He went to Princeton, he was an officer in the Marine Corps in the intelligence field, he went to the national intelligence university to get a masters degree. Married to a Broadway actress. Why would anybody think he needs to be blackmailed? Opposing Maga, opposing Trump, and supporting the intelligence community in deep speed is what he enjoys. Nobody thinks Liz Cheney had to be bribed or threatened.
I can’t understand why people are shocked when a Republican stabs them in the back. We look for causes, blackmail, bribery, Epstein island. The bottom line is, they support Washington DC and all its structures, they do not support America.
You make great points. This man should never have been running on a Republican ticket. Do you know the process and the incentives on who runs for office? To run sucessfully at a fairly high level you have to have a 'political consultant firm' accept you as a client. It takes money, organization and know-how to 'sell a candidate'.
Consultants pick and choose who they'll accept. Here's where toxic incentives do their damage. Consultants need someone who can win and make it possible for them to raise money. That matters because their fees are based overwhelmingly on a percentage of what their political ads costs.
So they have to find an attractive person - with a story (if not known) - who can get people to send money - AND someone who's easy enough to manipulate that they'll buy the ads needed to keep the consultant's company profitable and 'follow' advice. Because a consultant who can't pick winners can't recruit the best and charge the most.
By the time you've filter with the above - and with other 'natural' incentives you've got 'what we have'. Attractive milquetoast... The only real way around that system is to have people like Trump run - basically on their own. And you're right about the 'intelligence' background but that does NOT exclude blackmail. If anything it increases the possibly blackmail was involved. Power freaks love people who are mildly compromised because they can be controlled - - when necessary.