OK, smart people at DU - what are your thoughts on how this will all play out? I am at a loss..

[NRaleighLiberal]

shocked, depressed, overwhelmed. I've never seen a human being such such hubris, such gall, such daily destruction. It is now at the mocking stage - the whole "I am so rich and powerful that I can do what I want and no one can stop me" thing.

I know this is all happening fast - Watergate took a long time to unfold and toss Nixon (well, self tossed, I guess) - but Russia? Really? Not a single repub stepping up and putting country- our futures - before party?

There are many scenarios....been trying to think this all through since the Comey thing broke last night.

So - what do you think? How will this all end up playing out?

[First Speaker]

1. Sooner or later, the GOP gets Trump to resign for "health reasons"...

...and then they, and the media, try to make the country Rally Around Pence...for the "good of the country". This, to me, would be the worst of all possible outcomes, up to and including a military intervention. And yes, I am quite serious.

[Freethinker65]

10. Pretty much this. But Trump will start a war somewhere first

That way the GOP can use that patriotic unity in time of war bullshit they shovel out to the media and public so well. Gotta support our military and troops as fodder (upon return home, not so much). Pence will have full support and will continue his "God given duty" to turn this country into a patriarchal Christian theocracy.



Unless the house of cards falls quickly, I am not optimistic. Then again, I always have been kind of cynical.

[FakeNoose]

16. Trump doesn't get to walk away from this, neither do the other guys

Trump, Pence, McConnell, Ryan, Sessions, Flynn and several others all took an oath to uphold the Constitution. They've colluded with a foreign government to subvert our democratic election. They've committed treason, or at least espionage.

Trump in particular has done more than that, he's committed RICO-felonies. He doesn't get to resign, he goes to jail and he will die in jail. I'd like to see his entire family in jail.

The other guys have also committed felonies to a lesser (?) degree. So maybe they won't die in jail, that's up to a Federal judge to decide.

[Tatiana]

2. He's too arrogant to resign.

He will have to be impeached. After 2018, when we take back the House, we can do it. Hopefully by then, we will have the proof of Russian collusion and arrest several members of Trump's administration.

This may end with the indictment of a sitting President.

[SoCalMusicLover]

3. Nothing Will Happen

The repubs control all branches of the government. And when Kennedy retires, they have a stranglehold on the SC.

[chelsea0011]

26. Agreed. This will all die on the vine.

[Shell_Seas]

4. We're all going to die.

Nuclear weapon, no access to healthcare, extreme climate change, guns for everyone, deregulation of the FDA...take your pick.

[vi5]

5. The GOP is playing a formula...

.....that formula is that 35-40% are going to believe anything and everything that the Republican and their approved media tell them. These people will literally light themselves on fire if a Republican tells them that it will piss off a liberal.

There's another 10% that aren't AS hyperpartisan but lean right, and are probably gullible enough to believe the shit that the other 35-40% tell them that they heard.

Add in another 10-20% who are just completely apathetic and don't care about any of it and will never care about any of it no matter what happens or how it impacts them.

Trump was the first person at a national level to truly and completely gamble on these numbers and pandering to that core, and rolling the dice that they wouldn't care about previous statements, wouldn't care about inconsistencies or hypocrisy or contradictions or whatever as long as he hated the right people. He rolled the dice and proved that it would work and that he could win doing that.

And now the GOP realizes that these numbers will hold they are going to ride it as far as they can take it and as far as they need to dismantle any traces of liberalism or progressive thought and law.

How will this play out? Nobody is going to be appointed to investigate this.....they'll just do some moderate overtures and strong words that maybe sort of signal caring about it. They'll keep ginning up the outrage machine and do everything they can to move on from it and the media will enable them.

I predict they'll ride this out and in a month or two it will be relegated to nothing more than a conspiracy theory.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

12. That's pretty much it. A lot of us have known that the apathy and intellectual laziness

that plagues this country would one day come back to bite us in the ass. Sure, Reagan d Junior where horrible pieces of shit. But this orange scrotum and his sycophants take it to a whole other level.

[yardwork]

29. I agree. Right now, too many people are still fine with all this.

[cyberswede]

32. This is the correct answer

If we had the same craven, opportunistic, Rs back in Nixon's day that we have today, nothing would have happened then, either.

[jberryhill]

6. The best outcome is that intelligent aliens land and take over

Ordinarily, I would peg that at a low likelihood of happening, but my estimation of the probable future has not been so good lately.

[herding cats]

7. The Republicans don't seem to have the guts to stand up to him.

My best guess is there will be some well-placed leaks coming out of the FBI in the near future to try and force their hands on the matter.

ETA: I'm not a smart person, though. Keep that in mind when reading my speculation.

[NRaleighLiberal]

15. by stating you don't think that you are, I suspect you are indeed!

[herding cats]

38. How kind!

[Eyeball_Kid]

19. Leaks are happening right now. The MSM isn't covering them.

[MGKrebs]

8. Very hard to predict.

But I think Trump is psycho, and he's not going to get better. So he's going to keep doing crazy things and each time he does, a couple of more Repubs may buy in to the concept of removing him. Eventually they will reach a point of critical mass and begin the process. Maybe another year?

However, at least one thing could (and unfortunately likely will) affect this. If we get into something that passes for a war then the Repubs won't remove him while that is going on.

[grantcart]

9. Nothing will happen until his favorables go below 28% or we take the house.

[Jarqui]

11. I do not think any of the three branches of government can address this because

Trump and his cronies control all of them.

They're blowing past the media with "fake news".

With Nixon. we did protest. But we didn't have a FOX news or Right Wing websites to mute the reach of our efforts. And the GOP did not control congress. In these circumstances, it's really rough to impeach Trump because the GOP control everything.

I've been musing some kind of a general strike because the big money boys can get hurt financially if the country shuts down. The exposure there is their pockets our deeper than most Americans so maybe they'll just ride it out while we cave in because we have to feed our kids.

At this point, I'm not really sure. There is a real danger lurking here that these guys are pulling off a coup.

[Donkees]

13. The Pope will attempt an exorcism

[OnDoutside]

14. There are two issues

1) Trump is a liar, narcissist and has a slender grip on reality. It's very hard to appeal to his morality when he is amoral.

2) The GOP are going to push this to the very end to extract as much advantage in turning back America to the 1950s, as they can. So, they need to leave Trump there as long as possible, but in doing so they are making a Faustian pact that I pray will destroy them eventually.

He lives by winning or creating the illusion of winning. Democrats need to continue blindsiding him, which will make him angry and thus he'll make mistakes.

The other hope we have is that the European IC start dropping the Russia Trump evidence, if natural US justice is being blocked. Don't forget, Trump is as much a threat to the rest of us, as he is to the USA.

[uponit7771]

22. +1, Donald Trump is a loser who lost on issue A, B C and D ... should be the add buy played over and

... over again when the cut of dems making financial lives better.

[OnDoutside]

24. Definitely, buy ad time on Fox in Washington area as John Oliver did.

[yardwork]

31. Excellent points.

[Cha]

42. Yes.. trump lives by lying to his suckers.

I never forget that trump is a danger to the whole Planet. Those who enabled trump to get rigged in.. didn't just fuck up the US.

[monmouth4]

17. I have a lot of confidence in our Democratic Senators and Congress critters. They all have a unique

and intelligent approach. More than once they have said "it takes time." I know we don't have an abundance of time, but remember there is much going on right now behind closed doors we cannot know. Senator Schumer, just to name one, has been around a long time. He also has much at stake and is a patriot. I worry, but only because of the time this will take, not of the outcome. I also think we, as a nation, will be strengthened by this.

[Eyeball_Kid]

18. Follow Louise Mensch, Claude Taylor, John Schindler, etc. on Twitter.

You'll feel better.

[byronius]

28. +1000000

[tinrobot]

20. He's building a wall - around any investigations

He appoints a lackey to the FBI

Even if said lackey goes for indictments, Sessions will not prosecute.

If someone sues and gets to the Supreme Court... conservative majority.

Senate is lukewarm on investigations - McConnell will not appoint a special prosecutor.

House isn't any better.

The longer Congress waits to act, the more they become willing accomplices. They're already tainted.

I don't see too many routes to victory.

The only way is to take back the House/Senate in 2018. That is, if we hold elections.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

21. Resist, Resist, Resist!

Until such time there is a political advantage. Do not let any of these events be consigned to the scrap heap of history. Keep issues in the forefront of our day to day lives.
He (45) lies so much and so often, he doesn't even know he's doing it and his Republican compadres enable him.

[MFM008]

23. As long as they are in power

Unless something that the repukes start getting huge waves of protest and begin to worry about their own jobs, nothing will happen.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

25. a la Scalia

[Doodley]

27. The CBO report will say over 20 million will lose healthcare. This is what SHOULD happen:

Democrat lawmakers need to make the case that Republicans are happy to see Americans die to fund their billionaire tax cuts. They need to make the moral case that Trump has betrayed his promises to poor and middle income families, and remind the public that Democrats are the party of the many and not the few.

They need to keep hammering away at the Russian ties. Remember there were more than twice the congressional staff investigating Benghazi than are investigating Russia collusion. They need to fight with as much vigor as Republicans and drive his poll numbers down. They need to repeat at every opportunity, Trump's lies and broken promises and his betrayal of the American people.

They need to be focused on hitting him hard, in the same way that he manipulates the media. They need to control the narrative. Once his poll number hit a certain level, and his mindset and behavior become even more irrational, enough Republican lawmakers will turn against him to save their own skins in 2018. At some point, a delegation or an open letter from sufficient Republicans will ask him to stand down, and then it will be over for him.

[spanone]

30. as my irish friend would say 'we're fooked'

[The_Casual_Observer]

33. This will eventually take care of itself. I hope it doesn't take too long.

[Phoenix61]

34. I think Intel from foreign allies will leak

damning information. Info that can't be ignored and that will force the repubs to act like they give two figs about this country. Not because they actually do but because it will be the only way to save their sorry hides. They will plead ignorance and shock that they were so decieved. Then they will, with heavy hearts, impeach the treasonous bastard and pray that it will all be forgotten by election time.

[yardwork]

35. The Republicans don't realize what is at stake.

The Republicans think that this is all a game where they can "get back" decades worth of money that they believe was "wasted by liberals" instead of being put to good use lining Republican pockets.

So, while they may bemoan Trump's antics a little, for the most part they are gleefully dismantling everything that more enlightened people consider to be our civilization.

Climate change is happening and while we're fiddling around, really big problems await the global population.

In the meantime, the world's first democracy might slide into fascism. What happens next - to us and to the rest of the world - I don't know. China is going to be a big player.

[Jakes Progress]

36. If there aren't at least four or five honest republicans

who will do their job, we will slide into an autocracy.

[tavalon]

40. We will force them

A critical mass of outrage has finally happened. There is no refuge for the scoundrels and all the alternative facts in the world aren't going to save this maladministration.

The time that I have hoped and prayed for is here. The American people will not let this one slide and we the smarter, will make sure of that. We are on solid Constitutional ground finally. And we are going to plant the flag.

It is not if, it is now when. And I, for one, am very relieved.

[Azathoth]

37. Alternative fact media is already doing the heavy lifting to bring the cultists in line

By next week, it will be an axiom in conservative circles that firing Comey was the single most heroic conservative act since Reagan helped Jesus write the Constitution.

The smattering of GOP wavering we are seeing will be crushed by its own base. Nothing will happen. Time to finish the repeal of Medicaid.

[tavalon]

39. Check out the Watergate Wiki

That will give you a broad stroke idea of what is going to happen. There will be a Special Prosecutor, someone who is without reproach and acceptable to both parties. After an exhaustive investigation, it will be presented to the House, where Articles of Impeachment will be drafted. Then, it moves to the prosecutorial phase, in the Senate.

Now, during the pre-impeachment stage, many people will turn State's evidence to save their own asses. A number of people, unfortunately, will be given immunity for testifying (Michael Flynn, probably is one), but those don't go to everyone, and Trump will not be the only person taken down. My personal hope is that he is taken down first and Pence ascends to the Presidency, and appoints ? as VP, hopefully someone moderate, then Pence gets taken down (he is dirty, if only by not telling in an appropriate amount of time) and that President ascends and so on.

I prefer that to simultaneous impeachments of both President and VP - third in line of succession is Paul Ryan. Of course, there is a possibility that Ryan will be shown to be complicit, in which case, I'm all for the trifecta. And, there is the danger that if Pence doesn't get impeached simultaneously with Trump, he could pull a Gerald Ford. I so do not want to see that little piece of history repeated!

Before yesterday, I was where you are. And really stressed. But I see the path now. It isn't if, it is when. And we are back on solid Constitutional ground, a place we haven't been for a while, so as a patriot, I feel so relieved. I know this gig.

"What did you know and when did you know it?" just came back into vogue. And I, for one, couldn't be happier.

I will sleep better tonight than I have in 6 months.

[ucrdem]

41. Eventually the Obama recovery will run its course and the Trump economy will tank.

Hopefully well before 2020. If not there's going to be a helluva mess to clean up in eight years.

[jeanmarc]

43. We have a loose cannon in office

He should quit, but he won't, at least not soon enough. We're going to war some where.

Probably North Korea. I truly hate this President.

[icymist]

44. I actually believe that one day he'll ride a horse onto the Senate floor.

Then declare that it is now a Senator. The dumb-asses in the GOP don't know that they're fucking with crazy. Super crazy.

[oberliner]

45. Nothing will come out of any of it

Trump will continue to do what he is doing. The Republicans will continue to control Congress.

[Buckeyeblue]

46. It's going to get uglier

I had thought after Comey confirmed there were investigations going on about Russia that 45 would clean house and start trying to throw some bones the the white working class that elected him. I was completely wrong. I underestimated his level of crazy. I'm not sure I fully understand it even now.

The R's are caught between a rock and a hard place. They know this guy is dirty, a liar, willing to do anything to promote his self interest. But he holds the key to getting their agenda through. With that in mind, I think they continue to ignore Russia and everything that comes with it and try to fast track as much legislative stuff as they can. The idea being that if the house and senate flip in 2018 so be it. A lot of their agenda will be in place.

There are a couple of things that can stop this. Some R senators say enough is enough. Or 45 flips out and decides the R's are secretly against him and starts working against them. Remember, he is not stable. Anything can happen.