As it becomes more and more evident that Trump is in a hole that he cannot dig himself out off he has nothing to offer other than the same old record that he has played over and over again. As the country is ravaged by an escalating pandemic he is campaigning for a second term relying on racist divisive politics, retweeting screams of “White power”. While he carries on supporting the slave Confederate cause, being so out of whack with the culture revolution taking place that he is unaware that Republican Mississippi has just become the last state to remove the Confederate icon as part of their flag.
The hope that the Republican legislators would help put a stop to this destruction of every value America has strived for, if not for their sake or their Party’s sake, but for the country’s sake, has all but evaporated. They are mummified in their support for this throw back to Jim Crow. In the words of Billy Joel’s haunting lyrics of the Vietnam tragedy, Goodnight Saigon, “Yes we will all go down together”.
The Republicans are ad idem with Trump’s fantasies waiting for the miracle that will make the virus vanish like he prophesied, or for his daddy to bail him and them out, or for Roy Cohn or William Barr to subvert the law so they can all rise Phoenix like from the ashes. Then there is always the hope that Fox News may learn that Joe Biden went to China to catch Covid and infect America, or for the protestors to rape, murder, loot, burn and destroy cities so Trump can become the Law and Order President.
Even the Democrats, still smarting from their 2016 loss, are disbelieving that the teflon Trump cannot ascend from the politically dead. However Trump hasn’t got what it takes to get off the floor on his own and turn the tables - he has run out of big daddies. His sales pitch is stale and empty. Like Richard Nixon from whom you wouldn’t buy a used car, Trump is a real estate salesman from whom you wouldn’t buy a time share in Saudi Arabia, Gaza or North Korea. However the Republican band plays on…..
THE LIGHT IS ON BUT NOBODY IS AT HOME IN THE WHITE HOUSE OR SENATE
Fox New’s Sean Hannity threw Trump a life line and asked him what his second term plans were. Trump warbled on for two minutes without articulating one agenda item. He had run out of ideas as he could no longer promise, “I can build a beautiful wall that Mexico is going to pay for, bring back all those manufacturing jobs, drain the swamp, open the coal mines, develop a massive infrastructure program….”, so he meandered on as to what a great guy he was. He could have maintained that he was going to carry on his xenophobia, race baiting, character assassination, and get rid of Obamacare. If Hannity would have asked him how he is going to reverse his disastrous pandemic management and cope with the racial crisis evoked by the ongoing black deaths at the hands of the police he could have once again reminded that he was “The Law and Order President”.
While he cannot repeat the old unfulfilled promises he can offer nothing new either. He did inform Hannity that Joe Biden who is a crook like Hillary and who can’t put two sentences together, may be elected, “…because some people don’t love me….”. He could also have argued that he was a man of principle because he refuses to wear a mask when every other responsible person does. But for the rest it is more of the same and worse and more of the same and worse is why the latest poll shows him fourteen points behind Biden and the Republicans almost certain to lose the Senate. Oh Jay H. Ell nearly forgot he is offering a fight with China. He will then blame them for everything that has gone wrong - his management of the pandemic, loss of manufacturing jobs ….- see 2016 promises for further details including why Mexico didn’t pay for his wall.
McConnell and his Senate colleagues have nothing to parade before the electorate either other than appointing “conservative judges”. The do nothing Senate has just appointed the two hundredth Trump nominated Federal Judge. McConnell’s poll numbers are way down in Kentucky. But no one can believe that Red Kentucky, which Trump carried by thirty points, is going to elect a Democratic Senator. The Democrats are in denial about this possibility forgetting that Kentucky recently elected a Democratic Governor and rejected Trump’s nominee for a House Seat for the 2020 election. The best McConnell can proffer to distance himself from Trump is to finally admit that it was very important to wear a mask!
Now no one should be amazed that Trump an ignorant, incompetent, destructive narcissist cannot give one good reason why he should be re - elected but that the Republican Congresspeople have accepted that the only reason to run is to Keep Trump’s America Great is a disgrace, to themselves and the country. Throughout the current virus crisis they have enabled him. When Trump claimed that he was not going to financially help the Northern States hit by Coronavirus because this was only impacting Democratic States, they concurred. In fact McConnell used those very same words when refusing a relief package suggesting that New York should declare bankruptcy. None of those toadies defied Trump nor did they counsel their State Governors not to be idiots and rather listen to New York Governor Cuomo who warned them that his state was the canary in the coal mine. Instead they took their line from their fearless maskless leader and either never shut their states or opened them too early. The Red Southern and Western states are now experiencing an unprecedented wave of infections surpassing daily record numbers of confirmed cases.
Not one Republican Senator has opposed Trump on his mission to throw out Obamacare while the country is stricken with a pandemic. They have to know that that is insane. They are mindful that their ill prepared Sates are reaching maximum hospital bed usage and no payments from Obamacare will hasten rural and community hospitals going bankrupt and citizens dying.
However they are beginning to be fearful that the are going to accompany the POTUS into oblivion if matters persist. Anonymously they are, in droves, confiding to CNN and other ‘fake news’ outlets that he better change course quickly. But in public other than a few Senators mumbling some contrary noises there is the usual uncomfortable silence or outright support. Senator Majority Whip Thune maintained that “He is good with the base… but for the majority who are going to decide he has to strike a more empathetic tone”. Senator Lisa Murkowski who almost voted for impeachment is “struggling” to back him for re election while her colleague John Corbyn explained that “Sometimes he undermines himself”. Senator Mike Braun, “Wouldn’t have chosen those words” in response to his racist description of Covid 19. But that pathetic criticism is it.
None of this will wash as it will become more and more difficult to remain distant as Trump becomes more and more unhinged as the election approaches.
To the Republicans exquisite discomfort the New York Times broke a major scandal relating to Russia this weekend that is central to National Security and brings into question once again his bizarre relationship with Vladimir Putin and Russia.
TRUMP PUTIN RUSSIA AND CONGRESS
This weekend the New York Times reported that the US Intelligence learned in March that Putin offered the Taliban bounty for every allied soldier including Americans they killed. The Washington Post followed up with a report that the Taliban collected their “reward” from Putin’s Russia for Americans killed. Since March Trump publicly announced that the G7 nation group should become the G8 with expelled Russia being invited back. Putin has also been invited to visit him in the Oval Office.
Trump who is currently negotiating a deal with the Taliban to get out of Afghanistan did not deny the veracity of the reports but claimed neither he or Pence had been informed of the intelligence. It has to be assumed therefore he like everyone else learned about it from the “failing” New York Times and Washington Post. Once again the anonymous Republicans rushed to the ‘fake news’ to issue their condemnation of the situation. His chief enabler Lindsey Graham whom the polls, unbelievably indicate that he too is in a close race in South Carolina claimed that “it was imperative that Congress get to the bottom of this matter”. Needless to say the Democrats were scathing, Nancy Pelosi claiming that “…this is as bad as it gets.”
Well sanctions on Russia is a bipartisan issue. Trump has defied in spirit even his own GOP caucus on the subject. Whichever way this saga is viewed Trump is responsible. The stories are legion that he doesn’t take security briefings - too busy calling into Fox and Friends at that time of day. It is impossible to imagine that such sensitive intelligence wasn’t brought home to the President.
Well the Republicans have a responsibility to probe this to the limit. They have yet another opportunity to cut loose from this President and render him harmless from the country and the world in his last few months in office. Let them salvage something from the wreck. As for William Barr, who has sought to legitimize Trump’s lawlessness through the Department of Justice, no words can describe his behavior as he has sought to deceive, manipulate and desecrate the constitution in order to allow Trump absolute power.
The words that Trump repeated and repeated at his 2016 Nuremberg style rallies are ringing in Jay H. Ell’s ears, “We’re going to win so much. Your’e going to get tired of winning. Your’e going to say, ‘Please Mr. President, I have a headache. Please, don’t win so much. This is terrible’. And I am going to say, ‘No, we have to Make America Great Again. Your’e gonna say, please. I said nope nope. We’re gonna keep winning’.”
All this and everything else from the man who one way or another was so negligent and or evil to not act against Russia when those in the armed services lost their lives in defense of the country. On top of this he has abrogated his responsibility to lead the nation where a hundred and twenty - five thousand are already dead from a pandemic. Nor is he prepared to face the fact that African Americans have been betrayed by placing the police above the law. Amidst this the Republic Congress band plays on in this the most shameful period in the nation’s history since the Civil War.
AT THE END OF THE DAY
A huge responsibility rests on Biden and the Democratic Party as to how they react - but that is a story for another day.
The only way the Republican Senators can salvage any respectability is to initiate an impeachment enquiry into Trump in the Senate. That is less likely than Trump giving North Dakota back to the indigenous Americans.
The House Republicans that are still there will hang in with Trump till the bitter end in the belief that they are safe in their gerrymandered districts.
It is unbelievable to reflect that from the Obama Presidency where America was the moral compass of the world that their status is now with the third world countries and Russia. Their citizens will not be allowed to fly into Europe till their corrupt and incompetent Administration gets its act together on the virus.
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