I sure would like to believe you that this is going to result major blowback for the Republican Party, for Trump, for his top lieutenants, and for MAGAtry.
But I don’t believe that for a moment. I don’t think it’s going to harm them at all. They have shown again and again and again that they frankly don’t care about the truth, they care about power, money, and in the case of the evangelicals that support the most incompetent, sinful, corrupt, stupid, and immoral half of a man that ever disgrace the office of the presidency…
Religious dominion backed up by the coercive power of the state.
Sure, they will rant and rave for a while, and it might peel off a few people from the movement who are not totally corrupt. But they’ll just find another right wing reactionary home.
Trump has pardoned criminals— real ones. He pardoned the 1500 people that got convicted of attempting to overthrow the government. He continues to lie about the 2020 election being stolen from him, despite the statements of his own election security man. No one cared. He lied outrageously about Haitians in Ohio, and no one cared. He lied about abortions being performed “even after birth.” No one cared. He lied about children going to school in the morning and coming back in the afternoon the opposite sex. No one cared. He bragged about sexual assault. No one cared.
So right now, they’re making noises about Epstein. Big whoop. They still want to be Trump. They still want to be Epstein. They still want all of that.
"Religious dominion backed up by the coercive power of the state" -- and by Big Money, unfettered by the Reagan tax cuts and crowned by the Citizens United decision (2010).
Absolutely. Citizens United is something that must be overturned, but I fear that that will not happen until the constitution itself is scrapped and rewritten.
And you better hope that doesn't happen. The push for a constitutional convention has generally come from the right. It's highly unlikely to come from liberals or progressives because it requires 34 of the 50 state legislatures to call one, and 28 of those state legislatures are controlled by Republicans. If you've ever been part of even a small organization that decided to rewrite its bylaws from scratch (which I have), you would not suggest such a thing.
Two major conservative groups have been working on getting a constitutional convention. They already have 28 states lined up for a Balanced Budget Amendment. Citizens United allowed the far right extremists to take over our federal government. The spotlight needs to be focused on the far right's drive to rewrite our constitution.
I have this insane hope that the Republicans will screw up the country so badly that they will be voted out of office in a sufficient number of states and state legislaturess to enable something like this to happen. Because otherwise, I see no hope for this country.
I'm not so cynical as to think nothing will cause the base to abandon Trump. But I definitely take the approach of "I'll believe it when I see it." This might be it - it certainly seems to be the closest we've come. But it hasn't happened enough yet to convince me.
Thanks, Ben, for saying what I have believed for months. I have a sick feeling that nothing of substance will happen and that Trump, MAGA, and Republicans will ruin our democracy.
I am having less and less faith in the American public. No one is paying attention. No one cares.
Thanks for your nice words. I agree with you, except for one thing. I think a lot of people are paying attention and a lot of people care, but outside of the Blue states, we are in the minority. And of course, I believe that the press has failed to do its job repeatedly.
For all of MAGAts whining about MSM, they're all too DENSE to recognize how much favorable press Donnie gets. MSM is TOTALLY in bed with Donnie because reporting on his clown show generates more cash than actually reporting news. MSM NEVER reports on all his LIES and BS. They had an absolute melt down about Biden's occasional mistakes yet Donnie is NEVER checked on anything. The MSM is useless. Reagan pretty much destroyed our MSM with his cancelling of the Fairness Doctrine. Then Donnie came along with his LIE a MINUTE administration. Then he extorted any MSM network who actually report factually about Donnie. If our MSM DOES report correctly they get sued and EXTORTED for millions. MSM cannot win and thus the public LOSES. Propaganda and outright LIES are allowed to fester and multiply. As Donnie's BS continues to flourish, roughly 35% of the population has NO CLUE about most of what's happening. IF Donnie and the RW can keep his LIEs growing then the public votes against their own interests. And people wonder why we don't have national healthcare when republicans can convince the gullible and stupid that 16 million illegals are getting Medicaid? 16 million people are getting benefits they do not qualify for? That's NOT even logical. That means that EVERY state would need to have Medicaid officials who threw out every requirement needed to get on Medicaid. While I'm sure this happens in some offices, I highly doubt that we have Medicaid officials in every office just looking the other way when signing people up. But then so much of this country knows NOTHING about Medicaid and Medicare. They don't even understand the differences between the programs so anything Republicans feed the masses is believed. The US has met the enemy and it is OURSELVES, US! We're too stupid to save ourselves.
Great piece! Its unfortunate that the MSM are not making more of this. Its a rare opportunity. There are photos all over the web that link Trump and Epstein. Do we really believe he committed suicide in jail?
IF MSM reports with FACTS and HONESTY then Donnie sues and extorts them for millions. Anyone else see the problem and why we don't get the real details? Or he manipulates our DOJ until he gets away with yet another crime. NOW what does anyone expect when Donnie controls our media, courts, DOJ, FBI and Supreme Court? And to top it all off, Donnie brings in his own personal team of HACKERS to ransack our government, our data and anything else he wants to destroy. Gee, wonder WHY the MSM cannot function and do their jobs properly?
I agree that this time it feels different. He needs acceptance and loyalty to carry on and both of those aspects are in question. A meltdown of some kind in the near future perhaps? 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻
I say let it go! Let "other factions" make a big deal of the Epstein saga! Dem's need to "get themselves together". The Epstein garbage will just create hours 'n' hours of legal time and effort and take us away from restoring Democracy, reviving law & order, defeating MAGATS, removing DonOld Trump and restoring human dignity.
While normally I would agree, this is the biggest wedge I've seen in the MAGA coalition and we should exploit it as much as possible. Breaking up the MAGA coalition, getting at least some percent of them to walk away, is essential to restoring our democracy and the rule of law.
The GOP Congress (and corrupt SCOTUS) are as much to blame for where we are as Trump is because they continue to let this happen. They could impeach and remove him tomorrow if they wanted. If Trump no longer has the iron grip on the base, maybe some of them will start to find spines. There are the true believers like MTG, for sure, but I don't see a way out of this aside from breaking up the base that doesn't involve violence.
Trump and the GOP and the right wing influencers lied to them — and they know it. Some will do the mental gymnastics to rationalize it away, but not all of them.
We don't need legal hearings or anything, just keep putting salt in the already open wound. The GOP Congress just voted against releasing the Epstein files, by the way. Why would they do that if it really was about a Democratic cabal of pedophile elites? Making hay of this is tawdry and real girls were hurt, and those responsible should be held accountable regardless of who they are or who they support.
It doesn't hurt to keep asking questions and pressing them on this because Trump is clearly rattled and we should use that to our advantage.
You may be underplaying the racism / nativism / white Christian evangelism of the base, but since they all come wrapped up in one package, I get it.
Remember the classic story "The Emperor's New Clothes"? We don't learn what happened to the emperor, his clothiers, or the kid who called out the truth. We may be about to find out.
My personal belief - as a mental health professional with 4 decades of clinical experience - is that a huge number of Trump supporters were abused as children - and like most abused children who do not get help, they continue to seek approval from their abuser (which they never will get). Enter Trump, the abuser: they seek his approval. It is up for grabs whether or not they will turn on Trump, if he is implicated with little girls in the Epstein file. I could see them turning on him in rage, and I could just as easlly see them continue to seek that approval.
As long as there are people who fall for conspiracy theories, there will be always be a grandstanding despot/authoritarian reassuring them that they're "on" to something. Trump would not get away with his dangerous and despicable antics if there were enough civic minded people capable of critical thinking. FB, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and as well as the internet have diminished the public's capacity for discernment and so here we are! As the great political philosopher Hannah Arendt once wrote in "The Origins of Totalitarianism": “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and between the true and the false no longer exists.”
Michele Missner...you took the words out of my mouth. I wish this would be the end of him, but it won't be. He'll wiggle out somehow. Because he's the best, the smartest, the greatest ever!! Just ask him...
MAGGOT in his Petrie dish rolls away from the light no matter which way it's coming in. His SIX bankruptcies hade him fear ANYONE finding the TRUTH about ANYTHING. MAGGOT iis a worm who fed on his father's leavings, but never learned how to feed himself. H lives on trust funds. Whatever they drop into his dush is dinner. OF COURSE HE LIES, if you were he wouldn't you?
Remember he didn't really graduate from Wharton; daddy just bought a diploma. He's cagey and uses every trick in the book, but eventually the book runs out of pages. He really is stupid. If the list of clients ever shows up in total, I'm sure there will be a lot of republicans on the fucking list, no pun intended. I hope I live to see it and all of them disgraced, democrats too, if they are a part of this sick shit.
We always think that when Trump
does something disgusting or just untoward, we always think that will be the end of him but it never is.
I write about that toward the end
I sure would like to believe you that this is going to result major blowback for the Republican Party, for Trump, for his top lieutenants, and for MAGAtry.
But I don’t believe that for a moment. I don’t think it’s going to harm them at all. They have shown again and again and again that they frankly don’t care about the truth, they care about power, money, and in the case of the evangelicals that support the most incompetent, sinful, corrupt, stupid, and immoral half of a man that ever disgrace the office of the presidency…
Religious dominion backed up by the coercive power of the state.
Sure, they will rant and rave for a while, and it might peel off a few people from the movement who are not totally corrupt. But they’ll just find another right wing reactionary home.
Trump has pardoned criminals— real ones. He pardoned the 1500 people that got convicted of attempting to overthrow the government. He continues to lie about the 2020 election being stolen from him, despite the statements of his own election security man. No one cared. He lied outrageously about Haitians in Ohio, and no one cared. He lied about abortions being performed “even after birth.” No one cared. He lied about children going to school in the morning and coming back in the afternoon the opposite sex. No one cared. He bragged about sexual assault. No one cared.
So right now, they’re making noises about Epstein. Big whoop. They still want to be Trump. They still want to be Epstein. They still want all of that.
"Religious dominion backed up by the coercive power of the state" -- and by Big Money, unfettered by the Reagan tax cuts and crowned by the Citizens United decision (2010).
Absolutely. Citizens United is something that must be overturned, but I fear that that will not happen until the constitution itself is scrapped and rewritten.
And you better hope that doesn't happen. The push for a constitutional convention has generally come from the right. It's highly unlikely to come from liberals or progressives because it requires 34 of the 50 state legislatures to call one, and 28 of those state legislatures are controlled by Republicans. If you've ever been part of even a small organization that decided to rewrite its bylaws from scratch (which I have), you would not suggest such a thing.
Two major conservative groups have been working on getting a constitutional convention. They already have 28 states lined up for a Balanced Budget Amendment. Citizens United allowed the far right extremists to take over our federal government. The spotlight needs to be focused on the far right's drive to rewrite our constitution.
The ratification of any changes still requires 3/4 of the states. It’s very unlikely to happen.
I have this insane hope that the Republicans will screw up the country so badly that they will be voted out of office in a sufficient number of states and state legislaturess to enable something like this to happen. Because otherwise, I see no hope for this country.
A boy can dream, can’the?
I'm not so cynical as to think nothing will cause the base to abandon Trump. But I definitely take the approach of "I'll believe it when I see it." This might be it - it certainly seems to be the closest we've come. But it hasn't happened enough yet to convince me.
Thanks, Ben, for saying what I have believed for months. I have a sick feeling that nothing of substance will happen and that Trump, MAGA, and Republicans will ruin our democracy.
I am having less and less faith in the American public. No one is paying attention. No one cares.
Thanks for your nice words. I agree with you, except for one thing. I think a lot of people are paying attention and a lot of people care, but outside of the Blue states, we are in the minority. And of course, I believe that the press has failed to do its job repeatedly.
For all of MAGAts whining about MSM, they're all too DENSE to recognize how much favorable press Donnie gets. MSM is TOTALLY in bed with Donnie because reporting on his clown show generates more cash than actually reporting news. MSM NEVER reports on all his LIES and BS. They had an absolute melt down about Biden's occasional mistakes yet Donnie is NEVER checked on anything. The MSM is useless. Reagan pretty much destroyed our MSM with his cancelling of the Fairness Doctrine. Then Donnie came along with his LIE a MINUTE administration. Then he extorted any MSM network who actually report factually about Donnie. If our MSM DOES report correctly they get sued and EXTORTED for millions. MSM cannot win and thus the public LOSES. Propaganda and outright LIES are allowed to fester and multiply. As Donnie's BS continues to flourish, roughly 35% of the population has NO CLUE about most of what's happening. IF Donnie and the RW can keep his LIEs growing then the public votes against their own interests. And people wonder why we don't have national healthcare when republicans can convince the gullible and stupid that 16 million illegals are getting Medicaid? 16 million people are getting benefits they do not qualify for? That's NOT even logical. That means that EVERY state would need to have Medicaid officials who threw out every requirement needed to get on Medicaid. While I'm sure this happens in some offices, I highly doubt that we have Medicaid officials in every office just looking the other way when signing people up. But then so much of this country knows NOTHING about Medicaid and Medicare. They don't even understand the differences between the programs so anything Republicans feed the masses is believed. The US has met the enemy and it is OURSELVES, US! We're too stupid to save ourselves.
Great piece! Its unfortunate that the MSM are not making more of this. Its a rare opportunity. There are photos all over the web that link Trump and Epstein. Do we really believe he committed suicide in jail?
IF MSM reports with FACTS and HONESTY then Donnie sues and extorts them for millions. Anyone else see the problem and why we don't get the real details? Or he manipulates our DOJ until he gets away with yet another crime. NOW what does anyone expect when Donnie controls our media, courts, DOJ, FBI and Supreme Court? And to top it all off, Donnie brings in his own personal team of HACKERS to ransack our government, our data and anything else he wants to destroy. Gee, wonder WHY the MSM cannot function and do their jobs properly?
You're on it. HIs panties are def in a twist.
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks"
Let’s hope you’re right.
I agree that this time it feels different. He needs acceptance and loyalty to carry on and both of those aspects are in question. A meltdown of some kind in the near future perhaps? 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻
Meltdown is happening in real time!
I say let it go! Let "other factions" make a big deal of the Epstein saga! Dem's need to "get themselves together". The Epstein garbage will just create hours 'n' hours of legal time and effort and take us away from restoring Democracy, reviving law & order, defeating MAGATS, removing DonOld Trump and restoring human dignity.
While normally I would agree, this is the biggest wedge I've seen in the MAGA coalition and we should exploit it as much as possible. Breaking up the MAGA coalition, getting at least some percent of them to walk away, is essential to restoring our democracy and the rule of law.
The GOP Congress (and corrupt SCOTUS) are as much to blame for where we are as Trump is because they continue to let this happen. They could impeach and remove him tomorrow if they wanted. If Trump no longer has the iron grip on the base, maybe some of them will start to find spines. There are the true believers like MTG, for sure, but I don't see a way out of this aside from breaking up the base that doesn't involve violence.
Trump and the GOP and the right wing influencers lied to them — and they know it. Some will do the mental gymnastics to rationalize it away, but not all of them.
We don't need legal hearings or anything, just keep putting salt in the already open wound. The GOP Congress just voted against releasing the Epstein files, by the way. Why would they do that if it really was about a Democratic cabal of pedophile elites? Making hay of this is tawdry and real girls were hurt, and those responsible should be held accountable regardless of who they are or who they support.
It doesn't hurt to keep asking questions and pressing them on this because Trump is clearly rattled and we should use that to our advantage.
You may be underplaying the racism / nativism / white Christian evangelism of the base, but since they all come wrapped up in one package, I get it.
Remember the classic story "The Emperor's New Clothes"? We don't learn what happened to the emperor, his clothiers, or the kid who called out the truth. We may be about to find out.
The guy who was going to drain the swamp, is the thickest part of the swamp & is protecting it from being exposed.
My personal belief - as a mental health professional with 4 decades of clinical experience - is that a huge number of Trump supporters were abused as children - and like most abused children who do not get help, they continue to seek approval from their abuser (which they never will get). Enter Trump, the abuser: they seek his approval. It is up for grabs whether or not they will turn on Trump, if he is implicated with little girls in the Epstein file. I could see them turning on him in rage, and I could just as easlly see them continue to seek that approval.
As long as there are people who fall for conspiracy theories, there will be always be a grandstanding despot/authoritarian reassuring them that they're "on" to something. Trump would not get away with his dangerous and despicable antics if there were enough civic minded people capable of critical thinking. FB, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and as well as the internet have diminished the public's capacity for discernment and so here we are! As the great political philosopher Hannah Arendt once wrote in "The Origins of Totalitarianism": “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and between the true and the false no longer exists.”
From your mouth to God’s ear.
Michele Missner...you took the words out of my mouth. I wish this would be the end of him, but it won't be. He'll wiggle out somehow. Because he's the best, the smartest, the greatest ever!! Just ask him...
MAGGOT in his Petrie dish rolls away from the light no matter which way it's coming in. His SIX bankruptcies hade him fear ANYONE finding the TRUTH about ANYTHING. MAGGOT iis a worm who fed on his father's leavings, but never learned how to feed himself. H lives on trust funds. Whatever they drop into his dush is dinner. OF COURSE HE LIES, if you were he wouldn't you?
Remember he didn't really graduate from Wharton; daddy just bought a diploma. He's cagey and uses every trick in the book, but eventually the book runs out of pages. He really is stupid. If the list of clients ever shows up in total, I'm sure there will be a lot of republicans on the fucking list, no pun intended. I hope I live to see it and all of them disgraced, democrats too, if they are a part of this sick shit.
If one were to read this one might conclude that we are, indeed, screwed: https://noellivefromparis.blogspot.com/2024/05/george-washington-said-this.html