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Investigate or Legislate

11/26/2018

Nancy Pelosi

The Main Stream Media, after exhausting the topic of whether Nancy Pelosi will be the next Speaker of the House has latched on to another question that seems geared more to the Republicans than journalism. Will the Democrats be able to keep its legislative promise to voters and fix health care or will they go crazy investigating Trump and his administration?

Unfortunately, too many Democrats play into the either legislate or investigate frame and respond by saying we can walk and chew gum at the same time. This cutesy response reinforces the frame that Democrats will have the choice of either legislating or investigating. The truth is the Democratic agenda and how voters perceive their agenda will depend on two other players.

Active Measures: A Critical Film Review

11/19/2018

In the run-up to the midterm elections, Jack Bryan’s documentary film about the Russian attack on the 2016 election (directed by Jack Bryan, written by Bryan and Marley Clements), Active Measures, did not receive the attention it deserves. (It is currently available on Amazon Prime.) “Active measures” refers to Russian agents obtaining, generating, and systematically using false, misleading, or compromising information to conduct war. These agents then target opinion-makers, such as political leaders, media, influential people in business and the public at large. They bombard them with this information after they have weaponized it and thus shape and circumscribe opinion-makers’ decision making to benefit Russia. Russian agents obtain information in a variety of legal and illegal ways and then weaponize through forging documents, audio recordings, and videotapes and hacking information on computers. While Russia has used variations of active measures for decades, social media has increased its destructive potential. Russians now use active measures to weakening opposition governments and a precursor to actual war.

As the 2016 election day approached, James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence released a report that accused Russia of having launched an active measures attack against the U.S. This report, however, was obscured by the release of the Access Hollywood recording in which Trump admitted sexually assaulting women. Nonetheless, following the release of this report, some members of the media began to uncover disquieting facts about key figures in Trump’s campaign. Retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, a close Trump’s adviser during the campaign, and the National Security Adviser during the first weeks of the Trump administration, lied about secret contacts with the Russians and was forced to resign. Jefferson Sessions, another close campaign aid, and Trump’s Attorney General lied during his confirmation hearing and was forced by the Ethics Officer of the Department of Justice to recuse himself from the Russia investigation.

Climate Changed

10/27/2018

Climate change due to (wo)man’s alteration of the environment is viewed overwhelmingly by scientists as a global phenomenon which countries around the globe must all confront or face the consequences. One can say the same of social and political climates, which are global phenomena subject to change based on the actions of men and women.

Following WW II America was known for preferring the high road. While the civil rights struggle of the 60’s initially revealed America’s mean streak (particularly when it comes to race), citizens and the courts made use of existing systems to eventually steer the country towards its ideals. However, in the past several decades, the actions of Republican presidents have led a charge in another direction.

Richard Nixon’s willingness to engage in dirty tricks and obstruct justice when caught demonstrated how easily corruption could control the levers of power. Fortunately, once again the system proved resilient, enabling him to be removed from the Oval Office in disgrace but without violence, thereby restoring our reputation.

George “W” Bush’s invasion of Iraq provided another moral low point when America coerced allies into actions of questionable legality on the international stage. The invasion and its aftermath also showed just how costly American hubris could be. Our reputation in this instance has yet to be fully restored, although President Obama’s restraint in using military power is evidence of how a change of leaders can effectively change the direction of American policy.

With the arrival of Donald Trump, America is leading the world to a much darker place. Hubris certainly plays a large role in Donald Trump’s world, but if there are principles guiding his decisions, they have nothing to do with the moral high road. To the contrary, he has changed the definition of acceptable behavior on the part of individuals and nations. The climate Donald Trump is helping to create world-wide is one where lying, heartlessness, and cruelty are acceptable, and alliances are evaluated strictly on a transitory and transactional basis. As a result, the Saudi ruling family and their henchmen feel empowered to kill and dismember a journalist and offer only one lie after another in response to international condemnation of the murder. At home, a disturbed citizen mailed a dozen or more pipe bombs to critics of President Trump and his administration, after Trump repeatedly encouraged his supporters act forcefully against his critics.

Our country, formerly known as the “Leader of the Free World,” is now leading the world to a new normal, where principles such as The Rule of Law, Due Process, Separation of Powers and basic human decency play no role in decision making, public policy or rhetoric.

In the past America’s systems, based on these principles, proved strong enough to right the ship of state and aim it once again towards democratic ideals. If we can do so now - starting with the midterms - we will help guide the world towards a cooler, more rational political climate. If we don’t, heated rhetoric could all too easily become hot wars on domestic and international battlegrounds.

by Renee Campbell - Guest Contributor

Following a career in music and dance, Ms. Campbell, became active in progressive politics during Barack Obama’s first campaign in 2008. She attended a Wellstone bootcamp for candidates and organizers, which led to blogging. She continued to volunteer and was selected as an OFA Summer Organizing Fellow in 2014. She completed an internship in political consulting and received a M.A. in Political Psychology from Stonybrook University in 2015. She blogs at CitizenSpeaking.net.

Rushing Kavanaugh

10/12/2018

The Senate Republicans consider any allegations of bad behavior, no matter how reprehensible, to be outweighed by their own benefits from elevating Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. The allegations of bad behavior by Kavanaugh include sexual assault, misrepresenting or distorting the truth (even when under oath), and judicial impropriety. To counterbalance these allegations, Republicans dispute the existence of any evidence that supports these allegations and to downplay the seriousness of them.

Why Republicans engaged in so many mental contortions to quickly put Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court is not clear. Some Supreme Court observers have attributed the speed with which McConnell wanted to move Kavanaugh through the process as a way of limiting the discovery of unflattering information about Kavanaugh. Just as likely, it was to protect Trump from any adverse rulings growing out of the Russia investigation. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other conservatives have worked for a conservative majority on the Supreme Court for since Richard Nixon’s presidency. But there are many other conservative justices without Kavanaugh’s baggage who would have probably ruled much as Kavanaugh will who could have been appointed. The primary difference between other conservative judges and Kavanaugh is that Kavanaugh has written that the President should be exempt from any investigation other than impeachment while in office. It is worth noting that Judge Kavanaugh was not on the original list of 25 potential conservative nominees Trump received from the right-wing Federalist Society and trumpeted throughout his campaign. Trump apparently received some information about Kavanaugh that made Trump hoist him to the top of his list. Of course, once Kavanaugh gave his impassioned “white male as victim” statement to counter Dr. Ford’s statement accusing him, and it resonated with the Republican base, confirming Kavanaugh to fire up the base became his most potent benefit.

Too Far Left

9/13/2018

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi

After disastrous election losses in 2010, 2014, and 2016, strategists identified several problems they believe must be remedied to reverse Democratic Party fortunes. These problems include the belief that the party is moving too far to the left, picking bad candidates, and retaining Democratic House leader, Nancy Pelosi, too long. But if the problems plaguing the Democratic Party have been misidentified, then electoral misfortunes faced by Democratic Party will continue.

President Jimmy Carter

Those who claim that the Democratic Party is moving “too far left” do not explain what that unsettling phrase means. Instead, some strategists, including President Jimmy Carter, submit that Democrats have an opportunity to capture Independent and disaffected Republican voters by advocating a moderate agenda. But voters are becoming more and more polarized over time and disregarding. Democratic base voters could result in their estrangement. The Democratic base’s movement to the left is not an ideological prescription dictated by some elite party cabal; it is a reaction to changing economic environment.

Republican Victories Are Not Political Success

8/30/2018

Senator Mitch McConnell

Political success is often tied to future events. In a democracy political success often depends on being able to anticipate future events and take actions that shape and mold those events. Historically, politicians as diverse as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson have been celebrated as much for their ability to foresee the effect of their actions as for their ability to effectuate those acts. Johnson, for example, in 1957, recognized the growing political influence of the African-American community in Northern urban areas. In part, as a result of this, Johnson saw the advantages of sponsoring and working to pass the first civil rights legislation since the Civil Rights Act of 1875. (The 1957 voting rights law was followed by another more expansive civil rights law in 1964, a continuation of a bill originally proposed by John F. Kennedy.)

Despite the importance of being able to anticipate future events that most pundits assign to political success, few Republican leaders demonstrate their predictive capacity. Mitch McConnell is recognized for his political acumen. He foresaw the long term benefit of being able to stymie Obama and much of the Democratic agenda, including refusing to bring Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Merritt Garland, up for a vote. Also, Trump and the Republicans passed significant tax legislation. The tax law, however, was so slanted in favor of corporations and the wealthy, it has not proven very popular with either Democrats or Republicans. These victories, did not show political anticipation. Instead, they demonstrated an apparatchik’s ability to twist rules for his party’s advantage.

Sights From the "Unite Against Hate" Counter Protest Against "Unite the Right" - August 12, 2018

8/13/2018

Thousands crowded into heavily guarded Lafayette Park to form the "Unite Against Hate" counter protest against the "Unite the Right" Protest. Unite the Right - an alt-right group representing the KKK, Nazis, and other White Supremacist groups had announced plans to rally in front of the White House. They anticipated 100-400 participants.

The Unite-The-Right protest ended up with fewer than 30 protesters, who left quickly when confronted with the huge counter protest and an afternoon thunderstorm.

Below are some images from the Unite Against Hate (counter protest) view.

Many counter protesters began their wait several hours before the anticipated arrival of the Unite-The -Right protest.

Very strong police protection and use of barricades to separate protesters from counter protesters

The Kremlin Annex – Smoldering Ember or Ready-Fuse?The Kremlin Annex – Smoldering Ember or Ready-Fuse?

8/11/2018

Protesters at the "Kremlin Annex" (aka The White House) - signs, entertainment, persistence

The Kremlin Annex is a nightly protest right outside the White House gates. Organized and promoted by Adam Parkhomenko, a 32-year-old former National Field Director for the Democratic National Committee. He pushed for a rally to underscore Trump’s treason after Helsinki. Trump shamed himself and all Americans by supplicating himself before Vladimir Putin. Parkhomenko encouraged outraged Americans to “greet” Trump on his return by making lots of noise. The simple goal to disrupt Trump and whoever else might be prowling around in the White House continues as the protest now is in its third week of nightly, noisy, yet peaceful protests. As with other forms of the “resistance”, it is difficult to tell if the larger goal of influencing Trump, Congress, and/or voters is achieved.

There have been many marches and protests throughout the county since January 21, 2017 (the day after Trump’s inauguration.) In DC, marches have addressed women’s issues, the assault on science, concerns of the LTGB community, gun control, healthcare, tax inequities, and….more. While the marches vary somewhat in topic, degree of organization and turn-out, they are generally single-day events, often held along with “sister” marches throughout the country and the world. The “Kremlin-Annex” occupy protests are different as they are focused entirely on Trump’s groveling before Putin.

Each night, emcee Yaddiya (aka Justin Rose) leads a free-wheeling program as protesters assemble to chant, yell, and also be entertained by local street performers and occasional well-recognized celebrities. Protesters focus on Trump’s devotion to Russia with signs proclaiming him a traitor, calls of “Trea-son; Trea-son, Trea-son”, and tee shirts with Cyrillic text.

Trump’s Plan If Democrats Don’t Take the House of Representatives

8/10/2018

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin - Helsinki July 2018

Most people cannot wrap their heads around the possibility that Trump and the Republican Party will, if able, transform this country’s democracy into another form of government. Just as most people could not fathom Trump being a Russian asset, they continue to justify his actions as idiosyncratic or personal deficiencies rather than purposeful plans. Of course, Helsinki forced some people to reconsider Trump’s assault on NATO and the European Alliance as strategic acts in Putin’s service. Still, too many people continue to frame his actions as only personal deficiencies rather acts in service of a more strategic purpose.

Many people consider Trump’s lies, accusations of “fake news,” and attacks on institutions like the FBI to be public relations ploys. According to these people, Trump merely intends to mute the criminal allegations Robert Mueller’s investigation will undoubtedly produce. But it is possible that Trump, his coterie, and the Republican Party are implementing a plan to end our democracy as we know it.

While our form of representative democracy is at one end of a continuum and authoritarianism is at the other end, there is a least one other in the middle. Delegative democracy, a transitional form, maintains all the trappings of a representative democracy except separation of powers. Government officials, including the President, may be elected, but the courts and Congress yield or delegate their power to the President. And although the President, may only serve his or her elected term, they exercise nearly complete power while in office. Some conservative scholars have already claimed the Constitution nearly envisions this form of government under the legal rubric of the “unitary executive.”

Trump Wants Russia to Interfere in Our Elections Again

8/5/2018

Anxious appearing Donald Trump; gloating appearing Vladimir Putin - Helsinki July 2018

Trump won’t confront Putin about Russia’s continuing interference in U.S. elections. Following Trump’s spineless collaboration with Putin in Helsinki, some of the Main Stream Media (MSM) reluctantly entertained the notion that Trump was either a willing or unwilling asset of the Russians. That insight lasted about two weeks. The MSM is again pretending that Trump’s failure to provide leadership in thwarting an attack on the linchpin of our democracy is related to his dubious electoral victory in 2016. According to the MSM, Trump fears admitting to Russia’s on-going attack against the U.S. electoral process because such an admission would further threaten the legitimacy of his election.

Even if we assume that Trump is not a Russian asset, there is no reason to believe that Trump is concerned about degrading the legitimacy of his election. By this time no sane person can doubt that Russia interfered in the 2016 elections. Putin’s admission that he wanted Trump to win, confirms the unanimous conclusion of the U.S. intelligence community that Russia interfered. Trump’s 2016 election is, in fact, rendered less legitimate by continued Russian interference in 2018.

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