There are certain truths that will remain truths after the fallout of the latest CNN / Buzzfeed debacle. The following are the most obvious and therefore what the American public will overlook the quickest. I am not suggesting that the American public is incapable of gleaning basic, obvious truths but rather that they are inclined not to. It just isn’t as much fun as going off the handle and yelling.

1. Russia Is Loving This. Consider, for a second, that the Russians do have compromising intel on Trump. Eventually, one would assume that pressure from the US and its allies coupled with the overwhelming pressure of the court of public opinion would compel Russia to release whatever they had. Propoganda only works if you can occasionally give some sort of proof, no matter how flimsy and transparent. And why would Putin do something so foolish? Russia drops a video of Trump with a bunch of prostitutes urinating on a bed and the worst that would happen would be Trump stepping down due to the prodding of the GOP, his own cabinet, advisors and constituency. Even that isn’t assured as it is becoming clearer that the most accurate thing said about ardent Trump supporters was what DJT himself said of them when he alluded to not losing any hardcore support even if he began shooting people on 5th Avenue. If Trump were to step down, Putin and the Russians would have to deal with Pence and if they have  is no salacious intel on him, they are screwed into a corner. Regardless of whether or not there is any dirt on Trump that the Russians may have, and it would seem that there is due to some of the oddities which arose during the race and afterwards (Manafort, Tillerson, omission of anti-Russian aggression rhetoric from RNC platform, refusal to acknowledge the Russian invasion of Crimea) it stands to reason that it is in Russia’s best interest to play it close to the chest. More can be accomplished with disinformation than actual scandal material. Russia is aware that the mere question of motive behind all of Trump’s foreign policy dealings with the Baltic region / Middle East will be put into question by the American media. Now even more so. Russia needs the United States to be in a constant state of confused argument and definitely not unified in either patriotism or disgust. We have collectively proven to Putin and his cronies that instead of dirt all they need is the rumor of dirt to undermine the foreign policy of an incoming president.
2. Buzzfeed Is Safe. As JD Rucker very eloquently stated today, “That BuzzFeed is becoming more of a mainstream voice of American journalism should be considered a travesty, but unfortunately it’s real.” Please read the entire piece here as it is very well done. However, the piece does leave out one key aspect of Buzzfeed which I will address now: Buzzfeed isn’t going anywhere. Buzzfeed masquerades as a news source from time to time but most of us know them because of their endless lists. You know what I’m talking about, the “20 Ways You Know You’re From _____” and “5 Reasons Why We Still Miss _____” etc. Those lists are complete crap, by the way. Blogger and all around funnyman, Maddox, completely dismantled their lack of anything even resembling originality or integrity in the best piece on Buzzfeed I’ve ever read, simply named, “I hate Buzzfeed.” I suggest you read that piece as it really exposes Buzzfeed for the shills that they are. So why isn’t Buzzfeed going anywhere? Why are they safe? Because they surround themselves with like-minded people and attempt to only attract audiences of the same. It is easy to mask a lack of journalistic integrity by playing it off coyly and coolly. It is even easier when you are primarily known for your lousy lists and videos of people eating snacks from different countries. They have the best of both worlds. They can loudly claim credit when they are proven to be correct and they can play off their blatant partisanship and bright yellow journalism by saying, “ah c’mon man don’t take it so seriously. Here, watch this video on the difference between ten-dollar peanut butter and ten million dollar peanut butter.” Want to stay relevent? Easy. Create a buzz (see what I did there?) and then sit back. They are going to be around for a while because desperate liberals need them to exist.
3. Young GOPers Were Smart to Stay Away. During the election, if you were a Republican and did not kneel at the feet of the god-king Trump and grovel, you were obviously working for Hillary Clinton’s benefit. I was a Rubio guy from day one. I still am. I was dubious of his willingness to jump on the Trump train with the lack of reticence that he showed. However one must remember that, A. politicians are politicians, and B. no one, and I mean no one, knew how this was going to shake out. Rubio played it safe. Does that illustrate his steadfast support and allegiance to conservatism? No, no it doesn’t. That’s a problem. But a problem for a few years from now which can be alleviated by what he does in the Senate between now and then. That being said, he did not jump on the train with the same vigor as others did. The Gingrichs and Giulianis of the world knew that this was their last hurrah. So they bought in. The worst that would happen would be a Trump loss and then they would go back to being rich, older men. They gambled correctly and are still part of the game. The elderly GOP had nothing to lose and everything to gain so it is natural that they went the way that they did. Rubio and co. did not buy in with the same enthusiasm. Which at the time and at this moment continues to be a gamble, but a gamble with very little risk and high pay off. It will take a full generation, perhaps a couple, for there to be a cultural paradigm shift in this county which would see the rise of  a press that wasn’t incredibly liberal. The mere mention of Trump in connection with your own name as a politician can be media poison. Regardless of what is true or what is a half-truth or what didn’t even occur at all, we will be reminded of how base and unscrupulous Trump is at every turn during the next election cycle. And probably every day leading up until then as well. This will be done by compiling all of the vitriolic BS that has been thrown his way into one homogenized sludge of slander which will be impossible to clean off. Therefore, it is in the best interest of young GOP legislators to steer as far clear of DJT during these volatile early days as they can. No one wants to be connected to a bed-pisser. At least not an intentional bed-pisser.

***Some final food for thought: last night when social media was melting down over the Russian intel story, the only group of journalists who were saying, “wait a second… this sounds like crap… unsubstantiated, suspect, crap” were the likes of David Harsanyi and Charles C. W. Cooke. Writers for National Review. A publication which released its now famous, “Against Trump” edition and was then subsequently crucified as a dying publication by Trump himself. That made me smile for two reasons. First; that principled conservatism is alive and well even though it may be hiding in the wings licking its wounds at the moment. The kind of conservatism that doesn’t drool over revenge and would rather be factually accurate than sensational. Second; that the irony of a publication helping to expose and bury a slanderous story intended to hurt a man who tried to hurt and discredit the relevance of the publication is supremely sweet for the simple fact that his most vocal support would never acknowledge the work of said publication for the same reasons they opposed him.***