Monday, October 28, 2019
10 Ways The Democrats Are Winning On Impeachment
She writes:
Even without a public hearing, Democrats have moved public opinion in favor of impeachment more swiftly than even the strongest supporters of impeachment expected. How is it that Democrats are, for all intents and purposes, “winning” the impeachment inquiry?
First, they have a narrow set of facts and are sticking with the Ukraine scandal (and obstruction thereof). The story has an expanding cast of characters, but the high crime and/or misdemeanor — extorting Ukraine to help President Trump’s reelection — is easy to understand.
Second, they have cooperating witnesses willing to defy the White House’s demands that they not testify. The permanent civil servants have proved to be far more courageous and patriotic than, say, former White House counsel Donald McGahn, who declined to testify under subpoena.
Third, because Trump and his minions — including the hapless acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney — fail to understand what they have done wrong, we’ve seen serial confessions. The confessions don’t add to witnesses’ credibility, but they unnerve Republicans who, again and again, get the rug pulled out from under their feet.
Fourth, there really is no “other side.” The White House has not really taken issue with the facts and we have yet to hear about any exculpatory evidence. (At worst, Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, claims “not to remember” threatening Ukraine — an improbable claim but, noticeably, not a denial.) The president simply cannot comprehend that using taxpayer money (in the form of foreign aid) to shake down the Ukrainians for his own political purposes is wrong. They might as well stick to the facts in the Senate trial.
Fifth, House and Senate Republicans do not seem to think there is a substantive defense, either. They concoct specious complaints about process because they have nothing else to say.
Sixth, the media has stopped playing the moral equivalence game. A clear, consistent account of the facts is coming through to the public, no matter how many newspaper subscriptions Trump cancels. (By the way, the president is simply forcing employees to pay for subscriptions out of their own pockets since, particularly in this administration, that is how they often find out what is going on.)
Seventh, again and again, the federal courts are doing their jobs, swatting down ludicrous arguments offered by Trump’s lawyers and the White House counsel. Trump is on quite a legal losing streak — suffering defeats on production of his Mazars USA financial record, losing the denial of grand jury testimony to Congress, and receiving judicial confirmation that no floor vote to officially commence an impeachment inquiry is needed.
Eighth, word that former national security adviser John Bolton may testify should scare the living daylights out of Trump and the president’s supporters. Bolton’s eyewitness testimony won’t be able to be written off as “hearsay,” nor can he be personally dismissed as some agent of the deep state.
Ninth, there are more and more witnesses yet to come. This coming week, Tim Morrison, a National Security Council official, is slated to appear. And the House has issued subpoenas for acting Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought; Michael Duffey, OMB’s associate director of National Security Programs; and T. Ulrich Brechbuhl, a counselor at the State Department. This conspiracy surely was the worst kept secret in the administration.
Tenth, it matters that a huge majority of Americans think Trump is dishonest and has handled the inquiry poorly. Trump has no reservoir of good will, and it is easy to see that a credibility contest between Trump on one side and, well just about anyone on the other, will not go well for Trump.
Sunday, October 27, 2019
It Looks Like Biden's Lead Is Shrinking In South Carolina
The charts above are from the Post And Courier / Change Research Poll -- done between October 15th and 21st of 731 likely Democratic primary voters in South Carolina. The poll has a 3.6 point margin of error.
The poll shows that Joe Biden is still leading with 30%, while Elizabeth Warren is in second with 19%. The bad news for Biden is that is the smallest amount of support he has had and the largest so far for Warren. That 11 point deficit for Warren is also the smallest this poll has shown since the race started.
Can Warren catch up with Biden in South Carolina? If so, that would be a disaster for Biden. He's already probably trailing in Iowa and New Hampshire, and he's counting on South Carolina to give him a big boost before Super Tuesday. If Warren can just get close to Biden in the number of delegates from South Carolina, it would be viewed as a victory for her -- and it could shake things up for Super Tuesday.
If Only Racists Were As Scarce As Ghosts
Obama's Speech At The Funeral Of Rep. Elijah Cummings
Listening to Donald Trump try to make a speech can be frustrating. It's nothing but a collage of lies that makes little sense. It's easy to forget what a real orator is like. But at the funeral of Rep. Elijah Cummings, Barack Obama reminds us of what that is like. Here, from Vox.com, is most of his wonderful and powerful speech:
The seeds on good soil, the parable of the sower tells us, stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering, produce a crop. The seed on good soil. Elijah Cummings came from good soil.
And in this sturdy frame, goodness took root. His parents were sharecroppers from the South. They picked tobacco and strawberries, and then sought something better in this city, South Baltimore. Robert worked shifts at a plant, and Ruth cleaned other people’s homes. They became the parents of seven, preachers to a small flock.
I remember I had the pleasure of meeting Elijah’s mother, Ruth, and she told me she prayed for me every day. And I knew it was true, and I felt better for it. Sometimes, people say they are praying for you, and you don’t know. They might be praying about you. But you don’t know if they are praying for you. But I knew Miss Ruth was telling the truth.
So they were the proverbial salt of the Earth, and they passed on that strength and that grit, but also that kindness and that faith, to their son. As a boy, Elijah’s dad made him shine his shoes and tie his tie, and they would go to the airport — not to board the airplanes, but to watch others do it. I remember Elijah telling me this story. Robert would say, “I have not flied. I may not fly. But you will fly one day. We can’t afford it right now, but you will fly.”
His grandmother — as Elijah related — and as grandmothers do, was a little more impatient with her advice. Your daddy, she said, “He been waiting and waiting for a better day. Don’t you wait.” And Elijah did not wait. Against all odds, Elijah earned his degrees. He learned about the rights of all people in this country — that all people in this country are supposed to possess, with a little help, apparently, from Perry Mason.
Elijah became a lawyer to make sure others had rights, and his people had their god-given rights, and from the statehouse to the House of Representatives. His commitment to justice and the rights of others would never, ever waver. Elijah’s example, a son of parents who rose from nothing to carve out a little something, a public servant who toiled to guarantee the least of us have the same opportunities that he had earned, a leader who once said he would die for his people, even as he lived every minute for them — his life validates the things we tell ourselves about what is possible in this country. Not guaranteed, but possible. The possibility that our destinies are not preordained.
But rather, through our work, with our dedication, and our willingness to open our hearts to God’s message of love for all people, we can live a purposeful life. We can reap a bountiful harvest. We are neither sentenced to weather among the rocks nor assured a bounty, but we have a capacity, a chance, as individuals and as a nation, to root ourselves in good soil. Elijah understood that. That’s why he fought for justice. That’s why he embraced his beloved community of Baltimore.
That’s why he went on to fight for the rights and opportunities for God’s people all across America. Not just in his district. He was never complacent, for he knew that without clarity of purpose and a steadfast faith, and the dogged determination demanded by our liberty, the promise of this nation can wither. Complacency, he knew, was not only corrosive for our collective lives, but for our individual lives.
It has been remarked that Elijah was a kind man. I tell my daughters — and I have to say, listening to Elijah’s daughters speak, that got me choked up. I am sure those of you who have sons feel the same way — but there is something about daughters and their fathers. And I was thinking I would want my daughters to know how much I love them, but I would also want them to know that being a strong man includes being kind. That there is nothing weak about kindness and compassion. There is nothing weak about looking out for others. There is nothing weak about being honorable. You are not a sucker to have integrity and to treat others with respect.
It has been remarked that Elijah was a kind man. I tell my daughters — and I have to say, listening to Elijah’s daughters speak, that got me choked up. I am sure those of you who have sons feel the same way — but there is something about daughters and their fathers. And I was thinking I would want my daughters to know how much I love them, but I would also want them to know that being a strong man includes being kind. That there is nothing weak about kindness and compassion. There is nothing weak about looking out for others. There is nothing weak about being honorable. You are not a sucker to have integrity and to treat others with respect.
I was sitting here and I was just noticing the “honorable” Elijah E. Cummings. You know, this is a title that we confer on all kinds of people who get elected to public office. We are supposed to introduce them as “honorable.” But Elijah Cummings was honorable before he was elected to office. There’s a difference.
There is a difference if you were honorable and treated others honorably. Outside the limelight. On the side of a road. In a quiet moment, counseling somebody you work with. Letting your daughters know you love them.
You know, as president, I knew I could always count on Elijah being honorable and doing the right thing. And people have talked about his voice. There is something about his voice. It just made you feel better. You know, there are some people that have that deep baritone, a prophetic voice. And when it was good times and we achieved victories together, that voice and that laugh was a gift. But you needed it more during the tough times, when the path ahead looked crooked, when obstacles abounded. When I entertained doubts — or I saw those who were in the fight start to waver, that is when Elijah’s voice mattered most.
Once during my presidency, when the economy still looked like it might plunge into depression, when the health care bill was pronounced dead in Congress, I would watch Elijah rally his colleagues. “The cost of doing nothing isn’t nothing,” he would say, and folks would remember why they entered into public service. “Our children are the living messengers we send to a future we will never see,” he would say, and he would remind all of us that our time is too short not to fight for what’s good and what is true, and what is best in America.
“200 years to 300 years from now,” he would say, “people will look back at this moment and they will ask questions. What did you do?” And hearing him, we would be reminded that it falls upon each of us to give voice to the voiceless and comfort to the sick, and opportunity to those not born to it, and to preserve and nurture our democracy.
Elijah Cummings was a man of noble and good heart. His parents and his faith planted the seeds of hope and love and compassion and righteousness in that good soil of his. He has harvested all the crops that he could, for the Lord has now called Elijah home, to give his humble, faithful servant rest. And it now falls on us to continue his work, so that other young boys and girls from Baltimore, across Maryland, across the United States, and around the world might too have a chance to grow and to flourish.
That’s how we will honor him. That’s how we will remember him. That’s what he would hope for.
Transparency Is Only For Democrats
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Two-Thirds Of Americans Support Marijuana Legalization
It shows that the American public are no longer believing the lies about marijuana. Currently, about two-thirds (66%) of the population say marijuana should be legal. And that includes about half of some groups traditionally opposed to legalization -- Republicans (51%), over age 65 (49%), and conservatives (48%).
How much longer will our elected representatives continue to cater to a tiny minority and refuse to legalize marijuana?
There Wasn't 1 "Quid Pro Quo" - There Were 3 (& Extortion)
The whistleblower's account showed a quid pro quo, as did the White House's own account of the phone call to Ukraine's president. That was again verified by Ambassador Taylor's opening statement to Congress.
In fact, it was even worse than that. Instead of one "quid pro quo", there were actually three -- and they added up to extortion.
When it became obvious that there was indeed a "quid pro quo", Trump and his Republican cohorts then tried to say the Ukrainians didn't know it was a quid pro quo, so it shouldn't matter. That is an even more ridiculous claim.
Here is part of how David Corn (pictured) explained it in his excellent article in Mother Jones:
Taylor had indeed testified during his closed-door session with congressional investigators that Ukrainian officials were aware Trump was withholding nearly $400 million in military assistance at the same time he and his minions were pressing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate a debunked conspiracy theory about the 2016 election (which held that Russia did not hack the election) and former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Trump was also insisting that Zelensky announce publicly that these investigations were underway. Taylor was quite explicit about all this in his lengthy and detailed opening statement, which was leaked. In fact, the news that Trump was holding up the funds for Ukraine was reported publicly on August 29. Days later, Taylor testified, the top White House aide on Ukrainian matters, Tim Morrison, told him that Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union and a key figure in this caper, had told Andriy Yermak, a senior Zelensky aide, that the security assistance money would not be sent to Ukraine until Zelensky committed to pursing the Biden investigation.
So there it is: a much-respected veteran diplomat who served in both Republican and Democratic administrations testifying that Sondland, doing Trump’s bidding, had threatened the Ukraine government: No investigation, no money. That’s extortion.
But Taylor had so much more to say. And his testimony shows there was more than one quid pro quo.
Throughout this spring and summer, Trump was using whatever leverage he had on Zelensky to force him to mount these political investigations. During this stretch, Zelensky and his aides desperately wanted a White House meeting with Trump—which would signal that despite Trump’s fondness for Vladimir Putin, the United States remained a strong partner of Ukraine, as it battled the Russian and Moscow-backed forces that had invaded eastern swaths of Ukraine. Yet Trump issued a condition: No investigation, no meeting. Taylor testified that he was informed that during a July 10 meeting between Ukrainian officials and top White House officials, Sondland told the Ukrainians that an Oval Office face to face between Zelensky and Trump was contingent on the “investigations.” (At that point in the meeting, John Bolton, then the national security adviser, abruptly ended the conversation, and top NSC official Fiona Hill told Taylor, according to his testimony, that Bolton later referred to this proposed arrangement as a “drug deal.”)
And Taylor had more to reveal about this. In September, Taylor testified, Sondland informed him that he, Sondland, had committed a mistake when he earlier had told the Ukrainians that a White House meeting between Trump and Zelensky was dependent on Zelensky publicly announcing these show investigations; instead, “everything,” including the withheld security assistance, was conditioned on such an announcement. Here was Sondland acknowledging there had been not one but two quid pro quos: the military money and a White House meeting, if Zelensky submitted to Trump’s demand.
Then there was the July 25 phone call between Trump and Zelensky. According to a reconstructed transcript released by the White House, when the Ukrainian president raised the subject of obtaining from the Trump administration more Javelin anti-tank missiles—which the Ukrainians could use against the Russian invaders in the east—Trump immediately responded with the now-infamous line: “I would like you to do us a favor though.” He then pushed Zelensky to investigate both that nutty theory about the 2016 election and “the other thing”—the Bidens. Trump and his GOP defenders have repeatedly said there was no quid pro quo in this call. That’s bunk. You want missiles? Then give me information I can use to clear the Russians and harm a political foe.
Add it up, and you have three quid pro quos. Or one huge quid pro quo with three distinct parts. The Ukrainians were looking for the security assistance that Congress had already authorized and the Pentagon had cleared for release. They desired a get-together in the Oval Office between Trump and Zelensky. And they wanted more Javelin missiles. In response to each of these requests, Trump said, first give me political dirt. And a crucial part of the deal would be Zelensky publicly proclaiming that the Bidens were under investigation, which in and of itself would taint Biden and create a controversy for him.
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