THE LONG SURRENDER

As Trump’s incoming administration vacillates between the absurd, the dangerous, and the totally farcical, critics and opponents appear to have gone from outrage to numbness. It turns out that “flooding the zone with shit” works.

Trump has now hauled out the “heavy artillery” to enforce discipline in the former Republican Party, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Donald Trump, Inc.

That “heavy artillery” is the world’s richest man, Elmo, whose $300 billion fortune is nearly incomprehensible when one tries to understand such vast wealth under the control of a single individual. For Elmo, putting $150 million into supporting Trump during the campaign was the equivalent of using the couch change. He can double or triple the amount of money available to a political campaign with the snap of his fingers, and not even miss it.

That is what has changed the Senate this week. The Great Gerrymander committed 12 years ago and continuing today means that a minimum 95% of Republicans who win an office can expect to hold that position for as long as they wish. This is “The Solid South” of the first half of the 20th Century, when the Confederacy effectively controlled national politics regardless of which party held the White House, through seniority in the House and Senate that gave them the chairmanships of every important congressional committee, and thus total control of the Article II constitutional power.

Basically, the only way a Republican officeholder can be turned out of office now is through a successful challenge from someone further to the right than the incumbent is, in the primary election. Elmo’s statement this week that he would fund a primary challenge to any and all Republican senators who refused to support Trump’s cabinet nominees threw the fear of God in every GOP senator. They know that facing a primary challenger with unlimited financial support through Elmo’s PAC, they would lose the campaign before the vote happened. The donors they have depended on in previous elections will take one look at a candidate that well-financed and decide further support of their friend, the incumbent, is a bad investment. Without the support to run an effective campaign, the only alternative will be to announce their retirement.

Sadly, as has been shown since 2021, the only people in the GOP with a moral compass and a strong backbone have already been driven from office and out of the party. Liz Cheney could have held her congressional seat for life; she lost in 2022 to an incompetent opportunist by 30 points. That was not lost on every other Republican in congress.

In addition to the heavy artillery of Musk, the potential “hold out” senators have been subjected to a terror campaign by the MAGA freaks - threatening phone calls and emailsifthey fail to “vote right.” Senator Joni Ernst - who had serious and credible reasons for not wanting Pete Hegseth sitting in the Pentagon in the office of the Secretary of Defense - was hit within days of her “non support” becoming public with a targeted ad campaign in Iowa telling voters to call their senator and tell her they wanted her to vote for Pete. Being the good lemmings they are, they followed orders.

Then Charlie Kirk announced, “This is not a joke, everybody. The funding is already being put together. Donors are calling like crazy. Primaries are going to be launched.”

And this past Monday, Senator Ernst announced she was “supporting Pete through this process.”

The position of every Republican in Congress now is that they must vote for every single thing that Trump wants; if they ever disagree with him on anything - no matter how small - the political movement they have given their life to will crush their career and make their life hell. This is Authoritarianism on Steroids. Authoritarianism in a form we haven’t quite seen before, but still very much authoritarianism.

It took Adolf Hitler 90 days from accepting the offer of the Chancellorship of Germany the night of January 31, 1933, to consolidate his dictatorship and overthrow the Weimar Republic.

Using the power of Musk and the other Silly Con Valley Bros - and their billions - Trump could have things consolidated by the end of January, ten days after taking the oath of office.

We are facing a political Blitzkrieg as thorough as anything the failed General Maurice Gamelin faced in May 1940 when he uncomprehendingly watched Rommel’s panzers crossing the pontoon bridges over the Meuse River on their way to the Channel. And we are led by fools in the Democratic Party like congressman Ro Khanna, who said today that “resistance is futile,” led by 81 congressmen who voted with 200 Republicans for the National Defense Authorization Act - which contained the MAGA poison pill of denial of treatment for transgender children of military personnel. The 81 claim they were “being responsible” in insuring that “must pass” legislation did so; had they vote No and the bill failed, the Republicans would have been forced to negotiate to get the “must pass” legislation passed, and the price of the necessary Democratic support would have been removal of the poison pill, which MAGA Mike Johnson would have been forced to accept.

This “surrender in advance” by the Democrats is even worse than the Wray resignation announcement at the FBI.

The Republicans in House and Senate sit in terror of doing anything “wrong,” while the Democrats in both houses are incapable of breaking free of the “go along to get along” mentality that they grew up in, when they were dealing with opponents who were also equally committed to maintaining the constitutional democratic republic. They appear incapable of realizing that they now face an enemy who is dedicated to the destruction of that republic.

This seems like a good time to remind you that none of this is remotely normal; you are not the crazy ones.

What, after all, did we expect, when America elected a rapist, a seditionist, a 34-times convicted felon, who trafficked in bigotry and racism, lied with abandon, and promised a reign of retribution?

There has been a slowdown of people stepping up as paid subscribers sinc this fund raiser began last month. It would be very helpful if 150 free subscribers would step up and become Paid Subscribers. Consider it a Holiday present to Opposition. The rent and security increase are still set to start on New Year’s Day here.

Thank you very much to those who have already done so.

Comments are for paid subscribers.