Republicans: continued

[pErvinalia]

The shittiverse.

[Tero]

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/ ... s-00452358
Ward breaks the MAGA crowd into eight different groups.

The 'Nothing to See Here'-ers

"Several members of Trump’s administration — including Bondi and Patel — entered their new jobs stoking suspicion about a government coverup of the Epstein files and promising to use their new power to get to the bottom of the case. But now that they’re in the government, they’re claiming that they’ve gotten to the bottom — and there’s nothing much to see down there."

The Deep State Haters

"Another group of Trump’s supporters have revived a favorite MAGA leitmotif to explain the lack of disclosure in the Epstein case: that the “deep state” is outmaneuvering Trump’s deputies to thwart the democratic will and protect itself and its elites." The most prominent of this group is Steve Bannon.

The Israel Skeptics

"A slightly distinct slice of the MAGA movement has zeroed in on Epstein’s alleged ties to Israel, suggesting that Epstein’s sex trafficking activities could have been part of a joint U.S.-Israeli “honeypot” operation designed to ensnare valuable intelligence targets." Prominent in this group is Tucker Carlson.

The Loyalty Enforcers

Most prominent in this group is Laura Loomer who has exiled people from MAGA for not being sufficiently "loyal". Now she is aiming at Attorney General Pam Bondi. “She drags the administration down and the base doesn’t want her as AG.” Trump, of course, is not in the slightest to blame."

The Lukewarm Podcast Bros

"So-called podcast bros like Joe Rogan and Andrew Schulz jumped on the Trump train in 2024, but the Epstein files controversy — as well as Trump’s other recent moves backing away from his more populist agenda items — seems to be giving them second thoughts."

The Conspicuously Silent Crowd

"Chief among the newly silent crowd is MAGA-media-personality-turned-Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, who entered the government vowing to get to the bottom of the many theories about Epstein that he once pushed, only to clam up since the report dropped."

"Bongino is joined in his awkward position by Vice President JD Vance, who has publicly cast doubt on the details of Epstein’s death and called on the government to release Epstein’s client list during the 2024 campaign. Vance has reportedly been playing the role of mediator in the intra-administration showdown about the recent report, but he has not spoken publicly about the controversy."

The Plan Trusters

"Throughout the recent tumult for the MAGA coalition, a solid bloc of Trump’s supporters has effectively coalesced around a new motto: “Trust the plan.” You may not understand what Trump is up to, so the thinking goes, but Trump certainly does — and that should be good enough for the rest of us."

Team Elon

"Elon Musk, as a team of one, has not passed up on the opportunity to beat up on his ex-bestie as he tries to stake out a new political lane separate from Trump. “How can people be expected to have faith in Trump if he won’t release the Epstein files?”

[Brian Peacock]

9. The Blummin Idiots

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It's in their blood: cut spending
Catie Edmondson NYT

"Before casting his vote in favor of President Trump’s request to claw back $9 billion for foreign aid and public broadcasting, Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, made a striking admission.

“We have no earthly idea what specific cuts will occur,” Mr. Tillis said, adding that the White House had not provided senators with detailed information on which programs it would be targeting.

"But Mr. Tillis, who is retiring at the end of his term in 2026, said he would vote for it nonetheless."
"He was not the only Republican who made the case that the legislation trampled on Congress’s constitutional responsibilities, lamenting the move right up until the moment they voted to approve it. The House, where Republicans have been far more docile about handing over their power to the president, was poised to give final approval of the measure as early as Thursday evening, sending it to Mr. Trump for his signature.

"It has become something of a routine among Republicans on Capitol Hill. Faced with a president with a maximalist view of his power who demands unflagging loyalty and disdains dissent, G.O.P. lawmakers — even those who grouse about doing so — have repeatedly bowed to Mr. Trump on the most fundamental issues, giving over constitutional prerogatives in the process."

"Both targets of the rescissions package, foreign aid and public broadcasters, have in recent years become perennial targets for Republicans, and most lawmakers in the party said they were thrilled to be able to trim even a small amount of federal funds. Some appeared to have made the calculation that they would rather back the cuts than be seen opposing reductions in spending."
"Republican opponents of the legislation said deferring to a president on what funds would and would not be available was the wrong way around for Congress, which is supposed to have the power of the purse.

“We’re lawmakers; we should be legislating,” Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said in a speech on the Senate floor on Tuesday night announcing her opposition to the package."

[rainbow]

"The US Air Force announced it would be painting its existing line of fighter jets and stealth bombers in a paint made from the Epstein List, which makes them impossible to see."
https://theshovel.com.au/2025/07/17/new ... le-to-see/

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markbayer
8h
I think people are forgetting that Michelle Obama tried to get kids to eat broccoli at lunch and the right lost their minds.

genekelsey
21m
RFK jr is pushing beef fat and soda with cane sugar to promote healthy eating. He obviously knows his audience.

usameisje
5h
The whole wheat chewy paste that passed for bread, crust, and pasta in tiny portions is what made people lose their minds.

therealshawnngee
11m
Because it was just steamed broccoli lol if you wanna make kids LIKE veggies, you have to make them not be prisoner food

[Tero]

Man escapes wokenes

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The modern conservative wants Trump to break constitution
https://www.threads.com/@bigescotland/p ... BApRIRURfQ

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small state holds on to electoral college split..the only thing making state Democrats relevant

The governor’s future
Gov. Jim Pillen claimed victory for the bill’s passage. He had identified Kauth’s sports restrictions bill as one of his priorities for the 2025 session.

Pillen, who announced his 2026 bid for reelection as the session wound down, achieved most of his legislative priorities, including a law against foreign agents, age verification for future social media accounts, the ban on lab-grown meat and a merger of the state’s agencies in charge of overseeing water quality and quantity.

But Pillen fell short a second straight year at convincing some Republican holdouts to support a proposal to alter how the state awards Electoral College votes for president to a winner-take-all system, which every state but Maine and Nebraska use.

https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/07/28 ... 5-session/

meanwhile, local GOP continues attempt to destroy education

[Tero]

social security funds soon to be in the hands fo Trump and whoever follows him
https://www.threads.com/@social_securit ... aSwzCvtRgg
they can invest them all in Mar a Lago

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jehartz75
1h
The sure sign of dictatorship is the attempt to erase history. The Smithsonian is now doing so.

jehartz75
42m
The party that once passed a bill calling for the teaching of history as “facts without interpretation” is now trying to erase the facts as well.

(Trump now removed from the Smithsonian impeachment exhibit)

[Tero]

Gay man in his 70s has nothing to do. So he flip flops
to Trump after being insulted.

By 2018, Graham was bizarrely claiming that Trump “deserves the Nobel Peace Prize and then some.”
In his quest to suck up to Trump as strenuously as possible, Graham hurled himself into self-abasement as if it were an extreme sport.
When Trump relentlessly insulted the memory of John McCain—purportedly Graham’s best friend when they were Senate colleagues—Lindsey responded with astonishing nonchalance.
“I don’t like what he says about John McCain,” Graham told Bloomberg. “But when we play golf, it’s fun.”
Yes, Lindsey apparently lost his moral compass somewhere in the sand trap of the Trump National Golf Club. That’s why it was so striking when he seemed to express genuine outrage on the floor of the Senate after Trump incited the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
"Trump and I... we've had a hell of a journey,” he said. “I hate it to end this way. Oh my god, I hate it... but today, all I can say is 'Count me out. Enough is enough.'"
Alas, Lindsey’s appearance on the right side of history turned out to be a head-fake, as his hell of a journey with the insurrectionist-in-chief was far from over.
Like his fellow quisling, Mitch McConnell, Graham voted to acquit Trump in his second impeachment trial. And once it became clear that launching a coup against the US government wasn’t a deal-breaker for 99 percent of the GOP, Lindsey was hitting the links with the wannabe junta leader once more.
“I’m trying to keep a relationship with him after the riot,” he told Axios two months after January 6. “I still consider him a friend. What happened was a dark day in American history. And we’re going to move forward.”
Lindsey just can’t quit him.

Aware of Graham’s longstanding hatred of the man (Putin) he called a war criminal, I eagerly awaited his rousing statement of support for Zelenskyy.
Instead, Lindsey told reporters, “What I saw in the Oval Office was disrespectful, and I don’t know if we could ever do business with Zelensky again… I have never been more proud of the president. I was very proud of JD Vance standing up for our country.”
As a noted United States senator once said, enough is enough.

Andy Borowitz

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Nebraska senator, billionaire and Republican wheeler dealer Ricketts attempts to derail independent by labeling him as as Democrat.

"The chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party is singing a different tune about nonpartisan labor leader Dan Osborn this time around, compared to Osborn’s 2024 bid against Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer.

"Wednesday on X, Nebraska Democratic Chair Jane Kleeb posted, “We are supporting Dan Osborn” against Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts in the 2026 midterms."

“We believe a coalition of Dems, Indys, and Republicans can beat Ricketts and break up the one-party rule,” Kleeb replied. “We like the odds of a mechanic vs a billionaire.”
"The Ricketts campaign and Nebraska Republicans quickly used Kleeb’s tweet as its latest attempt to paint Osborn as a “Democrat.”

"State voting records show Osborn has been a registered nonpartisan since at least 2004. Osborn has said that he maintains his independence from the Democratic Party and, if elected, won’t caucus with either party."

"The Ricketts campaign has relentlessly criticized Osborn for weeks, pointing out that he uses ActBlue, a fundraising tool often used by Democrats. Some other nonpartisan and Independent candidates in different states avoided using ActBlue to keep from being associated with the Democratic Party."

(Twitter text)
Ricketts as governor became senator by naming himself into the office. Sort of. He gave money to the next governor to win.

On January 8, 2023, U.S. Senator Ben Sasse resigned to become president of the University of Florida.[72] On January 12, Jim Pillen, who had succeeded Ricketts as governor one week earlier, appointed Ricketts to the Senate.

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Disgusted with my congressman, who had a town hall.

But, same as the MAGA dude who thinks the poor are ripping him off, Mike Flood has a stock answer. People starving in Africa? Granny losing nursing home due to Medicaid: "the US government can't pay for everything." Good stock answer.

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Governor wants ICE facility.
https://www.1011now.com/2025/08/05/will ... -nebraska/
There are no federal prosons in NE