A shoe drops.

July 26, 2022

          In yesterday’s newsletter, I said there were “easy” solutions to counter efforts by Trump loyalists to dismantle the civil service. I should have said “simple,” not easy. We can stop the plot by passing a law prohibiting mass firings of civil servants by simply moving them to “Schedule F”. In normal times, passing new legislation requires a majority in both chambers of Congress and a president of the same party in the White House. Simple. Not easy. Or we can ensure that the presidency remains in Democratic hands in 2024. Simple. Not easy.

My point is that we don’t have to “overthink” the solutions to GOP plans to wreck the civil service. The solutions are at hand. The only question is whether we are sufficiently motivated enough to implement those solutions. I think we are. I hope you do, too.

A shoe drops in the DOJ investigation of January 6th.

          Back in March, media sources reported that the DOJ had empaneled a grand jury to investigate the events of January 6th, including the planning and financing of the rally that proceeded the assault on the Capitol. On Monday, ABC News cameras recorded Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, exiting the district court where the grand jury is sitting. See Former Pence chief of staff appeared before grand jury probing Jan. 6: Sources - ABC News. The sighting of Short leaving the courthouse that houses the grand jury confirms that the DOJ is looking at Trump’s inner circle—and perhaps at Trump himself.

          Marc Short testified before the January 6th Committee back in January 2022. See CNN (1/21/22) Marc Short: Mike Pence’s former chief of staff testifies in House January 6 investigation. The Committee played a video from Short’s deposition in which he recounted a call from Paul Ryan to Mike Pence telling the Vice President that he did not have the authority to reject electoral votes. What else Short told the Committee—or may have said to the grand jury—is not known. But the fact that Short cooperated with the Committee and appears to be testifying before a grand jury is welcome news.

This is the kind of message that Democrats in general, and Biden in particular, need to promote.

          President Biden gave remarks to Black law enforcement officials over video as he recovers from Covid. Biden did not hold back. President Biden said, in part,

          [F]or three hours, the defeated former President of the United States watched it all happen as he sat in the comfort of the private dining room next to the Oval Office. While he was doing that, brave law enforcement officers were subject to the medieval hell for three hours, dripping in blood, surrounded by carnage.

          Face to face with a crazed mob that believed the lies of the defeated President,the police were heroes that day. Donald Trump lacked the courage to act.

          You can’t be pro-insurrection and pro-cop. You can’t be pro-insurrection and pro-democracy. You can’t be pro-insurrection and pro-America

          Exactly! Let’s hope we hear more of the same from President Biden. The reality of Trump’s cowardice and inaction on January 6th is seeping into the vestigial consciences of Trump’s donors and enablers. Hammer away, Joe!

On top of it all, they are cowards.

          When 26-year-old Cassidy Hutchinson testified about Trump’s altercation with his Secret Service detail, members of the Secret Service manipulated gullible journalists to report that Hutchinson was wrong and that they would testify under oath to refute her testimony. The next day, Hutchinson said she stood by her story and looked forward to hearing the sworn testimony of Tony Ornato and Bobby Engel.

          Guess what? Ornato and Engel have not accepted the J6 Committee’s invitation to testify. Instead, they hired private lawyers and have stopped cooperating with the Committee. See Salon, Secret Service agents who tried to torpedo Hutchinson testimony lawyer up, refuse to testify: panel.

          Ornato and Engel appear to be among the current and former Secret Service members who mysteriously failed to “back up” their text messages for January 5th and 6th. As Yogi Berra supposedly said, “That’s too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence.” Add to that suspicious coincidence that Hutchinson directly challenged Ornato and Engel’s credibility. Rather than stepping up, they are hiding behind lawyers. Pathetic.

Developments in Georgia investigation into election interference.

          A judge granted the motion of one of sixteen fake electors to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis because she supported the fake elector’s opponent in a state legislative race. See The Guardian, Judge blocks Georgia DA from investigating ‘fake elector’ in setback for Trump inquiry. I link to The Guardian’s headline because it typifies the misreporting surrounding the disqualification. D.A. Willis can still pursue the other fifteen fake electors, and a different Georgia prosecutor can still pursue the single fake elector who filed the motion to disqualify Willis.

          But . . . this development highlights why it is essential for the DOJ to pursue its own investigation of Trump’s interference in Georgia. Readers sometimes excuse the apparent lack of action by the DOJ in Georgia on the ground that the Fulton County D.A. iis investigating the crime. True, but the ruling today highlights the fact that the Georgia County D.A. operates under state political constraints that would not apply to a DOJ investigation.

Debunking the “myths” about the “radical left” controlling the Democratic Party.

          Paul Krugman explains why and how Republicans exploit a false mythology that the Democratic Party is controlled by “the radical left.” I sometimes hear those points repeated by readers of this newsletter who (wrongly) blame “the radical left” for the perceived dysfunction in the Democratic Party. Krugman’s article explains why the mythology of a radical left dominated Democratic Party is untrue and provides data to back up his points. It is a good reminder for everyone—including Democrats. See NYTimes, Opinion | The Dystopian Myths of Red America.

Believe them when they tell you who they are.

          The archconservative “Turning Point USA” is holding a conference in Florida. Speakers include Trump, Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Green, and Ron DeSantis. The conference has included ugly hate speech that deserves to be condemned by every American. Matt Gaetz attacked women supporting abortion, saying they are “ugly and obese” and “no one wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb.” That line drew cheers from the crowd. Marjorie Taylor Greene said the GOP should strive to become “a party of Christian nationalists.”

          Meanwhile, supporters of Ron DeSantis appeared outside the conference holding placards that said “DeSantis Country” alongside other placards that featured Swastiskas and the symbol for the Nazi SS. Although the promoter of the Turning Point conference condemned the appeal to Nazism, Ron DeSantis couldn’t find the words to condemn his supporters. See HuffPo, Right-Wing Florida Confab Rips Swastika-Waving Neo-Nazis, Gov. DeSantis Keeps Mum.

          DeSantis has refused to condemn his neo-Nazi supporters even after the Miami Herald Editorial Board demanded that he do so. See Miami Herald Editorial, Why won’t DeSantis condemn neo-Nazi demonstration outside GOP event in Tampa?

          When someone tells you who they are—through words, actions, or inaction—believe them.

Concluding Thoughts

          At last! Some good press for Joe Biden from major media outlets. See WaPo, Biden poised for a couple of big wins in Congress. Per WaPo,

          After a turbulent stretch in which much of President Biden’s legislative agenda seemed to be foundering, the president and his party may be on the cusp of significant wins in Congress that the White House hopes will provide at least a modest political boost.

          Most politically resonant is a bill to let Medicare negotiate drug prices, a hugely popular idea that Democrats have been pursuing for more than 20 years. Even before that — possibly within days — Congress is likely to pass a bill providing $52 billion to the U.S. semiconductor industry, intended to bolster the U.S. economy and cut China’s influence.

          Add to those likely wins the expected passage of a bill protecting same-sex marriage at the federal level and the recent gun safety bill. Passing four significant bills in two months rivals any similar accomplishment in the last half-century. Let’s hope that the media gives Biden the credit he is due for such a great achievement.

          If Biden can deliver the three bills before Congress breaks for its August recess, it will be a testament to his quiet patience and determination. Let’s stop on this high note and wish Joe Biden the best as he works to deliver on more of his agenda.

          I am still in a remote location with limited internet access, so I cannot record an audio version and have skipped my usual automated error-checking software. 

          I will be on the road for much of Tuesday but expect to publish a newsletter late Tuesday evening. Talk to you then!