Mr. Mueller said that the Trump campaign welcomed assistance from the Russians, that it is a crime and that the president obstructed the investigation into the election meddling. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) stated that in 2016, then President Obama didn't do what he should have done and in 2018 President Trump did a lot. More on this in a minute, but that is patently false. Also, in light of the fact that the day after Mr. Mueller's testimony, the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report that stated the Russians tried to infiltrate all 50 states. Senator Scott hasn't read the report even though it contains information about Florida from when he was governor of the state. What was also false is when Chuck Todd asked him point blank if he knew of any interference in 2016 as governor, he hedged and unconvincingly said 'no.'
Twice Mr. Scott said 'the Russians are here,' practically conceding the point that Congress isn't going to do anything to stop it, despite the report and that Mr. Mueller testified that in his long career he's almost never seen such a graver threat to our democracy. Being an apologist for the president doesn't mesh well with protecting our elections.
Speaking of 'protecting,' another takeaway was that House Republicans not only defended the president but also did their level best to discredit Mr. Mueller and the investigation as a whole, calling his integrity into question. Republicans being completely cowed, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) explained the case (for impeachment) needs to be made to the American people, which is a difficult uphill climb, to completely understate it. As former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe said during the panel discussion, impeachment doesn't come up. Americans, rightly, as concerned about healthcare, infrastructure and because of Donald Trump's rhetoric, racial division.
This brings us to Donald Trump's latest racial attack concerning Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD) who called Baltimore a 'disgusting rat and rodent infested mess... where no human being would want to live.' So much for being the President of the United States. The comment is wrong on so many levels, but as we've come to realize long ago there's no level so low where Mr. Trump is not willing to go. Mr. Cummings for his part is the Chairman of the House Oversight Committee and Mr. Trump objects to all oversight.
In one of the saddest pieces of commentary today, National Review editor Rich Lowry said that the charge of racism has lost all its force with Republicans - that's the electorate and in the Congress. When asked about racially dividing the country, Mr. Scott said that he didn't like Mr. Cummings criticizing Border Patrol agents, trying to employ the 'whataboutism,' but really had no answer to whether a racially-tinged attack was warranted. As New York Times Helene Cooper surmised, there is not breaking point for Republicans when it is comes to race.
Racial attacks are the president's go-to tactic when he wants to distract from all the corruption. Presidential candidate Tom Steyer called Mr. Trump the most corrupt president in the history of the United States. In any American's lifetime, this is certainly true.
So how does today's stream of consciousness from the Mueller hearing to Trump's gaslighting come together. It's really a two word answer: Mitch McConnell.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-TN) enables Mr. Trump's corruption by dismissing any attempted oversight, but it has been Mr. McConnell who has thwarted all attempts to combat Russian interference in our elections. Going back to 2016, it was President Obama who wanted to make Russian meddling a public national security issue, but Mr. McConnell in a meeting of Congressional leaders on the subject blocked the effort.
In light of this week's Senate report, Mitch McConnell is blocking two House bills that would bolster election security, in which candidates would be required to report any knowledge of election interference among other things including having paper ballot back-up for every vote.
On Friday, the hashtag 'Moscow Mitch' was trending and there's good reason because he has willingly undermined the Constitution of the United States and its national security simply to hang on to power.
If Mr. Trump is the most corrupt politician in American history, Mr. McConnell is certainly the most despicable.
From Newsweek.
and
Dana Milbank's latest column from the Washington Post.
Panel: Amy Walter, the Cook Political Report; Rich Lowry, National Review; Helene Cooper, The New York Times; Terry McAuliffe, fmr. Governor of Virginia
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