One comforting thought in this chaos and infamy is that there doesn't seem to be a guiding thread running through it. It is just a whole, amorphous GOP crowd randomly pushing a host of non-prioritized issues which are horizontally aligned like the keys of a piano being played by an untutored, ungifted child. It merely generates smoke and mirrors that just exist for its own sake as a partially opaque screen seeking to "mask" Trump and his gang's lack of direction, incompetence, greed, criminal negligence and evident psychological problems...and eventually to bluff the people into not rejecting them if they get the chance. Their very apparent lack of coordination, their constant unpreparedness for pushback on their infantile attemps to create a "counter-reality", their problems in staying focused on priorities, their inability to relate to "real" people and their constant search for the next tangent taking them away from the "here and now" lead me to conclude that there is not a real, practical plan to take over the country despite the wishes of the people to be expressed on Nov 3rd. They are just not capable of getting it sufficiently together. They think that bluster and, as would say the French, "les coups d'épée dans l'eau" (useless gestures with no effect) can replace strategic thought, careful planning, coalition building, garnering of ressources, dedicated team spirit, courage and quasi demonic desire for total power (AS OPPOSED TO MONEY)....... and amassed, trained, willing fighting men that are necessary for a successful coup. They are Disney's cartoon version of the plot as played out in Jack the Pirate movies (without wanting to insult in particular Johnny Depp).
In all of this confusion, the only one that would probably like to "go all the way" is Barr.....but he is alone and despairing, I think, of any structured and collective help on such a project; they are all going their own way. He should heed the Judgement on withholding evidence that a NY Judge has just ordered all Manhattan prosecutors to read as well as the words of Maureen O'Connor.......and look out for his "rear end" as no one else is covering it.!
ABC's Pennsylvannia Town Hall meeting has shown that Trump is running out of script, his prompter is on the blink and he's no longer sure which camera to look into. His reaction to ordinary peoples questions using tired old, irrelevant and debunked lines shows that he has lost his feeling for the exploitation of the "TV moment"and has no mental "flexibility" left to react spontaneously in an intelligent fashion to new circumstances. His old power to dominate the scene in a tele-reality spectacle has deserted him; he has lost the plot and done it in public for all to see.....once again!
For all of trump's bluster and incompetence, you don't worry about his behind-the-scenes operators who have been manifesting deep research into the ever unfolding exploitations of legal loopholes and outright defiance of laws? And the Russian "active measures" campaign to sow chaos?
Russia's objective is chaos, not a well planned, orderly take over of power which by happenstance might mistakenly leave a powerful competitor state. Putin needs to be able to tell the Russian people that nobody is better off than they are..all are poor or worse! The other elements pushed by Koch etc's money are looking now, i think, to save the bases in the States and Senate as much as possible in the wake of an impending Trump disaster that they have never been able to control. Trump is not their man and and he has never really been in control of himself either. They must now see that he is not the one that is going to achieve their oligarchic goals...and must be replaced.
They own the GOP. It is their people and their money funding it. They truly own the McConnell etc in the Senate as they provide the money and same in Congress and States. They are just afraid of Trump and his rabid dog supporters ruining their well funded re-election efforts...and he can and does!
Interesting that you use the word "own". I doubt any of the legislators to whom this applies would ever admit to that, though I believe you are correct. In fact, if they actually thought about being "owned" I think it might bother them. That word, in all its meaning, would make me sit up and think very hard about my motivations. McConnell and his cronies be damned in their arrogance and smugness. They don't realize how small they are in their little "owned" cages.
I think that the money men make it very clear to the politicians that their are chattel. Primary challenges are quickly organized to deal with those who might discover a moral compass.
Not really as Koch etc are in for the long term. If the election result produces your scenario you have deadlock and more of the existing chatic half-rule by presidential fiat. This is good and bad for them. Chaos is bad for business but his destruction of the fed gov suits them well enough for now. They would concentrate on massive spending to reverse the situ at mid-term and find a "way" to engineer a replacement of Trump by Pence. They would also contine to attack thru the States..limiting voting and spending on public services etc at that level. Only if the Dems achieve a veto resistant majority can this change and they can impeach the whole gang and do what they will...including overturning Citizens United and bring back the fairness doctrine to the media.
"His old power to dominate the scene in a tele-reality spectacle has deserted him; he has lost the plot and done it in public for all to see....."
Stuart, you are spot on. He hasn't been able to communicate his thoughts "in a straight line" for years now but his inability to communicate clearly is accelerating rapidly. I don't generally wish anyone ill but I am looking forward to the day when he goes "on tilt" live and on camera.
Why is that thought “comforting”? To me it’s terrifying that the world is being run by a man without a plan who spouts anything he needs to say to respond to a perceived “attack”. My 2 year old granddaughter has a better attention span that the President.
Comforting because it could otherwise get very much worse and persist well into the future if they had what it takes to structure a real coup. Short term chaos is easier to deal with than the long term horror of a truly dictatorial regime. We will come through this early next year and having a time limit is, i find, somewhat comforting and tells us that action now will pay off relatively quickly.
Watching his press conference and Biden's yesterday, and the highlight reel of his Tuesday "ambush" by reality, it's going to be really interesting to see what happens on September 29.
Stuart, I think you are correct as far as this election is concerned, but I think you are ignoring the long strategy of the Republican party: changing the judiciary. The Federalist Society has been engaged for more than 40 years in mentoring conservative jurists and getting them elected to the bench. In this administration, more than 200 such justices have been appointed. This will be Mitch McConnell's legacy.
I'm perfectly aware of it but am not hearing much about how the democrats will counter this strategy. If nobody opposes them, they would be wrong not to try to impose their ideas. Don't you agree?
Since I find many of their ideas to be anti-democratic, I do think they are wrong; however, people of the opposite view need to get on the stick. From another blog, "The American Constitution Society, founded in 2001, was explicitly started as a liberal analogue to the Federalist Society." I have no idea how well they are doing. I probably should find out.
That would be very interesting! But i'm afraid that complacency, decency and God knows what might have kept them silent and slowed them to snail pace. Best of intentions don't hack it in this Trumpian world.
Stuart, what does this mean: “He should heed the Judgement on withholding evidence that a NY Judge has just ordered all Manhattan prosecutors to read”?
I was thinking of the refusal to comply with subpoenas, the refusal to supply Trump's tax returns, the blocking of documents requested by Congress committees, the misrepresentation of the Mueller Report and the list goes on. Hiding evidence of crimes that would ensure conviction as opposed to preventing acquital as in today's case.
Yes, yes, yes. That mysterious, ethereal Trump healthcare plan, that is always just out of reach, forever "coming soon". "Better and cheaper" I think he said back in 2016. It's a ghost, a spook, a spectre that materializes for a moment, says "Boo!" and then disappears back into the fog of Trump's imagination.
One would think this would be a good time to bring that health plan out and show it off, all shiny and new, to help get the nation through this pesky pandemic thing that's going on and just ruining all the good times Trump was having.
Biden and the Democrats need to keep pressing that button.
Anybody it seems can get a job there as long as they contribute enough money. I wonder what the going price is? Perhaps there is a per minute charge or an hourly rate for proximity to and contact with Trump?
Two days ago I listened to Michael Cohen's podcast “Mea Culpa." I went out and purchased a copy of his book after and it is next in line once I finish the Woodward book. I can't say I'm a big fan of Cohen, but the podcast keeps me up at night. He confirms many things that Mary Trump writes about in her book.
Cohen paints the picture of a man that has to be in the public's eye daily. Long before winning the presidency, he craved attention. He says that Trump subscribes to numerous newspapers. Not because he wants to read them, but to see how he is treated by the press. Cohen says that if Trump's name didn't make it into the newspapers on a given day, it was a bad day to try to talk to him.
Having said all that, I worry what will happen if he loses the election. I'm not talking about the obvious things such as a refusal to accept the results or riots that may happen. I think we all know that Trump isn't going to leave Biden a nice letter on the resolute desk wishing him well, as is customary when there is a transfer of power. He will not fade into the background as all the presidents in my lifetime have done. The Biden administration will have to set up an office specifically to respond to Trump's constant barrage on all fronts. Of course, if he is arrested or there are enough lawsuits he may be too busy to interfere... I'm not counting on that.
If he loses the election and Biden is inaugurated as the 46th president, I believe Trump will immediately declare himself as a presidential candidate for 2024. There will be regular rallies designed to keep his base fired up. He will promote unrest and be possibly the largest national security concern for the Biden presidency. There is president for a nonconsecutive two-term president. Grover Cleveland is known as the 22nd President and the 24th President, after his wins in the 1884 and 1892 general elections. But he lost the 1888 to his Republican foe, Benjamin Harrison even though he won the popular vote.
If Trump loses the vote, and if we somehow manage to get him out by January, then I am not as concerned about his after-effect. He will likely be prosecuted and will end up in jail (I believe that is at least part of the reason why he wants to hold on to power). However, I am very concerned about the forces that have abetted him, and how much about 40% of the US population seems to live in a weird alternate reality in which climate change doesn't exist, all news sources except Fox news and Rush Limbaugh are not to be trusted, where the biggest issue with COVID is that there is too much testing, where all Mexicans are rapists, where all BLM supporters are riotous Marxists and anarchists, and where only the rich are job creators. I worry about the Koch networks. I worry about the intellectual dark web. All this misinformation and disinformation must be dealth with.
Is there no law about convicted felons running for President? AG NY will take care of him especially by putting him away and making sure that his financial crimes make him bankrupt and thus unable to fund further "political funding campaigns"(as he never uses his own money). His "supporters" will have been turned decisively towards a Koch-funded replacement in very short order by then.
I had to a double take. What is this IMO that was our only...then it dawned on me. The NY prosecutors have the bit between their teeth and are under starters orders for late in the day, Jan 20th.
Looking forward to that, and figuring Trump will resign so Pence can pardon all his federal crimes, how will long Mike Pence be President? I will bet a jelly doughnut on 10 days.
If Trump can stand being in Pence's shade for so long. I would bet on the day before Biden's inauguration to try and beat his rival's press coverage. Just think of all the speculation till the last moment!
I'm about 1/3 through the Cohen book and I agree that it backs up what Mary Trump's book said, but it also confirms what we have seen with our own eyes the past 3 1/2 years. For those who remember him from his glory days in the '80s, it was apparent then, too, only more of us saw him as a clown than as a serious threat back then, I expect.
The problem with all of this exposer is that it won't remotely matter to his base. As Cohen details in his book, Trump has a diabolical way of zeroing in on someone's weakest spot and using that to twist them, then to own them. He's done it on a mass scale with his base.
The constant stream of negative books gets Trump off balance, on defense playing catch-up instead of controlling the flow of news as he has previously.
I believe I read that Cohen asserts that Donald Trump's single greatest overriding fear is that his tax returns will be released. If that happens, then it'll ALL be over. He'll be toast and seen for what he is. He's obviously broken the law and knows it. I just hope that day can come sooner rather than later.
Yes he did say that. But others have said his biggest fear is for the public to know that he isn't worth as much as he has claimed. I keep hearing about all the tax fraud and/or evasion that he has committed, jet the IRS hasn't taken any action. I know a couple of people who were audited and subsequently taken to court by the IRS for tax fraud. Time will tell.
If his tax returns are opened up then that will also show how much he has been inflating his wealth, so not only would it uncover wrongdoing, it would show what a sham his supposed monetary worth is.
I hadn’t thought of this scenario, but it totally makes sense. I have been envisioning a world where I no longer have to see this orange faced cretin on a daily basis, but this most likely will not happen 😩
BTW, you mentioned Cleveland. Just yesterday, I listened to this wonderfully funny and informative podcast on him (2nd segment lasting about 25 min, although the first segment on Harding and the teapot scandal is pretty good too)
Yesterday, I got a call from "The Progressive Turnout Project" after I sent almost 1000 texts for the Texas Democratic Party. I live in Michigan. The caller from TPTPbasked me what issue was most important to me. I said I just wanted things to be normal. I was tired of the President being in the news every day. He has to go. BTW, 2020 Victory sent over a million texts on behalf of the Texas Democratic Party in 3.5 hours.
I am not a fan of doing phone calls, but I decided to stretch out and phone bank for a state representative candidate. She almost won last time and I do my part to help her campaign
Barr’s views on the role of religion in public life, while less publicized than his cheerleading for the unitary executive, are equally virulent.
In a speech delivered at the University of Notre Dame Law School in October 2019, Barr revealed himself as a Christian nationalist, blaming, as commentators Katherine Stewart and Caroline Fredrickson later noted in a New York Times op-ed, “secularists” for the “moral chaos” plaguing the country.
“From the Founding Era onward,” Barr told his audience at Notre Dame, “there was strong consensus about the centrality of religious liberty in the United States. The imperative of protecting religious freedom was not just a nod in the direction of piety. It reflects the Framers’ belief that religion was indispensable to sustaining our free system of government.”
Invoking the framers of the Constitution time and again, he continued:
“The Founding generation were Christians. They believed that the Judeo-Christian moral system corresponds to the true nature of man… Modern secularists dismiss this idea of morality as other-worldly superstition imposed by a kill-joy clergy. In fact, Judeo-Christian moral standards are the ultimate utilitarian rules for human conduct. They reflect the rules that are best for man, not in the by and by, but in the here and now. They are like God’s instruction manual for the best running of man and human society.”
Today’s secularists, he lamented, were destroying the framers’ vision by using the law “as a battering ram to break down traditional moral values and to establish moral relativism as a new orthodoxy.” He pledged as the attorney general to “keep an eye out for cases or events around the country where states are misapplying the Establishment Clause in a way that discriminates against people of faith, or cases where states adopt laws that impinge upon the free exercise of religion.”
In February, Barr doubled down on his demonization of secularism in an address to the annual convention of the National Religious Broadcasters in Nashville, Tennessee, in which he declared:
“We live at a time when religion—long an essential pillar of our society—is being driven from the public square. … Experience teaches that, to be strong enough to control willful human beings, moral values must be based on authority independent of man’s will. In other words, they must flow from a transcendent Supreme Being.”
Secularists, and “progressives,” he charged, aim to impose a new form of totalitarianism, “which seeks to submerge the individual in a collectivist agenda… in favor of elite conceptions about what best serves the collective.”
The slide into secularism can be reversed, he said, “but only if we can alter our course.” Exhorting Christian journalists and broadcasters to join with him to restore the centrality of religion, he concluded, “It is not too late to stem the tide, but we need to get to work.”
Far from faithfully adhering to the wisdom of the framers, Barr’s unhinged views on religion comprise a clear and present danger to the bedrock First Amendment principle of the separation of church and state, and to modernity itself. Combined with his extremist position on executive power, Barr’s religious fundamentalism makes him the most treacherous man in America, second only to Trump himself.
Bill Blum is a retired judge and a lawyer in Los Angeles. He is a lecturer at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication. He writes regularly on law and politics and is the author of three widely acclaimed legal thrillers: Prejudicial Error, The Last Appeal, and The Face of Justice.
It's always hard to tell when people who talk like Barr are just profoundly ignorant about religion and state, and when they are speaking in bad faith to advance an agenda, and when they're just mindlessly entrained by their religious beliefs. Not that those are exclusive of each other, of course.
The logical contradictions tied up in what Barr is saying are both amusing and appalling. "Experience teaches that, to be STRONG ENOUGH TO CONTROL WILLFUL HUMAN BEINGS, moral values must ... flow from a Transcendent Supreme Being."
Which is clearly why we need Religious Freedom, so that individuals can decide for themselves what Strong Moral Values from the TSB to follow.
Huh? What?
Here's a thought for Mr. Barr. We have a REAL TSB called Gaia. Her Strong Moral Values are not only Very Strong, they are enforced with consequences that transcend law, legal theory, and human experience. We're breaking them, and she's in the process of enforcing her "ultimate utilitarian rules." Things like, "Don't dig up oil and burn it, you idiots!" Or, "Mind your procreative instincts."
As usual, an excellent summary by Dr Richardson which I appreciate. Due to overwhelming nausea and/or rage that overcomes me when I see or hear POTUS, I try to avoid watching him lie. But it’s unavoidable because he a pathological liar. A liar cannot be trusted. Trust is the basis for all human interaction. So what is the deal with these undecided voters that NPR and others say are so important to the election? To even think that Donald is a rational choice defies common sense.
Interesting and scary article. Thanks for posting. I remember when the Notre Dame speech was in the news and then I looked at it online and I was like ..... WTF? What do we have here? Not good.
“If you take the blue states out we’re at a level I don’t think anybody in the world would be at”. Someone should tell him that Florida is a red state.
I live in central Florida. I will tell you that Biden flags and signs are popping up in yards all over. In 2016, I don't remember seeing more than a handful of Clinton flags and signs. It will be interesting to see what happens. The Villages retirement community has traditionally been 90+% Republican. There have been several Biden golf cart parades there that have made the news. Sadly, it is dividing what has historically been a very tight community.
I so look forward to your letters, Dr. R. Thanks to you, I do not feel outrage or fear anymore. I feel empowered.
Not in any way am I endorsing the actions of the Executive Branch since January 2017, but an article written several weeks ago from either The Washington Post or the New York Times stays in the back of my mind whenever I hear #45 make comments about either COVID-19 or other things. The article suggested that many WH aides present "alternative facts" in their briefings to 45 that favor how he views things should be, more to prevent a screaming meltdown that the "real" facts would elicit. I tend to believe this is what may be driving the "outrageous" statements we hear day after day. Not that it matters; just thought I'd throw this out here for perhaps further comment.
I agree. I retired from DHS HQ 10 months ago. We were working a lot of border issues at the time. It was apparent then that leadership was massaging data that was going forward. I served for 37 years, and never before did I ever see anything like it. The career federal workforce gets a bad rap. There are just as many hard-working career feds in government as there are in the military. Moral is at an all time low among them and many are leaving. I didn't leave due to Trump, it was simply my time to retire but that's not the case for many.
How did career DHS people feel about being used in Lafayette park and in the Portland protests? It felt like US military and DHS were being deployed against Americans on US soil? What is your perspective? Thank you!
Sorry, I saw this earlier and didn't have time to respond. This is a tough question, but I'll give you my 2 cents. I was never a law enforcement officer. My role was mission support. However, I interacted with LE personnel on a daily basis. I was the lifecycle manager for all the vehicles, weapons, computer equipment, etc., that the various DHS LE groups used. It takes a certain type of personality to be a LE officer. The career DHS people that were used in Lafayette Park were law enforcement. They train for, and are prepared to do whatever may be asked of them. "Normally", the officers are performing their jobs on a daily basis as directed by sound leadership. Administration policies are clear and understood. The senior leaders in the various agencies (ICE, CBP, FPS, SS, USCG) are in sync with the administration and provide direction to their officers accordingly. That is not the case now. It is painfully obvious to everyone that there is no clear policy and things change on a whim. Imagine being a highly trained LE officer who is sent to Portland to protect federal property. You get direction from your supervisor, and then that night you hear the President stirring the pot and escalating the violence. The president sometimes supports aggressive LE actions. I can only imagine how confusing that must be.
Shift gears and think of it differently. How do you think the CDC Director feels today Being undercut by Trump? There are a group of career employees in the CDC that support the director. Imagine how they feel today. They work countless hours to assist the director in developing the messaging. It's much the same, I imagine, for the LE officers.
As for the military in Lafayette Park, I believe they were all National Guard. The rules for using National Guard members for LE are a little different than active duty troops. The senior officers in that unit have been vocal that they were not needed that night. Again, military members - active or guard - do their best work when leadership at all levels are on the same page and there is sound policy. There hasn't been anything "sound" about any policy coming out of the Trump administration. I feel so sorry for our men and women in the military these days, and the LE officers as well.
Chris, Thank you for an excellent answer! I appreciate hearing what it is like for the career people trying to do their best when there is no sound policy behind it all. And, I would add even Constitutionally questionable policy!
I was so happy to read Scientific American's endorsement of Biden yesterday. It popped up on my tablet, I read it then shared it immediately with family and friends .
Hmm. A certain author of Letters from an American, whom we all know and love, posted on Facebook yesterday (Sept. 16): "Big windstorm tonight. I expect to post, but if I don't, it's because we lost power. If that happens, I'll post in the morning, assuming it's back."
Two days earlier, we read a scary Letter about escalating threats of violence if trump does not win this election, and one day earlier, in response to HCR's anniversary Letter, we poured out our gratitude for the treasure she is and on whom we rely.
Our electric power supply is subject to interruption from rolling power grid brownouts and blackouts, fires, lightning strikes, downed trees, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, hurricanes, derechos, tornadoes, land slides, industrial explosions, and/or sabotage. Communication for emergency services and networking with each other is critical for getting through such times.
I for one am shopping for an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), as well as ensuring that my portable phone chargers are handy and charged. A UPS provides surge protection and power supply for small electronics, like our computers, laptops, and tablets, for times ranging from 1 to 2.5 hours. Prices range from $60 to $200. A UPS is available at your nearest office supply store or through mail order.
I have the CyberPower1500 mentioned as an upgrade in the NYT article. My brother builds my computers for me and he swears by this UPS. It really does work great as our power goes out a lot now. I use it to keep my phone charged (I also use a charger in the car) if power is out for a day or more. You do have to keep checking the battery as it does occasionally need to be replaced.
Losing power can also take out your internet (CenruryLink thru a communication line). I speak from recent experience. Luckily the hot spot (Verizon MiFi) worked.
Thank you, Heather, for all your work, night after night. I'm so grateful for your clearsighted summaries. They make me feel like we have a chance to pull through. We are all so tired of the chaos and drama.
Should House impeach Barr just to draw attention to all the stuff he is doing behind the scenes. There are a couple of potential offenses in this HCR post alone. No?
After hearing his remarks at Hillsdale College, I suddenly felt the depth of fear over him that I had only felt for what the Trumpster could do up till now. I agree, Barr is VERY dangerous.
Reading HCR's letter regarding Trump's continued/constant mendacious behaviour (i.e. compulsive lying) in appearances, reminds me once again of something about Trump that has been apparent to me since even his days in the limelight from the 1980s: projection. This very subject is the focus of yesterday's newsletter from NYT op-ed columnist (and long-time fave), Frank Bruni. (I would post it on here, but it defies my copying/pasting abilities...it's his Wednesday newsletter.) He goes into a lot of detail about Trump's neurosis regarding "projection". I can quote him here:
"My fascination with projection [about Frank himself] eventually cooled, only to be stoked anew when Donald Trump hit the presidential campaign trail and then won the presidency. If Trump presents, as some psychologists have theorized, a perfect case of narcissistic personality disorder, he presents an even more perfect pattern of projection.
"He accuses opponents of the very crookedness that’s a fixture of his entire professional life. He bangs on about flaws in them that are flaws in him, at once beating them to the punch and trying to inoculate himself: When they turn around and criticize him in these same terms, it can look like mere payback or mimicry."
It's quite simple really, and Trump indulges in this ad nauseum. You remember his exchange with Clilnton, "I'm not a puppet. You're a puppet..." when she beat him at his own game for one instant. If you want to know in his little head what Trump KNOWS he's guilty of, watch how he consistently projects that on to almost anyone. It's quite remarkable. Accuse someone of something BEFORE they can accuse you so that when they do accuse you it looks like simple mimicry. It weakens your opponent. Classic projection:
One comforting thought in this chaos and infamy is that there doesn't seem to be a guiding thread running through it. It is just a whole, amorphous GOP crowd randomly pushing a host of non-prioritized issues which are horizontally aligned like the keys of a piano being played by an untutored, ungifted child. It merely generates smoke and mirrors that just exist for its own sake as a partially opaque screen seeking to "mask" Trump and his gang's lack of direction, incompetence, greed, criminal negligence and evident psychological problems...and eventually to bluff the people into not rejecting them if they get the chance. Their very apparent lack of coordination, their constant unpreparedness for pushback on their infantile attemps to create a "counter-reality", their problems in staying focused on priorities, their inability to relate to "real" people and their constant search for the next tangent taking them away from the "here and now" lead me to conclude that there is not a real, practical plan to take over the country despite the wishes of the people to be expressed on Nov 3rd. They are just not capable of getting it sufficiently together. They think that bluster and, as would say the French, "les coups d'épée dans l'eau" (useless gestures with no effect) can replace strategic thought, careful planning, coalition building, garnering of ressources, dedicated team spirit, courage and quasi demonic desire for total power (AS OPPOSED TO MONEY)....... and amassed, trained, willing fighting men that are necessary for a successful coup. They are Disney's cartoon version of the plot as played out in Jack the Pirate movies (without wanting to insult in particular Johnny Depp).
In all of this confusion, the only one that would probably like to "go all the way" is Barr.....but he is alone and despairing, I think, of any structured and collective help on such a project; they are all going their own way. He should heed the Judgement on withholding evidence that a NY Judge has just ordered all Manhattan prosecutors to read as well as the words of Maureen O'Connor.......and look out for his "rear end" as no one else is covering it.!
ABC's Pennsylvannia Town Hall meeting has shown that Trump is running out of script, his prompter is on the blink and he's no longer sure which camera to look into. His reaction to ordinary peoples questions using tired old, irrelevant and debunked lines shows that he has lost his feeling for the exploitation of the "TV moment"and has no mental "flexibility" left to react spontaneously in an intelligent fashion to new circumstances. His old power to dominate the scene in a tele-reality spectacle has deserted him; he has lost the plot and done it in public for all to see.....once again!
For all of trump's bluster and incompetence, you don't worry about his behind-the-scenes operators who have been manifesting deep research into the ever unfolding exploitations of legal loopholes and outright defiance of laws? And the Russian "active measures" campaign to sow chaos?
Russia's objective is chaos, not a well planned, orderly take over of power which by happenstance might mistakenly leave a powerful competitor state. Putin needs to be able to tell the Russian people that nobody is better off than they are..all are poor or worse! The other elements pushed by Koch etc's money are looking now, i think, to save the bases in the States and Senate as much as possible in the wake of an impending Trump disaster that they have never been able to control. Trump is not their man and and he has never really been in control of himself either. They must now see that he is not the one that is going to achieve their oligarchic goals...and must be replaced.
So if the oligarchic forces are not supporting trump, then whom?
They own the GOP. It is their people and their money funding it. They truly own the McConnell etc in the Senate as they provide the money and same in Congress and States. They are just afraid of Trump and his rabid dog supporters ruining their well funded re-election efforts...and he can and does!
Interesting that you use the word "own". I doubt any of the legislators to whom this applies would ever admit to that, though I believe you are correct. In fact, if they actually thought about being "owned" I think it might bother them. That word, in all its meaning, would make me sit up and think very hard about my motivations. McConnell and his cronies be damned in their arrogance and smugness. They don't realize how small they are in their little "owned" cages.
I think that the money men make it very clear to the politicians that their are chattel. Primary challenges are quickly organized to deal with those who might discover a moral compass.
So if the house and senate went blue but Trump wins, the joke would be on them.
Not really as Koch etc are in for the long term. If the election result produces your scenario you have deadlock and more of the existing chatic half-rule by presidential fiat. This is good and bad for them. Chaos is bad for business but his destruction of the fed gov suits them well enough for now. They would concentrate on massive spending to reverse the situ at mid-term and find a "way" to engineer a replacement of Trump by Pence. They would also contine to attack thru the States..limiting voting and spending on public services etc at that level. Only if the Dems achieve a veto resistant majority can this change and they can impeach the whole gang and do what they will...including overturning Citizens United and bring back the fairness doctrine to the media.
"His old power to dominate the scene in a tele-reality spectacle has deserted him; he has lost the plot and done it in public for all to see....."
Stuart, you are spot on. He hasn't been able to communicate his thoughts "in a straight line" for years now but his inability to communicate clearly is accelerating rapidly. I don't generally wish anyone ill but I am looking forward to the day when he goes "on tilt" live and on camera.
Why is that thought “comforting”? To me it’s terrifying that the world is being run by a man without a plan who spouts anything he needs to say to respond to a perceived “attack”. My 2 year old granddaughter has a better attention span that the President.
Comforting because it could otherwise get very much worse and persist well into the future if they had what it takes to structure a real coup. Short term chaos is easier to deal with than the long term horror of a truly dictatorial regime. We will come through this early next year and having a time limit is, i find, somewhat comforting and tells us that action now will pay off relatively quickly.
Watching his press conference and Biden's yesterday, and the highlight reel of his Tuesday "ambush" by reality, it's going to be really interesting to see what happens on September 29.
Stuart, I think you are correct as far as this election is concerned, but I think you are ignoring the long strategy of the Republican party: changing the judiciary. The Federalist Society has been engaged for more than 40 years in mentoring conservative jurists and getting them elected to the bench. In this administration, more than 200 such justices have been appointed. This will be Mitch McConnell's legacy.
I'm perfectly aware of it but am not hearing much about how the democrats will counter this strategy. If nobody opposes them, they would be wrong not to try to impose their ideas. Don't you agree?
Since I find many of their ideas to be anti-democratic, I do think they are wrong; however, people of the opposite view need to get on the stick. From another blog, "The American Constitution Society, founded in 2001, was explicitly started as a liberal analogue to the Federalist Society." I have no idea how well they are doing. I probably should find out.
That would be very interesting! But i'm afraid that complacency, decency and God knows what might have kept them silent and slowed them to snail pace. Best of intentions don't hack it in this Trumpian world.
Spot on!
What a great image / metaphor for the horizontal amorphous gop. Thanks.
Stuart, what does this mean: “He should heed the Judgement on withholding evidence that a NY Judge has just ordered all Manhattan prosecutors to read”?
I was thinking of the refusal to comply with subpoenas, the refusal to supply Trump's tax returns, the blocking of documents requested by Congress committees, the misrepresentation of the Mueller Report and the list goes on. Hiding evidence of crimes that would ensure conviction as opposed to preventing acquital as in today's case.
Hey, Stuart. Looking for NY judge's latest order to Manhattan prosecutors that you mention. Link, please?
On Politico's front page "quick pops" this morning. It's about conspiring to get around Iran sanctions but of course applies to a lot more areas
Yes, yes, yes. That mysterious, ethereal Trump healthcare plan, that is always just out of reach, forever "coming soon". "Better and cheaper" I think he said back in 2016. It's a ghost, a spook, a spectre that materializes for a moment, says "Boo!" and then disappears back into the fog of Trump's imagination.
One would think this would be a good time to bring that health plan out and show it off, all shiny and new, to help get the nation through this pesky pandemic thing that's going on and just ruining all the good times Trump was having.
Biden and the Democrats need to keep pressing that button.
And not just reporters; it seems we all have to get a job at the WH if we want to know about the plan!
Anybody it seems can get a job there as long as they contribute enough money. I wonder what the going price is? Perhaps there is a per minute charge or an hourly rate for proximity to and contact with Trump?
Response to Kayleigh McEnany: "Oh -- so you don't work there, either?"
Two days ago I listened to Michael Cohen's podcast “Mea Culpa." I went out and purchased a copy of his book after and it is next in line once I finish the Woodward book. I can't say I'm a big fan of Cohen, but the podcast keeps me up at night. He confirms many things that Mary Trump writes about in her book.
Cohen paints the picture of a man that has to be in the public's eye daily. Long before winning the presidency, he craved attention. He says that Trump subscribes to numerous newspapers. Not because he wants to read them, but to see how he is treated by the press. Cohen says that if Trump's name didn't make it into the newspapers on a given day, it was a bad day to try to talk to him.
Having said all that, I worry what will happen if he loses the election. I'm not talking about the obvious things such as a refusal to accept the results or riots that may happen. I think we all know that Trump isn't going to leave Biden a nice letter on the resolute desk wishing him well, as is customary when there is a transfer of power. He will not fade into the background as all the presidents in my lifetime have done. The Biden administration will have to set up an office specifically to respond to Trump's constant barrage on all fronts. Of course, if he is arrested or there are enough lawsuits he may be too busy to interfere... I'm not counting on that.
If he loses the election and Biden is inaugurated as the 46th president, I believe Trump will immediately declare himself as a presidential candidate for 2024. There will be regular rallies designed to keep his base fired up. He will promote unrest and be possibly the largest national security concern for the Biden presidency. There is president for a nonconsecutive two-term president. Grover Cleveland is known as the 22nd President and the 24th President, after his wins in the 1884 and 1892 general elections. But he lost the 1888 to his Republican foe, Benjamin Harrison even though he won the popular vote.
If Trump loses the vote, and if we somehow manage to get him out by January, then I am not as concerned about his after-effect. He will likely be prosecuted and will end up in jail (I believe that is at least part of the reason why he wants to hold on to power). However, I am very concerned about the forces that have abetted him, and how much about 40% of the US population seems to live in a weird alternate reality in which climate change doesn't exist, all news sources except Fox news and Rush Limbaugh are not to be trusted, where the biggest issue with COVID is that there is too much testing, where all Mexicans are rapists, where all BLM supporters are riotous Marxists and anarchists, and where only the rich are job creators. I worry about the Koch networks. I worry about the intellectual dark web. All this misinformation and disinformation must be dealth with.
Yeah, the morons will still be morons on November 4.
Is there no law about convicted felons running for President? AG NY will take care of him especially by putting him away and making sure that his financial crimes make him bankrupt and thus unable to fund further "political funding campaigns"(as he never uses his own money). His "supporters" will have been turned decisively towards a Koch-funded replacement in very short order by then.
But who knows what mischief Barr will get up to between Nov and Jan 20 if Biden is elected. That isn't a question.
IMO, that’s our only hope. I’m not sure I have enough faith in the system to be confident that will happen. I hope I’m wrong.
I had to a double take. What is this IMO that was our only...then it dawned on me. The NY prosecutors have the bit between their teeth and are under starters orders for late in the day, Jan 20th.
Looking forward to that, and figuring Trump will resign so Pence can pardon all his federal crimes, how will long Mike Pence be President? I will bet a jelly doughnut on 10 days.
If Trump can stand being in Pence's shade for so long. I would bet on the day before Biden's inauguration to try and beat his rival's press coverage. Just think of all the speculation till the last moment!
I'm about 1/3 through the Cohen book and I agree that it backs up what Mary Trump's book said, but it also confirms what we have seen with our own eyes the past 3 1/2 years. For those who remember him from his glory days in the '80s, it was apparent then, too, only more of us saw him as a clown than as a serious threat back then, I expect.
The problem with all of this exposer is that it won't remotely matter to his base. As Cohen details in his book, Trump has a diabolical way of zeroing in on someone's weakest spot and using that to twist them, then to own them. He's done it on a mass scale with his base.
The constant stream of negative books gets Trump off balance, on defense playing catch-up instead of controlling the flow of news as he has previously.
Further proof of why clowns end up giving people nightmares.
Correction: "exposure". Sheesh
Dang autocorrect :)
I believe I read that Cohen asserts that Donald Trump's single greatest overriding fear is that his tax returns will be released. If that happens, then it'll ALL be over. He'll be toast and seen for what he is. He's obviously broken the law and knows it. I just hope that day can come sooner rather than later.
Yes he did say that. But others have said his biggest fear is for the public to know that he isn't worth as much as he has claimed. I keep hearing about all the tax fraud and/or evasion that he has committed, jet the IRS hasn't taken any action. I know a couple of people who were audited and subsequently taken to court by the IRS for tax fraud. Time will tell.
If his tax returns are opened up then that will also show how much he has been inflating his wealth, so not only would it uncover wrongdoing, it would show what a sham his supposed monetary worth is.
Thank you for the tip! I didn’t think his podcast would be worth my time, but I’ll add it to my list.
Edit: there is precedent for...
We all wish these comments could be editable.
I hadn’t thought of this scenario, but it totally makes sense. I have been envisioning a world where I no longer have to see this orange faced cretin on a daily basis, but this most likely will not happen 😩
Trump's going to have a hard time staying in the public eye after his conviction and imprisonment for whichever of his many crimes gets into court.
I'm not optimistic that he will ever be prosecuted.
BTW, you mentioned Cleveland. Just yesterday, I listened to this wonderfully funny and informative podcast on him (2nd segment lasting about 25 min, although the first segment on Harding and the teapot scandal is pretty good too)
https://www.beyondreproachpod.com/the-podcast-1/2019/4/14/oqcno6cafwswuvhjq1hvl0lfkronnr
I’ll have to listen. Also, I wasn’t comparing Cleveland to Trump. Just making the point that non consecutive presidencies are possible.
This: "Americans are just tired of the constant drama and chaos of the Trump presidency."
Yesterday, I got a call from "The Progressive Turnout Project" after I sent almost 1000 texts for the Texas Democratic Party. I live in Michigan. The caller from TPTPbasked me what issue was most important to me. I said I just wanted things to be normal. I was tired of the President being in the news every day. He has to go. BTW, 2020 Victory sent over a million texts on behalf of the Texas Democratic Party in 3.5 hours.
I am not a fan of doing phone calls, but I decided to stretch out and phone bank for a state representative candidate. She almost won last time and I do my part to help her campaign
Barr’s views on the role of religion in public life, while less publicized than his cheerleading for the unitary executive, are equally virulent.
In a speech delivered at the University of Notre Dame Law School in October 2019, Barr revealed himself as a Christian nationalist, blaming, as commentators Katherine Stewart and Caroline Fredrickson later noted in a New York Times op-ed, “secularists” for the “moral chaos” plaguing the country.
“From the Founding Era onward,” Barr told his audience at Notre Dame, “there was strong consensus about the centrality of religious liberty in the United States. The imperative of protecting religious freedom was not just a nod in the direction of piety. It reflects the Framers’ belief that religion was indispensable to sustaining our free system of government.”
Invoking the framers of the Constitution time and again, he continued:
“The Founding generation were Christians. They believed that the Judeo-Christian moral system corresponds to the true nature of man… Modern secularists dismiss this idea of morality as other-worldly superstition imposed by a kill-joy clergy. In fact, Judeo-Christian moral standards are the ultimate utilitarian rules for human conduct. They reflect the rules that are best for man, not in the by and by, but in the here and now. They are like God’s instruction manual for the best running of man and human society.”
Today’s secularists, he lamented, were destroying the framers’ vision by using the law “as a battering ram to break down traditional moral values and to establish moral relativism as a new orthodoxy.” He pledged as the attorney general to “keep an eye out for cases or events around the country where states are misapplying the Establishment Clause in a way that discriminates against people of faith, or cases where states adopt laws that impinge upon the free exercise of religion.”
In February, Barr doubled down on his demonization of secularism in an address to the annual convention of the National Religious Broadcasters in Nashville, Tennessee, in which he declared:
“We live at a time when religion—long an essential pillar of our society—is being driven from the public square. … Experience teaches that, to be strong enough to control willful human beings, moral values must be based on authority independent of man’s will. In other words, they must flow from a transcendent Supreme Being.”
Secularists, and “progressives,” he charged, aim to impose a new form of totalitarianism, “which seeks to submerge the individual in a collectivist agenda… in favor of elite conceptions about what best serves the collective.”
The slide into secularism can be reversed, he said, “but only if we can alter our course.” Exhorting Christian journalists and broadcasters to join with him to restore the centrality of religion, he concluded, “It is not too late to stem the tide, but we need to get to work.”
Far from faithfully adhering to the wisdom of the framers, Barr’s unhinged views on religion comprise a clear and present danger to the bedrock First Amendment principle of the separation of church and state, and to modernity itself. Combined with his extremist position on executive power, Barr’s religious fundamentalism makes him the most treacherous man in America, second only to Trump himself.
Bill Blum is a retired judge and a lawyer in Los Angeles. He is a lecturer at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication. He writes regularly on law and politics and is the author of three widely acclaimed legal thrillers: Prejudicial Error, The Last Appeal, and The Face of Justice.
Too bad AG Barr doesn't practice what he preaches.
"They are like God’s instruction manual for the best running of man and human society.”
I was just about to say that he should try following those instructions.
It's always hard to tell when people who talk like Barr are just profoundly ignorant about religion and state, and when they are speaking in bad faith to advance an agenda, and when they're just mindlessly entrained by their religious beliefs. Not that those are exclusive of each other, of course.
The logical contradictions tied up in what Barr is saying are both amusing and appalling. "Experience teaches that, to be STRONG ENOUGH TO CONTROL WILLFUL HUMAN BEINGS, moral values must ... flow from a Transcendent Supreme Being."
Which is clearly why we need Religious Freedom, so that individuals can decide for themselves what Strong Moral Values from the TSB to follow.
Huh? What?
Here's a thought for Mr. Barr. We have a REAL TSB called Gaia. Her Strong Moral Values are not only Very Strong, they are enforced with consequences that transcend law, legal theory, and human experience. We're breaking them, and she's in the process of enforcing her "ultimate utilitarian rules." Things like, "Don't dig up oil and burn it, you idiots!" Or, "Mind your procreative instincts."
This is brilliant, Tim. THANKS!
As usual, an excellent summary by Dr Richardson which I appreciate. Due to overwhelming nausea and/or rage that overcomes me when I see or hear POTUS, I try to avoid watching him lie. But it’s unavoidable because he a pathological liar. A liar cannot be trusted. Trust is the basis for all human interaction. So what is the deal with these undecided voters that NPR and others say are so important to the election? To even think that Donald is a rational choice defies common sense.
Barr seems to be one of the most dangerous people in America right now. What does he think he is doing exactly?
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/01/20/william-barr-trumps-sword-and-shield
Interesting and scary article. Thanks for posting. I remember when the Notre Dame speech was in the news and then I looked at it online and I was like ..... WTF? What do we have here? Not good.
And there’s this...
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/04/20/how-mitch-mcconnell-became-trumps-enabler-in-chief
Mitch. Mitch. It’s awful. I hope we get rid of him this time
Alternative: TAKE THE SENATE.
Behind a paywall...
Your public library may have digital access.
“If you take the blue states out we’re at a level I don’t think anybody in the world would be at”. Someone should tell him that Florida is a red state.
Someone should tell him the United States includes *all* the states.
Yes!! THIS!!!!
Florida, Texas, Georgia
Maybe Florida is about to go blue?
I live in central Florida. I will tell you that Biden flags and signs are popping up in yards all over. In 2016, I don't remember seeing more than a handful of Clinton flags and signs. It will be interesting to see what happens. The Villages retirement community has traditionally been 90+% Republican. There have been several Biden golf cart parades there that have made the news. Sadly, it is dividing what has historically been a very tight community.
Not likely, unfortunately.
A little likely. At least for president.
I so look forward to your letters, Dr. R. Thanks to you, I do not feel outrage or fear anymore. I feel empowered.
Not in any way am I endorsing the actions of the Executive Branch since January 2017, but an article written several weeks ago from either The Washington Post or the New York Times stays in the back of my mind whenever I hear #45 make comments about either COVID-19 or other things. The article suggested that many WH aides present "alternative facts" in their briefings to 45 that favor how he views things should be, more to prevent a screaming meltdown that the "real" facts would elicit. I tend to believe this is what may be driving the "outrageous" statements we hear day after day. Not that it matters; just thought I'd throw this out here for perhaps further comment.
I agree. I retired from DHS HQ 10 months ago. We were working a lot of border issues at the time. It was apparent then that leadership was massaging data that was going forward. I served for 37 years, and never before did I ever see anything like it. The career federal workforce gets a bad rap. There are just as many hard-working career feds in government as there are in the military. Moral is at an all time low among them and many are leaving. I didn't leave due to Trump, it was simply my time to retire but that's not the case for many.
How did career DHS people feel about being used in Lafayette park and in the Portland protests? It felt like US military and DHS were being deployed against Americans on US soil? What is your perspective? Thank you!
Sorry, I saw this earlier and didn't have time to respond. This is a tough question, but I'll give you my 2 cents. I was never a law enforcement officer. My role was mission support. However, I interacted with LE personnel on a daily basis. I was the lifecycle manager for all the vehicles, weapons, computer equipment, etc., that the various DHS LE groups used. It takes a certain type of personality to be a LE officer. The career DHS people that were used in Lafayette Park were law enforcement. They train for, and are prepared to do whatever may be asked of them. "Normally", the officers are performing their jobs on a daily basis as directed by sound leadership. Administration policies are clear and understood. The senior leaders in the various agencies (ICE, CBP, FPS, SS, USCG) are in sync with the administration and provide direction to their officers accordingly. That is not the case now. It is painfully obvious to everyone that there is no clear policy and things change on a whim. Imagine being a highly trained LE officer who is sent to Portland to protect federal property. You get direction from your supervisor, and then that night you hear the President stirring the pot and escalating the violence. The president sometimes supports aggressive LE actions. I can only imagine how confusing that must be.
Shift gears and think of it differently. How do you think the CDC Director feels today Being undercut by Trump? There are a group of career employees in the CDC that support the director. Imagine how they feel today. They work countless hours to assist the director in developing the messaging. It's much the same, I imagine, for the LE officers.
As for the military in Lafayette Park, I believe they were all National Guard. The rules for using National Guard members for LE are a little different than active duty troops. The senior officers in that unit have been vocal that they were not needed that night. Again, military members - active or guard - do their best work when leadership at all levels are on the same page and there is sound policy. There hasn't been anything "sound" about any policy coming out of the Trump administration. I feel so sorry for our men and women in the military these days, and the LE officers as well.
I hope that kinda answers the question.
Chris, Thank you for an excellent answer! I appreciate hearing what it is like for the career people trying to do their best when there is no sound policy behind it all. And, I would add even Constitutionally questionable policy!
You wanted a narrative? "We’re going to get this virus under control and get your life back on track." Biden. Thanks for everything you've given us.
A narrative from Scientific American: “A safer, more prosperous, and more equitable America”
I was so happy to read Scientific American's endorsement of Biden yesterday. It popped up on my tablet, I read it then shared it immediately with family and friends .
Hmm. A certain author of Letters from an American, whom we all know and love, posted on Facebook yesterday (Sept. 16): "Big windstorm tonight. I expect to post, but if I don't, it's because we lost power. If that happens, I'll post in the morning, assuming it's back."
Two days earlier, we read a scary Letter about escalating threats of violence if trump does not win this election, and one day earlier, in response to HCR's anniversary Letter, we poured out our gratitude for the treasure she is and on whom we rely.
Our electric power supply is subject to interruption from rolling power grid brownouts and blackouts, fires, lightning strikes, downed trees, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, hurricanes, derechos, tornadoes, land slides, industrial explosions, and/or sabotage. Communication for emergency services and networking with each other is critical for getting through such times.
I for one am shopping for an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), as well as ensuring that my portable phone chargers are handy and charged. A UPS provides surge protection and power supply for small electronics, like our computers, laptops, and tablets, for times ranging from 1 to 2.5 hours. Prices range from $60 to $200. A UPS is available at your nearest office supply store or through mail order.
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-uninterruptible-power-supply-ups/
❤️
I'm shopping for a house generator. Relieved to be thinking along your lines, Ellie.
I have the CyberPower1500 mentioned as an upgrade in the NYT article. My brother builds my computers for me and he swears by this UPS. It really does work great as our power goes out a lot now. I use it to keep my phone charged (I also use a charger in the car) if power is out for a day or more. You do have to keep checking the battery as it does occasionally need to be replaced.
https://themonthebard.org/2019/11/22/reflections-on-a-power-outage/
Some of my notes from the five-day PSPS (Public Safety Power Shutdown) in northern CA from last October.
Losing power can also take out your internet (CenruryLink thru a communication line). I speak from recent experience. Luckily the hot spot (Verizon MiFi) worked.
Thank you, Heather, for all your work, night after night. I'm so grateful for your clearsighted summaries. They make me feel like we have a chance to pull through. We are all so tired of the chaos and drama.
Should House impeach Barr just to draw attention to all the stuff he is doing behind the scenes. There are a couple of potential offenses in this HCR post alone. No?
I think they should. He is dangerous.
After hearing his remarks at Hillsdale College, I suddenly felt the depth of fear over him that I had only felt for what the Trumpster could do up till now. I agree, Barr is VERY dangerous.
Yup. All ya gotta do is get around Benedict Arnold Mitch.
Impeachment, even without conviction, may be useful to bring stuff out into open. Don’t need Mitch for that
Yeah, good luck with that. If those of us here had our way, he would have long since been history.
Word!
Reading HCR's letter regarding Trump's continued/constant mendacious behaviour (i.e. compulsive lying) in appearances, reminds me once again of something about Trump that has been apparent to me since even his days in the limelight from the 1980s: projection. This very subject is the focus of yesterday's newsletter from NYT op-ed columnist (and long-time fave), Frank Bruni. (I would post it on here, but it defies my copying/pasting abilities...it's his Wednesday newsletter.) He goes into a lot of detail about Trump's neurosis regarding "projection". I can quote him here:
"My fascination with projection [about Frank himself] eventually cooled, only to be stoked anew when Donald Trump hit the presidential campaign trail and then won the presidency. If Trump presents, as some psychologists have theorized, a perfect case of narcissistic personality disorder, he presents an even more perfect pattern of projection.
"He accuses opponents of the very crookedness that’s a fixture of his entire professional life. He bangs on about flaws in them that are flaws in him, at once beating them to the punch and trying to inoculate himself: When they turn around and criticize him in these same terms, it can look like mere payback or mimicry."
It's quite simple really, and Trump indulges in this ad nauseum. You remember his exchange with Clilnton, "I'm not a puppet. You're a puppet..." when she beat him at his own game for one instant. If you want to know in his little head what Trump KNOWS he's guilty of, watch how he consistently projects that on to almost anyone. It's quite remarkable. Accuse someone of something BEFORE they can accuse you so that when they do accuse you it looks like simple mimicry. It weakens your opponent. Classic projection:
https://www.britannica.com/science/projection-psychology
Yep. He's a psycho alright...
Projection is an important and essential characteristic of the perverse narcissist
I hope the Biden campaign is aware of this, and can use it to their advantage!!