A stunt impeachment inquiry.

December 13, 2023

          House Republicans will vote to open an impeachment inquiry of President Biden on Wednesday. Why? They can’t say—because they don’t know. Oh, sure, they have baseless conspiracy theories—but no evidence (a common situation with conspiracy theories). So, because they have no evidence to support baseless conspiracy theories, they argue they need an impeachment inquiry to help them pursue imaginary evidence—thereby maintaining the illusion of corruption where none exists.

          Of course, the real reason they will open an impeachment inquiry is because Donald Trump told them to do so. Trump was impeached twice—a level of disgrace achieved by no other president. Trump's solution is to denigrate and debase impeachment so he can argue that impeachments are nothing more than partisan retribution. As always, Trump seeks to undermine the institutions that dare to hold him accountable. Here, he is assaulting the Constitution because its provisions were (rightly) applied in a way never before witnessed in the history of our nation.

          The efforts of House Republicans to evade answering the “Why impeach Joe Biden” question would have been funny if they were not tragic and dangerous. Indeed, several House Republicans admitted that they did not have evidence to impeach Joe Biden—which is why (they claim) they need to open an impeachment inquiry. See Talking Points Memo, As They Admit There’s No Evidence, House Republicans Will Still Greenlight Impeachment Inquiry.

          The tragedy of the stunt impeachment inquiry is that it comes at a time when congressional Republicans are failing at every level in discharging their constitutional duties. Ukrainian President Zelensky visited with President Biden and senior congressional leaders on Tuesday—and left empty-handed. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell—a strong ally of Ukraine—expressed doubt that Congress will authorize additional funds for Ukraine before January, a month after the US will reportedly run out of funds earmarked for Ukraine. See Politico, McConnell: Border-Ukraine deal this year ‘practically impossible’.

          But if action on funding Ukraine is delayed until January, it will be swept into the maelstrom of two deadlines for government shutdowns. Current government funding expires on January 19 and February 2, 2024. While Senate negotiators are reportedly hard at work to reach a compromise, any compromise requires resolving intractable, decades-old issues relating to the management of the US southern border. By tying funding for Ukraine to the resolution of long-standing immigration issues in the US, congressional Republicans seem to be carrying water for Vladimir Putin and (therefore) Donald Trump. 

          Speaker Mike Johnson set an unattainable bar in setting conditions for aid to Ukraine. He said,

What the Biden administration seems to be asking for is billions of additional dollars with no appropriate oversight, no clear strategy to win and with none of the answers that I think the American people are owed.

          Johnson is demanding that the US exercise “oversight” of Ukraine’s “strategy” for defeating an invading Russian army. As the brave Ukrainian people have demonstrated, their “strategy” is to resist Putin’s vastly larger army with every ounce of determination and bravery they can muster. That bravery has held the Russian army at bay for more than 600 days, a stupendous achievement that continues to defy predictions that Ukraine would collapse in a week. The Ukrainian bravery and battlefield success is apparently not enough for the milquetoast Mike Johnson.

          President Biden responded to the vacuous, mealy-mouthed statement by Johnson, saying it was a “Christmas gift” to Vladimir Putin. Biden also noted that news commentators in Russia’s state-controlled broadcast network celebrated the Republican stonewalling of aid to Ukraine. Biden said,

This host of a Kremlin-run show said: ‘Well done, Republicans. That’s good for us,’” If you’re being celebrated by Russian propagandists, it might be time to rethink what you’re doing. History, history will judge harshly those who turn their back on freedom’s cause.

          The GOP’s impeachment and the reluctance to provide more military aid to Ukraine are rooted in Donald Trump's scheme to use his control over Republicans in Congress to inflict political damage on Biden—even if that vendetta hurts the interests of the American people and its allies.

          The good news (explained below) is that Democrats are making progress toward regaining control of the House. Indeed, Speaker Johnson’s stunt impeachment and abandonment of Ukraine will hasten that outcome.

President Biden criticizes Israel’s tactics in Gaza.

          On a day when the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, President Biden made remarks critical of Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The resolution by the General Assembly expressed “grave concern over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population,” and called for the “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access.”

          The resolution did not mention Hamas by name or refer to its role in the conflict. The US proposed an amendment that would have added a paragraph stating that the General Assembly “unequivocally rejects and condemns the heinous terrorist attacks by Hamas” on October 7. That amendment was voted down by the General Assembly before the resolution passed. See PBS Newshour, UN General Assembly votes to demand a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, U.S. opposes resolution.

          The US (and nine other nations) voted against the resolution. Later in the day, President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu made competing statements over the bombing by Israel in Gaza and the governance of Gaza after the war ends. Biden reportedly said at a private fundraiser that

Israel's "indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza [is] the reason it is "starting to lose" support around the world. He urged Netanyahu to find a long-term solution to the Israeli-[Hamas] conflict.

          Biden also commented on the extreme-right composition of Netanyahu’s government, saying,

Bibi's got a tough decision to make. He’s a good friend, but I think he has to change − with this government. This government in Israel is making it very difficult for him to move.

          The “tough decision” Biden referred to is how Gaza will govern itself after the war. Netanyahu said later in the day that Israel still has the full backing of the US but has “failed to reach an agreement with Biden on the future of Gaza after Hamas is defeated.”

          President Biden has been advocating for a two-state solution that would give Palestinians autonomy over Gaza and the West Bank, a solution that Netanyahu strongly opposes.

          The disagreements between Biden and Netanyahu are playing out against another GOP-caused delay in supplemental funding in Congress. Under Speaker Mike Johnson, the House passed a supplemental aid package for Israel that is tied to reducing the IRS budget by billions of dollars, which would reduce tax revenue collected and increase deficit spending by $12 billion.

          As always, there are no easy answers. But injecting unrelated issues—US immigration and IRS funding—into US foreign policy makes getting to any answer more difficult. Hence, the need to “vote the bums out” in 2024. Read on!

New York court orders re-drawing of congressional maps.

          The top appellate court in New York ruled 4-3 that current congressional districts must be re-drawn by an independent redistricting commission. That commission is split 5-5 between Democrats and Republicans and will likely lead to a deadlock—which transfers authority to the Democratically controlled legislature to re-draw the maps. Those maps will be used in 2024—assuming that Democrats do not over-reach and draw maps that will be overturned by the top appellate court in New York.

          Whew! That was complicated. The details are here: Top New York Court Orders New Congressional Map | HuffPost.

          Here is the takeaway: The flawed redistricting process in NY in 2022 may have handed Republicans their majority in the House. If the above process results in fair(er) maps, Democrats may pick up two to four seats—possibly enough to regain control of the House. And the resignation of George Santos has already put one of those seats back in play.

          Regaining control of the House would be a tremendous victory for Democrats. The House GOP conference has a heavy representation of MAGA extremists (Freedom Caucus) that is intent on causing chaos. With control of the House, Democrats can help return Congress to regular order. That would be good. Very.

Justice Thomas should recuse himself from Jack Smith’s appeal of the presidential immunity defense.

          Ginni Thomas, Justice Clarence Thomas’s wife, was a peripheral player (at least) in the effort to overturn the 2020 election. At the very least, she is a material witness in the case against Trump. Her association with the attempted coup should cause Justice Thomas to recuse himself from the upcoming hearing on Jack Smith’s expedited appeal relating to Trump's presidential immunity defense.

          Because it is folly to assume that Justice Thomas will abide by judicial ethics or norms, Democrats have begun demanding that Justice Thomas recuse himself. See Senate Democrats press Thomas to recuse himself from Trump immunity case  | The Hill. Republican Senator Mike Lee said the calls for recusal were “absurd.”

          The issue of Thomas’s participation in Jack Smith’s appeal implicates the legitimacy and credibility of the Supreme Court as it decides one of the most consequential cases in more than a half-century. There is no indication that Thomas recused himself from the order requiring Trump to respond to Jack Smith’s motion by December 20. If Thomas hasn’t recused himself, John Roberts should have a long talk with Thomas and urge him to recuse himself. History has its eyes on Thomas—and Roberts.

Analysis of Texas Supreme Court opinion regarding Kate Cox.

          Ian Millhiser of Vox takes a deep dive into the opinion issued by the Texas Supreme Court on Monday denying Kate Cox legal relief allowing her to obtain an abortion for a pregnancy “incompatible with the life of the fetus” and that threatened her life and future fertility. See Ian Millhiser, Vox, The sinister court decision denying Kate Cox an abortion, explained.

          As explained by Millhiser, the Texas Supreme Court’s opinion is Kafkaesque. Recall that Kate Cox obtained a temporary order from a trial court saying she was permitted to obtain an abortion without fear of prosecution (for her or her doctor). But Texas AG Ken Paxton then sent a letter to Cox’s doctor saying that Texas would prosecute the doctor and take away her license after the temporary court order expired. The appeal to the Supreme Court followed. Millhiser describes what happened next:

The Texas Supreme Court, which is made up entirely of Republicans, claims that “the law leaves to physicians — not judges — both the discretion and the responsibility to exercise their reasonable medical judgment.” But, without a court order forbidding the state from punishing [Cox’s doctor] for exercising that judgment, the doctor risks horrific legal consequences if she treats her patient.

          In essence, the Texas Supreme Court says, “It’s up to the doctor, but if the state disagrees with the doctor’s medical judgment, the doctor can be sent to prison and fined $100,000.” Obviously, in those circumstances, no doctor will perform an abortion unless they have a court order in advance agreeing that the doctor can perform the abortion—which is what the Texas Supreme Court refused to give to Kate Cox.

          The outrage over the action by the Texas Supreme Court is mounting. Republican politicians are literally and figuratively running away from the issue. Texas US Senator John Cornyn refused to comment on the ruling, saying that he is a “federal officer” and the ruling related to a state matter. Cornyn has previously voted for national abortion bans in Congress.

          Senator Ted Cruz refused to answer questions about the ruling, referring reporters to his press office. When reporters called his press office, no one answered the phone. Cowards, all!

          The actions and evasions of Cornyn and Cruz illustrate that Republicans know they are on the losing end of a generational struggle that will come to the fore in the 2024 election.

Opportunity for reader engagement.

I received this note from Jessica Craven of Chop Wood Carry Water:

I am thrilled to announce a new matching fund challenge for one of my favorite organizations: Run For Something!! One of my readers has generously offered to match all donations up to 15K! 

I am deeply passionate about this organization—I routinely recommend it as one of the best places to donate if you want to help save democracy. For those of you who don’t know them, Run For Something recruits young progressives to run for office across the country for municipal, school board, election administrator, county clerk, county supervisor, and statehouse seats. Their candidates have a high win rate in general and their school board win rate this past November was 72%! THEY are a huge part of the reason Moms For Liberty took such a beating! They also elected 138 election clerks this year, including 34 wins against noted election deniers. Wow! They plan to aggressively target school board races and election administrator seats again in 2024. We need them!

RFS's candidates tend to go on to phenomenal things–so by donating you’re also helping to build our bench! SO IMPORTANT! When I say that this organization is saving the country I am not exaggerating. Here’s the link to give to the matching fund. It runs until the end of the year. Can we do it? YES WE CAN! 

Concluding Thoughts.

          We are in the thick of the fight. But we will receive a two-week reprieve when Congress recesses from December 16, 2023 through January 3, 2024. After the recess, January will be an action-packed month, including budget deadlines, funding for Ukraine and Israel, and the Iowa caucus (on January 15, 2024).

          To the extent you can, pace yourself in the last two weeks of 2023. Take a mental break from the news when possible and focus on family and friends. Each of us will need to be ready to re-engage in January. We still have a long way to go until election day 2024, and we should not collapse the future into the present moment. But we will need to be focused and ready to work diligently for the rest of the year to help re-elect Joe Biden and Democrats up and down the ballot. We are well-positioned and have every reason to be hopeful but no reason to be complacent!

          Talk to you tomorrow!