I’m stuck in an airport during long weather delay. One fellow traveler asked me why Democrats are battling each other. I reminded him that we are having primaries, and by definition that’s where candidates in the same party run against each other. And I told him that Republicans are having primaries too. But it got me thinking, so I then used some of the long delay to look at headlines. Sure enough, reading them might leave the impression that this election is about the future of a political party rather than of a great nation. It is not.
I’m in Michigan, at least until the storms pass and flights resume. Dems here just had a bruising primary. Even voters who didn’t like the result remain clear that Donald Trump and his rubber stamp congress have done generational damage to our country. In primaries across the country, Dems have done their job and given us a large and diverse set of candidates who understand the fight we are in.
I also used some of the time to close tabs…
Here are four things that haven’t made the front pages but are worth knowing about. All of them make the point that with the GOP it’s all about Trump and never about us:
The GOP propaganda machine is kicking into high gear.
The Republicans are having a midterm convention Sep 9-10 in Dallas. It will be 90 percent scare mongering about leftists, communists, trans kids, and Muslims and 10 percent Christian nationalist revival timed to end on the anniversary of the death of Charlie Kirk. This propaganda exercise is meant to help Republicans close the enthusiasm gap that now favors Dems. It won’t. It’s just another vanity project for Donald Trump (see the last bullet below). Every GOP operative knows that more of Trump, now more than 20 percent underwater in polls, is toxic for their candidates. But, hey, if they boss wants it… Conventions are expensive to throw. Where’s the money coming from? Strong arming corporate donors who want something from our government?? Of course, there will also be a telethon.
One Nation, A Super PAC tied to the GOP Senate is launching fake news organizations across battleground states. Expect the messaging to lay groundwork for the GOP’s midterm convention and expect it to focus on why Americans should be afraid of each other. Or, rather, why white Americans should fear every other American. This terrible propaganda is already having an impact, a Republican in Michigan who quit his primary won over Trump’s endorsed candidate. How is that possible? His name is Smith, the guy they endorsed is named Hassan. But GOP voters have been told again and again to be afraid of folks with names like Hassan. Watch for these pink slime (that’s the term of art of propaganda wrapped up in the clothing of real journalism) to give GOP candidates credit for things they voted against.
We still don’t know the connection between money laundering, Trump and Russia.
He never released his tax returns. Now we know that hundreds of Trump-linked bank accounts were closed by Capital One because of anti-money laundering rules. Similarly, J.P. Morgan closed Trump-linked accounts for reasons they vaguely describe as “creating legal or regulatory risk.”
Meanwhile, the New York Times reports more details into early investigations into Trump’s ties to Russia. It turns out that way back in 2017 then Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein killed the counterintelligence investigation looking into Trump’s ties to Russia. Money laundering, abandoned investigations, and continued hiding of his sources of wealth? What is it Trump says, “People are saying…”
More pain is coming and they want to hide it until after November.
Please do not forget that the Republican’s One Big Beautiful Bill guts Medicaid but pushed the pain off until just after the midterm elections. Beginning in January, Medicaid recipients will have new and onerous paperwork and employment requirements. Lawfully present immigrants will lose eligibility. Experts foresee hospital closures, increased costs to everyone because ill patients will seek treatment at emergency rooms, and a shifting of the health care cost burden to states and individuals.
This is not news. It was discussed at the time, but Republicans thought they could avoid blame by pushing off the pain until after the midterms. Even with fiascos like the Iran war taking our attention, we should not let the authors of this disaster avoid accountability in the election.
Your money funds Trump’s vanity.
Just two years ago, the National Parks’ budget allotted $7 million for White House grounds projects and upgrades. This year? It’s $323 million. Some of that is due to Trump’s inflation, but the biggest driver is his ego. Gold paint for statues. Blue paint and bad contractors for the reflecting pool. The destruction of the White House East Wing for a gilded ballroom turned bunker. A massive arch. Despite what Trump said, these are our tax dollars being diverted from places like Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon to his serve his vanity and bad taste.
Antsy passengers still hoping to make connections during storm delayed flights are one thing. Huge fires and massive heat domes are another. My flight delay will end in a few hours. The damage to our planet will not. Donald Trump is spending billions of our tax dollars to pay companies to decommission wind power projects and to re-open coal mines. Big oil’s huge windfalls drive equally huge campaign contributions- the kind that pay for the coming propaganda storm.
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