2.14.21: Yes, History will be the judge, but it has already made its ruling

It's often said lately that the Republican party isn't operating on the same set of facts that the rest of us are operating on, an alternative reality if you will. Democrats and their supporters leap into that alternative reality as well in thinking that Republican Senators would ultimately convict the former president in his impeachment trial. 

In the end, everyone was brought back to reality yesterday with a 57-43 vote in the Senate to acquit the former president, not withstanding minority leader Mitch McConnell's much-discussed speech on the floor immediately afterward.

In light of lead impeachment manager Representative Jamie Raskin's (D-MD) that in the court of public opinion and history the managers were successful, it still does come down to actions, votes and the record as described by NPR's Audie Cornish of "All Things Considered," in a less optimistic view of the Republicans moving on from Trumpism.

After the vote, Mr. McConnell denounced Mr. Trump's actions saying that he was directly responsible for what happened on January 6th despite voting to acquit him on 'dubious' constitutional grounds to use Mr. Raskin's words. Former Congressman Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) said that the speech was a clear mark in the start of the fight for the soul of the Republican party. This leaves the question of whether Mr. McConnell along with 7 senators and 11 House members is powerful enough to take that on and get the Republican party back to its roots.

Mr. Curbelo described the eighty-five percent of elected Republican officials as 'willing hostages' to Trumpism, which when he said it sounded a bit strange to this column. It seems like Republicans in the House at least are 'very willing' with 143 of them voting against impeachment so describing them as 'hostages' didn't quite fit. His point is understood that Republicans supported Mr. Trump out of party loyalty and backlash from the base, but are now free to move on. However, that's not the case at all and Ms. Cornish corrected the conversation saying that they are willing supporters, which is indeed the case.

Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said that with McConnell's vote to acquit, Republican would have never gotten to the required two-thirds of the Senate - Democrats needed McConnell. But as fmr. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) more astutely explained, there would never be enough Republican votes even if Mr. McConnell vote to impeach because it would weaken his position as minority leader, if not wipe out his leadership role. It's all he has left along with the knowledge that the vote to acquit will turn off huge spigots of donor cash. Seven-figure conservative donors and corporations have made it clear that they would cut off the campaign donations for those who voted to acquit, hence Mr. McConnell's speech, as also explained by Mrs. McCaskill. When explained with such clarity from one who has been on the short end of McConnell's political spear, you can see that this is classic Mitch McConnell, at his most shrewd. 

"Time will tell," said Maryland governor Larry Hogan (R) as to whether traditional Republican principles will win over Trumpism in its caucus but his feeling is that the Republican party will be unable to win on a national or statewide level if it continues to embrace the cult of one person. In trying to 'disentangle' themselves (to use another one from Mr. Raskin) from their votes, traditional Republicans may succeed in the short term, but the bottom line is this:

History will only remember that the President of the United States incited a riot upon the Capitol and betrayed his oath of office by do nothing to stop it. Republican Senators still acquitted him of a crime against the United States.

This is the undeniable meteoric conclusion that will have a ripple effect lasting for decades the world over. (This hints toward a foreign policy discussion we're eager to start.) The adage goes that history will be the ultimate judge, but its already made its ruling.

Panel: Kasie Hunt, NBC News; Audie Cornish, NPR; Clair McCaskill, fmr. Senator (D-MO); Carlos Curbelo, fmr. Congressman (R-FL); 

One more thing...
We didn't discuss the pandemic despite the appearance of the CDC Director Rochelle Walensky and as Mr. Todd noted, it had been a long time since the CDC Director was on the program. The short of it is that CDC guidance for schools if you listened is greatly dependent of the severity of the outbreak in each community. Yet, governors are lifting mask mandates, which Ms. Walensky advised against. Why? Because it begs the common sense question for these governors, which is how do you expect to open schools safely if your community spread is out of control? 

And the silver lining... While the impeachment trial moved along and accompanying media coverage dominating the new cycles all this time, the Biden Administration under the radar has gotten a lot done in ramping up the government's response and is off to a great start.

2.7.21: We Cannot Relieve the Disaster While Democracy Still has a Festering Wound

The debate of about the size of the Covid Relief bill is a healthy and welcomed one. At long last, we are starting to hear discussion about policy, and Republicans are making the argument that the country needs to move on and not go through with the second impeachment of former president Donald J. Trump. There within, as the Bard would say, lies the rub.

How can you discuss policy when you voted not to impeach a president who incited an attack on the Capitol of The United States in an attempt to overthrown a free and fair election, wiping out over two-centuries of the peace transfer of power? Until there is a full accounting of what happened and it is presented to the Senate, how do Democrats negotiate in good faith with Republicans?

It's commendable that Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) said he is keeping an open mind in considering all the evidence during the impeachment trial. He also explained that his vote on whether the impeachment was unconstitutional and should therefore not move forward was one that was 'taken in a moment in time,' despite there being precedent for impeaching cabinet officials, of which the president is one, after they have left office. We won't prejudge and say that if Senator Cassidy doesn't vote to convict, etc., as to give that benefit of the doubt. However, until this is resolved it's difficult to negotiate in good faith with any Republican in the Senate that caste this vote, outside of Senator Romney (R-UT), Murkowski (R-AL) and others. 

[Aside: It was four short years ago that we all thought Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) would emerge as the standard bearer for a Republican party prepared for the future. Today? Hardly. He didn't even want to run for reelection last time around and now he's all in on Trumpism.] 

 As a matter of policy, Ms. Kumar drove home a very good point on the Covid relief package, which is if you view this bill through the lens of disaster relief, the amount comes more clearly into focus. State and local municipalities have been hit hard by the continuing stress of the pandemic, not to mention over ten million Americans who haven't returned to work and the healthcare system writ large. 

However, if you view it from that justifiable lens, one can reasonable ask how increasing the minimum wage helps this particular disaster. Targeted lens, targeted approach. As a stimulus bill, you can widen that lens. Large and targeted would probably come in at about $1.45 trillion, which is an insane number in and of itself, but it's necessary to bring centrist Democrats on board like Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) because given what we outlined above, 'taken in a moment in time' to use a phrase, Democrats have to regulate themselves when it comes to spending. As an interesting side note, the Republican governor of West Virginia recently gave an interview in which he said that Congress should go big. Republican governors saying 'go big' and Democratic senators wanting to spend less are all good things, but there is a lingering open wound on our democracy that needed attending to first and that is impeachment.

As for the Republican Party, before today's program we knew we'd be saying something about House minority leader Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), but we weren't sure how we were going to phrase it. Enter Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA). "Kevin McCarthy stands for nothing except for his pursuit to become Speaker of the House... He has no values." Well, OK then, we'll work from that. 

This week Republicans in the House took two votes, one secret ballot and one on the floor of the House. The secret ballot was to decide as to whether to keep Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) in leadership, which they did by a two-to-one margin despite her vote in favor of impeachment. The other on the floor was to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA) of her committee assignments because of threats of physical and mortal violence against Democratic members of Congress. Republicans voted that down.

This directly speaks to the aforementioned Mr. McCarthy and his utter incompetence and lack of principle as a leader and 'standing for nothing' as Mr. Schiff described is coming into stark relief. If he truly was the leader of his caucus, say like a Mitch McConnell, they'd all be on the same page... In whatever book, hopefully non-fiction. Instead, Mr. McCarthy is sycophantically sitting in the backseat of the car while the persona non grata former president drives the car. As David French mentioned, that influence cannot be sustained in silence. Be it that that silence is welcomed.

The other problem as Michael Steele described is 'on the ground' with the state legislatures that are controlled by Republicans who are all-in on Trumpism and censuring lawmakers who have spoken out against the former president and his actions. In other words, there within lies the crazy.

However, as the saying goes, one catastrophe at a time and we cannot relieve this disaster as long as there is still this festering wound on our democracy.

See you on the other side of the trial, or maybe half way through...

Panel: Anna Palmer, Punchbowl News; Anna Teresa Kumar, Voto Latino; David French, The Dispatch; Michael Steele, fmr. Republican Party Chair

 

1.31.21: Only One Party is Interested in Moving Forward on Legislation

There is a thread that ran through today's program from the interviews with Dr. Michael Osterholm to White House Chief Economic Advisor Brian Deese to Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) to the panel that is with one party being dysfunctional, divided and not interested in legislating, progress on combating the virus and an economic recovery is going to be extraordinarily difficult.

Washington Bureau Chief for The Washington Post Ashley Parker said that in the last four years, Republicans have been more focused on appearing on conservative media outlets to defend the former president and attacking Democrats than they are in legislating. Princeton professor Eddie Glaude, Jr. also pointed out that it is going to be hard for Democrats to work across the aisle when some Republican lawmakers, namely Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Green (R-GA) and Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) don't believe in the background agreement of a fairly, democratically elected president - in the very act of American democracy that just occurred. 

Mr. Kinzinger has launched a 'country first' website as a counter argument in defense of his stance and to fight against the conspiracy theories that have taken over the party thanks to the former president. Mr. Kinzinger specifically explained how the Republican party has lost its way with its condoning of the Capitol attack and the deaths of five people. He along with other current and former Republican office holders are being censured by their respective state party officials for voting for the impeachment of Donald Trump. 

God forbid that Republicans should exercise their own version of 'cancel culture' but that's how Mr. Kinzinger labeled it. Call it a purity test or cancel culture or whatever you want, but the Republican party is expelling anyone who isn't buying into the 'Big Lie,' conspiracy theories and white grievance.

Ten Republican Representatives in the House voted for impeachment and only ten Senators put together a plan to work with President Biden on Covid relief. Republican strategist Al Cardenas lamented that he wished he would see more courage from Republicans to stand up for what's right. We would add that we wish more Republicans would come to their senses and actually lead, as Adam Kinzinger described. 

Mr. Cardenas also said that it is going to very difficult for bipartisanship when Democrats have already stated that if necessary they have the votes to go it alone on a Covid-relief bill if Republicans don't come along on something. However, the larger question remains... How can one party compromise in good faith with the other when a large swathe Republicans aren't acknowledging the legitimacy of the election. He explained that Mr. Trump's continued influence on the party is going to manifest itself in the Republican primaries, but won't be beneficial in a general. Republican office holders are presented with the choice between fealty to Trump for the sake of reelection and grasping to power or to take a principled stand for American democracy and lead. Unfortunately for all of us, cynical politics wins over principle. 

Cited by the panel, in accordance with the Biden Administration's timeline, by the summer we'll know the effectiveness (success) of the administration's plan. If there are positive results, it won't matter that Democrats acted along party lines. What it will do is further illustrate how the Republican party is unable to lead America, just as Rep. Kinzinger talked about. If there were 100 Republicans in office that had his common sense, democracy wouldn't be in such a precarious state and we could move forward.

However, it's clear that's not the case and this growing extremism in the Republican party comes into starker relief as the days pass. Anyone heard the song "Bad Moon Rising?"

Panel: Amy Walter, Cook Political Report; Ashley Parker, The Washington Post; Eddie Glaude, Jr., Princeton University; Al Cardenas, Republican strategist

1.24.21: How The United States Proceeds Forward: It Depends on the Senate

As Chuck Todd said at the top of today's program, there are a myriad of challenges facing the new Biden Administration that is only four days into office. This column contends that the crises facing the country cannot be mitigated without getting the Covid-19 pandemic under control and getting the American people vaccinated. White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain stated that this is the metric of which the Biden Administration will be judged. The success of the Biden Administration depends on it, but more importantly, the success of the future of the country depends on. The longer that we're unable to get the pandemic under control, the extent of long term damage to the country's overall well-being with grow.

So how does the United States proceed forward? For the Administration's part, they are putting together a nationalized central response to the pandemic, according to Mr. Klain, enacting the Defense Production Act to ramp up supplies of the vaccine and the equipment needed to administer it. In other words, it is gearing up for a massive response, 'throwing everything at it' as Dr. Fauci was quoted saying this week.

As we're well aware, effective action is going to depend on Congress, its ability to act and whether the Senate can walk and chew gum at the same time because its biggest problem aside from not bringing any legislation to the floor is multitasking.

Apparently, it will be a challenge for the Senate to hold an impeachment trial and legislate at the same time. For insights into the two sides thinking, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) expressed their views on both and the better news is that in terms of a Covid relief bill, both sides feel like they can get to a place of compromise. Impeachment, however, is another story.

On the relief package, The New York Times' David Brooks seemed to agree that a bipartisan agreement can come about reasoning that Democrats put additional measures into the package that can be negotiated out, like a minimum wage increase to 15 dollars an hour.  Chuck Todd asked Mr. Klain, Mr. Durbin and Mr. Rounds this, which came off as a bit of agenda journalism that is never received well. That specific example aside, Senator Rounds has a point that all the provisions should have a direct effect on Covid relief. This sounds reasonable and indicates how Republicans in the Senate may proceed on the bill. 

However, the Senate as to be expected is stumbling out of the gate because they cannot agree on a power sharing accommodation. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is proposing a filibuster resolution which is a non-starter according to Senator Durbin. Mr. McConnell insists as part of the rules that the filibuster can not be done away with. Mr. Durbin rightly explained that the result would be that Republicans would threaten a filibuster on every piece of legislation, hence maintaining the status quo in the chamber as a place where bills go to die.

Many say that the filibuster is a legislative relic from the Jim Crow era, including President Barack Obama, and that may be so but is the problem with the filibuster or the procedure surrounding it? Here's how it would go: The Senate Democrat would propose legislation and the Republican minority would threaten a filibuster which would essentially kill the bill. Senators are never pushed to back up their words. If they threaten a filibuster then they have to take to the floor and actually stand there speaking for however many days... That's what filibustering is! We say, call the bluff and have those octogenarians Senators stand on the floor for 18 hours, speaking. Force them to do that on successive bills and see how enthusiastic they are about filibustering after that. 

In addition to the power sharing dilemma, there is the pending impeachment trial of Mr. Trump. Here's where Senator Rounds while trying to give a moderate answer as to not discount the fairness of the election but at the same time trying not to alienate the base of his party, which is really Trump's party at the moment. He said two things that don't quite add up. One, he said an impeachment trial is a moot point because Donald Trump is not in office, hence it's unconstitutional. However, the impeachment is for actions while Mr. Trump was in office and they were grave enough that consideration of barring him from future office must be brought to a vote. Though we agree with Politico's Tim Alberta that impeachment may put Mr. Trump front and center in the media (where he likes to be) bringing him out of the obscurity where he presently resides, accountability for a insurrection against the people of the United States has to be brought to bear. Not to mention that as the days pass and more information comes out, the attack on the Capitol gets only worse. We can not just let that go without legal consequences or it will almost certainly happen again.

The other thing is that Senator Rounds called for an investigation of the November vote to illustrate to Trump supporters that the vote was fair, which is something Mr. Rounds believes. The problem with this is that the question of fairness doesn't come from evidence to the contrary, just the lies by the president and his allies. An investigation gives credence to those lies. Additionally, if a bipartisan Congressional panel investigates, it just opens the door to political grandstanding which would make matters worse and put retched people like Ted Cruz back into the spotlight. If an outside group conducts the investigation, no one will believe the results and then there are even more conspiratorial lies. Investigation: not the way to go.

So how we proceed depends on the United States Senate. That fact alone is cause for worry.

Panel: Yamiche Alcindor, PBS News Hour; Andrea Mitchell, NBC News; Tim Alberta, Politico; David Brooks, The New York Times

1.17.21: The Measure of Accountability for the Damage Wrought Over the Past Four Years.

The United States does not have laws with regard to domestic terrorism. When acts such as what we saw with Timothy McVeigh in Oklahoma City in April of 1995, they are treated as capital crimes, not as an act of terrorism. 

They're obviously needed now as more details and images of the attack on the Capitol and our democracy are providing a clearer picture of the extent and intent of these insurrectionists. As Chuck Todd outlined, right-wing violence has been building for years, and in most recent Mr. Trump has encouraged the justification of such acts by not ever condemning the people and groups who have perpetrated them. When a lone gunman commits mass murder in El Paso, TX citing Mr. Trump's words as the inspiration, the president equivocates. 

On January 6, 2021, Mr. Trump smashed the top off of the bottle and it turns out that the genie that's not going back in is actually scores of right-wing white supremacist militias planning acts on Washington DC and multiple state capitols. Donald Trump has done everything he's could to subvert the process of a peaceful transfer of power, the foundation of our democracy, and for that he cannot ever be forgiven in the annuls of history for a disgraceful act that overshadows all the rest.

He has accomplished his goal of having Americans arming themselves to kill other Americans.

Between the seditionist incitement of the Capitol attack and the additional looming pardons including one possibly for himself, even the National Review's editor-in-chief Rich Lowry said that the Administration is losing credibility and legitimacy before our eyes. 

So where does that leave us on the pending impeachment who will be out of office come this Wednesday? 

There's no doubt that an impeachment trial in the Senate will be characterized as politically vindictive by most Republicans and if it is Constitutional given Mr. Trump is no longer president, as Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) argues. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) said that it's Constitutionally dangerous if we don't proceed because it would mean that there has no accountability for the president's actions while in office. If we do not proceed, he continued, we'd be missing the larger historical picture in this instance. 

Post-presidency, it's unlikely the Senate will vote to convict Mr. Trump, however, a few variables could change that equation. One of those variables that the panel discussed today was potential pardons in these last few days. They could certainly come like a wave. NBC's Kristen Welker reported that the president is undecided on what to do about pardons, particularly for himself and his family, because of the public relations disaster it would be, not to mention the questionable legality of pardoning yourself. Pulling on that thread a bit, the bad PR could also be legally jeopardizing. A slew of pardons in these last few days, a list of potentially 20 people or more, would sour Republicans on acquittal because of any double digit number and also they know that an acceptance of a pardon is in essence an admission of guilt. For anyone who accepts a pardon, they therefore give up their 5th amendment rights as it pertains to a relevant inquiry, compelling answers. And the kicker to that is if you don't tell the truth, you're not pardoned from the perjury you just committed.

This all equals a messy impeachment trial, littered with explosive and or insane testimony.

Newly elected Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC) said that she didn't vote for impeachment because due process was not followed in the House leading up to the vote. However, she also said that the president should be held fully accountable for his actions. In other words, Representative Mace doesn't disagree with the charges, just the way they're being dealt with, and that is why she is recommending censuring the president. 

[Aside: You may agree or disagree with Rep. Mace on how to proceed, but if the United States Congress had more Republicans like her who puts country over party and with whom you can disagree without being disagreeable, the complexion of the country would change.]

The only way that there isn't extreme political backlash with censure is if it contains language that bars the Mr. Trump from ever holding public office again (a big 'if'), but is it enough accountability for potentially criminal acts?

Whether the president will be impeached or censured by Congress is immaterial because there will never be the proper measure of accounting for all the damage that these four years have wrought on our country. The amount is incalculable. 

If you're well versed in Mr. Trump's career, you'll know that he's left our country like he's left so many of his businesses - bankrupt, broken, sick and wrecked with people in every direction either pissed off, unpaid, disgusted, lied to, cheated, lawyered up or all of the above.

Panel: Kristen Welker, NBC News; Claire McCaskill, fmr. Senator (D-MO); Rich Lowry, National Review

A few more things...
Senator McCaskill said that she thought the Biden Administration could work on its agenda because President Biden will stay out of Senate impeachment business, essentially working around impeachment drama and the Trump Republicans in both chambers. To this point, Mr. Lowry explained that Democrats will be able to do a work around, but not Republicans. A civil war within the party is coming, he said.

Lastly, Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) voiced concern that other areas of the DC metro area could be attacked given that the Capitol Campus is so heavily guarded. She explained that she has been briefed on potential attacks on Washington and across the country. There are more troops in Washington, 25,000, than there were after 9/11 and who are presently stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria combined.  Think about that...

1.10.21: Beyond Our American Comprehension/ Donald Trump is a U.S. Citizen but Not American

Where to begin this column after this week is not an easy task. So many instances and individuals to point one's anger, frustration, outrage and sadness toward all it can render is shock. 

It comes down to a simple equation: Donald Trump is un-American. He is a citizen of the United States and its president, but he's not American. He doesn't understand the idea of what it is to be American.

In its totality, there is no other way to think of it. What Mr. Trump sought to do was to overturn a free and fair election under the pretenses of a lie by inciting a crowd to storm the Capitol. Sedition leading to attempted insurrection? It's insane to even be writing these words but as with all things Donald Trump, here is where we find ourselves.

The one point that this column knew it had to comment on came from Senator Toomey (R-PA) to his credit said that Mr. Trump should resign immediately also said that no one could see what happened on Wednesday coming. However, former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson set that record straight as law enforcement should have seen this coming. 

Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) outlined three paths from where we can go now, but none seem promising. The first is Mr. Trump resigning from office, and though the calls are turned up to eleven it's definitely not going to happen. Impeachment would be a futile exercise in the end because the Senate won't take up the matter until January 19th, Senator Toomey stated. And then there is the cabinet invoking the 25th Amendment, also unlikely. One could argue that Vice President Pence has justification for this since Mr. Trump told rioters to go to the Capitol and when they arrived, they wanted VP Pence. Damn, that's as ugly as it gets, like cosmic ugly. The vice president wouldn't violate his oath of office and instead would uphold the law so the president told a mob of rioters to go get him. [This would all be bad movie shit if it weren't for the fact that it was horrifying reality TV produced by Donald Trump.]

All jest aside, Donald Trump statements and intentions on January 6th set one is a state of beyond understanding for the American mind. For all the service men and women for over two centuries that bled and died or came home changed forever physically and emotionally to defend this country and the Constitution and the peaceful transfer of power, Mr. Trump sought to negate all of that history and to fundamentally change the United States on that day. Secretary Johnson said seeing the Confederate flag in the halls of the Capitol was horrifying and showed a photo of an ancestor's grave, one who fled slavery. Lincoln insisted that the Capitol Building continue to be built during the Civil War. Mr. Trump called the man who brought that flag into those hallowed halls 'special.'

If you're a reader of this column you know that we're apt to present a more pragmatic [read: realistic] outcome that could come about, which would be to censure Mr. Trump to the extent that effectively leaves decisions to the vice president for the remaining days. Whether that could or would come about seems unlikely since there is never any mention of it and the main reason is that it would be insufficient to hold this president accountable. Sedition deserves much more.

According to Kasie Hunt's reporting, most Republican senators have a different sort of deep anger about this final act by Mr. Trump and from public statements we know they're open to some kind of extraordinary step. This, of course, is with the exception of senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) who if we're completely without shame would resign. If it weren't for the Democratic majority in the House, we wouldn't be living in a democracy anymore because a majority of Republican House members supported overturning the vote, lead by the minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and minority whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), both of whom should also resign (not likely) but nothing short of being taken out of leadership roles.

The depth of disgrace that the Republican party is mired in because of its continued support of a man who Senator Toomey said had 'spiraled into madness since the election' is bringing us all down.

Speaking of which, there are already reports of protests scheduled for January 17th and Inauguration Day, the 20th so we see what's coming down that road. In terms of political action against this president in the near term, it's a wait and see.

We'll leave it there this week because this 'nightmare of a week' to quote Chuck Todd has left us Americans so disoriented that we don't know if we even made any sense this week. Did we?

Panel: Kasie Hunt, NBC News; Hallie Jackson, NBC News; Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal; Jeh Johnson, fmr. Secretary of Homeland Security

One more thing...
Fmr. White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney tried to get on the right side of history in saying that Wednesday, being something different, was his breaking point and he had to resign. He explained that this isn't the same Donald Trump that he worked for 8 months ago. Where has he been? Oh right, after falling out of favor with the president he was exiled to be the envoy for Northern Ireland, apparently without a solid internet connection.

1.3.21: Daily Damage and the Mutant Strain

Dr. Anthony Fauci said that predictably we should see a spike in Corona virus cases in the next few weeks from all the holiday travel ending today. In further explaining the state of the Corona virus fight, he also explained that while the roll out of vaccinations has been behind the stated goal, in the last 72 hours there has been much improvement and that we can avoid a nation-wide lockdown if we practice the recommended CDC fundamentals.

To unpack Dr. Fauci's diplomatic answers here, by President Trump's own admission, the federal government, who have been inconsistent with their distribution instructions, dropped off doses of the vaccine to the states and then left them to fend for themselves, without any logistical help. So of course the distribution is going to be slow because the states' resources are already stretched to the limit. Additionally, Dr. Fauci used the word 'predictable' when it came to the upcoming spike and diplomatically left out that the president is playing an active role in not encouraging best practices. Where Dr. Fauci refused to be diplomatic was in to response the president's tweet that the CDC is overestimating the counting of deaths due to the Corona virus, to which he flatly said that the deaths are real - over 350,000 Americans are dead and it didn't have to be that many. 

What's incredible is that there is no sense of that loss conveyed by the Administration and many leaders in Congress. Simply being objective about it, the Federal Government's response to the pandemic has been an utter failure and an abdication of leadership.

Good news... Dr. Fauci did say that the new mutant strain is not more deadly but it can spread more quickly, however, the vaccine seems effective on this new variety.

But more severe damage is being done by the day with the help of this mutant strain and we're not even talking about the virus.

Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) could only be given credit by Chuck Todd for accepting the interview because Mr. Todd wasn't having any of the senator's explanations as to why an emergency committee needed to be set up before certifying the election results in favor of Joe Biden. It was also clear that nothing of what Mr. Todd said was penetrating through to his interlocutor. After 60 lost court challenges due to lack of evidence of any fraud and all 50 states certifying their results, the president keeps lying about a fraudulent and rigged election and in a nakedly partisan party-above-country move, 12 Senate Republicans are willing to perpetuate this lie, of whom Mr. Johnson is a chief proprietor. Despite no evidence for concern about the results, Mr. Johnson who is perpetuating this lie is saying there are serious concerns. In political parlance, it's all bullshit. And these senators know it. 

Mr. Todd got into a quite telling and entertaining sparring match with the senator, in which he called him out on his perpetuating of this conspiracy theory, in fact called the senator the arsonist. Mr. Johnson shot back that the [proverbial] fire was started by the Democrats back in January of 2017 when they tried to delegitimize Mr. Trump's presidency. Whether conspiracy or not, who you believe - whatever, don't you just love it when a reporter asking a sitting senator if his committee intends to investigate the moon landing and whether it was staged or not.

Judge for yourself HERE.

We expect daily damage to our democracy Mr. Trump is inflicting on his way out the door, but this mutant strain of the Republican party is out of control. 

And of course, Vice-President Pence is encouraging this move because it means he maintains power even though on January 6th he technically only has a pro-forma role (not in the era of Trump). Peter Baker of The New York Times called it out that we're acting as if this is normal when in reality it is far from it, unprecedented in the nation's history in fact.

NBC's Leigh Ann Caldwell said that a divided nation and a divided Republican party only benefit the president, which makes logical sense given the president's modus operandi. Mr. Trump is still attacking the Georgia government and its secretary of state claiming the vote was rigged in the state, which could effect Republican turn out in the senate run-off, to the chagrin of Mitch McConnell. Ms. Caldwell also reported that due to these breakaway senators there could be a Trump party and a Republican party in the Senate. More like two separate Republican caucuses in the Senate. 

And the end game? NBC's Geoff Bennett said what we basically already know, and that is Mr. Trump saving face on his way out the door.

Two viruses pummeling our democracy and our people, and the administration is actively subverting the effort to combat both.

Panel: Leigh Ann Caldwell, NBC; Peter Baker, The New York Times; Geoff Bennett, NBC News

12.27.20: Keeping Our Expectations in Perspective for 2021

Today's program focused on president-elect Joe Biden's career up to his latest interviews and statements as to give some perspective as to how Mr. Biden will lead and what we can expect in 2021. 

As is the case with the president-elect, you can go way back in television history for clips of Mr. Biden explaining his views, which we won't go into in depth except to say that what these old clips showed was a politician that indeed has the perspective of history, which this column would argue is essential to be successful in the presidency. That's not to say that Mr. Biden as a U.S. Senator didn't cast votes for bad legislation or that he didn't have his share of political scrapes. The point is that there is that perspective of the good and the bad since 1972 that's put him in the position he is now.

Former Senator John Sununu (R-NH) said that one politician's flip flop is another evolution, which is a fairly dismissive view of things and he seemed to exclude himself from the false equivalency. Dismissing vulgar social media statements for four years and then saying someone isn't qualified because you don't like what they said on social media is a flip-flop, not to mention hypocritical. "Being for it before I was against," as John Kerry argued about the Iraq War in 2004 didn't make the grade either. But you can not compare it to Mr. Biden's evolution and reconciliation with his faith on Roe vs. Wade or his sense of marriage equality. 

The fact that we're discussing issues and political philosophies will be the biggest expectation for this column in 2021, which brings us to expectations in the new year.

As fmr. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) said, the biggest challenge will be unifying people, but again, if there is anyone suited to do it, it would be Joe Biden. The majority of Americans assessed this to be the case and that's why he's president-elect. 

Beyond that in terms of domestic policy, NBC's Kristen Welker reported that the Biden Administration's first priorities will be healthcare and climate change, to which Sen. Sununu said that would be a waste of time because Republicans would block those priorities and that the party isn't obligated to cooperate with Democrats but he sees opportunity on infrastructure and taxes. He's half right. The tax breaks that are expiring are for the top one percent mostly so for the most part, they should be left to expire. However, infrastructure, which those expiring tax breaks could help with is the way forward, outside of ridding ourselves of the pandemic, of course. Infrastructure would accomplish multiple goals in building more energy efficient building and bridges, renovations, and broadband access. Additionally, it means jobs.

Healthcare reform, building on the Affordable Care Act, to include a public option, will be a difficult lift, especially if Republicans maintain control of the Senate, which the incoming Biden Administration is planning for.

But it's really all secondary as long as the pandemic is raging out of control.

In terms of foreign policy the three areas that the panel focused on were the Paris Climate Accords, Iran and Russia with extenuating circumstances surrounding each. Of the three, the United States should reenter the Paris Climate Agreement immediately. Even if you think that climate change is a hoax, the rest of the world is playing on this field of business and the United States has to enter back into the game. When you think of it in business terms, it's the way forward. 

In terms of Russia, if you read our column last week, you know our stand, but it's worth mentioning that Ms. Welker reported that there will be an immediate change in tone from the top when it comes to U.S. relations with Russia and where the Biden Administration stands.

Fmr. Senator Sununu gave the current administration way too much credit and too big of a pass when it came to discussing foreign policy writ large saying that the Trump Administration set a solid framework with Russia, Iran and most notably China. Mess, mess and more mess. The Administration decimated the United States farmers' soy business which thoughtless tariffs on China, Mr. Trump let pass Russia bounties on U.S. soldiers and has given a pass to Russia for the biggest cyber attack in U.S. history, and with Iran he has just made things worth without the U.S. having an real leverage.

On the last point, rejoining and restarting the Iran nuclear deal may be a fruitless task. Congressional Republicans didn't want the deal in the first place and the president's aggressive moves toward Iran's regime have given Iran little reason to go back. This may really be starting again from scratch.

So there's the policy and it's a pleasure to write about it, but as we write, there is a tragic reminder of why it's understanding is needed so badly in this moment. The House and Senate passed a bi-partisan Covid relief bill, which the president is refusing to sign because he said that direct payments of $600 are too low and they should be $2,000. For once, the problem isn't that the president is wrong, Americans should get $2,000, but where was he all this time? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) brought the measure to the House floor and Republicans voted against the increase.

As it stands, the American people aren't getting any relief and if the president doesn't sign that bill and the other spending bills on his desk by Tuesday, there's no direct payments, no military funding and no government funding so there will be a shutdown on Wednesday. 

As for the motivations behind all these non-action, duty derelictions by the burn-it-all-down president, trying to decipher them is so 2020, and we're trying to look forward to 2021. 

If you read this column, and we are humbly grateful and thankful for your support, you know we're fairly pragmatic in our political thinking. With that, save your political resolutions for January 20 because 2020 isn't over until then.

This is probably our last column for the year so THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!
Have a safe and healthy rest of the year. 

Panel: Kristen Welker, NBC News; Claire McCaskill, fmr. Senator (D-MO); John Sununu, fmr. Senator (R-NH)

Meet The Press's In Memoriam 2020:

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Civil Rights Leader C.T. Vivian, Senator Slade Gorton (WA), Senator Tom Coburn (OK), Paul Sarbanes (MD), Senator Roger Jepsen (IA), General Electric CEO Jack Welch, Talk Show Host Regis Philbin, NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson, Civil Rights Leader Joseph Lowery, National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, PBS News Hour Anchor Jim Lehrer, NYC Mayor David Dinkins, Linda Tripp, Actor Chadwick Boseman, AAPI Activist Irene Inouye, Georgetown Basketball Coach John Thompson, Businessman Herman Cain, Test Pilot Pioneer, Chuck Yeager, Sportscaster Phillis George, Jeopardy's Alex Trebek, Basketball Icon Kobe Bryant, Writer and Gay Right Activist Larry Kramer, Diplomat and Humanitarian Jean Kennedy Smith,
Our American Soul Congressman John Lewis
and
over 300,000 Americans dead from Covid-19

12.20.20: The Question Remains - What Else Can This Outgoing President Do to Weaken the Nation?

 Just add one more panic button to the growing list of the anticipated and unimaginable dangers outgoing President Trump is leaving this country with in 2020. In addition to the internal cultural strife that he only exacerbated; the continued unmitigated failure of his administration's response to the pandemic that has left 316,000+ Americans dead; the wrecking of our economy that has seen 8 million Americans fall below the poverty live since April; we now know that the United States has suffered the worst national security failure since WWII. 

It simply leaves one to ask: What the hell else?

Since March a sophisticated trojan horse malware attack through a 'trusted source' network has penetrated numerous government agencies and businesses with access to untold amounts of classified information, which could take months if not years to assess the damage. 

By all accounts from the United States intelligence community, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and congress people on both sides of the aisles, responsibility all points Putin's Russian regime. 

And then the odd off-putting dance and song we've heard before, which begins with the president doing a soft-shoe saying nothing about the Russian cyberattack on American sovereignty followed by the off-key, tone-deaf response that it 'could be China.'

Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) on the program today, recalled his impassioned plea this week to the Administration to respond to this publicly and said he was disappointed by the president's comments. What he also said this week that this cyberattack was the equivalent of Russia flying war planes over the continental United States and doing nothing about it. 

Chuck Todd didn't bring up that last piece today, but he seemed to refer to it when asking Senator Romney about the line between espionage and an act of war. Understandably, Mr. Romney who chooses his words carefully avoided the distinction, but was forthright in stating that the Russians feel as though they can act impunity, the United States has to rethink it cyber capabilities defensively and offensively, and that there should be a response.

The last one for certain. There needs to be an offensive response against the perpetrators of this invasion of the United States' government systems. The response needs to be aggressive, large scale and on multiple fronts. What it must not be is rushed, but it must indeed be.

It has gone on for too long in too many countries, not to mention gratuitously brazen assassinations throughout European countries. A time for response is coming, but chess masters know this and prepare and in the meantime, grab all they can before their opponent finally wakes the hell up and responds.

Senator Romney also said that the president has a blind spot when it comes to putting responsibility upon Russia for its apparent bad actions. 'Blind spot' was a charitable eyebrow raiser and it didn't go unnoticed by Mr. Todd. The senator responded that he didn't want to psychoanalyze the president, which is another way of saying "I don't want to go there." But it doesn't take psychoanalysis, it takes a thorough deep dive into the tangled web that is Mr. Trump's finances. If there is reason to look in any direction that would be the one this column recommends.

All that said, one can be as optimistic about a response as one can about getting a Covid-19 vaccine at this moment. NBC's Hallie Jackson reported that all of the president's focus is on the election and trying to find a way to overturn it while as a sidebar creating as many problems as possible for the incoming Biden Administration. Notably, the president's newly appointed loyalists to the Pentagon are holding up transition briefings.

Pretty heavy and heady for a Sunday before Christmas - too much to think about. However, the question remains of what other pain can this outgoing president inflict to weaken this nation and cripple the government's capacity to keep its citizens safe.

In the meantime, please have a very safe, healthy and happy holiday. Thank you for reading.

Panel: Hallie Jackson, NBC News; Yamiche Alcindor, PBS News Hour; Rich Lowry, The National Review