Off Topic Thread 5.0

I finished Raised by Wolves last night. While I found it mostly intriguing and gripping to watch, it really does meander and muddle itself as it goes on. I wouldn't recommend it unfortunately unless your a die hard Sci fi fan.

OldRio wrote: »

I wish I could take credit for this

Boris Johnson has said he will work 'hand in hand' with President Biden, indicating a distinctly more distant relationship than the tongue in arse relationship he had with the previous administration.

The Biden win was not good news for Boris but it probably wasn't terrible news either as Trump could have turned on him at any moment. Biden winning seemed to immediately put to an end any talk of breaking the WA and I wonder would we be in a no deal scenario had Trump won ?

The Inbetween is mine wrote: »

After having had a look at Trump's pardon list, I think he's played this very well.
Pardoned a few rappers...his aide Bannon....a high profile Democrat mayor of Detroit, Kilpatrick..... but nothing for himself..or his family.
It's almost like he's putting Biden in the position of pardoning him for the sake of the unity of the country....a healing gesture to bring both sides together.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it ...but it seems almost a masterstroke to me

Not at all - anyone with any smarts had long since left. I suspect he was told unequivocally that a self pardon would be further incriminating.

And the Bannon pardon is amazingly absurd. The fraud he is charged with, was in relation to people donating to complete the wall. Think about it. Trumps biggest, stupidest fans were defrauded, and the guy who defrauded them just got a pardon from... Trump. Absolute simpletons.

But this is no masterstroke and I whilst I think Biden will strike a conciliatory enough tone, I don't think the justice department will and the FBI can't be happy with the way they were treated by the last administration.

Didn't bother watching the inauguration but was still up last night so watched the first press briefing just for contrast to the last few years.

Not much content but came away with the definite impression that Trump's impeachment will likely progress. I think ultimately both parties want him permanently blocked from office.

partyjungle wrote: »

I doubt it. 17 out of 50 odd republicans to cross the aisle is a very tall order. 70 million people still voted for him. They'd be mad to turn on their base.

The former senate majority leader has openly said that Trump provoked the mob and whilst Trump is a more visible and popular figure - McConnell wields much more 'real' power amongst establishment Republicans, Governors, Mayors etc. McConnel decides who gets access to the bigger donors.

I don't like using pop culture to make a point but as we were discussing it recently - Trump is Joffrey to McConnell's Tywin. Trump constantly has to talk about and promote himself, McConnell makes all the political decisions for the GOP however. If he is saying Trump has responsibility for the riots, he'll know he has the votes already.

Regardless, I think it will come from a point of selfishness and that's why it will happen soon. The GOP will want to have more control of the party platform in 2 years and very much so in 4 years. The mid terms get closer every day so the sooner they remove Trump from the equation (in terms of his ability to run) the longer they have to move the narrative. Trump is already talking about launching a 'Patriots party' - convicting him in the senate will end that movement on day one.

There are other factors. Trump has been entirely neutered since Twitter removed him - if he lost the ability to speak, it would be less damaging than losing twitter. His popularity has also tanked since the riots. If the November election was held again today I think his turnout would be notably lower.

Similarly - I find it hard to believe that there isn't a lot more to come out about Trumps time in office. The GOP moving now to help convict him, somewhat divorces their association with any criminality or worse that might become public in the time between now and 2023.

Lastly - I think Biden is going to be a popular enough president. They had to resort to smearing his son in the election as he is a very difficult character to attack. In two years time he'll have probably gotten covid under control, gotten a good vaccination program going, created a wider welfare safety net and gotten the economy stabilised. If the GOP are still wrestling with Trump for control of the Republican base they'll struggle to gain seats in either house and might well lose more to the Democrats.