Love the historical precedent of a supermajority in response to that other bad boy president Andrew Johnson’s insane inflammatory proclamations.
As for COVID tests, in the world of court ordered drug/alcohol testing, a missed test counts as a dirty test. If only it were so for Graham, trump, and so many others gaming the system—at our expense.
It's 4 a.m. and I can not sleep. Just wrote to Senator Cornyn, "my" Senator, to get out the straight jacket, change the nuclear codes without telling DT, whatever it takes to stop America from being endangered by this sociopath on steroids! Literally!. "There comes a time when silence is betrayal." And that time has come!
I like how MJ Hegar told Cornyn she was the one running against him; he wasn't running against Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Shumer. Here's a link to the video of the debate if you'd like to see it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58Rrc1P9y0g It is time for Cornyn to retire for sure!
Aaaaaaaah, Sen John Cornyn — “The John Cornyn I knew in high school was a big supporter of George Wallace and seemed oblivious to the dangers of Wallace's racial demagoguery.”
[Cornyn is a 1969 graduate of the American School in Japan.]
That explains a lot.... My grandfather was a Wallace conservative. I couldn't understand how an educated, intelligent man could believe all that awful propaganda.
I am sure that you have some pretty incredible psychic power. I automatically awaken when your letter hits my inbox, and even though we are living through some really crazy time we have you to guide us through and help us keep our facts straight and our feelings under control. You stop short of telling us ‘don’t worry, everything is going to be ok’, but as long as you show up every night and hundreds (thousands) of bright and thoughtful people join together in our virtual bomb shelter I do get that sense.
Thank you, Heather. Will any cult members see the Creature is imploding and won’t vote for him? Or is that a moot point since Biden is comfortably ahead in the polls? But so was Hillary. I’m want to be hopeful that the 50,000 “poll watchers” won’t be allowed entry and that Biden voters won’t be intimidated if they show up outside. I want to be hopeful that the FBI and local law enforcement has enough manpower to thwart other right-wing goon squads around the country from causing violent disruptions. I want to be hopeful that somehow the courts will uphold Biden’s election, assuming his voters can overcome the obstacles being thrown at them. I want to hope that somehow the Senate can be prevented from hypocritically ramming through Barrett’s confirmation while we are in the middle of mail-in and early voting, when most people don’t want her confirmed. I want to hope that everything will be fine, that reason and compassion will return to the White House and the Senate.
I keep hoping, even, that Amy Coney Barrett herself would make a statement along the lines of, I’m honored and humbled by this nomination, but it shouldn’t move forward now. Especially after her children possibly infected classmates, who might infect grandparents who might die.
Amy Coney Barrett did not decline to take her current federal judge appointment on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in deference to Myra Shelby, who was one of the many Obama nominations that Mitch McConnell blocked from going before the Senate and expired when trump took office. That’s how principled she is.
I have read that has been McConnell's mission, to be totally dedicated to "stacking the courts" while the rest have been distracted by other late-breaking news.
Thanks for this link. Very interesting. Another problematic process that clearly needs to be changed. I think all Senators should be docked pay if they don’t confirm a jurist for an opening in a certain amount of time.
They don't have to confirm every nomination - this last Senate has sinned greatly against the American people by confirming so many unqualified people - but they should be required to hold hearings and vote.
You are right, Jeanne. She has it in her power to stop this ill-timed confirmation. My thoughts go to her very eagerness to fill a seat once occupied by a great Supreme Court Justice just hours from her passing. Is this the act of a Christian? She should ask herself in the future when her time comes would she want her family, friends and admirers to be denied a proper time to grieve and mourn for her in favor of a "time is of the essence" rush to fill her empty seat?
In her case, I believe Christianity and Catholicism take a back seat to the cult for which she is a Handmaid, and a good cult follower sees the Supreme Court position will benefit the cult's purposes. The true spirit of Christianity has little to do with it.
More than whether "this is the act of a Christian" is the question of whether this is the act of a person of integrity. A self-styled Christian who eschews integrity in favor of his or her personal philosophy can be trusted to act according to that standard, whereas a person of integrity acts according to right and wrong without regard to religion. Barrett's willingness to pursue the current fast track to be a SCOTUS justice shows a paucity of integrity and an allegiance only to her religion--and her politics. I have no faith in her tenure as a justice and will consider the SCOTUS illegitimate upon her confirmation. Justice is about balance, and this ain't it by a long shot.
This 2016 video shows that Amy Coney Barrett supported the Senate’s sitting on Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to replace Antonin Scalia because it was not “lateral” on a liberal-conservative dimension. But then she argues: “Frankly, the reality is we live in a different time,” Barrett said. “Confirmation hearings have gotten far more contentious. So I just don’t think we live in the same kind of time. So I think in sum, the president has the power to nominate, and the senate has the power to act or not, and I don’t think either one can claim that there’s a rule governing one way or the other.”
“We live in a different time” from a Constitution originalist who just argued that McConnell can sit on a Supreme Court Justice nomination because there are no rules about it in the Constitution. Am I missing something?
Thanks, Ellie. I struggled with the apparent contradiction. Not sure I understand why a judge would argue about living in a different time. The law should be the same, shouldn't it?
Well, now why doesn't she believe God sent her a message when her supporters contracted the virus off her WH reception. No need to answer, just my opinion about what God is really saying!
Remember, she has had the virus and recovered. I am afraid thst God is relying on our innate intelligence and good will for our fellow humans to respond.
I keep holding on to that same prayer. If she is truly as exceptional as they say, she will do just that. Hmm... Will she put her ambition in 2nd place? I am all eyes and ears!
I'm hoping that her nomination in the Rose Garden is associating her so much with a super spreader event that they'll stop the confirmation. I know --- wistful thinking. Maybe if DT starts a nuclear war with Iran or China that will stop the confirmation although even that might not stop McConnell so close to reaching his legacy.
Hope springs eternal...and not necessarily in vain! I don't think there is any need to go on holding one's breath on this. Just determined and unrelenting action is needed to see our hopes realized and to achieve a "Johnsonian result".
We all need to remember that Clinton was "comfortably ahead" in the polls, and look what happened...don't let up on getting out the vote. It is the only mechanism we have to try to turn this ship around. There is no "comfort" until Trump is out power...I would say "out of the White House", but apparently he is scheming on how to stay there.
Yes, Yes, Yes. Work to get out the vote through your local Democratic organization or start making phone calls. First step is to visit https://www.mobilize.us/2020victory/event . That's how we win your State's electoral votes. An overwhelming majority of popular votes is needed nationwide to beat Trump.
Everyone who "messages" here must turn their muscle from their keyboards to physically doing things to get out the vote. (I address post cards and make telephone calls. If I weren't 88, I would knock on doors.)
Assuming Trump loses the election (which I am), once his term ends, he is no longer President. There is no rule that says the President has to reside in the WH in order to take the oath to assume the Presidency. So all Joe has to do is be sworn in. There have always been alternative "White Houses", for instance, when a President is on vacation. Trump can try to stay in the WH if he wants to, but he will be a squatter if he does. And at this point, I doubt the Secret Service will hesitate at all to remove him. They do not respect him, and do not want to work for him. My bet is that Melania will move out soon after the election.
I'm sure her contract states that she has to stay until that point.....but she is going to want to be paid before he goes bankrupt. Quite a nice reminder of his incompetence that he even gets "stiffed" by his paid escort.
I see from people I know that regardless of anything said or done they’ll never sway. Regardless of outcome the madness from his supporters won’t slow.
Unfortunately, there are members of his hardcore base who are very well educated. People who are Phi Beta Kappa, for God's sake. Don't make the mistake of thinking that his base is composed solely of poorly educated people, lacking in critical thinking skills. His well educated, moneyed supporters drive the bus, they have the wherewithal and the influence needed to keep it going until we vote him out. After that, they'll find another candidate, willing to take up where Trump leaves off. They'll grab onto any opportunity, just as they did with Trump. It may not be in the next couple terms but they will have someone waiting in the wings ready to roll out and create havoc. And whoever it is, will be far better suited to the task, not some egotistical maniac, rather someone more Reagan-esque who can cultivate and sustain a broader base.
That's just about all I try to teach to my students in grades 3-5. Since I work exclusively with gifted and talented kids, I'm not constrained by standards-based content. I've been saying for years that our young people have to be taught how to think, not what to think.
Brings me back to my English education where the watch words were "What, how, why, when, who". We were encouraged to question everything! I helps a little to get on in this world.
They aren’t so many people. They are a very loud and disruptive minority like billy, the class clown. He takes up all the air in the room. Send these disruptors to the principals office and let’s move on.
This is why so many people are no longer complaining and have joined organizations and movements to help shape a more honest and equitable future. That's where I am putting my energy now. Electing Biden is part of it, but we are looking into the future, at how Americans can find ways to work together on how we move forward.
Apparently the leaders of the trump cult are worried that the followers will defect to reality. I saw a long post on FB arguing that evangelicals should look past all of a candidate’s personal horribleness and see only the expected actions on their agenda. (Somehow guns and virus everywhere are prolife, while horrendous mistreatment of children is pro family.... )
Another dreadful day in America. That is why I re-watched “White House Down” last nite to relax from all the dreadful election/corruption stuff. Then I realized how naive we were in 2013, to think that this is how our presidency & government would be made a shambles. Who knew then that it could be the ignorant masses electing an unqualified, insane, hateful bigot to the presidency.
If sane ppl ever wrest back the government we really do need to make some changes to prevent another takeover by lawless factions who have ignored much of our once accepted protocols (Hatch Act; Emoluments Clause; 18 U.S. Code 1703 – Delay of mail; 52 U.S.Code 30121 – Contributions by foreign nationals; 5 CFR 2635.702 – Selling Beans from the Oval Office).
Oh, and the biggie, getting rid of the Electoral College which failed in one of its missions to keep the ignorant masses from electing an idiot to the presidency. Perhaps that can be replaced by an administrative office to have outside shrinks determine if a candidate is mentally stable (Narcissistic Personality Disorder being a disqualifying factor).
The "biggie"...getting rid of the electoral college will be impossible. There is a viable alternative which I have been doing some research into. The "National Popular Vote" initiative may be the way to go, although in a swing state like ours, Florida, it will be difficult to get this agreed to. Here is some information on that initiative. https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/national-popular-vote.aspx
Hi, Annette. My state, Virginia, passed the initiative in Feb. 2020. It wasn't on the list as yet. I do not understand, though, the difference between having the NPV initiative and just going by a plain popular vote. Do you know?
Yes. To have just a regular popular vote, you must amend the constitution because it stated that electors would choose the president. That is a nearly impossible task, especially now. The NPV initiative would need states totaling 270 electoral votes to sign on. The argument for the deeply red and blue states to do that would be that right now, candidates only campaign in swing states and ignore the solid states. Hope that helps.
Yes!! All of this, Rob. I wish you could have President Biden’s eat on this. I have read the Democrats have already said they would not approve of stacking the court. I would love to know what HCR thinks about adding more supreme court justices to the bench. I realize swinging too far the other way could make our polarization last for more generations. I think of Mandela urging his Black citizens not to seek revenge, but peace. Yet, we need to close these loopholes for posterity! Jurists should be confirmed within a few months of a vacancy no matter what. It should be about justice, not party affiliation. All of your points above are so, so crucial to the survival of our democracy.
Biden’s ear. It autocorrected to “eat” again just now! What the heck. Biden’s ear. You could be Charles Grodin to Kevin Kline’s President in the movie “Dave.” A great, funny movie.
Yes. It's called the Constitution. "Term Limits" - the second-dumbest idea in American politics after the "balanced budget" amendment - would require an Amendment.
A friend told me tonight that Trump could potentially pardon himself of any federal crimes before leaving office. But he cannot pardon himself from NY crimes. He is so desperate to hold onto power and I think it’s because he will go to prison. I hope someone or some few are keeping close tabs on Roger Stone, too, so they can catch him in his next crime as soon as Trump is out.
“The president's pardon power is limited to federal offenses because the Constitution only grants the president the power to pardon "[o]ffenses against the United States."[3] An offense that violates state law, but not federal law, is an offense against the state rather than an offense against the United States.[3] Experts disagree as to whether presidents can pardon themselves,[4] and there is disagreement about how the pardon power applies to cases involving obstructions of an impeachment.[5] The pardon can also be used for a presumptive case, such as when President Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon, who had not been charged with anything, over any possible crimes connected with the Watergate scandal.“
Thank you for this research, Ellie! I hope if he can still be charged with obstructing impeachment, maybe McConnell can, too! I feel like he should be charged with dereliction of duty to the Senate and the American people, but my brother always tells me he’s done nothing illegal. He’s just guilty of having no integrity.
McConnell just proved that the law, regulation and tradition can be made to look like the proverbial ass as he bends it all to his own purpose.....and not the people's! A little more clarity and precision and less reliance on personal integrity in these matters is required. Impeachment in the future can not depend on just on the Senate. It might be considered also that a mechanism for stopping crimes (with enforcement powers) against the Hatch Act, illegal occupation of a job etc etc etc during the reign of the next putative monarch and short of impeachment should be put in place.
All it takes are the innocent eyes of a little boy unclouded by the mania often induced, seemingly, by "adulthood or perhaps more often just aging masculinity" and his humiliating laughter at the ridiculous, self imposed cecity from which they suffered!
Is it sure that he can be pardoned for treason? And if he is pardoned for such, a clear admission of guilt, can one not then pursue all those around him for complicity in treason as they will not all have been pardoned with him. Me, myself and I!
In trumpland, what at all is sure about the rule of law. If there’s a hairline crack to be exploited, his sinister minions have been on it.
And while I’m not a lawyer, I have come to understand that treason has technical legal aspects to its definition that unfortunately do not rise to our laypersons’ outrage toward trump & company’s multitude of offenses against the United States of America, whose Constitution he was elected to “preserve, protect and defend.”
He can't pardon himself if he is no longer in power and the problem right now is he is claiming executive immunity--which the courts are leery about, especially in state cases, but are willing to concede in federal ones. However, in order to get him crowbarred out of the WH Biden might have to do a deal that results in some kind of partial immunity. I have thought that that might have to be the case if the vote is close. So it has to be absolutely overwhelming--as HCR says, Andrew Johnson's spanking overwhelming (he won a single vote in the electoral college because the elector said that only Washington should win unanimously). The problem really is with the "winner takes all" laws that developed in states with contested electoral college issues. There is no proportional representation in the electoral college, which is how we get to this place.
Lawfare has an informative article on the topic. The bottom line seems to be that a self pardon is unlikely to fly, but that the issue has never been tested in the Supreme Court and is therefor, unsettled.
The best guess on that (and it would be a guess) would probably be to look back at Scalia's writings to see what, if anything, he had to say on the matter. Let's hope it doesn't come to a SC decision on the matter.
I feel we should not go after him federally. Let’s just move on. The states will run him thru the wringer enough. Looking forward to heal the trauma from his abuse!
Yeah. Like, how many times can he be put in jail after his tax returns and debts are revealed? He just has one perfect specimen of a body <snort> to give. Just make him go away forever. Not die, just go away. There are two kinds of people (speaking generally): those who delight when they enter and those who delight when they leave. The entire current "Republican" Party belongs to the latter group.
That riot put Bush 43 in the White House. It looks like the Republicans are planning to scale it up this year if they can. I have 700 votefwd letters waiting to mail. Vote!
I hope someone is watching him closely. He should be in prison now. I want his next crime to be unpardonable—as in, prosecuted by the Biden administration.
Let the Biden adminstration take the high road with Donald, letting the inevitable Pence pardon stand. AG James in NY will put him in jail. The new administration will need to deal with Wm Barr and some of the other high level enablers.
Seems to me, though, that pardoning himself is an admission of guilt anyway. He might walk away laughing, but he's admitted guilt, which will be a matter of record. And THEN let divine justice and New York have him for state crimes.
In the works to plug these abusively exploited loopholes:
“On September 23, 2020, House Democrats introduced the Protecting Our Democracy Act – a landmark reforms package that will prevent future presidential abuses, restore our system of checks and balances, strengthen accountability and transparency, and protect our elections.“
Thank you as always Heather for this recap of insanity. I feel as though this Country is walking a dangerous plank that it can't retreat from. I am baffled by Republicans that continue to endorse him knowing all he can offer is disaster. I am seeing in Upstate New York a pattern of people removing Trump flags. New York is a Blue State, but there are pockets of 2nd Ammendment, gun toting generational voters that still love their racist roots. No amount of insanity from the White House will change that. Be safe, be well and for the love of God, VOTE!
Carolyn, that is just what my husband and I did today. The colors are beautiful here in Upstate NY. I posted a wonderful photo from earlier today on Instagram. Please enjoy!
I hope to some day visit the Northeast during the fall. We have some pretty spectacular pockets of color here in Washington State, but nothing like your part of the world.🍁
Carolyn, I imagine you have beautiful sights as well in Washington State. The Northeast is pretty spectacular in the fall. In fact, its my favorite time of year. Sad to say, the leaf peaking season is short.
Thank you HCR. I’m grateful to learn about the past. But, the bully pulpit is now a social media bullhorn. Who or what agency are we counting on to stop a deranged desperate delusional Trump? The FBI under Barr? The Senate under McConnell? When only 3% of Americans own the millions of weapons, and many of them appear to be Trump supporters, are we relying on governors and national guardsmen or mayors and local police to maintain order? Is it up to Jack Dorsey to shut down Trump’s Twitter account? We’re told to be prepared to be brave and vote. That, I have confidence we citizens will do. But, what about protecting the vote count? But, what about the violent aftermath, when a drowning Trump tries to save himself? I took lifesaving. A drowning person pushes you under in an attempt to get above water to air. What do we prepare to do? Is this when we take to the streets? I ask your intelligent readers to give me their thoughts. Concerned Citizen Campaign Volunteer ❤️🤍💙
You are asking the questions that many are asking right now. How bad could it get and what do I do if people are firing weapons on my street?
Hard, nearly impossible, to believe people are asking these questions – normal, rational people. I know people in the west who say they expect there to be violence in the streets - whether or not Trump wins. One extreme scenario would be that armed vigilantes travel to rallying points (Detroit, Lansing, Harrisburg, New York or Portland, for example) and at the slightest perceived provocation, simply start shooting people – and that is without Trump saying another word between now and November 3rd.
There are many, many angry white men in the country who have been prepared for some time to take up arms to defend what they believe is a threat to their way of life. They feel backed into a corner, that society has marginalized them, scorned their religious values, their heritage, disregard the contributions they make, and abandoned them in exchange for the promise of the votes that might gained by embracing immigrants, among a long list of others.
Some of these men have hundreds of weapons and enough ammunition to fire them non-stop until they melt. This is the landscape that the President surveyed and determined was ripe for the picking. It existed before he descended that escalator, but he has been a cheerleader for the cause and now, frankly, it may be out of his hands to do anything to prevent mayhem – even if he were so inclined.
That said, I do not believe the American military will follow illegal orders. I do not believe the National Guard will stand by and allow chaos to prevail in the streets. I do not believe that the FBI and other state and local law enforcement agencies will stand by and allow the country to burn. There may be those among their ranks who refuse to follow orders, but they will be the minority.
If you are concerned about vigilante violence on or around the actual election - have a plan. Voting early is number one. You could contact your local elected officials or police and find out what plans they have in place to ensure public order should right wing vigilantes attempt to disrupt the election process or cause harm in your city. Contact friends and family in the area and decide in advance where you can go – and how – should your location be threatened. Assess whatever measures are available to you to protect yourself and your family.
Thinking it through helps and being with those you love and trust helps even more. Being prepared is not the same as being afraid. Part of being prepared is facing the worst-case scenario and I find that writing things down and saying them out loud defuses their power somewhat. And then, if you do need to act, you have a plan – you’re an active player in the situation!
I am an optimist and although I expect there will be some local disturbances, I do not think this election will spark a civil war – at least not immediately. Long term responses, including public protests and showing up at the doors of those in power are strategies with which you are already familiar.
This is probably more of a reply than you wanted or expected, but this is a topic I have been considering for some time. I hope it addresses at least some of your concerns.
THANKS for this, "R". I loathe that I have to think such things as you outlined, but though it is very upsetting, it does pay to think "what if?" thee days. My concern is I live in a very VERY red state and in an area of that red state that is one of Trump's absolute strongholds...I mean over 70% support in 2016. It may have ebbed a tiny bit, but I think it is still the overriding attitude. Who knows what might happen in a place like this? I think we are having to consider things reaching a point that we never ever in a million years thought we'd ever get to. I even wondered if I should get a gun and learn how to use it. These people are f*cking nuts, pardon my word choice. I too am an optimist, but I'm also balanced with a good amount of realism. I pray earnestly that violence can be averted and that cool heads can prevail, but it is upsetting. The Trump administration is spiraling ever more and more downward into almost insanity. The views right now at the White House are horrifying...hundreds and hundreds of MAGA-hat-wearing people, a large percentage without masks and not socially distancing, flooding the South Lawn. God help us...
A good friend, a person who has always strongly rejected the idea of firearms in the home, purchased one recently and took training in its use. It was a shock to me that he felt the need to take such a drastic and uncharacteristic step, but I understand why he made the choice he did.
I don’t have the same aversion that he does to all firearms – although the extent of my collection consists of an antique shotgun that was given to me as a birthday gift by my employees over 40 years ago.
I hope we are wrong and that the people – all of them – accept the results of the election. The real tragedy of this Presidency is that he made no efforts whatsoever to ameliorate the situation and instead chose to inflame it for his own personal political motives.
I saw a meme that made me LOL...since most of the Trumpanzees at the White House rally were wearing blue coats and red MAGA-hats, somebody drew a picture re-imagining them as garden gnomes with blue jackets and pointy red hats. I plotzed.
Thank you for this thoughtful response. My husband and I are rancher/farmers in Northern California and we talk about what we will do if lasting violence breaks out after the election. Just before I began to read today’s letter from Heather, I was emailing a good friend, a native Californian too, about the likelihood of violence breaking out in the small towns of the Sierra foothills. Maybe we are giving Trump followers more influence than they actually have but I have lived among them all my life and they will be angry, I know. Anyway, thanks for your thoughts. I am going to do some serious thinking about how it might develop where I live and make a plan.
Yes, thank you. This is so out of control. If someone had suggested a year ago that in 1 year we would be having detailed conversations about the potential of a serious wave of violence after our elections, following months of a wave of the worst fires and devastation in our western regions, wiping out entire towns and cities, all during a deadly pandemic that would kill hundreds of thousands of people in our country, crippling businesses, schools, leaving hundreds of thousands unemployed and on the way to financial ruin, would you ever have believed it!?
A year ago we were in Vancouver celebrating our 27th wedding anniversary.... as crazy as it sounds, I wonder if we would have just stayed?
HCR, a request: could you please put together a series of articles or a book about what led to the Republican Party becoming the petri dish for this toxic stew of Trumpism? Because the Republican Party is ultimately the real enabler of all this. We need a historian to carefully trace all the threads going back decades on this story. I ask because it struck me yesterday how George W Bush has never come out against Trump's crazed, anti-democratic behavior. Nor has the Cheney family. That characters like Kemp, Rove, Norquist, and Oliver North were early indicators something was going deeply cynical and wrong with the party. I so clearly remember, although I was a teenager at the time and didn't understand what it was all about, North's testimony in front of Congress about Iran-Contra, how openly contemptuous he was of our democratically elected representatives, the sneer on his face. Which is the exact same sneer we see on the faces of Barr and Pompeo today. I don't think the Republican Party's disdain for Democracy is a recent development. I'd like to understand better where this got started, and why it continued to fester for decades and brought us to this precipice. Did it start with Nixon, perhaps? I think Reagan and HW Bush (W's father) believed in Democracy, and acted as a bit of a brake upon the worst elements in their party. I know HW didn't like Rove, actually kicked him out of his campaign early on, for shenanigans HW regarded as unethical. Young W, though, was weak and allowed VP Cheney to run the country and Rove to run free. Cheney is a singularly creepy character, who was disillusioned with Congress, I hear, when he was a staffer--so put off, in fact, I read he lost all belief in Democracy, decided Executive power was the only solution. As did many others in the Party, it seems. This is an epic story to tell, I think, which has not gotten proper attention because we all shy away at the thought that one of our Parties could be so far gone. We just didn't want to look this in the face, and now it is staring back at us.
HCR's book To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party is fascinating and informative. I think it, along with her newest book How the South Won the Civil War, explores and explains the issues you mention. Additionally, Jane Mayer's Dark Money reveals how far right conservative Republicans have amassed power in the last 50 years. Reading all three will make you an informed citizen!
I must read HCR's books. But know Jane Mayer's books and they are really helpful if disturbing. Bottom line - citizens must pay attention all the time.
Dr. Richardson has discussed the events and philosophy that led to the current, bald-faced, rejection of "ordinary people" even voting, let alone participating in a country that, as Lincoln said, is of, by, and for the people. Her October 8th chat was clarifying on this subject and you can listen to it on her FB archives. The political struggle has been about property from the beginning of the nation. The desire to control the way forward for the benefit of wealth generation by a few is still with us.
HCR's book, How the South Won the Civil War (Oxford U Press), which came out in April, focuses on the ways in which the US failed to capitalize on the preservation of the Union as a more equitable place. It is more or less the playbook of how we got to where we are now. Here is the Amazon link (sorry for the advertising but it's the easiest way to get it! OUP is kind of a pain to deal with): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084T78RLD/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Several readers have raised cogent questions about how the Republican Party came to be the shameful mess we suffer from today. I agree that Prof. Richardson’s To Make Men Free is an excellent historical overview of the steps involved in the party’s abandonment of its founding principles. There have been honest committed conservatives scattered through its history, but what is immensely clear is the pattern of the use and abuse of conservative tropes by the oligarchs of America to cement and extend their powers and wealth. Frighten people with threats from foreign and domestic Others—immigrants, anarchists, communists, Muslims, etc.—while contorting values of individualism, freedom from oppressive governments, and “America first” nationalism. All the while using governmental powers when they could muster majorities to increase their controls over the economy and reduce promoting the general welfare. The more recent rekindled racism, dominance free-market fundamentalism and amplification of messaging through digital means have only metastasized the political pathogens. Remember: it was Robert Taft (“Mr. Republican”) who screamed Socialism!!! when Truman proposed a postwar national health plan—but the massive lobbying and propaganda campaign was paid for by insurance companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers and the AMA. For details of more recent decades, which many of us have undoubtedly tried to erase from our memories, I would recommend Rick Perlstein’s series of studies from Before the Storm, through Nixonland, The Invisible Bridge, to (so far) Reaganland. These are weighty tomes, but I found the details of the chicanery, dishonesty, hypocrisy, and—let’s face it—persistence and skill—to be highly informative, if consistently enraging. We are in a deep hole, and it will take a lot of people doing a lot of building stairsteps to get us out of it. Consigning Trump and his enablers to their undoubtedly well-padded trashcans is a good start, but only a start.
Thanks for these book recommendations. As an artist, reading about history and politics is a slog for me, as well as deeply disturbing. Yet, it's vitally important to be informed.
The usual distraction tactics that served him well in the past are now beginning to wash away many voters who are traditionally conservative (as many polls seem to show.) History does indeed repeat itself, and I am hoping the same pattern cited in Johnson’s case repeats itself here. Hoping.
If Graham is refusing testing, he probably has it. It is pretty ironic that the republican party may be blocked in appointing a judge because of the pandemic their administration totally mishandled.
Graham might know he has covid. Or he might simply be afraid to find out, since he knows he was exposed and it would be inconvenient for his role in pushing through the last-minute nomination of a far-right conservative to the Supreme Court.
Graham's non-answer reminds me of the old joke: When your proposed sexual partner asks you if you have another lover/an STD/a criminal record (take your pick), any answer other than "No" is a "Yes."
Maybe someone from Amy Coney Barrett’s children’s school will sue her for attending a super spreader event maskless along with her children. If that went all the way to SCOTUS, and she is on it by then, she would have to recuse herself.
Sadly, no one has stopped any previous violations of the hatch act committed by this administration or prosecuted them after committal so I don't expect too much in re enforcement.
Pence is now mia, after canceling his campaigning and flying back to D.C. yesterday. Does he have covid now? Is he on call in case they 25 45? Or is there some other explanation?
Despite his ability to spew lies throughout, I thought Pence was very muted in the VP debate (as was Mother when she joined him - sans mask - on stage). A positive test or two would not surprise me.
You realize that the whole GOP agenda is to wrest the election any way they can, use Trump for as many votes as they can glean for Red state Senate candidates as well as the National election--and then get rid of him to put Pence in there. Pence could never in a million years have won on his own steam, but he will be their ultimate coup.
Love the historical precedent of a supermajority in response to that other bad boy president Andrew Johnson’s insane inflammatory proclamations.
As for COVID tests, in the world of court ordered drug/alcohol testing, a missed test counts as a dirty test. If only it were so for Graham, trump, and so many others gaming the system—at our expense.
It's 4 a.m. and I can not sleep. Just wrote to Senator Cornyn, "my" Senator, to get out the straight jacket, change the nuclear codes without telling DT, whatever it takes to stop America from being endangered by this sociopath on steroids! Literally!. "There comes a time when silence is betrayal." And that time has come!
Yes! Good for you! I missed his debate, but I hope he did awful!
I like how MJ Hegar told Cornyn she was the one running against him; he wasn't running against Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Shumer. Here's a link to the video of the debate if you'd like to see it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58Rrc1P9y0g It is time for Cornyn to retire for sure!
Aaaaaaaah, Sen John Cornyn — “The John Cornyn I knew in high school was a big supporter of George Wallace and seemed oblivious to the dangers of Wallace's racial demagoguery.”
[Cornyn is a 1969 graduate of the American School in Japan.]
https://www.texasobserver.org/750-afterword-cornyn-george-wallace-and-me/
That explains a lot.... My grandfather was a Wallace conservative. I couldn't understand how an educated, intelligent man could believe all that awful propaganda.
I am sure that you have some pretty incredible psychic power. I automatically awaken when your letter hits my inbox, and even though we are living through some really crazy time we have you to guide us through and help us keep our facts straight and our feelings under control. You stop short of telling us ‘don’t worry, everything is going to be ok’, but as long as you show up every night and hundreds (thousands) of bright and thoughtful people join together in our virtual bomb shelter I do get that sense.
Thanks and sweet dreams!
"...our virtual bomb shelter." Yes, indeed!
Yes! Hunkered down together. Thank you, Heather!
Isn't it bizarre how that happens? I frequently wake up within a minute after it's been posted on Facebook.
Thank you, Heather. Will any cult members see the Creature is imploding and won’t vote for him? Or is that a moot point since Biden is comfortably ahead in the polls? But so was Hillary. I’m want to be hopeful that the 50,000 “poll watchers” won’t be allowed entry and that Biden voters won’t be intimidated if they show up outside. I want to be hopeful that the FBI and local law enforcement has enough manpower to thwart other right-wing goon squads around the country from causing violent disruptions. I want to be hopeful that somehow the courts will uphold Biden’s election, assuming his voters can overcome the obstacles being thrown at them. I want to hope that somehow the Senate can be prevented from hypocritically ramming through Barrett’s confirmation while we are in the middle of mail-in and early voting, when most people don’t want her confirmed. I want to hope that everything will be fine, that reason and compassion will return to the White House and the Senate.
I keep hoping, even, that Amy Coney Barrett herself would make a statement along the lines of, I’m honored and humbled by this nomination, but it shouldn’t move forward now. Especially after her children possibly infected classmates, who might infect grandparents who might die.
Amy Coney Barrett did not decline to take her current federal judge appointment on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in deference to Myra Shelby, who was one of the many Obama nominations that Mitch McConnell blocked from going before the Senate and expired when trump took office. That’s how principled she is.
https://ballotpedia.org/Myra_Selby
That just makes me angrier and angrier at McConnell. He is an evil, corrupt, power abusing ass. I would so love to see him lose his re-election bid.
Thanks to McConnell Russian Oligarchs own enough of Kentucky to annex it to Russia.
Yes! But I think that after rigging the election for himself, drumpf will surely protect him and, I’m afraid, loser Lindsey....
he'll drop them like a stone, calling them "suckers and losers". Me, myself and I!
You bring up an interesting point. I wonder how many federal judgeships McConnell blocked...????
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2018/06/04/senate-obstructionism-handed-judicial-vacancies-to-trump/
105 in the lower courts, plus Merrick Garland to the SC
I have read that has been McConnell's mission, to be totally dedicated to "stacking the courts" while the rest have been distracted by other late-breaking news.
Thanks for this link. Very interesting. Another problematic process that clearly needs to be changed. I think all Senators should be docked pay if they don’t confirm a jurist for an opening in a certain amount of time.
They don't have to confirm every nomination - this last Senate has sinned greatly against the American people by confirming so many unqualified people - but they should be required to hold hearings and vote.
And what about the current situation with the Supreme Court vacancy? Now or after Jan 20th?
You are right, Jeanne. She has it in her power to stop this ill-timed confirmation. My thoughts go to her very eagerness to fill a seat once occupied by a great Supreme Court Justice just hours from her passing. Is this the act of a Christian? She should ask herself in the future when her time comes would she want her family, friends and admirers to be denied a proper time to grieve and mourn for her in favor of a "time is of the essence" rush to fill her empty seat?
In her case, I believe Christianity and Catholicism take a back seat to the cult for which she is a Handmaid, and a good cult follower sees the Supreme Court position will benefit the cult's purposes. The true spirit of Christianity has little to do with it.
Oh I’d say, based on my experIence with Christians, she’s in the front seat driving the bus. Her actions are totally aligned with THAT cult!
More than whether "this is the act of a Christian" is the question of whether this is the act of a person of integrity. A self-styled Christian who eschews integrity in favor of his or her personal philosophy can be trusted to act according to that standard, whereas a person of integrity acts according to right and wrong without regard to religion. Barrett's willingness to pursue the current fast track to be a SCOTUS justice shows a paucity of integrity and an allegiance only to her religion--and her politics. I have no faith in her tenure as a justice and will consider the SCOTUS illegitimate upon her confirmation. Justice is about balance, and this ain't it by a long shot.
Thank you, Kerin. You speak a huge truth.
Precisely. Darn.
But she won't. She is a hypocrite like the other GOP animals. This was from 2016, justifying the vacancy through Pres. Obama's last year:https://www.thewrap.com/watch-amy-coney-barrett-insist-its-wrong-to-replace-scotus-justice-with-political-opposite/
This 2016 video shows that Amy Coney Barrett supported the Senate’s sitting on Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to replace Antonin Scalia because it was not “lateral” on a liberal-conservative dimension. But then she argues: “Frankly, the reality is we live in a different time,” Barrett said. “Confirmation hearings have gotten far more contentious. So I just don’t think we live in the same kind of time. So I think in sum, the president has the power to nominate, and the senate has the power to act or not, and I don’t think either one can claim that there’s a rule governing one way or the other.”
“We live in a different time” from a Constitution originalist who just argued that McConnell can sit on a Supreme Court Justice nomination because there are no rules about it in the Constitution. Am I missing something?
Thanks, Ellie. I struggled with the apparent contradiction. Not sure I understand why a judge would argue about living in a different time. The law should be the same, shouldn't it?
Grrrrrrr
Thanks, Heather. I now see from the video exactly who/what she is.
I wish you would send her a letter saying just that! And we could all, hopefully, sign in agreement.
Yes - if it is written by a man, doesn't she have to obey?
Yes!
Only if he is her designated, sect mentor....in most cases the husband!
I was thinking about putting a full page ad in the Washington Post saying just that!
Oh, please do!
Let's all chip in!!!
I am sure she believes it is God's Timing, and, oh, she must comply.
Well, now why doesn't she believe God sent her a message when her supporters contracted the virus off her WH reception. No need to answer, just my opinion about what God is really saying!
Speculating: If she did not contract the virus, then God spared her for this special calling?
Remember, she has had the virus and recovered. I am afraid thst God is relying on our innate intelligence and good will for our fellow humans to respond.
I keep holding on to that same prayer. If she is truly as exceptional as they say, she will do just that. Hmm... Will she put her ambition in 2nd place? I am all eyes and ears!
I love the thought that she might be that principled, but I have no hope for that. Here's to her proving me wrong!
I'm hoping that her nomination in the Rose Garden is associating her so much with a super spreader event that they'll stop the confirmation. I know --- wistful thinking. Maybe if DT starts a nuclear war with Iran or China that will stop the confirmation although even that might not stop McConnell so close to reaching his legacy.
Hope springs eternal...and not necessarily in vain! I don't think there is any need to go on holding one's breath on this. Just determined and unrelenting action is needed to see our hopes realized and to achieve a "Johnsonian result".
We all need to remember that Clinton was "comfortably ahead" in the polls, and look what happened...don't let up on getting out the vote. It is the only mechanism we have to try to turn this ship around. There is no "comfort" until Trump is out power...I would say "out of the White House", but apparently he is scheming on how to stay there.
Yes, Yes, Yes. Work to get out the vote through your local Democratic organization or start making phone calls. First step is to visit https://www.mobilize.us/2020victory/event . That's how we win your State's electoral votes. An overwhelming majority of popular votes is needed nationwide to beat Trump.
Everyone who "messages" here must turn their muscle from their keyboards to physically doing things to get out the vote. (I address post cards and make telephone calls. If I weren't 88, I would knock on doors.)
I'm making phone calls!
Yes, I am doing letters.
Assuming Trump loses the election (which I am), once his term ends, he is no longer President. There is no rule that says the President has to reside in the WH in order to take the oath to assume the Presidency. So all Joe has to do is be sworn in. There have always been alternative "White Houses", for instance, when a President is on vacation. Trump can try to stay in the WH if he wants to, but he will be a squatter if he does. And at this point, I doubt the Secret Service will hesitate at all to remove him. They do not respect him, and do not want to work for him. My bet is that Melania will move out soon after the election.
I'm sure her contract states that she has to stay until that point.....but she is going to want to be paid before he goes bankrupt. Quite a nice reminder of his incompetence that he even gets "stiffed" by his paid escort.
I see from people I know that regardless of anything said or done they’ll never sway. Regardless of outcome the madness from his supporters won’t slow.
You are so right. Yesterday I saw an interview on MSNBC with Katie Tur on Staten Island. Since that is my "home town" (thank God I am no longer there), I watched closely. These people are delusional and will not even listen to the truth. Here is the link. https://www.msnbc.com/katy-tur/watch/-puppet-masters-and-trafficking-rings-the-baseless-conspiracy-theories-that-could-influence-the-election-93539909515
It's hard to believe that there are so many people are completely brainwashed.
Says something about the state of education and the desperate need to teach critical thinkIng
Unfortunately, there are members of his hardcore base who are very well educated. People who are Phi Beta Kappa, for God's sake. Don't make the mistake of thinking that his base is composed solely of poorly educated people, lacking in critical thinking skills. His well educated, moneyed supporters drive the bus, they have the wherewithal and the influence needed to keep it going until we vote him out. After that, they'll find another candidate, willing to take up where Trump leaves off. They'll grab onto any opportunity, just as they did with Trump. It may not be in the next couple terms but they will have someone waiting in the wings ready to roll out and create havoc. And whoever it is, will be far better suited to the task, not some egotistical maniac, rather someone more Reagan-esque who can cultivate and sustain a broader base.
And the wheel turns....as long as money is "free speech" and uncontrolled in terms of election spending.
So add: teach integrity and empathy in the mix with critical thinking skills. And bear in mind that the most powerful means of teaching is by example.
That's just about all I try to teach to my students in grades 3-5. Since I work exclusively with gifted and talented kids, I'm not constrained by standards-based content. I've been saying for years that our young people have to be taught how to think, not what to think.
Brings me back to my English education where the watch words were "What, how, why, when, who". We were encouraged to question everything! I helps a little to get on in this world.
They aren’t so many people. They are a very loud and disruptive minority like billy, the class clown. He takes up all the air in the room. Send these disruptors to the principals office and let’s move on.
EDIT: ...that there are so many people who are...
or
...that so many people are...
Thank you for that article! So disturbing and she is right, an election will not automatically “fix” this.
Our country needs major cleaning and deep healing.
This is why so many people are no longer complaining and have joined organizations and movements to help shape a more honest and equitable future. That's where I am putting my energy now. Electing Biden is part of it, but we are looking into the future, at how Americans can find ways to work together on how we move forward.
Apparently the leaders of the trump cult are worried that the followers will defect to reality. I saw a long post on FB arguing that evangelicals should look past all of a candidate’s personal horribleness and see only the expected actions on their agenda. (Somehow guns and virus everywhere are prolife, while horrendous mistreatment of children is pro family.... )
Another dreadful day in America. That is why I re-watched “White House Down” last nite to relax from all the dreadful election/corruption stuff. Then I realized how naive we were in 2013, to think that this is how our presidency & government would be made a shambles. Who knew then that it could be the ignorant masses electing an unqualified, insane, hateful bigot to the presidency.
If sane ppl ever wrest back the government we really do need to make some changes to prevent another takeover by lawless factions who have ignored much of our once accepted protocols (Hatch Act; Emoluments Clause; 18 U.S. Code 1703 – Delay of mail; 52 U.S.Code 30121 – Contributions by foreign nationals; 5 CFR 2635.702 – Selling Beans from the Oval Office).
Oh, and the biggie, getting rid of the Electoral College which failed in one of its missions to keep the ignorant masses from electing an idiot to the presidency. Perhaps that can be replaced by an administrative office to have outside shrinks determine if a candidate is mentally stable (Narcissistic Personality Disorder being a disqualifying factor).
The "biggie"...getting rid of the electoral college will be impossible. There is a viable alternative which I have been doing some research into. The "National Popular Vote" initiative may be the way to go, although in a swing state like ours, Florida, it will be difficult to get this agreed to. Here is some information on that initiative. https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/national-popular-vote.aspx
Hi, Annette. My state, Virginia, passed the initiative in Feb. 2020. It wasn't on the list as yet. I do not understand, though, the difference between having the NPV initiative and just going by a plain popular vote. Do you know?
Yes. To have just a regular popular vote, you must amend the constitution because it stated that electors would choose the president. That is a nearly impossible task, especially now. The NPV initiative would need states totaling 270 electoral votes to sign on. The argument for the deeply red and blue states to do that would be that right now, candidates only campaign in swing states and ignore the solid states. Hope that helps.
Yes, it does help. Thanks!
It gets around having to get 3/4 of the state legislatures to approve a constitutional amendment, leaving the EC to become irrelevant.
Yes!! All of this, Rob. I wish you could have President Biden’s eat on this. I have read the Democrats have already said they would not approve of stacking the court. I would love to know what HCR thinks about adding more supreme court justices to the bench. I realize swinging too far the other way could make our polarization last for more generations. I think of Mandela urging his Black citizens not to seek revenge, but peace. Yet, we need to close these loopholes for posterity! Jurists should be confirmed within a few months of a vacancy no matter what. It should be about justice, not party affiliation. All of your points above are so, so crucial to the survival of our democracy.
Biden’s ear. It autocorrected to “eat” again just now! What the heck. Biden’s ear. You could be Charles Grodin to Kevin Kline’s President in the movie “Dave.” A great, funny movie.
As well, I am in favor of setting term limits. Is there a "law" against that?
Yes. It's called the Constitution. "Term Limits" - the second-dumbest idea in American politics after the "balanced budget" amendment - would require an Amendment.
Thanks, TC!
A friend told me tonight that Trump could potentially pardon himself of any federal crimes before leaving office. But he cannot pardon himself from NY crimes. He is so desperate to hold onto power and I think it’s because he will go to prison. I hope someone or some few are keeping close tabs on Roger Stone, too, so they can catch him in his next crime as soon as Trump is out.
“The president's pardon power is limited to federal offenses because the Constitution only grants the president the power to pardon "[o]ffenses against the United States."[3] An offense that violates state law, but not federal law, is an offense against the state rather than an offense against the United States.[3] Experts disagree as to whether presidents can pardon themselves,[4] and there is disagreement about how the pardon power applies to cases involving obstructions of an impeachment.[5] The pardon can also be used for a presumptive case, such as when President Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon, who had not been charged with anything, over any possible crimes connected with the Watergate scandal.“
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_pardons_in_the_United_States
Thank you for this research, Ellie! I hope if he can still be charged with obstructing impeachment, maybe McConnell can, too! I feel like he should be charged with dereliction of duty to the Senate and the American people, but my brother always tells me he’s done nothing illegal. He’s just guilty of having no integrity.
McConnell just proved that the law, regulation and tradition can be made to look like the proverbial ass as he bends it all to his own purpose.....and not the people's! A little more clarity and precision and less reliance on personal integrity in these matters is required. Impeachment in the future can not depend on just on the Senate. It might be considered also that a mechanism for stopping crimes (with enforcement powers) against the Hatch Act, illegal occupation of a job etc etc etc during the reign of the next putative monarch and short of impeachment should be put in place.
I agree. I hope many loose ties will be tightened after the reign of the naked emperor ends.
All it takes are the innocent eyes of a little boy unclouded by the mania often induced, seemingly, by "adulthood or perhaps more often just aging masculinity" and his humiliating laughter at the ridiculous, self imposed cecity from which they suffered!
Thanks for making me look up and learn the word "cecity."
Whether or not trump is ultimately pardoned for federal crimes, he is still on the hook for state crimes.
Is it sure that he can be pardoned for treason? And if he is pardoned for such, a clear admission of guilt, can one not then pursue all those around him for complicity in treason as they will not all have been pardoned with him. Me, myself and I!
In trumpland, what at all is sure about the rule of law. If there’s a hairline crack to be exploited, his sinister minions have been on it.
And while I’m not a lawyer, I have come to understand that treason has technical legal aspects to its definition that unfortunately do not rise to our laypersons’ outrage toward trump & company’s multitude of offenses against the United States of America, whose Constitution he was elected to “preserve, protect and defend.”
Then it is about time the law did reflect the wishes of the people.
Wow.
I like it!!!
Sadly, true.
He can't pardon himself if he is no longer in power and the problem right now is he is claiming executive immunity--which the courts are leery about, especially in state cases, but are willing to concede in federal ones. However, in order to get him crowbarred out of the WH Biden might have to do a deal that results in some kind of partial immunity. I have thought that that might have to be the case if the vote is close. So it has to be absolutely overwhelming--as HCR says, Andrew Johnson's spanking overwhelming (he won a single vote in the electoral college because the elector said that only Washington should win unanimously). The problem really is with the "winner takes all" laws that developed in states with contested electoral college issues. There is no proportional representation in the electoral college, which is how we get to this place.
Thanks for doing the digging!
Thank You
Lawfare has an informative article on the topic. The bottom line seems to be that a self pardon is unlikely to fly, but that the issue has never been tested in the Supreme Court and is therefor, unsettled.
https://www.lawfareblog.com/can-congress-do-anything-about-trumps-abuse-pardon-power
And do we know how this Supreme Court + Amy Coney Barrett would rule on presidential self-pardoning?
The best guess on that (and it would be a guess) would probably be to look back at Scalia's writings to see what, if anything, he had to say on the matter. Let's hope it doesn't come to a SC decision on the matter.
I feel we should not go after him federally. Let’s just move on. The states will run him thru the wringer enough. Looking forward to heal the trauma from his abuse!
Yeah. Like, how many times can he be put in jail after his tax returns and debts are revealed? He just has one perfect specimen of a body <snort> to give. Just make him go away forever. Not die, just go away. There are two kinds of people (speaking generally): those who delight when they enter and those who delight when they leave. The entire current "Republican" Party belongs to the latter group.
That’s a good point.
My guess is his next crime is probably a repeat of his 2000 election crime with the "Brooks Brothers Riot." It ain't over til it's over.
That riot put Bush 43 in the White House. It looks like the Republicans are planning to scale it up this year if they can. I have 700 votefwd letters waiting to mail. Vote!
700 letters, Joan! You are a true patriot. Thank you!
I hope someone is watching him closely. He should be in prison now. I want his next crime to be unpardonable—as in, prosecuted by the Biden administration.
Let the Biden adminstration take the high road with Donald, letting the inevitable Pence pardon stand. AG James in NY will put him in jail. The new administration will need to deal with Wm Barr and some of the other high level enablers.
He can pardon himself!?!
He’ll try
Last night an expert on MSNBC said that theoretically he can pardon himself for federal crimes, but not state.
Seems to me, though, that pardoning himself is an admission of guilt anyway. He might walk away laughing, but he's admitted guilt, which will be a matter of record. And THEN let divine justice and New York have him for state crimes.
My friend said she heard or read that it’s possible. I confess I didn’t research this.
Ok! Thanks. I will read up on that after a brief return to the land of nod!
In the works to plug these abusively exploited loopholes:
“On September 23, 2020, House Democrats introduced the Protecting Our Democracy Act – a landmark reforms package that will prevent future presidential abuses, restore our system of checks and balances, strengthen accountability and transparency, and protect our elections.“
https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/house-democrats-introduce-landmark-reforms-package-the-protecting-our-democracy
Thank you as always Heather for this recap of insanity. I feel as though this Country is walking a dangerous plank that it can't retreat from. I am baffled by Republicans that continue to endorse him knowing all he can offer is disaster. I am seeing in Upstate New York a pattern of people removing Trump flags. New York is a Blue State, but there are pockets of 2nd Ammendment, gun toting generational voters that still love their racist roots. No amount of insanity from the White House will change that. Be safe, be well and for the love of God, VOTE!
Hello Linda--I hope you are feeling better and regaining strength.
Good morning Carolyn. Thank you so much for thinking of me. Yes, I am feeling better. Have a wonderful weekend.
That is good to hear, Linda. I hope you have a good weekend too. I need to check out some red and orange leaves. Take care.
Carolyn, that is just what my husband and I did today. The colors are beautiful here in Upstate NY. I posted a wonderful photo from earlier today on Instagram. Please enjoy!
I hope to some day visit the Northeast during the fall. We have some pretty spectacular pockets of color here in Washington State, but nothing like your part of the world.🍁
Carolyn, I imagine you have beautiful sights as well in Washington State. The Northeast is pretty spectacular in the fall. In fact, its my favorite time of year. Sad to say, the leaf peaking season is short.
Thank you HCR. I’m grateful to learn about the past. But, the bully pulpit is now a social media bullhorn. Who or what agency are we counting on to stop a deranged desperate delusional Trump? The FBI under Barr? The Senate under McConnell? When only 3% of Americans own the millions of weapons, and many of them appear to be Trump supporters, are we relying on governors and national guardsmen or mayors and local police to maintain order? Is it up to Jack Dorsey to shut down Trump’s Twitter account? We’re told to be prepared to be brave and vote. That, I have confidence we citizens will do. But, what about protecting the vote count? But, what about the violent aftermath, when a drowning Trump tries to save himself? I took lifesaving. A drowning person pushes you under in an attempt to get above water to air. What do we prepare to do? Is this when we take to the streets? I ask your intelligent readers to give me their thoughts. Concerned Citizen Campaign Volunteer ❤️🤍💙
You are asking the questions that many are asking right now. How bad could it get and what do I do if people are firing weapons on my street?
Hard, nearly impossible, to believe people are asking these questions – normal, rational people. I know people in the west who say they expect there to be violence in the streets - whether or not Trump wins. One extreme scenario would be that armed vigilantes travel to rallying points (Detroit, Lansing, Harrisburg, New York or Portland, for example) and at the slightest perceived provocation, simply start shooting people – and that is without Trump saying another word between now and November 3rd.
There are many, many angry white men in the country who have been prepared for some time to take up arms to defend what they believe is a threat to their way of life. They feel backed into a corner, that society has marginalized them, scorned their religious values, their heritage, disregard the contributions they make, and abandoned them in exchange for the promise of the votes that might gained by embracing immigrants, among a long list of others.
Some of these men have hundreds of weapons and enough ammunition to fire them non-stop until they melt. This is the landscape that the President surveyed and determined was ripe for the picking. It existed before he descended that escalator, but he has been a cheerleader for the cause and now, frankly, it may be out of his hands to do anything to prevent mayhem – even if he were so inclined.
That said, I do not believe the American military will follow illegal orders. I do not believe the National Guard will stand by and allow chaos to prevail in the streets. I do not believe that the FBI and other state and local law enforcement agencies will stand by and allow the country to burn. There may be those among their ranks who refuse to follow orders, but they will be the minority.
If you are concerned about vigilante violence on or around the actual election - have a plan. Voting early is number one. You could contact your local elected officials or police and find out what plans they have in place to ensure public order should right wing vigilantes attempt to disrupt the election process or cause harm in your city. Contact friends and family in the area and decide in advance where you can go – and how – should your location be threatened. Assess whatever measures are available to you to protect yourself and your family.
Thinking it through helps and being with those you love and trust helps even more. Being prepared is not the same as being afraid. Part of being prepared is facing the worst-case scenario and I find that writing things down and saying them out loud defuses their power somewhat. And then, if you do need to act, you have a plan – you’re an active player in the situation!
I am an optimist and although I expect there will be some local disturbances, I do not think this election will spark a civil war – at least not immediately. Long term responses, including public protests and showing up at the doors of those in power are strategies with which you are already familiar.
This is probably more of a reply than you wanted or expected, but this is a topic I have been considering for some time. I hope it addresses at least some of your concerns.
Be well.
THANKS for this, "R". I loathe that I have to think such things as you outlined, but though it is very upsetting, it does pay to think "what if?" thee days. My concern is I live in a very VERY red state and in an area of that red state that is one of Trump's absolute strongholds...I mean over 70% support in 2016. It may have ebbed a tiny bit, but I think it is still the overriding attitude. Who knows what might happen in a place like this? I think we are having to consider things reaching a point that we never ever in a million years thought we'd ever get to. I even wondered if I should get a gun and learn how to use it. These people are f*cking nuts, pardon my word choice. I too am an optimist, but I'm also balanced with a good amount of realism. I pray earnestly that violence can be averted and that cool heads can prevail, but it is upsetting. The Trump administration is spiraling ever more and more downward into almost insanity. The views right now at the White House are horrifying...hundreds and hundreds of MAGA-hat-wearing people, a large percentage without masks and not socially distancing, flooding the South Lawn. God help us...
I hear you, Bruce.
A good friend, a person who has always strongly rejected the idea of firearms in the home, purchased one recently and took training in its use. It was a shock to me that he felt the need to take such a drastic and uncharacteristic step, but I understand why he made the choice he did.
I don’t have the same aversion that he does to all firearms – although the extent of my collection consists of an antique shotgun that was given to me as a birthday gift by my employees over 40 years ago.
I hope we are wrong and that the people – all of them – accept the results of the election. The real tragedy of this Presidency is that he made no efforts whatsoever to ameliorate the situation and instead chose to inflame it for his own personal political motives.
I have noticed more of my conservative female friends taking firearm training, as well, and it concerns me.
"Thee" should be "these"...WHEN will I proofread before hitting "Post"??? Grrrr...
The typos are an official sign that you are a top fan!
I saw a meme that made me LOL...since most of the Trumpanzees at the White House rally were wearing blue coats and red MAGA-hats, somebody drew a picture re-imagining them as garden gnomes with blue jackets and pointy red hats. I plotzed.
And you too, Bruce. Be well.
Thank you for this thoughtful response. My husband and I are rancher/farmers in Northern California and we talk about what we will do if lasting violence breaks out after the election. Just before I began to read today’s letter from Heather, I was emailing a good friend, a native Californian too, about the likelihood of violence breaking out in the small towns of the Sierra foothills. Maybe we are giving Trump followers more influence than they actually have but I have lived among them all my life and they will be angry, I know. Anyway, thanks for your thoughts. I am going to do some serious thinking about how it might develop where I live and make a plan.
Thank you, R. This is very helpful. You be well, too.
Yes, thank you. This is so out of control. If someone had suggested a year ago that in 1 year we would be having detailed conversations about the potential of a serious wave of violence after our elections, following months of a wave of the worst fires and devastation in our western regions, wiping out entire towns and cities, all during a deadly pandemic that would kill hundreds of thousands of people in our country, crippling businesses, schools, leaving hundreds of thousands unemployed and on the way to financial ruin, would you ever have believed it!?
A year ago we were in Vancouver celebrating our 27th wedding anniversary.... as crazy as it sounds, I wonder if we would have just stayed?
Happy Anniversary.
Happy 28th, Cynthia! As for the rest, I am dismayed right along with you.
Thank you so much! We have entered the‘Twilight Zone’!
Good questions, Deborah. Your drowning person metaphor is a frightening prospect. How, indeed, do we save ourselves and our democracy?
HCR, a request: could you please put together a series of articles or a book about what led to the Republican Party becoming the petri dish for this toxic stew of Trumpism? Because the Republican Party is ultimately the real enabler of all this. We need a historian to carefully trace all the threads going back decades on this story. I ask because it struck me yesterday how George W Bush has never come out against Trump's crazed, anti-democratic behavior. Nor has the Cheney family. That characters like Kemp, Rove, Norquist, and Oliver North were early indicators something was going deeply cynical and wrong with the party. I so clearly remember, although I was a teenager at the time and didn't understand what it was all about, North's testimony in front of Congress about Iran-Contra, how openly contemptuous he was of our democratically elected representatives, the sneer on his face. Which is the exact same sneer we see on the faces of Barr and Pompeo today. I don't think the Republican Party's disdain for Democracy is a recent development. I'd like to understand better where this got started, and why it continued to fester for decades and brought us to this precipice. Did it start with Nixon, perhaps? I think Reagan and HW Bush (W's father) believed in Democracy, and acted as a bit of a brake upon the worst elements in their party. I know HW didn't like Rove, actually kicked him out of his campaign early on, for shenanigans HW regarded as unethical. Young W, though, was weak and allowed VP Cheney to run the country and Rove to run free. Cheney is a singularly creepy character, who was disillusioned with Congress, I hear, when he was a staffer--so put off, in fact, I read he lost all belief in Democracy, decided Executive power was the only solution. As did many others in the Party, it seems. This is an epic story to tell, I think, which has not gotten proper attention because we all shy away at the thought that one of our Parties could be so far gone. We just didn't want to look this in the face, and now it is staring back at us.
HCR's book To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party is fascinating and informative. I think it, along with her newest book How the South Won the Civil War, explores and explains the issues you mention. Additionally, Jane Mayer's Dark Money reveals how far right conservative Republicans have amassed power in the last 50 years. Reading all three will make you an informed citizen!
I would also add Nancy Maclean's "Democracy in Chains" and Timothy Snyders "Road to Unfreedom"
Good to know. I haven't read them and will add them to my book list. Thank you!
I found the part about Movement Conseevatives in To Make Men Free highly informative. Shelly Bird, it gives you another, different view of Reagan.
I must read HCR's books. But know Jane Mayer's books and they are really helpful if disturbing. Bottom line - citizens must pay attention all the time.
Dr. Richardson has discussed the events and philosophy that led to the current, bald-faced, rejection of "ordinary people" even voting, let alone participating in a country that, as Lincoln said, is of, by, and for the people. Her October 8th chat was clarifying on this subject and you can listen to it on her FB archives. The political struggle has been about property from the beginning of the nation. The desire to control the way forward for the benefit of wealth generation by a few is still with us.
Somewhat off topic but Hiding in Plain Sight by Sarah Kendzior is an excellent explanation of trump.
I agree. You can't look away after you've read this book!
Thanks, will look at that.
HCR's book, How the South Won the Civil War (Oxford U Press), which came out in April, focuses on the ways in which the US failed to capitalize on the preservation of the Union as a more equitable place. It is more or less the playbook of how we got to where we are now. Here is the Amazon link (sorry for the advertising but it's the easiest way to get it! OUP is kind of a pain to deal with): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084T78RLD/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Thanks for the link...just ordered it and To Make Men Free...more for my "To Read" pile!
Been meaning to get to that book, thanks, will take a look at it.
You might try bn.com as an alternative.
Several readers have raised cogent questions about how the Republican Party came to be the shameful mess we suffer from today. I agree that Prof. Richardson’s To Make Men Free is an excellent historical overview of the steps involved in the party’s abandonment of its founding principles. There have been honest committed conservatives scattered through its history, but what is immensely clear is the pattern of the use and abuse of conservative tropes by the oligarchs of America to cement and extend their powers and wealth. Frighten people with threats from foreign and domestic Others—immigrants, anarchists, communists, Muslims, etc.—while contorting values of individualism, freedom from oppressive governments, and “America first” nationalism. All the while using governmental powers when they could muster majorities to increase their controls over the economy and reduce promoting the general welfare. The more recent rekindled racism, dominance free-market fundamentalism and amplification of messaging through digital means have only metastasized the political pathogens. Remember: it was Robert Taft (“Mr. Republican”) who screamed Socialism!!! when Truman proposed a postwar national health plan—but the massive lobbying and propaganda campaign was paid for by insurance companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers and the AMA. For details of more recent decades, which many of us have undoubtedly tried to erase from our memories, I would recommend Rick Perlstein’s series of studies from Before the Storm, through Nixonland, The Invisible Bridge, to (so far) Reaganland. These are weighty tomes, but I found the details of the chicanery, dishonesty, hypocrisy, and—let’s face it—persistence and skill—to be highly informative, if consistently enraging. We are in a deep hole, and it will take a lot of people doing a lot of building stairsteps to get us out of it. Consigning Trump and his enablers to their undoubtedly well-padded trashcans is a good start, but only a start.
Thanks for these book recommendations. As an artist, reading about history and politics is a slog for me, as well as deeply disturbing. Yet, it's vitally important to be informed.
"Wildly Silent" would be an excellent title for the book about the GOP in this era. Thank you for your daily letters!
Wildly and Deadly Silent
The usual distraction tactics that served him well in the past are now beginning to wash away many voters who are traditionally conservative (as many polls seem to show.) History does indeed repeat itself, and I am hoping the same pattern cited in Johnson’s case repeats itself here. Hoping.
If Graham is refusing testing, he probably has it. It is pretty ironic that the republican party may be blocked in appointing a judge because of the pandemic their administration totally mishandled.
Graham might know he has covid. Or he might simply be afraid to find out, since he knows he was exposed and it would be inconvenient for his role in pushing through the last-minute nomination of a far-right conservative to the Supreme Court.
Graham's non-answer reminds me of the old joke: When your proposed sexual partner asks you if you have another lover/an STD/a criminal record (take your pick), any answer other than "No" is a "Yes."
Thank you so much for such a great summation of another maddening day. Like so many, I'm so grateful for your clarity.
So much gratitude to you, I just don’t have the words right now; just my usual thank you, from Texas.
Maybe someone from Amy Coney Barrett’s children’s school will sue her for attending a super spreader event maskless along with her children. If that went all the way to SCOTUS, and she is on it by then, she would have to recuse herself.
So if this rally violates the Hatch Act, who would enforce that? And in doing so, could people be prevented from even getting on to the South Lawn?
Sadly, no one has stopped any previous violations of the hatch act committed by this administration or prosecuted them after committal so I don't expect too much in re enforcement.
Other than Barr, who else is mia after the rose garden event? And thanks for the link to the six refusals video.
Pence is now mia, after canceling his campaigning and flying back to D.C. yesterday. Does he have covid now? Is he on call in case they 25 45? Or is there some other explanation?
Despite his ability to spew lies throughout, I thought Pence was very muted in the VP debate (as was Mother when she joined him - sans mask - on stage). A positive test or two would not surprise me.
You realize that the whole GOP agenda is to wrest the election any way they can, use Trump for as many votes as they can glean for Red state Senate candidates as well as the National election--and then get rid of him to put Pence in there. Pence could never in a million years have won on his own steam, but he will be their ultimate coup.
Jared, Ivanka, and Giuliani come to mind.
Eric!?