Bongino returned to work today and Charlie Kirk folded

[senseandsensibility]

It was all a distraction, folks. It worked, too. Attention was diverted from the big ugly bill, bad immigration news, and the botched response to the TX floods.

You thought maga had even a speck of principle and cared about something (even a false conspiracy theory that had them foaming at the mouth for years)? Well, the joke's on you.

By "you" I mean the gullible corporate media, mostly.

[Tribetime]

1. Shocker..called it never believe any republicans

[BoRaGard]

2. repubby subbies are falling in line

U.S. Mint at work creating new 'G.O.P. Brown-Nosers Clubbe' commemorative coins

[Cheezoholic]

3. I was just going to ask if Bove was confirmed n/t

[senseandsensibility]

4. I googled it and didn't see any current info

Looks like everything was from 2-3 days ago. But yeah, they could be trying to distract from that too.

[EarlG]

5. I wouldn't give them too much credit

Everything they do is a distraction. The Epstein news was a distraction from the the botched response to the floods which was a distraction from the big ugly bill which was a distraction from the immigration news which was a distraction from etc. etc. etc.....

There's no point sitting around wondering why we're not talking about, say, Trump extorting mineral rights from Ukraine, because that was three months ago and it already feels like three decades. While Trump is president, lurching from one disaster to another is the new normal. But this is not planned -- it just speaks to the number of crises that Trump is capable of generating through either malice or incompetence.

However, I believe these individual crises can and do eventually affect individual voters. So in my opinion, the best thing to do is make as much political hay as possible from each one as it happens, then move on to the next.

For what it's worth though, I don't think the Epstein thing is going to go away as easily as the administration would like it to. There are powerful MAGA influencers out there who have made entire careers out of flogging Epstein conspiracy theories. Many of those people aren't likely to derail their personal gravy trains by suddenly turning around and telling their supporters, "You know what, this was all actually as big mistake."

The people that these influencers have been fleecing are raging conspiracy theorists, and they are deeply entrenched in the Epstein conspiracy theory. It's highly likely that the influencers who are currently backing out of the conspiracy theory will become targets for the influencers who are seeking to continue it, and the latter group will recognize that there is engagement to be had by going after the "turncoats" who are suddenly "part of the coverup."

[senseandsensibility]

9. I THINK I agree with you about making hay out of it

I'm sure some of it penetrates the "normal" republicans' brains and certainly the Independents. I made a little "hay" myself. But I also think we should make fun of them for not standing up for themselves and rolling over when trump snaps his fingers. And I wish there was a way to tie the scandal du jour into bigger issues like honesty and sound judgement.

[EarlG]

10. I'll add this:

I think it's actually better all around if the Epstein files are *not* released. Currently, they are Schroedinger's Epstein Files. Nobody knows what's in them, so all people can do is speculate. It's the fun of speculating which drives people to be so interested in this.

Think of "mystery box" shows like Lost, or Westworld. People find them incredibly enticing *while the mystery is playing out* -- because that's the fun part. Speculating about all the things that could or should happen is 99% of the fun. But when those shows conclude, people are inevitably disappointed, because the reality of the conclusion is nowhere near as fun as trying to solve the mystery. Ask Geraldo about what happened when he opened Al Capone's vault.

If the Epstein files were actually released, then what is in them would become pretty much irrelevant. If they didn't match people's expectations, then those people would simply invent a new reality. The files were faked, or re-written, or they're not the full story.

But as it stands right now, all the excitement revolves around the fact that nobody knows what's in them. Trump keeps saying "there's nothing to see here" when people desperately want to believe that "there's something to see here." The fact that he is standing in the way of knowing what's inside is what's driving the MAGAs crazy. I hope it continues exactly like this for a long time, because the longer it goes on, the more these people will lose faith in Trump.

[senseandsensibility]

13. Jamie Raskin is on CNN right now advocating for release

So I guess the story lives on for now.

[EarlG]

14. Nice

Keep driving that wedge

[Kaleva]

6. Corporate media makes money off those who watch or read

That’s what they care about. Profits.

[Prairie Gates]

7. Two clowns

[Justice Brandeis]

8. I am quite capable of focusing upon one, two or three things at a time

I can walk and chew gum at the same time.

[Skittles]

12. THANK YOU

we're not reupkes, WE MULTI-TASK

[Initech]

11. He's guilty and he's got a protection racket.

He gets away with it - AGAIN!