And, the beat goes on – more Republican defections

I have written several pieces about the groups of and individual Republicans who have come out against Donald Trump in support of Joe Biden. The Lincoln Project, Republicans for the Rule of Law, and Republican Voters against Trump are a key few.

Per a CNN report by Chris Cillizza called “There’s a historic insurrection against Donald Trump happening within the GOP,” the following few paragraphs reveal a few more Republican voices are speaking out. The full article can be linked to below.

“The latest sign came Sunday, when former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge penned an op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer making clear his intent to vote for former Vice President Joe Biden over President Donald Trump in November.

‘He lacks the empathy, integrity, intellect and maturity to lead,’ Ridge, who also served as the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in the Bush administration, wrote of Trump.

Ridge joins fellow Bush Cabinet secretaries Christine Todd Whitman (EPA), Ann Veneman (Agriculture), Carlos Gutierrez (Commerce) and Colin Powell (State) as Biden endorsers. Ray LaHood, a former Republican congressman from Illinois, and Chuck Hagel, the former Nebraska Republican senator, both of whom served in the Obama Cabinet, have also backed Biden.

And that’s just Republicans who served in a presidential Cabinet! There are a slew of other prominent GOP elected officials — from former Ohio Gov. John Kasich to former California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman to 2016 presidential candidate Carly Fiorina to former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder — who are on record as either planning to vote for Biden or leaning in that direction.

Then there are the staffers. That group includes the former chiefs of staff at the Department of Education and Department of Homeland Security in the Trump administration! More than 70 national security officials from various Republican administrations are backing Biden. As are more than 150 alums of the George W. Bush White House.”

The incumbent and his supporters downplay these Republican voices. The president, of course, labels these critics as “losers” a favorite name calling rebuttal. I read a piece from a Trump supporting pundit who dismissed these folks as being played up by Democrats.

Yet, neither the president or pundit have addressed why these folks are risking backlash from a vindictive person. The same “why” question can be asked of the president’s firing or transferring of the inspectors general who were critical and folks who testified under oath over concerns about the president’s actions

Why indeed?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/there-s-a-historic-insurrection-against-donald-trump-happening-within-the-gop/ar-BB19vw1b?ocid=msedgdhp

A sad party run by sad people

As a fiscal conservative and social progressive, I left the Republican Party about twelve years ago. My main reasons for becoming an independent were the Republican stance on climate change, an unhealthy focus on evangelicals and guns, and a tendency to make things up. These reasons still exist twelve years later.

The Grand Old Party is no longer grand and it really is no longer Republican. At the recent RNC convention, they did not vote on a platform, so as one reporter said, “the platform is whatever Donald Trump says it is.” In and of itself, this is the final takedown of the old flag and raising of the new Trump Party banner.

Further, evidence of the dissolution, is an Alternate Republican convention was held the same week. This convention brought together several groups of Republicans bent on the defeat of Trump in November. They include The Lincoln Project, Republicans for the Rule of Law, and Republican Voters against Trump. Two additional groups of former Republican governors and intelligence leaders have also come out against Trump.

The Trump Party is a sad group led by sad people. Here are a few things that seem to be the major tenets in of the Trump Party:

– Truth, decency and empathy are not valued
– Protecting Americans against the COVID-19 pandemic is less important than winning the election. Not informing Americans of known risks is inexcusable.
– Civil rights of non-whites is less important and protestors of all races seeking equality for blacks are “thugs.”
– Soldiers who fight for America are “losers” and “suckers” and if captured, not heroes. It is OK that a country can put bounties on our soldiers without pushback.
– Using the presidency for profit is acceptable and it is OK to extort and use other countries for personal gain.
– Any Inspectors General, whistleblowers or those who testify under oath over legitimate concerns about wrongdoing can be removed without questions.
– Finally, it is OK to say absolutely anything to further the cause. It is OK to malign the voting process without doing a darn thing to make it secure. It is OK to blame any person or group for things that are caused by the president. It is OK to name call any critic. Trump called two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Bob Woodward a “wack job,” but it was the president’s own words that are causing the furor.

These words make me sad for our country. It makes me more sad to know sycophants, rationalizers, and enablers have allowed this to happen. Names like McConnell, Graham, Cotton, Johnson, Nunes, Cruz, Jordan, McCarthy, Meadows, Miller, Kushner, et al should be remembered along with the Trump name as people who led to the demise of the Republican Party, our democracy and our planet. If this corrupt and deceitful person wins again, America will move even more toward an autocracy run by a sad person.

When you hear the word conspiracy…

When you hear the word conspiracy, do yourself a favor and dig further. When such a word is uttered by someone known for his lack of credibility, do not believe him and dig even further.

It is amazing to say this about the person who has arguably the best intelligence staff briefing him, but the president of the United States chooses to parrot conspiracy theories rather than stick with the facts. His five biographers and a sixth author who ghost wrote “The Art of the Deal” for Trump have all noted the president has a problem with the truth.

What has troubled me in the last two days is two GOP Senators (Rand Paul and Joni Ernst) have uttered Trump-like conspiracy theories. I won’t do justice to their comments by repeating them, but it is truly disheartening.

It is bad enough that GOP Senators remain silent when the president verbally or physically abuses the office. It is even worse when they rationalize his comments or behavior.

But, when United States’ Senators parrot Trump-like conspiracy BS, that is a “bridge too far.” Disheartening is a word I used above, but it is more than that. It is embarassing that a Senator would pattern their behavior after the worst toddler. Senators, I will say to you what I have written about the president – if you cannot add value, please stop talking.

Fauci speaks volumes in a few words

The modus operandi of the incumbent president is simple – say whatever is necessary to make himself look good, when the storyline no longer works, change the narrative, and blame others for failures and take credit for any successes. Perception matters more than reality, so actually solving problems is secondary to looking good.

In the past few weeks, with 67% of Americans not approving Trump’s handling of COVID-19, he has blamed the doctors who advise us, in particular, Dr. Anthony Fauci. His sycophants have joined him. Advisor Peter Navarro wrote a hatchet job on Fauci, but the push back was so severe, even the president did a little backstroke.

Yesterday, Dr, Fauci offered the correct response. The title of an article in Reuters, along with the first paragraph are all that is needed:

“Dr. Fauci: ‘Let’s stop this nonsense’ and fight the virus

Top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci called the White House effort to discredit him “bizarre” and urged an end to the divisiveness over the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

To be frank, the US has a rudderless ship on the COVID-19 handling. Back in January and even early February, after being briefed several times by US intelligence leaders about the risks of the pandenmic, the president made a choice. Instead of being presidential forewarning us and planning ahead, he chose to naysay and misinform us about COVID-19.

In short, the ball was on the tee to lead us and the president whiffed. And, the misinformation continues to this day. Last night, on PBS Newshour, a report on the success of San Francisco’s China Town in keeping a lid on the virus was noted. The hospital and community leadership began planning the first week of February communicating needed preventive actions.

And, it has been successful. China Town leaders heeded mission one in a pandemic – tell people the truth. Pandemic or not, the truth is a commodity to the president. In short, taking the president at his word is a fool’s errand.

Doublespeak – Donald and his disciples

Donald Trump’s latest press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, said in her first press conference she would not lie to us. She then proceeded to emulate her boss’ untruthfulness. Last week, she said the US is the envy of the world in how we have handled COVID-19. That is not in the ballpark of being correct. That is doublespeak.

Per Wikipedia, doublespeak “is language that deliberately obscures, disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words. Doublespeak may take the form of euphemisms, in which case it is primarily meant to make the truth sound more palatable. It may also refer to intentional ambiguity in language or to actual inversions of meaning.”

“The term ‘doublespeak’ originates in George Orwell’s book ‘1984’ (Nineteen Eighty-Four). Although the term is not used in the book, it is a close relative of two of the book’s central concepts, ‘doublethink’ and ‘Newspeak’. Another variant, ‘doubletalk’, also referring to deliberately ambiguous speech, did exist at the time Orwell wrote his book.”

Back to McEnany’s statement, the US has less than 5% of the global population, but 24% of the global COVID-19 deaths. Americans are restricted in traveling to many countries as the world is appalled at our mishandling of the pandemic. Doublespeak.

The president has misinformed us from the get go, but he is now playing Pollyanna saying it will go away soon and is not that bad. That is doublespeak. He finally wore a mask at Walter Reed Hospital to see veterans, but disdained its use, except for one brief part of a factory tour. Failing to wear a mask is its own form of doublespeak.

An ABC/ ISPOs poll said 67% of Americans disapprove of his handling of COVID-19. 67% also disapprove of his handling of the racial injustice issues. He has demeaned Black Lives Matter, he has looked past the many diverse peaceful protests to highlight the few more violent ones, and he has used code words to demean Black protestors. Adding to previous racial remarks, he has fanned the flames of division through his doublespeak.

Now, he is trying to re-litigate the Mueller and Ukraine investigations as he fires or forces out public servants who testified under oath at great risk over their concerns, as well as commuting the sentence of Roger Stone and having his Attorney General whitewash Michael Flynn’s case after he pleaded guilty to lying twice. This is doublespeak.

Robert Mueller penned an op-ed that everyone should read. He reiterates what they uncovered and the guilt of Stone and the others. The Attorney General cannot whitewash Mueller’s op-ed like he did with The Mueller Report.

This president will be remembered for his corruption, deceit and denigration of the media, hard-working civil servants, the law, our allied relationships and American ideals. And, it is greatly disappointing that so many Senators, Congresspeople and staff have contributed to and abetted his doublespeak.

Doublespeak is not new to Trump. Five Trump biographers noted before the election Trump has a problem with the truth. A simple example is how he got his money. He has boasted he got a $1 million loan from his father. An analysis by financial reporters, published in The New York Times in the fall 2018, noted his father transferred over $400 million in various ways before he died to his son to avoid taxes. Doublespeak.

Finally, he boasts he built the economy, yet the truth is he continued it. When he was sworn in, we were in the 91st consecutive month of economic growth. It went on for another 38 months before the recession. So, taking full credit for the economy is Doublespeak.

When a known liar calls someone else a liar

Call me a crazy, but I have a few stupid questions.

– When a known liar calls someone else a liar, whom should you believe?

– When a known liar says everyone is against him, including the media, the deep state, and those who just don’t like him, whom should you believe?

– When a known liar has to consistently adjust his story or tell you what has been recorded was never said, whom should you believe?

– When a known liar consistently says things without factual basis, to the extent the media is obligated to report it as such, whom should you believe?

– When a known liar parrots conspiracy stories that come from highly dubious sources, then echoes them as a true, when other sources repeat what he said, whom should you believe?

– When a known liar, whose history includes suing people and entities or sending cease and desist letters under the threat of lawsuit when they have unflattering information, sues to stop the release of a book being published, whom should you believe?

This person has said the author of an unflattering book “is a liar.” Yet, this author corroborates sworn testimony by very reputable diplomats under oath, who testified at a great risk. This author added the sworn testimony and impeachment hearings did not go far enough, as the same modus operandi was used with other countries.

Whom should you believe? The person whose fixer attorney called “a racist, a con-artist, and a cheat” under oath or the one whose book that person does not want you to read?

Historical conservative George Will calls for a Republican defeat

In an effort to illustrate that it is not just Democrats and Independents who want Trump defeated, I have highlighted various Republican groups who have organized with a purpose to advocate for his defeat. The latest group is Republican Voters against Trump.

Yesterday, a famous conservative voice, George Will, has gone beyond just calling for Trump’s defeat. In an article called “One of America’s most prominent conservative columnists wants Republicans to lose in 2020,” by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large, Will’s comments are very indicting, as well as colorful. Here are two select comments written by Will:

“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? Praying people should pray, and all others should hope: May I never crave anything as much as these people crave membership in the world’s most risible deliberative body.”

“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.”

I feel these comments are powerful indictments of Republican legislators. I fully agree with Will’s sentiments. These legislators have rationalized the worst of behaviors by the president. And, other conservative voices like David Brooks, Michael Gerson, Eric Erickson, etc. have been equally vocal about Trump’s needed demise. If you want to read more, click on the link below for the full article.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/one-of-americas-most-prominent-conservative-columnists-wants-republicans-to-lose-in-2020/ar-BB14VvB0?ocid=spartanntp

Bare Naked Ladies song has a line for the US president

In two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Bob Woodward’s book “Fear” which is based on 750 hours of interviews with White House staff, the impetuous and impulsive nature of the president is well documented. This nature is echoed in other books and by White House reporters.

History reveals this flaw of the president’s as he often changes his mind, sometimes within the hour or the next day. There are examples when he has refuted his first argument by the end of one of his stream-of-consciousness rants.

There is a line from the song “One Week” by Bare Naked Ladies that seems apropos to this president. It appears twice (although the second line varies some) in the song about a couple fighting and the motions they go through before they make-up. Many people call the song “Two weeks” as a line says it is “still two weeks til we say we’re sorry.”

The song line that reminds me of the impetuous and impulsive president is:

“I have the tendancy to wear my mind on my sleeve
I have a history of losing my shirt”

The examples are in the hundreds, but he did it again at the end of last week. On Thursday, he talked about a plan to reopen the economy, spoke respectfully (as much as he can) of governors, and came a little closer to being presidential, whether you agreed with his policy or not.

By the next day, he leaped on the extreme members of his tribe who were protesting the shelter-in-place laws in various states encouraging them. Some noted he is fomenting a rebellious attitude. So, he took a step forward up the slide and then slipped back down. Trying to walk up a slide to leadership, then sliding back down, is a good metaphor for the president.

The book “Fear” speaks of the advantage of being the last person to speak with Trump about an issue. If done in a flattering way, he will respond better and could be led down the path you want. He is also keen on parroting what he sees on the opinion shows on Fox News, sometimes within minutes. In the above example, since he thinks first of making himself look good, he seized on the rebellious folks as a good storyline.

Many things trouble me about this president. He wants to come across as a leader, but the idea of him actually acting liking a leader is not second nature to him. He could have been more like the leader we need in January and February by speaking candidly with Americans about the pandemic risk and setting in motion some planning efforts. Instead, he returned to form and lied. Lying is second nature to Donald J. Trump, leadership is not.

What I have witnessed about Trump, is his underlying nature will not change. His actions will change if the press or optics are poor and he cannot alter them. He cannot alter people getting sick and dying. So, his “new shirt” has him saying he never said the things he did and it is WHO and China’s fault. Yes, the latter could have done better. But, so could you, Mr. Trump. So, could his sycophants who keep giving him clean shirts with white-washed messages.

Listen to the truthtellers

We need to listen to the truthtellers on the COVID-19 pandemic. They are the ones who deliver facts, seek more data and don’t pat themselves on the back. They will also say we don’t know yet, more often than the back-patters.

An ER nurse earlier in the werk said what has surprised her is the number of people between ages 25 and 54 that are coming in with the virus. Last night, PBS (or it may have been ABC) reported that younger folks who have diabetes (or pre-diabetes) or asthma are at higher risk. So, everyone is at risk to some extent.

We are behind where we need to be due to both the naysaying (calling it a hoax) from the White House and sheepish other politicians, the elimination of the Global Pandemic group in 2018 and the elimination of some US CDC epidemiologists in China in 2019. We are doing things now that should have been planned back in January. The legislators were forewarned by National Security folks, so the pandemic risk was known.

Even still, too many have parroted the president’s early naysaying (which lasted to the end of February) and more have gotten sick or died, even a few parroters. This echo effect is what is dangerous given the misinformation which continues to today.

David Brooks, the conservative pundit, called the “inconstancy” of the president on these issues as a major risk. He cited the president’s downplaying of needed ventilators one hour and issuing an emergency declaration for more ventilators the next. He tends to react to remedy any bad press rather than plan ahead.

I heard yesterday, NPR and other news outlets are not broadcasting the White House press conferences wall-to-wall” due to the misinformation from the president. They do report on what the truthtellers are saying, as good information is discussed. But are they are not covering the president’s talking points live.

So, folks young and older need to listen to the doctors and truthtellers. Their lives may depend on it.

Sidebar: If one of your friends, colleagues, relatives, bosses or other co-workers routinely bragged on what a great job they were doing, what would you reaction be? If the boss’ direct reports bragged on the boss on a routine basis, again what would your reaction be? The same question should be asked when it happens at the uppermost leadership levels in our country.