Archives for April 2017

With all the fuss about how to categorize Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office, one thing seems certain. With little over three months in power, the Trump administration is already on track to be the most brazenly dishonest and corrupt in U.S. history.

Of course Trump campaigned as a populist. He was the only non-politician who could “drain the swamp,” otherwise known as Washington D.C. He was going to stop the endless “pay for play.” He was going to operate the most transparent administration in history. He promised to level with the American people.

But with each passing day in office, Trump showed his campaign promises were just ruses to attract angry Americans rightfully fed up with government corruption. Hillary was a crook. He was the billionaire who could not be bought. Remember?

Candidate Donald Trump promised to release his tax returns once in office. A few days ago, his Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, told a room of reporters Trump has “no intention” of releasing his returns. So much for transparency!

Whether it’s vacationing at his own properties or subtly promoting his brand, the 45^th president of the United States seems very comfortable enriching himself, his associates and family … in board daylight.

“I’m at a loss,” said Robert Maguire, an investigator with the Center for Responsive Politics, a group that advocates for more transparency in government and campaigns. “This idea that the presidency is something to enrich your private interest to the extent he’s doing, not by going on the speaking tour or getting a big book deal after he leaves office, but while he’s in office, sort of milking the office for all it’s worth ― it’s tacky.”

Ask a Trump supporter about the many apparent conflicts of interest surrounding the president’s affairs and they just shrug. Is there any reason why Trump should be concerned about his profiting from the presidency? No. Not when there is a Republican congress that happily turns a blind eye.

In a just released report,  NBC News informs that despite all the claims from Trump and Mike Pence that they had no idea disgraced former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had accepted payments from a foreign government, this was a lie. NBC News has learned from sources close to the Trump-Russia investigation that both the Trump transition and the White House did do a background check on Flynn.

It’s just another example of the Trump Administration’s crookedness. They vetted Flynn, found dirt but hired him anyway… then lied about it.

With Trump, the level of corruption is unparalleled.

Photo | businessinsider.com

Neil Gorsuch is a marked man.

Much like Barry Bonds and his recording-breaking MLB home run record, Gorsuch’s confirmation to the United States Supreme Court will always be marked with an asterisk in the eyes of many Americans.

While Barry Bonds was able to break Hank Aaron’s home run record of 755 with the help of performance-enhancing drugs, Neil Gorsuch got his boost from a different power source … Senate Republicans. Gorsuch was able to become the 113^th justice of the Supreme Court when the GOP majority voted to change the longstanding rules on how a justice is confirmed.

Guided by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Senate voted, in effect, to require a simple majority to confirm a Supreme Court nominee instead of the previous 60 votes needed from the group of 100. In a body made up of 52 Republicans and 48 Democrats, Neil Gorsuch was confirmed by a vote of 54-45.

Baseball purists believe Barry Bonds is a thief. They say he stole the home run record from Aaron and therefore does not belong in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Baseball writers who vote on Hall of Fame inductees agree. They have consistently voted down Bonds every year he has been ballot eligible.

Nearly all Democrats see Gorsuch in the same negative light as baseball fans see Bonds. They believe Gorsuch stole the Supreme Court seat rightfully belonging to Merrick Garland, President Obama’s High Court pick. In a totally unprecedented move, not only did Senate Republicans refuse to vote on Garland’s nomination, they refused to even give him a hearing!

Anyone who did not believe Republicans would employ the “nuclear option” i.e. change Senate rules to benefit their candidate, must have been dozing the past several years.

Republicans know the only way they can maintain their grip on political power is to tilt the playing field in their favor … in other words, to cheat. They have secured themselves major electoral advantages through the gerrymandering of congressional and state legislative districts and through constitutionally-suspect voter suppression laws.

Much like the case with Bonds, history promises to be unkind to Neil Gorsuch. He will forever be known as the illegitimate Supreme Court justice, appointed by an illegitimate president, “installed” by a radical, precedent-breaking Republican Senate.

Photo | conservativereview.com

It is a mystery that has stumped many a great mind … why do some people vote against their own economic interests? Why do so many white, low and middle income voters keep electing Republicans whose agenda is diametrically opposed to their wants and needs?

In today’s New York Times, Nicholas Kristof tries to tackle that conundrum. In a piece titled, “In Trump Country, Shock at Trump Budget Cuts, but Still Loyalty,” Kristof interviews a number of Trump voters in the deep red state of Oklahoma.

Almost all of the Trump voters questioned will be adversely affected by White House proposals to ax programs they have depended on … in order to pay for Trump’s border wall and increase in military spending.

But while these Trump supporters are upset, Kristof warns Democrats not to be too gleeful. The prospect of winning over these “penitent voters” is still a long shot.

They do not regret their vote.

Even if Trump’s harmful budget cuts go through, Kristof found none regretted their votes and all said they might vote for Trump in 2020.

Kristof notes “some of the loyalty seemed to be grounded in resentment at Democrats for mocking Trump voters as dumb bigots, some from a belief that budgets are complicated, and some from a sense that it’s too early to abandon their man.”

My belief is that the loyalty Trump voters show towards their man is partly grounded in a deep, visceral hatred of liberal ideology, in general. The very concept of multiculturalism scares them to death. They fear for a future when whites will be in the minority. They long for the good old days when “others” knew their places. They see the Republican Party as their vehicle for getting them to their dreamed of promised land.

In a recent article for The Nation, Sean McElwee and Jason Mc Daniel write, “In short, our analysis indicates that Donald Trump successfully leveraged existing resentment towards African Americans in combination with emerging fears of increased racial diversity in America to reshape the presidential electorate, strongly attracting nativists towards Trump and pushing some more affluent and highly educated people with more cosmopolitan views to support Hillary Clinton. Racial identity and attitudes have further displaced class as the central battleground of American politics.”

While it sounded sophomoric at the time, Trump’s campaign slogan of “Making America Great Again” was pure marketing genius.

Photo | Andrea Morales/New York Times