Epiphany

Three days from now, on Wednesday, January 6, the United States Congress will meet to certify the winner of the 2020 presidential race.  President-elect Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in November by over 7 million votes in the popular election and by 74 votes in the Electoral College.  The Trump campaign's efforts to sue several states for voter fraud have failed in over 40 cases.  District Court Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan of Pennsylvania said, in dismissing one of the cases, that "this claim, like Frankenstein's monster, has been haphazardly stitched together . . . This court has been presented with strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations . . . unsupported by evidence."

Frankenstein's monster indeed.  

It's what the Republican Party has created repeatedly in its subservience to Donald Trump, and it's what brings us now to the latest outrage:  the group of 12 Republican senators and over 100 representatives who plan to oppose the count of votes on January 6.  What an interesting coincidence that this disgraceful devilry will occur on Epiphany, the Christian celebration of the Magi's visit.  Epiphany has also come to mean "a moment of sudden revelation or insight."

Can we count on any of these spineless senators and representatives to experience epiphany, to see the danger of their actions?  Not likely, when their circular logic spins on its own deceit.  Senator Ted Cruz, leader of the twelve senators, said today, "We've seen in the last two months unprecedented allegations of voter fraud . . . We have an obligation to protect the integrity of the democratic system."  Allegations, yes.  Proof, no.  The courts have ruled; the democratic system was upheld.  That the likes of Cruz and his comrades continue to hoodwink Trump supporters doesn't validate the false narrative.  

Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night, also a reference to Epiphany, offers us two quotes as we contemplate these Republicans' actions.  In Act 2, Scene ii, Viola says,

"O time, thou must untangle this, not I.
It is too hard a knot for me t'untie."

Who will untie this knot that Republicans have created?  Certainly not Mitch McConnell, who enabled his corrupt president from the start.  Certainly not the so-called moderate Republicans--Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney, or Ben Sasse--whose actions rarely support their words of protest.  Certainly not the the right-wing media that continues to promote lies and foment discord.  New leadership under Joe Biden will make a difference, of course, as he will begin to restore integrity and respect.  But William Shakespeare may have it right in the end: time may be our only salvation.

Finally, again from Viola, Act 2, Scene i, a lament for all of us: 

"What country, friends, is this?"

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.

Don't Let the Baby Have His Bottle

As the youngest in my family with two brothers who sometimes saw me as spoiled, I took my share of derision when we were kids.  If I whined about something or made a request that they deemed excessive, they would chant, "Let the baby have her bottle."  

Their sing-song duet came back to me this week as Donald Trump reacted to the news of his coming defeat.  Just as you might expect from a child, he tweeted in defiance on Saturday morning, "I WON THIS ELECTION BY A LOT!"  Later that morning when the networks announced Joe Biden's victory, Trump declared, "The simple fact is this election is far from over."

No, the simple fact is that Donald Trump shouldn't get away with his baseless, immature charges of a stolen election.  Until he produces evidence substantiating his claims, he should be called out repeatedly for lying.  But as has been the case with his presidency, only a few--like Senators Mitt Romney and Pat Toomey, and former governor Chris Christie--have chastised Trump.  The usual lackeys (Kevin McCarthy, Lindsey Graham, and Ted Cruz) have defended him, and the rest remain silent.

To remain silent is to become complicit, enabling Trump's reckless behavior.  What are Republicans afraid of?  They're like new parents who dance around their toddler's temper tantrums and don't know what to do.

Perhaps this has been the problem all along.  We've had a big baby in the White House for four years, and instead of confronting his outrages, his colleagues and staff repeatedly gave up.  They stuck a bottle in his mouth and in so doing, stuck it to all of us.  

We kept hearing about the supposed "grownups in the room," like Rex Tillerson and John Kelly, but they never took meaningful action.  The baby got his way no matter what.

It's time to throw away the bottle.  Donald Trump lost the election.  The grownups have arrived, and the baby must finally go to bed.

Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave

It wasn't just Mitt Romney who was defeated last week.  It was also the lies he told.  Lies about his record, lies about his policies, lies about Jeeps made in China.  He and his Republican Party couldn't stop lying, so much so that they even lied to themselves--denying facts and polls and evidence that left them stunned by their defeat on November 6.

They have only themselves to blame.  The false bubble they created grew so big that it burst, like a child's bubble blown into the wind.

I hope they chart a more truthful course for the future.  Sure, there will always be politics and spin and exaggeration, but day after day of outright lies does no one any good.  Cynicism and ignorance abound, and intelligent disagreements are impossible.

Let's hope that the so-called "Party of Lincoln" decides going forward to follow the advice of Honest Abe.

Enthusiasm Gap? I Don't Think So

Any campaign that signed up volunteers to work in a storage unit on election day did something right.  Here we are inside Unit 10 of Ample Storage on Tuesday:

Yes, this was a temporary field office in Durham, staffed by hearty Obama enthusiasts.  The working conditions were terrible: it was cold, loud, and dreary.  But there we were, making phone calls and driving voters to the polls.

I guess we've learned something.  This kind of energy really can beat millions of dollars.

BFFs

The skinny black intellectual from Chicago and the big white guy from Jersey make quite a pair.  Who could have predicted the unlikely camaraderie that has developed between Barack Obama and Chris Christie?  Just last week the Governor trashed the President here in the south, in both North Carolina and Virginia.  Now he's Barack Obama's best friend.

In a piercing New York Times column, "The 'I' of the Storm," Maureen Dowd explores the political advantages both men gain in their new relationship.  With biting wit she points to Governor Christie's presidential ambition as the driving force in his fawning praise of the President.  While her argument is compelling and astute, I suggest another less Machiavellian motive for Chris Christie.

The responsibility that governors must feel in these disasters has to be overwhelming.  To whom do they turn?  Other states may be in the same situation and, if not, they have their own problems.  Enter the federal government, whose role--as FEMA administrator Craig Fugate said yesterday morning on NPR--is to "support the states when the disaster exceeds their capabilities."

As Chris Christie is seeing first hand, the federal government offers a lift up to those in need, which is precisely the message President Obama has repeated throughout this presidential campaign.  Mitt Romney, on the other hand, would turn over many essential functions either to the states or to private enterprise.  A diminished FEMA, as Romney has endorsed, wouldn't have much to offer Chris Christie right now.

Best friends have a way of being there when you need them.  No wonder Chris Christie has a new BFF.

Control Freaks

How interesting that in the midst of this contentious campaign--where Republicans seek to control women's bodies, voter identification, immigrant rights, and definitions of marriage, patriotism, and the Constitution itself--along comes a monster storm over which no one has control.  Will the control freaks take note?

Probably not.  But I wish Mitt and his minions would quit trying to impose their narrow view of America on those of us who don't fit their mold.

And the Winner Is. . .

The final presidential debate this week gave us a look at both the professor and the student.  President Obama's tendency to lecture stood him well; you could follow him and take notes easily.  Governor Romney, on the other hand, played the part of the earnest, but mediocre student trying to remember the notes he so laboriously copied each day in class.  He sounded wooden and rote, as in this example: "Syria is Iran's only ally in the Arab world.  It's their route to the sea.  It's the route for them to arm Hezbollah in Lebanon, which threatens, of course, our ally, Israel."  B-?

Anyway, we give geopolitical awards this time:

The "We're Finally on the Map" Award: Mali, which received two Mitt mentions for its northern region having been taken over by Al Qaeda.

The "Huh? Could You Elaborate?" Award: Latin America, which according to Mitt, "is a huge opportunity for us--time zone, language opportunities."

The "Kick Us When We're Down" Award: Greece, for being the country you don't want to be.  Said Mitt, "[Businesses won't want to] invest in America if they think we're headed on the road to Greece."

The "Most Apt Metaphor" Award: Barack Obama, for saying, "Governor, the problem is. . . you've been all over the map."

The "Can We Talk About Something Else?" Award: Mitt Romney, for the following foreign affairs observations--"I like American cars," "Research is great," and "I love teachers."

Lucy Ledbetter

Mitt Romney's debate comments about women in the work place went viral this week, especially his priceless metaphor of women in binders.  Our series--adapted from the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album--continues with a song based on "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."

Picture yourself as a talented woman
With briefcase in hand and MBA skills.
Mitt's office calls you, you answer quite slowly,
Is this where you want to end up?

Governor Romney, he says he wants gals,
And they can go home at 5,
'Cause hubby's waiting for dinner to eat,
And there's kids.

Lucy in a binder for Mitt
Lucy in a binder for Mitt
Lucy in a binder for Mitt
Ahhh.

Follow her down to the office in Boston
Where other gals sprang from a binder like her.
"Gosh, we found women to serve in my cabinet,"
The governor gushes aloud.

"I am for women as much as Barack,
They can have birth control, too.
Abortions, whatever, I'll say what I must
To win gals.

Lucy in a binder for Mitt
Lucy in a binder for Mitt
Lucy in a binder for Mitt
Ahhh.

The Ghost of Republicans Past

Though his name is rarely invoked these days, George Bush hovers over our politics and over our presidential campaign like a flitting Halloween ghost.  One of the questioners in last night's debate noted W's absence and posed a telling question to Mitt Romney: How are you different from our last Republican president?  Romney's answer rambled on--the times are different, he'd crack down on China, he'd balance the budget (how?)--but it was President Obama's response that brought the ghost to life.

Mitt Romney and George Bush peddle the same failed economic policies, Obama indicated, but they differ in social policy: "George Bush didn't propose turning Medicare into a voucher," Obama said.  "George Bush embraced comprehensive immigration reform.  He didn't call for self-deportation.  George Bush never suggested that we eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood."

Social policy often gets lost in this campaign's rhetoric, but it ought not to.  The current Republican party headed by Mitt Romney is so extreme that George Bush looks reasonable.  If undecided voters can't figure out which candidate is going to move the economy forward, then they should look at social policy.

The backward movement of Mitt Romney is clear. . . and scary.  It's not a place most of us want to go.

And the Winner Is. . .

Given that the 3 main characters in last week's debate were all losers--Romney for lying, Obama for dithering, and Lehrer for missing in action--we turn elsewhere for winners:

Most apoplectic response: MSNBC's Chris Matthews, who let Obama have it (now if only the President would watch cable TV. . .).

Kindest (and greenest) response: Al Gore, for citing Denver's high altitude as possibly responsible for the President's weak performance.

Best analysis of Obama's Achilles' heel: Matt Bai in "Obama's Enthusiasm Gap"--an explication of the President's maddening passivity over the past 4 years.

Most understated headline: The New York Times for "Axelrod Says Obama Will Review Tape of Debate."

Most in-the-hot-seat: Vice President Biden, who's got no room for error on Thursday night.

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda

I wonder what President Obama thought of his debate performance Wednesday night.  Perhaps the Beatles' song "I Should Have Known Better" ran through his mind the next morning:

I should have known better with a guy like him
That he could show up and not be so dim
But I lost
Hey, hey, hey
At a cost.

Oh, oh, I didn't realize how often Mitt would lie
Or that Jim Lehrer would sit back and sigh
But they did
I don't kid.

That when I came to the debate floor, oh
I should have made sure not to bore, oh
I should have shown Mitt to the door
Instead I wimped and that's for sure.

That's for sure
That's for sure
That's for sure.

Big Yawn

I fell asleep watching the presidential debate last night, missing about 20 minutes of tax talk.  While I was awake, I must have heard Barack Obama say "middle class" more than any other word and Mitt Romney say "business" more than any other word.  I guess we know where their priorities lie.

Did this debate advance anyone's understanding of the issues before us?  I can't imagine that it did.  Full of fact-challenged wonk, it left me bored and frustrated.  Perhaps some voters will feel more confident about Mitt Romney's candidacy--as he appeared more comfortable than he usually does--but if you were looking for a cogent presentation from either candidate, it wasn't there.

Let's see what the vice presidential hopefuls have to say next week.

Up the Water Spout

Mitt Romney's efforts to stay competitive--especially during these recent weeks when he's lost ground--remind me of the itsy bitsy spider's persistent climb.  Sing to the tune of this favorite nursery rhyme:

Candidate Mitt Romney just couldn't get it right
Down came the polls and made the race less tight.
Out came Obama and all that he stood for
And candidate Mitt Romney remade himself once more.

Insincerity

Mitt Romney re-invents himself every week.  Last week he was the rich guy in loafers, wearing no socks, commiserating with fellow Boca Ratoners about the 47% of us who mooch off the government.  This week he's in working-class Ohio feeling the pain of the same 47%: "My heart aches for the people I've seen," he said.

Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, would have no trouble understanding Mitt's latest caricature.  Caulfield tells his readers, "I am always saying 'Glad to've met you' to somebody I'm not at all glad I met.  If you want to stay alive, you have to say that stuff, though."

It's pretty easy to spot someone who's doing everything he can, however contradictory, to stay alive.  Perhaps this is why Mitt Romney is plummeting in the polls.

Bumbling Mitt

What a week for Mitt Romney!  Sing to the tune of "Both Sides Now" by Judy Collins:

Olympic games, the Middle East,
I spoke my mind, I made my peace.
But no one thought I made much sense,
They said I made things tense.
And now old friends have turned away,
"You're losing ground" is what they say,
But something's lost and not much gained
In speaking every day.
I've tried to lead from both sides now
As corporate man and governor,
It's talking big that I recall,
I don't know how to lead at all.

Slouches, slugs, they don't work hard,
I told it straight to the old guard.
I said exactly what I meant
About the forty-seven percent.
But Mother Jones unearthed the clip,
And now I'm getting lots of lip
From folks on both the right and left
They all think I'm tone deaf.
I've looked at life from both sides now
From rich and rich and still somehow
It's life as privilege I recall
I really don't know life at all.

And the Winner Is. . .

The videotape released this week by Mother Jones is so priceless and revealing it's hard to know what to say.  Instead, I'll make some awards:

Best supporting actor: James Carter IV for discovering the footage and shepherding it towards publication--and for making his granddad proud.

Best critical review: David Brooks of The New York Times for his withering critique.  Click here if you missed it.

Best graphics representation: Andrew Morgan and Katy Waldman from Slate for their funny flow chart.  Answer questions like "Do you believe you're entitled to food?" and the chart will direct you to your preferred presidential candidate.

Best Gatsby-esque feature: The tinkling and clinking sounds of fine glassware, china, and silver that reverberate throughout the tape, as a backdrop to Mitt's ambling remarks.

Best (and most unusual) cinematographer: Deep Throat, whoever she or he may be, for shooting footage that makes you feel like a spy.

Honor Thy Blue-Collar Parents

For all of you working-class parents out there, it's your time to shine.  And the poorer you are, the better.  At least this is the message I take from both parties' political conventions.  Speakers are knocking themselves out to boast the humblest, most self-sacrificing parent on earth:

Ann Romney's father started working at 6 years old cleaning bottles in a small village in Wales.

Mitt Romney's father, born in Mexico, began as a carpenter.

Marco Rubio's father was a bartender, and his mother worked the overnight shift at K-Mart.

Paul Ryan's mother rode 40 miles on a bus each morning to earn a college degree.

Chris Christie's father grew up in poverty and worked at the Breyer's Ice Cream factory.

Michelle Obama's father was a pump operator at the city water plant.

Elizabeth Warren's father was a maintenance man, and her mother answered phones for Sears.

All of these people have in common the gift of unconditional love for their children, a good thing of course.  But you gotta wonder.  When did parents become so fashionable?  You didn't used to acknowledge even having parents, let alone brag about them--especially if they toiled away in low-paying jobs.

Blue-collar parents are cool, I guess, especially if you turned out OK.  If you didn't, well never mind, you won't make it to a speaker's podium anyway.  Besides, with all of the money flowing through these two campaigns' coffers, you won't matter a whole heck of a lot. 

Talk is cheap, after all.  Isn't that what Paul Ryan's father used to say?*

(*Actually he used to say, "You can be part of the problem, or you can be part of the solution"--but who cares about facts?)

War on Fathers

It seems as though Ann and Mitt Romney, in their speeches last week, decided to shift the Republican attack on women to an attack on fathers.  It was weird, I thought.  Ruth Marcus, writing in The Washington Post, dissects Mrs. Romney's patronizing remarks.  Marcus rightly calls Mrs. Romney's speech "objectifying and demeaning" in citing quotes like these: "It's the moms who always have to work a little harder, to make everything right.  It's the moms of this nation--single, married, widowed--who really hold this country together."

Mitt picked up on the theme Thursday night when he said, "I knew that [Ann's] job as a mom was harder than mine.  And I knew without question that her job as a mom was more important than mine."  Really?

I guess these comments are meant to flatter mothers, but they end up insulting everyone, especially fathers.  It's almost as if the Romneys are suggesting that fathers are superfluous in children's lives, which couldn't be farther from the truth.  We may argue at home, as I'm sure many of us do, about who works harder raising children in a family; but to suggest that one parent is more important than another discounts the magic that works in any family to launch children into the world.

Mitt Romney is disturbingly out of touch.  Or is he always acting a part?  If so, he doesn't do a very good job.

Republican Women as Mary Magdalene

It must be hard being a Republican woman right now, especially if you're a teeny bit moderate.  How do you support Mitt Romney and the party's right-wing, misogynist agenda?  Maybe you don't.  Pretend you're a chorus of Republican women and sing to the tune "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar.

We don't know how to love Mitt
What to do, how to back him
We've been hurt, yes really hurt.
In these past few months, when we've seen ourselves
Insulted and demeaned.

We don't know how to take this
We don't see why he slights us
He's a man.  Just a white man,
And we've had so many white men before,
In very many ways,
He's just one more.

Should we bring him down?
Should we scream and shout?
Should we speak of NOW
Let our feelings out?
We never thought we'd come to this
What's it all about?

Don't you think it's rather funny,
We should be in this position?
We've made gains, so many gains
We've worked, we've fought, we've done our best
Running every show.
He scares us so.

We never thought we'd come to this
What's it all about?

Yet, if he beats Obama
We'll be lost, we'll be frightened
We couldn't cope, just couldn't cope
We'd turn our heads, we'd back away
We wouldn't want to know.
He scares us so
He brings us low
Stay home, vote no.