Profiles in cowardice
Then came Blanche, vying for the title of worst of the worst among grotesque cabinet confirmations. Kennedy confirmed so he could impose his ignorance on us; the belligerent toy soldier Hegseth confirmed to impose his mania for muscle and destruction; bootlickers Bondi and Noem with their manufactured faces and disdain for the law.
Blanche raced past his sundry Epstein sins to indemnify Trump from tax audits (that we are all subject to and only he deserves) and reward the violent yahoos who ignored the Constitution, wrecked the Capitol, and assaulted police officers. Just the man for the Justice Department!
Three Republican Senators stood tall to express their serious concerns. Tillis, Cornyn, and Cassidy. Would they be profiles in courage? Two demanded that Blanche renounce his plan to excuse Trump’s tax shenanigans and pay off the Proud Boys. This Blanche pretended to do, with meaningless fluff, fingers crossed behind his back. Their concerns evaporated. Then Cassidy came around too, explaining his nonsensical decision in a weak, wobbly, and frankly stupid speech.
Why did they fail of courage that would have spared the country a man who leans more toward criminality than legality? I can think of three potential reasons.
1. Unrelenting pressure from Trump that frightened them, along with quiet pressure from their fellow Senators who have to continue living with Trump.
2. To keep open the doors to easy financial reward on corporation boards and lobbies.
3. To ward off the faceless crazies who make death threats to families as casually as we put salt and pepper on our eggs in the morning.
So they will live on in safety and wealth. But they did not do their job and will also live on in well-deserved abject shame.