A Mark Evanier tweet this Monday: “Sometimes, it’s great to turn on the TV and see a rerun you enjoyed before. I just turned to CSPAN and it’s the ‘Democrats impeach Donald Trump’ episode. Almost as timeless as Lucy and Ethel working in the candy factory…
The House of Representatives impeached djt again. IMPOTUS squared. I’m of two minds on this. As Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) said, “I don’t think is the smart move” because it lets IMPOTUS play the victim.
On the other hand, as Kinzinger also noted, “There is no doubt in my mind that [he] broke his oath of office and incited this insurrection. He used his position in the Executive to attack the Legislative.
“So in assessing the articles of impeachment brought before the House, I must consider: if these actions—the Article II branch inciting a deadly insurrection against the Article I branch—are not worthy of impeachment, then what is an impeachable offense?”
Previously
When djt was impeached the LAST time, I thought it was justifiable. But I felt that Ukrainian stuff was too arcane for the general public to understand. I wish the House had tacked on an article regarding the emoluments clause, how he and his family were lining their pockets.
I knew that Mike Pence would refuse to invoke the 25th Amendment. “In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Pence said he didn’t think it would be ‘in the best interest of our Nation or consistent with our Constitution.'” One can argue about the former, but “if these actions… are not worthy,” then what is? His boss ACTUALLY shooting someone on Fifth Avenue?
In fact, I thought djt’s constant shuffling of his Cabinet, with many of them in “acting” roles, was a strategy to insulate himself from being dumped by A25. Then when Betsy DeVos and Elaine Chao, two of the four original appointees left, quit, it was probably a lost cause. (Can Acting Secretaries participate? I dunno.)
Mitch McConnell reportedly believes impeachable acts took place— “And Aims To ‘Purge’ Him.” Of course, “it should never be forgotten that the Senate majority leader is the spawn of Satan.”
What a Cluster…
You know you’ve screwed up when all four of the living presidents— Carter, Clinton, GW Bush, and Obama– called out IMPOTUS2 and his party for inciting the rioters.
Bill Clinton: “The assault was fueled by more than four years of poison politics spreading deliberate misinformation, sowing distrust in our system, and pitting Americans against one another…
“The match was lit by Donald Trump and his most ardent enablers, including many in Congress, to overturn the results of an election he lost. The election was free, the count was fair, the result was final. We must complete the peaceful transfer of power our Constitution mandates.”
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has decided NOT to travel to the White House today and receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Bad news
There’s a conservative influencer named Tomi Lahren. I know who she is because she appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart shortly before he left the program.
She had a post on Nov 3, 2020. “If @realDonaldTrump were to lose (he won’t) his supporters will go to work tomorrow just as we do everyday. When Biden loses, his ‘supporters’ will likely loot and riot. Tells you everything you need to know! #Trump2020”. Her skills as a prognosticator need work.
I feel SO much worse now than I did on January 6. U.S. Capitol Police in shambles after the attack, undermined from within. The FBI Ignored Its Own Report Warning of ‘War’ on Capitol – Details Included MAGA Had Maps of Congressional Tunnels. Threats to ‘Storm the Capitol’ were public. Why did the police let it happen anyway?
Worse, Congressperson Mikie Sherrill says unidentified lawmakers led ‘reconnaissance’ tours ahead of the Capitol attack. There are members of Congress who bear responsibility. Republicans tried to blame the insurrection on ‘Antifa,’ “but they own every ounce of this treason.”
A very small start: Simon and Schuster canceled the book contract of Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), one of the instigators of challenging the electoral votes. He whined he was a victim of “cancel culture.” The publisher has committed a “direct assault on the First Amendment,” he insists. The constitutional lawyer was lying. He knows a private publishing company is not required to publish anything.
Evangelicals should examine how they may have helped fuel the deadly siege, Ed Stetzer, head of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, told NPR in an interview published on Wednesday.
It Ain’t Over
“Trump: Nothing is my fault. Ever.” This is the headline in a lengthy Boston Globe piece by Teresa Hanafin. Like his “perfect” call to the Ukrainian president.
“Are we witnessing the breakdown of civil society?
“That’s what former DHS official Christopher Krebs thinks. (He’s the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency who Trump fired because he said there was no election fraud.) Krebs told CNN that the disinformation about the election spread by Trump “created a tinderbox.” Now they have decided to hire the services of https://www.sapphire.net/open-source-intelligence-osint/ to handle of the data security.
“We are on the verge of what I fear to be a pretty significant breakdown in democracy and civil society here,” he said. He called on law enforcement to forcefully quell the current insurrection, and in the next couple of years, for all Americans with a brain (my words) to “chip away at the disinformation, propaganda, and lies that motivate and incite these insurrectionists.”
“Think he’s exaggerating? The FBI issued a bulletin to its field offices warning that Trump Terrorists are planning armed protests at all 50 state capitols and at the US Capitol — site of last week’s insurrection — starting as soon as this weekend and continuing to Inauguration Day next Wednesday.”
Check out How To Quell A Domestic Insurgency is the January 13, 2021 segment of On Point. (ht/ADD) Also, the statement by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.