Note to Tucker Carlson

After reading another vignette from Fox opinion host Tucker Carlson, I posted the following brief note on his website. Recognizing this note will do nothing more than make me feel better, I felt it important to remind him that there are groups of Republicans who do not hold the president in very high regard and do not want him to be reelected.

I am an independent and former GOP voter. I applaud the efforts of Republican Voters against Trump, Republicans for the Rule of Law and The Lincoln Project. With 152,000 American deaths due to COVID-19, the president’s misinformation troubles me still. Plus, he has added fuel to the fire on racial injustice when we need a leader to galvanize Americans. General James Mattis was correct when he said this president does not even try to unite us. And, that is unfortunate and sad. Joe Biden is not perfect, but he will work to unite us, which is what we sorely need at this point. Those are my two cents as a former Republican.

While I did not send the attached post published by Jill regarding an op-ed by Stuart Stevens, yet another Republican who is against Trump’s reelection, I think it supplements the message to Mr. Carlson.

The Voice Of Reason — From A Republican

He approves this message

Although we try to mute most campaign commercials, some do sneak through. When the president comes on at the end of a highly dubious commercial saying “I’m Donald Trump and I approve this message,” it really does not have the impact he thinks it might.

Now, Trump fanatics will trust his word as the gospel truth. Most people, though, do not feel that way. They realize the president has a hard time with that truth thing. The Washington Post has tracked more than 20,000 lies uttered or tweeted by the president.

So, when the president says he approves of this message, it really does not add gravatas. It actually makes you look closer. One commercial the president approves says Joe Biden supports the defunding of police. Yet, this claim was refuted in real time during an interview between Chris Wallace and the president.

We have serious concerns in our country and we need people in leadership positions to tell us the truth. That usually is the opposite of whatever the president or his sycophants say.

Some wealthy Republicans who benefit under Trump want him gone

Reuters News published an article called “The wealthy Republicans who want to oust Trump in November’s election” by Tim Reid that might be of interest. Here are a few excerpts, but the entire article can be accessed below:

“Jimmy Tosh, who runs a multi-million dollar hog and grain farm in Tennessee, is a lifelong Republican. He is pro-gun, supports lower taxes and agrees with most of Republican President Donald Trump’s agenda. He is also spending his money to help defeat Trump in November’s election.

‘I agree with 80% of the things he does; I just cannot stand a liar,’ Tosh, 70, said of Trump.

Tosh is one of a growing number of wealthy conservative Americans who say Trump is a threat to democracy and the long-term health of the Republican Party. They are actively supporting his Democratic opponent in the Nov. 3 vote, former Vice President Joe Biden.

Several billionaire and millionaire donors to The Lincoln Project, the most prominent of Republican-backed groups opposing Trump’s re-election, told Reuters that elected Republicans should also be punished for enabling him. Some even support the ouster of vulnerable Republican senators to hand control of the chamber to Democrats.

Their money has fueled an unprecedented campaign from members of a sitting president’s own party to oust him from office. This is a sign that Trump has alienated some Republicans, most recently with his response to the coronavirus pandemic and nationwide protests over police brutality against Black Americans.”

What is ironic about Tosh’s statement is he agrees with 80% of what Trump does, but still does not want to vote for him. What Trump has been able to do has helped wealthy people like Tosh through deregulation and a tax law change that favored the wealthy and corporations. Yet, Trump’s deceit, corruptive nature, racist bent and lack of decency are still major stumbling blocks. And, many of his economic changes have actually been detrimental to his fervent base – adding tariffs on trading partners, hindering health care, mishandling COVID-19 and allowing environmental degradation by larger companies, eg.

This voter group helping fund Trump’s opposition should be another alarm bell for Republicans. Trump is becoming an increasingly heavy anchor. It is not just Democrats and the media, who he paints as the enemy. It is not just an isolated Republican who Trump likes to dismiss as “a loser” to mask the message he or she is saying. In essence, Trump is attempting to tell his followers, don’t listen to these losers, rather debate the points they are making.

I encourage Republicans and conservative leaning Independents to pay attention to these groups (The Lincoln Project, Republicans for the Rule of Law and Republican Voters against Trump) and what they are saying. Pay attention to long-time historical conservative pundits like George Will, David Brooks, Michael Gerson, Erick Erickson, etc. who support Trump’s defeat. Pay attention to former staff like General James Mattis and John Bolton who have raised legitimate concerns.

But, most of all pay attention the the array of Inspectors General, whistleblowers, testifiers under oath who have been critical of the job the president is doing who got fired, reassigned or pushed out. Why? What were their concerns? These are important questions. Should a president be able to fire someone without due process from oversight committees in Congress? To me, the answer is a clear no. So, we should band together and push out this president in November.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-republicans-donors/the-wealthy-republicans-who-want-to-oust-trump-in-novembers-election-idUSKCN24P12Q

An alternate convention will go on – Republicans for a new president

An alternate Republican convention will be convening in Charlotte in a few months called “Republicans for a new president.” It has been organized by Evan McMullin, a former CIA officer who ran as an independent for president in 2016, who garnered enough votes in Utah to concern the president. Per The Charlotte Observer, “Organizers have said they’ll be ‘deliberating and ratifying a new vision for the future of Republican leadership and political renewal in America.'”

The convention is bringing together members of Republican led groups like The Lincoln Project, Republicans for the Rule of Law, Republicans for a new President and Republican Voters against Trump. Republican Shawn Lemmond, the former mayor of Matthews (near Charlotte) and two-time NC house member, said in the Observer, “‘What’s taken over our party is wrong. And, as a Republican, as a Christian, we simply cannot allow this man to be re-elected.'”

It should be noted that 100 former members of George W. Bush’s administration have coalesced around Joe Biden as an acceptable alternative to voting for Trump. Yet, per the Observer article, Trump’s support among Republicans and independents who lean Republican remains high at 78% per a Pew Research Center survey released this week. While high, it is down from a similar survey in March which showed such support at 85%. Our friend Jill has a post on “Some Republicans leaving the Trumptanic,” the link is below.

Lemmond said “‘I think there’s a fairly significant number of Republicans who are just disgusted with what they’re seeing out of Trump and his minions.'” Lemmond “rejects the ‘Trump cult’. He considers it ‘the biggest threat to the country since World War II and the party since Nixon.”

Then, we must layer on the voices of long time conservatives like pundits George Will, David Brooks, Michael Gerson, military leaders like General James Mattis, Lt. Colonel Ralph Peters, Admiral Williams McRaven, civil servants like John Bolton, Robert Reich and Republican campaign managers like Steve Schmidt, Rick Wilson who have each registered significant concerns over this president, his actions, his words and his lack of decency, empathy and competence.

I left the Republican party after twenty-five years as a member around 2008. I am fiscally conservative and socially progressive. We need to help people, but be able to pay for it, e.g. My main reasons for leaving are the head-in-the-sand stance on climate change, the unhealthy embrace with evangelicals and the NRA and, with the aid of Fox News’ talk show hosts, a tendency to make things up to fit the narrative. The division in our country started well before Trump, but he has used it and thrown gasoline on these fires.

I agree with these people that the GOP (and our country) needs to get back to better footing. We are retrenching from our global leadership role enabling an already predicted ascendant China. Our global reputation is well down, as we are not trusted with our untrustworthy president. A Pew survey earlier this year said 64% of Europeans do not trust the US president, trusting Vladimir Putin and Xi Jingpeng more. The global community is aghast at our botched handling of COVID-19 and Europe is now restricting travel from the US. A key requirement to addressing pandemics is tell people the truth, but this president naysayed it as a hoax as late as February 28 and continues to misinform to this day. Then, there is the racist bent of the president that has worsened racial tensions.

Joe Biden is not perfect, but he is decent person with a long history of collaboration. He will endeavor to bring us together rather than look for ways to divide us. And, for those who are falling for Trump’s narrative of rebuilding an economy he created, he inherited an economy that was in its 91st consecutive month of economic growth, with 5% unemployment, with two million plus jobs growth for six consecutive years and a more than doubled stock market under his predecessor. It continued for 38 months on his watch, which is good, but he did not create it. Before the recession, he helped make a pretty good economy a little better for a little while by borrowing from our future, but it fell back to similar growth numbers as before the election.

There are many quotes to choose from, but let me just leave you with what conservative David Brooks said. The president does not have a “sense of decency or empathy.” Joe Biden does. As an example, watch Biden console Meghan McCain before her father’s death on “The View.” That is a great window into Biden’s character and I could not envision Trump doing the same, regardless of who the father is.

Some Republicans Leaving The Trumptanic

From the mouth of Steve Schmidt, Republican presidential campaign manager

This is courtesy of a CNN article called “This is the most succinct — and brutal — Republican rejection of Donald Trump that you will ever read,” which transcribes Steve Schmidt’s comments. Schmidt is a lifelong Republican, who was the campaign manager for John McCain in 2008 and Lamar Alexander in 2000. He is one of the founding members of The Lincoln Project, which is organized to help defeat Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

“Donald Trump has been the worst president this country has ever had. And I don’t say that hyperbolically. He is. But he is a consequential president. And he has brought this country in three short years to a place of weakness that is simply unimaginable if you were pondering where we are today from the day where Barack Obama left office. And there were a lot of us on that day who were deeply skeptical and very worried about what a Trump presidency would be. But this is a moment of unparalleled national humiliation, of weakness.

“When you listen to the President, these are the musings of an imbecile. An idiot. And I don’t use those words to name call. I use them because they are the precise words of the English language to describe his behavior. His comportment. His actions. We’ve never seen a level of incompetence, a level of ineptitude so staggering on a daily basis by anybody in the history of the country whose ever been charged with substantial responsibilities.

“It’s just astonishing that this man is president of the United States. The man, the con man, from New York City. Many bankruptcies, failed businesses, a reality show, that branded him as something that he never was. A successful businessman. Well, he’s the President of the United States now, and the man who said he would make the country great again. And he’s brought death, suffering, and economic collapse on truly an epic scale. And let’s be clear. This isn’t happening in every country around the world. This place. Our place. Our home. Our country. The United States. We are the epicenter. We are the place where you’re the most likely to die from this disease. We’re the ones with the most shattered economy. And we are because of the fool that sits in the Oval Office behind the Resolute Desk.”

There is nothing to add or refute. Your comments are welcome.

Four conservative quotes worth noting

Three Republicans and one long time Republican who left the party have made very sober statements, with the last one being more of a stance. Let’s begin with General James Mattis, who served as Secretary of Defense under Donald Trump and resigned in December, 2018, with many Republicans pleading with him not to go. Note, former Chief of Staff, General John Kelly reinforced that Mattis was not asked to leave as mentioned in rebuttal by the president.

In an op-ed in The Atlantic, Mattis wrote “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.”

Next, we have the words of Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee who reinforces Mattis’ comments in an article in The Hill.

“I thought General Mattis’s words were true and honest and necessary and overdue… When I saw Gen. Mattis’s comments yesterday I felt like perhaps we’re getting to the point where we can be more honest with the concerns we might hold internally and have the courage of our convictions and speak up,” she told The Washington Post’s Paul Kane, who pooled the remarks and sent them to other Senate reporters. Asked if she could vote for Trump in the 2020 election, Murkowski admitted, “I am struggling with it. I have struggled with it for a long time.”

Next, from an editorial by venerable conservative columnist George Will, reported in a CNN article called “One of America’s most prominent conservative columnists wants Republicans to lose in 2020,” Will’s comments are very indicting, as well as colorful. Here are two select comments written by Will who left the Republican party.

“In life’s unforgiving arithmetic, we are the sum of our choices. Congressional Republicans have made theirs for more than 1,200 days. We cannot know all the measures necessary to restore the nation’s domestic health and international standing, but we know the first step: Senate Republicans must be routed, as condign punishment for their Vichyite collaboration, leaving the Republican remnant to wonder: Was it sensible to sacrifice dignity, such as it ever was, and to shed principles, if convictions so easily jettisoned could be dignified as principles, for … what?…

The measures necessary for restoration of national equilibrium are many and will be protracted far beyond his (Trump’s) removal. One such measure must be the removal of those in Congress who, unlike the sycophantic mediocrities who cosset him in the White House, will not disappear “magically,” as Eric Trump said the coronavirus would. Voters must dispatch his congressional enablers, especially the senators who still gambol around his (Trump’s) ankles with a canine hunger for petting.”

Finally, Senator Charles Grassley, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, has officially raised concern over the president’s firing of a couple of Inspectors Generals releasing a statement.

“Though the Constitution gives the president the authority to manage executive branch personnel, Congress has made it clear that should the president find reason to remove an inspector general, there ought to be a good reason for it. The White House’s response failed to address this requirement, which Congress clearly stated in statute and accompanying reports.”

Grassley announced he is blocking Trump’s nominations of Christopher Miller to head the National Counterterrorism Center and Marshall Billingslea to be the State Department’s undersecretary for arms control and international security, pending explanations by Trump for the firing of a number of Inspectors General. He said he will not allow consideration of Miller’s nomination to proceed until the White House provides answers on Trump’s firing in April of intelligence community inspector general Michael Atkinson. In addition, he said Billingslea’s nomination cannot proceed until Trump explains why he terminated State Department inspector general Steve Linick last month.

Political courage is too rare these days. I applaud these folks for speaking out. As an independent and former Republican voter, I am in agreement with their comments. I have been especially concerned by the firing of Inspectors Generals. If we were a publicly traded company, firing the auditors (or Inspectors General) would be flagged by the independent Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. It matters not who is in the White House. This should be a concern to all of us and I am grateful Grassley is raising the issue.

Please do not dismiss these four conservative voices as lone wolves. Groups like Republican Voters against Trump, Republicans for the Rule of Law and The Lincoln Project have all organized to advocate the defeat of the president and/ or hold him accountable. These are all Republican groups, not Democrats or Independents. The question to ponder is why would they do that? This is not fake news nor is it from people who some supporters would dismiss as Trump haters. These are sober voices who are saying what is needed to be said.

Please focus on the firing of the IGs and not Flynn (yet another plea to the Senate)

Please resist the temptation on our nickel to chase the president’s pipe dreams seeking to find something on Obama. This is an intended distraction. This independent and former Republican voter is far more concerned by the firing and attacks on Inspectors General. It matters not what party occupies the White House, we must have governance. If the US was a publicly traded company, the Board’s Audit Committee would be all over the CEO for firing auditors. We need the senate to ask many why questions of these firings. I would also include questions on why Dr. Rick Bright (who seemed very credible and earnest on ’60 Minutes’) was forced out.

I shared recently I support the efforts of The Lincoln Project and Republicans for the Rule of Law who see the corrupt and deceitful behavior of the president as a problem. Since that time I learned that a recent survey said 23% of Republicans would like another candidate and the two groups above will be running a “Never Trump” convention in Charlotte as well.

Obama was not perfect. No one is. He made mistakes, but this incumbent is seen by more than me as a concern. A Pew poll in Europe said 64% of those surveyed do not trust the US president, actually trusting Putin and Xi more. America is less trusted because our president is untrustworthy.

It saddens me to say this about the US president. If you truly disagree with what I have said, I would love to hear your arguments. Again, I encourage you to support Joe Biden for the sake of our democracy. He is a decent man and will attempt to restore bipartisanship. We desperately need a president who will bring us together.

PS – Trump was told DON”T HIRE MICHAEL FLYNN by Obama, Chris Christie (before he was fired as transition manager) and others on Trump’s staff. Trump owns the Flynn mess. And, we should be reminded Flynn did more than “admittedly” lie to the FBI. He conducted diplomacy with the Russians before he had the authority to do so (before Trump was sworn in). Yet, Trump and his sycophants have gotten out their white wash to rewrite history again, a favorite past time.

Letter to a Republican Senator

Senator, I hope you are staying safe in these challenging times. As a former Republican and Independent voter, I want to share with you I fully support the efforts of The Lincoln Project and Republicans for the Rule of Law. They see what I see in the incumbent president, a level of corruption and deceit that is harmful to our country, planet and even the Republican party.

If the president would listen to me, I would give him the following comment to digest. Mr. president, if you do not have anything of value to add, please refrain from talking. To me, he missed a golden chance to actually be presidential when he was briefed on the pandemic risk back in January. Instead of being the leader we needed, he whiffed at the ball on the tee and resorted to modus operandi of misinformation.

These Republicans have political courage. I applaud and support their efforts. Please know, when asked in a recent RNC survey, I sent in a similar response. Former VP Joe Biden is not perfect, but he is a decent man and will attempt to return us to a bipartisan way of governance which is sorely needed. I encourage you to support Biden to preserve our democracy.

Thank you for your service.

Tuesday’s gone with the wind – a few wisps to consider

One of my favorite Lynyrd Skynrd’s songs is the ballad “Tuesday’s gone with the wind.” Using that as a theme for a potpourri of topics, let me toss of few of them into the breeze and see where they might blow.

– One of the more provocative movie lines was uttered by a very young Lauren Bacall to her future real husband Humphrey Bogart in “To have and have not.” She said “Steve, you know how to whistle don’t you? You just put your lips together and blow.”

– Chicago is known as the “Windy City,” but that is not due to the cold wind that blows in from Lake Michigan. It is due to blowhard politicians. Right now, we have the windiest of people in the White House. If I could say one thing to him that might have a chance of being heard, it would be “Mr. president, if you can’t add any value, please stop talking.”

– Speaking of wind, former Arizona Senator John Kyl was caught in a lie by a reporter. His response, “It is your fault for mistaking my words as the truth.” Again, that is yet another reason not to believe a word the president says.

– Peter, Paul and Mary do justice to Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the wind.” They sang it in on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial when Martin Luther King uttered his famous “I have a dream” speech. Dylan’s words echo with his important chorus as he searches for solutions to obvious pain and suffering. “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind. The answer is blowin’ in the wind.”

– Speaking of that famous MLK speech. The marvelous gospel singer Mahalia Jackson is the reason he gave it that day. She had heard him give it before, but MLK had not planned to give that speech. Sensing early on that the words MLK began with were falling flat, she shouted from behind MLK to “tell them about the dream, Martin.” MLK then went off script to say his resounding words.

– Lincoln’s name speaks loudly these days for more than obvious reasons. The Emancipation Proclamation and constitutional amendment to free the slaves are well known. Yet, he is also remembered for putting enemies of his on his cabinet. Think about that. He wanted to keep them close, but he also wanted to hear from them on dissenting views. I think of that as we have a president who has filled and refilled his cabinet with people whose loyalty is more important than competency. To me, this is a key reason a group of Republicans who favor the defeat of Donald Trump have called themselves “The Lincoln Project.”

Invoking “Blowin’ in the wind” one more time. We have many challenges facing our country and planet. Yet, one of the answers is being advocated by The Lincoln Project. That answer blowin’ in the wind is the defeat of Donald Trump in November.

A simple message for GOP Senators

I received yet another survey from the Republican National Committee. This is probably the tenth time the RNC has sent me one. These are really fundraising requests disguised as surveys.

As an independent and former Republican, I completed this one and gave them four simple points to consider under a banner, “Please Read.”

– I fully support the efforts of The Lincoln Project and Republicans for the Rule of Law.
– The president is the most corrupt and deceitful president in my lifetime, including Richard Nixon.
– The president is a clear and present danger to our country, our planet and the Republican Party
– What will you have to defend next week, next month and the month after that?

These are simple, but candid messages. You might find the middle two a little strong, but I believe them to be true. Yet, I believe sending out the first and last one to GOP legislators would send a direct message. They need to hear from people that supporting this person is not in our or their best interests.