A line has been crossed.

September 26, 2023

          Several stories collided within the bounds of Trump's unhinged posts on his vanity social media platform on Monday. As Speaker Kevin McCarthy goes through the motions of passing a spending bill over the objections of the extremist elements of his extremist caucus, Trump weighed into the fight:

The Republicans lost big on Debt Ceiling, got NOTHING, and now are worried that they will be BLAMED for the Budget Shutdown. Wrong!!! Whoever is President will be blamed. UNLESS YOU GET EVERYTHING, SHUT IT DOWN! Close the Border, stop the Weaponization of ‘Justice,’ and End Election Interference.

          [Note to Readers: I will not be linking to Trump's posts on Truth Social. You can run a word search on the text if you want to view the source posts.]

          For a nation hoping to avoid the pain of a shutdown on tens of millions of Americans, the post was not welcome news. Although Trump dresses his post in language that seems to focus on negotiating tactics, the real reason for the post is contained in the phrase “stop the Weaponization of “Justice” and End Election Interference.”

          That’s right, Trump is asking Republicans to shut down the government to help him evade accountability for his crimes. Surely, no member of Congress would place the personal interests of Donald Trump over the interests of tens of millions of Americans who will be hurt in a shutdown, right? Don’t hold your breath!

          The last time anyone heard from Kevin McCarthy, he was promising a third vote on the defense bill (and a few others?) on Tuesday. Don’t hold your breath!

          All of this means that the prospect of a government shutdown is increasing with each passing hour. See NYtimes, A Shutdown Is Looming. What Comes Next? (This article is accessible to all.)

          Per the Times, “Medicare and Social Security also continue uninterrupted because they are authorized by Congress in separate laws that do not need to be renewed every year. Medical care of veterans also goes on unaffected.”

          The GOP House caucus was dysfunctional before Trump injected himself into the budget fight. Trump just made that process more unmanageable. But perhaps he has hastened the moment when some Republicans concede that there is no path forward except for a bipartisan effort with Democrats. For all our sakes, let’s hope that moment arrives sooner rather than later.

Trump threatens retribution against the liberal media if he is elected.

          Last week, Trump called for the death penalty for General Milley, the retiring Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The media yawned. On Sunday, Trump accused the liberal media of treason and threatened retribution if he is elected. He wrote:

They are almost all dishonest and corrupt, but Comcast, with its one-side and vicious coverage by NBC NEWS, and in particular MSNBC, often and correctly referred to as MSDNC (Democrat National Committee!), should be investigated for its “Country Threatening Treason.”

Why should NBC, or any other of the corrupt & dishonest media companies, be entitled to use the very valuable Airwaves of the USA, FREE? They are a true threat to Democracy and are, in fact, THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE! The Fake News Media should pay a big price for what they have done to our once great Country!

          Picking through Trump's word salad with a fork, we see that he combines the concepts of “treason” and “paying a big price” in reference to NBC, MSNBC, and the “Fake News Media.” Threatening the media with treason and shuttering presses is the favorite tactic of fascist dictators everywhere. Criticism by the press is not permitted by fascists—and Trump has put the media on notice about his intentions if re-elected.

          What did the media do in response to this broadside threat? Yawned. Oh, rather, it ran another story about voters worried about Joe Biden’s age and the price of gas.

          The media has an important role in protecting democracy. If it can’t rouse itself to condemn threats against freedom of the press, it will deserve what happens if Trump is elected.

Trump demands that all Democratic Senators resign.

          Before you roll your eyes at a third story about Trump's unhinged posting on Truth Social, stick with me. I have a point. See Concluding Thoughts.

          Democratic Senator Robert Menendez refused to resign while he defends himself against bribery charges. That decision put Trump in a bind: Trump claims he can run for president, win, and serve from a jail cell, so he can’t call for Menendez to resign. The next best thing (in Trump's view) is for all Democratic Senators to resign—which is what he did:

Why doesn’t the FBI raid Senate Democrat’s homes like they illegally raided Mar-a-Lago, where nothing was done wrong based on the Presidential Records Act. Menendez is a ‘piker’ compared to some of those Election Stealing THUGS.

Menendez is one of many, a small timer at that. EVERY DEMOCRAT SHOULD RESIGN FROM THE SENATE!

          Trump is confused about the facts surrounding the search of Menendez’s house. No matter. The point is that Trump does not call on Menendez to resign because they are brothers in arms when it comes to placing personal interest ahead of that of their constituents. Why that means that all Democratic Senators should resign requires logical fallacies served with a dollop of lies.

          Menendez should resign because his continued service provides cover for Trump's corrupt campaign for the presidency. As Dennis Aftergut explains in Why Menendez must resign | The Hill, a resignation by Menendez would

·      Honor the public trust that holding elected office embodies.

·      Show the public that no one should hold or seek office while under a serious indictment.

·      Distinguish Democrats from Donald Trump, Rep. George Santos, and MAGA Republicans who defend individuals holding or running for office while indicted.

          The last point is the most important: By refusing to resign, Menendez legitimizes the notion that politicians under indictment should fight those indictments while serving in (or seeking) positions of honor and trust. It is hard to imagine that Menendez could make matters better for Trump or worse for Biden.

          But he has.

          On Monday, Hunter Biden’s lawyer—Abbe Lowell—announced that he is representing Senator Menendez. Lowell is, of course, to represent whomever he wants so long as his respective clients consent. But Hunter Biden has a say in the matter. Hunter Biden can tell Abbe Lowell that he is not comfortable having his lawyer also represent Senator Menendez. The reason is obvious: It allows the right-wing media to create a misleading inference about alleged “Biden crime family” corruption and the alleged corruption of Robert Menendez. See Fox News, Bob Menendez enlists Hunter Biden’s defense attorney in bribery case and USA Today, Menendez bribes, charges show parallels to Hunter Biden case.

          Is the inference unfair and inaccurate? Yes. Does Hunter Biden owe some consideration to his father? Yes. Hunter Biden has caused his father substantial political and personal heartache for reasons that may have been out of his control. His choice of counsel—or rather, his decision to continue with counsel now representing Senator Menendez is a decision within Hunter Biden’s control. He can tell Abbe Lowell, “It’s Menendez or me.”

          I have wandered a bit from Trump's unhinged post demanding that all Democratic Senators resign. But the intersection with Bob Menendez and Hunter Biden is unfortunate. We will likely hear more about those connections in the future.

Stories I did not get to in this newsletter.

Due to limited internet access time, I did not get to these important stories:

Judge to examine alleged attorney conflicts of interest in Mar-a-Lago case | The Hill

Fifth Circuit Gives Red States Chance For Even Bigger Win In Biden Social Media Case (talkingpointsmemo.com)

Biden ESG rule survives challenge from 25 red states | The Hill

A note for those using Abby the Address Bot to download addresses for postcards.

For those of you using Abby the Address Bot to download addresses for sending postcards, please see this note from Sarah O’Neill of PostCardsToVoters:

Please note that Abby the Address Bot is temporarily unable to text. However PTV volunteers can request addresses several other easy ways which are linked in the new PTV Linktr.ee! The PTV linktr.ee also has a button for joining PTV for first timers! Ohio is still up too! And Tony will be adding important Virginia campaigns soon too! So lots of help wanted! Thank you!!!

Sarah also requests volunteers for a new campaign that is local in nature but may have national ramifications:

PostcardsToVoters.org just launched postcards for Dave Calone for Suffolk County Executive! Not only is this race important because this seat is equivalent to Mayor for half of Long Island, the biggest suburban county in the USA, this campaign and slate is laying the infrastructure and generating the excitement to win back the four US House seats on Long Island that we need to win in 2024! Dave winning now is the beginning of dumping Kevin McCarthy and replacing him with Speaker Hakeem Jeffries! And Dave is a superb candidate! CaloneForSuffolk.com Can you write some postcards for Dave?

Concluding Thoughts.

For those of you who follow my wife’s blog, Everyday with Jill, she has not been able to upload videos due to bandwidth issues. She will be back online on Tuesday evening. Thanks for your patience!

So, here’s my point about Trump: Any rational observer of any other elected official in America who made the same posts would conclude that the official is having an emotional break. Over the last four days, Trump has called for the death penalty for the former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the resignation of all Democratic Senators, and for prosecuting the press for treason for writing unfavorable stories about him.

That’s a lot. But I have quoted only snippets of Trump’s lengthy and rambling statements on his vanity social media platform. In context, they are reminiscent of the ramblings of Ted Kaczynski—the Unabomber.

My point is not (merely) to engage in Trump-bashing. It is that standing alone, Trump’s statements raise serious questions about his mental stability, even as compared to his steady-state level of chaos and confusion. I do not follow Trump directly on Truth Social. Those who do say that his most recent postings are reaching a different pitch of madness. And yet, they are largely being ignored by the media.

Trump apparently believes there are no boundaries that constrain his social media postings. He is wrong; there is a line that cannot be crossed—and Trump will find it. When he does, it should be a bigger story than “Biden is older than Trump.”

Some of you will undoubtedly disagree. Your position is not unreasonable given the sorry history of the media’s coverage of Trump up to this point. But I have an ember of hope that there is enough integrity and professionalism remaining in the media to hold Trump to account for his deranged postings.

The sun is setting and I am losing my internet connection. Stay strong! I will talk to you tomorrow!

Moonrise at sunset. Mineral King Valley, Sequoia National Park, California.