Bill: "Now, Trump and some Republicans don’t want to call it a war. Trump said last night that he’s avoiding describing the conflict as a “war” because Congress hasn’t authorized it. “I won’t use the word ‘war’ because they say, if you use the word ‘war,’ that’s maybe not a good thing to do. They don’t like the word ‘war,’ because you’re supposed to get approval, so I’ll use the word ‘military operation,’ which is what it really is.”
"But in his same speech last night Trump did use the word “war,” saying, “The war essentially ended a few days after we went in.” On Tuesday, Trump had pointed out that “people don’t like me using the word ‘war,’ so I won’t, but the Democrats call it a war.”"
I imagine it takes a healthy ego to run for the House or the Senate, and yet all of these GOP quislings have made a show of bending the knee to a sundowning malignant narcissist who thinks "military operation" is one word. What is the point of serving in Congress if all you're doing is fluffing this orange moral degenerate?
It's the same disease afflicting the billionaires. What's the point of having fuck you money if you can't muster a "fuck you." Because if saying "fuck you" costs you a single dime, and prevents you from acquiring more, then saying it becomes inconceivable for the greediest motherfuckers on the planet.
Well, see? That's why you're not a billionaire - you're not avaricious enough.
OK, I'm assuming you're not a billionaire, or you wouldn't be posting here and instead would be out monetizing children's social media information or something. Counterpoint: Elon.
The goal isn't to serve in congress anymore. It's to build connections so they can ca$h in on the ultra-lucrative post-congress lobbying career. Adam Kinzinger explained it, that's why even the GOP ones who are against what is going on won't speak out, because they risk the future meal ticket, which is the real prize for a lot of them.
We need to find a way to break that connection between serving in Congress and a lobbying career afterward. There has to be some creative way to make it illegal. (Of course, getting such a law passed would take a miracle, since that would require Congresscritters to act against their own interest.)
What we really need is a time machine which would allow us to go back to a point where these problems hadn't manifested it self, so we could proactively fix them. Where's a DeLorean with a working flux capacitor when you need one?
Meko, I’ve heard Kinzinger say that, too, but I wish somebody would flesh out that idea to us normies who don’t live in that world of high dollar “meal tickets”.
For example, my future former Senator, Joni Ernst, is probably planning to cash in on her alleged defense department expertise. What I want to know is how to derail that plan: if the Chairman of some defense contractor is flooded with emails expressing outrage that they’re appointing quisling Joni to their Board of Directors and it tarnishes their company brand, will we make an impact?
I’d send a thousand emails if I knew who to write and if I thought it had any chance of getting Joni her coward’s reward.
I think dlnevins is probably right and the solution is to massively reform lobbying rules. But just like stock trading, they all benefit from it so it's hard to get any of them to give it up.
Post-congress is all about the networking. It is about still having influence in the right places, with the right people. Of being able to get in the door or get you client in the door to make a pitch on top of their campaign donation.
Plus the lucre from TV appearances, your memoir, podcasts/streaming... and being able to see and call yourself a Senator/Congressperson.
This is rife, not just in Congress, but in the military as well and in the upper levels of the bureaucracy.
There isn't really any way to stop it... well, there IS one way--replace all these people in Congress with a sortition-selected citizen assembly.
There's also the benefit of prolonging white Christian dominance over the nation. And/or avoiding their rage. Sometimes I think even some Democrats are OK with the former.
And the Israel lobby is always handy come campaign season. Why rain on a nice gravy train?
Perhaps Trump will begin calling the actions in Iran a “Special Military Operation”. I’m sure Vlad won’t object to Trump borrowing the term. Trump has eagerly borrowed so much from Putin over the years.
Paul Krugman recently coined my favorite description of Trump's war: Operation Epic Fubar, and that's what I now call it- in honor of my late father, who served in the Pacific in WWII. When he returned, we noticed that he had learned a lot more expletives - his favorite being Fubar! It was useful when he couldn't start the lawnmower and when he would hit himself with the hammer.
The Economist called it, on the cover of the March 21st edition, Operation Blind Fury, probably due to British decorum, rather than the more accurate one Krugman used.
And who confuses "incursion" and "excursion." And who fails to see the irony in his use of "military operation" in lieu of war, like his mentor Putin does.
But Tim, How can I continue serving my constituents if I cross the Dead Leader? He’ll sideline me and then primary me. And then Who among us will be left to continue serving the great people of ___________??
Peerless benefits, like insider trading and incomparable health insurance. Also, everyone knows your name! And, where you live! And, the short list of your deepest fears! What's not to like?
The Felon probably never even heard the words "military operation" used together before Vlad, his hero, added "special" upfront to describe the war in Ukraine.
Perhaps a viewing of "Duck Soup" is in order. 😀 From Rotten Tomatoes: "When the tiny nation of Freedonia goes bankrupt, its wealthy benefactor, Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont), insists that the wacky Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) become the country's president. Sensing a weakness in leadership, the bordering nation of Sylvania sends in the spies Pinky (Harpo Marx) and Chicolini (Chico Marx) to set the stage for a revolution. As Firefly clashes with the Sylvanian ambassador (Louis Calhern), plenty of mayhem ensues, and the countries verge on all-out war."
American's have a right to know this information. Their phony excuses about "hand shaking trauma" are a weak dodge. He is being treated for something and Dems should start demanding real answers.
'The Wall Street Journal reported last night that Trump “has told associates in recent days that he wants to avoid a protracted war in Iran and that he hopes to bring the conflict to an end in the coming weeks” because it’s “distracting from his other priorities.”'
What other priorities? Terrorizing brown people and Democrats? Cost of living? Because the Iran war isn't so much a distraction from high costs as an exacerbation of that problem. It's more an intense, blinding spotlight on that problem. But the Iran War is a distraction from his other problems, like those pesky Epstein files.
What America chose to do on November 5, 2024, was unconscionable. They chose to reelect a felon and insurrectionist whose governing philosophy is to cause a scandal, then cause another scandal to distract from the earlier scandal, then cause another scandal to distract from both of those scandals, all within the week, ad infinitum. We could have had President Harris. Now, we're all in the gimp suit, red ball stuffed in our mouths, dreading what's going to come next.
The Ponzi scheme of distractions also serve to cover and trivialize the enormous amount of corruption actually motivating many of the things Trump wants to return to.
Step back and just think about that. All the bluster and justifying of the "military operation" and the reason he wants to end the war is simply because of its inconvenience to himself and damage to his brand.
Of course, to the readers of the Bulwark, this is completely unsurprising. Still is completely infuriating though...Trump, the GOP and people still supporting him...they're all complicit and equally shixxy.
It's bewildering that anyone could ever have thought he's motivated by a deep and pure love of America, much less by a commitment to "truth" or "conservative values." But some not-stupid people persuaded themselves that he is -- because they hate his opponents as much as he does, but for different reasons.
If only the SCOTUS had had the balls to rule in Colorado's favor! Colorado winning their suit to keep Trump off the ballot on the ground he committed insurrection (which he did!) would have made him ineligible on every state ballot, not just Colorado's, and if he somehow managed to win via write-in votes he could not have been sworn into office.
That phrase just means he wants to change the subject because this subject is making him look bad. And he's bored with it anyway. Time for something new and exciting like bragging about how he is remaking the face of Washington DC.
What he wants to get to next is focusing the time and energy of his goons on stealing the next elections and finding a way to bypass the Constitution on a third term so the Epstein Files never see the light of day while he is alive.
As a matter of objective political reality, it's absolutely bizarre that Republicans keep lashing themselves tighter and tighter to a president with a 36 percent approval rating. But cults of personality are not rational.
The golden statue says it all. The reality is they have nothing without him at the moment. It isn’t like they have any plans or strategy of what a Republican government would accomplish.
Marco Rubio and JD Vance can read the polling even if it isn’t presented to Trump himself. They are both sentient enough to know this could sink their own future political dreams. Trump 2.0 is not proving the golden ticket to heirdom they may have once thought as it seems less and less likely the MAGA faithful will be delivered on a silver platter intact. They may have to have been against the Iran war before they were for it come 2028 and the less on the record the better. It was all fun and games when plucking Maduro out of Caracas and Rubio could envision himself viceroy in Havana. Less so when the madman decides to do Iran on a whim with no plans and not thought to the consequences, but when your political future might be the consequence, then distance is not bad thing.
It says something about the characters of both men that they're looking for political cover now after selling their souls for power. If they were better men, they could have remained Never Trump and positioned themselves as candidates who ran on a small-c conservative platform promising to protect democratic values. But they aren't better men. We can see them for who and what they are: ambitious, opportunistic cowards.
Those who are still never Trump but Republican adjacent seem to be in political no mans land. Maybe there is a future for those never Trumper’s at some later date, but at the moment I don’t see it. But yes, they would still have their souls instead of sadly staring at lockets where Trump keeps them.
Maybe I'm giving them too much credit. I think it's more likely than not they don't have any core beliefs and will adjust their positions based on their proximity to power. It's worked quite well for Vance so far.
Amen my friend. These spineless, morally bankrupt “men” will try to hide under the rocks they've crawled under until they can game out something positive for themselves. Disgusting!
And we all know Rubio's creaming in his jeans to topple Cuba, but if that were only able to be accomplished militarily how would that look in conjunction with the Iran debacle? They're all going to be perceived as war mongers.
I love the Penthouse Forum-esque expression of Rubio's arousal. "I never thought this would happen to me...Cuba seemed out of my league...but then we found ourselves thrown together on a work trip..."
So true: the strongman ethos runs through the GOP - Johnson et al get the shivers thinking about implementing as brutal a regime here as anything in Iran.
I wish the media would pay more attention to the Ukraine war for a number of reasons. Putin has not been seen for over two weeks, apparently using body doubles in his place. No one know where he is. Ukraine bombed the two biggest oil ports in a kinetic effort to shut down any economic windfall from Trump's ending Russian sanctions. Russia made a big offensive move this week which resulted in 1700 casualties in one day and no forward movement. That is an incomprehensible number of casualties and for no gain. The reason for the numbers is recent upgrades in Ukraine's drones and offensive strategies. Their drones are now capable of hitting rear areas without very many being detected. Needless to say Russian troops are not happy they are in Ukraine.
One cannot assume American ground troops are going to fare much better than Russian troops in the face of sophisticated rapidly changing drone warfare. I can only hope that maybe 30 seconds of Trump's PDB two minute video shows war porn of Ukraine's destruction of the Russian front line military.
Despite having been “obliterated” and “totally destroyed”, Iran seems to be doing a goodly amount of damage with drones, itself. Yet here Trump yells for help from NATO and the allies he has slagged for months. If you had smashed a toaster to bits with a sledge hammer, would you need your neighbors to help you unplug it?
You could probably sit down and explain the context of the NATO treaty with Trump, particularly that is for "collective defense" and not to be used to assist in any nation's war of choice, and he would still not understand, either because he is too stupid, or too stubborn to admit he is wrong. His staff and cabinet could do this twenty times, or a hundred times, and it would still be to no avail. It is the American press that is failing, because they should be pointing it out every single time they quote Trump's diatribes against NATO's unwillingness to help in the Iran conflict.
Ukraine has been a quagmire for Russia, like Afghanistan was. I'm wondering if the increased oil prices will reinvigorate the arms purchasing done by Russia. That wouldn't bode well for Ukraine.
Ah, that takes me back to my kids forgetting their piano awards and leaving them wherever, just like I used to do as a rugrat cheerleader. Kids aren't impressed by cheap gilt. But a whole lot of adults are.
When are we presenting our own award to Trump? I would like to suggest the Gilded Hog, for refusing to take no for an answer whether it be from NATO, Iran, or girls "on the younger side," and never being content with enough at the trough. And all the Republicans in Congress can have their own little gilded piglets. In fact, let's replace the elephant with a hog as I like symbols that reflect reality.
Whenever there is an allegation that there is rampant, widespread election fraud, it's always coming from some Republican who is accusing Democrats. But whenever I see a headline that someone has been arrested for or convicted of election fraud, I know, without even reading further, that that's a story about some Republican. The things people believe in this country are so at variance with reality that I don't know how democracy has a chance going forward.
Rutte would do well to take a hint from Applebaum and realize that Trump will not remember the thorough bootlicking anyone has given him for even a moment. He should also be aware that those who do not resist the regime will be destroyed by it, one way or another.
They should all remember that it isn't just a temporary bootlicking, if you want to stay in with Trump you better plan on wearing your tongue down to a nub.
I’m exhausted by news reports that continue to hypothesize about the goals for this war with Iran. After the bombings and the weeks of Hormuz chaos, the way this began seem forgotten. Trump's goal was to change the Epstein subject. Period. Occum’s Razor is keen as ever. That’s why this is war has no rationale, no ongoing strategy and no foreseeable outcome (regime change, nuclear deterrence? poppycock) beyond the further deterioration of America’s standing in the world. We have put a person in charge who can start a world war to change the subject when he’s caught with his hand and his middle leg where they ought not to be. (and what the Epstein case will eventually show is that a corrupt oligarch wannabe laundered money and sold influence to enemy and ally alike and that he was finally unmasked by sexual predation, his and his best friend's) That’s it. If he can be paid to change that subject by MBS or Netanyahu, toward their own corrupt ends, so much the better. And here we are.
I agree this was the start. And I'm not sure that the stuff coming out about the Special Counsel investigation on the classified documents held at the Florida compound is making an impact yet, but if it does it might serve as something else for the administration to distract from. I don't think this Iran War will be over for a while because of the need for distraction and because the Iranians aren't interested in ending it either. It's not like they care much about their civilian population getting destroyed.
The only thing we can say with confidence aboutis Trump's Iran decision is that he will change his mind five times today! And five times tomorrow, and five times Saturday and five times...! It would have been terrific if the regime had started the *war* with clear goals and a solid strategy. Dream on!
Bill: "Now, Trump and some Republicans don’t want to call it a war. Trump said last night that he’s avoiding describing the conflict as a “war” because Congress hasn’t authorized it. “I won’t use the word ‘war’ because they say, if you use the word ‘war,’ that’s maybe not a good thing to do. They don’t like the word ‘war,’ because you’re supposed to get approval, so I’ll use the word ‘military operation,’ which is what it really is.”
"But in his same speech last night Trump did use the word “war,” saying, “The war essentially ended a few days after we went in.” On Tuesday, Trump had pointed out that “people don’t like me using the word ‘war,’ so I won’t, but the Democrats call it a war.”"
I imagine it takes a healthy ego to run for the House or the Senate, and yet all of these GOP quislings have made a show of bending the knee to a sundowning malignant narcissist who thinks "military operation" is one word. What is the point of serving in Congress if all you're doing is fluffing this orange moral degenerate?
It's the same disease afflicting the billionaires. What's the point of having fuck you money if you can't muster a "fuck you." Because if saying "fuck you" costs you a single dime, and prevents you from acquiring more, then saying it becomes inconceivable for the greediest motherfuckers on the planet.
Don - yet even at my lower income bracket I’ve somehow mastered that terminology 🤬
Well, see? That's why you're not a billionaire - you're not avaricious enough.
OK, I'm assuming you're not a billionaire, or you wouldn't be posting here and instead would be out monetizing children's social media information or something. Counterpoint: Elon.
The goal isn't to serve in congress anymore. It's to build connections so they can ca$h in on the ultra-lucrative post-congress lobbying career. Adam Kinzinger explained it, that's why even the GOP ones who are against what is going on won't speak out, because they risk the future meal ticket, which is the real prize for a lot of them.
We need to find a way to break that connection between serving in Congress and a lobbying career afterward. There has to be some creative way to make it illegal. (Of course, getting such a law passed would take a miracle, since that would require Congresscritters to act against their own interest.)
It would be tantamount to passing a law eliminating dark money and requiring detailed release of all campaign contributions.
What we really need is a time machine which would allow us to go back to a point where these problems hadn't manifested it self, so we could proactively fix them. Where's a DeLorean with a working flux capacitor when you need one?
Meko, I’ve heard Kinzinger say that, too, but I wish somebody would flesh out that idea to us normies who don’t live in that world of high dollar “meal tickets”.
For example, my future former Senator, Joni Ernst, is probably planning to cash in on her alleged defense department expertise. What I want to know is how to derail that plan: if the Chairman of some defense contractor is flooded with emails expressing outrage that they’re appointing quisling Joni to their Board of Directors and it tarnishes their company brand, will we make an impact?
I’d send a thousand emails if I knew who to write and if I thought it had any chance of getting Joni her coward’s reward.
I think dlnevins is probably right and the solution is to massively reform lobbying rules. But just like stock trading, they all benefit from it so it's hard to get any of them to give it up.
Post-congress is all about the networking. It is about still having influence in the right places, with the right people. Of being able to get in the door or get you client in the door to make a pitch on top of their campaign donation.
Plus the lucre from TV appearances, your memoir, podcasts/streaming... and being able to see and call yourself a Senator/Congressperson.
This is rife, not just in Congress, but in the military as well and in the upper levels of the bureaucracy.
There isn't really any way to stop it... well, there IS one way--replace all these people in Congress with a sortition-selected citizen assembly.
Fuck. You're right.
There's also the benefit of prolonging white Christian dominance over the nation. And/or avoiding their rage. Sometimes I think even some Democrats are OK with the former.
And the Israel lobby is always handy come campaign season. Why rain on a nice gravy train?
Perhaps Trump will begin calling the actions in Iran a “Special Military Operation”. I’m sure Vlad won’t object to Trump borrowing the term. Trump has eagerly borrowed so much from Putin over the years.
I think he originally called it that but forgot the word "special." That's a lot of syllables you're expecting this guy to remember.
Paul Krugman recently coined my favorite description of Trump's war: Operation Epic Fubar, and that's what I now call it- in honor of my late father, who served in the Pacific in WWII. When he returned, we noticed that he had learned a lot more expletives - his favorite being Fubar! It was useful when he couldn't start the lawnmower and when he would hit himself with the hammer.
Epic FUBAR is the perfect name for this war!
I like the idea of combining the two things it's currently being called. Operation Epstein FUBAR.
Yes, I loved that one - Epic FUBAR indeed!
The Economist called it, on the cover of the March 21st edition, Operation Blind Fury, probably due to British decorum, rather than the more accurate one Krugman used.
I just saw the clip of him calling the island or Diego Garcia, “Ireland”…just a small delight amidst the horror.
I imagine Vlad advised it.
Well, it’s a paycheck, and it beats honest work.
The man and his cabinet are bonkers!
Cabinet of Clowns
They even wear big clown shoes!
Folorshiems
And who confuses "incursion" and "excursion." And who fails to see the irony in his use of "military operation" in lieu of war, like his mentor Putin does.
Sometimes a healthy ego is run over by a healthier ego.
And sometimes a malignant narcissist meets a yet more malignant one.
But Tim, How can I continue serving my constituents if I cross the Dead Leader? He’ll sideline me and then primary me. And then Who among us will be left to continue serving the great people of ___________??
"And then Who among us will be left to continue serving the great people of ___________??"
The last person on that state's Z-List whose intellectual and moral mass is equal that of a photon.
You’re giving the people of at least 27 states, ‘something to shoot for’. AIM low! Don’t shoot till you see the color of their shoestrings!
Christuckystan? Evangelina?
Peerless benefits, like insider trading and incomparable health insurance. Also, everyone knows your name! And, where you live! And, the short list of your deepest fears! What's not to like?
First class travel! Probably some nice per diem.
I'm surprised DJT hasn't used "special military operation" like best pat Putin.
They use the corruption pipeline (insider trading, crypto, etc.) to get very rich - or richer.
The Felon probably never even heard the words "military operation" used together before Vlad, his hero, added "special" upfront to describe the war in Ukraine.
Trump looks like death warmed over in that photo from the smelly carpet room at Mar-a-Lago.
I burst out laughing about the "golden statue" Mike Johnson gave him. It's like something out of a slapstick comedy.
This is embarrassing. They all have a vast capacity for humiliation.
I’d like to point out that Mike is only nominally Christian. If you choose not to walk the walk, you’re not the real deal.
The Marx Brothers would've found it too ridiculous.
Perhaps a viewing of "Duck Soup" is in order. 😀 From Rotten Tomatoes: "When the tiny nation of Freedonia goes bankrupt, its wealthy benefactor, Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont), insists that the wacky Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) become the country's president. Sensing a weakness in leadership, the bordering nation of Sylvania sends in the spies Pinky (Harpo Marx) and Chicolini (Chico Marx) to set the stage for a revolution. As Firefly clashes with the Sylvanian ambassador (Louis Calhern), plenty of mayhem ensues, and the countries verge on all-out war."
It's really one of the best geopolitics movies ever.
"How about my glass of water?"
"I dunno - how about your glass of water?"
It looks like it was a castoff found at a thrift store for $2.00. The dust was free.
Participation trophy
Makes one wonder just what's in that drug cocktail he gets IV'd into his hands on a near-daily basis.
Embalming fluid??
Power
American's have a right to know this information. Their phony excuses about "hand shaking trauma" are a weak dodge. He is being treated for something and Dems should start demanding real answers.
And that's as good as he's ever going to look, too.
it's giving Death Becomes Her (1992)
If only...
'The Wall Street Journal reported last night that Trump “has told associates in recent days that he wants to avoid a protracted war in Iran and that he hopes to bring the conflict to an end in the coming weeks” because it’s “distracting from his other priorities.”'
What other priorities? Terrorizing brown people and Democrats? Cost of living? Because the Iran war isn't so much a distraction from high costs as an exacerbation of that problem. It's more an intense, blinding spotlight on that problem. But the Iran War is a distraction from his other problems, like those pesky Epstein files.
What America chose to do on November 5, 2024, was unconscionable. They chose to reelect a felon and insurrectionist whose governing philosophy is to cause a scandal, then cause another scandal to distract from the earlier scandal, then cause another scandal to distract from both of those scandals, all within the week, ad infinitum. We could have had President Harris. Now, we're all in the gimp suit, red ball stuffed in our mouths, dreading what's going to come next.
The Ponzi scheme of distractions also serve to cover and trivialize the enormous amount of corruption actually motivating many of the things Trump wants to return to.
The Trump Ponzi scheme of scandal distraction make Enron look like toddlers play.
"What America chose to do on November 5, 2024, was unconscionable."
+100,000,000...
Step back and just think about that. All the bluster and justifying of the "military operation" and the reason he wants to end the war is simply because of its inconvenience to himself and damage to his brand.
Of course, to the readers of the Bulwark, this is completely unsurprising. Still is completely infuriating though...Trump, the GOP and people still supporting him...they're all complicit and equally shixxy.
It's bewildering that anyone could ever have thought he's motivated by a deep and pure love of America, much less by a commitment to "truth" or "conservative values." But some not-stupid people persuaded themselves that he is -- because they hate his opponents as much as he does, but for different reasons.
That is the only thing that motivates DJT; how it reflects on him. That is the way it has been all his life.
That it is taking away from his other priorities is the one silver lining for his little excursion in Iran.
If only the SCOTUS had had the balls to rule in Colorado's favor! Colorado winning their suit to keep Trump off the ballot on the ground he committed insurrection (which he did!) would have made him ineligible on every state ballot, not just Colorado's, and if he somehow managed to win via write-in votes he could not have been sworn into office.
Trump’s other priorities:
-Infrastructure week.
-Concepts of a healthcare plan.
A 2nd LOL line this morning delivered by one of the readers of the Bulwark...thank you!!
Oh...you forgot the "Eradication of Wind Turbines" effort...
That phrase just means he wants to change the subject because this subject is making him look bad. And he's bored with it anyway. Time for something new and exciting like bragging about how he is remaking the face of Washington DC.
What he wants to get to next is focusing the time and energy of his goons on stealing the next elections and finding a way to bypass the Constitution on a third term so the Epstein Files never see the light of day while he is alive.
So I guess Hegseth is the Secretary of Military Operations now?
He's a dumber Fredo Corelone.
He could be the Secretary of Special Operations- or SoSo.
Too much credit.
Shix...we have to change all the signage again...
Good one, Travis...a real LOL this morning...thanks!
As a matter of objective political reality, it's absolutely bizarre that Republicans keep lashing themselves tighter and tighter to a president with a 36 percent approval rating. But cults of personality are not rational.
The golden statue says it all. The reality is they have nothing without him at the moment. It isn’t like they have any plans or strategy of what a Republican government would accomplish.
The worse he gets (and he will get LOTS worse), the tighter they’ll hug.
His ideological backers have been aiming to carry out a "counterrevolution" whether or not a majority of Americans want it.
Marco Rubio and JD Vance can read the polling even if it isn’t presented to Trump himself. They are both sentient enough to know this could sink their own future political dreams. Trump 2.0 is not proving the golden ticket to heirdom they may have once thought as it seems less and less likely the MAGA faithful will be delivered on a silver platter intact. They may have to have been against the Iran war before they were for it come 2028 and the less on the record the better. It was all fun and games when plucking Maduro out of Caracas and Rubio could envision himself viceroy in Havana. Less so when the madman decides to do Iran on a whim with no plans and not thought to the consequences, but when your political future might be the consequence, then distance is not bad thing.
It says something about the characters of both men that they're looking for political cover now after selling their souls for power. If they were better men, they could have remained Never Trump and positioned themselves as candidates who ran on a small-c conservative platform promising to protect democratic values. But they aren't better men. We can see them for who and what they are: ambitious, opportunistic cowards.
Those who are still never Trump but Republican adjacent seem to be in political no mans land. Maybe there is a future for those never Trumper’s at some later date, but at the moment I don’t see it. But yes, they would still have their souls instead of sadly staring at lockets where Trump keeps them.
Maybe I'm giving them too much credit. I think it's more likely than not they don't have any core beliefs and will adjust their positions based on their proximity to power. It's worked quite well for Vance so far.
Like Lindsey (power Adjacent)
They traded their souls for a pair of new BIG shoes.
Bigly big shoes!
Amen my friend. These spineless, morally bankrupt “men” will try to hide under the rocks they've crawled under until they can game out something positive for themselves. Disgusting!
Its Damn Yankees on the Potomac; Vance and Rubio.
And we all know Rubio's creaming in his jeans to topple Cuba, but if that were only able to be accomplished militarily how would that look in conjunction with the Iran debacle? They're all going to be perceived as war mongers.
I love the Penthouse Forum-esque expression of Rubio's arousal. "I never thought this would happen to me...Cuba seemed out of my league...but then we found ourselves thrown together on a work trip..."
Eww
Yet when faced with real, macho war, Rubio seems to have gone flaccid.
The irony of Rubio getting to topple Cuba is he'd feel right at home as an apparatchik under Castro.
So true: the strongman ethos runs through the GOP - Johnson et al get the shivers thinking about implementing as brutal a regime here as anything in Iran.
That sir, was a low blow!
But merited!
I wish the media would pay more attention to the Ukraine war for a number of reasons. Putin has not been seen for over two weeks, apparently using body doubles in his place. No one know where he is. Ukraine bombed the two biggest oil ports in a kinetic effort to shut down any economic windfall from Trump's ending Russian sanctions. Russia made a big offensive move this week which resulted in 1700 casualties in one day and no forward movement. That is an incomprehensible number of casualties and for no gain. The reason for the numbers is recent upgrades in Ukraine's drones and offensive strategies. Their drones are now capable of hitting rear areas without very many being detected. Needless to say Russian troops are not happy they are in Ukraine.
One cannot assume American ground troops are going to fare much better than Russian troops in the face of sophisticated rapidly changing drone warfare. I can only hope that maybe 30 seconds of Trump's PDB two minute video shows war porn of Ukraine's destruction of the Russian front line military.
Ukraine is demonstrating the future of war, while we are still getting aroused by big, beautiful ships.
Despite having been “obliterated” and “totally destroyed”, Iran seems to be doing a goodly amount of damage with drones, itself. Yet here Trump yells for help from NATO and the allies he has slagged for months. If you had smashed a toaster to bits with a sledge hammer, would you need your neighbors to help you unplug it?
More like he jammed a knife into the toaster before unplugging.
I wouldn't be giving anyone a helping hand in that situation, maybe a towel.
You could probably sit down and explain the context of the NATO treaty with Trump, particularly that is for "collective defense" and not to be used to assist in any nation's war of choice, and he would still not understand, either because he is too stupid, or too stubborn to admit he is wrong. His staff and cabinet could do this twenty times, or a hundred times, and it would still be to no avail. It is the American press that is failing, because they should be pointing it out every single time they quote Trump's diatribes against NATO's unwillingness to help in the Iran conflict.
The US military has an ingrained habit of always fighting the last war.
Ukraine has been a quagmire for Russia, like Afghanistan was. I'm wondering if the increased oil prices will reinvigorate the arms purchasing done by Russia. That wouldn't bode well for Ukraine.
The All Things for Trump First Award. Grown adults groveling and licking shoes for praise from an elderly child is nauseating.
They created a participation trophy, just for Trump.
It is nauseating.
Ah, that takes me back to my kids forgetting their piano awards and leaving them wherever, just like I used to do as a rugrat cheerleader. Kids aren't impressed by cheap gilt. But a whole lot of adults are.
When are we presenting our own award to Trump? I would like to suggest the Gilded Hog, for refusing to take no for an answer whether it be from NATO, Iran, or girls "on the younger side," and never being content with enough at the trough. And all the Republicans in Congress can have their own little gilded piglets. In fact, let's replace the elephant with a hog as I like symbols that reflect reality.
Kate - awards… remember The Flying Fickle Finger of Fate?
I do, great reference!
I love this!😂
That is a great idea.
Read morning shots for the news, stay for the pettiness of putting [sic] in the footnotes lol
I laughed aloud at the "pettiness" of "[sic]", it was pure platinum snark.
Whenever there is an allegation that there is rampant, widespread election fraud, it's always coming from some Republican who is accusing Democrats. But whenever I see a headline that someone has been arrested for or convicted of election fraud, I know, without even reading further, that that's a story about some Republican. The things people believe in this country are so at variance with reality that I don't know how democracy has a chance going forward.
Rutte would do well to take a hint from Applebaum and realize that Trump will not remember the thorough bootlicking anyone has given him for even a moment. He should also be aware that those who do not resist the regime will be destroyed by it, one way or another.
They should all remember that it isn't just a temporary bootlicking, if you want to stay in with Trump you better plan on wearing your tongue down to a nub.
I’m exhausted by news reports that continue to hypothesize about the goals for this war with Iran. After the bombings and the weeks of Hormuz chaos, the way this began seem forgotten. Trump's goal was to change the Epstein subject. Period. Occum’s Razor is keen as ever. That’s why this is war has no rationale, no ongoing strategy and no foreseeable outcome (regime change, nuclear deterrence? poppycock) beyond the further deterioration of America’s standing in the world. We have put a person in charge who can start a world war to change the subject when he’s caught with his hand and his middle leg where they ought not to be. (and what the Epstein case will eventually show is that a corrupt oligarch wannabe laundered money and sold influence to enemy and ally alike and that he was finally unmasked by sexual predation, his and his best friend's) That’s it. If he can be paid to change that subject by MBS or Netanyahu, toward their own corrupt ends, so much the better. And here we are.
I agree this was the start. And I'm not sure that the stuff coming out about the Special Counsel investigation on the classified documents held at the Florida compound is making an impact yet, but if it does it might serve as something else for the administration to distract from. I don't think this Iran War will be over for a while because of the need for distraction and because the Iranians aren't interested in ending it either. It's not like they care much about their civilian population getting destroyed.
Thanks for pointing out the missing Vance/Rubio. I think that speaks volumes to how the administration is really feeling.
Vance is hiding in the sofa, Marco is hiding in his size 12.5 wing-tip shoes.
Marco's using one of those size 12.5s as a second home...
It's small enough for Vermin Miller to hide in.
The only thing we can say with confidence aboutis Trump's Iran decision is that he will change his mind five times today! And five times tomorrow, and five times Saturday and five times...! It would have been terrific if the regime had started the *war* with clear goals and a solid strategy. Dream on!
How many times in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan did we prepare plans for a "final blow" that would knock out the enemy once and for all ?
Mission Accomplished.