Cassidy’s cave lights up the corrupt heart of the Republican Party for all to see. There are a lot of articles you can read about it. Try “Spineless Republican Gives Jaw-Dropping Reason for Folding to Trump” for starters. Sen. Cassidy had the choice of providing a “profile in courage” his grandkids could one day be proud of. Instead he turned his back on honor and put his political career way ahead of any of the ethical or moral principles that America is supposed to be about. He chose the Hall of Shame that showcases political cowardice. But it’s too easy to blame just him. His entire party, with just a couple of exceptions, now stands well-lit in the bright light of corruption. He is just the emblematic example of all the Republican senators who decided that Todd Blanche, the guy who engineered Ghislaine Maxwell’s transfer to a “country club” prison, was fit to rule over American justice. No doubt Cassidy didn’t want to be the front man for this tawdry drama. It makes you wonder, where is the grimy bottom of the Republican Party? Does it even have one? Many once thought Pam Bondi was as bad the DOJ could get. Somewhere she is breathing a long sigh of relief. The victims in the Epstein files will never cave like the GOP senators. They will continue their fight until a semblance of justice has been achieved. It could take a while. But Epstein enablers and the party that feeds them will not only have to answer to history. They will have to answer to the voters in November. Their short-sighted politics of distraction will not save them then. In just a few short months the bill for Republican corruption comes due.
To add some clarity to what the new A.G. is all about, read “Todd Blanche Wants to Finish What Dobbs Started” by Rachel Rebouche at The Nation. As Rebouche writes, “When the Supreme Court handed down Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022, overturning Roe v. Wade, its defenders insisted the ruling was an act of judicial restraint and a decision that returned the question of abortion to democratic majorities in each state. The United States’ top lawyer, Todd Blanche, apparently has other ideas…On a July 30 conference call hosted by the White House Faith Office —not meant for public ears, though the audio later surfaced on YouTube—the acting attorney general told religious leaders that the administration is working to ensure that the Dobbs decision “becomes permanent in every single state.” He acknowledged that “we don’t have complete victory yet,” but promised the faithful, “Victory will be soon and it will be permanent.”…Blanche seems to have in mind a project that goes far beyond enforcing existing federal law or upholding current state abortion laws. Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department could use the agency as a tool to impose abortion restrictions on all states, even those that protect reproductive rights through their own democratic processes and state Constitutions…The confirmation of Todd Blanche as attorney general will represent a new facet of the post-Dobbs landscape. The debate over abortion access has been primarily a story of state-level politics: ballot measures, state constitutional amendments, legislative sessions, and court challenges fought state by state and county by county. That landscape could change…” More here.
If you had any doubts about where Republican leadership stood on the data centers issue, you can put them to rest in the wake of President Trump’s recent clarification. As Julia Manchester reports in “Trump: It’s a ‘mistake’ to go against data centers” at The Hill, “President Trump touted what he said were the benefits of data centers in an interview that was published Friday, potentially pitting himself against a number of Republicans and Democrats on the growing issue…“I saw Texas the other day sort of is against data centers. I think it’s a mistake,” Trump told Punchbowl News…“I’m not taking positions,” he continued. “I just think it’s a mistake because there are other communities that want it. When a community wants it, it means a lot of money is going to come into that community.”…“Taxes are going to go way down because this is a tremendous source of income,” the president said…Trump also pushed back on criticism of the data centers, including that they’re unsightly…“I don’t think they’re unsightly. I mean, I’m looking at some of these data centers, the most incredible buildings I’ve ever seen,” the president said…“They are tremendously important for the economics. I mean, this is — for Texas to say no to data centers is a mistake in the sense that it could be bigger than oil,” he said.” More here.
In “The Disintegration of the U.S. Military Under Trump and Beyond,” Mike Lofgren writes at Washington Monthly, “I have written before that even in a so-called “conventional” conflict at which it is supposed to excel, the U.S. military has serious deficiencies. The Pentagon’s habit of purchasing high-tech weapons that are too expensive, take too long to build, and are too few to be sustained amid normal attrition has left us with a force that will quickly run out of munitions. The ill-advised war against Iran greatly exacerbated this deficiency, confronting the Pentagon with the stark reality that conflict with China would empty the U.S. arsenal in a few days. It also became clear that our military was unprepared to deal with drone warfare: Ukrainian advisors were dispatched to the Persian Gulf to teach Americans the new realities of war…During Trump’s second term, his misuse of the military has accelerated. The employment of the National Guard, and occasionally active-duty military, for policing assistance in American cities has been justified by dubious emergency declarations. Still, the real reason appears to be an impressive show of military force to cow the politicians and citizens of Democratic-run jurisdictions…A meddling president with a history as a fly-by-night developer who stiffs his vendors, tolerates shoddy work if it has surface glitz, and declared six bankruptcies. In his second term, Trump’s fingerprints are all over Pentagon contracting…Trump’s sons have invested in more than a dozen tech startups that received at least $3.2 billion in direct government business (mostly with DOD) and $3.1 billion in future contract options. Five of the firms had never done business with the federal government until the Trumps invested after their father became president—a notable achievement because of the difficulty in qualifying as a first-time federal contractor, particularly with DOD.” More here.
