Weekend thread: What's going on?

Leaked audio reveals infighting, "war" mentality among Tennessee GOP. DeSantis may have killed his presidential chances. Calls for DOJ investigation of Clarence Thomas.

The blowback against the GOP in Tennessee continued as a leaked audio tape surfaced showing Republicans furious at the few GOP members who voted against expelling Gloria Johnson, the white woman among the Tennessee 3.

They clearly are freaked out about being called racist, having expelled two Black men, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson. But the rest of the tape confirmed how correct it was to call them white supremacists, as one Republican states, "We are at war for our Republic," and "You gotta do what’s right even when you think it might be wrong."

Governor Ron DeSantis signed a six-week abortion ban—one that he pushed the GOP to pass many months ago and which the GOP-controlled Florida legislature now obliged on. But now that it’s spectacularly clear that the abortion issue is a disaster for the GOP, DeSantis signed the bill in the middle of the night and isn’t talking about it. Even some GOP strategists believe it could kill his presidential aspirations.

And Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is calling on the Department of Justice to investigate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Will it happen?