Opposing Trump's worst nominees would require Republicans of good conscience to likely end their own political careers. Is there a reason to think enough will?
Trump has already signaled that he wants the new majority leader to be OK with recess appointments, so I think that is what Trump has in mind.
Even if he bothers to have each nominee go through a confirmation process, he will personally bully any GOP senator that dares to defy his picks with every MAGA thug intimidation tactic in the toolbox, including, but not limited to: being primaried in the next election, being censored or even expelled from the Senate (see Tommy Tuberville's comments from today), and of course being harassed/threatened at home, online, in the media, and in public by MAGA thugs.
Another thing to keep in mind is that these nominees don't actually have to know anything, because Trump is already the smartest person in the room. He will tell them what he wants, and they simply have to issue the appropriate orders to make it happen. None of this independent thought, using your judgement and experience nonsense that hindered Lord Trump in his first term.
The only saving grace is that the average tenure of a Trump cabinet member seems to be about 6 months, so these people won't be around too long.
This is a solid article. If anything, you were possibly even too kind to Gaetz. He would absolutely seek retribution on political opponents & frankly, I'm a bit disappointed that these few 'last good souls' are not speaking as much to that point as an objection.
One difference though - I'm a lot higher & less cynical on the Musk/Vivek DOGE mission than others in the non-MAGA crowd.
Is DOGE really going to cut $2T from the budget? Probably not
Are they going to make huge mistakes? Certainly
Is the federal gov a different animal than other business ventures? Yep
Is it going to tackle the ACTUAL drivers of debt? Probably not initially
Are many of their recommendations even going to actually occur? Unknown
Even if there are $ savings, would it end up being squandered somewhere else vs tackling the debt? A real possibility
Will Musk eventually lose interest due to any number of factors? A distinct chance
So, yes I live in reality; but the other side is this:
1) If Ron Paul gets involved, as is rumored, that certainly gets my attention. There is no one more principled, serious or passionate on fiscal matters than him.
2) Similarly - when it comes to cutting waste, there is NO human more credentialed than Musk. No one.
3) I like the out-of-the-box innovative thinking (like a feedback loop for example), bc it's absolutely necessary for true problem-solving.
4) Musk & Vivek know a lot about money - a LOT. And both are very driven (an understatement if ever there was one).
5) Visionaries tend to set rather lofty goals & frankly, Musk has already accomplished quite a number of 'impossible' tasks.
6) What other idea has worked so far? In other words - what is there to lose (besides bureaucracy)?
So I view it almost as a startup business. Maybe it makes it huge or maybe it crashes & burns. There will be failures for sure, but there will also be some successes & important learning lessons. IMHO - it's a necessary first step, even if an actual solution happens later. The upside possibility is huge - so I'm buying in.
I want to see every nominee objectively, and rigorously, questioned before the Senate. It’s an important, and necessary, part of the process. What I don’t want is partisan, grandstanding, smears, that waste everyone’s time. And isn’t it a fact that appointing seemingly unqualified people is done by every new President. Pete Buttigieg, and other Biden DEI hires for example. If Gaetz’s character is proven to be unworthy, I don’t want him anywhere near the WH. But partisan accusations don’t fly with me.
We on the right all made fun of Buttigieg being nominated Transportation Secretary (which is a far less important post than AG and Defense Secretary), but I'm not sure why you're calling him a DEI hire. Including him in the administration was a political favor, just like with Gabbard, RFK Jr., etc. Are they DEI hires too?
As for Gaetz's character, it's already proven unworthy based on what we already know about him. And the accusations against him haven't been "partisan." Some of the most damning accounts of his behavior have come from MAGA-Republican colleagues.
I remember Hannity, Rush, Mark Levin griping, correctly I think, about the “Blame America first crowd”. Fast forward a decade and they’ve helped bring about the new Blame America first Republican Party. I hope they’re proud of themselves and that the bigger paycheck was worth it to betray their audience
The only safe havens for non sellout conservatives are you and Bernie, and the Dispatch, which I’ve been following for the better part of a year. Real solid stuff from them, Jonah has been incredibly consistent
I think you, John, wrote the comment right? I didn't read that you were bragging about dems did I? Matt Gaetz for AG, that's mind boggling. Hey wonder what speaker Johnson or McCarthy thinks about it?(ask them after some truth serum). I think one can disagree about a nomination and still be OK that Trump won looking at the alternative we had. I'm OK with your take on this John even tho your not a Trump guy. Fasten your seat belts it's gonna be a bumpy four years!
Bernard - so now you join the chorus of nomination know-it-alls. The libs (including you and Daly) can't beat Trump in an election or successfully assassinate him, but they can rail against every move he makes nominating his leadership team. And we have four years of stellar nominations of Lyin'Biden to measure against. Let's just pick out the lowlights. A Secy of Defense who goes AWOL and nobody notices for 2 weeks. A Secy of State who proclaims week after week a ceasefire in Gaza is closer than ever, who only jacked up his frequent flyer miles accomplishing NOTHING. A Secy of Transportation that was a token Gay appointee and couldn't do anything except wring is hands and fine Airlines and wouldn't even get his President to come to East Palestine Ohio to witness the largest train accident in decades. Oh yeah, and Jake Sullivan sings his own praises for maintaining peace in the Middle East and two days later HAMAS attacks and terrorizes Israel, killing thousands and taking hundreds of hostages. I can't wait to hear the insults from your J6-lovin buddy Daly, who should stick to interviews, something he really excels at. BR
Trump has already signaled that he wants the new majority leader to be OK with recess appointments, so I think that is what Trump has in mind.
Even if he bothers to have each nominee go through a confirmation process, he will personally bully any GOP senator that dares to defy his picks with every MAGA thug intimidation tactic in the toolbox, including, but not limited to: being primaried in the next election, being censored or even expelled from the Senate (see Tommy Tuberville's comments from today), and of course being harassed/threatened at home, online, in the media, and in public by MAGA thugs.
Another thing to keep in mind is that these nominees don't actually have to know anything, because Trump is already the smartest person in the room. He will tell them what he wants, and they simply have to issue the appropriate orders to make it happen. None of this independent thought, using your judgement and experience nonsense that hindered Lord Trump in his first term.
The only saving grace is that the average tenure of a Trump cabinet member seems to be about 6 months, so these people won't be around too long.
This is a solid article. If anything, you were possibly even too kind to Gaetz. He would absolutely seek retribution on political opponents & frankly, I'm a bit disappointed that these few 'last good souls' are not speaking as much to that point as an objection.
One difference though - I'm a lot higher & less cynical on the Musk/Vivek DOGE mission than others in the non-MAGA crowd.
Is DOGE really going to cut $2T from the budget? Probably not
Are they going to make huge mistakes? Certainly
Is the federal gov a different animal than other business ventures? Yep
Is it going to tackle the ACTUAL drivers of debt? Probably not initially
Are many of their recommendations even going to actually occur? Unknown
Even if there are $ savings, would it end up being squandered somewhere else vs tackling the debt? A real possibility
Will Musk eventually lose interest due to any number of factors? A distinct chance
So, yes I live in reality; but the other side is this:
1) If Ron Paul gets involved, as is rumored, that certainly gets my attention. There is no one more principled, serious or passionate on fiscal matters than him.
2) Similarly - when it comes to cutting waste, there is NO human more credentialed than Musk. No one.
3) I like the out-of-the-box innovative thinking (like a feedback loop for example), bc it's absolutely necessary for true problem-solving.
4) Musk & Vivek know a lot about money - a LOT. And both are very driven (an understatement if ever there was one).
5) Visionaries tend to set rather lofty goals & frankly, Musk has already accomplished quite a number of 'impossible' tasks.
6) What other idea has worked so far? In other words - what is there to lose (besides bureaucracy)?
So I view it almost as a startup business. Maybe it makes it huge or maybe it crashes & burns. There will be failures for sure, but there will also be some successes & important learning lessons. IMHO - it's a necessary first step, even if an actual solution happens later. The upside possibility is huge - so I'm buying in.
I want to see every nominee objectively, and rigorously, questioned before the Senate. It’s an important, and necessary, part of the process. What I don’t want is partisan, grandstanding, smears, that waste everyone’s time. And isn’t it a fact that appointing seemingly unqualified people is done by every new President. Pete Buttigieg, and other Biden DEI hires for example. If Gaetz’s character is proven to be unworthy, I don’t want him anywhere near the WH. But partisan accusations don’t fly with me.
We on the right all made fun of Buttigieg being nominated Transportation Secretary (which is a far less important post than AG and Defense Secretary), but I'm not sure why you're calling him a DEI hire. Including him in the administration was a political favor, just like with Gabbard, RFK Jr., etc. Are they DEI hires too?
As for Gaetz's character, it's already proven unworthy based on what we already know about him. And the accusations against him haven't been "partisan." Some of the most damning accounts of his behavior have come from MAGA-Republican colleagues.
I remember Hannity, Rush, Mark Levin griping, correctly I think, about the “Blame America first crowd”. Fast forward a decade and they’ve helped bring about the new Blame America first Republican Party. I hope they’re proud of themselves and that the bigger paycheck was worth it to betray their audience
Today's Right has become yesterday's Left. The examples are endless.
The only safe havens for non sellout conservatives are you and Bernie, and the Dispatch, which I’ve been following for the better part of a year. Real solid stuff from them, Jonah has been incredibly consistent
Thanks. There are a few others, but we're definitely a dying breed. The Dispatch is great. I'm a huge fan.
I think you, John, wrote the comment right? I didn't read that you were bragging about dems did I? Matt Gaetz for AG, that's mind boggling. Hey wonder what speaker Johnson or McCarthy thinks about it?(ask them after some truth serum). I think one can disagree about a nomination and still be OK that Trump won looking at the alternative we had. I'm OK with your take on this John even tho your not a Trump guy. Fasten your seat belts it's gonna be a bumpy four years!
Bernard - so now you join the chorus of nomination know-it-alls. The libs (including you and Daly) can't beat Trump in an election or successfully assassinate him, but they can rail against every move he makes nominating his leadership team. And we have four years of stellar nominations of Lyin'Biden to measure against. Let's just pick out the lowlights. A Secy of Defense who goes AWOL and nobody notices for 2 weeks. A Secy of State who proclaims week after week a ceasefire in Gaza is closer than ever, who only jacked up his frequent flyer miles accomplishing NOTHING. A Secy of Transportation that was a token Gay appointee and couldn't do anything except wring is hands and fine Airlines and wouldn't even get his President to come to East Palestine Ohio to witness the largest train accident in decades. Oh yeah, and Jake Sullivan sings his own praises for maintaining peace in the Middle East and two days later HAMAS attacks and terrorizes Israel, killing thousands and taking hundreds of hostages. I can't wait to hear the insults from your J6-lovin buddy Daly, who should stick to interviews, something he really excels at. BR
Bob Ricketts Aliso Viejo, CA
Uh, what?
The bot needs his weekly reboot. Still fails to recognize bylines.
It's beyond parody.