Pete Hegseth is reportedly on Capitol Hill again today, trying to beg senators not to believe everything they’ve ever heard about him. Not sure if his mommy is calling senators to tell them that her precious, rambunctious boy is being treated unfairly, but we wouldn’t be surprised.
But put it this way: Senator Joni Ernst, who sits on the Armed Services Committee, and who has met with Hegseth, is not a “yes” at this point. In layman’s terms, that means she’s a “no.” So, while Lindsey Graham might be submissively panting and getting ready to wail and cry at the mistreatment of a straight man he perceives as alpha with Hegseth the way he did for Brett Kavanaugh and Herschel Walker, things don’t actually look that great for Hegseth.
If we had to guess, we’re waiting for a couple more horrifying stories about Hegseth to come out, and also waiting for Donald Trump to firm up his backup plan so he can announce his second pick within 24 hours, like he did with Pam Bondi after Matt Gaetz crawled back to Florida.
Which leaves most patriotic Americans with one question: once that’s done, who will be the next Trump nominee to be completely beclowned and humiliated, and to beclown and humiliate their president-elect, by having to withdraw? Will it be Kash? He’s definitely out there humiliating himself already. Will it be Robert F. Kennedy Jr.? Or are we still waiting on him?
Or could it beeeeeeeeeeee … Tulsi?
We don’t know, but a couple of stories have appeared the past couple days about the one Russian media calls their girlfriend.
It’s well known that there’s probably not a piece of propaganda that originated in the bowels of the Kremlin that Tulsi Gabbard wouldn’t spew, that she is unique among Americans in that she’s so keen on taking Vladimir Putin’s side. She’s not anti-war, she’s pro-dictator. Is that what we want in a director of national intelligence, a person who literally has access to all America’s intel? Could we possibly trust her with information like that?
New reporting from ABC News says that, according to former Gabbard aides, it’s not that she’s actually compromised by Russia (that they know of), but more that she’s just a real fucking idiot when it comes to discerning the difference between good information and bad information.
And again, we ask: is that what we want in a director of national intelligence, a person who literally has access to all America’s intel? Could we possibly trust her with information like that?
ABC News talked to three former Gabbard advisers who say she reads, or used to read, a whooooole lot of RT, as in the state-run Russian news source that used to be called Russia Today, as in "the Kremlin's principal international propaganda outlet,” according to the US intelligence community that she’s been nominated to lead.
Apparently she thinks/thought it was real news. Moron!
Is she still doing this? We don’t know. Does she think she’s Doing Her Own Research like Marjorie Taylor Greene when she studies Jewish Space Lasers? LMAO.
Gabbard’s former aides said she was trafficking in RT articles “long after” she was informed that RT is not the real news.
For a nice long recounting of all the Russian propaganda Gabbard spews, and has been spewing for years — especially her bonkers and evil views about Russia’s horrific war on Ukraine — ABC News has a nice rundown. They spoke to an intelligence expert who commented on how bad this is:
Doug London, a retired 34-year veteran intelligence officer, said Gabbard's alleged penchant to rely at least in part on outlets like RT to shape her view of the world reflects poorly on her suitability to fulfill the responsibilities of a director of national intelligence.
"That Gabbard's views mirror Russia's narrative and disinformation themes can but suggest naïveté, collusion, or politically opportunistic sycophancy to echo whatever she believes Trump wants to hear," London said, adding, "none of which bodes well for the president's principal intelligence adviser responsible for enabling the [U.S. intelligence community] to inform decision-making by telling it like it is."
Read that whole article.
But meanwhile, The Hill is reporting that Gabbard’s nomination might already, low-key, be the most difficult one to get through the Senate, because, like, a number of Republican senators actually do think she’s a Russian asset. Derp!
“I think Gabbard, out of the three, still has the toughest path,” one Senate GOP aide told The Hill. “[She] is the most at risk.” […]
Some members of [the defense hawk/Ukraine supporter Republican] crowd remain skeptical of Gabbard especially due to her past remarks about the Ukraine war that were sympathetic to Moscow and echoed by Russian state media — which has also praised her selection. […]
“Behind closed doors, people think she might be compromised. Like it’s not hyperbole,” the aide continued. “There are members of our conference who think she’s a [Russian] asset.”
Huh.
Plus there are all those questions about why she’s always seemed to be up Assad’s ass in Syria, and one Senate GOP aide even noted that she used to be a Democrat, which might be the worst thing of all for them!
“Gun to my head, Gabbard is probably the toughest,” a second Senate GOP aide said, noting the Syria questions and her status as a lifelong Democrat top the list of worries for lawmakers.
“Those are real concerns members have,” the aide added.
We have only begun to scratch the surface of the failures that will be listed next to Donald Trump’s name in his lame-duck second term.
Is Gabbard next on the list? Could be! Guess we’ll just have to watch and see.
OPEN THREAD.
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Finally bought myself a slow cooker. Took advantage of cyber Monday sales and got a Cuisinart for $25. The first thing I plan to cook is a pot roast on Saturday. I have been changing the way I eat, taking the time to cook food instead of living off of microwaved frozen dinners. Using quality spices(thanks Penzeys!) and using things like a meat thermometer, LOL. I'm glad I made this change. Much healthier and tastier. Life is too short to eat processed food all the time, so I got a slow cooker. I feel like such a grownup.
To tell the truth, I hope the the next four years is consumed by this kind of thing. Nothing would get done, but at least nothing would get done.