History’s Rhyme, Part 5: Bad Faith, Unauthorized Acts and Crimes Against Humanity
[NB: Check the byline, thanks! /~Rayne]
It’s time to revisit the ongoing comparison of Nixon’s Articles of Impeachment with possible Articles against Donald Trump. Previous posts in this series:
An expansion of Part 2 into 2b addressing more abuses of power is planned in the near future. Trump continues to rack them up.
As noted in previous posts in this series, the House Judiciary Committee prepared five Articles of Impeachment against Richard M. Nixon during the course of its impeachment inquiry. Only three of the five were passed out of committee and approved by Congress. We all know Nixon resigned before the House could vote on the three approved articles.
The fourth article which was not approved pertained to Nixon’s Operation Menu — the covert bombing of Cambodia. Congress, which has the sole power to declare war, had not expressly approved this in its 1964 Gulf of Tonkin resolution. The bombings went unreported for four years and contributed to the destabilization of Cambodia.
A fundamental problem with this Article was that Congress bore some of the blame for the bombing; the Gulf of Tonkin resolution was written in such a way that it didn’t expressly preclude bombing of neighboring nations along the border with Vietnam. The resolution also did not constitute a declaration of war against North Vietnam, authorizing instead the use of military force to meet its obligations under the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty. The legality of the military action in Vietnam was on thin ground, making action on any neighboring country even more questionable.
~ ~ ~
It’s not impossible this very same challenges will form the basis for another Article of Impeachment against Trump should he pursue military action against Iran without adequate approval from Congress.
But we already have seen Trump take action without Congressional approval and without the support of existing legislation behind him, beginning with his first week in office. His Executive Order 13769 to begin a Muslim travel ban was illegal; he persisted in pushing a ban focusing on Muslims with subsequent Executive Order 13780 and Presidential Proclamation 9645 until his Departments of Justice and Homeland Security arrived at restrictions which met the letter of existing law according to a now-stacked and partisan Supreme Court after several lawsuits. This is not a faithful execution of the law — 8 U.S. Code § 1158.Asylum — it’s whack-a-mole with innocent humans as collateral damage for no constructive reason or benefit to this country.
When acting Attorney General Sally Yates announced the Department of Justice would not enforce the Muslim travel ban three days after Trump signed Executive Order 13769, she explained that the ban was not lawful. Trump rejected this opinion and fired her instead of relying on her expert opinion. He had to be told repeatedly by federal judges his executive order was not enforceable because it was unlawful.
People were detained unlawfully. People were unable to travel freely. The primary reason for their restriction was their religious identity — a violation of the First Amendment and its protections of religious freedom. It was a fundamental human rights violation under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which the U.S. is a signatory.
Trump’s introduction of a “zero tolerance” policy implemented during the first months of his term in office has also denied freedom of movement to persons seeking asylum at the border. The policy’s implementation resulted in systematic crimes against humanity including enslavement; deportation; imprisonment; torture; sexual assault including rape; persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds; other inhumane acts.
None of this was authorized by Congress; none of this is in 8 U.S. Code § 1158. These acts also violate numerous U.S. laws as well as treaties. While there is not currently a treaty on crimes against humanity, Trump’s bad faith execution of U.S. law and existing treaties like the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the U.N. Convention Against Torture spell out many of these crimes.
Again, Congress did not authorize acts like:
— separating children from parents or guardians;
— holding children in cages;
— trafficking separated children into unauthorized adoptions without parental or guardian consent;
— deportation of minors without parent or guardian;
— failure to track minors so they can be reunited with parents and/or guardians;
— failing to provide reasonable care including adequate food and water, bedding, hygiene, heat and cooling, health care;
— transporting detained persons without notification to parents, guardians, family members;
— refoulement – deporting asylum seekers back to the place they fled;
— forced labor.
Nothing in U.S. law or treaties to which the U.S. has been a party or signatory authorizes this kind of treatment.
Trump also systematically defies a court order issued in June 2018 prohibiting further separations of minors from their families at the border and instructing the Department of Homeland security to return minors to their families. The Trump administration weaseled around the court order, detaining entire families at military facilities — new concentration camps — while DHS continued to separate families on an irregular basis.
We’ve seen evidence of this systematic lawlessness based on inspections by Congressional tours of detention facilities — concentration camps in which asylum seeking minors were denied reasonable “safe and sanitary” conditions.
The number of illnesses and deaths attributable to Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy may never be fully known because the administration has done so much to avoid monitoring and oversight.
~ ~ ~
Other deaths which can be wholly attributed to Trump’s bad faith in executing his office are those of 2,975 Americans who lived in Puerto Rico (pdf) when Hurricane Maria hit the island in 2017.
Puerto Ricans were denied their right to equal protection under the law; they were not accorded the same access to federal aid as mainland citizens, in contrast to the assistance received by other Americans after Hurricane Harvey, Irma, and Michael in 2017-2018.
And none of this had the imprimatur of Congress.
~ ~ ~
Unlike Nixon’s Operation Menu which only lasted 14 months, Trump’s derogation of Congress’s authority through his bad faith execution of laws is now into its 33 month. His malign acts increase in depth and breadth, now including the wretched refusal of Bahamians fleeing their hurricane devastated country, continued separation of families including Bahamian children.
There are homeless who work in Silicon Valley, homeless only because there isn’t affordable housing. Will he stop at them? Is he doing this to line his pockets in some way or as a campaign promise not shared with the public?
Will Congress do nothing at all to stop this creeping and inhuman fascism, these sustained attacks on human rights of citizens and non-citizens alike?
The 93rd Congress may not have passed the fourth Article of Impeachment against Nixon, but at least they understood and grasped the executive could and must be removed with the three articles they passed. It’d be nice if the 116th Congress was less supine.
Three Things: Corrupt, More Corrupt, and Stumbling Naifs
[NB: Check the byline, thanks! /~Rayne]
I’ve got a couple of posts s-l-o-w-l-y brewing but there’s plenty to chew on in the mean time. There may be some all-caps yelling, I must warn.
~ 3 ~
Utah’s Senator Mike Lee went to Moscow this week to talk about lifting the sanctions. Because of course he did, being utterly insensitive to the ongoing attacks by Russia on U.S. elections ahead. The sanctions Russia placed against the U.S. are pure bullshit and shouldn’t be seen as anything more than that; a member of Congress negotiating with them only legitimizes them.
Curiously, Lee is one of the same Class III GOP senators whose terms end in January 2023. What a coincidence that eight of 22 Class III GOP senators have now made a visit to Moscow.
You’ll recall that last year GOP Senators Richard Shelby (AL), Steve Daines (MT), John Hoeven (ND), John Neely Kennedy (LA), Jerry Moran (KS), Ron Johnson (SD), and John Thune (SD) — all Class III senators except for Daines who is in Class II — made a visit to Moscow on July 4 last year ostensibly to ask Russia to stop meddling in our elections.
Ha. More likely to ask for help when they run for re-election.
Kind of disgusting to see Lisa Murkowski on this list; she’s been more independent of the GOP than most of the rest of her caucus. The RNC has spent $400,000 at Trump hotels since the 2016 election, setting a great example of corruption for the rest of its ranks.
Don’t even get me started on spineless Ben Sasse, he of all talk and no cattle when it comes to doing the right thing.
Have to wonder what the state of play in Louisiana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin for these four GOP senators to not only call on Russia on America’s holiday of independence last year but to suck up to their mobster party boss at his overpriced hotels.
One thing I couldn’t find readily: the name of the lone Democratic senator who visited a Trump hotel. Name and shame them, people. Democrats need to clearly differentiate themselves from corruption.
~ 1 ~
Meanwhile, some Democratic freshmen can’t find their butts with both hands when it comes to an impeachment inquiry. These representatives so far have resisted supporting an inquiry in spite of being elected to office in a blue wave — they were chosen to fix Trump’s Washington, in short. Most of them are holding out for more facts, a stronger case before they support impeachment.
And now a direct message to those freshmen holdouts:
It’s right there in the Special Counsel’s Report which every member of Congress has had more than ample time and at least one lengthy break to read.
Not to mention the ongoing daily abuses of power and gross negligence which speak for themselves and in some cases have cost human lives (ask Puerto Rico and the untold numbers of asylum-seeking children still in cages).
Take notes from California frosh Rep. Katie Porter on an impeachment inquiry. Nobody is above the law and you members of Congress have a constitutional duty to uphold and defend it — you’re given the power to deal with an intransigent executive by the Constitution.
You’ve read the Constitution’s Article I, haven’t you? You understood your oath of office, yes? Bloody well do what you were hired to do which is outlined in the Constitution and your oath, neither of which prescribe winning popularity contests or fundraising.
These are the representatives I’ve seen named in several reports* as reluctant to get behind an impeachment inquiry:
Susan Wild PA-7 D+1.1 (redistricted from pivot districts, doesn’t believe there’s enough evidence for impeachment)
Gil Cisneros CA-39 EVEN R+0/D+0
TJ Cox CA-21 EVEN R+0/D+0
Josh Harder CA-10 EVEN R+0/D+0
Katie Hill CA-25 EVEN R+0/D+0
Jared Golden ME-2 R+2 (called impeachment nonsense, isn’t hearing from constituents about supporting impeachment)
Angie Craig MN-2 R+2
Andrew Kim NJ-3 R+2
Conor Lamb PA-17 R+2.5 (redistricted)
Haley Stevens MI-11 R+4
Elissa Slotkin MI-8 R+4
Being from Michigan I can almost understand the concerns of the last two, BUT…they were elected in districts which have been strongly GOP for at least a decade, as a direct rebuttal of Trump policies. Trump’s bullshit trade war with China has hurt both businesses and investments of their constituents greatly (unless they’re accountants who are raking in big bucks from all the new tax code changes). They’ve also got a Democratic governor, attorney general, and secretary of state who are women and going to do their best to get their backs and assure a fair election in 2020. The excuses they have for waffling in R+4 districts are nominal, especially after Trump’s egregious behavior on so many topics this week. How badly does Trump have to meltdown before they will get behind a formal inquiry?
And that’s what should be pounded into the rest of the freshmen who are holding out ‘because we don’t have all the facts’ or ‘we need the strongest case’ or ‘I don’t jump on a bandwagon’: DO THE RIGHT THING BY SUPPORTING AN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY.
We will get all the facts and make the strongest case with a formal inquiry which has Constitutional support.
And the bandwagon is to DO THE RIGHT THING, not worry about re-election, Rep. Wild. None of your bills are going anywhere so long as Senate Majority Leader #MoscowMitch McConnell is in thrall to both Trump and Russia. Quit dragging your feet and get the hell on board.
~ 0 ~
I’ve got a post in progress on the Epstein-MIT Media Lab scandal and another on Scotland. Later this week we’ll have to do another whip count now that I’ve laid out the problem with freshmen Democrats.
If you haven’t called your representative lately, do so — Congressional switchboard: (202) 224-3121 — and ask them to support an impeachment inquiry. Thank them if they already have committed to supporting an inquiry. They count calls, I can see it reflected in media reports.
Let’s get back to school, people. Treat this as an open thread.
________
When I started writing this there were only three things I was going to address here. Now there are many more — as in more GOP rats fleeing the sinking ship, more problematic GOP members surfacing. And a special election to fill a seat in the wake of voter fraud by a GOP candidate’s campaign.
~ ~ ~
GOP Rep. Sean Duffy (WI-07) announced this past Monday he’s resigning effective September 23rd for family reasons. His district is very rural and rated R+7. Hard to say if this is a potential flip in a continuing blue wave.
Rep. John Shimkus (IL-15), a +20-year member of Congress, announced today he’s not running for re-election. Interestingly he did not notify the White House or members of the GOP conference leadership before he made this announcement.
Equally interesting is that no reason was given for Shimkus’ retirement. He won in 2018 taking 70.9% of the vote in an R+21 district.
What’s up with that?
Shimkus is the tenth GOP member of Congress who is leaving after 2020 and not running for another office. The other reps exiting in 2020 so far besides Duffy and Shimkus:
Rob Woodall (GA-07) R+9
Susan Brooks (IN-05) R+9
Paul Mitchell (MI-10) R+13
Pete Olson (TX-22) R+10
Martha Roby (AL-02) R+16
Rob Bishop (UT-01) R+26
Mike Conway (TX-11) R+32
Will Hurd (TX-23) R+1
Kenny Marchant (TX-24) R+9
As you can see by the numbers the only one truly at risk in a blue wave is Will Hurd; Hurd might have been able to resist given he is one of a few non-white GOP House members in a district which is nearly 71% Hispanic/Latinx. But he’s throwing in the towel.
Woodall’s and Olson’s races were much, MUCH tighter in the 2018 blue wave than the partisanship ratings suggest. Did they have internal polling suggesting it would be a waste to run in 2020?
A couple of these exiting Republicans are also ranking members on committees. Are they struggling to raise adequate campaign donations commensurate with their position on committees?
Another kicker is Susan Brooks’ departure as she is the NRCC’s recruiting chair. Hmm.
~ ~ ~
The other house of Congress is not immune from departures. Sen. Johnny Isakson announced he is retiring for health reasons later this year. This means Georgia has both an open seat and a competitive Senate seat currently filled by GOP Sen. David Perdue who is up for re-election in 2020.
Isakson’s retirement was characterized as a surprise by POLITICO; this is odd since 74-year-old Isakson was diagnosed four years ago with Parkinson’s and uses a wheel chair.
Perdue won his race in 2014 over Michelle Nunn, 52.89% to 45.21%. Nunn is the daughter of former Georgia senator Sam Nunn; if she were to run a second time she might stand a better chance, particular if she paid heed to criticisms of her first run against Perdue.
Will be interesting to see who cheating dirtbag former secretary of state now-Governor Brian Kemp appoints to fill Isakson’s seat for the year left in Isakson’s term. Appointed senators don’t typically do well in their first race after appointment.
~ ~ ~
All these exits suggest a sea change in Congress after Election Day 2020. The bellwether maybe the still-open seat in North Carolina for which a special election will be held on September 10th.
You’ll recall the 2018 race was contested after it was learned the Republican Mark Harris may have won only because absentee ballots completed by Democrats had been retrieved and discarded by campaign operative working for Harris.
Candidates on the ballot this time are the same Democrat, Dan McCready, who’d run against Harris in 2018, and NC state senator Dan Bishop.
The district, NC-09, was rated R+10.
~ ~ ~
Less likely to be a bellwether but worth watching: special election for NC-03, to fill the House seat left vacant by the sudden death of incumbent Walter Jones this past February.
The candidates are Greg Murphy, a Republican doctor currently serving in the state house, and Allen Thomas, Democrat and former mayor of Greenville NC.
Not as much controversy here; the district is on North Carolina’s coast, though, and may yet be affected by Hurricane Dorian should the storm turn north and follow the coast from Florida after landfall.
~ ~ ~
And I’ll close this up with the Republican West Virginia state senator who was picked up in a prostitution sting. Mike Maroney, a radiologist, was arrested and arraigned this Wednesday for solicitation.
Should we take bets on this guy running for federal office in the near future? Goodness knows he’ll fit in with the Trump crowd. I feel sorry for whomever has relied on his services as a medical professional.
Wonder how many more Republicans will leave office as of 2020 both at state and federal level.
Treat this as an open thread.
Whip It Good: Crack That Whip [UPDATED-5]
[NB: Check the byline, thanks. Updates will appear at the bottom of the post before the whip count table. /~Rayne]
I was really torn about sharing this video — watching it induced a wicked flashback to my salad days. As problematic as the images in it are now, the lyrics are effective and the tune snappy.
Just the thing to get you pumped up to make a phone call to your representative. Now crack that whip!
Since the last Whip It post we’ve picked up these Democrats in support of an impeachment inquiry:
Rep. Lauren Underwood IL-14 (rated R+5*)
Rep. Anthony Brown MD-4 (rated D+28)
Rep. Ben Ray Luján NM-3 (rated D+8)
As the current Assistant Speaker and former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair during the last session, Luján is the highest ranking representative to commit to date.
According to POLITICO’s most recent count, we’re at 131 Democrats in support of an impeachment inquiry. We need 87 more to pass an authorizing resolution.
We’re entering the tough slog. It’s not going to be pretty when representatives are offering tepid support in spite of their very blue district, or flipping only after claiming their district is too conservative. I’m rather annoyed at Anthony Brown, for example, whose district is D+28 — ridiculous to string this out so long and make such a tepid statement when declaring support.
There are 104 Democrats who have not yet committed to supporting an impeachment inquiry. This means 17 Democrats can remain uncommitted and a resolution would still pass.
But there are 75 Democrats in districts ranked D+0 or better who have yet to get behind an inquiry. There are no excuses for this; surely they can see the 2018 wave will continue, especially as a recession begins and Trump continues to put the nation at risk nearly every damned time he tweets.
12 of the 29 Democrats in R+1 or worse districts must also eventually give their support. They will lose their existing Democratic base if they don’t. If they don’t already see obvious reasons why an impeachment inquiry must begin, they need to be primaried for having failed their oath of office.
You’ll notice if you haven’t in past Whip It posts that I’ve given up on the House GOP members. They are wholly committed to a transnational organized crime syndicate’s omertà, willing to kowtow to foreign entities to obtain continuing support, willing to turn a blind eye to the many gross failings of the Trump administration.
They’ve completely thrown in the towel on democracy by refusing to protect voting infrastructure and ensuring every citizen has access to the polls.
Their oath of fealty to their syndicate is stronger than their loyalty to their fellow Americans and the Constitution.
This is the moment of differentiation for Democrats. This is when the rubber meets the road, when bullshit walks. Do not be found wanting when weighed and measured; do not be Republican light. Be a true (little r) republican and defend this democracy.
That goes for us as constituents as well. It’s still upon us to keep this republic, showing up at town halls our representatives have during the remaining summer recess, by calling their offices in D.C. or locally, by sending faxes or using Resistbot to make our sentiments heard.
Congressional switchboard: (202) 224-3121
Call your representative (and only your representative) and ask them to support an impeachment inquiry, even if they are a Republican. If your representative has already thrown their support behind an inquiry, do be sure to thank them.
This whip count will continue to be updated. Share in comments any new announcements by House members throwing support behind an impeachment inquiry.
And thank community member harpie for staying on top of the count as new commitments are made.
UPDATE-1 — 7:00 PM EDT —
Looks like another Democrat declared support for an impeachment inquiry while I was drafting this post.
Rep. Jim Langevin RI-2 (D+6)
UPDATE-2 — 11:30 PM EDT —
Oops, my count was off by two and now I know why. I missed Ruppersberger and Trone.
UPDATE: POLITICO’s official impeachment inquriy whip count is at 131 Democrats (132 overall w/ Amash).
Come on, Hoyer. Your Maryland district is a D+11 like Ruppersberger’s. Don’t think for a moment we’ve forgotten you.
UPDATE-3 — 3:40 PM EDT 22-AUG-2019 —
Add another to the tally, now at 134.
Rep. Bruce Schneider IL-10 (D+10)
UPDATE-4 — 6:00 PM EDT 22-AUG-2019 —
Feels like things are picking up steam. We have two more to add to the count:
Rep. Bill Keating MD-09 (D+4)
Rep. Mark Takano CA-41 (D+12)
That’s 136. Who’s next?
UPDATE-5 — 5:50 PM EDT 23-AUG-2019 —
Politico added Ro Khanna to their count; he’s made tepid statements over the last two months like Anthony Brown MD-4 so we hadn’t added him before now. I guess we’ll add him and then hold his feet to the fire to ensure he delivers, hmm?
Rep. Ro Khanna CA-17 (D+25)
Really no excuses not to be bolder when you’re in a true blue district. Be a leader, for crying out loud.
Emphasis indicates those who have committed to supporting an inquiry since the last whip update.
(1) Vice Chair, House Democratic Caucus
(2) Chair, House Ethics Committee
(3) Chair, House Foreign Affairs Committee
(4) Chair, House Appropriations Committee
(5) Chair, House Rules Committee
(6) Chair, House Armed Services Committee
(7) Member, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
(8) Chair, House Homeland Security Committee
(9) Chair, House Small Business Committee
(10) Chair, House Energy and Commerce Committee
(11) Chair, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee
* Ranking by Cook Partisan Voter Index (2018), indicating degree to which a House congressional district leans toward one of the two major parties.
Whip It Good: Higher and Higher
[NB: Check the byline, thanks. /~Rayne]
We could use a boost now as we work our way through the dog days of summer. Take a look at how far we’ve come even if it seems too slowly, measure our progress.
As of today we have 123 House Democrats supporting an impeachment inquiry.
This means we’ve picked up four more votes since the last Whip It post.
We need 95 more representatives to support a resolution approving an impeachment inquiry. It’s slow but steady progress.
Sure, we continue to hear that the House Judiciary Committee is working toward impeachment. HJC chair Jerry Nadler told CNN last week,
“This is formal impeachment proceedings…We are investigating all the evidence, we’re gathering the evidence. And we will at the conclusion of this — hopefully by the end of the year — vote to vote articles of impeachment to the House floor. Or we won’t. That’s a decision that we’ll have to make. But that’s exactly the process we’re in right now.”
But the HJC neither has a majority vote approving an impeachment inquiry within the committee nor a majority of the votes across the entire House — yet.
This only fuels the right-wing pundits who assure us attempts to impeach are doomed, DOOMED, they say.
Bah. Do take note of the source, like conservative think tanks’ thinky-tankers who are paid to both promote their conservative donor’s aspirations and sow fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
As I’ve noted before in previous Whip It posts, it’s still on us to make this happen by showing up at town halls our representatives have over the summer recess, by calling their offices in D.C. or locally, by sending faxes or using Resistbot to make our sentiments heard.
Congressional switchboard: (202) 224-3121
Call your representative (and only your representative) and ask them to support an impeachment inquiry. If your representative has already thrown their support behind an inquiry, do be sure to thank them.
It’s also time to take note of states in which too few Dems have thrown their support behind an inquiry. Like Connecticut — what the hell, Nutmeg State? What the actual hell?
This whip count will continue to be updated. Share in comments any new announcements by House members throwing support behind an impeachment inquiry.
At the time we had 85 votes in support of an impeachment inquiry representing 39% of the needed 218 votes to pass a resolution authorizing an inquiry’s formal launch.
Today we’re better than half way to 218. The table below reflects the new tally of 118 House Democrats and one Independent in support of an impeachment inquiry. We now need 100 or 45% more of the House Dems.
It’s still on us to make this happen by showing up at town halls our representatives have over the summer recess, by calling their offices in D.C. or locally, by sending faxes or using Resistbot to make our sentiments heard.
Congressional switchboard: (202) 224-3121
This whip count will continue to be updated. Share in comments any new announcements by House members throwing support behind an impeachment inquiry.
House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler has said his committee has “in effect” been conducting an impeachment inquiry, but his statement does not have the full force that a majority-supported resolution would have. It’d be much harder for a federal court to deny Constitutional powers to an inquiry authorized by a majority of the House. Nadler and the Judiciary Committee (HJC) filed an application for the release of grand jury materials (pdf) on July 26, relying on Watergate- and Clinton-era arguments to bolster this request. I’m not a lawyer but I think this could go either way after the recent McKeever v. Barr decision.
House Oversight is other committee steadily chipping away at Trump’s corruption. Chair Elijah Cummings must be making serious inroads if Trump’s bashing of Baltimore and Cummings as a Maryland rep is any indication. I saw a chart somewhere outlining the progress of Oversight investigations but I can’t find it now — it must have terrified Trump and his minions. Oversight’s work also looks like a precursor to an impeachment inquiry, but whether it can likewise wield clout like an impeachment inquiry remains to be seen.
The surest approach is an impeachment inquiry, freighted with authority directly from the Constitution. Let’s get one in gear — call your representatives. And do thank those who’ve already thrown behind an inquiry.
Emphasis indicates those who have committed to supporting an inquiry since the last whip update.
(1) Vice Chair, House Democratic Caucus
(2) Chair, House Ethics Committee
(3) Chair, House Foreign Affairs Committee
(4) Chair, House Appropriations Committee
(5) Chair, House Rules Committee
(6) Chair, House Armed Services Committee
(7) Member, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
(8) Chair, House Homeland Security Committee
(9) Chair, House Small Business Committee
Something in the Water: GOP Rep. Mitchell Bows out in Michigan
[Please check the byline, thanks. /~Rayne]
Rep. Paul Mitchell of Michigan’s 10th congressional district announced Wednesday he would not seek re-election.
He explained to Politico, “You look at the rhetoric and vitriol, it overwhelms policy, politics becomes the norm. Everything’s about politics. Everything’s about an election. And at some point of time, that’s not why I came here.”
Mitchell also said “A career in Washington was never my objective,” wanting to focus on issues while in office. He had also criticized the racist remarks made about the House Democrats’ freshman “squad” which includes fellow Michigander Rashida Tlaib. Tlaib’s 13th congressional district is on the other side of Detroit from Mitchell’s.
In Mitchell’s case more time with family is a key reason for leaving; he has a child with special needs at home in Michigan.
~ ~ ~
Here’s where it gets interesting. Really can’t blame Mitchell for wanting to get out of the cesspool before it gets any worse, especially when his family needs him at home.
Mitchell had been asked for his opinion about Trump’s ‘Go Back’ remarks:
Even so, Representative Paul Mitchell, the conservative Republican who represents the Port Huron area, struck a note of caution. “I do believe this strategy will be damaging to this election,” Mr. Mitchell said in a telephone interview. He has asked for a meeting with the president, hoping to add his voice to other Republicans who have urged Mr. Trump to restrain himself.
All of the women whom Mr. Trump told to “go back” to their countries — Ms. Tlaib and Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Ayanna S. Pressley of Massachusetts — are United States citizens, and only one, Ms. Omar, was born outside the country, in Somalia.
“I was appalled by the chanting ‘send her back,’” Mr. Mitchell said of the crowd at Mr. Trump’s rally Wednesday in North Carolina, where the chant was directed at Ms. Omar. For Mr. Mitchell, the message struck close to home. “My youngest son was born in Russia,” he said. “We adopted him. He’s an American.”
Mitchell also felt Trump’s racist remarks would spur minority voter turnout, which seems like an odd thing to worry about in a district that’s so very white.
Did the NYT get this wrong, perhaps talking to an insufficiency of MI-10 voters only to come away with the sentiment that Trump’s xenophobia could be a winner?
Or did Mitchell feel he was unable to reconcile his personal beliefs with that of his constituents?
There’s one other darker possibility. Did the GOP ask Mitchell to step down and let a pro-Trump white nationalist run for MI-10 in order to assure Trump carries the district in 2020?
Stranger things have happened.
~ ~ ~
A couple more things to keep in mind about MI-10:
The district is extremely rural — it has approximately 705,000 residents but one of the largest areas of Michigan’s districts. It’s also inside the reach of a Sinclair TV station, received more reliably than internet across the district.
The city of Flint’s new water pipeline runs through the middle of the district from Flint to Lake Huron. Two drivers pushing the pipeline’s development and subsequently forcing Flint off Detroit’s water system were the bank(s) funding the pipeline and development of fracking near the water pipeline in MI-10. Fracking needs more water than can be obtained by simply drilling wells.
Enbridge’s Line 5 also runs through the district. Michiganders want the pipeline shut down because it runs under water through the straits between lakes Michigan and Huron, posing a massive risk to these Great Lakes should the aged pipe fail.
How these factors feature in Mitchell’s decision and the 2020 race is anybody’s guess at this point but they shouldn’t be disregarded.
Adder: Ran across this article in MetroTimes published here in Michigan. Seems John James, black candidate running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Gary Peters, has removed all references to Trump from his social media sites.
Hmm.
A Feud for Fun and Profit
[NB: Note the byline, thanks. /~Rayne]
I was doing my usual day’s end wrap up routine — shutting off the lights, checking the windows, reading the headlines to make sure the planet hadn’t blown up before I shut off my computer.
And this bullshit came up at Google News, just below the Epstein-Acosta coverage:
I’ve seen in my Twitter feed all day the hullabaloo about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ chief of staff’s remarks and the subsequent flurry of feedback between different factions among the House Democrats. Some of it is hotly reactionary, some of it is measured, and a lot of it swings wildly in between.
But that snapshot of my Google News front page is EXACTLY what the real problem is: the internecine conflict is a fulcrum on which the right-wing and foreign agents can act to divide the party at a time when it can least afford it.
And the right-wing media like Fox News is using that same point for its own amusement and profit.
Even neutral-to-left media is using the tensions to gin up clicks and increase readership.
They have zero interest in the manifold crises on which the entire spectrum of Democrats — from stick-in-the-mud conservadems to hot-under-the-collar progressives — must work together. The media is only in this for fun and profit.
Meanwhile there’s a wholly corrupt, malignant narcissist intent on undermining everything on which our country was founded. House Democrats need to quit their circular firing squad and get their heads together. They need to focus on that wretch and the debris field he’s making of our nation instead of allowing themselves to be used as a profit center by the media.
Focus on the fact only 86 House Dems have committed to supporting an impeachment inquiry. ~132 more votes are needed to pass a resolution kicking off the process.
We are now nearly 191 days into the 116th Congressional term. Trump continues to lock up children in cages and take babies from their parents at the border, leaving them in concentration camp conditions which wouldn’t be tolerated for dogs. He continues to trash the Constitution from threatening war to ignoring Supreme Court decisions. That an impeachment inquiry hasn’t already been launched reflects badly on the entirety of House Democrats, from Speaker Pelosi to the 2018 Blue Wave freshmen.
~ ~ ~
This weekend I have a couple of voters staying with me who identify as independents. They tend to vote for Democrats but they won’t commit to being Democrats. They’re 25 years old, college-educated, and they actually watched the Democratic presidential candidates debates a couple weeks ago, rushed home from work to make sure they caught both nights in full.
These young people are fed up. They’re worried, angry, disgusted. They want real and rational leadership, especially because they’re deeply concerned about the pace of climate change.
They are NOT impressed by the inability of House Democrats to pull themselves into a cohesive cohort to stop Trump.
The more senior House Dems need to understand social media presence and follower count may not convert to votes on the House floor now, but these convert to votes in primaries next year. They convert to many small donations online between now and November 2020 as well as shoe leather when canvassing and GOTV matter. These two independents visiting me are exactly the people who’ll be persuaded by what they read in their Twitter feed and watch at YouTube; they have the disposable income to make regular donations. They’re not impressed by representatives who suck up to corporations over individuals especially when there’s campaign donations involved. They’re impressed by accessible representatives who do their homework and then do their best to ensure government oversight.
They want House Democrats to get their act together and stop Trump.
None of the tweeted and reported bullshit I saw being slung between House Democrats gets them any closer to doing what the 2018 Blue Wave told Democrats needed to be done. I don’t have a good explanation for these young voters as to when House Dems will pull out of their navel-gazing spiral. I can only hope it’s soon.
This is an open thread.
Whip It Good: Impeachment Inquiry — Do You Even Math? [UPDATED]
[NB: Check the byline, thanks. Update at bottom of post. /~Rayne]
You may also notice though we agree that an impeachment inquiry is necessary, not everybody at this site agrees how to go about it.
All the shouting and the namecalling won’t change this fact: With 433 active House seats it will take 218 votes (allowing 1 safety vote) to pass a resolution to begin an impeachment inquiry; we are now at 85 votes or 39% of the necessary votes.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could try to put this up for a vote right now but she’d lose. It’d be obvious to that corrupt orange monster and his evil minions there was absolutely no Congressional check on his power. Trump, his minions and sponsors would perceive this failure as a permission slip to continue their crime spree, possibly ramping up to even worse.
One thing can change this dynamic.
You.
You can raise hell with your intransigent representative if they are a Democrat who has not yet offered their support for an impeachment inquiry. You can still raise hell with your GOP representative just so they know we are still expecting them to perform to the letter of their oath of office.
You can also identify a primary candidate running against the most resistent representatives, make a donation to them, volunteer to help their campaign, and then call your intransigent rep and let them know you are going to ensure they are primaried because they are failing their oath of office.
You can share Law Works’ production of The Investigation recorded last week if friends and family haven’t read the Mueller report and don’t understand that Trump obstructed justice. Now bmaz thinks this production was a stunt but treat it as a podcast: talk a friend or family member into a long car ride over the holiday and weekend, and play The Investigation while you’re on the road. Talk about the report and the obstruction — and then persuade them to help make calls.
About those rallies outside media offices: we could have rallies outside local offices of members of Congress, but there’s no guarantee media will treat these as newsworthy. They didn’t cover any of MoveOn’s rallies this month for example. So hold them at media offices, like outside the biggest radio or television stations in your market. Make it impossible to avoid coverage. I’d like to tell you to avoid the Sinclair-owned ones but if the local station picks up the story, it’s a double win. If you organize one with a group be sure to prepare clear, succinct talking points and have a designated spokesperson deliver them.
You can wallpaper your municipality with home printed materials to drum up more support. Feel free to use this graphic:
Post it at the library, grocery store, coffee shop, wherever there’s a bulletin board open for public use.
Is this an old school approach? Sure, but let’s face it — the new school efforts aren’t breaking through.
It’s up to you. And you, and you.
Let’s roll.
Congressional switchboard: (202) 224-3121
Updated whip count follows below; share in comments any new announcements by House members throwing support behind an impeachment inquiry.
A word to leaders of certain activist organizations who’ve been dogging Nancy Pelosi: it’s YOUR organizational leadership failing this country if you haven’t persistently encouraged your members to focus on getting the 218 House votes needed. Harassing Pelosi doesn’t make it likely the outstanding 133 vots will turn up; it makes it more likely they will hold out longer to avoid the harassment they’ve seen aimed at Pelosi. Jesus Christ, use your fucking brains. No dog is going to willingly show up for a whipping they’ve seen another dog take; they’ll run and hide.
Carrots are good as well as sticks; while your organization badgers Pelosi for fundraising now, keep in mind the entire House must raise money to run in 2020. Reward the representatives who are committing to voting for an impeachment inquiry with donations.
This is an open thread.
UPDATE — 1:00 p.m. 02-JUL-2019 —
Updated spreadsheet with count. Note that 16 of 25 Democratic House Judiciary Committee members are now in support of an inquiry since last week — that’s 67%.
Still zero GOP support save for Justin Amash; meanwhile the RNC is dishing out tickets for a non-campaign campaign event using taxpayer funded resources limiting access to a taxpayer-funded Fourth of July holiday. Surprised none of these spineless leeches are sucking up to Moscow for the holiday.
To The Phones: Stop the Gulf of Tonkin, Iran Edition
[NB: Check the byline, thanks. /~Rayne]
Some crazy bullshit happened last evening, probably while our fearless Agent Orange Chaos was under the influence of anti-anxiety medication/two scoops/Hannity’s fluffery:
President Trump approved military strikes against Iran in retaliation for downing an American surveillance drone, but pulled back from launching them on Thursday night after a day of escalating tensions https://t.co/Icup7tUDl9
This is like a half-assed Gulf of Tonkin event, a deliberately staged precursor to war. The Gulf of Tonkin was the rationale for the Vietnam War which resulted in 58,318 dead and 303,644 wounded U.S. military personnel and nearly 4,000,000 total dead, along with billions in defense expenditures.
It’s not like we haven’t seen other similar bullshit lies leading us into war, and some of the key lies propelled by the same news outlet quoted above, written by NYT’s Judith Miller. NYT has clearly prepped itself for more of the same — just look at the specialty Twitter account it set up called “NYTimesAtWar.”
We’re being dragged into a wholly unnecessary war because other non-US factions want to use our military for their ends. We have total shit for soft power right now because Trump doesn’t believe in diplomacy unless he’s conducting it with some other Big Authoritarian Man[™]. He will definitely trash anything the previous administration negotiated as part of the JCPOA (read: something a black man did). Trump’s also pliable depending on when he’s approached and by whom — like this propaganda by Fox News yesterday catching him first thing in the morning when he watches television, conditioning his responses for the day:
This is what Donald Trump saw on Fox and Friends this morning. If it does not concern you, it should. pic.twitter.com/gg445ncTr9
And again today, after the attack last night was canceled, Fox News is again beating the drum for war and tacitly questioning Trump’s manhood:
Brian Kilmeade: “They blow up 4 tankers and we do nothing. When they blow up our drone that costs $130 million and we do nothing. We know it’s not going to end there. So at some point, in the Middle East, no action looks like weakness, and weakness begets more attacks.” pic.twitter.com/fL6kLVnLeO
The House of Representatives voted today to repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). Presidents have used the AUMF to justify never-ending wars that lack Congressional approval.
This is the first time in nearly 18 years that a chamber of Congress has repealed this law. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Barbara Lee (CA), was included in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 2968). Designed to take effect eight months after being signed, Congress would need to pass a new AUMF or the administration would need to remove military personnel from current conflicts during that time.
Prescient timing, or no? Whatever the case, if factions within the Trump administration were going to rely on the 2001 AUMF to execute their attacks on Iran, the support is gone in the House.
This is where YOU come in. The Senate hasn’t voted on the Defense Appropriations Act including the rescindment of the 2001 AUMF; it could be stalled once again on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s desk. Stalled or not, the Senate needs to hear from its constituents about this absurd run up to war — denounce this incompetent attempt at launching war without adequate Congressional approval and ask for an investigation into whatever happened last evening to launch an attack without a legitimate AUMF and then reversed the attack mid-flight. This behavior is irrational and only more likely to trigger events the American people have no desire to see happen.
If you need another briefing and a script for making your calls to your senators, visit @Celeste_pewter’s TinyLetter page.
Congressional switchboard: (202) 224-3121
Do call your House reps and praise them if they supported the rescindment and admonish them if they didn’t. They need to know constituents are paying close attention.