My State of the Union Address

Last week, we heard President Donald Trump’s “State of the Union” address to Congress. I'd like to share my own view of the state of our union:

Cost of Living

Prices and inflation are still high.

I’m reminded every morning when I make coffee. Thanks to the president’s delusional tariffs, I’m paying $22 to $24 a bag for coffee beans from a small roaster here in Opelika. I used to pay $16 to $18. My friends who own this small business tell me their prices for green beans jumped with the tariffs and have not come down.

Health insurance premiums also jumped at the start of the year. Last year, my son’s ACA coverage was fully subsidized. This year, his same Bronze plan costs $484 per month. The premium for my wife’s Bronze plan jumped 27% to $1,144 per month.

Affordability is not fake news, Mr. President.

Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling against the president's unilateral tariffs, he is doubling down and pursuing ways to maintain them. Tariffs are a hammer he can use to threaten and bully countries and companies to accede to his wishes.

As waves of economic uncertainty ripple across the globe, Republicans in Congress remain stone faced rather than exercising their Constitutional responsibility.

Immigration

The president claimed his administration would target only criminals illegally in the country. Yet he sent invasions of masked ICE and CBP agents into Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago, and Minneapolis creating terror: Separating families. Detaining immigrants who are legally in the country. Deporting people without due process. Killing innocent Americans and labeling them domestic terrorists. Ignoring court orders.

Reuters reported that the administration unlawfully detained immigrants more than 4,400 times between October and mid-February.

In the case Anderson Jesus Urquilla-Ramos v. Donald J. Trump, et al., Judge Joseph R. Goodwin wrote

“Across the interior of the United States, agents of the federal government — masked, anonymous, armed with military weapons, operating from unmarked vehicles, acting without warrants of any kind — are seizing persons for civil immigration violations and imprisoning them without any semblance of due process.”

Another example of DHS’ cruel and inhumane treatment was Nurul Amin Shah Alam, nearly blind, who froze to death in Buffalo after Border Patrol agents left him at a closed Tim Hortons, jail booties the only protection on his feet. True to form, DHS lied about the incident, claiming agents left him at “a warm, safe location.”

Despite these flagrant, cruel, and illegal violations of law — a white nationalist strategy to purge the country of people of color — Republicans in Congress show no interest in reforming immigration laws. The country needs immigrants for our high technology industries as well as farms, food processing, and hospitality.

Corruption

The President has been using his power to enrich himself, his family, and members of his cabinet. David Kirkpatrick estimates the president and his family have made some $3.4 billion from crypto, real estate, branding, and other ventures. The jet from Qatar is arguably the most visibly egregious.

The corruption trickles down, such as the Boeing 737 Max 8 executive jet that Secretary Noem has been leasing, claimed to be for immigrant deportation flights. Yet the interior includes a bedroom suite.

Nary a murmur from Republicans in Congress.

Epstein Files

Is the Justice department incompetent or protecting the president? Certainly incompetent and, I believe, covering for the president.

With all the examples of philandering throughout Donald Trump’s storied life, I think the charge that he raped a minor is plausible. That he is morally bereft is more than plausible.

Iran

Now the President has unilaterally started a war with Iran, ignoring the Constitution, Congress, and international law. There is no legal or moral justification for preemptively attacking another country and targeting its leaders, no matter how heinous those leaders are. Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the U.S. Blatant and self-serving lies that Iran was close to having a nuclear bomb or had developed ballistic missiles capable of striking the U.S.

We’ve now lost American lives, and the president predicts “there will likely be more.” For what end?

The state of the U.S.?

This administration and the Congressional Republicans supporting it do not reflect American values, the values outlined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. We have an imperialist president who is attempting to rule the world, a narcissist dismembering our country and enabled by Republican robots in Congress. That’s the state of the union I see.

Government Shutdown: Pushing Back On The Republican Narrative

On the first day of the government shutdown, I received an email from Alabama Senator Katie Britt. The subject line read, “SHUTDOWN DAY 1: Democrats Hold Nation Hostage for Transgender Surgeries & Illegal Aliens.” The email blames Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats for shutting down the government. At the end, the email asks for feedback, offering a three-choice survey. The last option: “Democrats are justified in shutting down the government until Republicans agree to fund their leftwing priorities regardless of the cost to taxpayers.” The italics are mine.

Seven days in, still rankled by the email, I started typing and sent the following reply to her office.

Senator Britt,

I am responding to your recent email about the government shutdown. While I do not support the adverse financial impact on government employees, I feel equally that the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are not negotiating with Democrats in good faith. Not passing the Continuing Resolution enables the Democrats to alert Americans to the Republican no-negotiation governing strategy.

President Trump's inflammatory rhetoric about Democrats — a recent Truth Social post calling Democrats “the party of hate, evil, and Satan” — his cuts targeting programs that disproportionately affect Democrat constituencies, and plans to lay off rather than furlough Federal workers scream that Republican claims of respectful negotiation are false.

Also, I find the subject line of your email, “Democrats Hold Nation Hostage for Transgender Surgeries & Illegal Aliens,” deeply offensive because it is both false and inflammatory.

I wonder if you know anyone who is transgender and whether you have heard their life experience and the challenges of gender dysphoria. If not, I suggest you have some heartfelt and open-minded conversations. Transgender folks are equally part of the creation of God and, as such, worthy of dignity and respect — not the hateful rhetoric and punitive actions employed by the Trump administration.

Whether transgender athletes should compete on school teams and what rights parents have to determine the medical care for their children are topics for thoughtful policy discussions. Any policies must begin with acceptance of the humanity of transgender people, who are endowed by their Creator with the same rights outlined in the Declaration of Independence, including the right to self-identify.

The second topic in the subject line of your email, “illegal aliens,” is equally inflammatory. During the presidential campaign, Trump claimed his administration would focus on “murderers, killers, gang members, and rapists” in the country illegally. In practice, masked ICE agents have targeted anyone appearing Hispanic, often brutally capturing and detaining American citizens. The recent raid of a Chicago apartment building in the middle of the night, terrorizing the inhabitants and ransacking apartments, is one of the daily examples of a terror campaign that is writing another dark chapter of the American story.

In a recent ruling addressing ICE overreach, U.S. District Judge William Young, who was appointed by Ronald Reagan, wrote, “To us, masks are associated with cowardly desperados and the despised Ku Klux Klan. In all our history, we have never tolerated an armed masked secret police.”

Despite all these attacks on American democracy, you and your Republican colleagues in Congress remain silent. Something needs to break the Republican fever dream of an all-powerful unitary executive — dare I say king — with a subservient single-party legislature. Perhaps this government shutdown will force you and your colleagues to consider country before party.

Respectfully, (always respectful)

Starve the Poor to Feed the Wealthy

The New York Times headline reads

House Passes G.O.P. Budget Teeing Up Enormous Tax and Spending Cuts
The vote cleared the way to enact major elements of President Trump’s domestic agenda and escalated a bitter fight among Republicans over what federal programs to shrink to finance major tax cuts.

Before the vote, I sent the following email to my Congressional representative, Mike Rogers:

I am horrified by President Trump's agenda to dismember the federal government and Congress abdicating its role as co-equal to the executive branch.

To focus on a specific concern, the proposed cuts to Medicaid will impose unconscionable suffering on many Alabamian families — particularly children — while using those "found funds" to further enrich the wealthy. They need no financial assistance and should be paying far more in taxes to support the country that enabled them to become wealthy.

Please put your country above your fealty to the president.

Truly Unfathomable

Unfathomable. I cannot imagine how the Republican party has fallen to such depths of depravity. The party of my youth that reflected conservative principles framing views of Federal governance, foreign policy, and the exconomy has abandoned policies for demonizing the other in a distorted view of Christianity.

I guess the moon is made of green cheese.

Reading this list in The Atlantic is both stunning and heartbreaking.

Out With the Old, In With the New

In the news today, former vice president Mike Pence has suspended his campaign for president. The longtime evangelical, who arguably should have garnered the support of the evangelicals who elected President Trump to office, never gained a following. His obsequious support of the former president — up to the point of refusing to violate his oath of office on January 6 — was seen by the base as a betrayal, not an act of allegiance to the U.S. Constitution. Pence was too much of a loyal milquetoast who betrayed Trump when it truly mattered. The MAGA base remains committed to the former president, despite the numerous indictments, violations of the norms of office, and lack of human decency.

As Mike Pence exits stage right, Mike Johnson enters stage left, elected this week to serve as the Speaker of the House replacing ousted Kevin McCarthy. The relatively unknown representative from Louisiana, who was only elected in 2016, distinguished himself by opposing the certification of the 2020 election, in the House on January 6 and earlier lawsuits filed in various states.

An evangelical and MAGA conservative, Johnson

supported bills that would institute a nationwide ban on abortion, and advocated for overturning the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges, which affirmed a fundamental right for same-sex couples to marry. (Source: Wikipedia)

Announcing his decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, Pence urged a gathering of Jewish Republicans to choose a Republican candidate that will

“appeal to the better angels of our nature, and not only lead us to victory, but lead our nation with civility back to the time-honored principles that have always made America strong and prosperous and free.”

Despite Pence’s wish and personal efforts, it seem likely that Trump will be the Republican candidate, and Johnson will be leading the House when the time comes to certify the 2024 election. I hope it’s not close.

Mike Pence (left) and Mike Johnson (right).

Alabama's Republican Legislators: Obtuse, Recalcitrant, Afraid?

Alabama's legislature recently concluded a special session to redraw Alabama's congressional districts mandated by the federal courts — including a 5–4 decision from the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a state where 27 percent of the residents are Black, the federal government argued — and the argument was supported by the courts — that more than one of the seven congressional districts should be expected to elect a Black representative. Not so. Historically, only one district was configured to elect a Black representative, which the federal government viewed as a violation of the Voting Rights Act.

Agreeing with the federal government, the court ordered the legislature to create

“an additional majority-Black congressional district, or an additional district in which Black voters otherwise have an opportunity to elect a representative of their choice.”

Providing further guidance, the judges wrote,

"As the Legislature considers such plans, it should be mindful of the practical reality … that any remedial plan will need to include two districts in which Black voters either comprise a voting-age majority or something quite close to it."

The legislature's solution, according to the Alabama Reflector:

GOP maps created a new 7th Congressional District in the western Black Belt with a bare majority of Black voters (it ended up at 50.65 percent) and a new 2nd Congressional District in southeast Alabama with a Black population that ranged from 38 to 42 percent.

Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, who co-chaired the reapportionment committee, said while the district wasn’t majority-Black, Black voters would have the "opportunity" to elect leaders of their choice, according to the Alabama Reflector.

Opportunity doesn't mean the outcome is likely. I can buy a lottery ticket, with the outcome most assuredly the opposite of what I hope. A population that's 38 to 42 percent hardly meets the criteria of "a voting-age majority or something quite close to it."

So it's back to court, the Alabama legislature wasting taxpayer money to defend Jim Crow.

However, my assessment may be too harsh. A thought experiment written by Brian Lyman posits the legislature may be motivated more by the fear of retribution from their hard-core voters than racial bias.

Regardless, Alabama's racial infamy lives on.

Trump Indicted, No Surprise

For the first time in U.S. history, a former president has been indicted on a criminal charge: on Tuesday, Donald Trump was officially charged with 37 counts related to keeping classified documents after his term ended, then obstructing justice by his efforts to keep the documents after ample opportunity to return them.

This first for American democracy should be stunning. Yet it’s no surprise. It’s just another dot on a very straight line drawn by the most observed, analyzed, and polarizing person in, perhaps, all of U.S. history. A human who, to me, is the antithesis of the values and norms that inspire this country — or did until Donald Trump came down the escalator to announce his presidential campaign.

What does stun me is the abject support from most leading Republicans — ironically, even those competing with Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for the 2024 election. They echo Trump’s preposterous claims of witch-hunt, judicial overreach, and persecution by the Biden administration, ignoring the photos and other compelling circumstantial evidence in the indictment. Our elected officials should let the judicial process proceed and refrain from adding political rhetoric to inflame an already historic and volatile situation.

Photo of classified documents stored in a bathroom at Mar-A-Lago. Source: Department of Justice

In addition to stunned, I’m disheartened by the values reflected by Republicans’ continued fealty to Donald Trump, despite his immorality and continuous lies, which led to his unprecedented attempt to prevent Joe Biden from assuming the presidency. Certainly a large number of Americans voted for Donald Trump. Many apparently believe his false claims of election fraud, some enough to storm the Capitol on January 6. But for the Republican leaders of our government to support Trump’s propaganda seems a clear violation of the oath of office to uphold the Constitution.

Coach Tuberville’s Latest Football

Senator Tommy “Coach” Tuberville, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, has stopped the Senate’s confirmation of general and flag officer nominations and appointments, claiming the Department of Defense (DoD) policy funding travel and paid time off for service members having an abortion is illegal. So far, the Senator’s hold has caught more than 180 nominations, according to al.com.

In an op-ed article in The Washington Times, Tuberville argues

“Congress writes the laws, and Congress directs all federal spending,” saying, “Nobody in Congress voted for this.”

Lloyd Austin, the Secretary of Defense, says the DoD policy is legal. At a Senate hearing he said,

“About one in five of our troops are women. I want them focused on the mission and not worried about whether or not they’re going to have access to reproductive health care.”

The DoD policy was implemented in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson case, which overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Roe said a women had the right to an abortion under the Constitution (with certain restrictions). The Dobbs ruling reversed that decision, saying no such right is explicitly defined in the Constitution. Where do you see the word abortion? The outcome of Dobbs is that legal access to abortion is determined independently by each state. Many states essentially prohibit all abortions.

The conundrum is we have troops based in all states, as well as around the globe. To prevent a two-tiered military, this DoD policy provides consistent access to reproductive health care. Unfortunately, some women will have to travel outside the states where they are based, so the policy grants them time off and reimburses travel expenses — which the Coach objects to because he is against abortion.

Another letter:

Senator Tuberville,

I write to express my disagreement with your policy of blocking military confirmations because of your opposition to the Pentagon’s medical policies, which include leave and travel for service members who have an abortion.

While I understand and respect your personal beliefs on abortion, enforcing your beliefs on all women serving in the U.S. military is an abuse of your power as a Senator and a violation of the separation of church and state, which is enshrined in the Bill of Rights.

Your religious beliefs on abortion are not shared by all Americans, even Christians. A Pew Research Center survey conducted one year ago found 61% of Americans feel abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared to 37% holding your view.

Memorial Day is a fitting time for you to lift your hold and let the military proceed without further unwarranted delay.

Heading Toward a Crash with the U.S. Debt Ceiling

The latest estimate by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellon forecasts the U.S. government hitting the debt ceiling — unable to incur any further debt to make payments — as early as June 1. Despite approving increases during the Trump administration, the House has tied this increase to a long list of spending cuts, reducing spending for most federal programs to the levels two years ago, according to NPR.

Disguised as concern for America's fiscal future, the House gambit is taken from classic Republican orthodoxy: cut spending except for defense and lower taxes, ignoring that the latter will actually increase the debt.

There's another dimension to this looming crisis, that of speaker Kevin McCarthy held hostage by the most conservative members of his caucus, forcing him to play a no compromise hand. Such is the price of his power.

Hard to say if rationality will prevail or we'll hit the ceiling and hope for the best. Nonetheless, it seemed prudent to reach out to my representative in the House, Mike Rogers:

Representative Rogers,

I urge you to approve an increase in the debt ceiling before the U.S. government defaults on any of its obligations. A default would be a first for the country, a self-inflicted error with unpredictable consequences for our credit rating and global financial markets.

As Jerome Powell said yesterday, “No one should assume that the Fed can protect the economy and financial system and our reputation from the damage that such an event might inflict.” A default could upend the Fed’s measured interest rate strategy to reduce inflation without incurring a recession.

As you well know, the debt ceiling simply reflects the approved spending of past sessions of Congress, Republicans as well as Democrats. Refusing to honor those debts is like me refusing to pay my credit card bill. The appropriate action for me is to reduce future charges to my credit card. The same holds for Congress.

The increasing federal debt is a longterm economic concern and should be addressed by Congress through its appropriations process. The list of spending cuts recently approved by the House is a starting point for negotiating the fiscal 2024 budget with the Senate.

The current strategy of tying a long list of wished for spending cuts to the debt ceiling in a political competition has way more downside than the outcome of reducing federal spending.

President Biden, Too Old To Run Again?

This week President Biden announced he’s running for a second four-year term, urging “let’s finish this job.”

The video announcement made official what was expected, so the news has focused on the president’s low standing in the polls and his age — born in 1942, Biden will be 86 at the end of a second term.

My take: based on his decades of experience in government, life experience, and good health, Joe Biden is the most qualified to serve as president, certainly far better than his leading and likely opponent, former president Trump.

Should ill health or death prevent Biden from completing the term, Vice President Kamala Harris will step in, with more than four years in the administration in addition to her experience in the Senate. This twist of history would be far better for the country than another four divisive years of a Trump administration.

In addition to supporting a second term for President Biden, I hope the Democrats will retain their majority in the Senate and regain the majority in the House so the administration can, indeed, finish the job. The Democrat’s vision for the country is far more inclusive and inspiring than the vision and policies I’ve heard from Republicans.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey Apparently Feels Empathy is a “Woke” Concept

Hard to believe how absurd and damaging “anti-woke” politics has become.

Governor Ivey,

I am dismayed that you asked — forced according to the Alabama Reflector — the secretary of early childhood education to resign because of her support of a resource for educators, a book your communications director said included “woke concepts.”

First, the term “woke” should be banished from any government communication. It’s a pejorative, inflammatory political term that plays to your conservative base and precludes a thoughtful, reasoned discussion of any legitimate concerns about the book published by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Second, the NAEYC is a respected organization, formed in 1926, that helps educators and schools create a supportive learning environment for children through age 8. NAEYC’s policies and recommended practices are based on decades of research. 25 years ago, the preschool my two children attended was accredited by NAEYC after a rigorous audit to assure the school’s program was appropriate for their stages of development.

Third, it’s so important that young children begin developing socialization skills: seeing that everyone is different, learning that each person deserves respect, and beginning to feel empathy for the other. According to the Alabama Reflector, your office received a complaint about the NAEYC book, claiming it teaches “white privilege, structural racism and messaging promoting ‘equality, dignity and worth’ around LGBTQIA+ identities.” If that was indeed the complaint, it’s a gross distortion that mirrors the bias, fear, and political agenda of the person making the complaint.

An actual passage from the book encourages teachers “to be particularly aware of providing supporting environments and responses to children who are members of marginalized groups and those who have been targets of bias and stereotyping.” Bullying based on perceived differences — gender, racial, ethnic, language, economic, academic, athletic — is a significant issue in our schools, with potential outcomes that increase in severity as children progress from preschool through high school. Telling teachers to ignore the innate diversity of our children won’t solve these issues and yield a more civil society.

Last, I’m confident all parents want their children’s teachers to see and encourage their uniqueness, helping them gain the confidence to pursue their potential. That’s the vision promoted by the NAEYC and what makes this complaint of “wokeness” — which is counter to acceptance and encouragement — so perplexing.

Perhaps you reacted to the word reflexively, not looking beyond the term to see the accusation as the unfair and fearful political play it is. Unfortunately, Alabama has lost Ms. Cooper’s talent and devotion to our children.

Former President Trump Indicted By Grand Jury For Hush Money Payment During 2016 Campaign

The lede from The New York Times story reads

"A Manhattan grand jury indicted Donald J. Trump on Thursday for his role in paying hush money to a porn star, according to people with knowledge of the matter, a historic development that will shake up the 2024 presidential race and forever mark him as the nation’s first former president to face criminal charges."

The specific charges aren’t yet known, just that they relate to “hush money” paid to Stormy Daniels, who alleges she had an affair with Donald Trump.

The Washington Post reports Republican leaders are rallying around Trump, calling the indictment politically motivated. Mike Pence, the former vice president, said on CNN,

“I think the unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage. This will only further serve to divide our country.”

Pence is right, this will further divide the country. But it would in either case, as many would like to see Donald Trump indicted.

On his outrage, how can anyone conclude it’s an outrage if we don’t yet know the specific charges?

Are Republicans arguing a hush money payment disguised as legal fees isn’t serious enough to warrant indicting a former president? That is certainly consistent with dismissing the impropriety of Trump’s call to Ukraine’s president and his role in the attempted insurrection on January 6. If neither warranted convicting the impeached president, why prosecute a candidate for hiding a modest $130,000 payment?

Unfortunately, the Republican rationale reinforces the unfortunate reality that the application of the law seems inversely proportional to the financial wealth and stature of the defendant.

As this indictment comes from a grand jury through a district attorney — a district attorney whose career will be torpedoed for flimsy charges that a jury would quickly dismiss, there’s probably something there.

So quiet on the set. Let’s await the specifics and let the legal process play out.

Speaker of the House

After 15 ballots, untold contortions, genuflections, and compromises of his integrity, Kevin McCarthy finally achieved what he’s long coveted: becoming Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Reflected in the number of ballots, he also became leader of a group of recalcitrant and ungovernable Republican representatives — just one now able to call for a vote to oust the speaker. McCarthy will lead with a gun to his head.

In a speech to the chamber after finally securing the role he so desired, McCarthy said, “As Speaker of the House my ultimate responsibility is not to my party. Our responsibility is to our country.”

While their responsibility is to the country, McCarthy’s flip-flops and compromises have unfortunately ceded power to a small group of the most conservative members of the Republican party. Their agenda does not reflect and will not benefit the broad needs of the American people.

We can expect gridlock the next two years.

2022 Midterm Elections

Almost two weeks after the midterm election, votes are still being counted — recounted in some elections — and a runoff on December 5 will decide whether Raphael Warnock, the incumbent, or Herschel Walker will represent Georgia in the U.S. Senate. We are certain the Democrats will retain control of the Senate, regardless of the outcome of Georgia’s runoff, and Republicans have won enough districts to become the majority party in the House, taking control from the Democrats.

Despite Republicans controlling the House, this outcome is a relief, much better than I expected from the polls and punditry prior to the election. The historical trend is that the party in power loses seats in Congress in the midterm election, and this seemed destined because polls consistently showed voter dissatisfaction with the state of the economy and President Biden’s performance. Inflation remains high, reflected in the food and gas prices Americans pay every day. If that weren’t obvious, Republicans unceasingly blamed the president — ignoring that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has disrupted energy and food supplies from both countries.

Fortunately, the Republican majority in the house will be slim. Whoever leads that fractious party, Kevin McCarthy or a more conservative challenger, will have to bow to conservative pressure to investigate the Biden administration. The investigations will begin with son Hunter and his laptop and could lead to impeachment hearings. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia introduced a resolution calling for the president’s impeachment for “abuse of power by enabling bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanors.” See H.Res.57.

Adding to the gravitational pull distorting the next two years, the former president — whom I shall not name — has declared he’s running for president again.

”In order to make America great and glorious again. I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States." — former president Donald Trump

Back to the hopeful outcome of the midterm election, despite the near certainty of a gridlocked Washington for the next two years: despite voter dissatisfaction with the economy and the president’s performance, many voters apparently agreed with President Biden’s argument that the election was a referendum on democracy. The candidates who embraced Donald Trump’s “big lie” that the 2020 election was stolen largely lost their races for the House, governor, and secretary of state. While the races were often close, enough voters seemed concerned by threats to future elections.

Losing access to abortion, with the federal right overturned by the Supreme Court in June, was also a strong factor, which can be inferred from the ballot initiatives in Kansas, during the summer, and California, Kentucky, Michigan, and New York in the midterms.

While the election outcome was not as definitive as I would like, it was far better than my fears, which were turning to depression from the drumbeat of reporting as the election neared. Analyzing the unexpected result, Astead Herndon and Shane Goldmacher in a post-mortem assessment on The Run-Up podcast suggested anti-democracy concerns motivated voters more than dissatisfaction about the economy and President Biden. I concur with that, fro my own fear of Donald Trump or his minions again taking control of government. I can only hope that fear will carry America through the 2024 election, if that’s what it takes.

Words Do Matter

Senator Tuberville,

Moving to Alabama a year ago, I was curious how I would find the state addressing its legacy of slavery, the Civil War, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights era. I’ve found some hopeful signs, such as amending the state constitution to delete racist language and the portions that have been repealed. However, celebrating Robert E. Lee’s and Jefferson Davis’ birthdays and Confederate Memorial Day as state holidays seems inconsistent with reconciling the state’s lamentable history. Perhaps the idea is to let sleeping dogs lie.

But your remarks at Donald Trump’s political rally in Minden kicked that dog:

“They want reparations because they think the people that do the crime are owed that. Bullshit. They are not owed that."

Equating reparations — “something done or money paid to make amends or compensate for a wrong,” meaning the wrong of slavery — to “the people that do the crime” seems patently racist to me. The two are not equal.

Following your unfortunate remarks, you issued no clarification. No apology. No acknowledgment of the slur on 27 percent of the state’s population, whom you are supposed to represent.

Then, when pressed in your recent interview with Lenise Ligon of FOX10 news, you tried to dismiss the critique with an illogical string of words:

“Race has no color. Reparation would have no color.”

That makes no sense, Senator. To quote you, it sounds like BS. I can’t judge your intent, but it seems your remarks reflect the Jim Crow era that framed you.

President Pence?

Just over a year ago, on December 18, the House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

The articles were submitted to the Senate on January 16, 2020, which voted to acquit the president of both charges on February 5.

Suppose, however, at least 67 Senators had voted to convict the president on one or both of the articles. Donald Trump would have been removed from office and Vice President Mike Pence would have assumed the role.

A more emotionally stable President Pence would have been less divisive and may well have handled the pandemic more responsibly than the man he replaced.

Pence would logically have been the Republican candidate for president in the 2020 election. With the anti-Trump fervor gone, the nation could have rallied around Pence, supporting his efforts to develop a more coherent strategy to combat COVID-19.

The Republican party would be in a far better place inaugurating a President Pence on January 20. Its fealty to President Trump led it down a blind alley promoting false claims of a fraudulent election, claims that undermine our democracy and relegate the party to infamy.

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Audio Version

garylerude · President Pence?

The Man Who Would Be Emperor

It has been a week since the presidential election was called for Joe Biden, after Pennsylvania pushed him over the 270 requirement to 279 electoral college votes. Arizona and Georgia have since been called for Biden, bringing his electoral vote count to 306 — coincidentally, the same number Donald Trump won in his 2016 bid for the presidency.

Yet, a week after Joe Biden was declared the president elect and 10 days after the election, President Trump has not conceded nor has he congratulated the president elect.

The president’s Twitter feed is a stream of false claims the election is being stolen from him:

Yesterday afternoon, the president gave a briefing at the White House, lauding his administration’s efforts to address the coronavirus pandemic. At one point he implied his administration would end, the only hint he’s given:

Ideally, we won’t go to a lockdown. I will not go — this administration will not be going to a lockdown. Hopefully, the — the — whatever happens in the future — who knows which administration it will be? I guess time will tell. But I can tell you, this administration will not go to a lockdown.

He took no questions, retreating back into the White House after delivering his prepared remarks.

Beyond my incredulity and anger, I wonder about the personality and mental health of a man whose sense of self won’t admit loss or failure, a man who promotes a blatantly false reality.

Is this a calculated strategy to keep the more than 70 million who voted for him in his orbit, to hold onto his power over roughly half the country and the Republican party?

I find it as maddening that most of the Republicans in Congress are kowtowing to the president’s falsehoods, choosing fealty to the president and party ideology over loyalty to the Constitution and the norms of our democracy.

The functioning of a democracy requires good will, trust, and norms of civic behavior. While we’ve suffered an erosion of those values since well before Donald Trump was elected, he has amplified them by his intentional disrespect for virtually all of our civic norms.

Except for the grace of God, reflected in the votes of the American people and honest election officials, Donald Trump would be emperor.

The 2020 Presidential Election

Four days after the 2020 election, with votes still being counted in multiple states, Pennsylvania pushed former Vice President Biden above the 270 electoral votes needed to become president-elect. The major news organizations — even Fox News — quickly reported that Biden won the election.

The news, via text from my daughter, immediately brought relief after the uncertainty of the past four days, then tears as I felt the significance of this outcome following four nightmarish years, where the president’s policies and actions have been so discordant with my values.

President Trump has not conceded the election, his campaign still challenging the vote counting in various courts. The last time the president spoke publicly, he argued his win was slowly being stolen. I don’t expect a gracious concession speech and am concerned about steps he may take between now and the inauguration to further his policies and protect himself, his family, and inner circle from future legal action.

As I write this, the Washington Post website shows Biden received 74,493,496 votes, President Trump 70,342,725, 50.5 percent to 47.7 percent. The expected “blue wave” did not happen. The Democrats did not flip the Senate, although the upcoming Senate runoff in Georgia offers an opportunity. They lost seats in the House. The country is clearly divided. Although he amplified the divide, Donald Trump did not cause it. He gave a voice to nearly half the country who feel unheard, discounted, disrespected. Let us not forget the pain those Americans feel, mirroring my own feelings the past four years.

Had Joe Biden not become the Democratic nominee, had it been a more progressive candidate such as Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren, I suspect President Trump would likely have coasted to a second term. I hope this registers with those who have been pushing for the country to adopt very progressive policies. We do, indeed, need more access to health care; lower cost educational options post high school; action to address climate change; recognition of dominant white, male power and steps to broaden access to power; police reform; and on and on. However, building consensus in a divided government will require the Republicans to be open, the Democrats to be humble.

That Joe Biden will become the 46th president — who emerged from a primary with some 24 candidates and built his campaign around uniting the country and being a president for all Americans — leads me to ponder whether there is a providence governing the course of human events. Of all those candidates, he has the temperament to unite the country and the governing experience to build bridges across the disparate political ideologies.

Largely overshadowed by the presidential protagonists since she was selected, except for the debate with Mike Pence, Kamala Harris makes history with several demographic firsts — first woman, first woman of color — and is likely positioned to repeat those firsts as future president.

I hope, perhaps naively, that the focus of our leaders will now shift from this divisive election to collectively address the many problems before us: the coronavirus, recession, inequality, extreme weather, international instability, and on and on. Who, in God’s name, would want this responsibility?

(Nevada has now been called for Joe Biden, bringing him to 279 electoral votes.)

Promises Made, Promises Kept?

With just a few weeks until the election, The Daily podcast examined the promises made by candidate Donald J. Trump and which of those he has fulfilled during his term as president. Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times, provided this scorecard:

Promises Kept

• Cut taxes, both corporate and individual.
• Reduced regulations, including environmental and financial.
• Increased defense funding.
• Banned travel from five Muslim majority countries.
• Increased ICE enforcement, including separating families and restricting the ability to request asylum.
• Building portions of a wall along the border with Mexico.
• Drove the ISIS caliphate from the land they had captured.
• Reduced the number of U.S. troops in the Middle East.
• Criticized foreign alliances (e.g., NATO, World Health Organization), withdrew from international agreements (Iran nuclear deal, Paris climate accord, and the Trans Pacific Partnership), and threatened or implemented tariffs on trade with various countries.
• Negotiated an updated trade agreement with Mexico and Canada to replace NAFTA.
• Filled many judicial vacancies, including soon to be three Supreme Court justices.
• Eliminated the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) individual mandate and joined a lawsuit filed by the states to repeal the entire ACA, to be argued before the Supreme Court right after the election.

Promises Not Kept

• Restore American manufacturing jobs.
• Eliminate the U.S. trade deficit with China.
• Eliminate the national debt, which he promised to do within eight years. Even excluding the pandemic, it increased due to the tax cut and increase in defense spending.
• Repeal the ACA and replace it with a plan "far less expensive and far better."
• Complete the wall along the southern border and have Mexico pay for it.
• “Drain the swamp,” i.e., eliminate Washington corruption and self-dealing.

Failures from Unexpected Events

• Leading the nation's response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic to minimize both the economic impact and deaths — now approaching 225,000 Americans dead and some 8.5 million infected.

My Scorecard

I found Peter Baker’s summary informative and useful, as it provides a tally of the president's promises, “successes,” and failures. The days since the presidential election and Donald Trump took the oath of office have been so chaotic and dystopian, I have been overwhelmed and don’t have an organized, coherent list of what has happened. So this gives me something to review and critique:

Taxes — The corporate tax cut went too far, and I wonder whether the claim it would lead to a reinvestment in America and more jobs has proven true. The individual tax cuts highly favored the wealthy; I feel they should have had a tax increase.

Regulations — No doubt some federal regulations are burdensome and deserve to be eliminated. Bureaucracies tend to overreach. However, aggressively cutting environmental regulations, as the president has done, impairs our already late and meager response to climate change. Eliminating the financial regulations enacted after the 2008 “great recession” seems like a quid pro quo from lobbying by banks and investment firms, which will likely lead to a similar financial catastrophe in the future.

Immigration — Having seen the contributions by immigrants to this country, I vehemently oppose the president's anti-immigrant, American first orthodoxy. It has led to dehumanizing and inhumane policies, particularly for those in marginalized communities. Building a wall across the U.S.-Mexico border, while symbolic, is an ineffective solution to the challenge of managing the flow of people looking for an opportunity to live the American dream.

America First — While globalization causes dislocations in industries and those who work in them, my belief is globalization and “free” trade collectively benefit the globe, including the U.S. and, admittedly, me. Ideally, the world would see itself as a common humanity rather than nationalistic silos competing in a zero-sum game. Governments should help those hurt by economic disruptions with “safety net” policies and programs to assist them learning new skills and making transitions to new roles, perhaps in other regions of the country. Just as common technical standards enable global data communication, fair agreements governing the environment, health, and trade benefit all. As we've seen, the weather and viruses don't stop at borders.

ACA — President Trump's actions to repeal the ACA with no replacement — despite his frequent promises of a wonderful plan coming within just a few weeks — seems motivated purely by Republican pique over the ACA and, particularly, the animus for President Barack Obama. This policy is likely the most hurtful to the American people, reflecting a callous disdain for every person's right to access health care.

COVID-19 — The number of infections and deaths in the U.S. compared to other countries reflects a failure in presidential leadership. No, we could not have avoided the pandemic, but a coherent national response could have coordinated resources, directing them to the hardest hit areas; funded emergency manufacturing of PPE; kept public awareness and protocols aligned with the evolving scientific understanding of the virus; minimized public complacency; and avoided the blue/red divide over masks and “liberating” cities and states from policies intended to reduce the spread — ultimately yielding fewer American deaths. Wearing masks became a political issue largely because President Trump regarded it as unnecessary and a sign of weakness, making it a controversy.

Drain the Swamp — Coupled with the president’s personality and temperament, this is arguably his most egregious violation of the norms and ethics of office. His self-dealing led to his impeachment by the House of Representatives, and his overall philosophy of avarice is reflected in the controversies surrounding his businesses and the many resignations by members of his administration for ethical lapses.

Values — I’ve always expected the President of the United States to be a living symbol of the values America aspires to achieve. During my life, no president has lived up to that ideal; yet, despite their politics, a number have moved our country closer to these values: Lyndon Johnson pushed civil rights legislation, Richard Nixon created the EPA, and Barack Obama effectively bet his administration to giving all Americans access to health care. Tragically, Donald Trump’s boorish persona and actions are antithetical to the values of a government of, by, and for the people. Instead, his values align with the sovereignty of the individual and the pursuit of money, power, and sex.

I couldn’t believe Donald Trump was a serious candidate for president, I was astonished when he became the Republican nominee, then heartbroken when he won the presidency. Since he assumed office, each day has brought a dismaying example of how this country’s principles are being undermined by a kleptocracy and a man who believes he is all powerful.

Given the deep divide in the country, I’m unsure whether those who view Donald Trump as I do will be able to prevail in the election. If we lose, I fear the next four years will seriously wound this country.

The Dismal State of Our Political System

Politics has never been a landscape of kind discourse. Policy disagreements quickly decline to ad hominem attacks on an individual holding an opposing view.

President Trump has uniformly used this tactic to demean anyone disagreeing with him, probably thousands of times since declaring his candidacy on June 16, 2015. When he was elected President, I hoped the enormity of the election and dignity of the office would inspire him to shift his behavior. Unfortunately, he remains truculent, not hesitating to dishonor the dignity of anyone caught in his diatribes.

The President of the United States retweeting a disrespectful caricature of the Senate Minority Leader and Speaker of the House was inconceivable until Donald Trump was elected. Now it’s normal.

Although the factionalism of our politics started long before Donald Trump’s ascendency, his standard of behavior has condoned further deterioration of the already rancorous relationship between the political parties. His impeachment provides perhaps the most stunning example, with Republications taking up a full-throated defense of his call to the President of Ukraine, then his recalcitrant attempts to block any investigation by the House of Representatives.

Donald Trump is proving his outrageous campaign claim that he can “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody” and not “lose any voters” — apparently not any Republication votes in Congress.