Category: Trump effect

November 2, 2017

 

Every morning we steel ourselves for the quotidian journey through the toxic sludge of our current reality.  Every morning brings a new revelation in the seemingly endless stream of prominent men behaving badly.  Whether arbiters of culture or pundits from across the political spectrum, prominent men seem incapable of refraining from assaulting or abusing women who have the temerity to be ambitious.  Yet this dispiriting drumbeat seems like mere background noise in the face of many more daunting challenges to our collective sense of safety and security.

Tuesday, the tranquility of our fall afternoon was shattered by a truck wielding terrorist who murdered eight people by careening down a bike path in lower Manhattan.  New Yorkers absorbed the shock with sober equanimity, refusing to be cowed into cancelling the annual Halloween Parade in the Village.  Governor Cuomo and Mayor DeBlasio managed to condemn the terrorist and reassure us that our safety was their paramount concern, without descending to hateful rhetoric.

In contrast, the walking garbage fire in The White House could not resist the impulse to do exactly the opposite.  Trump immediately called for an end to the Diversity Visa Lottery program that was responsible for Sayfullo Saipov’s entry into the United States, taking a swipe at New York Senator Chuck Schumer in the process.  Trump chose to disregard the fact that Schumer co-sponsored legislation that would have ended the program in 2013 and the obvious fact that there is absolutely no logical link between the existence of the program and Saipov’s act of terror (Source:  “Schumer and the Diversity Visa Lottery,” Factcheck.org, 11/1/17).  Of course, Trump never lets facts or logic get in the way of an opportunity to demonize a Muslim immigrant.

Trump ratcheted up the demagoguery yesterday by calling the American judicial system a “joke” and a “laughingstock,” saying that Saipov should be sent to Guantanamo (Source:  “Trump labels US justice system ‘laughingstock, ’” by Dan Merica, CNNPolitics, CNN.com 11/1/17).  Although we’ve lost our capacity for surprise, we should be shocked that Trump so brazenly evinces his rejection of the judicial system at the foundation of our democracy.  We should be unnerved by Trump’s palpable desire to make any person’s fate subject to the whims of a mercurial despot, rather than dependent on universally administered neutral legal principles.

Trump has made no secret of his desire to emulate fascistic strongmen, so his exhortation that the “animal” be sent to Guantanamo is entirely consistent with his autocratic ambitions.  We should see his reckless effort to foment a desire for vengeance for what it is – the desperate attempt of a morally and intellectually bankrupt man to deflect attention from how Mueller is closing in on his confederates.  It is only a matter of time before the Special Prosecutor turns up evidence that points definitively to a corrupt, treasonous effort at the highest levels of his campaign to undermine democracy.  Trump and his accomplices know that their only hope is to derail the Special Counsel investigation and ultimately, the rule of law itself.  They are counting on our fear and bigotry being stronger than our love for justice.  It is up to us to prove them wrong.

October 31, 2017

 

The indictment of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and his partner, Rick Gates, along with the guilty plea of former Trump campaign aide, George Papadopoulos landed with brute force in Washington yesterday.  Manafort’s indictment was clearly anticipated, judging from the crowd of reporters staked out in front of his suburban Virginia condo in the pre-dawn hours, looking to catch what we can only hope is the first of many perp walks of the Trump administration.  The twelve count indictment against Manafort and Gates details a money laundering scheme involving more than $75 million dollars, stretching back to 2008.  It includes charges of conspiracy against the United States, Conspiracy to launder money and False and Misleading statements in connection with registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.  The 31 page indictment details an elaborate fraudulent scheme employed by Manafort and Gates to disguise their work for Russian backed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.  The indictment details how Manafort used millions of dollars laundered through an offshore account in Cyprus to fund the purchase of three Range Rovers, nearly One Million Dollars’ worth of Oriental rugs and Five Million Dollars’ worth of renovation costs on his home Water Mill, New York (Source:  United States of America v. Paul J. Manafort, Jr. and Richard W. Gates, III, United States District Court for the District of Columbia, October 27, 2017). Continue reading “Enemies, foreign and domestic”

October 27, 2017

       It has become clearer than ever that the overriding aim of the Republicans currently in office is to facilitate cruel and corrupt profiteering.  They have abandoned any pretense that their aim is to serve the public good. Consider the evidence.  In the Executive Branch, EPA Chief, Scott Pruitt, has made a mockery of his agency’s mission by using his power to institute rules that will jeopardize our access to safe drinking water (Source:  “EPA moves to repeal Obama water rule,” by Timothy Cama, The Hill, 6/27/17) and appointed a veteran chemical industry lobbyist, Nancy Beck as the administrator in charge of regulating chemical safety, a consummate example of the fox guarding the henhouse (“Why Has the E.P.A. Shifted on Toxic Chemicals?  An Industry Insider Helps Call the Shots,” by Eric Lipton, The New York Times, 10/21/17).   Continue reading “Style over substance.”

October 24, 2017

 

As Bob Corker’s ‘No F__ks Tour’ continues apace, came word today that Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona would not seek re-election. Flake made the announcement in an elegant speech, which mournfully detailed the debasement of our democratic ideals and civic culture occurring under the Trump presidency. Flake called out the “reckless, outrageous and undignified behavior” coming from the Executive Branch (Source: “Read Flake’s bombshell Senate Speech: ‘I rise today to say: Enough!’” Azcentral.com; 10/24/17). Flake quoted Teddy Roosevelt to remind his colleagues that calls to “stand by the President, right or wrong” are “unpatriotic and servile.”

 

Flake’s speech, coming on the heels of McCain’s and W’s takedowns of Trumpism last week, is evidence that those Republicans with a shred of principle have concluded that it is untenable to remain silent in the face of the full scale abandonment of any fealty to Democratic norms or fundamental decency by this President. They have also concluded that there is no path to electoral victory in the current Republican Party for those unwilling to traffic in dehumanizing stereotypes to attain power.

 

If they are self-reflective at all, though, they all must admit that the use of racism to divide the white working class from the Black and Brown Americans that should be their natural allies is a venerable tradition that stretches back to the passage of the 15^th Amendment in 1870. In more recent political history, starting with the Southern strategy of Richard Nixon, Republicans have mined the rich vein of American racism to ensure their electoral success. From patrician George H. W. Bush’s use of the “Willie Horton” ads to defeat Mike Dukakis in 1988 to the openly racist anti-Latino ads being run by Ed Gillespie in the current Virginia governor’s race, Republicans have never been shy about invoking racism and fear to win elections.

 

Even now, as Republicans no longer in office look aghast at the white supremacist horror show unfolding in The White House, their colleagues in Congress are lining up to endorse secessionist theocrat, Roy Moore for the Alabama Senate seat. Out of 52 sitting senators, only Flake, McCain and Corker have spoken out against Trump’s reckless bellicosity and unfitness for office. Only Collins, Murkowski and McCain voted against the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. The others go along in timorous silence or zealously pursue baseless witch-hunts against their eternal adversary, Hillary Clinton, while stymieing all efforts to get to the bottom of the Russian interference in our election.

 

Craven House Speaker Paul Ryan urges us to “forget” about Trump’s Twitter feud with Bob Corker (and presumably to ignore the substance of Corker’s criticisms) and focus on tax cuts instead (Source: “Paul Ryan says Corker will vote for tax reform despite Trump feud,” by Sunlen Serfaty, CNNpolitics.com, 10/24/17).

 

Thus, while we should welcome the words of Corker, McCain and Flake, we cannot laud them for words alone. We must remind them that with knowledge comes responsibility. All three remain in office until January of 2019. Corker is Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and could blunt Trump’s rash moves on the Iran deal. McCain, as chair of the Armed Services Committee, could convene hearings to determine what actually happened to Sgt. Johnson and the other three service members killed in Niger. Flake, as chair of the Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law could commence hearings on the use of social media platforms by the Russians to influence our elections.   Their road to Damascus conversion is welcome, but should serve as a stark reminder to us all– those who sow the wind reap the whirlwind.

 

October 21, 2017

In this past week, the illusion of John Kelly as the “adult in the room,” who could bring some baseline adherence to the norms of public service to this White House, has been shattered. To provide cover for Trump’s thoughtless treatment of a Gold Star family, Kelly ruthlessly attacked a sitting Congresswoman, Frederica Wilson. Kelly told outright lies about Representative Wilson’s speech at the dedication ceremony for a new FBI building, accusing her of braggadocio. Of course, videotape quickly exposed Kelly’s slanderous lies for what they were, revealing Rep. Wilson’s speech to have been gracious, appropriate and bi-partisan. (“Frederica Wilson 2015 video shows John Kelly got it wrong,” by Larry Barszewski, Sun-Sentinel, 10/21/17). Continue reading “Nowhere to hide”

October 19, 2017

 

Trump’s disgraceful cruelty to the widow of Sgt. LaDavid Johnson has exposed the hypocritical anti-blackness behind his objection to the anthem protests of the Black NFL players.  Those that played along with Trump’s charade are now forced to confront how little regard our current Commander in Chief actually has for those who serve under him.  Trump started the week by attempting to excuse his failure to reach out to the families of the soldiers killed in Niger by uttering the hateful calumny that Presidents Obama and Bush had failed to contact military families whose loved ones were killed in action.  The lie was so vicious it prompted former White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Alyssa Mastromonaco to call Trump a “deranged animal.”  That statement was manifestly unfair to animals, who typically lash out when cornered, out of a survival instinct.  Trump, on the other hand, displays toxic petulance at any suggestion that he accept responsibility for his actions and seems to relish inflicting pain on those with the temerity to question him. Continue reading “American Taliban”

October 17, 2017

 

Over the past week, we have been overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the mounting evidence of Harvey Weinstein’s decades-long abuse of women.   Many ask how this could have gone on “undetected” for so long, asking why women didn’t come forward and take on a wealthy, powerful person with powerful allies in media and politics.  We have been treated to sappy, faux sympathy from men, or wrong-headed assertions that only pretty girls get harassed, by those obtusely refusing to recognize that rape and sexual abuse is about POWER– about chasing women out of spaces where men decide that we don’t belong– whether that is an executive suite in Hollywood, Silicon Valley or Wall Street, or a fire department or construction site.  As the cascade of “#MeToos” filled our timeline, we all realized, with sickening dread, the terrible price women are forced to pay for trying to make a living or even make a life. Continue reading “American Illusion”

October 14, 2017

The entire policy agenda of the Trump administration can be summed up as one of malevolent destruction. Every day, Trump reveals himself to be both vile and incompetent, animated primarily by a malignant zeal to reverse every decision that President Barack Obama made. His only other aim appears to be privatizing every government function previously devoted to the public good, in order to enable profiteering by his bumbling coterie of idiotic kleptocrats. Continue reading “Genocide in slow motion”

October 12, 2017

     Although every day that Trump occupies the Oval Office brings fresh degradation of American values and principles, yesterday brought alarming evidence of Trump’s violent and autocratic nature.  During a July meeting with his National Security advisors to discuss his desire to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, Trump was shown a chart showing how our nuclear arsenal decreased over time.  Although any casual consumer of the news in the last two decades would know that our reduced arsenal was the result of numerous nuclear non-proliferation treaties, the information apparently took Trump by surprise.  He reacted by requesting a tenfold increase in our nuclear arsenal, prompting Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to call Trump a “f__king moron.”  (Source:  Trump Wanted a Tenfold Increase in Nuclear Arsenal, Surprising Military,” by Courtney Kube, Kristen Welker, Carol E. Lee and Savannah Guthrie, NBCNews.com, 10/11/17).  If anything, Tillerson was being too kind.  Trump is a bloodthirsty imbecile who has no business with access to the nuclear launch codes.  As Gabriel Sherman frighteningly detailed, White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly and Defense Secretary, James Mattis, have openly discussed what to do if Trump orders a nuclear first strike (Source:  “I Hate Everyone in The White House!”:  Trump Seethes As Advisors Fear the President is Unraveling,” by Gabriel Sherman, Vanity Fair, 10/11/17).  Clearly, Bob Corker’s remarks to The New York Times were the tip of the iceberg. Continue reading “Deus ex machina?”

October 10, 2017

 

Sunday morning, two term Tennessee Senator Bob Corker gave a scathingly candid interview to The New York Times, excoriating Trump as unfit for office. Corker said that Trump was treating the office of the Presidency like a “reality show” and setting us on a path towards “World War III,” (Source:  “Bob Corker says Trump’s Recklessness Threatens ‘World War III,’” by Jonathan Martin and Mark Landler, The New York Times, 10/8/17).  Corker was merely verbalizing what any Trump observer already knows – Trump is a dangerously unserious, thin-skinned, bellicose man-child with an utter disregard of the consequences of his impulsive actions.  Corker was lauded by the pundit class for finally stating on the record what every Republican Senator apparently says off the record with regularity.  Commentators pondered whether Corker would thwart Trump’s plan to pull out of the Iran Nuclear deal, rather than ask the key question:  If Trump is so dangerously unfit for office, why aren’t Republican Senators considering his removal through the 25^th Amendment, or at minimum, fulfilling their Constitutional duty to serve as a check on Trump’s exercise of power?  Corker and his cronies need to be asked whether tax cuts for their wealthy donors are worth playing chicken with American lives.  Are they so fearful of Mercer backed primary challenges from the right orchestrated by sentient carbuncle, Steve Bannon, that they have been stunned into silence?  We cannot permit these questions to go unanswered.  At least nominally, these people represent us, so we need to flood their phone lines demanding answers. Continue reading “Three ring circus”