Trump “floods the zone” with awful nominees

December 11, 2024

Democrats must not relent in opposing Trump's cabinet and senior officer nominees. Although it can be tiresome to continually focus on the unfitness of those nominees, Trump is hoping that we will lose interest and go away.

But the mere passage of time cannot be allowed to normalize allegations of rape, public drunkenness, white supremacist tattoos, unnatural sympathy for Putin and Bashar al-Assad, promotion of QAnon conspiracies and election denialism, and profound ignorance and lack of qualifications for important and sensitive jobs.

The nomination of Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense has come back from the brink as Senator Joni Ernst expressed lukewarm support for Hegseth after MAGA extremists threatened to challenge her in Iowa’s GOP primary for US Senate in 2026. See Talking Points Memo, At Risk Of Being Primaried, Joni Ernst Throws Pete Hegseth A Line.

The fact that Ernst, a distinguished military veteran with service in the Iraq War, could be so easily frightened into supporting a candidate manifestly unfit to lead the Department of Defense is a betrayal of the men and women of the military. It is not too late for her to do the right thing. She needs to hear from more service personnel and constituents in Iowa who do not want the Department of Defense led by a man deemed unfit to serve as part of the security detail in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021.

Trump is doing everything in his power to quash voices of dissent against Pete Hegseth’s nomination. A NewsMax host lambasted Hegseth’s nomination during a broadcast last Friday. That act of disloyalty to Trump resulted in an “all hands” meeting among producers and on-air reporters at NewsMax, who were told that they could not criticize Hegseth, but should instead characterize the allegations as unfounded. See Mediaite, ‘Will Result in Termination’: Newsmax Bans Criticism of Pete Hegseth After Trump Fumed Over Host’s Attack.

Meanwhile, Tulsi Gabbard’s interview tour on Capitol Hill began amid new questions about her relationship with Bashar al-Assad after the fall of Syria. See MSN, Gabbard kicks off Capitol Hill meetings amid questions over Syria. Even Senate Republicans are skeptical but seem to be trying to find their way to “Anything Trump wants is good enough for us!”

Trump compounded his disastrous choices of Kash Patel to head the FBI and Pam Bondi to lead the DOJ by nominating Harmeet Dhillon to lead the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ. Dhillon has a history of voter suppression lawsuits on behalf of Republican groups and candidates. She also has a history of anti-trans activism.

Given that the Civil Rights Division is charged with protecting voting rights and civil liberties of all people—including trans people—Dhillon represents the antithesis of the Civil Rights Division. Dhillon is another nominee who seems designed to undermine and obstruct the agency she has been nominated to lead. See The Guardian, Trump picks Maga darling Harmeet Dhillon to lead civil rights cases at DOJ.

As Trump tries to destroy the organs of democracy with anti-democratic avatars, he is simultaneously extending his ongoing grift by appointing family and friends to important positions for which they have no qualifications.

Two weeks ago, Trump nominated Ivanka’s father-in-law, Charles Kushner, to be US Ambassador to France. Kushner was convicted of tax fraud and witness tampering but was pardoned by Trump—and then rewarded with an ambassadorship to a key US ally.

On Tuesday, the press simultaneously reported that Don Jr. and his fiancé, Kimberly Guilfoyle, had split and that Trump was appointing Kimberly Guilfoyle as US Ambassador to Greece. See CNN Politics, Trump chooses Kimberly Guilfoyle as his pick for Greece ambassador.

As some observers noted, Trump has replaced his ubiquitous “non-disclosure agreements” and “hush money settlements” with US ambassadorships. So, Trump is now using US taxpayer dollars to buy the silence of former Trump family girlfriends.

But it doesn’t stop there. Trump is reportedly pressuring Republican Governor Ron DeSantis to appoint Lara Trump—Eric Trump's wife—to replace Florida Senator Marco Rubio. See Fox News, Trump pressing DeSantis to name Lara Trump as Rubio's Senate successor: source.

Trump apparently believes putting Lara Trump in the Senate will allow him to take control of the Senate, according to Elon Musk’s mom. See Irish Times, Elon Musk's mom slams 'old man's club' Senate and wants Lara Trump in charge.

If DeSantis appoints Lara Trump to replace Rubio, she will need to stand for election in November 2026.

Speaking of blatant family nepotism, Robert Kennedy Jr. is pushing for his stepdaughter and former campaign manager, Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, to serve as the Deputy Director of the CIA. See Axios, Scoop: RFK Jr. pushes his daughter-in-law for CIA deputy director.

Although Fox Kennedy served in the CIA for ten years as an agent, she broke CIA rules when she published a memoir about her time in the agency without submitting her book to the CIA for a security review and pre-clearance—as required by her employment contract with the CIA.

So, Fox Kennedy’s leading qualification for the CIA is that she appears to be unable to follow rules designed to keep the spy agency’s secrets secret. In other words, like almost every other Trump pick, she is the antithesis of what the position demands of a qualified applicant.

Trump may be playing “flood the zone” with unqualified candidates as a way of ensuring that some of those candidates make it through the process. He is counting on the fact that Senators and the public will grow weary of opposing every awful candidate who deserves to be opposed. We can’t let that happen.

Keep this link at hand to contact your US Senators: U.S. Senate: Contacting U.S. Senators. The confirmation hearings will begin after January 3, 2025. Call or write your Senator early and often. Speak from the heart as a concerned constituent and American citizen who will hold the Senator accountable for their vote for or against unqualified and unfit Trump nominees.

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NC Supreme Court loser seeks to suppress 60,000 votes

Democrat Alison Riggs has prevailed in three counts of ballots for an open seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court. See Democracy Docket, Third Count a Charm: Riggs Wins North Carolina Supreme Court Race.

But the GOP loser in the race, Jefferson Griffin, is not satisfied with losing in three counts of the ballots, so he is now challenging the qualifications of 60,000 voters after they voted. See Talking Points Memo, Republicans Want To ‘Throw Out’ Thousands Of Votes In North Carolina Supreme Court Race.

The qualifications of those voters could have been challenged before the election but Griffin waited until he knew he lost to make his challenge. Many of the challenges relate to technical deficiencies in the voters’ record (like omitting the last four digits of a Social Security Number).

The North Carolina State Board of Elections will rule on Griffin’s challenge on Wednesday, December 11. Stay tuned.

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Challenging the pundit narrative about Democratic “elites”

The media “piling on” of Democrats who are allegedly elitists out of touch with the working class continues unabated. It is the first refuge of lazy journalists who resort to the trope to avoid engaging in deep thought about the election results. I am sick of it. I assume you are, too.

Anyone who volunteered in 2024 knows that the “elitist, out of touch” description of the Democratic Party is a lie. A reader of this newsletter, Seth Freeman, was fed up with the misleading caricature of Democrats and wrote an op-ed in The Boston Globe that challenges the stereotype. See Seth Freeman, op-ed Boston Globe, The myth that Hollywood scorns the ‘working man’.

Seth has worked in the entertainment industry in Hollywood, working his way up from a “gofer” on set to a television writer, producer, and playwright. Seth writes, “Not once in my years in film and TV have I heard a disparaging word about working people, not even from those few in Hollywood who have been fortunate enough to amass huge wealth and power.”

The pundits and commentators who lecture Democrats about being “elitist” never name names or cite to statements to back up their claims. I have taken to the (annoying) habit of replying on social media to those pundits, asking if they can cite to a single instance of a Democratic politician or candidate for office demeaning or dismissing people based on their socioeconomic status or education. The response is always “crickets.” It’s all a lie, folks. Don’t let them get away with it.

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Marc Elias / Democracy Docket “Starter Pack” on BlueSky

I recommended the BlueSky “Starter Pack” by Marc Elias and Democracy . Several readers have asked for the link. If you are a BlueSky user, you can get to the Starter Pack of Mar Elias’s recommended BlueSky posters here: Marc Elias / Democracy Docket BlueSky Starter Pack.

Although I don’t post frequently on BlueSky, I do amplify voices and stories that align with this newsletter’s message. You can follow me on BlueSky at @rbhubbell.bsky.social (or search Robert Hubbell).

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Opportunities for Reader Engagement

POSTCARDS for Virginia!!!

Postcards To Voters launched postcards for Kannan Srinivasan for the Special Election for a seat in the VA State Senate on January 7th. Early voting starts Wednesday/today in Virginia! You can go to the Postcards To Voters Linktree to get restarted or to join. Handwritten postcards really work to get attention in a pile of junk mail. Hopefully PTV volunteers will be writing for J.J. Singh for the House of Delegates Special Election as well. Thank you if you have been writing already!

PHONE BANKS for Virginia!!!

You can make Get Out The Vote phone calls for Kannan's Special Election on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays from 5:30pm-8:30pm ET through January 2nd. Thank you for calling! Sign up here!

J.J. Singh's VA House of Delegates District is fully nested within Kannan's VA Senate District, so the postcards and calls for Kannnan will help both candidates.

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Concluding Thoughts

Prepare for another round of “blame the Democrats” for losing the election. A major new survey has been published and is gaining traction in the media. As with all other analyses, I would begin and end with a simple question: Does the poll address the role of racism and sexism in the outcome? If not, ignore the poll and move on.

Trump grounded his campaign on racism and sexism. Any post-election analysis that ignores that fact is not credible and provide no basis for making any conclusions whatsoever.

I have been making that point every day since the election but have felt like I was out on a limb. Until today.

A reader (Susan W) brought to my attention a Substack by Sherrilyn Ifill that addresses the failure of pundits to acknowledge the role of race and sexism in the outcome. See Sherrilyn’s Newsletter, Why Have Race & Gender Been Erased from Analysis of the Presidential Election?

I commend Sherrilyn Ifill’s entire essay to your attention, but I share key passages below. (It bears noting that Kamala Harris won the majority of votes in every race and ethnic group except white voters.) After relating in detail how Trump put race and sex at the center of his campaign, Ifill notes

And despite all of this, race and gender have figured almost nowhere in the major stories in national news outlets where the outcome of the election has been dissected. [¶]

The stupefying choice of a majority of white voters to support Trump again . . . is the story of this election.

And yet still, despite these historic and unprecedented warnings, a majority of white voters – men and women – chose Trump to lead this country . . .

This is the 2024 election story. And it is one we had best understand if we ever hope to recover this country from its dangerous embrace of authoritarian leadership.

Why have a majority of white voters turned their backs on democracy?

The questions Ifill poses are uncomfortable—particularly for white reporters and pundits. And while the issues of race and sex may not be complete answers to the loss in 2024, it is malpractice to omit them from the analysis of the electoral outcome.

So, as we prepare for the next onslaught of stories blaming Democrats about “what they did wrong” in the campaign, remind yourself that the Industrial Polling Complex is ignoring the role of race and sex in the outcome.

Kamala Harris ran a great campaign. The Democratic volunteers who fanned out across the nation carried a message of hope, decency, justice, tolerance, and fealty to the rule of law. Don’t be seduced or confused by efforts to “blame” them for being elitist, out of touch, or off-message. Their efforts should be the gold standard for every Democratic campaign in the future.

Yes, we have lessons to learn. Yes, we can improve. Yes, we must be open and honest about what went right and what went wrong. And that analysis starts with acknowledging that Trump ran on the three pillars of racism, sexism, and white supremacy. If we omit that fundamental fact from our analysis, we will inevitably draw incorrect conclusions.

Talk to you tomorrow!

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Daily Dose of Perspective

The image below is a composite (created by me) that shows the images of two stars. The images were taken minutes apart on December 7, 2024. The stars are shown in the colors straight from the camera—no post-processing. The star on the left is Bellatrix, and the star on the right is Betelgeuse.

Bellatrix is part of the Orion constellation. Although it is only 240 light-years from Earth, it is 6,400 times more luminous than our sun and thus appears as one of the brightest stars in our night sky.

Betelgeuse forms the “shoulder” of Orion the Hunter. It is a red super-giant, one of the largest known stars, with a diameter of more than 650 times that of our sun. It is estimated to be 500 light years from Earth.

Enjoy!