1.2.22: Let's Stop Pulling Punches, The 'Big Lie' is the 'Big Crime'

With the one-year anniversary of the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol coming this week, this edition of "Meet The Press" focused on what we know and what can expect moving forward from the select committee.

As we know, the attempt to block the certification of electoral votes was not just what happened on the 6th but all the days from November 4th to that date. That includes the former president's phone to Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, where he asked the GA official to find 11,780 votes. That includes the 187 minutes on the 6th where the former president did nothing while there was an attack on the American people, as committee chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) described. 

There's no pulling punches here, the 'Big Lie' as it's called, is actually the 'Big Crime.' Donald Trump committed crimes against the Constitution of the United States. Period. Hard Stop. We know enough to factual conclude that that is the case. If one doesn't see that objectively then he or she is choosing to ignore these crimes.

As Chairman Thompson explained about the riot itself was that it was both spontaneous and in some instances coordinated. And yes, members of Congress were in the know about what the former president's lawyers and operatives [read: Michael Flynn and Steve Bannon] were doing to subvert the will of the American people. 

In fact, as far as the former president is concerned, these crimes were set in motion before election day with the former president's statements that if he didn't win, the election must have been rigged. It's time to stop taking democracy for granted, look at these actions objectively, and understand who was responsible. 

Most chilling, Barton Gellman of The Atlantic and former State Dept. Russia expert Fiona Hill described how the former president's Big Crime is still continuing with the help of what Ms. Hill called a 'compliant legislature.' Mr. Gellman explained that there has been an uprooting of the obstacles that would have keep the intergrity of the vote in place. In Republican controlled state legislatures over 400 new voting laws have passed that either make it more difficult to vote or change who is in charge of the certifying the votes, and in most cases both.

Yes, we are at a tipping point here is the United States. We can only hope that the January 6th Select Committee can provide clarity that cuts through the noise on what fully happened and who was responsible, lest we'll all fall down.

Panel: Jonah Goldberg, The Dispatch; Yamiche Alcindor, PBS; Garrett Haake, NBC News; Brandy Zadrozny, NBC News

Happy New Year, btw!

12.26.21: The Education of a Young Nation

First, we hope that all are having a safe, happy and healthy holiday season, this day after Christmas, Boxing Day for some. 

Today's program was a "Meet The Press" special edition focusing on schools in America, education and race, which of course included the 'controversial' critical race theory.(CRT). Our honest first reaction to all this 'controversy' about critical race theory is that it's a cynical, political red herring meant to further divide American communities. 

As Columbia University professor Jelani Cobb explained, critical race theory is not taught in high schools. Hard stop.

But what critical race theory is being used for rhetorically is the supression of teaching high school students about slavery and its influence on our society, despite the better, more open understanding we have of it on a societal level.

In the report by NBC's Antonia Hilton, the firing of principal Dr. James Whitfield from Colleyville Heritage High School in Fort Worth is the direct product of this cynical effort, and an all white school board unanimously voting him out confirmed its effectiveness, giving license, but not cover, for veiled bigotry. The residual effect is the ridiculousness you heard from a school board member in Colorado explaining to teachers that if you present the evils of the Holocaust you should also present an opposing view. Really? This does not provide for the argument that parents should final say on what professional educators should be teaching in schools. Should parents be able to see the circulae outlined for their children, of course, and raise concerns.

Nikole Hannah-Jones, author of the 1619 project, correctly explained that CRT and her journalism have been weaponized. With regard to Ms. Hannah-Jones's work, as a journalist she asked important questions that reveled uncomfortable answers. She explained that the 1619 Project starts with when the year the first slaves were brought to Virginia and putting slavery and its effect at the center of the American story. Should this be the sole basis of teaching American history? Of course not. It would be incomplete just as eliminating the teaching of slavery and racism in our history would also leave it incomplete.

But make no mistake, to teach American history is to teach the truimphs, the defeats, the struggles, the decents, the advocates, the freedom, the slavery, the racism, the equality warts and all. However, here would be our caveat, context. Understanding that the founders knew they were imperfect and that in our short history, no other country has accomplished what we have. No doubt that it has been difficult, tragically so many times, but the progress that we've made in living as a multi-cultural society is not happening in any other place on earth to the degree of this young nation.

One more thing... In the midst of the hour's discussion about education and race in America, Mr. Todd showed statistics about teacher and education professional shortages. The losing of educational professionals in high schools writ large is being exaserbated by unreasonable attacks by parents, but it's really because teaching as a profession is stretched to the limit in most of the country. There is a distinct shortage of male teachers in the schools. Teachers aren't only educators, but also counselors, life coaches and part-time parents in some cases with their students. And what are they paid? In most cases throughout the country, not enough to make this profession your only job. Most teachers supplement their income with part-time work and buy a lot of their own school supplies. We could be wrong, but that might have something to do with it.

12.19.21: America Is Getting Coal for Christmas

America is getting coal for Christmas. 

It's a Covid Christmas and a Build Back bummer that will carry us through New Year's and into 2022. The Omicron variant, as Dr. Anthony Fauci explained, has 50 different variants attached to it, which is unprecedented as seen by the scientific community leading to high transmissability that outpaces Delta.

In true American fashion, we rapidly developed better vaccines by the best scientists in the world and now there are 30 nations with higher overall vaccination rates than the United States. And we've basically arrived at the point that Governor Jerod Polis (D-CO) advocates for, which is that it is on you if you get sick and die. 

For the common good, that's exactly the wrong tact to take because it doesn't account for the debilitating of our healthcare system and the mental toll it has taken on healthcare workers, in which 40 percent will probably leave the profession in two years. 

As Mr. Todd stated, as Covid goes, so does the Biden presidency, which is true and Republicans, frankly, are willing to risk American lives to subvert the effort to get people vaccinated, and we're not taking about private sector mandates. We're talking about all the misinformation that they're putting out there and legislating against keeping people as safe as possible. 

If over 40 percent of the population does not get vaccinated eventually, we will be the country producing other variants of the disease spreading to other nations. 

Understandably, us included, everyone is tired of being tired so in the meantime, Dr. Fauci did give some concise advice of how to be prudent about your health:

  1. If you test positive, isolate yourself for 7 to 10 days from the outset of symptoms.
  2. If you're vaccinated and are exposed to the virus, wait 3 to 5 days then get a test.
  3. For a holiday gathering, get tested before you attend.

If the surge in cases, hospitalizations and deaths weren't enough, the pandemic is also the main cause for the supply chain issues we're experiencing that has been leading to the inflation of costs... for everything. 

To provide relief to those costs such as child care (daycare), prescription drugs and the child tax credit, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) said NO. And his 'no' vote tanks the entire Biden agenda, which the panel emphatically agreed was a devastating huge blow to the Democrats and their base. Right before Christmas, Mr. Manchin pissed off 81 million people who voted for Joe Biden and his agenda. 

Also part of the Build Back Better legislation were its measures to address climate change, which if we to make those investments now, it would save us money down the proverbial road in avoiding the destruction and clean that follow severe weather events. 

Instead, coal for Christmas. Senator Manchin wasn't going to be on board with legislation that seeks to phase out coal as an energy source because coal is the Manchin family business in West Virginia. Now before you say, what?! Mr. Manchin has all of his ties to the business in a blind trust and is totally legitimate, as far as we know. However, it's not a deaf, dumb and blind trust and you understand cause and effect. More climate legislation means less coal means less money for Mr. Manchin. (No college degree needed on that one.)

To Donna Edwards' point, one senator has essentially stopped the legislation, but Jon Podhoretz put it in the correct context explaining the Senator Manchin had been saying since March that he wouldn't go higher than $1.5 trillion, which has lead to this massive political miscalculation. One cannot disagree because the Democrats are left with nothing but a stalled agenda going into the midterms. And by the way, voting rights legislation depends on creating a 'carve out' of the filibuster rule in the Senate which Mr. Manchin isn't in favor of.

So yeah, indeed, coal.

Panel: Amna Nawaz, PBS; Donna Edwards, The Washington Post; Philip Rucker, The Washington Post; Jon Podhoretz, Commentary

12.12.21: Democracy and Rationality On the Back Foot

 At the top this morning, we wish the people in Kentucky and the other five states affected by the tornadoes, where perhaps the longest sustained tornado in American history destroyed entire cities and towns. An understandably emotional Governor Andy Breshear (D) said the tornado traveled approximately 227 miles, 200 hundred of which torn through his state. For context, it's 226 miles from New York City to Washington DC. He ask for any many prayers that we can offer and he can count on ours.

To help directly, go to: TEAMWKYRELIEFFUND.KY.GOV

On top of the tragedy, the hospitals in western Kenkucky were already in a state of emergency due to the spike in covid cases and hospitalizations. The governor explained that by coalescing resources from around the state, the hospitals are holding, which is good to hear but the situation cannot be getting better anytime.

As Mr. Todd noted, eighty percent of covid hospitalizations and deaths are among the unvaccinated, which is a tragedy of our own doing, at this point so it was refreshing to hear Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS), medical doctor Roger Marshall,  encourage people to get vaccinated and or boosted with a third shot. And though we disagree with the senator that the federal government can enforce some mandates, we respect his position.

And then...

Mr. Marshall said everything/anything - borderline ramble - except that Joe Biden is the legitimately elected president. He said he has greeted him as Mr. President, but he would not actually state the words that he was legitimately elected. 

Disqualified...

Meaning that he stands by his vote not to certify the election and it can be presumed that he will not do so again if the outcome isn't for his party's preferred candidate.

We must admit that even the notion of a Democracy Summit right now is cringe-worthy to say the least since we're water-backsliding, ever more slippery, toward not respecting the will of the voters. Noting The Atlantic article by Barton Gellman and how the Trump's subversion of U.S. democracy is already happening, John Heilemann flatly stated: fact, and not hyperbole. Even Republican Strategist Brendan Buck said he was concerned about Secretary of State elections, particularly in Georgia, which that is the individual that certifies the vote count. Succinctly explained, The Boston Globe's Kimberly Atkins Stohr said that the danger of Trump continues as the Republican party has adopted the tactics that have put winning [read: obtaining power] over democracy.

Speaking of which, we agree with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that Ukraine's sovereignty is vitally important. Putin is employing the same rhetoric with regard to Ukraine as President Xi in China spouts about Taiwan, essentially that it's not its own sovereign country. But one can not help but notice that when you check in with reality, they are. In the case of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, it would essentially put a military threat at the doorstep of western Europe, but more significantly it would jeopardize the entire world political system, which would only lead to war, the Secretary Blinken explained.

If Mr. Putin does in fact invade the sovereign country of Ukraine, then unfortunately for the Russian people the Russian state should given pariah status and treated as such by the World Bank and other international banks. NATO should build up defense systems with its eastern most partners and continue diplomacy with stick in hand. And if anyone thinks that's too extreme, it doesn't go far enough and the consequences of doing nothing would have far greater implications.

Democracy and rationality can only hold out so long when all its balance is on the back foot.

Panel: Marianna Sotomayor, The Washington Post; Kimberly Atkins Stohr, The Boston Globe, John Heilemann, The Recout; Brendan Buck, Republican Strategist

12.5.21: Has The Elephant Finally Caught The Car?

"Abortion, guns and covid," was how Mr. Todd phrased it. We can not help thinking that the 'stars' are aligning for Republicans to get all that they want on 'abortion, guns and covid.' And more... Through extreme gerrymandering in the states, of which a majority are completely controlled by Republicans and the disproportionate influence that smaller states have in the U.S. Senate they will accomplish their goals without the majority support of the American people. And if in 2022, Republican-controlled state legislatures nullify any votes because of new laws giving the legislature authority over the Secretary of State to certify elections then minority rule will be solidified.

Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) did not feel comfortable talking about abortion and Roe v. Wade in the slightest, that's for sure. Because now that the dog (or the elephant in this case) has caught the car so to speak, it will become a very tenuous situation for Republicans. Senator Braun said it is a decision that should be left to the states because it's too divisive on a federal level. Seriously? 

If the Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade, it would instaneously divide the country even further. Simply for the fact that there are a number of states that have trigger laws that make abortion instantly illegal if the law is struck down. How does that logic not divide this country on a deeper level which is locally. In a state like Wisconsin where state-wide there is a Democratic majority, but the state is gerrymandered in a way that gives Republicans control of the state legislature. Once again, the majority will not have a voice.

Dispatch founder Stephan Hayes explained that in the Virginia gubernatorial race, abortion wasn't an issue for the electorate that Terry McAuliffe had made it out to be spending millions on television ads. But Errin Haines of the 19th gave the 'why' which is because people took it for granted, specifically women. Come the Court's decision next spring, they may not be able to take it for granted anymore because over half the states in the United States will make abortion illegal, meaning that when it comes to a woman's pregnancy, the state has a say in what you can do with your body. They legislated it.

Mr. Hayes also mentioned the rise of libertarianism with Ron and Rand Paul, but frankly libertarianism is dead in this country. If you consider yourself to be a true libertarian that you do not believe in the legislating of an individual's body in any circumstance, with no respect to religion.

Oh and by the way, if abortion is illegal and that law is broken then who are we locking up? The women? The doctors? The building owners where the prodecure took place? The Uber driver? All of the above? Senator Braun didn't want to get anywhere close to an answer on that one when Mr. Todd asked him. Again, he reverted to throwing it back to the states, knowing full well that a federal law like the Womens' Health Protection Act that Senator Amy Klobachar (D-MN) discussed will never pass, never get 10 Republican votes in the Senate. (Because the two North Dakota senators who represent 770,000 people have the same amount of influence as two California senators who represent 40 million people...just saying... This also doesn't account for the comic gullibilty of one Sentor Susan Collins (R-ME).)

The sanctity of life, protecting it, we get it... But Republicans sure do not. 

If they were truly protective of it, then they would do something, anything, to try and stop a 15 year-old with negligent parents from going into a local high school with a semi-automatic pistol and kill four people, wounding a score of others. But no... you can not ignore that. Nor can one ignore that fact that over 780,000 Americans have died of Covid-19 and taking vaccines has been politicized. 

Republicans blame President Biden for not ending the pandemic while they subvert the Administration's effort at every turn locally and federally for political gain, while their constituents continue to die. 

Back to guns...

Should the parents be held accountable in this particular case? Hell yes. Is this rare case of the parents being charged with manslaughter for their negligence despite their son's obvious behavior is going to impact any change? Oh, hell no.

With all that said, we agree with the panel that the vast majority of gun owners are responsible guns owners, where they continued to put their emphasis during the discussion. 

Despite the vast majority being responsible, we as a society certainly have not been.

Panel: Ashley Parker, The Washington Post; Errin Haines, the 19th; Eugene Daniels, Politico; Stephan Hayes, The Dispatch

11.21.21: Aspiring to a Higher Standard is Becoming a Thing of the Past

We posted mid-week with regard to Kyle Rittenhouse and we haven't changed our perspective because the reasoning still holds. In terms of the verdict, it was the narrow points of confrontation, in which Mr. Rittenhouse had to defend himself and the jury made a decision based on the charges with regard to those moments. What wasn't taken into full account, it seems, was that Mr. Rittenhouse was the initial provocatur by the fact that he was the one who brought the semi-automatic rifle into the equation. 

Our issue isn't with the jury or the narrowness of the case, it's with the judge. Two young men are dead at the hands of Mr. Rittenhouse and the judge dictated that they could not be deemed 'victims.' In his eyes maybe not, but tell that to the one of the men's mother and fiance. The judge also threw out the unlawful possession of a fire arm charge and reckless endangerment, the latter he is surely guilty of for in fact putting himself in danger.

The nuances can of course be debated, glofifying Mr. Rittenhouse as a hero is wrong, and sad because we're elevating a misguided teen who is responsible, no matter how you look at it, for the deaths of two people and permanently crippling a third person. Civil Rights attorney David Anderson was succinct and accurate when he said that politicians should not be celebrating any loss of Americans lives (paraphrasing), but that's what they are doing.

Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said something that we need to unpack a bit. The senator stated that 'people have the right to protect themselves with the increase in violence.' If there is an increase in violence, glorifying someone who killed two people or in the case of Congressman Paul Gosar, not condemning social media posts depicting violence against a colleague then you're part of the problem. Twenty-six states with open carry and 32 states with stand your ground laws surely cannot be the way to deescalate. Add in the acceptance of violent political threats and it only makes society more volitile. 

And speaking of Mr. Gosar and for those who excuse what he did, one has to pose the question. At your job, if some posted a cartoon of them murdering you or others at work, would you report it? Would you expect that person to be repremmanded at the least or perhaps fired? No company would accept that type of behavior so why should we condone it in the House of Representatives? 

Holding ourselves to a higher standard seems like something that we no longer aspire to. We all see that shining city on the hill, but we're definitely not in it.

Panel: Kelly O'Donnell, NBC News; Reverend Al Sharpton, Political Action Network; Kristen Soltis Anderson, Republican Strategist; David Anderson, Civil Right Attorney

11.15.21: The Ghost of Nightmare Past

On July 21, 2013, we wrote this:

A gun provided George Zimmerman with false sense of strength and the ego to believe that he was in control of circumstances when the truth is his actions came from a place of fear and he wasn't in control. 

This was one of the comments we made with regard to the Zimmerman-Martin verdict at the time, but fast forward to the cusp of a verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and one could say...

A gun provided Kyle Rittenhouse with false sense of strength and the ego to believe that he was in control of circumstances when the truth is his actions came from a place of fear and he wasn't in control.  

Same sh*t, different gun.

 

11.14.21: Governor Sununu Got It Right, Doing Nothing Is Not A Win

There is no doubt that both parties are guilty of doing nothing, but when New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu (R) said that he couldn't live, professionally, in an environment where doing nothing is considered a win, one would conclude that he meant that for his own party. 

Whether you agree with the infrastructure and or the Build Better Better legislation that fact remains that it is in fact, legislation; something that Republicans have quite a lot of trouble with outside of tax cuts. The American Enterprise Institute's Matthew Continetti, previously editor-in-chief at the conservative Washington Free Beacon explained that after so many failed infrastructure weeks under the previous president, we finally got it and it's toxic for Republicans to support it. 

And not to make light of things, but deaths threats over infrastructure, really? It's sad to know that there are large groups of people who agree with these individuals making threats who are so gone from the reality of living in a civil society. Needless to say there is no place for this behavior in American politics as it is obviously dangerous, but also profoundly sad.

Speaking of doing nothing, Director of the Economic Council for the President, Brian Deese didn't have any good answers for what to do about inflation in the short term, particularly for Americans in the middle of the country. Comparatively, the Build Back Better bill will have a more immediate impact of the everyday lives of Americans than the infrastructure bill, but as fmr. Senator Claire McCasklill (D-MO) warned, Democrats may not implement it fast enough for the mid-terms.

Mr. Deese also didn't touch Mr. Todd's immigration question as to whether we should open it up to help with supply chain issues, so we'll touch it. The answer to the question is 'yes,' but here's how to initially approach it. We have a truck driver shortage so what the Administration should do is approach Poland and work to recruit Polish truck drivers shut out of Britain in the wake of Brexit. This would be beneficial on a foreign policy scale as well. It would deepen the dialogue between Warsaw and Washington to work together on the Law and Justice Party's flouting of EU regulations and getting the Polish government more in line with the EU so that collectively they can confront Belarus who is trying to destabilize Europe and the Russians as well who have amassed troops on the Ukrainian border. 

Yes, we realize that none of that was discussed on today's program, but it's a good illustration of how with targeted immigration we can achieve goals at home and abroard.

And with the accurately labeled 'political football' that is Russia in this country (frustrating in and of itself), as entertaining as the Steele dossier is, we never put much stock in it because there wasn't a need to do so. There were so many other implicating actions that the dossier was irrelevant. As bad as all that was, the 2020 election and what the president did in its aftermath makes it pale in comparison. 

And this is why you have to throw the book at Steve Bannon for not complying with a subpoena, a Congressional one. If this were you or me - working schmucks with no political friends and no podcast - we would be seeing the police showing up at our doors and bringing us in to testify. Frankly, that a-hole shouldn't get special above-the-law treatment. And if he refuses to testify and goes to prison for a year, it will be a better year for all of us - not having to hear about what a blowhard has to say about primary elections.

As for former chief of staff Mark Meadows, he should focus on this because he could be next. He punk'ed out of his Congressional testimony; no guts which is the sign of a punk.

There, yeah, we said it...

But we wouldn't call Kyle Rittenhouse that, 'misguided,' yes. We're following the trial but not the subtle nuances such as what we learned today from the discussion which was that Mr. Rittenhouse's mother drove him to Kenosha. If in fact that is the case, that is indeed reckless endangerment of a minor... We think the panel got it right that in that case, no one's going to be happy with the verdict.

Panel: Leigh Ann Caldwell, NBC News; Claire McCaskill, fmr. Senator from Missouri; Eugene Scott, The Washington Post; Matthew Continetti, American Enterprise Institute 

11.7.21: Thanks to Democrats, Their Lose is America's Gain

The Democrats didn't so much receive a drubbing on Tuesday, but given that perception is everything and the major embarrassment of losing the gubernatorial race in the high profile state of Virginia, one could reasonably say that Democrats got the wind knocked out of them in a big way and doubled over got a huge shiner of a black eye that's not going away soon enough.

The New York Times' Peter Baker said it most concisely in that voters don't object to voting for Republicans, just Trump himself. That may have gotten lost in the conversational mix, but it's profound in saying that as long as Trump isn't on the ballot (or actively campaign for a particular candidate), Republicans are acceptable. 

But let's face it, Terry McAuliffe ran a poor race and didn't do what New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy was describing in speaking about kitchen table issues. Like pandemic fatigue, voters have Trump fatigue, which is mostly being perpetuated from the Democrats, specifically Mr. McAuliffe. And give credit to Governor-elect Glen Youngkin for running on local concerns, keeping his opponent on his back foot, and while acknowledging that the former president is on your team, he gave him a stiff Heisman, that's for sure.

Mr. Youngkin gave fellow Republicans a blueprint on how to deal with questions about Trump and Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) wasted no time in employing that strategy today in his interview. He completely evaded any question with regard to the former president's recent statements or why 4 in 5 Republicans think the election of Joe Biden was illegitimate. 

Instead, he railed against the Democrats spending, its 'socialist' agenda and the national debt, which is at $30 trillion - all the fiscal responsibility issues Republicans take up again when they are not in control of Congress. Racking up $8 trillion in debt over four years of Trump with nothing to show for it but a tax cut defies trusting the rhetoric of Mr. Scott. 

Ironically, the Democrats' lose however is America's gain, thanks to... the Democrats, who finally got their act together enough to stop wasting time and pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Don't think it wasn't in reaction to the Virginia result. 

The entire strategy by progressives in the House to hold up the infrastructure bill until their budget agenda (the reconciliation bill) was passed first was flawed and not well thought out. It would have had to still pass through the Senate where it would be amended by moderate Democrats. In such a divisive political climate, don't take one big win, take a series of big wins. And when you have an easy one sitting right in front of your face, you grab it, and don't look back. 

Panel: Sara Fagen, Republican Strategist; Donna Edwards, The Washington Post; Peter Baker, The New York Times; Amna Nawaz, NPR

One more thing...

Since we made a football reference earlier, we have to weigh in about Aaron Rogers of the Green Bay Packers testing positive for Covid-19 this week.  We don't have an issue with his decision to not be vaccinated, which is his right. Not at all. What we do take issue with is that he was dishonest about it or at the very least deceptively coy. When asked if he was vaccinated, he responded, "Yeah, I'm immunized." There's no other way to interpret that other that thinking he received the vaccine.  This week he said he isn't an anti-vaxer, just a critical thinker. Really? His critical thinking could use some critiquing.