What a Morning! Freudian? Diddy Supporters Spurt Baby Oil at Each Other. Nancy Grace Fumes about Kohberger Plea. Happy Birthday to the Greatest Nation on Earth! Ever
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson rallied the obstreperous GOP and by a vote of 219-213 advanced the One, Big Beautiful Bill to a debate on the floor. You will likely know the fate of the OBBB by the time you read this. More on the preceding drama.
Not to be too lighthearted about a bill that matters very much, but we’re hoping that Rep. Nancy Mace, who showed her determination to vote for the bill by showing up in clingy PJs, was able to find something more appropriate to wear. President Trump, probably not wearing his PJs, spoke on the telephone with GOP holdouts around 1 am this morning. An interesting feature of the OBBB, which has been somewhat overlooked because of the excitement about ending tax on tips, is that the bill also ups the deduction for older Americans so that more of them will not pay taxes on Social Security. Hope I didn’t get your hopes up after it was too late, Mature Readers!
Townhall’s Matt Vespa is brutal on the GOP enemies of President Trump’s signature bill (though they might have been neutralized by the time you read this):
I don’t want to hear deficit nonsense—no bill tackles the deficit before Congress right now. Additionally, this package does not address it. We’re all about cutting taxes, kicking illegals off Medicaid, and fully funding Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda. That’s why we’re going through this extreme bout of political acid reflux? The president wants this done, and these five individuals have decided to stage a poor rendition of political theater. Forget COVID, this is Henry Clay syndrome, where these five, who have set themselves to deliver a death blow to the Trump presidency, felt the need to let people know only they could save the republic.
Meanwhile, an apparently hopeful Grover Norquist, the caped crusader of tax reform, writes that the “permanent tax cut” included in the OBBB would “change the world.” Hugh Hewitt writes that if the Freedom Caucus deserted the president and tanked the OBBB, Americans face a massive tax hike:
It’s not a perfect bill in my eyes or the eyes of any other observer and most members of Congress. It’s a very good bill, however, and the good must not be the enemy of the perfect.
The most vocal critics of the OBBB are self-described “deficit hawks” (plus the odd ball Congressman Massie from Kentucky who believes his job is to be interviewed on television.)
It isn’t possible to cut more from the bill’s impact on the deficit without starting over, and “starting over” means failing to deliver.
Again, the margins of the House and Senate GOP majorities are too narrow to expect a different result. Shooting down the “OBBB” now means shooting it down period. The members who vote “no” will be responsible for the biggest tax hike in history and the continued decline in American military readiness as well as the underfunded Border Patrol and unfinished wall.
Diddy’s trial was a nail-biter, too, but not as much as waiting for the OBBB, because—let’s face it—it didn’t really matter that much (unless you are Diddy—aka Sean Combs). The hip hop mogul was found guilty of prostitution charges but not of racketeering. The New York Times analyzes the defense strategy. Megyn Kelly called Combs “guilty as sin” and blasted the jury for falling for the defense line. O.J. Simpson’s former Dream Team commented, including Alan Dershowitz, who was critical of the judge’s refusal to grant Combs bail until sentencing. Meanwhile, Diddy’s delighted fans expressed their feelings by squirting baby oil at each other outside the courtroom (more), alluding to the lubricant Mr. Combs favored at his “freak off sex parties.” Don’t try to tell Ms. Must that this isn’t a society with pockets of extreme decadence! Derek Hunter seems to agree.
Murderer Byran Kohberger (we can call him that now) had his day in court, too. The sangfroid with which Kohberger pled guilty to killing four Idaho college students was both chilling and utterly fascinating. “Crime Stories” host Nancy Grace was hopping mad that the prosecutors gave Kohberger a plea deal instead of going to trial. The guilty plea spares Kohberger from the possibility of the death penalty. Ms. Must is impressed that a legal commentator on Fox (I can’t remember his name) expressed concern that in years to come, misguided do-gooders will surface to an elderly Kohberger out of prison. One thing you can say about the death penalty: it is so—so definitive.
President Trump is reportedly denying Ukraine weapons. An editorial in the Wall Street Journal argues that Trump is “stiffing” Ukraine on much-needed arms, and the decision will lead to more deaths and Russian gains. Also, in the Wall Street Journal, Tevi Troy notices that the enemies of Israel have a long history of declaring victory after suffering devastating defeats:
These false statements by Middle Eastern autocracies show the weaknesses of systems that can’t acknowledge reality. An inability to turn a critical eye on oneself and admit a mistake represents a fundamental flaw in authoritarian regimes.
Another recommended WSJ op-ed, by Sadanand Dhume, is headlined “Mamdani Brings Third World Prejudices to New York.” Dhume writes:
Why would someone who emigrated to the U.S. from a poor country champion ideas that keep poor countries poor? The rise of 33-year-old Ugandan-born Indian-American socialist Zohran Mamdani in the New York mayoral race raises the question.
Mr. Mamdani’s ideas on economics and international relations mirror the failed policies of socialist-era India, from which his mother, filmmaker Mira Nair, emigrated in the 1970s.
That the hub of global capitalism may elect a mayor who dreams of the government “seizing the means of production” would once have been too absurd to contemplate. Yet here we are.
Ms. Must has always been impressed that, even though some of her views on the George W. presidency might have evolved, the former president embodied gentlemanly virtues. So, I was disappointed that he joined former President Barack Obama to trash the current president over USAID’s funding. Meanwhile, Liberal Patriot Ruy Teixeira seizes upon former President Bush’s famous question—“Is our children learning?”—to ask “Is Our Democrats Learning?” Spoiler Alert: They isn’t.
No, bridegroom Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez Bezos weren’t a dewy young couple—the groom is 61, and the bride is 59, and both were not newcomers to the altar of luv. And their wedding in Venice was wretched excess on steroids. But why get upset as, say, the volatile Rosie O’Donnell did, even denouncing Oprah for attending? A New York Times essay cruelly assessed nuptials as “the triumph of tacky.” C’mon, does this really matter?
While Ms. Must was all into refraining from the tawdry but delicious delight of calling really rich people “tacky,” however, The Federalist hit on why the Bezos-Sanchez extravaganza does matter. Headline: “Bezos’ $56 Million Second Wedding Is a Monument to a Culture that Celebrates Divorce.”
Tomorrow is the Fourth of July. The Free Press has a spectacular package under the title “Our American Stories.” Contributors ranging from Peggy Noonan (“Where We Came From”) to Martin Gurri (“All Immigrants Are Born on the Fourth of July”) tell American stories. In a piece headlined “American Regeneration,” TFP founder Bari Weiss writes, “This Independence Day, we don’t just celebrate the birthday of the words that made us—but the choice to live by them two and a half centuries later,” Weiss writes. In “The Immigrants Who Waited Their Turn,” Jimmy Soni tells the inspiring story of how his family came to the United States. Ms. Must never fails to tout the Edward Everett Hale novella, “The Man Without a Country,” the story of a young American officer who befriended the Aaron Burr and rashly denounces his country in a courtroom. It is a sad, beautiful book.
Wishing you a safe and meaningful Fourth.
