Brian Beutler

Why doesn’t some Dem with deep pockets publicly call Trump a pedophile so consistently and egregiously and get him to sue?

Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, And The Construction Of Political Crisis What we care about, and demand accountability for, is largely up to us.

"What we care about, and demand accountability for, is largely up to us...Making it politically costly for Republicans to operate in this way is the key to stabilizing American democracy." I couldn't agree more, @brianbeutler.bsky.social www.offmessage.net/p/trump-epst...

Reframing this is ESSENTIAL. Democrats have been fighting each other when the rhetorical battles should be here. Make them defend the indefensible. Tie them to this. Let them all drown in the maelstrom they created.

Daily. Do it daily.

“Dems lack the power to begin impeachment[]. The best they can do is force the House to vote on an impeachment resolution—& I believe they should. More importantly, though, they have the power to articulate standards, & force Rs to explain why their standards are so much lower”

icymi

understand this….

Statements like this need to happen on the house floor.

'Dems should force Rs to explain why their standards are lower: if 45 can't be certain that his turpitude didn't need him into Epstein's web of criminality, you should resign from office. If he doesn't resign, Rs should impeach him.'

A flat refund to every American would actually be reasonably just, but no Dem should agree to support this until Trump comes begging and agrees the checks will say “c/o The Democratic Party” on them. 😇

💯 the Dems should use whatever momentum they have and not let it be swept under the rug.

But there’s a generalizable point here. Developments and issues do not have inherent salience. Whether it’s natural disasters or gas prices or even pedophilia accusations, the way the public perceives them is largely up for grabs. www.offmessage.net/p/trump-epst...

Nah, you just didn’t read the piece.

When media outlets defensively insist there’s no “evidence” of Trump’s “wrongdoing” in the Epstein matter, they’re misinforming the public, doing a disservice to the journalists uncovering this evidence, and helping Trump warp the meaning of this awful scandal. www.offmessage.net/p/trump-epst...

The Epstein files, or the half DOJ has released, contain plenty of this kind of documentation, including claims about Trump that strain credulity. The Trump admin would like us to believe it’s all like this—at least as it pertains to Trump.

But it’s not true. Some of the accusations are credible.

"Now's the moment to lay down a marker..."

People need a focal point in all of these files, a specific accusation to pull out of the sludge, unite around, and say, "he needs to be held accountable for this." This is that allegation.

And then it can start the snowball rolling.

As to the Epstein files I was concerned this might happen—that the political establishment wouldn’t have the language or reflexes to process the likelihood that the president abused children. But failure to process helps him defer accountability. www.offmessage.net/p/trump-epst...

But there’s a generalizable point here. Developments and issues do not have inherent salience. Whether it’s natural disasters or gas prices or even pedophilia accusations, the way the public perceives them is largely up for grabs. www.offmessage.net/p/trump-epst...

As to the Epstein files I was concerned this might happen—that the political establishment wouldn’t have the language or reflexes to process the likelihood that the president abused children. But failure to process helps him defer accountability. www.offmessage.net/p/trump-epst...

Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, And The Construction Of Political Crisis What we care about, and demand accountability for, is largely up to us.

This is about the latest revelation from the Epstein files, which seems to have left most of the political class stunned and paralyzed. But it’s also about how things become politically meaningful and the forces that shape public perception of events. www.offmessage.net/p/trump-epst...

According to Kristi Noem, when you name-call government officials like this, you are encouraging other people to assassinate them—and that is treason.

Yep yep yep

“A great degree [of care] is appropriate given the magnitude of the accusation, and the stakes for this victim if she comes forward or is identified. But we’re witnessing fear of legal harassment. Of accusations of bias, Trump derangement syndrome, even defamation. Of threats of violence.”

What Gary Kasparov says. The "side deals" are the very essence of the transaction. And this is how Trump makes foreign policy.

Don’t worry folks, he’s gonna find the guy who did this!

When media outlets defensively insist there’s no “evidence” of Trump’s “wrongdoing” in the Epstein matter, they’re misinforming the public, doing a disservice to the journalists uncovering this evidence, and helping Trump warp the meaning of this awful scandal. www.offmessage.net/p/trump-epst...

Thinking of the Yale Law eminences who vouched for Brett K. (Hi, Akhil Reed Amar! Amy Chua! William Eskridge! Start of a long list.)

SCOTUS Blocks Trump’s IEEPA Tariffs in 6-3 Decision The Supreme Court blocked President Donald Trump’s signature economic and foreign policy...

In theory, we know this is true. But "struck down" doesn't quite capture it. These tariffs were obviously and transparently illegal. They were knowingly illegal. It is a stain on the Court that something so obviously illegal was allowed to stand for a year. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/scotus-...

Marriage secrets of Florida governor frontrunner: Pregnancy bombshell The explosive revelation comes as the man who leads the race to replace Ron DeSantis posted a Valentine's Day photo celebrating his anniversary.

Byron Donalds’ first wife says he got his second wife pregnant when they were still married.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

There’ll be a documentary. It’ll win all the awards.

I can't think of any immigrant in American history who has assimilated worse than Musk. The guy hates most of the people here and wants to hurt us, has open contempt for our traditions or values, and has spent billions trying to destroy our culture to replace it with that of his foreign childhood.

How a defendant in Minnesota went free because of Justice Department turmoil The federal prosecutor’s office in Minnesota has been gutted by a wave of career officials resigning or retiring over objections to Trump administration directives.

So here's a hardened criminal in Minnesota who was about to go away for good and he went free ... because Trump and the MAGA degenerates are so focused on shooting protesters and assaulting law-abiding grandmas. apnews.com/article/minn...