For Trump, Ken Paxton Is the Whole Package
A henchman, not a statesman.
“All this time, I thought they were voting for libertarian Republicans. But after some soul searching, I realized when they voted for Rand and Ron [Paul] and me in these primaries, they weren’t voting for libertarian ideas—they were voting for the craziest son of a bitch in the race. And Donald Trump won best in class, as we had up until he came along.” — Rep. Thomas Massie, 2017.
As he learned last night, Massie is definitively no longer the craziest son of a bitch on the ballot.
Once again, Trump tightened his death grip on his shrinking party. But Trump’s liquidation of Massie in Tuesday’s GOP primary and his endorsement of Ken Paxton over incumbent John Cornyn in the Texas Senate runoff were also clarifying moments for the GOP.
As I wrote in yesterday’s newsletter, the only thing that GOP voters will not tolerate is independence and principle. Massie defied Trump on releasing the Epstein Files, which is apparently a new red line for GOP voters. They will swallow Trump’s lies, flip-flops, cruelty, crudity, self-dealing corruption, narcissism, and even his endless wars. But they will not tolerate anyone who stands athwart the kakistocracy and says, “No.”
So, Thomas Massie (and possibly John Cornyn) will now join Mike Pence, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Mitt Romney, and Bill Cassidy on the GOP ash heap, while Republican voters continue their slavish loyalty to the Orange God King even as he loots the Treasury, enriches himself, and pays off the rioters who attacked the Capitol.
But do not mistake this for “winning.”
Happy Wednesday.
A quick reminder, you are not the crazy ones. But this is the fight of our lifetimes, and the challenge of our generation.
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Trump Flips Off the GOP
By this point it feels redundant to point out that Trump’s GOP is not about any consistent ideology. It is not about “conservatism,” or even right-wing politics. It’s all about loyalty and Donald Trump’s insatiable desire to punish anyone who defies him. Thomas Massie was one of the most right-wing members of Congress and Texas Senator John Cornyn voted with Trump 99% of the time, but they irritated Trump’s tender id.
But that doesn’t quite cover what happened yesterday, because Texas’s Cornyn isn’t an enemy, and has shown precious few flashes of independence. Even so, Trump endorsed Cornyn’s even-more-MAGA challenger, despite warnings that the scandal-infested Paxton was a far weaker candidate than the incumbent. Republicans had warned Trump that a Paxton primary victory would put the GOP at risk of losing the Texas seat, which could cost them control of the Senate.
Trump did it anyway, which should remind us again that, despite his demand for absolute loyalty, Trump doesn’t give a sh*t about the Republican Party. Chris Cillizza has a savvy take:
“The choice before Trump was very clear: Pick the less loyal but more electable candidate who gives Republicans a better chance at keeping the Senate majority or go with the hardcore MAGA loyalist who might lose the Senate seat (and maybe the majority!) but will never abandon Trump.
If you know Trump, that choice wasn’t much of a choice.
But let’s not sleep on what a remarkable choice Trump made. By throwing Cornyn to the wolves, Trump was giving a massive f-you to his own Senate GOP leadership, who’ve angered/disappointed him by refusing to trash the filibuster to pass the vote-rigging SAVE Act. GOP senators have also been lukewarm about taxpayer funding for the ballroom and have been less than enthusiastic about his $1.8 billion Goon Squad Slush fund.
But Trump still needs those Republican senators, who will now have to spend the next seven months sitting in the body alongside the political corpses of their colleagues: Thom Tillis, Bill Cassidy, and possibly the well-liked John Cornyn. Some of them will be pissed; others will feel liberated. On Tuesday, Cassidy — who was defeated in last weekend’s primary — became the 50th yes vote on a war powers resolution, and came out against Trump’s billion dollar ballroom funding.
And then there is Trump’s new favorite son, Ken Paxton, and what it says about Trump’s GOP.
**
Why Paxton?
It’s hard to name a political figure more publicly and egregiously corrupt than Paxton. Which is precisely why Trump endorsed him.
For Donald Trump, Ken Paxton is the whole package. In Paxton, Trump has found an accomplice nearly as corrupt as he is himself; and who comes close to matching Trump’s own dishonesty, immorality, and anti-democratic impulses. Indeed, Paxton is a layer-cake of scandal, including felony indictments for securities fraud, allegations of bribery and abuse of office, whistleblower retaliation, and extramarital affairs.
Don’t take my word for it. Paxton’s fellow Republicans found his conduct so repugnant they impeached him and temporarily removed him from office. (Much like his political godfather, Paxton was acquitted in the senate.) His own staff reported him to the FBI, and resigned en masse accusing him of bribery, abuse of office, and misuse of state resources to benefit a fat-cat donor.1 His wife,divorced him “on biblical grounds”, accusing Paxton of committing adultery, based on “recent discoveries.”
Any or all of this would be disqualifying for any politician not named Trump. But Paxton endeared himself to the president by his zealousness in launching bogus lawsuits challenging the 2020 election and leading the effort to overturn the outcome.
In the end, this was the qualification that mattered to Trump:
Ken Paxton would be willing to break the law for Trump; John Cornyn might not.
Ken Paxton would provide cover for any act of corruption Trump might commit; John Cornyn might not.2
And most important: If needed, Ken Paxton would join any Trump coup attempt; John Cornyn might not.
In other words, Trump was looking for a henchman, not a statesman. And he found the whole package in Paxton.
But this isn’t winning
“Those so-called victories over the last couple weeks are just a mirage. They are self-owns,” a senior Senate Republican operative told Dasha last night. “We’re not actually beating Democrats, and we’re not actually advancing legislation. Instead, gas is up 45% due to our actions and the President’s decision to go to war with Iran. He’s focused on the ballroom. He’s announced a $1.8 billion restitution fund with zero details or congressional authority to do so. It just is crazy.”
Via Dan Pfeiffer: “Everyone Thinks Trump Won Last Night. They're Wrong.”
Yes, the incumbent President can influence primaries in his own party. And yes, Trump is getting rid of the people he believes wronged him. But spending nearly $20 million to defeat a Republican in a district Trump won by 35 points is not the flex people think it is.
At best, this is a Pyrrhic victory — and Trump’s revenge tour is a big problem for the GOP moving forward.
The message to Republicans from Kentucky, Louisiana, and elsewhere is crystal clear — buck Trump and lose your job.
The problem for Republicans on the ballot this fall is that the best way to keep their job might be to buck Trump.
BONUS: I suspect this is not a winning message: “Trump Blurts Stunning Gas Price Rant Amid Sinking Polls: ‘This is Peanuts!’”
Wednesday dogs
You’re going to throw that ball, right?
After Paxton fired or forced out staffers from his office, the whistleblowers sued, leading to a $3.3 million settlement, which Paxton tried to foist off on the taxpayers.
Like this, for example: “I.R.S. Prohibited From Pursuing Audits of Trump and His Family”- The New York Times
The Justice Department on Tuesday expanded the agreement it reached this week with President Trump to resolve his extraordinary lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service to include a provision that would bar the agency from pursuing tax claims against the president, his family or his businesses.
But protection from audit could be quite remunerative for Mr. Trump. In 2024, The Times reported that a loss in an I.R.S. audit could cost Mr. Trump more than $100 million.
If you were to place rottingconservatism into a giant stock pot and let it slowly reduce down for 1776 days, you will have made the perfect toxic MAGA sludge to clone Ken Paxton.
Trump and Paxton. Birds of a feather. I'm still amazed people actually support and vote for these corrupt and morally bankrupt people