Or, do they do what’s best for their constituents?
Nah, just kidding.
I appreciate that! I really needed a laugh today.
Musk thinks that he will be a significant power player for the next forty plus years, but the Koch brothers may also have thought the same thing. And they seem irrelevant today.
Two of the four are dead, and the other two are 90 and 85 years old.
But their legacy certainly lives on. Americans for Prosperity is quite alive and well, unfortunately.
Perhaps more relevantly, the Russian oligarchs also thought their money made them all-powerful; until enough of them “fell out of widows” to demonstrate otherwise. Musk and his fellow super-rich are in the name of greed pushing the US towards a fascist system where money no longer gives you power.
When only force matters, being a billionaire just means you are a bigger piggy bank to break.
What!? I thought Musk was in his mid 60s. Drugs really messed with his appearance.
He’s like 5 years older than me and looks 15 years older.
I think the Wisconsin judicial election proved that money isn’t everything. Trump’s got the Republican base in his grubby little hands. And I don’t think that even Musks billions can change that.
Interesting Politico story on how the Freedom Caucus totally capitulated on the Big Beautiful Bill.
Inside the Freedom Caucus’ final surrender - POLITICO
It used to be the congressional equivalent of a five-alarm fire: Members of the House Freedom Caucus were holding out, refusing to go along with Republican leaders’ plans for high-stakes legislation.
But when Speaker Mike Johnson brought the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill” to the House floor this week, few were surprised when the band of hardcore conservatives threatened once again to take down the bill. And even fewer took their threats seriously.
“They do this every time — every dadgum time,” said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), a hard-right member who himself has occasionally held out on GOP leaders.
I also liked this quote:
“They called their own bluff,” said Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), a frequent critic of the bloc. “How many times have they done this? I mean, I’ve been in Congress for two years and five seconds, and they pulled the same stunt 19 times. So they’re over. The influence of the Freedom Caucus is over.”
I would be very surprised if anyone still believed they were actual Republican holdouts, and not just a false front to put forward the image that Republicans as a whole don’t gladly suck Trump’s ass.
Sometimes in the insect world, the hive will be dominated by a huge queen bug who is the focus of the whole nest. If she gets too warm, they fan her with their wings and gather near if she gets chilly. She doesn’t even have to move- they feed and clean her. This queen is hugely loved despite reneging on her egg laying agreement. The little bugs are just happy to be in her presence.
Yes, there is a queen bug.
Seems the right place for his:
House Republicans on Monday night voted against a measure introduced by Democrats that would have compelled the government to release information on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including a rumored client list of his. The move potentially protects powerful people from being implicated in Epstein’s crimes, even as Republicans have touted themselves as being for “law and order.”
The vote failed 5 to 6, with only one Republican—South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman—joining all Democrats in voting in favor of the amendment.
“This is about trust. Republicans said, ‘Trust us. Vote for us and we will release these files.’ Well here we are—they’re backtracking,” Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said, chiding Republicans for their obstruction.
And this is what the Republicans promised.
They got MAGA all up in a lather, insisting that somehow the left was suppressing it and they’d release the info. Which spoke directly to their Qanon conspiracy theory-loving ways. And now, they are the ones who are stopping it as the Democrats call their bluff.
I’m not going to say this is going to cause a lasting rift with MAGA, but I’m sure this is going to lose them some people.
This should be a “Double Click” image
It seems I couldn’t handle the truth.
And I don’t think less of you for it, given what the truth looks like.
Johnson calls recess to avoid Epstein vote.
Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday announced he was cutting short the week’s legislative business and sending the House home early for the summer on Wednesday to avoid having to hold votes on releasing files related to the accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
He made the move to deny Democrats the chance to try to force procedural votes on measures that would call on the Justice Department to make the information public.