Monday, March 18, 2024

Republicans In Disarray: Crank Vs. Crank

 


They're Christofascist Republicans, so we wish both these cranks (and their endorsers) ill:

Former President Donald Trump endorsed Colorado Republican Chairman Dave Williams' congressional bid on Tuesday. He credited the former state lawmaker with helping Trump win the state's presidential primary while taking a swipe at one of Williams' leading primary opponents.

"Dave helped us deliver a 30-point Blowout Victory on Super Tuesday, and he will help us WIN Colorado this November," Trump posted on Truth Social. "In Congress, Dave will work hard to Secure the Border, Fight for Election Integrity, Support our Military/Vets, and Protect and Defend our under siege Second Amendment. Dave Williams has my Complete and Total Endorsement!"  [snip]

In the same post, Trump got in a dig at primary candidate Jeff Crank without naming the Republican, who had earlier in the day won an endorsement from House Speaker Mike Johnson.

"His opponent is Endorsed, and works closely with, Americans for Chinese Prosperity, a Charles Koch Disaster," Trump posted, referring to Americans for Prosperity Action, the political arm of the Koch network's Americans for Prosperity, which endorsed Crank in February.

Williams and Crank are among six Republicans running to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn in the GOP-leaning 5th Congressional District, which roughly covers El Paso County.

Trump's post backing Williams came hours after Crank's campaign announced Johnson's endorsement.

Calling Crank "a strong conservative who we need in Congress,” the Louisiana Republican said in a statement: “He’ll work with our Republican majority to fight for Colorado families, secure the border, cut wasteful spending, and fight for conservative values. I’m proud to endorse and support Jeff Crank for Colorado’s 5th District!”...

It's a scenario playing out across the country in multiple States and districts, to our great glee.

Imagine, though, living in a place where you're likely to get one of these two godawful meatheads representing you in Congress (the seat is more than "GOP-leaning;"  it's only elected Republicans since its creation over 50 years ago).   We guess you are who you vote for.

(Image:  Scary!  From definitely- not- a- Crank Dave Williams' X)


"Tariff Man" Aims To Cripple Economy




Among the many brainless, harmful proposals from the Malignant Loser is his plan to impose punishing tariffs on imports, a move that cost cost the U.S. billions of dollars when he imposed them during his regime. His vile, suggestive language about a "bloodbath" was attached to a threat to impose a 100% tariff on car imports. Of course, tariffs trigger counter moves on the part of the nations and industries impacted, meaning the U.S.'s agricultural products, for example, would face restrictive export tariffs imposted by the aggrieved country and hurt their export market. CNN's Katie Lobosco has the story:

"When former President Donald Trump was in the White House, he proudly referred to himself as a 'Tariff Man' – and he has no intention of retiring that self-proclaimed title if reelected.

Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of imposing a 10% tariff on every good coming into the US, as well as a tariff upward of 60% on all Chinese imports if he regains the presidency. On Saturday, during a campaign rally, he promised a “100% tariff” on cars made outside the US and warned of a “bloodbath” for the American auto industry if he doesn’t get reelected. [snip]

Americans have paid more than $230 billion to date for tariffs that Trump imposed on imported solar panels, steel and aluminum and Chinese-made goods, according to US Customs and Border Protection. More than half of the duties have been collected during the Biden administration.

Despite the cost, Trump’s tariffs were a political success, according to one working paper published recently by economic researchers.

'Residents of regions more exposed to import tariffs became less likely to identify as Democrats, more likely to vote to reelect Donald Trump in 2020, and more likely to elect Republicans to Congress,' they wrote."  (our emphasis)

Always expect the MAGAts to go for their self-interest and not the nation's. It also reflects their inbred xenophobia and racism. Lobosco continues:

"The protection provided by tariffs typically comes with some trade-offs. Here’s how Trump-era trade policies have impacted the economy.

When the US puts a tariff on an imported good, the cost of the tariff comes directly out of the bank account of an American importer when the foreign-made product arrives at the port.

It’s possible that some foreign manufacturers lowered their prices to stay competitive in the US market. But several studies have suggested that US companies and consumers are bearing the brunt of the tariff cost." (our emphasis)

The Malignant Loser shoveled billions of taxpayer money in the form of direct aid to the U.S. industries (mainly agriculture) that were the targets of retaliatory tariffs by foreign nations, another "tax" that could have been avoided. But it's all about transactions with the Malignant Loser, who made sure his family got favored treatment before tariffs were imposed. 

(photo: "Thank you for the trademarks for Ivanka." AFP)


Tweets / Xeets Of The Day

 

The big picture --

 

 

 

 

 

 

No more delay.  Make him pay (not Putin, Xi, or Bonesaw)! --

 

 

 

Felonious traitor Manafort going back to the scene of the crime(s)? --

 


Countering Putin --

 


What's that Musk-y smell?  The mask drops completely --

 


No sign of the extremist shitgibbon black sheep --

 

 

March Badness πŸ˜„ --

 

 

 

QOTD: "Criminal Intent" In Trump's Tax Fraud




Biographer of the Malignant Loser and expert on his tax and financial history David Cay Johnston appeared on MSNBC to discuss the enormous debt Trump incurred to pay his civil penalties, and the national security dangers of being beholden to foreign debt holders. He also discussed the Malignant Loser's obvious tax fraud (starting at the video's 3:45 mark) and the justification in bringing a case against him:

"There's statutes of limitations for criminal prosecution of taxes, but one of the things we know from the Donald Trump returns we finally got, is he created 60 fictitious businesses, took tax deductions for a number of them that reduced his overall tax bill, even though they had no revenue, and in other cases the revenue and expense matched to the dollar, which I have never seen in 50 years of writing about taxes, and in 1984, Donald Trump did the same thing. He claimed over $600,000 of deductions for a business that had no revenue, no invoices, no records of existence, and was tried twice for income tax fraud, civil, not criminal. Both judges found against him, and his own tax lawyer Jack Mitnick testified against him for forgery saying he put his signature on it when he didn't prepare it.

Since he has done this again, more than 60 times, I have argued either Alvin Bragg or the U.S. government should bring a case against him for tax fraud, proving he created fictitious businesses would be easy, and he was on notice not to do this, a clear indication of criminal intent." (our emphasis)

Unfortunately for America, be assured that both Alvin Bragg and the Department of Justice under timid disappointment Merrick Garland will find reasons for delay through constant navel-gazing as the Malignant Loser runs out the clock again. 

 

Today's Tomorrow Cartoon

 

(click to enlarge)


 

Mega-rich sociopath and creator of crashing cars and rockets Elon Musk is full of ideas that shouldn't be thought, but he has a far-right, on-line fan base that eggs him on anyway. His hobby seems to be annoying anyone who disagrees with his warped, brutalist vision of the world and his omnipresent place in it. You know, a free speech champion.

You can support Tom's work by going here.
 

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

 

The good:

President Biden on Monday will sign an executive order aimed at expanding research and improving government initiatives on women’s health, a move that will coincide with a White House Women’s History Month reception.

The president’s executive order will “ensure women’s health is integrated and prioritized across the federal research portfolio and budget,” the White House said, with a focus on the administration’s Initiative on Women’s Health Research. 

In addition, Biden will announce more than 20 actions from federal agencies outlining ways they will prioritize research on women’s health. 

The executive order directs relevant agencies to strengthen research and data standards on women’s health with the purpose of better leveraging federal funding. It also directs agencies to prioritize funding for women’s health research and encourage innovation.

And Biden’s order will direct the Office of Management and Budget and the Gender Policy Council to assess gaps in federal funding for women’s health and identify potential changes.

In addition, the president and first lady Jill Biden will announce more than 20 commitments and actions through the Pentagon, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). 

Among the actions will be the launch of an effort that will direct investments of $200 million in fiscal year 2025 to fund new women’s health research. Biden has previously called on Congress to create a Fund for Women’s Health Research at the National Institutes of Health.

The executive order signing comes as the president and first lady are set to host guests for a White House reception to mark Women’s History Month. It also comes after the first lady in February announced $100 million in federal funding for research and development into women’s health through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H.

Meanwhile, on the dark side ...

The bad:

Former President Donald Trump said that the members of the House Select Committee that investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection should be jailed.

Trump’s remarks come less than a week after a new report from the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight revealed that a Secret Service agent gave testimony that contradicted previous testimony from former White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson.

In a Sunday post on Truth Social, Trump linked an article from the right-leaning website, Just The News, which claimed that the “Jan. 6 committee withheld crucial evidence from the public.” The article also said former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) interviewed the Secret Service agent whose testimony was just released as part of the report.

“[Cheney] should go to Jail along with the rest of the Unselect Committee!” Trump wrote. [snip]

Liz Cheney, vice chairwoman of the Jan. 6 committee, responded on X.

“Hi Donald: you know these are lies. You have had all the grand jury & J6 transcripts for many months,” she wrote. “You’re trying to halt your 1/6 trial because your VP, WH counsel, WH aides, campaign & DOJ officials etc will testify against you. You’re afraid of the truth and you should be....

We've noted the increasingly violent and unhinged rhetoric from the Malignant Loser as the legal and financial pressures mount.  Riling up the MAGAts, as he did on January 6, 2021, is a tell that he feels vulnerable and threatened and derives a sense of power and control from the mob.  Now he talks about jailing members of the January 6 committee while expressing his desire to release the insurrectionists (or, as he calls them, "hostages"). Need more proof of what his lawless, retribution style of "governing" would look like?  Read on.

The ugly

... [Trump] has big plans for California if he wins.

He has promised to use an expansive view of presidential power to undo state laws and policies on many fronts, including areas such as law enforcement and education where states, not the federal government, have traditionally been in charge.

Some examples:

He says he’ll close the U.S.-Mexico border on his first day in office — the day he has set aside to act as “a dictator” — and launch “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.”

His Santa Monica-born immigration advisor, Stephen Miller, says that if Democratic states such as California don’t cooperate, Trump could order National Guard units from red states such as Texas to cross their borders — a recipe for constitutional crisis.

Trump has promised to scrap President Biden’s programs to promote renewable energy, including subsidies for electric vehicles and charging stations. His advisors have proposed limiting California’s power to set fuel emission standards for automobiles.

He says he’ll stop the state from allowing Sacramento River water to flow into the Pacific to protect the Sacramento Delta. “We’re not going to let them get away with that any longer,” he said. (Water experts say it would be impractical and environmentally disastrous to divert the river's flow completely. Newsom has already suspended some environmental laws to send more water to reservoirs and is preparing to build a new water tunnel under the delta.).

Trump says he’ll send federal law enforcement officers into Oakland and other cities to stop rampant shoplifting. “If you rob a store, you can fully expect to be shot as you are leaving that store — shot!” he said.

And he says he will prosecute California healthcare providers if they comply with a state law that prohibits releasing information about minors' gender-related medical care to other states. (He called the law a “sick California scheme for violating federal laws against kidnapping [and] sex trafficking.”)...

That last piece of wanton cruelty, especially linking it to a practice he may have indulged in (waiting for that Epstein grand jury report!), marks the Malignant Loser as a craven monster, one of the most purely evil we've seen in our lifetimes.  He'd be running Putin's dystopian playbook, and California would be the biggest target, but certainly not the only one.


Sunday, March 17, 2024

Across The Universe, Cont. -- Unlikely Spiral

 

(click on image to enlarge)

From NASA/ ESA, March 11, 2024: This image shows LEDA 42160, a galaxy about 52 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. The dwarf galaxy is one of many forcing its way through the comparatively dense gas in the Virgo cluster, a massive cluster of galaxies. The pressure exerted by this intergalactic gas, known as ram pressure, has dramatic effects on star formation in LEDA 42160, which are presently being studied using the Hubble Space Telescope.

LEDA 42160 falls into the category of ‘Magellanic spiral galaxy’, or type Sm for short, under the de Vaucouleurs galaxy classification system. Magellanic spiral galaxies can be further sub-categorised as barred (SBm), unbarred (SAm) and weakly barred (SABm), where a ‘bar’ is an elongated bar-shape at a galaxy’s core. Generally speaking, Magellanic spiral galaxies are dwarf galaxies with only one single spiral arm. They are named after their prototype, the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is an SBm galaxy. Magellanic spiral galaxies are an interesting example of how galaxy categorisation is actually more nuanced than simply ‘spiral’, ‘elliptical’ or ‘irregular’. 

[Image Description: A distorted dwarf galaxy, obscured by dust and by bright outbursts caused by star formation, floats roughly in the centre. A few distant galaxies are visible in the background around it, many as little spirals, and also including a prominent elliptical galaxy. A bright star hangs above the galaxy in the foreground, marked by cross-shaped diffraction spikes.]

Credit:  ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Sun

 

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)


(Clay Jones, claytoonz.com)

(Jimmy Margulies, King Features)

(Dave Whamond, caglecartoons.com)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

(Tom Janssen, EandPCartoons)

(Ann Telnaes, Washington Post)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(Asher Perlman, The New Yorker)


Sunday Reflection



"When I first organized the King Cole Trio back in 1937, we were strictly what you would call an instrumental group. To break the monotony, I would sing a few songs here and there between the playing. I sang things I had known over the years. I wasn't trying to give it any special treatment, just singing. I noticed thereafter people started requesting more singing, and it was just one of those things... I'm a musician at heart. I know I'm not really a singer. I couldn't compete with real singers. But I sing because the public buys it." -- the legendary singer Nat King Cole (3/17/1919 - 2/15/1965), from "Nat King Cole" by James Haskings, 1990. So, "not really a singer"? Nat King Cole was one of the great singers of the 20th century, his modesty notwithstanding. "The Christmas Song," "Unforgettable", "Mona Lisa", "Autumn Leaves", and so many more of his songs performed in his incredibly rich, smooth and effortless baritone voice will be played for many generations to come.

The victim of racial discrimination and even violence, Cole was assaulted by racists in Birmingham, Alabama, at a concert and harassed in his all-white Los Angeles neighborhood. Despite that, he was criticized for performing before all-white audiences in the South, and not being more active in the Civil Rights movement. That changed when he later became active in the NAACP and played a significant role in organizing the 1963 March on Washington. 

(photo: by Fred Baker, 1961, Gelatin silver print, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution)

 

Protests On Last Day Of Russian "Elections"



On this last day of bogus "elections" in Russia, which are nothing more than exercises in rubber stamping war criminal Vladimir Putin's continuance in office, there is still a noticeable spark of protest against the "forever president" and his authoritarian regime. From the Washington Post:

"On the final day of a presidential election with only one possible result, Russians protested Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian hold on power by forming long lines to vote against him at noon Sunday — answering the call of opposition leader Alexei Navalny who had urged the midday action before dying suddenly in prison last month.

The 'Noon Against Putin' protest, with voters forming queues outside polling stations in major cities like Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Tomsk, Novosibirsk, was a striking — if futile — display of solidarity and dissent designed to counteract the Kremlin’s main message — that Putin is a legitimate president commanding massive support.

Many polling stations in Moscow were deathly quiet on Sunday morning, but long lines appeared at exactly 12 p.m. — despite authorities sending mass text messages warning people against participating in 'extremist' actions and in the face of severe repression of dissent since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which has resulted in hundreds of arrests. [snip]

Many voters also posted photographs of their spoiled ballots with protest slogans such as 'Navalny is my president,' 'No to war, no to Putin,' and 'Putin is a murderer.'” (our emphasis)

The democratic opposition to Putin is facing threats of severe repression and prison, but is still determined to show their refusal to bow to the Russian thug, even more so after movement leader and hero Alexei Navalny was murdered in a Russian prison camp on February 16. The article contains many interviews with voters -- mostly 30 and under -- who showed up at "Noon Against Putin" protests, and the courage they're showing is striking, even as police vans park nearby in a threatening gesture. 

Putin, the man who mourns the death of the Soviet Union, is busy reconstituting it as a fascistic gangster state, eager to expand beyond its borders to former Soviet republics. Ukraine is one of those former republics, and the most prized by the Kremlin. It's even more essential that he and his regime be stopped there, and wherever else he threatens a takeover.

(photo: Voters line up in Moscow. Maxim Shemeto / Reuters)

 

Trump's Dehumanizing Rallies With His Aggrieved Cultists

 

As familiar as this is, and as often as it has been and will be repeated, this aberrant and abhorrent cult and its cult leader/ monster must be seen over and over again for who and what they are.

John Bowden of The Independent attended the Malignant Loser's Nuremberg rally therapy session in Ohio yesterday afternoon, and took note of what happens when the deranged, aggrieved would- be dictator goes off script in front of diminished crowds:

... It was on this issue [his 2020 election loss] that Mr Trump departed almost completely from his prepared remarks as he labelled his political opponents inhuman: “In some cases, they’re not people.” He’d provoke that same dehumanising imagery as he delivered his latest rant against illegal immigration, this time eyeing a new enemy in the arrival of residents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Repeating “they’re coming in from Africa”, the former president sarcastically declared: “The Congo’s a very nice place, I imagine.”  [Ed.: your enthusiastic ass-kisser Sen. Tim Scott would be happy to help with any damage control on this one, we're assuming.]

It was a typical Trump speech in many ways, and only atypical in the sense that the former president’s growing inability to couch his more shocking impulses in politically-acceptable language was on greater display than usual.

Perhaps the most notable aspect of the event was how small it was. The event was not held directly in a major population centre, instead taking place roughly an hour from Columbus. Overall, Mr Trump’s crowd size on Saturday appeared to be much smaller than his typical rally size; with an eyeball estimate, the event appeared to have roughly doubled the size of ex-rival Nikki Haley’s final rally in her home state of South Carolina before that state’s primary election; perhaps a thousand people, maybe less. The total was definitively smaller — to the scale of thousands — than the crowd that gathered for Mr Trump’s last rally in support of a Senate candidate in the state, his appearance boosting JD Vance at an arena in Youngstown two years ago...

It was also at that rally therapy session that the Malignant Loser said this:

..."If I don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath for the whole — that's going to be the least of it. It's going to be a bloodbath for the country," he warned, while talking about the impact of offshoring on the country's auto industry and his plans to increase tariffs on foreign-made cars.

Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer accused Trump of doubling "down on his threats of political violence."...

Opening the prisons and releasing the violent January 6 insurrectionists to finish the job is high on the Malignant Loser's agenda.  The Malignant Loser is always prepared for others to shed their blood as long as he ends up in the clear.

Renee Graham of The Boston Globe has something to say about the Malignant Loser and his cultists based on a recent rally in Georgia:

... Unable to attack Biden’s solid State of the Union performance, Trump instead mocked President Biden’s lifelong stutter. It’s certainly not the first time Trump has resorted to his typical schoolyard bullying tactics. It’s not even the first time this year he’s tried to ridicule the president with such childish nonsense. But what stood out again is that Trump’s audience laughed and applauded in malicious glee.  [snip]

Now when he derides Biden’s stutter by saying things that Biden never said — like pretending Biden stumbled over the word “democracy” in a January speech when he said it more than two dozen times without any problems — Trump gets the nasty laughs he seeks at someone else’s expense, especially when he sneers at a person’s physical limitations.

People who behaved that way were once scorned. Now they become the Republican nominee for president.

There are few among us who don’t know how it feels to be the butt of a joke. At some point in our lives, we’ve probably been the person being laughed at instead of being someone in on the joke and chuckling with the crowd. That includes Trump’s supporters. But with their always aggrieved state of mind, they have anointed Trump as a strongman who allows them to belittle those they see as their lessers. To paraphrase the great Toni Morrison, they can only feel tall when someone else has been knocked to their knees. For them, Trump’s enemies are their enemies and those people deserve nothing but public derision.  [snip]

Trump never offends only those he targets. There’s always collateral damage when someone with a national bully pulpit demeans a person with a stutter or physical disability. And every laugh, every whoop from his minions, not only convinces Trump that he’s right but that his aberrant behavior is what his followers have come to expect.

Yes, the hippocampus keeps score. But don’t just criticize the unfunny man who uses human frailty as a punch line. Remember the ones who in their devotion to a would-be tyrant will always laugh the loudest.

This is raw American fascism pure and simple, and these are the stormtroopers willing to carry out the monster's will, win or lose.  Once again, forewarned is forearmed.

BONUSOne example, out of millions, of Cultist Trumpicanis.

BONUS IIFact checking the Malignant Loser's lies in that Georgia rally takes up a full page in the Washington Post.

BONUS III:  The Biden campaign punches back --

 


(Image:  Getty Images via Business Insider)


St. Patrick's Day

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all who celebrate (and if you celebrate, please do so responsibly)!  As the Irish proverb goes:

"May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been, the foresight to know where you are going, and the insight to know when you have gone too far."

For some amusing Irish takes on St. Patrick's Day (and Americans' celebrations of), try here and here.

Erin go bragh!

BONUS: A guide to the pronunciation of some common Irish names.

 

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News)

(Rick McKee, caglecartoons.com)

(Jack Ohman, Tribune Content Agency)

(Clay Jones, claytoonz.com)

(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

(Brian McFadden, DailyKos.com)

(Peter Brookes, The Times, London)

(Frank Hansen, caglecartoons.com)

(Paul Noth, The New Yorker)


Tweets / Xeets Of The Day

 


Inept / timid Merrick Garland needs to shake up the SDNY --



Keeping things in perspective. -- 


 

The Malignant Loser's mob lawyers should remember John Gotti's fate --



Justice delayed is justice denied, part infinity -- 



MAGA "Freedom" Caucusers letting their racist flag fly ---



Pro-Putin MAGA Mike Johnson refuses to pass Ukraine aid bill, and Poland notices. --



Portrait of a dangerous, violent MAGAt running for office in North Carolina. -- 



Anticipation mounts for Russian election outcome. -- 



Great idea for a science fair. -- 

 

 

More On Pence's Refusal To Endorse Trump

 

As noted in the quote in the Quote of the Day post below from former VP Mike "Fly Guy" Pence, he won't be endorsing his former ticket mate in 2024. The Washington Post's Aaron Blake has some thoughts on the failure to endorse:

"In declining to endorse Trump, Mike Pence made a major statement that undercut other Trump-skeptical Republicans who have suggested through their actions that there is no alternative. His decision could also provide a permission structure for others whose endorsements are up in the air, like Nikki Haley, to hold off.  [snip]

But it did come as something of a surprise. Pence, after all, had raised his hand at an August debate when he and the other GOP presidential candidates were asked whether they would support even a criminally convicted Trump if he were nominated.

Pence’s stated reasoning is also notable. It’s not that he views Trump as dangerous to democracy, or even so much that he’s upset over Trump’s attacking him for his refusal to try to overturn the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021. (Some rioters chanted “Hang Mike Pence,” and Trump attacked Pence on Twitter even after being informed of the Capitol unrest.)

Instead, Pence pitched the current version of Trump as insufficiently conservative on issues such as abortion, the national debt, and China and TikTok.

“Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we governed on during our four years,” Pence said, “and that is why I cannot in good conscience endorse Donald Trump in this campaign.” (our emphasis)

Withholding an endorsement is a first step; it's actively opposing the candidate you withhold an endorsement from that matters (e.g., Liz Cheney), and we doubt whether Pence et. al. will follow suit.

Pence was picked to be on the Malignant Loser's ticket as a righteous, Bible-thumping balance to the moral decay and horrible character exhibited by the Malignant Loser. However, Pence's broad evangelical Christofascist following swung over to the Malignant Loser in a grab for power despite his obvious depravity. Blake adds:
"Pence often says, 'I’m a Christian, a conservative and a Republican — in that order.' In this case, he’s suggesting the second one indeed carries more weight than the third. And that’s a challenge to other Republicans who are emphasizing the third one. " (our emphasis)

Tribal loyalty can be a strong bond, and the tribe currently controlling the Republican Party is the MAGA cult. Their priorities are direct and simple: Trump, Trump, Trump, in that order. Pence should have found that out on January 6.