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There is no phantom Republican party that can be summoned back from the twilight zone. The Republicans are reduced to a Maga Trump. They lack the independence to stand apart. There is no political strategy, no negative campaign, that can overshadow Trump. Where are the rest of the Epstein files? There is no gathering of "Wise Men" to assert authority. There is no one in the Republican leadership who would ride down Pennsylvania Avenue to deliver the news that a "committee to save America" must be imposed over Trump to save the party. The Republicans would rather self-destruct than attempt to rescue themselves. »

— Columnist Sidney Blumenthal at The Guardian on how Republicans, especially on Capitol Hill, would rather go extinct than force some sanity on the Trump White House.

If Capitol Hill Republicans won't rein in Trump, we must rein in Capitol Hill Republicans. We shouldn't neglect GOP state legislators either.

Without a doubt, it was Bill Clinton. Few Presidents in all of American history grew up poorer than Clinton did.

As Sidney Blumenthal wrote in his 2003 book, The Clinton Wars (BOOK | KINDLE):

Robert Davis at Raw Story:

President Donald Trump may be laying the groundwork to deploy secret presidential directives that no court has ever reviewed, no Congress has ever examined, and that any sitting president can rewrite at will to interfere in the midterm elections, a State Department insider warned on Wednesday. Known as Presidential Emergency Action Documents, or PEADs, the directives were designed to bypass traditional Congressional authorization during national emergencies. They were initially contemplated as a way to ensure continuity of government during a crisis, and documents authorized actions like seizing private property or arresting citizens that would face legal challenge only after they had already been carried out.

Jonathan Winer, a former U.S. special envoy during the Obama administration who reviewed declassified materials at the National Archives, warned during an interview on the podcast "The Court of History" that Trump may try to use them to stifle the upcoming elections. "The key thing about PEADs is they've never been reviewed by Congress or anyone outside administration," Winer said. "They can be rewritten based on any administration's point of view as to what's necessary in an emergency. And they would be tested legally and constitutionally only after they're used."

Johnathan Winer gave a very disturbing warning about Presidential Emergency Action Documents (PEADs) on Legal AF’s The Court of History that Donald Trump may try to use PEADs to impede the midterms.

From the 05.13.2026 edition of Legal AF's The Court of History:

Author Michael Wolff revealed all on Trump's secret connections

Court of History's Sidney Blumenthal and Sean Wilentz look at the inside story of the Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump relationship. Guest, Michael Wolff, peels back the layers of secrecy surrounding Donald Trump's long, tangled ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

US Vogue August 1, 1962

Deborah Dixon wears a short, fitted, silky gray coat with a clean, belted back silhouette. Coat by Modelia, in Dynel fabric and Sidney Blumenthal mohair.

Deborah Dixon porte un manteau gris court, ajusté et soyeux, avec une silhouette épurée, ceinturée dans le dos. Manteau de Modelia, en tissu Dynel et mohair Sidney Blumenthal.

Sidney Blumenthal: DeSantis was paraphrasing a social philosopher on the psychological basis of authoritarian movements. Eric Hoffer was an itinerant longshoreman whose book The True Believer, on the mentality of Naziism and Communism, published in 1951, drew praise from President Dwight Eisenhower in one of his first press conferences. Hoffer described how individuals erased their volition and critical thinking by submerging themselves into movements led by demagogues. “The fanatic,” Hoffer wrote, “is perpetually incomplete and insecure. He cannot generate self-assurance out of his individual resources – out of his rejected self – but finds it only by clinging passionately to whatever support he happens to embrace.” The demagogue appeals to restoring the good old days. “A glorification of the past can serve as a means to belittle the present.” Through propaganda, “people can be made to believe only in what they already ‘know’”. Enemies must be identified as the source of decay. “Finally, it seems, the ideal devil is a foreigner. To qualify as a devil, a domestic enemy must be given a foreign ancestry.” But, Hoffer wrote, it would be a mistake to give too much credence to the ideas of demagogues. “The quality of ideas seems to play a minor role in mass movement leadership. What counts is the arrogant gesture, the complete disregard of the opinion of others, the singlehanded defiance of the world.”

While this interview took place shortly after the 2018 election it is quite insightful and relevant today.  I believe it’s an important article to read.