The Minute He Sets Foot in Mar-A-Lago

[tparrett62]

The DNC should put out an ad, blasting the out of touchh "billionaire" vacationing while government employees are working for free during Christamas season. Tie this around his neck, get some working people to explain how they had to go without while he was living it up on our dime.

If they Repubs had the chance to do the same to Obama, they wpuld have done it in a heartbeat. Use the optics to make this worse for him.

[Stinky The Clown]

1. Include in the ad the MILLIONS it costs us to get him there and cater to him while there.

[politicaljunkie41910]

80. That is the most important point to make when discussing the budget. How much it costs for

Drump and his family to go back and forth between Wash DC and Florida on Air Force One. He has blown up the budget all by himself.

[lark]

2. Will the Dems have enough spine to do this?

I'd love it, it's factual and totally fair to hang this around his neck, especially when he said he'd be proud to do it. I want Dems to fight back and put the blame exactly where it belongs. They should also ask why he's shutting down our government when it's Mexico that should be paying for the wall, mot throwing parents out of work at Christmas. He choose to ruin Christmas for his vanity. All of this should be in the ad and it should run nationwide from Christmas until New Years and maybe even longer?

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

19. No, but it's still a great idea.

How long is he supposed to be there? Sixteen days? You could also run a "Trump Vacation/Government Shutdown" calendar, showing a running tally of both events.

[greymattermom]

31. Include golf and parties in the vacation part.

And show pictures of fancy dressed guests.

[fierywoman]

63. And show what percentage of his time in office he's spent golfing.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

73. Here's a website that has kept track of all Donnie Two Scoops' golf outings at taxpayers' expense:

https://trumpgolfcount.com/

[pangaia]

29. My feelings exactly.

For the most part our reps just don't know how to win the public battle.
Just terrible at it.

Thing is, they(WE) could do it using the TRUTH instead of lies and made up propaganda.
It is so freaakin' easy.

[cstanleytech]

62. Doing it now though would be wasteful of money they could use later on during the next election

and that way it would be refreshed in peoples minds because the truth is alot of people would forget that he did that between now and the 2020 elections.

[The Genealogist]

3. Absolutely

Use lots of faded, discolored, unflattering pictures of the bloviating ass in the process. There are plenty.

[malaise]

4. They should include

all his vacation trips with costs from the day he stole the presidency

[TexasBushwhacker]

26. Throw in all the business trips his kids take

Last edited Sat Dec 22, 2018, 12:05 PM - Edit history (1)

that we have to provide Secret Service detail because they request it. Of course, whenever possible, they stay at Trump hotels, which means taxpayer dollars are going to the Trump Corporation for every hotel room the Secret Service occupies and you'd better believe they're charging us rack rate.

[2naSalit]

41. +1

[malaise]

69. Excellent idea

[kentuck]

5. The DNC needs to be more pro-active.

I would agree.

[pangaia]

30. Pro-active ain't even the word for it.

FIX BAYONETS ! and charge !!

Stop throwing rocks..

[Cha]

79. Talk to the DNC.

[FakeNoose]

6. The pundits and the columnists should be talking about this too

Cheeto takes a 16-day vacation in Florida while everyone else suffers. To my way of thinking, this wold be the perfect time to change all the locks on the White House doors. Tell him to stay in Florida for good.

[calimary]

9. I'm there!

It’s America’s house. That a large majority voted for Hillary to stay in. He’s a squatter in it.

[djacq]

7. This should be playing right now;

Time Index 01:19

[link:

|

[KPN]

43. This is the ad they should broadcast. Himself

in his own words being the petulant little arrogant asshat he is about this closure directly.

[watoos]

8. I don't know?

Talking about Trump in Mar-el-Loco distracts from the numerous serious issues that we are facing.
I think we should keep talking about how Trump is trying to derail the Mueller investigation. We should be talking about the terrible situation going on at our southern border where kids are still being separated from their parents and put in cages. We should be talking about deserting our allies on the battlefield and about how that was the last straw that caused Mattis to resign. We should talk more about Mattis now that he is gone, about how Trump rarely took his advice. Mattis was against the wall, against banning transgenders from the military, was against having a military parade, was against stopping military exercises with South Korea, etc. If Trump loses the military he is in big trouble. I think we should be talking about how it is mainly Trump's fault that the stock market is crashing. I think we should be talking about all of the legal peril that Trump and his crime family are in.

Yeah, we should be talking about how Trump caused the shutdown and about how that affects hundreds of thousands of workers, and we can show Trump eating his chocolate cake in Mar-el-Loco, but we make a big mistake if that is all we focus on. IMO, the government shutdown was a plan by Trump to deflect from more serious issues. You bet I'm pissed that Trump is using thousands of workers as pawns to do his deflection, just saying.

[Amsterdammer]

23. Hit them on ALL fronts...

...I believe we are capable of doing both

[XRubicon]

10. Maybe he will invite his neighbor over to mar a shito

They can talk about “those (expletive) Mexicans.”

https://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/20181220/police-palm-beach-woman-tired-of-workers-blocking-road-points-shotgun-at-them


https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/pmf,pf_pt/46843085_zpid/globalrelevanceex_sort/26.73982,-80.035554,26.737023,-80.03947_rect/17_zm/

[llmart]

11. Did I miss something?

I thought he said he wasn't going to Mar-a-Loco?

[SMC22307]

12. When can anyone believe what he says, right? (n/t)

[llmart]

13. Yeah, I didn't believe that malarkey from the start.

No way that lazy, lard ass would pass up sitting around in his golf cart or stuffing his face with KFC.

[SMC22307]

15. Wonder if Sweatshop Barbie and Tiffany/Tiffani/Typhahnee...

will post pool-side pics like last year? That'll sure help their cause. #trumpshutdown

[mrsadm]

14. He did not leave Washington...

[link:https://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/20181221/trump-in-palm-beach-president-puts-off-visit-to-mar-a-lago-for-now|

[fierywoman]

64. Yeah but wife & kid did -- how much did that cost US taxpayers?

[KentuckyWoman]

16. Build the wall around Mar-A-Lago so he can't get back out.

[Chemisse]

17. This needs to be dubbed the Trump Christmas Shutdown.

He was "proud" to take the blame; let's give him plenty of it.

[turbinetree]

18. I think the trump balloon should be blown up..................

[JayhawkSD]

20. Small (actually not small) correction.

No, I am not a Trump supporter, vote Democratic regularly, am not in favor of "the wall" and do not support a shut down. But I do prefer facts.

"...while government employees are working for free during Christmas season."

That is factually incorrect. All government employees who work during any shutdown will be paid in full retroactively for the time they worked once the shut down ends. That has happened in the past, and it will this time as well.

[PatrickforO]

25. Yeah, technically you're correct, but here's the thing:

Could your family afford for your paychecks to stop coming in for an indefinite period of time during the holiday season?

How many paychecks would you have to miss before you began to go hungry, or got seriously behind on your rent or mortgage? Your car?

Around 80% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck because they get squeezed, nickel and dimed, so badly. I mean, so much wealth has been transferred to these billionaire parasites and big corporations that we have less and less. The middle class has been squeezed nearly to extinction here. I mean, all I have to do is look up and I'm spending $500 here and $1000 there - not for frivolous stuff, but things like plumbing, a filling falling out, a car repair.

I feel damned sorry for these Feds, because during this time when they should be celebrating a holiday of giving with their families, instead they have to pinch pennies because a sociopathic billionaire who cares for nothing but lining his own pockets has shut a multi-trillion government down in pique over a $5 billion wall. It's a pissing contest and these people are pissing down ALL our backs.

Don't you let 'em tell us it's raining.

[JayhawkSD]

27. Yes, in fact, I could.

I have savings adequate to that task, as any financially responsible working person should.

You are blaming it on the "rich parasites," but the rela fault lies with the lawmakers who passed the laws which enabled them to do what they are doing, and even more directly with the voters who elected those law makers and continued to reelect and are still reelecting them, even as those lawmakers fight battles to keep the same aging corporate shills in positions of leadership.

We have met the enemy. It is us, but we are unwilling to admit it, and so continue to point at others.

[PatrickforO]

28. Well, I'm genuinely happy for you.

I don't. I could go about three paychecks then I'd be hurting bad.

[JayhawkSD]

32. And deflection of the correction of fact...

You didn't address the correction of an incorrect fact. The workers are not "working for free," as stated by the original poster.

The fact that they are working for a delayed paycheck may cause hardship, but that is not "working for free." If the original poster is being critical of forcing workers to endure the hardship of "working for a delayed paycheck" then he should say that, rather than using the demagoguery of claiming that they are "working for free."

[PatrickforO]

42. OK, well I think all of us on here can concede that point. But here's a caveat.

Think about the Millennials and Zs for just a minute. Most of them who occupy good jobs are debt slaves because of student loans. So they can either live at home and have a decent car, or they can go without a car, take public transit and get an apartment. Most don't have two dimes to rub together.

My employer a few years ago, went from payday on the last business day of each month to every other Friday and that really hurt a lot of people, especially the younger people who had just started out in their careers. Making maybe $35-40K. Well, it's fine if those two Fridays hit near the 1st and 15th of the month, you know, but some months you have your first check maybe the 8th or 10th then the second late in the month.

So, if you live from paycheck to paycheck, your rent is still due the 1st. Most bills are still due the 15th or 16th. You get your first check on the 8th and your landlord is already starting eviction proceedings. You get your second check late in the month and your late payments go on your credit record, and in our banker-created system of scarcity you also get a nice late fee tagged onto it, and may lose service, like to your cell phone.

At my employer, many of the Millennials working for us were having to go to those predatory payday lenders and pay 300% or more interest on short-term loans just to pay the rent.

Talk about hardship.

And you know what the employer did? Nothing.

And that's people getting regular checks.

Now go in and look at the feds who are going to be on 'deferred pay.'

See, you're fighting tooth and nail to make a technical point - great. I concede.

BUT think about how it actually IS for people on the ground, the federal workforce AND all the federal contractors who are now not getting a paycheck until the pissing contest is over. Forget the left brain for a minute and think about the fear of not being able to pay the bills, the extra money in late fees these unfortunate Trump victims will have to pay once the paychecks are turned on again. Think about late rent, late car payments and so on. You ever gone hungry? Or not been able to pay the bills?

I have. In fact around 25 million Americans regularly go hungry - at least once a month. The sterile euphemism is 'food insecure.'

Think about people who cannot afford to rent a place where they work. Affordable housing has become a giant issue.

But hey, doesn't it give you warm fuzzies to think about the billionaires and CEOs who just got that giant tax cut last year? Gosh, and they bought back shares instead of raising wages.

See, this is a structural issue. We've got to re-think our whole economy and how we organize ourselves.

So, yeah, at age 60 I OUGHT to have months of savings. Sure. But I don't. My fault? Or did life simply happen and strip me of all that several times, forcing me to start over again? None of your biz, really, but don't be so cognitive about your technical points that your forget human suffering. Ever. That's what's wrong with Trump and most of the Republicans.

[KPN]

47. Excellent post.

[Hangingon]

54. I have been thru most of the hardships you mention.

Life is not fair. You have to budget for your pay periods. There are transitions but they can be overcome. Most of us adjust to living to our pay check. When I was very young, I was paid in cash every Friday. I had to learn to put it away for monthly bills. Later I was paid monthly. There were lean periods near the end of the month. Most of my work life, I was paid every two weeks. We had to budget to meet payment dates usually on the 2 paychecks month. This meant there were 2 “bonus” checks in this pay cycle. I always enjoyed a regular pay check. Others work construction or jobs dependent on weather. Others are contract people. It my be hard, but they learn to manage.

I was a Federal civil service employee for 40 years. Continuing resolutions became so common that most people worked to build a savings to accommodate these periods. Yes, there were the problems of late fees and overdue bills.

Basically, you work for a set amount and are responsible for managing your money.

[JayhawkSD]

77. Adults are able to manage their money. nt

[smb]

36. Blaming The Victim

The parasitic transfer of the wealth generated by the 99.99% into the pockets of the 0.01% has made saving money increasingly difficult, and in many cases impossible.

[Hangingon]

50. CRs have been a regular fact of life for a Federal employees.

An act passed in 1974 changed the Federal fiscal year from July 1 thru June 30. A “transitional” quarter was established between July 1 and September 30, 1976. The new fiscal year of October 1 thru September 30 was intended to allow legislators extra time to finish appropriation bills in a timely manner.

The usual practice has been every one gets paid. You come to work in order to accomplish an orderly shut down and be told to go home. “Essential” employees are designated to provide limited services. Non-essential employees are insulted, essential employees are smug that they will be paid. When the funding is restored, non-essential employees get paid and enjoy the fact that they didn’t have to work. Essential employees also get paid but complain that they had to work. Usually an esstenial employee wants compensatory time off.

The supervisory staff, often non-essential themselves, get to spread the news about all this and sort out the results. They are the ones on the ground and therefore get the blame. I never heard the parasitic 0.001% mentioned.

Since it didn’t work maybe we should change the fiscal year again. It won’t solve the problem of legislative/executive lack of discipline but it will divert attention.

[smb]

38. Actually, Technically He's Not Correct

Retroactive pay may or may not be provided, at the discretion of Congress and The Yam That Walks Like A Man. Thus, the emergency staff who have to stay on the job are indeed working for free, and may or may not be otherwise compensated later.

[KPN]

49. Having recently retired after 35+ years as a

fed employee, and having personally experienced the Gingrich led shutdown and at least two other shorter ones, I can vouch for the accuracy of your post. There is and was no guarantee of retroactive pay whether you had to do your job during the closure or not.

[rlegro]

71. Indeed. If I recall correctly....

... some federal employees are being furloughed during the shutdown. They won't work and they won't be paid for as long as the shutdown lasts. Now, this may be equitable in some theoretical economical sense, but it goes right back to what working people can afford. It's a fact that many middle class and lower class Americans are only a paycheck or two -- or one serious medical event -- away from bankruptcy and perhaps even lifelong financial ruin.

[JayhawkSD]

76. Retroactive pay for this stoppage has already been authorized by Congress. nt

[smb]

81. I Note That You Don't Mention Whether The Shitgibbon-in-Chief Signed Off On It

You're in no position to nit-pick anyone else after this glaring evasion of a crucial point.

[Hugin]

44. Not to mention, they are required to work, while simultaneously being prohibited from seeking...

alternate sources of income such as second jobs or pick up work.

It's a terrible situation.

[smb]

35. The Right-Wing Talking Points Are Strong With This One... nt

[Sudsy]

37. Most likely,

but I believe it is not guaranteed. They will get paid their next checks, but if the shutdown is prolonged, they will not get paid again until it ends. That could be very bad news.

[DENVERPOPS]

45. Think about this people

Just think about all the massive amount of Secret Service people, local police, the coast guard personel, the Air Force personnel that are missing the holidays with their families just to maintain the security needed for one of his sojourns. I love it when they give the hourly cost of flying airfare one. That is less than a hundredth, maybe a thousandth of the true expenses incurred for the overall cost of the plane, much less the costs of all the helicopters and vehicles that have to be transported ahead of him visiting anywhere. Maybe he will actually stay in DC, who knows. It won't be because the cares about anyone having to work for him, either in DC or his Fart Palace down in Florida. And, just for fun, think of all the area businesses in Florida that are totally shut down or curtailed for the entire time and every time he is there........Their employees don't get paid when it is over, do they?????

[Ilsa]

48. I was about to say something similar to your main point, but

to add that these people will probably rely on credit card debt or worse, payday lenders, to get past the shutdown. That means they'll pay additional costs of increased debt.

Most people don't come from circumstances that permit them to save enough to get by for even a couple of months without a paycheck. They may not be able to work in the town where their parents live so that they can live with Daddy. . They may not want to trash their credit score by defaulting on a lease. If they default on a student loan, will their paycheck be garnished or taken entirely because a default triggers it?

Your post may be technically correct, but it reflects a poor understanding of, and lack of empathy for the hardships most citizens live with.

[tparrett62]

55. I was the original poster, and hate seeing this get bogged down in minutiae

Obviously, make sure it's factually correct- yes, TECHNICALLY they're not working for free, hopefully they'll get back pay, but maybe not- but the point is, Trump handed us a cudgel. We should use it- get the facts straight, get some people on camera explaining how this made their holidays miserable while he's off in Florida golfing. The right would do it in a second and not worry about whether or not every point is literally and legally spot on.

Just use it and tar and feather him.

[Ilsa]

70. Absolutely! People don't get how hard this

is for many if not most of those on federal payroll.

[lunatica]

59. The retroactive pay can be used to pay all the late fees on their bills

with the attendant loss of credit rating and the word delinquent fees included in their records.

No problem!

[barbtries]

21. did he go off for his 16 day vacation?

i'm catching up with last night's news and it was suggested he may stay in DC through the shutdown

[Sudsy]

39. That would be unfortunate.

He is less able to do mischief on the links than in the Whitehouse, even though sending him to Mar-a-Lago costs a fortune.

[barbtries]

40. it's all optics to him anyway.

he does whatever he does for ratings. he may stay in DC just to say he did. but i don't know that. he doesn't like it there.

[yonder]

66. If he did leave, he worked late to sign all of those phony blank bills stacked on his desk.

Link to tweet

/photo/1

[PatrickforO]

22. Good idea. You think the media will actually do that, do you?

I mean, I hope and wish and so on that it could be. But the only way to do it would be ads run by super pacs we own.

Sadly.

Because our media can no longer be counted on, really, for stories like this. Maybe Rachel and Chris and Lawrence, but that's about it. We have to count on the Comedy Channel, guys like John Oliver and Trevor Noah; HBO with Vice and Bill Maher; and guys like Colbert and Kimmel. The only way that message will EVER get out is through the comics, late night hosts and our super pacs.

[JudyM]

24. NPR just reported he canceled his trip to FL.

Good.

[Hortensis]

33. :) Not to worry, the media will be talking a LOT about that.

Btw, the DNC isn't supposed to be in the news right now, so we won't be hearing from them.
Remember, the DNC's job is electing a president each 4 years by handling national-level administrative and candidate support functions. The debates of course. The state party apparatuses handle their own state functions. That's it. (The RNC's pretty much as limited in power and duties.) The candidates themselves create and run the (ultimately if successful) $1B corporations that sell one product, the candidate, and present their paperwork to the DNC to apply for official recognition and support long before the media start covering the primary races. (It was in this period in 2015 that Candidate HRC raised $200M for a mostly broke DNC so they'd have money to put on the national debates, which goes to show.)

[Sudsy]

34. If I'm not mistaken,

each Mar-a-Lago soiree costs the taxpayers a few million dollars, a chunk of which goes into Der Twitterfurher's pocket.

[hotrod0808]

46. They won't.

They are worried about appearances of looking combative, obstinate, or partisan. They want to try this "reach across the aisle" bullshit that hasn't worked since GOPAC Republicans came to the forefront. As a result, the same poor fucking morons who vote Republican will keep on voting Republican because they will still toe the "God, guns, abortion" issues that seem to take precedence over things like heath care and feeding their families. DNC doesn't have the balls to take control of the narrative, and they never will.

[samnsara]

51. a la Chris Christie lounging on the empty beach....

[KPN]

52. Keep in mind that Social Security payments,

other Social Security services, welfare payments (SNAP, TANF, housing assistance, home heating assistance and many other programs), etc., may not be going out either. Govt shutdowns hurt the ones who can least afford it most.

[SWBTATTReg]

68. I don't think this is right. I've heard somewhere before that Social Security payments, etc. ...

still go out. I don't know about the rest of the payments, being that states probably handle these things.

[OMGWTF]

53. Mar-a-lagofuckyourself!

[zentrum]

56. A photo of Christi sitting on a beach....

...at the exact same moment he had closed all NJ public beaches over a national holiday is what brought him down.

So you are absolutely right.

[tparrett62]

58. Live by the sword, die by the sword

If TV can make him President, TV can bring him down. Very simple narrative, easily understood.

Where 1992-era Jim Carville when you need him? We need more attack dogs.

[zentrum]

72. Yup. Octavio-Cortez

....is one but she doesn't yet have enough power.

[smb]

57. Petulant Child Throws Tantrum

[TwistOneUp]

60. K&R nt

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

61. K&R!!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

65. MEXICO won't pay for it; why should we?

[Hulk]

67. Keep his fat ass in DC through Xmas.

Keep him there!!

He will crumble into a two year old tantrum on the floor if this affects HIM!

[lpbk2713]

74. Trump has spent 218 days all or part on Trump properties.

Link: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/04/05/us/politics/tracking-trumps-visits-to-his-branded-properties.html


And each trip to Mar-a-Lugie costs $3.6 Million in April 2017 dollars according to the GAO.
Link: https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/apr/18/center-american-progress-action-fund/how-much-do-donald-trumps-trips-mar-lago-cost/

[AdamGG]

75. And spell out how much Trump properties collect for the rooms & golf carts for the secret service

[jb5150]

78. A good comparison would be ..

Trump fiddling (golfing) while Rome (America) burns.