I will listen to the podcast later but a resounding YES to everything you said! What you didn’t mention is that Barre Seid is a Jewish billionaire who, in my opinion, gave a shitload of money to the Catholic Church. A disgraceful man and what gets me is how many “conservative” Jews there are. Glad my parents aren’t alive to witness these times.
Super happy the DOJ filed their motion to appeal and schooled Loose Cannon.
But: Leo is NOT the Catholic Church. He doesn't represent the views of the vast majority of Catholics, including the Pope. The association with Seid has to do with fascism, not religion. What a disgrace.
Seriously, that $ Trillion could certainly end democracy! The Citizens UnitedSCOTUS decision needs to be abolished, NOW,…the fact a Jewish $ Billionaire donated 1.6B sans paying any taxes is a perfect example of such a flawed SCOUS decision!
It's also a vehicle for money laundering, which we didn't mention. We know about Seid's donation, but how do we know where the rest of the Leo money comes from? We don't. Could be Russian oligarchs, Colombian drug cartels, Saudi intelligence...we don't know.
This piece is titled with the GOP’s threat to democracy and begins with Liz Cheney and Wyoming.
Greg’s next piece could easily be titled with the GOP’s destruction and begin with the Democratic supermajority in both state legislatures in California, and where, after the 2018 midterms, the GOP House of Representatives delegation became so small it could “fit in a minivan.”
Wyoming is the past. Wyoming is the barometer of the GOP in self-destruct mode.
California is, along with the nation as a whole (and surely New York, Washington, Oregon, et al), the future of American society. Diversity. Equal rights. The society of justice for all.
So we can just as easily be talking about the new as talking about the disintegration of the old.
How the dinosaurs of the old society are handling the failure of their obsolete social model is in the same conversation as how U.S. society is repudiating that model as it moves into a world where people share power equally.
This Neanderthal relic funding Leonard Leo reminds me so much of my dad. The respect for religion and religious tradition over quality of character, over integrity. Fundamentalism at its most garish.
We are witnessing the cornered rats in their hour of desperation. They are clinging desperately to the old social order of white authority and male authority and religious authority as it crumbles away. From the Obamas to Trump. What a backlash. And now the old guard is attacking democracy itself, because democracy itself, the will of America, is standing in the way of keeping the whites-first and males-first and Christians-first society as it was.
It’s a lost cause.
I understand why journalists like to fixate on the destruction of the old, especially since they are attacking democracy’s institutions, but let’s remember the good news too. Billions of dollars, trillions of dollars, are no longer sufficient to reverse this juggernaut. We are now a society that embraces everyone, not just the formerly privileged. The Neanderthals are going to have to get used to it. They are in the minority now, permanently.
Thanks, Roland. I believe that you are right, but we have to make sure of it. More people in California voted for Trump in 2020 than any other state. Here in New York, our governor is under attack from dark money bad guys, and her opponent is a fascist. It's scary.
Repudiating Liz Cheney is suicide for this political party. The fact that Harriet Hageman had to change her own public position to embrace Trump’s voters goes to show that the old Republican Party is dead.
I repeat: the Republican Party is dead. Politically killing off the non-wackos like Cheney is a death knell. One of many. Attacking democracy, an old Jew supporting Leonard Leo, all the Never Trump splinter groups: there are plenty of other signs and indicators.
Greg’s hypothetical analysis of Cheney v. Biden in 2024 will never happen. Nor will Trump be there in 2024. Even if he is alive and out of prison, and those are two very large assumptions, Trump already lost once. The referendum on Trump is over. The American people have decided. In the 2024 contest of Trump v. Anybody, Trump loses again.
Even McConnell knows this truth, and if McConnell knows, then you can be certain a lot of other Republican strategists and tacticians and power brokers do too. They’re just not talking about it publicly because they don’t want to be targeted only to have some crazy show up at their house with guns.
They are planning on pardons raining down like manna from heaven, if they can cheat enough to snatch chump another term. Of course the power hungry fools see no law that they cannot break. The cheating has been world class. Never accuse them of not doing a thorough job on destruction of norms, laws, and rules
Yes, all of that. Exactly right. The danger is, they cheat all the time. For example, it's BATSHIT INSANE that one dumb judge, installed AFTER Trump was voted out, could delay the investigation of MAJOR natsec importance. But here we are.
An interesting aspect of Greed is that it compels people to do really stupid and heartless things. Greed does not inspire brilliance but rather choosing the most brutal and cruel behaviors available to hold on to that money/illusion of power.
EXCELLENT book! I had thought that Steve Kornacki's book on the same time period was good, but Milbank covers it better than anyone ever has. Republicans are known for playing the long-game and the situation we see now started with Next Gingrich and his "Contract With (On) America" in 1995. The kindest thing I can think to say about Gingrich is that he's still alive. Pity.
The Destructionists was a steady machine gun blast of facts. Milbank was so furious to cover everything, the last few chapters were more bullet points than prose. I was exhausted by the time I finished it. I'm so tired.
I felt that sense of urgency when I published Dirty Rubles. "I have to get this out as soon as I can, before the good guys get him." Ah, those naive times...
The BEST thing I saw this week was the unveiling of the official White House portraits of the Obamas. It reminded me how we're SUPPOSED to be. "The Washington Post" framed it as a tradition brought back after Trump jettisoned it, and it was a beautiful thing to watch -- the speeches, the portraits, seeing Barack and Michelle again in the White House -- and it almost made me forget the Trump years like they never happened.
Then reality slapped me upside the head. The silver lining is that although Americans tend to have short memories and even shorter periods of time to get justice (i.e. nobody talks about bringing Bush II and Cheney up on war crimes anymore), Trump has continued to make himself the number one topic of conversation. Where the spotlight would normally move on, he keeps dragging it back to himself, and every time he does, Americans are reminded of just how horrible those years were. I think it likely that NO ONE will "forgive and forget" this November, and the Dems will keep the Senate and dare I dream, the House. Trump can try to run in 2024, but he'll be beaten again, and prove once again, what a pathetic loser he is.
Craig Unger? I've read both his books and can't wait to get to the podcast as soon as I deal with this pesky "work" thing I do. Have a great weekend, everyone!
That's a great point, Steve, and well said. Bush II has done a pretty nice job post-presidency, with the paintings and the camaraderie with Michelle, rehabilitating himself. Trump? Please. Irredeemable, like an expired coupon.
Yes! Plus I posted this before I heard the interview and was delighted that he provided a mini history of Rethuglican perfidy in 1968 and 1980 Presidential elections. On a side note my biggest fear is once Trump is vanquished (and he is on his way out with the donor class) we will think the witch is dead and we're out of danger. The reality is the next round after Trump will be more dangerous because the powers that be will have learned their lessons. We cannot let up on our vigilance. Thank you for listening to my Kathleen Rant.
100% on all points. I still think that Rupert Murdoch’s propaganda machine is a major factor in the takeover. It’s skews and slanders 24/7. They have “Orwelled” (or Frank Luntz’d) our language and our conversation, culturally and politically.
But as Steve 7 Layered Shirt Salad Bannon said, "“The Democrats don’t matter,” Bannon reportedly said in 2018. “The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit.”
Also: "As Joshua Green, who wrote a biography of Bannon, explained, Bannon’s lesson from the Clinton impeachment in the 1990s was that to shape the narrative, a story had to move beyond the right-wing echo chamber and into the mainstream media. That’s exactly what happened with the now-debunked Uranium One story that dogged Clinton from the beginning of her campaign — a story Bannon fed to the Times, knowing that the supposedly liberal paper would run with it because that’s what mainstream media news organizations do."
Here's a link to the whole Vox article, which I think is excellent:
Cal, at first I thought your comment came from a teenager. 14 years + 56 months ~ 19 years. Comprehension challenged am I. LOL. I haven't had a TV for almost 15 years.
56 months ago i couldnt think of a reason to turn it on. Still haven't.
Good to know we share this mindless tube watching ban
Im currently rereading Charles Bowden backwards. Latest publication towards his first publication.
I am busy unloading my RV of my book collection. Just packaged up 3 copies of "Wrenched From the Land." And a copy of "Headed into the Wind" by Jack Loeffler.
My RV is a litle lighter as ive got rid of about a 100 books in the last year.
I will listen to the podcast later but a resounding YES to everything you said! What you didn’t mention is that Barre Seid is a Jewish billionaire who, in my opinion, gave a shitload of money to the Catholic Church. A disgraceful man and what gets me is how many “conservative” Jews there are. Glad my parents aren’t alive to witness these times.
Super happy the DOJ filed their motion to appeal and schooled Loose Cannon.
Good point.
But: Leo is NOT the Catholic Church. He doesn't represent the views of the vast majority of Catholics, including the Pope. The association with Seid has to do with fascism, not religion. What a disgrace.
Seriously, that $ Trillion could certainly end democracy! The Citizens UnitedSCOTUS decision needs to be abolished, NOW,…the fact a Jewish $ Billionaire donated 1.6B sans paying any taxes is a perfect example of such a flawed SCOUS decision!
It's also a vehicle for money laundering, which we didn't mention. We know about Seid's donation, but how do we know where the rest of the Leo money comes from? We don't. Could be Russian oligarchs, Colombian drug cartels, Saudi intelligence...we don't know.
It’s just the thought of where all that money might come from… makes me shiver.
This piece is titled with the GOP’s threat to democracy and begins with Liz Cheney and Wyoming.
Greg’s next piece could easily be titled with the GOP’s destruction and begin with the Democratic supermajority in both state legislatures in California, and where, after the 2018 midterms, the GOP House of Representatives delegation became so small it could “fit in a minivan.”
Wyoming is the past. Wyoming is the barometer of the GOP in self-destruct mode.
California is, along with the nation as a whole (and surely New York, Washington, Oregon, et al), the future of American society. Diversity. Equal rights. The society of justice for all.
So we can just as easily be talking about the new as talking about the disintegration of the old.
How the dinosaurs of the old society are handling the failure of their obsolete social model is in the same conversation as how U.S. society is repudiating that model as it moves into a world where people share power equally.
This Neanderthal relic funding Leonard Leo reminds me so much of my dad. The respect for religion and religious tradition over quality of character, over integrity. Fundamentalism at its most garish.
We are witnessing the cornered rats in their hour of desperation. They are clinging desperately to the old social order of white authority and male authority and religious authority as it crumbles away. From the Obamas to Trump. What a backlash. And now the old guard is attacking democracy itself, because democracy itself, the will of America, is standing in the way of keeping the whites-first and males-first and Christians-first society as it was.
It’s a lost cause.
I understand why journalists like to fixate on the destruction of the old, especially since they are attacking democracy’s institutions, but let’s remember the good news too. Billions of dollars, trillions of dollars, are no longer sufficient to reverse this juggernaut. We are now a society that embraces everyone, not just the formerly privileged. The Neanderthals are going to have to get used to it. They are in the minority now, permanently.
My dream
Wyoming will soon be owned by about 10 billionaire feudal barons.
It isn't already?
"Memories of the Future"
Charles Bowden
Thanks, Roland. I believe that you are right, but we have to make sure of it. More people in California voted for Trump in 2020 than any other state. Here in New York, our governor is under attack from dark money bad guys, and her opponent is a fascist. It's scary.
Gee, Roland, I love this kind of talk!
The Republican party is digging its own grave. I would encourage it to keep digging until the earth collapses in on it.
Perfectly said.
As LB would say: When they go low, bury them.
Love it
Think about it:
Repudiating Liz Cheney is suicide for this political party. The fact that Harriet Hageman had to change her own public position to embrace Trump’s voters goes to show that the old Republican Party is dead.
I repeat: the Republican Party is dead. Politically killing off the non-wackos like Cheney is a death knell. One of many. Attacking democracy, an old Jew supporting Leonard Leo, all the Never Trump splinter groups: there are plenty of other signs and indicators.
Greg’s hypothetical analysis of Cheney v. Biden in 2024 will never happen. Nor will Trump be there in 2024. Even if he is alive and out of prison, and those are two very large assumptions, Trump already lost once. The referendum on Trump is over. The American people have decided. In the 2024 contest of Trump v. Anybody, Trump loses again.
Even McConnell knows this truth, and if McConnell knows, then you can be certain a lot of other Republican strategists and tacticians and power brokers do too. They’re just not talking about it publicly because they don’t want to be targeted only to have some crazy show up at their house with guns.
So true, Roland. It amazes me how the Republican strategists hold on to their talking points. Thankfully for us, to their ultimate demise.
They are planning on pardons raining down like manna from heaven, if they can cheat enough to snatch chump another term. Of course the power hungry fools see no law that they cannot break. The cheating has been world class. Never accuse them of not doing a thorough job on destruction of norms, laws, and rules
Playing for a pardon is not a winning strategy. Ask Steve Bannon ha ha ha.
Yes, all of that. Exactly right. The danger is, they cheat all the time. For example, it's BATSHIT INSANE that one dumb judge, installed AFTER Trump was voted out, could delay the investigation of MAJOR natsec importance. But here we are.
Yeah it’s off-the-charts ridiculous. A yoga instructor. They picked her up off the scrap heap just for this job, being Trump’s henchman. Ay yi yi.
An interesting aspect of Greed is that it compels people to do really stupid and heartless things. Greed does not inspire brilliance but rather choosing the most brutal and cruel behaviors available to hold on to that money/illusion of power.
Well said. Greed is what the Scripture is really talking about when it says money is the root of all evil.
Dana Milbank connects the dots from Newt Gingrich to Donald Trump in The Destructionists.
EXCELLENT book! I had thought that Steve Kornacki's book on the same time period was good, but Milbank covers it better than anyone ever has. Republicans are known for playing the long-game and the situation we see now started with Next Gingrich and his "Contract With (On) America" in 1995. The kindest thing I can think to say about Gingrich is that he's still alive. Pity.
A few years ago The Atlantic did an excellent expose on the Newt. Warts and all (ha ha).
The wartiest toad on the planet. May it go extinct as we post.
The Destructionists was a steady machine gun blast of facts. Milbank was so furious to cover everything, the last few chapters were more bullet points than prose. I was exhausted by the time I finished it. I'm so tired.
I felt that sense of urgency when I published Dirty Rubles. "I have to get this out as soon as I can, before the good guys get him." Ah, those naive times...
It seems like a decade since I read Dirty Rubles. That was long before I actually knew you.
Are we sure he's alive? Vampires are undead.
He's too fat to be a vampire unless someone is bringing him his meals. Yup, I fat-shamed Newt Gingrich with no regrets whatsoever.
I haven't laid eyes on him since he was running for President in 2016. I caught a glimpse of him the other day and WOW! Turkey chins galore!
You can fat shame Trump next.
Calista is most certainly a vampire. Those eyes! Eek!
I freakin' LOVE that guy.
Milbank is always on the money! Such a pleasure to read his take on everything.
I guess today, I'm just waiting to see when Loose Cannon drops her other shoe.
What kind of shoes do you wear when flamenco dancing? Per her CV, she knows more about that than the law.
Great piece Greg.
However as you know i dont do podcads, facehook, twatter or vadeos.
Just email.
"Keep scribbling "
The BEST thing I saw this week was the unveiling of the official White House portraits of the Obamas. It reminded me how we're SUPPOSED to be. "The Washington Post" framed it as a tradition brought back after Trump jettisoned it, and it was a beautiful thing to watch -- the speeches, the portraits, seeing Barack and Michelle again in the White House -- and it almost made me forget the Trump years like they never happened.
Then reality slapped me upside the head. The silver lining is that although Americans tend to have short memories and even shorter periods of time to get justice (i.e. nobody talks about bringing Bush II and Cheney up on war crimes anymore), Trump has continued to make himself the number one topic of conversation. Where the spotlight would normally move on, he keeps dragging it back to himself, and every time he does, Americans are reminded of just how horrible those years were. I think it likely that NO ONE will "forgive and forget" this November, and the Dems will keep the Senate and dare I dream, the House. Trump can try to run in 2024, but he'll be beaten again, and prove once again, what a pathetic loser he is.
Craig Unger? I've read both his books and can't wait to get to the podcast as soon as I deal with this pesky "work" thing I do. Have a great weekend, everyone!
My daily affirmation is “20 Democratic Senators and a Democratic SuperMajority in the House in the 2022 Midterms”
Amen.
That's a great point, Steve, and well said. Bush II has done a pretty nice job post-presidency, with the paintings and the camaraderie with Michelle, rehabilitating himself. Trump? Please. Irredeemable, like an expired coupon.
HA! I wish he would expire!
I'm so happy you have Craig back. Your earlier interview with him is my favorite of all your interviews.
I love him. Besides the incredible body of work and the great insight, he's a nice and very funny guy.
Yes! Plus I posted this before I heard the interview and was delighted that he provided a mini history of Rethuglican perfidy in 1968 and 1980 Presidential elections. On a side note my biggest fear is once Trump is vanquished (and he is on his way out with the donor class) we will think the witch is dead and we're out of danger. The reality is the next round after Trump will be more dangerous because the powers that be will have learned their lessons. We cannot let up on our vigilance. Thank you for listening to my Kathleen Rant.
100% on all points. I still think that Rupert Murdoch’s propaganda machine is a major factor in the takeover. It’s skews and slanders 24/7. They have “Orwelled” (or Frank Luntz’d) our language and our conversation, culturally and politically.
Most definitely. Murdoch is one of the vilest humans of all time ever.
Bonus for turning Luntz into a verb!
But as Steve 7 Layered Shirt Salad Bannon said, "“The Democrats don’t matter,” Bannon reportedly said in 2018. “The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit.”
Also: "As Joshua Green, who wrote a biography of Bannon, explained, Bannon’s lesson from the Clinton impeachment in the 1990s was that to shape the narrative, a story had to move beyond the right-wing echo chamber and into the mainstream media. That’s exactly what happened with the now-debunked Uranium One story that dogged Clinton from the beginning of her campaign — a story Bannon fed to the Times, knowing that the supposedly liberal paper would run with it because that’s what mainstream media news organizations do."
Here's a link to the whole Vox article, which I think is excellent:
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/1/16/20991816/impeachment-trial-trump-bannon-misinformation
Might i suggest,
Existentialism died with the last Hunter/gatherer.
Albert Camus has been my go to philosopher for many years. My book collection is filled with his stuff. I wonder what Camus would say today.?
Per speculation the OLD SPOOK BOYS had him assassinated.
You know the guys that are hiding Pancho Villas head.
Ps.
Been 56 months since i turned a tv on.
Hadnt watched it much since i left home at 14.
My parents bought one right after I got on the Greyhound bus to wherever.
Leave it shut off. ; )
Cal, at first I thought your comment came from a teenager. 14 years + 56 months ~ 19 years. Comprehension challenged am I. LOL. I haven't had a TV for almost 15 years.
Left home at 14.
Seldom watched tv in the following years.
56 months ago i couldnt think of a reason to turn it on. Still haven't.
Good to know we share this mindless tube watching ban
Im currently rereading Charles Bowden backwards. Latest publication towards his first publication.
I am busy unloading my RV of my book collection. Just packaged up 3 copies of "Wrenched From the Land." And a copy of "Headed into the Wind" by Jack Loeffler.
My RV is a litle lighter as ive got rid of about a 100 books in the last year.
The Dutch call it "Death cleaning. "
Wyoming is the least populated state in the US.
It has 5.9 pepple per square mile.
The Billionaire goal is to have virtually no public lands with shoot to kill no trespassing signs