Quotes From John Kelly About Donald Trump

The following quotes about Donald Trump are from retired Four Star Marine General John Kelly. Kelly was Trump's longest serving Chief of Staff.

“Well, looking at the definition of fascism: It’s a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy. So certainly, in my experience, those are the kinds of things that he thinks would work better in terms of running America.”

“Certainly the former president is in the far-right area, he’s certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators — he has said that. So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure.”

“He certainly prefers the dictator approach to government.”

“(Trump) never accepted the fact that he wasn’t the most powerful man in the world — and by power, I mean an ability to do anything he wanted, anytime he wanted.”

“I think he’d love to be just like he was in business — he could tell people to do things and they would do it, and not really bother too much about whether what the legalities were and whatnot.”

“And I think this issue of using the military on — to go after — American citizens is one of those things I think is a very, very bad thing — even to say it for political purposes to get elected — I think it’s a very, very bad thing, let alone actually doing it.”

“He’s certainly the only president that has all but rejected what America is all about, and what makes America America, in terms of our Constitution, in terms of our values, the way we look at everything, to include family and government — he’s certainly the only president that I know of, certainly in my lifetime, that was like that.”

“He just doesn’t understand the values — he pretends, he talks, he knows more about America than anybody, but he doesn’t.”

“Certainly, a big surprise for him, again, was if you remember at the beginning of the administration, he would talk about ‘his generals.’ I don’t know why he thought that — but then a very big surprise for him was that we were — those of us who were former generals and certainly people still on active duty — that the commitment, the loyalty was to the Constitution, without question, without second thought.”

“That was a big surprise to him that the generals were not loyal to the boss, in this case him.”

“He commented more than once that, ‘You know, Hitler did some good things, too.’”

“Certainly his not wanting to be seen with amputees — amputees that lost their limbs in defense of this country fighting for every American, him included, to protect them, but didn’t want to be seen with them. That’s an interesting perspective for the commander in chief to have. He would just say: ‘Look, it just doesn’t look good for me.’”

“Whenever John McCain’s name came up, he’d go through this rant about him being a loser, and all those people were suckers, and why do you people think that people getting killed are heroes? And he’d go through this rant. To me, I could never understand why he was that way — he may be the only American citizen that feels that way about those who gave their lives or served their country.” 

“I didn’t realize he was serious — he just didn’t see what the point was. As I got to know him, again, this selflessness is something he just didn’t understand. What’s in it for them?”

Biden Is Not A Candidate (Yet) - But He Sounds Like One

Joe Biden has refused to say he is a candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president. But he has also refused to say he is not a candidate. He knows that it is at least a year too early to be talking about that, and our focus now should be on insuring a Democratic victory in the November congressional elections. And he is working hard to do his part.

But he is sounding more and more like a candidate for 2020. And I hope he does run in 2020. His is the one candidacy that could insure a mess like happened in 2016 wouldn't happen again.

Chris Cillizza at CNN News gives us 20 quotes from a recent Biden speech -- quotes sounding like they come from a presidential candidate.

1. "My dad had an expression and -- he really did -- he'd say you know you're a success as a father when you turn and look at your child and realize they turned out better than you." 

2. "We were taught that the greatest sin anyone could commit, and I mean this literally, was the abuse of power. Whether it was government abusing power, or the abuse of economic power, or physical power. It was the ultimate sin." 

3. "We were taught that you had an obligation to speak out or speak up if you ever saw the abuse. Because everyone, and I mean everyone, is entitled to be treated with dignity. We were taught that no one is better than us, but everyone is our equal, that we can be anything we dream of, and that ordinary people can and have done extraordinary things."

4. "My mom used to say, 'Courage is the greatest virtue of all because upon it rests every other virtue.'" 

5. "When (my family) moved from Scranton, when I was a kid, because there were no jobs -- if you listen to Barack, you'd think I climbed out of a coal mine in Scranton with a lunch bucket. But my dad was a white collar worker. There was just no one to sell anything to after the economy collapsed. We moved to Delaware." 

6. "If given a chance, just a chance, the American people have never, ever, ever let their country down. Andrew learned these lessons at his father's table in Queens and I learned at my grand-pop's table in Scranton and my dad's in Claymont, Delaware." 

7. "When it gets right down to it, it's all about decency and respect, which is so lacking in our politics today."

8. "And we're being told by many that we have to make a false choice. Do we yield only to our progressive values or do we work on those things that affect high school-educated working people who are under siege? As if they're different. Where I come from, there is no difference. You don't have to choose between your heart and your soul. It's a phony debate."

9. "It may seem strange to quote a conservative columnist, but David Brooks (of The New York Times), I think said it best. He said there's an invisible moral fabric in America that holds up our society, allows our Constitution to function. That moral fabric consists of customs and norms that have allowed us to be the nation we are."

10. "You can't define who an American is based on their race or ethnicity or their culture -- anything other than a basic and unarticulated commitment to a value set. As corny as, 'We hold these truths self evident, that all men are created equal.' That's not how they'd say it, but they know."

11. "(Republicans) don't have much faith in ordinary people. They demonstrate by the way they act, they don't care a whole lot about it. They don't understand why we're who we are."

12. "Middle class is a value set: It's being able to own your own home and not have to rent it if you have a chance. It's being able to send your kid to a park where you know they're going to come home safely. Send them to a local, public high school that if they do well they can get into college. If they get to college, somehow you'll figure out how to pay for it. And being able to take care of your geriatric mom after your dad dies."

13. "I spent more time with Xi Jinping, the leader of China, than any world leader. I've had 25 hours of private dinners with him ... just he and I and an interpreter, simultaneous interpreter. (On one trip around China) he looked at me and said, 'Can you define America for me, Mr. Vice President?' And I said, 'Yes I can. In one word. And I mean this sincerely. Possibilities.'" 

14. "All the values I just talked about are under siege by this administration. This is not your father's Republican Party. This is a different deal. They are not -- they are not who we are. They are not who America is. But what they are doing is they're sending a vision of America that's distorted, that's damaging, that is hurting us. With its phony populism. And this fake nationalism."

15. "Even some in our party have become so elitist. We don't think ordinary people understand what's going on. ... We've gotta talk to these people. We've gotta listen."

16. "College should be free! Free! State universities! And by the way, we can afford it."

17. "When I did my financial disclosure as vice president, a lot of my colleagues got a kick out of the headline in The Washington Post that said, quote, 'It's probable no man has assumed the office of vice president with fewer assets than Joe Biden.'" 

18. "Folks, there's a lot of ugliness in our politics right now. That means we're going to have to fight for the vision of the nation we know is possible."

19. "I was always referred to as the idealistic young optimist. ... I am an optimist. Because I've seen the history of the journey of the American people. And I give you my word as a Biden, I am more optimistic today about America's chances in the 21st century than I have been in any time in my entire life."

20. "It's about time we pick our heads up. (His voice grows louder) Remember who the hell we are as Americans. We can do anything! It's time to get these guys out of our way. It's time to lead. It's time to say no more! We are moving on! We are changing the politics of this country! We are taking back control!"

Steve Bannon Turns On Donald Trump - BIG TIME!

(This caricature of Steve Bannon is by DonkeyHotey.)

Just a few months ago, Steve Bannon was a trusted White House aide and one of the closest people to Donald Trump. That seems to have changed. One would have to conclude that those two men are now enemies. Consider these quotes by Bannon in a new book by Michael Wolff:

"The three senior guys in the campaign thought it was a good idea to meet with a foreign government inside Trump Tower in the conference room on the 25th floor with no lawyers."

"Even if you thought that this was not treasonous, or unpatriotic, or bad shit, and I happen to think it's all of that, you should have called the FBI immediately.”

"The chance that Don Jr. did not walk these jumos up to his father’s office on the twenty-sixth floor is zero."

"You realize where this is going. This is all about money laundering. Mueller chose Weissmann first and he is a money-laundering guy," referring to Andrew Weissmann, a senior prosecutor on Mueller's team. "Their path to f---ing Trump goes right through Paul Manafort, Don Jr. and Jared Kushner. It’s as plain as a hair on your face."

"They’re going to crack Don Junior like an egg on national TV."

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg has become my favorite justice on the current United States Supreme Court. She may be small of stature, but she has a huge heart, a giant spirit, and an indomitable will -- and she is never afraid to speak out for those who need help, or whose rights are being violated. I think she'll be remembered as one of our greatest justices.

Here are a few quotes from her in a recent MSNBC interview:

ON ABORTION:

“We will never see a day when women of means are not able to get a safe abortion in this country.”

“All the restrictions, they operate against the woman who doesn’t have freedom to move, to go where she is able to get safely what she wants.”

“I don’t want to make any predictions. But precedent is important in this court.” (Overturning Roe) “could happen, but I think it’s not a likely scenario.”

ON RACIAL OPPRESSION:

“Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.”

“People who think you could wave a magic wand and the legacy of the past will be over are blind.”

“We’ve come a long way from the days where there was state enforced segregation. But we still have a way to go.”

ON CONGRESS:

“The current Congress is not equipped really to do anything. The kind of result that we got in the Ledbetter case is not easily achieved today. Someday, we will go back to having the kind of legislature that we should, where members, whatever party they belong to, want to make the thing work and cooperate with each other to see that that will happen.” 

ON HERSELF:

“My aspirations have not changed since the ’70s. . . .my hope for our society that we’re going to use the talent of all of the people and not just half of them. I would contrast an earlier period in my life, when I just accepted discrimination as that’s the way things are, nothing I can do about it.”

“I try to teach through my opinions, through my speeches – how wrong it is to judge people on the basis of what they look like, [the] color of their skin, whether they’re men or women.”

ON HOW SHE'D LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED:

“Someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability. And to help repair tears in her society, to make things a little better through the use of whatever ability she has.”

(The caricature of Justice Ginsburg above is by DonkeyHotey.)

A Bit Of (Unintended) Humor To Brighten Your Day

(This cartoon image of Louie Gohmert is by Matt Wuerker at Politico.com.)

If you are like me, the thought of Republicans taking control of both houses of Congress has put you in a depressing tailspin -- so I thought we could all use a little humor. And the craziest man in Congress, the man who never passes up an opportunity to say something stupid for the cameras, the man who makes other extremist Republicans nervous when he opens his mouth, has provided it for us.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) has announced his candidacy for Speaker of the House, and he has even created a web page to promote his candidacy. I provided a link to that web page just in case you think that couldn't possibly be true. To Gohmert, John Boehner is a flaming liberal, and he even had the temerity to call him a "dictator". Saying as many as 30% of congressional Republicans could bolt from the GOP if Boehner is not ousted, Gohmert told Fox News:

“They are so fed up that we are not fighting for what we said, and if we don’t show them that, it’s going to devastate this country.” 

Gohmert says he doesn't expect to be elected on the first ballot, but believes the party will turn to him for "leadership" after three or four rounds of voting.

Those of us who live in the world of reality have long suspected that Gohmert lives in a dream world of his own making -- a world where facts don't matter and nothing is too insane to be uttered by a public official. If you doubt that, then peruse these examples of Gohmert's rhetoric:

(On the IRS)
"We can put Obama on the defensive just by completely getting rid of the Internal Revenue code." 

(On terror babies)
"[The children] could be raised and coddled as future terrorists [and] twenty, thirty years down the road, they can be sent in to help destroy our way of life."

(On muslims in the Obama administration)
 "This administration has so many Muslim Brotherhood members that have influence that they just are making wrong decisions for America."

(On the oil pipeline)
"So when [caribou] want to go on a date, they invite each other to head over to the pipeline. ... So my real concern now [is] if oil stops running through the pipeline ... do we need a study to see how adversely the caribou would be affected if that warm oil ever quit flowing?"

(On the shooting in Aurora, Colorado)
"You know what really gets me, as a Christian, is to see the ongoing attacks on Judeo-Christian beliefs, and then some senseless crazy act of terror like this takes place. ... We've threatened high school graduation participations, if they use God's name, they're going to be jailed ... I mean that kind of stuff. Where was God? What have we done with God? We don't want him around. I kind of like his protective hand being present."

(On cutting food stamps)
"It's not evil to cut food stamps. Some poor people are obese, so this will help them."

(On same-sex marriage)
"The problem is. . .when you say it's not a man and a woman anymore, then why not have three men and one woman, or four women and one man, or why not somebody has a love for an animal?"

(On the Attorney General testifying before a House committee)
"I cannot have a witness challenge my character! The Attorney General will not cast aspersions on my asparagus!"

Now I don't expect Louie Gohmert has a snowball's chance of surviving the Sahara Desert in the summer to be elected Speaker, but I find the idea of it very humorous -- and it shows that he still has no connection to the real world.

Thank You, Vermont

I want to give a big thank you to the citizens of Vermont for sending Bernie Sanders to the United States Senate and keeping him there. They have done a great service to the people of this country by doing that, because Bernie is the best senator we have in Washington. Why do I think that? Well, the quotes below should give you a pretty good idea.

Warren Would Be A Great Nominee - But Not in 2016

(This caricature of Senator Elizabeth Warren is by DonkeyHotey.)

Let me preface my remarks by saying I am a proud left-winger (progressive, liberal, etc.) -- as regular readers of this blog will know. And there is no doubt in my mind that the two best senators in Washington are Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts).

When Senator Warren appeared at the Campaign for America's Future conference last week, she was greeted with a standing ovation (deservedly so) and chants of "Run, Elizabeth, Run". It has become obvious in recent weeks that many on the left in this country view Hillary Clinton as being too moderate, and they want Elizabeth Warren to challenge her for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. I must disagree with my liberal sisters and brothers. I think it would be a mistake for Warren to run in 2016.

Warren has already said repeatedly that she is not going to run -- and she repeated that to the conference last week. And she has already signed on to support Hillary Clinton in 2016. Warren is not the type of person to lie to her supporters (or anyone else), and I don't believe she is the type who would break a promise she has made to someone else. She is not going to run in 2016, and progressives need to realize that.

And she shouldn't run. She is a valuable voice of sanity in the U.S. Senate, and right now, that is where she can do the most good for this country. We need her there keeping a watchful eye on Wall Street and the giant banks, because too many other politicians (of both parties) have shown they are all too willing to sell out to those financial powers for campaign donations.

I also don't believe she is well-known enough to win the nomination or be elected president right now. All a Warren candidacy would do right now is split the Democratic Party -- maybe enough to give the Republicans a shot at the White House. And personally, I think the most important thing we could do right now is make sure the Republicans stay out of the White House. Their party is too extreme, and if they won the White House, it would be disastrous to our economy and our country.

Hillary Clinton is imminently electable, and while she is a moderate, she is progressive enough and smart enough to institute policies to get this economy moving again and creating jobs -- if she has a Democratic Congress to get her initiatives passed. That is where the Democratic Party (and those of us on the left) need to be focusing our attention right now -- winning control of Congress away from the extremist Republicans. There will be time to discuss moving further to the left once the economy has been fixed, but right now it is more important to save this country from the right-wing extremists (and Hillary can do that with some Democratic help).

Ben Cohen over at The Daily Banter has written a post giving ten "awesome" quotes from Elizabeth Warren, which he says makes her unelectable as president. I 'm not at all sure he is correct about them making her unelectable, but the quotes are indeed awesome. And personally, they convince me that she might make a great presidential candidate in the future (just not in 2016). These quotes show she understands the economic realities in this country, and how current policies have hurt most Americans while favoring the rich. Here are those "awesome" quotes from Warren:

1. “People feel like the system is rigged against them, and here is the painful part, they’re right. The system is rigged.”

2. “If there had been a Financial Product Safety Commission in place 10 years ago, the current financial crisis would have been averted.”

3. “You built a factory out there, good for you. But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads that the rest of us paid for. You hired workers that the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for.”

4. “Look around. Oil companies guzzle down the billions in profits. Billionaires pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries, and Wall Street CEOs, the same ones the direct our economy and destroyed millions of jobs still strut around Congress, no shame, demanding favors, and acting like we should thank them. Does anyone here have a problem with that?”

5. “I do not understand how it is that financial institutions could think that they could take taxpayer money and then turn around and act like it’s business as usual. I don’t understand how they can’t see that the world has changed in a fundamental way, that it is not business as usual when you take taxpayer dollars.”

6. “Mitt Romney is the guy who said corporations are people. No, Governor Romney, corporations are not people.”

7. “You didn’t have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything in your factory and hire someone to protect against this because of the work the rest of us did.”

8.  “In a democracy, hostage tactics are the last resort for those who can’t win their fights through elections, can’t win their fights in Congress, can’t win their fights for the presidency, and can’t win their fights in the courts. For this right-wing minority, hostage taking is all they have left, a last gasp for those who cannot cope with the realities of our democracy.”

9. “If you’re caught with an ounce of cocaine, the chances are good you’re going to jail….Evidently, if you launder nearly a billion dollars for drug cartels and violate our international sanctions, your company pays a fine and you go home and sleep in your own bed at night.”

10. “Nobody’s safe. Health insurance? That didn’t protect 1 million Americans who were financially ruined by illness or medical bills last year.”

Bernie

Some Quotes To Ponder On This Holiday

This special holiday, which is supposed to represent peace and good will toward all men, is a good time to ponder the economic injustice that we have allowed to be created in this country. Somehow we have allowed the rich and the corporations to fool us into believing that capital is much more important than labor, and that labor exists simply to be exploited by the rich to make themselves even richer.

This illogical line of thinking, commonly called "capitalism" or "free enterprise", is an abomination when left unregulated. We are told that it is the basis of freedom and justice, but what it inevitably leads to is tyranny by the rich (plutocracy) and a devastating economic injustice.

My friend Jack Jodell, at his excellent blog The Saturday Afternoon Post, has compiled a list of quotes for us to ponder on this holiday. I urge you to go to his site and read them all, but here are a few of my favorites:

“Of  course I believe in free enterprise, but in my system of free enterprise, the democratic principle is that there never was, never has been, never will be, room for the ruthless exploitation of the many for the benefit of the few.”- Harry S Truman –


“The law does not pretend to punish everything that is dishonest. That would seriously interfere with business.”- Clarence Darrow –


“We have deluded ourselves into believing the myth that capitalism grew and prospered out of the Protestant work ethic of hard work and sacrifices. Capitalism was built on the exploitation of black slaves and continues to thrive on the exploitation of the poor, both black and white, both here and abroad.”
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – 


“Those who produce should have, but we know that those who produce the most – that is, those who work hardest, and at the most difficult and most menial tasks, have the least.”
_ Eugene V. Debs –


“Advocates of capitalism are very apt to appeal to the sacred principles of liberty, which are embodied in one maxim: The fortunate must not be restrained in the exercise of tyranny over the unfortunate. “
- Bertrand Russell –


“The forces of a capitalist society, if left unchecked, tend to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.”
- Jawaharlal Nehru –


“Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. ..”
- Abraham Lincoln –


“True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of what dictatorships are made.”
- Franklin D. Roosevelt –


“The basic law of capitalism is you or I, not both you and I.”
- Karl Liebknecht -