11 Comments

You guys are smarter than me on this stuff.

And we *do* know that for all his ability to sway the unwashed crowds, Trump is (understatement coming up) not a master when it comes to backroom political machinations.

But even given what we've seen, the fact is that he's not President yet, and the new Congress hasn't yet convened. So this . . . thing . . . . we've witnessed may not be indicative of how it's gonna go after the New Year.

Beyond that probability which flows into certainty, there's also the possibility that Trump knew Gaetz would never pass muster. Not saying he wanted Pam Bondi all along (or. . . . maybe .. . . he DID . . .) but in his warped little transactional mind, say he was figuring something like, 'they'll trade one rejection for five approvals.' Someone like Thune WILL think that the Gaetz thing gives him cover on at least some of the nominees. A couple others will surely be rejected, but Trump will get most of what he wants.

That part really hasn't changed.

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Four more circuits will go to white nationalist christian fundamentalists, awesome. At least the corporate media can stop talking about judge shopping for all the horrible lawsuits we're about to lose. Maybe we'll forget Matthew Kaczmarek's name in the shuffle.

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I read somewhere this morning that the 4 senators are Collins, Murkowski, The Turtle himself and the new guy from Utah that just replaced Mittens. I wish I could remember where but it was probably Bluesky, so it may or may not be accurate. 🤪

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author

Ooh thanks!

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lol. Found it! It was in the paper of record (via The Bulwark’s Morning Shots newsletter).

“Mr. Gaetz told people close to him that after conversations with senators and members of their staffs, he had concluded that there were at least four Republican senators in the next Congress who were implacably opposed to his nomination: Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and the newly elected John Curtis of Utah. With a 53-member majority, four defections would be enough to defeat the nomination.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/21/us/politics/matt-gaetz-withdraws-trump-attorney-general.html

To me this implies there were more than 4. 🤔

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Nov 22Liked by Jonathan Larsen

If Gaetz does show up for the next congress, THEN can we see the ethics report?

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Apparently not. That’s fine, as long as he goes away.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/22/politics/gaetz-not-rejoining-congress/index.html

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We the people will demand it!

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author

There’s been talk of it, yeah. He says he won’t, so… 50/50?

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TFG = The Felon Golfer

TFG = The Fraud Guy

TFG = That Fucking Guy

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The fucking goon

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