Quo Vadis GOP?

[Tonitrus]

Makes sense that the claw marks aren't from the four dogs he sleeps with.

Or his wife...

[garbon]

Oh no I wish I hadn't cropped it where I did.

He added that he explained the encounter to an assistant, an evangelical Christian, who told him: "That happens, people are attacked in their bed by demons."

That happens.

[HVC]

Guess he's making the move to televangelist.

[crazy canuck]

Makes sense that the claw marks aren't from the four dogs he sleeps with.

Or his wife...

you beat me too it

[Admiral Yi]

Guess he's making the move to televangelist.

I was thinking he wants to position himself as the go to news source/commentator for snake handlers.

[Syt]

The gift never stops. Or it's a bad Halloween joke.

[garbon]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/04/tucker-carlson-demon-war-room-podcast

Tucker Carlson credits demons for the invention of nuclear technology

Demons that Tucker Carlson claimed attacked him as he slept were also responsible for the invention of nuclear technology, the conservative former Fox News host said on Monday in another bizarre contention.

Carlson made the claim on the War Room podcast hosted by his fellow rightwing extremist Steve Bannon, a former White House adviser in the Trump administration who was released from prison last week after serving a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress.

"Nuclear weapons are demonic, there's no upside to them at all, and anyone who claims otherwise is either ignorant or doing the bidding of the forces that created nuclear technology in the first place, which were not human forces obviously," Carlson said during a discussion on the perceived "spirituality" involved in the US development of atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan in August 1945, hastening the end of the second world war.

"Let me ask you this," he continued. "What was the moment we can point to that nuclear technology was invented? I've never met a person who can isolate the moment where nuclear technology became known to man. German scientists in the 1930s? Really? Name the date? It's very clear to me that these [nuclear weapons] are demonic."

...

[Grey Fox]

Tucker Carlson and Jordan Peterson, same fight.

[Syt]

Is that the final stage of Tucker's grift?

[Syt]

Well, going back to the original topic of the thread: I guess the Republicans did everything right the past four years, considering their successes in the polls.

[Valmy]

Well, going back to the original topic of the thread: I guess the Republicans did everything right the past four years, considering their successes in the polls.

Yes. They are a powerful political force with a very discipline propaganda machine. They are very difficult to beat.

[crazy canuck]

Is it disciplined or just prolific?

[Oexmelin]

It's very disciplined.

[garbon]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/23/matt-gaetz-house-ethics-report-release

Matt Gaetz ethics report finds evidence he paid for sex with minor

A House ethics committee report on Matt Gaetz, the former Florida Republican congressman, found "substantial evidence" that he engaged in sex trafficking and paid for sex with a minor, among other serious violations of state law and congressional rules.

The investigation concludes that Gaetz, Trump's first pick for attorney general, made payments totalling tens of thousands of dollars to women for sex and drugs across at least 20 separate occasions. The report also states that in 2017 Gaetz paid a 17-year-old girl for sex when he was 35 years old, which would constitute statutory rape under Florida law.

"The committee determined there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress," the Republican-led panel wrote in the investigation.

According to the report, Gaetz used payment apps including Venmo and PayPal to transfer money directly to more than a dozen women during his time in Congress.

The committee determined that Gaetz regularly used illegal drugs including cocaine and ecstasy between 2017-2020, and appears to have set up a pseudonymous email account from his House office to purchase marijuana, violating both state laws and House ethics rules.

The committee believes that Gaetz "knowingly and willfully" attempted to obstruct the investigation, including failing to comply with subpoenas, withholding evidence, providing misleading responses, and making false public statements about "voluminous documentary evidence" that he never actually produced.

Investigators also highlighted a 2018 trip to the Bahamas where Gaetz allegedly "engaged in sexual activity" with multiple women. One woman told the committee that the trip itself served as "payment" for sexual services. The same witness reported that Gaetz took ecstasy during the Bahamas visit, which investigators determined violated House gift rules.

The Gaetz legal team, meanwhile, is fighting hard to keep the report from seeing the light of day, arguing in a new lawsuit on Monday morning: "If publicly released, would significantly damage plaintiff's standing and reputation in the community." It "would be immediate, severe and irreversible". Gaetz has long maintained his innocence.

The report comes after a more than three-year investigation and represents a volte-face following an earlier committee vote not to issue the results of an inquiry it began in the spring of 2021, when Gaetz was the subject of an FBI investigation.

Its leak came nearly a month after Gaetz withdrew his nomination to be Trump's attorney general amid a fierce backlash, partly fuelled by speculation over what the report might contain.

The House inquiry – triggered after the justice department launched a separate criminal investigation into Gaetz that was later dropped without charge – was instigated to look into a broad range of accusations.

These included allegations that he engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds for personal use and accepted gifts in breach of House rules.

Gaetz, who has denied all the allegations, in effect forestalled the report's release by abruptly resigning from Congress last month after Trump nominated him as his attorney general in a decision that drew fierce bipartisan condemnation.

However, its contents became a subject of intense speculation as both Republican and Democratic senators voiced serious misgivings about Gaetz's suitability to preside over America's vast federal judicial and law enforcement structure.

Some critics accused Gaetz, a far-right representative from Florida, of resigning prematurely – long before the Senate had the chance to confirm or reject his nomination – with the purpose of preventing publication of the report, knowing its contents were likely to be damaging.

The ethics committee originally voted along party lines against releasing the document even as some senators demanded to see it in advance of Senate confirmation hearings that had been due to be held early next year. The Republican speaker, Mike Johnson – a close ally of Trump – vocally opposed releasing the report.

The change of heart is notable given that Gaetz later said he would not attempt to return to Congress after withdrawing his nomination.


Gaetz angrily condemned the committee's revised decision – first reported by CNN – in a vitriolic social media post on Wednesday, pointing out that he was never criminally charged.

"The Biden/Garland DOJ spent years reviewing allegations that I committed various crimes," he wrote.

"I was charged with nothing: FULLY EXONERATED. Not even a campaign finance violation. And the people investigating me hated me.

"Then, the very 'witnesses' DOJ deemed not-credible were assembled by House Ethics to repeat their claims absent any cross-examination or challenge from me or my attorneys. I've had no chance to ever confront any accusers. I've never been charged. I've never been sued.

"Instead, House Ethics will reportedly post a report online that I have no opportunity to debate or rebut as a former member of the body."

He described his 30s – his age range when the alleged misconduct occurred – as a time of "working very hard – and playing hard too".

"It's embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life."

But in a pointed jab at the House's current ructions over a continuing resolution (CR) bill on public spending aimed at keeping the government open, he concluded: "At least I didn't vote for CR's that fuck over the country!"

[DGuller]

Man, hopefully Trump will learn his lesson here and be bit more careful with picking his men.