This Is Bad, Really Bad
Yes, that is blood and those are bodies all over the floor
by Mike Meyer ~ Honolulu ~ November 20, 2019
This is a lot worse than people have allowed themselves to think. The Gordon Sondland testimony in the House Intelligence Committee impeachment inquiry was explosive Wednesday morning. In the interests of self preservation Sondland blew up Trump, Vice President Pence, White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and “a lot of senior officials.”
None of these people were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were all fully committed and working to figure out what Trump wanted so they could do it. They even discussed, messaged, and emailed each other about how wrong this was and why it should not be happening. Sorry, that was really the professional diplomats and staff that were drug into this. The folks above knew it was criminal but did it anyway.
As with any large explosion the extent of the collateral damage is not yet clear. That, of course, usually results in desperate announcements that nothing has changed and there is nothing to see here. These are soon discovered to be disastrous in their own right. Pence’s office announcing that Sondham lied under oath about Pence acknowledging the extortion that had Sondland worried enough to ask Pence for help, will bite Pence on the ass. In fact, I think, it will quickly and completely consume Pence’s ass.
The smoke is very thick and there are still large pieces of things in the air with people running for cover. One of the most noteworthy happenings was the departure of the entire Republican contingent from the House hearing room during Sondland’s testimony. Only Nunes and GOP counsel Steve Castor were left and they had to be there as they were the only ones who could do questioning.
When the rats leave the ship you know it is time to get off. Meanwhile the desperation mounts. The tradition of lies and conspiracies that have destroyed the Republican Party now leaves nothing but wreckage to work with.
Whatever the messaging that is trotted out will be equivalent to someone clinging to a door in the North Atlantic and shouting that the Titanic is perfect. There are no problems.
Trump then appeared for the trip to the Apple factory in Texas with a stack of papers on which was written in larger block letters, I WANT NOTHING, I WANT NOTHING, I WANT NO QUID PRO QUO. He then read what he had written, took no questions and wandered off to the helicopter.
Things are going to get interesting very quickly. The wildcard, as always, is the general media fixation on the fantasy world of Fox News and the national embarrassment of people who watch nothing else. They are being fed the alternate reality of the Titanic being fine and on its way to port. What happens when the ship simply disappears in the night?
The level of insane conspiracy is already at fever pitch but Trump and his ship are now doomed. The formal testimony showing the conspiracies to be simply that and laughable in their ignorance has already begun to slice Nunes and the other Trump mouthpieces into small pieces. There is nothing more brutal, and anger producing, than the sudden realization that it is all lies.
My guess is that we are at the end simply because there is nothing left that can float. The fringe freaks and howlers will chant their usual magic threats but most people will become quiet. This type of regime cannot survive when people become focused and quiet. They must have hate and lies and fear. The sound of crickets in the wake of the explosion is death.
We had a test run this past weekend with Trump to Walter Reed Medical Center. That was probably a panic attack but will add credibility, in direct denial of last weekend's lies, when Trump becomes ill and is replaced. How this is done will be interesting but, given the Trump regime’s general incompetence and lack of uncomplicated staff, it will probably be a disaster.
Pence is the replacement but with nothing but bloody tatters for an ass that will result in an immediate impeachment inquiry. No one wants that. With luck he is sane enough to quickly resign. They can console themselves with Moscow Mitch still blocking all legislation in the Senate.
As people scramble over the rubble of the White House it will become obvious how complete the destruction has been. I don’t think Trump can make it past this weekend and Pence should be gone by next week.
Scrambling is exactly what is happening. In desperation Sondland’s credibility, such as it is, must be destroyed. He is self serving and sleazy but that is the nature of the people around Trump. We now have shouted repetition of carefully selected segments of quotes leaving out the incriminating parts. Rather juvenile but that’s what we have.
The only thing that can be done to defend this regime is to lie, obscure, confuse and hope everyone just gives up. I don’t think that will happen now.The pooch has been screwed publicly too many times by too many people. This is already in a death spiral shedding larger parts of idiocy and desperation. Update 1: November 19.
For the survivors in the Beltway Nancy Pelosi is the only answer. Everyone knows this and are scared of the change but we have a precedent with Gerald Ford and Nixon’s resignation. All of this can be worked out very quickly once the insane ones are isolated. That will happen, in fact, is probably being worked on right now.
If not, the interest in this will turn frightening and morbid and the damage will have just begun. Let’s hope that there is hope for Thanksgiving 2019.
