Category: Trump effect

January 30, 2020

     Since Sunday night, when The New York Times revealed the “explosive” revelations contained in the book by former National Security Advisor, John Bolton, the news media has been blanketed with wall to wall coverage of the “Bolton bombshell.”  The manuscript details a conversation between Trump and Bolton in August in which Trump admitted that he planned to withhold military aid to Ukraine until they announced investigations of the Bidens, (Source:  “Trump Tied Ukraine Aid to Inquiries He Sought, Bolton Book Says,” by Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt, The New York Times, 1/26/20).

    The manuscript also implicates Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo and Acting Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney.  Although Bolton’s book doesn’t break any new ground, pundits have speculated that, since Bolton is the highest ranking former administration official to implicate Trump, it will ratchet up the pressure on Republican senators to allow witnesses.  From Alan Dershowitz’s tortured, ahistorical argument that Trump’s conduct does not constitute an impeachable offense,  to the concerned murmurs of Romney and Collins,  to McConnell’s strategic admission that he lacks the votes to block witnesses, we have been reading the tea leaves in the hope that the “trial” will bear a passing resemblance to a procedure designed to reveal the truth, rather than cover it up. Continue reading “21st Century Apartheid”

January 23, 2020

   As we watched the opening of what was only the third impeachment trial in our nation’s history, it was painfully clear that those who are ignorant of their history are doomed to repeat it.   Again and again, the echoes that reverberated most strongly were not from 1992, but from 1868, (Source: “Brenda Wineapple On What We Can Learn From the First Impeachment,” by Just the Right Book, Lithub.com, 8/15/19).

      Then, as now, the country was bitterly divided between those dedicated to forging a path forward towards true democracy with the full participation of Black Americans, and those raging at the prospect of sharing power with those they thought of as less than human.  Then, Andrew Johnson did nothing to quell the white supremacist militias attempting to nullify Emancipation through violence.  Now, we have a “president” who tweets his support for a mob of white supremacist “gun rights” enthusiasts rallying at the former capitol of the Confederacy on Martin Luther King Day, (Source:  “Thousands of armed protestors turn out for Trump supported gun rally,” by Ivan Pereira, ABCnews.com, 1/20/20). Continue reading “Past is prologue”

January 15, 2020

     Today, for only the third time in American history, the House of Representatives delivered Articles of Impeachment to the Senate, precipitating a trial of the president of the United States.  We will need to watch the process unfold with a jaundiced eye, dissecting the biases of those reporting the facts and not losing sight of the bigger picture. As an example, on Monday, the press reported as breaking news that it was unlikely that McConnell would gavel the Senate into session and simply hold a vote on a motion to dismiss the articles, (Source:  “McConnell unlikely to pursue dismissal vote on impeachment articles,” by Leigh Ann Caldwell and Garrett Haake, NBCNews.com, 1/14/20).  The stated rationale for McConnell’s reluctance– his desire to avoid forcing vulnerable Republican senators to take tough votes– is precisely the reason it was never under serious consideration to begin with. Continue reading “Profiles in courage?”

January 11, 2020

     We all breathed a temporary sigh of relief when Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javan Zarif, announced that the missile attacks on the Iraqi bases would constitute the full extent of its retaliation for Soleimani,stating that “Iran took and concluded proportionate measures in self-defense….We do not seek escalation or war,” (Source:  “Iran Attacks U.S. Forces, Then Both Sides Stand Down,” by Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 1/8/20).  The next morning, Trump followed with an address clearly intended to reassure Americans that his mindless brinkmanship would not lead us into war.

       Far from being reassuring, Trump’s speech was cause for concern.  Late night comedians had a field day with his awkward opening statement and his garbled delivery. Trump’s promise that Iran would never have a nuclear weapon as long as he was president rang hollow in light of the fact that every action he has taken has made that possibility more likely not less.  From ripping up the Iran deal, to imposing crippling sanctions; to killing their highest ranking military official, to imposing more sanctions on Iran, Trump’s punishing instincts are hardly likely to lead to peace. Continue reading “Our best hope”

     We have all been de-stabilized by the alarming news that Trump ordered the assasination of top Iranian military leader, Major General Qasem Soleimani on Thursday. The issue is not whether Soleimani was a truly bad person responsible for many Americans deaths (he was); but whether he posed such an imminent threat that it merited utter disregard for the law, (both domestic and international), the inevitable retaliation and the unforeseeable consequences of such a rash escalation.

      We all know the answer.  Trump ordered this assassination because he was desperate to shift the focus from his looming impeachment trial and the revelations that continue to emerge from this massive criminal conspiracy masquerading as a presidential administration.  In the last two weeks, while we were busily celebrating Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa, more damning evidence against Trump has been uncovered. Continue reading “Out of luck”

       As we sit poised on the edge of a new year and a new decade, former President Barack Obama’s annual list of his favorite films, television shows, books, and music landed like a missive from an alien civilization.  It was a painful reminder that less than a decade ago, we had a president whose leadership was informed by a genuine love of people and enthusiasm for what we create, rather than the intemperate Philistine squatting in the Oval Office today.

      We should contemplate what we missed over the past decade while we were busy congratulating ourselves for having elected such an urbane Black man. The portents of our present were all around us, if we’d been willing to look. They were there in the emergence of the “Tea Party,” an Astroturf operation that mobilized malcontents acting as if we’d elected H. Rap Brown instead of a center-left Democrat whose signature healthcare legislation shared key aspects with the Heritage Foundation plan first rolled out by Massachusetts’ Republican Governor, Mitt Romney, (Source: “Obamacare:  The Republican Waterloo,” by David Frum, TheAtlantic.com, 3/24/17).  It was there in the “Obama in the watermelon patch,” and “Michelle Obama as a gorilla” memes that proliferated.  It was there in the “birther” conspiracies of people who literally couldn’t believe that a Black man could legitimately be president.  It was evident in the Republicans who jettisoned decades of customs and practice to block any legislation Obama proposed and every person he nominated, in order to deny a democratically elected President the powers to which he was Constitutionally entitled (Source: “Senate obstructionism handed a raft of judicial vacancies to Trump—what has he done with them?” by Russell Wheeler, Brookings.edu, 6/4/18).  It was there when Chief Justice Roberts neutered the Voting Rights Act by decreeing that preclearance was unconstitutional on the theory that the existence of a Black President was proof it wasn’t needed, (Source:  Shelby Cty. v.Holder, 570 U.S. ____ (2013)). Continue reading “The lessons of the last decade”

December 20, 2019

     After three years of continually engaging in blatant abuses of power, rampant corruption and shocking acts of cruelty, Trump was finally impeached by the House of Representatives on Wednesday night.  To soothe his fragile ego, Trump scheduled another of his Klan rallies in Michigan to coincide with the House debate, in order to bask in the adoration of his cult like followers. Because he is pathetic and petty, he taunted Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, by stating that her husband, the late Congressman John Dingell was “looking up” from Hell.  Even for Trump it was a reprehensible display of vindictive cruelty.

     This is the man to whom recent turncoat Congressman, Jeff Van Drew, pledged his “undying loyalty.”  This is the person who Republican after Republican defended in unhinged sycophantic rants during Wednesday’s debate.  Instead of engaging in somber and serious consideration of the articles of impeachment, Congressional Republicans treated it like a circus, with one dimwitted backbencher, Barry Loudermilk, comparing Trump to Jesus Christ himself, (Source:  “GOP Congressman Compares Trump to Jesus: ‘Pontius Pilate Was Fairer Than Democrats,’” by Justin Baragona, TheDailyBeast.com, 12/18/19). Continue reading “Impeachment blues”

December 13, 2019

     Something in us is broken.  We have long known that Trump has weaponized whiteness, inciting Americans to cling to their fading sense of superiority and defend it with violence, if necessary. It is a source of political power for him. He has trained those chasing the chimera of white supremacy to disdain democracy and ignore his corrupt criminality.  What we haven’t realized is what it has done to the rest of us.

     By targeting every marginalized group and relentlessly demonizing us, he has put the nation on edge.  We have transformed from a country that at least gave lip service to celebrating our differences, to one where any deviation from the artificial norm of a straight, Christian, white man, is cause for suspicion and revulsion.

     Those of us who inhabit even one disfavored identity, be it Black or Jewish or Queer, have grown wary and weary.  We view our fellow citizens with distrust, waiting to be attacked in the middle of a quotidian task or targeted and killed while praying.

     Living with the heightened adrenaline of constant vigilance can warp us in ways we do not realize.  We internalize the drumbeat of division and regard each other warily, thinking that, “perhaps these people are all anti-Semitic,” or “perhaps these people are racist.”  Acting on fears we never verbalize, we shun the “other.” Consumed by mistrust, we deny them the same thing that Trump denies us— their individuality and essential humanity.

      It is easier, of course, to retreat to stereotypes, to react to a perceived threat by treating groups of people as a monolith, to preserve a false and fragile sense of safety by othering our allies.  Yet that way lies destruction. We are more than our lizard brains, doomed to toggle back and forth between aggression and fear.

     The beautiful mess that is America has always contained multitudes.  The paradox of our legacy is that the same Founding Fathers who exalted democracy and individual liberty, forged a nation through subjugation and genocide.  We can’t cherry pick our history, but we can choose what part of our legacy lives on.

     We can win if we can remember that what unites us really is stronger than what divides us.  We can defeat the ascendant forces of hatred, but only if we remember who we are.

#Epluribusunum

December 9, 2019

       The past week has been a sobering portrait of a nation in crisis.  For the fourth time in history, we are in the process of impeaching an American president and we have understandably been consumed by the drama.  In rapid succession last week, the House Intelligence Committee issued its report, the House Speaker announced that the House would be drafting formal articles of impeachment and Trump announced that he would not appear at the Judiciary Committee hearings or participate in the process, (Source: “White House rejects House Judiciary’s invitation to participate in the impeachment hearings,” by Rebecca Shabad, NBCNews.com, 12/6/19).  From the outset, Trump and his chorus of enablers have treated the impeachment inquiry like a circus and attacked its legitimacy, because they know there is no legitimate defense for the mountain of malfeasance it has uncovered.

      Yet, as disturbing as this entire spectacle has been, it is far from the starkest evidence that many of those in power have abandoned any pretense that this is a nation of laws, not men, or that all Americans have an equal right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Continue reading “Casual cruelty”

December 4, 2019

     After three years of Trump, we have grown accustomed to experiencing the news as a series of body blows, so it was only a slight aberration to absorb not one, but two, major news stories that broke within hours of each other yesterday.  First, Senator Kamala Harris announced that she was suspending her presidential bid. With low poll numbers hindering her ability to raise enough money to field a competitive race, Harris confessed that she didn’t see a viable path forward (Source:  “Kamala Harris Says She’s Still ‘in This Fight,’ but Out of the 2020 Race,” by Astead W. Herndon, Shane Goldmacher and Jonathan Martin, The New York Times, 12/3/19).  While it is legitimate to criticize Senator Harris for failing to articulate a clear rationale for her candidacy, the role of the media in shaping the narrative cannot be discounted. Continue reading “Twice as good”