Tag: republicans
Donald Trump

Part Infant, Part Gangster: It's Very Hard To Keep Donald Trump Happy

The older he gets, the bigger the baby. Donald Trump has turned the U.S. government into one giant pacifier to calm his fear of seeming less than all-powerful. Consider those billionaires now dropping bags of gold at his feet, concerned that he would use his presidential powers to hurt them.

Donald Winnicott, a prominent English pediatrician and psychoanalyst, famously wrote that babies have "the illusion of omnipotence." They think the world revolves around their needs being met.

To reinforce his illusion that he embodies Roman Emperor command, Trump has turned to the cameras to publicly name formerly skeptical, or even just neutral, moguls now paying tribute:

"So Tim Cook (Apple) was here."

"We do have Jeff Bezos, Amazon, coming in."

"The top bankers, they're all calling."

Reputable political analysts say this executive behavior reflects alarm that Trump might try to sabotage their business and hurt their investors. Anyway, the commentators add, paying a million or two in tribute is "just a rounding error" to these guys.

The analysts are not wrong. More amazing is that they would calmly portray threats toward leading American enterprises —engines of the economy, creators of jobs — as something a normal president would do.

Another word for this is extortion. It's the mobster message: "If you don't want trouble, you know what to do."

Recall during the first term when Trump tried to punish Amazon through higher postal rates and by taking away a $10 billion Pentagon cloud servicing contract. Trump's motives were not at all hidden. Bezos owned The Washington Post, which was often critical of him.

The nomination of vaccine foe Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head Health and Human Services could be seen as a classic baiting operation. Its intention is also to dare senators, Republicans included, to challenge his choice of this weirdo. If Trump wins, then he's proven he has them all in a headlock.

The objective isn't just to get away with things but to send the mob message, "If you don't want trouble, you know what to do." And to add, Caligula style, "Let them hate me, so long as they fear me."

Seeing that Bobby Jr. may be a crackpot too far even for cowed Republicans, Trump could drop the nomination. But that might seem like surrender. Instead, he's gaslighting the public on what RFK Jr. stands for. It happens that the lawyer helping Bobby choose staff for HHS petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine.

"You're not going to lose the polio vaccine," Trump recently told reporters. Big of him. That the public needs that kind of reassurance shows how deep Trump thinks he can take it into the rabbit hole of mind-bending. Until he came along, no one even imagined that an American leader might deny their families protection from a polio epidemic causing paralysis, long-term muscle weakness, fatigue and pain.

But suppose Trump arm-twists the Senate into approving a health official who would "put the public's health in jeopardy," according to 75 Nobel laureates. That would be hard to beat as a display of omnipotence. He would again be matching Caligula, who is said to have appointed a horse as a consul.

Uber and its CEO have just contributed a combined $2 million to Trump's inauguration. What makes this example of executive submission special is that Uber's chief legal officer, Tony West, is Kamala Harris' brother-in-law. Uber's CEO did little to veil his motive. It was his biggest donation ever to a political candidate, he noted, and showed "Uber's eagerness to work with the incoming administration."

Babies grow out of the obsessive need to display dominance. Trump hasn't, and he's almost 80.

Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com. To find out more about Froma Harrop and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Web page at www.creators.com.

Reprinted with permission from Creators.

Elon Musk

Democrats Blast GOP For Risking Shutdown On Orders From Elon Musk

House Democratic leaders strongly criticized Republicans on Thursday for falling in line with billionaire Elon Musk’s demand to scrap legislation that will fund the federal government.

Following criticism from Musk (which was later echoed by President-elect Donald Trump), Republicans pulled the continuing resolution that had bipartisan support. In addition to supporting ongoing government operations, the bill contains disaster relief for thousands of Americans affected by hurricanes and other natural disasters in recent months.

If the House doesn’t come up with a stopgap appropriations bill by Friday, it could trigger a partial government shutdown.

“That bipartisan agreement has now been detonated because House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government and hurt the very working-class Americans that many of them pretend to want to help,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said at a press conference.

Musk led the uprising against the bill along with failed presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Both men are part of the gaggle of billionaires and millionaires who make up the upper echelon of Trump advisers. The duo has been appointed to lead the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency, which claims it will cut $2 trillion in government spending.

House Minority Whip Katherine Clark castigated Republicans for how their actions will affect middle-class families and business owners.

“What's really hard is you are already struggling to pay your bills, and all of a sudden the aid for your small business that you thought was coming is going to not come because Elon Musk and Donald Trump decided to inject this chaos and hardship into your life,” Clark said.

Hard-line Republicans who oppose the bill have indicated that as payback for this budget proposal, they may withhold support for Speaker Mike Johnson in the leadership elections scheduled for January when Congress reconvenes. The GOP has a very small majority in the House despite the party’s success in the recent election.

Jeffries was asked if Democrats might back Johnson in the upcoming speaker election in exchange for including some Democratic priorities in the next funding bill. His answer was succinct: “No.”

Even as Democrats slam Musk and Trump for their disruptive actions, members of the Republican caucus are voicing support for the South African multibillionaire and chaos agent.

During an interview on Fox Business, Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky was asked if Musk is exerting undue influence over Congress from his unelected position.

“No, I don't think so. I think this is exactly what the American people voted for,” he responded.

Musk reportedly spent at least $250 million to prop up Trump in the election and now has congressional Republicans doing as he demands. The Democratic Party’s leadership has now shown it’s not on board with the Musk-GOP alliance.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

GOP Governor Urges Medicare, Social Security To Be Cut And 'Privatized'

GOP Governor Urges Medicare, Social Security To Be Cut And 'Privatized'

New Hampshire Republican Governor Chris Sununu is bullish on a billionaire-led effort to cut social safety nets for working-class Americans — including the political third rail of Social Security.

Semafor reporter David Weigel recently interviewed Sununu, who is retiring after his successor, Republican Governor-elect Kelly Ayotte, assumes office on January 8. The Granite State governor expressed optimism about billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's "Department of Government Efficiency," or "DOGE," (which is not yet an actual federal agency authorized by Congress) which he is co-leading with billionaire pharmaceutical investor Vivek Ramaswamy.

While Musk and Ramaswamy's advisory panel is expected to recommend the elimination of various labor and environmental regulations and the firing of thousands of public sector workers, Sununu is particularly hoping they will pursue cuts to both Medicare and Social Security. Sununu compared Musk and Ramaswamy's efforts to former President George W. Bush's failed proposal to privatize Social Security in 2005.

"George W. Bush was absolutely right, and he’s been proven right time and time again," Sununu said. "You have to move that retirement age. That’s just so obvious... Whether it’s 62 or 64 or 65, find the right number that works. Do it for the next generation. Allow some of this to be privatized. Those models have proven to be absolutely rock solid, and work."

"George W. Bush was a couple of senators away from getting this done," he added. "So many of America’s problems would be cured."

Sununu specifically argued that the proposed austerity measures were necessary, saying: "In about eight years, Social Security benefits drop to 83 percent, Medicare goes bankrupt [and] the interest rates come due." The first point seems to come from the May 2024 Social Security trustees report, which states that the fund reserves that help pay for Social Security benefits will be spent down by 2035.

However, as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and others have pointed out, Social Security could be made solvent for decades by simply removing the cap on paying into the fund. Currently, the super-rich only have to pay a 6.2 percent payroll tax of the first $132,900 they earn in a year into Social Security. But Sanders argues if that cap were removed, Social Security benefits would be fully paid for 52 more years. The Vermont senator added that seniors who earn less than $16,000 per year would get an additional $1,300 per month in benefits if that cap were removed.

"When Republicans say they want to run back George W. Bush’s plan to destroy Social Security, believe them," Social Security Works executive director Alex Lawson told AlterNet. "Elon Musk's slash and burn commission is a transparent plot to gut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid."

Like Social Security, Medicare is also not a contributor to the federal deficit. Just as both employers and employees contribute 6.2 percent toward Social Security, they also contribute a 1.45 percent Medicare tax from every paycheck to keep the program funded. And unlike Social Security, there’s no wage cap on paying into that fund.

While Medicare's Hospital Insurance fund is expected to reach its limit in 2026, this can be remedied by — as the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) recommended in 2019 — repealing language in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that eliminated the individual mandate built into the Affordable Care Act. The individual mandate decreased the number of uninsured patients, which decreased the amount Medicare paid for uncompensated care. The CBPP also called to reinstate the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which was projected to help slow the growth of increasing costs.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Matt Gaetz

Gaetz Ethics Report To Be Released -- So Mattie-Poo Threw A Tantrum

Just in time for Christmas…or maybe New Years…there will be an extra-special present under the tree for followers of the many, many, many sex scandals of our favorite Florida ex-Congressman, Matt Gaetz. CNN reported today that the House Ethics Committee voted earlier this month to release the ethics report on Senor Sexcapade.

The report is supposed to be made public after the House casts its final vote before Christmas, which may come later this week…if Speaker Johnson can get off his knees from praying that Donald Trump will leave him the fuck alone and let him get a Continuing Resolution passed, a deal that has been in the works for weeks and was scheduled to be voted on by Friday.

But noooooooo. The newly-hatched Terrible Awful Disgusting Out-of-Control Duo of Donald Trump and Elon Musk today decided that the Johnson bill should be killed and were crowing on social media by this evening that the compromise negotiated between Republicans and Democrats to extend funding for the government until March was dead. Trump also threw in a demand that the debt ceiling be raised in early January so it would happen on “Joe Biden’s watch” according to reports late today.

In the middle of all this, with a government shutdown looming and two days to pass something new to avert the United States government being closed over the Christmas holidays, came the news that the gooey details on Matt Gaetz uncovered by the Ethics Committee will be made public. Gaetz resigned from Congress in mid-November in a bid to keep the House ethics report from being released and muddy up the already churning waters of his impending Senate confirmation to be the next Attorney General.

Gaetz withdrew his nomination when whispers about what might be revealed in the ethics report began spreading through Capitol Hill. This left Gaetz totally dangling, without his seat in the House that might have given him more power to influence the Republican members of the ethics committee.

So, what did Matt do yesterday? Why, he took to X to whine about how unfair it all is, that’s what he did. “I was charged with nothing: FULLY EXONERATED. Not even a campaign finance violation. And the people investigating me hated me.”

“The very ‘witnesses’ DOJ deemed not-credible were assembled by House Ethics to repeat their claims absent any cross-examination or challenge from me or my attorneys. I’ve had no chance to ever confront any accusers. I’ve never been charged. I’ve never been sued. Instead, House Ethics will reportedly post a report online that I have no opportunity to debate or rebut as a former member of the body.”

That would be the “DOJ” Gaetz had been tapped to head up as Attorney General, at least until he wasn’t.

But Gaetz had an explanation, or a plea, or an excuse, or a something anyway, that he apparently thought will soften the blow when the report comes out. It seems that a more youthful version of the same twisted sicko he is today did some bad things he now wishes he hadn’t done.

“In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated - even some I never dated but who asked.”

Did he ever. The Washington Post reported in late November that the House Ethics Committee had seen Venmo records showing that Gaetz had paid “more than $10,000 to two women who testified before the committee.” That would be the “witnesses” Gaetz found it necessary to put in quotes in his X post today. “Some payments were for sex, the witnesses testified to the committee,” the Post reported.

But let’s listen to the whining still emanating from Gaetz’ post on X:

“I dated several of these women for years. I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18. Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court -- which is why no such claim was ever made in court.”

Gaetz had plenty of opportunities to take the claims against him to court – with a lawsuit for defamation – but for some reason known only to Mattie-poo, he didn’t. Gee, I wonder why? Here’s Gaetz with his big wrap up, as of this morning:

“My 30’s were an era of working very hard – and playing hard too. It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now.”

Got that? Probably? Gaetz was walking around the floor of the House showing porno party-pics and bragging about his sexual conquests, apparently right up until he tied the knot.

A 2021 report on Wonkette gives you an idea of the probably playing hard that was going on, even in Gaetz’s office on Capitol Hill:

“A Hill source sent The Daily Beast a photo of a trash bin outside Gaetz’s office as lawmakers cleared out their offices at the end of a recent session. At the top of the heap was an empty Costco-size box of "Bareskin" Trojan condoms.”

Late this afternoon, Newsweek reported that Gaetz is “threatening to ‘expose’ the supposed ‘me too’ settlements of his former colleagues after the House Ethics Committee voted to release a report on its investigation of sexual misconduct accusations.”

At least one person is coming to his aid: Marjorie Taylor Greene. She released this statement late today: “If Congress is going to release one ethics report, they should release them all. I want to see the Epstein list. I want to see the details of the slush fund for sexual misconduct by members of Congress and Senators. I want to see it all.”

I don’t know for sure, so I’m going to just take a wild guess here, but I rather doubt there are many in the Republican Caucus in the House who “want to see it all.”

It’s the “all” about Gaetz himself that promises to be a thrill-ride if and when the ethics report finally sees the light of day. The House committee apparently took testimony from one witness who saw Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old girl against the side of a pool table at a party. The committee heard more testimony that Gaetz was partial to drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy and used them with women whom he was paying for sex.

But not to worry: Gaetz assures us he was just “dating” the women to whom he “sent funds.”

Let us not forget that this man who has been credibly accused of having sex with an underage girl, paying for sex with women he flew to the Bahamas, and using drugs with prostitutes was nominated by Donald Trump to be the chief law enforcement officer in the land.

I guess the way things are going, we’ll have plenty of time to read the Ethics Committee report when the government is shut down over Christmas on the orders of Donald Trump and Elon Musk, because, you know, two civilians can just shut down the government anytime they want with the Republican Party in control of the House.

Oh, boy, are we in for a treat when Trump moves into the White House and Republicans are in control of both houses of Congress and Elon Musk is floating around Washington D.C. in a cloud of Ketamine helping decide what kind of a country we’re going to have.

Reprinted with permission from Lucian Truscott Newsletter.

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