A Wink and a Nod?

How will Republican lawmakers censure Donald Trump for his incendiary role in Wednesday's attack on the US Capitol?  Will they encourage the use of the 25th Amendment?  Pressure him to resign?  Support impeachment?

So far, as the Washington Post reported yesterday, "Republicans [are] largely silent about [the] consequences of [the] deadly attack and Trump's role in inciting it . . . Republican leaders [have] yet to hold anyone accountable."  True, Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania have called for Trump's resignation, and Politico notes that several Republicans have expressed private support for Trump's removal.  Still, the collective response is silence . . . 

. . . for which Eliana Johnson, guest host of today's edition of the newsletter "Politico Playbook," offers an answer.  She describes a strategy one Republican operative called "wink, wink, nod, nod," in which "lawmakers simply treat VP Mike Pence as president."  It's already been used, she notes, when Congressional leaders on Wednesday called Pence, not Trump, to employ the National Guard.  Moreover, Mitch McConnell has apparently told others that "he does not plan to speak to Trump again."

Big whoop. 

McConnell has enabled Donald Trump's malfeasance since the start of this presidency.  He's winked and nodded for four years so that he could secure judgeships and tax cuts for the rich.  Congressional Republicans, a few notable exceptions notwithstanding, have joined him.  When Joe Biden won the election in November, these same Republicans once again remained silent.  What harm, they asked, in allowing Trump to claim a fraudulent, stolen election?

I hope they found out.

Remaining silent, winking and nodding at Mike Pence, should not be an option for Republicans, certainly not for their leadership.  They should be speaking on talk shows, posting to social media, and interviewing with newspapers--wherever they might reach uninformed citizens--to tell them the truth: Joe Biden won this election.  No fraud.  No steal.  They should further speak out against their president: Donald Trump was wrong to incite violence.  Finally, they should be doing whatever they can to get Trump out of office and to speak publicly about their efforts.

Clear, consistent messages could make a difference, at least for the future.  If Republicans can't get rid of Trump now, maybe they can undo some of the damage they've caused.  For we cannot expect to preserve our democracy as long as election results remain in doubt for so many citizens.  The angry, armed mob already broke through the gates, and we can't afford for them to do so again.

Ordinary Courage

As the results of the presidential election became clear earlier this month, I knew that our president would seek to create chaos, but I never imagined that ordinary citizens would save us.  I thought that at least some Republican legislators, other than Mitt Romney, would object to these destructive attempts to override voters' wishes.  I wondered if Mitch McConnell would finally defend the Constitution.  I hoped that prominent generals would issue a joint statement of condemnation.

Silly me.

Instead, working people did their jobs, starting with postal employees who handled and delivered an unprecedented number of absentee ballots.  Despite efforts to hamper their work through the removal of mail-sorting machines and Louis DeJoy's attempted cost-cutting proposals, the United States Postal Service processed over 122 million ballots this year.

Elections officials at all levels followed the model of postal employees, working long hours on election day and beyond to ensure an accurate count.  Moreover, several workers reported not just harassment, but violent threats as well, for doing their jobs.  Al Schmidt, the Republican City Commissioner of Philadelphia, said that "his office [was] receiving death threats for counting votes in a democracy."  Poll workers in Michigan and Arizona reported similar intimidation, and in Georgia, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said that both he and his wife had received death threats.  One text read, "You better not botch this recount.  Your life depends on it."

Yet despite the long hours, the insults, and the threats, elections officials have resisted intense pressure and begun to certify the results of this election.  Republican and Democratic officials both have fulfilled their oaths of office to ensure an accurate count.  Indeed, our fellow citizens are thwarting Donald Trump and his lawless attorneys.

Theirs is ordinary courage, in a way, if courage is ever ordinary.  

But what about Congressional Republicans and senior White House officials?  Where's their courage?  We are fortunate to have honest, hard-working postal workers and election officials who value integrity.  Were it equally true in Washington.

The Power of One

How can the death of one person hold so much power in our democracy? Aren’t we supposed to be “We, the people”?

The loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has set off a volatile, political battle. Less than twenty-four hours after her death, Republican senators were already speaking about her replacement. And though I revere Justice Ginsburg’s brilliance and accomplishments, I’m concerned that she holds this much power in our government, either alive or dead. Something’s broken when the absence of one person can wreak fundamental change across society.

A similar truth holds for Mitch McConnell. Though he’s still here, of course, he continues to block legislation, and at the height of hypocrisy, prevented a hearing for Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland in March 2016 during Barack Obama’s second term. Now McConnell intends to seek Senate confirmation for Donald Trump’s nominee within six weeks of a presidential election.

What is broken must be repaired. 

When it comes to the Supreme Court, we must first dispel the myth that it’s our one non-partisan branch of government. We all know this isn’t true. The current fight over Justice Ginsburg’s seat is proof enough. We must then consider remedies to the Court’s composition. Russell Wheeler, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, reviews options in his March 2020 essay, “Should we restructure the Supreme Court?” In it, he summarizes the three most frequently discussed ideas: adding seats to the Court (aka “packing the court”), increasing the size of the Court to 15, and imposing term limits for justices. 

Whatever changes are made, our courts must be structured in such a way to avoid current trends where, as Wheeler points out, four of our five conservative Supreme Court justices were nominated by presidents who lost the popular vote, and “senators who confirmed Justices Thomas, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh represented less than half the population.”

McConnell’s ongoing reign is a related problem. As the Senate Majority Leader, McConnell holds the power to schedule or not schedule votes even when bi-partisan support for a bill is evident. He blocked votes on popular criminal justice reform in 2018, for example, and gun background-check legislation earlier this year. He seeks quick approval for Trump’s judicial nominees yet repeatedly held up Obama’s. His power, and Nancy Pelosi’s for that matter, should be scaled back.

The imbalances of power in our government are not sustainable, and the only way to make change is through the legislative branch. When our newly elected Congress convenes in January 2021, our representatives need to review and revise not only the structure of the Supreme Court, but the power in their own bodies as well. 

It behooves us to hold them accountable.

Joe Biden Rising

Here's to Joe Biden.  He's emerged as President Obama's best emissary and negotiator during both the fiscal cliff talks and now in discussions on gun violence.  Perhaps this development is a sign that the President will use the executive branch more in his second term rather than defer to our hapless Congress.

With the American folk song "Old Joe Clark" as our guide, we salute the Vice President (and hope that he continues to take charge--rather than the Congressional leaders who've gotten us nowhere):

Joe Biden he made a deal
With the other side,
Stepped into a big old mess
Of talks that had just died.

Hello Joe Biden
Good-bye Harry Reid,
Hello Joe Biden
It's time for you to lead.

Joe Biden he is our man
Taking on tough stuff,
Trying to enact a ban
'Cause we've had enough.

Hello Joe Biden
Good-bye Nancy P,
Hello Joe Biden
You now hold the key.

Joe Biden he listens well
Gets along with all,
Doesn't demonize his foes
Up and down the Mall.

Hello Joe Biden
Good-bye Mitch and John,
Hello Joe Biden
We're so glad you won.

Random Thoughts on President Obama. . .

on the occasion of his 50th birthday.

1. He gives good speeches, often excellent ones.

2. He caves to his opponents.

3. He negotiates from a position of weakness.

4. He defers too much to Congress.

5. He betrays his base.

I don't know what to make of this guy. Most of the time I agree with what he says, but somehow what he says doesn't translate into action. Is he getting bad advice, or does he have some larger plan in mind?

Whatever's going on, I'm discouraged. I feel like we're all drifting along towards catastrophe--financial and environmental, especially--and the captain still doesn't grasp his job.

Unfortunately, his opponents have spotted the vacuum and they've taken control of the ship, steering us in the wrong direction. The iceberg looms, it's not even hidden, and we're headed right for it.

A Pox on All Our Houses

Our government in Washington is a disgrace. Whatever comes of this charade doesn't begin to address the problems we face. Pervasive ignorance and selfishness at our highest levels demean all of us.

In the words of all of our presidents--whenever they address us--"May God bless the United States of America." We couldn't need it more.

Turkey Pardons

It's fine that President Obama pardoned a Thanksgiving turkey this year, but it's not fine that he continues to pardon the other turkeys in his midst: Congressional Republicans. The President has offered so many olive branches to John Boehner and Mitch McConnell that I think even Jesus would say Obama has turned his cheek too many times.

The Bush tax cut extensions offer President Obama one more chance--and perhaps one final chance--to speak on behalf of the majority of Americans and on behalf of the people who elected him. He needs to say forcefully, and to say every day, that he does not support extending tax cuts for the wealthiest among us. Millionaires don't need a tax break, and many of them agree. This is no time for compromise.

If the President's opponents in Congress outnumber him, so be it. He will have stood up for what's just and right.

This year's lucky Thanksgiving turkey will spend the rest of his days at Mount Vernon, waddling where George Washington once walked. If Barack Obama sells out poor and middle-class Americans on this issue, he may find himself going the way of the turkey: into early retirement, living among ex-presidents. For such a sell-out runs the risk of opening up the presidential field to a third-party candidate, splitting the Democratic party, and alienating once loyal supporters for good.