Baptism by Fire

"It was never my intention to ever imply that this committee was political, because we all know it is not."  – Congressman Kevin McCarthy on the U.S. House Select Committee on Benghazi

While I'm not sure I'd go as far as Rolling Stone's Mark Taibbi to say that the GOP effectively got Hilary Clinton elected president by giving her the opportunity to appear presidential and cool under pressure as they grilled her relentlessly for nine or so hours under the media glare, they certainly didn't do themselves any favors. (Taibbi even references the film All the President's Men by suggesting that the Republicans even managed to make people feel sorry for Clinton, effectively humanizing her.)

Although the hearing pretty quickly broke down into petty partisan backbiting and shouting among its members, Clinton shrewdly positioned herself above the fray, making a statement that the truth about the Benghazi incident was above political ideology and weighed on her heavily.

Of course, it didn't help that the GOP also shot itself in the foot prior to the hearings when Congressman Kevin McCarthy let slip out that the Congressional investigation was politically motivated. I doubt anyone following this circus thought otherwise anyway, but it was still bracing to hear someone within the GOP camp gleefully admit it, however inadvised the comment may have been. Regardless, McCarthy's comments put the GOP and the committee chair, Congressman Trey Gowdy, on the defensive both going into and during the hearings. So it came off a bit hypocritical to question Clinton on the political motivations of her own actions following the incident even as they insist their own ongoing hearings aren't.

A buddy of mine supports Clinton because she's now proven and become virtually bulletproof. Over the years (and decades), the GOP has thrown everything it has at both Hilary and Bill Clinton with little to show for it—it's clear they don't feel they can fight Clinton on the issues, so they have to go into the mud. While this impenetrability has been partly the result of expert political spin, there may be also voter fatigue at work. As much negative as the GOP has thrown at Clinton, she remains standing and has managed to even become the anointed frontrunner. These hearings and the continuing e-mail issue to which Bernie Sanders gave voice to most people's exasperation over the issue were additional tests of fire that only seem to strengthen Clinton's legitimacy as a presidential candidate.

Trump and the GOP Unplugged

Hey, I get why Trump has been so popular—he talks without a filter, willing and able to say what establishment candidates will not, but which many of the electorate are thinking.

But for now, he is a major challenge for the GOP establishment. He’s sucked the air out of the room for the other candidates, monopolizing all the attention and media coverage.

Worse for the GOP, at the end of the day, Trump in reality is a Republican In Name Only. Truth be told, he’s a populist who’s tapped into the anger that the GOP has successfully exploited among a segment of the public for years for votes and money, but really only paid lip service to. And now the GOP is paying the piper.

Trump’s views on issues like executive pay and corporate conduct are anathema to the GOP platform. Trump will likely fade well before the nomination convention as people begin to focus on the election and issues like electability and competency, but it will be interesting how far Trump can get since he doesn’t have the support of the party establishment/power brokers, nor is he beholden to them financially or otherwise. As the GOP's losses in the last few presidential elections have shown, they no longer can win with the same shrinking ageing, white voting demographic they’ve depended on previously, but Trump certainly hasn’t helped them any in that regard.

Click here for a nice overview of the psychological profile of Trump's followers, as well as of liberals and conservatives.

What does Carly FIorina's willingness to die on this hill say about her judgment?

Carly Fiorina's stunning decision to double down on her allegations about Planned Parenthood—which have now been pretty much been debunked, even as the GOP Talibanists attempt to hide the footage—makes me wonder that if she's willing to lie so brazenly about this and die on this hill, what kind of lies would she be willing to tell as president?

Not that this failed CEO would even have a chance.

Civil War

It's on! It's been a long time coming, but the GOP's war for the soul of the party appears to have spilled out into the open with the decision of California Congressman Kevin McCarthy opting to bow out of the race for the Speaker of the House position that John Boehner recently resigned.

Though McCarthy was expected to win the vote, the decision of the extreme Talibanist wing of the GOP's House delegation to not support McCarthy apparently played a role in the decision. Even prior to the announcement, I wondered whether McCarthy could effectively lead given the unrest of the Talibanists. As the decision shows, he apparently realized not. Though he clearly had ambitions for the job, I give McCarthy credit for being smart enough to not take a job that he would have entered from a position of weakness. The irony of all this is that McCarthy has played a major role in increasing the rightward tilt of the GOP in Congress.

However, what we have is a case of the tail wagging the dog--is the GOP going to allow its extreme nutcase right wing (numbering about 40) take the party hostage?

From the L.A. Times: 

Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, who was backing McCarthy, said he warned Republicans that “those who wanted to take down John Boehner will frag the next guy and that's what we saw just happened .... I'm not going to support anyone running for speaker who is going to appease the rejectionist wing of this party.”

Of course, the chickens are simply coming home to roost. Having cynically exploited the crazed right wing of its party for political gain, the GOP is now having to fulfill promises it never intended on keeping.