Exhaustion Is The Point

Posted: November 13, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

After last week’s election results, I thought it appropriate to take a step back, breath in some fresh air, and enjoy the upcoming holidays. After all, the President-elect won’t take office until next year. Plenty of time to worry about our future next year and to make the most of this time of year with family and friends. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of reading a newspaper — a real newspaper, one that is not part of the propaganda arm of the MAGA party. To my dismay, Trump is already putting into place his plans to make himself the Dear Leader.

Most troubling — and a clear signal of his intent — Trump is insisting that he be allowed to appoint cabinet officers, federal judges and other high-ranking officials without Senate confirmation. This is what is meant by a “recess appointment” and it is a clear attempt at busting through any remaining guardrails right out of the gate. Under Article II Section 2 of the Constitution, the Senate is tasked with providing “advice and consent” on foreign treaties and the appointment of “Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States” not otherwise provided for in the Constitution. To be sure, other presidents have tried to make recess appointments, especially when the Senate is not responsive to their intended appointments, and Article II Section 2, Clause 3 does give a president the power to fill government vacancies on a temporary basis if the Senate is not in session. In recent practice, the Senate theoretically stays in session even when the majority of Senators are absent in order to prevent recess appointments. I am concerned that the upcoming Senate leadership will abdicate their responsibilities as a co-equal branch of government and allow Trump free reign to appoint anyone he wants, whether qualified or not.

Trump’s intent is troubling on two levels. First, he is telling the MAGA majority in the Senate (and as of today, the House) that they must rubber stamp everything that he does. Second, it signals that he may make some appointments that are a step too far even for his MAGA controlled majority. (The recent announcement of Pete Hegseth, a Fox News anchor, as Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) may be the first test of the Senate’s loyalty to Trump.)

Additionally, it appears that Trump is attempting to circumvent the Constitution by creating government departments and “czars” that under the law can only be created and funded by Congress. Here again, given that the MAGA party controls the Congress, he may be contemplating actions that even his most ardent supporters find too extreme. Here is the type of thing to expect. Trump intends to create the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and give cabinet level authority to Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to run it. In fact, the DOGE would be more like a commission or outside advisory board that makes recommendations to the White House and the Congress, the branch of government that would have to pass the laws needed to implement the recommendations. (Musk and his cronies are giggling over the acronym DOGE because that is a nod to Musk’s cryptocurrency of choice, dogecoin, the value of which is up 150% since Musk started touting the creation of DOGE. The oligarchs are in charge.) The DOGE charter is to reshape the federal government, significantly decrease the size of the federal work force by eliminating the “deep state” and abolish “unnecessary” government departments.

More good news. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that a draft Executive Order floated to Trump would create a tribunal to review the status of all military three and four star admirals and generals. As SECDEF Hegseth would support that effort. It is advertised as firing all of the “woke” officers in the military. What it really means is that Trump and his MAGA supporters in government would expect the military to do whatever — I repeat, whatever — Trump wants. In other words, he expects the military to be loyal to him and not to their oath to support and defend the Constitution. In his first term Trump was continually furious at many of the senior leaders in the Pentagon because they would not do his unconstitutional bidding. He means to fix that little quirk of nearly 250 years of loyalty to the Constitution rather than to one man. In fact, in Trump’s opinion because military members believe in something larger than themselves and even die for it, they are “suckers and losers.” Given that, according to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) the president is immune for any actions he takes in his “core” powers, of which Commander-in-Chief is one, he can pretty much do whatever (that word again) he wants as long as he finds people with no morals, or ethics or regard for our institutions. And he has, and will, find many of them.

(Before I could publish this, Trump announced that Matt Gaetz of Florida, under investigation for allegedly having sex parties with underaged girls, is his nominee for Attorney General. Get ready for the purges.)

I am already exhausted by the idea of Trump as president, which is part of the plan. Fear and exhaustion are the tools of autocrats and dictators to keep the population in check and to weed out resistance. Democrats and moderate Republicans are caught in a trap. They believe in the Constitution and our traditions and norms and try to follow the law. MAGA folks do not. So President Biden invites Trump to the White House and promises a smooth and peaceful transition of power to the President-elect, while Trump refused to do either and fomented an attempted coup. The MAGA people expect their opponents to do the right thing so that they can take advantage of it. (I’m still wondering why those ten million illegal immigrants that each voted six times weren’t enough to give Vice President Harris the win. Maybe the Jewish space lasers malfunctioned.)

The pundits, experts and analysts have come up with a list of all the reasons that Vice President Harris lost to the MAGA crowd. Spare me. I blame the weak kneed Republicans that caved to a convicted felon, found liable for sexual assault, who fomented a coup, sold national security secrets, covered up hush money payments to a porn star and still believes that famous men have a right to grab women in the crotch. And those are just the highlights. Trump should never have been a candidate in 2016 and given all that we know after 6 January 2021 he should now be a golf caddy at a minimum security prison rather than president. The Republicans had every chance to put an end to his political career but were too afraid to stop him. History will show that Senator Mitch McConnell (KY) did more to destroy our country than any other single person because he had a desire for power greater than his own moral, ethical and professional misgivings. Shame is a word without relevance in today’s MAGA party.

There are some bright spots to give me hope. On the state level Democrats did surprisingly well even in red states. As a nation we did away with the Articles of Confederation because they were too unwieldly and divisive. Maybe a move back in that direction is in order. I always have and always will believe that your rights and quality of life under a government should not depend on your zip code but in today’s environment I hope that reasonable state governors and legislatures step up and assert themselves to protect their citizens from what is about to happen in Washington D.C. Those states will beacons of light keeping the principles of our democracy alive during a dark period of our history.

More Than A Jury Verdict

Posted: May 31, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Yesterday was an historic day for the United States. For the first time in our history an ex-president and presumptive nominee for president of a major political party was convicted by a jury of his peers on thirty-four counts related to election interference, the violation of election laws, and the attempt to cover it up — all felonies.

That the rule of law prevailed, proving in a previously untested way that we are, in fact, a nation devoted to the rule of law and not to the rule of men is significant. No one is above the law. Personally, I take no joy in these thirty-four convictions. I thought that the evidence was there, and to be candid, I would have been disappointed if the now convicted ex-president had once again avoided responsibility for his actions, but I would still have been proud of the way our system of laws worked. Those twelve jurors were able to carry on in the traditions that we all say we believe in as Americans. They put aside their biases, experiences and personal beliefs to listen to the testimony and evidence presented and then unanimously came to a conclusion. Guilty. So it seems that we should pause and consider what just happened. It is sad that an ex-president is a convicted felon. It is a proud day that the system worked.

The convicted ex-president reacted in his typical fashion whining that the system was “rigged” that the proceedings were a “sham,” etc., etc., etc., ad nauseum. The same old, same old. Except that it hit me that there is a bigger picture here that is truly frightening. This is Trump being Trump. It is also Trump, and his toadies and sycophants in the MAGA Republican party telling us that they want to destroy our democratic republic and rebuild it in their own image. Trump would be nothing if he did not have his acolytes vying with each other to out do themselves in debasing their own morality and in trying to help him tear down our rules, norms, and way of life. Note that not one of his defenders actually defends Trump. Not one of them claims that he is innocent. Instead they attack the system and work to undermine the public’s faith in our institutions. Not even his biggest flunkeys defend his actions. They only see him as their way to power and if that means destroying our way of life, then so be it. Shame is a dead emotion in today’s MAGA world.

Too much? Consider this. Trump uses the same language over and over to attack our elections, free press, and now the judicial system. All of them are “disgraceful” or a “sham” or “rigged” or any other word from his limited vocabulary. He constantly talks about how our country has “gone to hell” or that our country is in “serious decline” or that “we have a country that is in big trouble.” Over and over and over. Classic techniques of fascist propaganda. But let me allow the convicted ex-president to speak for himself with these quotes from his campaign speeches. Again, he repeats nearly the same things over and over:

“We will demolish the deep state. We’ll expel, we’re going to expel, those horrible, horrible warmongers from our government. They want to fight everybody. They want to kill people all over the place. Places we’ve never heard about before. Places that want to be left alone.

We will drive out the globalists. We will cast out the communists, Marxists, fascists. We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country. We will rout the fake-news media until they become real. We will evict Joe Biden from the White House, and we will finish the job that we started better than anybody has ever started a job before.“

In other words, call yourself a victim, blame it on the “vermin” that are not like us, and promise to destroy the institutions that stand in the way. And now he calls himself “a political prisoner.” An insult to our system and it trivializes those real political prisoners being held in places like Russia.

The thirty-four count felon ex-president is finally being held accountable. It only furthers his rage and inspires him to go further and further into the dark side. Politicians that know better like the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (second in line for the presidency behind the VP for gosh sakes!) says that Trump’s conviction is “a shameful day in American history” and called for the Supreme Court to “step in” to overturn the conviction. Senior Republicans only became ever more deranged with their comments. Senator Ted Cruz (TX) said of the conviction that “this is a dark day for America. This entire trial has been nothing but a sham.” Senator Marco Rubio (FL) called the proceedings the “quintessential show trial. This is what you see in communist countries” and without a hint of irony, given his Cuban family roots, compared the conviction to what happened in Castro’s Cuba that “led to executions.” There is so much more but it saddens me too much. These are supposed patriotic Americans that willingly debase themselves in the service of one man.

That is where we are in today’s United States. I firmly believe that a majority of Americans see Trump and the MAGA movement for what it is. The upcoming election will not be a referendum on two different sets of policies or who is too old to serve or any other issue. It will solely be a choice between a man that wants to protect and preserve our democratic republic and one that will burn it all down in order to give himself the power to glorify himself.

I am proud of our twelve fellow citizens who recognized their sacred and solemn duty and did their best to live up to the ideals of our country. This was no ordinary verdict.

Party Over Country

Posted: February 8, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“…former President Trump has become citizen Trump…”

–U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC circuit ruling rejecting Trump’s presidential immunity claim

Although the Court of Appeals categorically denied Trump’s claims of “absolute immunity” as a former president, a decision expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court, he continues to act as if he is above the law and continues to try and destroy our country for his own political and monetary gain. His latest power play is the trashing of a significant bipartisan bill put together by Senate, White House and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) negotiators that provides much needed immigration reforms, beefs up security on our southern border and sends crucial aid to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and humanitarian assistance in war torn parts of the world. 

The 118 billion dollar Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, primarily negotiated by Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Chris Murphy (D-CONN) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), was touted as the best border security bill to come out of Congress in decades. It died a shameful death in just over 24 hours. Here is what that means.

In October 2023 President Joe Biden asked for supplemental appropriations to assist Ukraine in its existential war with Russia and to bolster Israel in their war with Hamas and to help Taiwan defend against Chinese aggression. The Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (MAGA-LA) flatly refused to consider any aid overseas without first taking meaningful steps to secure the border. Multiple Senate Republicans joined in to express their support for reforms on the border before acting on the request to aid Ukraine and the others. President Biden agreed and the Senate went to work to hammer out a bipartisan deal. After four months of nearly continuous work, and despite multiple attempts by MAGA supporters to undermine the act without even knowing what was in it, the negotiators unveiled the finished supplemental on Sunday night this week. Before it was fully read and digested, the leadership of the House declared it “DEAD on arrival in the House.” (The caps were in their actual statement. Hmmm. Someone else deals in all caps.) As Senator Murphy lamented, on Sunday night there were 20-25 Republican Senators that said they would support it and vote for it. By Monday night there were only four. What happened?

Trump happened.

Trump put out the word that anyone that voted for the supplemental act would be the target of his retribution. As a result, there was no vote in the House and a procedural vote in the Senate to move to debate over the bill failed. Before Monday night, a notable number of Senators from both parties considered this bill to be the best chance to enhance border security in decades. And then it was gone. Along with aid to Ukraine, a country desperate for supplies to counter the Russian invasion. There were no profiles in courage this week. To underscore the magnitude of the reversal, Republicans got nearly everything that they could hope for in a border bill. Frankly, I believe that they were shocked by how much they got. In past negotiations, Democrats had demanded a path to citizenship for Dreamers and others, but not in this bill. The Democrats agreed that there was a crisis on the border and were looking for concrete measures to improve the system. Additionally, many of the Democrats were focused on our commitments to our friends and allies in Europe and around the world believing that aid to counter Russia and China was paramount. They were willing to deal. 

Republicans could not take yes for an answer.

Why would Trump kill it? For several reasons. First, he does not really want to solve the crisis on the border. In many ways, it his identity as a demagogue and provides the fodder to rant and rave about the “others” “invading” our country. If the crisis is solved or even alleviated, he has nothing to run on. By arguing that he can get a better deal when he is president (he can’t — as proven by four years of his presidency) he can continue to argue that the country is being overrun and that it is the Democrats’ fault. Recall the other debacle that took place Tuesday night when the House tried to impeach Secretary of Homeland Defense Alejandro Mayorkas and failed. (They will keep trying until they succeed.) There was no Constitutional basis to do so. It was merely political theater to try and agitate about the border crisis. The very border crisis that they refuse to do anything about. Clearly, the MAGA Republicans and those too afraid to resist them are putting party over country. More specifically, they are putting one man over the needs of our nation. As the Circuit Court identified him, he is citizen Trump. He has no legal or moral authority to dictate anything to the Congress of the United States.

This leads to the other reasons why citizen Trump torpedoed the bipartisan bill. He did it to show that he can. This may be the most dangerous of all the reasons. He demonstrated that in or out of office, he controls the Republicans in the Congress and as a result, given that the Republicans have a majority in the House and very little can get accomplished in the Senate without a filibuster proof majority of Senators, he dictates what gets accomplished in the Congress by vetoing any progress. Trump is laying the groundwork for his autocratic rule in the future. 

Likewise, Trump is pro-Putin, pro-Xi and he sends love letters to Kim in North Korea. Aid to Ukraine would run counter to his support for Putin and Russia. Many of his MAGA supporters are likewise enamored of Putin and other “strong men” around the world. ”America First” means withdrawing from NATO and other alliances around the world. Trump is demonstrating to the world that the U.S. cannot be counted upon to meet its commitments and will turn away from our friends in need. Like it or not, without U.S. leadership, the forces of evil in the world have an ever increasing chance of prevailing. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a prime example. It is a “pay me now or pay me later” proposition. Should Russia prevail in Ukraine, other nations are next on the list. But do not take my word for it, take a look at Finland and Sweden. Both nations rebuffed offers to join NATO for nearly 75 years. They know Russia. Since the invasion of Ukraine, Finland joined NATO and Sweden is in the process of doing so. They recognize the danger from an expansionist Russia. 

Add to the picture that Trump is pushing his acolytes to remove Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) from his leadership position in the Senate. Why? Because he deigned to work with Democrats on bipartisan bills. Trump is also pushing to remove Ronna McDaniel the current head of the Republican National Committee (RNC) because even though she has let Trump do pretty much whatever he wants, she is now considered not MAGA enough. Trump wants a puppet as the RNC chair so that he has absolute control over the political levers of the party. Additionally, he is already using his “rigged election” mantra in Indiana claiming that Nikki Haley, his only remaining opponent for the presidential nomination, is illegally on the primary ballot there. He wants her removed and if she is not, then obviously “they” are trying to steal the election. 

Put all of these pieces together and one can discern that citizen Trump, with no actual role in government, is building the will and the political infrastructure to do as he pleases in our country. His efforts are insidious but ever present. 

We are in for a bumpy and dangerous year.

Dysfunction or Destruction (Continued)

Posted: January 31, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Since the Republican majority in the House of Representatives took office last January, I have pondered in this space as to whether the new majority was totally dysfunctional or totally determined to destroy our country and our democracy. Without painting everyone in the Republican party with the same broad brush, it is increasingly apparent that while the House is dysfunctional under MAGA Republican leadership, it is also bent on destroying the institutions and norms our government established and refined over the last 235 years. Taking one seemingly singular policy — immigration — it is possible to see how the MAGA crowd combines multiple issues into one large untidy package and brings the wheels of government to a grinding halt.

I will explain further in the following paragraphs, but through a supposed concern over our southern border, the MAGA Republicans controlling the House of Representatives have impacted our relations with NATO and other friends and allies; disrupted desperately needed aid to Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Taiwan and our own border; initiated impeachment proceedings against a cabinet official; threatened the ability of the Supreme Court to interpret our laws; created the conditions for a state to physically impede federal officials from following the law; and elevated an out of government civilian to become the controlling entity on national policy. The implications for our country are too deep and disturbing to be merely the result of incompetence or dysfunction, although that certainly exists. It can only be attributed to a deliberate attempt to destroy our institutions in order to bring an autocrat to power.

Last October President Joe Biden asked Congress for 105 billion dollars for aid to Ukraine ($61.4 billion), Israel ($14,3 billion), and the southern border ($14 billion) and smaller amounts for Taiwan and humanitarian assistance in the Middle East. Republicans in the House and Senate immediately voiced their concerns over the request and it went nowhere. By the end of the year, Republicans were tying the money to policy reforms impacting our southern border. The president agreed to negotiate changes and invited the leadership of both parties in Congress to the White House to get the process started before the end of the year. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (MAGA – LA) refused to participate in any solutions that did not meet all of the (mostly impractical) demands of his caucus. In the Senate, both parties, along with Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and key White House aids entered into intense negotiations. All parties involved agree that there is a crisis on the southern border and that significant steps must be taken to alleviate the situation. Compromises came from both sides, and although the final product is not yet public, many Republican Senators publicly applauded the deal, as did most Democrat Senators and the president. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham declared that it was the best immigration deal in decades. The legislation seems to be moving to a vote in the Senate in the coming weeks. Money for Israel — great! Money for Ukraine — great! More money to hire significantly more Customs Border Protection (CBP) agents, asylum judges, and facilities to house migrants on the southern border — great! Unicorns and rainbows and meaningful accomplishments! Except for one thing.

Speaker Johnson (also known as “MAGA Mike”) refuses to entertain any of it. Why? Because his boss, an out of office civilian pending criminal prosecution, told him to kill it. Trump has very few, if any, issues in his retribution campaign for the presidency. The only policy issue he touts to date is immigration. He deplores the current policies and claims that we have an “open border.” He uses dystopian rhetoric and xenophobia to paint the crisis on the border as an existential threat to our security and yet, no deal. He wants to run on the issue and cannot do so if it is resolved. He does not want to give a “win” to the Democrats (even though the Republicans publicly declare that they got almost everything they want) and so the country must endure another year of crisis until he is in office. A great patriot. 

Meanwhile, no money for Ukraine. No money for Israel. No money for additional resources on the border. The MAGA Republicans’ total support of Trump includes his desire to withhold money for Ukraine. The pro-Putin wing of the party would like to see Ukraine fail. This is not a domestic issue. By preventing the United States from fulfilling its commitments to NATO, Ukraine and our friends and other allies around the world, we are sending a very clear message to the world that no country should depend on the United States for anything. This plays perfectly into the hands of Putin, Xi, Kim and the mullahs in Iran. If the United States does not stand fully with Ukraine, it is a safe bet that Xi will not expect us to stay the course with Taiwan. We will be finished as a reliable partner and supporter of democracy. The lesson for the world is that democracy does not work. Too chaotic. Too unreliable. Too dysfunctional to accomplish anything meaningful. 

Meanwhile, at the same time that Secretary Majorkas is working with the Senate to find a solution to the border crisis, he is about to be impeached by the House. No “high crimes or misdemeanors,” just that they do not like the administration’s policies. Constitutional scholars of all stripes agree that there is no basis under the Constitution or the law for such an impeachment. Only one cabinet officer in our history has been impeached and that was nearly 150 years ago. (For those curious, it was Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876 for blatant corruption. Although a majority voted to convict him in the Senate, it did not reach the required two-thirds threshold. He had already resigned.) This is just another blatant political MAGA stunt taken at Trump’s direction in order to make his two impeachments look less terrible and to further hurt our country. The Secretary is likely to be acquitted in the Senate — if they even hold a trial which is not required – but if he is removed from office, the president will appoint another person to carry out the same policies. The entire thing is blatantly ridiculous and is underway only to appease one man.

As if this were not enough, the MAGA governor of Texas, Greg Abbott is defying a Supreme Court order concerning the placement of razor wire along the border that restricts and in some cases prevents the federal CBP from doing their job. Under the Constitution, the United States has jurisdiction over immigration and the borders, not Texas. The MAGA rhetoric surrounding the issue is reminiscent of that from southern states in the 1850s. ”States’ rights” is again the issue. Governor Abbot is using the Texas National Guard to “defend” the border and to prevent the federal agents from doing their jobs. Other MAGA governors are promising to send Guard units to Texas to help them defend their “sovereignty” and Governor Abbott’s claims that “the fight is not over” and that Texas has a right to “self defense.” By that he means that state laws and policies have priority over federal law, in direct conflict with the supremacy clause of the Constitution. Great MAGA minds such as Representative Thomas Massie (KY) promote over riding the Supreme Court decision by eliminating President Biden’s border funds. In other words, he advocates solving the border crisis by defunding the DHS. Brilliant! The next steps by the governor or the president are unclear as I write, but it could easily escalate into another self-generated crisis. What is clear is that MAGA politicians are willing to go against the Constitution in order to support Trump and his ambitions. A bad sign for our future.

Taken as a whole, the House of Representatives and certain state houses around the country see that their goal is to create chaos and disruption in order to bring down our established norms and institutions in the name of one man. There are multiple severe domestic and international threats to our national security as a result. Dysfunction may be MAGA’s middle name, but such a wide spread and concerted effort can only be explained when we realize that the real point is the destruction of our norms in order to elevate an autocrat to power. 

Assassinations Are Okay

Posted: January 13, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It is easy to get caught up in all of the vile, dangerous and non-sensical pronouncements of Donald J. Trump (he recently said that Abraham Lincoln should have negotiated with the South and thereby prevented the Civil War — and if he had done so, “you probably wouldn’t even know who Abraham Lincoln was.”) The problem is that if we ignore it, or just laugh it away, we run the danger of normalizing his behavior. On the other hand, the more we talk about it, the more he does it. I am sick of the guy and wish we could focus on defining our nation’s course going forward, rather than dealing with him. Unfortunately, the reality is that he is here to stay, whether or not he gets a second term.

Sometimes, we really need to pay attention. One of those times occurred this week and it was not Trump speaking but rather his knowledgeable and experienced attorneys making what they felt was a reasoned and Constitutional argument in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. A three judge panel is hearing Trump’s appeal of a lower court decision that he does not have total immunity from prosecution for any actions that he took as president. His lawyers claim that any president has total immunity as evidenced by over 200 years of our history where no president has ever been criminally tried for actions taken while president. Which is true. Mainly because no previous president committed crimes while in office. (The relevant exception is Richard M. Nixon. He accepted a pardon which is considered an admission of guilt.)

Without getting too far down into the inner workings of the law, especially since I am not an expert, my understanding is that Trump’s attorneys are arguing that under the Constitution, a president must be impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate before he or she can be prosecuted for a crime. They base their argument on Article I, Section 3, Clause 7 of the Constitution which says:

“Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.“

In other words, they argue, no conviction in the Senate, no prosecution for a crime. Which turns the established interpretation of the clause upside down and opens up a whole can of worms over hypothetical situations where the president can literally get away with murder. The Court of Appeals and Trump’s lawyers went there.

Judge Florence Y. Pan asked Trump’s lead attorney Mr. D. John Sauer if any president could be charged for ordering SEAL Team Six (the Navy’s elite special forces unit) to assassinate a political rival. The reply by Mr. Sauer was that a president could only be tried if the House impeached him and the Senate convicted him. Without those preconditions, there was no possibility under the Constitution to prosecute him. 

This was no wild claim made during a Trump rambling campaign speech in front of his adoring followers. This was the legal argument in the U.S. Court of Appeals.

The hypotheticals cascade from there. The president could murder anyone and resign before being impeached. The president could murder a rival and then have his non-supporters in the Senate killed before he was convicted. The mind can run loose on any number of scenarios. Mr. Sauer argued that a president was immune from prosecution for all of that unless impeached and convicted in the Congress.

This is what we have reaped for putting Trump center stage.

I have no idea whether Trump or any other president would try to eliminate all political opposition through murder. What it does tell me is that should the court decide that a president is immune from prosecution for any actions while president, then Trump will use that finding to his full advantage. He will undertake all kinds of previously unimaginable activities as president if he thinks it will help him to get whatever he wants and he cannot be held accountable. 

To be clear, there are some complications to finding that a president can be prosecuted for any action taken while president. In Trump’s mind that means he can prosecute Presidents Obama and Biden should he so desire for any action of theirs that he decides was “criminal.” The Appeals Court (and likely the Supreme Court where the case could go next) will have to figure out a way to define or limit the parameters for prosecution. We must all remember as well that presidents do not prosecute people. The citizens of the United States prosecute people. Grand juries indict people. A jury of our peers hears cases involving the alleged crimes and must reach a unanimous guilty verdict. Laws must be followed. Yet, it is clear by Trump’s arguments that he thinks he is above the law and I, for one, have no doubt that should he get into the White House again, he will ignore any limits that may have constrained his predecessors.

When we worry that we spend too much time, energy and resources on thinking about Trump, remember that he thinks assassinations are okay.

Abandon The Truth And Lose Democracy

Posted: January 6, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.”

— Joni Mitchell in “Big Yellow Taxi”

Today marks the third anniversary of the insurrection designed to keep Donald J. Trump in office. Yesterday, President Joe Biden gave a speech in Valley Forge Pennsylvania reminding all of us that the attack that day was anti-American and against all of the values that we say we stand for in our country. He also reminded us that without due diligence, it will happen again. Sadly, he is correct.

The effective propaganda campaign waged by the Insurrectionist-in-Chief and his accomplices in the U.S. House of Representatives and the right-wing media is astonishingly effective. The Washington Post made headlines this week when it announced that in a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll, twenty-five percent of Americans believe that it is “definitely” or “probably” true that the FBI instigated the assault on the Capitol. Even more astounding and dangerous to me is that in that same poll, seventy-seven percent of Trump voters are “not sure” or “definitely” believe that the FBI organized and encouraged the attack.

As we start the new year, it seems that our collective optimism that a new year can bring new and improved elements to our lives, is, I am afraid, misplaced. Apparently, the MAGA attempts to destroy our country so that a “strong man” (hint, hint) can take charge and straighten out our nation’s course are going to continue and where possible, are doubled down. Let’s start with the House of Representatives. The MAGA Republicans (essentially all of those Republicans in the House) are holding hostage a bill to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and our southern border until all of their demands (which coincidentally exactly match Trump’s) are met. For good measure, they are threatening to fail to act to keep the government open when the current continuing resolution (CR) partially runs out on 19 January 2024. (The CR is in two parts for different government functions. The other runs out on 2 February,) While Republicans in the Senate negotiate with Senate Democrats and the president, the House leadership refuses to participate and Speaker Mike Johnson (MAGA-LA) supports the most extreme demands of his caucus. 

All of which ignores the fact that the president and Democrats in the House and Senate all agree that we need to strengthen the border and have asked for roughly fourteen billion dollars to hire new Custom and Border Patrol (CBP) agents and asylum judges, provide aid to border areas dealing with the influx of migrants and to take other measures to strengthen the border. This is not enough for the Republican House who demand, among other things, restricting asylum requests and detaining those seeking asylum until their case is heard (currently that could be years), building Trump’s border wall (while over-riding any environmental or historical concerns and allowing for non-negotiable rights of imminent domain to confiscate private land for the wall), rolling back current protections for immigrant minors, and they want to preclude any reforms to the immigration system such as paths to citizenship or legalizing “Dreamers” (immigrants that were brought into the country as young children and now have lived, gone to school and worked in the United States and are, for all practical purposes, Americans.) There is more in their plan codified in House Resolution 2, but you get the idea. 

In sum, the House under the leadership of a MAGA Speaker refuses to help Ukraine fight Russia, provide needed assistance to Israel and Gaza, support Taiwan against an ever increasingly aggressive China, and provide needed assistance to our own border. But of course, they do not really care about the border. It is only a cudgel to be used to campaign against Democrats in general and President Biden in particular. Or as Texas MAGA Representative Troy Nehls said this week about the president’s border proposals, “Let me tell you, I’m not willing to do too damn much right now to help a Democrat and to help Joe Biden’s approval rating.” A great American. The issue is not solving the border problems, it is winning an election.

Speaking of such, let us return to the insurrection that increasing numbers of Americans believe is either fake, or “no big deal.” The story is a familiar one but worth repeating. Trump won the Electoral College in 2016, but as you will recall, he lost the popular vote. Immediately he called “fraud” “rigged” and claimed that there were gross improprieties in the way the results were tabulated. He then put together a national commission to prove that there was voter fraud in the 2016 election. The results of the investigation? Crickets. There was no fraud. The commission quietly disbanded. In Trump world, very little is new or original so he used the same script in 2020. Only this time he lost both the popular vote and the Electoral College. As president he tried to marshal all the resources at his command to upend the results and remain in office. When those efforts failed to work, he instigated an insurrection and gave “aid” and “comfort to the enemies” of the United States. 

Here is the through line. From the beginning Trump claimed that the “deep state” and “Democrats” did not want him to be president because he would fight for the “little guy.” He made that argument in 2016, again during his presidency, and in 2020. Those lined up against the little guy would do anything to keep him from becoming president again. He has been consistent over the last three years in claiming that the 2020 and 2016 elections were rigged. Any effort to debunk that claim is derided as being part of the conspiracy to keep him from office. Thus the insurrection was dialed up by the FBI, the courts are against him, he is unfairly being kept from what is rightfully his (and his cult followers) and on and on and on. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, a continuing spiral. Everything is rigged and you, the common person, are getting screwed because you are not getting what you deserve and I will give it to you. When someone is in the cult, it all makes sense. Swallowing wholesale the idea that the establishment does not want Trump in power results in everything else that happens to him make sense. It is not his fault, it is the deep state out to get him. For true believers (and there are millions, but there are also politicians that don’t buy any of that junk but see a path to their own power — more despicable than the believers) it all makes sense.

Very dangerous.

Which leads us to the Supreme Court agreeing to hear Trump’s appeal of the Colorado court’s decision to invoke the 14th Amendment, Section 3 finding that he was part of an insurrection against the United States and therefore ineligible to hold office. 

For a minute, I have to pause. Which one of us would ever think that it was necessary to go to court to stop a major U.S. political party candidate from running for president after instigating an insurrection? The mere thought of it is absurd. In my mind it would be inconceivable that anyone that tried to overthrow the government would be a leading candidate for president. Or at least it would have been for most of my life. I used to think about some folks in our country and their actions and say “this is not who we are” as a nation. Now, given that millions of people, knowing all of the facts, still support a man that tried to overthrow our government, I am beginning to wonder. Maybe this is who we are as a nation.

My own view is that the Supreme Court will find a technicality to keep Trump on the ballot without actually addressing whether or not he fomented an insurrection and subsequently gave aid and comfort to the insurrectionists. If that happens, then we have lost our way as a nation. Even now, Trump calls the insurrectionists “patriots” and “political hostages.” He vows to pardon them and have government officials apologize to them. He promises revenge and retribution to get even with his perceived enemies. 

Let’s quickly review the facts. More than 140 police officers were injured that day. To date 1,240 individuals have been charged with federal crimes relating to that day, 452 of them for assaulting law enforcement officers and roughly 900 have been convicted in a trial or pleaded guilty to their crimes. For 187 minutes Trump sat on his butt and refused efforts as Commander-in-Chief to take action to stop it, which in my professional career constitutes a gross negligence of duty. Obviously his oath to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution means nothing to him. This man has no socially redeeming value to our country. And yet, he has a chance of being elected our president and becoming a “dictator” on day one, as he publicly promised. 

Some people are upset that the courts may decide that Trump is ineligible to run for president. Let the voters decide at the ballot box, they say. I say why? He has already proven that he will not accept the results of any election unless he wins in a landslide. He has tried since 2015 to actively undermine our democracy. He led a coup for goodness sake! What makes anyone think that he will follow any rules, regulations or “guardrails”? He will not. He does not deserve to run for president much less to serve. Is it undemocratic to disallow Barak Obama or George W. Bush from running? They would be popular candidates today and many people would vote for them. They cannot of course, because the Constitution says that they cannot. The same Constitution applies to Trump. I am tired of him getting special consideration that you or I would not get. Frankly, I am just tired. The man is ruining our country, wholly aided and abetted by weak people in the Republican MAGA party that are literally physically afraid of him or that have sold their souls for a smidgeon of power.

Too many people think that “it can’t happen here.” All of the evidence is right in front of our faces. It can happen here. It is happening here. There are forces at work to destroy our country in order to rebuild it in their image of a white, “Christian,” male dominated society where the “right people” dictate to the rest of us as to how to live our lives. Trump just happens to be their standard bearer. Stopping him will put a crimp in their plans but it will not stop their efforts when a new Trumpian figure is in place. The bulk of the Republican party no longer is the party of small government, state’s rights and limited spending. They still talk that game but their actions show that really they want a large monolithic government that dictates the life choices, health care, education, even what books to read for our fellow citizens. It is their way or the highway. Otherwise you and I are “vermin” “poisoning the blood” of America. Believe what they tell you.

For 246 years we have had a pretty good ride as a democratic republic that values the freedom of individuals. Ours is not a perfect union, but throughout our history we strived “to form a more perfect union.” We sure will miss it if we lose it.

It’s That Time Of Year Again

Posted: September 16, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

You know it is Fall when the extreme members of the House of Representatives threaten to shut down the government again by failing to do their job and appropriate and authorize the funds needed to keep our country going. Same old tune, but this time with a few different lyrics.

Earlier this year, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (MAGA-CA) reached an agreement with President Joe Biden to raise the debt limit, thus ensuring that the United States would not default on its debts in accordance with the Constitution and that we would keep the U.S. and world economy working. As part of that deal, the two men reached an agreement for the ceiling on the amount of spending that would be authorized for the coming fiscal year, which begins on 1 October. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and was ready to move on to the actual work of the Congress, which is funding the government. Well, almost everyone was ready to move on. All were ready to get on with business except for the MAGA Republicans of the Freedom Caucus. They claim that Speaker McCarthy was duped by the president into agreeing to spending limits higher than they wanted and that they had insisted on having as a condition for making Mr. McCarthy Speaker of the House. They started throwing a conniption fit early this summer and continued to disrupt “regular order” in the House upon returning to Washington this week.

Before going into the details about the House, let us first acknowledge that, so far, the Senate is doing their job. Under the leadership of Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) as chair, and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) as vice-chair, the Appropriations Committee has all twelve of the necessary bills to fund the federal government ready to go for a full Senate vote. All are within the guidelines of the agreement with the president, with a few minor changes such as increasing the defense budget, and all have bipartisan support and will garner roughly two-thirds of the Senate voting in favor. There are no “poison pill” provisions included in it (amendments generally having to do with culture war issues to assuage some politician’s donors but that could keep the bill from passing). Effective leadership, cooperation, compromise and negotiation. What a concept!

Contrast that with the House where Speaker McCarthy, probably the weakest Speaker in my lifetime, cannot get his caucus to agree to the time of day. He has had to postpone several key votes because he does not have enough votes in his own party to pass them. Since most of the bills do include amendments that have draconian provisions that have nothing to do with spending, Democrats will not vote for them either. As the deadline approaches, the Speaker is contemplating a continuing resolution (CR) to temporarily keep the government functioning while negotiations continue. This means keeping spending levels at their current rate until new budgets are approved, as has often been the case over the last two decades. It is a very inefficient way to run things and serves mostly to keep the drama at a fever pitch while the various parties vie with each other to see who chickens out first and gives up on all or some of their demands. The proposed CR is a “clean” bill which means it only pertains to spending and does not include extraneous amendments that probably would not pass on their own, but get included as the best chance to see them pass.

Right now, the Freedom Caucus (made up of most of the members of the Sedition Caucus that voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results) is refusing to vote for such a CR as a temporary solution. Many of them publicly and dare I say, joyously, anticipate the government having to shut down. This puts the Speaker in a real bind.

The House could pass a clean CR with moderate Republicans (there aren’t that many left) and Democrats voting for it. But the hard line right wingers in the House declared that if the Speaker did that, they would put forth a motion to “vacate” the Speaker’s chair. In other words, they would vote to “fire” Mr. McCarthy as the Speaker. (A key question relevant to their threat is who would take his place that could get enough votes to win? It took Mr. McCarthy 15 ballots over multiple days to secure the speakership.) Depending on the day, Mr. McCarthy only has a four or five person majority to pass anything on purely party lines. As MAGA loud mouth Representative Matt Gaetz (MAGA-FL) on Tuesday put it, “Continuing Resolution, motion to vacate.” Representative Bob Good (MAGA-VA) said, “We should not fear a government shutdown. Most of the American people won’t even miss it if the government is shut down temporarily.” The last shutdown was in 2018-2019 and lasted five weeks. The dispute then was funding the border wall that Trump (aka Inmate PO1135809) wanted. (Somehow, Mexico was not involved.)

The hard right wingers always claim that they want to save the taxpayers money when they shut down the government. In fact, the country loses money. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates, the last shutdown cost the economy 11 billion dollars over the first two quarters, of which three billion dollars was never recovered. The secondary and tertiary impacts of such shutdowns impact the entire economy, not just the government.

The situation is complicated by Mr. McCarthy’s Tuesday announcement of an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. This action is simply and purely a political gambit. Other Republicans have publicly expressed their view that there are no actions by the president that may be characterized as “high crimes and misdemeanors” as delineated in the Constitution Article II, Section 4. There are also significant legal questions as to whether there can be an inquiry without a vote authorizing it by the full membership of the House.

There are two political factors relevant to the inquiry. Primarily, Mr. McCarthy hoped to throw the Freedom Caucus a bone to chew on so that he could distract them while trying to finesse a solution for avoiding a government shutdown. It did not work. The Freedom Caucus has been focused on impeaching President Biden since the day he took office. In their view, the Speaker is late to the party and is only doing what they thought would happen earlier this year.

The second political reason is an attempt by the Freedom Caucus and other supporters of the ex-president and indicted criminal currently out on bail to mitigate the legal dilemmas he faces as well as his two impeachments. Trump himself was working hard to push his fellow MAGA Republicans to open impeachment proceedings. They want to create an atmosphere where they can demonstrate that all politicians are corrupt, not just Trump and thereby damage Mr. Biden while helping Trump in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. Their actions are one more attempt at blowing up the rule of law and seeking retribution for holding Trump accountable.

Speaker McCarthy knows that he cannot deliver on all of the demands made by the Freedom Caucus. His problem is complicated by the fact that the Freedom Caucus itself is not unified in expressing what will satisfy them. Every time Mr. McCarthy gives into one demand, the goal posts move as additional demands are made. Here are examples of their key demands: that the final budget be considerably below the agreement between Mr. McCarthy and Mr. Biden and no more than pre-pandemic levels; defunding or significantly cutting funds for the “weaponized” Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI; defunding the federal prosecutors that are pursuing cases against the indicted ex-president (end “political witch hunts”) ; funding to renew building the wall on the southern border; significant changes to immigration laws including eliminating or restricting legal asylum; cutting funds for Ukraine in its war with Russia (“no blank checks”); eliminating “woke” policies in the Department of Defense (DOD); cutting down or eliminating funds for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); and on and on. None of these demands will be met in the Senate or signed into law by the president.

Mr. McCarthy will feel mounting pressure as the Senate completes its work and the president announces he would sign their appropriations bills into law. He will find himself in the politically uncomfortable position of being the sole obstacle to the normal functioning of the government and for the resulting shutdown. History shows that such shutdowns go badly for the party causing the shutdown when voters go to the polls. Mr. McCarthy would be well advised to look at what happened to his Republican predecessors. The Freedom Caucus is the successor to the Tea Party. The Tea Party caused similar headaches for Speaker John Boehner (who resigned) and Speaker Paul Ryan (who retired at the end of his term). The Freedom Caucus makes the old Tea Party look like a bunch of pushovers. The current iteration is out for revenge and feels like they are on a mission from which they will not be deterred. They want to burn it all down and bring in their cult leader from his beach club to take over.

The context and atmosphere today is dangerous. The next one to three months will be a real political roller coaster. I have no idea as to how it will unfold or be resolved.

We will get there, but it is going to be ugly.

MAGA Autocrats

Posted: July 18, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In recent weeks, the twice impeached, twice indicted, sexual abuser and former president Donald J. Trump has openly formulated his plans to turn the presidency in a second term into a centralized autocracy. He is directly telling us that he wants to create a fascist administration should he return to office.

There. I said it. I used the “F” word. He fashions himself to be a modern day Mussolini or perhaps more appropriately, he wants the same power as Putin, Xi, Orban and the other strong men he so openly admires.

As outlined in a recent New York Times article that encapsulates the information on Trump’s campaign website, his campaign speeches and on-the-record interviews with key Trump advisers past and present, he intends to weaponize the government in order to “demolish the deep state. We will expel the warmongers from our government. We will drive out the globalists. We will cast out the communists, Marxists and fascists. And we will throw off the sick political class that hates our country.”

The plan is based on a “unitary executive theory” that has its roots in Article II, section 2 of the Constitution that lists the duties of the President and Vice President, how long they serve, how they are to be elected and other provisions of their offices. Some interpret the article as giving the president complete control over the executive branch, rejecting the idea that the Constitution created overlapping responsibilities for the three branches of government, thereby creating checks and balances. Under the unitary executive theory, independent agencies created by Congress — such as the Federal Reserve, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communication Commission and others — should be brought under direct control of the president and cannot make independent decisions as they do now (subject to Congressional funding and challenges in court). As explained in the New York Times, Trump and his advisers are openly advocating, and already taking steps to implement, their goal “to alter the balance of power by increasing the president’s authority over every part of the federal government that now operates, by either law or tradition, with any measure of independence from political interference by the White House.” Their goal extends beyond the independent agencies as they also want to purge career officials in the intelligence community, defense department, state department and justice department that are not “loyal” to Trump and most especially those that worked to temper his ambitions during his term. He wants total and complete unfettered power to do as he pleases. To further strengthen that power, the advisers to Trump claim that he has the absolute ability to impound funds within the executive branch. That means that even as Congress budgets and authorizes funding for various cabinet and agency activities, under the unitary theory, the president does not have to use those funds as they were intended. As the executive, he can move funding into or out of any area he chooses.

During his time as president, Trump tried to implement portions of this plan. Remember that he claimed during a speech in 2019 that “I have an Article 2, where I have the right to do whatever I want as president.” Near the end of his term he signed an Executive Order giving him the right to fire career government employees. Known familiarly as “Schedule F” its intent was to remove anyone associated with policy making that did not do exactly as the president wanted. The order was rescinded by President Biden, but Trump stated that it would be reinstated under his presidency. Such an order would give him the means to remove the “political class” that he reviles and replace them with Trump sycophants. Apparently technical expertise, experience, and knowledge would no longer suffice to work in the government, only loyalty to Trump and Trumpism count. The civil service system created over a hundred years ago would be out and the old, rotten practices of the 19th century would return where political favoritism and even bribes were the basis for entering the government work force.

Trump, his advisers and his campaign all openly espouse these proposed policies where Trump is all powerful. As I have said many times in this space, autocrats tell you up front what they plan to do. It is only a matter of whether or not they can pull it off. Following his surprise election inn 2016, Trump and his supporters were slow to understand how to implement changes. Additionally, senior officials in his administration worked to stop or moderate his most extreme ideas. Only at the very end of his administration did Trump figure out how to use his powers, such as bypassing the “advise and consent” role of the Senate for filling senior positions (“I like ‘actings'”). This time around, the key elements and advisers are already in place and are already identifying personnel to fill key positions. There is a network behind the scenes putting together the plan in places like the Heritage Foundation, the America First Policy Institute, the Center for Renewing America, and the Project for 2025 — think tanks with key former and future advisers to Trump at work delineating policies and transition strategies.

Why are they so brazenly up front about their plans? First, they noted the lack of push back from “establishment” Republicans when Trump and his MAGA supporters in Congress attack the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). They find this encouraging and tacit approval of their plans. Second, they argue that if they explain their agenda now, when Trump is elected he will have a “mandate” to carry out his plan.

The scale of the MAGA effort to transform our democracy is astonishing and well established. Should Trump not win the nomination, the effort will remain in place for the Republican nominee, whoever it is, with plans to implement it regardless of Trump’s absence. In particular, it would seem that Governor DeSantis (FL) could benefit from this organization as he has already instituted many of these measures in his own state.

This much is clear. Should any Republican win the 2024 election, the MAGA wing of the party intends to carry out the mission they have set for themselves. It is becoming increasingly clear that the 2024 presidential election will have one candidate that supports our democracy and one that supports autocracy. As Trump’s former personnel chief John McEntee explained to the New York Times reporters, “Our current executive branch was conceived of by liberals for the purpose of promulgating liberal policies. There is no way to make the existing structure function in a conservative manner. It’s not enough to get the personnel right. What’s necessary is a complete system overhaul.”

The Constitution Is Not A “Terms of Service” Agreement

Posted: April 1, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | 1 Comment

Thursday, the twice impeached, anti-Semitic, racist former president was indicted by a grand jury called together by the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. This is the first time in our history that a former President of the United States was indicted. As of this post, the specific charges are unknown, something to remember amidst all the pro-Trump blather about how unjust the indictment is to the former president. A grand jury of ordinary citizens of the state of New York found that sufficient evidence exists to conclude that there is probable cause that a crime (or crimes) was committed. Trump will be given all due legal protections and is presumed innocent until proven guilty by the unanimous vote of a jury of his peers. While historic, this indictment is no different than that of any other citizen in our country. Keep that in mind when listening to the hyperventilating MAGA politicians and their hyperbolic accusations amplified by the court-proven liars on Fox News prime time talk shows..

It is the reaction of the MAGA politicians, probable 2024 presidential candidates and Republican members of the House of Representatives and Senate that really worries me. Obviously, Trump is stronger in his control over the Republican Party than I thought he was, but time will tell whether he keeps control in the coming months. But their reactions, statements and actions show that the majority of national Republican politicians are firmly in the Trumpist camp, even as he threatens “death and destruction” if indicted. I find that dangerous. (The Trump campaign put out an email where six governors, 26 Senators, 64 members of the House including the Speaker, and ten state Attorneys General stated their solid support for Trump following his indictment.) Whether or not Trump continues as the center of attention or ends up as a has-been, Trumpism, MAGAism or what I prefer to call it, authoritarianism, is the bedrock philosophy of many in the current MAGA Republican Party. Let me explain.

Many Republican leaders did not wait to see what the charges against Trump are before protesting his indictment in vile, radical and un-American terms. Their support is unwavering and full-throated. This deep support is for a man that attempted to destroy the Constitution and to stage a coup. (I feel confident that there are more indictments in his future.) No Americans who call themselves true Americans should in any way, shape or form support a coup. They took an oath to the Constitution, not to one man. Unfortunately, too many politicians seem to equate their oath of office “to support and defend” the Constitution with that of the terms of service on an electronic device app. In their minds, their oath seems to be just another box to be checked in order to get the job. They are cult-like in their loyalty to Trump and his authoritarian ways. Remember that last week the cult members attacked Mr. Bragg for his indictment of Trump when Trump was not even indicted. Trump declared he would be arrested on a certain day and all hell broke loose. He wasn’t. But he did make a pile of money for his so called “legal defense fund.” Apparently, to them, swindling people who can ill afford to pay for the legal fees of an alleged billionaire, when he was not even indicted, is okay. However, upholding the Constitution is only relevant when convenient.

Here is what I am most concerned about, with or without Trump. In a 16 March 2023 campaign video allegedly outlining his national security policies as president, Trump said the following (the transcript and capitalization are courtesy of the campaign):

“We have never been closer to World War III than we are today under Joe Biden. A global conflict between nuclear-armed powers would mean death and destruction on a scale unmatched in human history. It would be nuclear Armageddon. NOTHING is more important than avoiding that nightmare. We will avoid it. But we need new leadership.

Every day this proxy battle in Ukraine continues, we risk global war. We must be absolutely clear that our objective is to IMMEDIATELY have a total cessation of hostilities. All shooting has to stop. This is the central issue. We need PEACE without delay.

In addition, there must also be a complete commitment to dismantling the entire globalist neo-con establishment that is perpetually dragging us into endless wars, pretending to fight for freedom and democracy abroad, while they turn us into a third-world country and a third-world dictatorship right here at home. The State Department, the defense bureaucracy, the intelligence services, and all the rest need to be completely overhauled and reconstituted to fire the Deep Staters and put America First. We have to put America First.

Finally, we have to finish the process we began under my Administration of fundamentally reevaluating NATO’s purpose and NATO’s mission. Our foreign policy establishment keeps trying to pull the world into conflict with a nuclear-armed Russia based on the lie that Russia represents our greatest threat. But the greatest threat to Western Civilization today is not Russia. It’s probably, more than anything else, ourselves and some of the horrible, U.S.A. hating people that represent us. It’s the abolition of our national borders. It’s the failure to police our own cities. It’s the destruction of the rule of law from within. It’s the collapse of the nuclear family and fertility rates, like nobody can believe is happening. It’s the Marxists who would have us become a Godless nation worshipping at the altar of race, and gender, and environment. And it’s the globalist class that has made us totally dependent on China and other foreign countries that basically hate us.

These globalists want to squander all of America’s strength, blood and treasure, chasing monsters and phantoms overseas—while keeping us distracted from the havoc they’re creating right here at home. These forces are doing more damage to America than Russia and China could ever have dreamed. Evicting the sick and corrupt establishment is the monumental task for the next president. And I’m the only one who can do it. I’m the only one that can get the job done. I know exactly what has to be done.”

Scary stuff. American citizens are a greater threat than Russia or China? Dissolve NATO? Allow Russian aggression against Ukraine to stand? Eliminating the Department of State, the defense establishment, the intelligence services and any member of government that does not kneel to Trump? His messianic message is that only he is worthy of leading our country. This is exactly what authoritarianism looks like.

The speech is also full of code words that resonate with white supremacists, Q-Anon believers, neo-Nazis and others that would violently destroy our diverse society. One example is the reference to “the greatest threat to Western Civilization.” This is the same phrase used by the authoritarian leader of Hungary Victor Orban and of indicted war crimes fugitive and child kidnapper Vladimir Putin of Russia. Their view, and those hard core followers of Trump, is that western civilization means preserving a society that is of western European descent, white, Christian, heterosexual and living in a nuclear family where the husband is in charge. If you are black, brown, an immigrant, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, single parent, LGBTQ, or any of the “others,” then do as many Trumpists have said, “go back where you came from.” They do not want you in America.

Do not think that this speech was a one off. During his campaign rally in Waco Texas last weekend, he doubled down on all of it, almost verbatim, and adding names of people that need to be removed. In a stunt right out of the authoritarian handbook, Trump began the rally with an announcer intoning “Ladies and gentlemen, please rise and place your hand over your heart for…”Justice For All” featuring President Donald J. Trump and the J6 Choir.” He then stood at faux attention with his hand over his heart while the J6 Choir began the Star Spangled Banner interrupted at various times by Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Thus, he has usurped our national anthem for personal monetization (one can buy the recording on line) and glamorized insurrectionists. The J6 Choir members are convicted insurrectionists and coup plotters serving time in jail. While the song played, giant video screens played recordings of the insurrectionists attacking the capitol. Glorifying violence. Calling for violence. The actions of the rioters are not considered thuggish or criminal. Pay attention to the language. The MAGA believers think that violence is justified, even patriotic. It will only increase as Trump and his lackeys in the Republican Party continue to incite it. All of it shows yet another sign of the authoritarian roots of the MAGA philosophy.

Whatever happens to Trump himself, there are just too many Republican politicians that have unabashedly embraced the tenets of his political movement. The movement’s efforts will to be create chaos, uncertainty and violence in order to sow doubts as to the efficacy of our democratic Republic. The chaos is added to by a refusal to raise the debt limit, by Trump’s speeches and willingness to provoke “death and destruction”, by Congress attempting to interfere with the Judiciary as they are with District Attorney Bragg, by the continued undermining of democracy through the “Big Lie” that the election was stolen, by the refusal to address gun safety legislation, by the apocalyptic language regularly used, and, a big “tell”, as they use the phrase “Biden Regime.” By dehumanizing those not in the cult, romanticizing criminals as “patriots” and using language that sounds like President Biden is a dictator, they are attempting to create a scenario where they and their followers can step in and restore order through an authoritarian leader.

Take these efforts seriously. Those pushing this agenda have no use for the Constitution. It is merely a prop. There are far more good people in these United States that believe in the system and believe in their fellow Americans regardless of race, color, creed, sexual orientation or any other factor. The good guys will win. But only if we pay attention and make our voices heard.

The Insurrection Continues

Posted: January 6, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment

The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work and then get elected and prove it.

P.J. O’Rourke — American Satirist

As I write this, the House of Representatives failed for the twelfth time to elect a Speaker of the House, a position that is second in line to the presidency. Until a Speaker is selected, no other business may be conducted in the House, including swearing in the Members. Technically, right now, we do not have a House of Representatives and you have no representation in that body. This is the first time since 1856 that it has taken so many votes to elect a Speaker, and the first time since 1923 that more than one vote was required. In 1856 it took 133 votes over two months. In that case, the main issue was the debate over whether slavery should be allowed in the new states joining the Union or not. It was a substantive issue with real consequences. Today’s votes have nothing to do with any substantive issue. It is purely and plainly a power struggle within the Republican Party. Whether a political party has a huge majority or a slim one, as in this case, that party is expected to put together the votes to select a Speaker and to institute the rules for the incoming Congress. The current crop of Republicans are failing in every respect and the humiliation of the would be Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) continues.

I have written in this space before that Mr. McCarthy is a textbook example of a poor leader, and now we can observe just how bad he is. Apparently, he wants the title of Speaker of the House but he doesn’t really want the job. In his attempts to get himself elected, he has abdicated most of his responsibilities and given those that are holding him politically hostage everything that they have asked for, and yet he still does not have enough votes. It is likely that later today, or tomorrow, or next week he will end up as Speaker, but he will be the weakest one to serve in that position in a very long time. The intra-party fight is mostly over power. To outsiders it seems like an arcane collection of rules and patronages and who can chair what committee. It is a fight for power. It has nothing to do directly with policy or governing. However, those arcane rules and committee assignments will set the tone for what, if any, legislation comes to the floor for a vote. Primarily, those Republican Members gumming up the work of the House now are the very same ones who want to spend their time in office impeaching President Biden (allegedly Mr. McCarthy has promised that they can start hearings to do so in order to get their votes) investigating the J-6 Committee, and generally seeking revenge on any Democrat, Republican or citizen that they perceive to be their “enemy.”

This week’s boondoggle is only a preview of things to come. I do not expect any serious work to be accomplished over the next two years. Should there be a Speaker McCarthy, and should he accidentally want to do some serious work, such as, oh say raise the government debt limit on expenditures already made, and thus keep from ruining our economy and plunge the world into a previously unknown crisis, he can be challenged by one disgruntled Republican who can force a vote on his continued Speakership. In other words, Mr. McCarthy is mostly powerless, held hostage by the people within his party that have no interest in actually governing. They are only interested in power, Fox News exposure and raising money. Chaos and anarchy are their goals. They are a mix of insurrectionists, grifters, election-deniers and idiots. And Mr. McCarthy is ready to turn the People’s House over to them so that he can get his portrait mounted in the Capitol.

Actually, this should come as no suprise.

Today is the second anniversary of the insurrectionist attack on our government in an attempt to keep the former president in power. For the first time in our history, there was no peaceful transition of power from one president to the next. Similarly, in the House, there is no peaceful transition of power from one leader to another. In this case it is not because one party or opponents of those newly in power fought to keep the transition from happening. This is an intra-party Civil War for the heart and soul of one of the two major parties in the United States. The situation is entirely the creation of the Republican Party.

There is a straight line connecting the events from two years ago to those of today. In 2021 it was an outside attack on our government. Today it is an inside attack. The enemy is within. Never forget that Mr. McCarthy headed up not only the Republican Caucus in 2021, but also the Sedition Caucus. Even after the attack on 6 January he voted against certifying the free and fair election of Mr. Biden and he led 139 of his fellow Republican Representatives to do the same. (There were also eight Republican Senators in the Sedition Caucus.) For two years, those now obstructing the smooth functioning of the government have tried to disrupt the entire electoral process. Many of these same people are open admirers of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister and budding oligarch Victor Orban. Their goal is to create enough chaos and disruption to allow a “strongman” to rise to power and take control of the government. They cloak themselves in patriotism but have no idea what the Constitution means or what it stands for. In a way, we should be thankful for their dysfunction. If they were organized and united they could be an even greater threat to our democracy.

Thomas Jefferson famously said that “the government you elect is the government you deserve.” I think we deserve better than the circus we are witnessing in the House of Representatives. As the dysfunction continues over the next two years, I believe that the American people will come to realize that they deserve better and will throw the bums out (well, many of them). It remains to be seen how much damage the insurrectionists can do in the meantime. Thank goodness the Senate remains as a buffer to the insanity.

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