Post‑Trump GOP looks less like a party and more like a talent show for shamelessness. Marjorie Taylor Greene isn’t an outlier, she’s the blueprint…proof that when spectacle pays dividends, it becomes the business model.
The farce of justice I’ve written about is the same farce at play here: cruelty rewarded, dignity dismissed, and the stage lights never dim.
I do not believe they are the majority of people in the US. Did the 93 million eligible voters who did not vote, not vote because they did not think the election would make any real difference in their lives, or because they were CNs, and inclined to be apolitical, or because they felt both candidates were bad? Whatever they were thinking, it seems like more people are clear on how they feel about Trump now. As the article said, while the CNs are devoted to Trump, the people in leadership in MAGA are not. I am glad that there have finally been fissures.
The fact that the members of Congress will not back Trump in extending the Obama health care benefits either means they want their own constituents to suffer, or they want Trump to tank, or both. They are shameless and cruel.
As I was reading the Article in Wired that you referenced, it occurred to me that these dark, off the books, coalition of self interest groups are so often referred to as “think tanks”. That term gives them some undeserved aura of legitimacy. These “think tanks” really are white collar gangs. They don’t “shoot people on 5th Avenue”; instead, they kill people by sucking up money so that a family cannot afford cancer treatment for their daughter.
It is very alarming how opportunistic some politicians are. Selfishness should be the antithesis of public office. It is astonishing how many poor candidates get elected.
Alarming, yes, but astonishing? I don't think so. Now, if it had worked out the way most of the founders envisioned (or at least fantasized), elected officials would be well-off white men who had no need (theoretically, at least) to indulge in various forms of political and financial chicanery. In the real world they probably knew that this was a crock, but they were, as the saying goes, high on their own supply.
Instead of worrying about the opportunism of individual politicians, pay more attention to what our economic system encourages: since the Reagan administration, it's rewarded the concentration of wealth. And what does concentrated wealth do when it gets the chance? Accumulate the political power that makes it easier to get richer. (I was about to blame this on Republican administrations, but the Clinton administration was responsible for the repeal of Glass-Steagall.)
I agree with you. Both parties bought into neoliberalism. In business school in the late 80's, I got into arguments with the professors regarding the focus on shareholder value at the cost of other stakeholders, like employees, communities, etc. What is BS is that the shareholders "own" the company - all they really have are a piece of paper that can be traded. I think that employees should have major stakes in the companies; after all, they actually do the work. CEOs operate as kings. And, why is financial finagling so rewarded - it produces nothing and in fact destroys (hint: they own the politicians). Ok, that is enough of a rant for now. LOL
Yes, Clinton comes out of the overall infatuation with neoliberal corporatist dominance and laissez-faire political economics with the uncleanest of hands. In addition to Glass-Steagall, also remember Clinton's profound and destructive impact on social welfare policy, part of his vow to "end welfare as we know it."
_Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History_ by Kurt Andersen traces the ascendency of far-right social and economic policy that has culminated in the extreme inequality we have today. The book points to the 1971 Powell memo and the extremists' capture of the government with Reagan's election in 1980 as major milestones. Those dovetail with the broad effort that had been under way for some 15 years before Powell, funded by dark money from Koch, Scaife, Olin, Mellon, DeVos, Coors, et al., as Jane Mayer documented in _Dark Money_.
Dark Money is highly recommended. I need to get Evil Geniuses in my library queue - thanks for the recommendation. More Everything Forever shows what crackpots the techbros are - they are actively working to implement their fantasies.
I am in the middle of reading Dante's Inferno for the first time and astonished by its relevance today. So far, it is difficult to decide just which circle of Hell to place individual MAGAs as they fit in so many places - perhaps pieces of their souls could be allocated to each level (that is, if they even have souls). What is so sad about all of this is that it doesn't have to be this way.
Aha! I haven't read it in decades, though I refer to several of the circles fairly often. Rereading sounds like a good winter project. Are you reading the whole _Divine Comedy_? I don't think I ever got through the whole thing. Purgatory and Paradise weren't as interesting as the Inferno. (Wonder why . . . <g>)
So, I am now in the middle of Inferno. It took me a couple of weeks to figure out how to read and understand it. I have two books of notes that I look at as I go through the Cantos. The translation is by the same person, but one is paperback and the other is a hardcover edition with the entire 3-part Comedy plus even better notes as well at 40-plus drawings by Botticelli commissioned by the Medici’s. The paperback version has Italian on one side and English on the other, while the hard cover is English only. I studied a bit of Italian, and while it is beyond my ability to read it in Italian, I am struck by the fact that it is all written in rhyme so far! Astonishing! I struggled to understand it until I figured out that using the accompanying notes is crucial to understanding it. I will likely try to read the other two parts, a couple cantos at a time in the evening as it is slow going.
Here’s a thought-Republicans could actually apologize to the nation and the world, and save humanity from Putin and Trump. I’m serious. They should elect a new Speaker and pass articles of impeachment. Senate Republicans should back it with enthusiasm and convict him in the Senate and remove him from office. That is the only way the cult would ever stop, think and support this.
Would people die? Of course, but many are dying under this regime, and families are being destroyed. Republicans took an oath to the Constitution-not MAGA!
I read-can someone verify?-that when a President is removed from office so is his staff and cabinet?
Republicans could be “heroes”-better late than never.
I’m an Independent voter, I will never join a political party.
I have relatives that voted for Trump, solely based on the abortion issue. I’m a Catholic. When did our Church start having a “group sin”? Should owning guns of massive destructive ability be considered a “group sin” too? Also,
establishment of a Christian nation is not something Jesus advocated-in fact, it was the opposite.
It’s way past time to look inward as to what our citizens are guided by.
I had to vent after this historically hideous week from our mentally ill “leader.” 😔
Article II, Section 4, of the Constitution: "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." First off, this has never been tested in real life. Presidents have been impeached, but none have been removed from office. Then consider that "treason" and "bribery" are relatively clear, but "other high Crimes and Misdemeanors" is not.
However, Section 1 of the 25th Amendment, ratified in 1967, says that "In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President." There's nothing in there about "high Crimes and Misdemeanors." President Clinton's dalliance with an intern was by no stretch of the imagination a high Crime and/or Misdemeanor but the Republican House impeached him anyway.
Question-can the House adopt articles of impeachment, and the Senate convict and remove Trump because of murdering humans in international waters without seeking approval of Congress first? Is this a war crime? I would (assume?) hope that the Supreme Court presidential immunity granted to Trump could not extend to international war crimes?
Rose, they *could* but you know as well as I do that they won't. :-( The U.S. doesn't belong to the International Criminal Court, and it habitually vetoes any UN attempt to hold it to account. (The International Court of Justice is part of the UN.) Fwiw, it's not a war crime because we're not at war. I don't know what international laws apply to the unjustified killing of people in international waters, but I'm sure there are some. I'm also sure that the current U.S. administration doesn't know and doesn't care.
Fealty is a sworn, one-sided vow of allegiance to a lord, while loyalty is a broader, more mutual bond of respect and faithfulness. Fealty is based on power and obligation, historically a vassal's duty to a lord, and can end when the power dynamic shifts. Loyalty, however, is a two-way relationship that endures because it is built on mutual respect and is not dependent on a power imbalance
"Turns out they're not in it for Trump, they're in it for themselves," reads this post's subhead.
'Twas ever thus. Check out _The Longest Con: How Grifters, Swindlers, and Frauds Hijacked American Conservatism_, by Joe Conason, for an entertaining history of how shameless crooks and bullshit artists have exploited the fears, ignorance, and gullibility of large portions of the American population for personal gain. Steve Bannon is the apotheosis of that phenomenon. And the woods today are stuffed full of many more examples.
In this article Indiana was mentioned as not caving to Trump, but If I am not mistaken Indiana has very recently announced that it will, in fact, meet and consider redrawing their maps. I hope I am wrong and missed something else about it, but that is very disappointing. One could hope, I suppose, that they will vote it down.
George W. Bush's supporters continued to believe the administration's claims that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) even after the lack of evidence became widely known. Sadly, I was one of them. I still do not see Bush as Evil as I see Trump as Evil incarnate. I signed up to post this. Sadly, George Bush might be the last reputable Republican President this country ever had, for the party of Lincoln is dead to me, and I plan to live another 30-35 years, the good Lord willing. Keep doing the good work, Paul
Post‑Trump GOP looks less like a party and more like a talent show for shamelessness. Marjorie Taylor Greene isn’t an outlier, she’s the blueprint…proof that when spectacle pays dividends, it becomes the business model.
The farce of justice I’ve written about is the same farce at play here: cruelty rewarded, dignity dismissed, and the stage lights never dim.
—Johan
This former Christian Nationalist pastor explains why the CNs will continue to back Trump no matter what happens.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/08/why-evangelicals-couldnt-care-less-about-trumps-epstein-scandal/
I do not believe they are the majority of people in the US. Did the 93 million eligible voters who did not vote, not vote because they did not think the election would make any real difference in their lives, or because they were CNs, and inclined to be apolitical, or because they felt both candidates were bad? Whatever they were thinking, it seems like more people are clear on how they feel about Trump now. As the article said, while the CNs are devoted to Trump, the people in leadership in MAGA are not. I am glad that there have finally been fissures.
The fact that the members of Congress will not back Trump in extending the Obama health care benefits either means they want their own constituents to suffer, or they want Trump to tank, or both. They are shameless and cruel.
As I was reading the Article in Wired that you referenced, it occurred to me that these dark, off the books, coalition of self interest groups are so often referred to as “think tanks”. That term gives them some undeserved aura of legitimacy. These “think tanks” really are white collar gangs. They don’t “shoot people on 5th Avenue”; instead, they kill people by sucking up money so that a family cannot afford cancer treatment for their daughter.
It is very alarming how opportunistic some politicians are. Selfishness should be the antithesis of public office. It is astonishing how many poor candidates get elected.
Alarming, yes, but astonishing? I don't think so. Now, if it had worked out the way most of the founders envisioned (or at least fantasized), elected officials would be well-off white men who had no need (theoretically, at least) to indulge in various forms of political and financial chicanery. In the real world they probably knew that this was a crock, but they were, as the saying goes, high on their own supply.
Instead of worrying about the opportunism of individual politicians, pay more attention to what our economic system encourages: since the Reagan administration, it's rewarded the concentration of wealth. And what does concentrated wealth do when it gets the chance? Accumulate the political power that makes it easier to get richer. (I was about to blame this on Republican administrations, but the Clinton administration was responsible for the repeal of Glass-Steagall.)
I agree with you. Both parties bought into neoliberalism. In business school in the late 80's, I got into arguments with the professors regarding the focus on shareholder value at the cost of other stakeholders, like employees, communities, etc. What is BS is that the shareholders "own" the company - all they really have are a piece of paper that can be traded. I think that employees should have major stakes in the companies; after all, they actually do the work. CEOs operate as kings. And, why is financial finagling so rewarded - it produces nothing and in fact destroys (hint: they own the politicians). Ok, that is enough of a rant for now. LOL
DONT HOLD BACK! The truth shall set you - and us - free!
Rant on, sister!
Yes, Clinton comes out of the overall infatuation with neoliberal corporatist dominance and laissez-faire political economics with the uncleanest of hands. In addition to Glass-Steagall, also remember Clinton's profound and destructive impact on social welfare policy, part of his vow to "end welfare as we know it."
_Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History_ by Kurt Andersen traces the ascendency of far-right social and economic policy that has culminated in the extreme inequality we have today. The book points to the 1971 Powell memo and the extremists' capture of the government with Reagan's election in 1980 as major milestones. Those dovetail with the broad effort that had been under way for some 15 years before Powell, funded by dark money from Koch, Scaife, Olin, Mellon, DeVos, Coors, et al., as Jane Mayer documented in _Dark Money_.
No kidding. "Welfare reform" was racist AF, and misogynist too. P.S. DARK MONEY is a great, essential book!
Dark Money is highly recommended. I need to get Evil Geniuses in my library queue - thanks for the recommendation. More Everything Forever shows what crackpots the techbros are - they are actively working to implement their fantasies.
Competence is unnecessary - and unwanted - in a cult.
At least for the cult members! Cults that endure have competent leaders. If they last long enough, they often get called "churches."
Good point!
I am in the middle of reading Dante's Inferno for the first time and astonished by its relevance today. So far, it is difficult to decide just which circle of Hell to place individual MAGAs as they fit in so many places - perhaps pieces of their souls could be allocated to each level (that is, if they even have souls). What is so sad about all of this is that it doesn't have to be this way.
Aha! I haven't read it in decades, though I refer to several of the circles fairly often. Rereading sounds like a good winter project. Are you reading the whole _Divine Comedy_? I don't think I ever got through the whole thing. Purgatory and Paradise weren't as interesting as the Inferno. (Wonder why . . . <g>)
So, I am now in the middle of Inferno. It took me a couple of weeks to figure out how to read and understand it. I have two books of notes that I look at as I go through the Cantos. The translation is by the same person, but one is paperback and the other is a hardcover edition with the entire 3-part Comedy plus even better notes as well at 40-plus drawings by Botticelli commissioned by the Medici’s. The paperback version has Italian on one side and English on the other, while the hard cover is English only. I studied a bit of Italian, and while it is beyond my ability to read it in Italian, I am struck by the fact that it is all written in rhyme so far! Astonishing! I struggled to understand it until I figured out that using the accompanying notes is crucial to understanding it. I will likely try to read the other two parts, a couple cantos at a time in the evening as it is slow going.
Here’s a thought-Republicans could actually apologize to the nation and the world, and save humanity from Putin and Trump. I’m serious. They should elect a new Speaker and pass articles of impeachment. Senate Republicans should back it with enthusiasm and convict him in the Senate and remove him from office. That is the only way the cult would ever stop, think and support this.
Would people die? Of course, but many are dying under this regime, and families are being destroyed. Republicans took an oath to the Constitution-not MAGA!
I read-can someone verify?-that when a President is removed from office so is his staff and cabinet?
Republicans could be “heroes”-better late than never.
I’m an Independent voter, I will never join a political party.
I have relatives that voted for Trump, solely based on the abortion issue. I’m a Catholic. When did our Church start having a “group sin”? Should owning guns of massive destructive ability be considered a “group sin” too? Also,
establishment of a Christian nation is not something Jesus advocated-in fact, it was the opposite.
It’s way past time to look inward as to what our citizens are guided by.
I had to vent after this historically hideous week from our mentally ill “leader.” 😔
Article II, Section 4, of the Constitution: "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." First off, this has never been tested in real life. Presidents have been impeached, but none have been removed from office. Then consider that "treason" and "bribery" are relatively clear, but "other high Crimes and Misdemeanors" is not.
However, Section 1 of the 25th Amendment, ratified in 1967, says that "In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President." There's nothing in there about "high Crimes and Misdemeanors." President Clinton's dalliance with an intern was by no stretch of the imagination a high Crime and/or Misdemeanor but the Republican House impeached him anyway.
Thank you!
Question-can the House adopt articles of impeachment, and the Senate convict and remove Trump because of murdering humans in international waters without seeking approval of Congress first? Is this a war crime? I would (assume?) hope that the Supreme Court presidential immunity granted to Trump could not extend to international war crimes?
Rose, they *could* but you know as well as I do that they won't. :-( The U.S. doesn't belong to the International Criminal Court, and it habitually vetoes any UN attempt to hold it to account. (The International Court of Justice is part of the UN.) Fwiw, it's not a war crime because we're not at war. I don't know what international laws apply to the unjustified killing of people in international waters, but I'm sure there are some. I'm also sure that the current U.S. administration doesn't know and doesn't care.
I think it would be considered murder, since we’re not at was.
War
+3
Fealty is a sworn, one-sided vow of allegiance to a lord, while loyalty is a broader, more mutual bond of respect and faithfulness. Fealty is based on power and obligation, historically a vassal's duty to a lord, and can end when the power dynamic shifts. Loyalty, however, is a two-way relationship that endures because it is built on mutual respect and is not dependent on a power imbalance
"Turns out they're not in it for Trump, they're in it for themselves," reads this post's subhead.
'Twas ever thus. Check out _The Longest Con: How Grifters, Swindlers, and Frauds Hijacked American Conservatism_, by Joe Conason, for an entertaining history of how shameless crooks and bullshit artists have exploited the fears, ignorance, and gullibility of large portions of the American population for personal gain. Steve Bannon is the apotheosis of that phenomenon. And the woods today are stuffed full of many more examples.
The great irony about MAGA and white supremacy is, Look who’s their spokesman is—dumb, whiney, and ill-spoken.
Why do we as a country have to WAIT for an actual invasion of a sovereign nation to say ENOUGH?
The time to stop this fascist is NOW.
In this article Indiana was mentioned as not caving to Trump, but If I am not mistaken Indiana has very recently announced that it will, in fact, meet and consider redrawing their maps. I hope I am wrong and missed something else about it, but that is very disappointing. One could hope, I suppose, that they will vote it down.
This is a great roundup of news as of late. Also, this picture is traumatizing.
I hope it does not take so long. Trump is doing a lot of damage.
George W. Bush's supporters continued to believe the administration's claims that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) even after the lack of evidence became widely known. Sadly, I was one of them. I still do not see Bush as Evil as I see Trump as Evil incarnate. I signed up to post this. Sadly, George Bush might be the last reputable Republican President this country ever had, for the party of Lincoln is dead to me, and I plan to live another 30-35 years, the good Lord willing. Keep doing the good work, Paul
I think the attraction of “mass MAGA” is that it’s just a show: “Real Housewives of Pennsylvania Avenue”.
Excellent piece but the past tense of "cheerlead" is "cheer-led," not "cheerleaded."
MAGA dies with decaying Donald, I’ve said all year. Not on my bingo card: MAGA dying from Donald.
I tried to change to annual billing and the new price didn’t take, not sure what I did wrong? Big fan of your work, as always.