Comey firing was worst mistake in 'modern political history

Yeah, see, first of all, I watched that testimony live, just like a gazillion people did. You made it sound as if he leaked material from his own investigation, which he did not. Also, you made it sound as a justification for firing, which would violate the fundamental principle that cause always predates the effect and unravel the very fabric of reality. As to whether it was "incriminating" (I'm not quite sure it's "leaking" if he shared his own unclassified memo, but that's semantics): if it is, DoJ can try to prosecute. Somehow I don't think this is happening.

You know, old Soviet joke stated that one can't be an honest, intelligent Party member: only two of these three things. This was not technically true because many joined as a check-in-box for nonpolitical career, and not always voluntary. My grandfather was pressured to join the Communist Party, because his Institute's PartCom couldn't bear having a PhD scientist, decorated War veteran, who was not a member; it was unbecoming. However, Trumpist is a voluntary self-identity. I think the joke works even better for them.

 

Well, that sounds legit. I mean, there were many pervert conmen who were holy men. Charlie Manson comes to mind.

 

SteveFoerster, your point is understood i.e. it’s important not to sink into the chat-gutter with nonsensical comments that do not benefit anyone.

"Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer every one."
(Click here to read Colossians 4:6)

Sometimes the best response is no response.

 

Subtle. Yes, I agree: it is best not to respond when you have no argument.

 

The guy who Trump fired is bitter about it. In related news, water is wet.

Honestly, Stanislav, "Yes" or "No": If Steve Bannon had said "The Comey firing was the best decision in modern political history", do you think that CNN would have touched the story with a bargepole?

 

Yes they would. For two reasons: Bannon was a significant person in Trumpland; he was on cover of magazines for his role. So stuff like that is significant and will be reported. In fact, here is CNN covering Bannon minimizing Access Hollywood tape incident: Bannon destroyed Priebus on the 'Access Hollywood' tape - CNNPolitics

Second, "The Comey firing was the best decision in modern political history" is such a memorable, outlandish claim. Of course they'd cover it.

 

Stanislav is a communist-educated former Soviet, the only one who posts to this board. He's not a US citizen and never has been. Yet he seems to me to be absolutely obsessed with American domestic politics. All of our American domestic political threads feature Stanislav as the most prolific poster, always trying to shout down (and in his mind 'educate') everyone who disagrees with him.

Why American politics interest him so much remains a mystery. Why American politics make him so passionate remains a mystery. Why he considers himself such an authority on the subject remains a mystery. Why American domestic politics are any of his concern in the first place remains a mystery.

(Frankly, I don't give a rat's ass about Ukrainian politics.)

You, I and many of the rest of us are American voters. In that sense we are America's ultimate legislators, the ones with the ultimate responsibility for guiding the broad future course of the nation. Stanislav is just another loud voice on the internet.

 

All I need to know about the 'slav is that he hopes Hillary runs again in 2020. He's a troll, nobody is that stupid.

 

I wish she runs again. I know it will not actually happen. There's a distinction. And believe me, I'm not alone in this.

 

I disagree with Bannon about that. Comey needed to be fired. He was a loose cannon, trying to run the FBI as his own little fiefdom, effectively an independent fourth branch of government under his own personal control. (Reminiscent of what's alleged about J. Edgar Hoover.)

Even Hillary places him atop the list of those she blames for her election loss. We can be reasonably certain that she would have immediately fired him too, had she won the election. Both Republicans and Democrats seem agreed on Comey.

The special counsel was appointed by holdover Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, after Attorney General Sessions had recused himself (for no credible reason except that the media had attacked him).

Contra-Bannon, that was the Trump administration's big mistake right there, Sessions wimping out and caving in.

The reason was that while Trump, Bannon and company complain mightily about the "MSM", they are all media people themselves and pay far too much attention to what the media is saying. They should be ignoring it and floating placidly and untouchable above all the turmoil.

 

Minor point of correction: I'm not the only Soviet-born person here; Lerner is another. Further, Soviet Union self-destructed when I was 12, so I'm at least as much "American" as "communist"-educated.

I do not have to provide an excuse for my posting on this and any other topic; both Bill of Rights and Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protect foreigners as well, except of course where it doesn't make sense (travel, voting, and in case of Canada, language rights). Sorry, this is just how it works. The Framers didn't think of creating a special Patrician class for citizens when it comes to speech or belief.

Then again, when you say something "remains a mystery", you need to add "...for me", as it reflects your own epistemic status and nothing more. As it happens, I do have friends and even family members who ARE American citizens. But more importantly, American politics has global consequences. Sometimes they are direct, like for example, right now, for Koreans. I for one am convinced that Trump election (not even any of his actions) briefly emboldened Putin to make moves in Ukraine and Syria; direct result is up to a dozen Ukrainian service-members killed, and rather bigger body count in Palmyra. But more often, and I can't overstate how important it is for emerging democracies, the impact is symbolic. USA is an aspirational ideal, as well as a practical template. When Trump casually destroys America's moral standing over Russia ("we're all killers), what impact do you think this has for folks trying to bring change over there? If you'd rather live in an inconsequential backwater like Ukraine or, frankly, Canada, you may as well move. Then no one will care about your politics but the close neighbors. For now, you're among "ultimate legislators" in a polity of global consequence - although of course, as Trump diehards, you are in the minority.

Also, I'm glad to see neither you nor me again have any substantial arguments for your positions. It's telling.

 

Did Trump fire Bannon?

I certainly don't have any inside sources in the White House, but my impression is that Trump brought in Marine General Kelley to be his WH Chief of Staff, to knock some discipline into an anarchical situation. Kelley seems to have made himself the go-to person for access to Trump. And access is the currency standard in Washington DC, the city's equivalent of gold. (Because it creates channels of power from the top.) So Bannon could no longer just walk into the Oval Office.

I get the impression that Bannon ('unorthodox' and 'disheveled' might be his middle names) and Kelley (Marine Corps drill-instructor to his core) didn't get along. Bannon felt that he was being shunted aside. So he quit.

That's my take on it.

It actually frees him up to speak more freely. Now he speaks for himself and maybe for Breitbart, not for the White House and the Trump Administration. He becomes a hugely influential voice on Trump's populist right, something he couldn't be when he had to be a team player. I'm sure that Trump still speaks to Bannon regularly and consults with him on strategy. Many of Trump's recent statements, including yesterday's remarks that his tax reform proposals might not include tax cuts for the rich, were very Bannonesque, very out of tune with establishment Republican orthodoxy.

 

My take on it was that he was, in reality, being shunted aside and that when he protested, Gen Kelly suggested that he might be happier working elsewhere.

 

That makes sense.

 

It might be a distinction without a difference.

But I'm doubtful that Trump ever told Bannon 'you're fired'. I'm also doubtful whether Kelley ever told him he was fired. After all, Bannon was selected by the President and served at the President's pleasure. Kelley would be very cognizant of that.

But I agree that Trump's placing Kelley as a gatekeeper between himself and Bannon might have created a situation that was intolerable to Bannon. So sure, if Bannon ever went into Kelley's office and complained to Kelley about it, Kelley might indeed have told him that the White House had a new organizational regime and that if Bannon found it intolerable, he might be happier outside the government.

Which ironically, is probably true.

 

Yeah, well after Trump Hillz may look mighty attractive, for knowing the ropes and being able to talk in full sentences (in her case, paragraphs). It's a moot point: she said she's done being a candidate, and I believe her. Which should worry Republicans: she's much more effective advocate when she's not running for stuff.

 

Actually, I can think of a thing or two that was a bigger political error than firing Comey. Hiring Bannon comes to mind.

 

I can think of bigger ones than that. Hiring Imwan Awan to be your IT Manager and giving him access to Congressional databases comes to mind.