RON DESANTIS - THE 47TH USA PRESIDENT? IS HE REALLY BETTER THAN TRUMP?

 

As Trump once again gulps down all the oxygen in the political atmosphere the focus in “GOP” circles is on his chief challenger Ron DeSantis. What DeSantis has to opine becomes more and more relevant as Trump’s legal woes explode resulting in an embarrassing and incoherent three ringed circus around the prospect of his pending indictments. Trump himself has gone ballistic all but declaring Civil War in his open support and martyrdom of the January 6 insurrectionists.

 The GOP are divided as to how to solve “The Problem of The Donald”. Not so secretly they would be ecstatic if the Florida Governor was an automatic choice as candidate but he is not. So the line at the moment is to condemn the Trump prosecutions, particularly the imminent one involving hush money payment to a porn star on the one hand and pray that DeSantis can set alight what is a damp squib of a “campaign”.

WHO IS LESS WORSE - TRUMP OR DESANTIS?

The conventional mantra is that no one is worse than Trump. Ron DeSantis, who is the only realistic challenger, in some ways is worse - his only saving grace is that he hasn’t the charisma to create a violent protest even if he was so inclined. Trump tells it as it is - he is an out and out white supremacist. The Florida Governor has a far more nuanced way of showing his preference for those that are white. DeSantis claims he is “Anti Woke”, which he defines as not making white, straight Americans uncomfortable about being white and straight. DeSantis claims that allowing discussion of racism, civil rights and even slavery is Woke. He, like Trump, will ensure that the whites are not the victims of all those other favored groups, such as the African Americans. Indigenous natives, LGBTS  who get in line in font of them. 

As has been belabored DeSantis’s usage of the term Woke, which for him is code for “white is right”, is a gross distortion of the term.The dictionary definition defines it as an awareness and attentiveness to social and racial issues   As a Governor, DeSantis has introduced Anti Woke Legislation where those promote “Wokeism” can be prosecuted.  

DeSantis is doing what all authoritarians, totalitarians and fascists do - namely create  scapegoats who are responsible for all that is wrong, thus the promotors of Woke or Wokedom must be eliminated. Like many Orwellian concepts it would be funny if it wasn’t for real and so serious. While DeSantis is a disguised imitator of Trumpism not everyone knows who the hell he is. So let us begin

RON WHO?

Ron who?.  Many of Jay H. Ell’s international readers must be asking, who Is The Ron  who aspires to be the leader of the free world? If the voters in the “GOP” Primary  believe that anyone is better than Donald Trump then Ron Who is their man. So it is time to take a serious look at the only “GOP” challenger in double figures and in some polls close to the front runner, the King himself, Donald J. Trump. While discussing the latter pair, it has to be acknowledged that it is unrealistic that any sane “GOP”candidate could emerge from the pack to beat those two. At the moment no ways.

THE rON’S STRATEGY

Let’s call him The ron, with a little R for reasons that will become evident. The ron’s strategy is that by the time the GOP holds it convention in 2024 he will be its nominee. His thinking is as follows. For the moment there is plenty of daylight between him and the current frontrunner, The Don. He is mindful of what the polls are showing that there is no way, Jose, that in a straight fight between him and the 45th President that he could beat him for the “GOP” nomination. He just wants them to support him if he wins in the Primary. He is going after that chunk of the  “GOP” whom he believes will vote for anyone but Trump. The ron is just taking that 60 percent of “GOP” voters for granted. They must vote for him because anybody is better than Trump. He is banking on that fact and that there will be a small field of Primary candidates so the "Never Trump" vote won't be split. 

 

The ron figures at the moment that no one else will garner enough support to take him on. Two others however are going full throttle.  Nikki Haley, who is already in the race who can’t answer how she differs from The Don, i.e. why is she running and Chris Christie former Governor of New Jersey. The latter at a “GOP” donors meeting said people should stop whispering that Trump would be chanceless against Biden and say it out aloud. Cheers cheers to the rafters from the money people. Christie added that opprobrium should also go to The ron as well as he and Trump are ad idem on policy. Christie’s problem is what the hell was he doing for six years on team Trump? He was off and on a very close associate and debate preparer. Also like Haley he doesn’t register on the scoreboard. 

So The ron has the floor. For the moment he has enough traction to be a serious challenger and in desperation that the majority of Primary voters will stick with him because anyone, even the ron, is better than The Don. 

STOP WOKEDOM AND THE ANTI WOKE ACT

DeSantis may be a pint size personality but he is responsible for totalitarian legislation in Florida. A naked racist like Trump wouldn’t summon the effort to get into the detail that is almost fascist in its minutiae, that DeSantis has piloted. 

ron DeSantis is a very undistinguished character who rules Florida like a despot. While claiming to believe in small government he achieved the dubious honor of interfering in the minutiae of everyday life in Florida down to the books that can be in a school library, to what courses can be taught in Universities and as a rite of passage, for any “GOP” candidate, what women can do with their own bodies. He is also a bully, barreling over DisneyWorld because their executives spoke against his discrimination of LGBT individuals and has muscled a tiny liberal College which has seven hundred students. His umbrella mantra is that he is anti WOKE - a free translation of that is anything or anybody with a liberal thought or in fact is liberal - both with small ells. 

The STOP WOKE ACT, the acronym is for Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act, was signed into law in April 2022 and is the ron legislation. It prohibits teaching or business practices such as diversity training. which could make white people feel guilt, anguish or other forms of psychological distress because of historic wrongs due to their race, sex or national origin, He has also legislation in the wings entitled “‘Don’t Say Gay”. There has been an injunction against STOP WOKE which has been upheld by a Circuit of Appeals. It will be interesting to witness what the Supreme Court might rule. 

DeSantis has claimed that Florida is,”Where Woke goes to die”. When DeSantis’s lawyers were asked to define what WOKE meant they replied, “The belief that there are systemic injustices in American Society and the need to address them”.

So the whole production is a sham and code to let the Trump supporters know that they can back him and keep their racist agenda intact. So what ANTI WOKE means is stop pandering to the “non white” citizens, illegal immigrants and those deviants that are not “straight”.

THE rON’S UKRAINE POLICY LEADS TO BREAK WITH “GOP” ESTABLISHMENT

While The ron is onsides with “MyKevin” and Trump on Ukraine, the GOP policy of the non Trumpers is decidedly with Zelensky. They have trotted with the Democrats to Kiev to show solidarity. This Ukraine position is a far bigger deal then De Santis realizes. Trump doesn’t care, he is unashamedly pro Putin and he can carry it off 

The Florida Governor had been a blank sheet on foreign policy up till now. He then mouthed his thinking on the Russian - Ukrainian war. Unlike Trump, who would have “no reason not to believe the genius Putin”, DeSantis maintained the issue was not really of much importance to the USA. This resulted in a firestorm of criticism.  From Mark Rubio, to Mitch McConnell to virtually the whole Senate “GOP” caucus, he was met with clamor and anger. So much so that some commentators claimed that this was the basis of a defining rift between The ron and the Never Trumpers. 

If it needs recalling Mitt Romney way back argued that Russia was the largest existential threat to world peace. America’s world role was a central thread of the Reagan mantra. From “Mr Gorbachev tear down that wall”, he believed that America’s was a democratic example, “As a shining city on the hill”. The pragmatists have spelled out the obvious, if you are onsides with Russia  and don’t care if NATO and Europe go to hell in a hand basket you are offsides with American interests.

Will be interesting to see how DeSantis mollifies this wing of the “GOP”.

SO WHERE ARE WE NOW  AT THE END OF THE DAY

It appears that neither Trump or DeSantis can take the non MAGA voters for granted. DeSantis’s support indirectly of Trump’s big mate, Putin’s “territorial dispute” with Ukraine, has been the last straw for some of the “GOP” Senate legislature establishment. There is also no way The ron who has the charisma of a duck, is as dull as ditch water and has the oratorical skills of a funeral director could put together a coalition to get him elected even if he some how got the “GOP” nomination

So DeSantis is a nebbish, non charismatic, non empathetic or even presentable enough to be the Independents’ choice for the job. He would be slashed to ribbons for his revisionist history for statements such as “It is Woke economic policy that caused the bank collapse”.  He voted for the loosening of the Democratic Dodd - Frank regulations that would have prevented this from happening.

So of March 2023, in America’s non stop election campaign for the presidency it is Joe Biden, even though The ron is less worse than The Don.

FOX NEWS REJOINS TEAM TRUMP

The bizarre happenings in the past week has seen Fox News in deep legal trouble, the “GOP” splintering, Trump about to face the first of his indictments and the formation of an unholy trio, Trump, Carlson and McCarthy, whose job definition was to create revisionist history. in relation to the January 6 insurrection. The surreal logic was to create a political answer to the legal problems that Trump is facing in relation to his seditious conspiratorial behavior. While Trump and McCarthy’s connection is obvious, Carlson enthusiastically participated at a time when Trump and Fox are supposedly in open warfare. The participation of Carlson who in litigation documents revealed that he “hates" Trump “passionately”, indicates that Fox, once again, is back on team Trump.

 FOX REJOINS TRUMP 

The mandate of the three musketeers,Trump, McCarthy and Carlson is to show that the January 6 insurrection was a peaceful/sightseeing protest. Trump and the criminal insurrectionists therefore are victims of the “dark state” - martyrs. 

 The trio's grotesque objective should be further viewed by the fact that, while Carson and Fox generally with its anchors, originally peddled the narrative, while not believing a word of it, the Dominion documents show that Fox had finally axed loser Trump after backing his "Stop The Steal". Now for better but most likely for worse, Fox’s star anchor is a player in the “rehabilitation” of team Trump.

COMES DOWN TO REALITY

Before Jay H. Ell continues, it is instructive to realize the uphill task the trio have in punting this way out perspective. The reality is that January 6 was shown live on television as it happened, a one hundred and forty officers were injured, nine people died one way or another and a thousand insurrectionists have been indicted - many having pled guilty to seditious conspiracy and others have been found guilty of this crime to overthrow the rightful government. The January 6 Hearing Committee had record viewership for its public presentations which included torrid accounts by officers of the law, damning evidence from a ton of WhiteHouse insiders, Republican operatives and State Legislators, who incriminated Trump in his ongoing effort to thwart the peaceful transfer of power. 

There are legal investigations into Trump in Georgia and the Department of Justice has a Special Council investigating Trump's role in January 6. Any minute now these are going to lead to indictments against Trump. And in case Trump isn’t aware Biden has been in the WhiteHouse for two years and has passed bipartisan legislation and reinvigorated NATO…… So who beside the faithful are the three musketeers going to persuade? 

So how are why is this happening at all? It is a long story...

IN THE BEGINNING

After a shocked world saw January 6 live on TV and everyone but everyone, including Kevin McCarthy and the Fox Hosts told Trump to knock it off and tell his heavies to go home which he eventually did.  Kevin McCarthy, then far from being “My Kevin”,  admonished the President in grave tones, intoning that he “bore responsibility” for the attack on the Capitol and democracy. 

"My Kevin"  to be did a double take as to the implications of criticizing El Duce. The Minority leader, desperately wanted to be the Majority Leader and Speaker of the House. He was more than aware of history where the party in the WhiteHouse loses at least 28 seats in the midterms and he thought he better not mess this up. The Democrat majority was just four so he was on his way. Just stick around.

So all though his Speakership, by historical precedent seemed to be a certainty he, not yet “My Kevin” had just declared war on the de facto head of the “GOP”, Donald J. Trump. The fact that Trump was kaput and on the down slope big time was irrelevant. McCarthy still feared that he could block him ascending to the top job. So two weeks later he went off to Mar A Lago to kiss the ring. In the words of Macbeth, he was making “Assurance doubly sure”. After the smiling photographs appeared of the two at Mar a Lago, all McCarthy had to do was stick around. Or so he thought. The Speaker wannabe, in the process, had also given Trump life support.

MCCARTHY SELLS HIS SOUL TO BECOME SPEAKER

As a result of the MAGA Trump genius’s clumsy intervention in the midterms, the “GOP’ only won the House by five seats, including a fraud. Against all odds they lost a seat in the Senate allowing the Democrats to hold onto that chamber with an increased majority. Suddenly “My Kevin” was no longer a push over to be Speaker. There were twenty holdouts, all anarchists of one sort or another, who were unconvinced that “My Kevin” would deliver what they wanted. Some were sworn Trumpists but others before backing him would not just take Trump's patronage and wanted their outlandish demands met. They humiliated McCarthy to the extent that he needed fifteen votes over four days to be elected by his own caucus. Some not even voting for him, merely abstaining.

So “My Kevin”, who had promised a positive agenda of all good things in the midterm elections, found himself bound hand and foot to a way out set of promises and committee assignments, aa well as a mandate to rewrite history to assist Trump’s narrative that January 6 was just a protest gathering of those whom he “loved”. McCarthy had not an inch to maneuver in as he had also acquiesced to having termination proceedings initiated against him by just one member of the House. There were several deals that he made relating to the “Save Trump Agenda”

The "Save Trump Agenda" included creating a committee to investigate the members who formed the January 6 House Committee that had unravelled the Trump involvement in his effort to remain President. Putin’s nemesis, Zelensky, was no longer going to receive a “blank check”. Trump had hailed his benefactor Vladimir as a “genius” when he invaded Ukraine. So “My Kevin” refused to accept an invitation from the Ukrainian President to visit Kiev, “to know that he wasn’t going to give Ukraine a blank check”. 

Majorie Taylor Greene, with "My Kevin's" blessing decided to organize a visit to those locked up for their January 6 crimes. Out of character she was now into prison reform, questioning the conditions of the Washington jails, for the insurrectionists that is. It jived well with Trump recording songs with convicted felons related to the insurrection.This crowd regards those incarcerated as political prisoners of Biden. Ms.Greene incidentally has boasted that had she been organizing January 6, “We would have won!… we would have been armed/”.

 Ms. Greene is a close ally of McCarthy and is as way out as anyone in public office can get with open anti semitic views - it was the Jews who caused the Californian floods by shooting lasers into the atmosphere. A committee was set up to blame Pelosi for not providing security for the Capital. How that all is in sync with the fact that they are arguing this was a peaceful protest/sightseeing tour, Jay H. Ell is unsure. But nobody is arguing that any of this is supposed to make sense.

The piece de resistance was that "My Kevin" would give the third member of the triumvirate, Tucker Carlson over forty thousand hours of tape from January 6, including security scenes so as he could create revisionist history. Tucker Carlson with his massive platform would recreate the scene at the Capital as a peaceful/sightseeing protest.

THE JANUARY 6 TAPES  - CARLSON AND FOX

Whatever the internal politics at Fox were and the fact that Tucker hates Trump “passionately” and had maintained, “…the last four years… “We’re all pretending we’ve got a lot to show for it, because admitting what a disaster it’d been is to tough to digest…..”,  Carlson set about remaking history. Basically he argued that the law enforcement gave a guided sightseeing tour to the insurrectionists. Interestingly he only used a few minutes of the 41,000 hours of tapes he was given to make his point. The rest was opinion and interviews. No one knows at this stage what Tucker really thinks.

The importance to Trump of Carlson spinning this bizarre narrative is he is currently being investigated for seditious conspiracy for the January 6 insurrection. If Carlson could convince the world that January 6 was a “peaceful protest”, voila, Trump is just another victim of Biden’s dark State. Maybe the guys that are not in jail yet will come out again?

Murdoch has to be ambivalent about thfs whole clown show. He and Trump are at loggerheads, even though the litigation record shows that he supported the Fox lies, as at that stage, he "...didn't want to antagonize Trump...". According to Paul Ryan, former Republican Speaker, he has a deal with Murdoch - Fox will become the platform of a new “GOP” minus Trump. This was Paul Ryan’s rationale for staying with Fox - the fact that they had dumped Trump.

 It is doubtful that Carlson would have accepted his mandate without Murdoch’s permission. Whichever way this is sliced and diced Fox has no credibility and Carson’s mini series of “Guess What Really Happened at the Capital?” won''t help their cause. 

THE BARRAGE OF CRITICISM THAT FOLLOWED CARLSON’S ATTEMPT TO ONCE AGAIN WHITEWASH THE PRESIDENT HE "HATED PASSIONATELY". 

While Trump predictably congratulated Carlson, on his expose, Carlson had to have foreseen the barrage of criticism that would follow, not that.he apparently cares.

The opprobrium from Democrats to the charade was to be expected. However, Carlson’s insensitive portrayal of the brave thin blue line that saved “My Kevin” and all the others' lives resulted in the ire of all and sundry. To start with there was the unprecedented condemnation from the Chief of The Capital’s Police, Tom Manger, which he penned in an internal memo. 

The disgusted Police Chief stated the obvious, "The Program conveniently cherry - picked from the calmer moments of our 41,000 hours of video. The commentary fails to provide context about the chaos and violence that happened before or during these less tense moments". Manger was furious about Carlson’s claim that Capitol Police Officer Sicknick’s death had nothing to do with the attack, labelling it, “the most disturbing accusation”.

Manger praised his colleagues, “You fought like hell on January 6 and risked your lives to protect the Constitution and everything this country stands for. You, Along with our law enforcement partners, saved every Member of Congress and their staff. This TV commentary will not record the truth for our history books. The Justice system will. The truth and justice are on our side.”

The Minority Leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell at his caucus meeting, waved the Chief of The Capital Police’s letter around agreeing with it fully. Needless to say the saner members that are still in the “GOP” did likewise. There was condemnation from a few “GOP” members of the House. Much of the criticism of McCarthy’s decision from the House “GOP” was behind close doors.

Most significantly former Vice President Mike Pence let loose on Trump. He belatedly criticized him in that he had put everyone’s life at risk on January 6 including that of Pence and his family - “History will hold Donald Trump responsible”. This finally taking off of the gloves by Pence, coming at this time of the trio’s revisionist history attempt is highly significant. Pence has created a lane where he can run in the “GOP” Primary. He had to realize that his pussy footing around was not moving him in the polls. Not that he has a great chance but at least he has this monkey off his back and the Never Trumpers and the Evangelicals have an alternative candidate. 

THE UPSHOT OF THE TRIUMVIRATE’S TEA PARTY

This episode deepended the split between the Senate and House “GOP” caucuses. The import of this appears to have escaped the significance of most political commentators. Pence has come off the list of "Who is Afraid of the Big Bad Trump". (Blog: "Who is and Who isn't Afraid of the Big Bad Trump"). Paul Ryan has been left in limbo and Fox’s position on Trump is back on track. The series produced by Carlson could not have convinced one swing voter. It could only consolidated what was already consolidated, Trump’s MAGA base. 

McCarthy’s biggest problems lie ahead and this escapade hasn’t helped him with the twenty odd members who face re election in constituencies where Biden had a majority in the Presidential election. His position on Ukraine is not the majority “GOP” position, even in the House. When the Debt Ceiling comes up for ratification "My Kevin" might have to choose between the lunatics that are now running his asylum and those in his caucus who not only know it is political suicide to wreck the country’s financial system and standing in the world, it is wrong. But the latter are stories for another day.

Fox is involved in litigation where it claims that it just reflects news and opinions. If they don’t lose on summary judgement this can hardly help their credibility although it is probably not admissible as evidence. 

AT THE END OF THE DAY

The “GOP” split has been exacerbated by this attempt at revisionist history. Once again Fox has been in on the act. (See Blog:The Fox News Scandal Splinters the “GOP”).

McCarthy’s GOP has been anxious to eliminate January 6 from the political debate, castigating the Democrats when they mention it and telling them it is time to move on. Yet it is the "GOP" who are trying to revise the history of that insurrectionist blot on today's America.

The fact that there are politicians such as Majorie Taylor Greene in "responsible" positions is enough to send shivers down the spines of any one who respects democratic values. Thank you "My Kevin".

Fox is in danger of ceasing to exist if the litigation goes into billions and billions of dollars. 

THANK HEAVENS FOR BIDEN WHO IS TOO BORING TO MAKE THE NEWS.

THE FOX NEWS SCANDAL SPLINTERS THE “GOP”

The revelations in the Dominion litigation against Fox News brought to light an irreparable break between the unholy coalition of  Fox News, the “GOP” legislators and infrastructure and Trump and his supporters. The "GOP" is splintering into more and more fragments as s result of Fox's melt down.  

 The fight between Fox and Trump is becoming really ugly, fast. At  the CPAC Conference, a desperate Trump’s home from home, that is getting smaller and smaller, Steve Bannon, Trump’s anarchist supporter, declared open warfare on the “foreigner” Murdoch and his media accusing them of abandoning and disrespecting “President” Trump”. 

Trump fumed for two hours as the keynote CPAP speaker and was maniacally off the charts promising "retribution" and spewing  statements such as "......killings are taking place at a number like nobody's ever seen in Manhattan...  How's Portland  doing?. They don't even have storefronts anymore... because they get burned down every week... " . Almost simultaneously the battle for the return to the values of the Grand Old Party took a massive hit when  Paul Ryan one time GOP House Speaker, strangely, allied himself with Fox rather than with the former Republican operatives and intelligentsia.

 Fox is being ostracized by all and sundry. Even the Democrats called interviews on Fox quits after the Dominion revelations showed that Fox had shared confidential advertising and debate data with Jared Kushner in the 2020 Presidential election. As these are considered campaign contributions a complaint has been lodged with the Federal Electoral Council.

The question further is whether Fox News, the dominant news channel in the USA, is finished, kaput. The Dominion Company litigation has demanded 1.6 billion dollars in damages and an unspecified amount in punitive damages from Murdoch’s Fox. In addition the software company involved is suing them for another billion dollar sum. The mighty empire that Rupert Murdoch has built over three continents, over five decades, where he literally dominated in the highest portals of power, is on the verge of crumbling. 

.THE “GOP”, TRUMP AND FOX NEWS COALITION DISINTEGRATES

The coalition consisting of the “GOP” legislators and infrastructure, Trump and the Fox Media that previously functioned as one can no longer be reconciled. It is now evident that Fox and Tump are not on the same page with regard to the Big Lie. Furthermore Murdoch, his administrative staff and his anchors are all potentially antagonistic parties in the whirlwind that they have been caught up in. Who is going to turn on who to save their souls? 

In addition decisions made by Trump's brigade, in the House of Representative’s, as a trade off for their tepid qualified support to elect “My Kevin” as Speaker are now contrary to Trump’s priorities. The Donald can surely have no desire to boost Fox News ratings after what the smooth lying anchors and Murdoch have said about him? 

 There is even a tussle as to whether the compromised Fox should be the “GOP” propaganda machine in the future. Paul Ryan, former Republican Speaker, as a member of the Fox News Board cannot see the wood for the trees. He believes now that Trump and Fox have separated, the limping Fox can still remain the major platform for the “GOP” minus Trump. At the moment he is out on his own.

So there is much to examine not the least of which is that there is more damning evidence to come and this is not Murdoch’s first rodeo. His previous history in the United Kingdom shows how he can and has wielded immense power and influence through his media.

 

First, the applicable law  in the Dominion litigation and the case against Fox.

THE APPLICABLE LAW IN THE CASE AGAINST FOX

To the uninitiated, this is civil litigation where the good news for Dominion, the Plaintiffs, is that the defendants, Fox, are liable if there is merely a preponderance of evidence in their, Dominion’s, favor. So if the jury believes that the plaintiffs, Dominion, are 51% more likely to be right than Fox's 49%, then they Dominion win. This is a far lower bar than beyond a reasonable doubt which is required in a criminal case.That is the good news for Dominion. The bad news is that the precedents in these First Amendment cases require that the defendant, Fox, has not only to be shown to be lying, they have to know that they are and then still have carried on with the falsehoods. On the face of it the documents produced in Dominion’s argument show that, that burden has been overcome. (See Blog: WHO IS AND ISN’T AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD TRUMP?

 Legal commentators have been aghast at the evidence in the public eye at the moment and that the Fox cabal believed that they were so omnipotent that they didn’t have to bother to expunge their incriminating communications. The defendants, Murdoch et al, in order not to commit perjury when deposed, admitted that they knew that they were lying and that they perpetuated the lie that there was voter fraud. They also confessed their motives - fear of Trump, money and to maintain viewership. The anchors knew as did Murdoch that their providing a platform for Rudi Giuliani. Sydney Powell and the My Pillow Man to lie that the voting machines were able to alter votes, was motivated by money and the share price of Fox.

Trump had been Fox’s ticket into the portals of power and the chorus of chings on the cash register and now they were abandoning him. The following, that they had created by backing Trump, revolted at this decision. The medium that had profited off Trump was ready to discard him as he was a “loser” peddling insane theories. Murdoch was already backing the wuss, the boss of Disneyland, Mighty Mouse, Ron DeSantis. . As a reserve Nikki Haley was appearing regularly. 

INFLUENTIAL MURDOCH FORMERLY THE PURVEYOR OF SMUT, SMEAR AND PORN NOW THE KING  OF KNOWINGLY PEDDLING THE BIG LIE

Those who are celebrating the demise of this unashamed propagandist sensationalist television rag Fox News have to realize this ain’t over till the fat Murdoch is bankrupt and Fox ratings plummet. At the age of ninety - two this is not Murdoch’s first rodeo. His finances and influence have seen him rise even stronger from the ashes of a colossal scandal in the United Kingdom where Murdoch made the seed money he needed to finance and impact the political landscape of the USA. The saga is unbelievable but has been documented in Parliamentary Proceedings and Criminal Trials.

Murdoch’s empire was built in the 1980’s and 1990’s via two newspapers, The News of The World and The Sun. They produced sensationalism, smut, smear and gossip. The reporting of those rags included annihilating those who threatened the operation. Murdoch’s, Executive Editor Rebecca Brooks made a startling admission under oath to a probing  parliamentarian, Chris Bryant, that they paid police for information. Bryant had his career cut short with the exposure that he was a homosexual. The data had been obtained from phone hacking by a Glen Mulcaire who hacked phones for Murdoch’s newspapers. 

Mulcaire ended up in jail as did lower level reporters in the empire. The reason that the whole operation exploded was that one of the thousands who had been hacked, Gordon Taylor, sued. The latter received a settlement of seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds which was exponentially more than usual for such a case. Mulcaire also stupidly hacked Prince William’s phone. Murdoch dodged a bullet there as did his executive editor Brooks. Both pleaded ignorance.

What was amazing was the influence Murdoch had with British Prime Ministers for decades. His go between was an Andrew Coulson who also went to jail. Murdoch had entrees to Prime Minsters from Maggie Thatcher up until David Cameron, including Tony Blair.  Blair immediately after his election pitched up to a Murdoch jamboree in Australia presumably to reassure him that his ambitions and deals would be backed. 

When Murdoch was questioned by a United Kingdom parliamentary enquiry into the invasion of privacy that involved his media he denied any responsibility. Decades later because of the paper trail in the Dominion litigation, Murdoch could not deny responsibility. He admitted that he could have stopped the lies about the Big Lie and the fabrication that Dominion voting machines robbed Trump of his Presidency, but that he didn’t. He did however lay the ground for ducking responsibility pushing the Fox News Senior Executive editor, anchors and his son Lachlan the CEO into the frontline. He argued that some should even be fired.

Murdoch reached dizzy heights in America when he literally made a President. For years the Forty Fifth President was a free contributor to daily shows on Fox. Murdoch put calls through to “GOP” leaders such as McConnell. His anchors were confidants of the President. 

Murdoch relayed the contents of Biden’s ads and his debate strategy to Jared Kushner. He instructed his media outlets to support the “GOP”and  Chief Executive Susan Scott to see to it that Lindsey Graham was supported in his Senate campaign, with the comment, “That we cannot lose the Senate if at all possible”. In the special senate elections in Georgia he again advised Susan Scott, “To be helping any way we can”. There are several other tidbits in the documents revealed to the press of Murdoch’s role in the GOP and support of Trump’s electoral effort. 

All this was accompanied by massive profits. Then it all unravelled with the Dominion litigation and now Murdoch is in uncharted waters. He may well throw anyone and everyone under the bus. However he may not only lose a boat load of money he could even be axed as head of the company he created, as he only controls 39 percent of the shares. Also the anchors could be culpable for persistently and knowingly defaming Dominion and others.

THE LINE FROM MCCARTHY GETS SKEWED AS TRUMP AND FOX FIGHT

One of the reported demands of Majorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz, two of the Trump groupies who run the  House “GOP” asylum, for voting for “My Kevin’s” elevation to the Speakership, was that he deliver all that January 6 video material as an “exclusive” to Fox top propagandist Tucker Carlson. That was before it was spread across the media that Tucker was in on the Fox agenda for axing Trump and that he thought that the Big Lie was just that,The Big Lie. 

So what will Carson do? Will  he show that the January 6 insurrection was nothing but a protest and feed into Trump’s central narrative when the Trump camp have declared war, He also has to be mindful of his own culpability. He was given this "exclusive" by “My Kevin” in the context that Fox and Trump were ad idem.

PAUL RYAN FORMER SPEAKER BELIEVES FOX IS ESSENTIAL FOR “GOP” SURVIVAL AND REJECTS THE “GOP” INTELLIGENTSIA WING

 Paul Ryan the former Republican Speaker who has been on the Fox Board of Directors and was supposedly there as a buffer against insanity was shown to tolerate all and everything that was going on at the network, although he voiced his objections in private. He was always a “Never Trumper”. While the general consensus was Murdoch and Fox were beyond the pale, Ryan supposedly was the guardrail against the worst of excesses. 

Ryan it is fair to say was considered to represent all that was good and wholesome in the old Republican Party - a continuation of the Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Reagan line. Yet he has not emerged as the savior the “GOP” need to lead them out of the wilderness. Ryan, to coin a phrase, was their last white hope. He argued however that Fox was part of the great big Conservative coalition that would bring back the good old days of Reagan and Kemp. 

In a public forum there was a tense  exchange between Ryan and Charlie Sykes, the former Republican strategist, who is now Editor in Chief of Bulwark. The latter is a highly influential platform for former Republicans operatives and intelligentsia.

Sykes: “How can you associate yourself with a company that is pumping toxic sludge, racism, disinformation and attacks on democracy, Do you have any responsibility?’.

Ryan: “I offer my perspective…..I think Fox is a big part of the constellation of the conservative movement.”

Sykes:”Is it the solution or the problem?”

Ryan: “….Fox News is gonna have to be a part of the solution… because there is no bigger platform in America…”.

Ryan has thus distanced himself from the policy wonks and intelligentsia of the Party he supposedly wants to resuscitate. In effect Ryan is forming a splinter group of the party with Fox behind him.

THE CURRENT “GOP” IS SPLINTERED TO SMITHEREENS

So there are a ton of fragments to the current “GOP”. There is the new Ryan/Fox axis and the GOP wannabe Presidential nominees split between those that are chancheless and not afraid of the big bad Trump and those with a chance who are afraid of the big bad Trump  There is the influential previous policy wonk group led by Sykes who are looking for a candidate to back which really has to come from the chanceless crew now that Ryan has bolted,  (See Blog: WHO IS AND ISN’T AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD TRUMP?

Out there on his own is Mitch McConnell in the Senate who nobody really knows where he is going. He no longer has the  Senate lane on his own. His leadership was challenged  by Senator Rick Scott from Florida who backed Trump’s losing candidates in the midterms.

Then there is McCarthy who is Speaker thanks to the Trumpists and Santos. Those Trumpists are at sixes and sevens as Fox implodes and dumps Trump. At the moment McCarthy is Trump's most influential supporter. However, when the issue of the extension of the Debt Ceiling comes to the floor his leadership will be challenged. McCarthy is committed to demand concessions from Biden. Biden’s State of The Union ad libbing has made it impossible to decrease Medicare and Social Security funding, the big ticket items. To add to the Speaker’s woes Trump strangely backed Biden’s stance 

McCarthy will find out his big problem will be from the eighteen Congresspeople who triumphed in districts that Biden won. They have to decide whether they are going to agree with McCarthy to cut other welfare programs which are popular in their constituencies. They also have to be mindful that Biden’s majorities in many of the special elections since 2022 have been increasing. 

Finally, the CPAC Conference where every “GOP” hopeful, in the past clamored to be featured was given a wide berth by  nearly all the wannabes, except Nikki Haley, who  educated them on the facts of life, that in the last six presidential election cycles the “GOP” has only gained the popular vote once.  CPAC is where Trump’s following come to pay homage. Although only half full, it saw Trump, with Bannon opening for him, giving the faithful red meat. 

Trump still has to be the favorite to win the nomination in a big field as he commands at least forty percent of the Republican electorate.

 AT THE END OF THE DAY

It can only go downhill from here for Fox and. Murdoch. 

Syke’s group if they can’t get a viable candidate will be forced to join the Democrats and become part of their “blue dog” conservative wing

Biden is the oldest President ever. He will be the oldest President to be re elected.

Speaker McCarthy cannot be the shortest serving speaker in history, In 1869 the Speaker only lasted one day.

Fox is about to be consumed by the monster they helped to create. Who do you think that the twenty percent of Americans who are “Forever Trumpers” will follow? Fox or Trump? Will Trump supporters abandon Fox and move to the smaller competitive right wing media?

One fact is for sure if Trump doesn’t get the nomination he will ensure that no other “Republican” will become President.

What will the "faithful "do when Trump get’s indicted?  And are the "faithful" diminishing? In a diminished CPAC Trump only received 62% of the vote as "GOP" nominee for 2024.