ve scene as to why supporting Hillary is the smart thing to do..
I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if any move to place him as head of Justice would result in an immediate revolt by rank-and-file agents for whom rule of law means not accepting a scofflaw as the chief law enforcement officer of the United States. I suspect a mighty dossier on the Distinguished Governor is being assembled as I type.
Tony
That article comes to the main quality I’ve always felt existed in Hillary. She is and always will be a good Methodist girl. She has flaws and has done things that are a long way from perfect, but always comes back to that Wesleyan founding principle: “Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, for as long as you can.”
I’m not particularly religious, but my favorite bible verse has always been a rather dull one but probably goes a long way to explaining exactly why I mesh so well with Hillary Clinton:
2 Timothy 2:15: Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
It all boils down to learn as much as you can, work hard, and be of service to others.
jamie, here’s a good example of the good Methodist girl you spoke of:
At a town hall in Kingstree on Thursday, Clinton was introduced by Ronnie Sabb, a state senator and local attorney, who spoke of her accomplishments with the oratorical rhythm of a preacher.
“I’ll tell you,” Clinton said, with a slowed cadence. “We could just turn this into a revival.”
The crowd cheered wildly and Clinton continued: “I bet there’s some good singin’ that could be done here. In fact, I think we need more signing, don’t you?” They agreed. Then, in a sing-song, Clinton quoted a gospel hymn: “I sing because I’m happy. I sing because I’m free.” This was already her crowd, but Clinton had promised to take not any vote for granted, a gesture appreciated by Katherine Saab-Graham.
“That right there reminded me why I’m for Hillary,” Saab-Graham, an administrative assistant in Kingstree, said after Clinton finished her speech.
Hardcore republicans were never able to accept that Mitt Romney was a bad candidate who ran a bad campaign. They have never forgiven Christie for his embrace of Obama and the Feds. in the aftermath of Sandy, as if somehow that single event was the cause of Romney’s loss. I have no use for Christi, bus seriously what was he or any governor supposed to do under the circumstance?
He’s a bully and as such everything is personal. Yesterday he got some payback. Trump is a bully as well. It’s a nasty smelly match made in bully heaven.
boss, sometime back you alluded to the clinton’s treating you badly which turned you from your original fair-minded inclination of her in 2008. must have been pretty serious. hopefully, not personally by bill or hillary or with their knowing approval. and if the dastardly deed was committed by one of the many loose cannons in the campaign, I hope they have/will apologize. you’re too rare a talented and thoughtful pundit to have as an enemy.
http://www.npr.org/2016/02/25/468114845/going-for-broke-atlantic-city-falls-on-hard-times
DAVIES: Governor Christie is elected in 2009, takes office January of 2010. And at this point, Atlantic City’s casino revenues were falling. It was clear the town was struggling. Christie comes down and has a plan. What does he want to do?
ROSENBERG: The state, we’re going to put all our resources toward controlling the center of the boardwalk, the marina district, all the great stuff. And you guys worry about the neighborhoods. And at the time, it seemed like a real usurping of power. As it turned out, it was only the first in a series of state interventions that have gotten really more onerous as time has gone on. But at the time, that was considered the state coming and taking over. But the results have really been mixed from that.
At the link you can either listen on line or view the transcript. Well worth the time. The Art of the Deal? Ha. Christie’s deal for Atlantic City was a raw one. His deal for the rest of New jersey hasn’t been much better. I think that one can safely assume that New jersey will be ‘blue territory’ in 2016.
the iman? 🙂
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/donald-trump-big-money-attacks-219887
Question for Conservatives. How do you out spend a billionaire?
Jace, lol. For Trump that’s just Trump change.
Mudcat’s AG odds makes more sense than running mate for Christie. That’d be two gaffe machines on the same ticket and don’t think Trump would want someone who could upstage him.
The RNC would be foolish to try to get another candidate on the ballot as an alternative to Trump. As with the idea of Bloomberg, voters aren’t going to rush there…but they might stay home.
Jace… the answer to your question might be found in one of last week’s Economist’s columns… Trump: From Tower to White House.
It essentially says that no one knows exactly how much Trump’s estate is worth… but it’s speculated to be about 4 billion. And that number puts him on the lower end of worth for billionaires. So I would guess that if the higher end worth of billionaires are afraid of what a Trump presidency would do to their wealth, they’d spend enough to defeat him.
Craig – Christie said he wanted to stay in the private sector to make money…but he wouldn’t turn down AG. I think that’s just talk.
The art of making a deal? The two party system has that all taken care of.
1 They make deals all the time behind close doors, and b/c of those deals are why we are in the state that we are now.
111 The D s and the Rs two party system has us all so shattered, like when there is a car accident…the windshield of the car is completely broken…all on the ground….you cant even count the small damaged and broken parts…….that is how we are….whee would one start to crazy glue the windshield back together….
Im not voting for Trump. But if he gets to be potus……well we have our third party….he takes all of the nuts…the country club keep thier 33%, and then with the dems….wala 3 partys…..would not that be great?……Sure it would be terrible…….but like Obamacare, it would be a start………lets all build on it…….get them crazies out one by one….and replace them with normal crazies……a third part so bad….that it has no way but up.mmmmmmmWhat do think purple…..
He should go to the private sector we don’t want him feeding anymore at the public trough
…..have come around to the fact that i will be voting for Hillary. For the first time since i became a citizen….i feel the Supreme Court issue is the most compelling reason to have a Dem in office. Obama should go all out and appoint a very liberal replacement for Scalia………making the way for Hillary to do the same….for two more replacements……Obama should name someone that is very liberal now that the Rs are in a broken state….they wont last long in apposing him imo…..they will fight it for a little while…..but they have too many other things to think about, like keeping Hillary out of office…..mean while she could club em to death with being obstructionist……all dem should get on the same page with this………
Sturg,
So sorry.! I forgot about the pic to my motor home.
Hoping to get some consulting work during the year, and then going on a cpl of months, (or few) on the road…..
For my first out of state trip maybe to Wisconsin, or Missouri….close by………dang weddings and all coming up……
Tom Moran: The Star-Ledger
An hour before Gov. Chris Christie endorsed Donald Trump in the most transparently self-serving stunt in world history, I happen to be talking about the election with former Gov. Christie Whitman.
She’s planning to vote for Hillary, if it comes to that.
“You’ll see a lot of Republicans do that,” Whitman said. “We don’t want to. But I know I won’t vote for Trump.”
How old-fashioned of her. She seems to be thinking about what’s best for America.
Christie is thinking about what’s best for Christie. And it’s never been more obvious, or more appalling.
“…..have come around to the fact that i will be voting for Hillary. For the first time since i became a citizen….i feel the Supreme Court issue is the most compelling reason to have a Dem in office.”
solar, bless you and all those you can convince to do the same.
I’m watching politics this morning so that you don’t have to. Ok, it’s afternoon now. I thought Rube was delusional (I’m right btw). But then Kasich’s rep came on. Takes delusional to a new level. Rube looks too self satisfied when he says something he thinks sounds good. Reminds me of Dan Ackroyd saying “Jane, you ignorant slut” then turning toward the camera and smiling & gesticulating as if he just landed a verbal hay maker. Then Jane smiled and verbally cut his balls off. Watch it Rube, you’re just pissing Donald off.
Solar – That was great! Obamacare is terrible… but it’s a start. You made my day!!!
Pat,
As a die hard independent that has always voted for the country….not the party, i feel that i need to put aside my personal feelings…..and must do what i think best for us all….and that is to vote for Hillary….I also think that in the long run…..all if not most independents that want the best for us will do the same…they will realize this as i have sooner or later…….
So Rubio is now criticizing Trump’s investment strategies in real estate vs. Putting it in an indexed fund. Marco, that probably is not a great idea considering that the Republicans tend to be in favor of free enterprise. So now you’re casting yourself as the guy who would give the advice that if you have money invest passively in the market rather than actively in businesses. Not a great message of jobs in that being an issue.
Blue,
Glad to have made your day…….going to make my night?……………………………..no, no,(yr getting like that spidey gal, she thinks im a racoon or rascal, or something)……just a dance. What your specialty, i can do em all…….feeling a little like jitter-buging it?…..ok then…..
Pogo,
Look at 12.35 today. Thinking about making it the new Club house to replace the one that we lost on the old trail……..U in?
Some dance music for Blue and Solar
Ok, enough silliness XR will around sooner or later…..and we all know what that means…….
Tony,
Tell those dillos of yours to make room in the drive way……i might be coming to visit you one of these days….Every time that i think about those dillos…..i think of poor Teach….Bethy Boo…..night teach….as Xr would say…..later
Thanks Jamie……..nice memos…..
It is very weird to say something here and then see it in print written by some pundit in a major source a few days later. Not new for me but very, very weird … McConnell in the NY Times
GOP to help Hilary to Hillary Win and Focus on the Senate
Hey, U R right on target.! Im not a big J. T. fan, but this is one of my favorites….for just watching and laughing it up…..another is J. Depp….”cry baby”……takes the place of sat morning cartoons sometimes…..
Sat morn………….Flash Gordon, anything with kung fu, or…wwf, then after all that serious stuff…off to the park……just like now….off to the park…….is rick watching?…smooch…..
Almost out the door………Chloe,
if things work out….im definitely coming to texas to meet you and Emma in person…….think about you and all at the “Swamp” all the time…..she must be pretty big by now. Love and Light.!!
Well, this Methodist girl is not yet convinced that Hillary wouldn’t have the interests of her Wall Street cronies come first.
After all, we Methodists have collection plates, too.
Jamie, good line from that McConnell article – was that yours too? it sounded familiar.
“A fitting end to a Republican Party that rushed so fast to the bottom that they didn’t realize they had jumped off of a cliff.”
Pogo,
Trump change. Priceless!
PatD – They can blame McCain. Half-baked Alaska on the scene in 2008 created T’baggerz. Connect the dots to Cruz and his obstructionist ways, not that the rest are any better.
Must read up on “provisional” ballots in SC. From what I gather, if you don’t have a photo ID…???
RR
4 billion is still a lot of money, especially if Trump were to decide to fight back and spend lavishly. As I have said before if republicans find a way to screw him out of the nomination he will have enough money to run a very well funded third party campaign. Trump just wants to be treated fairly, and he decides what is fair and what is not. LOL
Capt’n and Tenille – they bring back memories of the 70’s, sort of the pop and not disco songs which fit so many easy listening levels. Those memories, discharge from the military, settling into a new home fifteen hundred miles from family and being in my late twenties are powerful to this day.
America the weary could be the slogan of the middle 70’s. Nixon out of office, President Ford running the show, a volunteer “peace time” military, President Carter, the blast of the imported oil price climb, cars guaranteed to rust out in the parking lot, cars able to blow up in a rear end crash, foreign adventures with the Shah of Iran, the scourge of disco, and so much more.
The decade gave us great music and some rather crappy politics. America showed the world how transitions between ruling parties happened without a coup. And, how a crook and his high level partners in crimes avoid sitting in the Hague jail cell.
If America was going to fall apart, we thought at the time, getting Nixon out of office and Ford in, would be it. America was relieved, although many people were still positive that Nixon was framed and it was payback from the Kennedy’s. They were also sure Agnew was framed too. Criminals all.
Would a Trump presidency be the death of America? It depends on the Congress and what they do to support him. Would the military follow his orders if he wanted to run a dictatorship? Would they send nuclear weapons, there are still a few in the U.S. inventory, into places like Pakistan, China and Russia, if he ordered it?
The diagnosis of the man is the subject of common writings, and none of those suggested he is stable of thought.
New Thread
Hillary’s challenge now: how to sit on her lead for 6 months and be relevant.