Speaker Pelosi Appoints A Second Republican To Committee

When the Select Committee to investigate the January 6th Capitol riots was created, Speaker Pelosi was to appoint 8 members and Minority Leader McCarthy was to appoint 5 members.

Pelosi evened the odds just a bit by appointing 7 Democrats and 1 Republican -- Liz Cheney of Wyoming.

But McCarthy was obviously trying to subvert the committee. He delayed appointing anyone until a few days before the committee was to meet -- and then appointed a couple of members that everyone knew would turn the committee into a circus.

But Pelosi banned two of the 5 members that McCarthy selected -- the two (Rep. Banks and Rep. Jordan) most likely to disrupt the committee's proceedings. Angered, McCarthy then withdrew all 5 of his committee picks.

McCarthy had hoped that the move would make the committee look unfair. He has failed in that. There was already one Republican on the committee (Cheney), and now Pelosi has appointed a second. It is Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. Kinzinger, like Cheney, has been opposed to Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

I don't like the politics of either Cheney or Kinzinger, but I think both will be good members of the Select Committee -- members that will search for the truth instead of spreading Trump lies.

Party Leaders - Dems Viewed More Favorably Than GOP

The chart above reflects the results of a new Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between May 15th and 18th of a national sample of 1,239 registered voters, with a 3 point margin of error. 

The survey asked registered voters whether they viewed the national party leaders favorably or unfavorably. President Joe Biden was the only leader to be viewed favorably by a majority of voters. He had a 7 point margin of favorable over unfavorable. It was the opposite for Donald Trump, who had 6 point ,margin of unfavorable over favorable.

When it came to congressional leaders, none of them had a majority viewing them favorably. But Nancy Pelosi was viewed 12 points more favorably than Kevin McCarthy, and Chuck Schumer was viewed 12 points more favorably than Mitch McConnell.

Mitch McConnell was viewed least favorably among all the leaders. Only 26% viewed him favorably, while 61% viewed him unfavorably.

Speaker Pelosi Opposes Censure "Slap On The Wrist"

After 43 Republican senators voted to acquit Donald Trump in his Senate impeachment trial, there was some talk of censuring Trump.

Speaker Pelosi shot down that idea immediately when asked about it by reporters.

Here is what she said:

“Censure is a slap in the face of the Constitution. It lets everybody off the hook.”

“Oh, these cowardly senators who couldn’t face up to what the president did and what was at stake for our country are now going to have a chance to give a little slap on the wrist?” 

“We censure people for using stationery for the wrong purpose.” 

"We don’t censure people for inciting insurrection that kills people in the Capitol.”

Statues Of 11 Confederates Desecrate Our Capitol Bldg.

 The statue at left is of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy. The statue on the right is of Alexander Hamilton Stephens, the vice-president of the confederacy.

These statues are not in some history museum. They are in the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

They are among 11 statues of Confederate officials and soldiers that are desecrating the U.S. Capitol.

I know there are those who claim they represent our heritage, but what heritage? Do we really want to glorify a heritage of hate and racism. These men fought to. keep slavery legal. They believed in the supremacy of Whites. There is no doubt of this. It is in the constitutions of the states that made up the Confederacy.

And they were traitors. They actively worked against the United States of America. These 11 men should not be honored. They should be vilified.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has asked that the statues be removed from the Capitol building. States could replace them with real American heroes (each state donates two statues to be exhibited in the Capitol). She is right! The statues symbolize the racism that is too prevalent in this country. They must go!

Here, from KIRO7.com, is a list of the 11 states that should be removed:

Jefferson Davis, statue donated by Mississippi: Davis, who owned a cotton plantation in Mississippi before the Civil War, was the president of the Confederate States of America during the war.

James Zachariah George, statue donated by Mississippi: George was a leader in the state during Reconstruction and was a staunch white supremacist. Called the “Great Commoner,” George was a lawyer and a member of the Mississippi Secession Convention. He signed the state’s Secession Ordinance.

Wade Hampton, statue donated by South Carolina: Hampton was one of the largest slaveholders in the Southeast prior to the war. He fought for the Confederacy, reaching the rank of lieutenant general. After the war, he became the leader of the Redeemers, a political coalition that hoped to enforce white supremacy in all aspects of life. Hampton, a Democrat, was elected governor of South Carolina in a campaign that became known for its violence against black and Republican voters.  

John E. Kenna, statue donated by West Virginia: Kenna was 16 years old when he fought for the Confederacy. He was wounded, and when he returned home, he dedicated himself to becoming a lawyer. He was a prosecuting attorney and then a judge. Kenna, a Democrat, was elected to the U.S. House in 1876 and to the U.S. Senate in 1883. He died in office at age 44.

Robert E. Lee, statue donated by Virginia: Lee, a graduate of West Point, was the commander of the Confederate States Army. Lee married into one of the wealthiest slaveholding families in Virginia – the Custis family. Upon the death of his father-in-law, Lee was charged with managing Custis’ estate. He would eventually free Custis’ slaves, five years after Custis’ death, per the orders in his will. Lee also owned slaves.

Uriah Milton Rose, statue donated by Arkansas: Rose, an attorney, was a strong supporter of the Confederacy. He became chairman of the Resolutions Committee of the state Democratic Party, determined "to preserve 'white man’s” government in a “white man’s country.” He served as president of the American Bar Association. He helped found the Rose Law Firm, where Hilary Clinton was a partner.

Edmund Kirby Smith, statue donated by Florida: Smith was born into a wealthy slave-owning family in St. Augustine, Florida. After serving in the U.S. Army during the Mexican–American War, he joined the Confederate States Army to fight in the Civil War. Eventually, he would command the Trans-Mississippi Department after the fall of Vicksburg to Union forces. He was the last Confederate general to surrender after the end of the Civil War.

Alexander Hamilton Stephens, statue donated by Georgia: Stephens was a Confederate politician who served as the vice president of the Confederate States. He was a Democratic representative in the U.S. House and was the governor of Georgia from 1882 until his death in 1883.  

Zebulon Baird Vance, statue donated by North Carolina: Vance was a member of the Confederate military before being elected governor of North Carolina and the U.S. Senate. Vance favored the modernization of the Southern economy following the war.

Joseph Wheeler, statue donated by Alabama: Wheeler was a commander in the Confederate Army of Tennessee before he served as a general in the United States Army during both the Spanish–American War and Philippine–American War.

Edward Douglass White, statue donated by Louisiana: White was captured during the Civil War as he was fighting for the Confederacy. After the war, he was elected to the Louisiana state Senate and served on the Louisiana Supreme Court. A Democrat, White represented Louisiana in the United States Senate and was appointed an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. A few years later, President William Howard Taft appointed him chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Pelosi Replies To The Ridiculous White House Letter

Donald Trump has decided to go to war with the House of Representatives. White House attorneys sent a letter to the House accusing them of engaging in an illegitimate impeachment effort, and notifying them that he will not comply with any requests they have and will not allow any of his people to testify.

The first claim is absurd. The impeachment process is wholly the business of the House of Representatives, and the White House has nothing legitimate to say about it. The second statement is clearly an attempt to obstruct Congress (an impeachable offense).

Trump's letter was a sad and pathetic attempt to bully Congress. It won't work. Posted below is Speaker Nancy Pelosi's reply.

“For a while, the President has tried to normalize lawlessness.  Now, he is trying to make lawlessness a virtue.  The American people have already heard the President’s own words – ‘do us a favor, though.’  The President’s actions threaten our national security, violate our Constitution and undermine the integrity of our elections.  The White House letter is only the latest attempt to cover up his betrayal of our democracy, and to insist that the President is above the law.

“This letter is manifestly wrong, and is simply another unlawful attempt to hide the facts of the Trump Administration’s brazen efforts to pressure foreign powers to intervene in the 2020 elections.  Despite the White House’s stonewalling, we see a growing body of evidence that shows that President Trump abused his office and violated his oath to ‘protect, preserve and defend the Constitution.’ 

“The White House should be warned that continued efforts to hide the truth of the President’s abuse of power from the American people will be regarded as further evidence of obstruction.  

“Mr. President, you are not above the law.  You will be held accountable.”

Transcript Of Speaker Pelosi's Statement On Impeachment

It's On! The House of Representatives is officially starting impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump!

The tipping point for Speaker Pelosi and many moderate Democrats was the knowledge that Donald Trump broke campaign finance law by asking the leader of a foreign country (Ukraine) to help his 2020 campaign by investigation Joe Biden and his son for corruption (even though Ukrainian officials have dismissed the idea that such a thing was a reality).

This time, Trump can't claim ignorance. It has been discussed for many months now that it's illegal for a candidate to request or accept campaign help from any foreigner.

That won't be the only charge on impeachment though. House members have a plethora of charges they can consider -- including extortion (threatening Ukraine with withholding military aid if they don't comply with Trump's request), several charges of obstruction of justice with the Mueller investigation, and multiple charges of obstruction of Congress' right to oversight of the presidential administration. There could also be charges concerning violation of the Constitution's Emolument provision (that Trump is using the presidency for his own financial gain), and other possible financial misdeeds.

Here is the transcript of Speaker Pelosi's speech on starting official impeachment inquiry:

Last Tuesday, we had the anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution on September 17. 

Sadly on that day, the intelligence community inspector general formally notified the Congress that the administration was forbidding him from turning over a whistleblower complaint on Constitution Day. This is a violation of law. Shortly thereafter, press reports began to break of a phone call by the president of the United States calling upon a foreign power to intervene in his election. 

This is a breach of his constitutional responsibilities. The facts are these: The intelligence community inspector general, who is appointed by President Trump, determined that the complaint is both of urgent concern and credible. And its disclosure relates to one of the most significant and importance of director of national intelligence responsibility to the American people. 

On Thursday, the inspector general testified before the House Intelligence Committee stating that the acting director of national intelligence blocked him from disclosing the whistleblower complaint. This is a violation of law. The law is: The DNI, director of national intelligence, shall provide Congress the full whistleblower complaint. 

For more than 25 years, I served on the Intelligence Committee as a member, as the ranking member, as part of the Gang of Four even before I was in the leadership. I was there when we created the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. That did not exist before 2004. I was there even earlier when we wrote the whistleblower laws and continued to write them to improve them to ensure the security of our intelligence and the safety of our whistleblowers. 

I know what their purpose was, and we proceeded to balance and caution as we wrote the laws. 

I can say with authority that the Trump administration’s actions undermine both the national security and our intelligence and our protections of whistleblowers. The acting DNI will appear before the House Intelligence Committee and must turn over the full complaint to the committee. He will have to choose whether to break the law or honor his responsibility to the constitution. 

On the final day of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, when our Constitution was adopted, Americans gathered on the steps of Independence Hall to break the news the government our founders had crafted, “What do we have, a republic or monarchy?” [Benjamin] Franklin replied, “A Republic if you keep it.”

Our responsibility is to keep it. The wisdom of our Constitution enshrined in three co-equal branches of government serving as checks and balances on each other. The actions taken by the president have seriously violated the Constitution, when the president says “Article 2 says I can do whatever I want.”

For the past several months we have been investigating in our committees and litigating in the courts so the House can gather all the relevant facts and whether to exercise its Article 1 powers, including a constitutional power of the utmost gravity of articles of impeachment. 

And this week, the president has admitted to asking the president of Ukraine to take actions which would benefit him politically. The actions of the Trump presidency revealed dishonorable facts of betrayal of his oath of office and betrayal of our national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections. 

Therefore, today I’m announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry and directing our six committees to proceed with their investigation under that umbrella of impeachment inquiry. 

No one is above the law. 

Getting back to our founders, in the darkest days of the American Revolution, Thomas Paine wrote, “The times have found us.” The times found them to fight and establish our democracy. The times have found us today. Not to place ourselves in the same greatness as our founders but in protecting and defending our Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. In the words of Ben Franklin, “to keep our republic.” 

I thank our chairmen, Chairman Nadler, Chairman Schiff, Chairman Engel, Chairman Cummings of Oversight. Chairman Cummings and I have been in touch with [each other] constantly. He is a master of so much, including inspectors general and whistleblowers. Chairman Richard Neal, Congresswoman Maxine Waters of the Financial Services Committee. And I commend all of our members, our colleagues for their thoughtful, thoughtful approach to all of this for their careful statements. 

God bless them, and God bless America.

Infrastructure: Real Agreement Or Feel-Good Headlines?

(Photo of Pelosi and Schumer Talking to press about infrastructure "deal" is from MSNBC.)

The big headline news on the cable shows yesterday was about Trump meeting with Pelosi and Schumer and reaching an agreement to spend a little over $2 trillion on repairing and rebuilding this country's infrastructure.

The news was that Trump and the Democrats had reached an agreement -- an agreement that showed Trump could work with the Democrats he hated, and the Democrats could do good for the public while investigating Trump. It was a feel-good story that made everyone involved happy. It was also pure bullshit.

It was no achievement to agree that a couple of trillion dollars needs to be spend on this nation's infrastructure. Everybody in the country already knew that. That was the easy part.

Note that there is no infrastructure bill pending in Congress, or one awaiting Trump's signature. And there won't be one until the two sides agree on how to pay for that new $2 trillion in extra spending. We already have a record national debt that is growing larger by about a trillion dollars a year (thanks to the Trump/GOP tax cuts for the rich). neither side is going to be willing to tack another $2 trillion on that debt. So, how will it be paid for?

The Democrats will want to pay for much of it by taxing the rich more (either raising the taxes Trump lowered or inventing some new taxes for the rich. Trump is never going to agree to that. He's proud of the tax cuts he gave himself and his rich buddies -- and he's not about to agree to giving back even a penny.

Trump has already shown us how he will want to pay for it. He did that with the awful budget he proposed. He will want to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and abolish Obamacare. Then make massive cuts to every social program that actually helps ordinary and needy Americans. The Democrats will never agree to that.

There is no real agreement, and I wouldn't advise holding your breath until there is one. There is nothing but feel-good talk. Don't expect any real plan before the next election.

Pelosi And Schumer Issue Joint Statement On Barr Summary

Donald Trump is claiming the dubious Barr summary of Robert Mueller's report gives him a complete and total exoneration. That is ludicrous. I will not believe that until the entire Mueller Report is released.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also have their doubts.

Here is the joint statement they released on Barr's summary:

“Attorney General Barr’s letter raises as many questions as it answers.  The fact that Special Counsel Mueller’s report does not exonerate the president on a charge as serious as obstruction of justice demonstrates how urgent it is that the full report and underlying documentation be made public without any further delay.  Given Mr. Barr’s public record of bias against the Special Counsel’s inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report.

“And most obviously, for the president to say he is completely exonerated directly contradicts the words of Mr. Mueller and is not to be taken with any degree of credibility.

“Congress requires the full report and the underlying documents so that the Committees can proceed with their independent work, including oversight and legislating to address any issues the Mueller report may raise.  The American people have a right to know.”

Speaker Pelosi Is Right - It's Not Time For Impeachment (Yet)

There has been a lot of talk in the past few days about a remark Speaker Pelosi made about impeaching Donald Trump. Some on the left have been angered by her statement.

She told this to The Washington Post Magazine when asked about impeaching Donald Trump:

I’m not for impeachment. This is news. I’m going to give you some news right now because I haven’t said this to any press person before. But since you asked, and I’ve been thinking about this: Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country. And he’s just not worth it.

Would I like to see Trump impeached? YES! But Speaker Pelosi is right. It is not yet time to try and impeach Trump.

Right now, the effort would likely be doomed to failure. The Senate Republicans would back Trump and refuse to throw him out of office. And currently, not enough of the voting public supports impeachment.

The Mueller investigation has not been finished -- and we don't know what that investigation will have uncovered. In addition, the House committees have just started their investigations -- and those investigations will be even more far reaching than Mueller's. It only makes sense to see what all of these investigations uncover before trying to impeach Trump.

If these investigations turn up proof of enough corruption, there's a good chance that public opinion will change -- making impeachment the desire of a significant majority, and putting enormous pressure on Senate Republicans to vote their conscience instead of their party (as happened with Nixon).

I think also that Speaker Pelosi would prefer that the public took Trump out in the 2020 election. That would embarrass him more, and he wouldn't be able to whine "witch hunt". I agree. I would like to see Trump tossed out any way possible, but the best would be for the voters to toss him out. That would crush his narcissistic ego.

It's Another Win For Pelosi And Another Loss For Trump

(Chart on border walls is from The New York Times.)

The negotiations on funding the rest of the government has reached a deal. It is being touted as a compromise solution by both Republicans and Democrats, but the Democrats are just being nice. This is another huge win for Democrats, and another huge win for Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Trump lost the first showdown (the government shutdown) because he claimed credit for it. In doing that, he transferred all the power to Speaker Pelosi, and she used it to beat him badly. In the end, he had to agree to a continuing resolution that gave him nothing while a budget for the rest of the year was "negotiated".

He continued to threaten a government shutdown or declaring a national emergency, but those were baseless threats and both parties in Congress knew it. Trump again blew it -- this time by not participating in the negotiations. That put the power back with Speaker Pelosi. McConnell and Senate Republicans could not refuse to go along with Pelosi, because they would again be blamed (along with Trump) for shutting down the government.

The result was another Pelosi win. She threw Trump and the Republicans a bone by including $1.3 billion into the package for new wall. Trump had wanted $5.7 billion to start building the 1,000 miles of new wall that he wants. Pelosi gave him $1.3 billion, which will fund about 55 miles of wall (at a site in Texas to be determined by Border Patrol authorities). And the chance of getting any more wall money next year is nonexistent.

Trump is now expected to sign the new bill, without shutting down the government or declaring a national emergency. Instead, he is currently talking about using an executive order to shift funds from other areas of the government (like military construction spending) to build his wall. Will Pelosi push back, going to court to stop Trump from taking funds Congress passed for one function to do another? It wouldn't surprise me at all.

Through his own stupidity and incompetence, Trump has abdicated any power he had in dealing with Congress. That power now rests in the gavel of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. That's a good thing for this country.

Pelosi's Job Approval Is Highest Of Political Leaders

This poll is not going to make Donald Trump happy. While his job approval rating has dropped after the government shutdown fiasco, Speaker Nancy Pelosi's job approval has risen. In fact, her job approval is the highest of any of the political leaders in Washington -- Pelosi (42%), Trump (37%), Schumer (31%), McConnell (24%), and McCarthy (21%).

Speaker Pelosi is also the only one of these leaders that does not have a negative net approval rating (figured by subtracting disapproval from approval). While she has a net approval rating of 0, Trump's is negative 16, Schumer's is negative 11, McCarthy's is negative 10, and McConnell's is negative 21.

I think the public is happy that finally there is someone with the intelligence, power, and political know-how to stand up to Trump.

The chart above uses information in a new Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between January 27th and 29th of a national sample of 1,500 adults, with a 3.2 point margin of error.

Trump Caves - Will Open Government Without Wall Money

(This caricature of Donald Trump is by DonkeyHotey.)

Donald Trump had shut the government down because Congress had not given him any money to build a wall between the United States and Mexico. He said he would not reopen the government until Congress gave him at least $5.7 billion to start building the wall -- and his shutdown lasted for 35 days, about two weeks longer than any previous shutdown in U.S. history.

But the shutdown didn't work out as Trump expected. He found he was unable to bully Speaker Pelosi into giving him wall money (and Minority Leader Schumer stood solidly with Pelosi). The public blamed Trump for the shutdown, and his poll numbers started going down.

In the end, Trump caved in to the Democrats for the second time this week. The first was when he tried to force Speaker Pelosi into letting him give a State of the Union speech in the House without opening the government. Pelosi shot him down, and he backed off (saying her position was "reasonable"). Yesterday, Trump held a news conference in the White House Rose Garden and again caved. He said he would sign a measure that would open the government until February 15th, while Republicans and Democrats negotiated "border security".

He then spent most of his speech telling a massive number of lies to try and justify that border security including a wall. It's not going to happen. Pelosi (and Schumer) are NOT going to give him any money for a wall. They will agree to more money for border security. Trump will have to be happy with that.

He said if he doesn't get wall money by February 15th, there could be another government shutdown. I don't think he will do that. he was hurt too bad by this shutdown. He might try to declare an emergency and steal military funds and soldiers to try and build his wall without congressional approval. But I think the courts would quickly stop that.

The best Trump can hope for is to try and claim the extra border money is a victory for him. It's not. It's a surrender -- the biggest political loss of his administration. It's now Pelosi-2 and Trump-0. Expect Her to now run up that score.