Outside the Beltway

“Tulsi Gabbard” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Gabbard as DNI

The ludicrous appointments keep coming.

Steven L. Taylor
79

Comments

Another clownish appointment via NPR: Trump names former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence .

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Tulsi Gabbard, who has criticized American engagements abroad, to serve as director of national intelligence.

The former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii has shifted her political allegiance in recent years, going from a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 to a stalwart Trump supporter and conservative media personality.

[…]

If confirmed for the role, Gabbard would oversee all 18 of the nation’s intelligence agencies.She has criticized Biden’s support of Ukraine in its war against Russia. And as a member of the House, Gabbard was a vocal critic of the Obama administration’s intervention in the war in Syria. She drew backlash in 2017 for visiting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has been accused of myriad human rights abuses throughout the war.

She has been known to have pro-Russian positions.

She has long struck me as a fringe type, to put it kindly.

More to come, no doubt.

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79 responses to “Gabbard as DNI”

  1. Kathy Avatar
    Kathy

    Maybe the objective is for NATO to kick the US out.

    17
  2. DrDaveT Avatar
    DrDaveT

    Another clownish appointment

    There is nothing “clownish” about it, except in a Batman/Joker sense. It’s deliberate (and probably effective) sabotage of our national intelligence capabilities. Welcome to the Putin administration.

    13
  3. Min Avatar
    Min

    @Kathy:

    Wouldn’t that be something, though? Trump doesn’t deal well with ppl rejecting him. That’d be interesting.

    4
  4. DK Avatar
    DK

    @Kathy: No serious, smart country will be sharing serious intelligence with us anytime soon. But that’s not dangerous because he’s a disruptor or something.

    Who’s up for a lame-duck American president starting his term in barely-contained (cold?) war with the CIA, the Justice Department, Foggy Bottom, and the Pentagon? What could go wrong while our national security apparatus is distracted with civil war?

    11
  5. Jen Avatar
    Jen

    This nomination is particularly horrifying. Given some of her recent activities, she would likely not qualify for the security clearance this job requires. Even if no one shares intel with us, she will have access to ours. This is frightening.

    9
  6. Kathy Avatar
    Kathy

    @Min:
    @DK:

    Earlier in another thread I expressed an atom’s worth of relief that Scott wasn’t chosen as senate majority leader. Now I think I was overly optimistic.

    We’re about to find out who’s crazier: the maniac who nominates these people, or the senators who approve them*.

    BTW, I’m sure in exchange for US intelligence, mad Vlad will supply a sufficiency of made up, false intelligence that will best suit his purposes.

    *And this includes calling a recess so they won’t have to vote. I’ve no expectations if Thune wants a recess that Johnson will say no.

    5
  7. Not the IT Dept. Avatar
    Not the IT Dept.

    Gee, I wonder who Vladimir will select as US Ambassador to the European Union.

    9
  8. CSK Avatar
    CSK

    As I’ve mentioned a few times, I check Lucianne.com daily (so you don’t have to!) to see what’s being discussed at MAGA Central.

    They LOVE the Gabbard pick.

    6
  9. JohnSF Avatar
    JohnSF

    This is … not good.
    If this appointment is confirmed, it means the effective end of a lot of US intelligence and strategic operations partnerships.

    7
  10. Bill Jempty Avatar
    Bill Jempty

    With his choice of Gabbard, Trump is just showing how bipartisan he can be. In the meaningless 2020 Florida Democratic primary, I voted for her.

    Compared to Gaetz and Hegseth, this is a sane pick.

    I’m still waiting for a MTG appointment.

    The world is insane. News at 11…..

    4
  11. becca Avatar
    becca

    @JohnSF: Four Eyes?

    2
  12. CSK Avatar
    CSK

    @Bill Jempty:

    I’m still waiting for a MTG appointment.

    There’s always Lauren Boebert waiting in the wings.

    2
  13. a country lawyer Avatar
    a country lawyer

    Steven, these recent picks of Trump show that despite having four years as President, he has no idea how government really works. He has no conception of what these jobs entail nor what the departments actually do. He’s filling these posts like a six year old fills in the spaces on her coloring book, how it looks not whether it actually works.

    7
  14. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
    Steven L. Taylor

    @Bill Jempty:

    Compared to Gaetz and Hegseth, this is a sane pick.

    No, it isn’t.

    It is arguably the worst in the bunch.

    20
  15. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
    Steven L. Taylor

    @becca: Indeed. Sigh.

    3
  16. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
    Steven L. Taylor

    @a country lawyer: He is who we thought he was, which is not comforting in the least.

    6
  17. Mikey Avatar
    Mikey

    @Bill Jempty: Dude, she’s a Russian tool. She’s an Assad sympathizer. She’d be a terrible pick for any cabinet position. For DNI? Completely batshit insane.

    12
  18. just nutha Avatar
    just nutha

    @CSK: Do any of them have linguistic skills adequate to explain WHY the decision is good or is just owning the libs?

    4
  19. JohnSF Avatar
    JohnSF

    I’ve lately been reading Churchill’s “History of the Second World War”, recounting the founding of the Atlantic Alliance.
    Before today, I really did not think I might see it come to an end in my lifetime.
    And in such a fashion, at that.
    Conceived in glory, ending in banality.
    Damn.
    I think I may just go and drink.

    9
  20. DK Avatar
    DK

    @Mikey: Gabbard recently ran for office as a Democrat.

    Gabbard is a little different from a typical bipartisan pick in that she formally left her old party to fully embrace her new’s party’s ideas. Unlike Liz Cheney who is a anti-Trump but otherwise Republican, Gabbard is like a reverse Jen Rubin, a liberal marketed as a conservative.

    But like Liz Cheney, Gabbard provides cover to say, “See? Sane Dems/Republicans support him/her.”

    I agree Gabbard is not totally unserious on paper, like Gaetz. She did serve in Congress for eight years after serving in the military (in psyop). That’s thin but in a pre-2020 Buttigieg kind of way. A bigger problem is her unsavory ties to Syria and Russia. I’m just imagining the White House and Congress in worse-than-usual combat with IC agencies. Yikes.

    4
  21. Bill Jempty Avatar
    Bill Jempty

    @Steven L. Taylor:

    Can we get MTG in charge of the Space Force?

    Steve, that’s way over the top and in light of your background, you should know it.

    What is DNI compared to AG, Sec of Def, State, or Treas? Mickey Mouse to Godzilla. We know the picks for 3 of the 4 most important positions in any administration. Rubio is a lightweight and the other two are inexcusable.

    You really think DNI is going to have any sway with Trump? I didn’t think so.

    I Compared to Gaetz and Hegseth, this is a sane pick and I stick by it. Didn’t say she was a good pick,

    2
  22. Not the IT Dept. Avatar
    Not the IT Dept.

    Has James seen this one yet?

    https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/trump-draft-executive-order-would-create-board-to-purge-generals-7ebaa606

    Apparently to be made up of retired generals and other officers, it’s to be a “Warriors Board” to review 3 and 4 star generals. It’s about 10-12 hours old so not sure if it’s been superseded by later news.

    2
  23. Joe Avatar
    Joe

    @Bill Jempty and CSK: I will not rest till George Santos is made Secretary of the Treasury!

    8
  24. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
    Steven L. Taylor

    @Bill Jempty: well, I am not the one you are quoting, so I am not 100% sure what you are directing at me.

    I think you are missing the significance of DNI. It is not Mickey Mouse.

    Gabbard should be nowhere near intel.

    this is a sane pick and I stick by it

    You are entitled to your opinion, but you are flat wrong here.

    15
  25. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
    Steven L. Taylor

    @Not the IT Dept.: I saw it and haven’t had time to comment. It is bad.

    5
  26. Scott F. Avatar
    Scott F.

    @Bill Jempty: @Steven L. Taylor:
    Gabbard is a horrible pick for DNI, but Bill Jempty is correct that Trump will claim her as a demonstration of his openness to work with “Democrats.” In some ways, that feint at bipartisanship is what makes Gabbard arguably the worst pick so far.

    7
  27. Kathy Avatar
    Kathy

    @Bill Jempty:

    She’d be in charge of the CIA and the NRO (national reconnaissance office, the one that operates spy satellites), among a slew of other agencies. And she’d have access to absolutely everything. All collected intelligence, all intelligence shared by allies and friendly nations, the name sand locations of all agents, all the tech used in spy satellite and other forms of electronic surveillance, among tons of other things.

    1) does she even have any experience running a large complex organization or any experience at all in intelligence or national security?

    2) she favors dictators like Mad Vlad and the butcher of Damascus.

    3) What part of any of the above makes any rational sense.

    9
  28. Scott F. Avatar
    Scott F.

    @Steven L. Taylor:
    It’s not just Trump being who “we” thought he was and who “we” warned everyone else he was. He is also who he was telling voters he was and they chose him anyway.

    It’s like the denizens of a bar deciding the loud, seemingly smart guy on the end barstool could make everything right given the chance and then one of America’s two major parties listening to the bar patrons over experts, history and tradition.

    3
  29. Jack Avatar
    Jack

    “…but you are flat wrong here.”

    Well, at least I know a bit more clearly what the boundaries of commentary are. I’ll skip the usual “show your work” BS.

    I think I’ll just let you folks simmer in your stew for a bit. But its not a good look. Crazed leftists. Just wild eyed. Just remember, you lost. And please, no “the voters are stupid stuff.”

  30. Grewgills Avatar
    Grewgills

    @DK:
    She was a Democrat because that was more or less required to get elected in Hawai’i. She wasn’t a progressive, she was an opportunist and that hasn’t changed.

    4
  31. dazedandconfused Avatar
    dazedandconfused

    She’s going to have a problem with Israel’s lobby. Might be the least likely to get through confirmation of the entire bunch, except maybe Matt Gaetz.

    3
  32. Jack Avatar
    Jack

    BTW

    Are you guys aware that Joe Biden had a meeting this morning with Hitler? Rather cordial. Yes. I’m wondering when Biden should be brought up on treason charges……….Right? Just askin’

  33. DK Avatar
    DK

    @Grewgills:

    she was an opportunist and that hasn’t changed.

    I know. But the American voters who are barely literate won’t know. They’ll be told Gabbard is a Democrat and they’ll believe it.

    3
  34. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
    Steven L. Taylor

    @Jack: I am not allowed to say something is wrong?

    5
  35. DK Avatar
    DK

    @Jack: The patriotism and intelligence here is a great look — a refreshing contrast to the vulgarity, weakness, and ignorance of voters forced to pretend Matt Gaetz is a qualified Attorney General candidate.

    You have to blindly defend your Hitleresque master Trump no matter what, like an obedient little slave. But that’s not as fun as the essential decency often displayed here.

    That’s why instead of enjoying Trump’s win, you’re here every day — triggered, depressed, and stewing stew angrily over comments that remind you of your mediocrity.

    Hugs.

    13
  36. just nutha Avatar
    just nutha

    @Bill Jempty: I have to agree with Dr. Taylor. As Tsar Nicholas used to say, choosing Gabbard jumps the shark tank.

    3
  37. Kingdaddy Avatar
    Kingdaddy

    @Jack: The constant dancing around the issue is tiresome. Are you OK with these appointments? Competent enough to do the job? Best possible choices? Not worried about the consequences of putting unqualified people in these positions? If so, say so. And say why you think these are too notch appointments. Otherwise, the sniping is cheap and cowardly.

    But it’s disruptive! And we need more disrupters! Definitely more than we need competent people.

    14
  38. Michael Reynolds Avatar
    Michael Reynolds

    Everyone over the last ten years who has scoffed when I said Trump was a Russian asset, tell me how an actual, trained KGB agent could so more damage to American power and prestige?

    Trump is Putin’s bitch. No, it’s not the flattery. It’s something much more powerful, either a lot of money or some serious blackmail. Trump is a traitor. Also something I’ve been saying for ten years to much eye-rolling.

    He is deliberately, with malice aforethought, destroying the free world.

    16
  39. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
    Steven L. Taylor

    @Kingdaddy: Agreed all around.

    There are time when a person should put up or shut up.

    8
  40. just nutha Avatar
    just nutha

    @DK:

    I agree Gabbard is not totally unserious on paper, like Gaetz.

    I dunno. If the goal is to locate the most absurd choices he can find, I think both are Marianas Trench level choices, but I don’t know how you outdo Gabbard. I think the next choice is better. Maybe even if it’s Ivanka or Jared.

  41. DK Avatar
    DK

    @just nutha: She’s garbage, but it’s because she’s an unqualified + a compromised kook, not just unqualified. She has more federal government experience than JD Vance, Donald Trump, and Pete Hegseth combined. Low bar, yes. But military + eight years in Congress isn’t nothing at all, on paper.

    6
  42. just nutha Avatar
    just nutha

    @Bill Jempty:

    You really think DNI is going to have any sway with Trump? I didn’t think so.

    I don’t either. The problem is that the choice compounds the degree to which a Trump administration is seen to be an unreliable player in global affairs. That matters more than we may realize.

    4
  43. a country lawyer Avatar
    a country lawyer

    @Michael Reynolds: It’s not that I doubt that Trump has done things, perhaps many things, that a normal human would fear to the point of succumbing to black mail, I just don’t think he believes anyone cares what he may have done. If Putin showed him pictures of him in sexually compromising sexual acts he’d smile and ask for dozen 8 x 10s and a few wallet size copies.
    I agree that he’s Putin’s bitch, but to do that all he had to do to make that happen was promise Trump a golf course on the Black Sea or a hotel in Moscow

    3
  44. just nutha Avatar
    just nutha

    @Jack: One of the people you are criticizing was noting that meeting with Trump was the right thing to do noting that Biden’s press flack observed that welcoming the new administration is part of the job.

    Maybe you should read more of the comments or level up your cherry picking skills.

    Be best!

    6
  45. just nutha Avatar
    just nutha

    @DK: “From deep in his own, he delivers a blistering slap shot.

    Scooooooore!

  46. just nutha Avatar
    just nutha

    @DK: Okay. I see your point.

    1
  47. charontwo Avatar
    charontwo

    @Michael Reynolds:

    Philip Auerswald has been doing a whole series of detailed posts on the Trump – Russia relationship. It seems you need to subscribe to read them, but you can do a free (no cost) subscription.

    “Auerswald”

    As I have mentioned before, Trump’s heavy involvement with Russia goes back at least as far as 1987.

    2
  48. Bobert Avatar
    Bobert

    @Jack:

    And please, no “the voters are stupid stuff.”

    Ok, I’ll not say that at your request, however I’d like you to guess: What percent of Trump voters say that 2020 was rigged/stolen/fraudulent?

    Then we can have a conversation contrasting stupid and gullible.

    3
  49. charontwo Avatar
    charontwo

    @a country lawyer:

    Building in Moscow was just a diversionary pretext/ cover story, not the real basis of the Trump-Russia relationship.

    1
  50. steve Avatar
    steve

    AFAICT she has no intel experience. Not sure what her qualifications are to run intelligence other than she says good things about Trump.

    Steve

    3
  51. Gavin Avatar
    Gavin

    These cabinet picks remind me of the collection of battles known as Operation Crusader in world war 2. [TIK’s 9 hour detail of this on YouTube should be the primary source.] Both sides were inside the other’s lines but didn’t know it because neither side knew where the other was. That was, of course, before GPS and unintentional, but this is somehow being planned.

    Musk is the awkward annoying kid at MarALago — Already the most hilarious thing Trump has ever done is sidelining Musk with a non-governmental “Advisory” position whose recommendations will be instantly ignored.

    2
  52. Jack Avatar
    Jack

    @DK:

    xxoooxxooo

  53. Jack Avatar
    Jack

    @Kingdaddy:

    Um, I guess you disagree with the appointments. Perhaps you shouldn’t have supported Biden and Harris, dead bang losers, so you could have gotten the appointments you wanted.

    Sorry to tell you, that’s on you. Me? I’m going to wait and see.

    But I see you folks have tried and convicted already.

  54. Jack Avatar
    Jack

    The most childish instincts have shown themselves from the usual OTB commenters.

    Go win an election.

  55. de stijl Avatar
    de stijl

    Andy Dick for DEA. Why tf not? Gaetz Gabbard, Hegseth. This has to be a joke. A government of malicious idiots. RFK, Jr. advising on health. Military purge panel.

    These are choices that not even parody sites would dare suggest. The choices are exponentially stupider than could be imagined. I audibly sniggered at Tulsi Gabbard, but when I saw Gaetz for AG I laughed out loud. Hard.

    Good luck, idiots! You are going to crash into reality very soon. In what universe is this conclave of idiot clowns going to be effective at all?

    This seems like an absurdist parody. A bad SNL skit. The majority of Americans voted for this.

    Gabbard for DNI. Gaetz for AG. We’re living in Idiocracy. And, then RFK, Jr. Crikey Moses!

    7
  56. Michael Reynolds Avatar
    Michael Reynolds

    @Jack:
    Poor Drew. You really thought this would be your big ‘own the libs’ moment, didn’t you? And now things have turned out to be just as fucked up as we said they’d be. You know goddamn well this is clownish to the point of open treason, but you’re too gutless to admit it. And as usual you’ve got nothing but brainless interjections like, ‘win an election.’

    Why don’t you just fuck off, empty little non-entity, no one here has the slightest respect for you.

    8
  57. de stijl Avatar
    de stijl

    It’s just a sick joke at this point.

    1
  58. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
    Steven L. Taylor

    @Jack: You are an utter coward. Man up. If this is defensible, defend it.

    You want to impress me, show your work.

    Else, prove yourself to be an intellectual coward.

    I have tried to give you every benefit of the doubt, but you are proving unworthy of it.

    12
  59. de stijl Avatar
    de stijl

    Even I did not expect this extent of dystopian nonsense nightmare. It’s a trifecta of idiots. Tulsi Gabbard as DNI, seriously? Hegseth as SecDef? I thought it was a joke.

    And, then. Gaetz for AG. Wow!

    I expected unseriousness. And chaos. And ineptitude. My bar was extremely low. This exceeded my expectations by a lot. To the nth. I laughed out loud at the ludicrous choices. Beyond parody at this point.

    Rank idiots and amateurs. Agents of chaos.

    Buckle up, everybody. We have four years of this to look forward to. A majority of voters wanted this.

    6
  60. DK Avatar
    DK

    @Jack: The clarity and maturity of OTB commenters is why you’re addicted, here every day angry, resentful, and depressed.

    You’re stuck on childish grievance and whining because you can’t say, “Here are the reasons Matt Gaetz is qualified to be Attorney General: [insert reasons here].”

    You never have a serious, positive explanation for your slavish Trump bootlicking, because there is none.

    11
  61. James Joyner Avatar
    James Joyner

    Aside from her highly questionable overseas activities, her qualifications are simply a joke compared to previous DNI. Not counting acting, here are the jobs they held previous to their appointment:

    John Negroponte: 37 years as a Foreign Service Officer, including multiple ambassadorships and then UN ambassador.

    Mike McConnell: Navy intelligence 3-star. Director of NSA.

    Dennis Blair: Navy 4-star, culminating as PACOM commander. Navy career included multiple tours in the Joint Staff and National Security Council.

    James Clapper: Air Force intel 3-star. Defense Intelligence Agency director. National Geospatial Intelligence Agency Director.

    Dan Coats: US Rep 1981-89. US Senator 1989-99, 2011-2017. Ambassador to Germany 2001-2005.

    John Ratcliffe: Small town mayor 2004-2012. US Rep 2015-2020. (Arguably unqualified. Trump’s second DNI)

    Avril Haines (current): Various legal advisor posts for the State Dept. and Senate Foreign Relations. Deputy National Security Advisor. Deputy Director CIA. Deputy Counsel to POTUS for National Security Affairs.

    Gabbard: Part-time soldier—enlisted medic then MP officer. Civil Affairs since 2020. 8 years in the House.

    13
  62. al Ameda Avatar
    al Ameda

    @Kathy:

    Maybe the objective is for NATO to kick the US out.

    That would be a 5-Dimensional chess play that Trump and Bannon have worked out.
    With Bannon, I could see that, with Trump, not so much.

    3
  63. Jen Avatar
    Jen

    @steve: Does prior experience as a probable opposition asset count?

  64. Matt Bernius Avatar
    Matt Bernius

    @Steven L. Taylor:

    You are an utter coward. Man up. If this is defensible, defend it.

    You want to impress me, show your work.

    Else, prove yourself to be an intellectual coward.

    I have tried to give you every benefit of the doubt, but you are proving unworthy of it.

    This is a longstanding pattern with him isn’t it?

    5
  65. drj Avatar
    drj

    @Matt Bernius:

    He is here to gloat, not to make anything remotely like a serious point.

    What he wants is for someone to explain precisely why Gabbard is such a disastrous pick so that this person will feel even worse than they did a minute ago.

    He feeds on the despair of people who want good outcomes for the American people.

    That’s who he is.

    6
  66. Kingdaddy Avatar
    Kingdaddy

    @JimJude: If you can’t say why she’s qualified to head the intelligence community, then you’re just another sniper. Go peddle your nihilism elsewhere.

    6
  67. Jen Avatar
    Jen

    @JimJude:

    Yes, I am concerned that Tulsi Gabbard, who has a history of questionable decision-making including meeting with Bashar al-Assad and her close work with RT, a Russian propaganda outlet, is in the running for DNI. It seems highly questionable that we should hand her the keys to the nation’s intelligence community. I’ll wait and see if she even manages to pass the background screens and Senate confirmation process before being concerned though.

    The “increasingly senile” President Biden, who led a complex, multi-nation prisoner swap that freed 16 people including four Americans, seems to be doing yeoman’s work despite his (alleged) infirmities.

    7
  68. DK Avatar
    DK

    @JimJude: A majority of Americans can’t read above a 6th grade level. So it’s no surprise some voted for senile rapist Trump.

    Just like it’s no surprise you MAGA trolls offer no positive defense of Trump picking pedos, weirdos, and criminals. You don’t have one because these MAGA identity politics DEI hires are unserious and unqualified. Hence why you’re left only with triggered whining about others saying so.

    5
  69. ~Chris Avatar
    ~Chris

    The real “Outside The Beltway” folks now have the reigns of government. This usurped forum can congratulate itself on examining the national government’s navel for lint, while the virus of non-stop immediate self indulgence now threatens the very life blood of our founders’ experiment.

  70. Michael Reynolds Avatar
    Michael Reynolds

    @Steven L. Taylor:
    Matt made a heroic effort to engage @Jack, and as long as the subject was money, Jack/Drew/Guarneri can stay in the game – but only for a while. Then he starts to unravel. On literally any topic that’s not money – his money – he has absolutely nothing. So he yells, get off my lawn, tosses out some limp insults, and runs away.

    I’ve been dealing with this guy for a long time. He’s obsessed with me because a million years ago on Dave Schuler’s blog, Dave committed the sin of saying that in terms of IQ, I was probably the smartest guy in his commentariat. Which amounted to about a dozen people, so could be seen as damning with faint praise, but it stung Drew’s amour propre. So he insists on proving again and again, that Schuler was right.

    He just can’t quit me. I’m hoping it’s not a homoerotic thing. Although with my new ‘superannuated Sean Connery wearing a cowboy hat’ avatar, I can see how the attraction would be hard to resist.

    6
  71. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
    Steven L. Taylor

    @Michael Reynolds: I do like that hat!

    But yes to the rest of it.

    I’ve tried, and more than I should have, but it is clearly pointless.

    It is a strange thing to purposefully come to read a set of authors and then try to win “debates” without actually debating while all the while trying to get their attention.

    What’s the point? It isn’t learning. It isn’t even a crappy debate, let alone a good one. It is barely the Monty Python argument sketch.

    3
  72. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
    Steven L. Taylor

    FYI: JimJude (aka RyGuy) has been banned, so if you see any comments from him, please know they won’t last long, so if you engage, it will look like you are taking to a phantom 🙂

    6
  73. al Ameda Avatar
    al Ameda

    @Jack:

    Go win an election.

    But … everyone on the Right tells me that winning an election is nearly impossible unless you flood the zone with disinformation and misinformation, and my political party just doesn’t do that.

    What can I do?

    4
  74. wr Avatar
    wr

    @Steven L. Taylor: ” It isn’t even a crappy debate, let alone a good one. It is barely the Monty Python argument sketch.”

    And not to get too far into the weeds on a fifty year-old comedy sketch, but the one who was doing the “Jack” style of argument — “No you’re not, no it’s not” — was only arguing because he was getting paid to sit there and argue, and this was the laziest way of doing that. The other person — who wanted an argument enough to pay for the experience — wanted a real structured debate on issues.

    So my question is why the Jacks of the world come to a place where people really do enjoy a structured argument about issues and act like the guy who is only engaging because he is required to.

    Definitely not saying our trolls are being paid to post here — because that would be a colossal waste of money even to someone with Musk’s net worth. Just wondering what’s in it for them, since they don’t really seem to like it here.

    1
  75. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
    Steven L. Taylor

    @wr: It is an excellent question.

  76. Blue Galangal Avatar
    Blue Galangal

    @Michael Reynolds: I love that hat!

  77. DK Avatar
    DK

    @wr:

    Just wondering what’s in it for them, since they don’t really seem to like it here.

    Same thing that’s in it for MAGA in general.

    One, the right just can’t quit its signature resentment. They’re addicted to depression and anger. Being here provides that in a way celebrating Trump’s win with positive energy among other Trumpers cannot. Under Biden, it was easy to play victim. Having won the election, they have to get their grievance fix in other ways.

    Two, anti-Trumpers are smarter, better, and just more fun to be around.

    1
  78. Rob1 Avatar
    Rob1

    It has seemed Tulsi Gabbard has a very high “kompromat” quotient. DNI is a win for shirtless horseman.

    1
  79. charontwo Avatar
    charontwo

    I guess I have kind of forgotten this thread existed, I recently put up a few posts in the forum thread about Tulsi’s Russia connection.

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