Besides upstanding lawyers and law-abiding honorable (present and former) judges, here's a growing list of Profiles in Courage men, women, and advocacy groups who refuse to be cowed or kneel to the force of Trump/Musk/MAGA/Fox "News" intimidation:
I'll begin with Missouri's own Jess[ica] (à la John Lewis's "get in good trouble") Piper, then, in no particular order, Heather Cox Richardson, Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Ruth Ben-Ghait, Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Chris Hayes, Jim Acosta, Jen Rubin And the Contrarians, Steve Brodner, Brian Tyler Cohen, Johathan Bernstein, Jessica Craven, Annne Applebaum, Lucian Truscott IV, AOC, Chris Murphy, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Snyder, Robert B. Hubbell, Ben Meiseilas, Steve Schmidt, Josh Marshall, Paul Krugman, Andy Borowitz, Jeff Danziger, Ann Telnaes,͏ ͏Will Bunch, Jake Tapper, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger; American Bar Association, Blue Missouri, Third Act, Democracy Forward, Public Citizen, Democracy Index, Democracy Docket, ACLU et al. And, as Joyce Vance says, "We're in this together"--or via Jess Piper, from rural Missouri: "Solidarity." FIGHT BACK! WE ARE NOT ALONE!
Quite a few Trump/Musk critics have taken solace in the supposed incompetence of those who are or will be executing Project 2025, the purges, the data grabs, and the general campaign to give Trump dictatorial powers.
They point knowingly to such blunders as falsely alleging massive USAID funding for Politico; the CIA’s sending, in response to a White House demand, of an email containing readily identifiable agents’ names and information, thereby exposing them to deadly violence by hostile foreign powers; the sloppy OMB order halting federal funding, which could not begin to pass judicial muster; the cadre of 20-somethings (and a 19-year-old) tasked by Musk with rooting around in highly sensitive government databases; the willy-nilly mass takedowns of government websites, jeopardizing years of carefully collected and organized data and information, and crippling the collection of such data and information going forward.
Surely such a shoddy operation will, in the view of these optimists, trip over its own feet and wind up, at worst, ineffectual? Perhaps, but I wouldn’t count on it.
While there is little question that much of MAGA governance oozes shoddiness, the conclusion that that makes it somehow less dangerous derives, I’m afraid, from a solidly meritocratic world view.
And that world view is precisely what the MAGAs have set out to smash.
Competence, long years of devotion, study, training are, in their view, not merely unnecessary, but dangerous hallmarks of the far-left lunatic deep state. “Move fast and break things” is, with the merger of Tech Bro and MAGA, the new modus operandi, to be prized and flaunted in Washington and beyond. Who needs an advanced degree in bioengineering or theoretical physics when you can just do your own research by checking out podcasts, websites, and influencers your Uncle MAGA recommends?
Unfortunately for the rest of us, it turns out that breaking things is a lot easier than running them — and that, sadly, includes democracy.
The spectacularly unqualified Pete Hegseth should, as secretary of defense, have little trouble breaking the military, and/or bending it to meet Trump’s dictatorial needs. The anti-qualified Robert F. Kennedy Jr. should, as secretary of HHS, have little trouble breaking our public health system. It won’t take a whole lot of competence for Attorney General Pam Bondi to weaponize the DOJ against Trump’s enemies, real and perceived; or Kash Patel to turn the FBI into a political attack machine; or Tulsi Gabbard, as director of national intelligence, to sell out whatever parts of the nation’s security apparatus need to be sold out for Trump to prosper.
Even manipulation or falsification of data requires far less expertise and acumen than is needed to generate accurate data and analysis. And bear in mind that the heavy lifting can, if absolutely necessary, generally be assigned to a handful of semi-competent loyalist underlings.
Chaos and ruin turn out to be easy — just as easy as successful governing is hard — especially if you’re willing to turn to force when the wheels start coming off.
It's time folks. Write your reps and tell them you support getting rid of TrumpMusk, properly and thoroughly, before our country is done. The are breaking laws and show no sign of backing down. The sooner we get them out the better. How else do you think this is going to go, seriously?
I must be confused. Doesn't Trump always hire the best and brightest (written in sarcasm font)?
Thanks David and crew. TPM always on top.
Besides upstanding lawyers and law-abiding honorable (present and former) judges, here's a growing list of Profiles in Courage men, women, and advocacy groups who refuse to be cowed or kneel to the force of Trump/Musk/MAGA/Fox "News" intimidation:
I'll begin with Missouri's own Jess[ica] (à la John Lewis's "get in good trouble") Piper, then, in no particular order, Heather Cox Richardson, Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Ruth Ben-Ghait, Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Chris Hayes, Jim Acosta, Jen Rubin And the Contrarians, Steve Brodner, Brian Tyler Cohen, Johathan Bernstein, Jessica Craven, Annne Applebaum, Lucian Truscott IV, AOC, Chris Murphy, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Snyder, Robert B. Hubbell, Ben Meiseilas, Steve Schmidt, Josh Marshall, Paul Krugman, Andy Borowitz, Jeff Danziger, Ann Telnaes,͏ ͏Will Bunch, Jake Tapper, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger; American Bar Association, Blue Missouri, Third Act, Democracy Forward, Public Citizen, Democracy Index, Democracy Docket, ACLU et al. And, as Joyce Vance says, "We're in this together"--or via Jess Piper, from rural Missouri: "Solidarity." FIGHT BACK! WE ARE NOT ALONE!
"You can't get away from a shoddy job." - Cash Bundren, carpenter (William Faulkner, "As I Lay Dying").
However, NB, from my recent "A Fourth Reich? It's Not Just a Bad Dream" (https://whowhatwhy.org/politics/government-integrity/a-fourth-reich-its-not-just-a-bad-dream/):
...Solace in Shoddiness?
Quite a few Trump/Musk critics have taken solace in the supposed incompetence of those who are or will be executing Project 2025, the purges, the data grabs, and the general campaign to give Trump dictatorial powers.
They point knowingly to such blunders as falsely alleging massive USAID funding for Politico; the CIA’s sending, in response to a White House demand, of an email containing readily identifiable agents’ names and information, thereby exposing them to deadly violence by hostile foreign powers; the sloppy OMB order halting federal funding, which could not begin to pass judicial muster; the cadre of 20-somethings (and a 19-year-old) tasked by Musk with rooting around in highly sensitive government databases; the willy-nilly mass takedowns of government websites, jeopardizing years of carefully collected and organized data and information, and crippling the collection of such data and information going forward.
Surely such a shoddy operation will, in the view of these optimists, trip over its own feet and wind up, at worst, ineffectual? Perhaps, but I wouldn’t count on it.
While there is little question that much of MAGA governance oozes shoddiness, the conclusion that that makes it somehow less dangerous derives, I’m afraid, from a solidly meritocratic world view.
And that world view is precisely what the MAGAs have set out to smash.
Competence, long years of devotion, study, training are, in their view, not merely unnecessary, but dangerous hallmarks of the far-left lunatic deep state. “Move fast and break things” is, with the merger of Tech Bro and MAGA, the new modus operandi, to be prized and flaunted in Washington and beyond. Who needs an advanced degree in bioengineering or theoretical physics when you can just do your own research by checking out podcasts, websites, and influencers your Uncle MAGA recommends?
Unfortunately for the rest of us, it turns out that breaking things is a lot easier than running them — and that, sadly, includes democracy.
The spectacularly unqualified Pete Hegseth should, as secretary of defense, have little trouble breaking the military, and/or bending it to meet Trump’s dictatorial needs. The anti-qualified Robert F. Kennedy Jr. should, as secretary of HHS, have little trouble breaking our public health system. It won’t take a whole lot of competence for Attorney General Pam Bondi to weaponize the DOJ against Trump’s enemies, real and perceived; or Kash Patel to turn the FBI into a political attack machine; or Tulsi Gabbard, as director of national intelligence, to sell out whatever parts of the nation’s security apparatus need to be sold out for Trump to prosper.
Even manipulation or falsification of data requires far less expertise and acumen than is needed to generate accurate data and analysis. And bear in mind that the heavy lifting can, if absolutely necessary, generally be assigned to a handful of semi-competent loyalist underlings.
Chaos and ruin turn out to be easy — just as easy as successful governing is hard — especially if you’re willing to turn to force when the wheels start coming off.
This is patently nuts
What can we do?
It's time folks. Write your reps and tell them you support getting rid of TrumpMusk, properly and thoroughly, before our country is done. The are breaking laws and show no sign of backing down. The sooner we get them out the better. How else do you think this is going to go, seriously?