DL Open Thread Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023

Does what’s left of the Republican Party understand it’s a wholly owned subsidiary of Russia? On one hand, they’re stupid, so they might not realize where that dark money comes from now that the NRA’s Russian cover has been blown. On the other, even the stupidest among them, Kevin McCarthy, figured it out years ago, so nobody should be surprised that Republican Senators said “nyet” to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Capitol Hill to ask for more weapons. Maybe they don’t need Bud Light anymore because they’ve moved on to vodka.

You think I’m exaggerating how stupid Republicans are? Then explain why people donated actual money to the “defense fund” of “billionaire” Donald Trump. I’m sure you’ll be shocked to learn it has spent no money on Trump’s legal defense, but did shell out for a big party at Mar-a-Lago.

Another sign of their stupidity: Trump’s gang of defective lickspittles is openly airing plans to establish autocratic rule, and the actual pros running the campaign are getting nervous that all those loose lips could sink their leaky ship. It’s particularly problematic because those lickspittles are being encouraged by Donnie Two Scoops himself.

Special prosecutor Jack Smith called bullshit on Trump’s standard court strategy of never-ending delays by taking his case directly to the Supreme Court, asking it to determine whether Trump is immune from prosecution for his actions in office. Trump’s mindless minions are livid, which is not news because they’re all livid. Maybe they’re born that way.

As Israel’s slaughter in Gaza continues, so do the journalistic inquiries into what led to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. Attention has turned to Benjamin Netanyahu’s approval of a “secret” account lots of people knew about that funneled billions of dollars from Qatar to Hamas.

Mr. Netanyahu’s critics say that his approach to Hamas had, at its core, a cynical political agenda: to keep Gaza quiet as a means of staying in office without addressing the threat of Hamas or simmering Palestinian discontent.

In other words, he tried to thread a needle and, because he failed, upwards of 10,000 innocent Palestinians have died.

It’s a traditional part of the annual War on Christmas: A state capitol invites religious organizations to set up Christmas displays on public property and, because government can’t favor any religion, the Satanic Temple must be included. The predictable Christian howling ensues. This year’s flap is in Iowa, where a state lawmaker wants a tribute to Lucifer removed, and Amanda Marcotte uses the occasion to note that conservatives have always favored “free speech for me but not for thee.”

The floor’s yours.