Friday Reads: Rearranging the Deck Chairs in Das Führerbunker

Good Afternoon and Welcome to Day 32 of America Held Hostage by the RNC!

When is an apology not an apology?

When the campaign mommy makes you do it and you can’t even bring yourself to mention all the folks you trashed,hurt, bullied and sicced the League of Angry White men on like reporters, women, and helpless children who just want their families to stay together, etc. This blatant, pandering play for the votes of suburban white women comes from the same Kellyanne Conway that tries to stop Republicans saying dumb things about women’s bodies and specifically rape and abortion. This woman makes Phyllis Schafly and Cersei Lannister look like your average fairy godmother.   Snakes would be embarrassed to compare their tongues with hers. They would definitely come up very short and straight.

Conway spent time on Hardball last evening patiently explaining how women were the real victims of abortion service providers and it was a matter of time before the wonderful people in the forced birth movement would get Donald to use the right code words.  That’s what it’s all about now. She also wants to unleash the inner Trump again but oddly enough it includes teleprompter speeches that appear to be written by Stephen Bannon and edited for woman appeal by Cersei Conway.

They’ve gone full throttle Breithbart while trying to fake it at rallies with teleprompter speeches to get educated white people and white women in the suburbans to ignore the Stormfront material and realize that Donald is just being Donald and just doesn’t select his words quite right since he’s not a real politician. She followed the ever-delusional Katrina Pierson in the increasingly-disgusting MSNBC guest schedule yesterday. Pierson diagnosed Hillary Clinton with Dysphasia on MTP Daily. Too bad the Doctor diagnosing the Donald can’t do another weird diagnosis and the fake one they tried earlier didn’t pass muster.  Meanwhile, Pierson–who actually works for Kellyanne now–spewed this weirdness yesterday.

The Trump spokeswoman was at it yet again, telling MSNBC’s Kristin Welker that Clinton is suffering from a rare brain disorder known as dysphasia.

In the MSNBC interview, after she tried to blame Michael Cohen’s #SaysWho exchange on technical difficulties, Pierson decided to diagnose the former Secretary of State with a rare brain disorder. Basing everything on fake reports from4chan,

In a later interview, the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza remarked that the Pierson segment “was among the five most remarkable” Pierson interviews he’s seen, acknowledging that while she’s known to say crazy shit all the time, this was truly off the deep end. He also stated that the hit showed that there would be no pivot, other than the Trump campaign is going to triple down on crazy.

Just to recap Katrina Pierson’s last week or so:

— says President Obama started the War in Afghanistan

— states that liberal reporters are “literally” beating up Trump supporters

— denies that there was a campaign shakeup after Trump placed two new people into leadership roles

— diagnoses Clinton with brain damage

Less than 90 days left of this folks. I think we can make it. I hope so.

Kellyanne–when asked by Tweety if this tact wasn’t a bit ratfuckerish–explained that she wasn’t a doctor and wanted Trump to stick to the issues.  If that’s the case, why don’t we see Katrina Pierson’s real unemployment check today?  Believe me, just watch an interview with this woman and you’ll realize what a twisted sister she really is. Actually, either of them–but especially Kellyanne –can spin a tale that sounds somewhat plausible if you’re into wicked twisted stepsisters.

Let’s sum up the possible folks who really deserve a specific apology instead of a generic mea cupa event meant to endear the press and confuse white women.

https://twitter.com/BenjySarlin/status/766676858498932736

The press seems to have a short memory but he’s really relying on key white voting constituencies to have even shorter memories.  Will this really make them feel okay voting for this small-fingered vulgarian?

Three and a half months after sealing the Republican nomination, Donald Trump pivoted to contest the general election on Thursday night, expressing regret for his past failures to “choose the right words” and delivering one of the most comprehensive, on-message rationales for his candidacy to date.

Speaking from prepared remarks on the heels of another staffing shakeup, Trump positioned himself as the champion of voiceless Americans against a corrupt and incompetent elite and the leader of an inclusive movement who repeatedly condemned “bigotry.”

His address, delivered at a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, presented the sort of message Republican leaders have been waiting months to hear. But with 82 days left until the election and early voting only weeks away, even a flawless sprint to the finish line may be too little too late for Trump to salvage his flailing campaign.

Early in his remarks, the New York businessman nodded at the months he has squandered, acknowledging that his own mouth had hindered his candidacy. “Sometimes in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues you don’t choose the right words or you say the wrong thing. I have done that,” Trump said to laughter and cheers from his supporters.

“And believe it or not I regret it. And I do regret it, particularly where it may have caused personal pain. Too much is at stake is for us to be consumed by these issues, but one thing I can promise you is this. I will always tell you the truth,” said Trump, who did not specify which words he regrets saying.

The press is probably more gullible than Walmart or Security moms.

Meanwhile, Paul Manafort has quit and will undoubtedly be facing a number of FBI inquiries.  Bye Bye now!!! Out the moondoor with you!!

Trump campaign chairman and chief strategist Paul Manafort resigned on Friday, following a staff shake-up this week that reduced his role in the campaign.

GOP nominee Donald Trump confirmed the resignation in a statement: “This morning Paul Manafort offered, and I accepted, his resignation from the campaign. I am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today, and in particular his work guiding us through the delegate and convention process. Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success.”

Meanwhile, lurking at the edge of darkness remains Stephen Bannon who put the Go in Goebbels.  Every one’s hair continues to go on fire about this dude including people that have worked for him as BB indicated yesterday.

A former Breitbart News spokesman slammed Donald Trump’s new campaign chief executive, Stephen Bannon, for allegedly using racistrhetoric during editorial meetings at Breitbart that he said sounded “like a white supremacist rally,” while a Trump ally calls the new CEO a positive addition to the team. Both men joined this week’s episode of ABC News’ Powerhouse Politics podcast.

Kurt Bardella, who worked with Bannon at Breitbart for two years, says the former Breitbart News chairman regularly disparaged minorities, women, and immigrants during daily editorial calls at the publication.

ABC News reached out to Bannon for comment but did not receive a response.

“If anyone sat there and listened to that call, you’d think that you were attending a white supremacist rally,” said Bardella, citing what he called Bannon’s “nationalism and hatred for immigrants, people coming into this country to try to get a better life for themselves.”

“This is someone who has a very low moral compass,” he said of Bannon, “and the idea that this is the type of person that Donald Trump, as the Republican nominee, as president, would have closest to him is very disturbing.”

Bardella joined this week’s episode of “Powerhouse Politics” podcastwith ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl and ABC News Deputy Political Director Shushannah Walshe to discuss the recent shakeup in the Trump campaign.

“I think it’s incredibly concerning and dangerous actually to have someone have this kind of influence with the person who is running for president of the United States, who would be a top adviser if he were to win the election,” he cautioned.

Bardella quit Breitbart in March in protest over how he believes the news organization handled allegations by then-reporter Michelle Fieldsthat she was manhandled by Trump’s campaign manager at the time,Corey Lewandowski. Police charges filed against Lewandowski in the case were later dropped. Bardella said he believes the Breitbart News organization did not defend Fields over the incident.

Who would ever thought that we’d have an Epic Cartoon Villain and his team against Hillary Clinton this time out?

Donald Trump

Is the Lex Luthor of our time

When, exactly, did Donald Trump cross over—going from rank assholery into real-deal, can’t-not-watch, like-chugging-spoiled-milk super-villainevil? If we had to place it, it started after he called the good people of Mexico rapists, but definitely before he called for a ban on all Muslims. Because what’s so delightful about Trump’s villainy is how lazy it is—how drowsily he shifted from hollering about his BEST AND CLASSIEST campaign to pure, raw racism and misogyny. Maybe Donald Trump hates women, and Muslims, and our socialist Kenyan president. (Okay, he definitely does.) But the super-villain-y part is that he didn’treeeally hate them until it was politically expedient.

Trump is truly the villain we deserve in 2016—and not because he wants to take over the world. It’s because he’s after something far, far scarier: applause. — Sam Schube

Stay tuned.  It’s likely to get much worse.

As an example, check out the new Trump ad.

Last night, Donald Trump delivered a speech in which he spoke in soothing tones about the need to unify the country and expressed “regret” about any remarks that have caused “personal pain,” though he didn’t specify which particular remarks he regrets. This led some commentators to suggest that another “pivot” is underway.

This morning, Trump released his first general election ad, an ugly and dishonest production which shows he isn’t changing a thing.

In fact, the new ad is filled with precisely the same sort of dark, dystopian themes and content — and even some of the same sort of grainy, dark footage depicting illegal immigrants as invaders — that marked one of the first ads he ran during the GOP primaries.

Meh, more of the same!

What’s on your reading and blogging list today?