Third, does he have any kind of relationship with Mitch McConnell? Jordan said this week it’s “fine” and “good.” Um … sure. McConnell has done his share to burn down the Senate, Lord knows, but compared to people like Jordan, he’s Arthur Vandenberg. Cynical and slippery though he is, McConnell at least believes in a kind of old-school decorum that Jordan has utterly rejected. They’re stylistically polar opposites. And then there’s Ukraine aid, which McConnell backs and Jordan staunchly opposes.

-I've been waiting for yrs for someone to reference Arthur Vandenberg. :)

Our Only Job Now

 Joe Walsh was a Republican congressman and a leading Tea Party conservative. He is now a prominent conservative voice against Donald Trump and the host of the podcast "White Flag with Joe Walsh."

It is a cult. How many times must that be said. One of America's two major political parties has become completely radicalized and has given up on democracy. Trump is their cult leader. Each and every evidence of his corruption and criminality only strengthens his support within his cult. Our only job now is to defeat them.

-From Salon.com

He's Gone

 

(Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

McCarthy’s gone. Republican dysfunction is here to stay.

Kevin McCarthy, whose only ideology had been ambition, has obtained his place in history: the only speaker in U.S. history to be ousted by his peers. 

Opinion by Dana Milbank1 hour ago

Judgement Day

 Republican frontrunner and presumptive 2024 presidential nominee Donald Trump faces as many as four upcoming criminal trials — but a civil case that could destroy his business in New York has leapt to the forefront this week.

To some degree, the lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James alleging decades of fraudulent business practices has flown under the radar, perhaps because — unlike in the criminal cases Trump must face in New York, Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C. — there is no possibility of criminal convictions or a prison sentence. 

But all that changed last week when New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoronissued a summary judgment against Trump and his co-defendants, ruling that the evidence of fraud was so overwhelming that a full trial was not necessary. If that decision stands, Trump will likely lose control of many of his most high-profile businesses. As a practical matter, his supposedly successful real estate empire may well lie in ruins.

-Chauncey Devega in Salon.com

McCarthy Out

 

Kevin McCarthy ousted as House speaker — Far-right coup leads to Capitol chaos

Matt Gaetz's coup ends McCarthy's brief tenure as speaker — Republicans don't seem to know what happens next

By TATYANA TANDANPOLIE

News Fellow

 Joe Biden gave a speech last week that went largely unnoticed in the press, and it's really too bad. It may have been the best speech he's ever given, and if people actually saw or heard it, it might set their minds at ease a little about his prospects in the next election. He's never been much of a speaker, but when he talks about the threat to democracy he's been excellent. This is his fourth such speech, reflecting a sincere effort on his part to which we should all pay attention. After all, while we're all painfully aware of the right's anti-democratic turn, he is the actual president. It stands to reason he sees this from a different perspective. The fact that he's so determined to sound the alarm should get much more attention than it does.

On the heels of a bizarre impeachment inquiry hearing last week in which Republican House members threw out outrageous smears against Biden without a shred of evidence and a GOP primary debate that had the candidates yelling at each other like drunken football fans, Biden traveled to Arizona to open the John McCain Institute and Library. He spoke at length about his long friendship with the former senator, reminding people of a time when the divisions between the two parties were not as uniformly bitter and hostile as they are now.

-Heather Digby Parton in Salon. com

Trump's Threats

 Donald Trump is continuing to threaten the lives of his "enemies" and all others who oppose him. Trump has been doing this publicly and without contrition, pause or any apparent fear of repercussions or negative consequences. His behavior is a function of his depraved character, damaged personality, and diseased mind.

Despite how too many among the news media and political class, even after seven years of experience to the contrary, would like to believe, Trump is not going to pivot. Moreover, there are no "responsible" senior members of today's Republican Party who are going to place country over party to finally stop Trump and his neofascist MAGA movement.

Trump's threats of violence and acts of intimidation are so great that the Department of Justice is seeking a gag order in an attempt to protect the safety of the jurors, witnesses, and members of law enforcement who will be involved in the ex-president's upcoming criminal trials, as Salon's Areeba.

-Chauncey Devega in Salon.com