Rule of law vs. rule of men

Illustration by Carl Muecke

Let's be clear about James Comey. He was fired by the president who he was investigating for ties to Russia, in other words treason. Comey's FBI must have been getting close, so Donald Trump acted through his Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, who had already recused himself from the Russia probe.

All the rest, about Comey and Hillary's emails (for God's sake), is a distraction or another of Trump's many lies.

At risk is the rule of law and a chilling future. Most immediately, it means Trump can install a crony as FBI Director (Rudy Giuliani?), as he has done in other federal agencies, to wreck from the inside. The independence of the premier federal law enforcement agency would be politicized and compromised. And the investigation into the depth of Trump's connections with the Kremlin — election meddling, money laundering, business connections, blackmail — would be stopped.

If the roles were reversed and the president was Hillary Clinton, she would already be facing impeachment and removal from office. But besides from some tut-tutting by the likes of wealthy Republican John Sidney McCain III and Jeff Flake — the Republican-controlled Congress is doing nothing. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (with a wife in the Trump cabinet) has defended Trump's action.

Why? First, congressional Republicans fear Trump's base, which doesn't care what he does as long as he preserves white majoritarianism and stops what it sees as unending lefty cultural victories. This is an incredibly powerful force of identity politics and, as in Hitler's rise, "respectable conservatism" has made common cause with the leader.

The second reason: Trump will serve as a rubber stamp for everything on the nihilistic GOP ideological wish list. Taking health care away from 24 million people, setting loose Wall Street, wrecking the EPA from the inside, and ensuring no action on climate change is only the start. As I have warned for months, things will get worse than almost anyone can imagine.

As a result, checks and balances have broken down. Remember that Richard Nixon faced potential impeachment from a Democratic-controlled Congress. And in those days, the Republican Party has not become a lunatic asylum for the Ayn Rand right.

Trump lacks the energy of Hitler or the intelligence of Stalin (a former seminarian who read books voraciously; he was also a superb singer). Trump has violated norm after norm. His mental health is questioned by professionals. He is running multiple businesses out of the White House, has embedded corrupt family members as his closest aides, and is in violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution. But Congress won't stop him. Neither will the courts, soon, as he has begun to pack them with right-wing extremist judges and one (so far) Supreme Court Justice.

But never forget, they are a unit: Trump and the Republican Party. He may only want to be the star of the reality television show of a lifetime. Yet he is malign and will use all the powers of the government to enrich himself and his families. He is mentally unstable and has the nuclear launch codes. He is a stooge for a foreign power. And behind him is a party intent on wrecking America. With the loyal base, vote suppression, internecine warfare among his opponents, and "conservative" courts, they could hold power indefinitely. And the damage will take generations to repair.

Louis IV said, "L'etat c'est moi." With the firing of the FBI director, Trump is saying, "I am the law."

What are we going to do about it?

 

Comments

[Bradley Dranka]

One hopes that some sensible and authentic patriots still reside in the Republican party--and they will come to the conclusion that Trump is too close to being treasonous for the continued existence of the United States.

This "treason" not only relates to his embrace of Russia, but, more sinisterly, to Trump's deliberate weakening and corroding of American ideals and institutions.

America will go down not by some single catastrophe, but by a gradual "death from a thousand cuts." These "thousand cuts" will be the result of Trump, being addicted to megalomania, gutting American agencies, diplomacy, and laws in his pursuit of subordinating and subjugating everything to himself and his immeasurable ego.

Only when the real powerholders in America realize that this is Trump's endgame will there be any chance to stop Trump.

The longer he is allowed to continue on his mission of conquest, the harder it will be to contain this evil genie.

[Bradley Dranka]

And I use the words "authentic patriots" because the Republican party has been subtly (and not so subtly) proclaiming itself as somehow "more" patriotic than the Democrats for decades.

Now they have a potential "Trojan horse" in their midst.

We'll see HOW patriotic they really are.

I hate to say this, but I'm not holding my breath....

[soleri]

Elections have consequences even in a nation of narcotized sheep opting for candidates who manipulate their emotions and validate their ignorance. No candidate in history performed this rite of democracy more effectively or brazenly than Donald Trump. The Republican road to this particular abyss has been under construction for over 40 years. Trump arrived exactly at the point when this party was in full thrall to white identity politics. He won the Republican primary easily for this reason. No one "outniggered" Donald Trump.

Is there any reason for hope given that half this nation gets its news from propaganda outlets or Facebook? I tend to see younger people as our salvation given that their younger brains are less clogged with the plaques of bigotry and nostalgia. Unfortunately, they also tend to be politically illiterate and uninvolved. They are easy prey to lefty hucksters who will excite their Aquarian fantasies but not their commitment to fundamental civic duties like voting.

Possibly Trump will implode from his own hubris but the GOP base loves its strongman-bully. At the same time, Democrats will have an epic tailwind going into 2018. Maybe Bernie could suggest to his angelic lambs that they vote for Democrats and not merely purists. Let us pray. Still, there's a good chance impeachment proceedings can commence in January of 2019.

[B. Franklin]

It's really pretty simple:

Forget "The Party of Lincoln", Eisenhower, La Follette, and even that master bullshitter Reagan.

Republican is now a synonym for traitor.

Spare no effort in reminding any Republican you encounter of this demonstrable fact.

They own Trump, his disgusting family, his idiotic supporters, and all his traitorous associates.

[Bradley Dranka]

But will the Republicans own the coming Russian influence in the White (supremacist) House? That'll be the day!

[Cal Lash]

Piss on or not on bed.
Putin owns Trump.
Lock stock and barrel.
https://www.bing.com/search?q=Putin%20worth&pc=cosp&ptag=C1A0E8C88C5FC&form=CONBDF&conlogo=CT3210127
and when he is done with him.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=russian+poisons&qpvt=russian+poisons&qpvt=russian+poisons&qpvt=russian+poisons&FORM=IGRE

[Bradley Dranka]

One of the things that troubles me most about Trump is this recurring theme that he demands a personal oath of loyalty. This came up during a campaign stop in 2016 and apparently played a part in James Comey's firing.

This "oath" is unsettlingly similar to the oath Hitler had his troops perform before induction.

I believe Trump, had he been a politician in 1920's Russia, 1930's Germany, 1940's China, 1950's Cuba, or 1970's Uganda, would have become Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Castro, or Idi Amin. Trump shares many of the same personality traits with these despots: Mercurial, sociopathic, paranoia, megalomania, and probably a few more a psychiatrist could add.

This is why the American people will get it "good and hard." Trump is a salesman. They will have been sold a Volkswagen, but will get a very underpowered go-kart.

[Cal Lash]

Ruben, posted U a comment back one.

[Bradley Dranka]

If one reads, really reads, the Pledge of Allegiance, there really should be NO oaths of allegiance to a person, especially in government, to anyone, and this is even more true with regard to the President.

This is precisely where the undermining of our institutions and country begins. When one cannot see that, within government, our country, and our allegiance to it, must always come before loyalty to any individual, then our freedoms and all that flow from these are at grave risk.

[Ruben Perez]

Mankind's most important guardians are the officers who carry the nuclear football. I sure hope they have the conviction to tell Trump, "No sir, you are mistaken. This briefcase just has my underwear from the trip." Then they hand Trump a Nintendo controller and tell him to push the red button. He'll never know the difference. They can explain the difference to him on the ride in the paddy wagon.

[Bradley Dranka]

Ruben, two problems: the cuffs will slide off due to trump's sliminess, and his ego won't fit in the back.

[Petro]

http://www.newslogue.com/debate/391/CaitlinJohnstone

[Mike Doughty]

As you say,the problem is Trump --and the Republican Party.I have been waiting 30 years for the grownups in the Az. party to stand up to the alt-right and have been disappointed for 30 years.The politicians will cling to their jobs until they have no other choice to but turn on their own.Doing so will cost them votes and they might lose the election for their job.Look at Nixon-it was not until there was no other option that the party finally turned on him.

[Cal Lash]

However unlike today back in the not so tricky Dick era there were still some honorable GOP politicians. These fools today better wise up soon or they will be locked up in one of Putin's Siberia empty Walmarts.

Far out post Mike.

[soleri]

‘Go f*ck yourself with a locally grown organic cucumber'

Bill Maher said it better than any of us could: if you still think that Hillary Clinton is this evil neoliberal demon, which justifies the election of a delusional man-child, you're an idiot.

For the full clip of Maher's definitive take down of the purist left, go here:

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/go-fck-yourself-with-a-locally-grown-organic-cucumber-maher-blasts-extreme-liberals-equating-clinton-with-trump/

[Cal Lash]

Now I'm getting excited. Guns and cucumbers at High Noon.

[Cal Lash]

If U haven't read Jon's Front Pages today. I suggest U do. Some GOOD STUFF .

[Rogue Columnist]

And don't forget Arizona's Continuing Crisis, updated with the latest real journalism about my home state.

[Cal Lash]

Democracy has left America.
The Gangster in Charge and his son in law are
vory v zankone.

[soleri]

There's a nice post over at The Washington Monthly by DR Tucker I recommend. Nickel summary: we will never convert Trump voters. It doesn't matter what you promise, how you message, or better candidates. These people are lost. http://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/05/13/suicide-squad-trumps-loyalists-will-never-care-about-his-dishonor-of-the-white-house/

I left this comment there:

The reason so many of us obsessively point out the need for sanity on the left is that we know by experience that right-wingers tend to be small, hate-filled, and fearful. What this means in practice is that they'll vote for the authoritarian who will get tough on whatever minority group is deemed the greatest threat to their Mayberry idyll. For most of our history, that has been black people, but let's not forget gays, Jews, intellectuals, and now, Muslims and Mexicans.

We on the left will not win if we make our politics a crusade for purity because politics only works in this world, not the imaginary one of virtue and justice. There are real-world reasons for democracy that have less to do with our ideals and more with the necessity of compromise and basic honesty. The right is now an ideological movement of white reaction. We on the left must make the answer to their insanity something other than the Aquarian values of Bernie and Jill. It's much more basic that that. It's whether we slip into thuggish authoritarianism or maintain enough flexibility that we can negotiate in good faith and come back the next day knowing the process still works.

[Cal Lash]

Soleri nice post and same good points you have made many times.

But I have a question.
What are "Aquarian Values"

Possibly

The Aquarius Man
Let’s get one thing straight from the start. The Aquarius man is no one’s water boy, and it would be a mistake to assume so. A liberal and an independent, this man is intent on making the world a better place, for all of mankind. This grandiose approach may seem a little overwhelming when you first meet the man, but he really is a genius when it comes to thoughts and new ideas.
The Aquarius man is also inventive and original, churning out amazing and creative solutions, all meant to change the world or at least his little corner of it. Intellectual, humanitarian, and visionary, a typical Aquarian man is usually a little offbeat, with a touch of the mad scientist about him. If you’re prepared for his eccentric little habits, they’ll grow on you, and soon you will find yourself helping out with his social experiments.
You can’t fence in an Aquarius man –– he values his liberty above all else. Give him freedom or give him death! For example, he is an Aquarius who loves travel, his preference will be treks to unusual, exotic, and out-of-the-way destinations, not the humdrum European grand tours or cruise ship vacations that everyone else seems to like so much. He is a trailblazer in every sense of the word, not a follower. Not all Aquarians love travel, however, but his conversational itinerary is unusual and creative. He is so well-versed in the ways of the world that you’d think he had been around.
Nothing about this man is conformist, from his wardrobe to his career choices to his lifestyle. Sometimes obstinate and stubborn, the Water Bearer is a fixed sign, and the Aquarius man will see through anything he starts to its bitter end.

OR
The Age of Aquarius is causing great turmoil in order to make room for the new values of love, brotherhood, unity and integrity. Everything with Piscean values is being exposed and taken down. This includes governments, corporations, individuals, and even personal relationships. Many call this a disaster, as the world appears to be falling apart, but is it?
The Aquarian Age points to the direction of our own evolution in consciousness. We are each being asked to make a choice. We can cling to the old outdated values or adopt the new evolving ones. Our happiness and peace depends on our choice and the change will take place whether we like it or not.

Maybe
2013 1st Sutra: Recognize that the Other Person is You.
2014 2nd Sutra: There is a Way through Every Block.
2015 3rd Sutra: When the Time is on You, Start, and the Pressure will be Off.
2016 4th Sutra: Understand through Compassion or You Will Misunderstand the Times.
2017 5th Sutra: Vibrate the Cosmos. The Cosmos shall clear the path.

[soleri]

Cal, my dirty little secret is that I'm a pessimist. I don't think we're going to levitate the Pentagon or change human nature anytime soon. I lived through all that stuff in the 1960s. I read The Greening of America, wore glad rags, hated Nixon, and all I've got to show for it is a nation even dumber than it was back then.

I still think we can win, but it's going to take people who actually are willing to settle for the good instead of the perfect. Democracy is not a panacea. It really takes hard work and forbearance. It means supporting the institutions, values, and norms of democratic self-governance more than the expressive nonsense of left-wing fantasists. This is why I esteem someone like Barack Obama much more than Bernie Sanders. Obama respects the complexity and ambiguity of a genuinely diverse nation. Bernie still thinks it's 1968.

No one person has all the answers, be they on the left or right. That's why political messiahs turn me off. We are currently living in a nation teetering on the edge of collapse into authoritarianism and a bunch of noisy post-grads are still demanding Perfection Now! What we need is to take a deep breath and resolve to support our institutions and the idea of reality itself. I know Hillary Clinton bored everybody, but she was exactly that kind of politician. The current crisis is deep and wide, but it cannot be resolved with lunacy even if it emanates from a yoga studio in Berkeley. This kind of tribalism is infectious but you need more than True Believers to keep our national project moving forward. You need a majority.

[Bradley Dranka]

I'm not sure what amazes and depresses me more, the professed uber-patriotic right-wing's total lack of outrage at Trump's admitted subversion of an FBI investigation of him and Russia--or the Democrats almost complete refusal to call the Russpublicans on their hypocritical "patriotism."

While it is true Comey could have been fired for his "electioneering," this is NOT EVEN CLOSE to being the same as Comey's investigating possible Russian influence not only in our election, but, much more importantly, Russia potentially becoming part of our government through Trump.

It is telling how beholden Republicans are to their ideology that they willfully ignore Russia and its strategic aims. This makes it appear as if Republicans are so wedded to their dogma that they will allow Russia to partner with them to advance their ideology. It's almost as if Republicans consider Russia to be more of a friend than the Democrats.

This specter of the potential subversion of America and possible traitorism is most disturbing. That the Democrats aren't raising the alarm is even more terrifying.

[Jon7190]

Good post. Not that I agree with everything, but I will only take issue with one thing. It seems to me that the comparisons to Hitler and Watergate (Is he Hitler or Nixon? Because Watergate wouldn't even register on the scale of nazi deeds) are getting tired to the point of being rhetorical crutches. Trump's deeds and misdeeds should stand on their own merits. Explain what's wrong with him rather than just throwing him in a sentance with history's worst politicians.  If he is really that bad, then in 30 or 40 years people will be comparing the unfavorable politician of the day to him. "I can't believe the President, Xe is as bad as Trump!" "Martian Dome is the worst scandal since the Comey firing!" (RC does generally explain himself well, but he can't resist the infamous name drops or the Barack Hussein Obama style identification of the AG.

Being Trump, naturally the Comey situation is a mess. There are lots of reasons for firing him, but the bad timing does suggest it's related to the Russia investigation. The President actually sort of admitted that on NBC. A little perspective would help. One thing unites the left and right: a dislike of Comey. The letter that the near universally respected Deputy AG wrote actually made a pretty good case for letting him go. (    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39866767 )  The left have wanted him gone for what they feel is his throwing the election towards Trump at the last minute. The right is still pissed at him for not recommending Hillary's indictment. It has always seemed to me that Republicans should be grateful to him for that, since the Democrats having to pick a nominee besides Hillary might have been enough to win them the election. My opinion of Comey is that the Clinton case put him a no-win situation but he should have tried harder to keep himself and the FBI out of the politics, probably by using a grand jury. The FBI has lost a lot of credibility over the last year.

How the firing is treated by Republicans will depend on whom he nominates for the post. If it is clearly a political appointment who is just there to do Trump's bidding, that could be a problem for him. Doing the firing now has only turned up the heat on the Russia investigation, just when it was starting to cool down since nothing much has come out of the Congressional probes (besides some concerning behavior in the previous administration) and nothing has leaked out of the FBI investigation despite us currently having seemingly the leakiest government ever (which BTW may be another reason Trump wanted to can Comey over perceived lack of pursuit of executive branch leaks of classified info). In the short term, the FBI is being run by a Democratic loyalist. If the FBI has actual evidence of Trump/Russian collusion and the new permanent leadership tries to suppress it, do you really think that won't come out? 

[Skip Redpath]

I love it.... "Dump on Trump" because you are still having those "snowflake" feeling because you LOST the election..
I never heard/saw any of you Liberals get this worked up when HRC gave away our Uranium to Russia, then "Bill" got that great speaking fee and the foundation suddenly got tons more of money for their RICO enterprise...
Get over it... CLAPPER has even said there is NO indication of Trump/Russia... WAA WAA WAA... I'd worry more about your Seattle Mayor and the new "PC" of "Community Member" vs "Suspect" whiney babies...

[Cal Lash]

Skip, I'm not a liberal and I didn't lose the election. Clapper said, is just one guys opinion. How about another opinion. Try reading Alexander Litvinenko, a dead poisoned KGB guy's opinion....

[B. Franklin]

Hey Skip, here's what Clapper actually said:

“My practice during the six and a half years that I was at the DNI was always to defer to the director of the FBI — be it Director Bob Mueller or Director James Comey — on whether, when, and what to tell me about a counterintelligence investigation. So it is not surprising or abnormal that I would not have known about the investigation or even more important, the content of that investigation. So I don’t know if there was collusion or not, I don’t know if there is evidence of collusion or not, nor should I have in this particular context.”

Not exactly what you claimed, huh? Better luck next time.

Now, show me the RICO charges against the Clinton's. Since they only exist in your imagination, you can't. Same with those ridiculous "uranium" claims.

As far as "Dump on Trump", I'd say he does that enough by himself. Hourly even.

[Jon7190]

Just curious, what do you consider yourself, Cal?

[Cal Lash]

A very old white Frugal Scottish Conservationist and a Republican since I was 9.
And U ?

Keep in mind I do not consider the Alt- Right Republicans, just kooks. I would be hard pressed to identify anyone currently in Congress as a Republican. I can think of 3 or 4.
I liked Washington and my favorite Republicans are Jefferson, Lincoln, T.R.,Eisenhower and Truman, oops I think he was a real Democrat.

[Cal Lash]

PS, I was a Capitalist at 6 when I put an empty fish bowl and a rubber turtle in my little red wagon and pulled it around the hood trying to sell all three to buy coal for the coming winter.

[Cal Lash]

Speaking of "The Coming Winter " you might try a copy of Gary Kasparov's book.

[Bradley Dranka]

Skip Redpath, They WHY, please tell me, is Trump doing everything he can to obstruct and derail any investigations into any connections he or his campaign may have had--or now have--with Russia.

Also, please tell me why Trump continues to hide his tax returns? I think it's a decent assumption that within those tax returns lies the proof of whether or not Trump has a financial interest with and in Russia.

As far as "dump on Trump," his unwarranted arrogance, when he is a political neophyte, makes him prone to continually sticking his foot in his big mouth. It's not the liberals' responsibility to extract that foot.

[Cal Lash]

Now that I said all that above, another take on such.

An interesting read.

Should we have been Canada?

At Yorktown, thousands of escaped slaves recruited as soldiers fought within the British lines; when the Americans compelled the British to surrender, many of the slaves were returned to their miserable bondage—including slaves owned by Washington and Jefferson. “Jefferson retrieved five or six of his slaves; Washington recovered two young black women but not a dozen other slaves who managed to slip away,”

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/15/we-could-have-been-canada?mbid=nl_TNY%20Template%20-%20With%20Photo%20(169)&CNDID=48614199&spMailingID=11002607&spUserID=MTc5Mjg4MTEyMTI0S0&spJobID=1160978007&spReportId=MTE2MDk3ODAwNwS2

And Mel Gibson got something politically correct?

[Bradley Dranka]

Skip Redpath, you said, "I never heard/saw any of you Liberals get this worked up when HRC gave away our Uranium to Russia, then "Bill" got that great speaking fee and the foundation suddenly got tons more of money for their RICO enterprise..."

Are you even (poorly) attempting to equate the events you mention with a potential Russian subversion of our government? But maybe you're like the rest of the Trump "excusers" whose overarching devotion to "draining the swamp" blinds them to the radioactive Russian liquid that could replace the fetid water.

Compare similar things--not grapes to watermelons.

[Cal Lash]

Rule by man, King Donald.
"As long as Donald Trump remains president, our governing institutions are threatened".

"The real issues are these:

(1) The illegality of a President of the United States seeking to intimidate a potential witness in a congressional investigation.

(2) The illegality of a President potentially intimidating current FBI personnel who are investigating that president or his aides, by firing the former FBI head who was leading such an investigation and now threatening retaliation against him.

These illegal acts cannot be ignored. We are facing a constitutional crisis potentially larger and more significant than Richard Nixon’s “Watergate.” As long as Donald Trump remains president, our governing institutions are threatened."

[Cal Lash]

Ruled by White mythical Christian biblical laws.
White "evangelists support for Trump is measly double his support in general".

[Cal Lash]

Nearly, not measly.

[Bradley Dranka]

Cal, White Evangelicals, in my (not so) humble opinion, are "slaves" to the earthly desires of currency and power far more than the "Godly" and "Christly" desire of morality and compassion.

[Bradley Dranka]

Cal, Trump appeals to the "lowest common denominators" of greed, self-servingness, willful ignorance (not denial), bigotry, and blaming someone else.

And many of these Trump supporters are the "lowest."

[Bradley Dranka]

Jon7190, I know my despots and dictators, which I why I put Trump in their company. Trump has the same arrogance, vanity, paranoia, and grudge-holding as the worst of them.

Speaking of Trump's errors, you related to them by the timing of Comey's firing. I think Trump's arrogance, paranoia, and bully mentality made him feel he could have the last word--and this was a gross miscalculation. That is because the heat will now be turned white-hot on the Russian involvement investigation.

However, the implication of all this chaos is that Trump may be trying to quell and quash the investigation--if only because he steadfastly refuses to make public his tax returns. These returns would answer (yes or no) many questions about Trump's financial involvement with Russia.

The longer he stonewalls, the more people will think Trump is hiding something. Hiding things is au naturel for dictatorial types.

[soleri]

There are two sets of arguments against Trump that can't be cleanly separated but should be mentioned. One involves his person, such as his extreme vanity and insecurity that makes his behavior unreliable, unpleasant, and unpresidential. The other is his political incoherence that suggests he has no real beliefs about anything (aside from his personal greatness). When the white nationalist Steve Bannon was exiled from Chief Svengali position, Trump suddenly performs extreme flip flops about China and trade, NATO, a "really terrific health-care system where everyone's covered", Syria, among other issues.

The reason these arguments interweave is that Trump the person is necessarily Trump the political actor. Sadly, we haven't seen personal pathology quite so stark since Richard Nixon was president. Nixon, of course, was famously brilliant but his paranoia eventually swamped his policy wizardry and he was forced to resign. Trump, by contrast, is an utter ignoramus while his mental and neurological health are clearly inferior to Nixon's.

Jon7190, if you're a Republican, you might want to consider the bad bargain you've struck with this guy. He has no real conservative principles unless you think greed and bigotry are essential to your tribe. This is why I keep banging this drum that Trump is not an accident that befell the Republican Party. That is, when the party essentially ceded its soul in the 1990s to demagogic hucksters like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, a Trump-like accident was inevitable. So, here we are: a perfect storm of ugliness and incompetence in one pathetically grandiose human being.

The low-information GOP base loves its low-information president because "he tells it like it is". This means he's really as stupid as the brother-in-law sending you a dozen drool-flecked e-mails every day. The president, however, is required to know things, and not just make shit up to stroke his own ego. This is why he's held in contempt by Washington insiders, both liberal and conservative. The presidency is not just a game called Let's Drive Liberals Crazy and Make This Buffoon President. It's the embodiment of our basic democratic values. We need a conservative party that is sane, logical, and policy-smart, not a kegger in a gilt-painted double-wide with special guests Ted Nugent and Sarah Palin.

[Cal Lash]

Now what Clapper is saying!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/james-clapper-donald-trump_us_59186cd7e4b00f308cf5dab1?i7&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

[Ruben perez]

Clapper, 2017- "our institutions are under assault."

Clapper, 2016-"we do not spy on US citizens."

[Ramjet]

Where o where are Cleon Skousen and the John Birchers when we need them?

[Bradley Dranka]

Just as Hitler was the realization of the German population's deepest yearnings, Trump is the personification of many Republicans' darkest--and actual--desires.

The risk Republicans face is the same the German industrialists had: The genie they unleashed might get away from them.

Only this time, it isn't the risk of a conventional war, it's Russian subversion of our democracy or World War III.

[Cal Lash]

Trump and Putin supporters with torches.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/white-nationalist-statue-protest_us_5918a2d9e4b0031e737e63f1?md&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

[Mike Doughty]

In trying to understand today's Republican party,I just finished Theodore Roosevelt Rex.I can only assume that the party has been co-opted by the alt right.Originally the Republican party was the party of federalism,human rights,conservation of natural resources,and so many of the things that progressives like me believe today.The only thing today's Republican party offers is safety through authoritarianism.While that is a powerful motivation,I cannot understand that so many people fall for it.It is high time for true Republicans to take their party back.

[Mike Doughty]

P.S. Going back to library to check out Russell Kirk on conservatism.I hope I can square today's conservatism with Goldwater and Reagan conservatism.

[Cal Lash]

I seriously doubt that Trump has a clue about Traditional Conservatism or its origins.

[soleri]

Charles Sykes, a conservative - but not insane - radio talk show host had a good op-ed piece in Friday's Times about "anti-anti-Trumpism":

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/opinion/sunday/if-liberals-hate-him-then-trump-must-be-doing-something-right.html

If you don't have time to read it, here's Sarah Palin's idiomatic summary of the dynamic: ‘Splodey Heads Keep ‘Sploding!'

Conservatism, in effect, is no longer about anything other than tribal animus. Fox News has completed it's takeover of the Republican Party. We live in a tabloid democracy where low-information rubes marinate their civic lives in Jack Daniels and pure bile.

The difference between someone like Donald Trump and, say, Richard Nixon is that 40 years ago there were actually conservatives who were not nihilists. That is, they didn't formulate nonsense like "devolving the administrative state" (code for "burning down the house"). Rupert Murdoch changed all this when the Australian moved here in order to instruct Real Americans how to think like a pack of drunken wallabies. First rule: make everything extremely simple. Us vs Them, Good vs Evil, Right vs Wrong. This is a war on nuance, complexity, the intellect, and caution. In other words, most "conservatives" are no longer conservative. Reactionaries, yes. Oversimplifiers, of course. But not conservative in its traditional meaning.

[Bradley Dranka]

I recently heard on public radio a rather instructive bit of history.

The commenter said that international institutions like the United Nations, NATO, SEATO, etcetera, were created to curb the future rise of nationalism--which was so devastating in WWII.

Because these institutions were created to deal with political situations, there was never any education about "sharing" economically. It seems to me that there was (and still is) very little, if any, required courses in either high school or college relating to sharing our economic wealth around the world--and how that is intrinsic to political stability.

The Pink Floyd song "Us and Them," is a brilliant take on capitalism and greed, especially the passage, "With, without.
And who'll deny its what the fighting's all about?"

While this may seem "socialist" in appearance, the postwar world looked to America for guidance after WWII. And what did they see? They saw an America that in many cases exploited them and their peoples for its own profit.

I posit that this America's mostly, and oftentimes Machiavellian, self-serving economic enrichment gave rise to nationalist sentiments worldwide. These sentiments then coalesced into, "Let's be like America and get rich." They saw opportunities to sell goods to America, realizing that our "I want it all, preferably NOW!" no-consequence impatience was our Achilles heel that created opportunities for them. I'm quite sure the Chinese have since the 1970's seen America this way.

We as a nation, in our gluttonous consumerism, just fell into a trap of our own insatiable desires' making. And America's jobs went overseas to not only meet our materialist appetite to have it all as cheaply as possible, but also to fulfill those varying countries' wish to "be like America." "Cat's In The Cradle" on a worldwide scale.

This worldwide nationalism is a creature of our America's "winner take all" greedy making--because we did NOTHING to champion worldwide economic sharing. Now that our 70 years of "teaching" the world to be economically hyperactive (and self-serving) is starting to show ever-increasingly negative climatic consequences, nationalism rises around the world to try to "protect" what they have.

Again, while this may rendering may sound vaguely socialist, "United We Stand, Divided We Fall," takes on an entirely different meaning when applied to the coming economic chaos from global warming--and the economically nationalist movements that will spring up in response.

That's the real genie we unleashed. While Trump is dangerous, he is the result of our totally self-delusional, self-duplicitous, and self-deceiving economic greed of 70 years counting.

[Jon7190]

Cal, to answer your question, I consider myself a socially conservative, fiscally moderate, pro-union, immigration restrictionist, healthcare agnostic* RINO. Hillary would probably consider me deplorable.

Soleri,  I didn't trust Trump in the primaries and didn't personally sign on to the "deal". I'm not sure it was a good deal, but may be the only one that would have won Republicans the White House. I continue to believe he was the better option for me in November,  been pleased with some things, concerned about others and still don't trust him.  I am not blind to his personality deficiencies, but don't personally dislike him and choose to be optimistic about his fitness for office. I attribute 90% of the over wrought bemoaning by Lefties to their hate for him (and conservatives in general and, just recently, the electoral college) and their hope to fulfill their dream of forcing him from the Presidency on, or before, Jan 20, 2021. The remaining 10% I hold in reserve in case things in the White House get truly out of control. I'm sure you'll let me know when that happens ;).

Good to hear you believe our country needs a sane, logical, policy-smart conservative party, instead of saying you wish there weren't any conservatives. Do you really believe our politics is healthiest with a strong, conservative major party? (I see you kind of just addressed this). I liked your line, "The presidency is not just a game called Let's Drive Liberals Crazy and Make This Buffoon President". True. That's not the game I would have chosen to play, but my, it has been entertaining to watch. Never a boring moment on the news. Honestly, would liberals be any less crazy with, say, President Cruz or President Huckabee? President Jeb would have driven conservatives crazy and President Kasich would have driven everyone crazy.

*I am not sure what the best healthcare policy is, but I am open to single payer.

[soleri]

Jon7190, I don't quite follow your opinion that someone else would have been worse. Kasich would have driven everyone crazy? Er, I don't think so. He's fairly hard right but he's not insane.

Donald Trump is sui generis and not in a good way. He's impulsive, ignorant, egomaniacal, divisive, and horrifyingly dishonest. If I was having a beer with you, I'd been asking you how a firefighter (or is it paramedic?) could vote for someone who routinely stiffed small contractors on his real-estate ventures. Or someone who scammed thousands of his fellow citizens in his fake university. You would not buy a used car from this man. Yet someone with zero political experience and policy knowledge struck you as "presidential"? Really? The world is laughing at us, and you're okay with this boorish blowhard?

BTW, his approval rating is at historic lows for a new president. It's not even close. He has accomplished nothing aside from passing a health care bill that will harm and kill untold thousands if it passes the Senate. His environmental record is simply barbarism dressed up in "free market" drag. You, I, or anyone who comments in this blog is more qualified to be president than this sociopath. This isn't really about ideology or even competence, however. It's basic decency. Trump is an indecent human being. I don't mean this in a partisan way. I mean his character is irremediably damaged. There's no need to put lipstick on this authoritarian. It won't rescue him or us from the real damage he is doing to this nation. Put your country ahead of your tribe here. Mike Pence would be a terrible president, in my opinion, but Donald Trump is an existential threat to our survival as a democracy. He needs to go and it needs to be soon.

[soleri]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-revealed-highly-classified-information-to-russian-foreign-minister-and-ambassador/2017/05/15/530c172a-3960-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69_story.html?utm_term=.9b58016bf1e8

How much more evidence do we need to realize that Donald Trump is an existential threat to our survival?

I'm going to repeat myself here: if you voted for Trump, or Jill Stein, or wrote-in Bernie, or sat out the election, you are culpable of a grave civic crime. You put this country in the hands of a wholly unqualified man-child. Shame on you.

[Bradley Dranka]

The criminal--in--chief has no sense of propriety, legality, or morality because
of his "entitled" attitude.

Where are all of those Republicans who used to hammer away at those whom they felt had "entitled" attitudes a couple of years ago?

Maybe we should call these Trump enablers "RUSSPUBLICANS."

[Rogue Columnist]

Subscribe to the Washington Post.

[Cal Lash]

You don't have to have a college degree to understand Trumps facial expressions and body language. He wants to be one of the boys and the smartest boy in the room. His face lights up and he gets taller when he is about to brag about himself and to let's us know, "I'm Smart".

OBama was a hard body language read for the most part.

[Jon7190]

Soleri wrote: You, I, or anyone who comments in this blog is more qualified to be president

I would love to have a few drinks with you, and a cigar for me at least, and talk firefighting and paramedic-ing (I'm both, so I can make up that word) and what you do and then maybe a little politics, so long as we could manage to keep it as amicable as we do here. We will never agree on politics, but hopefully it would be a good time. I know you would certainly be more qualified than Trump on policy knowledge, I don't know about me. I'm sure you greatly exceed me in books read and time spent in deep political thought. What Trump has done, that I never have done and am willing to give him credit for, is to be successful in business and politics. He was able to turn a small fortune into a big one and both sustain it and grow it over many decades in the rather cut throat, high stakes world of New York real estate and beyond. Obviously, business experience doesn't automatically translate into governing skill. Trump has a steep learning curve and I am praying he is actually learning ("uh, Mr. President, you can't tell the Russians about THAT!!"). I have believed before now that talented people can be successful in new endeavors if their original success was due to personal qualities and abilities. In sincerity of beliefs, temperament and personal character, I had enough misgivings in the primaries to not feel comfortable supporting him. There was nothing I could do to stop the Trump train and many actual powerful people tried to. Actually an amazing political feat, if you ask me. Once he secured the nomination, what then? Apart from any policy consideration, the Democratic alternative was not any more attractive to me in at least two of those three categories, making it all about policy. Honestly, even if Hillary were a fault-free saint, I would have a hard time putting policy aside. She just made it easier.

In supporting Trump, I believe I'm applying your principles. I've seen you bang your head on the keyboard many times, hopefully not literally, trying to convince progressive idealists who stayed home or voted third party that a win with an imperfect candidate is better than an absolute loss. Same idea, different political perspective. I don't let the lack of an ideal candidate keep me from voting for and supporting the viable candidate in a race who better represents my policy beliefs. Gorsuch, if his promise is proven in deed, was practically worth my Trump vote single-handedly. Given the modern reality, unfortunate in my view, that almost everything of public policy significance is eventually decided in the courts, avoiding the specter of an overwhelmingly liberal, activist federal judiciary for the next generation is, for me and obviously not for you, probably worth dealing with Trump's foibles and weaknesses. And that's just one thing, there are others. I may not have made the Republican deal, but I have to admit I am willing to reap the rewards. Like you, but with less trepidation, I am hoping the cost is not too high.

You start your argument for why he is a terrible president with policy objections and end with personal qualities. My question is: if you agreed with him on policy, would you find his personal qualities as repulsive?

Postscript: My argument wasn't that other candidates would be worse, just that some Republicans would have driven liberals just as crazy. I may have spent more time listening to Kasich talk than you. Admittedly Trump was in his head and he may not have put his best self forward, but I found him unfailingly grating, whiny and insufferable.

[Cal Lash]

Jon7190, your optomism is outstanding.
Hopefully you will never have to say
"and then they came for me".

I know fire fighters unlike cops can usually all come together in deciding what to do. (Team work). Cops on the other hand all have different opinions.(LONE Rangers). I learned this as a police officer dealing with Fire Fighters such as Alan Brunicini, Dwayne Pell and Pat Canteleme. (Pardon my spelling.)
Being old I struggle not to say Fireman .
I recall when badges "back in the day" said Patrolman.
I remember a gloomy police chief saying he was going to have "to hire women and short people". I thought until November second we had moved beyond such.
Well you know when your famous you can get away with "grabbing and "gabbing".
I wonder what your take is on Putin?
At least he seems to be confident and prideful enough to talk reasonably intelligently and professionally. Plus he can ride a horse, use martial arts to throw his adversary and plays the Piano. An educated Attila the Hun. For a White Dude He appears to have Mongolian features.

PS, Putin is worth at least 10 times more than Trump. Hows that for "success "?
And Putin didn't have a rich daddy.

But I think they both have something in Common. Putin is a very succesful gangster and Trump yearns to be like him.

[Cal Lash]

I meant Optimism. Oh well I did graduate last in my class. Hence no photo in the album .

[soleri]

Jon7190, I mentioned Trump's policy flip-flops, which undercut his political capital. Washington is now in full meltdown over Trump's chaotic temperament and dubious judgment, so you can see how policy and temperament dovetail in one hot mess. You may not have cared personally about the policy details - it was the melody not the lyrics you cared for - but Trump is incapable of explaining why his personal authority should be trusted given that he seems to "know" everything with absolute certitude. When you careen from one position to its complete opposite (think health care or international trade), you need more than Trump's one consistent trait: self-vouching reliance on his own infallible judgment. You need a mature adult who can rationally explain "why".

The most important quality any politician has is his - or her - mature temperament. That is, the pol can be trusted to know and understand his own mind while respecting the positions of others. But Trump shows he doesn't know his own mind and will probably never respect anything other people have to say. His mind works like that of a 10 year-old boy who will defend himself and attack others with the compulsive manner of a playground bully. He is a deeply damaged human being in this way. Chaos is the one consistent outcome. Hence, his communications team (Spicer, Sanders, Pence, Conway) will dutifully assert Rod Rosenstein's authority for the reason James Comey was fired. That turns out to be false, but Trump cannot explain why. That would mean he's weak, so he blames them for the very lies he told them to tell. He can never be wrong about anything lest he seen as human (and weak). He would sooner admit to obstruction of justice before he would admit to being fallible.

Imagine yourself with Trump's personality. How would your fellow firefighters react if you could never admit a mistake? What would your personal relationships look like if he you were always right regardless of what you said or did? You can see the problem, no? What would be madness in your personal life is now madness in our public life. You needed impossible reasons to invest this man with omnipotent authority and this is exactly why Trump is the most controversial president our nation has ever seen.

Are liberals to blame for "not giving him a chance"? No, no, no. Commander Chaos is the author of his own life story. That you believed him and his bullshit is what you have to confront. You were had.

[soleri]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/16/us/politics/james-comey-trump-flynn-russia-investigation.html?_r=0

It won't stop.

President Man-Child asked James Cemey to drop the FBI's investigation in Michael Flynn because "he's a good guy".

But at least we won't have to look at cankles in the Oval Office, right guys?

[Jon7190]

Cal, don't sweat it, I have no problem with people calling us firemen. Some of our female firefighters might take issue, though most of them take that sort of thing in stride. In our department before my time, the old term up to the 80's for the entry rank was Pipe and Ladderman, or Pipeman for short. Cops and firefighters are different breeds. I have a lot of respect for cops because I think their job is much harder and more dangerous than ours. I wouldn't want it, especially nowadays.

You wrote: Hopefully you will never have to say "and then they came for me".

I'm familiar with the famous verse you're referring to. I would be more concerned on the left having to someday say that. There is a certain element of angry liberals who forcibly, or even violently, shut down any speakers or events they don't like. They label any views they don't agree with hate and would outlaw their advocacy as hate speech. There's the facism, if you ask me. My U.S.A. 21st century version: First they silenced the Christians, I did not speak out because I was not a Christian. Then the Jews.... then the conservatives... then they silenced me and there was no one left to defend me.

I believe in the old saying that I may not agree with what you are saying, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it. Anything else is un-American.

I haven't studied Putin much. My impression of him has always been that he is a modern, sophisticated despot. I think he has managed to achieve that without the majority of his country hating him, though I could be wrong since I don't know much about Russia. That is interesting and probably says more about Russia than about him. He looks better shirtless than Trump.

[Jon7190]

Soleri, I hear what you are saying, but I just can't buy into your doomsaying. Your firefighter analogy is a good one. I'll take it a bit further.

There are all kinds of personalities in the firehouse. Some guys are a little crazy, maybe too vain and worried about their hair or biceps. They might be big storytellers or like to say off-the-wall things. You know they are probably bullshitting, but the story is funny. You take it with a grain of salt and enjoy the ride. I've definitely met a few who don't like to admit mistakes. Most of the firefighters I've encountered work well with others, but some don't. You learn who you're working with and you factor their personality into how you deal with them. If someone is a good hand to have on scenes, then he or she will be respected regardless. If not, well, then you know who not to rely on.

Put another way, new firefighters show up and maybe I wouldn't personally have hired him or her. That is out of my hands, I didn't even get a 1 in 120 million vote on that. Regardless of who it is, I will do everything I can to train him and help him along to make him succeed. I might not even particularly like him, but I want him to do well for the good of the department and my brother and sister firefighters who will depend on him.

There is a sizable portion of the left in this country that is rooting for the President to fail. Not just hindsight failure, like he didn't accomplish much in his term, but actual crash and burn, have-to-be-removed-from-office failure. I don't see how this is good for the country. The left, and that includes much of the press, want so badly for the president to have a major scandal. Personally, I factor that in when liberals tear their robes, Democrats in Washington meltdown and the media amplify every Trump faux pas, gaffe and deed into a huge incident. Trump drives me nuts because he feeds that beast constantly. I would be a lot happier if he could just quietly go about his job, but obviously that's not him.

I don't take on the task of psychoanalyzing him and interpreting everything he does in the most pathological way possible. There are plenty of people doing that. My role is to patiently root for his success, praying that he and his team stays on task while using their abilities for the betterment of the country, hopefully with more policy I agree with than disagree with.

[Concern Troll]

Dow 15k is the end of Trump. The crash to there will cause the final abandonment of his political allies, and the relentless drumbeat of political insanity will provide fodder for the beginning of impeachment.

The Vice President will have to essentially form a national government with the dems and the few moderate republicans- the entire tea party caucus will essentially split off from the R party.

That tea party rump will be ripe for the next real nationalist to fire them up with the stabbed in the back meme, which will essentially be true.

The interesting part is how few people really fear what comes next, and how much instability this is showing to the rest of the world.

The United States will lose the advantage it has held since WW2, and we will not regain it for decades. The economic advantage enjoyed by the US has allowed access to the rest of the world, the privilege of the world reserve currency, and the ability to keep on fighting near worthless wars while wasting resources and continuously reducing investment in human and physical capital.

Imperial overstretch and exhaustion will lead to domestic and international collapse.

The real question becomes what will happen in the rest of the world when the status quo totally breaks down and lifeboat diplomacy and economics comes to be an every day reality, instead of a crazy guy postulating it in a remote corner of the internet.

Contemplate this future...

[soleri]

Jon7190, our main task as citizens is to wish not for the political success of any one person but the institutional integrity of our government. Donald Trump has fired a FBI director for investigating him, possibly a high crime. He attacks the judiciary for second-guessing his executive orders. He violates both the spirit and letter of the Constitution's emolument clause. He compares our intelligence agencies to Nazis. He insults our allies and defends our adversaries. Even worse: he exacerbates our social tensions in order to galvanize his base. I would say that as a patriot your allegiance should be primarily to the country Donald Trump has divided unlike any other president in American history.

I can't convince you that Trump is wholly inadequate as a leader. It's obvious to me he's an egomaniac and narcissist. He is abysmally ignorant of government and history. His personal morality and ethics are a joke. But somehow he appeals to you. Aside from the racism and xenophobia, what else is there? Promising the rich the biggest tax cuts in history? Depriving millions of access to health care? Enriching himself on the taxpayer's dime? Appointing a cabinet of Goldman Sachs alumni and hard-right plutocrats?

Trump is not a conservative and only recently a Republican, so your preference can't be partisan. My fear is that you love his authoritarianism, his bullying swagger that suggests a Mussolini or Hugo Chavez. This is my greatest fear about American democracy, that people take it for granted and don't realize just how important the guard rails and buffers are. We can only get along if we tolerate our differences and compromise. I thought when Trump took office, he would pivot to the center and try to govern not as a hard-right culture warrior but as a political magician remaking the Republican Party into a vehicle of the working class. Sadly, his policies are more standard-issue Republican. They won't help you but you don't seem to care.

Trump's disastrous presidency may well end in impeachment or resignation. Currently, it is in full meltdown mode. I don't see a 70 year-old man learning or adjusting. He's simply too rigid and unaware to change. The success you see everywhere is the work of professional propagandists whose main task is to convince you that Trump is great because he drives people like me crazy. But this is a bad reason to lie about what is actually happening. He's not succeeding, just the opposite. This country hasn't been this divided since the Civil War.

What patriotic Americans need here is to put down our cudgels and start looking for the better angels that were banished when the culture war and cable TV news began. We are better than this but we have to start acting like we believe it. Country first! If Trump wants to lead, he needs to exemplify that truth.

[Ruben Perez]

After four months of shock therapy the dysfunctional, non-functional republican party of "no" has no idea what to do.

After four months of shock therapy the spineless, whiney democratic party has no idea what to do.

For the past several decades congress knew how to take money from special interest groups and turn that money into legislation to benefit the money groups. Now that more people are watching, the congress acts like the cockroaches that they are, running in all directions once the light has been turned on them.

Meanwhile, congress continues to distract our tabloid media with crap like Bengazi in the past and now the Russia stuff.

Distraction. Misdirection. Smoke.

If you pay close attention, the cockroaches in power only get in trouble for trying to deal with the distractions. No actual crimes are ever uncovered.

During this great "teachable" moment in our democracy, I don't see any learning going on.

The Dems, Repubs and the media are in big holes and so far they continue to ask for more shovels.

[blaxabbath]

Of all the things Trump does that makes me think, "I wouldn't have done it like that," what truly blows my mind is that Trump is still just chasing money. Like, the guy is wealthy. But, unlike his rich peers, he's influential (as the Trump name forcibly stands for luxury). If you're that rich and that objectively successful, why are you still chasing money? If I were Trump, I'd want to solidify my place ABOVE my rich peers by being a beloved President. Let Bill Gates leave his fortunes to his foundation. Let Mark Cuban be an annoying sports owner. Let Elon have technology. Trump could have been the true outsider; the true man who went to Washington and defied the status quo and that would have cemented his place in history as, regardless of his policies, someone who was truly taking on the establishment.

Trump could accomplish just as little as he is now but if he were just publicly calling out corruption and bloat and blaming a lobbyist-controlled bureaucracy (on both sides) for his stagnant performance, he'd be a legitimate outsider and hero to many. Instead, we find out that, even at his age and with his level of wealth, he's still the same old penny-pinching bastard who'd jerk you off under the bridge for $10.

[Ruben Perez]

blax,

He's a real estate developer.

President Obama is a Chicago lawyer. He behaved like a Chicago lawyer.

Trump is a real estate developer. He is behaving like a real estate developer.

You know the theory about changing your spots.

[B. Franklin]

Wow.

Chicago lawyer is now a pejorative.

And what a damning one, too, since it combines a high level of education with the wickedness of a big city.

Still, I'm sure it's better than Kenyan Muslim Socialist.

Or intellectual elite, which implies that you might actually think about things.

And we wouldn't want that, now would we?

Better to let the "real people, the true Americans" decide things, based on their prejudices and their "gut" feelings, and to hell with knowledge.

[DoggieCombover]

It is beyond my comprehension how any sentient being paying the slightest bit of attention can continue to try to normalize Trump. He is being exactly who he is and has always been, how can you "hope for the best" and expect anything else that what's been on display since the campaign started? I feel like I'm living a Kafkaesque nightmare...

[soleri]

Robert Mueller, former FBI director, appointed Special Prosecutor by Rod Rosenstein. I guess he doesn't read our comments. He would have learned that Russia is merely a distraction.

[Cal Lash]

As a pessimist I think they will not make the case against Trump even though Mueller is a great choice.
But then again the GOP has little to lose by letting Trump hang. (Of course Donald built his on Trump tower gallows and got rope from Bannon.) With Donald gone the GOP can get serious about screwing over the poor, women and minorities and make the wealthy even more fabulous.
If they impeach Trump and Pence takes over watch the Feds go criminally after Donald and his son in law.

[Jon7190]

Soleri wrote: Jon7190, our main task as citizens is to wish not for the political success of any one person but the institutional integrity of our government.

What patriotic Americans need here is to put down our cudgels and start looking for the better angels that were banished when the culture war and cable TV news began. We are better than this but we have to start acting like we believe it. Country first! If Trump wants to lead, he needs to exemplify that truth.

I agree with all that. I also appreciate the general points I've read you making this time and in the past that our country needs to learn how to work together politically to get things done, learn how to compromise, put country before party, etc. You and I will never agree on this president or the politics because we come at it from totally different directions. You think it would be better for the country if he failed, I think it would be better if he succeeded. I have no interest in authoritarianism, being a little-d democrat to the core. My views on Trump, which I think are shared by many Republicans and other Trump voters, are not as complicated as what you attribute to me, and presumably much of what you've posted is more about Trump voters in general rather than me specifically. If there was a viable candidate in the general election that didn't have Trump's flaws and wasn't guaranteed to steer our ship into the progressive rocks (again, a concern for people like me, not of course for you), I may very well have voted for that person. That wasn't an option, so there was Trump. I liked, and still do, many of his policy positions. My earnest hope is that he can figure out how to stabilize his presidency, minimize the drama and unforced errors and just focus on governing and keeping some campaign promises. Maybe that's hoping too much but I don't think it's impossible. Last summer his campaign was foundering through mostly his own mistakes, kind of like he's been doing recently. He managed to make some good personnel and behavior changes and run a much better, but not perfect, campaign. Naturally, a well-oiled, disciplined administration fulfilling promises is exactly what the left doesn't want.

I, too, wish for the good old days before the culture wars and cable TV, when it seemed like governing was simpler and easier. The culture wars and cable TV and social media aren't the cause, they are a symptom of a fracturing people. Widespread intact families, widely agreed upon morals taught in the home and reinforced at school, a common and proud sense of national history, common membership to social organizations that connect people (most commonly churches), more common military service. These are some qualities of a healthy society that less and less characterize ours. Most people aren't civically engaged, but many of them still vote. Yes, we are thinking of ourselves more as part of a tribe than part of a country, which was also the case before the Civil War. Many people are likely to see the other political side not as countymen with different opinions, but as the enemy. Trump isn't the other party's candidate who won, he's the enemy! And so are his supporters! Trump's flaws are incidental (but kind of convenient if your hope is to force him from office). Tom Hanks, if he happened to be a Republican president with the same stated policy goals as the current one, would be seen as just as much an enemy. So would President Pence, if The Resistance achieved their goal. Getting rid of Trump would not stop the divisiveness. The Resistance would just roll on with a new target. I can't see how that's a good ending. It's not about one person. The country succeeding is more important than the president. "Normalizing" Trump is the worst thing you can do around here, but I still believe that the best thing for our country would be for him to act like at least a semi-normal president (probably the best we can hope for) and for people like me to do what we can to encourage that.

[soleri]

Jon7190, thank you for your response. This thread is about to run out, so, I'll make this quick. We are as Americans impelled to split differences and think about the common good. Over the past 30 years, this essential political comity has crashed against the shoals of extreme polarization. It is my belief that Republicans have exploited the social, racial, and cultural differences of this nation for very cynical reasons. That said, a John McCain, Mitt Romney, or even a John Kasich would have embodied the national interest in a way that Donald Trump is utterly incapable of doing.

Trump ran for president as a Fox News kind of candidate. His political career was founded on his scurrilous slander about Barack Obama. He announced his presidential candidacy by impugning Mexicans as sinister elements in our endangered republic. He then branched out to include Muslims in his grotesque generalization. As the campaign proceeded, he suggested one opponent's father helped assassinate JFK. During the general election campaign, he called Hillary Clinton a criminal for using a private e-mail server. He even used Bill Clinton's infidelities against Hillary in possibly the most brazen example ever of pot calling kettle black. After he won, it was revealed Vladimir Putin was trying to help him win by criminally hacking computers to ferret private information that might help Trump. Trump denied this evidence from our intelligence agencies and continues to do so.

Yesterday at the Coast Guard Academy, he announced himself as America's foremost victim, a horribly maligned lamb who is undeservedly being attacked for no good reason at all. Do you see a problem here? Just asking.

Trump is not a mystery. He's vain, impulsive, cruel, dishonest, and deeply ignorant. In the 1990s, we were instructed by people like Rush Limbaugh that "character matters". Now, what matters is tribal solidarity even if it endangers the republic to which we pledge allegiance.

It's time to do just this. We pledge allegiance not to divisive politicians or to one's tribe but to a republic. Trump is not America even if he is president. He's a threat to our survival as a democratic republic. I'm sorry you invested your faith in him and not to us. A Mike Pence would be an infinitely better leader than Trump even though his political positions are anathema to me.

It's time to put country first. Trump is not America.

[Cal Lash]

But Soleri, Whata U going do with this? Had Trump not been(and still is) all of the above he would have LOST the election.
So say the Campfire boys. But what do they know, just white guys?

[Cal Lash]

I meant " just ignorant white guys."

[soleri]

Cal, I like to say democracy is not a panacea. That is, you have to work at it, do your civic duty, compromise, and be reasonably well-informed.

As you probably heard already, Roger Ailes died today. The good news is that Satan has a new communications director. The bad news is that Fox News still owns the brains of countless millions who mistake white tribalism for our national purpose. But I'll say this as well: those on the left who flirt with authoritarianism like a certain Vermont senator are equally guilty. Politics is not about being right. It's about being effective. No one person has all the answers but the process can still midwife solutions if we bargain in good faith. One way not to do this is by demanding purity tests of pols. These last 18 months have been a nightmare for this nation because people really want to believe all the answers come from one person or ideology. A million times: no.

Politics is not religion. It won't get you to heaven. It won't even make you feel better about yourself. But it's all we have to settle our differences nonviolently. When it becomes a vehicle for aggrieved white burgers or sanctimonious grad students, it's starting to fail. Regardless if you're on the left or right, we all lose when politics is reduced to tribal affinity.

Tell your campfire boys to talk about sports instead. Millions of Americans want to think politics is all about being right (God is on OUR side!) and this is killing our democracy.

[Cal Lash]

Talk "Sports", you must mean guns!
These folks got huge walk in closets full of "sporting" weapons.

Campfire participation is down as all the white midwest soul bankers, and right wing Canadians have left for six months.

[Cal Lash]

"God is on our side "
Only because we are keeping the myth alive.

Ailes dead. Speaking of Christians. As usual the talk is of his great deeds, humanitarianism, patriotism and on and on .
When in fact he was a dangerous old man. "GOD" willing his offspring will have a more "Jesus Christian " take on things.

[Ruben Perez]

cal,

I'll see your campfire boys and raise you my barfly boys. A couple of days ago, a group at the bar were announcing to everyone in hearing distance that if Trump is ousted, then they will see to it that Sarah Palin is the next elected president.

As I was choking on my green chili burger, my wife grabbed my arm and used her nails to encourage me to stay quiet.

[Cal Lash]

Ruben, that's a "bar" where they serve Alcohol and coffee in GOD's LDS country?

[Cal Lash]

Sarah may have a chance. She did win in all the Terminator movies.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), emerging on Capitol Hill from a closed-door briefing with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller on Wednesday, cast the investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and possible Trump campaign ties to Russia as far more serious.

“It’s now considered a criminal investigation,” Graham told reporter.

[Ruben Perez]

If you are a betting person, you would be well served to put your money on the Afghan Taliban and the American Taliban (evangelical Christians).

Since both groups are in a battle for "eternity", time means nothing to them. They just keep plugging away.

If NATO forces left Afghanistan today, the Taliban would be back in control of the country in no time at all. They just wait for the opportunity.

The American Taliban just keep moving forward. While the country is focused on the clown show in DC, the American Taliban will soon have the clock turned back to the 1700's when it comes to gays, abortion, witchcraft, mandatory church attendance, creationism. Fun times ahead.

[Kim Johannesen]

Hi

Seen from Denmark, Scandinavia, I thought that some of Trump's policies made sense, but his tone destroyed the message. Denmark, is socialdemocratic, not socialist, it has a great wellfare system, and economy, but also a high suicide rate, and a problem letting people into our circles. It's not black and white, right. I am someone, who really like Obama