Here’s a stone cold fact: Donald Trump CORRUPTS everything he touches.

E V E R Y T H I N G .

That includes the news media.

Now, the American press entered the Trumpian part of our  history already corrupted by the conceit  that “both sides do it”.

“Both sides do it” is corporate journalism’s take on American politics.

It insists that a thief is a thief is a thief regardless of whether he’s Bernie Madoff or Robin Hood.

The “Both Sides Do It” crowd insist that nothing differentiates Democrats from Republicans other than their tribal political affiliation.

To them, a conservative and a progressive are just flip sides of the same coin.

Well, that just ain’t so.

Conservatives do things for very different reasons than Progressives – and their methods are entirely different, too.

Of late especially.

Yes, both sides have gerrymandered. But the Democrats have never gerrymandered with the racist intent with which the Republican Party has gerrymandered.

With Republicans, the racism is the point. To keep political power OUT OF not just Democratic hands – but the hands of people of color.

A party that wants every American to vote is not the same as a party that wants only them to vote. Consequently, the Democrats have become a party that acts politically while the Republicans have become a party that acts criminally but for a political end.

Those are not the same thing.

And make no mistake – depriving any American of their right to vote is a crime – and not a small crime either. Because the point of the exercise is not small. It’s huge.

Monstrously so.

How many Republicans now want us to forget the January 7 insurrection ever happened? These things are directly connected.

The GOP’s criminal behavior toward the American electorate got a dose of Adderall when Trump became president. Is it really “winning” if you do it with a hostile foreign power holding your hand?

Actually, there was waaaaay more than mere hand-holding going on…

The Republican Party’s leadership knew even before they nominated Trump in 2016 that Vladimir Putin owned him.

They said so – out loud. In a meeting that was recorded – and then played almost a year later for reporter Adam Entous, working then for the Washington Post.

On June 25, 2016 – a month before the Republican Party formally nominated Trump for the first time – former Speaker Of The House and Republican leader Kevin McCarthy articulated that fact very specifically to a meeting of other Republican leaders. “There’s two people I think Putin pays – Rohrbacher and Trump – swear to God!”

Those are Kevin McCarthy’s words.

McCarthy had just left a meeting where our intelligence community briefed Congresspeople about Putin’s ongoing attempts to undermine Ukraine’s fragile, new democracy. From there, McCarthy went directly into another meeting – of GOP leaders – and that was the very first thing he said upon entering.

Now, you’d think that a claim like that – hey, our presidential candidate poses a massive national security threat – would get some serious pushback, right?

“Whaaaaaat? Kevin – duuuuuuude – what are you saying? Why do even think such a thing?”

That didn’t happen. No one contradicted McCarthy – or even questioned him about what should have been a hand grenade of a statement.

But, it’s even worse than it sounds.

Everybody present knew that McCarthy was absolutely right about Dana Rohrbacher. The California representative was known far and wide as “Putin’s Favorite Congressman”.

So, yeah – Putin pays Rohrbacher.

But “Putin pays Trump, too?”

The Republican leadership was equating Putin’s hold on Rohrbacher to Putin’s hold on Donald J Trump – their about-to-be presidential nominee.

Then Speaker Of The House PAUL RYAN asserted himself at that point – and demonstrated what passed then – and still passes for – Republican Leadership.

He shut down the conversation and demanded secrecy about the subject from everyone. He said – quote – “No leaks. . . . This is how we know we’re a real family here.”

What kind of family would keep such a terrible secret? Aside from a crime family.

A treasonous crime family.

Want to know the hold Donald Trump had over the Republican Party? Yeah, sure – his base came to matter more than anything. But, before his base became “his base”?

It was treason that bound the Republican Party to Donald Trump.

Treason… kompromat… and a terrible secret!

And our news media reported it! And then promptly forgot!

Not long after the Washington Post published that story – in 2017 – a few intrepid journalists stuck mics in front of Kevin McCarthy.

“What’d you mean, Kevin?” they asked.

“I was just kidding!” said McCarthy. And our news media shrugged. Like their question had been answered.  

Except it hadn’t been.

Since then, a few journalists have revisited that moment in passing.

But, no one’s revisited this shocking moment in substance.

Also since then – the Republican embrace of Putin has achieved a kind of critical mass. Seems Putin pays Rohrbacher AND Trump AND pretty much everyone in the GOP.

And, still, to this day, we haven’t addressed the nine ton Russian bear that’s sitting on us. Our news media reported that “Russia influenced” election 2016 – as if THAT was somehow normal.

“Influenced?”

What does that mean – and shouldn’t we be a little more concerned about it?

Bigger point? How is that legal? Cos It’s not!

Holy shit! Our news media has become that roomful of Republicans being told that Putin pays Rohrbacher and Trump!

“Well, of course he does!” Everyone knows that! Welcome to the new normal – where hostile foreign leaders have intimate relationships with all sorts of Republicans.

Hey, news media – both sides don’t do that!

Donald Trump turned the Republican Party into the Trump Party, but they were happy to do it.

He corrupted our news media, too – and most of them were perfectly happy to get corrupted, too.