KellyAnne Conway should stop saying that Donald Trump didn't have to run for president, as she did today on the program. Because before you know it even more people (his supporters) are going to be asking, "Then why did you?"
More on that in a minute, but first Fidel Castro (1916-2016).
Time is the vanquisher of history and it will do its work on Fidel Castro, and with his death the end of the Castro regime, and hopefully system of government as the panel discussed, in Cuba is seeing its final days. Make no mistake, Castro was an A-List dictator, meaning he was unmercifully brutal to his people and a murderer of his political enemies. He was only, distinctly outdone by Che Guevara who laid the foundation for that brutality. (If you read Jon Lee Anderson's definitive biography you would come to agree.) The mistake that Che made was that he left the country in pursuit of leftist military revolution and got caught in Bolivia by the CIA.
Chuck Todd was talking about 'feel' and kept posing the past hypothetical that if this were ten years ago. In other words, he doesn't feel as significant as it should be because he's been out of the picture since 2008. Understandable, but it seemed a bit dismissive, and if you believe that the United States is on the right side of history then Castro's death no matter when it came was history's justice.
My opinion, as The New York Times Helene Cooper would point out, is from an Americo-centric perspective and I can live with that. But this is exactly why Ms. Cooper is an important voice in our media because without acknowledging and seriously considering that broader perspective, your argument demands less respect. At least that's my take.
Finally, it's a good day because Fidel Castro is responsible for some of the worst U.S. policy over the last 50 years, as Mr. Todd outlined. Black eye after black eye, and let's not forget Castro as parcel for near nuclear annihilation.
So...
As Ms. Conway was saying about Mr. Trump that this is an unprecedented time with a business man becoming President of the United States, but as we all know that's not all it is. Staying on topic with the conflicts of interest that this particular presidency poses are endless. Chuck Todd, thankfully, called out Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) on that fact that we don't know about all his business dealings.
Sure, it's easy to agree with The Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan in her call to put patriotism of country over his business interests and liquidate the company. But here's the rub: NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. Donald Trump will never liquidate his assets, no matter how hard or easy it is. Never. Not to mention that it would probably involve a measure of disclosure, to which the president-elect has a famous aversion. Ms. Conway said that the kids would have 'very senior positions' in the company but that doesn't constitute President-elect Trump giving up control. The children shouldn't even be running his business of course, but we Americans fell for it.
Also, I have to mention that when Ms. Conway says that she's 'astonished' by the media reporting on the rumored in-fighting about making Mitt Romney Secretary of State, it's laughable. Frankly, I could care less if she thinks it's astonishing or not. I would say the same of John Podesta admonishing people about his email leaks. Ms. Conway's whining defensiveness is tiresome. Her candidate is going into the White House and you want sympathy? Equally laughable. She was so reflexively defensive that she mentioned the pointless recount in WI, PA, and MI without even being asked about it.
And speaking of falling for things, the 'backing away' on positions such as waterboarding and climate change, the Affordable Care Act, Hillary Clinton's prosecution, whatever... it's simply confirms what both Democrats and Republicans already knew which is that President-elect Trump's political principles and convictions are all negotiable. And contrary to what Ms. Conway would say, it's near impossible to imagine that Donald Trump's businesses aren't still most important to him, easily over the presidency.
Panel: Helene Cooper, The New York Times; Matt Bai, Yahoo News; Mark Murray, NBC News; Danielle Pletka, ,
A couple more things...
Senator Rubio said that he wouldn't retroactively revoke any of the 'Dreamers' permits, but he also said that he wouldn't support renewing any of them when they expire. I suspect, hope, that he'll refine or revise that statement that he wouldn't support issuing more, at the very least. But really, we're going to tell these kids that after your permit expires that we don't want you here. These kids weren't the ones who broke the rules, but they've had to follow the rules ever since. And then they'll have to get out? Some would argue that they've earned it. And if you consider that then it goes against what we represent as a country. I would contend that Dreamers understand that it's a privilege to live in the U.S., more so than thinking its a right to be taken for granted.
Tim Ryan (D-OH), represents Youngstown, OH - conservative Democrat
Why couldn't he be the guy? He made a very frank, critical, and encouraging point, which was that Democratic policy positions are the way to go, but the messaging was bad. Accurate. Is he too inexperienced for such a high-profile gig, most probably but Nancy Pelosi has to go. The Democrats need a new energy, a vocal energy, for their leadership. Congressman Ryan's been in since 2003, he's vocal and he wants to win all over the map instead of Dems. simply being a coastal party. So again, why couldn't he be the guy?
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