I think it's the latter. I think he's the type that lacks a healthy amount of self-doubt. Even confident star athletes, obviously elite at what they do, suffer moments and periods of self-doubt, which is a humbling experience. Realizing them and overcoming them typically requires humility, introspection.

Anyway, the whole thing is now unraveling, and here's why:

Schiff Busted Lying, Conspiring, Being Even More Pencil Neckier Than Usual
Schiff getting caught lying about his contacts with this phony Deep State "whistleblower" is the least surprising thing about any of this. Of course he was working with the fake whistleblower to fabricate this non-scandal. Of course he lied about it. Of course other Democrats were involved. Of course the establishment media were in on it.

We have not spoken directly with the whistleblower. We would like to. But I'm sure the whistleblower has concerns that he has not been advised, as the law requires, by the Inspector General or the Director of National Intelligence just as to how he is to communicate with Congress.

Rep. Adam Schiff to MSNBC's Sam Stein

Schiff did appear to lie here in previously saying that his office had not spoken directly with the whistleblower. But if you care more about this stuff than the actual substance of the whistleblower complaint than you're being a hack.

Real Journalist Sam Stein's tweet after it was revealed Schiff did indeed work with the "whistleblower," which is a clear violation of the whistleblower statute.

For reasons no one should have to explain, the whistleblower rules make it painfully clear you keep the politicians out of this process. But Schiff was brought in early so the complaint would be a bulletproof roadmap for an impeachment hearing.

Hearsay, Hearsay, Hearsay
Everyone is arguing the whistleblower's complaint is weak because it is all based on second and third-hand information. No, this is exactly wrong.

That was The Plan.

That was always The Plan.

Schiff, the media, and the Deep State deliberately went this route because it means witnesses hauled before an impeachment inquiry are immediately put on defense, have to prove a negative, have to prove they did not do or say something without meeting their accuser the whistleblower.

This is already backfiring, though, because of the things the phony whistleblower got wrong like who was on the call with Trump and what exactly was said. And this is all thanks to reporting from new media and Trump out-maneuvering his enemies by releasing the transcript of the call in question and the full whistleblower complaint.

Deep State Changed Whistleblower Rules to Get Drumpf
Oddly enough, until recently, a whistleblower complaint required first-hand as opposed to second and third-hand knowledge.

Gee, wonder why those rules were suddenly changed?

Quid Pro Ah, No
The phony whistleblower told us Trump would threaten Ukraine with the withholding of crucial U.S. aid unless Ukraine agreed to help him politically which, oddly enough, is exactly what Joe Biden did.

Instead, as the transcript of the phone call proves, it was Ukraine's president who brought up the issue of corruption and all Trump did was ask him to look into Biden's threat to withhold U.S. aid if Ukraine refused to fire a prosecutor who was digging into the energy company that hired Biden's son Hunter for $50,000 a month a month! even though Hunter knows nothing about Ukraine or energy.

Quid Pro Uh, Oh
It gets worse! When the call took place, Ukraine was still fully expecting the U.S. to keep sending aid. Even the far-left BuzzFeed has been forced to admit this.

How can there be a threat or quid pro quo when Ukraine thought it was still raining American dollars?

There can't be, so the whistleblower lied.

Australia, Australia, Australia
The media recycling an old nothingburger into a BOMBSHELL made it pretty obvious the Ukraine Hoax was already running on fumes just a few days after it launched.

The Cover Up and the Secret Server!
Did you hear that Drumpf whom the walls are closing in on tried to hide his call with Ukraine on a secret server so that he could cover up all his threats and quid pro quodom?

Not to keep tooting my own horn, but *toot* I toldja we'd find out Obama used the same "secret server" and lo and behold.

Victim Says He Was Not Victimized
We're told that the victim in all of this is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was threatened, strong-armed, and blackmailed by Drumpf.

Only the transcript of the phone call says that didn't happen, and

So does the victim.

Biden Lies and Lies and Lies and then Lies Again
What the Deep State, the media, and Democrats saw in this whole debacle was a two-fer: 1) get Drumpf and 2) save Biden from the brewing Ukraine scandal involving his rent-seeking son Hunter.

Well, we already know part one has imploded, but somehow part two has imploded even more.
-BB

Link:

https://thefederalist.com/2019/09/27/intel-community-secretly-gutted-requirement-of-first-hand-whistleblower-knowledge/

oski003 said:

---

Anyway, the whole thing is now unraveling, and here's why:

Blah, blah, blah

---

Judge Andrew Napolitano: Trump's call with Ukraine president manifests criminal and impeachable behavior | Fox News


https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/judge-andrew-napolitano-trump-attacks-presidency

1. Should I no longer trust the Senior Judicial Analyst for Fox News?
2. Do you think Judge Napolitano should be fired?
3. Who do you think should replace him in that position?

oski003 said:

---

Anyway, the whole thing is now unraveling, and here's why:

Schiff Busted Lying, Conspiring, Being Even More Pencil Neckier Than Usual
Schiff getting caught lying about his contacts with this phony Deep State "whistleblower" is the least surprising thing about any of this. Of course he was working with the fake whistleblower to fabricate this non-scandal. Of course he lied about it. Of course other Democrats were involved. Of course the establishment media were in on it.

We have not spoken directly with the whistleblower. We would like to. But I'm sure the whistleblower has concerns that he has not been advised, as the law requires, by the Inspector General or the Director of National Intelligence just as to how he is to communicate with Congress.

Rep. Adam Schiff to MSNBC's Sam Stein

Schiff did appear to lie here in previously saying that his office had not spoken directly with the whistleblower. But if you care more about this stuff than the actual substance of the whistleblower complaint than you're being a hack.

Real Journalist Sam Stein's tweet after it was revealed Schiff did indeed work with the "whistleblower," which is a clear violation of the whistleblower statute.

For reasons no one should have to explain, the whistleblower rules make it painfully clear you keep the politicians out of this process. But Schiff was brought in early so the complaint would be a bulletproof roadmap for an impeachment hearing.

Hearsay, Hearsay, Hearsay
Everyone is arguing the whistleblower's complaint is weak because it is all based on second and third-hand information. No, this is exactly wrong.

That was The Plan.

That was always The Plan.

Schiff, the media, and the Deep State deliberately went this route because it means witnesses hauled before an impeachment inquiry are immediately put on defense, have to prove a negative, have to prove they did not do or say something without meeting their accuser the whistleblower.

This is already backfiring, though, because of the things the phony whistleblower got wrong like who was on the call with Trump and what exactly was said. And this is all thanks to reporting from new media and Trump out-maneuvering his enemies by releasing the transcript of the call in question and the full whistleblower complaint.

Deep State Changed Whistleblower Rules to Get Drumpf
Oddly enough, until recently, a whistleblower complaint required first-hand as opposed to second and third-hand knowledge.

Gee, wonder why those rules were suddenly changed?

Quid Pro Ah, No
The phony whistleblower told us Trump would threaten Ukraine with the withholding of crucial U.S. aid unless Ukraine agreed to help him politically which, oddly enough, is exactly what Joe Biden did.

Instead, as the transcript of the phone call proves, it was Ukraine's president who brought up the issue of corruption and all Trump did was ask him to look into Biden's threat to withhold U.S. aid if Ukraine refused to fire a prosecutor who was digging into the energy company that hired Biden's son Hunter for $50,000 a month a month! even though Hunter knows nothing about Ukraine or energy.

Quid Pro Uh, Oh
It gets worse! When the call took place, Ukraine was still fully expecting the U.S. to keep sending aid. Even the far-left BuzzFeed has been forced to admit this.

How can there be a threat or quid pro quo when Ukraine thought it was still raining American dollars?

There can't be, so the whistleblower lied.

Australia, Australia, Australia
The media recycling an old nothingburger into a BOMBSHELL made it pretty obvious the Ukraine Hoax was already running on fumes just a few days after it launched.

The Cover Up and the Secret Server!
Did you hear that Drumpf whom the walls are closing in on tried to hide his call with Ukraine on a secret server so that he could cover up all his threats and quid pro quodom?

Not to keep tooting my own horn, but *toot* I toldja we'd find out Obama used the same "secret server" and lo and behold.

Victim Says He Was Not Victimized
We're told that the victim in all of this is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was threatened, strong-armed, and blackmailed by Drumpf.

Only the transcript of the phone call says that didn't happen, and

So does the victim.

Biden Lies and Lies and Lies and then Lies Again
What the Deep State, the media, and Democrats saw in this whole debacle was a two-fer: 1) get Drumpf and 2) save Biden from the brewing Ukraine scandal involving his rent-seeking son Hunter.

Well, we already know part one has imploded, but somehow part two has imploded even more.
-BB

---

Well done Oski. This is sure to stir up the 'lefty ciircle jerkers' on this site but we know it's not your logic they will attack

kelly09 said:

---

oski003 said:

---

Anyway, the whole thing is now unraveling, and here's why:

Schiff Busted Lying, Conspiring, Being Even More Pencil Neckier Than Usual
Schiff getting caught lying about his contacts with this phony Deep State "whistleblower" is the least surprising thing about any of this. Of course he was working with the fake whistleblower to fabricate this non-scandal. Of course he lied about it. Of course other Democrats were involved. Of course the establishment media were in on it.

We have not spoken directly with the whistleblower. We would like to. But I'm sure the whistleblower has concerns that he has not been advised, as the law requires, by the Inspector General or the Director of National Intelligence just as to how he is to communicate with Congress.

Rep. Adam Schiff to MSNBC's Sam Stein

Schiff did appear to lie here in previously saying that his office had not spoken directly with the whistleblower. But if you care more about this stuff than the actual substance of the whistleblower complaint than you're being a hack.

Real Journalist Sam Stein's tweet after it was revealed Schiff did indeed work with the "whistleblower," which is a clear violation of the whistleblower statute.

For reasons no one should have to explain, the whistleblower rules make it painfully clear you keep the politicians out of this process. But Schiff was brought in early so the complaint would be a bulletproof roadmap for an impeachment hearing.

Hearsay, Hearsay, Hearsay
Everyone is arguing the whistleblower's complaint is weak because it is all based on second and third-hand information. No, this is exactly wrong.

That was The Plan.

That was always The Plan.

Schiff, the media, and the Deep State deliberately went this route because it means witnesses hauled before an impeachment inquiry are immediately put on defense, have to prove a negative, have to prove they did not do or say something without meeting their accuser the whistleblower.

This is already backfiring, though, because of the things the phony whistleblower got wrong like who was on the call with Trump and what exactly was said. And this is all thanks to reporting from new media and Trump out-maneuvering his enemies by releasing the transcript of the call in question and the full whistleblower complaint.

Deep State Changed Whistleblower Rules to Get Drumpf
Oddly enough, until recently, a whistleblower complaint required first-hand as opposed to second and third-hand knowledge.

Gee, wonder why those rules were suddenly changed?

Quid Pro Ah, No
The phony whistleblower told us Trump would threaten Ukraine with the withholding of crucial U.S. aid unless Ukraine agreed to help him politically which, oddly enough, is exactly what Joe Biden did.

Instead, as the transcript of the phone call proves, it was Ukraine's president who brought up the issue of corruption and all Trump did was ask him to look into Biden's threat to withhold U.S. aid if Ukraine refused to fire a prosecutor who was digging into the energy company that hired Biden's son Hunter for $50,000 a month a month! even though Hunter knows nothing about Ukraine or energy.

Quid Pro Uh, Oh
It gets worse! When the call took place, Ukraine was still fully expecting the U.S. to keep sending aid. Even the far-left BuzzFeed has been forced to admit this.

How can there be a threat or quid pro quo when Ukraine thought it was still raining American dollars?

There can't be, so the whistleblower lied.

Australia, Australia, Australia
The media recycling an old nothingburger into a BOMBSHELL made it pretty obvious the Ukraine Hoax was already running on fumes just a few days after it launched.

The Cover Up and the Secret Server!
Did you hear that Drumpf whom the walls are closing in on tried to hide his call with Ukraine on a secret server so that he could cover up all his threats and quid pro quodom?

Not to keep tooting my own horn, but *toot* I toldja we'd find out Obama used the same "secret server" and lo and behold.

Victim Says He Was Not Victimized
We're told that the victim in all of this is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was threatened, strong-armed, and blackmailed by Drumpf.

Only the transcript of the phone call says that didn't happen, and

So does the victim.

Biden Lies and Lies and Lies and then Lies Again
What the Deep State, the media, and Democrats saw in this whole debacle was a two-fer: 1) get Drumpf and 2) save Biden from the brewing Ukraine scandal involving his rent-seeking son Hunter.

Well, we already know part one has imploded, but somehow part two has imploded even more.
-BB

---

Well done Oski. This is sure to stir up the 'lefty ciircle jerkers' on this site but we know it's not your logic they will attack

---

Ooops! cirular firing squad. My Baad!

These threads are mostly tedious, but sometimes it's amusing to read

OaktownBear said:

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You can't attack the transcript.

---

And it's not even the transcript anymore. He just goes on TV and admits to it.

sycasey said:

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OaktownBear said:

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You can't attack the transcript.

---

And it's not even the transcript anymore. He just goes on TV and admits to it.

---

And he's still doing it. Hello, China.

I get why the political establishment care about this, but why does the electorate? Oh wait, they don't.

GBear4Life said:

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I get why the political establishment care about this, but why does the electorate? Oh wait, they don't.

---

Wrong.

GBear4Life said:

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I get why the political establishment care about this, but why does the electorate? Oh wait, they don't.

---

...and do you know why the electorate doesn't?



1. A majority of Americans cannot name a single branch of government or explain what the Bill of Rights is;

2. 24% can't name the country that the U.S. fought in the Revolutionary War;

3. 2/3 don't know what the holding of Roe v. Wade is;

4. 2/3 don't know what the Food and Drug Administration does;

5. 50% don't know each state has two senators;

6. More than 50% can't name their congressman;

7. The average voter thinks 24% of the U.S. budget goes to foreign aid (less than 1% does);

8. 18% thinks the sun revolves around the earth;

9. 50% don't know that Judaism predates Christianity

They don't care because it doesn't impact their lives, most Americans don't live in an ivory tower and have time to philosophize on political drama and sports.

Having a poll about what people think isn't commensurate with what matters to them in their lives (or in the voting booth).

Democrat from Michigan pointed this out recently -- her liberal constituents don't care about Trump's inanity or Russia or whatever. They don't have time for that. They care about health care, economy, jobs, (and to a lesser extent culture). Only privileged white collar folks (about 5-10% of population maybe) commiserate about their enlightened political ideologies and vendettas on figures that don't impact their lives on the internet.

bearister said:

---

GBear4Life said:

---

I get why the political establishment care about this, but why does the electorate? Oh wait, they don't.

---

...and do you know why the electorate doesn't?



1. A majority of Americans cannot name a single branch of government or explain what the Bill of Rights is;

2. 24% can't name the country that the U.S. fought in the Revolutionary War;

3. 2/3 don't know what the holding of Roe v. Wade is;

4. 2/3 don't know what the Food and Drug Administration does;

5. 50% don't know each state has two senators;

6. More than 50% can't name their congressman;

7. The average voter thinks 24% of the U.S. budget goes to foreign aid (less than 1% does);

8. 18% thinks the sun revolves around the earth;

9. 50% don't know that Judaism predates Christianity

---

Lol these aren't relevant to somebody making a living, having fulfillment and security in our society. Typical over-educated, condescending out-of-touch response. The implication being these dummies who don't care that Trump is greasy (there are liberals that don't care too) must be because they're ignorant

Moreover, being ignorant of such things isn't why they don't care.

You know how much the political party in power, either in the WH or congress, affects those knowledge rates? None. It's impacted by factors outside of DC and outside of the classroom -- IQ, culture and values, household income, neighborhood, # of words spoken to kids everyday etc etc etc etc.

GBear4Life said:

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They don't care because it doesn't impact their lives, most Americans don't live in an ivory tower and have time to philosophize on political drama and sports.

Having a poll about what people think isn't commensurate with what matters to them in their lives (or in the voting booth).

Democrat from Michigan pointed this out recently -- her liberal constituents don't care about Trump's inanity or Russia or whatever. They don't have time for that. They care about health care, economy, jobs, (and to a lesser extent culture). Only privileged white collar folks (about 5-10% of population maybe) commiserate about their enlightened political ideologies and vendettas on figures that don't impact their lives on the internet.

---

The public may not care about it when Trump or Republicans do it. They surely care about it when Dems do. It's all in the messaging, which is the exact pig pen that Fox News and right wing media thrive in.

Hillary Clinton's emails did not affect most people's daily lives either and the economy was doing fine in 2016.

(The fact that Trumpkins have done similar stuff since barely registers as it is so far down the list of offenses).

We're talking about the President, per his own edited and released call notes, asking a foreign leader to investigate a political rival. Everyone should know in their heart that is anathema to our Republic and grounds for impeachment. Which is why the wild accusations and gaslighting are turned up to 11 right now by right-wing politicians and media. And the sycophants in the Senate won't convict.

GBear4Life said:

---

They don't care because it doesn't impact their lives, most Americans don't live in an ivory tower and have time to philosophize on political drama and sports.

Having a poll about what people think isn't commensurate with what matters to them in their lives (or in the voting booth).

Democrat from Michigan pointed this out recently -- her liberal constituents don't care about Trump's inanity or Russia or whatever. They don't have time for that. They care about health care, economy, jobs, (and to a lesser extent culture). Only privileged white collar folks (about 5-10% of population maybe) commiserate about their enlightened political ideologies and vendettas on figures that don't impact their lives on the internet.

---

You are not the electorate. Polls show not only the opinions but also that people are engaged with the issue.

The Democrat from Michigan:

1. Said that based on the convoluted Mueller report. Not a black and white transcript with the president asking a foreign leader to investigate his rival.

2. Scores points because even if people DO care about the issue, they like to hear that the politician also focuses on kitchen table issues.

Actually, most people, and 1 of the 2 of us, understand that the president abusing his power to attempt to crush his opposition is really bad if you want the people's issues to continue to be taken care of, because it does in fact matter to have free elections. Most Republican politicians understand this as well as they know they will have a tough time putting the genie back in the bottle when the Democrats are in power. They are just afraid of what it means in a primary. The number of Republican politicians keeping their powder dry says a lot in this case.

"They don't care" is not the same as "don't make it their #1 voting issue." People can care about more than one thing.

Support for impeachment has increased. Trump's approval is down. Clearly the electorate cares about this.

OTB -

Deep State Changed Whistleblower Rules to Get Drumpf
Oddly enough, until recently, a whistleblower complaint required first-hand as opposed to second and third-hand knowledge. Gee, wonder why those rules were suddenly changed?

"This has been thoroughly debunked over and over by legitimate sources"

OTB, can you elaborate on this debunking?

Trump has committed a felony violation of law by soliciting something of value in connection with a US election from a foreign government on national TV U.S. Code 30121. He commits impeachable offenses on a weekly if not daily basis.

OneKeg said:

---

The public may not care about it when Trump or Republicans do it. They surely care about it when Dems do. It's all in the messaging, which is the exact pig pen that Fox News and right wing media thrive in.

---

it's not partisan. The blow hard partisans of course will care when the other team does it (e.g. this board) and obfuscate when their team does. But the majority of the electorate have more legitimate concerns, and they're more apolitical. Contrary to what our view of the world is through the lens of the internet and broadcast news, social media, the establishment press etc, neither liberals or conservatives are spending much time on this. As Bearister says, they're all so dumb they're just meandering around with their heads up their a s s trying to go to work, feed their kids (just the conservatives who support or are ambivalent about Trump though). Their priorities are arguably more rational than ours. No, it's actually inarguable. It most certainly is.

oski003 said:

---

OTB -

Deep State Changed Whistleblower Rules to Get Drumpf
Oddly enough, until recently, a whistleblower complaint required first-hand as opposed to second and third-hand knowledge. Gee, wonder why those rules were suddenly changed?

"This has been thoroughly debunked over and over by legitimate sources"

OTB, can you elaborate on this debunking?

---

Are you serious with this? I honestly can't tell at this point if you are a caricature of RWNJs or genuinely just wait until conspiracy theories get debunked before they even get on your radar. This particular piece of trash has been thoroughly debunked and all over the news for several days now.

After the idiot in chief amplified the conspiracy theory irresponsibly promulgated by the federalist, the IGIC felt compelled to issue a response. You can read it below, assuming that is that you are capable of reading accurate statements.

GBear4Life said:

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bearister said:

---

8. 18% think the sun revolves around the earth;

9. 50% don't know that Judaism predates Christianity

---

Typical over-educated, condescending out-of-touch response.

---

Yes, I've always considered myself Mensa International material for knowing information like that.

bearister said:

---

GBear4Life said:

---

bearister said:

---

8. 18% think the sun revolves around the earth;

9. 50% don't know that Judaism predates Christianity

---

Typical over-educated, condescending out-of-touch response.

---

Yes, I've always considered myself Mensa International material for knowing information like that.

---

Nope, you're out of touch thinking that information matters in a conversation about why people have good reason not to care about partisan political drama and bickering. The Left is out of touch, and they can't step outside themselves (generally). That is nothing new and it's what cost them 2016 general.

NYCGOBEARS said:

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RWNJ's are in misdirection mode again, focusing on process, because they have zero arguments against the easily provable substance.

---

So far the arguments have been:

1. Look at this irrelevant procedural issue, though I have nothing to say about Trump's actual words.
2. Yawn, no one cares about this issue, why are we talking about it?
3. Democrats are the real racists.

Not a great position.

sycasey said:

---

NYCGOBEARS said:

---

RWNJ's are in misdirection mode again, focusing on process, because they have zero arguments against the easily provable substance.

---

So far the arguments have been:

1. Look at this irrelevant procedural issue, though I have nothing to say about Trump's actual words.
2. Yawn, no one cares about this issue, why are we talking about it?
3. Democrats are the real racists.

Not a great position.

---

There is even open revolt by some on the Trump news channel now. That says it all.