#67: Stop Trump from Tugging on the Thread that Holds Us Together

Thank you for continuing to share these messages with your friends. If you are not already on our mailing list, please click here to be added to our list. You can also follow me on Facebook where you can read and share these messages. The more people we can reach, the more we contribute to this growing movement. We share these posts on our blog, A Path Forward to November 3, 2020, every two weeks, which means there will be a total of 100 missives before the Presidential election of 2020, in which our country will select a whole new course.

Two things can be true at the same time. On CBS Sunday Morning, former nightly news anchor Scott Pelley delivered an impassioned, eloquent plea for us all to attend to our democracy. He called us all out for “recklessly tugging at the thread that holds us together.” 

Then, unfortunately, he lost himself by straining for equivalence. It is virtually impossible to get airtime for such an essay unless you criticize both political parties equally. Thus, Pelley accused both parties of chasing “shiny new scandals” and failing to seek compromise on immigration reform. He neglected to mention that the United States Senate passed a monumental immigration bill in 2013, with yes votes from all Democrats and 14 Republican Senators, and that House Republicans walked away from it. If today’s Republican Party won’t talk about the Dreamers, where is the equivalence?

Is there an equivalence in “chasing shiny new scandals?” Or otherwise, might it not be the case that the current President of the United States is uncommonly and relentlessly contemptuous not only of the norms of public office but of the rule of law in the country he is sworn to govern? Let’s honor and remember Scott Pelley’s behest that we show great care in our political actions. Let’s reject outright the false narrative that we are all there tugging on that thread. The truth of it all is that millions of us are trying to preserve the tapestry.

Consider these altogether separate categories of what Trump has visited upon the people.

• Rejection of any boundaries to the behavior of a President (norms) by laughing and sharing a dictator’s pathetic criticism of a formed Vice President.
• Absolute obsession with self over country. Countless incidents of hijacking of events seemingly designed for focus on others (veterans, farmers, athletes) so he can return to the church of the “extremely stable genius.”
• Heretofore unimaginable levels of dishonesty about everything, including hugely consequential policy matters like the mythical $96 billion in aid that he has provided to Puerto Rico.
• Great susceptibility to dictator flattery. What dictator will next write him a “lovely letter” that will then blind him to the actions of that dictatorship?
• Failure to learn on the job or to prepare for hugely consequential meetings with foreign leaders, or with anyone else for that matter.
• Inability to secure and deploy a cabinet and White House staff that is stable, reliable, and able to manage the executive branch on a daily basis.
• Illegal personal financial transactions, including the self-dealing of the Trump Foundation, and the insurance and tax fraud outlined by Michael Cohen.
• Ten separate meticulously documented attempts to impede Mueller’s investigation and to hide or misrepresent critical evidence. Continued misrepresentation of the report’s findings and blocking of any fact-finding inquiries.
• Ignorance and disregard of the constitutional role of the other two branches of government. Regular issuance of executive orders assuming powers not delegated to the executive branch.

In all nine areas, he will stop at nothing and do most anything. So, Scott Pelley, we are with you in the effort to stop the unraveling, but the first step is to remove the person who is tugging at the thread every hour of the day.

It is tempting to think that our opportunities to combat each of these areas of Trump malfeasance has equal standing or opportunities for progress. It isn’t so. If we forget the distinctions between Trump’s abuses, we will lose our opportunities to combat him. For instance, whatever we do, he will be just as susceptible to dictator flattery on his last day of office as he was the first, and he is not going to recognize or accept presidential norms. Of course, both cost him votes from independents last November, and will again if his 2020 candidacy moves forward.

Importantly, in the last three of the nine, the courts are involved. We have achieved traction and will be able to continue to grow that traction if we remember who needs to do what in the hearing room and the courtroom. Painful as it is for many, this is a much more productive course of action than passing a bill of impeachment in the House, since that would only give Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans the world’s largest and loudest microphone. It is not our moral obligation to bring unsuccessful impeachment charges against the president. It is our moral obligation to be successful in ending his dismantling of our country.

With regard to personal financial matters, the courts will soon permit access by Congress of Deutsch Bank and Capital One records of Trump dealings. They will uphold the statutory and constitutional authority of Congress to examine all of these matters. They will also uphold Congress’ right to access Trump’s tax returns, whether or not they limit the public release of those returns. Either way, the disclosure of financial information that reveals Trump’s practices will include information that the general public will not like at all.

On the front of Congress’ investigation of Russia’s involvement in the presidential election and Trump’s multiple obstructions, two important hearings are impending. Robert Mueller will appear before the House Judiciary Committee in the not too distant future. Thanks to Republican Senator Richard Burr, Donald Trump Jr. will be called before the Senate Intelligence Committee to discuss his Cohen-disclosed misrepresentations to investigators on the proposed Trump Tower in Moscow. In both cases, the hearings will be closed, but both will fuel essential Congressional efforts, and both will influence the public’s unhappiness with the Trump moral code, or the absence thereof.

Finally, the efforts to use the federal courts to curb Trump’s over-reaching executive orders are also fruit-bearing. Working their way through the judicial system are federal district court orders limiting Trump’s emergency declaration which takes money from agencies for the wall; defending elements of the Affordable Care Act, protecting asylum seekers, and blocking drilling in Wyoming that had been advanced by the Department of the Interior. It is always possible that appellate courts will overturn such decisions, but at these legal challenges have stalled numerous policy abuses.

In all three of these aspirational litigational areas, important steps are taken by intention, not by accident. Here are three things we can do to make certain this indispensable, heartening traction continues to be gained:

1) Support the State Attorneys General
	In each of the 50 states, the attorney general is charged with protecting the state’s government and laws, including its constitutional position relative to the federal government. Attorneys general have become an important player in multiple federal court actions since Donald Trump was elected, beginning with their role in helping to block Trump’s initial Muslim ban. They are filing actions at a record pace. Other actions participated in by varying groups of attorneys general have focused on such diverse matters as Trump’s emergency declaration regarding the border wall, school lunch nutrition standards, and protection of transgender students. Notably, the Republican attorneys general of Montana and Ohio have joined 15 Democrats in seeking to protect the Affordable Care Act from the most recent Trump-Mick Mulvaney legal assault, to which even U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr objected. It could take a little work, but search devices are our friend. We need to each examine the role our own state’s Attorney General has played, and through an email or call we need to motivate her or him to stay focused on this important way to protect the rights of the states and of the people. If we live in Ohio or Montana, we need to thank the Republican Attorney General for standing up for the Affordable Care Act.
2) Support Richard Burr and the Senate Intelligence Committee
	As reviewed in a previous missive, Chair Richard Burr and the Senate Intelligence Committee issued a subpoena to Donald Trump Jr. They could not abide his previous testimony that he had only “peripheral” knowledge of the Moscow Trump Tower project, once Michael Cohen testified that he had briefed him a dozen times. Richard Burr has been under attack by Trump and some Senate Republicans for doing what is obviously the right thing. The Republican Senatorial voices defending him have been muted, to say the least, but they have notably included the conservative Missouri Republican Senator Roy Blunt. Please call him at 202-224-5721 and thank him for showing integrity and courage in this matter.
3) Strengthen the Nonprofit Organizations that Go to Court
	Because of the reaction of the resistance to the abuses of Donald Trump, litigating organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and several environmental advocacy organizations have considerable financial resources. Given the wholesale attack on a woman’s right to choose, let’s make certain that there are also plentiful resources for legal defense in the states that are under fire, which most recently are Alabama and Missouri. Here’s how to participate in their strength-building through Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood affiliates all use the same national/regional donation-sharing website. Be certain to click on “Specific Giving” to have your dollars go to the Planned Parenthood of the Southeast, or Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, or both.

So, it goes. There are less than 18 months to the election. We are acquitting ourselves nicely, and our prospects are excellent. But as we all know, it isn’t just about prospects, it is about what we do between now and November 3, 2020.

David Harrison
Bainbridge Island, Washington

#66: It’s Time to Get the Truth Off of the Scaffold

Thank you for continuing to share these messages with your friends.If you are not already on our mailing list, please click here to be added to our list. You can also follow me on Facebook where you can read and share these messages. The more people we can reach, the more we contribute to this growing movement. We share these posts on our blog, A Path Forward to November 3, 2020, every two weeks, which means there will be a total of 100 missives before the Presidential election of 2020, in which our country will select a whole new course.

Joe Biden has been around for a long time. When he says Donald Trump’s presidency is an aberration, his judgement is based upon consideration of fifty years of American politics and governance. Trump’s candidacy might not even been successful if the election had been held on November 5 or 7, 2016 and certainly would not have been successful except for 1) Comey’s announcement; 2) multiple levels of Russian interference; 3) the cover-up of Trump payoffs by Michael Cohen; and 4) various levels of malfeasance which we will find out more about as time goes on.

So, Trump’s presidency is an aberration, in the sense that his election did not reflect any profound ongoing change in the views of the American voter. In fact, two years later, a lot of independent voters who had boosted Trump helped the resistance flip 40 house seats. We also added votes from millions of voters aged 18-30 who historically had been less likely to vote in midterm elections.

In one way, identifying something as aberrant behavior is a positive signal. It tells us that it is easier to reverse present awful conditions than it would be if there was some long term massive negative switch in voter preferences. It’s clear it isn’t long term, since we already shifted voter behavior two years later. On the other hand, feeling reassured because an election result is anomalous is a trap. We could end up waiting for the non-aberrant behavior to emerge, and be less focused on the business to which we must attend.

We aren’t going to lose focus. We’re going to continue treating this Presidential election with great confidence, but with caution. Given a choice between doing less and doing more to guarantee the right outcome, we will do more, and as the election approaches, we will do much, much more. Every day, we will refuse to accept this assault upon our country. The Constitution is threatened just as much as if enemy combatants just landed on the Florida panhandle, instead of Donald Trump having a rally there. 

Even though Donald Trump is not a trend setter, there is one bit of malfeasance and malfunction that threatens to be longer lasting. He did not invent prevarication in American politics, but he has put the truth on the scaffold so persistently and unabashedly that we’re going to have a difficult time removing it. As the protestant hymn reminds, if truth is on the scaffold, then wrong will be on the throne.

What to do? Luckily we have the Annenberg Center’s unparalleled and even-handed fact check capacity. They offer the suspecting and unsuspecting soul an equal chance to sign up for their weekly newsletter. Any person who has been thinking that Trump’s offenses against the truth are modest should read the Fact Check article outlining 17 Trump lies in 17 hours, a huge bolt of wool being pulled over our eyes. The broadcast media needs improvement on their own fact checking, but lately the national networks, CNN and (once a year) Fox have been including the correction of the Trump untruth in the same broadcast segment as the untruth, which is critical. The broadcasters look for cover where they can. They were relieved when Presidential adviser Larry Kudlow admitted that tariffs bring economic pain to producers and consumers. The media could thus quote Kudlow rather than correcting Trump on their own.

Of course, there are other ways to give truth a new ascendancy. We can all subscribe to a newspaper which takes its role seriously. (Digital subscriptions of the New York Times have increased sharply since Trump was elected.) We can politely refuse to let the false claims of others pass us by. We can make certain we are using reliable information ourselves. Newspaper op-eds which we often favor are discussion-starters, opinion pieces striving for attention, and rarely provide immutable truths. Rachel Maddow is indispensable, but nevertheless she and we are called upon to sort out which of her charges are meant for further investigation, and which are already surrounded by considerable evidence. Both categories are important, but the former requires a process where we continue to follow the issue as it unfolds. On a different front, Michael Moore does not have inside information on who is going to be elected in 2020, nor does billionaire Mark Cuban. As Trump has demonstrated over and over, having a Twitter account does not infuse the tweeter with wisdom.

Of all the places where Trump’s daily dance with the truth matters, the legislative process is most consequential, since lies can lead to people being unserved who desperately need help. Trump is not playing just some silly little game. A lie about tariffs can put a company out of business. A lie about protection from pre-existing conditions can lead to lack of health care coverage and a person’s death. Republican Senators have a bad habit of failing to correct Trump even when his statements are patently false. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley made an exception this week. He said that Trump does not understand tariffs and their impact on farmers. He stressed that telling him face to face doesn’t seem to help. Even after the pointed corrections of Grassley and others, Trump tweeted that it is the Chinese paying the tariffs, rather than US companies and the US consumer.

In the midst of the legislative process, Donald Trump makes up stories. This is not unintentional, and it is morally bankrupt. Here are three specific stories that he tells, how they foul the legislative process, and what we can do now to respond:

1) Make Certain Disaster Aid Meets the Needs of Puerto Ricans
	Donald Trump has created a smoke screen regarding Puerto Rico. He has insisted publicly and repeatedly that the United States has spent $96 billion to rebuild the devastated island, restoring electricity, rebuilding infrastructure, and responding to the needs of those left under-housed. The correct number as he knows is that the government has signed $22 billion in binding agreements, of which $14 billion has been spent. $96 billion turns out to be one estimate of what may be needed over the next two decades.  Trump has blocked recovery aid for Midwestern floods because the House included funding for Puerto Rico, including an emergency increase in food stamps, EPA help to fix water systems, housing funds, and a plan to rebuild public buildings. The House Democratic measure that included Puerto Rico aid passed nonetheless, gaining 50 votes from Republican members of Congress. Republican Senators are getting uneasy standing in the way of disaster relief and you can help them feel even more uncomfortable. Let’s go in the side door again, calling their district offices to insist these Senators reject Trump’s blatant untruths about Puerto Rico and approve a Senate bill that responds to Puerto Rican needs. We will go with six Senators who continue to contort themselves, trying to fulfill their oath of office and keep Trump from being angry with them.      Ben Sasse of Nebraska: (402) 550-8040      Lisa Murkowski of Alaska: (907) 271-3735      Susan Collins of Maine: (207) 780-3575      Marco Rubio of Florida: (305) 418-8553      Thom Tillis of Nebraska: (704) 509-9087      Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania: (215) 241-1090
2) Block the Untruths About Pre-Existing Conditions
	Donald Trump continues to say that Republican actions on health care protect people with pre-existing conditions. This is not true.  As was the case in the midterm elections, Republican perfidy on pre-existing conditions put them at political risk. Republicans in the House were especially annoyed when Nancy Pelosi gave them the opportunity to go on the record in favor of the Protecting Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions Act, H.R. 986. Only four (Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Smith of New Jersey and Katko of New York) voted yes. It’s time to email one or more of the Republicans in your state’s House delegation and say this---- Now that you passed up H.R. 986, how do you intend to demonstrate that you are protecting Americans with pre-existing conditions?
3) Stand Behind the Facts on Immigration Reform
	Donald Trump is about to announce his proposed immigration “reform” legislative package, put together by Jared Kushner. Its provisions are grouped around wall building and eliminating immigration preferences for family members of citizens, thus blocking the path that the Trumps and the Kushners (and millions of the rest of us) followed in order to come to America. In seeking a “merit” approach, Trump continues to ignore or misrepresent the role that immigrants have played in building our country.  There are no provisions in the package to protect Dreamers. This is a clear signal for every one of us to support the largest youth-led Dreamer-supporting immigration reform organization in the country, United We Dream.

The polls are looking good. We may be able to keep the field of Democratic presidential candidates to under 30 candidates! Then we can sort them out one by one and win back the presidency of the United States.

David Harrison
Bainbridge Island, Washington

#65: Avoid All Self-Wounding Strategies as We Take Back the Presidency

Thank you for continuing to share these messages with your friends. If you are not already on our mailing list, please click here to be added to our list. You can also follow me on Facebook where you can read and share these messages. The more people we can reach, the more we contribute to this growing movement. We share these posts on our blog, A Path Forward to November 3, 2020, every two weeks, which means there will be a total of 100 missives before the Presidential election of 2020, in which our country will select a whole new course.

Millions of us have worked so hard to get us all into this present position. The Presidency is ours to win in 2020, if we will take it. Already, 55% of voters are indicating that they have no intention of voting for Donald Trump. The 2018 Congressional elections featured a massive upturn in young voters that we can replicate. In the aftermath of the Mueller report, able House Committee chairs are wielding subpoenas. Their investigations are public and unstoppable. Mueller made 14 separate referrals to U.S. attorneys, which will generate legal action from now to long after the end of Trump’s presidency.

We have fielded a good range of candidates, several of whom poll extremely well in head to head matchups with Trump. We are angry, resolute and eager to defend our country. Not only can we not wait until November 3, 2020, we aren’t waiting. We have formed a resistance of unprecedented scale. We are ashamed about what our country is enduring and we aim to make it right.

Just because we have become nimble and impressively sure-footed does not mean we should drop an anvil on our toes. We would be hard pressed to devise a more self-indulgent, self-wounding action than to bring impeachment charges against Donald Trump in the House so long as there is absolutely no chance of him being convicted in the Senate. 

Do the advocates for advancing articles of impeachment in the House truly believe it is our “obligation” to make this our dominant plan for 2019? The goal of such an action would be what, exactly? To provide Senate Republicans thousands of hours of unchecked air time? To take voters away from the health care message that we used to flip 40 seats just seven months ago? To turn us into America’s second Twitter party? To distract us from the far more real and valuable subpoena power already being wielded, which is superior to impeachment hearing processes? Subpoena power allows House committee chairs to painstakingly home in on specific acts of collusion and obstruction.

As was proven in the case of Bill Clinton, it is a sorry exercise to try a person for high crimes and misdemeanors when you know that you will not get the votes for conviction. The minimum of twenty Republican Senators must step forward. Barring colossal new revelations, these votes will not emerge. It is a false dichotomy, the choice between carrying forward articles of impeachment, and eschewing that course. Let’s get our daily work done. Let’s use the Mueller report as a critical truth telling blueprint, and let’s never stop seeking and telling the truth. Let’s skip the part where we turn on ourselves over strategy, with nothing ultimately gained.

Yes, we are affronted by him. Our beloved Constitution, surviving 230 years, has been torn by him. He has damaged vulnerable humans, often irrevocably. He is a bully, a con man, and a truth obliterator. As per Mueller’s report, whether or not indictments can be brought, he and some of his minions sought to collude and obstruct every chance they had. 

What to do? Beat him the old-fashioned way, on November 3, 2020, which is our present path. Beat him and win back the Senate, because we have the high ground and will keep it. Defeat him one registration, one vote, one diehard Democrat, resolute independent or dismayed Republican at a time. Defeat him as committee hearings and court actions publicly reveal that we have barely scratched the surface of his perfidy.

Beat him on behalf of tariff damaged farmers, frightened Ukranians and Estonians, and children who need treatment for pre-existing conditions that could kill them. Defeat him for shooting victims and those in danger of being shot, for those who need a hand up rather than a hand slapped, for sexually harassed and abused women and dreamers and desperate asylum-seekers, and for the middle class still wondering where the tax cut is. Beat him for all of us who wake up in the morning with a heavy heart over what he has done to this country.

Win soundly and emphatically on November 3, 2020 because we can, will and must. It is the best way to get the republic for which we stand to stand up straight. Soon, Congress will have to attend to some spending bills, the infrastructure discussions and other pending legislative matters which will be raised in the next missive. For now, let’s obsess about preventing the unthinkable misdirection that advancing formal House impeachment charges at this time would bring. Let’s do these three things:

1) Get Your Candidates to Take This One Step at a Time
	The three declared candidates who have urged the House to move forward on articles of impeachment are Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris and Julian Castro. Other candidates have been more restrained or have even (in the case of Bernie Sanders) described in detail the unnecessary political pitfalls of taking this route. Please choose your favorite candidate and write her or him about not buying into this false choice. After you do that, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris and Julian Castro in particular need to hear from you. Whatever votes they are chasing, they need to be advised to slow down and buy into the subpoena-driven investigative strategy that is already beginning to bear fruit. Here’s how to contact them without being called upon to donate.      Elizabeth Warren      Kamala Harris      Julian Castro
2) Make Our  2020 Victory Longer Lasting
	Already this year, there has been considerable attention paid to gerrymandering. In the past, both parties have been complicit in doing back flips in drawing district lines to limit the number of swing seats. It was Republican victories in state legislative races in 2010 that led to disempowerment of voters in a dozen states.  Now comes Swing Left, partnering with Arena and Run for Something in a new Grassroots Redistricting Project. They will work in nine problem states to make certain we take at least one of the two houses in 2020, before Census-driven redistricting begins. Now is when to get on the mailing list for this project and see what you can do to help. The nine states are Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Texas.
3) Thank Nancy Pelosi
	There are all sorts of resisters who hadn’t intended to get behind Nancy Pelosi. But, the performance since she became Speaker of the House has been excellent. She gathers her power and exercises it. She is firm while attending to the political persuasions of a widely divergent caucus. She is an excellent strategist and knows how to handle her meetings with Trump. She turns out to be the number one person to make certain we minimize self-inflicted political wounds between now and November 2020. Let’s do the simple things and call her San Francisco district office at 415-556-4862. Let’s thank her and tell her to keep it up.

Despair and disbelief are difficult emotions. They can be disabling. Given how much progress we have made since our country got turned upside down, let’s quell those feelings and turn them into resolve.

David Harrison
Bainbridge Island, Washington