No one could be more ignorant or self-serving It seems like only yesterday that then-President Donald Trump appeared before the Republican Jewish Coalition and referred to Benjamin Netanyahu as “your prime minister” despite the fact that, by definition, everyone there was American, not Israeli. It wasn’t a slip of the tongue. Lamenting that American Jews tend to vote more often for Democrats, in the same speech he proclaimed that voting for them again “would cripple our country and very well could leave Israel out there all by yourselves” and then suggested that “maybe you could explain that to some of your people who say ‘Oh, we don’t like tariffs.’” This was happening at the same time as Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was under fire from the right for suggesting that some American Jews have “dual loyalties,” but somehow Trump didn’t hear any condemnation from his fellow Republicans.
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There is a ton of good writing out there on the war in Israel. It’s so fraught with emotion and complex morality that it’s hard to keep up. I admit that I’m starting to flag a bit. There have also been some good television discusions. This was one of them and I’m glad Josh Marshall caught it: Very good discussion and worth listening to all the way through https://t.co/xEA03nmYuY — Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) October 13, 2023 Here are a few links I’ve bookmarked. I don’t endorse all the ideas within them necessarily but they’re all thoughtful and interesting: The NRRB: Heading toward a second NakbaDissent: Toward a humane leftThe Nation: The Catastrophic Moral Failing of Those Who Won’t Condemn HamasHaaretz: Israel’s new concept of Hamas and Gaza is doomed to fail just like the last oneNYT Kristof: Seeking a Moral Compass in Gaza’s WarNYT Goldberg: The Massacre in Israel and the Need for a Decent LeftThe Guardian: How should the US respond to the Israel-Palestine crisis?
American voters were crazy enough once before Brian Beutler offers thoughts on Donald Trump dissing the Israeli prime minister on Wednesday when Benjamin Netanyahu is down. And Netanyahu is down after the Hamas attack last Saturday per Noga Tarnopolsky at Intelligencer: Netanyahu Is Losing the War at Home. It wasn’t Israel’s failure to aid in Trump’s drone strike on Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani that soured Trump on the Israeli PM, as Trump’s Florida rally comments suggest. Nor even Netanyahu upstaging Trump at a past White House event. NBC News: Trump has long sought to emphasize his appeal to Jewish Americans and has complained when he feels he has not been recognized sufficiently. Even after having left office, Trump has maintained he has done more for Israel and the Middle East than any other U.S. president, holding up the historic peace agreements he forged with Arab nations. He wants Jewish votes. They owe him. Yet 7 in 10 overall support Democrats.
His employees are a bunch of Sgt. Schultzes In case you’re interested in the recent doings of the Trump fraud trial this week, this article in the Daily Best runs down a part of it. By the way, Trump hasannounced that he plans to attend the tril next week when Michael Cohen is expected to take the stand. I guess hw figures he can bad-vibe him with that mug-shot scowl: For years, a high-ranking accountant at the Trump Organization was the point man for ensuring that tweaked numbers padded Donald Trump’s wealth on paper. But when he appeared on the witness stand at the former president’s bank fraud trial last week, the accountant’s supposed finance expertise suddenly vanished into thin air. Jeffrey McConney, who recently retired as the company’s controller, has spent recent years facing close legal scrutiny. In 2017, state investigators questioned him over the way Trump misused his charity, which was eventually dissolved. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg used McConney’s testimony to convict the Trump Organization of tax fraud last year.
It has now taken over the GOP host Josh Marshall wrote this last night and I think it’s the only way to properly frame what’s happening in the US Congress right now. It’s bigger than the speakers race. It’s simply the way the Republican party operates now in every way: Just moments ago news broke that Steve Scalise had withdrawn his bid to be Speaker of the House. This is a genuinely stunning development, even though I semi-predicted it earlier today. I said it half in jest. But we live in an age when half-jokes often come to pass rapidly. I had a conversation this evening that allowed me to clarify some of my own thinking about these developments. After Scalise won the caucus Speakership vote you had a slow trickle of members saying “I’m still for Jim Jordan.” Then later you had news reports asking, “Can Steve Scalise get to 217?” There’s a category, conceptual breakdown here that is kind of hiding in plain view. What do these members mean they’re still for Jim Jordan? He lost. It’s over. Scalise is the Republican Speaker candidate. End of story.
Emotional policing is again in vogue Have you condemned Hamas vigorously enough for [insert viral unconfirmed atrocity here]? The murderous rampage by Hamas last weekend against Israeli civilians of all ages and how Israel responds will reverberate for years to come. Israel’s 9/11. In the wake of terrorist attacks here two decades ago, some pundit asked: Would America keep its head? I wrote later: We invaded Iraq on trumped-up intelligence. We conducted illegal surveillance on our own citizens. We imprisoned people without charge, here and abroad. We rendered prisoners for torture and tortured others ourselves in violation of international law. All the while, millions of staunch, law-and-order conservatives supported and defended it, and still do. Vigorously. Did America keep its head? Uh, no. It is happening again. Pro-Israel protesters in New York City think Gaza should be flattened to a parking lot. Wipe out all the Palestinians. There are calls for revenge, for collective punishment. War fever is on the rise again. Someone on Bluesky last night posted that “every single Israeli child will one day be an active member of the IDF.” Thus, none are innocent.
A lunatic is the leading GOP candidate for president I’ve said it before: Donald J. Trump is one grain alcohol and rain water away from pulling a Browning machine gun out of his golf bag. This person is a fucking lunatic, Republicans have just stopped talking him, and everyone is going along as if the next election is business as usual. Strange times. https://t.co/RZvcQbLCV9 — Tim Miller (@Timodc) October 12, 2023 And his fans want more: Big cheers here at this Trump event in West Palm Beach after one of the speakers tonight, Rogan O’Handley, said: “My favorite memory of [Trump] is January 6th … I thank him every single day for holding that rally on January 6. I was there, I was damn proud to be there.” pic.twitter.com/V3dz3V9WLg — Kate Sullivan (@KateSullivanDC) October 11, 2023 I’m trying to heed Obama’s advice. “This country’s seen darker moments before”: Not saying it’s easy. pic.twitter.com/9AJQfZqAq5 — mike luckovich (@mluckovichajc) October 9, 2023 Do your best to cope.
…is the Trump Cult I think this has been true for years actually but it fully formed once the smoke cleared after January 6th and Trump remained standing as the Dear Leader. It’s been solidifying its power ever since. Nate Cohn in the NY Times: In the final account, the rise and fall of Kevin McCarthy might read like the familiar tale of a Republican congressional leader toppled by a small but uncompromising right-wing faction. But even if the story ultimately ends like any other Republican congressional drama in Washington over the last decade, something different and important has already happened: The right wing didn’t just bring down a House speaker — its members also made a credible bid at claiming the gavel for themselves. A founder of the House Freedom Caucus, Jim Jordan, won 99 votes in the House Republican conference vote Wednesday, good for about 45 percent of congressional Republicans.
Thank goodness Biden refused him the privilege of getting classified information in the post-presidency Trump ties the attack on Israel to the 2020 election which he describes as rigged pic.twitter.com/BSX0SC8N8c — Acyn (@Acyn) October 12, 2023 Reminder that Trump is beefing with Netanyahu because he recognized Biden’s victory. If BN embraced the big lie Trump would defend him. Policy has 0 to do with it. https://t.co/x6AYYHSUB8 — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 12, 2023 Once again, he shows his casual disregard about classified information. He doesn’t seem to know if he’s sharing it or, more importantly, care. And he thinks that a good time to air his personal grievances with Netanyahu is when Israel is at war and the entire Middle East is on tender hooks. Bill Sher has the back story: On Wednesday Donald Trump held a rally in West Palm Beach, Florida.