“What can I do today?”
The news out of Washington, D.C. and Europe is so insane that let’s start with someone who’s not cowed by the Musk-Trump coup: New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“Every day our job is to wake up and say what can I do today?”
“There is no act too small.”
You might want to watch that several more times.
Meanwhile, Republicans in control(?) of Congress are running scared, too concerned for their political survival to dedicate any of their waking hours to saving their republic (or their European allies) from the Russian puppet sitting in the Oval Office.
“Senate and House Republicans know Trump will orchestrate the running of a primary challenger backed by Elon Musk’s unlimited resources if a member defies him.,” Gabriel Sherman writes at Vanity Fair.
“In private, Republicans talk about their fear that Trump might incite his MAGA followers to commit political violence against them if they don’t rubber-stamp his actions,” Sherman continues:
“They’re scared shitless about death threats and Gestapo-like stuff,” a former member of Trump’s first administration tells me.
According to one source with direct knowledge of the events, North Carolina senator Thom Tillis told people that the FBI warned him about “credible death threats” when he was considering voting against Pete Hegseth’s nomination for defense secretary. Tillis ultimately provided the crucial 50th vote to confirm the former Fox & Friends host to lead the Pentagon. According to the source, Tillis has said that if people want to understand Trump, they should read the 2006 book Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work. (When asked for comment for this story, a spokesperson for Tillis said it was false that the senator had recommended the book in that capacity. The FBI said it had no comment.)
“In that capacity” is a non-denial for those playing along at home.
Watch Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker of Mississippi speak out against Vladimir Putin’s aggressions in Ukraine while being careful, very careful, not to step on the toes of the Russian puppet in the White House who is sucking up to Putin in negotiations that exclude Ukraine.
“Putin is a war criminal who should be in jail for the rest of his life, if not executed,” Wicker told CNN’s Manu Raju on Tuesday.
Raju tweets:
Wicker added: “Vladimir Putin has violated every tenant of international law and should be indicted and prosecuted and jailed, possibly executed.”
On his concerns about the strength of the NATO alliance: “I think the best way for a European war to be avoided that would eventually cause us to become involved, is to ensure that the rule of law that’s been observed for 70 years in Europe be enforced and protected. That’s why we have NATO. That’s why the European Union exists.”
On his criticism of Hegseth for taking Ukraine/NATO membership off table before talks began: “I made a statement about that. And let me just say, Secretary Hegseth and I spoke while he was in Poland and I was in Munich. I think to the extent that his subsequent statement was somewhat of a walk back, that was a favorable development. But Pete Hegseth and I are getting along fine.”
Wicker turns away as Raju asks about Donald Trump’s undercutting NATO.
The New York Times reports on Republican dithering;
While some Republicans have expressed dismay at Mr. Trump’s moves and statements, there has been no concerted effort to challenge him from G.O.P. leaders or senators who play pivotal roles in overseeing military and foreign policy in Congress.
Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the majority leader, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and others will not cross Trump on his efforts to wreck the western alliance. Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa “simply shrugged her shoulders” over Trump’s hopes to meet in person with Putin.
The spineless continue to be spineless:
Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, once called Mr. Putin a “thug” and a war criminal, saying he “needs to be dealt with.” But shortly after Mr. Trump announced that Mr. Putin had extended an invitation for the president to travel to Moscow, Mr. Graham changed his tune substantially.
“I don’t care if they meet Putin in Cleveland,” he said in recent days of plans to hold high-level talks between the White House and the Kremlin. “I don’t care if they talk, I don’t care if they go on vacation. It doesn’t matter to me what you do as long as you get it right.”
Constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe tweeted in response to the Times article, “These cowardly puppets would’ve stayed mute if their guy had blamed Poland for Germany’s 1939 invasion — something not even Adolf Hitler dared to do”
Democrats as a party are having difficulty mounting any effective counter either to Trump’s efforts to gut NATO or to Elon Musk’s efforts to gut federal agencies and replace the Constitution with a Yarvin-inspired broligarchy.
God help us, but another billionaire is one of the few Democrats with words of encouragement.
From Pritzker’s Bluesky thread:
The root that tears apart your foundation begins as a seed of distrust, hate, and blame.
The seed that grew into a dictatorship in Europe didn’t arrive overnight.
It started with everyday Germans mad about inflation and looking for someone to blame.
I’m watching alongside Illinoisans what’s happening in our country right now with dread.
The authoritarian playbook is laid bare: they point to a group of people who don’t look like you and tell you to blame them for your problems.
What comes next?
My oath is to the Constitution of our state and of our country.
We don’t have kings in America – and I don’t intend to bend the knee to one.
I am not speaking up in service to my ambitions — but in deference to my obligations.
It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours, and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic.
When the fire starts to burn, every good person better be ready to man a post with a bucket of water if you want to stop it from raging out of control.
Tyranny requires your fear and your silence and your compliance.
Democracy requires your courage.
So gather your justice and humanity, Illinois, and do not let despair overcome us when our country needs us the most.
“We’re in trouble,” I told my mother after Trump’s reelection. I get a lot wrong. I wasn’t wrong about that.
Update: Added the Ruth Ben-Ghiat tweet. (It’s not replicated on Bluesky.)
* * * * *
Have you fought the coup today?
Choose Democracy
Indivisible: A Guide to Democracy on the Brink