A Must-Read Speech That Would Have Been Given Even In The Rain June 10, 2024June 9, 2024 GOP 2.0: A Republican minute worth sharing widely. Why they do what they do. Two minutes with Pete Buttigieg. Finally, if you haven’t already, take 5 minutes to read President Biden’s D-Day commemoration. It will make you proud. Had Trump’s conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election succeeded, would he even have shown up at this event? Maybe — if the weather was good. But he surely could never have given this speech. WHEELTUG BONUS Still kicking.
They’re SERIOUS June 9, 2024June 17, 2024 Everyone knows about Project 2025 — or should. It’s the 920-page plan for reshaping America as a white Christian nationalist authoritarian state, or something close to it. But how many of us, until this weekend’s reporting in the Washington Post, knew about Russ Vought’s “post-Constitutional” plan for Trump’s second term? Vought is, among other things, policy director for the 2024 Republican platform. (In 2020, the Republicans didn’t bother to have a platform. In 2016, all Trump touched was the part about defending Ukraine. The only thing in the entire platform that mattered to him was weakening Ukraine. What a coincidence that it was also the only thing in the platform that mattered to Putin.) The Post reports: A battle-tested D.C. bureaucrat and self-described Christian nationalist is drawing up detailed plans for a sweeping expansion of presidential power in a second Trump administration. Russ Vought, who served as the former president’s budget chief, calls his political strategy for razing long-standing guardrails “radical constitutionalism.” He has helped craft proposals for Donald Trump to deploy the military to quash civil unrest, seize more control over the Justice Department and assert the power to withhold congressional appropriations — and that’s just on Trump’s first day back in office. Vought, 48, is poised to steer this agenda from an influential perch in the White House, potentially as Trump’s chief of staff, according to some people involved in discussions about a second term. . . . Vought aims to harness what he calls the “woke and weaponized” bureaucracy that stymied the former president by stocking federal agencies with hardcore disciples who would wage culture wars on abortion and immigration. . . . Some of Vought’s recommendations, such as bucking the Justice Department’s tradition of political independence, have long percolated in the conservative movement. But he is taking a harder line — and seeking to empower a presidential nominee who has openly vowed “retribution,” alarming some fellow conservatives who recall fighting against big government alongside Vought long before Trump’s election. . . . Vought’s long career as a staffer in Congress and at federal agencies has made him an asset to Project 2025, an initiative led by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, to lay the groundwork for a second Trump term. Vought wrote the chapter on the executive office of the president in Project 2025’s 920-page blueprint, and he is developing its playbook for the first 180 days, according to the people involved in the effort. . . . Vought supports prosecuting officials who investigated [Trump] and his allies. “It can’t just be hearings,” he told right-wing activist Charlie Kirk on his podcast. “It has to be investigations, an army of investigators that lead to firm convictions.” . . . “No institution set up within its first two years [has] had the impact of [Vought’s] organization,” [currently imprisoned Stephen K.] Bannon said. “We’re going to rip and shred the federal government apart, and if you don’t like it, you can lump it.” Worth reading in full. They really mean it. To help, click here. To help and attend what promises to be an amazing show in New York June 28 — here. (Straight allies welcome!) Note: After taxes, Thomas netted considerably less from his employer (we, the people) than from his extremely wealthy friends.
Sex! Porn! June 6, 2024 As sexual athletes go, I’m unlikely to make the team. I don’t even like porn.* That said — maybe it’s my libertarian streak — I think consenting adults should be free to do whatever they want. Most Democrats agree. Not Republicans: Pornography should be outlawed. The people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned. Educators and public librarians who purvey it should be classed as registered sex offenders. And telecommunications and technology firms that facilitate its spread should be shuttered. That’s no fringe Republican view, either. It’s lifted straight from Project 2025, the 920-page plan to hit the ground running when Trump returns to office. We Dems need to publicize that, because: . . . Americans visit porn sites at astronomical rates. . . . Pornhub, Xvideos, and XNXX had higher traffic rank scores in the U.S. than all the nonpornographic sites except for Amazon and Yahoo . . . [and] they tend to stick around once there. Plus: 80% of the traffic is from men — who skew Republican. Are they really okay with losing ready access to porn? We need to let Trump-leaning men know that just as women will be losing their rights — do NOT miss this brutal 30 second spot — so will men be losing their right to porn. Internet providers that dare to provide it will be “shuttered.” So none will. At least that’s the plan. And if you don’t think it could happen, because it would be so unpopular, I point you to their vow to repeal Roe. Few thought that would happen either, because it was so unpopular. And then there’s sex itself. Actual sex. Democrats need to find some way to reach an important voting bloc: men who like to have sex without condoms. Which I’m guessing is a lot of them. To get into the mood, watch this 30-second spot. Wonderful, no? But it doesn’t pinpoint my target audience in the way I have in mind, so I’ve written a third one. It could work just as well on the radio. It never gets explicit, so it’s arguably kid-safe (unless they ask you to explain it to them). It goes like this: HE: Aw, c’mon! [we don’t yet know what he’s talking about – maybe all we ever see is a darkened bedroom] SHE: No, you’ve got to wear one or we’re not doing this. HE: C’mon, babe! You know it’s better! SHE: No kidding. But it’s 2025. Everything’s different. I can’t afford to have a baby right now – and you can’t afford child support for the next 20 years. That’s the 20-second spot. Here’s the full 30: HE: Aw, c’mon! SHE: No, you’ve got to wear one or we’re not doing this. HE: C’mon, babe! You know it’s better. SHE: No kidding. But it’s 2025. Everything’s different. HE: [plaintive moan] SHE: I can’t afford to have a baby right now – and you can’t afford child support for the next 20 years. HE: [plaintive moan] SHE: I +told+ you not to vote macho. HE: But they were coming to take away our guns!!! SHE: Oh, don’t be ridiculous. What do you think? Can we reach this overlooked voting bloc? Guys! Listen up! *For more on my sexual exploits, click here and here. But you will be disappointed.
When He’s Reich, He’s Reich. June 4, 2024June 4, 2024 Here is Trump loving the great men and women of the FBI . . . and making the case that someone facing felony charges shouldn’t be allowed to run. (Watch the first 2 minutes.) When he’s right, he’s right. (If you were born in Canada and moved here two weeks later, you can’t be president; but if you’re a twice-impeached convicted felon and adjudicated rapist facing at least three more major criminal trials, that’s fine.) This new book asks: what does Trump really have in common with Hitler? The buffoonery, chaos and word salad speeches may be more calculated than they appear. “I would like people to become more aware of how incredibly consciously Trump is going about doing what he’s doing, how incredibly cunning and devious he’s been. People should absolutely not underestimate this guy.” You’ve doubtless tired of my reminding you, but for years Trump kept a book of Hitler’s speeches by his bedside. The parallels in their rhetoric are striking. So how does a Jewish man like our friend Carl fall into line with the white Christian Nationalists (and others, of course) in supporting Trump? In response to yesterday’s “fact check” post, he emailed me: Another quick fact check: Trump had the border almost closed to migrants then along came Biden and his supporters who reversed everything and let in 10 million unvetted scum. The three things I note about his email are: He made no reference to the “facts” checked in that post. If Trump’s egregious untruths bother him — if honesty or integrity or accuracy matter to Carl in any way — you would not know it from his response. Of the 10 million immigrants he references*, almost none are “scum.” Or vermin, for that matter. Some German Jews were doubtless the Madoffs and Leopolds and Loebs of their time** — but to tar millions this way, as Carl does about those crossing the southern border and Hitler did about Jews and others? After much work, bi-partisan legislation that would have solved the border crisis was crafted and ready to be signed into law, but Trump torpedoed it. He is now the cause of the crisis. He keeps it roiling to fuel his campaign. He allows the crisis to continue. Carl doesn’t care. He blames Biden. In case you can help, click here. If you want to help by attending the DNC’s 25th annual LGBT Leadership Council “gala” (straight allies, welcome!), click here. * Adding to our population by less than 1% a year. ** Just as some Mafiosi and Irish gangsters were mixed in among millions of wonderful Italian and Irish immigrants.
Will Truth — Or “Alternative Facts” — Win The Day? June 3, 2024June 3, 2024 Start with a minute of fortune-telling fun with Jimmy Kimmel. And then this quick fact check: Trump’s post-conviction monologue filled with false claims. Trump repeated his familiar claim that, while Manhattan prosecutors have been focusing on him, New York City has been experiencing record-high violent crime. He said this time that “you have violent crime all over this city at levels that nobody’s ever seen before.” Facts First: Trump’s claim is not even close to true. Violent crime in New York City has plummeted since the early 1990s*. New York City recorded 391 murders in 2023, down about 83% from the 2,262 in 1990; 1,455 rapes in 2023, down about 53% from the 3,126 in 1990; and 16,910 robberies in 2023, down about 83% from the 100,280 in 1990. It goes on from there. Not all negative Trump coverage springs from the left, either. The hush-money story was a project of the Wall Street Journal. It’s nice when the truth comes out and/or justice is done! Last week’s verdict, of course; but smaller stuff, too. E.g.: Publisher of ‘2000 Mules’ apologizes to Georgia man falsely accused of ballot fraud. BONUS WheelTug at Aviation Net Zero (3 minutes). Still kicking. *When Trump was bankrupting the Plaza Hotel and demanding death for the (innocent) Central Park Five.
Finally. May 31, 2024May 30, 2024 Wait til you hear Carl’s reaction to the verdict. But I’ll save that. We still have to win — and hold the Senate and take back the House — so consider joining the President and First Lady, and some amazing too-soon-to-announce performers, at this event in New York June 28. It’s being produced by Bruce Cohen, who’s produced the Oscars (and won one himself), so it should be a good night. Straight allies hugely welcome.
Two Thoughtful Columns / Two Minutes With Betty White May 30, 2024May 29, 2024 Tom Friedman: How We’ve Lost Our Moorings as a Society. I started to excerpt the first few paragraphs but couldn’t figure out where to stop. It’s worth reading in full. The analogy to mangroves, so resonant. Dana Milbank: In closing, Trump’s Team Takes the Jurors for Idiots. We’ll soon see whether it worked. BONUS The Attempted Robbery of Rose Nylund How great was Betty White?
Another Reason to Buy DJT May 29, 2024May 28, 2024 But first . . . > Inflation expectations are self-fulfilling . . . so Republicans — wanting to believe the worst — may have caused more of it. An interesting perspective from the Wall Street Journal. > The Ken Burns Commencement Speech everyone is talking about. Eloquent, erudite, and stripped here to its very barest nub: Listen, I am in the business of history. It is not always a happy subject on college campuses these days, particularly when forces seem determined to eliminate or water down difficult parts of our past . . . For nearly 50 years now, I have diligently practiced and rigorously tried to maintain a conscious neutrality in my work, avoiding advocacy if I could, trying to speak to all of my fellow citizens. . . . [Yet] there is no real choice this November. There is only the perpetuation, however flawed and feeble you might perceive it, of our fragile 249-year-old experiment or the entropy that will engulf and destroy us if we take the other route. . . . The presumptive Republican nominee is the opioid of all opioids . . . the author and finisher of our national existence, our national suicide . . . Do not be seduced by easy equalization. There is nothing equal about this equation. We are at an existential crossroads in our political and civic lives. This is a choice that could not be clearer. Remember what Louis Brandeis said, “The most important political office is that of the private citizen.” Vote. Please, vote. You indelibly underscore your citizenship, and most important, our kinship with each other, when you do. Good luck and godspeed. > Marco Rubio on Trump — 36 seconds (turn sound on, bottom right corner). Last week I argued that only one person — Putin — could conceivably have a rational reason to buy Trump’s stock. I was wrong. One of you came up came up with another. By way of background [writes Peter B.], I made good money shorting AMC in 2022. But in 2023, I actually lost money shorting it, even though it kept going down. The reason, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, is the stock-borrow fee I had to pay my broker. Since I’m not the only bright lad who came up with this trade, the fee was huge, much of which went to the person lending me the stock I shorted. This got me to thinking — why can’t I be the person receiving such payments? Which leads me to DJT. The fee you receive for lending it is something like 20% per month (not a misprint). So if I bought it to lend it out, and the stock fell by 40% in 2 months, I’d break even. I feel reasonably confident that it will hold up until Trump’s September release-from-lock-up starts getting priced into the market. So if I could morally stomach it (which I can’t), I would buy DJT, loan it out, and hold it through the end of July. → That 20% a month may be what a short-seller pays to borrow the stock but not necessarily what the lender receives. The broker does not arrange the stock-loan for free. Ask lots of questions before trying this with anything more than a little play money . . . which may be more trouble than it’s worth. Even so: move over, Vladimir Putin. There may be one other not completely stupid reason to buy Trump stock.
Memorial Day Poem. Wow. May 27, 2024 It’s a holiday but I posted anyway — Caught Between Two Friends. Now I see I should have saved that until tomorrow, because one of you just sent me this new poem by Garrison Keillor. I’m a Neanderthal when it comes to poetry. Very-long-time readers know that my one attempt was rejected by the New Yorker. But every so often there’s a poem I can grab onto because it amuses (I think those are called limericks) . . . or tells a story I can understand (Casey at the Bat, anyone?) . . . or, in this case, really hits home. They were so young. Heartbreaking.
Caught Between Two Friends May 27, 2024 Steve Schwarzman is the most influential Trumper I know. We’ve been friends for more than half a century. There’s much about him to like, and much about what he’s built to admire. Forbes estimates his net worth at $38 billion. He recounts his successes and good works here (e.g., $350 million to MIT to support artificial intelligence research; $100 million to the New York Public Library; nearly $200 million to Oxford; $150 million to yale; a Rhodes-scholar-like program in Beijing). I enjoyed reading it. I’m not unaware he has his detractors, or that he backed Trump in 2016. Then again, I doubt either of us — or any of us, really — appreciated just how awful Trump would turn out to be. It’s different now that we know. I was relieved when Steve quit Trump’s business advisory group after Charlottesville — though it turns out it was less out of protest than . . . well, he explains here. I’d love to see the Biden team ask Steve to reconstitute that advisory group. Presumably, fewer of their recommendations for lower taxes and less regulation would be adopted. Still, there’s certainly room for smarter taxes and regulation. And the group would have other ideas to contribute, as well. But then he hosted a giant fundraiser for Trump 2020. Really, Steve? But again I was relieved when it appeared he would not be backing Trump this time around. He is surely more of a Mitt Romney than a MAGA Republican. Yet now this: Blackstone’s Chief, a G.O.P. Megadonor, Says He Will Again Back Trump Stephen A. Schwarzman, the billionaire co-founder and chief executive of the investment group, had previously called for a “new generation of leaders.” He names immigration as one of the key reasons he supports Trump — yet Trump is now the cause of the crisis, because Trump torpedoed the bi-partisan bill both the Senate and House were ready to pass and Biden, to sign, that would have provided the resources and policy changes needed to solve the crisis. Could Steve really believe the Big Lie that Trump won in 2020? Could he consider corporate taxation a more important issue than climate or reproductive rights or competence or honesty or Trump’s authoritarianism and eagerness to curry Putin’s favor? The article was brought to my attention by a college friend of even longer standing. He writes: There is absolutely no surprise here. I’ve known Schwarzman since he was fifteen years old. Trump and Schwarzman are the quintessential, unapologetic transactionalists. Whatever pads the bottom line. Whatever most expediently preserves power and wealth. However best to grease the respective palm. For both men, no moral compass or ethical convictions impact the calculus, despite lip service to both. The difference is that Schwarzman knows better. He knows who Trump is. He knows exactly what is going on. He is fully aware of the danger Trump poses to the republic, but this awareness is subordinate to his undeviating pursuit of his own interests and the rapacious accumulation of personal wealth. The fact that Schwarzman’s intelligence compared to Trump’s is like the sun to a candle flame starkly demonstrates the boundlessness and ruthlessness of his cynicism. He will die a very, very rich man, far richer than Trump could ever imagine on even the best of his self-deluded days. But the country’s best interests and the preservation of its democratic institutions will be damaged in Schwarzman’s wake. No matter; he will die with the ever-present self-satisfied smirk on his face. I hesitated to share that, but too much is at stake not to offer his point of view.