President Trump reported making $2.2 billion in income from crypto investments with open pay-to-play conflict-of-interest dealmaking.
Republican officeholders see this and do nothing.
I know they think it is wrong. After all, they saw President Biden indulge his screw-up addict son Hunter, and they shouted bloody murder. Hunter got hundreds of thousands. The Trump family scams billions.
Republicans in Congress are silent in the face of corruption. In a few years, when the era of Trump has ended, I hope Republicans who are silent now would say that they hated this all along. They could say they always hated the crypto grift. They might say they never agreed that presidents could impose tariffs or fight wars without Congress' approval. They might say they never thought Trump won the 2020 election in a landslide. That would be the good outcome. They would be expressing embarrassment at what they allowed and pretend it didn't happen.
But that is not a sure thing.
Trump is normalizing corruption. It has become open practice, not the exception. Trump doesn't hide it. He celebrates it. This deepens the cynicism people feel about government. Republican inaction ratifies the normalization. Our democracy becomes weaker. If even a very few Republican representatives voiced their disgust, they could change history for the better. Say it and vote it: Corruption is wrong and un-American.
I dislike negative political ads, but I like truthful ones that make a clear point. I think this mock-up ad is fair.
[Note: To get daily delivery of this blog by email go to Https://petersage.substack.com. Subscribe. The blog is free and always will be.]
6 comments:
What are Bentz's accomplishments in Congress? Where can we see his voting record?
I was a registered Republican until recently when I re-registered as an Independent because I'm sick and tired of the Trump family's massive corruption and insider trading, although I don't see Democrats complaining about the crooked deals that the Obamas, Clintons, Bidens, and Pelosis got. A crook is a crook, irregardless of political affiliation. You got to be consistent. Most people now enter politics NOT to serve the public, but rather to get rich. Blame the voters for accepting inferior candidates. As for Cliff Bentz, he's in Congress to get rich. He gets a lifetime pension for serving 3 terms in Congress. His brothers built a political consulting business based upon Cliff's connections.
When Nixon resigned, he had only $500,000 in his bank account. He owed the government over $400,000 in back taxes and he still had to pay his lawyers. His only source of revenue was publishing his books and a TV deal with David Frost. That made him a lot of money, abet in disgrace. All the bad stuff he did he kept secret and covered up. His close associates tried to help him do that, too. Think how different Trump is. He does illegal things every day and says "so what, what are you going to do about it?" He's open to pay offs, open to an airplane donation he can keep, open to pay for pardons, a million dollar bribe to immigrate here. His wealth has risen to over $2 Billion dollars since he was elected. How did that happen? Open to bribing the electorate waving a $5000 check to vote for Republicans.. (that will never happen because the cost would be a $Trillion dollars) His corruption is blatant. Why won't anyone stop him? Fear. He rules though fear like a Mafia Don. He's good at that. Congressmen love their jobs and the perks that come with it. They will do anything to keep it. If Trump orders them to do something, they will do it, no questions asked. What's best for the country has nothing to do with anything. Just keep your job. Like Bentz.
I have a cleaning lady for my condo in Florida. She comes in when it's time for me to leave to go back north. She is an older black lady and I trust her completely. I asked her about the coming election and she said she will vote, but hates to do it because all politicians are corrupt. Some are just less corrupt than others and that's how she votes. I think it's a sad situation where voters now assume that all politicians are corrupt. It wasn't that way when I grew up. Maybe they were, but weren't blatant about it like Trump. The country has changed and not for the better. So sad.
Up through Ronnie Reagan's presidency, the most corrupt politician (in my mind) was Lyndon B. Johnson, who used government resources to improve his residential properties and enrich himself. Compared to the Trump family, though, LBJ was a piker.
His wealth has risen BY over $2 billion dollars since he was elected (the second time)…..
Post a Comment