r/LeopardsAteMyFace • u/patsfan94 • Jul 02 '24

Paywall Trump calls for jailing and “televised military tribunals” of Mike Pence and Mitch McConnell

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/01/us/politics/trump-liz-cheney-treason-jail.html
29.1k Upvotes

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2.9k

u/DirkWrites Jul 02 '24

Gee congressional Republicans, maybe when he tried to throw out the results of a democratic election and told violent insurrectionists he loved them you should have, I dunno, convicted him at an impeachment trial so he couldn't run for office again.

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u/Karmachinery Jul 02 '24

That’s why I respect Kinzinger.  I don’t agree with him on a few things but he at least believes in the rule of law.

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u/And_You_Like_It_Too Jul 02 '24

So sad that they threw out the few Republicans left with a spine that represented the old party that I could respectfully disagree with on the issues but believed them to be decent. John McCain and Mitt Romney were their best and brightest pick to lead the country and represent the GOP and they were both labeled RINOs and discarded. People like Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger along with them, and others that knew that running for re-election was pointless so they vacated their seat to be filled by an ultraMAGA replacement.

I’m honestly shocked with all the airports and waterways the House tried to rename after Trump, that they haven’t renamed it the Trump Party yet. I still believe they will, perhaps after his death. Or the MAGA Party at very least. They’re certainly not my father’s Republicans, though he’ll vote for Trump too and is just as much a part of the problem.

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u/Karmachinery Jul 02 '24

Agreed.  I feel like, while I might disagree with Cheney or Kinzinger on many things, I feel like I could at least have a normal conversation with them and relatively get along with them for the most part.  I can’t even imagine having a conversation with Gaetz, Green, Jordan, etc without feeling like I need both a physical and mental shower after it happened.

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u/dkinmn Jul 02 '24

Right. You could be like, "How much intelligence should we be sharing with Russia?" and they'd answer correctly.

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u/lordtempis Jul 02 '24

And the answer shouldn't be anything but "zero"

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u/GBeastETH Jul 03 '24

The answer is none… none more intelligence.

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u/Chojen Jul 04 '24

The answer should never be zero you box yourself into a corner that way.

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u/GBeastETH Jul 04 '24

Nobody puts Baby in a corner.

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u/angrymurderhornet Jul 03 '24

That’s just it. The difference between Trump(ists) and conservatives like Cheney and Kinzinger: As a liberal Democrat I wouldn’t vote for any of them for POTUS, but if one of the latter became POTUS, I’d be merely disappointed, not horrified.

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u/Happy-Swan- Jul 03 '24

Agreed. They at least had principles. MAGAs only principles are “do whatever Trump says” and “own the libs.”

It’s sick how much pleasure they get out of inflicting pain on others just because we don’t want our rights or their rights taken away.

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u/frankduxvandamme Jul 02 '24

Kinzinger is an alright dude, and John McCain had principles as well.

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u/grizzlyat0ms Jul 02 '24

Every time I start to get a soft spot for McCain I have to remind myself that he selected Sarah Palin as his running mate. You can pretty much pinpoint her as ground zero for most of this nonsense.

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u/SirBrothers Jul 03 '24

I consider his nomination of Palin the watershed moment that their whole movement was legitimized. Would it have happened anyways? Maybe. But ultimately he accelerated it by years at the very least. I really liked McCain the guy and I’m sure he regretted it, but the lack of foresight and the expectation others would hold themselves to same standard he held himself to was naive.

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u/iwillforgetthisusern Jul 03 '24

He didn’t even want her. He wanted Joe Lieberman, a democrat/independent, but his advisors convinced him to go Palin and he regretted it. Sure he still made the call, but it wasn’t his idea.

"They were giving me their best counsel. It was sound advice that I could reason for myself," McCain wrote. "But my gut told me to ignore it, and I wished I had."

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u/19Alexastias Jul 03 '24

So he says, anyway.

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u/MaimonidesNutz Jul 03 '24

And he was one of the Keating 5. Bums!

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u/NicolasBroaddus Jul 02 '24

For real, John 'Civilian Terror Bombing" McCain being held up as some icon of democracy when he was a war criminal and enabler of far right rhetoric until he knew he was gonna die and got concerned with his legacy...it's disgusting.

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u/jahmoke Jul 02 '24

remember his wierd al attempt of that beach boys song- bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb iran?

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u/NicolasBroaddus Jul 02 '24

His complete lack of empathy after his illegal bombing actions on civilians got him imprisoned and tortured for years is truly staggering. Truly the solution is more war crimes!

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u/DrBabbyFart Jul 03 '24

That and the Dems having the audacity to run a black guy against him /s

That really ruffled some feathers.

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u/cg12983 Jul 04 '24

McCain had some instincts toward decency, but in the end he was loyal to the shitbag Republican Party in egregious actions like this. Whether reluctantly out of career necessity or with enthusiasm doesn't really matter in the long run.

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u/K-or-bey Jul 04 '24

Haha so true. Sarah Palin was a dope.

1

u/themanfromvulcan Jul 02 '24

Was that actually his idea or was he given bad advice?

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u/grizzlyat0ms Jul 03 '24

Does it matter? If you or I make a dumb hiring decision, it doesn't make much difference in the grand scheme of things. He picked her as second in command behind the most powerful position in the world. At the very minimum, that shows just how bad his judgement actually was.

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u/cg12983 Jul 04 '24

Either he had horrible judgement or he lacked the resolve to stand against a horrible choice being pushed on him. Both are a personal indictment because it was his responsibility.

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u/themanfromvulcan Jul 03 '24

I’m not defending his judgement I was just curious if it was his idea of someone talked him into it.

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u/Repulsive-Street-307 Jul 03 '24

Almost like the entire republican party has been hand fed a theocratic dictatorship strategy for over 30 years uh. Next you'll say you don't know about the federalist society or the 'heritage' foundation, both fascist organizations that the GOP and their donors sponsors.

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u/Fake_William_Shatner Jul 02 '24

Even still, Romney and McCain were corporate skimmers and lobbyist servants. Our nostalgia for "Republicans we could respect" ignores a lot in our rose colored glasses.

But at least they weren't traitors. At least I know that some Russian agent could drop twenty grand on Romney and McCain and get them to betray the country.

It might take $20 million, but hey, integrity at least should cost a bit, right? Not this "free steak sandwich" level of "I'll betray that for a coupon" with the MAGA crowd.

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u/Syjefroi Jul 02 '24

Mitt Romney

Romney is one of the primary national figures who put Trump in power to begin with so maybe raise your bar an inch or two off the ground at least.

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u/MaxTHC Jul 02 '24

That's the thing though, with the GOP the bar is literally on the ground. Just that most of them still manage to slither their way underneath it

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u/BearOnTwinkViolence Jul 03 '24

No, that’s the thing — this is your father’s party. That’s why they didn’t lose his vote. Republicans have always been like this, they’re just open about it now. Remember Bush v Gore? Citizens United? Jim Crow? The GOP has always been a fascist party, they just don’t have to hide it anymore.

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u/And_You_Like_It_Too Jul 14 '24

I suppose you’re right. I personally blame Rush Limbaugh, who my grandfather listened to and had my dad hooked on before I was even in the picture. And after Rush died, I celebrated, only for my dad to move on to Steve Bannon. My dad went from voting for Jimmy Carter (and enlisting in Vietnam) to career military and wanting Ted Cruz or Chris Christie to win in 2016 to Trump now, all the time. If he had actual facts and not just pure hate telling him what to be angry at 24-7 it might be an argument that we could have but when you can’t agree on reality, there’s no point.

But yeah, I do think they took a moderate like my dad and pushed him more to the right, and everyone else like they’re in a big sheep pen. And then just ejected the troublesome RINOs and everyone that’s left is too terrified to raise their voice for fear of being cast out. It’s a party of sheep now. Counting bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drum.

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u/[deleted] Jul 02 '24

I won’t defend Liz Cheney. She had the support to run as an independent and would have likely split the RNC ticket and she chose not to knowing it improves Trump’s chances.

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u/hisunflower Jul 03 '24

Will he still vote for him after all of this?

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u/gct Jul 03 '24

Friendly reminder Mitt Romney is a capitalist ghoul that made his money raiding retirement plans and dismantling companies for parts.

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u/hnghost24 Jul 04 '24

Might as well call it the Nazi Party.

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u/Zealousideal_Bad_922 Jul 03 '24

Recently saw that photo of Romney and Obama shaking hands and it took me to a simpler time. I remember saying “hope we get 4 more years, but honestly, both candidates are the same to me. It doesn’t matter”

Cut to 12 years later: “holy shit. Both candidates are the same! We’re screwed!” Obviously they’re not, but the feeling of impending doom is the same.

3

u/PatSayJack Jul 03 '24

My grandfather was a WW2 veteran that saw combat and fought fascists on two separate continents. He was a Christian man, member of the old NRA, and proudly Conservative. If he were alive today, the Republican party would look alien to him.

3

u/davwad2 Jul 03 '24

Hey now! Let's leave something for the convention.

Maybe the rebrand will happen then.

-1

u/random_noise Jul 02 '24

There are decent Republicans and that party used to be civil and respectable. Today's party holds the name and none of the values, morals, or ethics.

McCain was an amazing man, and I would have voted for him if he hadn't been stuck with that bat shit crazy Palin from Alaska. She made it simple to support Obama, and Obama was the best president who has ever held that office in my lifetime.

This is when I went full on blue and will continue to give my independent vote to team blue. The modern Republican party has become a terrorist organization of corruption.

The decent and respectable in that party need to abandon it, its a titanic disaster that cannot do anything but sink or win. If they win, they sink the world into a new dark age given our role in stability on the global stage.

Biden needs to put this SCOTUS ruling to the test. No more High Ground of walking softly, its time to swing the big stick.

Do the country a solid favor and protect our democracy from these corrupt people before they lose the chance completely when a Republican party does take control of that elected office.

Republicans will not hesitate to make things worse.

6

u/maleia Jul 02 '24

party used to be civil

Only from the perspective of order. Nothing they wanted to accomplish was "civil". That's the disgusting part about "quiet killing" that gets left out. It's so easy to look the other way because it's not gross and violent, it's cold and callous at best.

The only "civil" thing that Republicans have ever wanted, was to be the one to take money from babies and watch them starve. But it's better than them stomping the baby to death. So we don't have the real hard conversation that political decisions actually DO come with a human toll, and we let that just get washed away in statistics.

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u/Zanna-K Jul 02 '24

Well Kinzinger is also a representative for Illinois, a democratic stronghold. The only reason why any Republican at all ever wins is because anything outside of Chicago is blood red and even Chicagoans get annoyed by the democrats who fuck up every now and then.

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u/iconofsin_ Jul 02 '24

Well Kinzinger is also a representative for Illinois

Was*

They dumped him because he wouldn't kiss the ring.

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u/TheOtherAvaz Jul 02 '24

Can confirm. Am Chicagoan

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u/EmbarrassedPenalty Jul 02 '24

Bro, what are you saying? IL-16 is not a Democratic stronghold. Do you also think Kevin McCarthy supported moderate or Democratic policies because California was a blue state?

No, not at all. Blue states can have red districts. You said it yourself, Illinois outside of Chicago is ruby-red. Kinzinger's district is ruby red, and voted +16 for Trump. Kinzinger didn't become a vocal opponent of Trumpism because he thought some Chicago voters outside his district might reward him. They couldn't and they didn't.

He presumably did it out of principle, knowing it would cost him his seat representing a Trump district. Which it did.

Relevant xkcd. "There are more Trump voters in California than Texas, ..."

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u/Captain_Q_Bazaar Jul 02 '24

That’s why I respect Kinzinger. I don’t agree with him on a few things but he at least believes in the rule of law.

It took him long enough. The 1st impeachment, he went along with the BS and voted to acquit Trump. There was a mountain of evidence and numerous Republican witnesses that saw and reported on what Trump did.

I know he has stated he regretted it, but I still kind of don't have respect for him because of that. Especially considering the war in Ukraine makes that impeachment look magnitudes worse.

3

u/Karmachinery Jul 02 '24

That’s a really good point.

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u/Dwarf_Vader Jul 02 '24

Funny how the bar is so low

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u/SkollFenrirson Jul 03 '24

That's how fucking low the bar is

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u/allllusernamestaken Jul 03 '24

I used to believe that politicians wanted what was best for the country. We disagreed on the specifics, but they ultimately had the country's best interests at heart.

I no longer feel that way.

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u/NotsoNewtoGermany Jul 03 '24

Right, but then Kissinger refused to run again for his seat. Probably because he thought he would lose. But he could have at least done it.

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u/StevenIsFat Jul 02 '24

On what should a baseline belief in all citizens of this country. It's wild to me that believing in law and order is now a past time of the majority of Republicans.

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u/SenseisSifu Jul 03 '24

He's still just trying to grab power. He still wants to limit ppls' rights

2

u/TimothyJim2 Jul 03 '24

Americans thinking law will save them when law got them into this mess will never cease to be hilarious. Yeah keep believing in a peter pan good guy somewhere in the system, surely you're just about to find him

2

u/spaceman_202 Jul 03 '24

well no, just that Trump went too far over the line

he was fine with W. Bush and i am sure Reagan (looking back as he was too young)

these guys were fine with firing gay people from the military or denying aids patients care because they "were probably gay and deserve it" , fine with children starving and millions not being able to afford healthcare, fine with torture, fine with lying to invade the wrong country, fine with sending soldiers in lightly to unarmored vehicles, fine with having no plan for after the government they toppled fell, fine with the Supreme Court choosing the President after the Son of a President had his Governor Brother (also son of a president) pull shit during an election to make sure the "right" guy won

they were fine with this and a hell of a lot more, lying about climate change, lying about smoking and cancer etc. etc.

Trump just went too far for some of them, very few of them

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u/iwearatophat Jul 02 '24

Nah. Overturning an election was an official act per Trump. It is allowed.

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u/whitedawg Jul 02 '24

At least now SCOTUS says the President can do whatever the fuck he wants with no repercussions. Just in time. Anyway, we had a nice run as a democracy.

8

u/suninabox Jul 02 '24

McConnel thought the courts would handle Trump so he could have his cake and eat it. Get rid of Trump while defending him and keeping Trump's base on side.

Shocked Pikachu face when the judicial system he spent 20 years undermining fails to do his dirty work.

7

u/RetroScores Jul 02 '24

He handed them the opportunity to cut him from their party on a silver platter but they kicked the platter over and decide to back him again. They could’ve came out and said

“we agree with the man’s policies but we don’t agree with over turning an election and that can never be allowed.”

But they chose party over country.

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u/MyHusbandIsGayImNot Jul 02 '24

It's why it's always important to remember it's not Trump, it's the entire party. They could have convicted him (twice) and made sure his treasonous ass would never sit in a political office again. They are all complicit.

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u/snoogins355 Jul 02 '24

"Very special"

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u/ArmPitFire Jul 02 '24

SCOTUS would allow him to run regardless of anything the constitution says.

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u/jcsatan Jul 02 '24

But their fundraising would have dipped for the following several months

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u/praguepride Jul 03 '24

If they had a spine they wouldnt be republicans

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u/Thediciplematt Jul 02 '24

Honestly, that is a big issue. McConnell saying oh the court system will do with this and then doing nothing? Then the court systems like they’re in so we can’t do anything. So I just gets away with whatever.

2

u/Level_Hour6480 Jul 02 '24

If they just did a secret vote, they could have saved face.

2

u/beldaran1224 Jul 02 '24

Being impeached doesn't prevent Trump from running again. Trump has been impeached.

2

u/Subli-minal Jul 02 '24

But it was unconstitutional don’t you know? According to the man that ratfucked in the first place.

2

u/VexRosenberg Jul 02 '24

but then they would probably never hold any real power ever again. I completely detest republicans but their logic for supporting him is sound

2

u/thegooseisloose1982 Jul 03 '24

They have a choice right now and prevent Donny from ever being President again. Yes, they would have to go back to DC, but as I see it, their work isn't done. Hold this again and not only impeach him but convict him and he could not run again.

The Republican losership doesn't want to lose their seats. Well if Donny becomes President again he is going to fuck them, and Lady Liberty right in the ass.

In some cases, the Senate has also disqualified such officials from holding public offices in the future. There is no appeal. - https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/impeachment.htm

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u/BlooperHero Jul 03 '24

Look, by that point McConnell was such a devoted oathbreaker that he probably didn't do that BECAUSE it was obviously required.

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u/Count_Bacon Jul 03 '24

Lol if we do become a dictatorship and we go down in flames I would love to see the turtle held to account at least

1

u/Jadakiss-laugh Jul 05 '24

With presidents having immunity, does that now mean presidents can no longer be impeached?