Open Thread Feb. 14: Wife-Beaters, Bribes and Bobbleheads
I must admit I’m surprised that the story this White House can’t shrug off is one that, in the scheme of things, doesn’t really affect the running of the country. Puerto Rico remains a disaster area, ICE is making the Gestapo look like a crew of polite gendarmes, yet the Teflon holds and the memory hole is kept in operation. Then they lie about Rob Porter and a grease fire breaks out.
I also didn’t realize until the Porter scandal that domestic violence was a red flag for the intelligence community. But I think the real problem this White House has — and this president has — is its antediluvian attitude about women. On other subjects, they know what lies to tell to make the focus on wrongdoing go blurry. With women, all they can do is leer and say, “Nice piece of tail!”
So here we are, with the White House flailing to explain why Porter was kept in a sensitive job despite the allegations of both of his ex-wives. Part of the reason for the ongoing controversy appears to be that this is the subject of palace intrigue, with Javanka trying to push Kelly out and Trump himself suspected of leaking dirt on Kelly to the press. Partly it’s because this can’t be spun into something that’s Obama’s or Hillary’s fault, or just a partisan cause.
Meanwhile, life-and-death issues are pushed to the sidelines, so most people aren’t noticing the stories about the fight against legal opioid peddlers, like this expose about Big Pharma paying millions to “patient advocate” groups who advocate mostly for not putting restrictions on painkiller prescriptions.
The media might have trouble keeping its eye on the big picture, but voters don’t. Another Democrat won another state legislative race in a red district yesterday, this time in a Florida House contest. So what? So it’s another feather in Joe Biden’s cap, that’s what. He recorded a robocall for Margaret Good that helped her in the race. If she’s still in office in 2020, she might be a super-delegate. By the end of this year Biden will have dozens of these chits banked, meaning that even if he doesn’t run, he could have a say in who does.
There must be more Philadelphia Eagle fans than we realized. Normally after the Super Bowl, the company that makes the league’s official bobblehead dolls will put out a special edition with as many as a dozen players from the winning team. This year so many fans asked for so many players that the company’s Eagles Super Bowl set is at 40 figures and growing. The manufacturer also hints that a Jason Kelce in parade attire figure could be on the way.
Enjoy it while it lasts, football fans. California just became the fourth state in a month to see a proposal to ban youth football presented in its legislature.
“I must admit I’m surprised that the story this White House can’t shrug off is one that, in the scheme of things, doesn’t really affect the running of the country.”
For Trump, “Making America Great Again!” includes making it the kind of place where you can punch your wife. Especially if she is asking for it.
Or, in Trump’s case, pull out a chunk of your wife’s hair.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/ex-wife-donald-trump-made-me-feel-violated-during-sex
“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”
–Frederick Douglass, born on this very day in 1818
“White House flailing to explain why Porter was kept in a sensitive job despite the allegations of both of his ex-wives”
The big deal is that Porter having only an interim secret clearance should not have had access to anything TS, SCI, or Q. There are very few people in the White House who do not have such access and it’s hard to understand how he could have acted in any capacity without those clearances. So, what did he have access to and when? Between the Russians in Moscow and their comrades in the White House, it makes you wonder who actually is in charge.
@Dave: From what I read, Kushner still doesn’t have clearance but reads all the intelligence briefing reports because Trump doesn’t.
Can we now organize and demand our legislators pass meaningful gun control laws? Or, is it too soon? Maybe I should be thinking and praying…
@AQC: You’ve got the sequence right. First, exhaust our national capacity for thoughts and prayers. Then it will be time to think about legislation. Oops, by then we’ll have another shooting. Time for more thoughts and prayers.
Meanwhile, in Delaware, Earl Jaques will resume the push for his Make Every School a Bulletproof Fortress Act, which will have likely have far more support in the General Assembly than any legislation that would provide additional services to high-needs kids, especially those who are poor or don’t speak English in their homes.