No exit in sight.

 

I few months ago I was driving down to Louisiana to play golf with some friends of mine. I had a craving for a bag of those pecan nuts that they serve at Buc-ee's. (If you know you know). Anyway, I got distracted and missed my exit. I was pissed and frustrated because there were all kinds of signs along the way telling me where to get off. The farther down the highway I got, the more anxious I became, because I was intent on going back and getting some of those damn pecans. I kept looking for an off- ramp to turn around, and it seemed like it took  forever for me to finally find one. 

I imagine that's how Donald Trump had to have  been feeling as he tried to get out of this mess of a war that he got us into with Iran. We all know why he did it in the first place, to distract us from the Epstein files and all the ugliness that comes with it. By all objective measures this has been a disaster of epic proportions. The real winners were the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Not only did they realize their strategic hold over the Strait of Hormuz, but they also realized that  they could pretty much destroy the world's economy and make a ton of money by holding the world's shipping markets hostage. We dropped bombs on Tehran and destroyed their buildings, but they will make enough money when this is all over to build bigger and better buildings. We took out their leaders, but they have already replaced  them with younger and more fanatical ones. 

No wonder Trump was dying for an off- ramp.  He saw himself getting deeper and deeper into something that was only going to make things worse for his flailing presidency. So, as a result, he made a deal. A very bad deal, but one that allowed him an off- ramp. He declared victory and lied that the war was a success, but at this point, he had no choice but to do that. He had to say something to save face.  

Iran will now add billions to their coffers, they will maintain power over the Strait of Hormuz, and they will keep their subterranean stockpiles of near-bomb grade (60% enriched) uranium. Yep, those scuba tanks filled with thousands of kilograms of highly enriched uranium is still there. In the end, we spent billions of dollars, sacrificed 13 American lives, and the lives of hundreds of Iranians (including 120 school girls), all for naught. 

I took the off-ramp and got back to Buc-ees's in no time. It just seemed longer, because I was so anxious to sample the pecans.  Mr. Trump will not be so lucky, he took an off-ramp, but he is going to find that the treat he is looking for will be nowhere in sight. 

I need caption for this picture.

 

I will pick the winner after the first fifty comments.

Go!  

"Profiles in Cowardice"

"The coward only threatens when he is safe" ~ Goethe~ 

The word out of Washington now is that some of the Republican elected officials are now defying Trump and pushing back on his agenda. The editorial writers and talking heads on cable news are quick to point this out and praise them as being independent and defiant. They are not. The Senators who trump opposed in their primaries, who were ultimately defeated by MAGA handpicked candidates, are still angry and bitter. (Ken Paxton? Really?!) Others see the tide turning in the polls, and so, as politicians like to do, they are reading the political tea leaves. So everybody calm down.  Let's not give them the profiles in courage stamp just yet.

The public outcry against Trump's Anti-Weaponization Fund has been so loud and angry that it defies logic that the White House would actually think they could get away with it.  Trump's loyalist could not defend it, and the public would not let them. And so it gave the cowards cover. They came out against it, and the White House had to scrap this particular grift they were planning on the American people. (For now)  

Then there are the picks for his cabinet posts. These are folks who are so seriously unqualified for the positions they are slated for, that you have to wonder if Mr. Trump is trying to sabotage his own administration and if he really wants the government to fail. Or, if he is just testing the sycophants who are beholding to him in Washington. It didn't take a lot of courage to come out against Bill Pulte, a MAGA political hack who rump picked to run the national intelligence agency. " I see no evidence of any qualifications for the job", says John Cornyn of Texas, who Mr. Trump has already dumped like he was one of his former mistresses. It wasn't hard to come out against Bill Pulte's nomination, Stevie Wonder could see that the man should not have even been considered for the position. Especially now that we are at war.

Finally, speaking of war, Mr. Trump's war of distraction (Remember Jeffrey Epstein?) in Iran had to have been the last straw for some of the cowards who are now finally pushing back. On June 3, the House passed a Democratic resolution to end the Iran war. Four Republicans actually crossed over and voted with the Democrats.  Not much, but it was enough to get the resolution through. Of course it means nothing, because Trump will veto it. But it's a crack. 

The mid-terms are coming, and Trump's approval ratings are in the mid thirties. That spells doom for anyone who is hanging unto his MAGA coattails.  One thing we know that a cowardly politician can do, is read the poll numbers. 

USA Today columnist, Rex Hupke, said it best:   

"The Republican Party remains largely in lockstep with Trump as he marches them and the rest of us off an economic and reputational cliff. But the war powers vote and submarining the beloved ballroom are clear signs that cracks are forming in the party.

I expect those cracks will spread and deepen the closer we get to the midterms. And if the country is lucky, and voters are smart, the whole cult-of-personality monument Trump built from the spines Republicans willingly surrendered will come tumbling on down." 

Cowards do not have spines.  

*Image from rawstory.com