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Pelosi ripped up a speech. Trump is ripping up our democracy.

* Unchecked lawlessness

* Treats opposition as illegitimate

* Puts himself above accountability

* Nonstop racism

* Endless lying

In this context, the "decorum" debate is meaningless. New:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Media chatter about Pelosi ripping up the speech and the ongoing erosion in decorum misses the point.

It's a category error. Such breaches of civility aren't the threat to democracy here.

The real threat to it is Trump's daily anti-democratic conduct.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Trump treats the opposition as fundamentally illegitimate in every way, and places himself beyond accountability entirely.

Those are far greater threats to the functioning of democracy than that posed by breaches in civility like tearing up a speech.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Acknowledging the legitimacy of the opposition is a pillar of accountability in government. But for Trump, this conception of accountability simply doesn't exist. Trump has delivered speeches literally scripted to make opposition voters disappear.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
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More from @ThePlumLineGS see all

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Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
Need a 2020 message? Trump wants to gut health care for millions -- while demanding billions for the useless, hateful wall he vowed to make Mexico pay for.

Trump's proposed hundreds of billions in Medicaid cuts are a big liability. Act like it, Dems.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Defending Medicaid from Trump can unify Dems. It can bridge the gap between the young, nonwhite and/or urban voters in the base and the suburban whites Ds hope to keep in their anti-Trump coalition through 2020.

Medicaid won for Ds in the suburbs in 2019:
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Hard to overstate how huge a betrayal Trump's efforts to gut Medicaid have been.

Protecting people's health care, and refusing to cut entitlements, were central to Trump's claim that his economic nationalism was a break from conventional GOP economics.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Read 4 tweets
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Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
Here's another Trump abuse of power that should alarm you. Trump will likely pervert classification authority to keep info buried that would undercut his campaign claims and inform voters about Russian interference. I talked to @ChrisMurphyCT about this:
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
@ChrisMurphyCT “It is possible the president will be able to keep classified all the information the US gathers about Russian attempts to support his election. That’s the nightmare scenario.”

A bracing @ChrisMurphyCT interview about another Trumpian abuse of power:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
@ChrisMurphyCT This is the next frontier in Trump's lawlessness.

@ChrisMurphyCT has asked GAO to systematically review Trump's abuse of the classification process to bury unflattering information.

Trump has *already* abused this power. It will get worse. Here's how.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Read 3 tweets
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Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
The savaging of @MittRomney is about signaling to Republicans what they'll face if they get queasy about *future* revelations. We're now learning the NSA withheld crucial info about Ukraine -- info that will likely come out. I have more on that here: washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
@MittRomney A few points in this piece.

I urge you to watch the whole video Trump tweeted attacking Romney.

The message: Trump is a winner.

Romney lost -- to Obama.

The idea that the Obama presidency represented national humiliation figures heavily in Trumpism:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
@MittRomney Another key point:

@RepAdamSchiff told @Maddow the NSA withheld crucial info from the House that was relevant to the Senate trial.

A former NSC official tells me this info was likely intercepted comms among Ukrainian officials about Trump's shakedown:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Read 3 tweets

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Friend or Foe?
@starknightz
1. TRUTH: Van Jones Warns Democrats: President Trump Is Helping African-Americans ‘In Real Life’ breitbart.com/politics/2020/… #Trump #NEWS
2. CENSURE VOTE against Nancy Pelosi TODAY, Rep McCaul (R-Tx) just said @FoxNews awhile ago!

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@realDonaldTrump The best speech ever in History at the #SOTU20 The President of the United States has done more for the Country and for the American people than many presidents together.
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Read 19 tweets
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snarke
@snarke
Welcome to today's #Trump #ImpeachmentTrial thread (potentially one of a few)! I've been playing around with tags a little in other tweets this morning but for now, I'm going to stick with the two I've used here. That may change later on, though. Follow/mute at will!
Today is going to be procedural stuff. The Senate will have to approve the (completely BS) rules proposed by McConnell. Dems will offer amendments, of course, but since a simple majority rules I don't have a lot of hope any of the amendments will pass. #Trump #ImpeachmentTrial
For those of you just tuning in, McConnell is proposing that this trial have:

Zero witnesses
Zero admitted evidence
Ridiculously little time set aside for opening arguments and questions.
As little sunlight as possible.

#Trump #ImpeachmentTrial
Read 114 tweets
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Facts Central
@StillDelvingH
Who funds the IEA, the TPA, the ASI &co?
You know, the RW 'free trade' thick tanks advocating tax havens, "freedom" (no regulations like workers' rights or environmental protection), no welfare (no tax & no free healthcare).
Basically, "Only the wealthier survive" philosophy?
1/n
*Could it be* that it has something to do with defending their funders' interests?
Today, I'm going to tell you the Thick Tanks' Hydra tale.
Featuring Atlas, huge piles of money, tradition, "free speech", useful idiots and a very clear agenda that Brexit/Trump are a part of.
2/n
Take a seat: It's a long story, with a lot of players, including politicians, pretty ladies squatting your TV, the climate change denial's network, the global fascist movement, Silicon Valley/multiname data-stealing/misusing company & private companies' involved in elections.
3/n
Read 249 tweets
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Weddady
@weddady
Mauritania election day: the incident happened in Boutlimit where the ruling party's campaign boss was caught printing ballots - the citizens sized it along with the printer
Mauritania election day: Mauritanians are asked to elect MP's, regional council reps in lieu of the dissolved Senate, and mayors. Unlike past elections, there's a flood of candidates. The voting ballot is a few dozen centimeters long
Mauritania election day: the context is tense because the current President's term end by June '19, he's said many times he's leaving, but given his history, few believe he's leaving.
Read 146 tweets
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Zach Everson
@Z_Everson
Trump Hotels' website still lists Trump SoHo New York among its properties in the Our Hotels menu. Select its name though to access its page and there's a message about it being renamed

bit.ly/2EPCSy1
National politics correspondent for Newsweek, Nina Burleigh, with a fun find on a TV above the bar at the Trump Hotel DC bit.ly/2E37QRR
Two errors in the 2nd graf of Breitbart's Trump Hotel DC article:
-holdings aren't out of @realDonaldTrump's hands: trust isn't blind & he can profit from it
-Trump Org told Congress it was estimating foreign receipts—not auto donating in full
bit.ly/2CpL7z2
Read 1562 tweets

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