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The Flip Side Of Energizing The Republican Base? Demoralizing The Democratic Faithful

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Nancy Pelosi is intent on carrying out her “clever by half” slow-walking of the constitutionally mandated impeachment proceedings against perhaps the most vile and corrupt individual ever to occupy the White House.

One of the Speaker’s “main reasons” for tamping the brakes on even beginning an impeachment inquiry is that it would rile up Trump’s base. Hey, you wouldn’t want to stir up a hornet’s nest, right?

Impeaching Trump would also allow the master con man and media manipulator to play the “martyr card,” all to the detriment of a Democrat winning the presidency in 2020. And since the Senate will never vote to remove Trump from office, what’s the point?

Yet what Pelosi fails to recognize (or give enough credence to) is that by not doing her job, she is demoralizing her very own base. The same group that swept Democrats into power in the 2018 midterm elections on the hope and promise of holding the lawless Trump to account.

Pelosi’s calculated move of letting Trump twist in the wind for as long as possible could very well be the reason Trump gets re-elected in 2020.

Just like in 2016 when many Democrats were so disillusioned by the corrupt way the Democratic National Committee did everything to help Hillary Clinton get the Democratic presidential nomination, they just might sit out the 2020 election or vote third party.

When you add that very real possibility to the fact that Trump and his Republican cohorts will do everything in their power to stay in power, you have the recipe for electoral disaster for Democrats in 2020.

Disillusionment, in political terms, can often lead to voter cynicism and withdrawal. It gets people to believe there just is no justice and all politicians are the same (crooked). It’s the old “politics as usual” syndrome. It goes directly to the  “I hate politics, a pox on all your houses” way of thinking.

Nancy Pelosi, as shrewd a politician as she is, may just resign many Democrats to the belief their vote doesn’t matter. The thinking could run along these lines: “We came out in droves in 2018 to give Democrats the power to remove Trump and you did nothing!”

Time is of the essence. An official impeachment inquiry needs to begin ASAP. Or Democrats run the risk of a demoralized and disillusioned blue electorate in 2020.

Photo | nypost.com

 

 

If Trump’s Latest “Foreign Collusion Is OK” Remarks Don’t Tip The Scales Towards Impeachment, Nothing Will

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Donald Trump is either begging to be impeached or is totally clueless about what constitutes a crime (or, more likely, just doesn’t give a damn).

In broad daylight, for the entire world to hear, Donald Trump stated if offered dirt by a foreign power on a political opponent, he would take it.

In an ABC News interview, Trump told George Stephanopoulos he wouldn’t necessarily call the FBI if approached by foreign entities with information on his 2020 opponent: “It’s not an interference. They have information. I think I’d take it.”

To Donald Trump’s way of thinking, it’s just good old-fashioned oppo (opposition) research, right?

Coming as a complete shock to both Democrats and Republicans, the man currently occupying the Oval Office is actually inviting foreign powers to help him win in 2020 … again!

But isn’t this par for the course?

Remember when candidate Trump made a direct appeal to Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails and make them public?

“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” said Trump, referring to emails Clinton had deleted from the private account she had used when she was secretary of state. “I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”

If Trump’s latest statements on accepting foreign interference in our elections don’t tip the scales in favor of starting impeachment proceedings, I don’t know what will.

Unlike Richard Nixon, who did his lawbreaking in private, Trump chooses to commit his crimes on national TV!

But then again, why not? He did promise to be “the most transparent” president ever.

I’ll give him credit for keeping at least one campaign promise!  But seriously, Madam Speaker, you are turning the House, and its constitutional duty to impeach a lawless president, into a joke. Political calculations be damned!

I know. We’ve become so inured to Trump’s lawlessness that we just add the latest wrongdoing to the ever growing “Trump bulls*it mountain.”  But this latest disregard for the sanctity of our elections is a bridge too far.

How long does the list of “high crimes and misdemeanors” have to get before you, as Speaker of the House,  say “enough is enough” to this brazen criminal occupying “The People’s House?”

It is way past time to do your job.

Photo | abcnews.go.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During U.K. Visit, Trump Confuses Jeers For Cheers

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The Brits don’t like Donald Trump. Massive protests took place today, the second day of Trump’s three-day official visit to London.

A giant blimp of a diapered “Baby Trump” and a large talking Trump robot sitting on a toilet, texting, were among the most outrageous props used by demonstrators on Tuesday.

Yet, if you believe Trump, the English love him!

“There were thousands of people cheering,” said Trump. “I don’t see any protests. I did see a small protest today, very small. So, a lot of it is fake news, I hate to say.”

With such a misreading of what’s going on around him, the question once again remains: Is Trump merely delusional or just a flat-out, pathological liar?

Some would argue he is both.

Photo | theguardian.com

 

Madam Speaker, What Is It Going To Take To Start Impeachment Proceedings?

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While Nancy Pelosi and many Democrats in her caucus are slow-walking impeachment proceedings against Trump, deferring to more investigations, ex-ethics chief, Walter Shaub, has tweeted a few “inconvenient truths” for Democrats to consider.

“Heed the signs and don’t underestimate the threat to our republic from within,” writes Shaub, who served under former President Obama and then for six months under Trump until his resignationin July 2017.

Here is Shaub’s 14-tweet thread of “offenses” committed by the man currently occupying the White House and his administration:

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Heed the signs and don’t underestimate the threat to our republic from within:

-Trump obstructed justice
-A McConnell-packed SCOTUS says precedent can be changed more easily than previously thought
-AG Barr is an open partisan and slow-motion Saturday Night Massacre beneficiary

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-White House ignores congressional subpoenas, document requests
-Mnuchin is violating a law on turning over taxes to House
-Barr & Senate allies want to investigate officials who investigated Trump to retaliate against them and deter future efforts to hold him to the rule of law

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-State Dept is setting up a commission to supplant human rights with “natural law”
-An Inspector General found standing room only in border detention cells, with detainees standing on toilets to breathe
-children stolen from parents at the border are dying in internment camps

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-Trump cut resources for investigating domestic terrorists
-FBI- reports a recent significant rise in white supremacist domestic terrorism
-evidence found of a white supremacist plot to add census Q to help gerrymander in ways “advantageous to Republicans and non-Hispanic whites”

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-Trump is still resisting setting up defenses against foreign election interference
-Trump’s personal attorney solicited foreign govt investigation of current Trump political rival Biden
-AG Barr said something in a weird interview about investigating former Trump rival Clinton

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-There’s cause for concern Trump/Kushner personal interests may be influencing middle east policy
-Ignoring Congress, Trump declared fake emergency & abused authority to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia to continue its atrocities in Yemen, after it murdered a Washington Post reporter

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-Trump declared fake emergency to get more power to ramp up activity at border
-ethics violations (and ethically dubious conduct not rising to a violation) occurring at an unprecedented rate among Trump appointees
-senior admin official says she doesn’t care about an ethics law

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-if impeached, Trump says he’ll try to get SCOTUS to overturn the impeachment
-McConnell, who blocked Merrick Garland ostensibly because it was an election year, shamelessly hinted this week that he’d be willing to fill a SCOTUS position for Trump in an election year

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-Trump is praising autocrats, undermining allies
-Tone of OLC’s recent opinions has changed under Assistant AG Steven Engel, who was tied to one of the torture memos
-Military went to the border for Trump
-Military hid a ship to placate Trump
-Airborne seen wearing MAGA patches

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-Trump admin & Graham inexplicably advocating war in Iran/Venezuela
-DOJ experimenting with new legal theory for prosecuting those who publish classified information (raising a question as to whether the theory will be limited to hostile foreign actors or expanded to journalists)

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-some public voices are normalizing Trump admin conduct
-voicemail from Trump lawyer to Flynn shows a disturbing carrot/stick approach (or worse)
-Trump has seemed to dangle pardons to buy silence or worse
-Trump admin officials are violating records laws to conceal actions

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-Trump said “Russia, if you’re listening”
-Trump said “fine people” marched with nazis
-Trump has told over 10,000 false or misleading statements, per Washington Post
-Trump helped cover up Khashoggi murder, and Kushner’s said to have offered advice to MBS on weathering the storm

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-a foreign prince is reported to have said he has Kushner in his pocket (but denies saying that)
-Helsinki
-Trump’s behavior is erratic and is marked by frequent lies, bizarre public outbursts, name-calling and confusion
-no press conferences, and no transparency

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-Trump allies in congress are either lying about the Mueller report or haven’t read it
-Trump allies in congress are trying to prevent Mueller & others from testifying because they know their base hasn’t read the report and right wing media has kept them from hearing about it

Speaker Pelosi, while Mr. Shaub’s list of “offenses” is long, it is hardly exhaustive of the “high crimes and misdemeanors” committed by Donald Trump. When will enough be enough?

Photo | cnn.com

 

 

 

Stoic, Reserved Mueller Finally Talks … In “Lawyerspeak”

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The publicity shy, by-the-book Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, delivered a surprise speech yesterday in which he, in the most indirect of ways, called his boss, Attorney General, William Barr a liar.  During his nine-minute press conference, Mueller shot down both William Barr’s and Donald Trump’s “no collusion, no obstruction” mantra.

Mueller explained, under a long-standing DOJ policy, a President cannot be charged with a federal crime while in office.  “Charging the President with a crime was, therefore, not an option we could consider,” said Mueller.

The mild-mannered Mueller, however, disappointed many listeners by delivering a speech devoid of bombshells, filled more with implications, hints and innuendos. It was a speech more for professionals to decode than for the American public to consume.

Bottom-line? While he couldn’t complete the job he was assigned to do, the ball is now squarely in the hands of Congress to begin impeachment proceedings for perhaps the most brazen criminal ever to occupy the White House.

Photo | smerconish.com

 

 

Why All The Pelosi Love And Praise?

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If you believe the spin put out by even some reputable news outlets, Nancy Pelosi is a genius; a “master strategist.” We’re told she has Trump’s number; knows how to get under his skin; plays chess while Trump plays checkers; has Trump wrapped around her little pinky … and so on and so on.

The reality is Nancy Pelosi is none of the above. By not initiating impeachment proceedings, she is no better than her loathsome Republican counterparts. She is putting party above country … politics above the rule of law.

It’s pretty sad when some Republicans are calling for Trump’s impeachment … but not the Democratic Speaker of the House! If Pelosi had her druthers, Trump’s fate would be decided by the 2020 election.

A current Republican U.S. representative, Justin Amash (R-MI), has called for Trump’s impeachment. And now a former Republican representative, Tom Coleman, from the red state of Missouri, is calling both Trump and Pence ‘illegitimate.”

Said Coleman in an article he recently wrote for The Kansas City Star, “While Mueller did not find sufficient evidence that Trump or his campaign had violated a criminal statute, the net effect was that the Trump campaign encouraged a foreign adversary to use and misrepresent stolen information on social media platforms to defraud U.S. voters. Because the presidency was won in this way, the president’s election victory brought forth nothing less than an illegitimate presidency.”

Coleman goes on to say, “The political calculus not to pursue impeachment is understandable. Current polls show a majority of voters do not favor it. But critical times require exceptional leadership. Lawmakers of both parties should not blindly follow the polls but instead follow the evidence and their conscience. Politics should not rule the day. Partisan politics is what got us to this dangerous place — so dangerous, I believe, that the survival of our democracy is at risk.”

“Master Strategist” Pelosi needs to start, at the very least, an impeachment inquiry ASAP. Get the evidence out. The American people will be on board with formal impeachment once they learn the true facts contained in the Mueller report.

As Coleman noted, “This process would allow a full public review of wrongdoing, while providing Americans an opportunity to obtain a better understanding of the consequences to our national security and the lingering threat to our democracy.”

Tom Coleman concludes his opinion piece with this poignant observation:

I believe the public would conclude Democrats are no better than the Republicans who have enabled Trump for the past two years, putting party above country. It could hand Trump a second term. Failure to pursue impeachment is to condone wrongdoing. To condone wrongdoing is to encourage more of it. To encourage wrongdoing is to give up on the rule of law and our democracy. To give up on the rule of law and democracy invites autocracy and eventually dictatorship. History has taught us this outcome. In my lifetime, it has occurred in other places including the Soviet Union and Germany, as well as in Russia and Venezuela today.

Nancy do your duty, politics be damned.

Photo | youtube.com

Donald Trump Jr. Agrees To “Honor” Congressional Subpoena

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After threatening not to comply with a subpoena issued by the Senate Intelligence Committee, Donald Trump Jr. has graciously agreed to give testimony to the committee sometime in June.

Under the “terms” worked out with the Republican–controlled committee, Junior will “testify” behind closed doors, will only respond to a select set of questions and will limit his testimony to two-to-four hours.

Question … since when does a person under subpoena get to dictate the terms of his testimony?

This whole charade stinks to high heaven … and follows the continuing denigration of the rule of law by the Trump crime syndicate and sycophantic, boot-licking congressional Republicans.

Senator Mark Warner … really?

Photo | AP/pbs.org

Conway Slams “King Of Branding” With New Nickname: “Deranged Donald”

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George Conway, husband of one of Donald Trump’s most ardent defenders in the media, Kellyanne Conway (I know, it’s hard to figure out how this marriage works!), has hit the man currently occupying the White House with a new sobriquet: “Deranged Donald.”

Will the name stick?

Probably not, just like none of the following nicknames have permanently stuck to the Teflon Don.

Here is my list of the top 10 Trump nicknames:

Adolph Twitler

Benedict Donald

Cadet Bonespurs

Commander in Cheat

Don The Con

F**kface Von Clownstick

Hair Furor

Prima Donald

The Lyin King

Trumplethinskin

Do you have a Trump nickname not on this list? Feel free to share it in comments.

Photo | Breitbart.com

 

 

Weatherman Has Faith Book On Climate Will Change Hearts And Minds

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Paul Douglas, a well-known Minnesota meteorologist, believes in the science of climate change and has written a book on the subject. He is also an Evangelical.

The book, “Caring for Creation: An Evangelical’s Guide to Climate Change and a Healthy Environment,” hit the bookstores this month. It is co-authored by the Rev. Mitch Hescox, president of the Evangelical Environmental Network.

“I figured if people didn’t want to hear from scientists, maybe they’d listen to a minister and a meteorologist,” said Douglas.

Douglas’s argument is that climate change is irrefutable and it is a Christian obligation to care for the planet and all that God has created.

Some of the book’s solutions for combating climate change focus on renewable energy such as wind and solar, which Douglas describes as “cheaper, clean, homegrown American energy” that can lead to “energy freedom.”

Will the book’s pious message resonate with skeptical Evangelicals who view climate change, a.k.a global warming, as a hoax to grow big government?

For hardcore Evangelicals who support Donald Trump’s view that climate change is a myth concocted by the Chinese to give them a competitive manufacturing edge, I’m giving the effort, though commendable, a snowball’s chance in hell.

Could William Barr Have A John Mitchell Problem?

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They couldn’t take it anymore.  So now some members of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s otherwise “leak-proof” team are starting to talk.

According to The New York Times, a few of Mueller’s investigators have said Attorney General William Barr’s summary of their report did not sufficiently jibe with the results of their investigation, suggesting their findings could be more damaging to Trump than Barr conveyed,

Of course this comes as no surprise.  Trump’s handpicked AG was always going to spin Mueller’s report in the most positive light, i.e. creating the impression it cleared his boss.

Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee authorized Chairman Jerry Nadler to issue a subpoena for the full Mueller report along with all the underlying documents.

Although we may be in for a long court fight, the law is on the side of the Democrats.

The full report will eventually make its way to Nadler, if not the general public.

And if Barr’s 4-page summary was so off the mark that it can be shown he intentionally misrepresented the facts contained in the Mueller report, he may have a John Mitchell problem.

John Mitchell was Richard Nixon’s Attorney General who did his best to cover-up his boss’s crimes.

For his efforts, Mitchell was found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury and sentenced to two and a half to eight years in prison for his role in the Watergate break-in and cover-up.

Could Barr be so loyal… so dumb?

As Mary Anne Marsh, a Democratic political analyst, recently wrote in an article on FoxNews.com (of all places), “And if they continue to stonewall, then Trump and Barr will face the consequences rendered by the American people and history…just like Nixon and Mitchell.”

It is becoming increasingly clear that Trump and his Republican enablers are suffering from a bad case of premature exultation.

Photos | wikipedia.com, nymag.com

 

 

 

 

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