Have You No Shame?

During the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings, Senator Joe McCarthy (R) was finally stopped by the question of Joseph Welch, attorney for the Army.  Welch said, “At long last, sir, have you left no sense of decency?”  The quote is often paraphrased as, “Have you no shame?”

After watching the actions of Congressional Republicans since Trump took office, but especially since the whistle-blower complaint, the White House release of a “reconstructed” transcript of Trump’s Ukraine phone call, and the many corroborating witnesses both regarding the call itself but more importantly about Trump’s insistence that the Ukraine commit to investigating Hunter Biden as a condition to releasing security aid funds that had been allocated by Congress, I would say to them, “Sirs, have you left no shame?”

Congressmen and Senators take an oath of office in which they commit to supporting and defending the Constitution.  Their oath is not to defend the President, their political party, or anything else.  They represent many constituencies but their oath is simply to support and defend the Constitution.

Since Trump’s takeover of the Republican Party through the fervent loyalty of his base, Republicans in Congress have become a craven lot, except on foreign policy matters.  How have they conducted themselves during the questioning of Trump’s abuse of office?  Have they defended the Constitution?

The Constitution prohibits government officials from receiving anything of value from foreign governments without the consent of Congress.  Knowingly receiving the value of Russian interference in the 2016 election would be a violation of this clause and was thus a key part of the Mueller investigation.  Receiving election aid in the form of Ukraine investigations of political rivals would also be an example of receiving something of value.  The obstructing justice charges don’t concern this Constitutional clause but concern a violation of Federal law and thus would be impeachable.

Already with the Mueller Report, despite all the evidence of Russian contact and knowledge that Russia was interfering in the election (including his infamous public request to the Russians to find Clinton’s missing emails and publish them) and of obstruction of justice, they supported Trump’s view that he had been shown to do no wrong, and that by not indicting him, Mueller had exonerated him.  

Never mind that’s not what the report said, that’s how Trump and they interpreted it, aided and abetted by A.G. Barr’s summary.  Just recently, we learned that testimony at the trial of Roger Stone showed that Trump spoke directly to Stone during the campaign about WikiLeaks possible disclosure of Democratic emails obtained by Russia, despite his having said in written testimony that he remembered no such conversation.  If not legal collusion, this certainly smells like an impeachable offense.

Regarding the June telephone call with the President of the Ukraine, despite the background and Trump explicitly asking for a favor,  they still say Trump did no wrong.  When Lt Col. Vindman who was on the call and thus had direct knowledge said that the “transcript” omitted an important reference to the Bidens and other desired investigations, they cast aspersions on him and discounted his testimony.

When one career diplomat after another came forward and testified under oath that the President was holding foreign policy hostage to personal political gain, their response has been that this is all hearsay.  No one heard this from the mouth of the President.  

The last statement is true, but when you have so much evidence regarding the President’s policy from various sources and stemming largely from his own personal lawyer, Giuliani, the evidence cannot be simply disregarded because it is hearsay.  Especially when those with direct knowledge of the President’s position have been prevented from testifying by the President’s edict.  And few with direct knowledge who have testified, such as Lt. Col. Vindman, have been vilified.

Republicans point to the fact that the President told several people that there was no quid pro quo.  Given that this President lies constantly, even when there’s something real at risk, his statements clearly cannot be accepted at face value.

Except for a single utterance by Senator Romney regarding this matter, no Republican has even ventured tentative support for the idea that perhaps this might be an impeachable offense and should be looked into.  The one representative who did reversed himself when it came to a vote in the House.

Senators and Representatives fume about Trump’s foreign policy actions in the Middle East, how harmful they are to the country’s interests.   Here they stand up to Trump.  But since they otherwise approve of his policies, they apparently see no “duty to country” reason for opposing him.  

They don’t see that a man like Trump at the helm of this country is dangerous.  And that he has over and over again abused the power of his office.  He has even clearly stated that the Constitution lets him “do whatever he wants,” and he referred to the Constitution’s “phony” emoluments clause.

Why does Trump have such power over members of the House and especially the Senate, whose members are traditionally more independent?  Because they all want to be reelected … that is clearly their main imperative, not service to the country … and his control over the party’s base is so solid that they dare not buck him or else they know they’ll find themselves with a primary challenger to Trump’s liking.

The Need for Mass Outrage, Civil Disobedience

There was an opinion piece in The New York Times recently that criticized President Obama for wagging his finger at the younger generation who get off on being judgmental and insist on purity.  “That’s not activism.  That’s not bringing about change,  If all you’re doing is casting stones, that probably won’t get you far.”  The opinion writer was very offended and criticized the older generation’s way of doing things.  She embraced the power of social media.

This is a hard one. We, young and old liberals/progressives, want to effect change. That's the bottom line. The question is how best to get there. 

There are situations where a zero tolerance approach is appropriate, where we should express our outrage, en masse. In the street, not just on your screen.  Sometimes, enough people expressing outrage can by its own power effect change, either by toppling those in power or having those in power accept change. 

More frequently though, the world is so complex and resistance to change so strong that even masses expressing outrage in public protest will not in and of itself effect change. But that mass expression of outrage is still important, for only then can people with access to power follow up by arguing for change, at least incremental. 

Indeed, I would argue that we need more mass expressions of outrage, such as we had against the Vietnam War.  And it can’t be just once and done.  There must be an extended series of protests.  Those in power must see that the opposition has staying power; that they haven’t spent all their energy on one demonstration and then it’s back to business as unusual.

Now when it comes to negotiating with those in power, you have the best chance of success when they don’t have their backs up.  The problem with many young progressives and some older ones too is that they don't just state the facts, they don’t just argue, they bully and are full of hatred. 

That is not the way to influence people. A good example of this is Rep. Ilhan Omar. I agree with much of what she says, but as I've said in previous posts, she often says it in a way which is counter-productive. She is her own worst enemy, in terms of being effectual. 

Obama's point was not to castigate those who argue for change. His point was that one needs to do so in a way that will effectuate change. Sometimes, perhaps often, that will require compromise. And that should not be a dirty word. You do not sell out if you compromise. Rather, if you insist on purity, you will almost never effect change and thus truly betray your cause.

Republican Flimflammery

Not surprisingly Republicans have put on their witness wish list Hunter Biden.  But his testimony is irrelevant to the issue at hand … whether Trump is guilty of abusing his power.

Even if Biden was guilty of conspiracy, that would have no bearing on whether Trump committed an impeachable offense by withholding foreign aid unless the Ukraine investigated a political opponent, Biden.

And so the witness request should be denied, for this clearly stated reason.  If Republicans really want to pursue the matter, they should refer it to the Justice Department, which is the appropriate forum.

OMG, Could Republicans Not Care About Abuse of Power?

I just had a startling thought.  I have always thought that the reason why most Republicans in Congress were dismissive of the Democrat’s push for impeachment was that they just didn’t think there was iron-clad proof of Trump’s abuse of office and obstruction of justice.  No matter how clear it seemed, they just wished away the facts.

But I just thought, what if it isn’t a matter of proof.  What if they don’t feel that any of the actions Trump is accused of, even if proven beyond a doubt, would constitute an abuse of power, an impeachable offense?  What if they felt that even if Trump was using foreign policy for personal political gain, even if there was a quid pro quo, that that would be ok.  As Trump has said, he did nothing wrong.  What if they felt that even if Trump was obstructing the justice process, since he claimed he did nothing wrong, he didn’t have the mental state of obstructing “justice.”

If that’s true, then besides fearing the wrath of Trump and his base, they feel the impeachment process is a sham because they don’t think the actions Trump is accused of rise to the level of an impeachable offense.  If that were true, that would explain why no Republican voted in favor of the public impeachment inquiry resolution in the House, despite satisfying all their demands:  open hearings, the right to subpoena witnesses, and due process for Trump.  Forget about making any comparison to the charges against Clinton; reason here would have no value.

If that is the case, then there is no hope of getting more than a handful of Republicans to vote for impeachment, and other than Romney, no Senator will vote to convict.  It will end up appearing to Trump loyalists, and probably most Republicans, as a partisan effort.  This would be very bad for the country, for our democracy.  Trump has been saying that the Democrats are just trying to undo the results of the 2016 election, to thwart the will of the people, and that is precisely how it will appear to many.

If that’s the case, Nancy Pelosi was right about not wanting to move forward with impeachment.  

It is now really up to the American people.  They must call and write their Republican representatives and say that they are disappointed if not outraged that they wouldn’t even endorse a public and fair inquiry into these serious allegations.  For the good of this country, this cannot remain a partisan matter.

How to Move Republicans on Impeachment

As  the evidence mounts regarding Trump's abuse of office, the big question isn’t whether Trump has committed impeachable offenses, the record is clear on that, and will become even clearer and inescapable in the upcoming hearings.  The question is how many Republicans in the House will vote to impeach.

On the vote to authorize the impeachment inquiry today, not one Republican, not even those on the three committees that have been investigating, not even Francis Rooney who had said he was open to impeachment, voted to authorize the impeachment inquiry.  To do otherwise would have invoked the wrath of Trump which they clearly don't have the guts to do.

But looking down the road, how can Republicans be moved to vote, yes, on impeaching Trump?  Certainly, it is critical that the hearings be as fair and open as possible.  The process should provide Republicans with no cover whatsoever.  

Also, if the public sees the hearings as being very fair, then Republicans outside of Trump’s solid core base will lean more towards impeachment.  Emboldening more Republicans to vote yes.  

Hearing from the public will be of critical importance to Republicans on this issue, just as it was on Obamacare.  Even after today's vote, it is critical that Republican reps be called or written regarding people's outrage that they would not even vote to authorize public hearings, given the safeguards for due process that were built into the resolution.

Finally, while keeping their prospects for reelection out of the equation is not realistic, their oath of office and civic duty must be called upon.  That can only come effectively from fellow Republicans.  To date, the sole Republican standing up for his country and justice is Mitt Romney.

Regarding the subpoena power, one thing that Democrats cannot allow is for Republicans to muddy the focus of the hearings by questioning whether Biden or his son did something improper.  That is irrelevant.  

Even assuming for arguments’ sake that they did, that does not change the fact that Trump used foreign policy for his own political gain.  If they charge the Democrats with protecting Biden from corruption charges, Republicans should be directed to the Justice Department which I’m sure would be happy to look into those allegations, if they aren’t already.  That is also the proper forum.

Enabling China’s Totalitarian Government

Mighty American companies, one after the other, bow down and sell their soul to China in exchange for a fistful of dollars.  The latest being the NBA’s acquiescence to China’s demands as noted in The New York Times, “American Basketball,”  October 13.

How sad it is that American companies are so hungry for ever greater profits from ever greater sales that they will sacrifice their principles in order to please the Chinese Communist government and thus have access to the huge Chinese market.  

The Chinese government is not evil on the scale of Nazi Germany or Stalin’s Russia or Mao’s Cultural Revolution.  But they are every much as totalitarian.  Anyone in China who dares to buck the Chinese government is treated like a criminal and taken into custody by the government with no rights.  

The fate of a democracy activist, or a religious activist, or a persecuted minority such as the Uighurs, is not that different in today’s China from what it was in fascist Germany or Russia.  They perhaps don’t fear death, but imprisonment at will is the norm.

Our opening up to China has in retrospect been a huge mistake.  We thought that exposure to Western products and ideas and increased prosperity would slowly bring a soft revolution in China; that people would demand not just economic freedom but political freedom.  

But while China has embraced a type of capitalism, our role in the economic transformation of China has created a monster that threatens our economy and our geo-political interests around the world.  American companies and farmers have become enablers of China’s totalitarian government.

It is past time to rethink our engagement with China, not for the reasons given by Trump, but because we are enabling a totalitarian government.  The dream of a soft revolution is just that.   What to do at this point is a huge question that requires careful and knowledgeable thought, so I am not going to make any suggestions, except to say that Trump's trade war is not the answer.

The Delusional President

President Trump is known for thinking that he has exaggerated talents and abilities.  But in a recent tweet he has topped himself.  In responding to criticism of his decision to withdraw troops from Northern Syria and allow Turkey to conduct a military operation there to get rid of the Kurds, he said the following:

“As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!),”

“In my great and unmatched wisdom” is so over the top, it would be laughable if the speaker wasn’t the President of the United States.  It sounds like something the Wizard of Oz would say, or Mussolini.  Totally delusional.  This is certainly not an impeachable offense, but it does show why Trump is unfit for the office and should have been removed through the 25th Amendment procedure.

But there’s more delusion.  He will totally destroy and obliterate the Turkish economy?  And he’s done it before?  This is truly scary stuff.

But beyond the evidence of delusion, what’s disturbing about this episode is that it is being reported in the press, including The New York Times, as evidence that Trump pivoted on the issue after receiving a barrage of criticism from Republicans and Democrats in Congress.  

But he and his administration didn’t pivot.  His statement is just blather.  How can anyone take it for a substantive statement?  And all the Defense Department said was that they and the President made clear to Turkey that the U.S. does not endorse a Turkish operation in Northern Syria and will not support one or be involved in any such operation.  

Note, they did not say that they would stop any Turkish operation, against the Kurds or otherwise.  And now that the Turkish military operation is underway and openly aims at wiping out the Kurds, all Trump said was, “It’s a bad idea” and that we can’t have these endless wars; and the Defense Department just reiterated what they had said previously.  We have abandoned our allies.

We are in uncharted territory.  All one can do is pray, God preserve the United States.  Follow through with impeachment.  And if that fails, vote Trump out of office in November 2020.