A Quagmire of His Own Making

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USS Abraham Lincoln: Photo Credit MSNOW

The war with Iran continues to rage with no end in sight. Just as a reminder, this is Donald’s illegal and unconstitutional war of choice that he essentially lost on day one. The Strait of Hormuz remains largely shut down, ceasefire talks have gone nowhere, and months into this war, there is still no plan and no clear way out. Donald and others in his administration have lost control of a conflict they chose to start and escalate. Now the consequences are being felt not just by Americans here at home, but by the men and women serving in our military.

Look at what is happening to the sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. The carrier left San Diego in November and has now spent more than 200 consecutive days at sea without a port of call, which is a modern record and, quite honestly, a record nobody wants to set. These sailors have not set foot on solid ground since 2025. Sailors and their families have reported food shortages, mold in their showers, clogged toilets, contaminated water, shortages of basic supplies, disrupted mail service, and worsening morale and mental health. There have been several cases in which sailors have literally been trying to jump off the ship.

So who is responsible for making sure that our sailors and all of our military have what they need? Unfortunately for them, that would be Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. This is what Hegseth had to say about this horrific situation of his own making:

Completely misrepresented. Listen, we make sure that every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment. Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody. What they do in those high seas, in those austere conditions with less port calls, it’s incredible. Americans don’t understand what it’s like to do that. So as someone who’s not been on a ship like that, but been on long deployments, I feel it. I want them home as soon as everybody else does. I want folks rotated as quickly as possible. I want the best for them. My commanders know that. Our service secretaries know that. The president expects that. And so to that crew and to all those crews, we’re going to do everything we can for you. And we are so grateful for their dedication of that crew and others. They’ve held the line for the country and they’ve done a fantastic job.

As always, Hegseth is dripping with insincerity, mendacity, and stupidity. What he is telling us there is that the sailors and families of those sailors being affected by this disastrous situation are lying about the conditions on that ship. Think about that for a second. Hegseth is also not telling us what he is going to do about it. He is speaking in the vaguest generalities, partially because, like his boss, he is incapable of taking responsibility for anything. Also like his boss, he has no idea what he is doing or how to fix this.

The Trump regime seems to have an endless supply of excuses for its own incompetence. Take, for instance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who appeared on Newsmax to reassure everyone that the administration has the war in Iran completely under control. And yes, of course, absolutely, they have a plan.

Bessent: People say, well, Cuba lasted a long time. Venezuela lasted a long time. Venezuela immediately crumbled when we put the blockade on. So it will be a combination of economic isolation like the world has never seen before, and the continued blockade in the Strait of Hormuz that will keep anything from going in or out of the Iranian ports.

When he was asked what his reaction was when a Democrat said Iran has never been stronger, Bessent responded:

It’s typical, typical that they’re uninformed, deranged, and have no idea what they’re talking about.

Yep, that’s me. Uninformed and deranged simply because we actually see what is going on and understand how bad it is because of the incredible incompetence and hubris of the people running this regime. Scott, the only person allowed to say “like nothing the world has ever seen before” is Donald. I am pretty sure he trademarked it. You might want to be careful because he will probably sue you.

Anyway, yes, deranged and incompetent and lying. That is us. Those of us who are looking at this quagmire, at this debacle that Donald got us into, are deranged because we are actually seeing what is going on and we are willing to call it out. So Scott Bessent can lie all he wants, but the situation is going to continue to worsen at the expense of the American people, our service members, and the people of Iran.

If we need another example of incompetence, we just need to look to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, a former reality TV star, and see what happens when he is confronted by reporters regarding skyrocketing gas prices.

Duffy: We have a president who has fought to bring back American energy dominance, common sense energy that gives us American jobs and lowers our gas prices. But also with that, we can’t have a nuclear Iran. It destabilizes the world. And so in the short time, we have some issues with the Strait of Hormuz, but you have fuel price per barrel at 81, 82 dollars a barrel, which is pretty remarkable that it’s as low as it is with the Strait of Hormuz. It’s that low because of American energy dominance.

That low being almost $20 more than it was before the start of this unnecessary war of choice. Sean Duffy is the Transportation Secretary. I do not think he should be speaking to Iran’s nuclear capabilities. He was asked a very straightforward question about what he is going to do about high gas prices. Much like his boss, he said there is a plan, but of course he is not going to bother to tell us what it is. Maybe we will find out in a couple of weeks.

When a Democratic candidate faces credible allegations of sexual harassment or other disqualifying things, they are typically pressured to step aside. I point you toward Graham Platner’s recent departure from the Maine Senate race. The Democratic Party turns against candidates who somehow slipped under the radar and have been found unfit. Republicans have a different standard completely, and so too, I have to say, does corporate media. It is only a big deal when Democratic candidates are found to be wanting, and it is never a big deal when Republicans are.

It is apparently a well established fact that Donald always takes the side of the aggressor and never the side of the victim. This is a longstanding pattern. This week, CNN’s Dana Bash asked New York Republican Congressman Mike Lawler why he refuses to return $10,000 in campaign money from Max Miller, another member of Congress who is facing serious allegations of domestic and child abuse, which Miller denies, while Miller is running for reelection. Lawler’s response tells you everything you need to know about the Republican double standard and how it operates.

Lawler: There’s been a lot of allegations leveled. I know Max very well. I’ve talked to him personally over the last two years about this very difficult family situation. It’s tragic. I don’t think anybody disagrees about that, but this is something that should play out in family court. I think the fact that some of the media and my Democratic colleagues have tried to turn it into a spectacle and use this situation for political points is wrong.

Maybe Lawler does not remember what Republicans did when Graham Platner was credibly accused of actually less severe crimes than those of which Max Miller is accused. Is the situation with Max Miller and his family tragic? Yes. It is tragic for the wife he physically and emotionally abused, and their two year old whose collarbone he broke. It is tragic for them, and it is a tragedy caused by him.

Of course, this being the Republican Party, there is more hypocrisy. There is also a lot of lying and excuse making. Look at the Senate race in Texas. James Talarico, the Democrat, is running neck and neck with the unbelievably corrupt Ken Paxton. Some recent polls even show Talarico with a slight lead in Texas, which should show you just how damaged a candidate Paxton is. Paxton is so famously corrupt that eight of his own senior staffers reported him to the FBI, accusing him of bribery and abuse of office. The Justice Department investigated but ultimately declined to prosecute.

Now Paxton is struggling in a state where no Democrat has won a Senate race since 1988. But, of course, Paxton has an excuse for why he is performing so poorly. Is it the corruption? No. Is it the fact that he went out on a limb to free a pedophile from prison? No. He just does not have enough money.

Paxton: It’s a great question. You’ll remember I had a runoff that lasted till May 26th. On the 27th, I had zero dollars left to spend. So my opponent had three months. He didn’t have a runoff, so he raised about 30 million from mostly California. If you go look at it, most of his money comes from out of state. And so we’ve been trying to build it up during the summer, which is challenging, but we’re going to get there and I think you’re going to see things start popping potentially next week for us, and then they will build up as we get closer to the election. So it’s just a matter of time.

Yes, hopefully it is a matter of time before we see him in prison. And, of course, I love that he name checks California to scare Texans that somehow Talarico, who as far as I am aware is Texan, is some kind of West Coast liberal.

There was a time when getting a presidential endorsement, which, by the way, Ken Paxton has, meant that you actually wanted the president to campaign for you. But since Donald’s approval rating is hovering in the low to mid 30s, which is to say he is incredibly toxic, even with his own party, some Republicans are less than enthusiastic about sharing the stage with him. Partially because there is no such thing as sharing the stage with Donald. He just takes it over.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Tiffany has Donald’s endorsement, so Newsmax asked what should have been a layup: Will Donald come campaign for you? Tiffany did not handle it very well.

Tiffany: Well, we’ll see what the president does. I mean, he’s got his hands full and he’s got the midterm convention that’s coming up. There’s a lot of races. And I think his priority is, rightfully so, the Congress of the United States, the House and the Senate. He wants to make sure that they keep majority. So I understand if that’s the president’s priority.

So, Tom Tiffany, do you want Donald Trump to come campaign for you in Wisconsin? Oh my God, no. This is where we are, which is why we need to make sure that every single election throughout the country this November is about Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s complicity with his corruption, his treason, and his cruelty.