I think this was simply about Gaetz trying to avoid any further public humiliation. He's a piece of shit; he knows he's a piece of shit; and he doesn't want the entire world hearing all the lurid details of just what a smelly and squisjy piece of shit he really is.
Thanks for being on top of this. Peels off one layer of abject fear a lot of us have during this Mar-A-Lago, McDonald's induced galaxy brain operation of choosing cabinet members.
Usually agree with all your takes Ken but I think you're quite off the mark on this one. It seems pretty obvious to me that Gaetz used the nomination as an excuse to resign from his Congressional seat so the ethics commission report on him isn't made public. There is no other reason why a Congressman would resign from his seat before having his nomination confirmed -- like, I cannot think of a single instance of this happening over the past 100 years. It's a political stunt orchestrated between Trump & Gaetz.
The thing is, he’s only resigned for the remainder of this term. Gaetz was re-elected and can technically go back to being a congressman during the next term.
I’ll believe it when I see it, but an interesting wrinkle nonetheless.
Gaetz sent a letter to Speaker Johnson saying he doesn't intend to serve in the 119th Congress. If he changes his mind and does take his seat in January, I will stand corrected.
I think his end game is to lay low, go into the private sector for a few years, etc before returning to politics. The point of the stunt was to save his political career. Let's say that something really unsavory was in the report -- his political career is over immediately.
Let's say something bad comes up in the criminal investigation -- less bad of an outcome for Gaetz's political career. First of all, the legal investigation findings will be released several years from now when the media attention around it has died down. That's already a big plus for Gaetz. It took several years before the original misconduct case against Gaetz came to the limelight, during which time he continued to accrue political power. Second, Congressional investigations are allowed to look into the "behavior" of the person, while criminal investigations are just looking at the crime. I imagine if he's done some weird stuff outside of this, it's possible for that to make it into the ethics reports and out of the jurisdiction of the criminal investigation.
I agree there is likely info in the legal investigations that will be bad for Gaetz. However, if I was a PR firm representing someone who did some illegal shit and only damage control was possible at this point, this is what I would advise my client to do.
As for Trump's motive, I don't really have a concrete one. However, I think it's safe to assume rewarding your cronies is the lifeblood of strongman rulers. Like -- why did Putin make his supporters oligarchs? Why is one of Modi's most vocal supporters being charged with bribery right now? Can't say I've thought too deeply on why this happens but it's something I've always associated with strongmen.
Whether or not Gaetz would be an effective AG seems to be the least of the public's concern. Conviction by accusation, especially after a long and dismissed investigation, is something I'll never be comfortable with.
My view on this has nothing to do with Gaetz as a person. It's the principle and precedent for every American. "It's ok to destroy someone's career and life w an accusation of crime. That's all you need."
Good. I sure hope the vetting process improves. I am glad to see they are listening to the people's views. This is in line with a populist movement, is it not. Hmm, perhaps we should start recommending choices.
Au contraire, mon frère. This is not evidence of the power of the people, or mere MSM hyperbole, or even that the they were wrong about the threat level of a Trump presidency. Seen through the lens of Trump as malignant narcissist, who has no real vision or personal stake in the issues (outside of how they affect his personal fortunes and ego), this is expected. It’s all part of the way he functions and it shows me pretty clearly that we were right about him. I’ll come back and lay it out, if you’re interested.
Sums up my thoughts completely. If the allegations are true, it's indeed a red line. But it was clear that the hysteria over his nomination was also driven in no small part by his stated support of continued vigorous antitrust efforts ("I'm a Khanservative") and strong opposition to unchecked big tech/surveillance/forever war. I hope (but not holding my breath) that we can get another nominee who is good in all those areas. The fact that I found him so much better on these crucial topics than the folks I'm nominally aligned with based on our current two-party system makes me wonder about what realignment could be coming.
I think this was simply about Gaetz trying to avoid any further public humiliation. He's a piece of shit; he knows he's a piece of shit; and he doesn't want the entire world hearing all the lurid details of just what a smelly and squisjy piece of shit he really is.
Thanks for this piece Ken and you’re absolutely correct - people have the power and we need to be careful not to parrot the fearmongers.
Thanks, Stephanie!
Thanks for being on top of this. Peels off one layer of abject fear a lot of us have during this Mar-A-Lago, McDonald's induced galaxy brain operation of choosing cabinet members.
Usually agree with all your takes Ken but I think you're quite off the mark on this one. It seems pretty obvious to me that Gaetz used the nomination as an excuse to resign from his Congressional seat so the ethics commission report on him isn't made public. There is no other reason why a Congressman would resign from his seat before having his nomination confirmed -- like, I cannot think of a single instance of this happening over the past 100 years. It's a political stunt orchestrated between Trump & Gaetz.
The thing is, he’s only resigned for the remainder of this term. Gaetz was re-elected and can technically go back to being a congressman during the next term.
I’ll believe it when I see it, but an interesting wrinkle nonetheless.
Gaetz sent a letter to Speaker Johnson saying he doesn't intend to serve in the 119th Congress. If he changes his mind and does take his seat in January, I will stand corrected.
I think his end game is to lay low, go into the private sector for a few years, etc before returning to politics. The point of the stunt was to save his political career. Let's say that something really unsavory was in the report -- his political career is over immediately.
Let's say something bad comes up in the criminal investigation -- less bad of an outcome for Gaetz's political career. First of all, the legal investigation findings will be released several years from now when the media attention around it has died down. That's already a big plus for Gaetz. It took several years before the original misconduct case against Gaetz came to the limelight, during which time he continued to accrue political power. Second, Congressional investigations are allowed to look into the "behavior" of the person, while criminal investigations are just looking at the crime. I imagine if he's done some weird stuff outside of this, it's possible for that to make it into the ethics reports and out of the jurisdiction of the criminal investigation.
I agree there is likely info in the legal investigations that will be bad for Gaetz. However, if I was a PR firm representing someone who did some illegal shit and only damage control was possible at this point, this is what I would advise my client to do.
As for Trump's motive, I don't really have a concrete one. However, I think it's safe to assume rewarding your cronies is the lifeblood of strongman rulers. Like -- why did Putin make his supporters oligarchs? Why is one of Modi's most vocal supporters being charged with bribery right now? Can't say I've thought too deeply on why this happens but it's something I've always associated with strongmen.
I nominate Rudy, if he's sober
Whether or not Gaetz would be an effective AG seems to be the least of the public's concern. Conviction by accusation, especially after a long and dismissed investigation, is something I'll never be comfortable with.
My view on this has nothing to do with Gaetz as a person. It's the principle and precedent for every American. "It's ok to destroy someone's career and life w an accusation of crime. That's all you need."
Good. I sure hope the vetting process improves. I am glad to see they are listening to the people's views. This is in line with a populist movement, is it not. Hmm, perhaps we should start recommending choices.
Au contraire, mon frère. This is not evidence of the power of the people, or mere MSM hyperbole, or even that the they were wrong about the threat level of a Trump presidency. Seen through the lens of Trump as malignant narcissist, who has no real vision or personal stake in the issues (outside of how they affect his personal fortunes and ego), this is expected. It’s all part of the way he functions and it shows me pretty clearly that we were right about him. I’ll come back and lay it out, if you’re interested.
Sums up my thoughts completely. If the allegations are true, it's indeed a red line. But it was clear that the hysteria over his nomination was also driven in no small part by his stated support of continued vigorous antitrust efforts ("I'm a Khanservative") and strong opposition to unchecked big tech/surveillance/forever war. I hope (but not holding my breath) that we can get another nominee who is good in all those areas. The fact that I found him so much better on these crucial topics than the folks I'm nominally aligned with based on our current two-party system makes me wonder about what realignment could be coming.