Thanks, Speaker Nancy Pelosi!

By the time I was a high school freshman Speaker Carl Albert was the first House leader I was aware of, but it would be Speaker Tip O’Neill who I simply adored. When it comes to where policy and political acumen hit the road at just the right speed and location, however, none was better in my lifetime than Speaker Nancy Pelosi. I reveled in her being a strong woman at a time when too many mostly white men thought it was still their time to always be in power. What rankled them even more, when it came to Pelosi, was that she was successful over and over and over again.

On Thursday, Nancy Pelosi told her colleagues she would be stepping down from the leadership of the House come January.

With Pelosi in a leadership role, Democrats challenged President George Bush over the invasion of Iraq and thwarted his plan to privatize Social Security. For me, the most powerful moment that will have a historical memory always associated with it was her skills and relentless attitude to win the approval of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. It will always be her supremely greatest legislative achievement. She helped steer the nation through a grave economic crisis in 2008 and this session racked up the much-needed climate change legislation. Pelosi proves what an educated purpose-driven life can achieve, and we are all the better for it.

Pelosi well-knew a key rule of politics is to never enter a battle without knowing the next possible hands to play. During Donald Trump’s one term in office, we soon realized that he was unaware of how to play the long game. He was a transactional personality, often referred to contemptuously as a ‘day-trader’, and not known to think strategically.  In January 2019, the federal government shutdown continued, the economy was suffering as a result, and the polls proved Trump along with the Republicans in congress were paying the price.

But Trump wished to head to Congress anyway and give his State of the Union Address.  Speaker Pelosi, citing the government shutdown, told Trump in so many words to either reschedule his upcoming address or to deliver it in writing to Congress.  Left unsaid was that he was not going to be allowed to stand before the nation from the House to spout lies about the shutdown. That was not happening on her watch.

In a pithy and perfect comment, Pelosi said, “He can make it from the Oval Office if he wants.” 

I will miss her strength and common sense. And what we know is most vital in politics.  Perfect timing.

Thanks, Speaker Pelosi.

Another Angry White Male And The Right-Wing Conspiracy Media

Once again we have a narrative that, sadly, fits the profile of so many others about angry white men. The lunatic who is fed continuously the fascist offerings from conservative media acts out, but then the ones who pour the gasoline through the airwaves pretend they had nothing to do with the dreadful outcome.

David DePape attacked Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. With a hammer. To the skull. Once again strong evidence exists of his personal history of online radicalization. DePape’s online postings included a range of false conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, (shocked!) Jan. 6, (shocked) coronavirus vaccines, (shocked) the war in Ukraine (shocked), and QAnon. (shocked). Where or where would one find a daily…no, hourly…diet of these bat-shit crazy offerings in America? Hmmmmmm…..

A native of Canada, DePape was once a Green Party-registered public nudity activist in San Francisco but time shows that his dive into conservative conspiracy theories was where he thrived. He railed about pedophilia, elites, transgenders, and anti-whiteness. His blog contained bigotry against a wide range of groups and topics like “Holohoax.” WordPress, correctly, removed one of his sites Friday. (This blog also uses WordPress)

I am not sure what it will take to wake up the Republican Party to the dangers they are creating among their base and using right-wing media to spread the disease. The untenable attack on Pelosi is just the latest tragic and telltale sign of what is happening in the land due to the corrosive and thuggish people who listen to the rhetoric from conservative media. Sadly, we have, yet again, the outcome of a litany of absurd and ridiculous far-right looney conspiracy theories that took root in the mind of someone who believed it was time to act out on behalf of all who share his views.  The GOP must reckon with the fact that their embrace of lunacy does have consequences.  They can not pound over and over—year after year–false narratives about the 2020 election and vaccines and rants about transgender people and the insanity of the ‘white replacement theory’ and fail to understand that is does inevitably incite violence.

I have been consistent and continuous about the need to consider the grave dangers our democracy faces, as it slides towards embracing autocracy and fascism. The rhetoric and programming from AM talk radio to FOX News are aimed at white males, and stirring their resentments about a growing list is the goal. Stoking the fears of the undereducated and lower economic strata is proving to be a violent and dangerous path for the nation.

The Republican Party needs to turn off its self-created madness.

Political Violence Ramps Up In America, Brazen Attack By Angry Male On Home Of House Speaker, Paul Pelosi Attacked With Hammer

The attacks upon our democracy are growing. It is not just idle words about something that may happen, or a partisan offering to curry favor with this or that group of voters. Fundamental attacks upon the political institutions of our nation are underway and have been in various forms since Inauguration Day in 2017. Attacks upon the foundations of the Fourth Estate, the attack on our Capitol for the counting of the Electoral College votes, and the erosion, drip by drip, of the political culture in our country have fascist motives. Right now our nation is again dealing with something that is most serious. That being, the shocking news from overnight.

By now we are aware of the attack upon the home of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the third person in the line of succession to the presidency. The person who attacked Paul Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi‘s husband with a hammer, after breaking into the San Francisco home early Friday morning was reportedly searching for the house speaker. He was heard shouting “where is Nancy?”

I am not the only one in this land who has stated that the political rhetoric that led up to January 6, and has followed since has placed elected officials in danger. It is absolutely unacceptable for violence, of any kind, to be made in threats or otherwise to those who step up and offer their services to the nation. And that goes regardless of political party or ideology. It is incumbent upon all people in the political sphere, be they elected officials or ones rejected by the voters, to never incite, or further any line of dialogue or action, that precipitates violence against politicians or their families.

We have crossed so many red lines since Donald Trump rode an escalator down to announce his bid for the White House. We have been deposited so often into the basement in our country that nothing really surprises me anymore. We even had to endure media companies needing to review the material posted by a former president, so to make sure violent or insurrectionist material was not online.

If one listens and reads the crazy lingo from those angry males who are engaged in right-wing militancy it is soon apparent, that they are again aggrieved—their favorite pastime when not stroking their weapons. Our nation, it needs all to be reminded, did not just arrive at such a moment; rather the GOP helped to create this situation.

The animus the Republican Party has fostered and yes, stoked, within their ranks against law enforcement and the rule of law-and-order is highly troubling and unsightly. We watched the GOP fall for Trump starting in 2015, and then over his term in office followed the disregard he had for the FBI, wanting to use the Attorney General as his own personal lawyer, and striving mightily to undercut the Constitution. The Republican Party stood by and watched and even started to mimic and repeat his false claims and further the erosion of respect for folks who put on a robe or a badge when they head to their job.

This is yet again a time when it is needed to write about the growing trend in the nation that views violence as an acceptable path forward in our nation. A poll finds that Americans say they believe violence against the government can at times be justified, that result being the largest share to feel that way in more than two decades. The percentage of Americans who say violent action against the government is justified at times stands at 34 percent, which is considerably higher than in past polls by major news organizations dating back more than two decades. Again, the view is partisan: The new survey finds 40 percent of Republicans, 41 percent of independents, and 23 percent of Democrats saying violence is sometimes justified.

Our nation has been placed in a truly contentious and troubling place due to the Republican Party caving to the very thing the Founding Fathers feared.  It was my clear favorite of those men, Alexander Hamilton, who worried about the populace being swayed by a charlatan or one with low character. He knew of the Donald Trump types, as Hamilton had read books about the nature of mankind. He was also most aware of the threat of unlearned people being easily led, and led woefully astray, as the Trump base within the Republican Party has continually demonstrated.

The angry males that are now threatening and seeking to intimidate the majority of the nation are precisely what Hamilton was worried about in his days of pondering the larger questions about our then-young nation. We join him in his justified worries.

Total Investigation, For Love Of Nation, Required Of January 6th Insurrection On Capitol

It is beyond absurd and hypocritical for Republicans to now bemoan and kvetch about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi creating a January 6th select committee to investigate the insurrection which struck at the heart of our democracy. After turning tail and running away from their responsibilities to burrow down to the facts about the attempted coup of our government, Republicans now are complaining about those who are taking the forward movement this nation requires.

The 30-some House Republicans, who took their official duties seriously enough earlier this year when supporting a bipartisan commission, should be applauded. They were the brave ones in their party.

But is that not sad?

Only 30-some Republicans stood tall, when at stake for all the nation is knowing the full weight of what happened when an attack on the Capitol by a Trump-supporting mob, incited to violence by the “big lie” that Trump had lost the election, killed police officers and injured so many others. Why are so many Republicans dodging the need for this nation to grasp the full impact of the security and intelligence failures that led up to the disaster?

Over the past decades, Republicans have rightfully been concerned, as have the Democrats, about terrorism that has jarred our nation, and places around the globe. But one has to ask what in the blazes is wrong with the modern Republican Party when they blanch at taking a solid investigation of domestic terrorists who launched a horrendous attack on our nation’s Capitol?

Are not Republicans able to grasp a branch of the federal government has not been so seriously threatened since 9/11? Why can they not gather up enough steam and anger to wade into the harmful elements within this nation with the same speed and zeal they had for invading Iraq? (Iraq, as we know had nothing to do with 9/11.)

How Republicans can be so timid given their place of work was overtaken by a ruthless and barbaric group of Americans, and not care if the mob was following a preconceived plan, is stupefying.

Republicans have shown their true colors. From across the spectrum, they have unleashed all sorts of bile about the investigation, and the need for a commission to sort through the evidence. In so doing, they clearly demonstrate that fealty to Donald Trump is more important to them than the love of the nation.

Meanwhile, Democrats will plow ahead with the investigation the nation wants, and more importantly, requires.

Democracy deserves the truth.

And so it goes.

Better Lines Of Communication Needed From White House To Congress (Trump Defeat Will Help)

There is an absolutely must-read news story on Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin in today’s New York Times.  It is one of those larger type reads which usually lands in the Sunday edition.  Over two full pages, which included nuggets like the following.

Robert Mnuchin’s wife, Adriana, has reminded people that she is not Steven’s biological mother. (The couple married when he was a toddler.) She reluctantly attended Steven’s 2017 wedding to the Scottish-born actress Louise Linton. Ms. Mnuchin pretended her arm was injured in order to avoid having to shake hands with Mr. Trump, according to her grandson Zan Mnuchin Rozen.

But what I found really troubling was the following portion.

That afternoon, Mr. Mnuchin joined Mr. Trump and his coronavirus task force at the White House. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, delivered grim news: The virus was spreading in the United States at an exponential rate.

“There’s big trouble coming,” Mr. Mnuchin said to Mr. Kudlow as they left the room.

“I’m afraid you’re right,” Mr. Kudlow agreed.

The next day, Mr. Trump spoke about the virus on Capitol Hill. “Just stay calm,” he urged. “It will go away.”

Mr. Mnuchin, however, had shifted into crisis mode.

He spoke with Ms. Pelosi that afternoon to talk about an economic rescue plan. Mr. Mnuchin was pretty much the only member of the administration on speaking terms with the House speaker. (They had developed a working relationship while negotiating an increase in the national debt ceiling last year.) They discussed bailouts for the airline and hotel industries…

It is bizarre behavior for Donald Trump to label the female Speaker of the House as “a sick woman” with “mental problems.”   It is truly concerning that the third most powerful person in the United States government is relegated to such a status within the Trump White House that at a time of national crisis there was only one person “on speaking terms” with Nancy Pelosi.

We simply must have more collegial and sound relationships among the various parts of the government.  This is yet one more example of how far astray we are under Trump from a working and properly functioning government.

One more prime example as to why the voters need to correct the issue by removing Trump from the Oval Office.

State Governments Need Federal Funds, And Soon, Due To Pandemic

There is no doubt–none whatsoever–that the federal government must–and will–provide financial assistance to the states which have been so thoroughly undermined during this pandemic.  The economic necessity of such action is not in question, and while the political show will consume some bandwidth in Washington the end result is not in doubt.

One only needs to read the business section of the newspapers from this past week to grasp the enormity of the cash-strapped states.  In the east New York is projecting its biggest dip will come from a nearly $12 billion hit to sales and use taxes. Way up north Alaska is dealing with oil prices which took a massive hit, while out west Arizona has funding issues from lower individual income taxes.  Meanwhile, California projected a dip of more than $41 billion in revenue through the fiscal year 2021 with a budget deficit of about $54.3 billion.

One primary argument for federal funding to the states is to make sure that budget shortfalls do not impair emergency workers, such as firemen and police, who are central to the proper functioning of local governments.  The faith of the citizenry in local government at a time of pandemic is critical.

If the federal government is smart they will invest in the states and work to keep people employed.  Otherwise, citizens will utilize government benefits like food stamps and unemployment.  Deficits are going to increase this year no matter what happens, but with smart moves, the federal government can make the red ink work to the advantage of our national economy.

The larger overall purpose for the federal injection of funds is driven by economics.  If we are to stave off the worst effects of the recession–and it is a major one to be sure–we must spend money.  With states facing a major tax revenue decline, there must be spending which will aid in the updraft to the economy.   Too many fail to grasp the impact that federal dollars play in ‘juicing’ the economy.  With low-interest rates the return on money from Washington, when timed correctly, will provide the very type of impact that everyone from Speaker Pelosi to Donald Trump claims they want.

Best Line Of The Night At State Of Union Speech

A reporter for Politico asked House Speaker Nation Pelosi here reaction to the State of the Union address.

“I tore it up,” she said.

Why?

“It was the courteous thing to do,” she said.

Agreed.

The speech was xenophobic and racist.  It was designed to curry favor with that base of the Republican Party who are the boorish knuckledraggers.

During the speech, Trump said his administration is “combating radical Islamic terrorism.”  A significant part of Trump’s appeal to Republican voters in 2016 was based on stoking fears of Muslims.

Trump talked about people who are in the “illegally” and ramped up what plays well for the under-educated angry white males in the nation. Another culture war battle and dog whistle to the right-wingers.

I am so tired of the stupid people wagging the dog in this nation.  So yes, the message to Trump that Speaker Pelosi sent was simply perfect.  The only thing that would have made it better, as I told my CP Facebook followers tonight, is if she had placed a paper shredder and used it each time the mouth-breather finished a page.

Summing Up Donald Trump’s Week

When seeing this political cartoon today I knew it was the perfect summation of the week.  The gravity of the impeachment process is well understood by Americans.  There is a resolve to not allow for the furtherance of illegal and unconstitutional behavior from Donald Trump.  And that is happening due to the efforts of a strong woman who bided her time to know when to rev the engines.

And we all know how Trump disdains women in charge.  This moment in the life of our nation, and therefore this political cartoon, is perfect.