There's a report circulating on social media right now that the Gaetz report has already been leaked by a "hacker". This was inevitable given how many Republicans hate Gaetz and McCarthy and his crowd want revenge. Hardly surprising.
I'd like to think Senators will do the right thing, but everytime I do that, I find myself severely disappointed. Sadly, I'd bet that they'll all roll over and do what Dear Leader wants.
Re: the open senate seat in FL, rumor has it DeSantis wants that for himself, so it wouldn't be wise to appoint a Trump in that temporary role. Qualified or not.
I am afraid that Joe Biden is going to go into the history books with a Presidential rating tied with Herbert Hoover. when the nation had to deal with a true crisis in 1930 to capitalism and in 2022 to Constitutional integrity - neither was up to the task. A very large part of the problem for Biden is that based on performance in office, Merrick Garland will have to go down as one of the worst AGs in US history. The entire country watched Trump incite a riot and Garland went after only the rioters. Trump was caught red-handed with boxes of documents that would have led to the immediate arrest of anyone else in possession and yet...crickets. But this seems to be a function of Garland being a normal AG candidate - generally competent and law-abiding, with administrative history and experience. And yet 30 Republican Senators voted against his confirmation rather than give the President (Biden) "his choice." So the same 30 can bring themselves to be as ...discerning (?) where the utterly unfit Matt Gaetz is concerned? Our Constitutional institutions have either proven untrustworthy bordering on corrupted (Supreme Court) or morally unfit (Congress) to protect us as citizens. Professor Tribe, Judge Luttig, are you listening?
Re. new Gaetz leak as well as ongoing Hegseth coverage: every single article should include these words about the guy who plans to appoint them "President-elect Donald Trump, who has himself faced multiple accusations of sexual misconduct and found liable by a jury for sexual assault." Disqualifying conduct? I don't see how any more. Permission structure, more likely. We need to keep the consequences of this election front and center in every way we can. I wish I had confidence it could make a difference.
The Senate must--- but sure as hell they won't. The outliers are Collins, Murkowski and Romney. Two of which might be dependable while the third will wring her hands and be "Concerned." But every single one of the Banana Republicans walked him back to the White House knowing that personal loyalty was going to be expected and disloyalty is not tolerated.
The only thing Trump is testing is the Senate. He knows he can get away with whatever he wants and will demand absolute obedience. OR ELSE! The three outliers (And Mitch McConnell) might already have plans for their exit but I somehow doubt they will summon the courage necessary.
As for the Democrats they should grill them in the hearings but go to no extraordinary attempts to stop or even slow down the appointments.
Let Trump fill his Krazy Klown Kar as he wishes and put him front and center behind the wheel.
It will be interesting to see the Banana Republicans try and blame the Democrats for not trying to save them from themselves when the inevitable disaster strikes.
Why We Fight. To quote John Avlon: "You are never wrong to do the what is right in the right moment". It has been a long time since one of the principles of Republicans was: Character matters.
Trump will choose somebody just as bad as Gaetz but more likely to be effective. Plus he'll get all his other nominees confirmed in exchange for giving up Gaetz. Better to give him them all and watch the car wreck.
Although it might sound like cutting off your nose to spite your face, I tend to agree that the American public needs to understand the ramifications of electing Donald Trump, so I am tentatively voting for the car wreck.
I don't think Trump really cares one way of the other if Gaetz, Gabbard, or any of the other yahoos he's nominated get confirmed (with the possible exception of Rubio and Stefanic). He's "probing". He's trying to find out just how far he can push the few (sorta kinda maybe) moderate/rational GOP members of Congress to back his Project 2025 Agenda.
Welcome to the new normal which the notoriously fickle American Electorate in all its infinite wisdom has selected for us. Currently Oklahoma is in the lead for implementing Project 2025 and is well positioned to make a ton by getting federal contracts for the mass deportation project. Grift and corruption, we do it all too well.
I know the Bulwark can't cover everything, but I wish we would talk a bit about the Scarborough/Brzezinski pilgrimmage to Mara Lago. Compared to "another day, another Republican legislator beclowns himself," it's a different dynamic and maybe we could learn something from it.
(1) They have to have known that, in addition to blowing up their own credibility, they would scorch everyone in their vicinity. Isn't that complete lack of consideration for friends and allies noteworthy?
(2) Their blithe dismissal of every criticism --- doesn't their inability to acknowledge that this step might have been controversial further reduce their credibility? (Have we had enough yet of the snarling self-righteousness on [yes I am gonna say it] both sides?)
(3) Are we worried about how this will feed the growing chorus of "haha, we knew you weren't serious about the danger of fascism"?
(4) Are we sure **we're** serious when we talk about the danger of fascism ... if we're still sitting around playing "daaaaark" like it was some kind of parlor game, demonizing voters instead of working to up our game, and applying purity tests before we "allow" (rofflmfao) people to join "our" side?
(5) Do we think they'll be the last members of the [pseudo-]resistance to rhinocerize themselves?
(6) Is this another good reason NOT to think in terms of tribal loyalties but instead focus on ideas and be as open and civil to as many people as possible?
Those are my takeaways, anyway. I haven't exactly immersed myself in the coverage so there may be things I got wrong. There are surely others I haven't thought of. But this event seems much more "man bites dog" than the important but semi-predictable xitshow in Congress.
Joe and Mika are gross. I gave the show a listen for an hour today and was disgusted by every attempt to move on from anything that put Trump in a bad light. They are cowards and sellouts.
Forget Joe and Mika. The rest of MSNBC is all in on revealing the Orange Snake's crimes and problems. Try Lawrence O'Donnell, Stephanie Ruhle, Jen Psaki - they're the best. Velshi is good too, but he's on the weekends. The others are decent. The only one I really don't care for is Andrea Mitchell, but she's leaving in a few months.
My favorite is Nicole Wallace. She's on from 1-3 pm Pacific time, so I get her 2 hour podcast, which drops around 4:30. She's very incisive and has great guests, and is not shy about sharing her views. No way she would kiss the ring.
The Senate has to vote to not confirm Tusli, aka, Toadie, to ANY position, most emphatically anything having to do with the evaluation of her hero (also one of OCF's, curiously) Vlad the Bad. Not only does she have iron-clad preconceived notions about his wonderfulness and correctness in anything he does , she has no relevant experience for the job, which alone should condemn her....as well as several of the other nominees, but I digress from the most important one. The other four members of Five Eyes are already reportedly planning on what infomation to pass on to the US and what not, fearing it would wind up in the Kremlin before getting to the Resolute Desk.
David, every once in a while I do the alliteration schtick. I like saying things in a different way. Like my son once said (when he was young) never be normal!
There's a report circulating on social media right now that the Gaetz report has already been leaked by a "hacker". This was inevitable given how many Republicans hate Gaetz and McCarthy and his crowd want revenge. Hardly surprising.
I'd like to think Senators will do the right thing, but everytime I do that, I find myself severely disappointed. Sadly, I'd bet that they'll all roll over and do what Dear Leader wants.
Re: the open senate seat in FL, rumor has it DeSantis wants that for himself, so it wouldn't be wise to appoint a Trump in that temporary role. Qualified or not.
I am afraid that Joe Biden is going to go into the history books with a Presidential rating tied with Herbert Hoover. when the nation had to deal with a true crisis in 1930 to capitalism and in 2022 to Constitutional integrity - neither was up to the task. A very large part of the problem for Biden is that based on performance in office, Merrick Garland will have to go down as one of the worst AGs in US history. The entire country watched Trump incite a riot and Garland went after only the rioters. Trump was caught red-handed with boxes of documents that would have led to the immediate arrest of anyone else in possession and yet...crickets. But this seems to be a function of Garland being a normal AG candidate - generally competent and law-abiding, with administrative history and experience. And yet 30 Republican Senators voted against his confirmation rather than give the President (Biden) "his choice." So the same 30 can bring themselves to be as ...discerning (?) where the utterly unfit Matt Gaetz is concerned? Our Constitutional institutions have either proven untrustworthy bordering on corrupted (Supreme Court) or morally unfit (Congress) to protect us as citizens. Professor Tribe, Judge Luttig, are you listening?
Re. new Gaetz leak as well as ongoing Hegseth coverage: every single article should include these words about the guy who plans to appoint them "President-elect Donald Trump, who has himself faced multiple accusations of sexual misconduct and found liable by a jury for sexual assault." Disqualifying conduct? I don't see how any more. Permission structure, more likely. We need to keep the consequences of this election front and center in every way we can. I wish I had confidence it could make a difference.
The Senate must--- but sure as hell they won't. The outliers are Collins, Murkowski and Romney. Two of which might be dependable while the third will wring her hands and be "Concerned." But every single one of the Banana Republicans walked him back to the White House knowing that personal loyalty was going to be expected and disloyalty is not tolerated.
The only thing Trump is testing is the Senate. He knows he can get away with whatever he wants and will demand absolute obedience. OR ELSE! The three outliers (And Mitch McConnell) might already have plans for their exit but I somehow doubt they will summon the courage necessary.
As for the Democrats they should grill them in the hearings but go to no extraordinary attempts to stop or even slow down the appointments.
Let Trump fill his Krazy Klown Kar as he wishes and put him front and center behind the wheel.
It will be interesting to see the Banana Republicans try and blame the Democrats for not trying to save them from themselves when the inevitable disaster strikes.
“ The problem isn’t these nominees. It’s Trump. And the American people elected him.”
Let’s take this to its logical conclusion and admit that the “problem” is the majority of the American electorate.
"But there’s no reason not to start as soon as possible to make these four years less damaging."
Bzzzt, nope, wrong. Let's burn out the fever now, no sense in prolonging it.
If the right (on its own) somehow decides to do the right thing, great. But the Dems should not make Trumpism more palatable. Break the fever now.
Re Kristol: Of course, the nominations are horrible. Trump doesn’t care—the minions will obey or be punished; tee time at noon.
Every time I see a photo of Trump “dancing” I think, Oh god, he’s bringing back The Twist! And they say that this man has no sense of humor.
Some things you just can't unsee.
Of course, The Twist is the ideal “dance” for Trump—he needs no partner, him alone in the spotlight.
Why We Fight. To quote John Avlon: "You are never wrong to do the what is right in the right moment". It has been a long time since one of the principles of Republicans was: Character matters.
just throw out the queensbury rules and go from there dems. enough is enough. extra credit: watch the classic movie great ball of fire for tips.
Trump will choose somebody just as bad as Gaetz but more likely to be effective. Plus he'll get all his other nominees confirmed in exchange for giving up Gaetz. Better to give him them all and watch the car wreck.
Although it might sound like cutting off your nose to spite your face, I tend to agree that the American public needs to understand the ramifications of electing Donald Trump, so I am tentatively voting for the car wreck.
I don't think Trump really cares one way of the other if Gaetz, Gabbard, or any of the other yahoos he's nominated get confirmed (with the possible exception of Rubio and Stefanic). He's "probing". He's trying to find out just how far he can push the few (sorta kinda maybe) moderate/rational GOP members of Congress to back his Project 2025 Agenda.
He is probing to see how far his power goes.
Welcome to the new normal which the notoriously fickle American Electorate in all its infinite wisdom has selected for us. Currently Oklahoma is in the lead for implementing Project 2025 and is well positioned to make a ton by getting federal contracts for the mass deportation project. Grift and corruption, we do it all too well.
I know the Bulwark can't cover everything, but I wish we would talk a bit about the Scarborough/Brzezinski pilgrimmage to Mara Lago. Compared to "another day, another Republican legislator beclowns himself," it's a different dynamic and maybe we could learn something from it.
(1) They have to have known that, in addition to blowing up their own credibility, they would scorch everyone in their vicinity. Isn't that complete lack of consideration for friends and allies noteworthy?
(2) Their blithe dismissal of every criticism --- doesn't their inability to acknowledge that this step might have been controversial further reduce their credibility? (Have we had enough yet of the snarling self-righteousness on [yes I am gonna say it] both sides?)
(3) Are we worried about how this will feed the growing chorus of "haha, we knew you weren't serious about the danger of fascism"?
(4) Are we sure **we're** serious when we talk about the danger of fascism ... if we're still sitting around playing "daaaaark" like it was some kind of parlor game, demonizing voters instead of working to up our game, and applying purity tests before we "allow" (rofflmfao) people to join "our" side?
(5) Do we think they'll be the last members of the [pseudo-]resistance to rhinocerize themselves?
(6) Is this another good reason NOT to think in terms of tribal loyalties but instead focus on ideas and be as open and civil to as many people as possible?
Those are my takeaways, anyway. I haven't exactly immersed myself in the coverage so there may be things I got wrong. There are surely others I haven't thought of. But this event seems much more "man bites dog" than the important but semi-predictable xitshow in Congress.
Joe & Mika are trying out their Lindsay Graham routine, where they remove their spines in order to "stay relevant."
Joe and Mika are gross. I gave the show a listen for an hour today and was disgusted by every attempt to move on from anything that put Trump in a bad light. They are cowards and sellouts.
As Brian Stelter reports, Joe and Mika are worried that Trumps retribution is coming their way. Hence they made the pilgrimage to Mara Lago.
Forget Joe and Mika. The rest of MSNBC is all in on revealing the Orange Snake's crimes and problems. Try Lawrence O'Donnell, Stephanie Ruhle, Jen Psaki - they're the best. Velshi is good too, but he's on the weekends. The others are decent. The only one I really don't care for is Andrea Mitchell, but she's leaving in a few months.
My favorite is Nicole Wallace. She's on from 1-3 pm Pacific time, so I get her 2 hour podcast, which drops around 4:30. She's very incisive and has great guests, and is not shy about sharing her views. No way she would kiss the ring.
And Tim and Charlie show up a lot. Bill once in a while. I wish they had a Bulwark segment. :-) My favorite is O'Donnell.
That really wasn't the point of what I said.
The Senate has to vote to not confirm Tusli, aka, Toadie, to ANY position, most emphatically anything having to do with the evaluation of her hero (also one of OCF's, curiously) Vlad the Bad. Not only does she have iron-clad preconceived notions about his wonderfulness and correctness in anything he does , she has no relevant experience for the job, which alone should condemn her....as well as several of the other nominees, but I digress from the most important one. The other four members of Five Eyes are already reportedly planning on what infomation to pass on to the US and what not, fearing it would wind up in the Kremlin before getting to the Resolute Desk.
Tulsie and Trump, two peas in Putin's pod
Please, Toadie and tRump, but I love your alliteration,👍🥂 Maybe a pair of peas in Putin's pod???
David, every once in a while I do the alliteration schtick. I like saying things in a different way. Like my son once said (when he was young) never be normal!
Be careful, Dave, your son sounds as if, at seven, he was a fan of OCF in waiting😏. Apologies to your offspring for the comparison, but....
You have to tell me who OCF is!
Old Convicted Felon